Everyone will tell you – your wedding day will be a blur, and remembering it all clearly, even the day after, will be really hard. Will you remember the look on your fiancé’s face when he first saw you at the end of the aisle? Can you possibly remember all the lovely things your father and your new husband said about you in their speeches? Having your wedding filmed gives you a living, talking memory of that wonderful day.
So why use a professional? Read more »
Are you looking for somewhere really unusual to get married? Well how about the world famous Spitbank Fort, in the middle of the Solent, offering a luxury private island and very exclusive use! Not only does Spitbank Fort have 8 luxurious bedroom suites, private transfers, but you have use of the lighthouse, providing a stunning setting for your wedding photos.
Spitbank Fort
In a lot of town’s around the country we have some beautiful Town Hall’s that are all licensed to hold Civil Ceremonies and Civil Partnerships. Town Council’s are now aware that their Town Halls can be used for a multitude of events, and are keen to promote themselves to brides and grooms.
The Bay Tree Hotel, Burford
It was great to see Cotswolds Inns & Hotels at the National Wedding Show at Olympia last weekend, flying the flag for weddings in the Cotswolds.
The Cotswolds is a hugely popular area for tourists, so why would weddings be any different? Read more »
White Hart Lane
So here is the dilemma…
Is your husband-to-be a huge sports fan? Would his dream wedding venue be at his favourite sporting venue? Read more »
The Earls Court National Wedding show was a whirlwind of unique services and beautiful products, making each wedding bespoke for each bride. Here are a few of the companies we met up with. Here is a chance to gain inspiration for your wedding.
Find the amazing Wigorina String Quartet at the NEC this weekend! You will never consider any other quartet!
Embrace is a refreshing concept in Bridal Boutiques; an experience designed for a bride-to-be with curves, where no woman should be embarrassed about the size label in her dress, the measurements on the tape or what the weighing scales read. It is about embracing the woman within, a real woman who is marrying her partner who loves and adores her just the way she is.
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
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
Guides for bride
s 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!
Overseas and destination weddings are becoming increasingly popular. And it is no surprise when the average cost of a UK wedding is now £20,000 while it’s only £6,585 for a ceremony abroad. With the attraction of sunshine, good food and cheap bubbly, its hard to find reasons why not to go abroad to tie the knot! Even celebrities are going for the overseas option, for example the ‘Brangelina’ wedding which is on the horizon, is rumored to be taking place in a secretive part of France. Short Haul flights are becoming cheaper by the day and therefore your friends will find it easier and easier to come and enjoy your wedding abroad with you. If however, a more exotic location is for you, there are super cheap deals to Cuba, Thailand and Sri Lanka. So why not go abroad, before everybody realises it is the best thing to do and you can say you set a trend?
The ‘something old’ part of the famous wedding poem represents the presence and importance of the past when moving into the future. However it can be difficult to choose that treasured heirloom when your special day is approaching fast. It could be an antique or just an item that represents something from your past.
It could be carried by the bride for example a vintage purse, compact mirror or childhood treasure. The bride could wear a vintage ribbon or hat pin on her dress, or a family heirloom such as a tiara. The location could be historic or transport could be carried out by a classic car.
If you want to be really different your rings could be carried on a childhood pillowcase or you could carry a love letter between your mother and father. If you don’t want to carry anything, you could display photographs of your grandparents and parents wedding or photos of you as a child.
It does not matter what it is as long as it is personal, special and memorable to you.
Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something Blue….
This old rhyme still rings strong and therefore it is nice to think of unique ideas for each. It is a wedding tradition not only talked about on the day but also in years to come. So here are a few ideas to spark some inspiration when choosing ‘something blue’!
You could have something subtle for example blue confetti or a blue ribbon around your bouquet. You could go blooming blue with a blue floral arrangement or blueberries in the dessert. You could wear blue by painting your nails with blue polish, blue eye shadow or blue stones in your jewellery. How about blue shoes or a blue purse? Why not choose something a bit more secretive, just for you and your groom, for example a blue petticoat, blue garter or blue lingerie!
If you don’t want to wear blue yourself, you could have blue balloons or blue chair covers. You could even tie blue ribbons round your wedding favours!
The list is just endless. Its not something you need to feel blue about so let your imagination run wild.
What will you choose?
How do you pick your bridesmaids with out causing a Bridezilla World War 3?
It is always difficult to know how many bridesmaids to have, but more is not always merrier! A good rule of thumb is to have one groomsman and one bridesmaid for every 50 guests – but that doesn’t mean you need to invite a stranger to make a perfect even number at the alter! Also more bridesmaids means more people have to agree on one dress! Secondly you need to consider how close they live you. If you are expecting your bridesmaids to hand write wedding invitations or make thousands of microscopic favours then your friend who lives in Timbuktoo is not the best idea. Thirdly, don’t forget your guy friends! Although it is the tradition to have a feminine bridesmaid if your best friend is a man then don’t immediately reject him. The person that knows you best will give you the best hen night, bridal shower and will make the day just the way you like it!
Finally it is important to let people know who your bridesmaids are. There is nothing worse than the wait for that ‘never-arriving’ request to be your bridesmaid. A real friend will understand the decision you make. Once you have made your decision remember to make your bridesmaids feel appreciated. Why not treat them to a spa day or have their hair and make up done for the wedding? Remember Happy bridesmaids makes a happy bride!
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.
We loved these video clips, although they might make you think twice about having bridesmaids and pageboys.
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.
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.
It seems that the nation was captivated by the Royal Wedding last year and it has inspired other couples to follow in the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s footsteps, with the number of church weddings rising for the first time in several years.
Despite fewer marriages taking place, four per cent more couples are opting for Church of England Weddings.
The new figures show weddings in churches went up to 54,700 in 2010 compared with 52,730 in 2009 and the statistics are expected to be higher this year following the Westminster Abbey event in April.
The rise also seems to have come after the Anglican Church relaxed its rules in 2008, allowing couples to marry in any area where they have lived for six months or where their parents or grandparents were married.
Fees for church weddings are set to increase to £415 in 2013
Same-sex couples are to be allowed to hold civil partnership ceremonies in churches and other places of worship in England and Wales, but no religious group will be forced to host them.
Currently marriage between people of the same gender is not legal in the UK, but civil partnerships were introduced in 2005 to give couples the same legal protection as if they were married.
Ms Featherstone, a Liberal Democrat MP, said: “The government is advancing equality for LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) people and ensuring freedom of religion for people of all faiths.
“No religious group will be forced to host a civil partnership registration, but for those who wish to do so this is an important step forward.”
The service for civil ceremonies is different from a church ceremony, and can contain no religious content.
No plans for Las Vegas style weddings.
Did you know that night-time weddings will be able to take place in the future, under plans outlined by the government as part of the Protection Of Freedoms Bill?
At the moment couples can only wed between 8am and 6pm, but the changes will allow marriages to take place 24 hours a day in England and Wales. This will also apply to civil partnerships.
The changes are expected to boost the demand for evening civil wedding ceremonies, especially in the summer months.
However, do not expect to be able to marry in a Las Vegas-style chapel where in the past some couples have wed after a night of heavy drinking! You will still be required to give at least 15 days advance notice.
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.
The secret to a happy wedding
It is the ultimate question for anyone planning their wedding. How do we plan the perfect wedding with the perfect atmosphere?
Sitting in a pew watching a radiantly relaxed bride and groom exchanging vows in front of a fully supportive congregation the answer struck me. The perfect wedding, in this instance, was not actually a wedding.
The bride and groom had married, quietly and without fuss, friends or relatives, exactly a year ago. Today their marriage was being blessed with a traditional ceremony in an Oxford chapel, the bride wearing white and attended by bridesmaids, the groom being supported by his Best Man and Ushers. In choosing this unconventional route they had inadvertently but effectively removed most of the possible causes for tension and negativity at a wedding.
Will the bride turn up? Will any one object to the wedding? Has the correct paperwork been completed. Will the marriage last to its first anniversary?
The answer was already “yes”.
