As March comes to an end, here's a look ahead at the world of Bristol Weddings in April. Don't forget to check our wedding fairs and events page to keep up to date with what's happening.

Old Down Manor: Wedding Fair 22nd April 11am to 4pm. Free entry.

The Mews of Clifton: Wednesday 25th April 2012. The launch night for their 2012 Alice Temperley collection in collaboration with award winning, British bridal accessories designer Polly Edwards.

You can view all current and future wedding fairs easily by clicking here now.

I have seen Fiona from Beehive Brides at a few wedding fairs recently  transforming brides to be and exhibiting suppliers into glamorous sirens with just a few rollers and hair pins. Fiona is a fully trained hair and make up artist and now specialises in glamorous and vintage inspired looks with her business Beehive Brides.

     

Vintage bridal hair is very on trend at the moment with many brides going for looks inspired by Downton Abbey or the forties with victory rolls. Fiona has worked on many TV productions and is an expert in helping brides feel calm and pampered on their wedding day.

  

To find out more visit the Beehive Brides website to view the gallery and read testimonials from happy brides.

Image credits: Beehive Brides

Last night saw the return of the Mad Men to Sky Atlantic with the drama moving forward to 1966. Mad Men has become so iconic that it's influence has spread far beyond the small screen. If you are looking to include a little Mad Men style in your big day, take a look at our previous Mad Men theme on the Inspiration Page here.


                                                        

You can also now "Mad Men Yourself" by creating your own Mad Men character complete with personalised features, clothing accessories and more. Once you have made your character you can choose a backdrop to be set against from the office to the bar. Why not click here to have a go.


  

Mad Men is on Sky Atlantic on Tuesdays at 9pm or if you missed it. it's repeated on Sunday at 10:15pm.

Image Credits: Free Picture and Mad Men Yourself

Next time you pop into your local Asda what will be on your shopping list? Cheese, carrots, bread, milk, lacy wedding lingerie? It's amazing what you can buy in supermarkets these days and George at Asda have now ventured into the world of wedding underwear with their new collection of affordable undies.

                                                        

                                                         

Prices start at just £3.50 for the satin pleated shorts shown above and £12.00 for the matching bodice, or there are a choice of lacy white control bodies, also for £12 for brides desiring a bit of shaping beneath their dresses. The range is ideal for those wanting something a bit special without blowing the budget on hundreds of pounds of lingerie.


                                                       

So what do you think? Is Asda underwear special enough for your big day or will you be splashing out on expensive silk and lace to feel sexy on your wedding night? I'd welcome any comments below. Still not sure, you can view the range and prices on the Asda website here.

Photos Credits:  Asda George Bridal Lingerie

KGB deals are currently offering a great deal on a cupcake decorating course from Teach Me Sugarcraft. You can book the course for yourself or as a gift for just £19, saving over £50 per person.

On the half day course held in South Bristol Sport Centre you can learn sugar craft and cake decorating tips and tricks, including swirl piping in butter cream and how to make marshallow flower and you get to take twelve of your creations home with you.

Teach Me Sugarcraft also offer cakes for weddings and special events, and have built up a loyal following over their 25 years in the business. The Teach Me Sugarcraft website has some great testimonials from those who have done the courses or ordered cakes.      


                                            

"Sue, just wanted to say a massive thank you for your excellent teaching. I have really loved your course, it has given me great pleasure to be part of it and I have met some really lovely people. I am so proud of the poinsetta that I produced, not quite perfect but amazing none of the less. It has given me the opportunity and skill to try some other creations-the sky is the limit!"              

View the deal details here

Channel 5 are looking for more couples to take part in their Celebrity Wedding Planner show. If you missed it last time it saw couples put all of the planning of their big day into the hands of celebs like Jedward, Kerry Katona and Josie from Big Brother.

The advantage of being on the show is that Channel 5 will pay for your wedding and after making a 30 second film to explain what sort of day you would like, you hand over all of the planning to the celebrity and two of your friends.

Of course that then means two weeks of sweating while all of the big decisions are made and hoping you have a celeb with some clue about weddings and with decent taste in venues, flowers and dresses.

To apply to take part email

If you are looking for a wedding photographer to capture your big day, then the talented Marie Man should definitely be on your shortlist with her years of experience capturing stunning documentary and fashion images from all over the world.


Marie tell us a bit more about her photography style and personality in today's post.

Today, Bristol Wedding Planner Steph Allison of How 2 I Do Wedding & Event Planning looks at ways to keep to a smaller wedding budget and focusing on the tricky subject of the all important guest list.

When you get married it's great to share your wedding day with all of your friends and family, but before you draw up a mammoth list, remember, you will need to allow approximately £50.00 per head for a day guest at your wedding. This should cover welcome drinks, food, wine, toast drinks and evening food. However, some upmarket venues may charge closer to this sum just for a three course sit down dinner.

Once your guests lists reaches 150 people, that's £7500 just on food and drink alone and if your total budget is £10,000 it's not going to stretch to cover venue hire, entertainment, wedding clothing, ceremony fees, transportation, rings, accommodation and all of the other endless costs related to your wedding.


So how do you keep numbers in check? Firstly make a list of everyone you would like to invite and see what figure you reach. To have a wedding with a budget below £10000, you ideally want to keep to 50-60 day guests, with another 20 or so guests arriving for the disco.


                           


Evening guests will only cost you the price of any evening food you arrange, normally around £10-15 per head and you can often only cater for 80% of guests for evening food as many will have eaten a big evening meal before they arrive.

If your list is on the larger side, you may have to be a bit ruthless to keep your budget on track. A good way to cut guests is to create some simple rules such as only inviting people that you have seen in the last year prior to getting engaged or only inviting work colleagues that you have socialised with outside of work.  Perhaps stick to immediate family and close friends only.

If you can't cut numbers due to having a large family or circle of friends, then you will need to look at some creative ways to reduce your food and drink costs to keep a smaller budget on track. Consider buffets, hog roasts, afternoon tea or fish and chips as cheaper alternatives to a three course meal. You can also buy your own alcohol if your venue allows and their corkage charge isn't too high.


For more useful help planning your wedding, visit  How 2 I Do Wedding & Event Planning

Image Credit Sidney Diongzon

Susan Thomas has designed  range of wedding shoes she describes as "fiercely feminine". Designed with comfort as well as style in mind, each shoe is hand made made from the finest soft Italian leather.

“I want to give you a beautiful feminine shoe that will reflect your style and personality, so I know that when you walk down the aisle, you will not only look elegant from every angle, but feel radiantly confident. My shoes are designed with your comfort in mind.”

The Mansion House is a bit of a hidden gem, tucked away near Bristol Zoo in Clifton. It manages to perfectly combine the grandeur of a stately home with the relaxed feel of a more modern venue, making it a perfect choice for a wedding.




The Mansion House is in fact the official residence of the Lord Mayor of Bristol and offers a range of flexible spaces that can be hired for a wedding, from the atrium with it's sweeping staircase to the spacious drawing room and dining room with adjoining conservatory.

The house also boasts two gardens and even has it's own Gazebo, perfect for summer drinks receptions and canapes. It's position also means you can almost feel that you are in a remote country location and not just a few minutes drive from the busy city centre.

Your wedding day often passes by in a blur, with so much going on you can miss lots of key moments when you are busy having photos taken or mingling with guests, so what's the best way to capture and record those precious memories?

Of course photography or videography help to visually capture the key moments and provide a lasting record. Top Hats & Tea Cups had talented photographers Marie Man and Oscar and Rose showcasing thier gorgeous images. But how about having your own book written by someone who is there on the day capturing the atmosphere and translating it into literary prose.




The Wedding Reporter calls it creating a literary legacy as you will have a keepsake of your day capturing all of the drama, excitement and emotions in a bespoke report to treasure forever. Emma Woodhouse was at Top Hats & Tea Cups talking to couples about the Wedding Reporter and was met with unanimous responses of "what a fantastic idea".

Emma developed her business after recording her own big day on forums and her blog and seeing how brides loved to share detailed reports of their weddings. She is the UKs first and so far only Wedding Reporter and now finds her self regularly reporting "from the matrimonial front line".

Finally if you want a wedding night to remember, how about spending a night under the stars in this stunning honeymoom yurt from Wedding Yurts. It can be set up at your venue or any romantic location you desire. Definitely an experience to remember forever.

When it come to creating a theme it's all about the styling and the fine details. For those who want a vintage theme for their wedding there were lots of ideas on display at Top Hats & Teacups Wedding Fair from pretty china to vintage suitcases and vintage inspired floral displays.

The Little Wedding Helper had a inspirational display spanning several decades to show couples how they can use props and styling to transform even the blankest canvas into a beautiful wedding venue. Kirsten specialises in styling marquees and village halls and as well as offering styling advice and inspiration. She also offers an on the morning styling service, meaning that everything is laid out as you had dreamt, while you relax and prepare for the big day.




The Little Wedding  Helper also hires out props for weddings as do Bristol Vintage (bottom photo) and Aunties Vintage, who had some lovely displays of patterned china. Auntie's Vintage China (top photo) also now make unique brooch bouquets as a stunning alternative to flowers. They would make an amazing keepsake and could be passed down as a future family heirloom.



There were also some gorgeous florist's displays from The Wilde Bunch (top photo) and Bramble and Wild (bottom photo).

There were lots of mouth watering treats on display at the Top Hats & Tea Cups Wedding Fair on Sunday from Candy Buffets to cupcakes and beautiful stacked wedding cakes.

Bristol Candy Buffet, part of How 2 I Do Wedding & Event Planning had brought along a great selection of sweets from fudge to marshmallows, Haribo fruit sweets and giant chocolate jazzies. Candy Buffets are a huge new trend for weddings and one that is growing all of the time.

 Bristol Candy Buffet offer a range of packages to suit different wedding sizes and budgets, as well as offering candy centrepieces and swirly lollipop wedding favours, that can double as place settings with each guests name on a pretty label attached with a ribbon bow to match your theme.




Ice Maiden Cakes had brought a gorgeous selection of tiered cakes to display. Make sure to check out their website for some great pictures of their cakes and cupcakes. Their cocktail cupcakes were recently enjoyed by the cream of the wedding industry at the Wedding Ideas Magazine 100th Issue Party and went down a storm.

I was at the Top Hats & Tea Cups Vintage Wedding Fair organised by Marry Me In Somerset and the Mansion House in sunny Clifton yesterday. I thought this week would be a great time to feature some of the fantastic suppliers who were exhibiting, as well as the stunning venue itself.

I was next to the lovely Shell from Something Kinda Cute and loved her pretty stand. I also had not heard about her business before as she is based in Swansea, so thought this would be a great place to begin telling Bristol Wedding News readers about the fair.

                              

Shell began using her design background to produce quirky vintage inspired stationery after making stationery for her her own wedding and hasn't looked back since. Her range of stationery is gorgeous and would really suit someone looking for something stylish, different and fun.

                                                   

                              


You can order bespoke designs to match your theme or purchase the off the peg range online via the Something Kinda Cute website. Check out their pretty stand at the fair and check back this week for a full report on the fair and more supplier information.

As you have probably read on Bristol Wedding News, Lauren and Daniel Welch got married recently thanks to the help of lots of great suppliers after their original wedding venue went into administration. Sadly this meant that they lost £4500 they had paid for the venue, food and drink as well as deposits paid to some suppliers who could no longer honour their bookings after they had to rebook the wedding on a different date.


The money that they were planning to spend on things like rings, jewellery and accessories had to be spent on a new venue, food and flowers and the hunt was on to replace the suppliers at very short notice who had been lost by the forced venue and date changes. Many great suppliers offered to help and stepped in with either a discount or work at cost price to help them make their dream day happen. Some suppliers who offered services either gave their time for free, or just charged for travel expenses. Lauren and Daniel are massively grateful to all of the suppliers who stepped in to help.




Daniel + Lauren // Married from Paul Van on Vimeo.


Wedding film maker, Paul Van  made a film of their day and I am delighted to show the preview trailer here featuring the work of some of the great suppliers who helped them out  out such as the cake, hair and makeup, singing waiters, cupcakes and sweets. Here's the full list of those involved.

How 2 I Do Wedding Planning - Supplier Sourcing and Planning Help
Bristol Candy Buffet - Sweets and Labels for Sweet Jars
Sidney Diongzon -Wedding Photography
Paul Van- Wedding Film Maker
Another Little World -Bridal Make Up
Cupcake Cabaret - Cupcakes
Cool Joolz - Wedding Bands
Laurel Designs- Table plan, Favour boxes, Guest Book and Place Names
Charlie & The Cake Factory - fudge favours

Hiring a caricaturist for your wedding can be a great way to entertain guests and also to great some great sketches of you and your guests as a memento of your big day.





With a well earned reputation for his quick draw caricatures, Charlie Everett (AKA Demonpen) is one of the most sought after live caricature entertainers in the South West. Although he gets booked for all kinds of events, he is particularly popular as a wedding entertainer providing first class fun at weddings all over the country as well as commissioned studio work for wedding invitations gifts and stationary.



Although he admits to dabbling at cartooning for years as a sideline to an IT career, it is relatively recently that growing demand for his commissioned and "on-the-spot" work has let him put computing to one side. He now works full time as a caricaturist and illustrator with a number of publications to his name and a growing notoriety for his ribald visual humour.

To learn more about Bristol caricaturist Demon Pen visit the website now.

After you get married it can be hard to know what to do with all the little memories and keepsakes from your wedding. Do you put them all away in a box or risk them getting lost or damaged over time or look for a more creative way to display them? I recently met Erika Glanville at the Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair and she makes bespoke wedding frames, shown below.



I think these are a great way to store all of the treasured parts of your day like invitations, jewellery, decorations, place cards, dried flowers from your bouquet or perhaps your garter. Take a look at Erika's facebook page for more photos and ideas of how you could store your memories and be able to enjoy them every day.

                     

                           
    
There will be 30 vintage suppliers on site for you to meet from stunning cakes to yummy vintage candy buffets, award winning stylists, gorgeous vintage dresses and lots of quirky and individual ideas to make your wedding fun and unique, like sampling champagne and raw chocolate hearts in a pink yurt.
It will be well worth popping in between 11am and 4pm both to visit the venue and to meet all of the top wedding suppliers who will be in residence. You can learn more about The Mansion House here. Admission costs £5.00 and includes a complimentary glass of bubbly and a goody bag.

Image courtsey of Wedding Venues

The South Wests premier concert venue, Colston Hall, is now the perfect place for a dream wedding. For the first time in its history as the leading concert hall in the region, Colston Hall has opened its doors to couples looking for an impressive and unique location for their big day.




The Hall has some extraordinary spaces available for weddings, combining the stunning features of the old building and the striking, ultra-modern design of the new foyer. Couples have the option of either making their rock star fantasies come alive on the main stage or selecting a gloriously light and airy setting with panoramic views of the city on the third floor terrace.   

Newly appointed sales and conferences manager, Naomi Easy said, Colston Hall has some really dramatic spaces available to hire and with our in-house event management skills we can give couples a flexible, tailored and personal experience. From small, intimate ceremonies to larger weddings with over 500 guests, we are able to offer something really unique and different in the city.




On Sunday 8 July the Hall will host a wedding show in the foyer building to provide lots of inspiration for brides and grooms to be. Everything from cakes and photographers to florists and dream dresses will be exhibited in the beautiful foyer space.   



To find out more, join the Colston Hall email news bulletin - email receive monthly updates with the latest confirmed shows, upcoming highlights and special offers! Alternatively take a look at the Colston Hall website.

There are lots of wedding fairs taking place this month so pop along as a great opportunity to view venues and meet lots of great suppliers on one place.

Brook Redwood Hotel and Country Club are hosting an open day on Sunday 4th March 2012 from 11am to 3pm. Free entry and coffee and pastries on arrival.

Wedding World Spring Fair, 11th March, Novotel Hotel, 11am to 3:30pm. Over 60 stands and free bottle of bubbly for first 100 brides.

                                 

Top Hats & Teacups Vintage Wedding Fair, 11th March 2012, 11am to 4pm at the Lord Mayors Mansion House, Clifton, Bristol. Admission costs £5.00 and includes a complimentary glass of bubbly and a goody bag.

Chipping Sodbury Wedding Fair: 25th March 2012, 12pm to 4pm, fashion show at 2pm, Chipping Sodbury Town Hall, Broad Street, Chipping Sodbury.