Le Soiree des Filles (that's "girls night out", if your GCSE French is letting you down) will be taking place at the iconic Holburne Museum in Bath on Thursday 20^th September. Doors open at 6:30pm and the event runs until 9pm. Guests will be greeted on the evening with a beautiful hand illustrated map of the venue so that they can plan their own bespoke programme of consultations and demos throughout the evening.

     

Set in the stunning surroundings of the museum’s glass atrium and the beautifully classic gallery space, bride-to-be’s will have access to some of the South West’s leading independent wedding experts who will be on hand with tailor made advice.




The line up includes floral demos from the Tallulah Rose flower school (shown above), bespoke stationery from Meticulous Ink and exquisite bridal dresses from The Mews, Clifton to heavenly patisserie from Cinnamon Toast and bridal hair by Melanie Giles as well as wine tastings, book signings and live music. Bride Electric will also be live blogging as the evening unfolds and streaming the highlights of the event via Facebook and Twitter. There is free admission and free parking.

Image Credits: The Hulbourne Museum and Tallulah Rose Flower School

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.

This week I was lucky enough to attend a cupcake decorating workshop in Henleaze, held by the lovely Kim from Swirls and Curls Cupcakes. I thought that this workshop would be ideal for Brides to Be to learn how to make their own cupcakes for either fun favours for their Big Day or to stack up in a tower instead of a traditional cake.

What really amazed me is how easy to follow the course was and how professional my cakes looked at the end. My Husband will testify to the fact that I'm not a skilled baker but look at what I made!




The workshop begins with making the little decorations for our cakes out of pink and blue fondant, which is surprisingly easy due to a range of templates and cutters. I love the little butterflies and flowers we made and think they look so pretty and professional.



After a cuppa and the chance to sample a cupcake, we moved on to learning how to ice the cakes. We began with learning how to pipe a rose onto a cake. I mananged a pretty good rose first time, but it seemed to be beginners luck as they went down hill from there! A few attempts later, I had some pretty good looking cakes.


We piped some more in chocolate icing and learnt how to do pretty two tone effect and a whippy topping. At the end we put all of our handy work together with some edible glue and a flourish of glitter and here's the results. Not bad if I do say so myself.



Sue Davies, who attended the workshop with her friend Sarah said "It was great fun and easier than I imagined. You get a great result and the cakes look really good. You can try again with no pressure and it's really helpful. The workshop was very enjoyable and I would throughly recommend it"



Lynwen Evans, added "It's highly recommended, a thoroughly enjoyable evening meeting different people with the same interests and learning new techniques."

My piping partner for the evening Claire Gallagher said "it was an enjoyable evening creating some exciting cakes". Thanks Claire for helping me and many thanks to Kim and her Mum Sue who helped make the evening such fun. Here we all are proudly holding our finished designs.



So for a great night out, look at Kim's website. There are two workshops available to book on Monday 26th September and Monday 24th October for £50 per person, including a starter pack to take home.

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 .