Your Wedding Story Book Blog

Personalised gifts...

2012-01-30T11:51:00.000-08:00

Glad to see that personalised gifts seem to be very much in vogue at the moment. One of our personalised wedding albums should naturally be at the top of every smart bride-to-be's list! But here's something pretty cool for after the big day! How about your own Mr & Mrs Cushion Covers by Minna's room from Not on the High Street.com? Other personalised gifts on the site include cuff links, a peronalised silver plectrum, a personlised silver key ring and what about that 'Special Place' where you first met - a personalised favourite place illustration by Letterfest from £38. Fine if it's a quaint pub in the Cotswolds, not quite so attractive to hang on the wall, would be a Lloyd's cash machine, or the local chippy!

www.notonthehighstreet.com

Target the Heart Exhibition

2012-01-19T02:07:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for a unique gift for a loved on this Valentine's Day, there's a brilliant exhibition starting tomorrow, 20th Jan - 25th February at the Contemporary Applied Arts. The Target the Heart exhibition, in collaboration with the British Heart Foundation's Mending Broken Hearts Appeal, showcases the work of a group of artists who all use the heart as their common theme. From stunning, original pieces of jewellery, to beautifully crafted, decorative pieces for the home, this exhibition will surely tug at your heartstrings...ahh! 10% of the profits will be donated to the Appeal.
Seen here: Silver heart pendant by Catherine Hills, from £240, Katherine Coleman Sakura II vase, £5,900, 'Angel Doctor SAving Hearts' bronze medal by Ronald Pennel, £215 and Andrew Wicks porcelain vessel, from £1,160. www.caa.org.uk

I Love You More Than...

2012-01-16T10:35:00.000-08:00

Looking for something a little bit different to give as a Valentine's gift this year? How about one of these fun, personalised prints? You can choose from a number of colourways, provide the name of someone you 'love more than' and then list up to four 'loves'.
Printed in full colour on textured fine art paper, the prints are supplied unframed and fit standard metric frames. Choose from the following sizes:

Small: 30x25cm, Medium: 40x30cm, Large: 50x40cm.

Personalised 'I Love You More Than....' Prints by Rosie Robins, £27. Visit: http://www.notonthehighstreet.com

Lady Gaga sports wedding-style ice-queen extravaganza!

2011-11-22T08:51:00.000-08:00

Never one to let us down in the over-the-top outfit stakes, Lady Gaga had a hint of winter-wedding fabulousness about the ensemble she wore for the opening of the 'Santa's Workshop' she has created for the luxury department store Barney's, New York.
Like a pop-art Santa's grotto, everything on sale and display in the workshop has been created by Lady G and her creative team, including an oversized Lady Gaga-turned-spider!!, a boudoir in the shape of a giant wig and limited-edition, exclusive products, everything from chocolates and Lady Gaga stick-on nails.
If you're looking for an outfit to get you noticed, take inspiration from a woman who knows how to stop the traffic in New York.

Wedding photo albums made easy!

2011-11-22T04:08:00.000-08:00

Most photographers today will offer you the option of providing you with a digital disc of your photographs so you can decide what to do with them after your wedding. It's a great idea - in theory. You have control over what sort of album you want to display your favourite photographs - you will undoubtedly have hundreds to choose from!
But, unfortunately, choice can often bring with it indecision. There are so many different types of wedding photo album available and even if you find one online, you've then got to decide which photographs to use, and work out how to use the software to upload them and make the album look attractive. Frankly, who's got the time!
You could just click the 'flow pictures' option offered with most online book publishers, but a computer isn't going to know that you want the picture of you having your make-up done before the one of you exchanging rings. You can get yourself and your pictures into quite a pickle before it's all been sorted out and you've got the wedding album you always dreamed of. Sometimes it's simply easier to call in the experts.

At Your Wedding Story Book we can create an album that is completely personal to you, that tells your own story. We'll listen to exactly what you want from your album, whether you have a particular colour or pattern that you want to incorporate into your design and prepare a book for you that will bring you pleasure for years to come. And all you have to do is post us your disc and leave the rest to us.
Why't leave your wedding photographs stuck on a disc, for no-one to see, or on your computer, thinking you'll get round to producing a wedding album one day soon. Take action now! Give us a call and let's see what we can do to help.

A couple of mugs!

2011-11-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

Cornishware, the kitchen and domestic pottery range with the distinctive blue and cream stripes, has been adorning kitchen dressers since the 1920s. Someone in your family must surely have had some small piece of Cornishware - a sugar bowl or cream jug perhaps - and it's also highly collectable.
When the company was brought by T.G.Green & Co a few years back, they added a few more colours to the range and now, as well as the famous Cornish Blue you can buy a whole range in Cornish Red.
A great little gift to give your husband or wife to be on your wedding day - think of all those shared cups of tea you'll be enjoying together in the future - are these couple of mugs gift boxes. Someone put the kettle on please! www.tggreen.co.uk

Cake fit for a princess

2011-11-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Regular followers will remember I had been editing a food magazine for Tesco, which sadly folded in the summer. I also mentioned a wedding cake we created as part of a royal wedding party buffet for our May issue and promised to dig out a photograph of it. Well here it is! Someone in our office showed me the brilliant toy figure set that was going on sale at the time of William and Kate's wedding, at the Early Learning Centre - complete with Corgi dogs! They had to go on our cake!

This cake was truly delicious - peach and pistachio layer cake with white chocolate frosting. The rest of our buffet included chicken yakitori, panzanella, Thai beef bites, piedmont peppers, tuna platter, roast salmon with salsa verde and summer berry meringues. For traditionalists, here's the cake again minus the figures, so you can see the simple but really stylish fresh flower arrangement you could achieve easily yourself for a small, intimate wedding party. Am happy to pass on the recipe to anyone interested and thanks to Tim Winter for the lovely photographs and delicious recipes by Catherine Hill.

Wedding list chaos!

2011-11-12T03:25:00.000-08:00

One of the most popular wedding list services has come under pressure after a catalogue of failures has led to many newlyweds waiting months for their presents.
John Lewis, the nation's favourite department store and a popular choice for couples to place their gift list, has installed a new centralised system for its wedding gift service which seems to have suffered more than the odd glitch, leaving some couples being offered meal vouchers by way of an apology gifts that have failed to turn up!
It's hardly what you'd expect from a our beloved John Lewis and the store says it has now dealt with the most significant problems with the new system. Certainly, whenever I have come across the good ladies of John Lewis selling its gift service at a wedding fair, I have been impressed by their totally professional approach and sense that you would be in good hands should you pick them for your wedding gift list.
However...anyone who already has 24 wine glasses and enough plates to have your own Greek wedding, why not add one of our lovely books to your gift list! It would only take the equivalent of a soup tureen or two to pay for one of our books and wouldn't you rather hand on your story for generations to read about than a Kenwood Chef!
Read more about this story from The Guardian here http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/nov/04/john-lewis-wedding-gift-list?INTCMP=SRCH

Gifts for bridesmaids

2011-11-03T03:41:00.000-07:00

Possibly not the first place you'd look for gifts for your bridesmaids, but the V&A has some lovely pieces of jewellery where you should be able to find something a little bit more unusual than the usual high street offering. They've got everything from earrings, necklaces, bracelets and brooches and have a range of designer pieces.
Seen here two pieces by Michael Michaud: an Orange Blossom Brooch £95.00 and some beautiful Peapod Drop Earrings, £75.00. Visit www.vandashop.com for more details.

One for the gift list...

2011-11-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

I love this heart shaped stoneware bowl with eco friendly bamboo ladle by Sagaform of Sweden. Romantic, but stylist at the same time!
The bowl comes in a branded giftbox and is dishwasher safe - washing up is one of those shared chores after all for the happy ever afters!
The bowl is from Cloudberryliving - a great online shop of gifts and accessories from Scandinavia, with plenty of fabulous products, heart-shaped or otherwise. www.cloudberryliving.co.uk

Love that chocolate!

2011-11-01T13:23:00.000-07:00

I know it's a bit early, but couldn't help but share these heart shaped boxes of chocolate from Prestat - chocolatiers to The Queen no less! Why not reverse the trend and buy a box for the man in your life? Hijack his heart with a box of swashbuckling Sea Salt Caramels and unleash the pirate in him - may be you'll wake up next to Johnny Depp!

While I've been away....

2011-11-01T13:14:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted anything for a while now. As well as running my company writing up couple's lurve stories, I also work as a freelance editor and writer. I've been editing a beautiful food magazine for the past year for Tesco, which has been pretty time consuming. So no time to blog. Here's the cover of our May issue, which was also the Royal Wedding issue. We had great fun shooting a wedding buffet at a friend's house. Delicious food and a glorious cake. I'll dig out the photograph of it for anyone who wants some inspiration.

Clares Cupcakes

2010-06-16T01:51:00.000-07:00

Anyone considering having cupcakes for their wedding should check out Clares Cupcakes. There seem to be so many different cake makers to choose from these days, it's hard to know which one to pick. But these really do look very special - although I haven't tried one, so I can't vouch for the taste! I'm sure they're delicious though. I particularly like the wedding-themed cookies and and the flower-pot cakes are too beautiful to eat! Clares Cupcakes

Wedding dresses through the ages

2010-06-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

Still haven't decided on a style for your wedding dress? I've just discovered a wonderful resource to look at wedding dress styles through the decades at the V & A. This fabulous museum is currently planning to huge exhibition of Wedding Dresses in 2013 and has created a database of photographs of wedding dresses. You can even upload photographs from a wedding in the past or a recent wedding - even your own! Look at this stunning dress, bottom, worn by Eva Smithie when she married Robert Newsome Bushill in Lancashire in 1921 and thirty years later this stunning dress designed by Normal Hartnell, below, for Hermione Wills for her marriage to Merfyn Evans in London in 1951. V&A

What is a wedding story book?

2010-04-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

If you’re looking at different ways to showcase your wedding photographs you may have come across the term wedding story book and wondered what on earth they are! Fads come and go in weddings, but this relatively new phenomenon looks set to stay. Wedding story books are becoming increasingly popular with couples looking at a more contemporary way of creating a wedding album.

A wedding story book is exactly what it says - a book rather than an album. Instead of having prints created of your wedding photographs and then stuck into loose-leaf binders, your photographs are digitally produced in books, with the flexibility to incorporate interesting and unusual design layouts and backgrounds.

Wedding story books came about with the revolution in digital publishing and have become incredibly popular with professional wedding photographs who want to create something with a little more artistic content than a traditional album can offer.

Nearly all wedding photographers now shoot on digital format and can create a high-resolution disk, which they may offer you as part of your wedding package. The great thing about this is you can have more control about how you use your photographs and, should you wish, you can create your own wedding story book with one of the many online book publishers offering a photo book service.

You need to shop around to look at the style of books these online publishers produce. Some products are purely photo books, others offer you the option of adding text to your photos, which may be worth the extra effort. Details fade with memory, but not when your wedding story book includes a narrative flowing beautifully through the images. You’ll be able to look back in years to come and relive your special day again and again. A written story, to accompany your photographs, is a great way to ensure that those memories never fade and your wedding story book is just that, a lasting book about your wedding.

At Your Wedding Story Book we can create a bespoke book for you, or if you'd rather do-it-yourself check out our Wedding Story eBook

Seaside Special

2010-04-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

On a recent visit to Brighton I came across a wonderful shop selling some beautiful work by talented artists and craft makers. Cry Of The Gulls originally opened in Fowey in Cornwall in 1991, but they now have a second gallery in the Lanes in Brighton and are well worth a visit. If you've already got enough towels, cutlery and glasses and are looking for something slightly more unusual to add to your wedding gift list, take a look online at their shop Cry of the Gulls
Seen here this fabulous Living The Dream - VW Camper tea cosy, made from vintage fabrics by Poppy Treffry, £35 and a decorative milk jug, £12.50 by ceramicist Kevin Warren.

Instant Wedding Story eBook

2010-04-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Interestingly it's the mums that get my service in an instant. As soon as they see the books they understand the true value of them and many have said they wished they had something similar when they got married. The wisdom of hindsight means they know how much they would have loved to read through the story of their wedding all these years later.

They also appreciate a bespoke service like mine comes at a price. There's a lot of work involved in creating each of my books and I really do take care with them in the same way I would if I were writing a piece for a newspaper or magazine. These are books that are going to be looked at for years to come, after all, and should be something that people can get real enjoyment from.

But not everyone can afford a service like this, or they may simply want to do it themselves, in their own time and in private. There are now plenty of online digital photobook publishers which provide easy software for you to create your on photo album. But if you want to make your book that much more special and to include text with your photos, a running narrative that tells your unique story, from when you first met, to choosing your dress and your first dance together, you may want some help.

Our Instant Wedding Story eBook has all the information you need to be able to write your own story and create a wedding story book. We've written most of the story for you and created a template for you to follow. By simply filling in the gaps with your own personal anecdotes, quotes from friends and family, speeches and special readings, you'll be able to produce your own book to hand on to your children and to enjoy yourself when you're the mother-of-the-bride!

For more information visit www.yourweddingstorybook/instantweddingstory

Finishing Touches

2010-04-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

To feel truly confident on the day, make sure you've put as much effort into the smallest details of your outfit as you have your dress. You'll probably have a pre-wedding trip to your hairdresser before she comes to dress your hair on the day and may even have had a trail run with your make-up artist, but don't forget the areas that will go unseen...at least by most! Splashing out on a really beautiful pair of stockings may seem an unnecessary expense, but if you can't do it now, well when can you! Wolford have a fantastic range of stockings, either for suspenders or stay-ups. I particular like these with a silky sheen and a fine floral lace band. Possibly not the most appropriate name for a wedding day, these Affaire 10 stockings cost £18 and you can buy them online at www.wolfordshop.co.uk

One-stop shop for mother and bride

2010-04-26T04:53:00.000-07:00

I've always been a fan of Phase Eight for elegant, stylish clothes for special occasions and thought it an ideal place to buy a Mother-of-the-bride outfit, or even a chi-chi little outfit for a wedding guest, but I didn't realise they also have a lovely range of affordable wedding dresses. For just £350 you could buy this circle tapework wedding dress, which comes with a matching bolero for £75. And for a guest, or mum, I particularly like this understated Astaire Tapework Dress, £160, and you can find all the matching accessories to go with it too! www.phase-eight.co.uk

Perfect Pampering

2010-04-26T04:19:00.000-07:00

Whether you're looking for a special treat for your hen night evening, or some special way to pamper yourself on the eve of your wedding day, take a look at the wonderful assortment of fabulous, luxury organic both care and home treatments at Neom Luxury Organics. You'll find everything from sumptuous smelling mini relax candles with French Lavender, Geranium & Juniper, to the exotic sounding Complete Bliss Organic Bath Oil with Moroccan Blush Rose. You're bound to wake up feeling ready for your big day after a treat like that! Visit www.neomorganics.com

Bruce Oldfield's Bridal Showroom

2010-04-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to interview Bruce Oldfield recently for a piece which went in to the Sunday Express today!

British couturier Bruce Oldfield has dressed everyone from Hollywood stars to our own home-grown talent - see the lovely Kelly Brook, below, looking ravishing in a Bruce design for this year's Oscars celebrations - and, of course, was a favourite of the Princess of Wales.

Brides looking for inspiration should visit his website www.bruceoldfield.com and anyone with very generous parents should head straight for his new bridal showrooms, which opened earlier this year at 34 Beauchamp Place, London SW3 1NU. This divine dress, called Erin, is one of many I found on his website and has the timeless elegance that has made Bruce a world-famous designer.

Love Never Dies

2010-03-09T06:39:00.000-08:00

Went to see a preview at the weekend of the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Love Never Dies. Absolutely fantastic. Would highly recommend it to any romantics wanting to indulge in two hours of sublime music and stunning sets and costumes. The two lead roles were quite amazing and it's worth going just to hear Ramin Karimloo, who plays the Phantom, singing 'Til I Hear You Sing and his co-star Sierra Boggess as Christine singing Love Never Dies. And check out her beautiful gold dress for the number. Inspiration for any brides still undecided on what style to choose for their big day!

Look out for ticket bargains at UK Theatre Tickets

Cake-Boy!

2010-03-04T03:38:00.000-08:00

Was fortunate enough to meet the handsome and utterly charming Eric Lanlard last week at his cake emporium and cookery school in Battersea called Cake Boy. Eric is a Master Patissier and has created wedding cakes for Madonna and Elizabeth Hurley, no less! His sumptuous boutique-style coffee lounge and cookery school is a great favourite as a Hen event, offering a mix of cookery class and champagne afternoon tea.
Eric can also be seen every Monday afternoon on his new series for Channel 4, called Glamour Puds. This is his second series and I'm sure it will make him a star!

Eric loved our books and has promised to show it to all his hens and the many clients who order one of his amazing wedding cakes. Given the sublime quality of one of Eric's cakes against the cost of an average wedding cake, I would definitely pay that little bit extra for something truly special and an incredible centre piece for your big day. This classic white iced cake covered with thousands of light catching crystals costs from £700.00 and the Iced Tower prices from £5.00 per serving with a minimum of 70 servings. www.cake-boy.com and www.savoirdesign.com

The way to a man's heart...

2010-01-22T09:50:00.000-08:00

...they say is through his stomach. Well, if this doesn't make him go weak at the knees then, nothing will! A delicious Valentine's cake from www.yummycard.co.uk. Order one now and melt his heart!

I'm getting married in the morning!

2010-01-12T01:57:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the sublimely beautiful Sophie Dahl and the exceptionally talented Jamie Cullum, who married in a lavish secret ceremony at the weekend. The theme was apparently a winter wonderland, and the wedding must have lived up to the part with the abundance of snow we've experienced over the past week.
It's widely known that Sophie is the granddaughter of children's favourite author, Roald Dahl, but her other grandfather is equally famous. Sophie was given away at her wedding by her father, Julian Holloway, a regular of British comedy classics, the Carry On films, and Julian's father is Stanley Holloway, who played Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady, in which he sang the hilarious Get Me To The Church On Time!
Style goddess, Sophie, has rightly rejected any magazine deals for her wedding, which she wanted to keep entirely private. What a rich range of songs she could have chosen though as she walked into the civil rooms with her father. Wouldn't it have been fantastic if the refrain 'I'm getting married in the mornin'! Ding Dong the bells are gonna chime, suddenly came wafting into the room!

Ok, this isn't a picture of Sophie, or of Stanley Holloway, but any excuse for a look at Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. This is the original poster for the film, which came out in 1964. Anyone looking for inspiration for their wedding, should try and take a look at it. With costumes by Cecil Beaton, it's worth seeing for the Ascot scene alone!

Merry Perry Gets a Band from Brand!

2010-01-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Great to hear that even the coolest of couples are true romantics at heart! According to the papers, Russell Brand has confirmed he is engaged to his American sweetheart singer, Katy Perry. Rumour has it that he even had the ring - a large dazzler from Cartier - at hand when he popped down on one of his sexy legs to propose. Lucky girl! If Jonathan Ross is best man we can be sure Moss Bros won't be supplying the Morning Suits. And who will need more time with the hairdresser on the wedding morning, hunky Russ or his future misses? This is one wedding to watch!

Brand and Perry looking refreshingly sweet and just like the any loved-up couple, visiting the sites at the Taj Mahal in India last week.

Rules of engagement

2010-01-06T05:27:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again...snow, trains not working, Celebrity Big Brother? No, jewellery shops up and down the country are welcoming newly engaged couples with open arms in the hope that they will entice them into buying the biggest rock in store.
Christmas is supposed to be one of the most popular times of the year for declaring your undying love to your partner. And Valentine's Day, just around the corner, is another favourite for die-hard romantics. But popping the question seems to be the easy bit. Choosing a ring, on the other hand, can take a little longer. Becoming engaged is one of those wonderful, life changing moments that needs to be marked in some way, most traditionally with a ring. But how do you begin to choose something so precious and with such meaning that you'll want to wear forever?

How to choose a ring

The common sense approach is to budget to spend 2-3 months' salary on an engagement ring, but don't forget this is a once-in-a-lifetime purchase and will become a family heirloom, so consider splashing a little more on your ring and hold back on some extras for your wedding day.
If you're buying the ring as a surprise try and take along one of your girlfriend's rings, or grab one for five minutes while she's in the shower and trace the internal circumference of the ring on a piece of paper. Whichever ring you choose and good jewellers should be able to resize it for you.
If you do buy in advance for her, don't be swayed by your own taste - take a cue from the style of jewellery she already owned or, if in doubt, ask one of her girlfriends of female relatives.
If in doubt, classic diamond solitaires account for 76% of all sales of engagement rings!
If you want to buy a ring for him at the same time, a signet ring is traditionally given to the prospective groom.
There a four main styles to choose from:
Diamond solitaire - a single diamond set on a band
Diamond solitaire with accent stones - a larger diamond with smaller gemstones, such as emeralds or sapphires, as decorative accents
Diamond three-stone - three brilliant cut diamonds said to represent the past, present and future of your relationship
Princess Cut - square or rectangular

Happy hunting and then treat yourself to a manicure before you start flashing your ring for all the world to admire!

All the fun of the fair

2009-12-08T02:25:00.000-08:00

Had a lovely couple of hours visiting the Wealden Times Midwinter Fair at Sissinghurst, the famous gardens created by writer Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson and most recently brought to light in the BBC4 series about the attempts of writer Adam Nicolson and his wife, gardening and cookery expert Sarah Raven, to bring farming back into the heart of the estate and gardens.

No time for the gardens today - although stunningly beautiful and well worth a visit if you're ever in West Kent - as there were three substantial marquees packed full of unique and stunning crafts and clothes to investigate. Of potential use for brides-to-be I found the following: Holly Cupcakes. Holly's cupcakes look just as gorgeous and delicious as some of the American ones I've already mentioned and we all know British is best!

If you're having a country wedding, check out the stationery of Jo Hinde at Hinde Designs which has some lovely country images available for invitations and notelets. Not the most weddingy images here, but they look so lovely I thought I'd share them with you. Jo does designs to order and her cards are made from watercolour paper from a paper mill in Somerset that has been milling paper since the 1700s!

And finally, because the distant sound of Santa's sleigh bells are beginning to make everyone get in the festive spirit....Ernest & Matilda design and hand print their own range of vintage inspired linens and home accessories. I particularly love this tea towel depicting The Twelve Days of Christmas but you'll find plenty of beautiful things to add to your Wedding Gift List too!

My dearest darling....

2009-12-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

If you're soon to be parted from you betrothed for a few days, let him know how much you miss him - but not by text! Sending a letter is a bit of a novelty these days, but what could be more impressive than receiving a hand-written note through the post? And if you're stuck for what to say, aftr yrs of txtng msgs, pick up a copy of the recently published Love Letters of Great Women, edited by Ursula Doyle, Macmillan, £9.99. How about this declaration from Katherine Mansfield in a letter to her soon-be-be-husband, John Middleton Murry. "I suppose I exaggerate - but I'd plunge into the Seine - or lie on a railway line - rather than lose a letter." That's love for you!

Royal wedding stateside

2009-12-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well, no, I haven't been the first to be told that William will be marrying Kate in downtown Manhattan next year. This is the news that Chelsea Clinton, very much American political royalty, has just announced her engagement to her long-term beau, Marc Mezvinsky. While all the papers here have been full of the news of Robbie's on-air proposal, I think Chelsea is the one to watch. Not, perhaps, blessed with the same good looks as the Kennedy clan, the other democratic royals, this will nevertheless be a discreetly fabuloso affair and every wedding planner in town must be hoping they get the call to help Mother-of-the-bride, Hillary Clinton, with the finer details of Chelsea's big day. Here she is with dad, Bill - possibly contemplating his wedding speech - and her investment banker boyfriend Marc.

Image: Chip East/Reuters

Gift card

2009-12-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

Our books make great gifts, but whether you add them to your wedding gift list, or you're a groom looking for something different to give to your bride on your wedding day, this is one gift you'll have to wait to receive. All the work comes after the wedding, when we edit all your photographs and interview you to get down all the details of the day. But it's still nice to receive something on the day, to let you know the treat you have in store! Now, when friends and family buy our books as a wedding gift, they will receive a beautifully designed bespoke card to give to the couple on the day itself. Each card will be hand-written by a calligrapher with your own personal greeting. The cards are a lovely memento in themselves and this image doesn't really do them justice. A proper photograph will go on the website soon!

Blooming Marvellous!

2009-12-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

Was thrilled to meet one of the maestros of the wedding planning world today. Mark Niemierko is the planner of choice for some of the most stylish and grand weddings both here and abroad. He seems to know everyone in the business and was utterly charming and friendly; it's easy to see why so many brides feel a weight is taken off their shoulders when they hand over responsibility for organising their big day to Mark and his team.
A planner may seem like an extravagant extra, but the joy of having one number to ring, to check up on all the last minute details, rather than a never-ending list of suppliers, must calm even the most fragile of nerves! Clearly enough brides think so - Mark already has an extremely full diary for next year, so anyone hoping to add the Niemierko flourish to their wedding day have better get in quick!
It was interesting to look on his site and see how he described his perfect wedding. I couldn't help agreeing with his flower of choice - hydrangeas, and lots of them. At the other end of the scale, a small bunch of Lily of the Valley can also look stunningly beautiful.
Mark loved our books. It's great to have the seal of approval from someone at the top of his game!

Meringue Nightmare!

2009-11-24T05:56:00.000-08:00

When you finally settle on a style for your wedding dress, do spare a thought for your bridesmaids!
Many years ago, when I was a bridesmaid at a dear friend's wedding in Edinburgh, I wore a dress very similar to this one, worn by Miranda Hart, in the brilliant new hit comedy Miranda. My dress was almost identical in design, but in a rather fetching apricot and peach. The words Nell and Gwynn spring to mind. The bodice, ruffles and a huge skirt did not go down well!

Men behaving badly!

2009-11-24T05:25:00.000-08:00

So you're all sorted-ish, but what about the boy? Far be it from me to suggest that you help in any way - he can find the sock drawer on his own now, left to his own devices - and get into any nasty habits that may be hard to break, but you could point him the direction of Staggered, which is a brilliant new online wedding magazine for the best man, groom and father of the bride, and is full of stag-do ideas, advice for proposing and wedding speeches.

With all sort of useful tips on everything from How to Pull At A Wedding - that'll be for the best man, right? - to hints on how to write a wedding speech, frankly, Staggered is just what all the grooms out there have been waiting for. Forward this post and leave him to it....well, at least ease up on checking whether he's remembered to let the office know he needs to take your wedding day off work yet!

Forking out on a wedding gift

2009-11-19T01:55:00.000-08:00

David Mellor built a reputation as a key figure in British design, who had a passion for elegant design, and is particularly famous for his cutlery and metalwork. The David Mellor shop in Sloane Square has been on the radar of anyone seeking classic, modern domestic products since the late sixties and is worth a visit for inspiration alone. If you're looking for somewhere different for your Wedding List, all the products in the shop are available online at www.davidmellordesign.com. Seen here is the Pride Silver Plate range, David Mellor's first cutlery designed in 1953, and now in many international collections, together with a set of Birch Plywood Trays and the 'Barbara' Glass Carafe, typical examples of the sort of exquisite, simplistic design you'll find online.

Last minute workout!

2009-11-15T07:42:00.000-08:00

It's probably not very PC to advocate a last minute workout to fit into your wedding dress! But what bride doesn't want to look her best on her big day and a number of friends have recommended this 8-min abs routine. I'm not about to get married and yet they still thought it appropriate to recommend it to me - I can't begin to think why! Anything that helps, frankly, and it's so quick to do, there are no excuses not to give it a go. So squeeze in girls, and prepare to burn in the name of lurve!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNqrkGnkUWc

The modern honeymoon

2009-11-11T13:54:00.000-08:00

Any brides who have strolled along London's Chiltern Street, one of the top destinations for couture bridal wear shops, may have come across my good friend, Andrew Weaving's fabulous shop Century. An expert in modern vintage to mid-20th century furniture - Century is a great place to hunt for some one-off pieces if you're setting up home together - Andrew's houses have appeared in Elle Deco and Living etc. If you're interested in modern design and architecture and are looking for a different kind of honeymoon, why not stay at Andrew's house in Palm Springs? Well known for its many Modern houses designed by architects like Richard Neutra, Palm Springs has become one of the world's most celebrated architectural destinations. Andrew's three-bedroomed 197os house, Acacia, is just a few blocks from Neutra's renowned Miller House and provides a great base for exploring the area's rich architectural heritage. And you'll get a fab tan too!

Fly me to the moon....

2009-11-11T13:05:00.000-08:00

Treat your guests to a spectacular flyover and say I love you up in the clouds. Air Displays provides displays and aerobatics for weddings and corporate events. Mark Jeffries is one of the world's most accomplished air show performers. He is the current British aerobatic champion, having recently won the title for the 4th time. I saw one of Mark's dare-devil displays at a wedding show recently and it really was stunning.

Cupcake Couture!

2009-11-11T12:53:00.000-08:00

The trend for creating a stacked tier of evermore unusual cupcakes has been seen at all the big wedding shows recently. But if you thought a sprinkingly of sugared pink deliciousness was sufficient to give your wedding the edge, take a look at these extraordinary concoctions from the States. They all look fantastic, and great fun, but not all your guests will thank you for the peanut brittle cupcake, so spare a thought before going too over the top with your mixing bowl!
These weird and wonderful rock n roll confections come from The Bleeding Heart Bakery in Chicago which includes cakes with exotic flavours like curry, chai and saffron heat up dessert, and a sesame, wasabi and ginger cupcake with chocolate-ginger frostings. Clearly the Heston Blumenthal of cakes! Seen here from top are the peanut brittle cupcake, the vanilla cupcake with sangria syrup swirl, orange zest, red wine butter cream, grapes and apple chip, and if you believe the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, really go for it with this caramel corn cupcake with devil's food dark chocolate ganache and caramel corn!

Edible Save The Date!

2009-11-06T05:37:00.000-08:00

Looking for an unusual and affecting way to make sure your guests really make a note of your wedding day. Why not send them a cake with the date on? These delicious cakes, iced in white with a pastel blue message are one of many great ideas available at Yummycard where you'll also find these cute anniversary cards - something to think about for a surprise first anniversary gift. A card and card in one costs just £5.95 including p & p. Go on, treat yourself!

The Write Stuff!

2009-11-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

You can imagine my surprise, and delight, when I went to set up my stand at The Designer Wedding Show and discovered that Ewan McGregor had the stand opposite me! Well, actually, it was Euan MacGregor, who was, nevertheless, charming and artistic in a very different field. Euan is a calligrapher and if you are looking for some stylish and individual place cards, or hand written invitations, Euan will be able to create something really smart and illuminating, like the classic copperplate work shown here, or something more edgy and contemporary.
He also had on show a stunning table plan, which was so beautiful it would be worth keeping and framing after your wedding, as a special memento. Clients include Abercrombie & Kent, The ICA and The Mayor of London - not sure if that's Ken or Boris! Euan MacGregor

Quirky Wedding Stationery

2009-11-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

www.martamunoz.co.uk

For some unique and contemporary wedding stationery ideas, check out the site of the brilliant illustrator Marta Munoz. Marta was born in Valencia and graduated from Camberwell Collage of Art. As well as working for a number of publishers, Marta has been commissioned by Liberty to design a range of fabric patterns. Her style is quirky, whimsical and humorous, so if you're looking for something really refreshing and exciting for your wedding stationery, I'm sure Marta will help elevate your wedding into a truly stylish event!

The Wedding Girl's SOS

2009-11-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

The Wedding Girl is the hottest new website aimed at brides-to-be and is written by someone who is getting married herself. Like any obsessed bride-to-be on a mission, she's sourced some of the best suppliers and services - including our lovely books, of course! - and decided to share all her research through her blog. It's taken off in a big way now and has some great tips and advice written by some of the industry's top professionals - including make-up artist Arianne Poole, who I used to work with when I was a stylist, to cake queen Peggy Porschen and former stylist at The Independent, Beth Dadswell.
Check out our posting here:
The Wedding Girl

Brides Magazine

2009-08-31T02:44:00.000-07:00

There's a great write-up about Your Wedding Story Book on the Brides magazine website. Take a look at it here.

New pages for the albums

2009-08-31T02:43:00.000-07:00

I remember looking through my parents' wedding album and asking who some of the other guests were in the group photographs. It's the sort of thing you can't help but be curious about as a child. Unfortunately they couldn't remember everyone's name. I don't think that's unusual, but it's a shame, after all the trouble that goes into a wedding, particularly today, not to be able to look back and put a name to all the faces in the photographs.
A member of my family came up with this brilliant idea of producing a silhouette of a group shot to add to each of our stories and now, when you order one of our books, you can feel confident that however many years later one of your little ones points to a picture and says, 'Who's that lady with the funny hat?', you'll know exactly who it is!

5 Star Wedding Directory

2009-08-31T02:42:00.000-07:00

If you're planning a luxury wedding check out a great website - www.5starweddingdirectory.com - where you'll find some fantastic suppliers from dresses, to venues and honeymoon ideas. The people behind the site - Yasmin and Tai - really do their homework. When I was showing my books at the Harvey Nichols restaurant, Prism, earlier this year, they actually turned up to check it out for themselves. So you won't find the same old list of suppliers that turn up on a lot of the wedding supplier sites. Real thought has gone into the site. I really recommend that you take a look.

Great bridal magazines

2009-08-31T02:40:00.000-07:00

Just discovered a great American bridal magazine called The Knot which also has a rather nifty website www.theknot.com for anyone looking for inspiration from across the pond! I've also just received in the post a Weddings Summer Special issue of New York magazine which has some brilliant ideas in it, including glorious looking bouquets and some finger food suggestions for an evening cocktail party to make your mouth water, including lobster and mango skewers and polka-dot coconut cake! I had to buy the magazine and wait some time for it to be delivered, but it was well worth the wait. Some of these American magazines are really worth investing in for anyone looking for something a bit different. There isn't a website specifically for New York weddings, but if you go onto http://nymag.com and click on the weddings tab there's plenty of groovy stuff to soak up and you can order back issues too.

Designer Wedding Show

2009-08-31T02:35:00.000-07:00

The Designer Wedding Show

Finally recovered from three brilliant days at The Designer Wedding Show in London. The response to my books was fantastic and everyone seemed to love them. It was so good to get such positive feedback from both the press and all the people who came on to the stand.

Some brides gave me a few snippets of their own wedding stories thus far, including a groom who held up a sign for his bride saying 'Will you marry me?' as she walked into an airport arrivals hall from a trip abroad, and another groom who was caught for speeding, after rushing to meet his girlfriend to propose on a holiday in the States!
I ran a prize draw over the three days to win our gold package of three books. The lucky winners were Sally and Mark who are getting married next May at Gosfield Hall in Essex, which was built in 1545 by Sir John Wentworth. Queen Elizabeth 1 and was a regular visitor throughout the middle of the 16th century. It looks absolutely stunning and I'm sure Sally and Mark will have a fabulous wedding there.
The picture above was taken at the end of three days - as you can tell, I'm not a professional photographer!