Volume 25 of Bermuda Wedding and Honeymoon is hot off the press. Kim Seluga and Steve Zhu Bermuda wedding story is featured on Page 21 exquisitely photographed by Alex Masters. Thank you for asking Bermuda Bride to assist with your wedding plans. We wish you a life filled with happiness and laughter!
As many of these women have noted, the custom wedding – as opposed to the ‘package’ approach – is rapidly becoming the norm.
Nikki Begg, professional bridal consultant and owner of Bermuda Bride founded her business nine years ago. She sought to provide what was at the time, a nearly impossible service: a wedding representing what the bride wanted and nothing she didn’t. The only full-time, Bermuda-based wedding planning company on the island, Bermuda Bride specializes in destination weddings, which allows them to “focus exclusively on the bride and her wedding day” and are always available when you need them. Not only does Bermuda Bride have excellent relationships with Bermuda vendors of all sorts, it is also preferred by many of the island’s hotels and resorts. Furthermore, the business branched out in 2001 opening a floral company called Petals, as well as a design and rental company, Elements. Through collaboration and complementary services, these companies streamline the planning process. Nikki adds that, while Bermuda Bride specializes mainly in high-end weddings, she and her team are equally enthusiastic to accommodate any budget. “Often the most creative weddings are where we have to come up with viable and exciting solutions,” she explains, citing tight cruise ship schedules as one challenging example.
Speaking of schedules, Nikki urges brides not to let the planning schedule overwhelm them. Her advice is to “decide on your priorities and make those decisions first – they will provide the framework for all the other decision you need to make.” She also councils brides to leave 10% worth of “wiggle-room” in the budget, as things tend to be more expensive, as well as take a bit longer, than expected. Nikki Begg also recommends care in choosing the guest list, pointing out that greater volume translates to greater cost.
When asked about trends Nikki suggests simple elegance, elaborating that, as part of this “overall sense of elegance,” upcoming weddings will also showcase “varying hues of monochromatic colors as the main color way and texture upon texture as the theme.” Nikki, however, also draws her own inspirations from her surroundings, referring to the “deep tangerine sunsets, ocean blues, rich bronzes, and woody greens” which the landscape of Bermuda provides as perfect, vibrant accents to the wedding palate of whites and ivories. “And,” she adds, “the beach theme always, always works.”
In 2010, Bermuda Bride will be reworking its already elegant website, www.bermudabride.com. The new site will provide even more information, including a library of 2009 bouquets, a blog, and a special interactive section for current brides, as well as a forum where past brides can post advice. With so many new things on the horizon, Nikki Begg and her team are more excited than ever to be making great strides in their industry. “There is a tremendous sense of satisfaction in seeing everything come together,” she explains. “Whether we’ve been working on a wedding for 18 months or 18 days, understanding what the couple want, truly want, and then being able to help them achieve that is incredibly important to us.” With over nine years and 800 weddings worth of experience, Bermuda Bride embodies everything necessary “for a wedding day as individual as you.”
http://blog.bermuda-wedding.com/2010/06/wedding-wonder-women/
Bermuda Bride receives global recognition as a premier destination wedding planner in:
“It’s my favorite place on the planet,” Lisa Reifer says of Bermuda, a spot she’s been visiting her entire life. Both her parents and grandparents honeymooned on the balmy paradise. Lisa and her love of five years, Jeremy, took it a step further with a destination wedding at Tucker’s Point on Nov. 1, 2008.
“It’s amazing. You’ve got cliffs on both sides and then the beach right there,” she says of the spot. The Reifers’ union was a four-day weekend chock full of celebration.
The wedding party was comprised of about 100 guests, Mrs. Reifer says. “It felt much more intimate to have a destination wedding. Not only do the guests really get to know each other, but you get much better quality time with your friends and family.”
With a destination wedding, rather than a bride and groom sharing the experience while their loved ones spectate from church rows and reception tables, the entire wedding party and guest list participates. “It’s a much more amazing experience in the sense that it’s more of a weekend event.” Mrs. Reifer says.
The Thursday-to-Sunday Bermudian excursion included five events: A welcome party on Thursday, a costume cruise for Halloween on Friday, a rehearsal dinner on the Lido Complex’s Marina Terrace, the ceremony and reception Saturday and a brunch Sunday.
The Reifers enjoy an hour-and-a-half flight to Bermuda from their Manhattan home. Mrs. Reifer has vacationed in Bermuda her whole life. She also works for Jet Blue Airlines and had the luxury of flying to Bermuda “four or five” times in the course of the wedding planning. “We were very hands-on in the process,” she says.
“Even though we were fortunate in that we were able to make all those trips to Bermuda, it certainly wasn’t necessary,” Mrs. Reifer says, attributing this to her “fantastic” wedding planner, Nikki Begg of Bermuda Bride. “I think we could have planned the wedding just using Nikki without actually being there in person.”
Ms. Begg helped plan all the weekend’s events. “We couldn’t have pulled off everything without her. The rehearsal dinner in and of itself was almost like a mini-wedding,” Mrs. Reifer says, adding Ms. Begg sent CDs for live music possibilities, websites of boats for the Friday cruise and photos of flowers regularly through email. “She and her staff helped with everything.”
Mrs. Reifer says she enjoyed putting together the event, adding she thinks a destination wedding requires additional time and effort – energy well worth the final result. She highly recommends working with a wedding planner. “I think that makes a big difference. You have to have faith in your wedding planner.” Linda Mitchell of Bermuda Travel also assisted with hotel arrangements for the Reifers’ guests.
The Reifers held all their nuptial festivities outdoors at Tucker’s Point – from the ceremony to a cocktail hour to a sit-down dinner. The setting was a sandy beach with a thatched roof overhead. A pool and a dance floor area were nearby. The Tucker’s Point restaurant provided the dinner. “We were looking at a bunch of places in Bermuda, but when we saw Tucker’s Point – the setting is so magnificent, but right behind that, the food is really good,” Mrs. Reifer says. “Serge [Bottelli] is known on the island for being a great chef.” Mr. Bottelli crafted a delicious meal and a three-layer wedding cake for the Reifers.
Petals, a Bermuda florist Nikki Begg is part of, arranged the wedding’s floral aspects. Mrs. Reifer consulted with Petals in both Bermuda and New York.
With limited options and a high price to bring an off-island band, Lisa and Jeremy opted for a DJ. “He was willing to play anything we wanted,” Mrs. Reifer says of DJ Paul Sofianos, adding that he “got people up and dancing.” For the post-ceremony cocktail hour, Stephen Crawford played an acoustic guitar on the beach. Becky Spencer photographed the wedding ceremony. New York-based
videographer Seth David Cohen filmed throughout day.
“You have to be flexible with an island destination,” Mrs. Reifer says, “but it’s well worth the unique experience that you and your
guests will have.”
http://blog.bermuda-wedding.com/2010/03/when-all-of-your-bermuda-dreams-come-true/
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