Wedding Photos!

Mum and I went to another Wedding Fair today, this time just a local one in Sutton Holiday Inn. There were some really good stalls there today considering the venue isn't that big, and we talked to some people about honeymoon destinations (Virgin will have a sale April 2013 for Caribbean destinations for 2014 - something to bear in mind!), and wedding rings. There is a great little company called "Smooch" who are based online and create bespoke rings at no extra cost. Their prices seem very reasonable on first glance, and they had some lovely designs at the fair today. They come to your home and bring a selection of rings for you to try or give you ideas of your own, and seem really nice and easygoing, so this might be something to consider.

We also spoke to a gentleman about flowers, and saw a couple of fantastic ideas which are quite simple to create some effective table decorations, such as a few flowers in what looks like a giant cocktail glass, or in a bowl like this:

I think this is something which may be quite easy to do ourselves, and anything us or family can do to help lower costs is very welcome!

The best thing about the fair today was that I have found my photographer! A lady called Fiona Kelly who is just the most incredible wedding photographer I have seen. Looking through her photos actually bought a tear to my eye, she captures the mood fantastically and her photos are both emotive and artistic, I was very impressed. We got chatting about photography, as only yesterday I had been on a course with my dad about using a DSLR camera as we are both very much into photography too, and she invited me to come and assist her at other weddings! This is a great idea, not onlt to get some more photograpy experience but if Fiona is going to be my photographer then it would be nice to get to know her a bit better and vice versa, so then the photos will be all that more personal. Anyone reading this blog who is looking for a photographer I strongly recommend clicking on the link to her page above and taking a look at her gallery, and you will see exactly what I mean.

This blog could therefore take a slightly different direction if I have a go at wedding photography, but it will also give me plently more ideas for my big day!

First Wedding Fayre!

I went to my first Wedding Fayre today at Kingswood Golf Club with my mum. I was a really good way of getting some initial ideas and things to think about, and although there is quite a long time until our wedding, there are lots of little details to think about, and it was really nice to chat to local businesses about the products and services they offer.

One thing it did help me start to think about was the colour scheme. Seeing all the tables dressed up differently was really useful to see the impact of the different colour schemes on the table decorations. One I really liked the look of was a plum purple colour doubled up with fuchsia to brighten it up a bit. The actual table decoration was a bit too pinky, but I really liked the chair ribbons:

I think the colour will really suit my bridesmaids too, and it's bright for a spring wedding. I think it is a colour which will suit my fiance, he's definately not a pink person but I think plum will be a good look for him.

The other ideas I got were for the favours. There is a company called Quintessential Cookies who create these gorgeous iced shortbread cookies in little bags which people can take away with them if they like. I also liked this backdrop at the head table which had fairy lights all over it. It seemed a really simple thing to do but looked really effective.

For our cake, a family friend has said she would like to make it for us, and she is such a perfectionist I think it would be a really lovely idea, so today we were looking at ideas for designs. The cake I really liked was one which had drapes of icing across the front of each tier, and flowers either side...

Thinking about fitting in with the plum colour scheme this is a pretty close match to the kind of thing I would really like, possibly without the beads around the bottom of each tier. We also saw some really nice balloons in balloons, which had a coloured balloon inside with a clear balloon around it which I think will be a little bit mroe special than standard balloons.

As we were leaving we were stopped by a magician called Paul Dickson who did a couple of absolutely fantastic magic tricks that mum and I thought were incredible. I hadn't considered a magician before but I really like the idea of having him walking around doing these at the reception. Just need to fit it into the budget!

Next weekend, trying on wedding dresses!

Let the Wedding Planning Commence!

My fiance and I got engaged over Christmas, on my birthday actually. We went up to London for a day trip, my brother had paid for us to go on the London Eye for my birthday, it was a beautifully clear day, cold but really sunny and clear blue sky. We were walking along Westminster Bridge, then we stopped to look out over the river, and that's when he asked me :)

There is so much to organise, although we are not actually getting married until 2014 to give us time to save up (My fiance is starting a PGCE in September), but I figured if we got started now then we can try to spread the cost a bit better, we have a budget of £8000 to £10 000 which I know is not an awful lot but I hope the time factor can help us save money wherever possible. Any advice or hints and tips would be much appreciated!

So far I have an idea of my dress, I would like something fitted around the bust and waist, and then quite a big puffed out bottom. I have also seen this gorgeous dress in a wedding magazine which has lace straps but looks more like a tiny shrug across the shoulders which would be perfect. Hopefully at Easter I can start trying on dresses to get a better idea of exactly what I want. Diet and exercise all the way!

The fiance and I have also breifly discussed wedding venues. We originally wanted Nonsuch Mansion in Cheam, which is where we currently live and where I grew up, but apparently it is about £12 000 just to hire a room, so that is well out of budget! We have more recently spotted Gate Street Barn in Guildford, we have both fallen in love with the idea of having the reception in a barnhouse with all those wooden beams...

The 2013 price for a weekday wedding is £3000, which is not too unrealistic, certainly beats the £12 000 for Nonsuch Mansion thats for sure!

So that's the story so far. I really want to decide on a theme/ colour scheme fairly soon so I can start sorting out things like invitations, bridesmaids dress ideas etc. It will be a May/June wedding so any ideas along the spring theme would be greatly appreciated :)