Wedding Tips start here...

WeirdoMagnet

At a wedding we went to recently we all got a minature bottle eg. gin, baileys, scotch etc -  was a good idea as we all swapped so was a good ice braker with the other people on our table too!  Was in a tube with some mini eggs.

I like the idea of Lottery Tickets - even though I never do it - if you buy that many someone must win something?!

Hmmm.  Its a bit like thinking of things small enough to put in homemade christmas crackers - I'll sleep on it.

Frances_O

At a wedding we went to recently we all got a minature bottle eg. gin, baileys, scotch etc -  was a good idea as we all swapped so was a good ice braker with the other people on our table too!  Was in a tube with some mini eggs.

I like the idea of Lottery Tickets - even though I never do it - if you buy that many someone must win something?!

Hmmm.  Its a bit like thinking of things small enough to put in homemade christmas crackers - I'll sleep on it.  :)

Thanks Georgina! Some really good ideas there!

WeirdoMagnet

How about....


Flower Soaps http://www.soap-flowers.com/en/wedding-favours.html

Thats as far as I got - I just started reading about weddings and stopped looking for favours! ::)

Mrs_Thrift

Guess I'm probably being a bit too fussy for the amount I'm willing to spend!

Stop right there jellybabe! >:(

OK, I'm going into big sister mode here... ;D

Do not, I repeat DO NOT think that you can't have exactly what you want for the price you want.

I came so close to just settling for any OK dress because I'm soooooo fussy, but I'm really glad my Mum persuaded me to keep hunting. You deserve to have the dress of your dreams (even if you're not sure what that is yet, that was my problem!) and you shouldn't let yourself be bullied into spending more than you want.

It will take a LOT of time and trudging around as many shops and visiting as many internet sites as you can find, but as long as you're clear with the staff about your budget and what you do and don't like, you'll get there in the end.

OK, lecture over! ::)

Have you tried Debenhams, Beatties (if you're near one), Pronuptia and every small local shop you can get to, including dressmakers. Depending on the kind of thing you like you could try non-wedding dress shops and dressmakers too. As someone else has also said, non-wedding suppliers can be so much cheaper.

Good luck

Ms T

Mrs_Thrift

Oh I forgot to say -

Lucysheil, wedding insurance.... I think if I'd been paying for everything I would have got insurance sorted out (with the usual hunting for best price and best cover) but I don't think my parents have arranged any specific wedding insurance. It all comes down to your feelings about risk, I suppose.

And jellybabe, favours.... at the risk of sounding miserly, we've decided against having any at all!

We actually decided a long time ago that when we got married we wouldn't bother with them, because I don't think they'll be missed and it's just something else for us to choose, my parents to pay for and the guests to cram into handbags and pockets.

If we were going to have any, it would probably be something fun that the guests could "use" at the time, such as little bottles of bubbles in the shape of a champagne bottle (from confetti.co.uk.)

Then again, maybe we're just cheap!! ;D

Frances_O

Yea, I did look at the bubbles before, and I think that's probably what I'll go for now you mention it!
As for Wedding Insurance, I hadn't even thought about that until you mentioned it!
Thanks for all your great ideas Ms Thrift and Georgina!

Mrs_Thrift

Glad to help! ;D ;D ;D

Keep us posted on the dress hunt!

Everything has gone a bit manic in terms of our plans this week. It's 13 weeks to go on Saturday and loads of things have just started to fall (OK, be forced) into place. I'll post an update soon...

MrB_2

Can anyone give us any tips on unusall gifts for the bridal party (bridesmaids etc). We dont want to give the NORMAL flowers and we are really stuck for ideas.

Please help!

Mrs_Thrift

Hi MrB,

I would think a piece of jewellery would go down well with bridesmaids, doesn't have to be fancy. Take note of what kind of thing they usually wear (don't go by your own taste - not saying you have bad taste but as a girl I know how people's tastes can vary! ) and see what's available on the high street - H. Samuel, Argos, etc.

Or in a nice local jewellers - the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham is great for this, especially the shops on the outskirts of the Quarter. A lot of them will make exactly what you want, too, at a great price (see what I mean when I post an update on our wedding rings!)

I would avoid the catalogues, etc. that cater for the bridal party gift market - I'd say they tend to be overpriced and some things are a bit twee.

I'm not sure about for ushers - men are so much more awkward! Our guys will be wearing kilts so Mr Nearly Thrift is hoping to find nice silver skein dos (or however you spell those little daggers they stick in their socks!) for them.

Mothers, etc. would probably like flowers for starters, but you could also get them something as a keepsake, like jewellery again, or maybe a special book, or a photo frame for your wedding photo (ooh, I'm giving myself ideas here!)

If you want to be really different (depending on how much you want to spend) you could get something really personal like some memorabilia from a favourite star or film or an early edition of a book they love (such as the Money Diet, of course!) Try searching online for places that sell this kind of stuff - I can't think of any shops off the top f my ehad but I've mooched through a few - Birmingham and somewhere in Cornwall as far as I remember...

Pal

Oh dear. I appear to have accidentally drifted onto a thread where common sense has been replaced by a weird kind of belief system based on a combination of wedding company supplier advertising and OTT wedding magazine articles.

Outa here...!