Wedding Ideas: Real Weddings

Ant and Dec need YOU!

Posted by on January 22, 2013, 9:58 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Entertainment, Latest Gossip, Opportunities for couples Tags: ,

Ant and Dec Wedding ShowThe lovely Chris Weller from ITV’s production team has asked for our help in finding couples to take part in Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway. They are looking for couples who are getting married on a Saturday in February, March or April to play a game live on the show.

It doesn’t matter where in the country your wedding is – you don’t need to be near London.

So, if you are up for a bit of fun, email Chris for a full application form: breakaway@itv.com

Alternatively you can nominate someone to be surprised! If you know someone who is getting married on a Saturday between February and April, and think they would enjoy the surprise, email: saturdaynight@itv.com. You never know … you might even get to meet the boys themselves.

Ant and Dec

Read all about Sarah’s Wedding and Honeymoon!

Posted by on November 3, 2012, 9:00 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, For the Groom, Great ideas, Honeymoons, Sarah's wedding countdown Tags: , ,

A new chapter in our lives…

Posted by on September 24, 2012, 11:01 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, For the Groom, Latest Gossip, Real Weddings, Sarah's wedding countdown Tags: , , , , ,

Dear brides to be,

Well Saturday was the most amazing day, the sun was out and everything went to plan.

I have to admit that last week was a bit stressful, but it was well worth it as everything fell into place at the right time and all of our family and friends had an amazing day.

A massive thank you to our Photographers Barker Evans and all of the staff at Eynsham Hall for making our day perfect.

Thank you for sharing this time with us, but we are now off on honeymoon and starting our new life as Mr and Mrs H-D.

I have included a couple of photos below, so you can see how we looked on the day! There will be more to follow, so watch this space…

Good luck with your wedding planning.

Sarah x

Today is the day.

Posted by on September 22, 2012, 9:00 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Bridal fashion, Day to Day Life at GfB, For the Groom, Great ideas, Real Weddings, Sarah's wedding countdown, The Ceremony & Reception

Morning everyone,

Well today’s the day, after 11 months of planning I can’t believe our wedding day is here!

Today’s update will be brief as we are getting married at 12pm, so I need to be super organised today as I need have my hair and make-up done before Nicky arrives at 11am to help to get me dressed.In true tradition Mike didn’t stay at home last night, but I had a relaxing evening with my Mum and a couple of bridesmaids that are staying with me.

So, this is it! I can’t wait to see Mike at the church at 12pm and spending the rest of our lives together. Mike, if you read this I love you loads and am so looking forward to be Mrs. H-D

Lots of Love

Sarah x

A Grooms point of view!

Posted by on September 21, 2012, 1:28 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Latest Gossip, Sarah's wedding countdown

My name is Mike and I am Sarah’s Husband to be. Just in case you thought that I wasn’t doing anything before the wedding this is what I have done this week.

The beginning of the week did not start successfully! Having picked up the suits from Moss Bros on Sunday, my trousers were way too big! This is good as it shows I have lost weight (great!) … but it means that we have to go back AGAIN and pick up replacements! Monday brought with it meetings with the photographer, dropping off suits with the ushers and a busy afternoon at work, aferry.co.uk .

On Tuesday, I was lucky enough to go and play golf with my Dad and Brother at Stoke Park, before going back to work on Wednesday… Wednesday evening was filled with making 98 favours, organising logistics of travelling to the church, and practising the first dance with the bride! Thursday was my final day at work for three weeks!… but I still had to fit in practising my speech and packing for the wedding and honeymoon. So today, Friday, I may have a day off work, but it is an absolutley jam packed day. Having made the final arrangements with the best man and dropped of the suits with the ushers, I need to give the ushers the details for their jobs, deliver bits and pieces to Eynsham Hall, and go to the church rehearsal. Luckily I have supper at my Mum’s this evening and then going for a pint or two, before an early(ish!) night!

Mike

My wedding countdown! -Thursday. So near yet so far.

Posted by on September 21, 2012, 9:11 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Day to Day Life at GfB, For the Groom, Real Weddings, Sarah's wedding countdown Tags: , , , , ,

 

 

Dear All my brides to be,

Thursday was a much more relaxed affair! I actually managed to sleep from 10.30pm to 6.30am! Having gone for a run to set the day off, I went to see Laura at Eynsham Hall. We went through the day and all the gifts, table plans and table decorations, just to make sure that we were thinking along the same lines. From there I went to Oxford to pick up the new waistcoat and trousers for Mike, then off to Wantage to get my engagment ring cleaned. I also managed to collect Mike’s present and did a food shop for the morning of the wedding.So when I eventually got home, I wrapped Mike’s present and finished packing for the honeymoon. I also managed to walk around my house whilst wearing my wedding shoes to break them in. Spray tan at 7pm, then supper cooked by Mike and an early night… Watch this space!

 

This morning, Friday, I start with a manicure and pedicure, then a quick lunch, before collecting my bridesmaid, Donna, from the station. Not much later I have, Linda, my bridesmaid and flower girl, my brother, mum and dad turning to help me bring together the final things. Once we have finished the final bridesmaids fitting we just have the church rehersel and then some beauty sleep I think!  Wish me luck for tomorrow…a big, but beautiful day.

Loads of Love Sarah x

My wedding countdown – Wide awake on Wednesday!

Posted by on September 20, 2012, 8:39 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Day to Day Life at GfB, Latest Gossip, Real Weddings, Sarah's wedding countdown Tags: , , , , , ,

Dear All my lovely Brides,

Wednesday started a little earlier than I would have liked! Having woken up at 4am, I decided at 6am I might as well get up! At 9.30am I had my waxing and eyelash tint by Kerry Boniface, the lady doing my make up on the day too. We had some bad news from the band….unfortunately the lead singer cant make it now due to really bad personal circumstances, but luckily they have found a replacement singer- lets hope he is up to the job!  

After lunch I took on the growing list of jobs! Haveing dropped off the ushers suits, cleaned the house and made up the spare rooms for guests coming on Friday, I packed my overnight bag and (the start of!) my honeymoon suitcase…

Then I met up with Nicky and Dani, for the dress rehearsal. It was  a last chance to make sure that everything was okay, and hopefully an attempt to make the big day a little more relaxed! If that’s possible?! Arrived home for the night to find an usher, who has come over Oz for the wedding, already trying on his suit! A few phone calls then bed.

Not long now, the end is in site.  A real mixture of nerves and excitement! Hopefully sleep better tonight

Lots of love

Sarah x

 

My wedding countdown – Toppers for Tuesday!

Posted by on September 19, 2012, 8:59 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Day to Day Life at GfB, For the Groom, Real Weddings, Sarah's wedding countdown, The Ceremony, The Ceremony & Reception Tags: , , , ,

 

 

 

 

Dear  brides to be,

Here I am again… not long now! Just looked at the weather forecast for Saturday… looking a little showery! Hopefully the rain will stay away long enough to get everybody into Eynsham hall, our reception venue. I dropped off the cake toppers and went over the final details of the cake decoration with Jana Mccagie at Tortebella. All looking good in that department! Just found time to pop into Oxford to collect my currency, toiletries (and some clothes!)  for the honeymoon. Can’t wait for a chance to escape away for a couple of weeks with Mike!

Found some nice white pashminas for my bridesmaids as it looks a little chilly on the day! Although I am rushed off my feet I still found time to meet up with my friend, Fran, for lunch.

In the afternoon, I made up all the bags for each table to be taken to Eynsham Hall on Thursday and printed off all the information about them.

I am still trying to sort out the suit problems…(the best man shirt is too small!) with my phone contanstly off the hook! My mum is  asking about the church seating and timings and my brother about what jobs he has to do… Despite sending an email to the ushers with their jobs last week, I sent it again just to make sure, as well as printing of maps to the reception venue and a list of ‘Jobs on the day’ for the best man!

I suddenly remembered that I had to have cash for payments on the day, so ran and got that out of the bank. I finished the day by choosing my brothers as witnesses and sending the order of the day to my bridesmaids.

Thank god for Fran, would not have made it through the day without her! We topped of the day with a bottle of wine in the tap and a curry! The best way to get over a busy day….

Looking forward to hearing from you

Love Sarah x

My Wedding countdown – Manic Monday!

Posted by on September 18, 2012, 8:48 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, For the Groom, Latest Gossip, Real Weddings, Sarah's wedding countdown Tags: , , , , ,

 

Morning Brides to be,

I woke up far too early on Monday morning and couldn’t get back to sleep, so decided to set myself up for a busy day and go for a run.

The first task of the day was to meet with my photographer Harley from Barker Evans. We went to the church first and then onto Eynsham Hall to plan where our photos would be taken.  This is a great service that Barker Evans offers, as it makes me really confident that we will get all of the photos that we want on the day.

Then it was on to pick up the cake toppers up from Liz Mergal and then making contact with Fabulous Flowers to let them know the delivery addresses for the various flowers. It is little things like this that make you realise that your actually getting married!

During the afternoon I managed to sit down for a couple of hours in the hairdressers whilst  having  my roots coloured.

By the way if you are wondering what the Groom is up to, you will hear from him later in the week!

Be back tomorrow

Sarah x

P.S Please feel to comment if you have any questions.

My wedding countdown…

Posted by on September 17, 2012, 8:11 am Leave a comment
Posted in Sarah's wedding countdown Tags: , , , , ,

Morning brides to be,

On Saturday I took a bit of a break from the wedding planning and headed to a friends 30th BBQ for a couple of well deserved glasses of wine!

As it turned out this had been a good plan as Sunday was a bit stressful…

We had an appointment at Moss Bros at 11am to pick up Mike’s (the Groom) suit, but due to weight loss the trousers were too big and as the waistcoat was frayed new ones needed to be ordered and will need to be collected on Thursday.

We also found out today that one of our guests now cannot make the wedding, so there has been a last minute change with the seating plan!

Last wedding task of the day – my Dad is due to call any minute to discuss his speech.

See you tomorrow.

Sarah x

 

My wedding countdown

Posted by on September 14, 2012, 8:18 am Leave a comment
Posted in Sarah's wedding countdown Tags: , , , , ,

Hi all brides to be, my name is Sarah and I am getting married on the 22nd September – a week tomorrow!

I would like to share with you all what I am doing in the week leading up to the big day, which will hopefully give you an insight into how hectic it can be and also the emotions that you may experience.

Don’t forget to check in with me again on Monday morning!

Sarah x

How soon is too soon?

Posted by on September 13, 2012, 8:20 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, For the Groom, Latest Gossip, Real Weddings Tags: , , , , , , ,

With William, the Duke of Cambridge, admitting yesterday that he wants two children with his wife, Kate Middleton, the hot topic of conversation has now turned to how soon is too soon for children after marriage? The answer is… it is your choice. For some couples, children is all they have ever hoped and dreamed for when it comes to marriage, but for others it is the last thing they want to think about as the newly wed couple. It is now a year and a half since the royal wedding, and it is clear that babies are on the mind of the couple and the press! It is important to have time together as couple just after you are married, to do couple activities and get used to married life! The best advice that we have to give you is cross the bridge when you get to it and don’t let the body time clock tick too long!

A wet knot never comes undone…

Posted by on September 4, 2012, 7:00 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, For the Groom, Great ideas, Real Weddings Tags: , , , , , , ,

With all this wet weather we thought that we might give you some tips for a wet wedding! You have dreamt of your wedding day your entire life and after all your careful planning the last thing you want to happen is for the heavens to open over your special day! After all the wet weather this summer here are some tips on how to cope with a wet wedding!

1. Accept what you can’t change – Whether you have planned your wedding obsessively or not your day will not go 100% to plan. Therefore it is essential to just ignore any mishaps that might occur so you can enjoy the special moments you will treasure forever!

2. Have a collection of umbrellas and raincoats at the ready- proper preparation prevents poor performance! If you have them at the ready you will not have to waste precious moments on your big day searching round the house for that camouflaged kagool.

3. Soggy Photographs-any photographer worth his salt will be able to find some special spots for those treasured photographs. Whether it is the doorway of the church or the reception entrance. There is no need to panic. In addition you may get some dramatic shots against a stormy sky!

4. Think outside the box- if you know it is likely to be wet on your day, you could look into ‘weddington boots‘ or dramatic (and sturdy!) marquees. It will just add another feature to your wedding making it unique!

Rain is not the end of the world, the flowers won’t wilt, everybody will stay in one place and you can have as much sun as you want once you are on your honeymoon. Your wedding day is about you and your man not the overcast skies!

LONGLEAT HOSTS CELEBRITY WEDDING PLANNER

Posted by on September 2, 2012, 7:00 am Leave a comment
Posted in Latest Gossip, Real Weddings, The Ceremony, The Ceremony & Reception Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Guides for brides is excited to say that Longleat Safari & Adventure Park is set to star in an episode of the hit Channel 5 show ‘Celebrity Wedding Planner’ next week. On Monday 3rd September (tomorrow!)  the episode will show London couple Kap and Gigi Ling’s special day which was organised by the unlikely pairing of Neighbours veteran Ryan‘Toadfish’ Moloney and former Ramsey Street soap star and comedian Mark Little. Despite awful weather, out of control wedding planners and unusual additions to the traditional wedding scene, the wedding was certainly a day to remember! Wedding Planner and Coordinators are usually a good idea as they have lots of experience of weddings, but to put your wedding in the hands of very unexpected strangers is very brave! Hopefully their special wedding will mean a long lasting and happy marriage! Longleat Love forever more!

 

 

Marvin and Rochelle celebrity wedding

Posted by on July 27, 2012, 1:25 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Latest Gossip, Real Weddings Tags: , , ,

Blenheim Palace will be hosting another celebrity wedding today.
Rochelle Wiseman from The Saturdays and Marvin Humes from JLS will be married later on this afternoon at the historic venue in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.
This is not the first celebrity wedding that Blenheim has held; Chelsea and England footballer John Terry also married there in 2007.
So if you are a celebrity spotter, Woodstock is definitely the place to be today!

Olympic wedding celebration

Posted by on July 17, 2012, 11:25 am Leave a comment
Posted in Great ideas, Latest Gossip, Real Weddings Tags: , , ,

At 12:00 noon on Friday, 27th July 2012, Bath Registry Office will be marrying six couples to celebrate  the Opening Day of the Olympic Games as well as the 175th anniversary of the introduction of Civil Registrations for England and Wales.
The grooms will all arrive between 11:00 am and 11:15 am with each bride being allocated a specific time slot to arrive so they can make an individual entrance into the Guildhall.
The Mayor of Bath, Councillor Andrew Furse will be conducting the two readings during the ceremony and the Chairman of Bath and North East Somerset Council, Councillor Rob Appleyard will be welcoming the guests and the couples to the Guildhall.
ITV are attending to film part of the ceremony to include it in a special programme they are making about events around the country to celebrate the Olympic Games.
To keep within the law each couple will have their own Registrar completing the marriage entry and their own Deputy Superintendent Registrar asking them individually to repeat the legal declarations and contractual words.

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).

Countdown to Trudi’s wedding: Marquees and mayhem

Posted by on May 30, 2012, 10:37 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Real Weddings, The Ceremony & Reception, Venue Decorating

For anyone planning a marquee wedding, it is only when the lorry rolls up the drive and the clanging of marquee poles begins that it all becomes real. The lovely chaps from Rent a Tent Marquees are transforming a patch of grass outside our office into a stunning fabric clad wedding venue, and the portable toilets from D & P Luxury Toilets are being manoeuvred into position.

One advantage of a marquee wedding is that a bride can be in charge of exactly how it will look, and Trudi has arranged for tables, chairs, crockery, cutlery and table linen from Oxford Event Hire to be delivered the day before so that tables can be laid up ready.

With less than 48 hours to go we are praying that our huge bank of garden roses will suddenly burst into full bloom in time. Foxgloves and Roses are happy to use our own flowers for the marquee decoration, which were in full bloom this time last year, but are not quite convinced it is summer yet. There are some things you just can’t control!

Countdown to Trudi’s wedding; the music debate

Posted by on May 29, 2012, 11:21 am Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Day to Day Life at GfB, Entertainment, Real Weddings, The Ceremony & Reception Tags: , ,

discoEvery great wedding reception needs a really good live band or disco and Trudi has chosen a client who has been a huge supporter of Guides for Brides since we started in 1995, Adrian North Disco.

Over coffee this morning the office debated the top 5 “must have” wedding reception songs, and the 5 guaranteed to kill the party and after much debate on whether we could include “all songs by Status Quo” in either list, we have the ultimate top 5.

 

Our Top 5 classic Wedding Disco songs:

  1. Dancing Queen by Abba
  2. I’ve had the Time of my Life from Dirty Dancing
  3. The One that I Want from Greece
  4. The Road to Amarillo by Tony Christie
  5. YMCA by The Village People

And the 5 to avoid:

  1. D-I-V-O-R-C-E by Dolly Parton
  2. Agadoo by Black Lace
  3. The Macarena by Los del Rio
  4. **** You by Eamon
  5. Walking in the Air by Aled Jones

Countdown to Trudi’s wedding

Posted by on May 28, 2012, 4:43 pm Leave a comment
Posted in Advice for Brides, Day to Day Life at GfB, Real Weddings, The Ceremony & Reception Tags: , , , ,

Trudi has been part of Guides for Brides for nearly 10 years – it seems that most of that time she was waiting for Ian to finally get down on one knee.

But he eventually did, and after many months of preparation the big day is just 5 days away and we thought it would be fun to share the trials and tribulations of a bride who has all the possible contacts and connections to ensure that her wedding does without a murmer of a problem … if only life was that simple.

Today, a big “thumbs down” to Sainsburys in Wantage. We would always recommend that you use a catering hire company for all your glasses, and Trudi has used Oxford Event Hire for mst things, but when supermarkets offer free or cheap glass hire it is tempting. Needless to say the order, placed many months ago, was lost by Sainsbury’s staff. We will be sipping champagne straight from the bottle.

And another thumbs down, again for Sainsbury’s. They need 7 days notice, not 5 days, to supply fresh bread rolls. They don’t sound that fresh if they need that much notice. Now, I don’t mind sipping champagne from the bottle but eating hog roast without the roll might get messy. Hoping that our friends at GW Shepherd Bakery in Chieveley may come to the rescue.

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