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Our experts solve your problems WEDDING WORRIES

Summer Loving

My wife-to-be and I are having a summer wedding and would love to incorporate the season into our cake. Do you have any ideas?

The best thing about summer is the flavours; ripe berries and sharp citrus flavours are perfect for reflecting bright and warm summer sunshine. I encourage you to go large on the fruit flavours available this time of year. Whether they are baked into the cake, a filling or decoration – nothing says summer better.

Your cake maker should be able to use fresh fruits in their sponges or freeze-dried fruit, sharp curds and fruit purees to really give that fresh summer punch. In our opinion, the inside of a cake says as much as the outside.

Terri Newman www.erivicacakes.com

Just The Two Of Us

Lots of photographers offer an engagement shoot, but we’re camera shy and don’t know if it’s for us. What are the benefits?

Being camera shy is one of the best reasons for booking an engagement shoot. The last thing you want to happen is to be awkward in front of the camera on your wedding day. Engagement shoots are your opportunity to really get to know your photographer and to get accustomed to how they work.

An engagement shoot can take you through poses that may be used for your wedding photography, and just as importantly identify things that you wouldn’t want. For example, your version of ‘sweet and romantic’, may be another couples ‘yuk and cheesy’.

Some people may prefer a completely candid approach to their wedding photography, so an engagement shoot is a chance to have a relaxed time with your photographer, capturing the love and fun between you while taking part in an activity that you love. Creating candid moments during your engagement shoot makes it 100 per cent easier to do on your wedding day.

Choose a location for your engagement shoot that has meaning to you such as a favourite walk or where you first met, that way you’ll be more relaxed and get the best out of your time with your photographer. You can’t get things wrong on an engagement shoot, it’s a time to get rid of your camera shyness and get that all important confidence in your wedding photographer. Let them know what you want from your wedding images and listen to their suggestions. Together you’ll come up with the best way to create your perfect wedding photographs.

Rebecca Woods

www.newsightphotographyuk.com

A Special Touch

How can a celebrant help us make our ceremony extra special?

Your wedding day is an important day for you both; the ceremony is the main event and a celebrant will help create a fantastic, one-of-a-kind opening that will set the tone and atmosphere for the celebrations that follow.

Your celebrant will put you first. You will be the only couple that they look after that day and give their whole focus to. You are investing in them to create a seamless ceremony around you and your love story. It will be a very personalised ceremony that will bring you and your guests together, which you’ll all remember with great love and affection.

Your celebrant should be someone you can trust. You’ll be booking a supplier with a high degree of skill and professionalism, who can engage your guests and lead from the front.

Your celebrant will spend time with you beforehand to make sure they understand what you’d love to see in your wedding ceremony. On the day you’ll know them well and you’ll trust them to deliver so that you have a ceremony which encapsulates everything that’s important to you both.

Susan McGregor www.susanmcgregorcelebrant.co.uk

DRESSED TO IMPRESS

I’m nervous about my first bridal appointment. What can I expect, and what should I take with me?

First off, it is completely normal to be nervous. It’s such a huge thing for a bride to find her dress, but your nerves should be mixed with excitement too!

I make it my priority to chat with my brides about their wedding, to try and alleviate some of those nerves and get a feel of what style they might like. Most brides come in with no idea of what they like, and that is absolutely fine! Your stylist is with you, part of your bride tribe now, and they will use their judgement and experience to help guide you through dresses until you find the one

There are only two things that are essential to take with you for your bridal appointment. Firstly, whoever you need to be there to help you say yes to the dress. If you want your nan’s approval, make sure she’s there! Whoever it is, ensure you bring them along on the day. Secondly, keep an open mind – your stylist knows what they’re doing!

If you wanted, there are some items which you might like to bring, but they’re not that important at this point:

•Shoes similar to those that you’d like to wear on the day.

•Any jewellery or accessories that you know you’ll be wearing with your dress.

•Nude underwear, especially if you’re thinking of a fitted dress.

•A hair clip is usually handy to pop your hair up and out the way whilst you’re trying on lots of dresses.

Remember to just enjoy the experience, regardless of whether you find the dress or not. Ensure you take something away from every single appointment, whether that’s a particular shape or colour or neckline that you like. Then you begin to narrow your search down to find the one

Michelle Tinsley www.lilyfrancisbridal.co.uk

CHOICES, CHOICES

We’ve narrowed down our venue choices but can’t seem to make up our minds. What questions should we ask to help us decide?

A lot of people will give recommendations, which are helpful, but keep in your mind what you both want. Visit your narrowed-down venues multiple times. Every time you visit, you will notice more about the space. Are there enough plug sockets where you want them? You don’t want to be tripping over extension leads just so you can have the photo booth you’ve been dreaming of.

Set a budget. It isn’t always easy, but you will be able to find a beautiful venue that fits in with how much you want to spend.

Location. Do you have many friends and family coming from a distance? Is on-site or nearby accommodation important? Are the travel connections reasonable?

Confirm the decorating and supplier options for the venue. Some have a list of recommended suppliers they allow on-site, which may not include the one you have your eye on. It may also not have the space for the four-piece band you have in mind, or their music cut-off time may be earlier than you had hoped.

How much involvement do you hope to have in the setting up? Would you prefer to be the one to put the favours on each place setting for the wedding breakfast or would you like to minimise the stress with a wedding planner to do this for you? This may not be an option with barn-style

Picture Perfect

Can you offer us some advice on how to look natural in front of the camera?

There are several ways a couple can ease their camera shyness and anxiety, some are for the couple to do and others for the photographer. Most wedding photographers would call themselves ‘documentary’, which basically means you shouldn’t really notice them – it’s their job to fade into the background and capture the events as they unfold but using their experience and skill to get great photos rather than just snapshots. They’ll use different lenses and cameras and so on, none of which you need to worry about and probably will never even notice. Just enjoy the day and allow the photographer to do their job. For myself, I like to intrude on the day slightly and many other photographers will too. We’ll simply find a few perfect places for photos of you as a couple, somewhere with a light and colourful background, where the light will make you look a million dollars. We’ll just ask you to stand or sit and maybe say: ‘have a chat and catch up on the day’. We’ll then wait for a moment where you’re gazing into each other’s eyes and without you realising we’ll take a photo. These photos are often used as the centre-fold for the wedding album later. Do note though that some photographers make a big deal of the couple photos and will want to spend a long time with you both on multiple occasions, for many couples this is perfect, but if you’re camera shy or anxious, then it may be best not to select this type of photographer, so choose ‘documentary’ or ‘reportage’ instead.

Allen Blasdell www.creativepixelphotos.com

venues, whereas typically with hotel weddings, an in-house wedding planner can reduce the workload and assist with the planning process, as well as the hands-on aspects of the day.

Your wedding ceremony is the main event setting the tone and atmosphere for the rest of your day!

Unique, joyous and fully personalised, it should encapsulate everything you are as a couple and bring everyone together in a wonderful celebration to remember.

A ceremony led by a celebrant like me is completely different to one led by a registrar: www.susanmcgregorcelebrant.co.uk contact@susanmcgregorcelebrant.co.uk |

• We’ll be in regular contact and I’ll create an amazing ceremony for you! No restrictions on time, place or content.

• No-one else will have a wedding like yours – it will be fully bespoke.

• You’ll be the only couple I see that day – there’ll be no registrar in a rush to get to their next wedding!

• You’ll know me well before the day itself and your ceremony will feel like it’s being led by a trusted friend, not a stranger.

Don’t settle for less! Make contact right away to book your date. I’m a fully trained, trusted, reliable professional and I’d love to help you realise your dreams!