Captured Memories

This week I want to showcase something with a difference.   When I first saw this product, my first reaction was WOW!   To me there is a real gap in the market for something so special and bespoke as these Memory Books by Illustries. 


I had a chat with Emma about Ilustries,and I was truly inspired by her story and I am delighted to be able to share that with you today.

Just to explain where we came from, when I looked for something for my own wedding, I couldn't find what I wanted - a less formal album where we could also add text and keepsakes. Sam is a fab designer and I am a  seasoned copywriter and we'd worked on other projects together, so we had a go at creating that elusive 'memory book', and some time later, here we are - with a really exciting new company and a great friendship! We live a couple of hours  away from each other so Skype and dropbox are our best friends, and when we meet up, tequila joins the party almost every time, leading to some really creative ideas...

We describe our Illustries as memory books, but really, they are a repository for all the fabulous details of the big day - we see them as a great alternative to a traditional album, which so often gets left to gather dust on the shelf. We find that Illustries get passed around families and friends, and every Illustries customer has said that just opening their Illustry puts them right back in their special day. We include everything - vows, speeches, readings, menus - so all those bits and pieces are centre stage rather than lying forgotten in a box somewhere.

The Illustries themselves take a fair amount of time to create - I write every detail of the couple's story, from when they met to 'happy ever after' including plenty of interviews and Sam makes sure that the design reflects their day in every way possible. We don't have wordcount limits, we don't use any template software, and all the ideas have been developed from scratch - with elements like our 'Life Map' (a flow chart of their relationship), 

Recipes for Love (Jamie, Nigella and even Gordon style), and our 'Wedding by Numbers' and 'A-Z' features (that capture all the quirky little details). 

We have a style to suit most couples - Classic, which is elegant and modern.

Avant Garde, which is quirky and fun

and our CELEB magazine, which lets the couple start in their very own celebrity magazine.

We are absolutely delighted with the feedback so far and we already have expansion plans. We're really focusing on networking as we would love to work with like-minded photographers so that our books can be built into their photography package, we have Illustries for all of life's memorable moments in the pipeline, and we're looking forward to launching our new website and hitting our first wedding fair season in September!

So, that's our story - in a rather large nutshell! 

I am sure you will be as taken with these as I was, I think it is an absolutely fantastic innovation and something that can be treasured forever.

To contact Emma and Sam click on the links below.

                               

Special Wedding Discounts

I have the real pleasure of being able to bring some real savings for couples planning their weddings in conjuction with Big Day Discounts.  With so many wedding related websites out there, I always feel it's important to get to know my Partners and Suppliers and not just their products or services  I spoke with Terri who owns this fantastic site and asked what was the inspiration behind it.    

1. What inspired you to create Big Day Discounts?

We know that weddings can cost a small fortune and with the current economic climate the way it is at the moment, every penny counts. Couples are still spending big on their wedding day but are trying to look for savings where they can. Our idea is to bring suppliers discounts straight to the couple via our newsletter (due to launch within the next couple of weeks) and through our website too

2. What sets you apart from the competition?

Our website is dedicated to just discounts and offers from Wedding suppliers making us a one stop shop for couples wanting to take advantage of some great savings!

3.. What are your biggest successes so far?

Seeing our idea right through from the planning stage to our website going live and working around any obstacles/issues put in our way.

4. Where do you see Big Day Discounts going in the next few years?

We hope to be the number one wedding discount website and to be able to take the concept to other countries.

5. What is the best part of your job?

We love all things wedding related so to be able to to work within the wedding industry is great and we get to work with some lovely suppliers too. We also like the freedom of working for ourselves and that no two days are the same.

Here are some of the exclusive discounts you can find on their fab website:

10% off all tiara and jewellery prices and a free shabby chic metal tea light holder. When you mention www.bigdaydiscounts.co.uk

Free RSVP return addressed postcards with each order of wallet style invitations (worth over £35.00 on orders of 50 invitations or more) when quoting BDD1

Free Prop Box when booking.When quoting BigDayBox

10% off your order and free pair of Groom socks - Quote BIGDAY when ordering

£50 reduction when quoting A Big Day with CoverStar at the time of enquiry

For more fantastic offers and savings you can find Big Day Discounts here:

        

Top 10 Wedding Planning Tips

Congratulations, you are now engaged to be married.   It has suddenly hit you that you need to plan your wedding and you don't know where to start!!   Here are my Top 10 tips for starting your planning process.

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1.   Decide on your budget!!   This is the most crucial part of your planning process.   There is no point having that bespoke venue and inviting 200 guests if you aren't able to afford it.  You will be surprised just how fast the costs mount up.   The easiest way to break down each element is to allocate a percentage of your budget for each part.  Here is an approximate breakdown of what this should be.


40% for your Wedding Breakfast & Reception. (included decor, favours etc)
10% for entertainment/music
15% for all your flowers
15% for your bridal wear
10% for photography/videography
5%  for your stationery
5%  for your ceremony & transport


Setting and sticking to your budget can make the planning much easier.

2.  Visit Venues within your budget and get detail costs for each before making your final decision, check which dates are available.   Sometimes going out of season can save you alot of money, so it's always worth considering.  This will also determine how many guests you can realistically have to share your special day with you.

3.  Book the registrar and set the date, send out Save the Date cards or Fridge Magnets to your guests.

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4.  Book your photographer, the really good photographers are booked up well in advance so it's important that you start this process early in your planning.  So many photographers say that they have couples coming to them a few weeks before the wedding, you need to be able to build and have a good relationship with the professional who is going to capture your day, it makes a huge difference to the images that you get afterwards, as you are more relaxed and comfortable with them.

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5. Decide on your theme, there are so many ideas out there it's good to do a bit of research, visit wedding websites, photographers websites, look in magazines and make yourself a mood board and play around with ideas and colours to get that perfect look.

6. Bridal Wear is also so important to start looking early.   Many bridal stores need at least 6 months notice to have your dress ready for the day, this includes having it made, you will need several fittings as most brides believe it or not drop a dress size on the lead up to their wedding.  Give yourself plenty of time to shop around, visit wedding shows to get inspiration, watch out for sales you might even bag yourself a designer gown at knock down prices.

7.  Flowers again are something that many couples leave until the last minute, thinking about this early and deciding what you really want is so important, the flowers can complete the look of your outfits on the day, you want them to compliment your dress/outfits as well as tying in with your colour scheme.   Consider the time of year you are getting married and what blooms are in season at the time.

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8.  Family arguments!!  This is a very common theme for many weddings and the way to avoid confrontations and resentment is to lay the ground rules down early on.   This is your wedding and you want it done your way, it's so crucial that you never lose sight of that.  Involve your bridal party and family in the planning, assign tasks and roles to everyone, listen to their ideas and implement the ones your like.  If you don't like an idea be tactful and say something like "I like that idea, but would like to think about a few others before making a final decision"   


9.  Think about hiring a Wedding Planner/Consultant.   Seriously, it can make such a huge difference.  Forget the Hollywood portrayal of wedding planners in real life it's not like that at all.  Wedding Planners don't take over your wedding and don't cost a fortune, they can actually save you money, by recommending suppliers, being able to source decor items.  Most importantly they give you the support you really need especially on the run up to your big day (the last 6 weeks are the most stressful).  Not only will you be de-stressed you will have the confidence and assurance that your day will go without a hitch and be as perfect as you dreamed it would be.


10.  The most important thing of all.... have fun!  Enjoy your engagement, have fun in the planning and look forward to one of the biggest and happiest days of your life.

For more information on wedding planning services, visit my website  

Gorgeous Gifts

This week I am delighted to feature an amazing supplier of gifts that would delight any couple on their wedding day.  Not only that they can provide some amazing items that will enhance the decoration of any wedding and have your guests talking about them for a long time after.  I asked Gorgeous Gifts about their company and what inspired them.


What inspired you to create Gorgeous Gifts?

Gorgeous Gifts launched at the end of Nov 2010. My background is in Sales & Marketing at National Account Head Office level in Food & Beverages and latterly toiletries, gifts, home fragrances and beauty! Although that's a bit dull probably!  I moved to Devon to be close to the sea, my sister lived here and had a shop for 5 years and decided to move to online with the occasional retail show after selling the shop.

We are a small company with all the integrity that brings but with big ambitions and ideas.

We are all so busy these days, I wanted to create a one stop shop for all your gift buying needs. We live in the country here and don't have access to a wide variety of shops so I wanted to create an online boutique style shop which would bring gorgeous products to you without you having to leave your home.

Many peeps live in rural areas or do not want to pay parking and do not have time to traipse around the shops but do love beautiful things and I wanted to make these things more accessible.  Ideally I'd like to stock more British made and British designed products and more individual pieces than we do but we have opted to stock a more populous range coupled with some designer/maker pieces in the current economic climate. We have items that range from £1.00 to £150 so hope to have something for everyone, including those hard to shop for men!

What were the biggest obstacles you faced when setting up the site?
Getting the web designers to think the way I thought.  Although web people tell you everything is bespoke (unless you are buying an off the shelf model) they really just build everything on their last model and tweak.  I had a long list of requirements and I'm a perfectionist so the re-writes were huge despite a very detailed brief initially.  But I'm pleased we incorporated most of my requirements such as zoom on products, product reviews, the ability to send a Wish List complete with clickable links to your own email contacts, a reminder service you can set up to remind you of events or special occasions that you might need to buy gifts for and a gift wrapping service which can include your own personalised message.

You can buy at one address and ship to another (surprisingly uncommon) and you can ship worldwide.

There's still things on my site that annoy me and my snagging list is on going!

What are your favourite / best selling Wedding items?

Twiggy heart is very popular as it's so versatile: It can be used as table decorations, pew ends, hall decoration etc.  You could even add it to your gift wrapping on your present. (A personal favourite of Beauty Weddings! ) 

For gifts the entwined lovers' heart flutes are popular as they symbolise love and come boxed.  

What are your biggest successes so far?

We have just had 3 products featured in Period Living Magazine which has brought us more traffic to the site and also people who do not normally shop on the internet and this has encouraged us to think about producing a catalogue

Where do you see Gorgeous Gifts going in the next few years?

We would like to expand our handmade and British sections with smaller companies/individuals that might not have a strong web presence and also vastly increase our wedding section to include favours, stationery, table decorations and accessories.  Plus longer term we'd like to start a wedding list service.

And we would like to offer personalised products.

If you are a wedding supplier making something gorgeous that you think will fit with us - we'd love to hear from you  

What is the best part of your job?

Sourcing new products of course!  What's not to like about shopping?

What a delight it was to find out more about Gorgeous Gifts and here is a small sample of more of their amazing products, I just wish I could put them all on here to share with you, but you can visit their website to browse and buy, and you can be guaranteed fantastic service from them.

Website: http://www.gorgeousgifts.co.uk/

Email :   enquiries@gorgeousgifts.co.uk

Visit Gorgeous Gifts on FACEBOOK

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How Beauty Weddings was born

How many of us actually write a blog of what inspired us to start up our own business?  Well the first wedding I ever planned was my own.

Back in 2005 my now husband proposed to me on the Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond, with a very romantic backdrop he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.  That was on 31st March 2005.  We had talked about getting married in Tobago, in July 2007.  


Then a few months later he asked if I wanted to bring the wedding forward a year and I agreed.  So the idea of Tobago went out of the window and I started planning my own wedding.   We decided that it would be fitting to get married in the Loch Lomond area as it was both romantic and beautiful.  I absolutely revelled in the whole planning process and realised that I was really good at it.

The Wedding was booked for 30th September 2006 and the very beautiful Winnock Hotel in Drymen.  My florist was recommended to me by a colleague and Mel from Ribbons n Roses was just amazing, she knew exactly what I wanted and suggested the table centrepieces, supplied by chair covers, did my make up and set up  my venue.  Now she is one of my preferred suppliers when I am planning other couples weddings.  She can be trusted and relied upon to do the job, do it right and not break the bank.  

I found during the whole planning process how important it was to be assertive enough to let everyone know that this was MY wedding and I wanted it done MY way.   Because I did this everyone was really supportive and offered suggestions but never tried to take over.  Don't get me wrong I didn't turn into Bridezilla either.  If someone came up with a good idea or gave me a suggestion on how to do something a little differently I would take that on board and act upon it .  I involved everyone in my bridal party as much as I could.  A few examples are:  my wonderful father in law did a reading at my wedding, my best maid Bev was just amazing and did whatever I needed her to do, my daughter was a bridesmaid and I let her choose her own dress, my son who was very young was a groomsman and had the job of making sure everyone had an order of service on the day. 

The day of the wedding was fantastic, the week prior it had rained all week but on the day the sun shone.  We were up early and headed off to the hairdressers Belle & Blackley and with Bucks Fizz on the go our hair was done and by 11am we were heading home, via Arko to pick up 5 pairs of white wellies!  Yes white wellies... we were having our photo's taken at Buchanan Castle and to save our shoes from sinking into the damp grass we opted for wellies!   Mel arrived around 1pm with the flowers which were just stunning, did my make up and helped to decorate the wellies! 2pm and it was time to get ready, the Limo arrived from Platinum Limos, a gorgeous silver Limo to take us all up to the Winnock Hotel.

The White Wellies! 

It was around a 45 minute drive to the venue and on the way I suddenly needed to go to the loo, much to the amusement of our Limo Driver.  He pulled into the Craineach Milk Bar, where me and my best maid and sister jumped out and into the toilets.  When we emerged we were greeted with a round of applause from the delighted and amused of the patrons and staff of the milk bar, I suppose its not every day that a limousine and bridal party stops to go to the loo.

                  

    

From that moment on our wedding day was just amazing, all the hard work and effort from me and everyone else just came together and we had the most amazing day from start to finish

                        

It was after the wedding and honeymoon which was at The Cove in Kenya that I decided that this was definitely the right job that I wanted.  I went on to plan some friends weddings and this just confirmed that I was on the right road, from there Beauty Weddings was born.   My daughter who is almost 17 now works with me on a part time basis and helps with the venue decoration adding her artistic touch and keen eye for detail and learning the business as she goes along. We make a great team.  


I hope you have enjoyed reading how Beauty Weddings was born and enjoy the images of our special day.  

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