The market for Wedding Planners is steadily growing in the UK with more and more couples with busy work and social lives finding it hard to find the time to plan their dream weddings. Today Bristol Wedding Planner, Stephanie Allison from How 2 I Do Wedding & Event Planning talks us through how a wedding planner can help you.

Planning a wedding can be stressful, time consuming and expensive. When you initially get engaged and start looking into planning your wedding, you discover the scale of the task at hand. Some brides to be (and grooms) are born planners and have had a secret wedding file tucked away since they were 13 jammed full of pictures of dresses, flowers and fabric swatches.

For others, with hectic jobs and busy lives, though they are excited about being married the endless research and tiny details of a wedding can get too much and they lose focus and motivation and suddenly find with just a few months to go their to do list is massively overwhelming.


                                

If you feel that you need any support or guidance with simplifying the planning of your wedding, then How 2 I Do's bespoke wedding planning workshops could be your ideal solution. They can be booked individually of you can use them flexibly as and when you need to create your own personal "pay as you plan" package.

The workshops involve you and your partner spending two hours with Bristol Wedding Planner, Steph Allison, who will focus entirely on the areas where you need most support whether it's finding a venue, organising your budget, theme ideas, sourcing suppliers or designing your seating plan. After the workshop, you will receive an email summary of the workshop and a written action plan for your next steps. You will also receive any planning tools or guides relevant to your stage of planning.

 
                              


If you need more wedding planning help, How 2 I Do also have a range of planning packages and services such as On the Day Coordination, Venue Sourcing, Full Planning and Candy Buffets.

The workshops cost £75.00 per couple and you can find out more about them here

Today, Bristol Wedding Planner, Steph Allison shares another wedding trend with us. Today it's rustic chic and you can get more great theme ideas from her Pinterest inspiration boards here.

Rustic weddings seem to featuring more and more recently and it's a trend that is mainly coming from America. Modern rustic weddings combine natural elements like wood, linen and natural looking flowers with stylish design elements. For a rustic venue think farms, barns or an outdoor space like an orchard. This great venue is from my board on Pinterest.


                                     

Lighting is important for a rustic wedding and for this think strings of twinkly white lights, hanging lanterns or dancing candle light. Softly draped fabrics make a great contrast to rough wooden textures. Hessian, burlap and rough linen work well as does a softer lighter linen fabric to make floaty white curtains for a romantic feel.

I really love this rustic dessert table. The combination of floaty curtains, wood and fairy lights totally nails the key elements of the rustic look. This is from a goregous Californian wedding on the Ruffled Blog.


                           


The images below are from Bragginbags shop on Etsy that sells the wooden planters and lots of great rustic accessories, like the fabulous birch bark candle holders. The table also looks great with white cloths and burlap table runners.

                                      


                                     

Rustic weddings have a certain home made, back yard feel. Drinks work well left in glass bottles or served in jam jars, as below. Home made favours also add to the charm like those shown below from Style Me Pretty.


                                   


                                    

When it comes to the cake, cheesecakes work fantastically as a change from the traditional fruit cake. Serve the cake on a log base for a truly rustic look. This cake by Kima Konfections was from a rustic farm wedding in Passadena, USA.


                               


Bouquets like table decorations should look as though they have just been grabbed from the garden. This gorgeous rustic bouquet from A Mountain Bride Blog.


                                      

Finally these photos from a Style Me Pretty wedding demonstrate just how stylish rustic can look if done properly and they have got is spot on in this rehearsal dinner inspiration shoot by Tying The Knot Wedding Coordination as shown on Style Me Pretty. Click the link for more gorgeous images.


                                

I hope this has given you some ideas for your own rustic wedding. There are lots of great barns and farms locally where this look would be fantastic. If you need any help planning your perfect wedding, please do get in touch.

Chewton Place have confirmed that  Weddings can now go ahead at the venue for new bookings and for those who have not already relocated  Weddings previously booked with Aspire Venues.


The venue had previously closed its doors after previous landlord Aspire Venues went into voluntary administration, sadly meaning many engaged couples deposits and payments being used to pay creditors.


Chewton Place have told us "The landlords of Chewton Place are in negotiation with a new company who are looking to take over the business at Chewton Place and with the intention of continuing to run weddings, special events and conferences from Chewton Place and talks at this stage look very promising.  We do understand this has been a very worrying a stressful time for the bride and grooms let down by Aspire Venues, all of whom have been contacted by the new company and are being constantly updated by them".

Recently Weddings have been very toned down with a lot of pale pastel shades and neutrals, especially with the vintage and shabby chic trends dominating. However bright colours are back for Weddings and I have a lot of Brides who have chosen brights like teal or purple for their main colour.

One colour that is due to be huge for 2012 is orange. I had a couple request an orange, yellow and green theme for a party and to be honest I wondered how it would all work together but I was pleasantly surprised how stunning orange can be. Check out my Pinterest board for more ideas.


So here's some inspirit ion for a bright orange and yellow Wedding. It's the perfect antidote to Winter gloom. Orange drinks in glass bottles from Country Girl Wedding work perfectly for this theme. Pop in some stripy paper straws and let people serve themselves.


                                              

 I love paper lanterns shown on The Knot and these orange on are gorgeous for adding warmth to your venue. They look particularly good in marquees and strung outdoors.


                                           

Orange flowers work well with the lanterns as shown below in the great picture from Offbeat Bride


                                     

I mentioned the trend for big round balloons last year and these orange and yellow one look fantastic in photos. This picture is from Green Wedding Shoes, taken by Priscilla Valentina


                                   

To make an orange theme work, think rustic summer or it also translates well to autumn, incorporating fallen leaves in reds and oranges. Don't forget to add a subtle touch of orange to the cake too.


                                            


Words by Wedding Planner, Stephanie Allison from How 2 I Do. Get more great ideas from her Pinterest boards here.

This Christmas Bristol Wedding Planning and Candy Buffet company How 2 I Do are offering 10% off any new services booked between now and the 31st January 2012. How 2 I Do offer a fantastic range of great Wedding Planning packages with On the Day Wedding Coordination from just £350.00 to full Wedding Planning with the Professional Package at £1295.00.


How 2 I Do also provide gorgeous vintage inspired Candy Buffets from only £1.90 per head that can make a great alternative to traditional Wedding favours. There are several Wedding packages on offer from the silver package for 75 guests up to the platinum package for 150.




As the editor of Bristol Wedding News Steph Allison, owner of How 2 I Do has a fantastic knowledge of the Bristol Wedding Industry and works with all of the top suppliers in the area. She has over 10 years experience in the hospitality industry and has worked on numerous Weddings, parties and events,

Visit the How 2 I Do website here.

Learn more about Candy Buffets here.

To get 10% off and quote code XMAS10.

As today is Follow Friday (#ff) on Twitter I thought a little post on Twitter was a great idea. If you are getting married and don't use Twitter, you are missing out as there is a huge and thriving Wedding community on there from bloggers to magazines and individual suppliers who all regularly share tips, ideas and pictures to inspire you.



If you are new to the world of Twitter it can be a little confusing at first so here's a little guide.

RT: Retweet -when you like someones tweet and want to share it, just retweet it
@: All usernames begin with @ and are up to 15 characters such as @brisweddingnews
#ff: Follow Friday -If you want to recommend people to follow use #ff and their username
#ww: Wedding Wednesday -Say hi to friends and share wedding stuff



                                                


Twitter will recommend some people for you to follow. You can search for people too such as your fave celebrities. There's so many great Wedding people on there and I could spend hours listing my favourites, but here's just a few to get you started...

Love My Dress Blog @LoveMyDressBlog
How 2 I Do @how2ido
The Little Wedding Helper @weddinghelperuk
Wedding Ideas Magazine @wimagazine
Emma Woodhouse @cloggins
Rachel Goodchild @RachelGoodchild
Bridezillas @bridezillasltd
Bristol Wedding News @brisweddingnews

If you love Twitter or it has helped you plan your big day, please let me know in the comments below.

Words by Steph Allison

There are still spaces available for How 2 I Do's How 2 Make Your Wedding Sparkle Workshop this December. It costs just £20 per person and is a great chance to meet other engaged couples and learn some great tips for planning an amazing Wedding.



This workshop covers all of those little details that will make your Wedding unique and perfectly organised. It covers wedding style and all of the individual touches that are so important to make a Wedding sparkle. This workshop lasts for 2 hours and covers.

• Wedding style inspiration and 7 top popular themes
• Make a fantastic Wedding mood board to show your suppliers
• The importance of entertainment and 12 unique ideas
• Food and drink Trends and 20 inspirational ideas
• How contingency planning can save your Big Day
• How to have a Wedding that runs like clockwork
• How to organise your table plan
• How to delegate key Tasks to relax at your Wedding
• A Q&A session

The workshop takes place on Saturday 17th December at Emersons Green Village Hall, which is conveniently located off the A4174, 10 minutes from Bristol City Centre and 20 minutes from Bath. To find out more or book places or visit the website

Us Brits are a proud bunch and the Royal Wedding way back in April reminded us how much we love a Union Jack, street party and a bit of bunting, so why not "keep calm and carry on" planning a truly British Wedding.

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

Stephanie Allison is a Bristol Wedding Planner and the owner of How 2 I Do and is available to help you plan your Wedding theme. She also has spaces on her "How 2 Make Your Wedding Sparkle" workshop in December.

Bristol Wedding Planner, Stephanie Allison is on hand to answer any of your planning questions. If you have a question that you would like answered and published on Bristol Wedding News, please

Q. I have a Wedding Budget of around £10,000 and I'm worried how to afford everything for my Wedding. Where can I save money without making my Wedding seem cheap? Sarah from Brislington

A. Weddings are very expensive these days but that doesn't mean that you need a huge budget to have an amazing day. However with a budget of around £10,000 you may need to be careful where you spend. My first tip is to be very careful when choosing your venue as this will be your biggest expense. To make sure that your budget stretches you ideally don't want to pay more than £1500 to hire a venue. This doesn't mean that pricier venues are totally ruled out.

A lot of the large venues have cheaper rates for last minute availability, mid-week and out of season Weddings so you may have to rule out a Summer Saturday to get the right price. Village Halls can be a great option too as their hire prices are really competitive and you have free reign with catering and decorations.

Westbury on Trym Village Hall styled by the Little Wedding Helper

                              
My final tip would be to use the talents of friends to keep your budget down. If a family member is a great baker ask them to make your cake or perhaps you have someone who can sing or play instruments during your ceremony. One word of warning though, don't scrimp on your evening entertainment as it makes such as difference to the Wedding atmosphere and always get the best photographer you can afford.

Steph is a Wedding Planner and owns How 2 I Do Wedding Planning.

Bristol Wedding Planner, Steph Allison shares some tips with us about coping with British weather when you get married.

I was involved in a gorgeous outdoor ceremony this weekend, where the happy couple had already married in the Register Office and planned to have the main ceremony in the presence of all of their family and friends on decking overlooking woodlands and a beautiful lake. Unfortunately the British weather had other plans and it rained consistently all morning, throwing the whole day into question.



Luckily the rains stopped in time to let the ceremony go ahead as planned, but they had also had the foresight to have a plan B just in case by providing an alternative area for the ceremony to take place and a mountain of golf umbrellas for guests to use.

It is vital to have contingency plans for any Wedding, particularly for wet weather. Don't just set your heart on an outdoor drinks reception or having all of your photos taken outside without having a backup location indoors. It's also a great idea to have large umbrellas to hand and possibly even some pretty Wedding wellies for the Bride and Bridesmaids if you do get outside for some photos on a wet day.



If you are having a marquee make sure that you use a reputable company so that it is 100% water tight and make sure that walkways are carpeted or made if gravel or concrete to avoid loads of mud being trailed in and out.

I have seen some gorgeous Wedding photos taken outdoors under huge brollies so don't be too disheartened if it rains on your big day. The images shown here are by American photographer Kristin Rogers. There also seems to often be a little magic when it comes to rainy wedding days that means the sun makes an appearance just in time for the ceremony.



If you would like a Wedding planner to help arrange your big day, contact Steph by or visit her website.

Today Bristol Wedding News Editor and Bristol Wedding Planner, Stephanie Allison shares with us why On the Day Coordination is perfect for the modern Bristol Bride.

So you've spent a year to 18 months planning your dream Wedding. You're naturally excited as the weeks tick down to the big day but you're also nervous. The nerves come from fear you'll trip as you walk down the aisle of totally lose it in a massive teary lip trembling wobble as you say your vows (I did this and people thought it was sweet so don't worry!) Nerves are also caused by the fact that you want everything to be perfect and for everyone to love it.





The ironic fact is that as the Bride you have very little control on how the actual Wedding day pans out. Yes you can spend months or years planning every little detail to the nth degree, but on the morning you will be at home, or at the hairdressers or having your make up done as everything is being put together.

If you're lucky your venue will have a great Wedding Coordinator, who will be ensuring everything is being done for you. However, check if your coordinator will actually be there on the day. Often it's left to catering staff to decide what goes where. The other disadvantage is that they only deal with the reception. They won't confirm with your suppliers, or know if your car hasn't turned up on time, or care if the flowers in the church don't match your bouquet.



This is where I come in to help. Most Wedding planners now offer On the Day Coordination as a fantastic service for Brides that want to plan their own Wedding, but also want the reassurance that the day itself will run like clockwork. On the Day Coordination is also great to reduce the last minute stress and panic associated with those crucial last few weeks. I would meet you 4 week before the Wedding and talk through how you want the day to be.

I'll then make a detailed list of timings and contact all of your suppliers and venues to confirm you bookings and make sure they know where they need to be and when. Before becoming a Wedding Planner I worked in Hospitality as an Operations Manager and a lot of my time was spent contingency planning, organising suppliers, motivating staff, managing budgets and dealing with emergencies such as a flood, power cuts and even fires. You can therefore be sure that I know how to manage a crisis calmly.

On the day itself, as your Wedding Planner, I'll be working hard behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly and on time. I'll deal with any little emergencies discretely and professionally and your guests won't even know I'm there unless you want me to act as Master of Ceremonies too.



So how much does this cost? Not as much as you may think. It starts from just £350 for a small Wedding to up to £500 for a larger scale affair with a lot of preparation and set up on the morning of the Wedding. So if you think this service is for you, please get in touch as I'd love to hear about all of the amazing things you have planned for your Wedding and I'd like to help you to relax, knowing your dreams of a perfect Wedding are being turned into a beautiful reality. I work as a Wedding Planner in Bristol, Bath and Somerset with my Wedding Planning company, How 2 I Do.

Please visit my website for more information or to book a complimentary consultation.

Lace has always been popular for Wedding Dresses but with Vintage themes becoming more and more fashionable and with the Duchess of Cambridge's choice to include lace in her dress and veil it is a huge trend in the making. Even the doily which you probably associate with your Nan can be used in a lace Wedding theme to place flower arrangements on.

Here's some great lace inspired looks taken from Bristol Wedding Planner How 2 I Do's Wedding Inspiration Boards on Pinterest, which you can see in full here. Here's the dress that must have in part inspired Kate Middleton's dress. The Beautiful Princess Grace of Monaco on her Wedding day to Prince Rainier.

                                                             

You can use lace in all aspects of your decoration from invitations to table centerpieces. For flowers that match a lace theme, you can't get much lacier than Gypsophilia or Baby's Breath. These pictures show how pretty it can look in a lace wrapped vase courtesy of stylemepretty.com and in large ball displays by Cecilia Fox


             
                                    

It would be really easy to use lace in a DIY Wedding. You could easily recreate the lace wrapped jars and bottles shown below, also on stylemepretty.com. Hobbycraft is great for picking up jam jars, bottles and materials to make your own decorations. There is a large Hobbycraft at Cribbs Causeway and they have an excellent Bridal area with three aisles worth of DIY Wedding bits and pieces from flowers to favours.

If you are getting married in the Bristol area and need a little bit of affordable Wedding Planning help, then How 2 I Do Wedding Planning Workshops could be just the solution you've been looking for. They offer three different Wedding Workshops depending on what stage you are in with your planning and where you would like professional support and inspiration.



The How 2 Get Started Planning your Perfect Wedding Workshop is designed for those who are just taking the first steps into planning their Big Day. It covers all of the basics of where to start planning as well as fantastic inspiration for venues, Wedding planning timescales and crucial key questions to ask suppliers. Those who attend this workshop will also receive a free copy of How 2 I Do's useful new 50 page book called "The Essential Guide to Getting Married in Bristol", which is worth £10.00.

How 2 Afford your Dream Wedding is designed for those who need some practical budgeting help. It shows couples how to allocate their budget to be able to afford everything they need for their Wedding. There are also lots of money saving tips and advice and a fun exercise to knock thousands off your total budget, plus they will be sent an interactive budgeting tool, making the £20 per person fee well worth it.



Finally there's How 2 Make your Wedding Day Sparkle. Steph from How 2 I Do named it this as she says it's all to do with the little touches and behind the scenes planning that make a Wedding seem really polished and run smoothly and seamlessly. This Wedding Workshop is our favourite as it covers Wedding Style and Themes as well as more practical areas like contingency planning and timescales for the Big day. Couples who attend this workshop will come away with an inspirational mood board, a sample table plan and a personal timetable to ensure that their Wedding runs like clockwork.



The workshops cost just £20 each per person or you can book all three for £50 per person. You can learn more about the workshops including dates and locations on the How 2 I Do Website or contact Steph by .

Here's a few dates for your Diary

Taunton Tweet Up, Castle Hotel Taunton Thursday 7th July For Wedding Professionals on Twitter Hosted by Marry Me in Somerset and Wedding Ideas Magazine Fully Booked

How 2 I Do Wedding Planning Workshop, The Avon Gorge Hotel, Clifton: Sunday 31st July 1:30pm to 4:30pm www.how2ido.co.uk Spaces Available

Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel: Sunday 31st July 2011 10:30am to 4pm with Fashion Shows at 11:30am and 2:00pm www.bristolmarriottroyal.co.uk/

Bristol based Wedding Planners How 2 I Do are offering some amazing prizes on their Blog. Steph from How 2 I Do is running a great promotion and offering vouchers, free wedding planning workshop spaces, free Wedding photo sharing accounts and a gorgeous pearl and crystal tiara, show below from Princess Bride Tiaras.


Full details of how to enter are on the blog but all you need to do is visit How 2 I Do's Facebook page and write "I love How 2 I Do because...." and add a brief message and then the 10 prizes will be allocated at random between the 1st and 16th July.

How 2 I Do offer great Wedding Planning Workshops in Bristol to reduce the time, stress and expense involved in planning a Wedding. The Brides and Grooms who have already taken part have given amazing feedback about how useful the workshops are. Melissa atended a How 2 I Do Wedding Planning Workshop in April and rated it 10/10. She says,

"The whole afternoon was very informative and useful. I now feel confident to begin planning my Wedding. Stephanie has some great ideas and was able to answer any queries I had. I would highly recommend this workshop to anyone starting out planning their wedding."



How 2 I Do have also just launched a fantastic On the Day Coordination Service which guarantees that you have someone calm, organised and professional on hand just for you to ensure that your day runs like clockwork and that your vision for your dream Wedding becomes a reality.

They are currently offering to coordinate three Bristol Weddings for just £100, saving up to £400. For more information of this visit the How 2 I Do website or to arrange a no obligation consultation.

On the 18th May the fantastically glamorous Goldbrick House hosted a wedding tweet up organised by the Little Wedding Helper and it was a great networking event for Bristol Wedding Suppliers. Loads of local suppliers turned up to sample the free champagne and canapes and make some new Bristol wedding contacts.

 Bristol offers so many talented and enthusiastic people on your doorstep ready to make sure that you have an amazing Wedding. Kirsten Butler aka the Little Wedding Helper organised the event. Kirsten offers a bespoke wedding, event and marquee styling service to ensure that wedding venues look amazing.

Steph from How 2 I Do won the raffle prize of a free cut and blow dry at McQueens Hair Salon. How 2 I Do offer Wedding Planning Workshops to assist Brides in planning their Big Day in a fun and stress free way.


Katherine from Goldbrick House was on hand to welcome everyone and hand out some delicious canapes. Goldbrick House in situated on Park Street and is a conversion of two Georgian town houses and a Victorian factory. It is now an incredibly stylish "food and drink emporium" that is licenced to hold civil ceremonies.


Emma Woodhouse aka "The Wedding Reporter" was also present. She offers brides a really original service where she will come along to your wedding and experience it as a guest and then write you a detailed report of the day that you can treasure forever alongside with your photos. Emma is an experienced freelance writer who is currently writing some pieces for Wedding Ideas Magazine.

Bristol has loads of great photographers and they were out in full force and it was brilliant to see so many passionate people including Marie Man, Taylor Barnes, Sam Gibson, Nevil Lane Studio, Proof Photography and Jacqueline Helen.


Here's some of those who attended
The Little Wedding Helper -Bespoke Event Stylist www.littleweddinghelper.co.uk
Goldbrick House - Licenced Wedding venue www.goldbrickhouse.co.uk
How 2 I Do -Wedding Planning Workshops www.how2ido.co.uk
The Wedding Reporter -Freelance Writer www.theweddingreporter.co.uk
Marry Me in Somerset -Wedding Directory www.marrymeinsomerset.co.uk
Cheltenham Wedding DJ -Wedding Specialist DJ www.cheltenhamweddingdj.co.uk
Marie Man - Documentary and Fashion Photography www.marieman.com
Taylor Barnes Photography -Wedding Photographer www.taylorbarnesphotography.co.uk
Jacqueline Helen - Wedding Photography www.hacquelinehelenphotography.co.uk
Proof Photography - Family and Wedding Portraiture www.proofphotography.co.uk
McQueens Hair Design and Colouring Specialists www.mcqueenshairbristol.co.uk
Nevil Lane Studio -Styling and Photography for Kids www.nevillanestudio.com
West Weddings - South West Wedding Magazine westweddings.blogspot.com
Perfect Wedding - National Wedding Magazine www.perfectweddingmag.com/
The Mews Clifton - Luxurious Bridal Boutique www.themewsclifton.co.uk/
Sam Gibson Wedding Photography www.samgibsonwedding.co.uk
Lizzy May Photography -Wedding Photographer http://lizzymayphoto.blogspot.com/
Bridezillas Ltd Bridal Accesories Boutique www.Bridezillas.biz
Rachel Goodchild -Wedding Blogs www.weddingblogdesigner.com/