Special Wedding Touches

August 17th, 2010

It’s tempting when planning a wedding to spend a fortune on monogrammed napkins which match your colour scheme exactly, or favours which are forgotten and left behind.

You want to make your wedding enjoyable and memorable (for the right reasons) so what should you be focusing your attention on? Here’s some ideas which have the ‘WOW’ factor:

Fantastic food and drink

I can clearly remember the best wedding feast we ever attended – and yes, it was a feast! It was held at a small chateau in France, the sun was shining, the ceremony was over and we had champagne on the lawn, served with oysters and foie gras. After that there was a 5 course formal dinner, including fish and duck, followed by cheese and dessert and all served with matching wines. It was fabulous and we had a marvellous time, even if we were rather full by the end.

But food doesn’t have to be expensive to be memorable. Having a cheese cake instead of a traditional wedding cake is a great talking point and tastes great too.

Or maybe you could have a cocktail bar, a la Tom Cruise, complete with professional mixologists who provide entertainment while they pour.

First Dance (ish)

We’ve all seen youtube video of some fantastic first dances (the ‘Dirty Dancing’ one immediately springs to mind for example). But if you’re that way inclined, you might want to consider an alternative, perhaps a duet karaoke style? Friends of mine performed a Blues Brothers duet, complete with porkpie hats and sunglasses which went down a treat!

Instant Photo Guest Book

Polaroid instant photos might not be readily available at the moment, but you can still have a fabulous wedding photo guest book using the Instax camera from Fuji. Guests simply take their photo, slide it into the pages of the guest book, then write their messages alongside. Your wedding is captured in an instant and kept forever.

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Wedding Planning Checklist- day before and day of your wedding

June 23rd, 2010

The Day before

  • Relax and take it as easy as possible.  We’re arranging an Indian Head Massage for the ladies on the day before my sister-in-laws wedding in August.
  • Make sure that the cake is where it needs to be –this is a great job to delegate!
  • Have a manicure (this applies to grooms also!)
  • Grooms have a hair trim if necessary and a good shave (if you’ve got a barber nearby it might be worthwhile to go for the whole hot towel treatment).
  • Grooms, consider a proper shave at the barbers shop.
  • If you’re staying overnight elsewhere on your wedding night, pack your overnight bag and either put it in the car or give to someone to take to where you’ll be staying.
  • Try and get an early night – and don’t make it too boozy, you really don’t want to be hungover on your wedding day.

Your big day!

08.00     Get up and have a relaxing shower or bath.  We recommend this lovely weleda rosemary bath milk, which smells great and promises to overcome excessive perspiration and improve the general circulation in the legs.  Got to be a winner on your wedding day!

08.30     Have a decent breakfast.   Probably best to avoid a fry-up which may sit like lead in your stomach all day!

09.30     Have your hair done.  Obviously it’s easier if the hairdresser will come to you, but you’ve got plenty of time.

11.00     Best man to collect any cards / telegrams etc

11.30     The bridesmaids, flowergirls and any pageboys arrive.

12.00     Have a quick bite of lunch, even a piece of toast will settle your tummy and any last minute nerves

12.45     Do your make-up (or have it professionally done)

13.00     Your photographer arrives to take any pre-arranged photographs of you getting ready (dress hanging up, shoes, make-up etc)

13.30     Bride, bridesmaids and flower-girls to get dressed.

14.30     The first wedding car arrives to take your mother , the bridesmaids and flower-girls to the venue for your ceremony

14.45     The second wedding car arrives to take you and your father to the ceremony venue. The bridesmaids, flowergirls and pageboys will be waiting outside to meet them.

14.55     The bride and her father enter the venue together, with the bridesmaids lined up behind.

15.00     Your wedding ceremony. Have an amazing day.  Relax and try to spend as much of it with your new husband/wife as possible and make sure to take your own photo for the front of your photo guest book.

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Wedding Planning checklist – 1 month and 1 week before your wedding

June 17th, 2010

Wedding checklistWedding season is well and truly upon us, with the majority of weddings taking place between now and mid-September. We thought it might be timely to share our checklist for the period shortly before your wedding, 1 month and 1 week beforehand.

1 month before

  • Arrange the final fitting of your wedding dress.
  • Have the hen and stag do (preferably 10 days ahead of time to allow for any bruises to fade!)
  • Finalise your seating plan and provide to whoever is creating your table plan for you (or make it yourself).  This also needs to be passed to the caterer.
  • Prepare table placenames and pass to stationer to prepare.
  • Arrange a date for your wedding rehearsal, if necessary.
  • Contact any guests who haven’t replied to your invitation (rude people!)
  • Organise a date to collect the wedding party outfits.
  • Write the wedding speeches  for the groom, best man and father of the bride.  Doing it well in advance gives you a little time to practice and get over any nerves.
  • If it isn’t giving anything away, wear-in your wedding shoes so you’re comfortable on your big day.
  • Reconfirm arrangements for:
    • your reception venue.
    • the caterer.
    • the florist.
    • the photographer.
    • any wedding transport.
    • your entertainment.
    • your honeymoon.
  • If you haven’t already done so, it’s not too late to sort out your photo guest book…

7 Days before

  • Have your wedding rehearsal.
  • Run through the order of the day with everyone involved.  Give the best man a list of contact details for everyone involved in your big day and ensure that they have his number also
  • Prepare your emergency brides handbag containing: makeup, tissues, paracetamol, blister plasters and cooling leg spray.  Chance are you won’t need all of this, but better to be prepared!
  • Give your ‘order of service’ sheets to the minister.
  • Pack for your honeymoon.  Most importantly put your passports and tickets in a safe place alongside your suitcases – you can replace anything else you might forget
  • Order any foreign currency you’ll need.
  • And remember, it’s STILL not too late to arrange your instant photo guest book as we can have a package with you in 48 hours!

Next week, we’ll update you with your final checklist for the day before and the big day itself!

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Wedding Planning Tip #2 – NOT inviting children to wedding ceremony (without offending)

May 6th, 2010

Whether to invite children to a wedding (or not) is one wedding planning topic that is sure to be controversial.  Try mentioning it on any wedding forum and see the response!

When we got married almost 5 years ago, very few of our friends had children.  Although our own little boy attended who was a year old, we decided that we’d prefer it if there weren’t any more children attending.   That’s because we’d recently attended a wedding where we could barely hear the speeches because of naughty children running riot (why on earth didn’t their parents take them outside??)

To be fair since then I’ve been to lots of weddings where children have been great, funny and well-behaved…and I’ll do another post shortly on how to keep them entertained.  In the meantime, if you’d like to know how to NOT invite children to your wedding, here’s some tips:

  • Make sure your invitations are explicit, just inviting parents i.e. Mr & Mrs Smyth.  If older children are welcome but not younger ones (good luck with that!) then mention them specifically ‘Mr & Mrs Smyth and Daniel Smyth’
  • The simplest way to be specific about no kids is to say ‘Adults only reception’
  • Capacity is a really good reason why kids aren’t invited.  My SIL is getting married in August and of the 68 guests allowed, 18 are going to be children of friends…which unfortunately means that some other friends can’t attend.  If this impacts you, you can place wording in your invitation such as this ‘Due to limited capacity, we regretfully must decline the attendance of “under 16’s”..  And be specific about ages too.  If you just say ‘children’ that depends on your definition, so specify ages to avoid confusion.
  • There will be some parents who are just looking for an excuse to hire a babysitter and have a child free evening (we usually fall into this category!)  If you think that your friends fit the bill here but you’d rather they brought children with them than not attend, why not try phrasing it in this way:  ‘Although children are a blessing, we would like everyone to be able to relax and enjoy our reception without the company of children.‘
  • And if you are Ok with having children there during the day, but would prefer to be child-free in the evening why not try this ‘Whilst children are welcomed, limited entertainment will be provided for them until 7.30pm only’

It’s a tricky one that definitely causes upset but at the end of the day and it’s your wedding, so stick to your guns and be polite and it should work out OK.  And if you do have children coming, why not ask them to complete your photos for your instant photo guest book to keep them occupied?

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Mothers Day Ideas

March 9th, 2010

It’s less than a week now to Mothers Day (and you’ve been reminded now so there’s no excuse for forgetting!) so it’s time to think of ways to say ‘Thank you!’ to your Mum.

Plan a Party
If your Mum enjoys social occasions and get togethers, try surprising her with a party? Send invitations to friends and relatives that she enjoys spending time with, but be careful only to invite those who will keep the party’s mood fun, and relaxing. Look through past party photo albums or digital photo albums to get an idea of who best to invite.

Don’t forget though that this is your Mum’s surprise party. You want her to be the queen for the day, so pick drinks and food that are easy to serve and clean up. You definitely don’t want your Mum left in the kitchen with a pile of washing up!

Decorate the party with a “Happy Mother’s Day” banner along with lots of lovely flowers, balloons, streamers and anything that will help make your Mum feel special.

Plan a Day Out
Not everyone likes parties, so if your Mum isn’t a fan, or you think she’d prefer to spend time with close family members, why not plan a day out? Visit an exhibition, take in a show, or simply visit the movies together. Make a day of it by including lunch or dinner at their favourite restaurant, then sit back and enjoy some quality time together.

Inexpensive Mothers Day Ideas
You don’t necesarily have to spend a lot of money to make it a day to remember. Start the day with breakfast in bed, then put the washing on, prepare lunch, wash the dishes etc. Whatever routine chores your Mum normally does, why don’t you do it for a change. It won’t just give your Mum a break but it might also remind you just how much your Mum does for you!

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Wedding Planning Tip #1: Lovely loo’s

February 13th, 2010

Have you ever been to a nice hotel or restaurant and been disappointed by the toilets? I have to say that the best toilets I’ve ever been in were at The Capital Hotel. Not only did they have Molton Brown handwash and lotion, but they also had little bottles of their mouthwash which I thought was a lovely touch.

As a wedding reception idea, don’t forget to spruce up your toilets. Guests will gather there to gossip, touch up their make-up, have a breather and even use the loo’s. On one memorable occasion at a friends wedding in France, I remember that a friend and I had to dip our feet in the sinks to try to ease the swelling because it was so hot and our heels were so high – not recommended!

Essential Rose Soap Bellingham Soap Company

So think about having quality hand wipes available to dry guests hands rather than paper towels. If your venue doesn’t already provide it, some quality handwash and lotion are always better than a bar of soap – unless of course it’s a lovely bar of Essential Rose Soap from the Bellingham Soap company. Deodorant, hairspray and blister plasters or leg cooling gel are always really appreciated by those who need them – and there’s always someone who does.  Lastly, in the evening, some scented candles add to the atmosphere, making your wedding one to remember!

As usual if you have any ideas to share, please feel free to leave a comment or for more unique party ideas, tips and customer reviews of our wedding guest books and wedding guest book ideas, please visit our blog.

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Wedding Planners….not just for Footballers Wives!

February 10th, 2010

It used to be that wedding planners were considered a bit OTT (think Frauuunk from ‘Father of the Bride’).  They were fine for footballers wives and minor royalty but most of us had enough got along fine with family and friends.  However wedding planning is now a viable option for many of us as they offer a range of services, suiting all budgets and requirements.

I’ve worked with the lovely people at the UKAlliance of Wedding Planners which is a professional organisation which trains and vets wedding planners to meet their strict criteria. After all, if you’re going to entrust your wedding day to someone you don’t know, you want to be sure they’ve got the skills and commitment to make it the best day possible.

The UKAWP suggest that there are 5 categories of service available. First comes the ‘all bells and whistles’ Full Planning & Management. Your planner will sort every element of your wedding for you, based exactly on your requirements. They’ll manage your budget for you which is no small task in itself, source suppliers from photographers to florists and will work tirelessly to create your dream wedding. On the day you’ll be left stress-free and able to focus on your day, leaving the details to them.

Final Few Weeks
For most of us, we’re happy to source our own suppliers, etc but could really do with some help in those last few weeks when everything appears super-stressful. You’ll meet with your planner who will also visit your venue, sort out your schedule and make sure your big day runs smoothly.

On The Day Management
This is just a fantastic option for those couples who have exacting standards but wish to have a relaxed wedding day. You make the arrangements and on the day your planner co-ordinates your suppliers, so you can just kick back and relax. They’ll handle everything from dressing your venue to getting your photo guest book signed, whatever you need.

Venue Search
This is a great option for helping to manage your budget. You simply provide your planner with a brief about your wedding, numbers, preferred venue type etc and they’ll provide a short-list for you.

Supplier search
Similar to the venue search, if you’re struggling to find a florist who can make a rose archway, or a fantastic Carnival Band to stun your guests, then you should consider using a supplier search service.

Choosing a reputable wedding planner could be the best wedding decision you make!

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Personalised Wedding invitations – unique, alternative ideas

February 1st, 2010

There are absolutely LOADS of gorgeous Wedding Stationers to choose from, to suit every price range from budget to luxury.  I love the beautiful designs from Maida Vale and Ella Announcements (below) but what can you do for something a little alternative and personalised?
Ella Announcements

I’ve seen some great ideas used – some more user friendly than others it has to be said! At the budget end of the scale is the option of sending all your guests a CD invitation. The benefit of this is that it’s cheap to produce and send and you can have as much information on there as you want. You could even include engagement photos or have background music playing when the file is opened. Really the only limit on how personalised this can be comes down to your technical skills. The only downside to this is if you’ve got guests who aren’t computer literate.

Another interesting idea is the ‘message in a bottle’, available from Violet and Blue. Perfect for a wedding abroad, you can personalise your invitation using a scroll.

Again, if you’re computer literate you can have some fun creating your own humourous invites. Friends of ours who shall remain nameless found a fantastic cartoon photo of two well-endowed ‘naturists’ posing nude which they superimposed their own heads onto. It probably isn’t everyones cup of tea, but it was really funny and very memorable – perfect for their wedding.

Other friends also designed their own invitations by taking pictures of bride and groom ‘Little People’ and editing the photo to add text wordiong on top. It was great, very personal and also very cute.

Lastly, if you just want to have traditional wording but still want a little something different, how about usingWildflower Seed Paper to print your invites. Your guests will certainly remember your wedding when they look at the beautiful wild flowers growing in their garden as a result.

As usual if you have any ideas to share, please feel free to leave a comment or for more unique party ideas, tips and customer reviews of our wedding guest books and wedding guest book ideas, please visit:www.instantforever.com/blog/.

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Flower Girl – what does this entail?

January 26th, 2010

My Sister-in-law is getting married this summer and I’m honoured to have been chosen as Matron of Honour, which makes me sound very elderly!  My young daughter, J, who will be 20 months old by then will be a Flower Girl and will no doubt look very lovely in her little dress.  But what does a flower girl actually do?  Here are a few tips:

Flower girls are the youngest bridesmaids and you may choose one or two little girls to be the flower girl(s). Ideally they should be aged between four and eight, however there’s no denying the cute factor involved with pre-schoolers toddling around in gorgeous frocks.

Little Flower Girl

Little Flower Girl

Before the Wedding

If you’re having a rehearsal, plan it so that your flower girls can attend.  Walking into a big echoey church with lots of people watching can be daunting, but a practice run first will ease those nerves.

During The Wedding

•Ideally the flower girl should walk directly in front of the bride in the processional and in front of the maid of honor in the recessional.  However if you’ve got under 4’s, you might find it easier to have them walk with the Matron of Honour / Chief bridesmaid (and maybe consider the benefits of a ’hands free’ flower option for your chief bridesmaid such as a corsage, in case they’d prefer to hold hands)
 •Your flower girl may scatter flower or rose petals as she walks down the aisle.  Alternatively, she could hand out single flowers to guests as she walks, or perhaps simply carry a small posy or bunch of flowers.
 •During the ceremony, the flower girl may sit with her family or stand near the bridesmaids.  Obviously for younger children sitting with their families is probably a better option.
 •The flower girl should always appear in any formal photographs along with the rest of the bridal party.

The Reception

 •If there will be a reception line, it isn’t necessary for the flower girl to be part of this.
•The flower girl usually sits with their family rather than at on the top table.

 Tips

 •To avoid fussy meltdowns, have the flower girl wear comfortable shoes and clothes.
 •NO SUGAR before the ceremony, unless you want your flower girl bouncing down the aisle like tigger. However it might be a good idea to keep some aside for after the ceremony as a reward for good behaviour.
 •Try not to overly hype up her role. Sing songs, or play games to keep them entertained while you’re waiting to walk down the aisle.
•And lastly, don’t forget to show your appreciation to your flower girl by giving her a small gift to keep.

For more unique party ideas, tips and customer reviews of our wedding guest books and wedding guest book ideas, please visit:www.instantforever.com/blog/

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