Couples are now looking for more and more unusual ideas for their honeymoons, but would sleeping underwater be one of them?
holidaysplease.co.uk
This bedroom was created for the 5th anniversary of the Ithaa restaurant at the Conrad Hilton on Rangali Island in the Maldives, located around 16ft below sea level. 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
With mother of bride collections now available from Ian Stuart and John Charles, your Mum can also have the outfit of her dreams to wear on your wedding day.
So with your Mum and Mother-in-law to be also wanting to look fab, why not look to some of the occasion wear specialists for the ultimate coordinated outfit, with matching dress, jacket and hat.
Gina Smart – Occasion Wear Specialist
You have just bought a £10,000 car, would you drive it uninsured?
So if you are you are spending a similar amount on your wedding, why would you not take out insurance?
Although rare, and of course extremely unfortunate, problems can occur – like the dress supplier going bust, the venue double-booking or cancelling, someone being taken ill or perhaps an overseas posting. For as little £45 you can protect yourself from these types of financial loss.
There are a lot of companies that now provide wedding insurance at varying prices, so make sure that the policy you choose covers everything you need.
John Lewis Wedding Insurance
We are delighted that another one of our advertisers has won another award!
The World Inspired Tents team are delighted to have received the acolade of ‘Best Marquee Hire Provider’ at last weeks West Country Wedding Awards; which follows on from their success in 2012 when they won ‘Best Marquee Provider’ at The Wedding Industry Awards.
Weddings under canvas give you the freedom and flexibility to create something really unique, but until now people have had little choice but to choose a conventional marquee. Read more »
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 »
“I am Chris Barber and I crash weddings with my camera. My style is different because it’s inconsistent. I could write what it is in this answer right now and by next week it’ll be something else. The thing that links in everything I do is expression with creativity and the desire to keep pushing my work as an artist… not as a ‘vendor’ – if that makes sense? Expressions are so important to me because you can’t pose them. Shooting a belly laugh requires so much more than qualifications and technical training – I have to interact and lose myself in what I do. I like to people watch and I’ve never seen a couple just casually romantically posing in the street. I see couples in fits of laughter all the time. So I like to shoot stuff that resembles who these people really are. All of my couples tell me they hate having their photo taken. I hate having my photo taken too. So immediately we’re on the same page and we work from there. For me, photography is all about the interaction between photographer and subject – not their technical abilities. These days – anyone with a half decent camera can take ‘good’ pictures. But there’s a big difference between ‘good’ pictures and pictures that actually speak to you. Read more »
Dodmoor House is a courtyard of Grade II listed barns near Weedon in Northamptonshire, lovingly renovated and opened in 2006 by owners Mark and Louise Bradley. It now hosts around 120 weddings a year.
It feels fantastic! We had an amazing time this year with the Wedding Industry Awards, winning two categories – best wedding venue in England and the best overall wedding website.
We had re-launched our website a year ago so to be chosen as the website winners by Brides for Guides was a tremendous honour. Our website partners, 1PCS, were also delighted as you can imagine! Read more »
How does a bride cope with the strain of planning a wedding, managing (inevitable) family debates whilst organising a raft of suppliers and striving to keep herself (and her groom) sane in the process?
Some of the answers are probably glaringly obvious but here, guest post writer for Guides for Brides and Director of Silver Pear Weddings in Oxfordshire, Jeffrey Cleaver, is only too aware of the stresses a bride encounters and has developed a hot list of tips based on years of experience.
“Be organised – create spreadsheets to manage costs; have an indexed lever-arch file for quotes and correspondence with plastic wallets for fabric swatches and copies of wedding stationery; consider creating a scrap-book of wedding images/ ideas – it’ll help evolve and fine-tune your style and guide suppliers (like florists) to an instant idea of ‘you’.
“Be as considerate and polite as you can with suppliers – it may sound obvious but courtesies like “please” and “thank you” are still ‘magic words’. Read more »
If you’re planning a honeymoon or a holiday celebrating a special occasion, you can invite friends and family to contribute to this wonderful experience as part of your John Lewis Gift List.
John Lewis’ selected travel provider, Kuoni, can help craft your perfect holiday. From Personal Travel Experts who book your holiday to local guides with insider knowledge, the Kuoni team is truly passionate about travel.
They are well-known for their excellent service, taking time to listen to your ideas and travel dreams, providing their honest and personal recommendations. Just let John Lewis know if you’d like to add honeymoon contributions to your list.
Swapping a London-based career in Interior Design for a move to the country and the decision to host weddings, more than ten years ago now, we thought the two or three we might host each year would be a pleasure and a way to regenerate the house and grounds.
Because we didn’t have the experience or the contacts or the budget for anything much of our own we offered the grounds and barn at Friars Court as a ‘blank canvas’. More by accident than design that approach carved a unique niche for us; since then we’ve discovered the significant demand from couples eager to have something ‘different’, something that’s personal to them.
For a bride, a ‘blank canvas’ allows her a greater degree of autonomy and freedom but that freedom is no “free lunch”: it means liaising with each and every supplier rather than purely with the clip-board-wielding event manager of an in-house team. So coordinating several suppliers equals work, time but, hopefully, not too much added stress. We’ve built up a really lovely group of suppliers over the years, most of them have now all worked together on the same weddings (some have even had their own weddings here) so there is more of a ‘team spirit’ which should help the wedding almost, as one bride put it, plan itself. Read more »
This February, London’s leading department store will launch a brand new service. Weddings by Harrods, a deluxe addition to Bespoke Events – Designed & Delivered by Harrods, a service specialising in custom-created occasions.
Launching in time for Valentines proposals, Weddings by Harrods offers a complete bridal planning service, to ensure that every aspect of the wedding is executed with the style and elegance of which Harrods is renowned around the world. The team of wedding planners will see that each couple’s special day runs seamlessly, providing the bride and groom with peace of mind so that they can relax and enjoy the happiest day of their lives.
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.
Getting married abroad couldn’t be easier with Beachcomber Tours. With 21 years experience organising over 300 weddings in Mauritius each year, you know you will be in safe hands. Pop into their stand at the NEC this weekend.
Ellie Sanderson Bridal Boutique stunned us at Earls Court! Now she returns to the NEC to show us her beautiful bridal collection.
The Confetti Box Bridal Centre has been a family business from the start, celebrating 25 years in bridal excellence this national award winning company,Is second to none in Manchester for outstanding value and professionalism.
Guides for Brides are excited to announce that A Day to Remember Photography will be exhibiting at The National Wedding Show this Friday. They are offering a fantastic competition where you can ‘Win £200 off your Wedding Photography’! Simply go to Stand A28 and fill your address! Looking forward to seeing you there!
Guides for Brides is pleased to announce that CGE Gifts Ltd is exhibiting at the Earls Court National Wedding Show for the 6th time! They specialise in engraved gifts for the wedding party, ideal for saying a special thank you to everyone who helps towards your big day. Not only will they be launching new products including personalised retro sweets and engraved jewellery, but there will also be special offers on the day for
cufflinks and just married flip flops! Visit them at stand D31 where you can enter their biggest ever wedding show competition to win £250 to spend on anything from their online store!
Marc Godfree will be exhibiting at the National Wedding at Earls court this weekend! If you are looking for gorgeous photography, stunning albums and 100% dedication, then this is the photographer for you. Visit stand J21 and you will find a wedding photography that you deserve and memories to cherish for a lifetime!
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 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
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
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
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.
