M A N A A L A Y A

                   EVERY GROOMS BESTMAN

                  

Page 01               MANAALA  Finance                Friday 22 May 2015

A Dream Wedding

ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET … ?

You may find it paradoxical. But relax, you can save a lot of money and still have a celebrity wedding without a celebrity price tag. Here’s how you can save money

FLOWERS

Go with the seasonal flowers that you can purchase in your supermarket, as they are fresh and beautiful. Some supermarket even offer personalized floral arrangements at a price that is a fraction of what a florist would charge.

If you have one, use flowers from your own garden. Can you imagine more personalized flower arrangements? If you opt for Silk or Satin flowers, check your local arts and crafts store.

INEXPENSIVE CENTERPIECE IDEAS

Candles in Hurricane vases

Floating candles in glass bowls

A basket filled with candle or soap fruit. The fruit can later serve as favors.

If you have children, have them create something and use it.

Create a theme related centerpiece.

Ice sculptures make great centerpieces.

INVITATIONS AND STATIONERY

Print your own invitations and stationery on your computer Ink Jet or Laser printer. Imagine the savings if an elegant invitation and note card that includes 50 invitations with their envelopes as well as 50 note cards and their envelopes costs less than it is bought from an invitation and stationary vendor.

ENTERTAINMENT

If you want live music, a guitar/flute, a harpist, a harp/flute duo, or a keyboard player will do well. If you have a piano in the room it too can be played to generate your kind of music. Otherwise, use your disc player with CDs filled with your favorite songs and classical pieces to provide background and dancing music.

CATERED PARTY

If you want your wedding catered at great savings, check if there is a culinary school in your area. If so, contact them to see if you can get a local culinary class to cater your wedding reception as a class project.

Some culinary schools will provide food; others will provide only the service. If you plan on a catered event, you may need to buy or rent tables and chairs as well as table cloths, napkins, dishes, flatware and drink-ware, serving plates, serving bowls, serving utensils, a chafing dish, a tea pot, coffee urn, sugar bowl and creamer.

SELF CATERED PARTY

If you plan on a self serve that is very casual you should have buffet style serving tables, you may be able to do away with the guest tables and you may choose high quality disposable napkins, plates, flatware and drink-ware but you may still need to buy or rent the serving tables with table cloths, the, serving plates, the serving bowls, the serving utensils, the tea and coffee urns, the sugar bowl and the creamer.

WEDDING CAKE IDEAS

If you plan on a wedding cake but want to save money here too, Ask your baker to frost 2 Styrofoam circles or rectangles if you plan on a sheet cake, and decorate them as if they were actual cake layers and have only the top layer be a real cake.

Do not serve the wedding cake to your guests. Instead, have a sheet cake to serve all your guests so you may freeze the wedding cake for your first anniversary.

WHERE NOT TO SAVE

There are a few wedding needs on which you should consider applicability and quality over price. Do not try to save, but get the best photographer as you'll not be able to re-do your wedding for pictures.

Get the best and most appropriate wedding accessories, whether you want to coordinate for a theme wedding, a color or anything else. Your wedding accessories will become your treasured wedding keepsakes and family heirlooms.

VENUE

Your wedding venue is the spinal cord of your wedding expenses. If you decide to choose the most popular wedding venues you’ve got to do away with a lot of money. But if you want to save on that cost you can chose places like golf and rugby clubs and even village halls.

If you get the place decorated well you can make the place look no less than the popular wedding venue.

FOOD

Do not go for the existing venue caterers. If you get your own caterers at your chosen venue, you can save a lot. You can also keep the menu simple and edible. Some people try and make the menu extravagant with as many dishes as they can.

Result is that people do not eat all of it and the remnants go straight in to the bin with all your money. Tasty yet simple mantra can work wonders for your Budget Dream Wedding.

DRINKS

Getting liquor from outside on a wholesale price would be way cheaper than that provided by the venue. You can arrange a deal with the venue for a fixed amount of booze at a fixed price.

DRESSES

If you like something, get it printed and take the picture of the dress to a lesser known designer. They may make you your groom’s attire in half the price or better still rent it. These dresses are worn just once and put up for sale at a much lesser cost. You can get everything from tuxedos and from bow ties to tiaras well within budget.

Conceptualized & Developed by Jai Sunthush Abeyewardene – Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter

Page 02                   MANAALA  Planning                      Friday 22 May 2015

How to avoid common pitfalls

Weddings! They're an exciting, fun and an awesome celebration of the love between a couple. They're also expensive and confusing to plan, especially if you don't know to avoid some of these common yet often unspoken wedding planning pitfalls.

It's not just your day

You might think your big day is all about you, but very quickly you will learn that, outside of the ceremony, its one big bash for your invitees, especially your family. In the lead-up to your big day, you will have to make concessions to all parties involved, from food (dietary restrictions) to venue location.

Your big day will cost more than a car

Today the minimum cost of a wedding runs around at least a million. That's a pretty wicked chunk of wealth. Unless you plan on throwing a garden party or getting hitched at a city hall, not being comfy with big price tags will save you many a headache throughout the planning process.

Trimming the guest list doesn't equal trimming the cost

Head count affects your budget, but so do a whole lot of other things, like the cost of the bar (open or cash), outfits, decorations, etc. Go overboard on any one of these and no amount of guest-cutting will save your budget. Chop the extras first and then move on to figuring out who you really want at your big day.

People are afraid to not have a sit-down dinner

Maybe it's because formal dining at a wedding is commonplace, but most people are scared by the idea of doing something different, such as hiring a catering/event-planning company that specializes in unique events. That's their job. They will ensure no one goes hungry or leaves unhappy. You can make your big day whatever you want it to be.

Spend money on three things: photographer, food, DJ

These are the only things you and your guests will remember about the night. Oh, and maybe if you run out of booze. So spend your money where it matters.

Conceptualized & Developed by Jai Sunthush Abeyewardene – Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter

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Page 03                       MANAALA  Health                    Friday 22 May 2015

Fertility Friendly Food 

for Grooms

A well-fed body means healthy, happy sperm.

A fertility-friendly diet is one that’s high in fruit and grains and low in red meat, alcohol and coffee. Being overweight and drinking alcohol, these two major things are linked to lower sperm concentration and motility — how well sperm swam. Alcohol and coffee are both linked to a lower chance of fertilization.

On the other hand, eating more cereal grains (such as wheat, oats or barley) is associated with improved sperm concentration and motility, and fruit is also linked to a speed and agility boost in sperm. Certain vitamins, minerals and amino acids help maintain or improve semen quality, while too much alcohol and certain hormones in processed meat could be harmful to sperm

Oysters: There’s a reason these slimy suckers are known as aphrodisiacs. Because of their zinc content, oysters help increase the production of sperm and testosterone — key baby-making ingredients.

Fruits and vegetables: The antioxidants found in fruits and veggies protect sperm from cellular damage and keep them strong and speedy — just what they need to race through the fallopian tubes and fertilize the egg.

 Vitamins: Vitamin A — which is important in preventing sluggish sperm — in fertility foods such as leafy greens, carrots, red peppers, and apricots, to name a few. Vitamin C — which is critical to sperms’ motility and viability — in orange juice, tomatoes, grapefruit, and broccoli, among other foods. Vitamin E — which helps keep sperm vital — from vegetable oils. Fruits and veggies such as leafy greens, beans, and most fruits contain folic acid.  B vitamin with antioxidant properties that’s crucial for keeping sperm free of chromosomal abnormalities.

Pomegranate juice:  can boost sperm count and quality. Pumpkin seeds:  These seeds contain a hefty dose of zinc, which increases testosterone and sperm count. Pumpkin seeds are also loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, which stimulate blood flow to sexual organs and improve sexual function.

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Conceptualized & Developed by Jai Sunthush Abeyewardene – Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter

Page 04                   MANAALA  Romance                    Friday 22 May  2015

PROPOSAL IDEAS

“that could Sweep Her off Her Feet”

* If you have the dough to splurge, whisk your partner away to a beachy resort, then pop the question over a candlelit dinner that overlooks the ocean. 

* If you’re on the crafty side, try putting together a scrapbook of pictures and other artifacts that represent both you and your relationship together. Later, over a bottle of wine, flip through the book together. As you both laugh and reminiscence, slyly pull out the ring and propose.

 * If you’re the type who gets shy when placed on the spot, a good idea is to record your proposal ahead of time and then play it for her while having a romantic dinner-and-a-movie date at home. Pretend like the video is a movie you just rented. After she watches the video, get on one knee and present her with the ring.

* Do something you normally wouldn't do, like cook dinner or clean the house. When she asks what’s the special occasion, tell her to get dressed because you’re going to take her out on a romantic date (or treat her to a romantic date at home). After she finishes getting ready, surprise her as she comes out with a proposal and a ring.

* If you’re a music-minded individual, create a mix-tape consisting of your favorite songs that represent your relationship. At the end of the tape, record your proposal and add it to the end of the playlist. Remember to label the audio as something else so that she doesn't suspect it.

* If you have a pet dog or cat, attach the engagement ring to the dog’s collar. [Editor's Note: Be careful with this one. It would be horrible if the dog somehow managed to eat the ring.]

* If you’re a musician, write a song that explains why you want to spend the rest of your life together, then perform the song for her during a special moment.

* If your girl’s an art buff, ask a local museum if they will let you display a picture of the two of you together. Then, while you’re both casually strolling through the museum, stop at the portrait and then surprise her with the proposal.

If you’re the type of couple who likes rock climbing, try proposing after finishing one of these feats. The adrenaline left over from from driving a race car makes it the perfect moment to realize how much you love

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Conceptualized & Developed by Jai Sunthush Abeyewardene – Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter

Page 05               MANAALA Fashion             Friday 22 May  2015

Sherwani Design Ideas

FOR YOUR WEDDING

An Indian or a Pakistani Wedding Sherwani bestows a princely and a majestic look to the groom and these are comfortable and trendy. A sherwani is a dress expressing an imperial background with a touch of ethnicity and modernity.

Wedding sherwani’s are found in India or Pakistan. In Sri Lanka - International Advisor of Fashion Designing Dr. Namal Balachandra creates these masterpieces at Wills design Private Limited.

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Conceptualized & Developed by Jai Sunthush Abeyewardene – Freelance Creative Director / Copywriter