If you are looking for a wedding favour idea that goes beyond sugared almonds or miniature whiskey, then why not consider donating to a charity on your guests behalf.

You can of course choose any charity close to you or your families hearts. Bristol also has some great local charities such as Cots for Tots that supports the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St Michael's hospital.

                                


Unicef allows you to purchase specific favours to help children such as vaccines, midwifery equipment, mosquito nets or even a school in a box.

                               
Many large national charities now offer a favour service where you will get cards to put on each table explaining that yo have donated in your guests name and a keepsake such as a sticker or pin badge.

Image Credits: Cots for Tots and Unicef

As April draws to an end and hopefully with it all of the April showers we have been experiencing, we look ahead to what's happening in May.

Goldbrick House Open Day: Sunday May 13th 11am to 4pm. Bespoke exhibitors, goody bags and 25% off brunch in the cafe as well as an opportunity to view the boutique rooms.

It's quite a quiet month, but never fear as there are also these great fairs coming up over the summer

Summer Wedding Fair, Bristol Zoo, Clifton Pavillion: 10th June 11:30am to 4pm, Free Entry

Colston Hall: Wedding Fair 8th July 11:30am to 4pm. Free Entry

Bristol Marriott Royal: Wedding Fair 22nd July 10:30am to 4pm.

This Saturday a wide range of local artists, designer-makers and businesses will be showcasing their talents at the Bristol Independent Wedding fair.


                           

This list of exhibitors includes dress makers, photographers, gifts and keep-sakes, florists, cake makers & decorators, entertainers, table decorations, vintage crockery, vintage cars, hen-party organisers, workshops and activities, hair and make-up stylists, jewellery and MORE!

Entry is free and the fair runs from 11am to 4pm at Hamilton House in Stokes Croft. You can find out more on the fair's facebook page.

Image Credit: Poster designed by Lily Pattison Designs

Did you know that Matalan sell a range of bargain clothing for weddings? The men's range includes morning suits from £55 and single breasted lounge suits for just £85.00. They also have coordinating waistcoats and ties and a boys range available in early May. The tie shown below is just £3.00.

                                                     
           
                                                     


                                                     
For little bridesmaids there are pretty dresses from £25.00 and for the guests a great range of shoes, fascinators and hand bags. Check out their website or selected stores now.

Planning a wedding can be stressful and time consuming so planning a romantic and relaxing honeymoon to unwind after the big day can be one thing that keeps you going through all of the hectic times.

However if your budget is already stretched a luxurious honeymoon can be extremely expensive. Voyage Prive is a site that brings you reductions of lots of luxury breaks and could mean that your honeymoon budget stretches a bit further.

                            

They have breaks available in Europe and more long haul areas like the Caribbean and USA. They currently have 33% of breaks to the Hilton Hotel in Sharm El Sheikh and The Crane in Barbados (show above) and 54% off a holiday to Sicily. As all of the resorts are named you can check out reviews independently on sites like Trip Advisor before booking.

 

You can sign up to Voyage Prive here.

Image Credit: The Crane Residential Resort Barbados

The stars came to Somerset this weekend when Hollywood actress Carey Mulligan married her singer fiance Marcus Mumford of  Mumford and Sons. Reports show that the couple chose to marry in the barn and in a marquee at a private farm that is owned by Carey's family.

                            

The Bride is said to have worn Versace and had eight bridesmaids in turquoise gowns. Celebrity guests have been named as Colin Firth, Sienna Miller and Jake Gylennhall. It has also been claimed that singer Adele sang for the couple at Marcus' request.

If you'd like your own A-list barn style wedding there are lots of stunning barn and farm locations locally such as Priston Mill, Wick Barn Farm and Kingscote Barn. Check out our rustic barn theme for inspiration on how to have a relaxed but stylish big day like Carey.


                                                

Image credit: Celevrity Buzz Online and Pinterest

Can you believe it's almost a year since the Royal Wedding? All that bunting and flag waving made being British pretty cool again and with the 2012 Olymipcs in London this smmer and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, there's no escaping from the inconic Uniion Jack.

With that in mind, here's another look at our Cool Britannia theme that would work perfectly for weddings this summer.

For this look, think street parties, village halls and lots of fun. You can even combine it with a vintage wartime vibe with 40s music and props. How about some cupcakes for your guests. You can buy these little flags from the All in One Wedding Shop


                                      

When it's time to toast the happy couple, you can't get much cuter than these mini champagne bottles from Harvey Nichols at £12.50 per bottle.


                                 

Of course bunting is essential and you can buy this great quality bunting below from All The Fun Of The Fair
 

                                          
                                                           

You can't get much more British than strawberries and cream, well ice cream, and how sweet would it be to serve this to guests with their canapes for a summer Wedding. You can buy these bowls from Party Pieces (owned by our lovely future Queen's parents The Middletons).


                                                  

And don't forget to include this iconic poster designed during the second world war to boost morale


                                                     

For more ideas visit my board on Pinterest here

Goldbrick House is an upmarket city centre wedding venue with a real boutique feel. It as a range of great spaces for civil ceremonies, partes and wedding receptions nd it will be opening it's doors to the public on Sunday 13th May.



Goldbrick Houe have hand picked some of Bristol's top wedding suppliers to exhibit to help create a sense of how the venue could look on your special day. For more information visit the Goldbrick House website.

How would you like to feature on Bristol Wedding News? We are currently looking for submissions to feature on the blog over the next few months in the following categories:

• Real Local Weddings
• Supplier News
• Wedding Fairs and Events
• Theme Inspiration
• Special Offers and Competitions
• Informative articles

If you got married recently and would like your wedding to be featured, please ask your photographers permission and then get in contact by emailing [email protected] We are happy to take submissions from photographers at any time for weddings and engagement shoots.

                                               

If you are a local wedding supplier and would like your business to feature, please submit an interesting article about what you do, or perhaps some tips for brides based on your area of expertise. We'd love to hear from you and look forward to any submissions via [email protected] soon.

We will feature any weddings and articles that we feel are suitable.

Image credit: Real Weddings: Lauren and Daniel by Sidney Diongzon

French Connection has recently launched a truly gorgeous new range the Premium Collection which is packed full of stunning dresses that would be perfect for stylish bridesmaids or wedding guests and could even provide a second dress for the bride to dance the night away in.

The Pearl Queen strappy dress ticks all of the boxes for the recent art deco revival and would suit a 20s or 30s inspired wedding. Its costs £350 so is one of the more expensive dresses in the range.

                                                      

For those wanting a bit more arm coverage the Pearl Queen is also stunning and priced at £280.00


                                                  

If you fancy some real shimmer, how about the Rocka Sequin dress. It's priced at £295.00 and available in two colours.

                                                       

There are so many dresses to pick from as well as shorts, trousers and jackets so check out the full range here, though a word of warning, with so much lovely stuff your fiance and your credit card may never forgive you, or us if you do!

Yesterday marked the 100th Anniversary of the tragic sinking of the RMS Titanic on it's maiden voyage in 1912. It remains the greatest ever peacetime maritime disaster with a loss of around 1500 souls, many of whom were male passengers with women and children being given priority boarding on the inadequate number of life boats. Many of the around 800 predominately male crew also perished in the icy waters, as did whole families amongst the third class passengers, who were the last to be offered precious lifeboat places.

The hundred year old tragedy really captures the imagination of each new generation and it's stories live on today with films such as James Cameron's Titanic being re-released in 3d and ITV's Titanic series reaching it's dramatic climax last night.

                                                  

Cameron's Titanic used many real characters, but added in the fictional Jack and Rose (above) to tell a Romeo and Juliet style story of doomed love across the social divide with Rose being a wealthy first class passenger whilst Jack resides in third class or "steerage". For those in love with the film and wanting to add a touch of Titanic romance to their wedding, there are a few venues across the world where you can get married on the iconic grand staircase featured in the film.

In the USA you can marry on the stairs and have the ceremony officiated by your very own captain. In the newly opened Belfast Titanic Museum there is a large banqueting suite based on the first class dining room which includes a replica of the famous staircase, shown below.


                                               

Last night a memorial service took place at the spot on the Atlantic where the wreckage of the Titanic now sits around two and a half miles below the sea. Retired Bristol School teacher Patricia Watts, was on board the memorial cruise to remember her grandfather, George MacKie, 34, from Southampton, who was a second-class steward on board the Titanic.

Image Credits: Titanic 20th Century Fox and Titanic Belfast

When you are a small self employed business as many wedding suppliers are, a Tweet Up can be a a fantastic opportunity to meet new friends and form an invaluable network. This is not only great for business but also great for people that spend a lot of time working from home on their own and miss the social life that comes with office parties and colleagues to gossip with.

Kirsten Butler, The Little Wedding Helper, organises Tweet Ups regularly in Bristol with Goldbrick House often playing host to the fun events. They provide a chance to mingle, network and exchange business cards as well as having a glass or two of bubbly and some treats provided by the venue and attending suppliers such as cupcakes, candy buffets, cookies and live entertainment. The great picture below by Marie Man captures the last Tweet Up perfectly.

                             

The next Goldbrick House Tweet Up is the Summer Soiree, which will be held on the terrace on the 7th June from 6pm to 9pm.

 The first wedding tweet up to be held in Bath will be on The Penny Lane. It takes place on May 2nd from 6-9pm and here will be bubbly, canapes & music. It is being jointly hosted by Kirsten, with Strawberry Field Catering.


                                      

To keep up to date with any future Tweet Ups, visit the Little Wedding Tweet Up page on facebook.

Images courtesy of Marie Man and The Penny Lane Cruiser

On Sunday 22nd April, Old Down Manor will again be opening it's doors for it's second wedding fair showcasing both the gorgeous venue and many of it's preferred suppliers. The first fair that took place there was a great success and you can read more about it here in one of our most popular posts.


                                           


Old Down Manor will be open to visitors from 11am and entry is free. The location of the Manor within Old Down Country Park also makes it a great location for a day out as it has a cafe and gift shop on site as well as gardens and loads to do for kids including animals, slides and a huge bouncy pillow.

                             

Visit the Old Down Manor website for more information on the venue or the Old Down Country Park site to learn more about days out at Old Down.

Today we have a look at wedding favours by Elena Maria. She makes lovely traditional favours such as boxes, tulle bags and bonboneries, all inspired by her own wedding. Elena tells us a bit about how her business got started and shows us some of her lovely favours.



                                            

It's a big debate for many couples as to whether they should invite children to their weddings. If you get married in your thirties, there's a good chance a lot of your friends will have babies and toddlers in tow.

Having children at your wedding has advantages and disadvantages so it's really just a matter of personal choice. The advantages of having children there is that if you've always dreamt of pretty flower girls and dinky page boys toddling up the aisle with you, then you can have as many as you like.

The other advantage is that kids love weddings and they love dancing and there's something about having lots of little ones jumping and  twirling around on the dance floor that adds real charm to the occasion. It can also be difficult for parents to arrange childcare, especially if they do not live nearby or do not have family who see and look after their children regularly. This could mean that a no child rule prevents some friends being able to attend as they have nowhere to leave their little ones overnight.

However, by not inviting children you can save yourself money by not having to provide kids meals and some caterers will charge you to hire high chairs. You will also be able to exchange vows without any noisy children ruining your big moment and parents will have the opportunity to relax and enjoy an adult occasion without having to chase their children around and try to keep them still and quiet.

If you do invite children make sure that there is lots to keep them entertained. Provide them with activity packs during dinner full of quiet toys like bubbles, books and puzzles or try hiring a mobile creche as it can be a great way to keep kids entertained and allow parents to have some adult time.

We will be taking a little Easter break to relax for a few days, hunt for eggs and eat lots of chocolate so don't forget to pop back on Tuesday for more exciting wedding news, planning tips and big day inspiration.

                            

have you discovered Not On The Highstreet yet? If not you're missing out on thousands of gorgeous products that aren't available to buy elsewhere. Most come from small local suppliers who then use the larger platform to promote their designs.

They have an entire weddings section dedicated to gorgeous and original wedding gifts, decorations and everything else from flowers to cake and accessories. Many of the items can be personalised to add that special touch to your big day. Here's a look at some of the huge range of products on offer.

These vintage rose cake pops by The Cake Pop Company are so pretty and would make gorgeous favours at a vintage wedding.


                                      

How about personalised chocolate bar wrappers from Gifts by Lucy. They are designed to fit around miniature bar of Green and Blacks, which you can buy yourself.

                                    

These wooden letter by Jonny's Sister are a fantastic way to personalise and decorate your venue. They come in three sizes up to 75cm tall and can be painted to exactly match your theme.

                                                   

If you get distracted drooling at the products while planning your wedding, you can also arrange your wedding gift list via the site to get the choice from all of the gorgeous gifts and homeware available.

Visit Not On The Highstreet here to see more wedding items and gift ideas.

Let's face it for most men there has always been one true love in their lives. Hopefully you will now be his number one focus, but there is probably a sports team somewhere who he has loved for longer and gives equal attention to. If your fiance has a football team, or rugby team or other sport that he is passionate about, then a wedding is a great opportunity to give him a gift to acknowledge his sporting addictions.

I arranged a card for my fiance on our wedding morning signed by all of the players from his beloved team and he was, in his own words, "proper chuffed" with it. Most sporting clubs offer something similar if you contact them.

How about this Spanish bride who went a step further and arranged for the choir to burst into the Champions League theme. Take a look at his face to see yet another very chuffed groom!



Would you arrange something similar as a gift for your fiance?