Square wedding cakes have become very popular at the moment. Many contemporary brides are choosing square wedding cakes over the round traditional wedding cakes.  

While wedding cakes come in all different styles, shapes, colours, flavours and designs,they are traditionally are round or square.  A square wedding cake delivers clean lines which are both modern and elegant.  However, these days it is worth remembering that anything is possible.  

Put some thought into the style of square cake you might want. It is perfectly square or does it have the corners rounded or cut off to become more octagonal for example. Take a look on google at the range of cakes available before you talk to a cake supplier. [Click here for a ready made google images search] . Your Wedding Cake is the centre piece of your wedding so it deserves the thinking time.

The Square wedding cake design can be used in very creative ways, to look like gift boxes boxes for example. A more traditional style wedding cakes would have beautiful design and cascading ribbons.

Square cakes have another advantage. On way to save money on the cake is to have the main decorative show cake and a separate simple layer cake out the back to increase the portions without the cost of decorating the cake completely. The square cake makes the substition much less noticable than curved cakes.

It should be remembered that square wedding cakes are much easier to cut and can be give out to wedding guests quicker and will probably serve serve more guests.

Have some fun picking your wedding cake design as it creates a great talking point. Don’t forget that more photographs are taken of the wedding cake than anything else. 

The most important thing is to make sure you book a professional. An amateur or part-time magician maybe able to perform amazing magic but there is a lot more to it than that. Will they turn up on time? Will they be smartly presented? Will they work hard to make sure they see every guest? Will they have the experience to cope with any last minute changes?

Remember that if you are hosting or organising an event, the magician you choose will reflect on you. In the same way, a professional magician who’s livelihood depends on performing regularly will look after all the small details because it reflects on them and their prospects of getting more work.

How do you know someone is a professional? After all, anyone can say they are but what can you do to check that it’s true?

How to Spot a Professional Magician

Check that the magician has a good website and/ or printed promotional materials. These days, magicians often rely on a website to provide information to prospective clients because it is so easy to keep a website up to date. Many also have videos or DVDs and printed materials including photographs. Of course, this doesn’t make them a great magician but it does indicate their professionalism. It can also give you an idea of what a performer is like if you haven’t met them.

Check that the magician is a member of magic societies such as the Magic Circle and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. These societies require magicians to be serious and accomplished performers before they are allowed membership. Another good sign is if they are a member of an organisation like Equity, the UK performers union or similar professional body.

Check the magician’s list of clients and engagements, and testimonial/ recommendation letters. A professional magician should be able to provide details of past clients and engagements - if they can’t something is wrong. The types of events they have been involved with will indicate if they are the right magician for your event. The letters and quotes can be helpful, although it is unlikely that any bad quotes will find their way into someone’s promotional materials! However, the number and quality of the quotes should give you an idea of how well received a performer is. Don’t be afraid to ask for copies of the original letters or emails.

Check that the magician has public liability insurance. This is very important! The magician may be closely interacting with your guests, perhaps borrowing objects from them and a professional will be covered for any accidents that may happen.

Is a Particular Professional Magician Right for You?

So, you’ve found a professional magician. How do you know they are right for you and your event? Obviously, seeing them perform is the best way. Often a magician will work regularly at a restaurant or club, or even have a regular stage show and this is a great opportunity to see them in action. However, some magicians only perform at corporate and private functions and you may not be able to see them in public.

Promotional materials and information about past clients and engagement should give you a pretty good idea what they are like, but a quick phone call is the best way. Have a chat with them, ask them what their performance style is like and what types of magical effects they perform. If you like what you hear and can get on with them over the phone, it’s a good sign.

Price and Negotiating a Fee

Often the main factor when deciding which magician to choose is price. Fees for professional magicians vary a lot because they depend on many factors such as the date and time of the event, how well known the magician is, what type of magic you want them to perform, how long you want them for, etc. But, as with most other services and products, you get what you pay for. Good magical entertainment is not something that you can get cheaply. If you are shopping around and enquiring with many magicians, going with the cheapest may not be the best option!

When negotiating the fee it can be a good idea to be up front and state what the available budget is. This could save both you and the magician a lot of time. If one magician is too expensive or is not available, they may be able to suggest another magician or entertainer for your event. Their opinion is worthwhile, since they should be well aware how good other magicians are and suggesting someone unprofessional would reflect badly on them.

Finally, remember to check whether the fee you negotiate is fully inclusive and that there are no hidden extras such as VAT or travelling expenses.

Note: This article is written from a UK perspective, but many of these tips will be relevant in other countries.

About the Author
Dan Gifford is a UK Corporate Magician and UK Wedding Magician. For more about UK magicians visit www.magician-entertainer.co.uk.

Technorati Tags: Wedding, Wedding Reception, Wedding Magician, Magician

Wedding venues can take a variety of shapes, forms and locations. You can hold your wedding wherever you want and whenever you want - all you need to show is a bit of money and the deal is done. You can hold your wedding at a local hall, a hotel banquet room, a church, the beach, a park, the place you met - you can be as creative as you want. But in this brainstorming process you also need to be realistic about what your needs and wants are as well as your wedding budget. Can you afford the wedding venue you are thinking about? Also, is it easily accessible by and can it accommodate the number of guests you are considering to invite to your wedding?

Your perfect wedding venue awaits you… after your brainstorming session, go out and visit the locations that you want to book as your wedding venue for either or both your wedding ceremony and reception. Consider the cost, the number of people the location seats, if it is air conditioned (if your wedding is in summer) and also the conditions for hire such as the length of time you can stay and how the cleaning up is arranged.

After visiting a few locations make a shortlist of the wedding venues and list the advantages and disadvantages for holding your venue at the certain places. You can skip this part if you found a wedding venue that you were very happy with.

Another point about planning for your wedding venue location is to delegate someone, either a family member or a close friend to manage the wedding venue location - the payment, the management of the location on the day of your wedding. The last thing you would want to do is to be putting out fires all over the place when the only thing that should be on your mind is your upcoming wedding on your special day.

Hopefully, I have given you some starting points to look at when you are planning for your wedding venue locations for both your ceremony and reception. Remember to keep within your budget, to read the fine print of your wedding venue contract and finally to have fun!

About the author:
Janey McKenzie is a staff writer for BetterWeddingIdeas.com, a free wedding planning guide providing couples with wedding hints and tips to enable them to plan every aspect of their wedding effectively.

Technorati Tags: Wedding, Wedding Venues, Wedding Ceremony, Wedding Reception

Planning a wedding reception can be an overwhelming task. What kind of food should I serve? How much food do I need? What kind of entertainment should be there? How long should it last? What order should things go in? How is this going to work?

All of these questions are valid, and can be easily answered. The first thing that you need to decide is what kind of reception you want to have. Are you going to have a traditional dinner and dance reception, or are you going to have a more casual reception with just finger foods? Or, are you going to go even simpler and just have cake and punch reception.

If you are going to have a dinner and dance reception, it is important to find your caterer first. They can help you determine what kind, and how much food to get. The order of events for these receptions usually goes like this, first guest arrive and have cocktails while they wait for the bride and groom to arrive.

When the bride and groom arrive, they are announced by the D.J. After this usually the bride and groom are served dinner first, and then the guests.

When most people have finished dinner, the dance floor is opened. The bride and groom open with their first dance, and then usually a father-daughter dance, and mother-son dance follows. Then the dance floor is opened to all the guests.

After everyone has had a chance to dance, the cake is cut and the bouquet and garder are tossed. Cake is served and the dance floor stays open. Usually this is a good time for the bride and groom to walk around and visit with their guests. The bride and groom usually leave shortly after the cake is cut. The dance floor then stays open until the reception is over.

If you are having a more casual reception, the order of events is usually the same; you can just cut out the formal dinner.

If you are just serving cake and punch, then you would cut and serve the cake, visit with your guests, and then the bride will toss the bouquet as the couple is getting ready to leave.