The jacuzzi courtyard at Windsor's Wren's Club, one of the many Berkshire Spas we have reviewed for the new edition of the Berkshire Guide.
Author Archives: Alison
Marquee inspiration
Bright bold decorations can transform a marquee.
Who says marquee wedding receptions need to feature ivory drapes and white tablecloths?
This effective is not expensive to achieve; bright table cloths instead of plain white, and strings of single bulbs with cheap coloured paper light shades around instead of chandeliers. Striking flower arrangements complete the look.
This couple have shaved a huge chunk from their budget by dispensing with expensive flooring, wall linings and chair covers, yet the over all effect oozes style and extravagance.
Funny Wedding Videos
We loved these video clips, although they might make you think twice about having bridesmaids and pageboys.
Macaron Wedding Cakes
Hot on the heels of the trend for French Croquembouche at weddings, macaron pyramids are making an appearance at weddings this summer, particularly in London where specialist French bakeries are more accessible, although the chain bakeries are not always delivering the quality required for weddings.
Macaron Wedding Cakes are set to be the next big trend
The colourful macarons (pronounced macaroons in the UK) are sandwiched with a light filling and displayed on an inverted cone.
As macarons can be made in virtually any colour and flavour we can see these being a huge hit for anyone wanting to add a splash of colour to their reception, and vintage colours; mint green, cream, dusky rose and lavender, work particularly well.
As specialist wedding cake suppliers catch on to the trend we can see this being 2012′s “must have” celebrity wedding cake.
Punch and Judy Shows
Celebrate the 350th birthday of Mr Punch this year by including him in your wedding entertainment. Any entertainment agency will be happy to track down a local Punch and Judy show to come along and entertain any children at your reception with, Punch, Judy, Mr Policeman and of course the sausage eating crocodile.
Looking for something a bit more PC? Book a magician who can do close up magic during the drinks reception and then entertain the younger guests with a magic show later.
ITV Daybreak’s “Here Comes the Tide”
I enjoyed watching the TV coverage of Fraser and Kate’s wedding on Daybreak this morning, the first beach wedding in the UK. For anyone wanting to see what happens at a civil ceremony it will be a good clip to watch; despite the unique setting on Bournemouth beach – it showed exactly how a normal wedding ceremony runs.
Beach Weddings in England
For the first time in the UK, couples will be able to get married on the beach.
Of course it is going to rain tomorrow. ITV’s Daybreak have been running a competition to win a beach wedding on Friday 27th April 2012 live on air – the first wedding on the beach in the UK.
Television coverage will start at 6am, with the actual wedding ceremony taking place at 8am – so make sure you set your alarms and be sure to watch history in the making. Lets hope the bride has packed her wellies!
You can get married in any permanent structure licensed for civil ceremonies, and this is the first time that a beach hut has been a licensed. Although this weekend is set to be a bit of a damp start, we can see Bournemoutth beach being a popular destination for beach weddings in the UK.
Get fit for your wedding
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Get in shape for your wedding
If you don’t want to rely on “magic knickers” to give you the perfect figure for the big day, why not embark on a fitness regime well in advance? If you struggle with the self-discipline needed to turn up three times a week, or are intimidated by the more experienced clientele, investigate a personal trainer. No longer the preserve of the rich and famous, personal trainers are more affordable than you may think and most gyms or health clubs will be able to put you in touch with one.
Inviting children to weddings
Cute … but do you want him at your wedding?
Whether or not you should invite children to your wedding will almost certainly be the cause for great debate, and unfortunately there is no right or wrong answer.
Some friends will be delighted to have the excuse to leave their little darlings behind and enjoy a day without them, meanwhile relatives may feel that their children are such an important part of the family that they should be included in all family events, including your wedding.
There is no doubt that children can take the focus away from the bride – so many of us missed “The Kiss” at William and Kate’s royal wedding as we were so transfixed by the grumpy looking bridesmaid on the balcony with them.
Although many venues will offer a children’s menu and even a separate area for a creche there is still a considerable cost implication in catering for and entertaining your little guests.
On the other hand it is not easy to arrange child care for an entire day and evening and some guests will find it difficult to attend without their children.
If you have children from a previous marriage who will (obviously) be attending or if you have young bridesmaids or pageboys you may decide to invite additional children to keep them company. This in itself creates even more of a dilemma and the rule is often “invite one, invite all”. Read more…
To err is human, to forgive is divine
Those with an eagle eye may have noticed a major change to our site with the addition of 9168 churches last night. This is a major project that we have been quietly working on with the Church of England for several months and will, at last, make churches more accessible to couples who do not regularly attend.
Unfortunately we overlooked one minor issue, and as we uploaded adverts for every Church of England church, from Guernsey to the Isle of Man, an automated email went to every single one of them confirming a total of £871000 in advertising.
Never before have we answered quite so many phone calls in such a short period of time, while waiting for approval from the church media office to send an email to confirm that we are not charging churches for this service.
What has surprised us, from the calls we have received, is the variation from church to church in the understanding and interpretation of the Marriage Measure 2008. Some have asked for the wording on our site to be changed to discourage “casual Christianity” they would like to make it clear that couples are expected to have a strong connection with the church where they would like to marry as well as regularly attending for at least six months and undertaking to join an ongoing “support” group. Other vicars are keen to make everyone welcome if the law allows it.
It will be interesting to see whether making the church more accessible to couples starts to correct the balance between civil ceremonies and church weddings.