In this issue...August & September

Venue Highlights

Real Life Weddings

Advice from the Experts

Competition Time

Wedding Cake Envy

Lighting Inspiration

& More...& More...

www.weddingswitheaseuk.co.uksophie@weddingswitheaseuk.co.ukfeatures@weddingswitheaseuk.co.uk

A letter from

The So we’re well and truly into the thick of wedding season andlet me be completely honest...we have seen some incredibleones so far!I could honestly sit and talk for hours about weddings and styling and all the rest but I may bore you after a while! We’veseen some truly magical decor ideas and themes with so manymomore to come. Watch this space and keep up to date on our

website and social media!Having just received the news that we willbe visiting this years Brides The Show, we’ll be sure to report back all of the newseasons trends and styles for you all to indulge in!One thing I have noticed that couples aOne thing I have noticed that couples arestarting to consider when styling their bigday is lighting. It’s becoming one of themost important aspects to think about. Forus this is fab as we have an incredible supplier based in Harrogate whose lighting

we absolutely adore! We’ll be sure to show you some of their bits later on in this issue. I can’t express how excited we are at Weddings with Ease UK about this, you should see our office!It’s littered with cute strings of lights and funky lamps.

Much love... Sophie x

Editor

Wedding Cake EnvyWith a rise in couples really pushing the boat out on their

wedding cake, we’ve picked our top few in absolutelystunning cakes for you to drool over!

The Art of ExtraordinaryWedding Invitations

We're so lucky to have been approached by such a phenomenal company such as Adorn Wedding Invitations. Adorn produce some of the finest wedding invitations we have ever seen including the absolutely breathtaking invitations they designed and produced for Vanessa Williams (actress from Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives) and her husband Jim. We spoke to the lovely Erica who told us a little more...

"Vanessa Williams’ 14k Golden InvitationsHere at Adorn Invitations we like to approach every order as a highly individual and personal project. Therefore when Vanessa Williams and her partner Jim Skrip contactedher partner Jim Skrip contacted Adorn to design their unique wedding invitations, the team endeavoured to find out as much information as possible about the couple and their unique love story before beginning the actual design process.

It was during the consultation pIt was during the consultation process where we discovered Vanessa and Jims love was truly on an international scale, as they first laid eyes on each other whilst holidaying in Egypt in 2012.

The design process began with us asking Vanessa to put together wedding inspiration boards on Pinterest so we could get a feel for the kind of aesthetic she wanted. We also worked closely with Vanessa’s wedding planner Carla Measer-Costamagna to ensure that our design was cohesive with the entire wedding décor as well.

The couple had chosen to represent the beginning of their love story throughout the wedding so therefore a luxe Egyptian theme was present, this theme would also trickle down into the design of VVanessa’s inspirations.

Gathering inspiration and researching colours, textures, materials and patterns – our designers devoted months to the design process to ensure that the invitation was just as fitting of an Egyptian theme as the ceremony was.  We communicated with Vanessa and Jim ththroughout the whole process and payed strict attention to their mood boards before we settled on a mutual design.

We wanted a design that was really cohesive with the actual ceremony, so our final design included an element that replicated Vanessa’s wedding dress. The golden laser cut gates that framed the outside of the invitation exactly framed the outside of the invitation exactly mirrored the lace pattern on Vanessa’s Carmen Marc Valvo gown. We thought this was a beautiful nuance amongst the grandeur of the ceremony.

The colour theme that was used throughout the invitations and corresponding stationary was a beautiful complimentary theme of metallic gold beautiful complimentary theme of metallic gold and Marsala – labelled Pantone’s colour of the year. Matching beautifully with the ceremony, the colours were present throughout all of the décor from the golden cupcake holder’s right down to the wedding cake and even table settings.

But perhaps the team’s favourite aspect of the invitation was the 14k gold plated Lotus leaf which was hand applied to the front of every invitation.

The finishing touch was created to match the lotus leaf that Jim had engraved on the inside of Vanessa’s ring. Representing eternal love and new awakening – the leaf was a perfect ode to their love story.  

VVanessa absolutely adored the final design and with her blessing – the glamorous wedding invitation will be put into production at a lower cost later this year.”

Check out their websitefor more inspiration!

www.adorninvitations.co.ukinfo@adorninvitations.co.uk

020 3286 5588

Real Life Wedding

Chloe & Richard

Chloe and Richard were married in their in North Yorkshire on 30th April 2016.This gorgeous couple tied the knot in their localChurch in Westow which is a stones throw awayfrom their home, where they were lucky enough to celebrate their special day.

RichaRichard proposed to Chloe in Florance, Italy inthe gardens of the breathtaking Four SeasonsHotel. After a lovely dinner in the hotels restaurant Richard got down on one knee, ringin hand and popped the question. He evenasked Chloe’s Dad for permission!

Chloe & Richards wedding reception began with drinks in their gawith drinks in their garden, followed by a wedding breakfast and lots of dancing in amarquee provided by Coopers in the field in front of their house. The section of the marqueewhere the bar was situated had a stunning...

...clear roof and two sides of the marquee hadglass doors so guests could see the fantastic views!

Chloe & Richard are both keen horse ridersso they wanted to show this through theircake. They decided on a lovely chocolatecake with white chocolate leaves surcake with white chocolate leaves surroundingthe edges and even got chocolate models oftheir horses under a tree. The tree was two feet high and made of solid chocolate!

The cake was provided by Birdgate Chocolatiers in the little town of Pickering in North Yorkshire. He had made Chloe’s sister’s cake 5 years beforehand.

Photography was by the brilliantlytalented Olivia Brabbs who we at talented Olivia Brabbs who we at Weddings with Ease UK are big fansof!

Chloe’s absolutely stunning dress wasfrom Mirror, Mirror in London by theFrench designers Cymbeline.

Chloe’s step-mother Catriona Stewart designed andstyled the flowers for their special day. She is a localartist and used olive trees and willow trees, who alongwith her Father gave them to the couple as a weddinggift.

The lovely Emily Hawkes styled Chloe’s hair and Louise Lunn did her make-up. Louise, who also didLouise Lunn did her make-up. Louise, who also didChloe’s sisters wedding five years ago, understood herwant for a more natural look for the big day.

The bride and groom were lucky enough to persuadeDavid Hesketh from Burythorpe to provide a cartpulled by his beautiful shire mare Duchess to take them

from the Church and the 1 kilometre back to the Reception. He normally uses Duchess in ploughingdisplays and Land Army displays and had never pulled a cart like theirs before!

Entertainment during the drinks reception was provided bythe York Railway Institute Brass Band and evening entertainment was by the band The Bush Doctors fromLincolnshire. They even learnt a Rod Steward song whichwas the only one for the Father Daughter dance which wasChloe’s Dads favourite Even Richard and his Mum had a dance!dance!

Our Top Tips for the

Grooms SpeechThe other day one of our lovely Groom's asked me in a panic as to how he goes about writing his speech. Speeches in our opinion have to come from the heart so it's quite difficult for us to get involved in this! However here are our top tips guys when writing your big speech...

No Jokes!The groom’s speech isn’t an opportunity for a 10-minute comedy stand-up comedy stand-up routine, so try to balance your hilarious one liners with a good bit of sincerity. What is it about your wife that you love? How has your life changed (preferably for the better!) since she’s been in it?

Focus on the BrideFocus on the BrideAlthough you’ll want to reference the best man and poke a bit of fun at him, remember what your wedding is about – your relationship with your new wife, not your best mate, so less of the banter and mobanter and more of the love, please!

Say ‘My Wife’Early on, drop in ‘my wife and I’. It will always receive a warm cheer and will help set your nerves at rest before the speech.

Compliment HerMake sure you tell your wife how beautiful she looks. Trust me when I say it's important! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tell her in front of a large collection of your friends and family, so make the most of it and make her feel amazing.

Keep It Clean (well...as clean as possible!)Keep It Clean (well...as clean as possible!)Make sure you don’t use bad language or distasteful content. Anything that could cause offense should be edited out.

Make Eye ContactThe more sincere elements of your groom’s speech will be more powerful if, when you’re talking about your wife, you actually make eye contact with about your wife, you actually make eye contact with her.

Remember your speech is important. There's no need to get worked up or nervous about it but if you follow these tips at least you know you have everything covered! But please don't forget to make it your own!

Lighting InspirationThat will make you weak at the knees...

Win aWedding Planning

Fill in the below entry form to be in with a chance of winning awedding planning package worth over £1000!

Names of Bride and Groom to be________________________

Date of Wedding (if known)____________________________

Venue (if known)______________________________________

Email Address________________________________________

A Little Bit About You Both_____________________________

_____________________________________________________

Cut out and post to:Weddings with Ease UK

GrintonStation Road

GoldsboroughNorth Yorkshire

HG5 8NS HG5 8NS

Package

Choosing your perfect

Wedding VenueChoosing a setting for your wedding is often one of the first and biggest items to check off your wedding-planning list, and for good reason: the venue lends atmosphere to your event and becomes the aesthetic foundation on which the rest of your style decisions are built. What’s mobuilt. What’s more, your venue’s availability will often dictate your wedding date and, by extension, your bookings with other suppliers.

As you research and go for show rounds at different venues, keep the vision for your wedding in the forefront of your mind. Pay attention to the look and feel of the place, and attention to the look and feel of the place, and whether you can see it complimenting your style. Consider choosing a lovely, well-cared-for space that is also flexible, neutral and customisable. A blank canvas for you to make your own (You’d hate to get three months into planning, change your color scheme entientirely and then be bummed about the way your dream flowers will clash with the red curtains at your venue). 

Saturday is still the most popular day for couples to go out and visit venues and since most couples get married on a Saturday it only makes sense. But one of my most important important rules is to go back for a second visit at the very time of day your wedding will be held. If you visit a venue at 10 am. on Saturday morning and you are planning to have your wedding at 5 pm. in the evening, you probably won’t be getting the same view of the venue. Everything from how the light floods into the space, to if a cold draft sweeps floods into the space, to if a cold draft sweeps through the hallway can help you figure out if this is the venue you want to spend your money on. Visiting the venue is also the perfect time to bring with you your wedding planner and have them take a look. Oftentimes those wedding professionals have a dia different take of a venue and might offer some good advice.

Warbrook House

warbrooksalesteam@deverevenues.co.uk

www.deverevenues.co.uk

01189 739750

Crathorne Hall

enquiries.crathorne@handpicked.co.uk

www.handpickedhotels.co.uk

01642 700398

Crathorne Hall

enquiries.crathorne@handpicked.co.uk

www.handpickedhotels.co.uk

01642 700398

Ask whether you’ll be able to choose your own suppliers, or if the venue will require you to work with specific caterers, cake bakers, bars, florists etc. Consider choosing a venue that can provide recommendations as to reputable or ‘preferred’ suppliers, but will still allow you to make the final choice about still allow you to make the final choice about who you’ll work with. Being able to choose your own suppliers is incredibly important when picking your venue as you may have your heart set of a specific photographer only for the venue to turn around and say you're not allowed!  Making a list and asking all the questions you have about a venue is important but not as important as asking that same question to multiple people associated with the venue. Depending on who you are dealing with and what their role is at the venue you might get didifferent answers, so make sure you ask your questions to everyone — from the catering manager, to the business manager, to the operations manager. Important questions that you might not think to ask are, “How many weddings are held here in one a day? Who will be here helping me the actual day of the wedding? Do you have any constwedding? Do you have any construction or landscape changes coming up before my wedding? Do you anticipate any changes to the venue before the wedding day?” Just when you think you have asked enough questions, ask again and then of course get everything in writing.

Ask for a detailed description of what is Ask for a detailed description of what is included in the hire of the venue; Knowing what you’ll have to provide versus what will be provided by the venue will help you determine how it will all fit into your budget. Keep in mind that some venues also come along with food and beverage minimums that should be figuthat should be figured into your budget as well. If you are in love with the idea of an outdoor wedding, choose a venue that can provide the necessary amenities (water, electricity, toilets and some kind of shelter) to avoid the added ststress and expense of trucking in generators and water tanks, renting tents and portable toilets. Also, liaise with your wedding planner about arranging a contingency plan in case the weather is terrible.

Leeds Castle

weddings@leeds-castle.co.uk

www.leeds-castle.com

01622 767877