Sneaky Peek!

13 Months, 11 Days to Go!

We have booked the wedding party suits! How many brides book the suits before the bridesmaid dresses? What’s going on there?!

We walk past the tailors on our way into town so I just went in and made an appointment. At the very least, it gives me something to tick off our list. We went with Blooms in Wolverhampton as it’s in a very convenient place and the service was so good!

The gentleman who looked after us, Roger, is just absolutely brilliant. I first spoke to him at a wedding fayre about a year ago and the amount of time he spent chatting to us was just brilliant. He really gave us a feel of what we wanted and what our choices were for our wedding. And he’s a jolly nice bloke too!

We booked an appointment for yesterday as they are very busy on Saturdays. Luckily, for the hour we’d booked we had pretty much the whole of the wedding area to ourselves and it wasn’t until we left that it got busier.

H2b tried on an Edwardian jacket with stripy suit trousers, tails with stripy trousers and a normal suit jacket. A frock coat was mentioned but as that is what undertakers wear, we decided not to go that route!

The stripy trousers added definite height to the over all look however the Edwardian suit made h2b  look a bit short. A transformation took place when h2b swapped his jacket to a tails jacket, he suddenly seemed to grow four inches! H2b isn’t short, although he is under 6 feet tall. I’ve seen friends of mine over 6 feet tall wearing an Edwardian jacket and he looked fab but on your slightly shorter men it doesn’t look as good, I think.

H2b looked absolutely gorgeous in the tails! The stripy trousers made him look really smart and the whole look really suited him. Choosing the colour of the cravat and handkerchief was a little harder. They have a fantastic selection at  Blooms, but I liked the mat colour the best.

Dad came with us. Dad tried on the tails with the stripy trousers but he wore a lilac cravat and lilac handkerchief as this is what I’m planning on having the grooms men wear. Standing next to my h2b it really gave  me a real feel of the day and let me see what suited the men. I first chose a dark purple cravat for h2b but none of the colours in our wedding are dark purple so then Roger suggested dark lilac, as featured in the picture above of h2b.

I’m not a fan of the shiny, satin-like ties, I prefer the matt ones but I’m not sure what the fabric is called.

Looking at h2b all dressed up in his wedding suit was just amazing. It was like a flash forward preview of our day and I could picture him waiting at the end of the aisle for me. It was a lovely day and Roget at Blooms helped us to make the right decisions.

And it’s one more thing ticked off our list! :o)

My Venue, Madeley Court Hotel

Madeley Court Hotel

view Madeley Court Hotel website

We’d almost booked Rowton Castle, we almost booked Somerford Hall so that when we looked at Madeley Court I wasn’t expecting much. I absolutely fell in love!

It does have that winding drive way, albeit along side a leisure centre, but a row of trees would hide that fence. It is an old country manor house; it was a catholic stronghold, owned by an abbey but it passed into private ownership at the dissolution of the monasteries. It has been lovingly restored by Madeley’s previous owners and has recently passed into the ownership of Mercure Hotels.

We first saw Madeley Court Jan 2010, I went with my mum to have a look. I was sceptical. The gate house did make me gasp as we came around the corner as it looks like an old castle gatehouse. Just stunning. We had a meeting with Peter, the wedding coordinator, who was so professional and friendly and took the time to show us all around the hotel and the Mill, where our reception will be held. 

The Mill has recently been restored and looks amazing, with a medieval style.There are two minstrel's galleries at either end, medieval paintings across the walls, a gorgeous carpet which can be removed to reveal a dance floor, and plenty of space! The Mill is on two floors, the ground floor is a spacious but dark bar and the top floor is a vast room big enough for a wedding breakfast.

What we wanted was a room big enough for a wedding breakfast and then big enough for a right old knees up in the evening. The Mill at Madeley Court is the first wedding venue that I saw which achieved this. I knew this was something h2b was concerned about, having enough space, so as soon as I saw that this was one of the biggest rooms I’d seen, then I was hooked! It also has the second room for those of your guests who want to retreat from the loud music, the bar downstairs. I also wanted to set up space for some mahjong tables, as I will be having some Chinese guests, and the Mill has plenty of space for this.

And Peter is absolutely fantastic. He’s serious and dedicated and he has a brilliant sense of humour. Just talking things through with him the other day really put a lot of our thoughts at ease. He is full of funny wedding stories, I could listen to him talking about past weddings! My friend’s little sister is getting married at Madeley Court in June, and as soon as I mentioned her name he reeled off her wedding date and knew exactly who I was talking about, even though he must be working with hundreds of couples each year. And yesterday, I was asked at a wedding fayre where my venue is and as soon as I mentioned Madeley Court the chap said Peter was fantastic and we are in safe hands. I really do feel that I’m in safe hands and I believe that Peter will do his best to give us the most wonderful day!

Why We Booked
I have a check list of things I wanted from my venue and Madeley ticked most of the boxes! 

1. Old manor house with lots of character and original features
2. Long, romantic, winding drive down to the manor house
3. Large room for the wedding breakfast and the evening reception
4. Second room for guests to go to if they don’t like the music but still being a part of the wedding
5. Catering and bar services all sorted for us
6. On site accommodation for us and our guests
7. An amazing wedding coordinator who also works as master of ceremonies
8. Ample parking
9. In the countryside

The only element that I don’t like is that Madeley Court is in Madeley and is surrounded by the leisure centre and houses. Luckily it is difficult to see any of these from the grounds and you’re so surrounded by history and beautiful buildings that one tends not to look outside the grounds.

You can see from my photos that the houses and leisure centre are nowhere to be seen. I feel like Madeley Court is a wow venue, and with so many of our guests attending our wedding coming to the UK for the first time, we really wanted something that was going to wow them.

My Recommendations
As Madeley Court is my venue of course I’m going to recommend it. I think that Madeley Court is ideal for a bride who has a moderate sized budget, who loves history and beautiful architecture, and who wants a large-ish space for a wonderful party. It’s ideal for a bride who wants to be taken care of by a wonderful wedding coordinator and yet has her own ideas for how she wants things to be.

It’s difficult to think why I wouldn’t recommend Madeley Court, I think everyone should get married here! Everyone who wants a historical venue. If you want an ultra modern wedding venue then Madeley Court is not for you.

Photo Albums

I have already posted that I believe photos are one of the most important aspects of a wedding. This is why my h2b and I chose Clive Blair to be our photographer. I may have mentioned that h2b and I were absolutely inspired by all his pictures. I honestly cannot recommend Clive enough but this post is about wedding albums.

Since we booked Clive he’s introduced Queensbury albums. They look spectacular! They appear similar to photo books but with the quality of a traditional album. My sister-in-law and my brother have this tome, I call it, a huge wedding album in a traditional style. I wanted a tome, but I like the style of the photo books. It appears that Queensbury albums combine the quality of a traditional album with the modern chic of a photo book. This is what I want for my wedding album, something that we could keep for the rest of our lives as a reflection of the most wonderful day we spent together, and the start of our married life.

However, that’s just the one album for you and your hubby to keep, what about the rest of your family who want an album. Clive does offer parent albums, but perhaps your sister would like a picture because your niece was a bridesmaid.  Many photographers out there offer a CD only service, where they take a lot of photos and put them on a disk for you to order your own wedding album. This is a cheaper and quicker way of seeing your wedding photos but which photo album should you choose?

There are so many websites out there that offer photo books by uploading your own photos and making a book, printed with a hard cover. As I’m a bit obsessed with photos, I do make quite a few photo books. My h2b takes some brilliant photos and I make them up into books so I have used a few of the photo book websites.

Photobox
User friendly, easy to use, fantastic templates and plenty of choice, Photobox was the first photo book making company that I started to use. This picture here is of me holding the first photo book that I made for my fiancé and I to celebrate seven years together.

There are a variety of covers available in a variety of colours. I chose a black cover because I thought that would be more manly for my h2b. I would have liked a pink cover!

Photobox offers a variety of different products. My friends bought their thank you cards from Photobox, they looked fantastic and they’re a memento from the day. I will be doing the same. Other products include calendars and diaries, wall decor, photo mugs, prints and home gifts. The photo book I received was very high quality. One of the pictures I used was from the camera I had in 2003 which was barely 3 mega pixels, when I put that photo into the album they told me that the photo wasn’t print quality. That kind of help is invaluable! (I used it anyway, it was an important picture!)

The photo books come in different sizes and shapes. It depends on which photo album you’d like. It’s completely online, there’s nothing to download and it’s all easy to use. You can even preview your creation online before you print. My dad so loved the album I had from Photobox that we made a funeral album for my Granddad’s funeral. It was filled with photos from my Granddad’s life and everyone at the funeral said it was lovely and deeply touching. See, photos are for any occasion.

Blurb
Blurb is a website I’ve only just started using and I like the look of it. They have a variety of methods for creating a photo book.  You can use a pdf book, if you’ve taken the time to make one, download their book making program, or make a book online. I have tried both in the interest of giving you a full review – and wow!

I first tried making a book using the BookSmart program that is downloadable from the Blurb website. There is a fairly clear user guide, some interesting templates and the option to edit layout. To me, an amateur, I think this is amazing! I get the feeling that some of the elements of BookSmart are aimed at marketing or advertising companies, as they are very customisable. You can add photo boxes, text boxes, resize these boxes and move them around the page in any layout that you’d like. Imagine working on your wedding pictures, creating an album for a friend and you can design the layout into any format you like.
I am fairly computer savvy but I did find this program very easy and simple to use. I was just bashing about pressing buttons to see what happens but I achieved a fairly nice effect using this program.

I’ve added a photo here to show what the photos looked like when I added them to the template. Pretty nifty if I do say so myself. I just quickly added some photos from my computer (there’s also the option to add from online albums) and messed about slotting the pictures into the spaces.

It really depends how much time you would like to put into your photo album. If this was the only option I had for my wedding album I might spend a bit more time making it. As it stands, this is the kind of thing I would enjoy spending my time making as I’m that sort of person, so I would really use this type of program.

The Bookify option doesn’t seem to have as many templates. I chose a small square album as I would if were making an album for my parents to have and there was a set format that I couldn’t change, although I could alter colours of backgrounds and so forth. This could give the less computer savvy person the option of using a simpler book builder. The BookSmart option does give you a lot more control over what your final book will look like.

Boots
Just to demonstrate how good Photobox is, Boot’s online photo book maker is in partnership with Photobox! I was about to type that I thought the Boots books were very similar to the Photobox ones, and then when I click on the website I see that they are made by the very same company! It goes to show that not only do Photobox provide an excellent professional service, but they are also used by a nation wide chain of shops – a brand that we all visit and use from time to time.

Jessops
Jessops use CEWE to make their photo books. There doesn’t appear to be an online photo book making function, but the program is easy to download and install. However, I didn’t find the program as easy to use as the Photobox and Blurb programs.

I’m not sure if I clicked on anything wrong but the pictures I’d selected (randomly from my pictures folder) filled into the album without me indicating where I wanted them to go. Once you get the hang of it, it is possible to customise the backgrounds, photo layout, and add additional photos to the page. It takes a bit of fiddling and experimentation, but there is a fairly decent customisable element to the program.

Kodak
Kodak’s photo book maker is online, where you can upload your photos to their website and  then edit them into your photo album book. I like the function that you can add yourself as a guest, you don’t necessarily have to sign in or register to use their website. Always a bonus if you’re in a rush.

Depending on the size of your photos and on your internet speed, the uploader is fairly speedy. I uploaded a few pictures from my computer to use with the album and it was fairly speedy.

There is the option to change the layout of the photos if chosen from a set layout, but it seems like the background colours aren’t customisable. It is quick and easy to use, just a drag and drop system, but for me I’d rather use a much more personalised layout than simply using the set layouts.

My Conclusion

Which ever website you decide to use, remember you could always ask your photographer for his or her recommendation. I think it’s important to weigh up cost with the product you receive in the end, and to think about how you want the photos from one of the most important days of your life to be presented. Think about how much time you have, and how much computer know how. Each of the websites have their own positives and negatives, I’ve tried to give you a fair appraisal of all the main ones that I use so that you can decide from a bride’s opinion.

Wedding Arguments

picture from Info Barrel website

My h2b and I had a disagreement! Well we had a discussion and the problem is that we both think we're right. When I tell our friends that we've bickered they roll their eyes because it's true, our disagreements are trivial. 

This one is about attendants. My h2b (hubby-to-be) is Chinese and Canadian so he's not familiar with your traditional wedding customs. Those north Americans add a twist to their weddings that makes them slightly different to your traditional protestant wedding. 

More about that another time. 

Our disagreement was about attendants, as I've said. H2b said that he probably shouldn't have asked his best man to be his best man because his best man is already married. When h2b's sister got married, h2b was best man because he was the only unmarried man that they knew. Traditionally, it doesn't matter if the best man is already married, as long as he is a man who is very close to the groom either as a friend or a brother. 

It's traditionally the bridesmaids who are unmarried. They are maids, which in the olden days meant unmarried woman, and also meant virgins! One of my bridesmaids is married because she's my best friend and I wanted her as a bridesmaid, and I'm fairly sure the rest of the adult bridesmaids aren't maids at all, but that was the olden days. My married friend should be my 'matron of honour' as this is what traditionally would be the married bridesmaid. However, the only matron of honour I've ever seen was my Aunt's friend at her second wedding. My aunt was in her 50's when she remarried, as was her friend. The matron of honour (my mum) wasn't dressed like the bridesmaids as one was me, and I was 10 at the time. 

I think that nowadays, it's up to the bride and groom to choose their attendants. Married or not married I think that's by the by. Personally, I might think twice about having an attendant who was divorced, but that's just me. If my best friend was divorced, she'd still be a bridesmaid, but if it was someone not so close to me, I'd really have to think about it. 

Bottom line is: it doesn't  matter if the best man or groomsmen are already married or not! 
So there, h2b! :oP

Who to Invite?!

When choosing who to invite to your wedding, you may struggle to keep the numbers down. Many people may care about you and want to see you get married, however each person will cost you that little bit more money. It's finding that balance between having everyone you want to attend your wedding and making it affordable. 


I found this flowchart online, and there is an almost identical one in an issue of Wedding Ideas. I'm not sure where the flowchart originally came from but it was on a website with a translation into Malay. 

For example, lets try Aunty Hilda. Are either of you related to her? Yes. Will it create a family drama if you leave her off the list? No. Have you seen or spoken to her in the last year? No. Where you invited to her wedding? No, but then she was married in the 60's, so not sure that counts. Would her presence at the wedding make it more fun? Well... no, not really. She's not invited. 


It's a bit harsh and a simplistic view of how to choose your guests to your wedding but if you're really struggling then this could help. It would certainly help my h2b who wants to invite everyone he's ever met in his entire life! 

Photographers!

Photography is a topic close to my heart. I love taking photos, I always have ever since I was a little girl. My friends can barely meet up with me without a flash going off in their faces. And it's one of the few things I have in common with my fiancé! We both love taking photos but he's the only one with the fancy DSLR camera. (I'm saving up for mine but this pesky wedding got in the way! lol) 


We are amateur photographers and as such have a keen eye as to what counts as good photography, and what counts as fairly average photography. Not that we're experts, just very fussy! 


Because of our hobby, it was very difficult to find a photographer we liked. We looked at the photographers our venue recommended and well, they didn't inspire us. They were good but I do think your photographer should be able to take better photos than you can. We amateur photographed my best friend's wedding and some of our photos turned out absolutely amazing and I'm personally really pleased with them. 


That is why we chose Clive Blair to be our photographer. His photos are breath taking, taken from interesting angles, utilising mirrors and wonderful moments. When we were looking through his sample albums, it was like looking at what our wedding could be like.

When I was showing my mother the prospective photographers, she complained about every single photographer. She said that he'd cut off the bride's head, or he'd got the photo at the wrong angle, taking photos of the back of someone's head. Whinge, whinge, whinge... Until she saw Clive's photos. Mum was very quiet, just soaking in how amazing his photos were. I just can't praise him or recommend him enough. And he is a nice guy too! 


After your wedding, when you've spent all that time planning, spent all that money on dresses and venues and invites and favours and flowers and so many things, the photos are what you have left, as well as a wonderful marriage. They are a lasting memento of your wonderful wedding day. I think the photos for your wedding are worth spending a chunk of your budget on. 


As for talking to your photographer, here are some tips and questions to ask:

• Websites!
  Before meeting up with your photographer, have a look at his website. This will give you some idea of his better photos and will give you some ideas for questions to ask him/her/them.
  
• Can we see a sample album?
  It sounds simple but this will give you the best idea of what your photos are going to be like. Look at the composition of the photos, are they want you want you photos to look like? Could you take photos like that? Do they give you a feel of what your wedding could be like?
   
• Will you be our photographer?
  If you're going through one of the bigger photography companies, this might be a pertinent question. The person you're taking to may be booked on that date, make sure you're getting the photographer you want.
  
• Do you work on your own or are you a team?
  Team photographers are the best, in my opinion. One will follow you in the morning, beautifying yourself for your big moment, while the other follows your fiancé and his nervous preparations. I'd love to catch a glimpse of my fiancé looking a bit worried. I know he'd have a good sense of humour about it! But I also think, that if a single photographer produces such amazing photos then it's important to choose him or her.
  
• How long will it be before we see our wedding photos?
  Some photographers have a 2 week turn around, others spend more time and the photos arrive later. One of my friends received their wedding photos 9 months after their wedding, that's a bit extreme I think. It depends on your album but expect a reasonable turn around.
  
• What would you do if it rains?
  Or if it snows, which it has done recently? Or if the groom breaks a leg? Or if aliens abduct the best man? A good photographer will know what to do in all these occasions because he'll be experienced and have contingency plans.
  
• Do you do an engagement shoot?
  An engagement shoot gives you the chance to not only have some lovely pictures of you and your fiancé, but also it gives you the opportunity to learn your best angle, to relax in front of the camera so that when it's your Big Day you will be able to take the best photographs you can. 

I think you should really go with your gut on this one. You will know what you think are the best photos, you will know how much of your budget you will want to dedicate to photos. 

Beyond Excited

My wedding is 14 months away, but it's predominant in my  mind. I was trying to work out why. Of course, it's going to be an amazing day and there's a lot to organise, but why is it so exciting? My fiancé and I have been together for almost 8 years, engaged for 18 months, and although I'm very excited to become Mrs Wong (and as I'm a teacher the kids will be calling me Mrs Wong quite a bit) it really is just one day, and what will change really? 


Here are the reasons I came up with as to why I'm so excited, and why you should be too! 

• You get to be the main attraction, the centre of attention:
  I'm not a huge fan of being the centre of attention, not all the time, but when it's something special like your birthday or a promotion, it's nice to be the centre of attention, and weddings count too! All that planning and time and stress you've put in are finally worth it!
  
• Taking his Surname
  That's if you are taking his surname, but I'm looking forward to taking his name so much! His surname is a lot more interesting than mine and it'll be lots of fun! It's not very feminist of me to look forward to changing my name, but it's a little special thing that I think is really nice.
  
• Breaking the Dress Diet!
  Although you'll be very proud of all the weight you've lost, how you've avoided carbs and fat for the last year and spent every waking moment at the gym, finally.... Finally! You can eat a big main meal and have a pudding and then eat cake after it!
  
• Seeing your man all dressed up!
  If your hubby-to-be is like mine, he doesn't get dressed up very often. The chance to see him all dressed up in a proper wedding suit looking suave with his hair done is just wonderful! I'm looking forward to that!
  
• Match Making
  Arranging your seating plan meant that you could seat your gorgeous single friends together, and who knows what might happen? Looking forward to the reception and all the fun it may bring is another fun part of planning your big day, and something else to look forward to!
  
• The Dress
  Many women want to be a princess for a day, and most of us don't get many opportunities to dress up nicely. In my job, there's not much point dressing up nice unless I want paint, playdough, sick and other unmentionables all over my clothes so this one day is a chance for me to dress up and look completely beautiful (I hope). And the dress: my one chance to wear a princess dress and have a princess day.
  
• The First Dance
  After all the practising and rehearsing and changing the song this way and that way, it's finally time to show all your guests your first dance. I'm especially looking forward to my wedding dance because we're starting dance lessons in October so we will have worked really hard on it. I have two left feet and don't want to let my dance guru fiancé down, and I am excited to see everyone's reactions!
  
• The Reception
  A big party with all your friends and family! What could be more fun! All the music you personally enjoy, everyone being merry and a bit tipsy and celebrating your marriage to the man of your dreams! I can't think of a more enjoyable party! I'm really looking forward to that!
  
• The Honeymoon
  I've told fiancé I don't want to know anything about the honeymoon, I want it to be a complete surprise, all I want him to tell me is what kind of clothes I need to pack!  You may think I'm utterly insane but I'm taking over the wedding planning, it'll be good for him to have something that's his and he can decide about. I'm so looking forward to it because I know nothing about it. It'll be amazing! 

All in all, my excitement is fairly understandable. There is so much to look forward to! If your bride harks on a bit too much about the wedding, talking about dresses and invites and cars and orders of service, then give her some leeway, because now you know why she's so excited! 

Wedding Magazines

There are a sea of wedding magazines out there. I have bought at least one copy of all of them, but I prefer to buy three of them regularly, because I like the ones that fit in your handbag. Most of the smaller magazines also have larger options, but I prefer to buy the smaller ones. 


Below is a quick guide to the magazines as far as I see them. They are fairly similar really but I'm sure everyone will have their favourites.


For buying magazines about wedding flowers, buy the magazine in the same season your wedding will be. My wedding is in spring so I will be buying Wedding Flowers magazine in spring. It will be filled with spring flowers and give me a chance to have a look before talking to my florist. 


General Magazines

Wedding Ideas This is my favourite magazine. It doesn't have many articles but I like it because of the way it shows the real life weddings, all the products and ideas it displays and because of the bright colours and friendly layout. I think it's the most accessible of all the wedding magazines and it comes in a handy, handbag size.
Perfect Weddings Very similar to Wedding Ideas, this magazine is again packed full of fantastic wedding ideas with articles to give you tips on anything from booking your photographer to dealing with difficult bridesmaids. The photos are clear and easy to look at. They also have articles about real weddings, but where Wedding Ideas titles the real weddings with the couple’s name, Perfect Weddings titles them with a phrase relating to that wedding.
You&Your Wedding I see this wedding magazine for a more sophisticated bride. The articles aren’t as bright and colourful and the way they present the real weddings are a bit less accessible than in Wedding Ideas. It’s a very good magazine with a lot of good information and helpful tips.
Wedding Magazine Not handbag sized, but still packed full of fab ideas for your weddings. It’s good to have a look at all the different styles of wedding dresses that they have. Wedding is dissimilar to the other magazines, coming from a different angle.
Cosmo Bride From the popular magazine, Cosmopolitan, comes Cosmopolitan Bride. With the same tone and mood of Cosmo, Cosmo Bride covers similar issues as featured in the other magazines but it’s a full size magazine and packed full of useful information.
Brides Another magazine filled with ideas that a new bride-to-be could cut out and start building ideas from. Some articles with tips for dealing with suppliers and looking for venues, Brides is another good place to get some good ideas.

A lot of the magazines are the same but they all have different material in them and are all worth a look. Some are released weekly, some come out monthly. Either way, you will have a lot of opportunities to get lots of ideas.

The First Dance

I think it's important to remember you don't have to have a first dance. If you have two left feet, you're really shy or dancing just isn't your thing, don't have a first dance just because people expect you to, unless you want to. 


I want a first dance, I want it so much my fiancé and I have decided to have dance lessons just to get it right! My fiancé is already a dancer, he does street dance at a local dance studio but I'm a bum wiggler. I need the dance lessons just to keep up with him! I'm really looking forward to starting our dance lessons as it'll also help with losing weight! 


Choosing a song to dance to is difficult. My best friend chose Snow Patrol, Chasing Cars which was absolutely perfect and so romantic. My cousins had Moulin Rogue, Come What May, which was really lovely. Another friend had Yellow by Coldplay, which he told me felt as if it went on for 20 minutes! My brother chose Lets Stick Together by Al Green which was loads of fun for everyone! My fiancé is Canadian so we decided to go with a wedding favourite, Everything I Do by Brian Adams. It's a bit of a cliché but it means something to the both of us and that's what's important.


Top Ten Songs

10, Rule the World by Take That
9, Time of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes (more recently by the Black Eyed Peas)
8, Nothing At All by Ronan Keaton
7, My First, Last, My Everything by Louis Armstrong
6, Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
5, Love is All Around by Wet Wet Wet
4, Take My Breath Away by Berlin
3, I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith
2, Come What May by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman

And the winner for most popular wedding dance song is:
1, Everything I Do by Brian Adams from Robin Hood Prince of Theives, number one in the UK music charts for 16 weeks in 1991. 


Unusual Wedding Dances
One of the best first dances I've ever seen is on youtube that everyone should have a peek of: Evolution of Dance Wedding. If you can't decide on a song for the wedding, have them all! Do you have a friend who is good at mixing music together? Ask them to do you a mix of all your favourite songs and do a dance to all of them! If you have any friends who are good at choreography or who are dancers, or if you're good at learning the dances to songs, you could have lots of fun at your wedding performing a fun dance at this one. 

Alternatively, you could dance up the aisle. 

My Venues - Key Questions

I've started to build some ideas for looking at venues. I was convinced there were almost no nice wedding venues in the West Midlands but after lots of searching (and some help from my mum!), I've found quite a few!

There are lots of different types of venues: country grandeur, city chic and quirky unique. I'm going to blog about all these different types of venue, linking in to venues all around the UK which fit into these ideas, but personally I'm looking for a venue with country grandeur. I want the long drive, the rolling hills, the grand country house with all the history and beautiful, romantic architecture.

Before I go to these venues, I've got my Bride Ideas notebook on me and a space to jot down some questions ready to ask the wedding coordinators. Here are some of my ideas for questions to ask:

• Maximum capacity
  This is an important question because it also says how many people you can invite. If you're having a 300 guest wedding extravaganza, a venue that only holds 60 guests isn't going to work for you.
  Also ask how those guests are seated. A venue that recommends 60 guests but can hold 100 may use long tables instead of circle tables. If you have your heart set on circle tables, this type of venue wouldn't be for you.
  
• Exclusive use
  Are you happy to share your venue with another bride? Some venues are exclusive because they don't have room for another wedding, other venues charge for exclusivity.
  
• Car parking
  This might sound like a boring question, but you will have a lot of people attending your special day. Making sure they have sufficient space to park their cars is just one small step into making the day enjoyable for everyone.
  
• Confetti
  Does the venue allow confetti to be thrown? Is it certain types of confetti? Are you allowed to sprinkle confetti on the tables? Some venues are listed and don't allow confetti to be thrown.
  
• Staying over
  After a long day, you may want to collapse into a hotel bed with the prospect of a hotel breakfast the next day. Can you stay over at your venue? It would mean putting off the tidying up, moving things about and final payments until the next day.
  
• Bride and Groom Room
  Is there a room the bride and groom could have a private five minutes? It's a busy day, you might want five minutes to just take a break. If you can stay over, this might be your hotel room, or if not staying over there might be a spare room for a sit down and a drink.
  
• Quiet spaces
  At the end of the night, when the music is loud, is there a place your older guests can go to be quiet? When looking for venues, I have discounted venues that didn't have a separate room or space for my older guests. Not everyone likes loud music, and to have a good atmosphere at your wedding it's important to make sure everyone has a good time. At my friend's wedding in the summer, guests were standing outside or sitting on the garden furniture outside, would that be possible for your guests?
  
• Menus and Prices per Head
  Ask for some sample menus to get some good ideas of the type of food you will get for your budget. Look at the prices per head and what that includes. Per head, your price could include red carpets, drinks, canapés, and a room for the night. Compare that to other prices where drinks are separate or extra.
  
• Carriages
  Some venues have carriages at 12:30, others will go to 1:00am. Some venues, such as hotels, will have carriages at 12:30 but allow you to continue the party in the hotel bar until you feel like going to bed.
  
• Cancellation policy
  Of course we are not going to cancel but if we do, how much of the deposit will we lose? Things happen, make sure if anything does happen that you know what costs you will need to pay. Read all your terms and conditions!
  
• Payment Dates
  There will probably be dates when you need to make certain amounts of payments with a final payment the morning after your wedding, if you sleep over.
  
• Marriage licence
  Do you want to get married at your reception venue? You will need to make sure that the venue has a marriage licence so that this is popular.
  
• The less common things:
  If you'd like fireworks at your wedding, Chinese lanterns or an arrival by helicopter, remember to ask your venue if they allow these.

I'm taking these questions and ideas with me as I go to visit venues and I'll write a review of the ones I'm going to see. I'm only looking for myself in the West Midlands, but I'll try to recommend venues all over the country. 

Wedding Books

There is a sea of wedding books out there. Some are helpful, some are not. It depends what kind of help you need. 

My Recommendations:

• The Wedding Companion
  A ring binder folder filled with information and spaces for you to write your own information. I'm using mine to keep all my suppliers contracts, wedding insurance and printed out emails. Tanya's information is interesting too and provides a few hints and help.
  Buy it on Amazon
• Bride Ideas
  An invaluable organiser, ready for keeping notes no matter how many ideas you have. It's a coil notebook with pre-set places for bridal notes. I find it really useful for comparing venues, suppliers, looking at different quotes and deciding on the best one to go with.
  But it on Amazon
• Wedding Babylon
  A frank and honest look behind the scenes of the wedding industry through the words of a wedding planner.
  Buy it on Amazon

These are the books I actually own and use myself, but there are other books you could buy or borrow from a library: I've reviewed the books below, I think they're pretty good and fairly useful. 

Useful for keeping all your notes together:

• Wedding Planner - On Amazon
  
• Wedding Notes Theme Mini Notebook - On Amazon
  
• Wedding Planner: Journal for Notes - On Amazon

Guides to Planning You Wedding

• Beautiful Weddings: Hundreds of Stylish Ideas for Your Big Day - on Amazon
  
• The Ultimate Wedding Ideas Book - on Amazon
  
• Creative Wedding Ides (Everything (Weddings)) - on Amazon
  

The sea of wedding books out there, it's difficult to decide which ones to buy. If you want the most up to date information, the magazines are the best to buy. The books are nice to keep, to put with all your wedding things after it's all over. 

Check List

We've set a date! We have chosen a date for our wedding. This all makes it seem that little bit more real. Fiancé didn't think we needed to set a date just yet but I pointed out that things need to get done and he relented. He says he can see how much it means to me! Next Easter I will be Mrs Wong!! Eeeeek!


Right, so we need to get things sorted! I've thought of a check list just to get my ideas in my head. There are lots of check lits out there, you can google search for some ( google search ) or there are loads in the wedding magazines, but I've prepared one here. A users guide to preparing for a wedding.


To start with:

• Talk with my fiancé about the type of day we're going to have: is it a big do/a small do? Is it here or abroad?
• What type of ceremony are we going to have? A church or a civil ceremony?
• Decide on the budget
• Start looking at venues - when you know venue capacity, you will know how many people you can invite!
• Start attending wedding fayres! Even if you don't book anyone from a fayre you can see different suppliers and see different styles. Some suppliers take cakes, bouquets and samples to fayres so you can get a really good idea

Then (about a year before):

• Ask your friends to be bridesmaids, but have a real think about it. Make sure you know who you want, girls who will be there for you no matter what!!
• Book your ceremony!
• Look at photographers and choose one
• Begin looking for the dream dress!
• Start thinking about your guest list - make some notes, group people by must haves, and maybes... this will be harder than you think!

Next (at about 9 months before):

• Start visiting venues and trust your gut! If you love the first venue, then book it straight away. If you have to look at 10 venues until you find the dream venue then so be it. 
• Try to order your dress about now, but some girls may find it harder to find the perfect dress, so don't worry too much
• Choose and book your florist
• After tasting some lovely cake samples, book your cake
• Order or buy your stationary
• Speak to your bridesmaids about their dresses, are you going to dictate to them what they're wearing or do they have a choice?

After that (at about 6 months):

• Order the bridesmaid dresses you discussed
• Book a honeymoon - yay!
• Book your transport, if you're using any
• Select a hair-dresser or makeup artist
• If you're having a church do, select some readings and who will read them
• Look into hotels for your guests
• If you're getting wedding rings made, start getting them made now

Then (at about 3 months):

• If you're not getting them made, look into buying them now
• Send out your invites!! - I like that bit!
• Think about what kind of wedding favours you want, and order them
• Make sure you have your wedding night accommodation
• Have some trials at your hair dresser and make-up artist

Next (at about 2 months):

• Confirm your menu with your venue or caterer
• If you have your RSVP's, you can start your seating plan
• Choose your DJ and think about what music you want, how about your first dance music?

Then (at about 1 month to go):

• Give all your suppliers' contact details to your venue so they can help if there's a problem
• You will have your finally dress fitting!
• Make sure your grooms men and ushers know what you want them to do
• Make sure all your stationary such as menus and place cards

2 Weeks to Go!

• Sort out your honeymoon clothes! Yay!
• Make sure your photographer has all your 'must have' photos
• Make sure you have everyone's thank you gifts all ready 

The Week Before

• Check everything is organised for your honeymoon
• Make sure everyone knows where they have to be, confirm times and details with key people
• Have your wedding rehearsal

The Day Before Your Big Day

• Sort out your nails, manicure at the very least! 
• Make sure luggage and everything like that is where you want it
• Sometimes you might need to take decorations to your venue
• Finally, make sure you relax! 

That's a lot to think about! I think it helps to have these things broken down into chunks. It's important to remember this timeline isn't set in stone. You don't have to do all of the things in the list but it is a guide to help organise things. 

Building Some Ideas

Free Spreadsheet to Download


I have put all my ideas down on a spreadsheet! I thought it would be a good to share with other brides. 

I started with a list of all the things we would have to pay for: the church (or civil ceremony), the venue, the dress, et. Then I realised that it wasn't in enough detail for me to track through exactly what we need to pay for so I made some more worksheets, and linked them through to the totals on the main page. 


I've found it useful so far. I was able to put budgets in for how much I hope things are going to cost, and when I start visiting suppliers I will be able to aim for these kinds of prices. I know roughly how much my wedding is going to cost so I think I can bring it in within budget! Here's hoping!


My budget I'm aiming for is £16,000, including £2000 honeymoon. I have absolutely no idea if it will come in at this sort of budget but I can cross my fingers and use my budget sheet to help me.