Wedding Dresses

Oh me, oh my, how do I possibly go about talking about the most important dress of your life! 

I think the most important things to remember when choosing your wedding dress is -


Have fun!
Push the budget if the dress makes you feel a million dollars.
Don't keep searching and thinking you can do better. This will only confuse you.
Don't get pushed into buying a wedding dress and putting a deposit down on the first visit.
Do try and order in advance.
Do think outside the box it doesn't have to be white and big! 
Don't be influenced by bridesmaids and mother in laws.
Do remember when trying on a dress in the shop you can always accessorise a classic dress to make it your own, it doesn't just have to look the way the shop has styled it.
Think about your venue and what would suit. 
Think about what time of year you're getting married. Nothing worse than getting married in a hot country with layers of gown wrapped around you and getting hot and bothered! 

 
 
I love The Mews, Bridal Gowns of Clifton village, Bristol. They have a beautiful shop with not hundreds of dresses but a perfect selection of different styles from vintage to contemporary, classic to the very modern. 
Gail and her team clearly are passionate about what they do. They welcome you with tea or champagne and spend time asking you questions about venue and the time of year you plan to wed. They stock dresses from Amanda Wakeley, Suzanne Neville, Stephanie Allen, Blue and soon to hold Jenny Packham and Matthew Williamson Bridal! Wow... 
 

Dress above from Amanda Wakeley

Dresses above from a collection from Stephanie Allen

If budget is a concern how about buying vintage? 
Websites like posh girl vintage is great if looks for a wedding dress from a bygone era or if looking a little closer to home try The vintage wedding dress company.

Dresses above can be found at posh girl vintage

Oxfam holds some wonderful wedding dresses and so does rokit in London. 
Vogue do some beautiful patterns if you're a dab hand on the sewing machine or why not speak to a college student? Think of the many designers that have emerged from St. Martins? 
 
I found some ladies to be a bit horrid when I was looking around wedding dress shops in the South west (wish I'd know about The Mews then!) and packed in the idea of going to another. Instead I travelled to London to Selfridges and had the most amazing service from a lady at Ralph Lauren. My dress was off the peg and not a wedding dress so I saved £££ but felt beautiful and special on my best day ever. 

Me below on my wedding day!

Read Lovemydress blog for wonderful inspiration!..

May has been manic... A few pictures from weddings that have been keeping me so busy!

Emma & John

6th May

Louisa & Stuart

14th May

Wedding dress blog next!

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Invitations

The invitation is the first impression a guest gets of your special day.  Classically invitations would be sent by the brides parents and would usually be on white or ivory paper saying we accordingly invite you, etc... but now with so many of us organising our own weddings and being design savvy there are a whole host of options to suit every budget.

Classic invite pic taken from Weddingspot

There are stationers that will not only design your invites but style the whole theme of your wedding and dress your reception too. There are stationers that will design your save the date cards, invites, rsvps, place cards, menus and table plans! There are also many on line design your own invite companies and lots of dIY stationary tips. 

The choice is endless!

So how do you choose?  

If design is your thing and you have a little money to throw at invites then visit someone like Archibald Edwards to guide you every step of the way. You can visit them in their delightful cottage where you can sit and drink tea while some designs are drawn up on the spot for you.  

Ditsy chic have a fab selection of design savvy invites. I particularly like the wedding passport invites. Great for abroad weddings or if your throwing a wedding party on return from your big day!

If budget is a concern there are a few low budget options. The cheapest is at no cost at all! Getting married let you do online invitations that you can build in your own time and all you have to do is email your friends and family the link. Don't think that they look awful either, they don't.. They have some beautiful designs to choose from and you could wow your guests with your 21st century invitations. This is a great example -

http://hewiandsamcantwaittobe.gettingmarried.co.uk/

I would suggest if on a low budget you go for classic design rather than a bold print, as on cheap paper they can look tacky. Vista prints is a great website that you can create your own invites and has hundreds of designs. 

Another option if on a low budget is to make your own stationery. I did for my wedding party! I took a photo I had taken and had lots of copies made then stuck them to the front of some blank cards. I then tied a ribbon around the edge and had a ink stamp saying 'lets celebrate' stamped on the front!  You tube has some good step by step instructions on how to make your own invites very simply or why not print out your invitation on coloured paper and make it into origami?

Here are some great british wedding stationery companies I adore...

Hummingbird Card Company

Emily Golden 

In the treehouse

Inky ever after

Photo from Zahir Photography

Ok!

So in my last few blogs we have covered your budget, what time of year you would like your wedding to take place, legal stuff required, what type of venue and putting together a timeline...

Now comes the fun part! Shopping for your wedding!!

I will be covering invitations, wedding dresses, local suppliers, such as florists, venue decorators, entertainment, transport, photographers, cake makers etc.

I've also still got a couple of spaces left for the next 'Wedding Workshop' on April 23rd so please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like to join us for all your wedding questions answered and a spot of lunch on the harbor.....

Timings.....

Photo taken from www.glamor.com

The running order of your day should flow from the ceremony to the celebration drinks to the wedding breakfast to the speeches to the evening party without any time feeling like you've been waiting too long or hurried along!

If your having a church ceremony this will take around 45mins/1hr and if having a civil ceremony this will take around 20/30mins. It all depends on what readings and music you decide on during the service.

A civil ceremony followed by reception may look like this but a church service has no interviews on the day.

09.30 venue stylist arrives at venue

10.00 hair and make up arrive for bride

10.00 hearty breakfast for groom with bestman

10.30 flowers arrive at venue including buttonholes

11.00 photographer arrives for bride

11.00 flowers for bridal party arrive at brides home/hotel

11.45 groom makes way to church/venue

12.00 transport arrives for bride

12.20 groom arrives
12.30 registrars arrive and interview groom
12.30 bride arrives
12.45 registrars interview bride
12.45 guests arrive
1.00 ceremony
1.30 mr & mrs exit and enjoy celebration drinks at reception venue with guests and photos with family and friends
3/3.30 wedding meal to commence

Speeches somewhere during meal (allow 1/2 hour)

5.00 band/dj set up
6.00 meal finish/coffees/cut cake

7.00 eve guests arrive

7.30 1st dance

7.45 band to play for 1 hr

9.00 evening food served

9.30 band to play for another hour

10.30 dj to play till close

12.00 bride and groom start the honeymoon!

This timeline after the ceremony should always be provisional as any good venue should antisapate if proceedings should be pushed along or held back.....

Don't Forget to come visit MY WEDDING WORKSHOP this Sunday at the Clifton Club's first wedding fayre, Clifton Village, Bristol for free advise and free entry!!...

Choosing your venue

CHOOSING YOUR VENUE:

Reflects everything you want to say about your wedding.

Do you want Grand? Intimate? Country? Beach? There are barns, boats, restaurants, houses, hotels, mills, clubhouses, and gardens!

Firstly work out how many guests you want for the day and evening and look for venues that will fit your numbers well. Don't go for a large venue if you only have a handful of guests or you will be lost in the space and the wedding may end up feeling lifeless and don't go for a venue too small or you will be cramped and uncomfortable. Ask your venue what numbers fit the space best. If there are split rooms, ask questions like how many fit on the dance floor? How many staff do they have on looking after you?

Be clear about hire costs the day you look around the venue. There is nothing worse than finding a dream venue then finding it's out of budget!

A lot of venues have extra charges; so make sure you know what is included. They can add strange things to your bill such as cake stands and cake knife's!! Other charges maybe for -

Staff, cutlery, plates, glassware, chair covers, kitchen equipment, clean up charges, service charge etc. and they will also charge extra to hold the ceremony at the venue. Another thing sneaky venues will do is make you order your evening buffet/food for every guest attending. You always end up with way too much food but if it’s in the contract you have to honor the venues rules!

Find out if the venue has an entertainment license and what time you can have the music playing until. Also if holding your wedding on a Sunday find out if the bar has to shut early?

I always think that there are two things that are most talked about after the wedding. The bride's dress and the food!

Make sure the catering company gives you a tasting session or you have a meal at the venue you are intending to hold your reception. If the food is not right it will spoil the day, as you will spend a lot of time eating during your special day.

Make sure that your venue doesn’t intend to change catering companies or menus before your big day too...

I know of a beautiful venue that can hold multiple weddings. The trouble is if you are sat in the back two rows of the ceremony room you can hear the other service taking place! This can make your wedding not seem as special, so it’s worth finding out if this could happen at your dream venue.

Other things worth considering is, is there enough accommodation for your guests either in the house or hotel and surrounding areas and parking for all your guests.

BUDGET TIPS:

If you can steer away from the conventional Saturday wedding you can get your dream wedding at a price that suits your pocket.

Holding weddings on a Monday may not be the norm but most people are happy to have a three-day weekend with advanced notice. Sundays and Fridays of course are cheaper too. Out of season dates or if you can handle the pressure of organizing things in a hurry, late availability is a good way of cutting costs.

Some venues have separate hire charges for day and evening hire, so why not marry at 4pm and just occur the evening charge and go straight on to the wedding meal followed by your party.

The National Trust have beautiful stately homes that they hire out cheaply and I always think that venues that work on a minimum spend are best value as you are only paying for food and drink not the space you are enjoying them in.

If looking for some of the west’s best venues, I suggest visiting Marry Me in Somerset as it has an exceptional selection.