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100’s OF FANTASTIC SUPPLIERS FROM YOUR AREA

Photos and Videos

Make sure you record your special day for the future

BRIDAL ESSENTIALS Hair Styles and Bridal Make-Up

Meet our Brides

Help, advice and ideas Beautiful Stately Homes, Hotels and Marquees from Real Weddings

UKbride.co.uk Join Now and Win a Wedding!

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The Perfect Companion to www.UKbride.co.uk - The Amazing 24 Hour Online Wedding Fair

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500 IDEAS ALL CINDERELLAS NEED A PAIR OF SPARKLY SHOES!

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THE WORLD’S BEST HONEYMOON DESTINATIONS

Welcome to UKBride’s online Wedding Planning magazine!

Our indispensable online guide features all of the advice, inspirations and tips you need to plan your perfect wedding.

Used in conjunction with www.ukbride.co.uk, you’ll be able to find wedding

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Planning Your Wedding 38 Christian Marriage Legalities and Christianity in your Wedding.

42 Receptions How to host the perfect party after your ceremony.

44 Marquees Staging beautiful al fresco receptions in a marquee.

The Essentials

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Hour .uk - The Amazing 24 to www.UKbride.co The Perfect Companion

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12 Wedding Dresses Over 80 gorgeous gowns in every style!

28 Top to Toe Glittering tiaras and gorgeous wedding shoes.

30 Bridesmaids Great ideas for your attendants.

32 Keeping Mum Ensure mum dazzles the whole day through!

36 Hats Off Glamorous hats.

essentials, last minute finishing touches and your complete wedding outfit to ensure a beautiful, memorable day.

Good luck planning your wedding and congratulations!

The UKbride team

46 The Men Advice for nervous grooms and anxious Best Men! 48 Photography Advice to get the shots you’ll treasure for life.

51 Videography Keep a moving record of your treasured day.

54 Transport Arriving in style.

62 Hair & Beauty Styles to suit all brides and all budgets.

69 Top Tables Create fantastic tables for your wedding breakfast.

70 Flowers Beautiful bouquets to really complement your dress.

74 Stationery & Favours From arrival to finishing touches.

76 Jewellery Beautiful wedding bands.

And Finally...!

Top

Tips and Advice

80 It’s a Gift! Wedding list essentials you’ll use and treasure.

82 Honeymoons Begin your marriage with a romantic holiday.

84 Countdown Stay organised.

Editor’s Choice Finishing touches to really make your big day seem personal and quirky... think different throughout the day and ensure your tables, favours and attendants all reflect your personal style... here are our top finds!

JUST

Beautiful Stationery

GORGEOUS

We love beautiful stationery, and we love this Champagne set, available to buy now on www.ukbride.co.uk’s Wedding Supermarket.

Available within the collection is a keepsake box, guest book, full size and mini photograph album, gift envelopes and thankyou notelets, A real trend available in six different designs. for 2010... light

Wedding Lanterns at your wedding reception!

Win a Wedding by joining UKbride.co.uk You can win a dream wedding, access free wedding planning tips & advice, view 1,000s of wedding dresses and chat to other brides-to-be on our forum at www.UKbride.co.uk.

The site has been recognised as one of the country’s top wedding websites as awarded by Hitwise, an independent internet traffic monitoring body.

Keep your wedding stationery consistant and thank your guests in style!

“Create Personalised Wedding Rock for your guests to enjoy!”

Available from www.the rockpeople.co.uk

Ruchéd Style Fishtailed gowns with Ruchés will look great in 2010. Our example is from Mark Lesley For thousands more dress ideas view UKbride’s searchable library.

Fairy Wands for Children Great for flower girls!

These beautiful Fairy Wands were created by our florist, a great, alternative to the usual hand-tied posy for flower girls. See flowers.org.uk for loads of other ideas for hand and table flowers.

4 TOP...

Explosive Gestures of Love!

Your wedding reception will definitely go with a bang with our Firework & Sparkler suggestions!

360 10” Sparklers; £36

Two Lightsparkles; £3.50

Heart Sparklers £6 for 10

Colour Sky Lanterns £18.99

www.fireworks-uk.com

www.lightsparkles.com

www.fireworksarcade.com

skylanternsonline.co.uk

How to use...

The Home Page

Welcome to UKBRIDE.CO.UK Get the most from the UK’s most comprehensive online wedding planning resource with our eight page guide...!

U

Kbride is our massive wedding planning website. It has been designed especially for brides, helping them to arrange the wedding they’ve always dreamed of.

The site also features a wall and forum to chat to brides-to-be online...

Our forum is positively bursting with brides who are busily swapping tips, advice and ideas.

In addition to news, wedding videos, wedding fairs in your area and online shopping, we’ve incorporated a host of wedding tools and social networking features to help at every stage during your wedding planning.

Our members help each other to plan their weddings and support each other through what can sometimes be a stressful time, as well as a happy occasion.

Among other tools, we’ve created My Budget Planner and My Table Planner plus My Diary, My Photo Album and My To Do List.

Use Our Online

Wedding Planning Tools

Find out how over the page!

These will help you organise your wedding reception and are just a few of the features of UKbride designed to make your wedding planning easier.

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UKbride has thousands of wedding ideas too, and a newsroom that’s updated daily plus Wedding Tube - our online wedding TV channel stocked with videos.

Over the next few pages, we’ll introduce UKbride to you, and preview a few of the headline features that make the site an invaluable resource for anyone planning their wedding!

Introducing the headline features of the UK’s leading wedding planning website, www.ukbride.co.uk, the 24 hour online wedding fair...

Featured Stories

Here, you’ll find headline stories from our Newsroom - which provides the latest news and stories from the world of weddings.

Win a Wedding

Joining UKbride means you’re automatically entered into our competition to win a wedding worth £25,000.

Recommend a friend to UKbride and we’ll also enter you into a competition to win a free honeymoon!

Wedding Ideas

A wealth of ideas from cakes to flowers, accessories to menswear.

Wedding Fairs

The latest wedding fairs coming up in your area.

Sell your Dress

Don’t leave your dress to sit in the bottom of your wardrobe.

Wedding Tube

Hilarious videos and imaginative weddings... you’ll find these and more in Wedding Tube, UKbride’s online wedding TV channel.

Supermarket

You’ll find great gifts, beautiful favours and gorgeous finishing touches on our wedding supermarket, all available by mail order.

Forum

In addition to finding loads of useful information and inspiration, UKbride is also great fun, and with our forum, you’ll soon be chatting to brides to exchange tips, advice and reassurance.

This panel shows the latest snippets from the hundreds of brides already chatting online.

As a signed up member, you’re automatically eligible to use our forum.

Finding out more...

each of UKbride’s Need more help? You’ll find question marks around select Site Tour. and Help on click site, the of panels, and for a full tour

UKbride.co.uk won an award from Hitwise which is run by Experian. UKbride is officially a Top Ten Wedding Website in the UK... hooray for us!

How to use...

Free Online

How to Plan Your Reception Tables

Wedding Planning Tools Our software tools are available to all UKbride members free of charge and include a table planner, budget planner, diary, address book, to-do list, countdown clock, scrapbook, and photo albums...

Once you’ve completed your Guest List, create and print your table plan free of charge using the site’s My Table Planner software...

Your UKbride

Home Page Wedding Planning Tools

Plan your budget and reception tables, use My To Do List, My Address Book, My Guest List and all our other online wedding planning tools here.

Tour the Site

You can view our superb virtual video guide to UKbride quickly and easily here.

Inspirations Magazine

You can view our superb online wedding planning magazine quickly and easily here.

Your UKbride Wall

Your UKBride Wall allows you to communicate with other brides in your area... known as friends. Your friends include both brides-to-be in your area and those sharing your wedding date.

My Countdown Clock Panel How long must you wait until your wedding? Find out here!

You can also use this panel’s Edit link to change your profile picture and edit your personal information.

My guest Lists

Adding guests to My Guest List is easy. Cli ck on My Wedding then My Guest List, and use the Ad d Guest button to add an attendee to your wedding .

That guest can then be added to your receptio n table plan.

Table Planner

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Complete My Guest List - in addition to e tracking RSVPs, thankyous and gifts, UKbrid will also use this list to create your table plans.

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Select the shape of your tables and the correct number of seats at each. Then click Auto Arrange. Drag and drop guests to fine tune.

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Don’t forget to create a Top Table using the VIP check box in My Guest List to identify attendents and parents.

Win

A Honeymoon Worth ÂŁ3,000!

By recommending a friend to UKbride...

Visit UKbride.co.uk and click Recommend a Friend to find out how!

Budget Planner

Managing your Money How to use our free online My Budget Planner tool to track your finances.

One of the most anxiety-inducing aspects of organising the otherwise happiest day of your life is dealing with the financial fallout of your wedding planning.

Click on My Budget Plan and enter your estimated and actual values. You can add new items and delete redundent ones.

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The Update Button will refresh your budget and warn how much of your total budget remains.

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How to use...

A Huge Library of

Wedding Dresses With thousands of wedding gowns, you’ll find your dream dress on UKbride... here’s how!

Browse thousands of wedding dresses from the comfort of your sofa! Visit www.ukbride.co.uk and click on click on Wedding Dresses on the home page’s top navigation bar.

You’ll be taken to our wedding dress library... scroll left and right through each of our designers and click on each

manufacturer to see their all of their gowns. You’ll also see other dresses from that supplier for a few alternative ideas, as well as gowns in a similar style.

Click on each dress to see a full sized preview, and click the Visit Website button to find a supplier in your area.

Once you’re married,

Sell Your Wedding Dress Using UKbride.co.uk Go to your home page and click Sell Your Dress under the Applications menu.

Wedding Ideas Access a wealth of wedding ideas...

Our library of ideas will inspire you, whether you’re looking for help choosing cakes, flowers, jewellery or accessories...!

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Visit UKbride.co.uk and click on Ideas in the top row of menus, you’ll be taken to our wedding ideas library.

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Flick through each topic using our Cover Flow system until you reach the category you’re looking for.

Wedding Dresses

Newsroom

The latest trend s, tips and advice, brilliant ideas... our Newsroom has information, entertainment and competitions to ensure you stay on top of what’s happening in the world of weddings.

Bridal Fairs

ck our Don’t forget to che regularly...

Bridal Fairs page rted to there, you’ll be ale ing fairs forthcoming wedd shows in and other wedding also be your area... they’ll d to your automatically adde ar... end cal ing My Wedd

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Find useful suppliers and contact them using the Visit Website link to find a supplier in your area.

There’s still loads more to see on UKbride.co.uk... log on now to find out how we’ve made your wedding 9 planning easier and more fun...!

How to use...

Rest and Relaxation!

Put your feet up, have a glass of wine and relax with UKbride.co.uk...

Chatting to other Brides...

getting Started We’ve given UKbride social networking features, like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

As well as providing practical help for your wedding planning, UKbride can also help you to enjoy the build up to your big day...

Wedding Tube

Hilarious wedd ing themed videos, comedia ns’ wedding sketc hes, and dramatic mome nts from real life wedding s...

Updated regula rly, with great ideas, dr ama and lots of laughs too !

My Diary

We’ve created a wedding wall where you can write posts to other brides and comment on their posts too. Unlike other social networking sites, UKbride is all about weddings... and upon joining you won’t have an empty wall as we provide 100 ‘friends’ many from your area, others sharing the same wedding date as you.

Wedding Supermarket

track My Diary will keep of your forthcoming dding fairs appointments, we . nts eve er oth and My Diary You can also use account nal rso pe a p to kee nning of your wedding pla the future. to look back on in

UKbride is not just useful... we’ve ensured it’s great fun too! Chat to brides in order to find wedding planning ideas, help and advice!

Click Supermarket and you’ll be taken to our online superstore. Click each category to be taken to that section.

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Chat to Brides

Three Ways to Chat to Brides... tem Our Wall, Chit-Chat sys and Forum all enable you to talk to like minded brides... here’s how! al Wall: Your own person notice board, featuring posts sent to you by es other brides & messag from local suppliers.

Chit Chat: View your friends’ status updates and comment on other brides’ posts using Chit Chat.

Forum: Click Forum and click on each topic to view brides’ posts.

Contribute by using the Post a Reply box.

Great Ideas for your Wedding Day...!

Each section contains items for sale, many of which can be personalised.

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Payments are processed safely and securely. Goods are delivered straight to your door.

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Shop online and you’ll be assured of finding perfect gifts and finishing touches for your big day... it’s simple, safe and lots of fun!

Ellis Bridals

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DRESSES

DRESSES TO IMPRESS Find the wedding gown of your dreams with pages and pages of beautiful dresses from leading European designers...

When choosing your dress, don’t shop blind… do your research on our wedding dress pages and on sites like www.UKbride.co.uk, which has a searchable library of thousands of wedding dresses.

Have a rough idea of what you’re looking for but be willing to deviate – a dress that looks great on a magazine model may not suit if you’ve a different stature, bust or complexion.

Don’t take an entourage wedding dress shopping - several friends and mums will

inevitably like different dresses – one friend whom you can trust to give you honest feedback is enough!

Ensure your budget takes account of alterations and never buy a smaller dress that you intend to slim into. Choose a gown that flatters your body.

Practise walking not only in your bridal shoes but your dress too, and use sandpaper to slightly scuff the soles of your shoes to provide good grip.

DRESSES 1 - Mori Lee.

1

4

2 - Charlotte Balbier.

3 - White Rose.

4 - Alice James.

5 - Hollywood Dreams.

2

5

3

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DRESSES 6

6 - Mia Solano.

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Editor’s Choice

7 - Joanna Hehir.

8 - Je T’aime.

9 - Linea Raffaelli.

10- Fabio Gritti.

11- D’Zage.

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11 10

8

DRESSES

Veromia Bridal

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DRESSES 1 - Mark Lesley.

1

4

2 - Mia Solano.

3 - Je T’aime.

4 - D’Zage.

5 - Romantica.

2

5

LOVE THIS

3

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DRESSES 6

9

6 - Je T’aime.

7 - Lusan Mandongus.

8 - Augusta Jones.

9 - D’Zage.

10- Mori Lee.

7

10

WIN

8

Your Dream Wedding Dress Visit UKbride.co.uk to find out how!

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DRESSES 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1 - Alfred Angelo.

2 - Alice James.

3 - Charlotte Balbier.

4 - Complice Stalo Theodorou.

5 - Fabio Gritti.

6 - Forget Me Not Designs.

7 - Mark Lesley.

8 - Mia Solano.

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DRESSES 9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

9 - Nicki Flynn.

10 - Opulence by Natalie M. 11 - Pronovia.

12 - Romantica.

13 - Mori Lee. 14 - Augusta Jones.

15 - Veromia.

16 - Trudy Lee. 17 - Ellis Bridals.

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DRESSES 1 - Alice James.

1

4

2 - Pret a Porter.

3 - Pronovias.

4 - Complice Stalo Theodorou.

5 - Mia Solano.

2

5

3

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DRESSES 6

6 - Mia Solano.

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7 - True Bride.

8 - Alfred Angelo.

9 - Fabio Gritti.

10- Mark Lesley.

11- Complice Stalo Theodorou.

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10

8

11

DRESSES 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

1 - Veromia Bridal.

2 - Alice James.

3 - Art Couture Bridal.

4 - Charlotte Balbier.

5 - D’Zage.

6 - Eternity Bridal.

7 - Fabio Gritti.

8 - Forget Me Not Designs.

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DRESSES 9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

9 - Hollywood Dreams.

10 - Je T’aime.

11 - Joanna Hehir.

12 - Kate Sherford.

13 - Mori Lee. 14 - Lyn Ashworth.

15 - Manuel Mota.

16 - Mia Solano.

17 - Trudy Lee.

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DRESSES 1 - Alfred Angelo.

1

4

2 - Lyn Ashworth.

3 - Joanna Hehir.

4 - Forget Me Not Designs.

5 - Ellis Bridals.

2

5

LOVE THIS

3

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DRESSES 6

9

6 - Joanna Hehir.

7 - Charlotte Balbier.

8 - White Rose.

9 - Lyn Ashworth.

10- Je T’aime.

11- Alfred Angelo.

7

10

8

11

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SHOES & TIARAS

HEAD OVER

HEELS

Put your best foot forward and look great from top-to-toe with our great ideas for wedding shoes and tiaras

Benjamin Adams

Pink

Bridal Hair and Tiaras

Pink

SHOES & TIARAS

Benjamin Adams

Aye Do

Belle

Top Tiara Tips...

Belle

Alice James

• Choose your tiara after your dress, and decide how you’ll style your hair on the day.

• Try to match some of the detailing in your dress.

• Consider antique as well as new tiaras - they make a lovely ‘something old’.

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BRIDESMAIDS

Veromia Bridal

Romantica

Angel B

D’Zage Bridal

LOVE THESE

Kelsey Rose

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Alfred Angelo

PRETTY MAIDS All in a Row...

Ensure your entourage looks wonderful in your chosen highlight colour with our choice of 2010’s top dresses for bridesmaids and flower girls, a great contrast against a plain white wedding dress!

True Bride

Eternity Bridal

Alice James

Mark Lesley Phil Collins Bridal31

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE

Oni Onik

John Charles

Jasper Conran

Condici

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Ann Balon

MAMMA MIA! Brilliant looks for the mother of the bride or groom... most available with matching hats and fascinators The ‘rules’ of shopping for a mother of the bride or groom outfit suggest avoiding white and ivory... or, in general, making your dress look too much like a wedding dress) and black should be avoided too.

Ispirato

Many outfits are fairly traditional and conservative, but shop around and you can also find something stylish and individual!

However, keep in mind that this is your daughter's big day, and no one should out shine the bride!

Gina Bacconi

Linea Raffaelli Condici

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE

Ann Balon

Ispirato

John Charles

Editor’s Choice

John Charles

John Charles

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Condici

Linea Raffaelli

Gina Bacconi

Oni Onik

Ann Balon

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HATS

LOVE THIS

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HATS

Using your

Head

There’s no better way to set off a Mother of the Bride outfit than with an elegant hat or fascinator... our selection of beautiful headwear aims to eschew the traditional hat in favour of dramatic and contemporary designs...!

G n

LOVE

G n

MILLINERY

G n

V n

G n

G n

“To be on the safe side, allow 8-12 weeks for your bespoke V hat to n be made” Emily Casswell, Editor.

V n

V n G V Village Hats n Get Ahead Hats n

V n

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CHRISTIAN MARRIAGES

T

he most popular religion across

the UK’s 60,975,000 population is Church of England Christianity, with over 22% of the population declaring themselves a member of the C of E denomination, in the most recent national census.

In marriage terms that relates to over 250,000 Church of England marriages each year, of which 40% take place in church.

But these days, it’s even easier to marry in a church of your choice following Marriage Measure and Marriage Law Review.

The review is the result of a working group established by the Archbishop’s Council in 2002 which addressed the process of calling banns in church and relaxed the limitations of where couples may marry.

From the 1st October 2008 couples have been able to marry in a church which has a special significance to them rather than in a parish church within the parish where either the bride or groom is resident.

CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE A Christian marriage ceremony takes place every 1.7 seconds in the UK... here, we explore the religious and legal implications of a church wedding...

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Now, couples can choose to marry in a church if they can demonstrate a Qualifying Connection - that is, if the bride or groom was baptised, confirmed or if they habitually worship in that church, or if the person has had their usual place of residence in the parish of a particular church for at least six months.

Couples can also chose to marry in a church if their parents live or have lived in the parish in question or have habitually attended worship there.

In order to comply with UK civil and church law, banns - an announcement of your intention to marry - must be read in the church in which you plan to marry, on three Sundays, usually but not necessarily consecutively.

Those over the age of 16 may marry civil ceremony to a person with those aged under 18, requiring authorised to conduct weddings parental consent, and the time of within that district. your wedding must take place In terms of religious implications, the between 8am and 6pm on any day Bible compares the love between a wedding rehearsals take place couple as the love that Jesus had outside these for his times in order “Church weddings remain disciples. that the popular with couples, ‘practice run’ Jesus isn’t but recent changes in synod expressed rendered love as law mean couples now have a his legally uncondibinding! much wider choice of where tional, hence

the words in they choose to marry...”

In the the marriage Catholic faith, Emily Casswell, Editor, www.UKbride.co.uk ceremony; arrange‘for better or ments for worse, richer or poorer, in sickness marriage are usually made through and in health’. These words have the priest in the parish where you been part of the Christian marriage live or the bride’s parish in order to ceremony since the 1550s. arrange a date. Couples should have a baptism certificate, confirmation certificate or letter of freedom stating that they have not been married before.

If your partner is not Catholic themselves, proof of freedom may be presented in the form of a letter from a minister, parent or an affidavit from a solicitor.

Christians believe that marriage is the appropriate relationship in which to share a life together, raise a family, make love and make a life-long commitment to one another.

Couples often feel a greater affinity to the Church once they begin their wedding planning and are able to enrol on both pre-wedding ‘boot camp’ In each case, the priest acts as a courses which aim to strengthen civil registrar and registers the the bond between the couple by marriage. exploring the role of Civil ceremonies, marriage in a Christian conversely, require context, and the couples to give a Alpha Course, an notice to marry at oportunity to their local explore the Wedding rings are worn on the registration Christian faith third finger of the left hand office, regardless and other because the Romans believed of the destination religions in a that a vein ran directly of their intended relaxed ‘non-dogfrom this finger to marriage and require matic’ way over ten the heart. the superintendent thought-provoking registrar’s permission weekly sessions, with an to marry. The registrar will then optional day or weekend away; issue the relevant documentation see www.uk.alpha.org for which must be presented at your further details.

Wedding

FACTS

FACTS AND FIGURES MARRIAGE IN NUMBERS There are 60,000,000 people in the UK of which 48% are Christians... and there are 16,000 churches in England.

There are 250,000 Christian marriages each year of which 180,000 are first marriages and 126,000 are re-marriages.

Marriage rates were at their peak in 1975 with 471,000 marriages... but a shocking 146% increase in the divorce rate during that decade too!

The number of divorces between this decade and the last fell by 8% since 2000 meaning that more marriages are succeeding in the new millennium.

For every 100 unmarried people in the UK there are 111 married people.

In the 21st century, most divorces occurred after approximately 11 years of marriage, with over a fifth of marriages lasting 20-30 years.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE

WEDDING RING The cyclical and therefore unbroken nature of the ring in a Christian marriage ceremony represents the unending commitment of marriage.

However, despite the popularity of ring blessings and exchanges during Christian wedding ceremonies, there is no actual Biblical requirement that a bride and groom must exchange rings to seal their union.

FAITH office and have their parents’ Ketubah (‘banns’) with you.

bride-to-be, and the presence of two witnesses.

You may also be asked to sign a Get in case of future divorce, allowing you to remarry in the eyes of God. On the Sabbath before the wedding, the groom will be called up for a reading of the Law whilst the bride may have to visit the Mikvah or ritual bathouse, according to the branch of judaism.

The Muslim wedding ceremony is known as Nikah, and normally consists of the Qur’an and an exchange of vows in front of witnesses.

No special religious official is necessary as Muslim weddings are a celebration more than anything, and may last for several days, with great celebration and revelry.

SIKHISM Translating as ‘The Union of Two Souls’, the Sikh wedding ceremony is known as Anand Karaj.

It is a joyous and festive event which is very family orientated and informal in it's 0.5% of the UK population is Jewish, atmosphere.

2.7% belong to the Islamic faith and Sikh marriages 0.6% of the population are Sikhs. are usually Hindus, meanwhile, account for 1% of the UK population. arranged with Source: Census 2001. families acting as an introduction service.

Wedding

JUDAISM Historically, Judaism was one of the first religions to believe in just one God, with a series of scrolls, the Torah, recording Jewish faith.

A Jewish marriage may take place on any day except the Jewish Sabbath, Saturday.

There are no specific dress requirements and the four main branches of the Jewish faith; Orthodox, Reform, Conservative or Masorti and Liberal have their own individual practices, regarding weddings.

In the UK, the legal requirements for a Jewish wedding are tantamount to those of a civil marriage, but those wishing to marry in a synagogue must either prove to the superintendent registrar that it is their usual place of worship or, if there is no synagogue in the registration district in which you live, you may ask to be married at your nearest synagogue subject to its secretary.

At least three months before the wedding couples need to be registered with the Chief Rabbi’s

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The Ketubah, or Jewish marriage contract, is signed before the ceremony itself, and occasionally, a Bedecken veiling ceremony may take place before the accompanied bride and her groom walk around the Chupa, or marriage canopy.

The end of the ceremony is marked with the breaking of a glass under the groom’s foot – often, it is joked, the last time a Jewish husband gets to put his foot down!

ISLAM In Islam, it’s considered a religious duty and social necessity to marry, and ceremonies are typically a good deal longer than those of the Christian faith.

For an Islamic wedding to be valid, certain conditions must be met, namely the consent of both parties, a Mahr or gift from the groom to his

FACTS

Kirtan, the singing of hymns, takes place before formal prayer,

FAITH

Matters of

FAITH known as Ardas, and the joining of the bride and groom with a sash, the Palla.

Next, in a rite known as the Laava, the bride and groom walk around the Guru Granth Sahib four times, and the parents of the couple bless the newly weds with a Sagaan before Kara Prashad, a blessed sweet pudding, is served.

HINDUISM Traditionally performed in Sanskrit, with sacraments or Sanskars, known as Vivah Sanskar performed at the temple. Precise details of the ceremony vary from region to region.

Each faith has its own set of traditions, values and rituals.

We explore some of the different religions and their rites...

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RECEPTIONS

Receptions Host a stunning wedding reception to celebrate the beginning of your life together as a married couple... hen it comes to creating a wonderful wedding reception, there’s no one-size fits all solution.

Our top tips will help you to create a winning memorable reception...

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The Fundementals There are many ways to syle a venue in terms of colour, table dressings and the food you choose... but you can’t change the style, size or location of same.

Make It Your Own No wedding should be impersonal - name your tables after your favourite films or bands, or memorable places you’ve visited. Search the internet for favours that suit the theme of your wedding, use photographs of yourselves to create table cards or get into the kitchen to bake cookie favours with your guests’ names iced onto them.

Find The Perfect Reception Venue

Candles, flowers, crystals and favours can all Search for the best make your venues near you at wedding tables www.UKbride.co.uk look individual so now! exploit the opportunity to make your wedding individual here more than anywhere else.

Chose a venue which suits the size of your event, and the style.

You may not have a clear idea of what you want from a reception but you’ll know roughly the style or scale of your wedding.

Fun for Everyone

Do dine or stay at your chosen venue too to accurately assess how happy you’ll be hosting your reception there.

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Investing in children’s party bags of favours will lessen the impact of excited children at your reception give them things to play with such as colouring books and (quiet!) games.

USE YOUR WEDDING TABLE FLOWERS TO SHOW OFF YOUR HIGHLIGHT COLOUR.

TALL CENTREPIECES LIKE CLARIDGES’S TABLES ALLOW GUESTS TO TALK WITHOUT CRANING THEIR NECKS.

GREAT

TABLE

CHAMPAGNE AT YOUR RECEPTION IS A MUST! IMAGE: LIGHTSPARKLES.CO.UK

IDEAS

Planning Your Tables When planning your tables, the Bride and Groom sit beside each other with (working outwards) the bride’s parents, groom’s parents, bridesmaids, best man and usher beside them. Planning the other tables is complicated, so use the free table planning software available online at www.UKbride.co.uk.

Should We Hire A...

Toastmaster?

To enable you to sit and enjoy the reception without having the worry of wondering what comes where and when, book a toastmaster.

IMAGE: THE RITZ, PICCADILLY

Toastmasters liaise with the caterers and photographers at your reception on your behalf and will introduce guests, announce speeches and organise any presentations that may be required.

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MARQUEES

MARQUEE Receptions Marquee weddings are practical and versatile… but take considerable organising and a little technical know-how on behalf of your chosen contractor… arquee weddings create versatile and unique wedding reception venues and have become infinitely more user-friendly over recent years, with modern marquees boasting silk lining, heating and lighting, and of course, the option

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to be sited almost anywhere with enough space.

Siting a marquee can be a tricky business which means liaising with a specialist supplier who can turn your brief into a success no matter which complications arise.

Thankfully, many suppliers, particularly larger ones, can also provide heating and lighting, dance floors, convenience hire and even outside catering to ensure that organising your reception is as hassle-free as possible. Suppliers of your marquee will typically recommend either a frame tent or traditional pole marquee.

Aluminium frame tents are more stable in poor weather and tend to be warmer with less ventilation, whilst canvas pole marquees tend to be ideal in the summer with better airflow.

In the first instance, provide your supplier with as much information about your site as possible – they won’t expect accurate measurements and technical information but the more you can tell them the better.

Book your marquee after booking

MARQUEES

Marquee Checklist What to Consider When You Approach Your Supplier n How large is your ground?

Not just for your reception itself but car parking and access? n How level is the ground and how quickly does it drain? n How accessible is the site, not just to cars, but to contractors’ larger lorries?

Will you need a trackway or temporary roadway? n Does your chosen site have a water and electricity supply? Can your contractor supply a bowser or generator?

Find A Marquee Supplier! the church but work two years in advance, longer for larger marquees, and give your supplier as close an estimate as possible regarding guest numbers.

See www.UKbride.co.uk to find your local specialist!

drinks without too much An on-site meeting will establish ‘congestion’, plus additional space the size, shape and layout of your for ‘reveals’ - hidden areas of your reception, but generally your marreception like your cake or band. quee should include a Don’t forget to reception area, budget this for greeting space in your guests, and to initial cost function as an considerations, additional room and give your to separate your potential dining room suppliers as from the much elements Emily Casswell, Editor, information as outside for www.UKbride.co.uk possible about extra warmth. your needs to You should also create accurate, budget considerable space for a like-for-like quotes that you dance floor, bar area that can accompare, thus preventing your commodate those queuing for paying over the odds!

“Marquee weddings are great when you want to create a plush, bespoke reception.”

n Does your contractor have convenience hire facilities? n Who will provide your outside catering? n Will your installation be affected by the weather?

And Now for Something

Completely Different...

The Arabian Tent Company specialises in creating ‘Bombay Boudoirs’.

“Thousands of mirrors sewn into the walls and ceiling combine with pink and orange interior to create a giant glitter-ball when the disco lights come on – it’s a unique experience!” says designer Katherine Hudson.

See www.arabiantents.com for more information.

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THE MEN

It’s a Man’s World...

Tips, trinkets and gems of wisdom for nervous grooms, best men and fathers of the bride nervous about speeches, standing at the altar or giving away their daughter...!

Get me to the church on time...!

.

The Best Man..

Pay attention 007... it’s may be the bride’s prerogative to make a dramatic entrance, but why should she have all the fun...?

Hire a supercar like this Lamborghini Gallardo, which does 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds and you’ll definitely reach the church on time...! Grooms can hire Bond’s Aston Martins, Ferraris and Lambos, for their arrival at the church, The Role of your for the wedding day or the Best Man honeymoon.

May The Best Man Win!

The role of the best man isn’t just ceremonial duties include being custodian of the wedding banns, organiser of the stag night, assistant to the photographer in rounding up relatives for formal photographs, point of liaison with catering staff and guardian of the couple’s honeymoon luggage.

5 TOP...

Formalwear Ideas for Men Look resplendant with our outfits available to hire from most UK menswear specialists...

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Naturally, your bride will have to pack light as the boot’s a little pokey, but the cars will certainly look impressive in your photos.

If you’re choosing a balmy honeymoon destination, there’s a topless version too!

The cost for this model is around £2,500 for a whole weekend, courtesy of Signature Car Hire.

Other suppliers include www.supercarexperiences.com and www.uksupercarhire.co.uk.

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THE MEN

Superb Stag Do’s...

Don’t let the cat get your tongue!

Most grooms, fathers and best men admit to feeling more nervous about performing their wedding speech than about the ceremony itself.

The golden role for successful speeches?

Preparation is key.

For your stag do, consider something that’s a little more involved than just a night down at the pub.

Organising an event which appeals to all ages and goes beyond mere drinking will enable you to spread the fun over a longer period with an activity which appeals to all and will enable you to involve younger and older stags more in proceedings.

Event organisers Chilli Sauce and Red Seven offer UK and international

Five-A-Side football tournament weekends, Motor Action driving experiences, paintballing and License to Thrill spy weekends, beer brewing weekends and On The Piste snowboarding breaks - they have something for everybody!

For information and price & booking details, click on www.redsevenleisure.co.uk or www.chillisauce.co.uk.

Avoid writing your speech at the last minute, and don’t crib jokey one-liners from the internet - your speech will sound unstructured and generic. Write, edit & rehearse dilligently so that you’re familiar with your text.

Alternatively, why not cheat?

Turn to aspeech.co.uk or sparklingspeeches.co.uk to hire a professional writer to bear total responsibility...!

When making your speech, use cue cards rather than a script and maintain eyecontact with your audience and rehearse thoroughly!

Image: Ben McLeod

“Spoil your best man with personalised cufflinks available on www.ukbride.co.uk!”

Emily Casswell, Editor, www.UKbride.co.uk Marc Wallace: Simple suiting for a modern, fashionable look.

Peter Posh: Use men’s accessories to continue your highlight colour.

Brook Tavener: Prince Edward frock coat.

Ultimate Formal Hire: Plain white suiting to really make a statement.

Favourbrook: Top hat and tails for a touch of formal elegance.

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Caught on Camera...!

We find out exactly why employing a professional photographer will never prove a false economy...

Everyone has a digital camera nowadays...

So do you really need to hire a professional photographer? Absolutely! Here, we Search for a explain why entrusting your wedding photography to an amateur is a real false economy...!

Wedding Photographer at www.UKbride.co.uk

ith digital cameras so popular these days, it’s tempting for brides and grooms to save money by letting family or a friend record your special day, but this could be a false economy… to find out why, we followed one wedding photographer, to find out what capturing a bride’s day really involves.

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Entrusting a professional photographer to capture your images means employing someone with plenty of kit, backup lenses, flashes and camera bodies… nothing is left to chance!

A professional photographer can also work around overcast, rainy or exceptionally bright days.

Two or more photographers enables both the bride and groom to be photographed during the course of their preparations.

Professional photographers also create photobooks of their images or large mounted photographic prints, rather than prints created on

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domestic photo printers.

The 24 Hour Online Wedding Fair

Years of experience enables a professional photographer to deal tactfully and professionally with anxious brides, nervous grooms, and guests – a skill that the amateur photographer just doesn’t possess!

Spending the day with the professionals photographing our featured wedding, we prove that photographing a wedding is hard work... as you’ll discover, your chosen photographer really does earn their fee!

1.00PM: IT’S IMPORTANT THAT BRIDE, GROOM AND GUESTS ARE ALL SNAPPED FOR A FULL RECORD OF YOUR BIG DAY

4.00PM: PHOTOGRAPHERS CAN CREATE STUNNING EFFECTS AND USE BLACK AND WHITE IMAGES TO BEST EFFECT.

2.00PM: AMATEURS AREN’T ALLOWED TO TAKE PICTURES DURING THE CEREMONY.

“employing an enthusiastic amateur is a recipe for disaster! get the pictures you deserve by hiring a professional!”

Emily Casswell, Editor www.UKbride.co.uk

Our Images Images by Darren Bell; 07545 262819 darren bellphotography.co.uk

Photographing a wedding involves a long, stressful day, as you’ll discover over the page, our photographers began with a kit check on the eve of the wedding before meeting the bride and groom at 10am on their wedding day to capture the 10AM: AMATEUR wedding from start to finish!

PHOTOGRAPHERS RARELY TAKE CLOSE-UP SHOTS

Find a Professional Need a helping hand to find a professional?

See the British Institute of Professional Photographers; www.bipp.com, the Master Photographers’ Association; www.thempa.com or Society of Wedding Photographers; www.swpp.co.uk. You can also find a photographer in your area at www.ukbride.co.uk.

3.00PM: SOME SHOTS ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO RECREATE AND NEED TO BE RIGHT FIRST TIME

Turn the page to see how your photographer will spend your wedding day...

PHOTOGRAPHY

How a professional photographer will spend 12 hours capturing your day...

Week before; Most professional photographer like to have a list of the shots the bride and groom want at least a week before the event.

Friday; 7pm Kit check – professional photographers have two or three camera bodies and five or six lenses plus three flash heads and numerous accessories.

Batteries are charged, lenses and camera are cleaned.

church. Posing for their formal images for the photographer.

3.15pm The couple leaves for the reception to capture shots of guests enjoying a glass of champagne.

4.30pm Our photographer keeps taking candid shots - and reviews the afternoons shots to make sure you have great pics.

5pm-6pm

Saturday; 10am

5.00PM: CAPTURING EXPRESSIONS QUICKLY TAKES REAL SKILL.

Informal shots of Time to meet the bride and speeches and cake get some shots of the cutting. shoes, rings and flowers and one of 7.30pm mum tying the Tricky shots of dress at the back, the first dance, then leave the involving capturbride to ing movement photograph the and working in Visit UKbride.co.uk groom. If two pholow light. to find out how! tographers are work10.00pm ing that day, one will Back up photographs stay with the bride the other and head home to with the groom. download shots.

WIN Your Dream

6.00PM: A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER WILL CAPTURE EVERY LAST DETAIL

1.00pm Guests and groom

The day after;

arrive and are photographed.

With the arrival of the Vicar, photographers liaise with him/her to check what they will and won’t allow photographically during the ceremony.

Back up all photos again then begin the Photoshop work; retouching, mono conversions and colour correction.

1.40pm Bridal party arrives with bride arriving shortly beforehand, too. A flurry of activity ensues as her arrival prompts photographs of the car, the bridesmaids and the bride with her father.

2.00pm The ceremony takes place with discreet unobtrusive photography.

2.45pm The couple leaves the 50

2 weeks after; Photos are ready for the honeymooners to view and get excited about as the couple orders their album.

7.00PM: A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER WILL WORK BRILLIANTLY WITH PAGE BOYS & FLOWER GIRLS, WHO LOVE ACTING UP FOR AND POSING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA!

IMAGES: DARREN BELL PHOTOGRAPHY; 07545 262819 WWW.DARRENBELLPHOTOGRAPHY.CO.UK.

Wedding Dress

You’ve Been

FRAMED For many couples, the decision not to employ a videographer to capture their wedding day is one they come to regret... our wedding day should be the

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happiest day of your life, and there’s no better way to remember it than via a professionally produced DVD, in addition to the formal images your chosen photographer will produce.

Each Videographer will have his or her own particular style and no two wedding videos will be the same.

through to highly stylised and orchestrated films.

You really do have the opportunity to have the wedding video or wedding day film of your choice.

Find a t apher a Videogr

.co.uk UKbrideour Online

There are videographers The specialising in all types of event coverage now – from simple fly-on-the-wall type productions, to documentary-style creations,

Visit your potential videographer personally for an impression of their particular style.

Anyone operating a professional wedding video service should have Public Liability Insurance, and Professional Indemnity cover for situations that might occur which are beyond their control.

24 H g Weddin Fair

“Videography captures a lifelong record of your day, so choose your expert carefully.”

Your videographer should also have a copyright licence to record the wedding service and music.

They will also have access to copyright licences that will enable them to dub your favourite music onto your DVD. A good videographer will understand that breach of copyright is theft – and will no doubt expect their own work to be treated with the same respect.

The cost of your wedding DVD is dependant on a number of factors.

Some companies offer fully edited or multiple camera productions.

Cutting costs may mean compromising on both, so never base your decision on price alone.

It is advisable to watch several videos covering a wide price range before making your decision.

As wedding videography is a seasonal business most successful videographers will become booked months if not years in advance.

For information see the Institute of Videographers’ website at www.iov.com.

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PHOTOGRAPHY Are you a pro...?

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Not all amateur photography is going to end in disaster, but the idea that one can attend a wedding as a guest and as the official photographer is unrealistic. Your photographer needs to know how to react to different lighting and weather conditions, and do so quickly without rushing, to capture genuine expressions. Those who market themselves as photographers but don’t work as full-time professional wedding photographers may not be able to dedicate sufficient time and energy to capturing your big day.

What’s your style?

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There is much talk of different styles of wedding photography the main two being traditional and reportage. Traditional styles favour groups and romantic shots, reportage shots appear unposed and concentrate on a natural look that appears to be less intrusive.

Will I Be Retouched?

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10 Questions TO ASK YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER Even top wedding photographers will readily admit that choosing the right photographer for your special day is a challenge… achieving beautiful wedding photographs requires a mixture of art, science and experience! Our ten questions will ensure you have the information you need to make an informed decision…

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Expect a professional photographer to perform postprocessing on your images whether they’re shooting on film or digitally.

Some, however, limit this to tone and colour correction. Ask if your chosen photographer will perform black and white conversions, sepia tints and other similar effects, colour popping, or blemish removal and how much time they will put into post-processing your images.

When can I see myself?

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Some photographers turn around their images rapidly whilst others take several months – sometimes even longer, depending on the time of year and number of members of staff working to postprocess and present your pictures, so ask for an ETA on your images.

Do you work alone?

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Two or more photographers

ensures the bride and groom can each be photographed getting ready, or that detail shots of your day can be captured whilst another photographer organises group photographs. The more photographers who attend your day, the more comprehensive your wedding images will be, particularly when your chosen photographers consist of both a male and female photographer.

“Photography is a blend of art and science.

Your photographer should have modern equipment a good understanding, and lots of experience!”

Emily Casswell, Editor, www.UKbride.co.uk

Can I have my images on CD/DVD?

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Can you retain your images to use on your home PC and email to friends? These days, our lives are carried out digitally, and being able to use your pictures in digital photo frames, on social networking sites and being able to email them or print them out at home is essential.

Having the original DVD stored in a safe place also enables you to keep backups of your images.

What does my final album include?

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Are you fully insured?

With the best will in the world things do go wrong… make sure your photographer is insured against stolen equipment, lost or damaged films or memory cards or falling ill on the day of your wedding.

Packages vary enormously – how many prints and at which sizes are included in your photographer’s price? What will your album look like and how many images will feature?

Rather than the Find a t traditional wedapher a ding album with Photogr overlays you may wish to opt for a ne our Onli photographer The 24 H ing who produces a Wedd coffee-table style Fair book with a montage of images.

.co.uk UKbride

Do you carry backup equipment?

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Whether shooting on film or digitally, every photographer should have backup flashes, lenses and other equipment to carry on shooting in the event of faulty equipment.

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Will we get on?

Getting along with your wedding photographer isn’t just a nicety.

Your photographer should make you feel comfortable for relaxed looking shots.

On an already emotional day, it’s crucial that your photographer is sufficiently assertive to pose and offer instruction to the wedding party. It is sometimes a nice idea to arrange an ice-breaker engagement shoot for you and your intended before the big day so you get the hang of posing for the camera and working with your photographer.

TRANSPORT

Brilliant Transport

SUGGESTIONS For more local suppliers see www.UKbride.co.uk

Great transportation is a mix of style and practicality. Make sure you meet your chosen expert to ensure their services match up their their vehicle in terms of reliability... remember, the bride should only ever be fashionably late!

(GREAT TRANSPORT IDEAS FROM TOP LEFT): n Pink Stretched Limo; www.homejamesweddingcars.com n Horse and Carriage; www.boswell-romany-museum.com n 1920s saloon; www.homejamesweddingcars.com n Beetle; www.beetledriveuk.com n Classic Rolls Royce Silver Cloud; www.londonlegend.co.uk n Helicopter; www.risehelicopters.co.uk n Fire Engine Limo; www.chariotsoffire-bristol.co.uk.

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When booking your wedding transport, try to ‘think outside the box’ and book a form of transport that’s unusual, imaginative and most of all, elegant.

Practical constraints include the

length of your journey, time of year and likely weather, and the size and shape of your dress.

Don’t forget the groom either... a sporty Ferrari will look great in your photographs and will keep your

groom and the groomsmen entertained.

Depending on the supplier and your honeymoon destination, you may even be able to retain the vehicle for the duration of your UK honeymoon.

Editor’s Choice

(FROM TOP LEFT): n Bentley Azure Convertible;www.londonlegend.co.uk n White Lincoln Town Car Limo; www.homejamesweddingcars.com. n Wedding Tank Limo; www.tanks-alot.co.uk. n Lamborghini Gallardo Spider; www.ukferrarihire.com. n Mercedes S-Class; www.homejamesweddingcars.com n Hummer; www.hummerhummer.co.uk. n London Bus from www.routemasterbus.com.

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MONEY SAVING TIPS

THOSE LOOKING TO SAVE MONEY CAN TRIM DOWN THEIR WEDDING BUDGET WITH OUR EXCELLENT TIPS - AND HAVE GREAT FUN IN THE PROCESS, MAKING COOKIE FAVOURS AND STATIONERY.

How to Make it Rain

Exchange money saving hints with other brides on our new forum: online now at

UKbride.co.uk The 24 Hour Online Wedding Fair

Pennies from Heaven For brides on a budget or those seeking a smaller scale wedding with fewer frills… we provide some money-saving tips to make sure it only rains pennies from heaven... now all that’s left to worry about is the Great British weather!

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MONEY SAVING TIPS pend or save? There’s a multitude of ways in which you can trim the cost of your wedding, but some may prove false economy.

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Blowing the Budget...?

Where the average wed

ding budget of £15,00

0 is spent...

For example, the cost of wedding photography can vary from £200 to £2,000 and over, but the difference in the end result is marked. There’s a distinction to be made when planning your wedding between cost – what you pay for something – and value – whether something was worth the price you paid – and in the case of photography, a cheap photographer may show in terms of technical abilities and your final album.

That’s not to say, however, that all aspects of your wedding will be the same. For instance, favours can be expensive, usually priced per head so that a £2.50 favour seems more affordable when, in fact, the reality is 150 guests necessitates a spend of £375. In this case, making cookies with your guests’ names iced on and a little ribbon may require a morning in the kitchen, but will result in a dramatically cheaper favour that’s also much more personal.

Your Reception The smaller your wedding the cheaper the venue may be – and the shorter your guest list will end up being too. Use a smaller venue as an excuse to shed some guests, consider a ‘no children’ policy or apply a ‘time limit’ – if you’ve not seen distant relatives for, say, five years don’t bother inviting them.

Enquire about the time of year you choose to marry and the day – midweek weddings are often cheaper, as are out of season weddings.

Your Dress Many brides choose to search E-Bay and other such auction sites for

second-hand dresses. Since wedding dresses are only worn once and can be dry-cleaned and altered to suit, you can shed hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pounds. Our search revealed over 25,000 dresses priced from just £100 for a brand new, made to measure gown… though some brides like to be able to try on their gown before they order. An alternative, if you’re a ‘standard’ size and shape is to try one of Oxfam’s ten specialist wedding dress shops.

cheaper than employing the services of a cake artist. These can be ‘dressed up’ with embellishments of your choice.

“The average cost of a UK wedding is £15,000... but it’s possible to spend half, double or triple that!

Flowers & Cake Many churches have volunteers who will happily create your flowers in return for a donation to the church – the best place to find information is to talk to your local vicar or scan the parish noticeboard.

Equally, supermarkets such as Marks and Spencer stock plain white iced fruitcakes which are considerably

Stationery & Favours Personal computers can be used to create your chosen wedding stationery, orders of service and table plan.

Visit a stationery specialist and purchase a nice stock of paper, perhaps with a textured finish. Depending on the style of your wedding, embellish with ribbon, photographs of yourselves or other decoration.

Your wedding day should be personal or special to you. Whilst there may be one or two areas in which you can cut back, there may be others that are too important to you to force a compromise. Set your budget and don’t be afraid to negotiate on price. The frugal bride can shed £1,000s with a little initiative, a little chasing around and, above all, a good eye!

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WE WON OUR Dream Wedding!

For Sharon Howell and Kevin Challinor, winners of our dream wedding, in association with UKbride.co.uk, the website’s combination of comprehensive wedding advice and a suite of wedding planning tools was nothing short of a match made in heaven…

When Sharon Howell and Kevin Challinor heard they’d won a dream wedding with UKbride.co.uk, they couldn’t quite believe their luck… it took a couple of further calls to reassure them nobody was playing a practical joke!

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Shortly after becoming engaged, Sharon joined wedding planning website UKbride.co.uk to access the site’s suite of wedding planning tools and to try to win her dream wedding including full marquee reception with catering. The couple

were chosen as the lucky winners in November last year.

Autumn 2009 saw the redesign of www.UKbride.co.uk as part of a complete relaunch. The new site gives brides the ability to chat to other brides to exchange tips and ideas, and introduced e-Stands, creating a 24-hour online wedding fair.

Using the site, brides can plan their budgets, send out invites automatically and track RSVPs, create an online diary of their wedding planning, and upload images for family, friends and other brides to enjoy.

“Joining the site was really useful.”

Says Sharon. “It enabled us to get started on planning our wedding early which was great in itself, but it broke everything down into the correct order so everything fell into

WIN A WEDDING

Our Super Dream Wedding Prize... n Fully licensed civil wedding ceremony venue worth £15,000, including food and drink for your wedding breakfast! n £2,000 designer wedding dress choose from a huge range of beautiful gowns! n Amazing honeymoon worth £6,000 to a dream destination tailor-made just for you. n £2,000 of Hen and Stag events - two weekends of fun for both the girls, and boys - choose from a range of destinations.

You could be

Next Year’s Winner! place step-by-step. I’m a compulsive planner… everything has to be organised down to the last detail but I didn’t feel I sacrificed the ability to make any decisions.”

Sharon loved the ability to browse through the latest wedding gowns, and search for suppliers and services in her area, but says the site’s most useful feature was the table planning software.

“It automates a really difficult job fraught with lots of politics!” she says.

When you enter our free competition at UKbride.co.uk

Winning a wedding was the icing on the cake, even if the couple were a little surprised when they heard the news!

“Congratulations to Sharon and Kevin!

To find out how you can win a dream wedding in 2011, see www.UKbride.co.uk.”

The site also features advice on each aspect of planning your wedding and a forum for brides to exchange ideas.

“We couldn’t believe it! It took a couple of calls before it really clicked!”

Joining the site is completely free, and every member has the chance of winning their dream wedding, worth over £25,000 - for further details, see www.UKbride.co.uk.

n Your wedding will be featured on www.UKbride.co.uk as our Wedding of the Year. n Our superb prize is worth over £25,000!

YOU CAN WIN TOO...!

Win your Dream Wedding in 2011 by logging onto www.UKbride.co.uk - in addition to entering our superb competition you can also browse 1,000s of wedding dresses in our searchable library, chat to other brides on our forum and access our suite of online wedding planning software including our table planner!

* For full terms and conditions see www.ukbride.co.uk.

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£25,000

Win a Wedding worth over

In our Free Competition... Our great prize includes...

£15,000 Venue with food and drink for your wedding breakfast. £2,000 Wedding Dress from a huge range of high-end designers. £6,000 Honeymoon tailor-made for you with a choice of destinations. £2,000 Hen & Stag Weekends - fun for both the bride & grooms’ parties.

Visit www.UKbride.co.uk and join the 24-hour online wedding fair registration is free and easy, just answer a few quick questions.

You’ll automatically be entered into our £25,000 competition.

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Visit www.UKbride.co.uk

HAIR

HAIR RAISING

STYLES

Our suggestions for beautiful bridal hair. Whether you’ve short, medium or long hair, you’ll find a style to suit on these pages... n If you’ve a short hairstyle, use curling irons to increase the fullness of your hair or use tiaras, fascinators and necklaces to vary your look and add extra interest to your neck and shoulders. n Medium hair should be curled and worn with a tiara - try to grow your hair a little to provide a more versatility if you’d like to try something new. n If you’ve long hair, wear a smooth heavy gown or large rolls with full skirted tulle gowns.

If you’re already accustomed to long hair, leave a few tendrils loose to prevent your style looking too formal.

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n Choose your wedding gown first, then your wedding hairstyle and only then choose extras such as fascinators and veils. n If you’re colouring your hair for the day have it done two weeks before but have it Create touched up just before the big day. for your

Beautiful Hairstyles

n Use a hairdresser you’re familiar with rather than splashing out and using someone new.

wedding!

n Take care of your hair by using intensive conditioning treatments in the six months leading up to your wedding.

IMAGES: ANNE VECK HAIR

HAIR

“Don’t wear clothing that lifts over your head when visiting your stylist!”

LOVE THIS

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MAKE UP

Beautiful

Brides Harriet Steele offers Make-Up & Hair Advice for Beautiful Brides who really want to shine on their big day! air will grow about six inches a year. See your hairstylist as soon as you get engaged and discuss your desired length and colour for your big day.

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Having it coloured and trimmed every six to eight weeks will mean in a year you can achieve another four to five inches of healthy beautiful hair.

Make-Up Magic Hire a make-up artist to come to your home and have a make-up practice session; add a couple of bottles of wine and this can be a great hen party or pamper night in!

Don’t try to go for a look that will date; in twenty years you don’t want to get your photos out and think your wedding appears dated!

Skin Care Start a good skin care regime at least six months before the big day.

Drink plenty of water rather than

dehydrating alcohol closer to the day, and give up smoking as this has a hugely detrimental effect on your skin.

On The Day Ensure your make-up artist doesn’t use shimmer all over your face as it will look like your hot and greasy on your photos. Opt for a matte finish and only apply shimmer to the highest areas of your face like your cheek bones.

Don’t opt heavy eyes and lips: this is a look best kept for evenings.

Remember your look must be suitable for day and evening so

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consider making your eyes dramatic and your lips soft and nude. You can always apply a stronger lip colour for your evening do.

A Visit to Your Venue Ensure your professional make-up and hair artist will come to your home or venue on your big day.

A pre wedding trial is a must as this is when you will have your hair and make-up applied and you can decide on your look for the day.

Harriet is a professional milliner, hair and beauty specialst in the wedding industry. See www.harrietsteele.co.uk.

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The A-Z of Planning

Your Wedding!

Here, we prove that planning your wedding is as easy as ABC... essential tips, finishing touches and other inspiration!

b c def A is for Attendants…

B is for Budgeting…

C is for Cars…

Choose your attendants carefully and ensure your best man, chief bridesmaid and other attendants are reliable and will ensure your special day goes without a hitch.

Planning a wedding is exhilarating and exciting but it’s so easy to get carried away, and the financial implications of this can be horrendous. Set a budget and stick to it, and itemise your anticipated expenses from flowers to your reception, honeymoon, transport costs and catering arrangements.

Arriving in style is essential on your big day, and unfortunately, your family car just won’t cut the mustard. If cars really aren’t your thing, you could consider a horse drawn carriage or simple but stylish white Rolls Royce.

If your groom is a little more passionate about cars though, how about arriving in a Ferrari or E-type Jaguar to make it to the church in style?

D is for Disco…

E is for Extras…

There’s nothing like a good disco to get your reception swinging, but when booking your entertainment, do ensure you make a list of the eras, styles and artists that you particularly like to give your entertainer something to go on.

Choose somebody personable with equipment which produces good clear sound and don’t be afraid to go along to one of their bookings to hear them for yourselves.

It’s the little treats, favours and special touches that really make your day special so do go through Bride and Groom to have a look at what other couples have done and what different companies offer by way of finishing touches.

Favours, disposable cameras on the tables, treats for the children and all those other extra little touches make all the difference and add a touch of class to your wedding.

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F is for Faith…

When your big day comes along, a whole host of experts and professionals will have been enlisted, all charged with their own very special responsibilities in making your day perfect.

Make your desires clear and be specific in your instructions, but also have faith, and do trust your professionals to do their job whilst you enjoy your day!

gh jk m G is for Grooming…

Traditionally, weddings have always been the bride’s big day, but increasingly grooms too are indulging in a little TLC before the event, so do budget for a hair restyling, male facial and a little pampering to ensure he walks down the aisle looking his best!

H is for Honeymoon…

Going away to spend some time together before returning to gushing friends and relatives is a must after your big day, and will give you something to look forward to after the exhausting pomp and ceremony of your wedding is over, so make your honeymoon something very special indeed.

Our top ten honeymoon ideas will offer inspiration!

i

I is for Invitations…

Don’t be tempted to scrimp on your invitations and stationery. Whilst your home PC is capable of producing mediocre printed matter, proper invitations with lovely embossed stocks of paper, beautiful embellishments and elegant script will be kept for years as a souvenir of your momentous day…

J is for Jewellery…

K is for Kiddies…

L is for Love…

Tiaras, sparkling fascinators and other jewellery can all set off your outfit beautifully, so ensure you’re adorned with these beautiful finishing touches. See our jewellery pages for some ideas and inspiration and have a look on www.UKbride.co.uk - the site’s Wedding Ideas and Supermarket sections feature a wealth of ideas to make your wedding day truly individual.

Weddings inevitably excite children, so ensuring they’ve colouring books or little treat bags containing quiet activities will keep them busy. If your budget can stretch to it, you could even consider a bouncy castle or children’s entertainer to really make it a day to remember for younger guests too.

Inevitably the day will be busy and will almost certainly suffer little hitches... shrug these off and smile, and do make time for each other: try to spend some time alone on the day to remind yourselves that you’ve the rest of your lives in each others’ company.

M is for Marriage…

N is for Nuptials…

O is for Outfit…

Do take the time to talk to your minister and discuss the degree to which you want religion to be a theme of your wedding.

In addition to taking your vows in front of friends and family, you’re also making solemn promises before God and the Christian church. Your minister won’t mind if you’re not the most devout churchgoer, but will appreciate your respect for the church and the religious implications of a Christian ceremony.

The words in your wedding service within which you marry are very important, and in our opinion the older version of your vows is the most elegant with its aged and mellow language, and time honoured implications. Note that civil ceremonies are not allowed to have religious content of any sort.

Your wedding ensemble is perhaps one of the most important & personal features of the day, so trailing through guides and magazines, shopping around and trying on repeatedly, despite being somewhat of a hassle, is absolutely necessary if you’re to find that one special gown which is right for you. Our wedding dress pages will help you to choose a style and give you the inspiration to find the dress you want.

ol

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pq u s t r w y v xz

P is for Photographs…

Q is for Quotes…

R is for Reception…

So many photographers have their own style and way of working that it’s worth having a specific idea of exactly what you’re looking for regarding the photographs of your big day.

Costs vary enormously from wedding to wedding, and from supplier to supplier, so it’s a good idea to gather as many quotes as possible from different suppliers and remain organised.

Consider either a more traditional, posed approach to your photographs or a slightly more contemporary and less formal looking reportage approach to photography, which will appear less posed.

Keep written quotes in a special file so that you can compare exactly what you get for your money and can keep track of your finances accordingly.

There are so many brilliant venues around the county for your reception, and this should be one of the first things you book, so try to see as many as possible in person rather than relying on brochures, which can be misleading.

Estimate the amount of room and degree of privacy your reception venue needs to have, and consider the appearance of the grounds for your photographs.

S is for Speeches…

The speeches may seem nerve wracking, but with plenty of planning and a few rehearsals, you can make your groom’s speech appear slick and stress-free.

Use cue cards rather than a folded up piece of paper to ensure that you’re not struggling to find your place, maintain eye-contact with your audience.

V is for Valour…

Grooms, don’t forget that wedding dresses often restrict mobility... so open doors for your bride, hold her bouquet and help her into and out of her carriage or limo is to help prevent your new bride feeling uncomfortable and demonstrate a little chivalry!

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T is for Theme...

To ensure that everything fits together nicely, agree early on upon a theme which you will both follow - a colour, style or similar, that’s personal to you.

Continue this when choosing your dress, flowers, tableware and stationery.

Other theme ideas include international historical themes or visual themes.

W is for Weather…

If you fear typically British bad weather on your big day, provide umbrellas for your guests as they leave church.

X is for Xxx…

Leave a note with her chief bridesmaid or send a text on the morning of your wedding to let your loved one know you’re looking forward to the big day and can’t wait to marry her.

U is for Unwanted…

A gift list is a superb way of ensuring that you don’t end up with several hundred toasters, and plenty of high street stores will help collate these either in an in-store gift list book or online. Buying a wedding present was much easier before the days of co-habitation, and these days, with most people already having household essentials before they marry, a gift list is essential.

Y is for You…

Your wedding should reflect your tastes, preferences and personalities. Don’t be afraid to put your own personal stamp on your big day. Make a wish-list and work towards making your wedding a reflection of your love.

Z is for Zzz…

Above all other beauty tips that the experts will divulge, do remember that a good night’s sleep is essential to look fresh & beautiful for your wonderful day!

TABLES

s Chocolate and Lime.

s Pink & Purple.

s Glittering Gold.

6 TABLES TANTALISING

t Deep Purple.

t Red and Gold.

t Stark White.

LOVE THIS

Style for your table with our suggested suppliers: UKbride’s Wedding Supermarket: www.ukbride.co.uk. Bonne Fête: www.bonnefetehire.co.uk. Lavenders of London: www.lavendersoflondon.com. Rani Deshpande: www.ranideshpande.com. Tables of Perfection: www.tablesofperfection.co.uk. Wedding Arcade: www.weddingarcade.com. Wedding Design Online: www.weddingdesignonline.co.uk.

Wedding Fortune Cookies: www.weddingfortunecookies.co.uk. Wedding Paraphernalia: www.weddingparaphernalia.co.uk.

n

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FLOWERS

BLOOMING GREAT

FLOWERS Whether your intention is to save, spend or splurge, our wedding florist has great ideas for your church and reception flowers... hoosing your bridal flowers can be as scary as finding your perfect dress, but is just as important in the overall look of the day.

C

THIS

Find t at F A loris

.co.uk UKbrideour Online

The 24 H ing Wedd best Fair flowers for your colour theme, size and style; as well as tailoring the arrangements for your requirements, but try and help the florist as much as possible.

Recommendation is a great way of finding your florist, but it's a good idea to browse several flower As creative as most florists are, shops too. Once you've made up they are not mind readers so the your mind, more information you can give always book a consultation - it's them the better – pictures from worth the money as you'll have magazines, pictures lots of time deof the dress, fabric voted to you, and swatches, key you'll be able to themes, or special work out the best SPRING: Tulip, Anemone, items the wedding choices for your Freesia, Lily, Peony, Daffodil, Ranunculus, Amaryllis. big day.

FOUR SEASONS

Try and make time on a week day because the florist will have more time to discuss ideas, as the shop may be busy on a Saturday.

SUMMER: Lily, Carnation, Sunflower, Chrysanthemum, Rose, Lavender, Magnolia.

AUTUMN: Delphinium, Pinks, Hydrangea, Gladiolus, Gerbera, Bouvardia, Orchid.

WINTER: Camellia, Snowdrop, Hyacinth, Lisianthus, Lilac, Nerine, Iris, Euphorbia.

But what should you consider when choosing your flowers: scent, colour, or texture? A good florist will always suggest the

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LOVE

A BRIDAL POSY OF LISIANTHUS MAKES A CHEAP, LIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL HAND TIED ARRANGEMENT. BELOW: VIBRANT SPRING TULIPS.

Why not have your flowers dried so you can keep them after the wedding...?

FREESIA

Emily Casswell, Editor www.UKbride.co.uk

Popular, highly scented flowers ideal as ‘fillers’, available all year round with a peak of availability in Spring.

Available in many colours, including white, pink, lavender, yellow and rust. Representing innocence, thoughtfulness, and trust, the flowers are popular for vase arrangements where colour is needed and may be arranged with other flowers or as stand alone decor.

ORCHID

theme is based on - for example, if you're wearing your Grandmother's brooch, it might be nicer for you to incorporate this into your bouquet, rather than wear it on your dress.

Prepare a brief, with suggestions for style of bouquet traditional shower (a long, trailing bouquet, wired or in a foam holder), garden flower posy (country-style loose bouquet, hand-tied or in a holder) or wire work decorative bouquet (flowers are stuck to a decorative, handmade wire trailing frame) or crescent shaped bouquet.

HYACINTH TABLE ARRANGEMENT AND TABLE DECORATION OF SPRAY ROSES AND SWEET PEA.

Also, consider the size of your bouquet; if you’re small, an enormous trailing bouquet will overpower you - a good florist will take the bride’s height & basic shape into consideration.

Don’t forget plants could also be used as table arrangements, these can be very attractive as well as cheaper (dependant on the plant) and a memento for people to take home with them at the end of the night.

Don’t forget to discuss button holes for your groomsmen and close family!

If you’ve a preference, suggest type of flowers and consult with your florist once you’ve decided on your highlight colour.

Finally, ask to see some of your chosen florist’s previous work and work with them throughout your planning to ensure your wedding flowers will be as beautiful as you dreamed.

Images: www.flowers.org.uk

ROSE AND HYACINTH POSY AND CONTEMPORARY HOOP AND HYDRANGEA

A modern bouquet is easily created with cymbidium orchid.

Minimalistic bouquets like these are ideal for the winter wedding.

AMARYLLIS These stunning pink amaryllis’ are simply breathtaking offset with pale green and fuscia ribbons.

CYCLAMEN Simplicity is key with these cyclamen flowers, wrapped with fresh ivy and topped off with a delicate pink ribbon.

ROSES This funky bouquet is stunning with these pink, purple and golden roses jazzed up with silver tillandsia twists.

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CAKES

C n

K n

C n

“Why not include a tier of sponge as some prefer this to fruit cake!”

C n

Emily Casswell, Editor, www.UKbride.co.uk

S n

LOVE THIS

C n

C n 72

C Couture Cakes n

B C n n Jellymongers The Cheese Shed J T n n Blistering Barbecues Celebration Cakes B K n n

S Sussex Cake Creations n

W Choccy Woccy Doo Dah n

K n

CAKES

Having Your S n

W n

CAKE Wedding Cake ideas from leading designers to create custom cakes that will look and taste memorable!

J n

C n

n Consider the taste as well as the look of your cake. That may sound obvious, but in addition to enquiring about the look of your cake, as about the ingredients your chosen Find a local expert uses, and insist on tasting at UKbride.co.uk samples.

Wedding Cake Artist now...!

n Three tiers will serve 50-200 whilst five layers is safer for 200 guests or more. Opt to make at least one of your layers sponge rather than fruitcake for those who prefer the former.

n Ensure your wedding cake is an accurate reflection of your character and your wedding. Don’t be afraid of asking for a bespoke design and a particular colour scheme. n Traditionally, couples save the top tier for their first anniversary or the christening of their first child!

n Consider white and milk chocolate cakes, miniatures and cupcakes as alternatives.

C n

n Be sure of your delivery and storage – arrangements.

You don’t want your cake to be ruined before you serve it by poor storage.

T n

STATIONERY

SPECIALINVITATION A varied selection of the most creative and personal wedding stationery around...!

Natural Wedding Company

Spunsilk

Little Red Dragon Crafts

Mandalay

Editor’ Choic s e

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Pink Polar Limited

Simplicity Handmade Cards

Purple Mountain Designs

Lovely Favours

Rani Deshpande

Spunsilk

Little Orchard Press

Pink Polar Limited

Purple Mountain Designs

Mandalay

Natural Wedding Company

Little Red Dragon Crafts

Little Red Dragon Crafts

Lovely Favours

Little Orchard Press

Rani Deshpande

FAVOURS

TABLE FAVOURS A roundup of the most beautiful favours to create individual wedding tables...

Little Red Dragon Crafts

Unravel a Gift

Lovely Favours

Natural Wedding Company

Unravel a Gift

Talking Tables

Unravel a Gift

Unravel a Gift

Edito Choi r’s ce

Talking Tables

Lovely Favours

Talking Tables

Little Red Dragon Crafts

Lovely Favours

Favour Heaven

Natural Wedding Company

Talking Tables

Unravel a Gift

Little Red Dragon Crafts

Favour Heaven

Lovely Favours

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JEWELLERY

WITH THIS

RING

Wedding rings are highly symbolic pieces of jewellery, so it’s likely you’ll want to wear your ring all the time, and for many years. It’s important to select the style and design of the ring very carefully. Ring the changes in your relationship by choosing matching wedding bands that represent the unending continuity of your love for one another...

Find a

Jeweller In Your Area at UKbride.co.uk now...!

Editor’s Choice

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JEWELLERY n If you are creative, you may wish to sketch out a design of your own, and then have it custom-made by a goldsmith. n It’s still traditional to opt for matching rings, but you can add your own twist to the design: for example, both wedding rings could be the same metal & pattern, but the bride could choose to have the addition of some diamonds or another precious stone. n As a general guide, a wedding ring should be either the same width or very slightly wider than the engagement ring band. n Your engagement ring should go on the third finger of your left hand. Your wedding ring should be worn on the same finger, just in front of it – some wedding bands have special semi-circles to fit around your engagement ring. n Ring sizes are measure from A-Z… the average size for a ring is ‘L’. n Opt for a wedding band in the same material as your engagement ring as different metals can wear each other away if they rub against each other. n Leave 8 weeks of lead time for your wedding rings – longer if they’re bespoke rings or will be engraved. n Rounded edge wedding rings are traditional, whilst high-domed and flat wedding rings are considered the most modern band style.

Images: Pure Rings www.purerings.co.uk.

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“The secret to choosing great entertainment is imagination!

Create little surprises for your guests...!”

ATTENDING DANCE LESSONS WILL SURPRISE YOUR GUESTS & PROVIDE SOMETHING TO DO TOGETHER IN THE RUN UP TO YOUR WEDDING.

NOW THAT’S

ENTERTAINMENT At your reception, it’s time for the party to begin… choose entertainment that will appeal to all ages and generations and to ensure your reception has the appeal to really get the party started…!

T

he mainstay of many wedding receptions is a good disco, and finding a professional DJ is essential. See www.ukbride.co.uk to find a supplier in your area, then, meet your DJ personally and ensure you hear them performing at a comparable venue before you book them. During your initial meting, have a rough playlist to hand to

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ensure the music selection is appropriate both to your tastes and that of your guests.

Classical Music In addition to popular music, consider a string quartet, harpist or classical group to provide light background music during your wedding breakfast. Many can also

perform Beatles covers or similar, and jazz groups vvcan also provide a sophisticated touch to your reception. Practical during your wedding breakfast, light classical music tends to drown out the clattering of cutlery on crockery.

Learn to Dance!

You can wow your guests or surprise your new husband or wife by learning to dance before your reception by embarking on short courses... First Dance is a company which specialises in private tuition in your home, so you can learn your steps without fear of embarassment!

Fireworks Entertainment at your wedding isn’t just about music – fireworks create dramatic photographs and a romantic half hour show that will really wow your guests! Fireworks for Weddings can even provide firewriting at just £14 per 2ft letter!

ENTERTAINMENT

How to Make Beautiful Music at your Wedding Reception...

Disco expert Marcus Keith on how to fill the dance floor of your wedding reception

Think different!

Highland Piper If the pipes are calling, Piper for Hire has a list of qualified and uniformed pipers for hire anywhere in the UK, popular not just over the borders, but in England too!

Tribute Bands If you’d like something a little different to the usual disco, why not consider a tribute band?

Consider groups such as Abba Gold from Spot On Entertainment, Bee Gees Fever, Bjorn Again, the Bootleg Beatles or the UpBeat Beatles or even Jon’s Elton or the Blues Brothers by Henderson Management.

These can provide music from big names which appeal to all generations and each creates an involving, popular show to get everybody on the dance floor!

Use sky candles, fireworks, pipers and classical music during your reception!

See ukbride.co.uk for loads of other ideas!

Something different Companies like Contraband Events can provide unique entertainers from face-painters, puppet shows, jesters and bubble shows for children, to LED & UV performers, contortionists, aerial, trapeze and tight rope walkers, belly dancers, ballet dancers, human canapés, and even snake charmers…!

Chances are that your wedding is the first time you’ve planned a disco in your life. There are a lot of mediocre quality amateur DJs out there; if you've been to a wedding recently where the disco was really good, try to find out who the DJ was.

Once you're happy with your DJ, it's time to make the booking. You might be asked to pay a deposit, which should be no more than about 25% for a reputable DJ. The remainder should be payable after the wedding.

Make sure that you receive a written confirmation of the booking.

Consider whether your DJ should be allowed to accept requests from guests; allowing requests will keep at least some of your guests happy, but a few badly chosen songs can really put a dampener on the atmosphere.

Most DJs welcome a playlist, provided you are confident in your musical tastes and those of your guests.

Marcus Keith of Big Entertainments (images above left) has two decades of experience hosting wedding discos www.marcuskeith.co.uk).

GIFTS

1

4

7

BEAUTIFUL

GIFTS Struggling to compile a gift list… or spoilt for choice?

Either way, we’ve some excellent suggestions for you… all available for delivery via mail order!

Look our for specialist wedding list companies such as Wedding Presents Direct. These companies can manage your entire gift list and deliver your gifts directly to you in one go together following your honeymoon.

Charge your groom with ensuring

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you know who sent you which gift to ensure accurate thank-you letters!

He can also store your gifts for you whilst you’re on honeymoon so you know they’re safe and sound.

Alternatively, instead of gifts, who not request that guests make donations to your chosen charity ?

9

2

GIFTS

3

6

5

8

10

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Main Photo: Savoy Ben Linen from www.thewhitecompany.com. 1. Steller 7000 Cookwear, designed to last a lifetime, just like your marriage, no matter who’s doing the cooking! £115, www.millyskitchenstore.co.uk. 2. Sony Handycam for capturing your honeymoon, and your children’s first steps! HDR-XR520VE £950 www.sony.co.uk. 3. Marks and Spencer Indian dinner service - plates from £5, great for every day dining; www.marksandspencer.com. 4. Silver tryptych frame for your precious wedding photographs; from Wedding Presents Direct; £134. www.weddingpresentsdirect.co.uk. 5. Traditional Picnic Hamper for the summer months; for person, £172.30; www.picnicshop.co.uk. 6. Slow cooker by Russell Hobbs £33.96, www.argos.co.uk. 7. Verona glass vase, £36 from www.johnlewis.com. 8. Olga champagne flutes in black or white frosted glass, great for toasting your new life! From £5, www.houseoffraser.co.uk. 9. Samsonite Cordoba case, perfect for your honemoon! Vanity case £60, wheeled case £105. www.samsonite.co.uk. 10. Canon Ixus camera, £150, www.canon.co.uk.

11. Dualit Toaster, two slice £135, www.johnlewis.com.

HONEYMOON

HEAVENLY HONEYMOONS TOP

Our suggestions for the dream destinations to make the excitement of your wedding last that little bit longer!

1. Maldives - £4,000pp Enjoy an ultra luxurious private beach hut at Banyan Tree hotel.

❤❤❤❤❤

2. Seychelles - £4,000pp

TEN

the world’s most sought-after destinations. ❤❤❤❤❤

6. Barbados - £1,300pp Watersports, jaw-dropping scenery and breathtaking beaches!

Beautiful coastline with Caribbean sun, coconut

❤❤❤❤❤

trees and rolling surf. ❤❤❤❤❤

7. Bahamas - £947pp

3. Dubai - £3,500pp

Luxurious hotels and pure white beaches for the ultimate in peace

The last word in luxury!

The world’s most exclusive hotel - Burj Al Arab.

❤❤❤❤❤

4. St Lucia £1,600pp Beautiful coastline, Baking hot sun, and gorgeous azure blue seas!

❤❤❤❤❤

TOP 10

Maldives Seychelles Dubai St Lucia Mauritius Barbados Bahamas Jamaica Paris Venice

and quiet!

❤

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❤❤❤❤❤

8. Jamaica - £800pp Enjoy a lively, fun filled

5. Mauritius £1,500pp White sands, blue oceans and breathtaking wildlife, one of the

Mauritius

Maldives

Seychelles

HONEYMOON

St. Lucia Jamaica

Baham as

honeymoon from Kingston Town to Montego bay.

❤❤❤❤❤

Editor’s

9. Paris - £600pp Europe’s justly renowned City of Romance with amazing shopping! ❤❤❤❤❤

Choice

10. Venice - £500pp The city of dreams. Enjoy a gondola ride from St Mark’s Square.

❤❤❤❤❤

Venice

Paris

Dubai

NB: All prices are estimates based on two people for seven nights in September and are per person with flights.

COUNTDOWN 12 Months Prior: Photographer and Videographer.

1-2 Months Prior: Final .

Dress Fitting

WHAT TO BOOK AND WHEN... THIS ARTICLE IS AN ABRIDGED VERSION OF A FULL ARTICLE, AVAILABLE TO READ IN INSPIRATIONS, OUR ONLINE MAGAZINE...

VISIT WWW.UKBRIDE.CO.UK AND CLICK ON OUR INSPIRATIONS LINK.

Wedding Day

At this stage, you can also choose your attendants - the friends who will be honoured and prepared to put in the time and effort to help you plan your wedding!

Booking your honeymoon at this stage will leave you with a greater degree of choice rather than relying on availability closer to the event.

COUNTDOWN Plan your wedding in a structured way and you’ll enjoy the build-up rather than causing yourself undue worry...

12-18 Months: Even a year and a half in advance of your wedding day, planning is essential.

Make the fundamental decisions about the type of wedding you want by booking your church, and your hotel or marquee... you can then ask your reception venue about any additional services you’ll need

84

e.g. catering, tables and chairs etc., and have ‘rough date’ in mind.

At this stage, set your budget too the average cost of a wedding is £16,000 so this will allow you to save up and plan your ‘cash flow’.

Once you’ve liaised with your church and reception venue, ‘firm up’ your date as soon as possible.

At this stage, you can also draft your guest list, which will help you to plan your wedding in terms of numbers and budget.

Finally, organise your reception entertainment now, as popular performers can be booked-up 18 months beforehand.

6-12 Months: By now you’ll have some fairly good ideas how you’d like your big day to be... now’s the time to confirm your guest list and check numbers with the venue and caterers, and organise your transport.

Attendan ts: 12-18 Months prior.

At this stage, you should also choose and pay for your wedding bands, commissioning any engraving or alterations you’d like to be completed.

Most photographers and videographers have to be booked 12 months in advance.

Asking to see a portfolio of potential suppliers’ work will help you choose a photographer whose style fits what you are looking for.

ganise your hen and stag nights and so apply for your Civil Application or have your Banns read.

If you’ve chosen to marry in church, your announcement to marry or Banns Want to Find Out More? must be read out in church three times.

Online Wedding Planning Advice Visit UKbride.co.uk and see our Inspirations guide online!

For most brides, shopping for a wedding dress is a pleasure rather than a chore, and the chances are you’ve already chosen the dress of your dreams.

At this stage you should also organise a final fitting for your bridal party and the groom’s attendants to give time for any last minute alterations.

If not, now’s the time for find one you love, order it and attend at least two fittings in the run up to your wedding.

3-6 Months: This is the very latest stage that you can order your wedding cake - some suppliers need even more notice to create your wedding cake.

You should also organise bridal bouquets, bridesmaid bouquets, buttonholes, venue decorations and the table centrepieces now, having had a meeting with your chosen florist.

1-2 Months: Now’s the time to or-

DJ: 18 Months prior.

1 Week to go:

“Sites like UKbride.co.uk will prove invaluable, telling you what to plan when, suggesting local suppliers!”

Emily Casswell, Editor www.UKbride.co.uk

You’ll also need to attend a wedding rehearsal.

Make sure you have all of the elements you’ll need for your honeymoon organised, and wear your wedding shoes in around the house to avoid being in pain on your big day!

Your at a glance guide n

Set Your Budget Choose Your Attendants Book Your Honeymoon Choose Your Venue Booking Entertainment n

Awake refreshed, relaxed... and hangover-free!

With so many family and friends, it’s difficult to find the time to spend with your new husband. Try to spend at least some time together enjoying each other’s company and celebrating your wedding together, as well as with friends and family.

6-12 Months Create Your Guest List Choose a Caterer Organise Your Transport Book Photographer/Video Choose your Dress

Your Wedding Day:

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast even if you don’t feel like eating, and leave yourself plenty of time to get ready.

12-18 Months

n

3-6 Months Order Your Wedding Cake Enlist Your Florist

n

1-2 Months Hold Your Hen/Stag Do’s Make Your Civil Application Final Dress Fitting

n

1 Week Pack for Honeymoon Wear-in Your Wedding Shoes

ONLINE SHOP

12 Page Online Shopping Guide 86

to ts e ow N pen age roduc Kbrid O the p of p on U rn ge uy Tu ran n b a ca e se you at th

UKbride online Wedding

Shop

Now Open

Stress-Free:

Safe:

Special:

Simple:

Goods are delivered straight to your door.

ISIS and VeriSign Accredited.

Many ranges can be personalised.

UKbride guides you every step of the way.

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ONLINE SHOP

Full of

Hot Air! Decorate your reception with our beautiful balloons, made even easier with our ranges of ribbons and weights...

All products shown here are available by mail order online at www.ukbride.co.uk

ONLINE SHOP

1. Pearlised Balloons: Make your reception really shine with high quality pearlised balloons, sold in bumper packs. £5.86

Hot Pink

1. Balloons 580473 Pearlised 580487 Pearlised 580476 Pearlised 580478 Pearlised 580477 Pearlised 580471 Pearlised 580470 Pearlised 580484 Pearlised 580472 Pearlised 580488 Pearlised 580483 Pearlised

Balloons - Gold Balloons - Silver Balloons - Lilac Balloons - Ivory Balloons - Sky Blue Balloons - Black Balloons - Dark Blue Balloons - White Balloons - Baby Pink Balloons - Hot Pink Balloons - Red

Gold

Silver

Lilac

Ivory

Sky Blue

Black

Dark Blue

White

Baby Pink

Red

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

Quality balloons - suitable for inflating with helium or air. Inflated size up to 12". Pk of 50.

£5.86 £5.86 £5.86 £5.86 £5.86 £5.86 £5.86 £5.86 £5.86 £5.86 £5.86

2. Balloon Weights: Keep your balloons from floating away!

504949 504940 504939 504938 504945 504946

Balloon Weight - Purple Balloon Weight - Gold Foil Balloon Weight - Silver Foil Balloon Weight - Iridescent Balloon Weight - Blue Foil Balloon Weight - Pink Foil

Foil balloon weight with clear hanging tag to make attaching balloons simple!

£1.47 £1.47 £1.47 £1.47 £1.47 £1.47

3. Balloon Ribbon: Maintain your colour scheme with our jumbo ribbon spools. Great for curling, tying and streaming!

548503 548502 548621 548622 548627 548630 548501

Balloon Ribbon - Iridescent Balloon Ribbon - Gold Balloon Ribbon - White Balloon Ribbon - Pink Balloon Ribbon - Blue Balloon Ribbon - Lilac Balloon Ribbon - Silver

Curling ribbon in a range of colours to co-ordinate with our balloons.

Length 50 yds.

Width 5 mm.

£1.95 £1.95 £1.95 £1.95 £1.95 £1.95 £1.95

All products shown here are available to order online at www.ukbride.co.uk.

ONLINE SHOP

Bubbles: Various designs, singles and great value bumper packs!

From £0.48p

Wedding Bubbles: 491825 Wedding Heart Wand Bubbles

Wedding heart wand wedding bubbles. Contemporary tube design with a heart on top. Box of 24.

£9.77

595235 24 x Champagne Glass Bubbles

Champagne glass shaped bubble pots.

£9.77

618006 Wedding Cake Bubbles (single)

Wand included in the cap.

£0.48

491800 Champagne Bottle Bubbles - Gold/Ivory

Champagne bottle wedding bubbles. Contemporary design.

Also available in white/silver and ivory colourways. Box of 24.

£9.77

491817 Champagne Bottle Bubbles - White/Silver

Champagne bottle wedding bubbles. Contemporary design.

Also available in ivory/gold and ivory colourways. Box of 24.

£9.77

491824 Champagne Bottle Bubbles - Ivory/Ivory

Champagne bottle wedding bubbles. Contemporary design.

Also available in ivory/gold and white/silver colourways. Box of 24.

£9.77

501010 Champagne Bottle Bubbles - (single)

Wand included in the cap.

Dimensions: 9cm in length and 3cm diameter at the base.

£0.48

All products shown here are available to order online at www.ukbride.co.uk.

ONLINE SHOP

Forever Blowing

Bubbles...!

Children love them, and they look great in your photographs... you’ll be forever blowing bubbles with this superb selection...!

ONLINE SHOP

Confetti, Cameras & Cakes Decorate your tables with confetti and provide cameras for your guests... we’ve also got some great ideas for quirky favours, too!

All products shown here are available by mail order online at www.ukbride.co.uk Image: www.darrenbellphotography.co.uk.

ONLINE SHOP 1. Disposable Cameras: Provide your guests with cameras to photograph your big day... capture images of all your guests and never miss a moment thanks to 27 exposures and a built in flash for indoor shots. £1.22

Left: 912018 Pink/White 35 mm Single Use Flash Camera £2.99.

912015 912007 912010 912006

White/Silver 35 mm Single Use Flash Camera Silver 35 mm Single Use Flash Camera Pink 35 mm Single Use Flash Camera Gold 35 mm Single Use Flash Camera

£2.99 £2.99 £2.99 £2.99

912012 912013 912017 912009

White 35 mm Single Use Flash Camera Ivory 35 mm Single Use Flash Camera Ivory/Gold 35 mm Single Use Flash Camera Lilac 35 mm Single Use Flash Camera

£2.99 £2.99 £2.99 £2.99

2. Confetti: Great for throwing and for decorating your reception tables... versatile, high quality confetti in three different designs and a multitude of colours! £1.22

3. Happiness Kit: A quirky favour idea in a canvas pocket, great for bridesmaids and ushers.

Product ID 5530 £4.50 4. Cake Favour Box: Gorgeous favour box for bridesmaids or flower girls, available in two designs.

506637 549326 549219 549235 549234 491152 549229 549228 525957

Confetti: Sparkle Hearts - Burgundy, 14 gram Bag Table Confetti Confetti: Sparkle Hearts - Red, 14 gram Bag Table Confetti Confetti: Sparkle Hearts - Iridescent, 14 gram Bag Table Confetti Confetti: Sparkle Hearts - Gold, 14 gram Bag Table Confetti Confetti: Sparkle Hearts - Silver, 14 gram Bag Table Confetti Confetti: Just Married - Gold, 14 gram Bag Table Confetti Confetti: Star Dust - Gold, 14 gram Bag Table Confetti Confetti: Star Dust - Silver, 14 gram Bag Table Confetti Confetti: Just Married - Silver, 14 gram Bag Table Confetti

£1.22 £1.22 £1.22 £1.22 £1.22 £1.22 £1.22 £1.22 £1.22

Butterfly Design Product ID 5532 £22.50 Cherry Design Product ID 5533 £22.50

All products shown here are available to order online at www.ukbride.co.uk.

ONLINE SHOP a Quality gents cufflinks featuring classic round shape in chrome with d: black text on a white backgroun ved engra e Upgrade to a chrom box for £4.99 extra.

Round Cufflink Best Man: ID 612711

Round Cufflink Groom: ID 612710

Round Cufflink Brother of the Bride: ID 612718

£11.99

£11.99

£11.99

Round Cufflink Brother of the Groom: ID 612719

Round Cufflink Usher: ID 612712

Round Cufflink Grandfather, Bride: ID 612716

£11.99

£11.99

£11.99

ID 612714 £11.99 Stamp Design, Father of the Bride: ID 512735

Stamp Design, Best Man: ID 512733

Round Cufflink Father of the Bride: ID 612713

Round Cufflink Grandfather, Groom: ID 612717

Round Cufflink Page Boy: ID 612715

£11.75

£11.75

£11.99

£11.99

£11.99

Stamp Design, Page Boy: ID 512737

Stamp Design, Brother of the Bride: ID 512738

Character Design, Best Man: ID 512742

Character Design, Usher: ID 512743

Character Design, Groom: ID 512741

£11.75

£11.75

£11.73

£11.73

£11.73

Stamp Design, Brother of the Groom: ID 512739

Stamp Design, Usher: ID 512734

Character Design, Brother, Bride: ID 512747

Character Design, Father, Bride: ID 512744

Character Design, Brother, Groom: ID 512748

£11.75

£11.75

£11.73

£11.73

£11.73

Stamp Design, Groom: ID 512732

Stamp Design, Father of the Groom: ID 512736

Character Design, Father, Groom: ID 512745

£11.75

£11.75

£11.73

Father of the Groom: ID 5544

Father of the Bride: ID 5545

Character Design, Groomsmen: ID 512749

£11.75

£11.75

£11.73

Fun wedding character cufflinks in a range of titles.

Available with a range of wedding character glasses. This item is gift boxed. Upgrade to a chrome engraved box for £4.99 extra.

ID 512746 £11.73

ONLINE SHOP

Father of the Groom ID 5544 £11.75 Father of the Bride ID 5545 £11.75 Best Man ID 5543 £11.75

A Gift from the Groom, and a Link to Your Big Day!

Off the Cuff!

All products shown here are available to order online at www.ukbride.co.uk..

ONLINE SHOP Mini Album

Photo Album

Keepsake Box

Guest Book

Money Wallet

Thank You Notelets

Beautiful Designer

Wedding Stationery Bespoke in appearance but without the bespoke price tag... gorgeous stationery for your special day!

All products shown here are available by mail order online at www.ukbride.co.uk

ONLINE SHOP

This beautiful stationery is available in six different designs and features a range of albums, favour cards and keepsake boxes.

Designed to co-ordinate your memories and present them beautifully...

Church Collection

Bride & Groom Collection

Cake Collection

Champagne Glass Collection

Bridesmaid Collection

Bride Collection

Church Collection RBK02 RBA02 RBG02 RBM02 RBN02 RBW02

Wedding Keepsake Box - church Wedding Photo Album - church Guest Book - church Wedding Photos Mini Album Thank You Notelets x8 - church Money Wallet- church

Champagne Glasses Collection £15.99 £15.99 £15.99 £9.99 £3.99 £0.99

Bride & Groom Collection RBK04 RBA04 RBG04 RBM04 RBN05 RBW05

Wedding Keepsake Box- cake Wedding Photo Album - cake Guest Book - cake Wedding Photos Mini Album - cake Money Wallet - cake

Wedding Keepsake Box - champagne £15.99 Wedding Photo Album - champagne £15.99 Guest Book - champagne £15.99 Wedding Photos Mini Album - champagne £9.99 Thank You Notes x 8 with envelopes - champ £3.99 Money Wallet - champagne £0.99

Bridesmaid Collection

Our Special Wedding Treasure Keepsake Box £15.99 Wedding Photo Album - couple £15.99 Guest Book - couple £15.99 £9.99 Wedding Photos Mini Album - couple £3.99 Thank You Notelets x8- couple Money Wallet - couple £0.99

Cake Collection RBK01 RBA01 RBG01 RBM01 RBW06

RBK09 RBA09 RBG09 RBM09 RBN03 RBW03

RBAB RBA05 RBM06A RMB05 RBM05A RB23

Wedding Keepsake Box - bridesmaid When I was a Bridesmaid Photo Album Maid of Honour Mini Photo Album Flower Girl Mini Photo Album Bridesmaid Mini Photo Album Thank You - bridemaid

£15.99 £15.99 £9.99 £9.99 £9.99 £3.50

Bride Collection £15.99 £15.99 £15.99 £9.99 £0.99

RBK06 RBA06 RBG06 RBM06A

Wedding Keepsake Box - bride Wedding Photo Album - bride Guest Book - bride Wedding Photos Mini Album - bride

£15.99 £15.99 £15.99 £9.99

All products shown here are available to order online at www.ukbride.co.uk.

ONLINE SHOP Keyrings: Pink ballet shoe 5536 Flip flop 5537 Stiletto - pink & black 5538 Stiletto - pink with jewel 5539 Purple handbag 5540 £5.95

Personal Beautiful

giftware Gifts for bridesmaids, the best man, and your parents... give your VIPs a thoughtful token of your appreciation All products shown here are available by mail order online at www.ukbride.co.uk

Glasses: Beautiful personalised glasswear for male and female attendents.

Can be personalised with any name (up to 11 characters).

Personalised Glasses 512477 Pint Glass With Handle - Groom 512478 Pint Glass With Handle - Best Man 512479 Pint Glass With Handle - Usher 512480 Pint Glass With Handle - Father of the Bride 512481 Pint Glass With Handle - Father of the Groom 512482 Pint Glass With Handle - Brother of the Bride 512483 Pint Glass With Handle - Brother of the Groom 512650 Tumbler - Flowergirl 512497 Tumbler - Page Boy 512498 Tumbler - Bridesmaid 512491 Wine Glass - Bride 512493 Wine Glass - Bridesmaid 512492 Wine Glass - Chief Bridesmaid 512494 Wine Glass - Mother of the Bride 512495 Wine Glass - Mother of the Groom 512649 Wine Glass - Sister of the Bride 512648 Wine Glass - Sister of the Groom 512496 Wine Glass - Maid of Honour

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Yo-Yo: Engraved.

Product ID 512915 £12.71

Tankard: Engraved pewter tankard, 1/2 pint.

Product ID 512268 £19.56 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78

£9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78 £9.78

ONLINE SHOP Lipstick Holder: Product ID 512517 £12.71

Perfume Atomiser: Product ID 512465 £14.67 Wedding Certificate Holder: Silverplated, engraved with personalisation.

Product ID 501407 £19.56 Jewellery Box: Silver plated and engraved.

Zippo Lighter: Chrome, engraved.

Product ID 510600 £24.46

Product ID 512518 £16.65

Engraved Heart Photo Frame Keyring: Silver plated heart shaped keyring. Opens to reveal a twin photo frame.

Product ID 512523 £14.67 Personalised Keyring Flask: Personalised 1oz Keyring Flask - Silver Plated.

Product ID 612624 £14.67 Engraved Photo Frame: Silver plated photo frame engraved with the first names of the bride and groom and wedding date.

Product ID 501407 £19.56

All products shown here are available to order online at www.ukbride.co.uk.

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