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Home > Wedding Planning > Page 11

Save The Day with John Lewis

17/06/2016 by Karen

John-Lewis-Wedding
John Lewis
 has always been close to my heart, in fact to most Brits  it’s  pretty much an institution upon which we’ve always relied on. From picking up my first pair of knitting needles for a school project, to getting those navy, leather Mary-Jane school shoes we all wore, and in more recent years bulk-buying cotton sleep suits for my own children, John Lewis has always been there for me.

Apart from that familial reliability – and those heart-wrenching Christmas ads – the other major association most people make with John Lewis has to be the infamous you-can’t-go-wrong wedding gift list.  And again, trusty JL was there for me at one of life’s most important milestones.

But what you may not realise is just how much “wedding” they actually have within those beautifully curated floors.

It really is a bridal cornucopia, an Aladdin’s cave. From occasion wear, gifts, stationery, haberdashery, decorations, fizz and make up, there’s no doubt about it — when it comes to weddings – John Lewis is ALL  over it.

And because it’s so trustworthy and established, it manages to keep everybody happy.  There’s something for every kind of couple, whether you’re seeking classical big day perfection or  a quirkier, more offbeat feel.

John Lewis Wedding
Haberdashery / Wedding Craft

For me, where John Lewis really stands out is as THE home of haberdashery.  And for those who think haberdashery is just a few different types of buttons, think again.

John Lewis has an unmatched range of ribbons, silks, embroidery, braids, fabrics, zips and, yes, buttons.  But also an incredible range of wedding craft and accessories  — its the place where you can pick up the floral corsages, buntings and all the add-ons to bring your big day vision to life, no matter how creative.

And  they also have really cool decorative bits and pieces that can totally liven up your home long after your big day is over. How gorgeous is the East of India range? And take a look at these Rico Alphabet Decor letters  — they’d be just as fab on a shelf in your hallway, as they would be placed next to a guest book at the  wedding.

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8 ways to stick to your wedding budget without compromising style or elegance

13/05/2016 by Smashing The Glass

HOW-TO-STICK-TO-YOUR-WEDDING-BUDGET
This is a guest post by Alex Boucher

It’s very easy to get  carried away when planning your wedding (it’s all part of the fun after all!). Pinterest boards, blogs, magazines and Instagram accounts are full of ideas you hadn’t even realised you liked; photos of celebrity weddings showing just what a huge budget can buy you.

Setting a budget may not be the most thrilling part of the planning process, but it still beats the panic of overspending! The simple truth is that weddings cost money, and depending on exactly what you want, that could be a sizeable sum. But while there are plenty of articles out there on how to plan your budget, there are not that many on how to stick to it — at least not without losing any panache. So how do you keep your big day classy whilst sticking to that all important figure?

1 . Think carefully about your guest numbers

A brief mention of the budget basics before we start chatting about the details. Firstly, you need to look at the amount that you can honestly afford. With that done you need to prioritise elements of the day eg. if you have a particular venue in mind, or know you want a designer dress. If you haven’t thought about venues yet then I always suggest writing a rough guest list. Sure it won’t be close to the final cut, but it should give you an idea of numbers.

Now, I am aware that Jewish weddings are often  quite large affairs, but this trend is slowly changing and while perhaps still a little controversial (especially with more traditional family members), one of the best ways to stick to a budget without losing class is trim your guest numbers to only people that really mean something special to you; the atmosphere will be more intimate and it will cut the costs dramatically. When you know roughly who you want to invite you can start looking for venues that suit.

2.  Consider venues that don’t need much in the way of decor

Now, here we go with a few little ideas for you to consider when you are thinking about a venue. When you have visited a couple of venues you can see how much they charge so that you can budget accordingly… but it’s a good time to get a little savvy. A dramatic venue (such as the beautiful Kensington Roof Gardens in London) needs very little in the way of embellishment. Sure the initial outlay may be a little more than a blank canvas of a venue, but the saving on decor may actually weigh things out. When looking at a venue don’t just look around starry eyed — think carefully about how much it would take to make the place look how you would like it and if it has all the basics. A marquee or tipi can be wonderful, but not all that cheap when you add on the cost of things like toilet hire. (Ps you need toilets, no negotiation here!)

How-to-budget-for-your-wedding
Table setting from Missy & Yoni’s Jew-ish wedding  (image: Babb Photo)

3. Enlist talented friends and family

For many, help from others is a way to stretch the budget. You may have family and friends desperate to help with any aspect of the day — from baking your cake to creating your invitations to help save the pennies…. and keen not to hurt feelings as well as watch the cash flow you find yourself agreeing to something that is decidedly more amateur than you would have liked. This is a sticky situation. Certainly accept their kind offer if they can bake like Mary Berry, or have the craft skills of Kirstie Allsopp; however don’t be shy about saying no. If the cake is inedible you will be disappointed — better to buy a decent wedding cake and decorate it inexpensively — and helping to decorate is something that your nearest and dearest can definitely get involved with. I had some cake at a wedding once that looked incredible… but tasted as though it was baked a month ago. Lovely!

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My dream gift list from Prezola…. What would you choose?

15/04/2016 by Karen

Prezola-gift-list
From experience, creating a gift list can often be a  daunting part of wedding planning when really it should be one of the most fun. Wandering the aisle with a scanner gun whilst navigating a department store can cause serious headaches, and quite frankly the technology  is more than a little outdated. Plus, what happens if you’re already living together and don’t need another cutlery set, or you have taste that’s a little cooler than your average department store?

Enter  Prezola, a trailblazer of a service who are taking gift list-ing to a whole new level and are re-inventing the experience for modern couples. Of course they offer all the gift list essentials (and 30,000 of them at that) but they also cater to your personal taste and unique story. Not only will you find items that reflect your interests from tech to travel to wine and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, there’s also gorgeous home decor from over 300 of the best homeware brands, and if it appeals, you can also ask your guests to contribute to your honeymoon fund, favourite charity, or even cash to put towards something special. Added to that, you can add in any product from any retailer if it’s not part of their own curation. As personal as it gets, right?!

And because choice is at the very core of  Prezola’s user experience, Mr STG and I were asked  to to go fantasy gift list shopping for our own apartment, and for anything else that appealed to  our exceedingly good taste! Reason no. 18342 why I love my job…

Prezola-gift-list-Karen-Cinnamon

Choosing items for our apartment

Some of you may have seen pictures of our  apartment already on  Instagram. It’s a former piano factory with urban  views over London and has  a  ‘warehouse’ feel (you can see a glimpse of it up there at the top of the post). Our interiors style is a combination of  minimalism, pop art, a love of design and typography, and an urban yet cosy feel – a real mix I know!

Our list is filled  with some interiors  decor that I  frankly have to have  for  our flat, as well as some amazing cookware (for suppers à  deux  and dinner parties), some fun bar accessories (we are partial to an Aperol Spritz or three), our favourite board games, art, books, some sailing action… the list goes on!  Have a look at  my page to see all our choices or have a  quick glimpse of our absolute faves below.

Does your taste match ours? What are your favourite products on Prezola? I hope I’ve inspired you to hop on over to Prezola  to start visualising your future home together. There really is no place like…  Prezola!

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If organising your big day is turning into a second full time job, worry not – I’ve found the perfect wedding planner…

24/03/2016 by Karen

Charlotte-Elise-Wedding-Planner
When your beau pops the question, he not only proposes to spend the rest of his life with you, he also nominates you to organise and conduct the biggest event of your life and then watch it play out in front of an audience of hundreds — made up of your closest friends and entire family. No pressure. Oh, and yes if you can carry on doing your normal day job at the same time Maestro, that would be great.

Sometimes it’s just not realistic to put that much pressure on yourself, your partner and your family. And that’s where a wedding planner comes in brandishing an armoury of event experience, cost spreadsheets and suppliers.

It doesn’t mean any of your creativity need be compromised — you can simply save yourself a lot of time and have someone else take on the lion’s share of the leg work and stress.

And I think that’s where today’s supplier Charlotte Elise really comes into her own. She is not only a meticulous, unflappable organiser, who is deft at dealing with family dynamics and managing different personalities, she is also a brilliant listener. The relationship between wedding planner and bride is paramount. And Charlotte understands that for the day to be successful, she needs to maintain a clear understanding of what the bride envisages and then tailor suppliers and recommendations to that tune. And keeps that level of communication going throughout.

In fact this communication is equally, if not more, important if you’re not actually that  creative at all when it comes to the visual side of things. Charlotte brings her own immaculate sense of style, her intuition and a natural leaning towards the personal touches to help find the look that represents you best as a couple. You can trust her opinions and be confident that the “final product” will be gorgeous, tasteful, and elegant.  

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Smashing the Bride’s Glass Ceiling

05/02/2016 by Karen

Brides-giving-speeches
This is a guest post by  Lucy Jenkins (pictured above),
a newlywed television publicist living in London,  whose wedding I  featured on the blog last month.

Over the last few years there has been a huge renaissance in the rise of feminism, with women pushing for the right to equal pay, equal rights and against every day sexism. In the wedding industry, an industry which revolves predominantly around women, it seems bizarre that there are so many antiquated rules that determine how we create our wedding days.

Over the past year I was asked on a nearly daily basis how ‘my’ wedding plans were going, and very rarely did anyone assume that my husband was involved in the intricacies of the planning process. There were constant references to ‘Lucy’s wedding’ and a general assumption that the big day was higher up on my agenda than his. It is an extraordinary set of circumstances and outdated behaviour that a wedding day seems to belong to the bride, and yet her voice is the only one that we do not hear.

After many years working in publishing and now in television I spend my days talking non-stop, and you’d think that when I leave the office that my ability to talk and talk and talk would diminish, but it never seems to. When Matt and I first met, on a flashing dance floor of a club, he offered to buy me a drink and we spent the next three hours sitting in the corner talking about anything and everything under the sun.

Our first few dates lasted until 2 or 3am, moving from restaurants to bars, watching last orders being called around us while we were lost to the world deep in conversation. We are both chatterboxes, we love regaling our friends with stories, working any problems out by talking them through, having heated debates and are most definitely not known for our shyness. And yet when it came to planning our big day he seemed a little taken aback that I wanted to stand up on stage and say a few words.

Brides-Speech
Image:  Jez Dickson

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