Thinking of Hiring a Wedding Planner? on average 38% of Couples do

Planning your wedding will be one of the most exciting things you do in life! However; do you have the time or the desire to spend on the less fun aspects of planning a wedding such as ensuring you have sourced reputable suppliers at the right prices, chasing suppliers, sourcing the finest details to incorporate within your wedding, ensuring supplier payments have been made in time…

These and many other aspects of planning a wedding can take up to and above around 250 hours
which is equivalent to the average job for 6 to 8 weeks. If you are a professional working long hours or a full time parent or you simply feel overwhelmed even by the simple thought of such a large scale and demanding task; here are a few ways in which a wedding planner can be of assistance:

Perfection On Your Day - Planning a wedding takes time and a wedding planner knows which suppliers will best meet your requirements at the best prices.

Budgeting Assistance - Money is the number one factor when planning a wedding. A wedding planner can assist you source the most suitably priced suppliers and will ensure you are always aware of all outstanding balance dates.

Supplier Sourcing - Locating suppliers within budget and whom are trustworthy can be time consuming and somewhat stressful. A wedding planner has a long list of reputable suppliers to suit your style, theme and budget.

An Enjoyable Wedding Planning Experience - Planning a wedding can be stressful so have a planner listen to your wishes, take on the stress and realise your dreams.

Creativity - Weddings are very special occasions and everything must be just so. A wedding planner will listen to your ideas and will ensure they are brought to life. If you are unsure of what you want; a good wedding planner will be able to advice you based on your initial ideas.

Alternative Destination Weddings - Many couples like to marry abroad or outside their local area. This can add to the demands of planning a wedding.

Many Brides confuse an independent wedding planner with their venue’s wedding co-ordinator. The difference between the two is that an independent wedding planner is hired by the Bride & Groom and not by the venue as a wedding co-ordinator is. Although the wedding co-ordinator will assist couples plan related aspects of their wedding related to the venue its self; an independent wedding planner will be on hand to assist couples deal with ALL aspects of their entire wedding, hen & stag, honeymoon and everything else in between.

An independent wedding planner is hired to work for Bride & Groom by listening to their ideas, getting to know people within the wedding party and providing ideas, assistance and innovative or traditional suggestions to ensure their Big day is exactly what they dreamed for it to be without any stress or worries along the way or on the day its self!

Kate Leonardi-Green of Engaging Events
www.engagingevents-bykate.co.uk

Avoid Scammers on Facebook, use registered companies and websites instead.

I am on a few groups and pages on Facebook, and there seems to be an increase in Brides being
scammed or conned.  It seems there are a few people who sell wedding items on Facebook that aren't companies, who just primarily sell items via Facebook sites.  People are told to make sure to use PayPal, in case of any problems, but it seems that many Brides are still being talked out of their hard earned cash.

I would say its always better to buy from registered websites and companies, they know the rules they have to abide by, and they have more security measures in place to make sure you don't get conned.  Please understand, these companies have slightly higher prices because of the outlay they have to have in order to keep the business running.  The sellers on Facebook that have no overheads so can sell the items cheaper for you, but they don't have the professionalism that a website/company has.  They also don't have the commitment that websites have.   

If you do decide to buy from Facebook sellers, always make sure you check if they have had trouble in the past and make sure you use PayPal.  But spare a thought for the businesses that are trying to do their best for you, like us, we keep our prices as low as possible for our customers, but there is always someone willing to make a little less, which, when you have a business and website commitments you cannot compete with.

www.tiptopweddingshop.co.uk

Why do brides wear Veils?

I was asked about this, and I didn't know the answer.  After looking around for a while I have found out that its an old pagan tradition, the bride wore a veil to keep evil spirits at bay that may try and take the purity of the Bride away.  I have also found out that it used to be either red or yellow.

I have also seen that the veil is used so that the groom cannot see the bride before they're married, or to imply that the Groom thinks she's beautiful skin deep.

Modern veils have two parts to them, the top part is put over the brides head until after the ceremony.

We have a great range of wedding veils on our site, they come in many sizes and designs. http://www.tiptopweddingshop.co.uk/catalog/Bridal_Veils-408-1.html

A Brilliant wedding at Beeston Manor in the Autumn

Last October we got married at Beeston Manor.  The staff were amazing, very accommodating and helpful and the food was amazing. 

The menu was great, we asked for a few items that weren't on their usual wedding breakfast menu, and they were very happy to help. As it was an autumn wedding, I had to ask for pumpkin soup, which was absolutely amazing!  The fish and chips and pie and mash which we had for mains were also great.  The best food I've ever had at a wedding!

The puddings were apple pie and custard and sticky toffee pudding, a great end to a great meal.  We loved that we could choose a really English menu, and they did it brilliantly. 

I would highly recommend Beeston Manor, not just for the food they made, but also for how helpful they were through out the wedding.

www.beestonmanor.com

Ordering a Wedding dress from China? me too, went ok for me!

When we decided we were getting married, I knew for a fact I didn't want a 'normal' wedding dress. I would have loved a red one, but not wanting to go too OTT, I decided to go for one that was ivory and red.  All the ones I loved were from China and on Ebay.  I bit the bullet and ordered this dress:

a few months later my dress arrived.  It was in a very small plastic bag, well my heart sank.  I had ordered a underskirt too, no way did I think my dress would fit in this bag.

I got it home and tried it on with the underskirt sent, it was no where near as bad as I had thought.  I did make the decision then to buy another underskirt, once this arrived I found that I liked the dress more.

I had a few issues with the dress, apparently wedding dresses from china are very well known for the zips breaking.  Luckily years of time at the theatre and helping my mum make costumes, I fitted a new zip, it fit so much better once I had done this.

I did wonder whether I should buy a new dress, as it wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be, and didn't really look like the image.  I think that was the problem I had with the dress, I really thought it would be the same as the image.  Once I had resigned myself to the fact that the dress itself was beautiful, even though it didn't look like the dress I had wanted, I loved it.

These dresses from China seem to have he same idea as the image you are shown. I expected my dress to have layers and layers of tulle, it had one.  The design and detail was the same as I had thought, just the skirt wasn't anywhere near as full as I had thought.

If I was to do this again, I would still go for it and order the dress from China, as even though it may not quite be what you think, it will definitely be worth the price you paid.  Mine was around £150 in total after 2 underskirts (I wore both on the day)

New Bridal shoes and handbags! just added, great colours and designs

Check out our great new wedding shoes, we also have matching handbags.  They come in a wide range of colours and designs, all at great prices. 

We have some platform shoes, sandals, court shoes and more, great for the bride, bridesmaids and mother of the bride. 

We have a great range that come in Ivory or white, and other colours such as black, grey, silver, taupe, aqua green, and much more


Take a look at our great range of wedding shoes on our site http://www.tiptopweddingshop.co.uk/catalog/Wedding_Shoes-365-1.html

Shaw Hill Golf Club Wedding Venue - Sunday Lunch review

We have just been to Shaw Hill Golf Club for Sunday lunch.  It was for a party of 9, for a 89th Birthday party.

The food was great, we had 3 courses for £17.95. 
Their Sunday lunch I would assume is
 very similar to their wedding breakfast.  We had a choice of a few items, but not a big menu.  I had Pate to start, and chicken with a chilli mash for main, most of the other people had the beef Sunday lunch with homemade Yorkshire pudding, which looked really good.  Vegetables were served separate so you could add your own.

The puddings were also a good choice, everyone enjoyed them!  The strawberry and pear pudding was especially good.

The staff were great, very accommodating, and very pleasant. 

I had never realised that there was a restaurant in Shaw Hill, as I had never seen it advertised.  I would recommend this for Sunday lunch, but have also heard many good things about their weddings too. 

The venue's décor is beautifully done, very tidy and grand, but with a modern twist.

Check out http://www.shaw-hill.co.uk/