Questions to ask your potential venue's coordinator

It is really important to ask lots of questions when viewing potential venues to make yourself aware of everything you are and aren’t allowed to do, and all that is involved with hiring the venue. 

As Mr M and I are off to visit our first potential venue this weekend, I put some feelers out on the You and Your Wedding chat forums, to find out what other Brides had asked their venue coordinators and thought I’d share the results with you!

• Do they give a discounted rate for kiddies meals?
• What time does the bar stay open till..(?!)
• Are you allowed to throw confetti?
• Are there any planned renovations or building work?
• Will you be the only bride on the day at the venue?
• Are candles allowed?
• Do they charge for cutting the cake?
• Will someone represent the venue all day and oversee everything?
• Does hire include tables and chairs/dancefloor?
• How does catering work – i.e. do they do the catering or is it from a recommended list of suppliers?
• Availability?
• Any Negotiation on price?
• Hire times?
• How many staff will be attending to your wedding?
• What decorations they will have up?
• What is happening on the days either side of your wedding?

And finally, GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING (no matter how trivial)

Hobbycraft has a SALE on!

Take a trip down to your local Hobbycraft in the next few days as they are currently holding their summer sale, and LOADS of items have been reduced!

Rubber stamps for personalised stationery, glues and adhesives, paints, paper, embellishments, glassware, even wooden letters and numbers are on sale ready and waiting for you!

I picked up a load of different adhesives which will come in handy when putting together my stationery, plus some fab embellishments!!

Visiting our no.1 prospective venue on Saturday!

Mr M and I are off to visit our no.1 venue choice on Saturday based upon hours of trawling the internet for reasonably priced venues!

I’m a bit nervous because I’ve already mentally planned our wedding there, so let’s hope it lives up to my (perhaps unwise) high expectations!

Keep coming back for updates, and advice on what to ask your venue coordinators when viewing possible locations to marry!

itsabridesworld loves eBay!

eBay has always had fluctuating support, and for good reason! There are some great sellers on there, but equally there are also some terrible conmen lurking behind their computer screens waiting to rip you off.

However, if you do your research, check out the seller and their feedback, use paypal (it gives you extra security) and generally keep your wits about you (if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!), your eBay experience can be one of joy, not horror.

If you are a Bride on a budget like myself, then eBay can help you achieve the wedding you have always dreamed of, but on a more money savvy basis.

I am using and abusing eBay for all it is worth at the moment to source all the materials I am using for my wedding stationery.

I’ve been quoted prices between £200 and £600 for invitations and RSVP cards alone, but by using eBay, I am in the process of buying the materials from various sellers, and will be able to create my own homemade invitations for around £60!!!! This price includes invitations for day and evening guests, save the date cards, RSVP cards, order of service booklets and extra little bits and bobs I’ll be crafting along the way!!

Yes, I’d save time purchasing my stationery from a ‘proper’ company and they may look homemade, but I’d rather spend time putting care and love into all aspects of my wedding and make them myself than spend hundreds and hundreds of pounds on something that inevitably is going to go in the recycling sack of my dear guests post-wedding.

Keep your eyes peeled for sneak-peak releases of my wedding stationery in the next few weeks…

Winter wedding colour scheme: burgundy

Mr M and I have our hearts set on a winter wedding, and have been trawling the internet trying to find inspiration for venue decoration, colour schemes, bouquets and generally festive images.

Holding a winter wedding has a lot of pros; its romantic, often cheaper as it is ‘low season’, you can eat rich, warming and filling food, and your special day will always fall near one of the most special times of year; CHRISTMAS!!

On our travels, burgundy came up as one of the most popular colours to choose for a Christmas or winter wedding, so I thought I’d share all the images with you!

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Etsy: a haven for shabby chic items

I’ve mentioned Etsy.com previously and said how fab they are, however, after spending a few of my spare hours last night browsing the site, I discovered they are even more fab for reasonably priced, handmade shabby chic goodies!!

Whether you are looking for handmade cards, directional signs, hair pieces, bouquets, favours or stationery, there WILL be something to fulfil your shabby chic dreams!!

Check it out!!!

Village halls: from shabby to chic

Choosing to hold your wedding reception at at your local village hall will save you a hell of a lot of money in comparison to holding it at an expensive establishment such as the place you hold your ceremony.

However, village halls are renowned for being as shabby and stuffy as something you find in a museum, and certainly don’t fit in with most Bride’s dreams if class and elegance.

But there are ways around this!

First stop is google. There are some brilliant examples of fab transformations, but as with all internet sites, there are also plenty of examples of what not to do.

Think marquees. Marquees are often jazzed up using linings and fabric drapes which look classy and expensive.. But they actually don’t have to be! There are plenty of companies who will line the entire room for a few hundred pounds. Okay, its not free, but it will be considerably less than hiring a golf club, marquee or barn.

Fairy lights. It doesn’t matter what time of year, but fairy lights always bring cheer and a sense of fun to a venue. These lovely little lights look extra special during the autumn months and winter.

Bunting. I don’t know that many brides who don’t love bunting! Bunting can brighten up any room, and is available in so many colours that you are often able to match them to your colour scheme. Most brides tend to use bunting during the summer, but you can always get bunting that has your names or initials on them and these look fab all year round!

Balloons. I am not a massive balloon fan (I feel like a murderer when it comes to the point where you have to pop them), but balloons strategically placed can help detract from any dodgy decor your village hall may have! It’s also a really cheap way of decorating an area.

Curtains. One thing I have noticed, is that the curtains village halls have, tend to be gross colours and patterns that are not very modern. Ikea is a brilliant way of getting around this. They have cheap organza curtains in different colours for sale, which can be used as drapes and cover-ups for yucky curtains.

Check out google for some brilliant examples of what CAN be done!!!