Christmas is a time when lots of people get engaged, so many congratulations to anyone reading this who has recently given or acquired a gorgeous sparkler. Here's a few tips on where to start planning your dream Wedding.

The first step should be to draw up a rough guest list so you know if you have 50 people or 150 to invite. This will affect your venue choices and budget so it's a good place to begin. Next sit down and have some honest conversations about finance. The average Wedding costs around £15,000 but you can have a fantastic Wedding for a lot less, but you may need to incorporate a lot of DIY touches and avoid grand venues to make a smaller budget work.


                          

Talk to family to see if they want to contribute a set amount or pay for something like the dress or flowers. It's great to get financial help from family but sometimes it does come with certain conditions, such as input into the planning or inviting certain guests so there are pros and cons to paying for the day yourself.

Next begin to look at venues. Bristol and the surrounding areas are packed full of gorgeous Wedding and reception venues. You can choose from farms, barns, hotels, restaurants, boats, country estates and even the zoo so do lots of research online and then make some appointments to view venues.  You can get some great prices by choosing a week day or Sunday or marrying out of the traditional summer Wedding season so don't feel you need to stick to a Summer Saturday. The image below is from the Riverstation, which is ideal for a contemporary Wedding.


                                           

One final very important tip is to ensure that you have Wedding insurance in place before paying any deposits as sadly several local couples have lost thousands as local venues have gone into administration. Sadly this is becoming more common and any money you have paid will be used to pay creditors and not returned to you.

If you need some additional guidance, why not consult a Wedding Planner for a free consultation. They can help in lots of ways and often their fees will be absorbed by the savings they negotiate and they ways they can suggest to cut your budget without compromising on style.

Words by Stephanie Allison, Wedding Planner and owner of How 2 I Do Wedding Planning. Steph would be delighted to offer any guidance to newly engaged couples. Visit her website for more information.

Photo Credits How 2 I Do and Howard Wedding Photography

 www.riverstation.co.uk

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

Did you know that Bristol Wedding News is also on Facebook and Twitter? We'd love you to follow us on Twitter or come and "Like" us on Facebook (it's nice to be liked). I launched this blog back in June and I have been so delighted with how it's already grown to over 3000 page views per month and is increasing all of the time, so I thought I'd share some information about the history of Bristol Wedding News.



I started writing Bristol Wedding News as I found it hard to find information about Bristol Weddings and also because, as a Bristol Wedding supplier, I realised it was hard for small businesses to tell Brides what they are up to. Wedding magazine advertising costs hundreds or even thousands of pounds for one small advert and wedding fairs around £100 to £150 to exhibit.

This makes it hard for all of the talented and hard working self employed and often small Wedding businesses to promote themselves, especially when working from home or trying to grow with a small start up budget or work around families. Like me, many Bristol Wedding suppliers that I have met are local women who are following their dreams and trying to build successful careers.

This blog was designed as a way to connect Bristol Brides with great local suppliers and also national suppliers that they can order from online but may not know about. If you regularly read Bristol Wedding News and have found it useful in planning your Wedding, I'd love to hear from you.



Also if you have any feedback about what could improve or what you'd like to see on here, I'd love to hear your views. You can get in touch by email, comment on the posts, comment on our facebook group or message me on Twitter.  However you choose to get in touch, I look forward to hearing from you.

Don't forget that once you have tied the knot, you can send in your Wedding photos to be featured on these pages too. Thank you to all of those who have read and contributed to Bristol Wedding News so far. Let's work together to make it a fantastic resource for any couples getting Married in the Bristol area.

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Steph x

Bristol Wedding News is owned and edited by Steph Allison who also runs How 2 I Do Wedding Planning and Bristol Candy Buffet

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.

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 .

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.