Monthly Archives: January 2012
To the Manor Born for your Special Day
Hiring a country manor house lock stock and barrel for your wedding need not be a pipedream. Prested Hall in Feering has been offering this unusual and special experience to wedding couples for many years. 107 couples tied the knot at Prested in 2011, enjoying the relaxed house party atmosphere, with Prested’s ever helpful staff looking after all the details. To herald in the New Year, Prested has launched some exciting new packages and offers, which have been met with much enthusiasm.
Once you’ve decided a Prested wedding is for you, the fun begins. Now you can add your personal touch, planning how to dress the Hall, what your colour scheme and style will be, the menu, the music, the entertainment, the flowers and all the other details. You may even choose to theme your wedding. If you need advice, the staff are there for you, and have a wealth of experience and knowledge of local specialists.
15th century in origin, The Hall has several elegant reception rooms, each with handsome features. Where you hold your ceremony, your wedding breakfast and your evening celebrations is your choice; the house will be prepared just for you. During the summer months, you can even get married by the water’s edge under The Gazebo and enjoy your wedding breakfast in the traditional marquee on the lawns.
You will also need to decide on your guest list for The Hall’s 12 beautiful bedrooms, and will enjoy the pleasure of gathering for breakfast together the day after your wedding. Additional accommodation, a boutique hideaway for your wedding night, Prested’s spa and fitness facilities and their onsite hair salon are all other options for you to consider.
Whatever you decide, everyone at Prested will endeavour to make you wedding fantasies come true and deliver you your perfect day.
Choosing a Wedding Dress
The choice of a wedding dress is arguably the most significant choice any woman will ever make on it comes to outfit selection. A woman’s wedding day it’s inarguably the page which seats more attention than any other in her life.
The beautiful tradition that has grown out of weddings allows women to be especially extravagant when choosing a dress, and the selection possibilities truly is splendid for those looking for a once-in-a-lifetime pairing that offers all the substance and all the beauty that they could ever wish for.
Where to Start Your Dress Shopping?
Of course, many women learn that they are getting married and then unfortunately have no place to start other than beauty magazines. Unfortunately the magazines or beauty stores are primarily run by people who are doing their absolute best to sell individual something. But as anyone will tell you of any item in this world, it is best to enter the marketplace with a commanding knowledge base that allows an individual to consider all the options and weigh all the differences of all the different gowns that marketplace offers.
Imagine deciding that you need a car, and then simply stopping at the first auto dealer that you see. Would that be a wise way to approach purchasing an automobile? Of course it wouldn’t. A wiser way to play this game is to constructively establish a knowledge base where your understanding of the wedding dress, your understanding of the best fit for the wedding dress, and your understanding of the wedding dress his ability to complement the particular environment — in fact the particular environment you have sought out as your wedding day extravaganza — it’s all necessary in order to create an overall look that reflects both the ambience and beauty of the occasion.
Get armed for your big day
Every bride dreams of looking “perfect” on her special day: the dress needs to be perfect, the make-up must be flawless, and the hair should be amazing…but none of this matters unless you, the bride, feel “perfect” about yourself! I believe that taking care of your body through nutrition and fitness in the run up to your wedding is priceless. Superskinny is out and toned and curvaceous is now in…hooray girls! Your waist should be tucked in, your back needs to be sculpted and, most importantly in my view, your arms must be super toned and shapely so that they really show off your beautiful dress!
Here are my steps towards Fit Bride’ing yourself to a sculpted, toned upper body for your big day:
EAT WELL
Eat five to six times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus two to three snacks. Eat high protein, and lower the bad carbs like pasta, white potato, rice (except brown) and – most importantly – bread.
Also increase the amount of good fats in your diet, for example by adding 1tbsp flax seed oil to your salads, cooking everything in coconut oil and eating avocados.
CUT OUT SUGAR
Sugar will not only increase body fat in all the areas that we want to sculpt and tone, but it will also make you lethargic, tired and miserable – all the things we definitely don’t have time for when planning a wedding!
RESISTANCE TRAIN
Budget for a personal trainer, whether it is for lots of sessions or just a few to get a programme that is going to work! Long duration cardiovascular exercise will make you fatter; the only way to tone up, lose weight and sculpt those arms is to do good functional integrated weight training. Seek a good personal trainer in your area, girls, as it will be one of the best things you spend some of your budget on! Also look for a trainer who specialises in bridal fitness……they may even do a bridal bootcamp!
SLEEP
It’s not a myth, we should all be sleeping eight hours a night. If we don’t, our bodies go into stress which results in our bodies holding onto body fat and not losing
weight! Ideally we should be asleep by 10pm and wake at 6am; we physically repair between 10pm and 2am and psychologically repair between 2am and 6am. Also, no one
wants black bags under their eyes on their big day!
HYDRATION
Water consumption is very, very important: our bodies need pure, unflavoured, non-calorie fluid to hydrate. Tea/coffee/fruit juice/diet drinks/squash/flavoured water all get taken into the body as calories and are therefore digested by the body…this means that all that fluid is doing nothing to hydrate us. You should drink pure,
filtered water, preferably from a glass bottle: at least two litres daily!
If you start incorporating all of the above you will start to see changes in your body and start loving that perfect dress even more than you do now. Work towards a toned, sculpted upper body; it looks amazing in the photos but also makes you feel 100% confident on the day.
Take time in that busy wedding planning schedule to look after your body and start to feel amazing about yourself! It’s priceless!!!
This guest blog post was written by Vicki Cumberworth – Personal Trainer + Nutrition Coach in Essex.
For more information from Vicki, or to discuss becoming a Vicki’s FitBride, please visit her website www.vickipt.com (currently in the process of going live) or her facebook page.
Vicki Cumberworth Personal Trainer + Nutrition Coach.
GLOW FOR IT – Be the best ever YOU on your Big Day
So you’ve set the date, booked the venue and chosen your dream dress, but have you thought about how you’re going to ensure you look like a beautiful, glowing bride on your big day?
Make-up by Kelly Hollands believes that your skincare routine in the run up to your wedding is as important as choosing your dream dress. After all, you will be captured in photos forever!
Here is a checklist of all the things you should be doing in order to look radiant and ravishing on your big day:
Eat healthily – adopt good habits now and for the future. A sensible eating regime is essential in the lead up to your wedding day. Cut down on sweets, chocolates and crisps and incorporate fresh fruit and vegetables into your daily meals.
Eat small meals little and often, but whatever you do, do not starve yourself otherwise you will end up looking very unhealthy and you run the risk of not fitting into your dress.
Exercise – not only does exercise makes you look better and healthier it also helps you to breathe – which you may be forgetting to do as your stress levels begin to increase! It’s also a great way of eliminating toxins, which can make the skin look dull and lacklustre.
Drink plenty of water – to keep your skin looking fresh and radiant. Still mineral water is the best as fizzy will just bloat you.
Try to drink at least two litres a day to keep skin hydrated and to avoid dark under-eyes. Increase your water consumption and at the same time, decrease your caffeine consumption!
Sleep – make sure you get a good night’s sleep in the weeks leading up to your wedding to ensure you and your skin look and feel great.
Flawless skin is a must as you’re going to be photographed all day long so you’ll need a picture perfect complexion.
If you don’t already have a set skincare routine, now is the time to get one! If you have any concerns regarding your skin you are best to visit a qualified Dermatologist or Skin Specialist to determine any treatment you would require and what products would best suit your skin type.
There are plenty of skin care products on the market ranging from high-street brands to high-end price tags! If you are unsure where to begin and what would suit your skin type (be it dry, oily or combination), then pop along to your local beauty salon or beauty counter.
I often get asked what products I would recommend and what I use on myself on a daily basis. I swear by Dermalogica, Elemis and my favourite everyday must-have, Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish. However, what works for one person may not work for another, so you are best to find a brand specifically for your needs and skin type.
Dermalogica offer a free face mapping analysis for your own personal product prescription. Visit their website at www.dermalogica.com/uk for your nearest stockist.
Your daily skin care routine should consist of Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise both morning and night. Make sure you adjust your morning and night time moisturiser.
The one you use at the end of the day should be specifically for ‘night time’. It may feel heavier and more oily than your day moisturiser but it needs to be able to work 8 hours plus to repair, re-hydrate, rejuvenate and refresh your skin ready for the day ahead.
When adopting a new skin care routine you may find your skin feels and even looks worse to begin with. At this point many people will ditch the new regime and go back to their old ways and brands.
Skin takes 28 days to fully renew itself so it may need to go through the process of ‘looking worse before it feels better’! Try to stick with the new ritual and products that have been selected specifically for you as your skin will soon be reaping the rewards and looking fresh and glowing.
Alongside your daily cleansing routine your skin will require weekly exfoliating. Exfoliation is a simple process that removes dead skin cells from the surface of the face/body.
There are many exfoliants on the market – some have tiny, sand like particles and others have much larger. By gently rubbing these particles on your face it helps to remove dead skin cells and expose newer ones, thereby leaving your skin looking and feeling healthier.
Try to have a brightening/hydrating facial once a month in the run-up to your big day.
The final one should be done about a week before hand. Any nearer to your wedding and you will run the risk of breakouts and blotchy skin! Don’t worry if you do wake with blemishes on your big day.
If you have booked a professional make-up artist you can feel safe in the knowledge they will erase them in a flash!
This guest blog post was written by Kelly Hollands – Regional Winner for Best Wedding Make-up Artist by The Wedding Industry Awards 2012.
For more information from Kelly, or to discuss your wedding make up, please visit her website www.KellyHollands.co.uk
Planning your wedding in Essex in 2012
Judging by our Google Analytics visitor stats report, there were plenty of people who found themselves getting engaged over the Christmas period, so if you’ve just found our website for the first time, a huge warm welcome to you.
Essex Wedding Services is now in our 4th year, and we have grown considerably year on year and we now boast a directory of hundreds of brilliant wedding services based in Essex who are all eager to help ensure your wedding day is the best possible. Now that you’ve found our website, make sure you follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and add our website to your browser’s favourites. That way you’ll be sure to find us when you consider booking anything for your forthcoming wedding.
It’s easy to find suppliers here, just browse through our list of categories and take a read on which individual business has to offer, you will find so many experts, all with unique ideas for your special day. But don’t feel you need to just contact one or two people, use the “Email” buttons alongside all of the listings to send a message to as many as you’d like to hear from, everyone is friendly when it comes to wedding planning in Essex, so don’t be shy to ask as many questions of the suppliers as possible.
We also list some of the best wedding venues in Essex so make sure you take a look at what our wonderful county has to offer for your big day.
Our blog section has dozens of useful and fun wedding articles if you want to read through them for ideas on your wedding planning.
So whatever stage of planning your wedding in Essex you’re at, you’ll be glad that you found our site. Wedding planning is one of the most exciting times of your life, and we believe that Essex is the perfect county to start your wedded life together.
If you have any question, then please complete our contact form to get in touch with us, we love hearing from brides and grooms to be.
