Wedding Tips start here...

little_miss_muffet

Hi Im new to mse so not really sure about putting posts on. I put a deposit on a wedding dress at berketex, it was my first day wedding dress shopping (on a saturday-about a month ago)and the girl in shop said there was an offer on but the shop closed at 5.30pm( this was about 4.30pm) so in order to take advantage of the offer I had one hour to decide whether I wanted this wedding dress or not as the offer was finishing on the sat. By the next day I had chaged my mind about it, but it wasnt open again until the tuesday, so phoned them to tell them i wanted to cancel the monthly payment plan and they told me to come in. When I got there they said that they dont deal with anything like that at the shop and that i had to write to them. I did and I still havent heard anything from them, ive phoned several times but cant seem to give me an answer about my deposit. Ive cancelled the direct debit at the bank so not worried about that. I would just like something in exchange for my deposit as i dont think Il get it back. Can anyone give any advice? Am I wasting my time trying to get my deposit back?

MrsD2b

Hi all, ive finally reached the end of the thread! Im getting married in 2012 and have started planning and loving looking around for bargains and ways to save money! I have stumbled across a website called 'Estilo Moda'. They are pretty cheap and im guessing the pics used are from the actual designers site and they are just copies? Has anyone ordered from Estilo Moda and if so what was the dress like???:o

sunshine_shell2000

This is my first post and I have managed to read most of the posts, so thank you for all your ideas so far!!

I got engaged in September 2010 and we are getting married March 2011. After being together for nearly twelve years we didn't want to wait any longer and thought sooner the better. Which obviously only left us with a six months to plan the big day.

I found my perfect Nicholas Millington dress from Littlewoods online in the sale for £210 (was £350). The dress is beautiful and it looks so expensive. I was apprehensive about buying my wedding dress online but i thought i could try it as i could always send it back if i didn't like it. I would suggest having a look on the wedding stores of the high street brands as well as ebay etc. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and the price tag!!!

I have been looking for ring pillows but even online these seem really expensive. I'm going to get a hardback book, cut out a square shape in the middle of the pages, place the rings inside and then bind the book with some fabric and ribbon. DIY ringbook!!!

Also i have asked around relatives and friends for their assistance, which, has saved me so much money. My friend has just finished her photography degree and is doing the photo's as a wedding present. A friend of a friend is driving us to the venue in her car. Saving me £300. My sister has offered to pay for the wedding cake and my brother has provided transport for my guests from the ceremony venue to the reception in his friends coach. Fantastic.

I am going to make my bouquet using artificial flowers. Not only to save some money but to keep them after the wedding.
We are planning on using our ipod at the ceremony and would have done at the evening reception but luckily enough for us the DJ is included with the venue hire.

One tip i would give is to not be afraid to barter with high street stores!!! My H2B got a brilliant deal on my engagement ring and both our wedding rings. We went to Beaverbrooks. The gentleman gaves us the rings minus the VAT and gave us a deal on the engraving and insurance. The service we received was second to none. Definitely recommend. If you don't ask you don't get!!!

I have found it difficult to organise anything out of the normal wedding tradition with many of the venues. I found many venues, especially hotels, to be quite rigid in their expectations of 'My wedding'. I am wanting to have an 'afternoon tea' wedding breakfast, instead of the usually sit down meal. However many said they could not cater for this even though they have afternoon tea at their hotels. Strange!!! Sometimes you have to be persistent and have the wedding you want and the not the wedding that is expected. Therefore i have opted for an open minded venue!!!

Also just one final tip: Never mention the word 'wedding' when you get a quote unless you have to. The price goes us considerably. I tend to use the word 'event'. The suppliers are more than likely to offer deals and give their best price.

Thanks again for all the tips.

Ebby_Murphy

Your traditional wedding dinner can consist of any type of meal of your choosing. If you are having your wedding outside in a garden, in true country fashion, you will have to have a caterer bring the meal. This usually consists of a buffet style service in which each guest gets up and helps themselves. This is usually less costly than a formal, sit down dinner.Food can take a huge chunk out of your wedding budget. It's often difficult to figure out what's acceptable as it is an area in which expert's (etiquette or otherwise) opinions vary widely. It can also be difficult to choose what type of food to serve at your reception...especially when you consider all of the different varieties of food available to you.

Caterhire.com

emsbet

sunshine_shell2000 wrote: »

This is my first post and I have managed to read most of the posts, so thank you for all your ideas so far!!

I got engaged in September 2010 and we are getting married March 2011. After being together for nearly twelve years we didn't want to wait any longer and thought sooner the better. Which obviously only left us with a six months to plan the big day.

I found my perfect Nicholas Millington dress from Littlewoods online in the sale for £210 (was £350). The dress is beautiful and it looks so expensive. I was apprehensive about buying my wedding dress online but i thought i could try it as i could always send it back if i didn't like it. I would suggest having a look on the wedding stores of the high street brands as well as ebay etc. I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and the price tag!!!

I have been looking for ring pillows but even online these seem really expensive. I'm going to get a hardback book, cut out a square shape in the middle of the pages, place the rings inside and then bind the book with some fabric and ribbon. DIY ringbook!!!

Also i have asked around relatives and friends for their assistance, which, has saved me so much money. My friend has just finished her photography degree and is doing the photo's as a wedding present. A friend of a friend is driving us to the venue in her car. Saving me £300. My sister has offered to pay for the wedding cake and my brother has provided transport for my guests from the ceremony venue to the reception in his friends coach. Fantastic.

I am going to make my bouquet using artificial flowers. Not only to save some money but to keep them after the wedding.
We are planning on using our ipod at the ceremony and would have done at the evening reception but luckily enough for us the DJ is included with the venue hire.

One tip i would give is to not be afraid to barter with high street stores!!! My H2B got a brilliant deal on my engagement ring and both our wedding rings. We went to Beaverbrooks. The gentleman gaves us the rings minus the VAT and gave us a deal on the engraving and insurance. The service we received was second to none. Definitely recommend. If you don't ask you don't get!!!

I have found it difficult to organise anything out of the normal wedding tradition with many of the venues. I found many venues, especially hotels, to be quite rigid in their expectations of 'My wedding'. I am wanting to have an 'afternoon tea' wedding breakfast, instead of the usually sit down meal. However many said they could not cater for this even though they have afternoon tea at their hotels. Strange!!! Sometimes you have to be persistent and have the wedding you want and the not the wedding that is expected. Therefore i have opted for an open minded venue!!!

Also just one final tip: Never mention the word 'wedding' when you get a quote unless you have to. The price goes us considerably. I tend to use the word 'event'. The suppliers are more than likely to offer deals and give their best price.

Thanks again for all the tips.

Welcome to the board and congratulations!

Sounds like you have everything pretty much sorted. Definitely have the wedding you want and not what is expected by the hotels!

I have made bouquets using artificial flowers because like you I wanted to keep them after the wedding (I also didn't think it was worth sepnding all that extra money for fresh flowers that wouldn't last!). It is really easy to do!

Oh BTW my OH and I also got engaged in September and are getting married in March next year!


xx

mrs_montgomery

I got married last year and we decided to have our reception in a restaurant at lunchtime. Daytime dos are a great moneysaver because even though it was a Saturday, we didn't have to pay a room hire fee, since the restaurant wasn't losing out on customers, which it would have done if we'd booked the place for the evening. The set menu was much cheaper too. Plus the oldies, young parents and out-of-towners liked it because it didn't mean staying up late!

Another good thing about restaurants is that they will already be laid out for dining and decorated nicely, so you won't need table decorations of your own, and will have a sound system for your iPod or whatever. My friend got married in a traditional out-of-town 'venue' and everything had to be booked and organized separately - caterers, waitresses, bar staff and glassware, tables and linen, decorations, sound system &c. This racks up the price no end and it is a lot of work too.

angelcakes_smw

I was thinking of doing the whole meal in a restaurant idea but OH wasnt so keen as it wouldnt be as 'private', how was it for you in that sense??

I have a few venue in mind and am needing to ring round them for quotes so apart from not mentioning wedding and saying its an event instead what else do I need to say to them to get the price down?? I'm useless when it comes to haggling!

Also, has anyone gone for a coctail reception? Does it generally work out cheaper or about the same as a sit down meal?

TIA

Sars10

abistar wrote: »

hiya

Well she doesn't do copies or knock offs, she designs the dress with you; so if there's something out there you like she can do something similar. Because I knew I wanted her to make mine I hadn't gone out looking for "the one" dress, just styles I liked.

So back in the summer I emailed her with what I thought I wanted in a dress which was an A-line dress, in silk organza or silk tulle, with lace up back, sweetheart neckline, with lace on the bust or skirt.

The far left one of these dresses is one that I emailed her a picture of and she said she'd be able to do something similar, with real silk within my budget which I'd said was roughly £500.

thebridalgalleryfinedon.co.uk/designers/sassi-holford

(You'll have to copy and paste and put www. in front cos I'm a newbie!)

I didn't get any further than that or get a quote because after I'd emailed her I entered her competition to win my wedding dress by her.:T On her website she does say though that none of the dresses had cost more than £1000, and there are some elaborate dresses there.

Your best bet is to email her with your budget, and what you want, and see what she can do!

If you fancied helping me with the competition though...:A To win I have to get the most 'likes' on a note on the Dresses at No.9 page on facebook...

All you have to do is go to facebook.com/pages/Dresses-at-No-9/112855082059629 and click the 'like' button, then go to the notes section and you'll find the first one is titled 'Abi Thomas' - just click on it and 'like' it.

You have to like both the page and my note for it to count though.

If I get the most 'likes' out of the 5 finalists I win my wedding dress bespoke designed and hand-made by the above mentioned fab Linda.

Anyway, that's a rather long and rambly post but I hope it helps! And that maybe you can help me too!

abi xxx

I'm getting my dress made by her too!

Hi all btw :wave: I'm getting married in Aug 2011 Thanks for all the info provided so far!

If anyone has any tips on how to select someone to do hair/makeup on the day- can you let me know how you went about it. How far in advance do you need to book and how much is it on average? I'll be wearing my hair down (might even have some extensions put in :eek:) but would like some nice curls etc. I'm guessing you have a pre-run before the big day?

Also chair covers- any recommendations on companies to go with? How soon do you need to book these by?

Thanks!

angelcakes_smw

if the hair and make up you're wanting is pretty simple then I'd use the free counters in the shopping centres and department stores. I'm going to get my make up done in selfridges or debenhams but I'm not sure about my hair yet.

gizzyben0

Hi there, I was wondering if anyone has ever used a company called 50th Studio? I have seen the wedding dress I want there for alot less than it is here but I dont know if they are good/honest company etc can anyone help????