Wedding Planning Guide 2011

March 2, 2011 By 1 Comment

Today I am very pleased to introduce you to the very lovely Laura from Athelhampton House who is going to pose some questions you should be asking when looking for a wedding venue. Athelhampton House is a wonderful Dorset wedding venue an ideal setting to hold your Dorset wedding.

Too see a Dorset wedding Album from Athelhampton House please visit or Wedding Venues page on our Dorset wedding photography website.

 

Here is Laura

 

Our top three tips on choosing a wedding venue……..

Exclusivity
Will your wedding be the only event at the venue on the day? And do you have unlimited access to the venue?

Flexibility
Are the staff at the venue experienced and professional? Flexibility is very important. Make sure that the venue is willing to adapt to your needs as this will play a big part in the running of your wedding day.

Personal Recommendations
Does the venue have good feedback from previous weddings and local suppliers? We feel that it is of upmost importance to keep good relationships with local photographers, cake makers and florists. It is important to be able to maintain a link between every aspect of your wedding day, enabling your wedding co-ordinator to support the planning of the day as much or as little as is required.

Best wishes, hopefully see you soon,

Laura

Laura Dean

Assistant Manager

Athelhampton House & Gardens

(01305) 848363    www.athelhampton.co.uk

 

If you are looking for a stunning wedding venue in Dorset, I thoroughly recommend you give Laura at Athelhampton House a call, you won’t be disappointed.

 

Want to see some wedding Photography at this wonderful Dorset Wedding Venue, then watch our Youtube video below…

 

 

 

Dorset Wedding Photography by Courtenay Photographic
Filed Under: 2011 Wedding Planning Insiders Guide, Athelhampton House, Fun Stuff, News from us., Other stuff, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Wedding Planning Guide 2011

February 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Good morning everyone, welcome to a brand new week :-)

To kick us off this week I would like to introduce you to the lovely Sarah from Enzos Hair & Beauty who are fabulous wedding hairstylists.

Here is Sarah

Hi Courtenay,

Our top 3 tips for choosing a wedding hairdresser:

1.) Meet with your chosen hairdresser, first impression count for a an awful lot, your likely to be spending a proportion of your wedding morning with this person so you want to get on! Trust is also an issue, you want to be as relaxed as you can on your wedding day, making sure you have the right professionals around you can go a long way to help ease any stress. Always ask your chosen stylist to see  a photo book of all the previous wedding hair they have created, its good to know they have the experience and can produce the kind of look you are hoping for.

2.) Always book your stylist  as early as you can even if your using your usual hairdresser. You need to give plenty of notice, as wedding hair is not only a very popular service but quite a demanding one by way of the time it takes up, dates do book up very quickly and you don’t want to miss out on the stylist of choice.

3.) Always make sure you book in a trial session with your stylist. The last thing you want to do, is leave the planning of your hair design until the wedding day itself (even just the day before is cutting it to fine really), what if the design you had in mind just doesn’t work for your hair, or doesn’t look the way you thought it would and you hate it! You do not want to be creating that kind of stress on your wedding day and have to start the whole process over again with very little time on your side, do your homework and get these stress busters out of the way early so you can be confident on your wedding day that everything will be just as you planned. Wedding hair trials give you and your chosen hair stylist the chance to experiment, the chance to get it wrong without stress and then to get it right all in a relaxed manor so you will both be very happy with the end result. Its always great to be able to see photo examples of your hair as well as, picture of styles that have been done before or in books or magazine, (you can always bring in pictures you have seen and liked, its good to try everything). Use your stylists knwledge, they know if what you are asking is possible and they know so much more about how your chosen look will work with your wedding style and for example how a style has lasted the day! All this leaves you more relaxed about your day and having every ounce of faith in your hairdresser which is what we all want.?? We have worked with wedding hair for a very long time now and these are always the most important three points to think about that are often overlooked and cause so much heartache later on .

Sarah x

You can reach the lovely Sarah on 01258 473123 or visit their website at www.enzoshairandbeauty.co.uk

Dorset Wedding Photography by Courtnay Photographic Ltd
Filed Under: 2011 Wedding Planning Insiders Guide, Fun Stuff, News from us., Other stuff, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wedding Planning Guide 2011

February 25, 2011 By 4 Comments

Introducing you today to the lovely Alison Tinlin aka @MrsPandP From Plans and Presents who does all things lovely in the world of wedding planning. Now wedding planners are not just for the rich you know, and maybe your perceptions of a wedding planner is that they are an expensive commodity! Well, perceptions can be wrong you know, how can I explain hmm? I know let me hand you over to the lovely Alison -

PLANS AND PRESENTS

My work ethos is that Plans and Presents is about delivery, working with clients, in whatever nature or involvement that is, to make their Event amazing.
I believe that each celebration is about the couple, it is their day, and they always retain “ownership” of their day.
I just see myself as a their guide, counsellor, and advisor.

Statisitics show that it can take up to 250 hours to plan a Wedding.
These days people can have the commitments of work, raising children and running a home, and that can make planning a Wedding a bit of a challenge.

My main aims can be split into three distinct areas.

Save you time

My job is to act as a personal Event P.A.
I will do all the legwork, such as doing the research, making the calls, negotiating, and taking care of all the little details.
With so much choice and possibilities its easy to become overwhelmed ie. What photographer ? Is this venue right for us ?.
My job is to bring everything back to complete clarity.
With my contacts within the Events Industry, I have access to a multitude of fabulous suppliers, therefore making me well placed to assist clients with choosing suppliers that are right for their needs.

Save you money

Weddings and Events can be expensive, there’s no doubt about it.
A planner such as myself can actually save a client money through discounts obtained from contacts in the industry .
I specialise in working within the clients set budget, and strive to work my fee into this through savings made.

Save you stress

Sometimes organising a Wedding or Event can seem like an enormous and impossible task.
My job is to be right there to lend support, whenever and in whatever way that its needed.
This can mean emotional support, as well as practical help.
I pride myself on being a people person with a really good ear.

In conclusion, the message I am trying to project is that a Wedding and Event Planner is not just the luxury for celebrities, or the well off, but real people who need someone to to make their special day, unique and distinctive.
I am someone who is professional and approachable, and my job in essence is to be an AFFORDABLE REASSURANCE.

website: www.plansandpresents.co.uk
email: alisontinlin@plansandpresents.vpweb.co.uk
Blog: www.plansandpresents.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/plansandpresents
Twitter: www.twitter.com/MrsPandP

So if you are looking for a wedding planner who will make your day run smoothly without breaking the bank, give Alison a call, she knows her stuff!

Dorset Wedding Photographer – Courtenay Photographic Ltd
Filed Under: 2011 Wedding Planning Insiders Guide, Fun Stuff, News from us., Other stuff, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wedding Planning Guide 2011

February 24, 2011 By 1 Comment

Today I am delighted to introduce you to the fabulous and lovely Maggie Hunt who is the leading light in Make-up. If you are looking for an expert Make-up artist for your wedding, then look no further because Maggie is the one you have been looking for!

Here’s Maggie…

Hi

I have just returned from The Maldives, which was just amazing and perfect for honeymoons; so do consider these islands as an option.

This week I’ve been doing fashion show make-up, which is always the most demanding; speed, talent and patience is a virtue for the catwalk.  In a couple of days I’m off to Cape Town and then Argentina for a photographic shoot.

Even though we are not yet at the end of February I have achieved several wedding trials and I’m doing more and more trials on mums & bridesmaids too!

It may not be feasible for every bride to have Maggie Hunt but you can always ask!  I have one lovely wedding to do in Paris & as my son lives there I will kill two birds with one stone.

So, if I’m sadly not free for your wedding day make-up what does one need to look for when choosing a make-up artist?

1.    Get a recommendation and if you don’t know where start, ask your wedding planner, dress designer, photographer, hairdresser, venue or a make-up artist you admire.  There are also many bridal websites and magazines.
2.    Once you have a short list or you are ready to move forward with your first choice do check out the make-up artists website to make sure you like her style.
3.    Most future brides make initial contact via email these days so do watch out for a professional reply, which is someone who replies quickly and with a nice manner.  The last thing you want is a late and grumpy make-up artist on your wedding day.

4.    Most brides do go for a wedding trial these days but this is not compulsory, however make sure you speak to the make-up artist so that you can chat about the look you are after, the timings and location.
5.    At the wedding trial you may want to bring some magazine cuttings of make-up looks you like and it is important that the make-up artist is confident enough to be adaptable and is willing to make changes.

6.    If you are getting married abroad you may prefer to have a make-up lesson with a top make-up artist so that you can do it beautifully yourself on the day; I have heard of some disaster stories with local beauticians.

Best wishes

Maggie

To contact Maggie for your wedding please use the following -

www.maggiehunt.com

maggie@maggiehunt.com
+44 (0)7770917570
+44(0)2074355049

Dorset Wedding Photography by Courtenay Photographic Ltd
Filed Under: 2011 Wedding Planning Insiders Guide, Fun Stuff, News from us., Other stuff, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wedding Planning Guide 2011

February 23, 2011 By 3 Comments

Today we welcome the lovely Jan Waters from JW Blooms, who does all things fab with flowers grown right outside her door!

Here’s Jan….

Top Tips for Choosing Your Florist

It can be a hard job arranging a wedding – so many choices to make, so many people to please, so many people not to offend! But one area where you are pretty much able to please yourselves, and yourselves alone, is the choice of flowers – which is why it’s so important to choose the right florist.

So what’s the best way to go about that? Here are my tips:

Decide on your priorities. At JW Blooms, I grow my own flowers, organically and  as sustainably as possible, and for the majority of my customers, that’s the main reason for choosing me. Others come to me because they like the relaxed cottagey style that comes with English cut flowers. But some people have their hearts set on a certain flower, irrespective of the time of year they’re getting married, and if that’s you, you may want to stick to a more conventional florist. The important thing, either way, is to talk to as many florists as possible. Most will set up a no-obligation meeting with you to discuss ideas and talk costs, and I would recommend going to at least two or three. And push your boundaries a bit. You may have decided you like the look of a certain florist from their shop front, but don’t let that put you off visiting others – the local one, the home florist or the posh one you wouldn’t normally dare approach. You never know what ideas they’ll come up with.

Decide on your budget. Prices for floristry vary enormously. Decide how important to your day the flowers are and reserve a certain percentage of your total budget to reflect that. And remember that a good florist will be able to come up with something to suit any budget, so don’t worry if it’s not that much. It’s your wedding, so spend what you want, not what your florist thinks you should spend.

Start early. If you can, get in there quickly as most florists get booked up a long way in advance and you never know, it could save you money. Those who booked me last year for a 2011 wedding are getting their flowers at 2010 prices!

Choose a florist you like. That may sound a weird way of going about things, but you need to feel comfortable with your florist. If two weeks before the event, you change your mind about what flowers you want, you need to be able to tell them without feeling intimidated. If they suggest something you don’t really like, you need to feel comfortable saying no. If you’re in a shop and suddenly see a set of vintage jugs that would suit your wedding perfectly, you need to be able to text them a photo to say, “I’m buying these,” without feeling like you’re mucking up their plans. And, after all, you want the process to be fun!

Well, hopefully that will go a small way to helping you get the flowers you’ve dreamed of. Remember, the flowers are there to make you feel happy, not stressed. It’s going to be a fantastic day – may you bloom!

Jan
www.jwblooms.co.uk

Please feel free to contact Jan on any of the means below, I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

T: 01823 660870
M: 07939 093249
E: info@jwblooms.co.uk
W: www.jwblooms.co.uk

Dorset Wedding Photographer – Courtenay Photographic Ltd
Filed Under: 2011 Wedding Planning Insiders Guide, Fun Stuff, News from us., Other stuff, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wedding Planning Guide 2011

February 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

Today I am very pleased to introduce you to Jamie Wonnacott from Entwined Films, who is not only a very talented wedding videographer but a very nice guy and whom I am proud to say has become a good friend.

Without further ado, here is Jamie…

Hello :)

Couples are increasingly booking a wedding videographer in addition to their traditional photographs, and there are now a large number of companies offering their services. As with all aspects of planning your wedding the quality of wedding videos can vary greatly.
So in order to help you separate your ‘Dom Perignon’ from your ‘Lambrini’, Wedding Film Producer Jamie Wonnacott of Entwined Films has put together 3 Top Tips for Choosing Your Wedding Videographer.

It’s your wedding… not a Hollywood Film set!
Your wedding day is all about you and so you should be able to enjoy the time with your new husband/wife and family without a concern over the running of the day. There are two major parts of a wedding day that can influence the enjoyment of your wedding day. Wedding Photographers and Wedding Videographers both have the capability to leave a lasting mark on your wedding day… but not always a positive one!
Fortunately if you are using Dorset Wedding Photographer Courtenay Photographic to produce your photos you are already half way there. Working alone, Courtenay is fun and efficient during the official photoshoot but blends into the background throughout the rest of the day. He gets all the beautiful shots you could wish for but without making any fuss and without inviting along unnecessary people or equipment. I like to think of him as a kind of ‘Wedding Photography Ninja’!

Wedding videographers can be somewhat different. Maybe stemming from a background in television production, some wedding video companies descend upon your wedding day and take over the whole show. Whilst they may obtain some pretty shots, this is at the expense of the couples time and patience.
My own approach is very much the same as Courtenay’s – preferring to let the day unfold naturally and capture it with as little fuss as possible. One cameraman with two cameras blending into the background and capturing all the special moments. Simple yet highly effective.

All the Gear… No Idea!
With changes in technology bringing us advancements in camera technology it is easy to assume that you want a wedding videographer using the latest cameras.  For the most part this may be correct, but I suggest exercising some caution before being wowed by technical jargon.
There are some fundamental elements of a wedding video that can make the finished article look amateurish irrespective of the camera used. Shaky footage, Poor focus, wrong colours, poor composition, cheesy music, poor choice of shots, constant zooming in and out, lack of emotion… the list goes on. It doesn’t matter how good your camera is… without a thoughtful and technically competent approach to wedding filming you are left with something that resembles an 80’s style home movie tape.
The answer is to watch not just the wedding highlights on a company’s website but ask for the opportunity to watch several full wedding videos. This way you can look out for the type of problems listed above and ensure the final product fills you with the emotion you wish for your own wedding video.
Special Effects… but where’s the storyline!
There are too many examples of wedding videos where the editor has clearly bought themselves a new box of ‘Wedding Special Effects’ and is intent on using every single one!
Personal taste is obviously an important consideration and some people may quite like heart-shaped fluffy borders, spinning gold wedding rings or confetti falling across the screen like a raging snow blizzard. However, these effects are already very dated and 20 years from now will make your video look very old.
I prefer the alternative option – No special effects, beautiful  and simple colouring combined with carefully selected music. If you get things right in the first place there is no need to use silly special effects.

You can find the full article 10 Top Tips to Choosing Your Wedding Videographer by visiting the Entwined Films website at www.entwinedfilms.com. We also have an extensive database of Wedding Venues, Wedding Music, Wedding Poems & Readings.
Happy Wedding Planning,
Jamie

Cheers Jamie :-) If you are looking for a great wedding videographer that works seamlessly with your unobtrusive wedding photographer, then look no further Jamie is your man, give him a call or drop him an email you won’t regret it!

Want to see some more of Jamie’s work well click the image below to take you to a Dorset Wedding that we worked on together just recently -

Dorset Wedding Photography by Courtenay Photographic

Filed Under: 2011 Wedding Planning Insiders Guide, Fun Stuff, News from us., Other stuff, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wedding Planning Guide 2011

February 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Morning everyone :-)

Thank you to everyone who came and supported us on Friday at Athalhampton House, its very pleasing to say that over £3ooo was raised for Asthma UK, so thank you once again.

Anyway, back to today and our Wedding Planning Guide! Today I thought it only apt that I should introduce you to the lovely Lisa Notley (who is running the London Marathon to raise money for Asthma UK and what Friday was all about), who makes all things very yummy and beautiful in the world of Wedding Cakes!

Let me hand you over to Lisa…

Tip’s on choosing your wedding cake & cake designer.

1-  Designs

Stacked, pillared, separated with fresh flowers, adorned with exquisite handcrafted sugar flowers, ribbons & piped lace detail, shiny dark chocolate shards, waves of white chocolate, smooth chocolate paste, ruffles & truffles, chocolate flowers & fans, cupcakes, individual fancies& little chocolate encased cakes, simple & sophisticated or brightly coloured & vivacious, the choice is yours! You may decide to have a cake made & designed to fit with your hobbies or simply decorated with fresh flowers. When you meet a cake designer, take along any pictures for inspiration, swatches of material you have for your dress, colour schemes, flowers, venue etc. This will inspire them and make sure they make you a cake in keeping with all elements of your day.

2 – How to Choose

When choosing a cake designer, recommendations from your friends, family & venue are a good place to start. The best cake designers can get booked up quickly, sometimes up to a year in advance. If you have your heart set on a particular designer, make sure you contact them in plenty of time. Established designers will have extensive portfolios for you to browse & ideas for wedding cakes to complement your special day. Many cake designers have a great selection of cake stands to choose from, offer cake tastings & design consultations, delivery & setting up services.

3 -Always

Be sure to have a taste – it’s important your wedding cake tastes as good as it looks. Many cake designers will have a range of yummy flavours of sponge, different jams and fillings and are often able to design a cake that incorporates more than one flavour. Carrot cake, lemon cake, and, of course, chocolate are all popular choices. You might even decide to have a different flavour for each tier. You may consider serving your cake in the evening, or as pudding, serving it with ice cream, chocolate sauce, or a fruit coulis is also a great idea. Your number of guests you plan to serve & your wedding breakfast menu ideas will also help in choosing your cake.

Best wishes Lisa

Now I have tasted a few of Lisa’s cakes and I have photographed many more of her fabulous designs, and I can say with hand on heart that they are the most wonderful of creations and simply to die for. If you are looking for someone to make you a wonderful wedding cake then look no further because Lisa is definitely the one!

You can visit Lisa’s website by clicking here www.cakesbylisanotley.co.uk or by giving her a call on 07818 201074


Wedding Photography Dorset – Courtenay Photographic Ltd
Filed Under: 2011 Wedding Planning Insiders Guide, Fun Stuff, News from us., Other stuff, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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