Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year to all of our lovely Mrs2Be Members

Emma and I would both like to wish all of our lovely Mrs2Be members a very happy, healthy & exciting 2010!

A special wish goes out to all of our New Years Eve and New Years Day brides! May the future be all that you wish it to be - and more!

With our love

Nicky & Emma
Mrs2Be x

Monday, December 28, 2009

Take Two!


If you really can't decide between 2 beautiful wedding dresses, and your budget can manage it - why not go for them both!

This works particularly well if the 2 dresses in question are completely different, so for example if you went for a big romantic wedding dress during the day - something that you would never be able to wear again. Hollywood Dreams are particularly well known for their 'big' gone with the wind style wedding dresses, or maybe something from the Ian Stuart Bridal collection which is very theatrical and dramatic.

Then for the evening, slipped into something svelte and elegant such as a beautiful dress from Amanda Wyatt's collections or perhaps an evening dress from a non-bridal designer.




Sunday, December 27, 2009

The Retro Wedding Theme

The popularity of the Retro Wedding Theme in 2009 is set to continue through 2010. Not to be confused with Vintage themes, the Retro theme is one of fun and frivolity.

From 50's styled ice-cream vans, 30's style wedding dresses to the funky colour schemes of the 1980's - there is so much scope and so much to choose from!

To help you to come up with your own retro ideas, Emma has put together an article for you to guide you on your retro way:

So what is a retro wedding? A retro wedding is bright, fun and funky. From the ice cream served from a real ice cream van at the reception to the jelly beans as table centrepieces and the pink Cadillac wedding car, a retro wedding is all about fun. After all, the sixties were all about peace and understanding! A retro wedding doesn't have to be totally informal however; in fact it tends to be more about the fashions and trends of day's gone by than the overall mood. Read More.....


Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Engagements- Congratulations

Christmas is a very popular time of year to get engaged - we should know! So we would like to wish all our new Christmas 2009 Mrs2Be's warm congratulations!

Once the euphoria has settled down and the realisation of the exciting task ahead has fully dawned, we will be here to help you and guide you along the wedding planning path.

So - come and register with Mrs2Be.com and let us help you to plan the wedding of your dreams!

Happy Planning!

Emma & Nicky

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

The VAT rise & your wedding

There is no escaping it - the rate of VAT is set to go back up to 17.5% on the 1st of January 2010 and if you have had quotations from VAT registered suppliers in the last 12 months then they will have been at the rate of 15% VAT and suppliers may not have informed you of the rise come the New Year.

To top it off, there is quite a bit of confusion regarding when they are to apply the 17.5% rate rather than keeping the 15% rate applied.

The answer is this:

If you have booked and paid a deposit during the last 12 months you will have paid VAT at 15%. However, any balance paid after 1st January 2010 will cost you an additional 2.5%.

Here is what we would advice you to do:

  1. Check all of your quotations and look at those suppliers who are VAT registered. If their quotation does not breakdown the VAT separately then look at the letter head for any sign of a VAT registration number. If you are still in doubt, ring them.
  2. Then work out how much extra 2.5% is going to put on your bill.
  3. If you are in a position to pay your balance prior to the 31st of December 2009 without putting yourselves under extra financial pressure, then it may be worth doing so.
  4. However, if your wedding is still some way off, you may want to pay by credit card in the first instance and then use your cash to pay your card. This way you should be insured should your supplier go into liquidation before the big day. Alternatively, take out some wedding insurance - Mrs2Be recommends E&L Insurance.
  5. If there are bills you are unable to pay prior to the 1st of January, work out how much extra you will have to pay and adjust your Mrs2Be wedding budget planner accordingly.
Hopefully by doing this, you will avoid any nasty surprises!

Sunday, December 06, 2009

White Wedding Trends

When it comes to weddings, it comes as no surprise to most of us that white is more or less the one fail safe colour that doesn't date. Once again this season, white is 'bang on trend' so here is an article detailing how you can successfully incorporate a white wedding theme into your wedding.

Read Article

Happy Planning!


The Mrs2Be Team x

Friday, December 04, 2009

Wedding Fashion Show at Brynkinalt Hall - a Dazzling Success!


The wedding fashion show at Brynkinalt Hall last night was a dazzling success. The Bridal Gowns were all beautiful and some of the top designers were featured including:

Charlotte Balbier
Ian Stuart
Hollywood Dreams
Jenny Packham
Maggie Sottero
Pronovias

The outstanding feature of all of them was Crystals! There were beautiful Swarovski crystals on nearly every design. That and the fact that big is most definitely beautiful as the full skirted wedding dress is very much en vogue right now. As the young lady sitting next to me said "If I am going to wear a wedding dress just once I am going to make sure it is a big one!".

To go with the fashion show, there were some suppliers on hand including the bridal boutiques themselves. Canapes by Heathcotes, champagne by Love Champagne and a dazzling marquee by Outback Marquees all beautifully lit and decorated with the simple but elegant colour scheme of white.

The show itself was organised by Xuberance Events who did a stirling job and we look forward to many more to come at venues as beautiful as this one!