Top Tip - Bride to be at a wedding fayre

The wedding fayre season is now in full swing with at least four or five being held in each area every week. If you are currently planning your wedding in Essex or London and you are going off to wedding fayres then a supplier gave me a great tip. Get some labels printed with your name and contact details on in advance. You can do these on the computer or order some on line, they are fairly inexpensive, so that when you chat with suppliers and you need to give them your details you don't have to keep either writing them down all the time or forever repeating yourself. Just give them a sticker!

Top Tip - Recommended Suppliers

Today's top tip is about recommended suppliers. When you have decided on your venue more often than not they will give you a brochure or leaflet with all of their recommended suppliers on. Just be warned that some of these suppliers may have paid to be on that list or in that brochure and the venue might not really know their work at all.
If you are using the venue's coordinator and not hiring an Essex wedding planner, then ask them about the one's that you are interested in. Find out about how they work, the quality and if they are professional and nice to workwith.  If you are hiring a wedding planner in London then that's a job that they can do for you. Making sure their work really is recommended by the venue.

WPE 12

Later this week I will be attending the UKAWP wedding planning excellence seminar. Over two days trading wedding planners get together to brush up on the many skills required to make an excellent wedding planner.
The UKAWP was founded with one purpose to promote professionalism in wedding planning. Lets face it there are no qualifications to becoming a wedding planner and anyone can do it if they want. As the industry is not regulated when you are looking to hire a wedding planner to help you be careful where you look.
The best way is by recommendation, the next best way is to look to see if they were trained or are members of the UKAWP. These are professional planners who are abide by a strict code of practice:

CODE OF BUSINESS PRACTICE

I agree to:

Respond to enquiries within 48 hours
Respect client confidentiality
Disclose any suppliers I have a vested interest in
Pass discounts and/or commission onto clients
Ensure my Public Liability insurance is up to date
Never give client details to any third party not involved with the wedding
Respect copyright from fellow wedding professionals
Represent each client fairly and honestly
Use legally sound business contracts with clients
 

You can rest assured, that by hiring a wedding planner is Essex or anywhere else for that matter if they have the UKAWP logo then you are hiring a professional who takes their work and your wedding seriously.
I am very much looking forward to catching up with my fellow planners and learning a few new things

www.ukawp.com

Wedding Fayres - good or bad?

Its the time of the year when every weekend you can go to a wedding fayre or open day. Are these really worth your time? Absolutley yes if you choose carefully. This weekend the biggest wedding show in Essex takes place at The Brentwood Centre. Its the annual Heart Fm show, now in its 25th year!
Its a big show with everything you could possibly need for your wedding and more. The suppliers that are exhibiting have had to make a substantial investment in themselves and their business to get the exposure. These are serious suppliers, I know quite a few of them personally and can vouch for their work.
Open days are also great, as often the venue will have hand picked some suppliers to come along and exhibit. These will be people they have worked with before and whose work they know. Be more wary of smaller wedding shows, it seems every events company is organising them these days and some of them aren't organised particularly well. I know as I've wasted hard earned money advertising at them.
Do your research into who's organising and the calibre of suppliers that will be there. That way you don't waste every weekend trawling around wedding fayres.
If you're free on Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th of February come along to the Brentwood Centre. This is one fayre you shouldn't miss. Come and say hello, I'll be in the marquee area and will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have when it comes to planning your big day.

Hanbury Manor Wedding Fayre

Last Sunday I had a stand at the Hanbury Manor wedding fayre, with my musical hat on promoting Groove Music Management and Essex wedding band, One Foot in the Groove.
Hanbury Manor is a gorgeous hotel in the Hertfordshire countryside. It was my first fayre of the spring season, there are a few more coming up. I will keep you posted. We took a couple of provisional bookings for our main hertfordshire wedding band, One Foot in the groove, which was great and many more bride and grooms to be,  took the bands CD.
Its been a few years since I've been to Hanbury Manor and I had fogotten what a lovely place it is. Set in 200 acres of parkland, this 5 star hotel and country club is licensed for civil ceremonies and has several rooms suitable to hold your wedding. There is Poles Hall, a lovely wooden panelled room, which seats up to 120 guests. The Thundridge Suite, which overlooks the grounds and champion golf course, seats up to 180 guests and has a smaller suite attached for the bar and buffet in the evening.
My favourite part of this beautiful venue is The Garden Court, as its completely self contained. The conservatory for your civil ceremony and party in the evening, the lovely gardens for your photographs and the attached drawing room is perfect for the wedding breakfast. It even has its own bedrooms, so your wedding feels exclusive, as you are away from the rest of the venue at this wonderful 5 star resort. If you are looking for something elegant for your big day go and have a look.

Happy New Year

I just want to take this opportunity to say a very happy new year to everyone. If you are getting married next year, 2013 or even 2014 and would like some help, no matter how much or how little. Essex wedding planning company, EC Wedding Design can take the stress out of planning your wedding day without you loosing any control. Allowing you to thoroughly enjoy your very special day.
We have a variety of services and we only take on a certain amount of events each year so that we can give our couples the attention that they need and deserve.
Don't forget we also have a small range of services to enhance your wedding. Including: Our candy buffet, a fabulous alternative to favours. PA hire, great if you are having a ceremony outside. Our sister company, Groove Music Management can also help with all your entertainment needs from bands to disco's. www.groovemusicmanagement.co.uk

Hope 2012 brings all that your heart desires

We're back (for good) with new services

Its official, EC Weddings is has finally got round to launching. I have had a couple of false starts due to my commitments to my other wedding business, but now I have two fabulous clients lined up for 2012 so feel its time to get on with things, besides  I love blogging.
This is just a little introduction to the website. We have a new service for 2012 due to demand from brides, The Sweetie Buffet. You and your guests will love all the retro sweets, believe me the adults love it more than the kids. Further details can be found on the website.

Also for 2012 we will have PA hire, ideal for civil ceremonies and speeches, whats the point in saying your vows if your guests can't hear! same goes for the speeches. and we'll also have dance floor, DJ and lighting hire later on in the year, from our sister company www.groovemusicmanagement.co.uk so keep watching.