The Wedding Fairy

Exclusive Use Venues

2010-01-12T05:42:00.000-08:00

Now a days you can marry all most anywhere and places which before where off limits to the public are opening their doors and allowing us to marry. Many of these old castles and manors are offering couples exclusive use. This is very appealing to many people, imagine your own castle for the day! Being Lord and Lady of the Manor for a day no other hotel hotel guest, being able to roam round the castle out of hours. I don't normally stare stories from my wedding, as it was almost ten years ago and let face it you are not here to hear about my wedding. But I got married in a castle with exclusive use, and one of the best memories I have, of that day, is my husband and myself, alone, standing on the battlements, looking over the foothill of Stirling sipping a beautiful Chablis. To coin a phrase it was a Kodak moment!!

There are many advantages and disadvantages to exclusive use venues. The main advantage, as I am sure that you can see is that you have the venue all to yourself. You and your guests can relax and enjoy your venue.

And the main disadvantage is of course the price tag. Many exclusive use venues have facility fee that start at £4,000 and that is before you have looked at over night accommodation, drinks and the catering.

If you do decide to have an exclusive use venue then there are a few questions you need to ask the venue before you book.

1) Does the venue have a marriage licence or do you have to apply for one
2) Are you restricted to the venues caterers or can you provide your own
3) Is the venue licenced, if they are not will they apply for one for you. If they are licenced and you want the licenced extended will they be able to do this for you. and are they going to charge you for a liquor licence.
4) Is the accommodation included in the hire fee or is it over and above.
5) Are there any restrictions with regards to the other suppliers you can use ie florists, cars, photographer. I would ask this when you are looking at your budget as these venues tend to have agreements with the suppliers at the higher end of the pricing scale.
6) Do they have an in house co-ordinator and how exactly will they help you? Will they be there on the night or will the wedding be run by some else.
7) Will there be any time restriction, ie when will you get access. If you can not get access till 5pm then this will effect the timing of your service.
8) Have they placed restriction on the amount of time that you have to hire the venue for. Some exclusive use venues if you wish to have a Saturday wedding will require you to hire the venue for 2 nights. This will of course double your hire fee!!
9) Make sure you are aware of all extras before you book. Make sure that there are no surprises. Some venues will advertise at one price and then add tax on top. Just be sure you know about all charge you will have.

Create your own wedding cocktail

2010-01-02T20:52:00.000-08:00

Creating you own wedding cocktail, this is a growing fashion. Many brides have a champagne cocktail during their drinks reception (this is a great way to make to go further)and are adding their own twist to them. There are companies out there that will create your own personal wedding cocktail tailored to your own tastes and requirements. They can Create a cocktail to match your theme, could you imagine having a drink that matches the colour of your flowers, bride maids dresses etc!!

Of course (and this is my preferred option) you can create your own. It could be a great girls night in. And of course you will have to try it several times before the weddings.

I think legally I now have to remind you to drink responsibly.

Your Wedding Planning Checklist

2010-01-02T20:44:00.001-08:00

Many Wedding Planning Websites detail their Wedding Planning Checklist in a very regimented manner. By this I mean that state 18-12 months before you must ... 12-6 months you must... and so on. Having spoken to many brides to be ,I have found that this stresses you out!! Especially if you have pasted the 12 month stage, and have not done everything they say you should do 18 months before!!

I have helped, and seen, brides pull their wedding together in a matter of months. I would not stress too much about the time lines, these are not set in stone. Your wedding will not be a disaster because you have not picked out your flowers 6 months in advance!

Having said that there are certain suppliers , who do have booking on their books as far as 18months-2 years in advance. So if you are planning your wedding on a tight timeline you may find things like venue or photographer slightly limited. Again my advice would be not to panic, there are always options. IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS DROP ME A LINE and I will do my best to help you. If I can not I have a large number of contacts worldwide who are all very resourceful and creative. I should mention that of course for group members this service is completely free!!

Back to the Wedding Planning Checklist. I , as you may have guested. am not going to do the 18-12 months... 12-6 months thing. I do not want to stress you out. A STRESSED OUT BRIDE IS NOT A PRODUCTIVE BRIDE!! So I am going to give you a guide to the order you should aim to start things. If you start in this order your planning should flow quite smoothly.

1)First things first!! Find a Partner (only joking!)
2) Set a date
3) Decide on type of ceremony, civil, religious etc
4) Decide if you want to host the whole event at one venue or two. Perhaps you may want many, it is up to you.
5) Once you have decide where you want your ceremony, book your celebrant.
6) Decide on the requirements for your venue. For more detail refer to past post Venues part one
7) Choose your bridesmaids and the Best man.
8) Find your venue
9) The Dress... This does not have to be one of the first things you do but it is the best!!
10) Photographer, more detail see past post Your Photographer and how you decide
11) Stationary for more detail see past post Wedding stationary and how you decide
12) Decide on the Grooms wear
13) Decide on the type of bridal car you want
14) Think how you will dress the room, order any extra linen you require ie chair covers etc
15) Your Florist see past post wedding florist how to decide
16) Decide on your cake, see past posts, bakery vs store bought
Wedding cakes, something dif ferent
17)Decide on the type of meal you want ie a sit down dinner, a buffet or even a BBQ.
18)Decide on your drinks package
19) Decide on Music for reception
20) Decide on Music for service
21) Decide if you will have any friends reading at the service
22) Gifts for Bridesmaids and best man

I have given you a rough idea to think about your Wedding planning. Following this, your planning should flow in a smooth order. I have not gone into too much detail, anything which I have not covered yet I will cover in future posts.

The Wedding Rings

2010-01-02T20:42:00.000-08:00

The Wedding ring is the symbol we carry with us after the wedding everyday to show our commitment to each other. The simple band of gold that links us forever.

There are so many styles and metals available. Going to pick your rings can be quite a task. I don't know about you but take me to a Jewelers and I just want to try on everything!! I know I keep saying this but you must remain focused. Here are a few tip on how to pick the right rings.

Make sure it compliments your engagement ring. If your wedding ring and engagement rings clash you may find yourself only wearing one, which would be ashame.

Try not to pick a fashion ring. Fashions change very quickly and you will be wearing the ring for ever. Don't pick something that you will hate in a few years.

There are some jewelers who will allow you to design and even make your own wedding rings. I love this idea it is so romantic and makes the rings even more special.

Children at Weddings

2010-01-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

For many, child are an added delight at a wedding, for others they are just something they would rather not deal with. Which ever camp you fall into, if you have children coming to your wedding you have to address the issue of what do you do with them. There are long periods of time that you want them to be content and preferably entertained. there are a wide range of activities you can provide, depending on your budget.

If you have a large budget or a number of children coming then you may consider a mobile creche. In recent years these have been popping up all over the country. They come to your venue and set up a creche area, they are fully trained childcare professional. They will look after the children for as long as you, and your guests need.

If you are looking to have entertainment for the children and do not want a full creche service, you could have roaming magician. These guys are great not just to entertain the kids but they entertain the adults too!!

If you have a small number of children, you can put together a fun box for them at their place setting. Colouring books are always a favourite or cards, magic trick. It depends on the age of the kids what you put in the boxes. If you have the time you can create a box to suit each individual child. You can also personalise all the items in the box.

Weddings Abroad

2010-01-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

In the big Freeze that we are suffering from at the moment, I have found myself looking to warmer climates. More and more couples are looking at the warmer parts of the world to host their wedding. Beautiful, silver sandy beaches, ancient Italian castles and for the ABBA fan in us all the Greek Islands.

Planning a wedding is a mammoth task and when you are looking to get married hundreds of miles away and you don't even speak the same language then it becomes ten times harder! If you are planning a destination wedding then help is at hand. I would like to give you some pointers.

Find out the legal requirements of the country you are looking to get married in.
Will your marriage be recognised in the UK.
Do you require a Marriage Visa
Do they have any residency laws Ie do you have to spend a certain amount of time in the country before you can marry
Make sure you can have all the legal marriage papers translated into English.

Once you have determined IF you can marry in your country of choice now the fun starts!!! The Planning...

Many venues, as in the UK, offer FULL planning which to many is very attractive. In many wedding hot spots you can book a full wedding package. This will include all your flowers, the cake, linen, the meal, the drinks and often your accommodation! This is a very easy and relatively stress free way to plan a destination wedding.

If you are not happy to pay the inflated prices in the wedding packages you may decide to plan and co-ordinate the whole thing yourself. Many brides find the thought of dealing with suppliers in another country very daunting. However with the help of the web, planning a wedding half way across the world can be as easy as planning a wedding just round the corner (Not that I would ever suggest that planning a wedding is easy!).

As a Planner I feel that this last option is the best.. You hire a local wedding planner. Any planner worth their salt are able to keep you within budget, find you the best deals. You will be able to sit back and relax knowing that your wedding is in good hands.

IF YOU ARE PLANNING A WEDDING ABROAD AND ARE LOOKING FOR A WEDDING PLANNER DROP ME A LINE AND I WILL GIVE YOU A FEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GOOD PLANNERS.

The Dress

2009-12-29T13:13:00.001-08:00

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and Santa was good to all. I am sure you are now turning your attention to back to your wedding planning. I would like to look at "the" dress.

You have the perfect dress in mind, you can see yourself floating down the aisle in the perfect dress and you look wonderful! So how do you go about finding this dress.

Of course it can all come down to budget. If you have a large budget then you may like the idea of the original designer dress. gliding down the aisle in a one of kind dress. There are a number of designers who produce one off dresses, but for most of us these dresses are just out of reach. The best option is to have a chat with a local dress designer. A good designer will be able to pull all your ideas together. Go armed with a book full of cuttings. I would also recommend that you try on a few styles first so you have a very good idea of what suits you and what does not.

The Internet offers a great deal of choice and access to dresses. We can now buy form anywhere in the world. The prices can vary quite a bit, as can the quality. There are some great sites that offer lovely dresses a great prices. I would recommend that again you try on many dresses before you order. Also if budget is an issue you may also consider getting a few quotes from local seamstress if you dress needs any alterations.

Dressing the Room

2009-12-19T16:35:00.000-08:00

I was putting up my Christmas Decorations today, and it got me thinking about dressing a room for wedding. There a number of ways to do this, depending on your theme. Many brides get very stressed over this issue.

You may be surprised but the main thing to decide on is the linen. What colour of table clothes would you like, what colour of napkins, do you want a table runner, and are you having chair covers? I would recommend that you ask your venue to set a table for you using the linen you think you want. You will then be able to make a more informed decision about how you wan to dress the tables. If you are hiring your linen the company that is supplying your linen should be quite happy to do this for you also.

The most common way to dress a room is of course flowers. Flowers bring your whole wedding theme together, they also add a wonderful aroma to the room.

There is a real variety of designs, styles, colours etc available. I would of course recommend that you use flowers and colours that you have used in other flowers. I would also advise you to take into consideration the height of the displays, people may want to talk and it can be difficult if they can't see each other! Mind you, you may not want all your guest chatting. I would go for something that suits your own bouquet and your theme.

The next thing I would look at is the other bits and pieces you put on the table. It have become very fashionable to have some sort of wedding confetti on the table, may be flower petals, crystals or good old fashioned confetti.

I will admit my favourite way to dress your table is candles I love all designs that include candles, and tea lights dotted round the place I just love. Many floral and table designs include candles. I feel that candles can just add that last finishing touch to a table and can really change the feel to very soft and romantic.

Bridesmaid Dresses and How you can decided the style

2009-12-16T16:14:00.000-08:00

Not many Brides want their Bridesmaids in the traditional hideous, puffy generally ugly dresses that many bridesmaids of the past were subjected to. Most brides ,I have worked with, don't want anything ugly at their wedding and want their bridesmaids to look almost as good as them (I did say almost!!).

The choice of different styles of dresses is vast, dresses can be sort, long mid length, strapless, cap sleeves, sleeveless and they can be produced in any colour under the sun! The task of finding the perfect dresses to complement your dress, suit your friends ( who are always different height and shapes) and slides into your theme perfectly can be quite a daunting one!

You will probably have a very good idea of what you want, an idea of colour, length, style. However, in most cases, it is the bridesmaids themselves who are paying for the dresses so you do have to take their opinions into consideration. The one thing you can insist on is the colour, but you may have to comprise on the style and you may even have to consider letting your bridesmaids have different style dresses. If your bridesmaids are in different style dresses make sure you order them from the same company and check that they are going to be made in the same material so they all match.

This decision has to be a collaboration, I would suggest that you and your bridesmaids sit down with a pile of brides magazines and cut out all the dresses that catch your eye. You can then all, hopefully come up with a short list of the styles and the dresses you like. I would then suggest that you go to your local dress shop and try on dresses similar to the ones on your short list. From this you all can make a decision and then you can use the web to find the best deal!! And all will be happy!!

If you have an idea in mind and it does not matter what your bridesmaids think, I would suggest that you get ready to pay for them, as you can't ask your friends to pay for a dress they may hate! There are a couple of great sites for nice dresses and more importantly they are cheap!! Light in the Box is a great one.

2009-12-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

Your Photographer and how do you decide?

2009-12-14T04:53:00.000-08:00

Your photographer is, in my opinion, the most important element of your wedding. You have picked the perfect venue, a dress to die for and decided on your colours, you need someone to capture it and do all the little details justice. You need a good reliable photographer. How do you find your perfect photographer. You can look in your favourite wedding magazine, your local paper, bridal show and of course online. So you have found a few that have caught your eye, how do you decide which is the one for you. There are a few questions that you need to ask.

The photographer credentials - what are their qualification
Are they member of any of the photography association, the ones to ask about are SWPP and WAP
Have they received any industry awards
Are they willing to show you pictures from a full wedding and not just the best ones they have chosen for their portfolio
Past customers testimonials
What time are they willing to stay till and will that cost you any extra
What exactly is included in the package
If you want to make changes to the package how flexible are they and will this cost you any extra
Are they familiar with your venue
Will you have copy write rights once you have received your pictures and if you do not want the photographer to use your pictures for advertising etc. can you opt out.

Your Budget can be a big influence on the photographer you get, but even if you have a very small budget I would still recommend that you ask all these questions and take the answers into consideration when making your decision. If your wedding photographs do not turn out as you like or even worse you hate them, then there is very little you can do.

Wedding Stationary - How do you decide?

2009-12-14T03:38:00.000-08:00

Wedding stationary very important. It it the first impression your guest have of your wedding and their first impression of both the theme and where you are planning a formal affair or a very informal event. So before you look at all the different options out there I would suggest that you ask yourself those two questions.

Your theme or your colours
The type of wedding you are want to host.

Once you have answered these question then you can start thinking about the type of stationary you want. Stationary generally fall into 4 categories, Store bought, produced by a printer, handmade by a small business or homemade. So how do you decided which suits you best? You need to look at a few things first.

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	Store Bought	Printer	Custom made	Handmade ie by yourself
Budget	2^nd Cheapest	2^nd expensive	Most Expensive	Cheapest
Design	Limited	Can be adapted	You can create your own	You can create your own but limited to your ability
Time	Can be picked up easily	Just the time to decide on your design	Just the time to pick your design	Can take hours and hours
If you need to top up your supply	Very easy, along as they still have the design in stock	Easy, but you may be charged for a minimum order	Easy	Very easy
Can you get all the stationary to match throughout	Depends on the design, you can normally get invitation to match place cards, but may have difficulty getting menu cover or order of service covers	They will produce for all your need	No Problems,	As long as you have the time!!

Flowers, Silk or Fresh

2009-12-14T02:55:00.000-08:00

Many Brides of my generation remember the rather old tired looking bouquet of silk that always seem to sit in theirs grans window. Consequently our view of silk flowers is that they are old fashioned and rather tackie looking. To my surprise silk flowers have come a long way in the past few years and in some cases could easily rival fresh flowers.

So lets start with silk flower. There are many suppliers of silk flower available over the web. The web has really helped bring these retailer to the fore front. There are many advantage to using silk rather than fresh.

They are far more robust than fresh, if the head falls off a silk flower you can simply pop it back on, this can not be done with a fresh flower
There are no worries about them withering during the day.
You can keep them forever without them changing
You can order them a long time in advance
If you are using flowers on your cake you know that they are not poisons

They do come with draw backs

There is no smell
As you tend to order these over the web you will have to organise the set up yourself
You will have to organise the clear up and pick up yourself

Most brides want to have fresh flowers, as this is the tradition, but what are the advantage of Fresh over Silk.

Can use a local florist who you can have a face to face discussion with
Using a Florist mean that they will set up the flower and pick up any stands etc
The wonderful smell - every time I smell Orchids I am reminded of my wedding and I love that!
They can be dried and kept. I dried my bouquet and I still have it ( I got married nearly 10 years ago!!)

And the disadvantage of a fresh

They are very fragile and if the heads fall off they can not be stuck back on
They may wilt throughout the day
You are restricted by what type of flowers are in season and the natural colours

The one point I have not made on any of my lists is the cost, this is because both can be either cheap or expensive!! It all depends on where you purchase them.

Wedding Flowers and how to decide which Florist

2009-12-14T02:15:00.000-08:00

The wedding flowers, help bring all your colours together. There are many thing that you need to take into consideration when you are thinking about your flowers, where you want to have flowers, the colours and the style. Most brides have a good idea what they are looking for long before starting planning a wedding (maybe even before finding a groom!!).

Before you visit the florist what should you have decided or at least have an idea about.

Your colours
Where in your venues you would like to have flowers
An idea of the designs
The size of Flowers you want
Anything or flowers you don't want

I would recommend that you have a chat with at least 3 florist before you decide who, if any florist, before you make a final decision about who to use. So what do you look for in a good Florist?

They should have a good stock of different sizes, type and colours of flowers
They should be able to show a good variety of work in their portfolio
Many brides have a idea of what they want and a good florist should be able to show you your ideas from your description.
Be able to make recommendation based on your ideas ie type and size and colours and most importantly if your ideas are possible.
Able to design many different styles and not just what they are used to producing
Offer the flowers that best suit your needs and not just the ones that are "normally used" or the most expensive.

So once you have decided on your designs, your florist are there any additional questions you need to ask?

Will the Florist set up the flowers at the venue?
If you are using the same arrangements at the church and the venue will they move them for you? Or do you have to get someone to do that for you
Will they pick up anything you have hired ie stands, vases the next day
Past customer testimonials

To insure or not to insure that is the question

2009-12-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

As a Wedding Planner I have been to many wedding and I think by now I have seen it all (although there may still be a few surprises out there!). Many brides ask me if they should get wedding insurance or not, every time my is always a most definite YES. You need to protect the most important day of your life. 9 times out of 10 the wedding will go ahead with no problems but on the off chance that someone let you down you need to be protected.

Before you think about your wedding insurance and the type of cover you will require. If you purchase your goods and service between £100-£30,000 on your credit card you will be protected against any problems. If you have any problem you will be able to claim your money back under section 75 of the Consumer Credit act.

Also it may be worth you while looking at your home contents insurance. Many have a clause that the amount of cover is increased one month before and one month after to cover the wedding presents etc.

Once you have established wither or not you need insurance you must now decide how much cover you require and the type of cover. Wedding insurance generally covers "loss and damage" (which may be included in your Home insurance) and "Failure to supply" which if you bought using your card then will be covered the Consumer Credit Act. As with all insurance policies you will not be protected against "act of God" in other words the weather, so if in doubt take an umbrella!

If after looking at this you decided you need wedding how much insurance to do you need? I would recommend that you get a policy large enough to cover the worst case scenario ie cancellation. I have inserted a table produced by which that you can use as a comparison.

Low-cost policies for wedding insurance
Policy	Cancellation^b	Attire	Presents	Photos/film	Rings	Supplier failure	Premium
Covermywedding.co.uk 3 Star^a	£9,000	£5,000	£5,000	£5,000	£4,000	£5,000	£40
Weddingsurance Ruby	£5,000	£3,000	£3,000	£3,000	£2,000	£5,000	£49
Event Insurance Level 1	£5,000	£5,000	£3,000	£3,000	£3,000	£5,000	£50
E&L Band 1	£6,000	£4,000	£4,000	£3,000	£3,000	£5,000	£20^c
Confetti Gold	£9,000	£3,000	£3,000	£1,500	£2,000	£1,500	£49
Debenhams Gold	£9,000	£3,000	£3,000	£1,500	£2,500	£3,000	£53^c
Weddingplan Silver	£5,000	£2,000	£2,000	£1,250	£1,500	£1,250	£20
Voyager Silver	£6,000	£3,000	£3,000	£3,000	£3,000	£3,000	£23
Greenbee Level 1	£5,000	£2,000	£2,500	£2,000	£2,500	40%	£46
Ecclesiastical Tier 2^a	£7,500	£3,000	£3,000	£1,500	£3,000	£3,000	£56
Marks and Spencer Tier 1	£5,000	£2,500	£2,500	£2,000	£2,500	£2,000	£59

Wedding Cakes store bought vs the bakery

2009-12-13T09:41:00.000-08:00

The wedding cake traditionally provide a focus point for your reception. The average wedding cake from the baker costs you around £295 up to £1000 and that is a lot of money for a cake! So what are the advantages of going to the baker and simply picking up one form the local supermarket.

The advantage of your local baker

The most obvious one is that you receive a higher standard of customer service
Your cake is made to perfectly suit your theme and tastes, a baker will match your colours perfectly, will create sugar craft to match your theme or flowers. In other words you can design your own unique cake.
Your cake is freshly made
You can have a variety of flavours and can get quite adventurous with this (I have close contact with a baker who recently release a chilly and chocolate flavour!)
They will deliver direct to your venue and set up the cake. So you never have to have the stress of carrying the wedding cake! (I have seen many turn white just at the thought of it!)

When you order your cake from a baker you are not simply paying for a cake, but the time the baker take to design your cake, all the personal detail you add to the cake and the attention to detail.

The disadvantages of using a baker

The main one is that they tend to be expensive
IF something goes wrong there is no quick fix

Store bought wedding cakes.

Store bought wedding cakes have come a long way in recent years. It used to be that all you could buy would be a standard square cake, with simple white icing. Now a day many stores offer a range of wedding cakes. A great example of this is Marks and Spencer's.

Advantages of Store bought cakes

They are cheaper than the baker
They offer an adequate range of cakes to choose from
The tend to be easy to set up
Most can be dressed to match your theme (flowers added, or little brides and grooms)
Visually they do look good
They can be replaced relatively easily if something goes wrong!!

Disadvantage of Store bought cakes

They are not unique
You do have to organise getting them to the venue and then being set up
They are made several days in advance
The are very difficult to cut (I know this from personal experience!!!)

Both store bought and cakes form your bakery have some great advantages, but it all really come down to personal taste. Good luck and Happy hunting

Wedding cakes something a bit different

2009-12-13T08:44:00.000-08:00

A cake is a traditional part of a wedding as wedding trend as moving away form the traditional so are wedding cakes. Brides and Grooms are no longer simply choosing a pretty 3 tier cake they are on the look out for something a little different to be the focal point of their big day.

A very popular options is the cup cakes. As a wedding planner I love this idea! The bride and groom can have a wide variety of colours and flavours and create a great design which suits every ones taste. It also mean that each guests gets a bit of cake and there is no mess or waste. I have over seen weddings where the cupcakes have doubled as favours or even place cards so they can make great budget sense. Brides and Groom tend to love the idea shown to the left of having a larger cake at the top so they can still have the cutting of the cake. A WORD OF WARNING!! If you try to cut the top cake when it is on the stand, the stand is VERY likely to collapse!! Pose for the photos and then take the top off before you cut it.

For those looking for the 3 tier cake, but don't like cake a popular choice is the have cheese cake instead. There are quite a variety available. Visit the English Cheese Cake Company for a great selection. They look good and taste great!

A choice that is growing in popularity is to have a cheese cake made out of actual cheese!! These are a stunning centerpiece for any elegant occasion. These are perfect when you are expecting an older guests list, the kids tend to be a little upset when they discover there is no cake! The only and draw back is that they tend to be quite smelly!

Your wedding Cake and What to ask the baker

2009-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

It is tradition that the wedding cake is the centrepiece of the any wedding and often plays a part in the wedding day. Your guests look forward to seeing the cake and there is always the photo of the cutting of the cake. It is important that the cake looks good visually, however what about the taste. You and your guests would be very disappointed if the cake looked amazing but tasted hard and dry. The average wedding cake can cost £295 upwards so you want it to taste nice.

So what do you ask the baker?

Most good cake bakers have a large portfolio and can show you a wide variety of different styles and shapes make sure they are adaptable listen to your ideas and will not just produce a cake in their own design. Take a sample of your colours and have an idea of the type of flowers you are planning to have so they can be adapted into the cake design. Most will offer a wide range of flavours, I would make sure you taste as many of these as you can before you make any decisions. The flavours you have chosen may effect the design or where you can place certain flavours. A fruit cake is quite a sturdy cake and easy to be spaced where as at the other end a carrot cake is quite light and fluffy and difficult to work with. So if the flavour is important than I would discuss this with the baker before you discuss the design.

Once you have discussed the design and flavours, I would ask a few follow up question.

1) when will the cake be baked
2) How will the cake be transported to the venue
3) Are they insured if something goes wrong and it is their fault, how quickly can they get you a new cake. (Don't worry Ihave been in the wedding industry for years and have never known this to happen!)
4) ask for past customer references

As I said the cake often serves as focal point for a wedding so you want it to be perfect and very tasty.

2009-12-13T00:08:00.001-08:00

2009-12-12T21:47:00.001-08:00

Wedding themes and where do you start?

So you have started planning your wedding, you have decided that you want to have a theme through out. You have looked for ideas on line, in magazines, brainstormed with your friends and families. You are now more confused then when you started!

So what do you do? The answer is very clear... Get focused. From many years experience as a wedding planner the biggest piece of advice I would give you is that you must keep your theme simple. A theme that is too complicated very rarely work and is completely lost on your guests. Try to keep it to a simple colour theme, a motif or perhaps something like medieval or fairytale.

So once you have decided on your theme where do you start to implement it? My advice would be the first place is your stationary. Your invitations are the first impression your guests get of your day and what you are looking to create. There is a large variety of styles ranging from scrolls, gate folds and quarter page. Your stationary will be present throughout your planning and your day, it tell your guests if you are having a very formal affair or a informal gathering.

Once you have your stationary is in place you will easily be able to add to it to create your perfect themed wedding. The next thing you look with regards to your theme is the flowers. Does your theme require flowers? Are there flowers with your colours naturally? Are they suitable for use in centrepieces and bouquets. If you answer no then I think you should perhaps look at silk flowers. These have changed dramatically in recently and are to a far higher quality, in many cases you would not even know the difference.

Once you have you colours, decided if you are going for a formal or informal event and your flowers, deciding on your cake is.... well a piece of cake!

The next thing would be the bridesmaids dresses, if you have decided on the silk flowers then you can easily match the colour of your dresses to your flowers. If you are having fresh and they coordinate with your stationary then you can use your stationary as a guide for the colour of your bridesmaids dresses.

The finishing touches, such as table dressing and wall decor can easily be achieve to match your colours or theme. Your florist is a great resource for this. They can often provide little extras such as candles (and holders), table crystals, charger plates. Your caterer can also be a great resource for any special details such as coloured glasses or plates. Planning a wedding which is themed throughout is a lot of work and need a great deal of planning and attention to detail.

Bridesmaids Dresses Buying from China?

2009-12-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

There is great debate at the moment of weather or not to buy your Bridesmaids dresses from China. You can certainly get some beautiful dresses at very low prices. However what standard are these dresses? I have heard some very varied reports, some saying that the dresses were to a very poor quality and badly made others saying that they were simply perfect!

As a wedding planner I have seen quite a few of these dresses and as long as you do not inspect them close up I feel that they are very nice dresses. You do have to remember that you do get what you pay for.

I have spoken to both the brides who ordered the dresses and the bridesmaids who wore them and this is the feed back I have had about a couple of sites.

It is no surprise that the cheapest dresses my brides recommended where on ebay, a shop call Angela Love Fashion Shop. The dresses that the bride had bought were very cheap at £12 per dress + £20 P&P. These dresses are not made to the highest standard but are visual stunning.

Another site that came with slightly higher recommendations was Light in the box. This site is a wee bit more expensive, however the dresses are to a higher quality. The bridesmaids I have spoken to whose dresses came from this site describe that wearing them was "lush"

Once you are looking at prices above Light in the box then you are loosing the price advantage of buying from China and I would say you should look somewhere more local.

Wedding Venues part one In House Wedding Planners

2009-12-07T05:09:00.000-08:00

I have been reading through some wedding forums to see which issues are top of the list, and it seems to be that many brides are having problems with their venue. In particular incompetent wedding co-ordinators and unable to get deposit back if you choose to cancel. So I decided that the next post should address the issue of wedding venues. This is a huge topic so I think I will spilt this into a few posts and for now I am going to look at In house Wedding Planners.

So you have set the date, set your budget and are chomping at the bit to start planning and booking suppliers. What is the next step? You must find your venue. With recent changes in the law you can now get married almost anywhere! So your choice is huge, from hotels, castles, boats to your own back garden or in a quite clearing in the wood.

Before you visit any venues writeup exactly what you are looking for in a venue, see below. You do not want to fall in love with a venue and then find it is unsuitable, that would be heartbreaking!

how many guests are you inviting to the day and then the night,

do you wish to have both the ceremony and reception in the same venue.
do you have any elderly guests, disabled guests or people who will bring kids.
do you need a venue which offers you and your guests accommodation,
And of course the most important element your budget

There are a number of sites that offer a venue search facility. One which I use and I have found quite useful when helping my clients is http://fairytaleweddingvenues.co.uk/

This site offers a FREE wedding venue search service and also has some good software to download. I have downloaded some of this software and it is quite easy to use, however it does not offer the feature that others do. Having said that it is free!!!

The in house wedding planner

Most venues, now a days, offer an in house wedding planner. The service you receive from them can vary. They can arrange almost everything for you, flowers, cake, favours, DJ, band. Having worked as a Operation Manager, in one of these venues, for a couple of years, I can tell you they have a set list of supplier (which they will not deviate from), who pay the venue commission. They tend to be at the higher end of the market, offering the same service and product at the top end of the market.

When the In house Wedding Planner want to use the hotel supplier and you don't. First find out if you can use different suppliers and if you can organise it your self, I have heard of some venues only allowing access to their own pre approved suppliers (these tend to be venues at the very top). Some venues will have some contracted suppliers (castles and historical venues normally have a contract caterer) you can not change the contracted suppliers. The amount of flexibility you have is very important. Most venues will allow you to use most suppliers, just be aware when they suggest the Hotels In house xxxx as this supplier may not be the best for you.

The biggest complaint I have found and it seems to come up again and again is the lack of communication. Brides calling, emailing and getting no response. This is incredibly frustrating!! If this is starting to become a real problem I would start stating at the bottom of each email that you expect a response in 48 hours. If they continually do not answer in time I would go to the person above them and flag up the problem, this should sort out the problem in no time.

When you have lost faith in the wedding planner, perhaps they have made promised and failed to deliver over and over again. You may feel that they have lied to you to cover mistakes or past the blame over to someone else. This is a very scary situation to be in, when you do not trust your wedding planner you can feel that your whole day is under threat! As soon as you feel like this you must take action. Contact the person in charge of the venue and explain how you feel and ask that some one else is assigned to over see you wedding.

Right having slated venues I now have to say that In house Wedding Planners and facilities which venues offer can be very useful and do service a purpose. Most in house wedding planner are very good at their jobs and do take an interest in their clients. Any Venue who are keen to thrive in the wedding market know that they only get one chance to make a good impression and that brides talk. One bad wedding can effect their bookings in future. Most try to make sure that they never have a bad wedding. The in house wedding planners I have worked with have been very eager to please an given a great deal of attention to detail.

So to sum up In house wedding planners

Find out what they can organise- the suppliers they use (check and see if they suit you)
Do they have any contracted suppliers
Be clear what you expect from them and set them deadlines
If you have problems go straight to the top

Wedding Planning getting started

2009-12-07T03:48:00.000-08:00

Congratulation you are getting married!! Planning a wedding is such an exciting time, I am a professional Wedding Planner and I get excited with each and every Wedding!! I am not here trying to sell you expensive wedding planning service (although if you are looking just drop me a line!), This site is to help the Modern Bride plan their perfect wedding. I will post and comment on the areas that are causing you problems, simply post your comments and question and I will answer them.

Over the past year I have noticed a definite change in the requirements of bride. The unstable economy has made many of us very nervous and we are all cutting back and some brides are even delaying their wedding on the hope that times will be better in the future. This site is to help these frugal brides to achieve the wedding they want within budget.

When you are planing your own wedding it can easily take 200 hours! Most couples do not have this amount of time to donate easily. Much of this time is spent searching on line for the write site, trawling through the yellow pages or flicking through the many bridal directories.

At the moment I want to look at your budget and budget management.

The most obvious thing to start with is to set your budget. Look at all the resources you have, who will be paying for the wedding? Nowadays many couples pay for their own wedding or both sets of parents and the couple pay a percentage. My advice would be that right at the start have that very uncomfortable conversation and ask any parents etc. who have said they will contribute, how much they are willing to give and are their any condition on the funds. If you do not have this conversation at this point you could find later on that bad feelings can be generated. If your parents want to fund the flowers it is good to know before you commit those funds elsewhere.

Sit down with all the people who will be contributing and draw up a Budget. On this you should detail everything!! Look at where you place the most value and divide your budget up in accordance to this. If you have funds being contributed by parents you may need to make some compromises, however do not allow yourself to be rail road ed.

There are many books on the market that can help you with budget planning, here are a few suggestions that are relatively cheap. However I find that these can be quite time consuming or have the tendency to sit on a shelf gathering dust, but they may work for you.

Wedding Planning books

You may also consider a computer program. I love these!! I am always in front of my laptop and a program that help organise my life and events is a great asset to have. There are many on the Market you may consider this one as I have found it the easiest to use, you also get a Free Trial so you can try it out with no risk!! It offers Budget Planning, Seating plans, Guest List Control, Gift Lists and so much more! Download your Free Trail and try it.

Wedding Planning software

To Sum Up

Set Your Budget
Will your parents be contributing to the budget
Are there any condition attached to any contributed money
Will a Wedding Planning Book be beneficial
Get organised on your PC

Wedding Planning is a massive subject and I will go into more detail as the blog develops.

I am looking forward to reading your requests and solving your problems so please get in touch and let me Help!!

Heather