WeddingDates.ie

While not strictly a wedding-event, when I got the brochure from the Celtic Ross Hotel about their Girlie weekend package in aid of Action Breast Cancer, I thought it would be a great bonding weekend for a bride and her bridesmaids, or mother-of-the-bride/groom, or indeed a chilled low key hen event.

It’s on the weekend of the 9th –11th October down in Rosscarbery, West Cork.  For €175 per person, there is a full weekend of activities all based in and around the hotel, sounds like a nice break-away-from-it all for the girls!  It includes 2 nights Bed and breakfast in the hotel and dinner on the Saturday night.  There are a host of activities on Saturday afternoon AND  you get a Back, Neck and Shoulder Massage in the Holistic Suite….now that’s what I call value for a weekend break away!

The weekend will begin on the Fridaynight with a pink bubbly reception followed by some salsa and dirty dancing with Debbie from Salsa Train www.salsatrain.com!

On Saturday enjoy a leisurely breakfast until 11am, then take part in any or all of the activities below:

• Aqua Aerobics - a stint in the pool is always a nice way to start your day!
• Bootcamp - the new craze hitting the country. Join Mark from www.rebelbootcamp.ie for an outdoor workout. Includes a talk on nutrition.  Perfect for the bride-to-be wanting to shape up.
• Afternoon tea - with pink cupcakes of course!
• Make-up consultation with Colette O’Sullivan from Porcelain Make-up www.porcelain.ie - get all the tips you need.
• Cork Style Confidential – presented by Maeve and Molly will showcase all things stylish and sophisticated in the fashion industry www.maeveandmolly.com
• An Irish Cancer Society Health Promotion Advisor will give a talk on breast cancer awareness and general cancer awareness for women.

Chick flicks will be shown throughout the day in the Library Bar for those that just want to chill out for the weekend.

On Saturday night enjoy a pre-dinner drinks reception before a sumptuous 4-course meal. We will end the night dancing away to Karaoke and DJ.  On departure all guests will receive a Goodie Bag!

I think this is a great innovative package put together by the hotel and a really lovely idea for a chilled weekend to relax with friends.  Best of all - Action Breast Cancer will benefit from the proceeds of the weekend, so everyone wins!

You can download the full brochure here and to book, contact the hotel directly: by calling (023) 8848722 or emailing reservations@celticross.com.

It’s traditional to give your wedding party gifts. It’s also stressful to give your wedding party gifts, because it’s one more thing to plan, one more thing to organise, and yes, one more thing to pay for. Here’s a less expensive solution that your bridesmaids will love - individually chosen cosmetics bags stuffed with a variety of handmade goodies.

Online retailer Etsy is stuffed to the gills with unique and gorgeous cosmetics bags and wristlets so you can choose whatever style you fall in love with. I’ve bought from Dalinda’s shop Plonka and I love the wristlet I got. She makes bags in a range of fabrics, so you can choose a different fabric to suit each bridemaid and make your gift really individual. (I like these little zippy purses at $13.50 each.)

In it you can put lots of little goodies, like luscious handmade soaps and lipbalms from Cherry Blossom Co. Ciara and I both have products from Cherry Blossom Co and love it; the products are very natural, really pretty and great quality. She charges $11.30 for international shipping for the first product, but each item after that is only one cent - so for large orders, it’s super cost effective.

Finally, you can pick up loads of little samples on Etsy that fit perfectly into small bags - check out the super-cute perfumes from Theme. You get seven minis for just $7, and they come in a whole range of scents and colours, perfect for coordinating with bags and soaps for a really lovely themed gift.

All of this stuff - pouches, lip balms, soaps and perfumes - comes to $172 including shipping if you’re buying for half a dozen bridesmaids, which is about €134 these days. For a party of six bridesmaids, that’s €22 each, which is a bridal bargain if there ever was one.

So you’re planning your wedding day, dreaming up themes of romance and eternal love, and suddenly you have a brilliant notion: to dress your bridesmaids in one of the most romantic dresses from one of the most gaggingly romantic films ever.  In short, you decide to dress your bridesmaids in Rose’s famous evening gown from the movie Titanic.

You know, Titanic. The movie where the two main characters fall in love, hit an iceberg, sink an entire cruise ship, and oh yeah - the guy dies.

OK, sure. Anyway, moving right along, since this dress does not exist outside the 20th Century Fox studios, you decide to ask your future mother in law to sew the dresses for you. She declines help, she declines a pattern, and on the day of your wedding, she reveals the dresses she has spent six months making (or not):

I’m not particularly superstitious, but I’m pretty sure the bride jinxed this one right from the start, what with the “1,500 dead people and a broken heart” theme. If you didn’t catch this true story when it made the rounds 10 years ago, you can still read the whole story of this epic wedding diaster at Etiquette Hell.