Friday's top wedding tip

It's that time again! And today's top tip is.................... Tiaras & Head dresses.

Make sure you wear your tiara or your head dress before the big day around the house for a while to see whether it is comfortable. They can sometimes become painful after a while as can tightly pulled hair dos. So be sure to put some painkillers in your 'emergency pack'. You wouldn't want something as small as this to ruin your day.

Happy Planning! ♥

The Icing's firmly back on the Cake!

Local couple Meg Denton & James Meason found themselves £350 out of pocket and cake-less when long established local bakery Ecclestons went into administration this month.

Luckily a Knight in shining armour came to their rescue in the form of Andrew Caron, who runs Cascade Designer Cakes in Mold. Andrew contacted the local newspaper when he read about the couple's plight the week before.

So, Meg & James now have a 3 tier wedding cake in time for their big day on 21st of August 2010!

It must also be said, that the previous owner of Ecclestons did give the couple their money back. Ecclestons has been a long established employer in the town of Wrexham so we would like to send out our best wishes to the owners and former employees of the company for a brighter future.

And we would also like to send a big Mrs2Be well done to Andrew Caron of Cascade Designer Cakes in Mold.

And of course our very best wishes to Meg & James for a wonderful wedding day this weekend!

Click HERE for the full story.

Can I Get Married Outside?

Today I had a conversation with a bride who wanted to get married in a marquee which is not possible I'm afraid - so I thought I would share the rules regarding licenced premises with you.

A civil licence can be granted on a room or a structure that has fixed walls and a fixed roof.

So for example, some wedding venues have wooden gazebos or summer houses in their grounds, and these can be licenced. The law states that the Registrars, Bride, Groom and the witnesses must be standing within the structure during the ceremony. The guests however, can be stood in the surrounding grounds.

The example shown here is of the gazebo in the grounds of The Cross Lanes Hotel, Marchwiel, Wrexham. On a nice day the garden can be set up for the ceremony though if the heavens look set to open, the hotel will simply set the ceremony room up inside instead.

A Friday Top Tip

Now I am going to make you a promise! I promise that I will try very very hard to write a top wedding tip every Friday!

And here is today's which is a particular favourite of mine!

Take 5 minutes out of every hour throughout your day to step back and soak up the atmosphere of your big day.

Don't talk to anyone, don't do any titivating, just step back, watch, breathe, listen - and enjoy!

Have a great weekend! ♥

Don't get caught out with the VAT change

Eurgh - none of us like to think about the cost of getting married but I feel it is my duty as your friendly online wedding planner, to remind you of the impending changes to the VAT rate and what that may mean to your wedding budget.

First the boring facts:

The standard of vat will rise from 17.5% to 20% on the 4th of January 2011. Any goods or services purchased on or after 4th January 2011 that are subject to VAT, will be charged for at 20% vat.

What does this mean to you?

It means that any of your suppliers who are VAT registered will have to increase the VAT on their goods or services if you have not paid them before 4th of January 2011. A vast number of wedding industry businesses are small - as is the nature of the industry, but you need to go through your list of suppliers and check their quotes, or give them a ring to find out if they are VAT registered.

Once you have done this, go back to your wedding budget calculator or spreadsheet and work out how much more it will cost you if you have to pay the higher rate of VAT to any of your suppliers.

Remember not all goods are subject to VAT so don't guess - ask the question of your suppliers.

Now you should have a true idea of how much more your wedding may cost you if you have to pay your bill after the rate change.

This would be my personal plan of action:

Contact your suppliers and ask them whether they will offer you a discount if you make payment prior to the 4th of January 2011.

If the answer to this is "No" then or if your wedding is still a long way off and you want added protection, providing you have credit card offering 0% on purchases, pay these suppliers by credit card.

However, if you do chose this route you must be very very strict with yourself when it comes to paying it off.

Don't forget if you have to use one credit card that doesn't apply a 0% interest rate to purchases, you and you then apply for a 0% credit card, factor in the administration fee to get a true cost.

For more information on the best credit cards available on the market visit:

www.moneysavingexpert.com
www.moneysupermarket.com

I advise this option with great caution. If you are not the best with money - then my advice would be to take the 2.5% hit as if you don't pay off your credit card, it will cost you a lot more in the long term!

And remember to take out wedding insurance - just in case any of your suppliers leave you high and dry!!!

Happy Planning ♥

New Real Life Wedding by Celynnen Photography

We are delighted to share a new Real Life Wedding with you by Celynnen Photography - the highly sought after photographers based in Wrexham.

Check out Alun & Mel's wedding which took place in Portmeirion in June 2010 - there are some stunning photographs in this collection. You can vew more photos here: Alun & Mel - Celynnen Photography