Julie Vance Photography

     

I want to introduce to you Julie Vance Photography.   Julie produces some really beautiful work, capturing the essence of the moment perfectly.   Julie has generously donated Wedding Day Photography worth £995 which is First Prize in our Free Prize Draw at Scotland's Exclusive Wedding Event at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on the 27th and 28th August 2011. (Visit Beauty Weddings on Stand 98 to enter)


Here is an insight into Julie and some of her amazing images.

I took my first photography course at school, in Paris, in 1989.  I spent the majority of that summer shooting photographs of my friends on black and white film in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and my love of photography was born... The rest, as they say is history!

21 years on I still love photography, having the ability to capture images of little (and big) moments in time, is for me, such an amazing thing.  Weddings are by far, my favourite thing to photography; nothing beats the emotion and sense of occasion that you experience at a wedding.  I always feel very privileged when a bride and groom choose me to play such an important part in their big day, I never take my job for granted.  Every wedding for me is just as exciting as the first one was.






I would say that my photographs are stylish and romantic with a hint of vintage elegance :) 






On a personal note.  I am a 36 year old mother of 3 (1 boy and identical twin girls) I've been married to my wonderful husband Stephen for 6 years... My live pretty much revolves around my family, my photographs and Cath Kidston goodies!  Nothing more exciting than that!! :):) 







As you can see Julie isn't just a very talented photographer but a lovely person too.  You can see more of Julie's work on her website www.julievancephotography.com 

Visit her on Facebook and Twitter 
          

Scotland Exclusive Wedding Event

The countdown is now on for Scotland Exclusive Wedding Event at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on the 27th and 28th August 2011.

We are going to be at Stand 98 and getting very excited now.   As well as being on hand to offer advice to Brides and Grooms to be, we have an amazing Free Prize Draw with some really fantastic prizes donated by our incredible suppliers.

Not only that we have details on how to join the brand new club exclusively for couples planning their weddings by Ice The Cake, where you will be able to access some really amazing discounts and offers, and the best thing is membership is FREE.

One of our clients is also going to be there and you can hear first hand how we helped them to plan their wedding and what their personal experience was of having a wedding planner.

Some of our amazing prizes are: 

First Prize:  Wedding Day Photography by Julie Vance Photography worth £995 

2nd Prize:    You can have your wedding & reception streamed LIVE over the internet by Mark at Events Live, and incredible prize especially if you have friends and relatives who are unable to attend your special day.  worth £500

3rd Prize:    An exclusive engagement photoshoot and 8x4 desk frame by Moments by McAvoy worth £350

We also have a beauty treatment by Lomond Beauty, a bespoke Guestbook by Wanderlust, 40 Wine Glass Charm favours created by Wine Glass Charms by Tracey Taylor, A case of Wine byDiscovery Jobs, a beautiful crystal tiara by Inizi Bridal, Gift Voucher for Hastings Crystal, plus much more.

The show runs from 10am to 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday, there are some amazing suppliers going to be at the event ready to offer excellent advice and give you many ideas and inspiration.

Why not purchase one of our wedding planner notebooks to write down your ideas an inspiration as you browse.  These can be purchased from our stand for £5

Look out for our other blogs this week who will feature Julie Vance and Mark at Eventslive so you can learn more about them.

We look forward to seeing you next week ! 

Bridal Designs Wedding Jewellery

I am constantly on the look out for amazing suppliers that provide something that little bit different for the wedding market, and today I have a real treat for you.   I have been speaking to Tracey Phillips of Bridal Designs Wedding Jewellery, who makes absolutely stunning jewellery that any bride would be proud to wear on her wedding day.  I asked Tracey to tell me a bit about herself and her company.

The company was formed when, after working for many years in the jewellery retail trade, I decided to see if I could make jewellery myself and with lots of practice and instruction started to produce pieces that I was proud to put my name to.

My sister then asked me if I would make her wedding jewellery for her. I ended up designing and making many sets for her to choose from and wondered what I was going to do with the surplus! I decided to approach a few local wedding shops to see if they’d be interested in selling them for me and to my surprise they all said yes, after a while selling through shops I made the decision to start the website www.bridaldesignsweddingjewellery.co.uk and I’m glad to say it’s gone from strength to strength.

We specialise in handcrafted Sterling silver bridal jewellery using Swarovski crystal and Swarovski pearls. we have a wide range of different styles to suit every wedding from the delicate Angelic range to the darker gothic influenced Black Rose. Brides are choosing a wider range of wedding themes than ever before so we try our hardest to stock designs to suit all of them.

One of our latest designs is 'Wildheart' which features a brand new crystal shape from Swarovski, the beautiful heart pendant has such a tactile feel and the facets make it eyecatching, especially when teamed with the oval Swarovski crystals and round Swarovski pearls. Another new addition is the LittleBigDay range, comprising of interchangable charms/pendants which make an ideal gift for bridesmaids or flowergirls.

At Bridal Designs we pride ourselves on our customer service and as every item is handcrafted we are able to accomodate a wide range of variations in colour and size, if you would like something completely different we can work with you to design a bespoke piece of bridal jewellery especially for you, just email us on info@bridaldesignsweddingjewellery.co.uk

       
       

Captured Memories

This week I want to showcase something with a difference.   When I first saw this product, my first reaction was WOW!   To me there is a real gap in the market for something so special and bespoke as these Memory Books by Illustries. 


I had a chat with Emma about Ilustries,and I was truly inspired by her story and I am delighted to be able to share that with you today.

Just to explain where we came from, when I looked for something for my own wedding, I couldn't find what I wanted - a less formal album where we could also add text and keepsakes. Sam is a fab designer and I am a  seasoned copywriter and we'd worked on other projects together, so we had a go at creating that elusive 'memory book', and some time later, here we are - with a really exciting new company and a great friendship! We live a couple of hours  away from each other so Skype and dropbox are our best friends, and when we meet up, tequila joins the party almost every time, leading to some really creative ideas...

We describe our Illustries as memory books, but really, they are a repository for all the fabulous details of the big day - we see them as a great alternative to a traditional album, which so often gets left to gather dust on the shelf. We find that Illustries get passed around families and friends, and every Illustries customer has said that just opening their Illustry puts them right back in their special day. We include everything - vows, speeches, readings, menus - so all those bits and pieces are centre stage rather than lying forgotten in a box somewhere.

The Illustries themselves take a fair amount of time to create - I write every detail of the couple's story, from when they met to 'happy ever after' including plenty of interviews and Sam makes sure that the design reflects their day in every way possible. We don't have wordcount limits, we don't use any template software, and all the ideas have been developed from scratch - with elements like our 'Life Map' (a flow chart of their relationship), 

Recipes for Love (Jamie, Nigella and even Gordon style), and our 'Wedding by Numbers' and 'A-Z' features (that capture all the quirky little details). 

We have a style to suit most couples - Classic, which is elegant and modern.

Avant Garde, which is quirky and fun

and our CELEB magazine, which lets the couple start in their very own celebrity magazine.

We are absolutely delighted with the feedback so far and we already have expansion plans. We're really focusing on networking as we would love to work with like-minded photographers so that our books can be built into their photography package, we have Illustries for all of life's memorable moments in the pipeline, and we're looking forward to launching our new website and hitting our first wedding fair season in September!

So, that's our story - in a rather large nutshell! 

I am sure you will be as taken with these as I was, I think it is an absolutely fantastic innovation and something that can be treasured forever.

To contact Emma and Sam click on the links below.

                               

Special Wedding Discounts

I have the real pleasure of being able to bring some real savings for couples planning their weddings in conjuction with Big Day Discounts.  With so many wedding related websites out there, I always feel it's important to get to know my Partners and Suppliers and not just their products or services  I spoke with Terri who owns this fantastic site and asked what was the inspiration behind it.    

1. What inspired you to create Big Day Discounts?

We know that weddings can cost a small fortune and with the current economic climate the way it is at the moment, every penny counts. Couples are still spending big on their wedding day but are trying to look for savings where they can. Our idea is to bring suppliers discounts straight to the couple via our newsletter (due to launch within the next couple of weeks) and through our website too

2. What sets you apart from the competition?

Our website is dedicated to just discounts and offers from Wedding suppliers making us a one stop shop for couples wanting to take advantage of some great savings!

3.. What are your biggest successes so far?

Seeing our idea right through from the planning stage to our website going live and working around any obstacles/issues put in our way.

4. Where do you see Big Day Discounts going in the next few years?

We hope to be the number one wedding discount website and to be able to take the concept to other countries.

5. What is the best part of your job?

We love all things wedding related so to be able to to work within the wedding industry is great and we get to work with some lovely suppliers too. We also like the freedom of working for ourselves and that no two days are the same.

Here are some of the exclusive discounts you can find on their fab website:

10% off all tiara and jewellery prices and a free shabby chic metal tea light holder. When you mention www.bigdaydiscounts.co.uk

Free RSVP return addressed postcards with each order of wallet style invitations (worth over £35.00 on orders of 50 invitations or more) when quoting BDD1

Free Prop Box when booking.When quoting BigDayBox

10% off your order and free pair of Groom socks - Quote BIGDAY when ordering

£50 reduction when quoting A Big Day with CoverStar at the time of enquiry

For more fantastic offers and savings you can find Big Day Discounts here:

        

Top 10 Wedding Planning Tips

Congratulations, you are now engaged to be married.   It has suddenly hit you that you need to plan your wedding and you don't know where to start!!   Here are my Top 10 tips for starting your planning process.

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1.   Decide on your budget!!   This is the most crucial part of your planning process.   There is no point having that bespoke venue and inviting 200 guests if you aren't able to afford it.  You will be surprised just how fast the costs mount up.   The easiest way to break down each element is to allocate a percentage of your budget for each part.  Here is an approximate breakdown of what this should be.


40% for your Wedding Breakfast & Reception. (included decor, favours etc)
10% for entertainment/music
15% for all your flowers
15% for your bridal wear
10% for photography/videography
5%  for your stationery
5%  for your ceremony & transport


Setting and sticking to your budget can make the planning much easier.

2.  Visit Venues within your budget and get detail costs for each before making your final decision, check which dates are available.   Sometimes going out of season can save you alot of money, so it's always worth considering.  This will also determine how many guests you can realistically have to share your special day with you.

3.  Book the registrar and set the date, send out Save the Date cards or Fridge Magnets to your guests.

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4.  Book your photographer, the really good photographers are booked up well in advance so it's important that you start this process early in your planning.  So many photographers say that they have couples coming to them a few weeks before the wedding, you need to be able to build and have a good relationship with the professional who is going to capture your day, it makes a huge difference to the images that you get afterwards, as you are more relaxed and comfortable with them.

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5. Decide on your theme, there are so many ideas out there it's good to do a bit of research, visit wedding websites, photographers websites, look in magazines and make yourself a mood board and play around with ideas and colours to get that perfect look.

6. Bridal Wear is also so important to start looking early.   Many bridal stores need at least 6 months notice to have your dress ready for the day, this includes having it made, you will need several fittings as most brides believe it or not drop a dress size on the lead up to their wedding.  Give yourself plenty of time to shop around, visit wedding shows to get inspiration, watch out for sales you might even bag yourself a designer gown at knock down prices.

7.  Flowers again are something that many couples leave until the last minute, thinking about this early and deciding what you really want is so important, the flowers can complete the look of your outfits on the day, you want them to compliment your dress/outfits as well as tying in with your colour scheme.   Consider the time of year you are getting married and what blooms are in season at the time.

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8.  Family arguments!!  This is a very common theme for many weddings and the way to avoid confrontations and resentment is to lay the ground rules down early on.   This is your wedding and you want it done your way, it's so crucial that you never lose sight of that.  Involve your bridal party and family in the planning, assign tasks and roles to everyone, listen to their ideas and implement the ones your like.  If you don't like an idea be tactful and say something like "I like that idea, but would like to think about a few others before making a final decision"   


9.  Think about hiring a Wedding Planner/Consultant.   Seriously, it can make such a huge difference.  Forget the Hollywood portrayal of wedding planners in real life it's not like that at all.  Wedding Planners don't take over your wedding and don't cost a fortune, they can actually save you money, by recommending suppliers, being able to source decor items.  Most importantly they give you the support you really need especially on the run up to your big day (the last 6 weeks are the most stressful).  Not only will you be de-stressed you will have the confidence and assurance that your day will go without a hitch and be as perfect as you dreamed it would be.


10.  The most important thing of all.... have fun!  Enjoy your engagement, have fun in the planning and look forward to one of the biggest and happiest days of your life.

For more information on wedding planning services, visit my website