Not Feeling Inspired?

Where to Find Inspiration!

All brides need a bit of inspiration, even brides like me who have been dreaming about their weddings since they were children need a little help with some ideas.

But where do you turn?

It’s alright advising brides to find inspiration but where do you start?

There are masses of ideas out there for brides who want inspiration. If you want a more unique wedding there are less ideas, but if you’re going for the more traditional white wedding with the flowers and posh dress there are more ideas.

I’ve collected a few to get you started:

Where to Find Inspiration:

Wedding Blogs!

My blog isn’t very good for inspiration because it’s more of an advice blog, however there are some fantastic blogs out there with pictures of other people’s weddings where you can steal some fantastic ideas!

Mood Board

Not Feeling Inspired?

When the buzz of getting engaged starts to wear off and you have to get down to the nitty-gritty, it can seem a little difficult to get your ideas together.

Everything can seem a little overwhelming, suppliers will be making demands from you and you will want everything to match.

Do you go vintage? Do you go modern? What colours go together well? Do you want pastels, vibrant colours, the perfect mix of the two? Which colour goes well with orange? What if you want sunflowers but aren’t too keen on yellow?

The best way to manage your ideas is to make a mood board. This mood board will help your suppliers, will help your groom and… well, everyone involved in your wedding to understand where you are coming from.

You could even be brave and ask h2b contribute to the board!

Decisions, Decisions

The Average Wedding has 1000 Decisions!

Guest list, wedding dress, wedding breakfast: the average English wedding has one thousand separate decisions.

The first decisions:

The first decisions you will be making for your wedding will be when and where. What time of year do you want to get married, where do you want to have your wedding ceremony and reception? Do you want a civil ceremony at your reception venue? Will you be having a church ceremony and then head to a reception venue?

First write down some words that you associate on with your wedding on a piece of paper, and ask h2b to do it too, that way you can make sure that you share the same vision. Some of the words I wrote down were when I was thinking about my wedding were happy, bright, sunshine-y, lilac, traditional, luxurious, beautiful, big party, flowers. These were the words I associated with the idea of my wedding. My h2b wrote party, next chapter, party, p**s up, commitment so it’s clear what his priorities were.

Then we set a date. This was another huge decision as we wanted to make sure everyone who wanted to come would be able to come, and we also wanted to make sure that it was affordable. I also wanted sunshine, which in the UK is not a guarantee. After some fairly awful summers, I decided that Easter school holidays would be a good idea. If I wasn’t a teacher, I would have chosen June but I am restricted by the holidays.

Fantastic! The one of the biggest decisions made! Next: guest list. I have posted before that the guest list is THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE WEDDING, for me at least! Making a list is easy, making all the people on the list fit in the venue is very difficult!

So now you’ve got a date….

So now that you’ve chosen your date and you know roughly how many guests you’re going to have it’s time to book venues! Are you having a church wedding or a civil ceremony? Are you having your civil ceremony at the same place as your reception venue or will you be travelling? What time of day would you like to have your wedding? What is your budget?

Unfortunately, the budget comes first. What can you realistically afford to pay? Will anyone be helping you pay for the wedding? Money is a cold hard but realistic part of a wedding and as much as we hate to think about that part, it is important. I have made some free to download spreadsheets to help with the organisation of the budget, but there are also many available on the internet. It’s important to get an idea of how much everything is going to cost so that you know how much you need to save. A lot of my friends have been paying for things as they have come up so a budget sheet can help to keep track of how much you’ve already spent.

Budget sheet set, it’s time to track down some venues! Civil ceremony, church ceremony, reception venue; we’ve all got our own ideas of what we’re looking for and what our budget is going to be, so make some decisions!

Budget set, venues chosen, what’s next?

Everything else!

• Invitations
• Colours
• Clothes:
• Bride’s wedding dress (or two or three)
• Groom’s suit
• Bridesmaid dresses
• Usher’s suits
• Mother’s suits
• Transportation
• Bride’s transport from where ever she is to the venue
• Do you want to provide transport for your guests?
• Food
• Music
• Flowers
• What kind of bouquet are you going to have?
• Buttonholes? How many and which flowers?
• Bridesmaid bouquets?
• Flowers for the mothers?
• Hen party
• Stag do
• Gifts for the various people who got involved in your wedding
• Honeymoon
• A little something extra to add a bit of wow and sparkle to your wedding

Each decision sparks hundreds of other little decisions. On the food alone, we want to offer a choice menu which means we need to make a decision on two starters, three main courses and two deserts! Those are seven separate decisions! Also, what time is the food going to be served? Are speeches going to be done before, after or during the food? Are you going to have a receiving line as this will also change the time of when the food can be served.

Hundreds of other little decisions sparked from one small item. Use a to do list to keep track of everything you need to do and be firm with your decisions. It’s your day and it’s going to be fantastic!

My Little Achievements

I’ve Lost Another Kilo!

Many brides lose weight for their wedding. The pressure of looking their best  and the photo

s that will last a lifetime is too much and we just want to look fabulous! The wedding dress diet comes in. Even Kate Middleton, who looks stunning anyway, is on a wedding dress diet!

I hate to admit this, but I am on a wedding dress diet. This will be a controversial but the diet I am on is healthy eating and exercise. Incidentally, this is not a picture of me! (I wish it was!)

I started at 78kgs and UK size 16 just after my h2b proposed to me. Now, a year later (so it hasn’t been the fastest weight loss in the world) I’m 75kgs and size 14. It’s my belly that’s the worst bit, and my arms, so they’re what I’m focusing on.

I’m not weighing myself on the scales everyday as weight fluctuates, I might weigh myself once or twice in fortnight.

I have been changing aspects of my lifestyle. Fad and short term diets aren’t effective in the long run. I want something that will start me on the road to being generally more healthy.

At work, I used to eat a biscuit (or two) at least every day, now I don’t have one at all. However, I am still hungry. I take in a banana or fruit of some kind to replace the biscuit, and as time goes on, I find that I don’t need a biscuit anymore. I’m not even craving one.

I’ve also cut down on portion size. I’m not sure if my portions were too big before, but I have bought smaller bowls for breakfast and I use smaller plates for my dinner. For lunch at work, I used to make a sandwich and then pack my lunchbox full of snacky extras. Now I’m packing a sandwich and a piece of fruit or low fat yoghurt. Yoghurt has a low glycemic index, which means it will keep you fuller for longer and it’s excellent for weight loss, as long as it’s low fat and low sugar. I’m eating the Muller Light yoghurts as they’re bigger than some other yoghurts but still only 85 calories at pot.

As for exercise, I’m going to zumba with some of the girls from work and I’m going to aerobics with mum on a Monday and Thursday. They are all really good work outs and I think zumba is the sole reason I’ve lost my extra 1kg.

I will keep you posted on my weight loss progress. They  may not be anything more to report but I will keep going to exercise and keep eating healthily and reducing my portion size and see what happens.

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NB: If anyone reading this a nutritionist or a dietician, I’d be happy to make any corrections if something is wrong. Or if you have some advice to offer it would be much appreciated!

Wedding Cars

Key Questions

When booking your wedding cars, you want to make sure that you get the right cars for your wedding. Here are some simple questions to ask your wedding car service provider:

• Will the chauffeurs be wearing uniforms?
  The uniform adds a really professional touch to the wedding and it just looks so much nicer. I haven’t yet seen a wedding car provider who doesn’t ask the chauffeurs to wear suits but it’s best to check.
• Will you provide matching ribbons to decorate the car?
  Most wedding car providers do supply their own ribbons for the cars. They add a lovely detail and everyone will know that you’re getting married as you drive along. Wedding ribbons are very cheap from Hobby Craft or Confetti.
• Will there be flowers in the car?
  Sometimes they will provide flowers in the back of the car. This looks lovely, I’m having flowers in the back of my car, and my friend had them in the back of theirs so I’m pretty sure most wedding car suppliers provide flowers.
• Will you do a trial journey before The Day?
  A trial journey allows the driver to know where any tricky slopes or parts of the journey will be. Conscientious wedding car suppliers will do a trial journey, find out if your provider will do the same.
• How many people will fit in each car?
  The first car will hold you and your father, and then you and your husband, but the bridesmaid car will hold the bridesmaid, the flower girl, the page boy, your mother and who knows what else! Make sure they all fit!
• Can we put our luggage and belongings in the boot?
  Weddings are busy times and you might not be able to get to the reception venue where you might be sleeping over before The Day. Popping your luggage in the back would make things a lot more convenient, if they let you!
• What happens if the car breaks down?
  Fingers crossed this will never happen, but you need to know that there is going to be a contingency plan if things to go pot!
• Do you do discounts or match prices?
  Well, if you don’t ask you don’t get and there’s always a chance that they may ask previous prices you’ve been quoted.

Good luck choosing your wedding cars! It wasn’t very easy for me!

Letters of Love

Fun Photo Wedding Gifts

I was reading a Hitched.co.uk twitter post by Fran (not me). I thought I would repost as it’s a very cool wedding gift! Alphabet photography!

If you are buying for a couple who have lived together for a while, or for a couple who didn’t give a wedding list, this would be a really nice idea. Often, guests feel uncomfortable giving money as a gift, this would be a fantastic alternative. (Even if they did give a wedding list this seems really special gift.)

The picture frame was spotted at The National Wedding show in London and Fran thought it was one of the most unique exhibitors she’d seen. I definitely think it’s a really unique idea however I’ve found at least two different companies that offer this service when I googled the idea.

The idea is that they take photos of objects everywhere, in architecture, in nature, in anything you can think of and use those pictures to make words. It’s very effective and a bit quirky, really unique.

This photo above is from Alphabet Photography. Their website says, ‘The Alphabet Photography team is proud to provide superior customer service and high quality craftsmanship.’ Their website seems fairly user friendly and I easily chose the pictures I wanted. If I didn’t like the pictures that appeared in the picture then I could click on each letter to change the picture. I thought that was a really nice idea.

This picture would set me back £45, which is an average price for a wedding gift. You can make all sorts of different words, and they offer different materials such as letters, posters and inspirational pictures.

The other company I found that provides this service is the  Letter Art Company. On their website, they say ‘An amazing gift concept that uses pictures of real world objects that resemble letters of the alphabet; Combining them to create truly unique, personalised gifts.’ They offer letter graphs, frames, mounts and custom framed letter art. A very similar service to Alphabet Photography, they ask you to type in a word and they will find pictures to match the letters in that word.

Like alphabet Photography, they offer to let you change the photos that it generates by clicking on the picture you want to change, and you probably will want to change the pictures.  It came out quite nicely, a similar standard to that from Alphabet Photography.

This picture would again cost me £45.

Personally I think this is a fantastic idea for a gift, not just for a wedding but for a Christening or a birthday. Wonderfully unique, which ever company you use as they are both very user friendly, you would find a lovely gift for anyone!

Another Item Booked!

Wedding Cars for Bride, Father-of-the-Bride and Bridesmaids!

We have booked our wedding cars! We went this morning, which was a struggle because I have an awful cold! This is dedication to the wedding, dragging myself out of bed to book wedding cars!

We went with The Wedding Car Company, who provide a mixture of vintage cars that are just absolutely gorgeous.

I would also completely recommend Platinum Wedding Cars. Without a doubt, the best wedding cars I have ever seen! The cars we saw at a Moat House wedding fayre were just beautiful. They had been lovingly restored to an outstanding quality, and the chaps who drove the cars were friendly and chatty. This picture to the right, from the Platinum Wedding Car website, shows the stunning quality that the cars have been restored to. The chair coverings felt like leather, I’m not sure if they were but that’s what they felt like, with lush carpets on the floors.

The drivers will do a trial drive from your start location and will trial run the entire route that the cars would take for your wedding, just to check for any problems. Their thorough, professional and outstanding service really blew me away! I would have booked them like a shot but they were already booked for my wedding date. 

You may think I’m on commission but this is my honest opinion. I’m really disappointed that I couldn’t book them because they were absolutely outstanding!

The cars we have booked from The Wedding Car Company are really lovely too! Another Austin Princess and a Daimler, beautiful cars. The lady we booked with was happy to let us look around as often and for as long as we needed to make a decision. As soon as we decided to book (they had the date available – yay!) it was as simple as leaving a 20% deposit. We filled in the details for where the wedding is and the colours for the wedding before we left.

As soon as we saw the cars, I knew the ones I wanted and that they would look stunning on our wedding day adorned in our wedding colours. They will look stunning in contrast with the bridesmaid dresses, not that they are booked or even measured yet! I know people are thinking we must be mad to be booking cars to early, but with the price of petrol rising every day, I wish we’d booked them earlier!

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)

Wedding Invitations

Wedding Invitations

There are so many different styles of wedding invitation, it’s difficult to choose! The only way you could decide is just to go with your preferences and your budget! Some of my friends spent £12 on a beautiful invitation extravaganza, others have gone for a 50p per invite making it by yourself.

All the wedding invitations shown on this post have been sent to me, except for the one that h2b and I have chosen for our wedding!

Your wedding invitation is going to be sent to your friends and family, you want it to reflect your personality and your wedding style. This will be the first glimpse some of your guests will have seen of your big day. I know I want my guests to keep their invitation  as a memento of the day. Wedding invitations come in many shapes, colours, designs and sizes and it’s important to consider how the invitation will reflect the style of your day. Your invite could guide the colour and style of the day, or the day will dictate what the invite looks like, or a mix of both.

Your h2b might think that choosing an invite is a relatively simple choice and all you have to do is make sure your names are spelt correctly, but of course we know it’s not as easy as that. The wording is important and you will want the invite to be something unique to you.

Also, your invitation should try to follow the style of your wedding. If you are having a posh, traditional do then your invites could typically be elegant to match. However, if you’re having a casual wedding, maybe abroad or on a beach a posh invite wouldn’t convey the right message about your wedding. A beach wedding, for example, is not a formal wedding occasion and that’s the kind of message you want your invites to carry.

When we were choosing our wedding invites, we had to think about the font for the wording. Did we want a different font for our names? What font would we use for the guests names? Did we want the RSVP in a different font? We wanted the font to reflect the tone and atmosphere of the wedding, but also our fun and laid back personalities. Luckily, we chose a font that we both like and that was simple but what if you disagree? I would suggest this:

• Choose a font that is easy to read – you don’t want your guests getting lost trying to find a venue or church that is difficult to read on your invites
• Choose a few different fonts and if there’s one in that group that h2b likes too, go with that one!
• Make sure the font reflects your personality

Choosing the paper is important too! My wedding invite lady sent a sample and I just assume I’ll go with that paper, however if your invitation maker gives you more of a choice you will be in a position to choose. Your invitation supplier will probably make a good suggestion for your invites and going with what they suggest will probably be best.

However, if you’re making your own invites, the paper and cardboard world is your oyster! If you’re intending on folding your invite, don’t choose card that’s too thick as it will wrinkle and not look nice at all. However, if you’re going with a postcard style, make it nice and thick and sturdy card. You have choices such as  tri-fold, bi-fold, single page, and others.  

Some people advise including a stamped addressed RSVP card. I am including an RSVP card in my wedding invites but I’m not stamping or addressing it. I’d be there all day and the stamps would cost a fortune! It’s definitely a nice touch to your invites if you can afford the time and money to do it, but it’s not a requirement these days.

Proof read, proof read, proof read! My h2b and I scoured the order form and wording form for any mistakes! I make heaps of typing mistakes, I would really have to check check check and check again any piece of work to spot mistakes. When you sign your order form you’re signing to say that what you’ve written is what you want on your invites. If there is a mistake on the form, you can’t ask your invitation making person to redo them.

Also, if you’re making your own invitations check check check them before you send out your invites. If there is a mistake, your friends and family are going to receive the invite with the mistake in it!

My advice is proof read, proof read, proof read!!

Finally, before you order your invites or the card you’re going to use to make your invites, check your guest list to make sure you don’t order too many or too few invites. I’m ordering 14 extra invitations just in case I realise there’s someone I forgot to invite or if I make a mistake writing the names.

I’ve put a mixture of hand made and bought invitations on the pictures so that you can see different styles. They are all real weddings that h2b or I have been invited to. Plus, there’s the invite that we want.

The closer this wedding of ours gets, the more real it seems. Planning a wedding two and a half years in advance makes the wedding seem like a far away dream. When we receive our invites all written and looking lovely it’ll really make our wedding really real.

To Tan or Not To Tan

To Tan or Not to Tan

It’s your wedding day, one of the biggest days of your life. You want to look your best! You’ve spent hundreds of pounds on a dress, you’ve spent money on your face and your hair. You may have bought some lovely new sparkly jewellery. You have put a lot of effort into your appearance, but what about the colour of your skin?

If you’re lucky enough not to worry about a tan, can I say how jealous us pasty girls are! I accepted a long time ago that I will be pale, I will remain pale and never tan no matter how much I try. All my makeup is geared towards my pale complexion: foundation pale enough not to make me look orange, pink blusher, soft coloured lipstick and lip gloss.

But now with recent developments in the tanning world, a tan is an option! I haven’t tried sun beds, it’s not just the health reasons but I don’t tan through sun exposure so that would be a waste of money. But now there’s spray tanning, having a nice healthy glow is an option.

But here’s why I’m hesitating. Firstly, my makeup is pale. The trial at the makeup artist lady will be pale. If I get a spray tan, won’t that mess up all my makeup? I’m sure she’s talented and experienced enough to deal with that slight skin tone change but what if my makeup looks silly?

Secondly, I buy my wedding dress based on how I look now, what if the dress looks silly when I have tan?

Thirdly, I’ve never had a tan. I just don’t tan, I could sit outside all day in the sun in the middle of summer (wearing lotion because I want to avoid wrinkles and skin cancer) and I still wouldn’t tan. I used to be called the Milky Bar Kid when I was at school. What if I don’t like how I look with a tan?

More importantly, fourthly, h2b met me when I was pale, he proposed to me while I’m pale, he loves me as a pale pasty woman, what if he doesn’t like the tan! I’m walking down the aisle in my mismatched makeup and silly looking dress with a tan and he won’t like it!

Maybe I’m over reacting a little bit. In Bride Wars when  Anne Hathaway (who is almost as pale as me) has her fake tan sabotaged, she was normal colour by the time her wedding came around thanks to lots of showers and lemon juice. So, even if it does go wrong or I don’t like it, there options available to me.

But would h2b like me with a bit of a healthy glow? Would it be an idea to have a tan before we go on honeymoon? I do want to look nice in the pictures. Which way to go?

If you have spray tan regularly or have something to say about this post, please leave a comment because in this instance I need your advice!

Your H2B vs. Your Big Day

Keeping Your H2B Involved
…but Still Having Your Big Day

Most women have been dreaming about their wedding days for years. The last thing you want is h2b coming along and messing it all up. You’ve dreamed about your colours, your bridesmaid dresses, your dress, the venue and the evening party. H2b may have his own ideas and you may or may not want to hear them.

Sometimes h2b has some good ideas.

It is difficult to maintain a balance between involving your h2b and having what you want for your wedding. You may also have parents, siblings and friends who have their own ideas about your wedding.

My top tip to involve your h2b in planning the wedding it to sit down and carve up the jobs. You may be super woman, but no one can plan a wedding by herself and splitting the tasks with your h2b will not only take the stress off you a little but will also set up a partnership that you can take forward into your married life.

Compile a list of wedding jobs. You may feel a little uneasy releasing some of the tasks for your wedding but this is the man you want to marry, he’s going to know how to do things right. If possible, ask h2b to take over the jobs that are stressing you out the most, that way you can concentrate on the fun elements of your wedding.

The logistics of our wedding was stressing me out. How to transport 100 guests from the church to the reception venue across the West Midlands, most of them never having been to the UK yet, never mind the West Midlands! Mum says guests know that they need to arrange their own transport when they attend a wedding but with so many guests taking the time to travel across the world to attend our wedding, we want to provide transport for at least some of the journey. This stressed me out, so I passed the job to h2b.

I love my engagement ring. H2b did a fantastic job choosing my engagement ring all by himself. He chose the diamond, then chose the band. It’s exactly what I wanted. He must know what he’s doing so I asked him to organise the wedding rings. I explained the kind of wedding ring I’d like and found some pictures of it on the internet.

H2b is having an input in the suits for the men. Initially, I wanted dark grey Prince Edward suits, then it changed to charcoal and now they’re black tails! All because h2b had an input, and he’s completely right! I am glad I listened to him and the changes are brilliant.

I also wanted to go back to tradition. Traditionally, it was h2b’s family who planned and paid for the honeymoon so I thought we should continue that through to the modern day and ask h2b to plan our honeymoon. It may be romantic for couples to plan their honeymoon together, or maybe you’re a bit worried h2b will plan a lad’s holiday. Either way, giving the honeymoon responsibility wholly to your h2b might not be your idea of fun. Personally, I’m really looking forward to the surprise. I’m sure over the next 14 months h2b will discuss ideas about the honeymoon with me but the main part will be a surprise! Very exciting!

If you see my free download page, there’s a document available to download which includes a To Do List. You could split up the list and tackle the planning and organising the wedding as a team!

Of course, you could apply to Don’t Tell the Bride and let him organise the entire thing! 

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.

Venues – Sandon Hall

Sandon Hall

View Sandon Hall’s website

This is where a colleague of mine got married. Her wedding photos looked absolutely amazing, especially the ones where she descended down an oak staircase with her new husband. That is the kind of entrance I would like to make at my wedding.

I haven’t actually been to Sandon Hall myself – yet – but it is an impressive building just from these photos. An ancestral mansion, visited by royalty and celebrities, Sandon Hall could be yours on an exclusive use basis!

Their website describes Sandon Hall as ‘beautiful grounds, wood-panelled interiors and majestic sculptures guarantee first rate photographic opportunities.’ You know how I like my photo opportunities. The only point that is a negative for me is that it’s not possible to stay over at Sandon Hall, but they do recommend local hotels.

It wouldn’t be fair for me to make any recommendations as I haven’t been there myself, but I think my colleague who got married here would definitely recommend Sandon Hall for your wedding.

Venues – The Moat House

The Moat House

View the Moat House website

This is the venue at which my best friend held her wedding reception and we had a fantastic time! It’s also where I brought my mother for her 65th birthday! I’m a fussy eater but on both occasions, the food was absolutely delicious! And without us asking, or letting them know we’d booked for a birthday, they served my mum a special birthday selection of chocolates which I thought was very kind!

My friend’s wedding here was wonderful. The day went very smoothly with delicious food and a beautiful back drop for your wedding photos. There is more than ample parking across the stream from the hotel.

We were greeted at the door with reception drinks and my friend had chosen mini doughnuts to be served as a welcome snack between the photos and the wedding breakfast. They were absolutely delicious.

The main room was wonderfully decorated with flowers supplied by the venue and we were seated and served our dinner. I had soup, vegetables in pastry and a chocolate brownie for pudding. All completely delicious and well presented. The service was brilliant and staff were very helpful.

At night time, there are tiny sparkly lights in the trees casting a beautiful light over their small lake. If your photographer is sticking around into your evening do, he/she could take some spectacular photos with that as a backdrop.

Why We Didn’t Book
I didn’t want to have the same wedding venue as my friend. She says she doesn’t mind but we have the same taste in colours, I didn’t want to have the same venue as well! Also, there’s no long winding drive. This winding drive is important to me, I would like my venue off set from the road quite a way. Also, I think the room was a tiny bit small for the number of guests we’d like to attend our wedding.

My Recommendations
After attending a fantastic wedding at The Mill I cannot recommend them enough! I know that my friend had an amazing day and we were well looked after. The breakfasts in the morning were amazing as well. I would recommend The Mill to a bride who is looking for a stylish, beautiful and accessible wedding. It’s easy to get to and stunning to boot!

Venues – The Mill Hotel

The Mill

View The Mill Hotel website

I saw the the Mill Hotel with my best friend when she was choosing venues for her wedding. I have to be honest, I wasn’t impressed with the gentleman who spoke to us about the wedding options but it is a nice venue.

It’s not an exclusive use venue, and could have up to three weddings going on at the same time. However, each wedding area is clearly separated and it is highly unlikely that you will see another bride, so said the gentleman who spoke to us. I’m not sure if you’re like me and would prefer an exclusive venue, but they do guarantee to do their best so that you won’t see another bride.

They have three different main rooms for weddings of varying sizes, styles and capacity, they do have a lot of options available. There’s a beautiful lake and manicured grounds which are fantastic for wedding photos. There’s a gorgeous fountain at the front and a lovely little bride over the lake. As a venue, it is very attractive with outside seating and separate bars for each area. When we were looking round, there was building work going on so The Mill has been recently updated.

Why We Didn’t Book
I wanted a venue that had exclusive use.  It also didn’t have that ever elusive winding, romantic driveway that I want so much.

My Recommendation
The Mill is nice, it’s experienced, it’s a convenient venue. You know that you will be in good hands if you book with The Mill. I’d recommend The Mill for a bride who wants a venue with choices, who has any size of guest list and who isn’t bothered about exclusive use.

Venues – Hagley Hall

Hagley Hall

View Hagley Hall website

Hagley Hall was another venue that I wanted to see when I got engaged. I knew that it was a large house steeped in history, just the venue I’m looking for! I took my best friend here when she was looking for venues.

We were met again by the owner, and shown around the rooms available to weddings. They have a large upstairs room for the sit down meal adorned with ancestral portraits giving a real feel of history and grandeur. The evening reception retires to ground floor rooms where guests can party and relax.

The house and the grounds are spectacular: manicured lawns, restored house set into beautiful countryside. I think Hagley Hall is an amazing wedding venue.

Why We Didn’t Book
I’ve got to be honest, when we looked around Hagley Hall, I don’t know if the chap was having a bad day but he did act as if it were too much trouble to talk to us. We had booked an appointment but he seemed as if he didn’t want to talk to us. I also didn’t like the fact that the guests would be split across three rooms downstairs, and I felt the room that the disco would be in was too small for all our guests to watch us do our first dance.

My Recommendations
Hagley Hall is a truly beautiful venue, impressive views, impressive rooms and grounds, it’s steeped in history and just the place to treat your guests to a real English wedding. The outside stairs that lead to a balcony outside the main entrance have a fantastic view of the grounds and surrounding countryside. It’s a beautiful venue ideal for a bride who wants a beautiful wedding.

Venues – Somerford Hall

Somerford Hall

View the Somerford Hall website

Again, this was a venue we almost booked! My Dad used to go walking near here with his brothers and his dad, so our family has a sort of link to this house. Dad really liked Somerford Hall, and so did I.

It’s an impressive house with a large room for the wedding breakfast, and lots of little rooms for guests to retire to during the main party. It’s a gorgeous house with an oak stair case and some lovely rooms for over night. The staff were welcoming and professional and took time to talk to us about our wedding.

The surrounding grounds at Somerford Hall our spectacular and the long, romantic drive follows past a pond and amazing countryside, just what I wanted!

Why We Didn’t Book
We felt the room was again too small for the number of guests that we wanted. Somerford Hall does have the capacity for the guests that we want as long as they are seated at long tables. I have my heart set on round tables for my guests and a long table for the head table, so I didn’t want to have to seat my guests at long tables. In a way, it’s a shame we have so many guests as it would have been lovely to book Somerford Hall.

My Recommendations
If you want long tables, or have a smaller guest list, Somerford Hal is for you. If you want a beautiful, welcoming venue with history and amazing grounds for photos then Somerford Hall is for you. I would definitely book it if I felt they had the room for our guests. It is a gorgeous setting and would be a fantastic venue for any bride.

Venues – Rowton Castle

Rowton Castle

View the Rowton Castle website

Impressive, prestigious, incredible, Rowton Castle is an amazing venue for the bride with a larger budget. It really is a castle with history stretching back to Roman times. It’s absolutely stunning. The grounds are amazing, the castle itself is an incredible back drop to any wedding photos. The hotel rooms are spectacular and just the place a bride would want to spend her wedding night.

When we had a look around, the lady who showed us the rooms and talked to us about our wedding was very friendly and approachable. Rowton Castle really sells itself as a spectacular wedding venue. Our photographer, Clive Blair, has photographed weddings at Rowton Castle before. You can look at his blog for photos of Rowton Castle. 

Why We Didn’t Book
I had my heart set on Rowton Castle for a few weeks, I told all my friends this was where I was going to get married. The reasons why we didn’t book Rowton was firstly the size of the main room. Our guest list was climbing as we compiled it and it was soon over the maximum capacity for Rowton Castle. Also we didn’t want to  have to book hotel rooms for our guests. This may have changed when you visit so make sure you ask about this. It makes sense, as you will have exclusive use of the Castle.

My Recommendations
I really love Rowton Castle and I look forward to being invited to a wedding there. It’s a really stunning venue with friendly and professional staff. I would recommend Rowton Castle for a bride who loves history, who has a large-ish budget and who wants a spectacular wedding venue. Fully licensed for those brides who want a civil ceremony, Rowton Castle is a highly sought after venue not just in the West Midlands but in the whole of the UK.

Venues – Dunsley Hall Country House

Dunsley Hall Country House

View the Dunsley Hall website

I absolutely fell in love with Dunsley Hall. It’s a gorgeous house, lovingly restored and maintained, outstanding grounds and with lots of gorgeous little rooms for your guests to retire to and explore.

Dunsley is filled with character and the rooms are finished to an outstanding quality. The owner showed us around when we booked to visit and he told us how he’d come to own the hotel and how it was lovingly maintained. The gardens are gorgeous, the setting is gorgeous, the photo opportunities are amazing.

Why We Didn’t Book
If the venue was bigger, even though it doesn’t have the long winding driveway, I may have booked. I liked the way there were so many little rooms for guests to retire to, and I thought the hotel rooms were amazing. It was purely the size of the venue that swayed our decision. We want to have enough room for a large party. Dunsley Hall had an event going on while we were being shown around.

My Recommendations
Dunsley Hall is suitable for brides who would like an intimate dinner with close friends and family with comfortable rooms for guests to retreat to if they don’t like the disco music. It’s a comfortable venue that feels like home with a well stocked bar and outstanding hotel rooms.