Bride Top Tips 2012

February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Our Top Tips today come from Joanna and Lee who got married on the 30th July last year and had their reception at the fabulous Combe Lodge in Somerset. If you would like tocatch up with Joanna and lees fab wedding day story on our blog, just click to following link – Combe Lodge Wedding

 

Hi Courtenay

 

Our favourite photo is this one….

combe lodge somerset wedding venue

The photo shows off the beautiful church and the colours are stunning, particularly the stainglass window. It captures the moment we faced our family and friends as Mr and Mrs, just perfect.

Our top tips:
1) Understand that however much you want your husband to be involved in the wedding planning, one person does need to have overall control (and that is ok!). Make all the big decisions together and then give certain jobs to the groom, that he can have full responsibility of. He will then feel involved. Never use the line ‘I am doing everything’ as most brides want to be in control!
2) Get your family involved in the wedding day as much as possible. Whether that is making favours, altering dresses, re-stocking sweet tables, making the stationary, doing a reading or being part of the grooms or bride party. It will make your wedding day so much more special for them. It also gives them something to focus on so they don’t feel the need to interfere with the planning!
3) When setting your budget discuss what is really important to both of you and make sure you spend on those things. To us it was so important that our guests and us spent all night dancing and we had just that!

A cheeky 4th tip – listen to the recommendations Courtenay gives you! He really does know what he is talking about (he sees everything at all the weddings he attends). We are so glad we booked the band he recommended!

Jo & lee x

 

More fab top tips on their way shortly..!

 

Dorset Wedding Photographer – Courtenay Photographic Ltd
Filed Under: 2012 wedding planning, from our brides, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Recently Engaged couples tell their story…..

February 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Continuing with our current theme of recently engaged couples here is another lovely story, this time from Cheryl…

 

A friend of mine asked to spend the day with me before I left uni for the Christmas holidays and as I study in Stirling we decided to head up the Wallace Monument. At the top my friend suggested I ask someone to take a photograph of us so I approached the only man also on the top with us. Imagine my surprise when I finished asking the question only for my Boyfriend to take down his hood and spin around, pull out and ring, drop down to one knee and propose!! :) He had been planning it for months – asking my Dad’s permission, my mum’s advice on the ring and booking flights to Scotland to surprise me :) Just perfect!

The actual moment!!

Wow Cheryl, what a surprise that was! But a great one all the same :-)

Come on, there is still time to enter our fab competition, just click the following link and fill in the form, it couldn’t be easier than that- Valentine Competition

Dorset Wedding Photographer – Courtenay Photographic Ltd
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Bride Top Tips 2012

February 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Our Top tips today are from Jaimie and Dill Alacon who were married on the 28th May last year at The Priory in Little Wymondsly in Hertfordshire. To see the story of their wedding day on our blog please click the following link – Hertfordshire Wedding venue

 

Hi Courtenay

Our top 3 tips are as follows:

1) Create a coloured document wallet for each element of your big day, e.g. venue, photographer, wedding dress, bridesmaids, florist. Take 30 minutes each week to look at each folder to create your to do list for the week ahead. It is also easier to take a single small folder with you to each meeting with your suppliers rather than carrying a huge heavy folder with you everywhere.
2) Take your bridal party on a tour of the venue before the big day. It will ease your bridesmaids nerves and give the ushers and best man an idea of the layout of the venue so they can assist your guests when they arrive on the day.
3) Make sure you have your last nervous excited pee before you put your wedding dress on! Sorry not very ladylike I know!

Favourite picture….really tough….think we’ll go for this one because it makes us and our family and friends smile and giggle every time we see it!

The priory hertfordshire wedding venue

Thanks for thinking of us.
Mrs A xx

More fab Top Tips right here very soon!


Dorset Wedding Photographer - Courtenay Photographic Ltd
Filed Under: 2012 wedding planning, from our brides, wedding anniversary Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Recently Engaed Couples tell their story…

February 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Here is another lovely story of a newly engaged couple, who have entered our fab Valentines Competition! Sharing her story with us today is Michelle….

 

So..!! in March last year I had almost given up hope of meeting Mr Wright – there were certainly plenty of Mr Wrongs, Mr Not rights nows and dozens of Mr your so not right its wrong! After a pretty heavy weekend on the tiles I decided to go and meet a bunch of mates for a late sunday nightcap… dressed it on old baggy tea-stained jumper, hair scraped back and black mascara smudged over my face I was not a pretty site to say the least as I melted into the comfy leather sofa and pulled out the Sunday papers..

Then along came Jack. He was so good-looking I went the same crimson shade as my half-chipped nail polish.. Tall, rugged and hansom, my prince charming, the man I had been waiting for my whole life, strolled into the pub the minute I turn up like i should be one of the ugly sisters scrubbing the floor!  Disaster – they say you make your mind up in 3 seconds – well I thought it would be a one micro-second look at me and he would be off.. as i hid behind my broadsheet I realised i was going to have to speak to him, he had plonked his cute little butt right next to me!

I took a deep breath, pretended I looked like Angelina Jolie and charmed his pants off – some say I put a ‘shell spell’ on him and spiked his drink but there is no evidence to prove that…

So we exchanged numbers and I should have been over the moon.. small problem, I work in motorsports and was off in four days for 6 very long weeks – to the other side of the world! Dam it! I told him, you better ask me out quick because I’m off soon! subtle was never my strong point! and we spent the next four blissful days together before I flew to Melbourne…

Writing about it now it sounds crazy, but after two weeks, daily emails and phone calls, I missed him so much I asked him, half joking, to come and meet me.. and he did!! We met on a beach in Thailand exactly one month after we met – it was our fifth date!

After a blissful two weeks in paradise, we returned home to the UK, got a place together and have never been apart since! After what can only be described as a magical Xmas Jack whisked me off to New York. After an afternoon strolling round central park on New Years Eve and a trip to the Zoo, he made me climb on to this huge rock, called childrens mountain, and whilst I thought I was standing there to have my picture taken like a numpty, Jack dropped to one knee and pulled out a dazzler of a diamond and asked me to be his wife.

YES, YES, YES!!! I know its quick but not one person has ever questioned it, they say we were made for each other. I love Jack with all my heart and he really makes me the happiest girl in the world and also….. he still loves me in my joggers and tea-stained jumper!

Another fab enagement story, thanks so much for sharing Michelle and good luck with the competition.

What about you?…You still have a chance, there is still time to enter our fab competition, just click the following link and fill in the form, it couldn’t be easier than that- Valentine Competition


Dorset Wedding Photographer – Courtenay Photographic Ltd
Filed Under: Competitions, Enagement, Fun Stuff, Other stuff Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Bride Top Tips 2012

February 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Today’ top tips come from Jessica and Daniel who got married at Dartington Hall in Devon on 4th June. To see their wedding story on our blog, click the following link – Devon Wedding

 

Hi Courtenay

My favourite picture is this one

dartington hall devon wedding venue

 

But Dan would choose this one…

 

dartington hall devon wedding venue

A bit cheeky to have two I know! ;-)

Our Three Top Tips are…

* Find and book your wedding photographer as early as possible to get the one you want as they do seem to get booked up surprisingly quickly. The wedding photos are what you are left with so it is important to have well captured memories you can look back on.

* Have a wedding book/diary so that everything is together which makes planning/organising much easier.

* Talk to lots of people that have already had their wedding and ask them if there was anything they would have done differently. Its also useful talking to others to get  ideas on things like table plans and favours, the best ideas are often ones pinched!

Cheers
Jess  & Dan

More top tips to follow shortly…

Dorset Wedding Photographer – Courtenay photographic Ltd
Filed Under: 2012 wedding planning, from our brides, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Recently Engaged couples tell their story

February 2, 2012 By 1 Comment

Continuing with our current theme of recently engaged couples here is another lovely story, this time from Julie…

 

 

Where did I propose?
On Christmas Day in my slippers and jamas, just before we had to set off to Swindon to visit Steve’s mum in hospital, which is where we spent most of Christmas Day…. His mum is very poorly so it made a lovely christmas pressie for her too…It was the best xmas gift.

What did he say?
He say….Yay!   and was very emotional and a tear slid into the tea and toast…
The dog looked pleased, the cat didnt look that bothered, but we were very very happy !

Why did I propose?
I proposed as we have been together for nearly 3 years. We met on match.com, after many trials and tribulations (on my part) – I was about to give up after meeting too many strange and wacky characters, dare I mention ‘Goldfish Man’ ‘Mystery Man’ ‘Hunts Man’ ‘I have no Hair Now Man’ ‘Im actually 20 years older Man’ ‘I have a porsche Man’ (but saw him ride off on a bicycle !) and so the sad list went on..  I was about to hang up the mouse and never brave the dating sites again but decided one last try, I saw Steve (and thought now he looks nice and normal) and so I made the first mouse move !  We met, I took him on a tour of 4 bedfordshire pubs and chattered all evening, so was very pleasantly surprised when he asked if he could see me again!  I was pleased that he had his own hair, teeth and hadnt lied about his age.

We had both been through some very rufty tufty times and once Steve had decided he could put up with my snoring and peculiar Aquarian compulsiveness and arty traits, we moved into our first house together (which we found on the internet, and a dog and a cat, so we were all happily rehomed together!)
Romance is not dead
I like to surprise and have done during our relationship. A candlelit dinner in a windmill, a trip to Wales fungi foraging, were lovely things to do together, something we both hadnt done in a very very long time.
To find love again in your (cough) late 40s/early 50s is a wonderful thing and I would recommend it (once you get past the first hurdle of ‘mistakes’ on internet dating!) to anyone…Our journey is still exciting.

Getting through it together
Steve’s mum has terminal cancer and hasnt very long left and sadly wont make our wedding in September, but the best gift we have given her is that she knows I will make her son so very happy and I think that has made things a little easier…and made us stronger.

Our wedding
Being on a vintage budget, we decided to go for a Vintage tea wedding so am getting hitched on 15 Sept in Old Warden on the day of the Bedfordshire Steam and Country Fayre, so Im hoping that we will get some interesting photos!  Im also collecting ebay tea sets (we will ignore the one i thought was a bargain – it was for a dolls house!) – My wedding car has to be my most favorite car ever, the little retro Figaro. No big roller or bentley for me, the Figaro will add love and a smile to the day!

Through the lens
Here I must confess that apart from my boring day job – I dabble a little bit in photography I love images that evoke emotion, make you smile, think, care and make other people evoke emotion.  But we cannot take our own photos so hence deciding to have a go and enter this comp and Dorset is one of my favorite romantic places – despite being landlocked in Beds!

 

Well Juile that is a great story…I wish you all the best with both the competition and your lovely sounding wedding.

 

What about you?…Come on, there is still time to enter our fab competition, just click the following link and fill in the form, it couldn’t be easier than that- Valentine Competition

 

Dorset Wedding Photographer – Courtenay photographic Ltd

 

 

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Bride Top Tips 2012

February 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Today’s top Tips come from Helen and Simon Stocks who got married on the 1st October at the Fabulous Athelhampton House in Dorset, to see their wedding story, click the following link – Dorset Wedding Venue.

 

Here is Helen & Simon….

 

Picture-wise, I love this one….

Athelhampton House dorset wedding venue

- but it’s a really hard choice, as you captured the somewhat whimsical nature of the day in so many pictures! However, I chose this one as I adore the drama and romance, as well as potentially one of the few times I wasn’t giggling or Simon lunging whilst in his kilt.

As to my top 3 bridal tips:

1. Don’t be afraid to be a geek: As a project manager, I am regularly referred to as a “spreadsheet jockey” by the adorable scientists I work with. So I guess it was inevitable that we would have a spreadsheet for the wedding – but I cannot tell you how invaluable it was! Sharing the document between the two of us, it was an indispensable tool to keep supplier contact details, breakdown the budget (as well as highlighting when Simon overspent) and keep tabs on who had sent an RSVP as well as where they would be staying. Having all of the information in one easy to access place that can be backed up took a weight off my mind.

2. If you have an artistic side, use it! Although we had a relatively small wedding, it meant that I could add a personal touch for each place setting. From name cards to velum tealight holders, favours to the table plan and card box: I made them all. There are countless blogs and forums scattered across the internet that are full of hints, tips and inspiration. It means that you can create exactly what you want for a fraction of the price of buying it. If you don’t have time to do it all yourself, call the girls and bribe them with wine for an evening of fabric, ribbons and PVA glue.

3. Keep calm and carry on: On our big day, people were surprised by just how zen-like I was. My theory? If it hasn’t been done, it’s too late and nothing can change that. If something is starting to go wrong, you are surrounded by friends and family who love you and will try their hardest to avert disaster. Just go with the flow and enjoy what will inevitably be the most memorable, and wonderful, day of your life :)

All our best,

Helen and Simon.

 

More top tips coming very soon!…


Dorset Wedding Photographer – Courtenay Photographic Ltd
Filed Under: 2012 wedding planning, from our brides, Wedding Planning Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
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