PLANNING Less Stress

As the wedding season fast approaches, the team at top London event planner and caterer, Red Snapper Events is no stranger to an anxious bride or two. However, having recently celebrated its 5th birthday, there is a wealth of experience on hand to make the run up to the big day a whole lot less stressful. Damian Clarkson, Managing Director, shares his top ten tips to staying organized whilst keeping the fun alive in planning your wedding.

1. Table Talk

The politics of table plans can often be stressful. Make them more lighthearted by picking names out of a hat. You’d be surprised who will chat to who once the party gets into full swing.

2. Entertain Me

Kill two birds with one stone - when talking to caterers and other suppliers, enquire as to what else they could do for you and what other suppliers they work with. Tasting sessions are a great chance to do this and preview table settings, wine and flowers for example as well as food.

3. Party Girl

Arrange planning parties with girl friends at home, I’m sure the ideas will get flowing along with the wine.

4. Free Time

Approach friends and relatives who are not working or have some spare time on their hands and might be willing to help take on some organising for you – especially helpful if they are local to the wedding venue. Be very careful, however, not to pressurize people into helping and be sympathetic to other commitments they may have.

5. Control Freak

On the other hand, don’t let them take control of the wedding and get carried away with their own ideas. Remember it is your special day – no one else’s!

6. Personal Touch

Allow your wedding to be individual and reflect your personality. Keep things as simple as possible by picking a theme or idea based on your own instincts and sticking to it. You don’t always need to keep up with the Jones’ and latest top fashions.

7. Early Bird

Try and set deadlines early on, make an event plan incorporating everything, possibly input it into a spreadsheet with contact details and whose responsibility every task is. You could even post it onto a wall at home or in the office to keep you on track.

8. Nice to Meet You...

Make meetings with planners more interesting by socializing with them – meet for lunch or a cocktail after work.

9. Phone a Friend

Ask the people around you for initial tips and recommendations - friends or work colleagues, who have recently got married, could prove invaluable for a few corner-cutting suggestions!

10. Get Focussed

Above all don’t loose sight of the fact that a wedding is supposed to be a social, happy and fun occasion. Guests attending are there to celebrate with the happy couple and wish them luck, not criticize their choices.

©Freeman Photographics, Red Snapper Events

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Ellen DeGeneres to wed girlfriend Portia de Rossi

On Thursday the Californian high court struck down laws against gay marriage - about time too! TV comic and chat show host Ellen DeGeneres, 50, is said to be set to today announce her upcoming marriage to 35-year-old Portia de Rossi. de Rossi has appeared in TV shows such as Ally McBeal and Arrested Development. Good luck to them.

Posted in category: Wedding Snippets

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Cryptic quiz - Friday 16 May

It's time for the crypitc quiz, and this week's is extra tricky!

Here is how it works:

Posted in category: Cryptic Quiz

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Comments - Latest by: Orla:
Hey Margo, didn't we have a Frank Sinatra cryptic quiz before???

RECEPTION Say Cheese

Cheesey but true, wedding cakes made from Stilton, Pecorino and Yarg are getting first tier attraction. Serving cake made from cheese, adds a cheese course to the wedding breakfast while the happy couple still get to 'cut the cake'.

Tiered cakes made entirely from cheese are the latest fashionable wedding food says Nick Lindley who runs the award-winning Deli Select (0161 427 9255) at Marple in Cheshire. “People are now increasingly looking for something different from conventional fruit cake that is usually just handed out in little portions to guests, taken home and probably thrown away a few weeks later,” he said.

Tiers of Cheese

The cake pictured here, with model “bride”, former Miss Manchester Louise Cliffe, is made with a base of Brie Meaux topped by a Cornish yarg, a Colston-Bassett Stilton, an Italian Pecorino Rossa, a local White Nancy goat’s cheese and soft Langres cow’s cheese from France.

“But the combinations are almost endless – people can make up a cake with whatever cheese they like.- and we can decorate it with flowers and fruit such as figs and grapes that are the perfect accompaniment for cheese”.

Something Blue

In Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, Stilton producers, Long Clawson say that it has to be Stilton. Available in multi-tiers of blue Stilton and white Stilton blended with blueberry or apricots, the Stilton cake is expected to be a massive hit with this year’s wedding season.

Complete with cake boards, pillars and dowels, prices vary upon size and individual requirements. Starting at £19.99 for approximately 17 people and going up to £99.99 for 100 people.

The Stilton cheese wedding cake is available through select Tesco outlets and direct via Long Clawson Dairy’s Occasion Cake Hotline 01664 821746.

And finally...

Cheese-inspired cake maker Liz Straw at Crumbs! (01295 771145) has joined forces with Neals Yard Dairy to offer delicious cheesey stacks made with the very best cheeses for farms all over the British Isles.

Connoisseur's Choice is made with Kelsey Lane, Ticklemore, Berkswell, Gorwydd Caerphilly with enough to serve 100 portions and costs £265.

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Posted in category: Reception

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GIFTS Great China!

If setting up a gift list seems a teensy bit self-indulgent, think of the alternative. Guests love to give and if you offer no guidance you'll be groaning under a pile of mantelpiece knick-knacks and too many toasters. This week we have checked out china to give your old dinner service the boot.

Little Star

Couture wedding dress designer Monique Lhuillier has teamed up with Royal Doulton to create a stunning collection of gift and tableware - perfect for wedding lists! Tableware ranges include this gorgeous bone china, Etoile Platinum with its striking border design of stitches and dots, inspired by the designer's bridal wear collection. Dinner plates are £20 and small plates, £11.50. For stockists call 01782 404041 or go to royaldoulton.co.uk

Classic Bride

With just a hint of aqua green, one of Denby's latest collections, Jewel is a fab mix of contemporary style with classic taste. Breaking away from its traditional stoneware, Jewel is a bone china with Denby's trademark durability. Dishwasher, microwave and freezer safe, dinner plates are £14.50 and this teapot, £60. For stockists call 01773 740899 or go to denby.co.uk

Wedding Queen

American bridal guru, Vera Wang has created stunning chinaware collections with Wedgwood, including this classic Champagne Duchesse. Sophisticated and luxurious, it is the ultimate mix and match collection with elegant bands of subtle colour. Dinner plates are £22.50 and small plates, £13.50. For stockists call 01782 223301 or go to wedgwood.com

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WEDDING GOSSIP Kate & Owen

CELEBRITY SNIPPETS

Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson are loved up again, they certainly have a good history behind them, but this time could it be the real deal? Read more to find out what we think and tell us your verdict.

WHO: Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson
BACKGROUND: Kate and Owen met on the hilarious comedy, ‘You, Me and Dupree’ and after Kate split from her husband, they had a short romance together. Eight months after Owen’s attempted suicide, it seems that they’ve put the past behind them and they’re more in love than ever!
LOVE SIGNS: The ‘Fool's Gold’ actress was spotted looking very happy as she celebrated her 29th birthday with Owen and his parents for lunch. Kate's rep says they are not engaged (the ring she was spotted wearing was for a movie called Bride Wars), but things seem to be going well for the pair!
OUR VERDICT:
Not Very Likely
Quite Likely
Probably
Very Likely

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©PR Photos

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Rate your wives

In the late 1930's George W. Crane, MD, PhD, (1901–95) of Northwestern University, developed a "Marital Rating Scale—Wife's Chart". The test was designed to give husbands a way of rating how good his wife was on a scale of 'very poor' to 'very superior'.

'Merits' and 'demerits' were assigned for different behaviours - for example if the wife "uses slang or profanity," they would get five demerits. Crane was serious about using his test as a scientific tool and even set up a matchmaking service, which claimed to of set up more than 5,000 marriages.

The popular online matchmaking services today use a similar system - you get to vote for attributes you like, or don't like, in a partner.  Of course the attributes have changes somewhat, and both males and females get a say.

I haven't yet found a similar system for 'rate your husband' - any of you ladies want to tell me what questions would be on that one?

Posted in category: Wedding Snippets

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HONEYMOON Hit the Beach

When planning the biggest day of your life, honeymoon attire isn’t usually a top priority and often falls outside the wedding to-do radar. And with the big day budget being squeezed of every last penny, it’s easy to pull out last year’s faded bikinis and sweaty flip flops. But not this year!

Don’t head off on honeymoon without checking out Matalan’s latest affordable beachwear collection. From colourful, stylish swimsuits and bikini separates from £3, in more than 50 different styles, to gorgeous cover-ups, Victoria Beckham-esque sunglasses and a massive array of beach bags, flip flops, sun hats and jewellery, you can replenish your entire beachwear wardrobe for around £20!

This gorgeous gold foil bikini, £10, will ensure you dazzle poolside on honeymoon and looks sexy under a sheer cover-up, while this fab sequin beach bag, £6, will hold all your beach essentials. These on-trend green post-toe sandals, £8, are great for lounging by the pool by day and sipping sundowners in the bar at night...

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VENUES Country House

Shendish Manor is a grand historical manor house set in 160 acres of beautiful parkland and gardens in the pretty countryside outside Apsley in Hertfordshire. The hotel boasts 18 luxurious suites within the main house with a further 52 bedrooms in the beautifully extended property.

The country house-style hotel provides an elegant setting for weddings and receptions. Offering a variety of wedding packages, small intimate wedding parties are accommodated in the Dickinson Room while larger ceremonies are held in the fairytale gazebo within the Dutch Gardens or the stunning new Orangery. After the ceremony, a sumptuous wedding breakfast takes place in the elegant Longman dining room, which has a capacity of 350.

At the end of the day’s events, retire for your first night as husband and wife in the stunning bridal suite with its four-poster bed and far-reaching views over the countryside.
Your guests will also enjoy staying in the new hotel wing, which retains a Victorian feel in the décor and furnishings.

Shendish Manor is very close to the village of Kings Langley, which has three churches, while nearby Hemel Hempstead has a total of 34 churches of different denominations.
Rooms at the manor cost from £140 per night including breakfast, based on two people sharing a double/twin room. For more information, call 01442 232220.

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WEDDING GOSSIP 11 Girl In A White Dress

Shopping frenzy

Our resident bride-to-be, Cheryl, shares the highs and lows of wedding planning in the run-up to her big day. This week she negotiates the aisles to fill up her gift list...

I never realised how much I needed Nigella Lawson’s pretty measuring cups in cream (set of 4) until now. Or a four-hole egg poacher pan thing (although I rather like poached eggs so this could come in handy). It’s only when my beloved and I started compiling our wedding gift list that I realised how empty my life had been without both these kitchen gadgets. OK, not empty exactly but certainly poached eggs had been tricky.

I wasn’t sure if we were even going to have a gift list at first – it seemed a teensy bit presumptuous to me, like demanding your friends buy you nice presents or they can’t come to your party. But then a married friend said, ‘But what will you serve posh dinner party food on?’ Erm, the same IKEA plates I’ve been using for the past five years? She stared at me, open-mouthed. Clearly, I had missed the point.

‘No,’ she said, in a withering oh-lordy way, ‘this is your chance to get a load of good quality stuff that’ll last for years and impress people who come round for dinner.’

Right. ‘Plus,’ she went on, ‘people will want to buy you presents anyway and if you don’t tell them what you want, you’ll end up with 20 coffee makers and spend the first weekend after the wedding exchanging it all.’

So we thought about it for a bit and talked about it for a lot and decided we’d set up a list at a reputable high-street department store because they seemed to have a lot of the nice stuff she’d been talking about.
And then came the wonderful actual shopping part…

On average, wedding guests spend about £72.50 on gifts for the happy couple, so assuming that only half your guests buy you presents, you should be able to work out a fairly realistic total from which to start. And of course you can keep adding as they start buying.

Armed with this knowledge and a clicky scanner thing, we spent the bank holiday wandering around the store, selecting shiny kitchen appliances, fluffy bathroom towels and luxury 100% fine Egyptian cotton percale bed linen - whatever percale is - and a whole heap of lovely posh stuff that'll hopefully last as long as our marriage. I’ve never had so much fun in a department store - although as we left I couldn't help feeling as though I was missing something. Then I realised it was the shopping bags - virtual gift list shopping means no carrier bags to struggle home on the bus.

I think I could get used to this...

Next week: Cheryl sings the praises of bridesmaids everywhere...

 
Photos © Gary Scott / Bill Bradbury

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Posted in category: Wedding Gossip

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