Every bride and groom want to make their wedding extra special and unique. One of the best, least expensive and most affordable ways to do that is to make your own wedding bouquets.

Not only does it add a uniquely personal touch, but it can help you save money for other parts of your celebration.   

6 Steps to Creating Your Own Wedding Bouquets

First, they are your bouquets and you can do anything you like. The following step by step guide will help you learn a bit about flower arranging and how to put together a well designed bridal bouquet that will stay intact throughout the day.

1. Get Your Flowers Together – If you have a favourite florist, or local grocery store, or even someone you know with a green thumb and a garden in bloom, they all can be sources for the flowers in your bouquet. Seasonal flowers can add even more unique character to the bouquet. You can choose colours to match your wedding colours or even the setting of the wedding (like if you choose a golf course wedding venue!).
   
2. Organize a Work Space – Your kitchen is a great place, especially if you have lots of counter space. You’ll need clippers, floral tape, bouquet pins, a bouquet wrap (unlike the floral tape, this is seen by everyone, so it should look good and match your colours – ribbon always works), paper towels and a bucket or two of water.
   
3. Prep the Flowers – Remove all the leaves from the stems, dethorn your roses and make sure to cut the stems to about the same length, you can adjust them later as needed.
   
4. Start Arranging the Flowers – The first step is to think of a focal point as a base for the bouquet and choose two to four flowers to play the part. Warp together the stems off the base flowers of the bouquet with floral tape, leaving four or five inches of stem visible below the tape.
   
5. Fill Out the Bouquet – Starting adding flowers around the base. Think about mixing and matching colours and textures. Be careful not to make the bouquet too big. Use floral tape to attach the flowers you add to the base, always wrapping the tape around the bouquet at about the same point.
   
6. Wrap the Bouquet With Tape and Ribbon – When you finish adding all the flowers you want, wrap the bouquet one last time with floral tape. The bouquet should be quite sturdy by this point. Finally, wrap the exposed floral tape with your ribbon, pinning the ribbon to the tape as you go.

That’s it! Your very own bridal bouquets are all done.
If you liked this post, check out our recent article “Do I Need a Wedding Planner?”

You just got an unforgettable marriage proposal from your favourite person in the world. Now it’s time to start planning for the big day, including your golf course wedding venue! But first, you need to make some very important proposals of your own.

Make sure your besties are by your side to support you on your wedding day with these perfect bridesmaid proposal ideas.

Check Out These Creative Ways to Propose to Your Bridesmaids

Yes, your bridal party is an important part of your special day. But when you ‘pop the question’ to your future bridesmaids in a special way, you show them how important they are to you too.

1. Give a Gift Box – Bridesmaid proposal boxes are a thoughtful way to show your appreciation for them taking part in your celebration. Pack personalized gift boxes filled with wedding-themed items like nail polish, hair ties and maybe a sweet treat. Top it off with a personal, handwritten note from you asking them the big question.
   
2. Have a Wine Night – You’ve shared lots of good times, so why not make proposal night another great memory with just you and your crew. It can be drunk at your place or take it up a notch with a wine tasting event. In any case, after the ‘openers’, you can present each of your ladies with a custom-labelled wine bottle asking them to be part of the wedding party.
   
3. Go for One-on-One Coffee Dates – You might want to do this for your maid of honour in any case. But you can make everyone in your party feel special by taking each of out for a quiet coffee date to ask the question. If you want to make it extra special, get custom made mugs or ask the barista beforehand to add your personal message to the cup.
   
   

If you enjoyed this post, check out our recent article titled “Do I need a Wedding Planner?”.

Some golfers want to know how to increase club head speed in their golf swing because they feel it will be the solution to all that ails their golf game. It isn’t.

Increasing clubhead speed isn’t about swinging hard, it’s about generating controlled and well-timed clubhead velocity to improve the distance of your shots without sacrificing accuracy.

3 Tips for Optimizing Your Club Head Speed

The average amateur male golfer’s swing speed is between 130 and 145 km/h. That means just a small percentage increase in the maximum speed of your swing can add significantly to the kinetic energy that helps the ball travel further.

Try all these tips now so your swing will be up to “speed” when golf season starts.

1. Listen to Your Swing – Did you pick up on the “well-timed” qualifier of swing speed we mentioned earlier? It means you only need maximum speed at the moment of impact with the ball. However, many golfers start swinging as hard as they can from the top of the backswing and all the way into their follow through. That wastes a lot of energy, control, and accuracy.
   Instead, they should time the maximum velocity to happen at the bottom of their swing. One way to practice this is to hold a driver or an iron upside down, gripping the shaft just above the club head. In a stance that you would use to make a shot, start swinging the club back and forth, increasing the speed gradually with each swing. Eventually, you’ll notice a “whooshing” sound created by the club travelling through the air. Practice making that whooshing sound loudest at the bottom of your swing, versus hearing it throughout your swing.
   
2. Get a Good Grip – The grip of the club is far more important for correcting slices, hooks and club speed than most golfers give it credit for. While it’s never easy to change your grip, try to develop one that releases the club through impact to let the club head achieve maximum velocity and the perfect moment.
   
3. Workout – Being in better shape will help your entire golf game. For club head speed, you need exercises that focus on your torso to increase hip and upper body strength for more twisting power and flexibility. Also, try swinging a weighted golf club to improve your swing-related muscles.

When you’re ready, putting your swing to the test on our premier Durham Region golf course is the only way to find out if your work has paid off.

If you enjoyed this post, check out our recent article on how to win a golf match.

Many engaged couples look forward to planning their wedding day. At least they do until they realize everything involved in the planning process. Still, many brides and grooms don’t consider hiring a wedding planner, even after they start butting heads on all the decision making. But if you’re falling behind in your planning, or you feel some professional tips would help, the answers to the following little questions will help you answer the big question of “do I need a wedding planner?”

How to Decide if You Need a Wedding Planner

Hiring a professional full-service planner can actually save you a lot of time, money and make the whole process more stress-free. If you still need convincing, the answers to the following questions might help.

1. Do You Already Have a Venue? Reserving a venue for your ceremony and reception should be the first thing you do after your engagement. If you haven’t done so and time is ticking, a planner can help.
   
2. Do You Have Family Members and/or Friends to Help You? If not, prepare yourself for more decisions and planning than you ever thought possible.
   
3. Do You and Your Future Spouse Both Work Full-Time? That will put lots of pressure on your weekends and may even make it impossible to meet with some vendors who are only available on weekdays.
   
4. Are You Planning a Destination Wedding? Planning a local wedding is much less complicated than remote planning for a far-away destination.
   
5. Do You Know People Who Can Recommend Various Wedding Services? From photographers to limousine services, it’s a chore to find reliable sources without recommendations.

Royal Ashburn Golf Club is not only the premier golf course wedding venue in Durham Region, you also get the services of our professional wedding planner who will help you plan your big day from the moment you call to when you drive away on your honeymoon.

If you liked this post, please check out our recent article on DIY wedding favour ideas for 2019.

They say you play golf against yourself. The idea is, to win at golf, you need to focus on making your shots, versus reacting to and trying to outperform your opponents.

But, if you like the idea of playing against someone else, you’re in luck. You can try match play scoring rules. And if you’re wondering just what is match play golf, read on.

How Match Play Scoring Works

If you like direct competition, you’ll love match play because the golfer who wins the most holes wins the match. Unlike regular golf scoring, your total number of strokes for the entire round is irrelevant. Here’s how it works.

1. One Opponent – Whether you play single-player or team match play, you play against only one opponent. Match play does not work for three or more individuals or teams.
   
2. The Object – The basic object is to have more holes won than your opponent at the end of the match. You do that by trying to win each individual hole outright.
   
3. Winning a Hole – The player or team with the lowest score wins the hole. It doesn’t matter if the score is above or below par, as long as it is better than the opponent’s score. When you win a hole, you are said to be “1 up” and your opponent is “1 down”. A tie means no one wins the hole.
   
4. You’re Allowed to Concede a Hole – If on a given hole you are two shots down when your opponent putts out, you may concede the hole because there’s no way for you to win the hole. You can also give your opponent a ‘gimme’ on shots that you know they will make. But, depending on the score, you may want to be careful with your gimmes.

While match play doesn’t happen often on the PGA tour, there are many international tournaments, like the Ryder Cup, and match play is a popular option here at our Whitby golf club.
If you liked this post, check out our recent article on how to hold a golf club.

If your wedding day is coming up in 2019, we hope your plans are well underway. Of course, some of the things on your ‘to-do list’ are a priority, like finding a wedding venue in Durham Region.

But showing your friends and family how much you appreciate them is important too. Wedding favors are a great way to do just that. To send your guests home with fond memories of the big day, in a budget-friendly way, check out the DIY wedding favour ideas we’ve assembled for you.

4 DIY Wedding Favour Ideas for 2019

Not only are DIY wedding favors more affordable, but your wedding guests will love something you made just for them. They are also something the bride and groom can do together as they get ready for the special day.

1. Infused Oil – This is one of the easiest and most unique DIY wedding favours. You’ll need to buy some mini bottles and olive oil in bulk. Fill the bottles with the olive oil and infuse them with the herb of your choice, like chilli peppers, rosemary or thyme. Finally, add your personal labels.
   
2. Naughty Hot Chocolate – This one is a sweet treat that can help your guest stay warm at a winter wedding. Add some hot chocolate powder and marshmallows to a mason jar and attach a miniature bottle of your favourite drink.
   
3. Homemade Jam – Who doesn’t love jam?! Even if you’ve never done it before, it’s relatively easy to make jam in bulk. Just put the jam in small jars, add your special label and you’re done.
4. Seed Packets – This is the wedding favour that keeps on growing. Use your imagination to decorate small paper bags or envelopes to hold the seeds. Don’t forget to include the growing instructions!

If you liked this post, check out this recent article to see for yourself how beautiful a golf course wedding can be.