Save the Date

I am currently searching for save the date cards for a client's wedding in Buckinghamshire next year. It made me ask the question do you need save the date cards? can't you just email and save on paper?
NO, NO, NO. Your save the date card will be the first thing your guests see in relation to your big day. When you are planning your London wedding, you need to picture the overall look and feel to the wedding and its starts with that save the date card. The only acception to this would be if it was really last minute.
The amount of brides in Essex that literally just buy and book things at random isn't true. You have to see the end result and then work towards that and don't get distracted by every little thing you see at you local wedding show. This will also save you money as you only book and buy the things that will give you that lovely picture you have in your mind about your wedding day. Never loose that picture and its starts with the save the date. What do you think of these

Thank you to:
www.avintagewedding.co.uk
www.beforethebigday.co.uk
www.weddingsbylily.com
www.wedding-news.co.uk
www.noths.com

Rachel and Gus - A London Wedding

Back in June I was booked to co-ordinate on the day for Rachel and Gus. They had already confirmed their wedding venue in London, it was to be held at St John's in Hackney, which is a stunning church.
The venue is huge and we needed to look carefully at the decoration that we would use so that it didn't feel to big.
Rachel was very keen to plan the wedding herself but she knew that she needed some help on the day with set up and break down and she also wanted some support with some of the suppliers she hadn't yet sourced, which I was happy to do.
 A wedding planner in London can give you as much or as little help as you need and every quote given is totally bespoke, just like every wedding we help with.
We don't offer packages, as brides aren't pakcages and every wedding we help to plan is totally unique.

The tables

Home made centre pieces using seasonal flowers and jam jars

Pom poms and bunting

table plan and menu

the start of decorating the venue

Laying up the venue

The string quartet added the perfect atmosphere

The bunting pulled helped lower the ceiling

wedding breakfast

from the gallery

looking down

the party

The Avantis

The Avantis

the evening reception

Wedding table centre pieces

If you are looking for something different to have as your table cente piece for your wedding in Hertfordshire, Essex or London, then take a look at this.
Would you believe these lovely roses, which you can have in any colour are actually cupcakes. What a great idea. Not only are they gorgeous but they could also be dessert for your guests saving you money.

My new website

Hello everyone, I'm very excited to tell you about my rebranded website. I felt that to really take the business forward I wanted to trade under my own name, afterall I am the one who does the planning and works closely with my couples and clients to plan their wedding or party in Essex.
I have worked in the wedding industry for almost 10 years and I have built up lots of fabulous contacts and suppliers covering all budgets. I also wanted to get over the myth that a wedding planner is:

1. Expensive
2. not for everyone
3. a luxury

I don't really like to offer packages as I don't think you are a package. Each bride I work with is an individual and each one has diferent requirements. After our initial, no obligation consultation I am then able to get to know you and you know me and together decide if we want to work together, because that's what its all about, working together to plan the wedding of your dreams.

By working this way I believe that a wedding planner becomes accesible to more brides as the cost is based on the help you need. You may only need a little help with certain elements of your day or you may want someone to get you going with you planning or help you find certain suppliers. Its all about you and what you need.

Every bride needs a bit of help planning her day and sometimes by having a 'neutral' on your side it can help. My opinions will always be objective and not swayed by any emotions, which when you ask family members or friends they can be.

Have a look at the new site and do get in touch for a consultation, its FREE and you are under no obligation. What have you got to loose.

A marquee wedding in Essex

celebrate with flowers

Blake Hall

Jade's flowers

wedding planner London, Essex, Herts and Suffolk

WInter Weddings

Its is unavoidable but its getting colder and time to wrap up warm and think about open fires, hot toddies and if you are planning a winter wedding there are some gorgeous ideas around for your big day. Ideas for cakes, table decorations and styling ideas

Silver and white cake

More table ideas

Candle centre pieces with snowflakes

Christmas bauble place names

A fabulous ice sculpture

How do you cut corners with costs and not style?

Following on from our last post about saving money on your wedding without compromising on the style of your day

3. Cake for dessert

Over the years I have been working as a wedding planner in Essex and London I have always noticed that few guests finish their dessert or the guests don't eat all the cake at the evening buffet. Save yourself some money and choose a more dessert like cake and serve it after the main course. You still get to maike a big fuss of the cutting of the cake but then that is served to your guests as dessert after the wedding breakfast. What's left can go our with the evening buffet.

4. Buffet, BBQ or hog roast ? not a sit down meal.

If you are getting married in the Summer for example why not have an informal hog roast for the main course or a buffet, which can still be hot, instead of a plated meal. A sit down plated meal will   always be the most expensive option. A hog roast in the Summer can give a real relaxed feel to a wedding and save you an awful lot of money. This still works well for weddings out of season as there is something warm and comforting about a hog roast.

If you'd like to receive some more cost saving tips why not consider hiring EC Wedding Design, wedding planners in Essex for a planning workshop. We charge £150 for a 3 hour session with a professional wedding planner in London. This workshop is a perfect and inexpensive way to get you started planning your wedding. You ask the things you want and need to know and we will impart our professional knowledge to help you. If you then decide to go on and hire E C Wedding design to plan your day, this fee is deducted from your final bill.

How do you cut corners with costs and not style?

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In the climate we live in budgets for weddings are being cut all the time, not for everyone but for many. How do you work to a tight budget whilst still having thewedding of your dreams?

Here are a couple of things that might help when you come to planning your big day. I have many more money saving tips, without compromising on style. If you want to learn more think about a no obligation consultation with a qualified wedding planner in Essex or Hertfordshire to help you.

1. Numbers

Why not think about keeping numbers for the daytime lower. It would be lovely to have 150 people but you could be paying around £50 per head for them. Sit down together and each draw up a list of guests, then compare. If there are names you agree on then put them on the final list. Always remember on your weding day you want to look around the room and be surrounded by the most important people in your life. Not your third cousin twice removed who you last saw three years ago

2. what time you eat

If you plan your day so that you sit down to eat the wedding breakfast at about 6pm as opposed to late afternoon,you can avoid having to pay for an evening buffet because the wedding breakfast becomes dinner. This works for so many reasons, not just cost. It means the meal and speeches end at about 8.30pm and then dancing starts at about 9pm. Believe it or not this is the perfect time to start the party. Guests have had a few drinks, its dark outside and all of this makes for a better party atmosphere. If you want to invite some more friends in the evening you can, all you need to do is put on their invitations, please join us for a drink to celebrate our marriage. This makes it clear there won't be addittional food. If you do want to offer more food then do a cheese board for everyone.

Happy planning 

Louise and Denny's Essex Wedding

I had the pleasure of planning the Summer wedding of Louise and Denny Nash earlier this year. The couple had chosen to marry in the local church and to follow with a reception in the garden of the groom's family home.
Louise wanted elegant with a little bit of bling, afterall this was an Essex wedding, the colour scheme chosen was champagne and cream. There are a lot of logistics involved with planning a marquee wedding, is the ground level? where is the power coming from? where will guests park? how do suppliers get to the marquee with equipment? and the list goes on. What I absolutely love about a marquee weddings is that it is a blank canvas to do exactly what you want with.
We were working to quite a tight budget and you would be wrong to think that because we weren't hiring a venue it would be cheaper. Marquee's can work out very expensive and you have to start out by setting a strict budget.
I recommended some suppliers that I thought would fit it with both the style and budget of the wedding but Louise was great at sourcing some of her own suppliers. Many I hadn't worked with before including the photographer, videoographer and the DJ and all of whom I would happily recommend to any future client. In fact Steve, from SImply Wedding Movies provided me with all of the video footage which I have edited into a short clip for you here.
I will tell you more about the problems with the weather, boggy fields, changing locations, broken toilets and how we remedied everything in another post but enjoy the pictures and video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J63NRTuWKKQ&feature=share&list=UU13jlp9SOcI4NkSfVKUvCQg

Wedding fayres

The Autumn wedding fayre season is upon us and now is the time to start looking at venues, if you haven't already chosen your venue and time to meet suppliers. Whilst the internet is great to do your research there is nothing better than meeting suppliers face to face and chatting to them. people always buy from people and I think its essential for a bride of groom to meet in person their suppliers.

There are lots of comapnies now that organise fayres, in fact if you search wedding fayres Essex for instance, hundreds will come up. Have a look at the background of the company that are organising it, see if you can see the calibre of suppliers that are exhibiting and plan your schedule. The best wedding fayres in Essex are the ones that are organised by the venue, as they will ask their recommended suppliers to exhibit so you know that the suppliers there have worked at the venue before. Better than that find the venues where the suppliers haven't paid to exhibit and are being invited because of their work.

Happy Planning