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

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.

Can you believe it's December already. It's a bit of a quiet month in the World of Weddings but don't forget the Love Actually Christmas Wedding Fair at Bristol Zoo this Sunday.

On Saturday 17th December, there's a fantastic Wedding Planning Workshop held by How 2 I Do. Book tickets at www.how2ido.co.uk to learn how to pick a theme, make a mood board, plan a timetable for the big day and arrange a table plan, plus much more. It costs just £25 per person.

Also don't forget to open those advent calendars and make a list for Santa. This month we'll be featuring some great gifts available to buy from local Wedding suppliers as well as some Winter Weddings and DIY tips for decorations and treats.

Keep checking back and join us in feeling festive this December

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.

Keep an eye on our Wedding fairs and Events pages for all of the key dates for Wedding fairs and events in Bristol. Here's a recap of what's happening in October,

Designer Weekend at A Class Brides -The Brislington bridal shop is hosting an Ella designer weekend on 7th & 8th October and a True Bride weekend 14th & 15th october.

Autumn Wedding Fayre at The Manor in Somerset - 16th October 11am - 4pm.  Free entry, complimentary drinks and luxury goodie bags for first 100 brides/couples.



Autumn Wedding Fayre at The Hill, Stroud - 23rd October 11am - 4pm.  Free entry, complimentary drinks and luxury goodie bags for first 100 brides/couples.

Lots of the South West's top Wedding Industry Tweeps met up last night at the Castle Hotel for the Taunton Tweet Up arranged by Marry Me In Somerset and Wedding Ideas Magazine. It was an opportunity to network, chat, meet new friends and have a few cheeky glasses of Pimms served by some extremely sculpted Butlers in the Buff.

The Bristol Wedding Industry was well represented by the following lovely people who we would recommend for your Bristol Wedding.

How 2 I Do  -Wedding PlanningWorkshops, Planning Services and On the Day Coordination
The Little Wedding Helper  - Venue and Marquee Styling
Marie Man - Wedding and Fashion Photography
Proof Photography -Wedding Photography
The Wedding Reporter - Wedding Reports to treasure forever
Wedding Blog Designer -Personalised Wedding Blogs
My Wedding Workshops -Wedding Workshops
Martin Pemberton -Wedding Photographer
Bridezillas Ltd -Wedding Accesories Boutique *Coming Soon
Hermione Harbutt - Wedding jewellery and accesories
The Mews of Clifton Village - Wedding and Bridesmaid Dresses
Adam Drake Photography -Based in the Cotswolds covering Bristol and Beyond

The full list of those who attended can be found here

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/