Monthly Archives: June 2012

New trends in wedding rings for men

Posted by on June 29, 2012, 8:01 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, For the Groom, The Proposal Tags: , , ,

ringIt wasn’t too long ago that the selection of wedding rings for men in jewellery stores was limited to gold and platinum wedding bands. But now, the selection of men’s wedding rings is just as varied as those for women.

The reason behind this big switch is demand. These days more and more men are looking for something different and want more than a traditional wedding band.

One of the major – and most interesting changes – is in the type of metal you can choose for your wedding band. You’re no longer limited to gold and platinum as the only choices for wedding rings. New popular choices include tungsten, two-toned gold, stainless steel, and titanium wedding bands.

Wedding magic

Posted by on June 27, 2012, 8:30 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Entertainment, The Ceremony & Reception Tags: , , ,

Those who have managed their wedding budgets well will be in the enviable position of being able to add some little extras to the day that they may otherwise have been unable to justify, and a magician may be that special little “extra”.

The magician should suit the style of your wedding and the size of the venue and audience – do you want “mix and mingle” magic as your guests arrive at the venue, or a spectacular stage performance, or do you prefer a table magician to entertain smaller groups of guests by moving around the room? Perhaps you would like to have the bride and groom, or some other guests of honour, taking part in the magic themselves?

Close-up magic is a fantastic way to involve your guests and make each of them feel special, as the magic unfolds right under their nose, or even in their hands. By circulating from table to table, your magician can ensure that every group of guests is entertained in turn, and this can be especially good for breaking the ice on a table where the guests don’t know each other well.

Choosing hymns for church weddings

Posted by on June 21, 2012, 2:20 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, The Ceremony, Wedding Music Tags: , ,

If you’re marrying in church, you’ll need to choose at least two hymns, and possibly up to four, depending on the length of the service. Your minister or the church music director will be able to make suggestions, but here are some of our favourites. If most of your guests aren’t regular church goers, try to stick to more well known choices with easy tunes. Remember, some words are associated with more than one tune, so do make sure that if you have a favourite, the organist knows which tune you’re expecting.

  • All Things Bright and Beautiful
  • Come Down O Love Divine
  • Father Hear the Prayer We Offer
  • Give Me Joy in my Heart
  • Love Divine, All Loves Excelling
  • Lead Us, Heavenly Father, Lead Us
  • Lord of all Hopefulness
  • Make Me a Channel of your Peace
  • Morning has Broken
  • One More Step Along the World I Go
  • O, Praise Ye the Lord
  • Now Thank We all our God
  • Praise my Soul, the King of Heaven
  • The King of Love my Shepherd is
  • Lord of the Dance

For civil ceremonies, don’t forget that you won’t be allowed songs or music with any religious connotations. If you’re not sure whether a certain piece is allowed, check with the registrar beforehand to avoid disappointment on the day.

An end to Vintage cars?

Posted by on June 21, 2012, 1:09 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Day to Day Life at GfB, For Businesses, Wedding Cars Tags: , , ,

Vintage carWith a vintage revival across the wedding industry it is sad that vintage wedding car businesses are now under threat from the Law Commission who are considering removing the existing exemption for wedding and funeral cars for their new private hire regulations.

The new regulations will require vintage car owners and drivers to jump through a number of (expensive) hoops including local authority licensing, special driving tests, medical tests and CRB checks, and while it will increase safety it will also force the smaller operators off the road.

Good luck to all those campaigning, including David Jones of The Vintage and Classic Car Company. Let’s hope a degree of common sense can be employed before this consultation becomes law.

Wedding “Mad Libs”

Posted by on June 20, 2012, 1:54 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Great ideas, Latest Gossip, The Ceremony & Reception, Venue Decorating Tags: , , , ,

Mad Libs have always been popular in the USA as a fun way for children to learn about adjectives nouns and verbs by inserting them as appropriate – or as inappropriate – into a pre-written paragraph.

We thought this wedding Mad Lib would be a fun alternative to a guest book at receptions as a lasting, and amusing, memento of your guests. Leave them on the tables for guests to complete when they first sit down as they will act as a great icebreaker at the start of the meal.

Create your own version or order from Weddings by Lilly. It is an American web site, however owner Lilly Childers is happy to ship to Guides for Brides followers in the UK.

Collapsing Cake

Posted by on June 19, 2012, 7:23 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Real Weddings, Wedding Cakes Tags: , ,

collapse However much we advise couples to use professionals for every aspect of their wedding, it is tempting to take up money saving offers from well meaning friends and relatives.

None more so than when it comes to cakes, as everyone has an aspiring cake decorator amongst their friends.

There is a saying that “Broken cake makes a stable marriage” and we were amused to read about the cake photographed, which is a perfect example of why professional cake decorators steer away from the idea of fresh cream and strawberries in a wedding cake.

Here is a link to the full article (which regrettably includes the type of strong language you would expect to hear as a cake subsides).

Table place settings

Posted by on June 18, 2012, 2:48 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Great ideas, The Ceremony & Reception, Venue Decorating Tags: ,

Intricate place setting We love the detailed ranges of place settings by Intricate Creations, offering a very sophisticated look to your table.

For those planning to make their own place settings, it is time to get creative and be inspired:

  • Make mini Plastercine figures holding a name flag ; your guests will enjoy making new figures during the meal.
  • Personalised chocolate bars can double up as place cards and favours.
  • Ask guests to email you a photo of them as a child (or find embarrassing photos on Facebook) and stick that to a card place setting as a great ice breaker.
  • Food Art; ask your caterers to pipe names onto the plates with a balsamic reduction; it could even form part of the starter.
  • Use scrabble pieces for fun and informal place settings that the guests can have fun with during the meal.

Remember: If your guests don’t know each other it is helpful to design place settings that the other guests can see during the meal.

3 for 2 Spa Offer

Posted by on June 18, 2012, 1:12 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Destination Weddings, Health and Fitness, Spa Reviews Tags: , ,

Etangs

Just heard from our friends at Les Etangs de Corot near Paris that they will be offering 3 nights for the price of 2 for romantic breaks throughout July and August.

We had the pleasure of reviewing this wonderful hotel and spa and would recommend it to anyone looking for a short break away from the English weather.

It is close to Versailles, just a 15 minute taxi ride from the Paris Eurostar terminal so is really easy to reach for a long weekend. The hotel is next to a lake, with a great restaurant and bistro, with a really nice spa. Their own Caudalie spa range is now available at  UK retailers including John Lewis and Harrods.

Coming soon… our blog on Kindle

Posted by on June 15, 2012, 1:07 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Day to Day Life at GfB, For Businesses, Latest Gossip Tags: , , , ,
Kindle Logo

The Guides for Brides blog will be available on Kindle via Amazon from Monday.

Wedding TV advert

Posted by on June 14, 2012, 5:36 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Day to Day Life at GfB, For Businesses, Latest Gossip

We are all very excited here that our advert on Wedding TV is being launched tomorrow. For anyone who hasn’t discovered Wedding TV yet it is on Sky 266 and on FreeSat and has loads of great wedding based programs including Bridal Boudoir and Celebrity Hens & Stags and loads of honeymoon suggestions.

Want to see our new TV advert before anyone else…?

New Television Advert

Fairytale wedding venues

Posted by on June 12, 2012, 5:03 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Destination Weddings, The Ceremony & Reception Tags: , , ,

zamitello With the grim English weather it is tempting to look for a sunnier place to get married, and for anyone tempted by the idea of  being a princess for a day with a wedding in your own fairytale castle, we think Malta’s Castello Zamittello is the pick of the bunch from Wedding TV’s new travel web site.

It was estimated that prior to the attacks on the World Trade Centre nearly 30% of British couples got married overseas.

Trudi’s Wedding

Posted by on June 12, 2012, 3:30 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Day to Day Life at GfB, The Ceremony & Reception

Countdown over, and I have been inundated with requests for an update.

HOW DID TRUDI’S WEDDING GO?

Well, a full report will be featured in our South Oxfordshire Guide, and with our other online Real Life Weddings, and of course no one is going to get to see any of the 1700 photos taken until Trudi and Ian return from honeymoon next week…

The wedding went without a hitch, which is just as you would hope and expect after so much preparation. The weather was perfect, in that no one had to worry about getting too hot, or squinting at the sun in photos, or indeed about washing their clothes afterwards thanks to an evening downpour. For an English wedding you have to look on the bright side when it comes to the weather.

Trudi wore a stunning three-quarter length dress. No one really noticed what Ian wore as they were all looking at Trudi, and bridesmaids Gemma, Ellie and Maisie looked fabulous in their last-minute choice of dresses.

The food was great (thanks to Guides for Brides staff Jackie, Hannah and Grace for rolling their sleeves up and serving for the afternoon) and the dance floor was packed until well after midnight.

Trudi and Ian left for their honeymoon in Malaysia the following day, and from all reports have been very well looked after by our generous friends at The Shangri-La, Majestic Malacca and Tanjong Jara hotels. We look forward to reading the reviews!

Countdown to Trudi’s wedding; cakes, dresses and dreams

Posted by on June 1, 2012, 2:07 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Uncategorized

cakesWith only a day to go the hard work has been completed and it is time for Trudi to concentrate on the finishing touches and bring all the plans together.

A three tier chocolate wedding cake from Fancy That! in Wantage is being carefully iced with a rich chocolate ganache.

The gown, by Justin Alexander, has been gently steamed and everyone is eagerly anticipating the arrival of replacement bridesmaids dresses from Coast. Despite hearing tales of woe from other brides who have used High Street dresses for their bridesmaids, Trudi’s bridesmaids all loved a design from the retailer “Coast”. The plan was to make a few minor alterations to each dress. High Street fashion is not designed with alterations in mind and Trudi was left with a collection of mis-shaped sacks instead of the stunning bridesmaids dresses she had planned on. Fortunately “Coast” offers next day delivery of replacements…

The ice is in the freezer, champagne is in the fridge and the tables are laid and ready. All that remains now is for Trudi to relax and enjoy her last evening at home, dreaming of the day to come.

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