Planned for Perfection

Many people might think that hiring a wedding planner is just another expense on top of everything else for your big day. However wedding planners very often offer a range of services from full wedding planning to supplier sourcing or on the day co-ordination, and can sometimes save you money in the long run.

UK wedding planning company, Planned for Perfection has won the national award in the Best Wedding Planner (independent) category at The 2012 Wedding Industry Awards. The 2012 Wedding Industry Awards took place recently in London “recognising and rewarding excellence in the wedding industry.” Judges included Annabel Beeforth of prestigious wedding blog, Love My Dress, Editor of You & Your Wedding, Miranda Eason and Sky News Presenter, Sarah Hewson, along with an array of industry experts.

The award was presented to company owner, Jane Riddell, after a panel of industry experts and celebrity judges deemed the planning service to be the best in the country, based on feedback and votes from happy customers.

Planned for Perfection has been making dream wedding days a reality for six years. The company’s mission statement is: ““To provide a personal and flexible approach to wedding planning by helping couples to create their perfect day – with years of invaluable experience, every wedding really is PLANNED FOR PERFECTION….Affordable, Award Winning Wedding Planning!”

Company owner, Jane Riddell says: “I’m absolutely thrilled that Planned for Perfection has been recognised as a standard for excellence in the wedding industry. The fact that the decision was based solely on the feedback and votes from our clients is an incredible validation of the hard work we put in on a daily basis, and makes this award something to really be proud of. Reading the customer feedback was actually a very emotional and rewarding experience in itself, to win the best in the south west award was an honour but to win the national award was an amazing bonus.”

Jane’s extensive background in hotel senior management more than prepared her for founding Planned for Perfection six years ago, when her passion for weddings and events became a full-time occupation, and has earned her a coveted UKAWP (UK Alliance of Wedding Planners) membership. 

Jane feels it’s her ability to connect with couples and to deliver their dream day that has earned Planned for Perfection this latest award. She says: “The most important thing about planning someone else’s wedding is to make it theirs. It’s about being able to read people and understand their tastes and personalities. The wedding should say a lot about who our clients are as a couple and how they feel about each other, and there’s a lot of skill involved in narrowing down a list of suppliers that a couple will fall in love with.”

“We’re also very flexible and offer a range of packages to suit different budgets and needs. Our clients often give feedback about how personal our service is, whether it’s a full planning package, the finishing touches or on-the-day coordination.” Jane adds: “Couples need to have confidence that they’re going to have the day they want, without all the hassle of planning. I truly believe that a wedding planner isn’t a luxury; it can actually be a necessity for people with busy lives and a budget to stick to. Planned for Perfection has a policy of never working for commission from suppliers, we make sure our couples benefit from any savings. Instead we have a great network of contacts and we short list based on that’s right for each client.”

You can contact Jane through her website, find her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

The Hen House

Not all hen parties have to involve 'L' plates and pink sparkly deelieboppers! If you're looking for something a bit different then the Hen House can help you to find a suitable property and has suggestions for activities too.

The Hen House is run by a Devon based partnership Jill Nielson and Judy Lawson. Already running two other successful sites, Last Minute Cottages and Big Cottages, this site was set up partly by suggestions from advertisers on our other sites and partly because we felt there were very few web sites for the discerning visitors, providing accommodation at the higher end of the market for those who want to organise a hen party in beautiful accommodation and with a range of facilities and activities to choose from.

We have kept the site as simple and straightforward as possible. You can visit every venue advertised from a range of regions in the UK and we are now adding properties in Europe. We have asked owners to let you know what they have to offer on site as well as what is available nearby, so that you can make an informed choice depending upon your budget and what you would like to organise to do during your stay. The properties we have to show you are all owned and run by people who wish to provide you with the best.

Venues to suit all needs, tastes and all ages! We are not an agency, enquiries and bookings are made directly with the property owners.The advantage of contacting the owners direct is that they can give you lots of help with local facilities and services and what the venue has to offer your party. 

Not only do we offer fabulous properties we also have great hen party ideas pages;

Outdoor Activities; for the active hens,

Catering: for that wonderful meal you can all share and remember,

Entertainment; pottery painting, cupcake parties, relaxing spa treatments, naked butlers (well not quite!), cocktail making and  more!

Little Extras; hen party bags, games and balloons to mention but a few.

So, all in all, The Hen House offers a complete package to make your hen weekend one to remember and one that is taylor-made to just how you want it! You are in charge!

Take a look and begin your journey to the perfect hen weekend!

You can visit The Hen House website, find them on Facebook, and follow Jill on Twitter.

Cedar Events

We are all individual with our own style, taste and ideas so why not celebrate that at your wedding? We all want our wedding to be the one that people remember (for all the right reasons of course!) and talk about afterwards. 

With an impressive 10 years experience in the wedding & special events industry, Seyi Olusanya, the Creative Director of Cedar Events has been producing spectacular, breath-taking and flawlessly events. Seyi Olusanya was born in Lagos Nigeria and has lived in the UK since the early 90s, after a successful career in the IT industry she followed her true passion of all things design to set up Cedar Events a wedding & special events design, planning & Production Company. Cedar Events has been recognized within the industry as a trendsetting company and has earned itself a reputation for delivering events that their clients and their guest talk about fondly for months.

Events designed and produced by Seyi always have the Cedar Events Factor as she calls it. An event organized by Cedar Events will always be a breath-taking one! We pride ourselves in the originality & exclusivity of our events and in providing a quality service by paying attention to detail. Seyi is skilled at discerning & drawing out the secret pleasures that her clients have always wanted but have never had the resources, creativity or confidence to celebrate by translating them into a breath-taking event.

Over the years Seyi has developed relationships with some of the most prestigious venues in destinations around the world such as Claridges Hotel London, The Address Dubai, Sheraton Gambia to name a few. With a team of highly accomplished & award winning associates in those destinations the Cedar Events team work to create flawlessly executed events. Because of Seyi’s commitment to creating a culture of excellence & personalised service since the inception of the company she has attracted a discerning client base that includes the Crème de la crème of the Nigeria society. Over the last few years Seyi’s repertoire of events include weddings of daughters of ex-presidents & royalty. Her events cut across cultures because of her interaction with different cultures.

Seyi has provided content for magazines such as Cosmo Bride, Continental Magazine, & as a guest columnist for Fab Afriq Magazine. In April 2011, Seyi presented two workshops at Oaken Special Events Fair in Lagos Nigeria, where Celebrity Preston Bailey was a guest of honour. Seyi spoke recently on wedding planning at the launch event of FitBride Ltd to a group of brides to be, and is currently scheduled to speak at the Brides of Culture Wedding Fair in March 2012. She is currently taking requests to speak at wedding fairs, create workshops & mentor up and coming wedding and event planners. Seyi’s style of presentation is lively, real and interactive. Her topics of speciality include:

• Planning & managing large weddings & special events
• Destination: UK - What is the attraction?
• Small company with a global reach: is it possible?

Seyi's Qualifications & Courses:

LLB (Hon) Law - University of London

BA (Hon) English. - Lagos State University

Managing major events – City University

Event Design - Central Saint Martins

Please do take a look at Cedar Events Website and check out their Gallery, 'Like' their Facebook Page and follow Seyi on Twitter!

RS Wedding Designs

Earlier in the year Rachyeta featured us on her lovely Shaadiesque blog and we are very proud to be featured in her Supplier Lounge there, so I am very pleased to be able to share with you news of her exciting new planning packages.

Think you can’t afford a wedding planner? Think again! RS WeddingDesigns  is offering pick-n-mix planning from just £280 with their Theme Design packages.

“No bride wants a cookie cutter wedding but all too often weddings try to foist a package wedding onto them that really doesn’t reflect their personality,” says Rachyeta Singh. “With a Theme Design package, it’s a small outlay that can really open your eyes to what else is out there.”

“It’s your opportunity to do something different and make your big day stand out.”

The package starts at £280 for design ideas, rising to just £395 if you would like RS Wedding Designs to recommend suppliers as well.

The idea for the Theme Design package came from customer demand. Rachyeta often updates her blog with gorgeous reception decor ideas and her eye for colour and attention to detail can turn a dreary hotel package wedding into something rather wonderful.

One bride who avoided a cookie cutter wedding, but ordered some gorgeous cookies, is Catherine, who booked a Theme Design package with Rachyeta.

“The theme Rachyeta chose for us was a paradise dream theme, because our love story was something out of a dream,” Catherine says.

“The place names were little puffy clouds, the set up was a light blue and pink infusion. Our favours were a mix of a thermometer shaped ginger biscuits and an aeroplane shaped biscuit, as I am a doctor and my husband is a pilot.”

“Her venue suggestion was spot on and everyone had a blast.”

So how does RS Wedding Designs come up with these special touches? The company takes an innovative approach to wedding planning, building up an online directory of preferred suppliers to add to the creative flair of Rachyeta and her team. As such, RS Wedding Designs brides not only get great ideas, they also get great discounts.

“Brides use Google a lot nowadays to research wedding ideas but it’s a real shot in the dark,” Rachyeta says. “You may find the supplier of a product you want, but how can you be assured of quality? There has to be a degree of trust and nothing beats a recommendation from those within the industry.

“Our suppliers are people who will deliver. There is a great deal of vetting going on before they are added to our directory. We want to get to know the company behind the business logo - and, in the wedding industry, the photographer behind the camera.”

You can contact Rachyeta through her website, follow her on Twitter and get gorgeous inspiration from her Shaadiesque blog and her Bridal Street, rs1 blog.

Surrey Networking Tweet Up

One of the great things about working for myself at home is being able to use Twitter while I work. I've made some valuable contacts and lovely friends through it and it provides virtual 'office gossip', which is in some ways better than 'real' office gossip as you can literally switch it off if you're too busy or don't feel like getting involved. Twitter is great for picking up on different things such as information and events like networking meetings. Earlier this year I picked up on the Taunton Tweet Up which I made the effort to go to (yes, it's a long old drive from West Sussex to Somerset, but it was worth it as I tied it in with visiting family). It was great to meet some of the people I'd been tweeting with as well as making new contacts within the industry.

I'd been quite apprehensive whilst driving down to Somerset - sometimes it's difficult to walk into a room full of people you've never met before, but I'd committed myself to going so there was no chickening out! The first people I met were the Marry Me In Somerset girls, Abi & Lisa, along with Rachel and Lucinda, two of the Wedding Ideas Magazine 'herd' - all of whom were very friendly and welcoming. Another person I met in Taunton was Pam Wallin who is the driving force behind the Weddings In Surrey Directory. Having tweeted with her many times over the past year or so it was wonderful to finally meet her - like the Marry Me Somerset girls and all the WIM herd she is as lovely and friendly in person as she is on Twitter! I met many more wedding industry people that evening and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

When I saw a tweet a while ago about another Tweet Up, this time a little closer to home, I signed up for it immediately and put the date in my diary! Organised by Pam Wallin and Wedding Ideas Magazine, it was held at Fetcham Park House in Surrey, a beautiful wedding venue near Leatherhead.

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The superbly elegant Grade II* Listed Queen Anne building is set in grounds which were originally landscaped by the famous Capability Brown and is believed to be one of only two remaining buildings which combine the work of architect William Talman and the artist Louis Laguerre.

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I'd allowed plenty of time to tackle the A24 to Leatherhead as the evening was due to start at 6.30pm and arrived around half an hour early, plenty of time to admire the splendour of the reception rooms before they filled up with other attendees. If it's country house elegance and  style you're looking for then this venue definitely fits the bill and the Laguerre murals in the hall and stairway give a dark, richly opulent feel whereas the reception rooms are decorated in light creams and gold with intricate and colourful high ceilings.

Louis Laguerre Mural, Fetcham Park
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In contrast to the previous networking Tweet Up in Taunton I was not feeling at all apprehensive and had been looking forward all day to meeting more people that I had been chatting with on-line and some that I had yet to connect with. The list of attendees was for around 160 and we certainly filled the place up both physically and in noise level! 

By the end of the evening, this country girl who is usually found in either slippers around the house and office or wellies outside walking the LGs was feeling decidedly footsore after several hours in gorgeous high heels, but very positive, buoyed up and raring to go! I may not be a wedding planner, but I do have an incredible list of contacts within the industry now and it's always wonderful to be able to recommend a supplier to a bride - weddings and their planning can be an absolute minefield of information and can leave couples and their families feeling that they don't know where to start. So if you're looking for a Wedding Planner, a Florist, a Harpist, a Caterer, a Cake Designer, a Candy Buffet or a Chimney Sweep (yes, really!) if I can't personally recommend one it's likely that I know someone who can.

I's so easy to become insular and isolated when you work at home for yourself, easy too to be in need of a little 'spark' or 'va va voom' and meeting like minded professionals can really help to give you a boost. So many thanks to Pam and WIM for organising such a lovely evening!

Sunkissed Ceremonies

Well we've had an extremely dry Spring this year with some glorious sunshine then June arrived, more damp squib than Flaming June! Although the rain is desperately needed for the crops it would be good to get some sunshine and warmth back again - on Sunday evening Mr LG even suggested lighting the open fire, something which the LGs and I needed no persuading about! 

Today I'd like to welcome Julia Tsiaka from Sunkissed Ceremonies to our blog. Julia is a Celebrant on the beautiful Greek island of Rhodes .......

All About the Ceremony By Julia Tsiaka

If you’re looking for a wedding ceremony that’s completely your style and totally unique, consider a Celebrant wedding ceremony on the beautiful sun-kissed Greek island of Rhodes.

Sunkissed Ceremonies is a brand new Celebrant wedding service in Rhodes which creates tailor-made wedding ceremonies, in the English language, for couples who want to make their special day extra special.

Celebrant wedding ceremonies are becoming increasingly popular all over the world because they allow couples the freedom to express themselves in their own way; to celebrate their wedding day in the way they really want, with respect for their personal beliefs and cultures.

You can hold your Celebrant wedding ceremony in Rhodes at any time of the day or evening, you can express yourself freely when you say your vows to one another and you can include elements of any and all religions and beliefs.  You can include readings and music of any kind and mix up traditional and modern rituals.

The exchange of rings, the exchange of vows, the readings, the music and any other ritual held at a wedding is purely ceremonial and can be performed at any time and in any location.  And that’s where I, as a professional Celebrant can help you to make your wedding ceremony unforgettable.

                                                          

Many couples choose to register their marriage with a simple visit to their local Registrar first before jetting off into the sunshine with family and friends to celebrate their “real” wedding ceremony.

Banish any thoughts of not holding your wedding ceremony at exactly the same time as your marriage registration.  After all, you wouldn’t Christen your baby or hold a naming ceremony on the same day that you register their birth, would you?  There are few events that we celebrate at the same time that we register them.  Why should weddings be any different?

As your wedding Celebrant, I will spend a great deal of time getting to know you before creating your personalised wedding ceremony.    The ceremony will be completely unique to you, revolving around the story of your lives, your interests, how you met and how you feel about each other, and moulded around your beliefs and lifestyle. 

You are free to keep as much of the traditional wedding service as you would like and I will suggest some ways to make your ceremony unique with the inclusion of less traditional rituals that might suit your circumstances, like the sand ceremony, the unity candle or the wine ceremony.  See more examples of rituals on my website

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Consider the benefits of having a Sunkissed wedding ceremony in Rhodes. 

• It’s an economical option to holding a full-blown traditional ceremony with a Registrar in attendance at an approved UK venue

• You can choose to have a simple UK marriage registration before or after your Celebrant wedding ceremony in Rhodes or combine your Celebrant wedding ceremony with your legal Greek marriage registration on the island

• You can invite the family and friends that you really want to have with you on your special day – perhaps ask them to splash out on airfares rather than give you a wedding gift.  Ask those guests who cannot join you in Rhodes, and/or the traditionalists amongst them, to your legal marriage registration in the UK.

• You can hold the ceremony almost anywhere you like, at any time of day and there are no time restrictions

• You can style your wedding with a fun or favourite theme, e.g. roaring 20’s, masquerade, wild west, geek, movie stars, Titanic, ancient Greeks, etc. or perhaps just a colour or particular style such as blue and white, ecological, vintage or simply something that fits in with the gorgeous sun-kissed location

• You can express yourselves in any way and with any words, e.g. vows, readings, music, songs, dancing, etc. and stage your own ceremony choreography

• You can include other members of your family in the ceremony, e.g. children, or include a remembrance for someone that is no longer with us

• You can include any religious elements that you like from one or more religions, rituals such as breaking the glass, jumping the broom, handfasting, or even make up some of your own

• You don’t need any documentation, expensive legalisations or translations for a Sunkissed wedding ceremony – everything is in English

• It’s fun and it’s in the sun!

• You can have one heck of a long wedding celebration following your Sunkissed wedding ceremony – it might last until your return flight lands in the UK!

So, if you really want to put some sparkle into your wedding ceremony, come to the Greek island of Rhodes and say your vows in a very special location.

My thanks to Kitty for hosting this article on Celebrant wedding ceremonies in Rhodes.

You can find out more about Julia and the services she provides on her website, email her and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

In April we featured Laurra and Maria Nalty from One Life Ceremonies with suggestions for those of you who would like to do your wedding ceremony where and when you wish, and I'm a supporter of The Any Campaign which is working towards changing the law so that you CAN get married anytime, anywhere - please do visit their website and sign the petition if you think the law should be changed!

Marry Me In Somerset

Planning your wedding can be a stressful time.  You have so much to organise and it can be a daunting prospect! One thing that we hear from brides on a regular basis is that they worry about things going wrong on the day itself and even have nightmares or dreams about it during the planning process.

Marry Me in Somerset was set up by Abi & Lisa to help couples achieve the wedding of their dreams – as stress free as possible!

Our aim is to show couples who wish to get married in Somerset the very best of what Somerset has to offer from highly recommended suppliers to the fantastic choice of stunning, unique and quirky Venues throughout the County.

We believe Somerset is one of the most beautiful counties in England and possibly one of the greatest places to get married in the Country. Somerset is becoming increasingly popular with couples throughout the UK looking for that ‘special something’ as their choosen destination to host their Wedding!

With so many wedding directories online set up for profit purposes, we are passionate about promoting only the very best suppliers that Somerset has to offer. All of our suppliers are by invitation only and we thoroughly research all potential members before inviting them to join MMIS giving you the confidence that any supplier you contact in our directory will give you the high level of service we would expect you to receive.

We hope our site helps you with your Wedding planning!

If you work within the Wedding Industry and believe you offer a service to the standards we expect, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@marrymeinsomerset.co.uk. Likewise if you are a Somerset Wedding Venue and would like to be listed please contact us for further details.