An Amazing Day

Maximise Your Impact (Part One)

While planning a wedding, couples are always looking for ways to save money and at the same time creating a memorable day. Below are some suggestions on how to make it memorable, cut costs and create style!

Get Organised

I have had two and a half years to plan my wedding, thanks to me being a student, and that has spread the cost across the time. It has also given us a long time to save up and pay for things gradually. While I’m a bit fed up of waiting for the wedding (270 days to go!!), it does mean that we are now in a position where everything is booked!

Any problems that arise can be easily sorted out because of all the time we have to sort things! I would completely recommend brides to have a long engagement, but perhaps not as long as mine!

Copy Wills and Kate

One of the main talking points of the Wills and Kate engagement was the ring.

Using a family heirloom will mean much more to you than a new gem and it will remind you of the family that couldn’t be there with you.

Wait for the Sale

In this economic climate, sales are more than once a year. If you keep your eyes peeled for the bridal shop sales, you might be able to pick up a fantastic dress for a bit less.

I started looking for my dress in April which just happened to be sale time at Francesca’s and I was able to buy my dress for 20% less than in another bridal shop! Bonus!

A Little DIY

You could make your own invitations! My sister-in-law took a week off work to make all their invitations for their wedding, plus matching stationary. I thought they looked fantastic and really followed the theme of their wedding.

Home made wedding invitations add a personal touch to your wedding, and your guests will appreciate the time and care it took to make them.

Hackney Carriage

Traditional black cabs are available in most cities and are classic ways to travel. Instead of fancy classic cars or an overpriced limousine, consider hiring several black cabs for you and your guests.

Settle Your Debts!

If you are able to pay off the big costs (the dress, the venue, the church/ceremony venue) early then you will have a better idea of how much money you have left for the smaller items, such as gifts or favours.

Keep a spread sheet (how unromantic but really useful) to keep track of all your out goings. I’m useless with money but I’m maintaining the spread sheet for our wedding and I’m keeping a good eye on what we’re spending.

Savvy Brides

More posts will follow soon!

Budget Buds

Achieving Fantastic Flowers on a Small Budget

Savvy Saves!

Rule #1

Be honest with your florist. Be clear with what you want but be definite with your budget. If your budget is tight, be aware that some expensive and out of season flowers may not be viable. However, a good, creative florist will be able to create beautiful arrangements regardless of budget.

Rule #2

Plan out your budget! Plan to spend about 60% of your floral budget on your table centres and remember vase prices. Try to spend 25% on bouquets and buttonholes, and 15% on the ceremony. You may be lucky that your ceremony venue will only require a voluntary contribution to the flowers, depending on the time of year, so you could redirect those funds.

Rule #3

Go seasonal! Work with your florist to choose flowers that are in season. Roses tend to cost the same whatever the season but flowers like tulips, gerberas and others will be more expensive depending on the time of the year.

Rule #4

Be aware of hidden costs. Ask your florist for a complete quote, including delivery and set up costs, and the costs of hiring any extras like plates or mirrors.

Rule #5

Don’t get wired! Wired flowers take more time to prepare and are subsequently more expensive than hand tied flowers.

Rule #6

Bouquet or corsage?
If bouquets for your bridal party are too expensive, consider corsages or flower accessories for bags or hair. Bridesmaids look lovely walking down the aisle with their flower accessories and don’t always require a bouquet that will only get left on a table by the evening.

Budget Buds

Flowers are quite expensive, as I’ve found out, but it is possible to get beautiful arrangements if you are flexible on the flowers. More foliage and in season flowers look wonderful, smell great and make a good photographic impact!

I have lots of posts about flowers including bouquets, knowing the name of your style, tips on choosing your florist and must ask questions.

Drastic Action

Going Under the Knife for Your Wedding

With the pressure on brides to look their best for their weddings, more and more brides are resorting to plastic surgery to perfect their looks.

From boob jobs to botox, brides are splashing out to get the to look their absolute best for their perfect wedding photos.

The Cost

For many brides, the cost makes any cosmetic surgery completely impossible, but for others the cost is only something to aim for.

Below are the average costs for several procedures.

Breast Enlargement	£3,400 - £5,000
Breast Reduction	£3,700 - £5,500
Breast Up-lift	£3,250 - £5,500
Ear Correction	from £2,800
Eyelids	£2,850 - £3,600
Face lift	£4,200 - £5,800
Liposuction	£1,550 - £5,000
Rhinoplasty	£3,000 - £4,000
Abdominoplasty	£3,800 - £5,200
Veneers	£300 - £1500 each

The Benefits

Many brides wish to look their best on their wedding day, and with a little work on areas where you feel a little insecure (mine are my tummy and arms) this would certainly be possible.

Often, with only a little change, the boost to your confidence can make the biggest change to your look.

Obviously, the benefits of cosmetic surgery are that you will theoretically look better than you did before.

For women with very large breasts who would like a breast reduction, cosmetic surgery can mean a new lease of life, an end to back pain and an enhanced quality of life.

With wedding photographers costing anything between £400 – £4000, it is understandable that brides want to look their best in their photos for years to come.

The most popular procedures for brides are botox, boob jobs and liposuction.

The Risks

The cosmetic industry do list the benefits of cosmetic surgery as being a boost to self confidence, self esteem and self image. However, it is medical websites that list the risks.

There are a lot of risks with procedures going wrong, of patients being allergic to the chemicals used in the procedure and of a bad reaction once the procedure is finished.

The biggest risk in cosmetic surgery is with scaring from a procedure, such as a boob reduction or enlargement.

Bleeding, infection and hematomas are possible after surgery, but if these complications are caught early on they can usually be treated. Nerve damage is a serious complication that people considering plastic surgery must be aware of.

Cutting Down on the Risks

Before you undergo plastic surgery it is important to have blood tests and a physical done to ensure that you are a good candidate for surgery. In addition you should make sure to look into the procedure you are considering and learn about the risks involved so that you can be as prepared inside and out for your transformation.

It is important to check that a surgeon has all the appropriate certificates and qualifications to perform cosmetic surgery. First, check online that your surgeon is registered with the General Medical Council (GMC), or you can call 0845 357 3456.

"Preferably, you need to find someone with a surgical qualification, who's registered in the UK, and ideally has a specialist qualification in plastic surgery," says Professor Simon Kay, vice president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons.Whatever qualifications your surgeon has, you should always ask about their experience in doing the procedure you want.

A surgeon who has the letters 'FRCS (Plast)' after their name is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and has passed specialist exams in plastic surgery. They're trained to carry out all kinds of cosmetic surgery.

Other narrower specialist surgical areas that would be appropriate to specific areas of cosmetic surgery are:

• FRCS (GenSurg): specialist fellowship in general surgery.
• FRCS (OMFS): specialist fellowship in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
• FRCS (Otol): specialist fellowship in otolaryngology (for ear, nose and throat surgery).
• FRCS (ORL): specialist fellowship in otorhinolaryngology (head and neck/facial plastic surgery).
  

Questions to Ask

The Royal College of Surgeons advises that if you are thinking about having cosmetic surgery, ask a surgeon the following questions:

• How many years' experience do you have in the procedure I'm interested in? How many similar operations do you perform each week?
• Do you think that what I want to achieve from surgery is realistic?
• Could there be anything in my medical history that would affect the surgery?
• What will happen during the operation and what anaesthetic will be used?
• How long will I stay in hospital?
• Will there be any pain or any stitches and how long is the recovery time?
• How long will the results last?
• How much will it cost?
• Who will be doing the operation?
• What are the risks?

Any Alternatives?

Botox
An alternative to botox could be a fantastic and rejuvenating skin regime that makes your skin feel fresh and new. If you start your skin regime early enough, the benefits can be long lasting.

Liposuction/Abdominoplasty
Marks and Spencer's (and other chains) make fantastic granny pants (my official name) which tug and pull and tuck you in, in all the right places! With full body suits that even squeeze your arms to make them appear slimmer, it is a cheaper and much healthier way to look slimmer than surgery.

Breast Enlargement
Instead of having the implants inside your breasts, many bras come with gel pads to increase the appearance of cleavage and to encourage the breasts upwards in a very attractive way. Again, much cheaper than surgery and a lot less permanent.

Personally?

For me, the cost of cosmetic surgery makes it prohibitive so it’s not really an option. However, if I could afford it I would consider having my stomach, arms and thighs done. I would need more information from a doctor and would want a consultation before I seriously considered anything.

I know that my bridesmaids would be very cross at me for even considering surgery, but they’re a lot slimmer than I am!

My wedding day is the last day I would want to feel insecure about my body so I am doing my best to eat healthily and take regular exercise.

It is important to remember that whatever the benefits of cosmetic surgery, the healthiest and most beneficial way to get the body you want is to eat healthily and exercise every day. The changes to your body will last through your wedding day into the rest of your life and keep you healthy in your old age!

The Countdown Continues

Days to Go: 275

(Or 8 Months, 4 Weeks, 2 Days)

Things have not been going to plan.

I don’t want to complain about anything because things always work out for the best, but they haven’t been going to plan at the  moment.

H2b is very calm about the whole thing. If it gets closer to the time, I think he would begin to get more concerned but as we have over 250 days to worry about things, he is taking a laid back approach.

I did list all our woes to one of my bridesmaids, and she actually gave me some fantastic advice which I will definitely follow if things stay the same.

I’m sure that things are going to be fine! I think, as a bride, it is easy to blow things out of proportion. One of the things that are going a bit wrong is completely understandable and I totally sympathise… the other, not so much.

On a positive note, I have made all the inserts for the invitations: the list of hotels, the directions to our wedding website and menu choices. I have bought posh paper and new printer cartridges!

And, I’ve had a thought about the bridesmaid dresses! I have an option of two dresses, and I was thinking instead of just choosing one, they could choose the one they prefer and I’ll just get them in the same colour. What do you think of that idea?

Aisle Style

Your Veil

Your veil can enhance your look or draw attention away from it! Getting the right veil is important and below are some essential veil tips!

Try Try and Try Again!

Have fun trying on different veils with your dress. It’s essential to try the veil with your dress so that you know how it looks, however once you have chosen your veil length, feel free to visit different shops to buy the veil.

Pick the Position

Placing your veil higher up on your crown will make a wide face look longer.

Think about the hair style you’ve chosen, where could you wear your veil to flatter that hair style and show it off at it’s best? Consult with your hair stylist.

Any Bride Will Do

There are a lot of myths around veils, eg, only a blusher (or shoulder length) veil or birdcage (or fascinator) veil for civil ceremonies and only cathedral length veils for royalty, but you are the bride and if you want a twenty-five foot veil at your country church wedding then you have one!

Veils are the bride’s choice and which ever veil suits your wedding style and wedding dress is the one you should choose! You must feel comfortable in your veil.

Accessories

Think about which accessories will look best with your veil. A tiara looks great with a veil and can be easily attached to your veil with a few stitches or some tiny hooks.

On straight hair, a low sitting tiara looks best, but with very full curly hair, choose a tiara that sits a bit higher.

Handle With Care

Veils are delicate pieces of clothing. Try to remember not to catch it on doorways or any stylish topiary wedding decoration.

A few days before your wedding, hang your veil up to allow the creases to drop out of it. Do not iron your veil under any circumstances!

Choose the Right Hair Style

The comb of a veil will need to stick into your hair so up or half-up hair styles are the best for pinning a veil. However, your hair stylist will be able to work her magic if you would rather have a down hair style.

Remember to check out my Veils Explained post for more information about wedding veils, including their origins!

A Change of Name

What Will You Do?

Traditionally, the European/Christian bride will take the groom’s name once they are married because a dowry has been paid and she is joining his family.

In China, a bride keeps her own family name as, although she is married and a dowry has been paid, she is still part of her original family.

In Islamic weddings, brides keep their own names as many surnames aren’t family names but specially chosen names.

But what will you do?

In the 21st Century the choice is yours and there are many options available to the modern bride.

• Take his name
• Keep your own names
• The groom could take the brides name
• Double barrelled with a hyphen
• Double barrelled without the hyphen
• A combination of the two names
  (eg. Wong + Cuthbert = Wongbert)

Many brides keep their own names, but then you have the tough choice of who’s name do the children take?

As a teacher, it’s a lot less confusing for us if the entire family have the same name, but what if you’re a lady who likes her name? What if your groom likes his name?

My h2b is a traditional guy and there would be no option of him changing his name. We have toyed with the Wongbert idea, and even Cuthbert-Wong (although he thinks it should be Wong-Cuthbert!).

Double barrelled names are becoming more and more popular. When I was little, double barrelled names were only for the rich but more children in my classes through the years have double barrelled names.

A Whole New Name

A trend that is growing in popularity is making an entirely new name.

You could make it a combination of the two names, such as Smones or Joith or even put all the letters of the names in a bag and create an entirely new name by just picking out the letters.

Your Decision

In the end, names are just names and they don’t define who we are. If you and your groom both like your names, why go through the legal expense of changing them? Keeping your own surname doesn’t mean you love him any less than if you took his name. Do what makes you feel comfortable!

My Decision

I have been looking forward to being Mrs Wong for the last few years! I’m a traditional gal and I would love to take his name!  However, I really believe that brides should make their own decisions about their names and should discuss it with their h2b’s.