The All New Wedding Tips Thread (no chat please)

[FONT=&quot]I've included some of the most useful tips from our members on the old thread here, but haven't got the time of space to credit each one individually.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Change name[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Bank, Building Society, Employer, Tax Office, DVLA, Passport, Insurance Companies, Credit Cards, Utilities Companies, Your e-mail address?, any clubs / organisations you belong to, any subscriptions you have to magazines, etc, any charities[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In light of this, you may want to think about asking for a duplicate marriage certificate to go with your original (in case one goes walkies!).[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Invites[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As a nice little extra we bought a heart shaped paper punch and got coloured paper and in with every invite we are popping a handful of little hearts!!

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]One thing I'd really recommend was vista print. I hadn't ordered from there before so I got their newcomer deal which is basically certain items free. I went for postcards and got 100 free and chose a wedding theme and colours that suited my colour theme and put our names on them then a return address on the other side and used them as a return acceptance card. Worked really well. If you put them in your invitations you get them back so much quicker than not. It's a pain for people to find a return, acceptance card as they are hard to find in card shops and it's basically just a drag.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I am making my invites with a little ribbon and card. confetti.com has an online printing studio where you can customise your invites and print them off for FREE[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]As we walked down the aisle at the end of the service everyone blew bubbles at us which we had put in the pews earlier on. Much cheaper than expensive confetti, no clearing up, and everyone was laughing and smiling (the best bit of the day actually!)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I used a program called scrapbook flair to print out the wording and add borders, decorative strips etc for the inserts. These will be matted onto black card and have a ribbon tied round them. For the graphics i've used on mine, and for some AMAZING ideas i used a web site called
www.wedding-invitation-ideas.com [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Make Up[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Estee Lauder for pampering/Max Factor counter for free makeover.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]By the way MAC makeup artists are independent and will give you a 45 min faceover for £15 - redeemable against purchase - (which for all you glowing brides has to be its strobe cream which makes you look about twelve!!).[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Dress[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Wedding dress and other clothes tip - if you fancy a jaunt around London try all the rag trade districts back of Oxford Street - I had been looking for ages and ages and just walked into a sample sale which all those outlets do and got the perfect dress for £25 and was mega chuffed.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I found an online store that had the same dress by Maggie Sottero for £550 plus shipping, import tax and import VAT. I went to a shop in the UK that stocked the dress and pretended that i was going to purchase the dress from them. Tried the dress on, got them to measure me and i copied the mesurements. i ordered my dress in September 03 and it was delivered in January this year with my Maggie Sottero certificate of authenticity. This store is actually on the Maggie Sottero web site as an authorised seller. In total i paid £930 for my dress, a saving of £1070. The website is www.houseofbrides.com and it stocks many other well known designers[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I wouldn't rule out the Chinese dress makers just yet. I got my reception dress from www.millybridal.com and the quality was just as good as my Amanda Wyatt ceremony dress. Their detailing and workmanship is amazing and I'm very fussy too!![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I have found a website called lastminuteweddingdresses.com, many of the designs are similar to major designers and they are really reasonably priced, from about £200-£460. Maybe a bit above your price range, but should help someone. I am seriously considering using them. They can also quote for making a design of your choice, and do made to measure.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Tiara[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]My tip is not to buy a tiara but make one for less than £10. All the shop ones seem to cost a fortune but if you look closely at them, the majority are just a wire headband with wire beaded bits twisted on. If you have a Hobbycraft near you (or a big craft shop) they sell the headbands for £4 and the crystal/pearl arrangements on wires for about £2 for a pack of 8. You literally just twist the wire round the band where you want the sticky out bits. Be careful when you are buying the bead bits as there were so many nice ones I got a bit carried away and now have enough to make about 20 tiaras![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Bridesmaids[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]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!)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Re favours, we had a vodka toast at our reception (my mother in law is Polish and I don't like champagne) so we got a load of shot glasses from a catering wholsalers and painted everyone's name and a heart on them.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Bouquet etc[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Flower society or local WI for flowers/flower market/college floristry course contacts.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Look for flowers in season this will be cheaper, the cost often escalates because of the specification of lots of different flowers i.e. if the florist needs 150 roses this can be bought more cheaply if the florist needs 10 lily's, 10 tulips, 10 etc they will cost more!! So talk to a florist and try to minimise the different types you want.

Set a budget and search round for quotes and you will get an iodea for what is fair in your area. do not shy away from flowers that appear expensive per stem ie. sunflowers adn more exoctic striking flowers that may be £5+ per head because they often need less to accompany them and less arranging which can make them cheaper overall.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I went Covent Garden market early last saturday and it was great. I am having calla lillies which are £1.50 per stem and bear grass £1.00 per bunch does about 4/5 vases which means it will cost me £33 for 10 tables played about with flowers i bought. when i can sort out my camera will up load.
dont need to be a florist to go they but get there early as lots of choice.charge £4 to get in with your car.i guess free if you walk in.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Confetti[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Apologies if this has already been suggested by anyone (I'm new to the forums!): I went to a family wedding last Saturday and, instead of confetti, we threw rose petals. If you collect flower petals for a few months beforehand (the earlier the better, really)and buy some thickish 'Congratulations' type wrapping paper, make it into cones, and fill each cone with petals, it makes an excellent, organic alternative to confetti. You can make pretty labels to stick at the top of the cones with the couple's names and the date, too. The bridesmaids handed out the cones after the actual ceremony, and the photos of when it was thrown look fantastic - a bit different[/FONT][FONT=&quot] to paper confetti, anyway![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Organisation[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Other top tips - if you like any flowers etc at the do and have paid for them make sure they are loaded into your transport home with all your pressies afterwards (or with folks to their place if you are flying off_ as otherwise you'll be disappointed when you realise they've mysteriously vanished! (and often the florist wants the pots back and they've vanished too and you get charged for them!) . By the way the florist height charge is one of the funniest things I've ever heard - she should get a medal for entrepreneurial moneymaking.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Drink:Get someone else (not you as it is too embarrassing) - who is not !!!!ed like your Dad to check and agree how many bottles of wine were served during the evening when it all wraps up - I know it sounds tight but it really isnt (remember recent Ritz story about reselling wine) - you will get ripped off I'm afraid if you don't. And if it's your own wine and you are paying corkage - again get someone to take it home/away straight that evening and park it at their place ready for your return from honeymoon to continue the shindig![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If you are going to get loads of pressies on the day - detail a mate to organise everything to do with them - a safe place to put them - make sure you leave with them or they go somewhere else safe. Even better see if they will help you logging them all - even if you actually personally send out all the thank you's - the logging to make sure you attribute each thing to the right person is a nightmare and politically fraught.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Decor[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Or how about unusual beautiful Indian silks from East End to wear or decorate your venue?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Use white sheets as the tablecloth base then go to fabric merchants or John Lewis will do and buy fabric for net curtains (sheer/slightly lacey). Starts at around £3 per metre. Throw it over the top of the white sheet (and why not pop some confetti between the two layers too...?)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If you are having your reception in community centre/village hall etc, rather than buy tablecloths for the table, use new white sheets, it works out much cheaper and you will have a use for them afterwards.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Tables[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Style the whole of the reception yourself. Buy flowers direct (covent garden flower market is very good in London - Boxes of fifty stems for £25). Snip white roses and pile them into plain glass IKEA vases on tables/or for a more simple feel use terracotta pots. Nip into a forest and snip some ivy and lay it over the tables (higgldy piggldy). FREE.. For a scent think about trying rosemary or bay too. Cheap and chic. We used bay leaves from my mum and dad's garden and used them as place name settings (in gold pen) and then tied them to the napkins with hessian string.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Reception Entertainment[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Powerpoint of me and Shane growing up, each decade![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]One thing we did for our wedding instead of favours was to go to the beach, collect pebbles, wash and varnish them, then use them as place settings - we wrote on one "side" the name of the person and on the other the date of the wedding using one of those nice gold marker pens. It looked really nice and was a nice memento for our guests - and for us, too![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]instead of the traditional favours of candy in little boxes we are having a candy station/ buffet. basically we have a selection of vases in all shapes and sizes and are filling them with different sweets but only pink and white to match our theme. we have had lil candy bags with stickers of our names and wedding date on them so guests can help themselves to their favours. we are having a cupcake stand in the middle of the display also matching colours. a picture of our baby girl will instruct guests to help themselves saying "take a little take a lot cos today mommy and daddy tied the knot".[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]We had a budget candy buffet (think variety of different glass vases and bowls containing colourful childhood favourite sweets) so the guests needed something to fill. I bought a job lot of little spice jars from a well know swedish home furnishings company and used ribbon from the colour scheme to tie on a label with the person's name on it. This then acted as that person's place setting until they were seated and they could then fill it with sweets[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Love heart sweets[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]"We thank you for coming,
with a spoonful of kisses,
to bless our beginning,
as Mr. and Mrs.!" Hershey kisses[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If you want to give your guest wedding a favour then why not combine this with name cards and maybe put a personalised gift like some seeds with pretty typed out envelope and poem like;[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Plant these flowers
Let them bloom
Remember fondly
The bride and groom
And how this day
The vows they share
With work and nurture
Grow so rare
A marriage that
Is based in love
And like these seeds
Is from above.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Cake[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]FaceBook - fans of cake maker[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you click on this link to an M&S wedding cake: Stack a cake - in the Product Details section there is a link on "how to stack a cake"
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you want a nice cake, don't feel you need to get a huge one to feed all your guests. Get a nice small cake for the photos and cutting the cake picture, and have a large "blank" fruit cake in the kitchens at the back that you can cut up and serve to your guests. If anyone asks, say its a modern day loaves and fishes, lol![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]By the way, saw a lovely idea in a shop re: wedding cake. The top layer was stacked on bottom layer but not on pillars, it was on a square glass vase (seen similar in Morrison's for a couple of quid) and filled with rose petals. It looked lovely (just an idea...)[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]One piece of advice though, that I know I didn't think of until too late, was assigning someone to take care of the flowers once we had left the reception. We planned to go back the next day to collect two arrangements to put on the graves of some friends, only to find some guests had decided themselves to take them home as they left. We felt rather let down by that, but all in all we loved our day – for Shanes parents. Photos of them on top table too.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Drink[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We had a hotel that let us have corkage at a reasonable rate. This saved us a fortune compared to what some reception venues wanted on their compulsory drinks packages - investigate good wines at reasonable prices and possible discounts for large orders - we got champagne from tesco at half price[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Find a venue that doesn't have a drinks licence like a farm that does weddings. They shouldn't charge you corkage & you can supply your own drink for a massive amount less than usual.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Guestbook[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As keep sakes a friend suggested sending out handmade paper with the invite and asking people to do a drawing or write something for us so that all the papers can be put together in one album as a lovely reminder of all our guests.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot] [FONT=&quot]Honeymoon[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]On our flight the pilot gave us a mention and as our friends tipped off the check in desk - we got free champagne on the plane, and when we got to our hotel again work colleagues had tipped them off and we had loads of freebies too and they upgraded us free.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]We already live together and have all we need bar a vintage racing car and an idyllic cottage !!! but seriously we know several people who asked for money instead of presents. We have decided to ask that if people want to contribute money they can do it anonymously in to an account to go towards our dream honeymoon. This way people can pay in whatever they feel they want to or not. We are just glad for people to celebrate with us and help make the day special. But if we get some money it will definitely help us to pay for a dream honeymoon that ordinarily we wouldn't be able to afford. My friends friend asked for Thomas Cooke vouchers.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Another thing ive seen some people doing is buying TC holiday vouchers on Ebay (40% CB) and saving money on the vouchers for their honeymoon, effectively saving money twice! Also when you go through TC.com you pay for the holiday, ring them and get the equivalent of the vouchers refunded to your card but go through Quidco again for upto 8% cashback! You've now made 3 separate savings![/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]For wedding gifts ask for holiday vouchers. Usually you have to pay for the holiday 12 weeks in advance. However we found a travel agent who allowed us to pay on credit card 12 weeks before & then will refund any vouchers we get back onto the card after the wedding.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Extras[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [FONT=&quot]Get a plastic box with a lid; large shoebox size. Put in it things you will need (or could need in case of an emergency) for the day of the wedding -- masking tape (for the bottom of slippery shoes); sewing kit (we used this is as one of the groomsmen's tuxes had some problem); extra pantyhose; clear nail polish (for runs in hose); extra makeup like lip gloss; plastic drinking straws (sip soda or drinks with so as not to ruin lipstick); chocolate (always good anytime!); Tylenol (headache reliever); antacid or Tums for tummy ache; bandaids, first aids supplies; safety pins; shoe polish; breath mints, etc. Label the top "*YOUR NAMES* Wedding" in big letters and take it with you the day of the wedding. It helps to have all that stuff in one place and to get it all together a bit at a time[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Ode To Gift List's[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]In wedding invitations,
You sometimes find some lists,
For venues, menus and hotels,
And also for the gifts[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]But this one is unusual,
This comes a different way,
We're not asking for presents,
But something else for our day[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Now please don't think we're selfish,
Or that this comes from greed,
But we've lived together for a while,
So there's not that much we need[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]We'd appreciate some help though,
To send us on our way,
And allow us to have our honeymoon,
In a land quite far away[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]So now the point of all this rhyme,
The thing that we would like,
Isn't towels, toasters or microwaves,
But pounds and pence alike[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]And now you know the reason,
Behind this cheeky accord,
Please help to give us lovely memories,
Of a dream honeymoon abroad![/FONT]
[/FONT]

You and Your Wedding magazine have come up with 25 ways to trim your catering costs, some clever ideas if you are using a caterer and not in-house catering

Shortened bullet points are;
1. Don’t break the bank on drinks
2. Small touches, major impact “Drop raspberries into your fizz to impress guests on the cheap,” says planner Erika Unbehaun
3. Stay in season
4. Save the meat for the main vegetarian canap!s can keep costs down
5. Avoid going buffet barmy “we suggest that you stick to one or two options,” Amanda says.
6. Presentation is everything
7. Keep your cool Stick to cold dishes to save money.
8. Skip the starter… “Serve more canap!s during the drinks reception instead and you’ll save on equipment, cutlery, crockery and staff,” says Molly.
9. …or kick things off Italian-style
10. Break bread together “Replace a full first course with bread and differernt oils and vinegars,” says Rafika.
11. Factor in special diets
“Generally, if we have more than two or three different kinds of dietary requirements (like gluten and lactose intolerance or vegetarian), we design a special menu that suits all of them,” says Molly.
12. Get game with meat Break out of a chicken rut and go for seasonal game instead.
13. Play with your food at the tasting
14. Count up the kids
15. Keep the puddings simple
16. Cut straight to the cake … “You save so much money serving the wedding cake as dessert, and people are more likely to actually eat it that way,”
17. …and make it a flavour to remember
“If you’re serving your wedding cake as dessert, have a more decadent flavour than traditional fruit cake,” says Molly.
18. Sprinkle some sugar “We also recently decorated each serving of wedding cake with a bit of spun sugar, so each plate had a lovely hat on top,” says Molly. “That created a big wow factor, but in terms of ingredient cost it was almost nil.”
19. Get cheesy in the evening
20. Less staff, big savings “By serving, say, filet steak as a main course, then placing baskets of hand-cut chips, bowls of salad and little jugs of b!arnaise sauce on the tables for guests to help themselves to, you could save about three or four staff for every 100 guests,” says Molly.
21. Make yours a Mongolian BBQ “Each guest gets a bento box – individual containers with lots of different compartments for different foods which are much cheaper than traditional china – which they fill up at a buffet stocked with meats, tofu, rices, sauces and vegetables,” says Rafika. “Then, they take their box to a chef who cooks it up in a wok, which also creates an interactive form of entertainment for guests.”
22. Treat them to a tea party…
23. …then go all-out with a hog roast
24. Tap into the tapas trend
25. Viva la local flavour