Archive for the ‘Wedding Planning Articles’ Category

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.

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

Every girl in this world wants to be a mother and believed it as the most precious moment of life. Every bride feel more complete and happier as she has two gift same time. Variety of fashion wedding dresses available for pregnant brides in different materials that specially made for their pregnant bodies. A large number of pregnant brides get confused about how to get an inexpensive wedding dress. There is no need to worry about low-cost wedding dresses as ample choices available in maternity wedding dresses. Moreover, various styles available in maternity wedding dresses that cope with the current trends.

For the expectant bride soft fabric must be choose which not also give her womanish look but also healthy for her. Maternity dresses for wedding must be made with a fabric, which is lissome to avoid intimidating. As well as these dresses should be lightweight so that they make a stream and do not emphasize much on bally portion. To provide your body a thin look a knee length maternity wedding dress can be choose. If a pregnant bride wants to expose her hips a sheath made dress could be nice choice as this fabric stick to body and make the hip prominent.

When you reach the decision to get married, you can go to online web site where you can find your required cheap maternity wedding dress at a reasonable price and quality. To be look like a fairy princes always a wish of every women, make sure, when you buying inexpensive maternity dress does not mean that you have to compromise on quality. You can go to markets also and search out different shops you will find many sellers offering maternity dresses at affordable prince with latest design and trends. Some online sellers also put discount on maternity wedding dresses to attract the customers, which is another way to have inexpensive dress.

While buying cheap maternity wedding dresses make sure that it go with the latest trend rather to buy an old style to save money. This would ruin your great day. Some online shop also provides hire services and lends maternity wedding dresses for few days on nominal rate. You can go to their web site select a dress according to desired style and body type, choose the color and make an order. You no need to go their place rather they would deliver the dress at your door without charging extra.

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…..

When it comes to sending out wedding invitations for your guests you have a few options. You can either hand make them yourself, you can order in bulk and fill them in by hand, or you can chose the middle ground and hire someone to make handmade wedding invitations for you that can take all of your wedding themes and ideas into consideration and come up with a great bespoke card for your wedding, a company like Pink Shoes Art can do this for you and come up with ideas or work with your own ideas.

Sending out a personalised wedding invitation says so much more about you as a couple and about the kind of wedding you are having. You can have great personal touches added to the card and it really stands out from the usual stock cards you get sent for most wedding invitations. What you want to do is make your big day stick in people’s memories so why not take the best opportunity to do this when they first hear about your wedding in the post.

If you order some extra bits and accessories you can also make sure the card is tailored to who it is being sent out to. Just stick some extra touches on to each persons card and it will really stand out. A good card designer will also work with you to make sure your handmade card is tailored to you as a couple and the theme of your wedding. Little touches and features on cards can turn them from drab copies of each other into great memorable unique items that people will really treasure and appreciate.

Handmade and hand drawn cards are different to what you expect to be receive when you are being invited to a wedding and its a great way to get people talking about your wedding and remember it rather than just sticking the invitation on the pile. A personalised card is also going to make a great keepsake and is something your guests will probably want to keep forever rather than throw away.

First and foremost, congratulations! Your overseas wedding should be the best day of your life and no doubt will be. Furthermore, with a little financial planning, we can help to make sure it doesn’t go over budget and turn into a financial catastrophe. Whether you are planning a stunning beach wedding in California or village ceremony in Thailand, financial considerations need to be thought out well in advance. Thankfully, with the help of international money transfer comparison site MyCurrencyTransfer.com, we can assist you in answering some key questions on how to make international payments (the right way) for an overseas wedding.

1. Prepare well in advance

No doubt, you will have a list of suppliers that need to be paid in foreign currency. Make a full and comprehensive list (invitations, venue, catering, hotels etc) so that you have a figure in mind that needs to be transferred overseas. When making an international money transfer, check out comparison sites like MyCurrencyTransfer.com to help you find the best deal. Make contact with foreign exchange specialists who will typically get you a better deal than the high street banks. There is no fee to open an account with these specialists and an account can be opened very simply within 24 hours.

2. Look closely at the exchange rate offered

If you are sending a large amount of money overseas, it is much more important to focus on the exchange rate offered rather than the fixed fee to transfer. Often, when you send over a certain amount (i.e. above £5000) there will be no transfer fees. A foreign exchange specialist is likely to save you between 3-5% of the value of the transfer. On a £100,000 international money transfer this can equate to a £3000 saving. This is money that can be put to better use on other wedding items, or perhaps to pay for that dream sofa you had your eye on.

3. Consider the use of a forward contract

If you have time before you need to pay suppliers, it is still worth establishing contact with foreign exchange companies. They can discuss the use of a forward contract which allows you to fix the exchange rate for up to 12 months in advance. Perhaps if you like the look of today’s Baht or Euro exchange rate (but only need to pay in 3 months), you can look at locking in the exchange rate to minimize the risk of currency fluctuations.

4. Consider how to buy travel money for the actual trip itself

Once you set off for the trip of a lifetime, consider how you will take foreign currency abroad. A good starting point once again is to use specialist travel money comparison sites. You can compare travel money options at MyTravelMoney.co.uk. It is a sister site to MyCurrencyTransfer.com and is a useful tool as it compares live exchange rates taken from all the major suppliers. Whatever you do, don’t buy currency at the airport (i.e. waiting until the last minute) as the exchange rates will be extremely poor. Most travel money suppliers will actually offer you the option of home delivery of currency. Quite simply, you buy online and the currency will be delivered to your door next day via Royal Mail Special delivery. Once again, allow a few days in advance just incase.

Have an amazing trip, enjoy every moment and you will have the best day of your life. We wish you all the best and hope with our little nuggets of financial wisdom, you will have not only a fantastic wedding, but an occasion that sticks to budget and leave you with a few more pounds in your pocket.

Trends in Wedding Dresses

It goes without saying that choosing the perfect wedding dress is one of if not the most important decisions that a woman makes on her wedding day, which according to the old saying, is the happiest day of her life. With so many different things to consider, it can seem like a daunting task, however, it need not be.

The current fashion in wedding dresses is an elegant and flowing look. Gone are the tight, almost corset like dresses of the past decade which seemed to draw their inspiration from the Victorian era. Today, looser dresses perhaps reflect the mood of the times, focusing more on fashion and personal comfort than the nostalgia that dominated our ideas at the start of this century.

The most prevalent styles of dress for the past couple of years have seen a very noticeable shift towards more flowing and looser designs, arguably a more feminine look. This will come as a welcome relief for many, as summers seem to be hotter every year. An elegant free flowing dress lets your skin breathe more easily meaning less chance for you to feel uncomfortable or sweat on the big day. With so many things to worry about when getting married, it’s good that personal comfort is not such a big problem anymore.

Shoulderless Wedding Dress

Another recent trend that we are seeing more and more of is the one shoulder or even shoulderless wedding dress. In a development seemingly inspired by the glamour of the Hollywood red carpet, more and more women are choosing to show a bit of shoulder on their wedding day. Again this seems to be a move away from the more formal and classic look that has dominated wedding fashion for the past decade or so. In spite of, or perhaps even as a reaction to the troubled economy, many women are choosing to go all out for glamour at their wedding, taking their cues from stars of stage and screen.

Of course, wedding dresses are as much an expression of personal taste as a way to follow fashion, so the choice between sexy and traditional still ultimately depends on the personal choice of the bride. If you choose to follow the fashionable route however, it is important to remember that a wedding is still a formal occasion, and there is a danger that by moving too far away from a traditional look that you may end up being too sexy.

Traditional Wedding Dresses

The traditional aim of bridal outfits is to reflect innocence and purity as well as beauty, you may want to maintain an element of the virginal in your outfit. Although the departure from tradition is welcome news for many, don’t try to turn your wedding aisle into a catwalk.

You don’t have to have supermodel good looks or a movie star figure to look glamorous on your wedding day, beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, with the right balance of tradition and modernity all women can look fabulous on their wedding day.

For further information, please take a look at our Essex Wedding Dress Suppliers page.

It’s fairly common that couples opt for a child-free wedding reception these days, usually to keep the numbers down, but also to ensure that the parents can relax and enjoy the day themselves, instead of tending to a bored child for a lot of the day.
Most wedding guests accept the “we’re only inviting adults” reasoning, and the majority are quite happy to leave the kids with a child minder for the day whilst they attend the wedding ceremony and reception. Unfortunately there will always be someone who claims they can’t arrange a baby sitter, which leaves you with the awkward decision of either stating that it’s unfortunate but you stand by your “no-kids policy” or you tell them that one child won’t make a difference and let them attend. The kid will probably be bored and nag their parents to take them home anyway. Maybe !!?

So what do you do if your siblings have children ? Perhaps a niece and nephew only rule ? They are of course part of your immediate family, so you’d want them to be there during your special day. Then of course there are bridesmaids, flower girls and page boys, presumably you’ll have children that you would like for these roles.

Whatever you decide to do for your wedding, having bored children nagging their parents, is the last thing they’ll need when trying to enjoy your wedding day, so why not consider some entertainment for the kids.

There are a few options for you, hiring children entertainers is one, you could easily book a professional entertainer for a set time during the day, perhaps for an hour or two. Assuming the wedding venue has an area that the entertainer could take the children, just a corner somewhere, then they are kept occupied and enjoying themselves.

Another thing to consider though is the range of ages between the children you’ve invited to the wedding. If you are looking for a children’s entertainer, then you’ll need to ask them about the services they provide, and whether or not their performance can include children of a variety of ages. Clowns, puppets, face painting and balloon modelling is often fun for little children, but maybe a magician could provide entertainment for all ages,
Have a chat with the children entertainers available in you local area and see what they can offer. Also talk with the wedding venue and ask them what other couples may of done in the past, you’ll want to avoid loud music and screaming children too close to earshot

If you don’t have a large group of children at your wedding, and maybe just a few younger ones, then kids party bags are often enough to occupy them, at least through the meal and speeches which is when you’ll appreciate them being quietest the most.
They’re guaranteed to find the speeches dull, so to avoid any children from falling asleep or nagging their parents, a party bag with some puzzles, small games and a little treat inside is a great option.

Happy Wedding planning !

Unique wedding favours idea – Flip Flops

For those of you still in the planning stages of your wedding, one of the last few things you’ll find on your list at the wedding favours. At Essex Wedding Services, we’ve written many different blog posts with wedding favour ideas, so you have no excuse to leave it to the last moment and then buy those awful sugared almonds that no one likes.

Today’s new idea for you will definitely hit a cord with the ladies. How many times have you been to a wedding and by the time the DJ starts getting people on the dance floor, your brand new shoes have started to murder your feet, so you end up taking them off, only to dance around them ?
The solution is to provide your wedding guests with flip-flop wedding favours.

Flip-flops are incredibly inexpensive, especially if you hunt around for a bulk purchase, and the idea of everyone wearing them on the dance floor adds to the fun.
You can type up and print off your own personal messages and attach them to the flip flops, inviting your wedding guests to relax and wear them later in the evening should their feet start to hurt.

Personalised wedding flip-flops

An additional idea would be to have your names and wedding date printed on them, providing the guests with an even more fun memento of your special day.

So when you’ve worked your way down the list of things you’re planning for your wedding day, and you get to the part that says “Wedding Favours” – don’t just follow the traditional route, try to make them fun, and something that the wedding guests will enjoy and even be able to use again.

Unique Wedding Cake Designs

The wedding cake becomes one of the most photographed moments during your wedding day, and the cake is always something the guests will remember, so why not make yours a truly memorable and unique wedding cake design.

These days more and more couples are moving away from the traditional fruitcake with white icing, and plastic bride and groom cake toppers. So, regardless of what you think, there are no set rules or requirements that you should follow when deciding on your wedding cake theme or design.
Most wedding cake designers will be delighted at the idea you’re looking for something away from the norm, so don’t be embarrassed to ask them to help you come up with a wacky or non-traditional cake style.

If it helps at all, here is a fantastic group of unique wedding cake designs to give you some examples.