About 1 1/2 weeks Gail asked me to help her with their wedding day schedule. We had a few consult meetings and discussed the ceremony and reception in detail. I thoroughly enjoyed every single moment of the planning.

The wedding ceremony was held in the most beautiful church, St Michael le Belfrey in York, and it was a beautiful service.  Prior to the service there was a violinist playing and the service was filled with family readings and some amazing singers during the signing of the register.

Oh what a beautiful bride!!! Gail Foster and Rob Drever-Smith were announced as Mr and Ms Drever-Smith…

Photography by Jim Sefton

The reception was held at ‘The Hagg Farm’ Askham Bryan in a Marquee, the setting was just amazing, from bouncy castles, games and an evening filled with fun.

I really do hope that Gail and Rob had the special day they will always remember..

It is always nice to see such a lovely couple get married, and as their wedding planner I feel privileged being part of there beautiful day…

Catering: TableMaids.com

Singer: Tom Homes

Photographer : Chris Chambers

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!

I hope that 2011 will bring you all the happiness and love you all deserve.

When you start planning your wedding, get as many ideas as possible. Look in magazines, books, online, speak to friends for ideas and inspiration.  It doesn’t have to match, just be creative and over the top with your ideas. Keep all this information together, maybe make a folder with all the photos and clippings you have.

If you are having a specific theme, and it is very important to you, you should definitely decide on the theme before booking the venue. If you don’t, your theme might not match with the décor of the venue.

Determine how many people you going to invite and mostly importantly what your budget is.

Now start building your storyboard.  Get at least one idea or clipping for your stationery, table decorations, bridesmaids clothes, cake and flowers. Use the ideas you have gathered in your folder.

It is important to start planning early and most importantly have fun!

As long as I can remember I have always associated snow with it being a magical and festive time, cold, yet magical. I know most couples prefer to have their wedding in the warmer seasons, but there is a sense of romance and mystic when there is snow all around.

There are a few benefits to having your wedding in the winter. The venues are much more affordable and more likely to negotiate with you. Most of the vendors will have some specials or discounted prices for the winter months and you are more likely to get the vendors that are very popular in the summer months. This is a great way to save money if you are on a budget.

Imagine your wedding is a winter wonderland, filled with icy blue, white and silver decorations. Think about ice sculptures in the reception and snowflakes on top of the cake as decoration. Think of hot chocolate and cozy couches with blankets for your guests.

You are wearing a beautiful soft silky white wedding gown, with a hooded cloak in white faux fur trim. Your bridesmaid(s) are wearing plain white dresses with an icy blue sash and some beautiful blue flower bouquets. The groom, the man of your dreams, and of course the best man are wearing white tuxedos with icy blue buttonholes. Spectacular!

Keep the colors simple, and the décor interesting, and it will truly be your magical and beautiful wedding in a Winter Wonderland.

When a woman gets married she has to make a decision on whether she will be changing her maiden name (her surname before marriage).  It is not a legal requirement to change your surname to your married surname.

If you are taking your husband’s surname upon marriage but still wish to have your maiden name incorporated in your new name, you could consider having your maiden name as a middle name.

Maiden vs Married?

If you decide not to take your husbands surname, you should consider the implications of this particularly with regards to your children. It may also be confusing for others when you are applying for joint accounts, legal and social arrangements.

I believe whatever you decide; it is a personal preference and a decision only can make with your husband.

Ultimately, you still marrying the man you love and that is all that matters.

The day you get engaged is one of those days that you will never forget! The man you love has asked you to be his wife, how romantic is that?  When the excitement has worn off it is time to start planning your wedding. Whether you are planning to get married in a year or 6 months it is always better to start planning immediately.

Here are my top tips for planning your wedding:

There are three aspects to a wedding to consider:

How much time do you have? How much will it cost? What quality do you want to achieve?

If you change one or more of these factors you will impact the others. Remember they are always linked to each other.

If you want your wedding to be perfect for you, it is important to do the necessary planning.

The first thing you need to do is set a high level budget for your wedding.  This is probably the most important thing for you to do. Make sure you know who will be contributing towards the wedding.

Decide on the ceremony, reception and evening event venue(s). Start collecting information on service providers, and get at least three quotes per service provider. I will discuss service providers in a different post but please make sure you sign a contract with each of them, including the venue(s).

Do not underestimate the time you need to plan your wedding and make sure you have some contingency time built into your plan.

Happy planning!

I went to the Harrogate Wedding show this weekend at the Harrogate International Centre. It is situated in the heart of the city and I went with my friend Samantha, and we had such an awesome time!

The exhibitions where all of excellent standard and we went to every stand to get information about their services and possible meetings I can have with them.

It is extremely costly to exhibit at these events and to my fascination at some of the stalls they were not really interested to speak to us. Unfortunately as a wedding planner it raises some alarm bells as to how their service would be if they can’t provide a service at the show.

The fashion show was absolutely awesome and the wedding dresses are just spectacular. The models were very entertaining and added an extra bit of flair to the show. One of them had a Marilyn Monroe look and an awesome personality to go with it! The fashion show on a purpose built stage displayed the bridal and formal wear with accompanying entertainment from recording star Jason Isaacs.

They gave us wonderful goodie bags filled with treats from hair products, facial products and some nice goodies to eat.

I really do believe these shows are valuable to couples getting married, and make sure you  get us much information about all the possible vendors available.

I will be setting up meetings with some new vendors I met at the show, to ensure every wedding is as perfect and beautiful as the bride and groom wants it to be.