Heads up, sugared almonds: you now have some stiff competition.
Heads up, sugared almonds: you now have some stiff competition.

Sugared almonds? Do us a favour: weddings are all about the bling



For centuries, sugared almonds have remained the most common wedding "favour" or gift that brides and grooms give to their guests, but who wants to be common? Today, although not having fallen entirely out of favour, the humble bundle of pastel-coloured tooth-shattering nuts faces some stiff competition.

"Trends in favours change every three to six months," says Katinka Socrat, founder of online wedding suppliers The Bride Side of Life. "Some of our favours are runaway favourites - for example, a silk fan in an elegant gift box." For couples taking advantage of the beautiful weather in the UAE to have an outdoor or beach wedding, she says, the fans are a perfect little gift to keep guests happy during the event.

If that sounds a bit too functional, another favourite is the miniature gold chair favour boxes, says Socrat. "They can be filled with any kind of candy, and the guest's name can be written on the back-rest. This is a great favour if you are planning a big wedding and have a limited budget."

Speaking of money, you may want to be sitting down on a gold chair when you hear that favour budgets for large luxury weddings can stretch to Dh15,000.

"The most expensive favours are our handmade Spruengli chocolates," says Socrat. "Each one is handmade in Switzerland and flown-in especially for the wedding." The chocolates can be customised with the bride's and groom's names and they taste, says Socrat, "fantastic". As they should at Dh100 for four chocolates.

With so much care and consideration having gone into your wedding favours, how do you ensure your guests actually take them home? Socrat says canny modern-day brides have found a practical solution to this very common problem.

"We have favours that the guests can use in their everyday lives: a manicure set for example or a set of heart-shaped measuring spoons called 'Love Beyond Measure'."

Other popular wedding-table adornments include silver picture frames, often showing a photo of the happy couple on their engagement. Which might be particularly impressive if that's a Mario Testino original, or, says Mohamed Ali, PR director of Quintessentially, a private members' club and global concierge service, if the engagement venue is genuinely spectacular.

"We can organise weddings from start to finish for our members and most commonly they take place at the most exclusive venues in the world. That said, two of the most bizarre requests we worked on were to organise the following setting for wedding proposals: one was on an iceberg and another was a gentleman wanting us to close down Sydney Harbour Bridge."

Another consideration: with the flowers, food and favours taken care of, your wedding tables may still feel slightly underdressed. So how about customised candles to set the mood? The more the merrier, says Socrat.

"Brides and grooms just love them! I think it plays into the elegant, romantic atmosphere that most couples want in their wedding. The range of extravagant candles we offer are incredibly popular, especially different designs like ones in the shape of a wedding dress or a rose."

For maximum impact and maximum expense there's always the option to "bling everything" with Swarovski crystals. According to Nuhad Al Masri, the manager of Color Lines, supplier of royal wedding invitations and favours: "Our customers really enjoy planning their wedding and automatically after the card is done they request extra details for the wedding party itself to give it a unique handmade touch that is artistic and different. This could include decorated napkin holders, water bottles, candles and even wedding menus and table numberings."

Well, that's one way to make your party sparkle.

For more information, go to www.thebridesideoflife.com or call 050 225 9233; www.quintessentially.com, 02 622 4545; www.colorlines.net, 04 282 2230.

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Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

THE BIO

BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS

Estijaba – 8001717 –  number to call to request coronavirus testing

Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111

Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre

Emirates airline – 600555555

Etihad Airways – 600555666

Ambulance – 998

Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

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Biog

Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara

He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada

Father of two sons, grandfather of six

Plays golf once a week

Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family

Walks for an hour every morning

Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India

2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business

 

Profile

Company name: Marefa Digital

Based: Dubai Multi Commodities Centre

Number of employees: seven

Sector: e-learning

Funding stage: Pre-seed funding of Dh1.5m in 2017 and an initial seed round of Dh2m in 2019

Investors: Friends and family 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4