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Looking for unique & affordable Wedding Favours?

StickyBottles.co.uk provide a wide range of bottle labels that can be personalised with your own text & photo, not only do they make ideal wedding favours, but they’re also a fantastic way to create a unique, personalised gift for Weddings, Birthdays, Christmas, New Year and any other special occasion.

They offer much more than just personalised wine labels, they have bottle labels for Champagne, Rum, Beer, Vodka & more, create gifts with a personal touch no matter what type of drink someone likes.

Ordering is easy, just visit StickyBottles.co.uk, choose a design & then add your own special message, add it to your cart & checkout.

Your order will then be processed and dispatched quickly, and they’re currently offering 20% discount off your next purchase.

Every now and then, the Essex Wedding Services team go off wandering around the internet looking for wedding related sites to blog about. We like to see what new ideas other countries are adopting for their weddings, and today we’ve found a photographer in Minneapolis who caught our eye.

Kelly McSwiggan of Bel Amour Weddings has been transforming wedding photos into beautiful images since 2002 in the US. Her website http://www.BelAmourWeddings.com

Kelly’s passion is photographing people and the relationships between each other, she specialises in photojournalism style weddings, capturing the true spontaneity in the moment.
Her images are fun, relaxed, close, with lots of smooching! And according to her website, she often sheds a tear or two at the ceremony.
Kelly clearly cares a great deal about her clients, and this comes accross in her photography.
Why not take a look at her gallery page if you’re looking for some ideas for your wedding photos.

When it comes to wedding planning, getting the budget correct is a huge priority, costs can spiral out of control if you are not careful. Quite often we hear couples have added a few more guests here and there, meaning costs increasing and the budget being squeezed.

It’s important to work out how much you can save between the point of getting engaged, and the end of the honeymoon. Write yourself a list of all the things you intend to buy or hire for your wedding, then set about getting some quotes. Once you have yourself a full list, and a good idea of what it will all cost then you have the basis of your wedding budget.

Today’s question, is what item on your wedding budget are you willing to overspend on ? By that we mean, you’ve set your budget and the item you truly desire costs more then you’ve planned for. In this hard economic times, at what point do you say to yourself, “no I’m not paying that”.

PLEASE VOTE BELOW :

If you have problems using this poll – try our facebook page – Facebook

All comments accepted below…..

Hi all, My name is Krystine Atti, I am one of the entertainment coordinators for earcandy. Having look after many wedding entertainment clients, I thought it would be useful to write a quick blog with some advice on entertainment for your wedding day. I know for most of you, entertainment and wedding bands can have a huge question mark next to it, alongside what colour will the flower girls wear and will I have an ‘up – do’ or a straight ‘Cleopatra’ hairstyle! So many concepts and styles to choose from.

Today, I will be writing about the first dance song. For some, this has already been decided and rehearsed (as you’ve forced your fiancée to dance with you in the living room over a thousand times). However, for some, you still haven’t found the ‘perfect’ song for the wedding band to sing on your special day… there are so many to choose from.

I’ve got a couple of suggestions here in hope that this makes the process a bit easier.

First: You and your partner could spend a night in, listening to as many songs as you can that best reflect your relationship (maybe a song that reminds you both of the beginning stages or a song that says a lot about your relationship). Once you’ve done that, you could think about whether you would like the wedding band to perform it, or whether you would like it played via CD or iPod. From our experience, a good band can make the right song a lot more personal and intimate.

Second: We’ve had a couple of clients who have discovered their partners have two left feet or cringe at the concept of dancing in front of large crowds. If this is you, DO NOT FEAR! There are a number of ways to manage this. The great thing about professional musicians is their flexibility. You could have your first dance song merged with a more up-tempo song. This will mean that the focus will be on you for only the first half, and then you can bring everyone to the dancefloor for the uptempo song.

One client had one of our bands perform ‘Etta Bond – At Last’ which segwayed into ‘Black Eyed Peas – Tonight’s Gonna Be a Good Night’ halfway through. This worked out to be quite wonderful, as her bridesmaids and grooms men came up to dance relieving the nervous groom. We have a number of wedding bands for hire that are more than happy to compose this for you allowing you to have your special moment and allowing the party to start without an announcement! Something different and unique.

Hope this has helped some of you and triggered an idea!

Until next time,

Krystine
entertainment co-ordinater, earcandy

If you are a man who wants to marry the girl he’s with, planning a romantic wedding proposal is going to be something that you will just simply have to do.
After all, it will be the moment that she decides whether or not she wants to be with you for the rest of your life – that means you should at least show some effort on your part to impress her.

A wedding proposal starts with a romantic idea and then planning it out the right way. Romantic ideas sometimes take a little bit of time to develop, and it might be hard for those who aren’t used to getting creative. Here are some of the most popular plans for proposals to help you jog your mind.

Propose at the place where you met. This isn’t only a meaningful place to propose, it’s also one that reinforces how much that location means to you. If you met at a nightclub or at a party, this might not be possible. But for those that met at a school or at a convention, it is very easy to retrace your steps.

Get some fancy reservations to a good restaurant, and propose there. This is, by far, the most common way to propose, but it’s common because it works wonderfully and is easy to plan out.

Make a vacation of it. If you have the money to do so, why not take her on a trip to a romantic destination like the Caribbean or Paris to pop the question? This will make it a vacation to remember, and it will also be a vacation that she will be boasting about for years to come.

Write it in the sky. If you want everyone to know your love for her, hire a skywriter to propose to her. This can be tricky, and can be expensive, but it’s going to be one of the most memorable proposals in your circle of friends.

Once you have got an idea of where you want to propose, you are going to have to make it happen. Make sure to tell her that it’s an important date, and start booking any reservations, tickets, and other necessities that you might need to think about.

Some proposals will take more effort than others, so you will also have to take into account the amount of work that you will have to do. If you aren’t the type to coordinate things very well, it’s best to stay with a very basic proposal, like one in a favorite restaurant. However, if you enjoy the idea of planning it out to be “just right,” then putting together a more involved proposal is a great idea.
After all, it’s going to be your wedding – you might as well do it in your style.

The article is written for Brillianteers, Global Diamond Engagement Ring Designers.

Here is something brand new and different for anyone who would like to buy something a bit different for the bride and groom.

The Wandering Minstrel will surprise the couple, in full medieval minstrel outfit and sing a special song all about them from the information that you give him. You can include their name, the occasion and the names of who the greeting is from. You can tell the story of how the couple met and fell in love, or why not tell the minstrel about their work, their achievements, their interests, and the celebrities that they adore. It’s best though when you tell them all the funny things that they say and do, and all of the funny things that have happened to them. You know all the private jokes that will make them laugh out loud, and all these details can all go into the song.

If that was all that happened it would still be amazing, but that is not all:

They will create a full band production audio CD of the special song, and print any photo that you supply onto the body of the CD too.

If that was all that happened it would still be amazing, but that is not all:

They will also create a stunning animated video featuring the song and all of the photos and videos that you supply. This is like the bride and groom starring in their own music video all about them.
If your reception venue is set up for this you can even show this video at the reception too.
The Wandering Minstrel will also produce a special DVD of the finished video, with a photo printed onto the body of the DVD.

As part of the surprise, The Wandering Minstrel will present the audio CD and the DVD video, plus a certificate style lyric sheet.

We believe that it is the best way there is to show someone that you love them. Currently available in London, Manchester and Yorkshire, and on DVD only worldwide.

Visit their website to see more video samples and read the testimonials from their very happy customers.
Contact The Wandering Minstrel to discuss your requirements on 01709 204941 / 07523396608 / miketheminstrel@yahoo.co.uk or view their facebook page – http://www.facebook.com/liveminstrelgreetings

Pure-Light.co.uk think finding beautiful and unique wedding gifts doesn’t have to be difficult. As gift specialists they know that whether you’re buying for the bride and groom, or you’re the happy couple looking for for Bridesmaid, Flower girl, Best Man and Usher gifts, even gifts for the family, engraved gifts are the quick and easy answer to making a simple wedding favour a memorable keepsake.

Just choose your gift, enter your message and wait to receive your item in the post, you’ll be amazed at how much a few thoughtful words can change the look and importance of your wedding gift.

Here are their current top 3 personalised wedding gifts, at number 1 is a stylish Personalised Hip Flask in a gift box, you cannot get a better gift for Father, Brothers, Best Man or Ushers.

Number 2 the Engraved Wedding Photo Frame, a stunning frame with joined wedding rings at the center of the design. The ideal frame for your favourite wedding photo, it’s so elegant and stylish it compliments a wedding photo perfectly.

Number 3 is an essential for cutting the cake, an Engraved Wedding Cake Knife and Server. A great item that is becoming really popular, not only does it look great in your wedding photos, people love it as a keepsake and use it at anniversaries, their babies birthdays too. It becomes a tradition as well as a beautiful item to remind you of your special day.

You may find yourself or bridesmaids thinking this very question on the journey leading up to your wedding day. If you do your own make-up every day or for a special occasion, why do you need to pay someone else to do it for your wedding day?

One thing that all brides have in common is that they want to look their absolute best on their wedding day, as all eyes (and camera lenses) will be on them on them. A lot of thought and budget goes into the dress, shoes, jewellery and photographer to capture how beautiful you look, but sometimes one of the important parts of looking stunning – your face – is left at the bottom of that list.

Having applied the make-up for countless brides over 11 years, there are quite a few reasons why having your make-up applied by a professional on your wedding day should be high on your list, which I’ll take you through…

Flash photography
A camera flash can have quite an affect on how make-up looks – what you thought was a natural look changes into a no make-up at all look. Make-up artists know how much to apply and use specialised make-up which has enough pigment in to show up in photos. It’s an art to ensure you have enough make-up on so that your features are defined in photos but also look stunning in person.

Knowing which foundations and skin products to use is also important when it comes to being photographed. Moisturisers, foundations and powders with an SPF and other several specific ingredients create a white ghostly effect on your face when flash photography is used – so your face will not match your body colour. Not a good look for the wedding album! Also, mineralised powder products look great in person, but make the skin look shiny in photos. Make-up artists will have a variety of foundations they use for different skin types and finishes, in several shades. I believe that skin should look as flawless as possible on your wedding day and custom blend the foundation for each bride to get the perfect shade.

It’s important to be aware that light reflective products (under eye concealer pens or powder) can reflect a white tone – think ‘I’ve been in the sun and worn ski goggles look’. So it’s best not to use these, unless it’s for specific highlighting and contouring.

Looking your absolute best
Many of us get stuck in a rut when it comes to make-up and use the same colours, products and techniques every time we do our make-up. It’s hard for us to be objective about ourselves and are often our own worst critic.

A professional make-up artist looks at you with a fresh, artistic eye and knows exactly what colours and techniques are needed to enhance your best features. Make-up artists are trained to look at your face shape, feature proportions and are also skilled in camouflage or other techniques to minimize any flaws.

A good make-up artist will ask about your own make-up style and create a look that ties in with that, enhancing it with some new ideas. You still want to look like you on your wedding day, just a more stunning, radiant, polished version. Having a trial is important so you can try out different looks and be totally confident in how you’re going to look on your special day.

Making it last
Your make-up needs to last throughout your day and reception – yes, you’re going to have to touch up your lips, but you don’t want to waste time in the middle of your day, touching up your foundation or eyeshadow.

Good make-up artists have plenty of techniques and products to ensure make-up lasts through the nuptials and energetic evening dancing. The last thing you want is to have a would-be-perfect photo spoilt by your face looking shiny, eyeshadow creased or eye liner smudged!

A multitude of high quality products are used for bridal make-up including specialised skincare, skin primers, eyeshadow primers, highlighters, photographic friendly make-up and setting sprays, not forgetting the professional brushes and tools used to apply these. These items play an essential role in helping your make-up to last as long as possible as well as you looking your best. Paying for a make-up artist may seem an expense initially, but purchasing all of these items yourself would cost a king’s ransom.

Minimising stress
The morning of your wedding can be a rather stressful time, with everyone buzzing around and hammering questions at you – I’ve been witness to many a tricky situation in those precious few hours before the big event. Most brides get the jitters on their special day (myself included) and it’s hard to do your own make-up with a churning stomach and shaky hand.

Having your make-up done gives you some time, escaping the mayhem, to relax and focus on yourself. Professional wedding make-up artists are used to working to a schedule and ensure that the bride and bridal party are made-up in plenty of time. I like to ensure there’s more than enough time built into the order of events to make a final touch up and check over any exposed skin such as the bride’s neck, shoulders and back to camouflage any blemishes and set them before the dress is put on.

In conclusion, long after the preparations, wedding vows, first married kiss, first dance, cutting the cake and throwing the bouquet, your photos will remain. Those photos will remind you of everything wonderful about your special day and will be looked at for years to come. You want to be proud to show them off and know without a shadow of a doubt, you looked your absolute best.

Post by Celina Keywood

www.makeupbycelina.co.uk

 

That’s the prediction for 2012. From what I’ve noticed during my years in the wedding biz, themes never really fell off the radar screen. What might be happening is that brides are starting to realize that choosing a meaningful theme makes wedding planning easier for one simple reason…

Focus. A theme allows you to narrow your choices. You know specifically what to look for in wedding invitations, the venue, attire, décor, menu and favours, and you’ll find an abundance of options for most any theme imaginable.

Choosing a Theme
Your theme should be meaningful to both of you in some way. If you’re wine aficionados, consider a theme like “A Night of Wine and Wonder”. Here are few other theme ideas to get your creative juices flowing: An Evening in Paris, Fairy Tale, Hawaiian Luau, Vintage, The Roaring Twenties, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Winter Wonderland, Camelot, Starry Night, Rustic, Steampunk.

Working the Theme
Let’s work through “A Night of Wine and Wonder” to see how everything comes together quickly and easily.

• Invitations

A search on the Internet will lead you to a plethora of printers who offer wine-themed wedding invitations that feature a designs like a border of grape vines, clusters of grapes, or two champagne-filled glasses toasting. Word your invitation to include your theme:
You are cordially invited to A Night of Wine and Wonder to celebrate the marriage of.

• Venue

These days, many wineries have event venues, making them the ideal place to host a wine-themed wedding. Some winery event spaces are so charming, you’ll save big on décor! If you’re marrying in warmer weather, you might even consider holding the wedding outdoors, where guests will have gorgeous views of grapevine-covered hillsides.

• Décor

A carefully chosen winery will provide the ideal ambiance. For a seated dinner, keep things simple with a silver wine bucket surrounded by clusters of grapes for centerpieces on the tables. Fill each bucket with ice and a bottle of fine wine wrapped in a large, fabric napkin. Buffet tables will look lovely with a scattering of grape clusters tied with ribbons that match your colour scheme.

• Menu

Feast on whatever your heart desires the night you wed. Work with the event designer at the winery to choose the perfect wine for every course, so your guests get a sampling of several different wines.

• Favours

There’s no dearth of wine-themed favours! Bottle stoppers come in a variety of designs and make the perfect wedding favour! If you’re looking for something a little different, yet still practical and theme-related, treat your guests to a stainless-steel spreader with a wine-cork handle. Lovely!

Whatever your theme, you’ll discover this simple wedding-planning trick makes the entire process less daunting and entirely delightful!

Susan Hawkins is a writer for Kate Aspen UK, retailers of the very finest in wedding favours, bridal shower favours, hen favours, personalised wedding favours, wine favours, baby shower favors and bridesmaid gifts.

After attending more than a few weddings myself, I have definitely heard my share of wedding speeches; some have been simple and sweet, others sad or sentimental and some have completely been obnoxious. However, nothing compares to someone directly quoting Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers; if you have seen the movie then you know exactly what I am talking about.

There are no set guidelines on how to give wedding speeches or the right words to say for that matter; however if you have been asked to give a toast at a wedding, take it seriously. You should be honored to have been chosen to give a wedding toast at the reception. The bride and groom have both agreed that you are the right person for the job, and with good reason. You know either one or both of them more intimately than others.

Remember that in order to give a memorable wedding speech it needs to come directly from the heart and it needs to be original. And it holds true for all the wedding speeches – no matter if you are talking about best man speeches or father of the bride speeches this is the most basic rule you need to follow all the time. This is an important job so take some time to write out what you want to say to the newlyweds ahead of time. Your speech should not me more than three to five minutes long, keep it short and sweet or short and funny, whatever suits you best. Come prepared to the reception and do not try to wing it, the last thing you want to do is embarrass yourself. You want the newlyweds to remember the words you are saying not how horribly you messed up. Keep in mind, who is listening to your speech at all times, you do not want to divulge any personal information that is not appropriate or might embarrass the couple in front of other friends and family in any way.

Although it is not necessary for you to face the guest at the weeding reception, you do however need to briefly introduce yourself, as not everyone in attendance will know you are. Share a special moment that stands out in your mind about the bride and groom, and make it a point to speak to the bride and groom directly. They will forever remember the words you speak that day; and it also helps if you get stage fright, focusing on them will calm those nerves. As newlyweds they need all the advice they can get, so if you have some special insight on what makes either one tick or special quirks that only you know share it with them; they will definitely thank you for it, it is the little things that make a marriage prosperous.

Another thing, be yourself and do not be afraid to be funny or sentimental; remember there is a reason why they chose you, and again please refrain from quoting movies that are obnoxious. Although quoting Vince Vaughn might be funny, I am sure the couple would prefer something more original. In closing, while proposing a toast in their honor, you would want to wish the newlyweds the best of luck on their honeymoon and a lot of happiness on this new journey they are about to embark on; your support means the world to them.

So, that’s pretty much all you need to know concerning how to go about wedding speeches. No matter if you need to give a best man speech or a father of the bride speech, the basic format remains almost the same for all wedding speeches. However, depending on the nature of the speech, the speaker might have to improvise a bit. For example, best man speeches are anticipated to be hilarious while father of the bride speeches are mostly sentimental. Again, there are no hard and fast rules – it all depends on the speaker’s as well as the the couple’s personality and and may be the tradition and cultural aspect of a wedding at the same time.