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Monthly Archives: January 2012

Keeping children entertained at your wedding…

Posted by on January 30, 2012, 3:42 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, For Businesses

You have friends and family who all have children, so how do you cater for them on the day? Not only do you need to consider their food, but also how to entertain them during those long speeches!

There seems little point paying for a meal that a child may not eat, so speak to the venue and make sure that they can offer an alternative. At least you know the children will enjoy it and hopefully it will keep the cost down as well!

There are so many options now for keeping children entertained during the day, from simple ideas like putting together an activity pack for them to employing a creche.

A mobile creche can cater for all ages and will ensure that all children are properly supervised as well as kept busy. Maybe as a treat, book a magician or a face painter to come along and allow the speeches to take place without any “heckling” from the younger guests!

Discount Weddings

Posted by on January 26, 2012, 12:45 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Day to Day Life at GfB, For Businesses, Latest Gossip Tags: , , ,

I am surprised it has taken this long. I received an email today from a company following in the footsteps of Groupon with a discount wedding web site.

Participating businesses offer a minimum of a 25% discount to brides, and then pay the web site a further 25% commission on each deal.

Will it work? Never.

For an important event like a wedding couples choose their suppliers based on a large number of criteria, not on price alone. For the company to lose nearly 50% in the deal they are likely to cut corners in supplying their service. So, the couple has compromised on their choice of supplier AND is receiving sub-standard service.

It is bad news for wedding businesses too. Savvy brides will start browsing the net to see if they can book their chosen supplier cheaper by not booking direct. So, the couple that you met at a wedding fair and were ready to book you at full price will book you via “MyWeddingDeals” with a 25% discount, landing you with a bill for 25% commission just to double your misery.

Cutting edge in wedding stationery

Posted by on January 17, 2012, 12:11 pm 2 Comments
Posted in Advice for Brides, Day to Day Life at GfB, Latest Gossip, Wedding Fairs


Place settings by CuttureIt is always nice to see new businesses with a really good product, and at Earls Court’s Top Drawer trade event yesterday the stand that really stood out was Cutture who design and make intricate wedding place settings and small decorative pieces.

Director Helen Sharland is working hard to expand the range which also includes beautiful butterflies, birds and snowflakes to perch on the edge of wine glasses as an innovative place setting.

Spring Wedding Fair season is underway

Posted by on January 9, 2012, 2:46 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Latest Gossip, Wedding Fairs Tags: , , ,

Weston Manor Hotel

As we know the peak proposal times are Christmas, New Year and Valentine’s Day which is why Wedding  Fairs are always held from January to April.

Yesterday saw the start of the Spring season for many venues hosting such events.

We had a flying start with our own Fairs at The Compleat Angler, Marlow, The Manor House nr Guildford and Weston Manor, Weston-on-the-Green.

So if you are just starting to plan your wedding, looking for inspiration, or wanting to book businesses then why not attend a fair near you. This is a great opportunity to meet the businesses face to face and to have a look at some samples of their work. Much better than looking at a website or talking on the phone!

Wherever you are in the country there will be a Wedding Fair near you in the coming months. So to find an event please have a look at the Guides for Brides Wedding Fair Diary.

Has that dog signed a disclaimer?

Posted by on January 6, 2012, 9:59 am Leave a comment
Posted in Day to Day Life at GfB, Latest Gossip Tags: ,

It was with a sigh of relief that I read yesterday’s Prime Minister notes detailing plans to drastically reduce the amount of time SMEs are spending on risk assessments and health and safety, and addressing the “blame and claim” culture where employers seem automatically at fault for accidents in the work place. This must be the best news for small businesses for a very long time.

Every Wedding Fair we run requires an inordinate amount of health and safety checks and paperwork, but to add to that our offices are in open countryside, so our risk assessments need to cover such eventualities of safely removing a small pony from the kitchen and a chicken from a desk. Both have happened in recent years.

We had, however, failed to file a risk assessment for the eventuality of a seemingly friendly Staffordshire Terrier leaping into Grace’s car as she left the office yesterday. Having curled up on the passenger seat nothing could persuade it to get back out, so off Grace drove to the local vets with several stone of potentially aggressive dog within easy reach of her jugular. Imagine the liability there had it all gone wrong. Having safely deposited the dog with the vet we are now awaiting a claim from the dog’s owner against us for kidnapping their stray dog.

The regulation changes can’t come soon enough.

The Boxing Day debate

Posted by on January 1, 2012, 10:33 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Latest Gossip Tags: , , , , ,

Every year on Boxing Day our online directory receives more hits than on any other day of the year. Several factors converge on the same day; Christmas proposals, spare time after the rush of Christmas for wedding planning, a new smart phone or iPad with easy internet access needing to be tested, or our favourite; the mother-in-law-to-be asking over Christmas dinner just how far you are with the wedding plans.

Surprisingly, despite most wedding businesses monitoring their emails for new enquiries throughout the Christmas break, most couples wait until after the New Year before joining the jostle of brides and grooms, all trying to secure the best suppliers during January.

So where are the GfB staff while this flurry of Boxing Day activity is burning a hole in our server? We are at home with our families. The benefits of modern technology.

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