Vera Wang Bridal is having a sample sale at Selfridges London this weekend!
Prices start from £750 and dresses are up to 75% off. For more details, click here.
Happy hunting! Hope you find the one!
This just in…
Looking for the perfect wedding dress? Berketex Bride is having a huge two day sale including designer outfits.
Dresses start from £99. Only this Friday and Saturday, 29th and 30th January.
Not to be missed!
The Wedding Planner is back!
Hello to all the lovely brides and wedding enthusiasts!
Before the wedding show season madness starts, let’s pick up where we left off with our planner, shall we? Last time we discussed decisions to be made six months before the big day.
So we want to make sure you get all the great tips and suggestions. Let’s start with decorations and flowers:
Brides.com is a big portal with very nice sections on both;
Wedding Delights is the ultimate DIY in terms of decorations, invitations and party favours;
The Home and Family Network has lots arrangements that will certainly inspire you, such as this one on the left. I just love this butterfly!
The important thing is to think ahead, so that the flowers you want will be available during the season in which your ceremony will be held, therefore, making it easier to match the decorations.
You don’t need a specialist to handle arrangements and bouquets for you, it’s just a matter of research, creativity and more people thinking together.
Get your bridesmaids and family to give you suggestions, why not? As long as the final decision comes from you, the more ideas they give you, the closer you get from having it the perfect way. Sometimes, it’s easy to picture a perfect wedding, but you don’t really focus on the details, do you?
So, now it’s the time! Good luck!
The perfect wedding dress calls for the perfect bridal shoes
Although beauty and elegance count, the golden rule for bridal shoes really is comfort. Especially if you’re having the ceremony + reception + party combo, you DON’T want to be stuck with killer heels (and I mean it literally, not in a good way).
So, more than ever you should respect you style and instincts. Some tips: stilettos are a definite no, for the reasons we just covered; wedges, on the other hand, are very comfortable but unlikely to look good with a wedding gown, no matter the style. Keep it simple: medium-sized heels, thick and square shaped should do the trick. And do wear them inside your house for some weeks before your big day, as you’ll get accustomed to them, making it harder for unpleasant surprises to happen.
Bellissima, Elegant Steps, Gina,and The Accessory Boutique offer bridal shoes for all different styles from ballet pumps to crystal sandals. Girls of Elegance has a great selection of budget shoes, so it’s worth a visit.
10 months and counting!
Well, last post we covered some of the great things you can do for your honeymoon. However, I also mentioned that’s not the only item you should consider when you’re 10 months away from your wedding day.
At this point, you should have a list of the services, professionals and items you’ll require for your ceremony and reception/party, and get budgets for all of them, whether you’ll need to book, rent or buy. Ideally, you should get references from friends, colleagues or even websites and request budgets from three companies.
When you make a decision, don’t forget to ask for a copy of the contract. If you’re contacting the company via email, it might be good to arrange a meeting. That way you can ask them for the print copy and also meet face to face (which should give you a better idea of the people you’re dealing with. Everyone can be great through email, but don’t underestimate meeting them in person).
Obviously, the contract should state all the terms of the service, fees and what happens in case of cancelling – of course it’s not something you want to think about, but you should be safe in case you need to postpone or even call off your wedding. Make sure the clauses are not abusive (yes, that means you have to read through the whole fine print. We know it’s boring, but it’s better than being caught by surprise – it won’t be a good one).
Guess the fairy tales don’t always show what it’s really like, huh? But hey, get through the next 10 months and you may as well find your sweet happy ending!
10 months away – Honeymoon, anyone??
Of course you want your honeymoon to be unforgettable – all brides do! Therefore, choose wisely: do you prefer beautiful sunny beaches or snow with a snugly fireplace? Although you can think it would depend on the season, there’s always a way of finding a place in the globe that is reaching 40 degrees when it’s about 10 in England and vice versa ( not that it’ll ever be 40 degrees Celsius in England anyway, but you got the idea, right?).
To get you in the mood, have a look at those two articles with slightly different suggestions of magnificent destinations. The first is from All Women Stalk and the other from Travel Counsellors (you can even get budgets from this one).
But more than just the choice of place, there are lots of other aspects to decide. If you are leaving the country, you need to have your passports in order, check if the country requires a visa, if you need to get vaccines, etc. All of which takes time and this is why you need a lot of it to plan such a special trip. Besides, can you imagine having to book and entire trip when the wedding is three months away and you have sooo many other decisions to make? Better take your time with this one.
Don’t forget you should also look into flights, hotel bookings – which means choosing the category of hotel you’ll want: resort, hotel, hostel, camping? Hey, we’re not judging… and then a long online research until you find the one – and reservations are always cheaper when done in advance.
You can have a travel agency take care of everything for you; there’s also the option of a DIY honeymoon. But remember that, unless you’re having a group excursion, with daily programs, it’s interesting to have a look at the best places to visit, like museums, parks, restaurants – that is, if you’re planning on leaving the room at all! Think about the possibility of renting a car (which should remind you to check if you have a valid international driver’s license) or at least getting shuttle services to and from the airport. That can be really useful when you don’t know the place hence has no idea how far the airport will be from the hotel (or how expensive the taxi can be).
Seems like a lot to think about already doesn’t it? Ok, I’ll leave you to this and come back for more 10 months tomorrow (you thought that was the only item in the list? Haha, dream on… I told you planning a wedding takes effort. But you can do it girl, it’ll be worth your while!)
So do pop in tomorrow for the rest of our list of what to do 10 months before you get married.
=)
12 months to go – Start planning your wedding!
He finally popped the question? Congrats! Now, to have the perfect dreamy wedding you’ve always wanted, you need to keep two little words in mind the entire time: plan ahead. This is why we’re bringing you our wedding planner to show you what you should worry about 12 months before your big day.
A year may seem too long, but it goes by in a millisecond with the amount of items in your to do list. And, no, we’re not trying to scare you, it’s just plain truth.
Especially if you’re going big with your day, you need to choose the date and book the venue with a lot of time in advance – or you may have to give up your initial choices.
You’ve already got your helpful notebook, right? Ok, time to start writing. The first thing you have to do is outline what you both want and what you can actually have. Some things to consider:
-Do you want a religious ceremony?
-Formal or Informal?
-Night or Day?
-Actual meal or Cocktail?
-Small, Medium or Big?
So, with all of that sorted, now it’s time for the initial research. For the most gorgeous wedding venues in the UK, visit the Hudson’s Weddings website and you can choose from Castles, and Heritage and Historical houses for your dream wedding.
Select your top 3 and schedule a visit: you will have a more personal feel of the place and have ideas for details. Remember that if you are having a religious service, ideally you want to book the reception venue within reasonable distance.
Made your decision? Book it! The same goes if you want to hire famous professionals as bands, photographers and even renowned wedding planners.
You also need to wrap up the budget for the whole day and gather both families to put an initial guest list together. Don’t forget to check who will be paying for what – you can only escape this one if you’re paying for it yourselves.
Remember to put everything in your notebook: it will make it easier to concentrate all data in one place instead of having 12000 post-its through the house (even if you do put the same 12000 post-its in the notebook – at least they will all be there!).
And don’t panic! Not yet, anyway. There’s a lot to do, but you’ve still got plenty of time.
Wedding Planner
Hello,
This week we’re going to start a series of posts about everything you should do to have your perfect wedding. It’s a step-by-step wedding planner starting 12 months before the big day. This way, you’ll have all the information to brace yourself to a complete DIY wedding, if you’re brave enough. Of course, hiring a professional party planner will make your life a lot easier, but you’ll still need to check their work and make sure they’re not skipping any steps.
So, hopefully, the steps we’ll list here will be useful for all brides and grooms to be.
Weekly Wedding Tip: M&S Bridal Collection
Want a simple yet elegant dress for your big day? Marks and Spencer holds a small but interesting bridal collection starting from £125 for dresses and £5 for accessories. They also have a Wedding Shop that includes lingerie, stationary and others.
If you’re looking for a budget wedding, it’s definitely worth having a look.
Brave or Broke? DIY wedding cake
For those who are getting married this year and are feeling the pinch from the credit crunch, you may wish to try decorating your own wedding cake.
Of course, you’ll need to be brave enough as it’s a daunting task. However, help may be at hand from Angel Cakes and you may find it a nice way to personalise your wedding cake.
Try their BOB kit (Brave or Broke?). This kit includes:
A freshly baked rich fruit cake to order in a choice of sizes and shapes delivered to you with the basic materials tailored to your requirements. Plus:
- Renshaws Quality Almond Paste or Marzipan
- Renshaws Professional Regalice in a choice of colours
- Cake drums or boards
- Boxes
- Pillars and/or dowelling rods
- Choice of Bride and Groom Figurines
- Selection of tools
All delivered to your door!
Good luck if you’re brave enough!
