Category Archives: Food

Get wedding ready

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Be honest about your budget

Even if you’re not the bride, being part of a wedding can be expensive. A new wedding dress and accessories, gifts, travel expenses – it all adds up. Before you buy your outfit or even RSVP, it’s a good idea to be honest about your budget and what you can afford. Don’t go dress shopping “just for fun” and end up falling in love with the designer gown – this goes for brides, too!

Write down all your to-dos

This one goes without saying for the bride-to-be, but don’t think as a wedding guest that you don’t have a lot to get sorted! From hair and nail appointments, to finding the perfect gift, dress and accessories to match, it’s a great idea to make a compact to-do list so that you’re not panicked at the last minute.

Practice those wedding picture poses

Hate how you look in photos? Many people become self-conscious and slouch over as soon as a camera appears. It might sound silly, but spending some time in front of the mirror practicing picture-perfect poses will give you extra confidence on the day. Holding a smile for endless pictures can actually cause you to frown, so remember to try and keep your smile natural.

Have your nails professionally done

Naturally, everyone will want to see your hands on your wedding day! Showing off your beautiful new ring means that people will notice if your nails aren’t up to scratch – the same goes for bridesmaids who are holding bouquets. Take time to moisturise your hands in the week running up to the main event and get a chic matching manicure to your dress or accessories.

Avoid crash diets

Adding ‘clean’ foods to your diet, like fresh veggies, as well as cutting out or limiting your consumption of processed foods, is a great way to look and feel healthier. Avoid crash dieting – it can put a stress on your body and cause your metabolism to go into starvation mode, while also adding unnecessary feelings of guilt during an already stressful time. 

Avoid last-minute treatments (facials, Peels, etc.)

Waxing, facial peels and other intensive skincare treatments can cause short-term in inflammation and irritation, so doing these one or two nights before the wedding is a bad call. To give your skin some time to recover, make sure you have all your treatments done at least a week before the event. This will ensure your skin is radiant and ready in time.

Experiment with hairstyles

Everyone’s hair is different and what suits one bride or bridesmaid might look disastrous on another. Check out some simple hairstyles in a magazine or online and try them out to see what suits. Don’t be afraid to mix it up a bit – if you usually go straight, try some loose curls for an elegant look.

Wear natural-looking make-up

Painting on too much bold makeup will make you stand out in wedding photos – and not for the right reasons. If you love a bold lip colour, balance it out with light foundation and simple eye makeup. A natural-looking glow can be achieved with a good exfoliator, primer and highlighter.

Get to know the rest of the wedding Party

Especially if you’re part of the main event, spend a little time getting to know the rest of the party before the wedding. This is a great way to break the ice and you’ll all feel much more comfortable dealing with any last-minute stresses together on the big day!

Break in new shoes

Wearing new shoes that haven’t been broken in can mean taking them off before the night is through. If you find some new shoes that are perfect for your wedding out t, make sure you spend a few days walking in them around the house so that they’re nice and comfortable in time for the celebrations.

How to do Wedding Planning on a Budget?

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First things first – set a limit

If you want to plan a wedding for £10,000 then you may want to plan your budget like this:

  • £3,000 for venue
  • £2,500 for catering
  • £1,500 for drinks
  • £1,500 for dress and suits
  • £500 for transport
  • £300 for a cake
  • £700 for a photographer

Separating the budget accordingly means that you know where the money is allocated and it gives you a little bit of leeway to adjust your price on each aspect. One thing we would always say is never hire a budget photographer – everything else may just be for the day, but those wedding photos will last forever!

Pick the Cheapest Time to Get Married

When you decide to get married can make an even bigger impact than where you decide to get married. Choosing to get married in the middle of the week or on a Sunday, compared to a Saturday wedding could save you a small fortune. Similarly, picking a date in Spring, Autumn or Winter will also see big savings coming in when compared to a summer wedding.

Choose Your Venue Carefully

You can have some amazing budget weddings if you pick the right location – often, somewhere you wouldn’t typically consider. There are lots of venues around the country that are licensed to hold marriage ceremonies, why not pick something a little bit different?

This holds two benefits really – 1 your special day is truly special in a unique location and 2 these venues tend to be a lot more affordable than places which are booked up years in advance! Some of the best budget wedding venues in the UK are still yet to be discovered… you could just be one of the first people married there.

Personalisation

Budget doesn’t mean ‘stock’, in fact it is very different to that. Taking the reins and deciding to add or remove certain parts of the wedding package is a great way to save money. For example, making your own table decorations could end up saving you around £500 plus you have the added bonus of spending time together making them yourself!

Scrap the DJ

Honestly, cheap wedding DJs are the worst! Instead of forking out your hard earned cash on someone who will just play a generic wedding music playlist, why not create your own playlist with all your favourite songs? You probably already have one – plug this into some speakers and you’re good to go!

Find your perfect seating plan

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When planning a wedding, if you’re having 50 guests at a buffet, you may or may not want to give people specific seating assignments. But if you’re having 100 guests or more and serving a seated meal, you’ll want to make sure everyone’s got a specific place to sit. Why? For one, people like to know where they’re sitting — and that you took the time to choose where and whom they should sit with. It’s also helpful if you’re serving several different entree choices, because the caterer and wait staff can figure out beforehand how many chicken, filet and veggie dishes a given table gets, because they (you) know who’s sitting there. 

Create a Paper Trail

If you’re feeling more low-tech, draw circles (for tables) on a big sheet of paper and write names inside them (make sure you know how many people can comfortably be seated at each one). Or you could write every guest’s name on a sticky note and place it accordingly.

Head Up the Head Table

A traditional head table is not round but long and straight, and it’s generally set up along a wall, facing all the other reception tables. It may even have two tiers if your wedding party is large. Usually the bride and groom sit in the middle (where everyone can see them), with the maid of honour next to the groom, the best man next to the bride, and then boy/girl out from there. Flower girls or ring bearers usually sit at the tables where their parents are sitting, much to the relief of the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Decide to sit this way, or plan a sweetheart table for a little one-on-one time

Switch Things Up

But you don’t have to do it that way. All the bridesmaids can sit on the bride’s side, and all the groomsmen on the groom’s. Or maybe you’re not into being on display, or you don’t want your wedding party to feel isolated from other guests. Let your wedding party sit at a round reception table or two with each other and/or with their dates/significant others, and have the head table be a sweetheart table for the two of you. (How romantic!) Another option: You two sit with your parents and let that be the head table, with the wedding party at their own tables.

Place Your Parents

Traditionally, your parents and your parents to be sit at the same table, along with grandparents, siblings not in the wedding party, but for one reason or another you might want to let each set of parents host their own table of close family and/or friends. This could mean up to four parents’ tables, depending on your situation — or have the divorced parent who raised you (or your partner) and his/her spouse/date sit at the table with still-married parents. 

Remember, the parent-seating question is a flexible one. Set it up in whatever way best suits everybody. If you’re unsure, don’t hesitate to talk to the parents in question about it before you make your final decision.

Tame Tensions

There may also be situations in which certain family members just do not get along. Maybe they haven’t spoken in years. Maybe the last time they saw each other there was a drunken catfight. Understandably, you want to keep them as far apart as possible. Think about these kinds of relationships (or lack thereof) before you even start making your chart, so you can take them into consideration in the first place and begin by seating Auntie Maud at table three and Aunt Lucy across the room at table 15. Trust us — they’ll appreciate it.

Play Matchmaker

Again, all your University or school friends will be so pleased to sit at a table together. This especially works out well if you and your beloved went to the same school and have the same friends. It also gives them all an opportunity to catch up with each other, because they may not have seen each other for a while. But again — reception tables offer a great opportunity to mix and match your friends and your partners — who knows who’ll hit it off? Consider seating friends who don’t know each other (yet), but who you think will get along exceptionally well, at the same table — and the rest is history. It can’t hurt!

How to cater for a wedding on a budget

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Too much choice

Although you are catering for the whole wedding party, when choosing your menu, don’t offer too many options. Offering a multitude of choices for the wedding breakfast doesn’t enhance your guests’ experience, or make anything taste better. More choice only means more expense.

Cooking on gas

Some of the most beautiful wedding venues are outdoors – be it a marquee or a hog roast festival – but these celebrations do not have on-site kitchens or furniture. You will be required to pay extra to supply these facilities, so make sure you include this in your budget.

Smooth operator

The key to a successful wedding reception is timing and service. Making people wait for food and drinks is not a great idea. Pay for extra serving staff to ensure a smoothly-run reception and you will notice the investment – and your guests will love you for it!

Trade your toasting tipple

Champagne is everyone’s top tipple for parties, but it can be a little on the expensive side. However, there are some great sparkling wines available, which are just as good but cost less. To impress your guests on half the budget, add a little elderflower cordial and a hibiscus flower to Cava, to create the perfect festive fizzy cocktail. Not only does this add a light, sweet, floral taste to the drink, it makes the Cava go that little bit further – good news all round!

Bacon buffet

If you plan to party in the early hours of the morning, don’t serve an evening buffet – you are essentially paying for two full meals that many people won’t even touch. Why not serve bacon sandwiches or posh kebabs a la Lily Allen? This will give the illusion of an evening meal and your guests will be thankful for the traditionally British fuel injection before the trip home.

A cheesy ending?

Cheese cakes are a great alternative to traditional tiers. You can ask your caterers to cut and serve the savoury slices with fruit and biscuits as the dessert after your meal. Alternatively, cupcakes are a cheaper option than a tiered cake and work well as both a dessert and a favour.

Raise the bar

The drinks reception tab can easily set couples back a few thousand pounds, so limiting what is served can be a great way to reduce costs. Ask your bar to carry beer and wine, or alternatively, have a cash-only bar that your guests will have to pay for. If you have provided them with a lovely meal accompanied with great wedding entertainment, guests won’t mind forking out for a few drinks towards the end of the evening.

Caffeine fix

Coffee and mints are an essential part of any party and the perfect way to round off your meal. Why not add flavoured syrups and amaretto biscuits to freshly ground coffee, to give your guests a delicious caffeine fix? They’ll be guaranteed to keep dancing late into the evening after one of these!

Spend to save

Cutting corners doesn’t always mean cutting costs. If you cut out canapés, you will end up with hungry guests at the beginning of the day. Why not spend more on canapés but less on the evening buffet? Many people over spend on the evening food when most guests are still full from the wedding breakfast, which is a waste of both money and food! Lighter evening snacks will go down just as well with your guests, and save you money, too.

 

Summertime entertainment

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Make the most of the sunshine and delight your guests with the best in British summertime wedding entertainment for your wedding day and evening party. Let the fun begin!

Forget high priced tickets for muddy fields and distant views of so-so bands bring the festival to your wedding instead. Set up a stage or two, pop up a beer tent and start booking your acts. The famous festival mixes its music, so you can hear an up and coming bad one set, then opera the next! Do the same; mix rock and jazz, acoustic and electro, DJs, opera singers and solo sax. Remember, that gospel choir who performed at the ceremony and the function band you’ve booked for the evening would probably love to be part of your wedding too!

Turn your wedding into a traditional fete on the lawn, with lots of activities for all ages, and a slap-up tea on vintage china in the marquee instead of a formal sit-down meal.

Give your wedding a contemporary twist with a roving street magician ready to thrill anyone with card tricks and logic-defying illusions anytime, any-place, no table required.

Keep the little ones amused for hours with the help of professional children’s entertainers. Kids can twist and turn with balloon modellers, fall about laughing with a clown, get artistic with face painters. Warning; adults always want to join in too!

Bring a sense of theatre to your festival with unusual acts, such as stilt walkers, living statues, mime artists, themed walkabout and more.

Hire some paparazzi desperate to take your guests’ photos, and get the latest scoop. Give your guests a taste of celebrity fame when the pics get posted online to a private micro-site, to view and buy if they wish.

OK, we know the weather is even more unpredictable than the best man’s speech, so choose wedding entertainment that works just as well in your venue as outside on the lawns, such as micro-illusion magicians, caricaturists or a small jazz band.

How to lose a few pounds before the big day

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If you’re not particularly thrilled with your body, you’ve probably been dieting as your wedding day approaches in an attempt to reach your desired weight before the walk down the aisle.  Many brides do this but find that they are lacking a few pounds a week or so before the wedding.  If this sounds familiar, here are some important wedding tips to lose those last pounds. 

Eat More Often
Wow – didn’t know it would be so easy, did you?  That’s right.  If you want to lose those last pounds before your wedding day, eat more often but eat much smaller portions.  By doing this, you will be giving your digestive system a break as well as speeding up your metabolism.  As your metabolism kicks into overdrive, you will burn more fat and calories – and lose more weight.

Drink More Water
Another important thing that will help you lose those last pounds is drinking more water.  Most experts recommend that you drink 8 glasses of water each day.  Not only does this help you feel full for a longer period of time, but it aids the body in the natural fat and calorie burning process. 

If you find it difficult to drink so much water each day, there are a few different things you can do.  Go to bed after drinking 4 ounces of water and drink 4 more when you wake up.  This is one glass gone – only 7 more to go.  If you don’t like the taste of water, slip a wedge of lemon in to create a more palatable drink.

Cardio Exercise
Don’t neglect your exercise as you try to lose those last pounds.  Anything that gets your heart pumping and makes you break a sweat is an excellent exercise to do.  For instance, jumping rope, skating, dancing and even jogging can help you lose those last pounds.  While most people aren’t overly fond of exercise, doing it regularly will boost your energy and even your sense of well-being!  Exercise each day for about a half an hour to forty-five minutes at a time.

Skip the Sugar
In the last week before the wedding, don’t indulge in processed sugar at all.  Instead, fill your rumbling tummy with fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, beans and lean meat.  This will help get rid of those last stubborn pounds and you may notice that you feel a lot better too!  These foods are great for your health and provide important nutrients and vitamins.

By following the tips above, you can lose those last pounds and feel beautiful and confident in your wedding dress.

Unique weddings

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Brides across the country are striving to make their wedding unique. Research shows that this is the main cause of anxiety for 53% of couples in Britain planning a wedding. Almost two thirds of couples said that, although their wedding was the best day of their lives, their day lacked distinctiveness. The areas where bride and groom felt they could have added a more personalised touch was through their wedding decorations and what they served to guests.

Save the dates

Create a really unique save the date card by sending a customised beer mat. You can follow this up by sending invites on a personalised label on a beer bottle with details in a scroll inside.

Party favours

You can expand on your save the dates by decorating the tables with colourful beer steins or personalised beer labels. Additionally, visiting a brewery with your husband-to-be makes for a fun pre-wedding event; it can also be a chance to provide guests with a very special, personalised gift.

Welcome reception

A welcome dinner or drinks reception is a great way to break the ice between your out of town guests before the big day. The local pub is a perfect location for this.

Guest welcome packs

Create guides for your guests who are visiting from out of town. Include tips on local pubs and leave it in their hotel rooms. You can also include a local beer as refreshments for the rooms.

Venue

Use dried barley or fresh hops to decorate the wedding venue instead of flowers. You can also use them in your bouquet! For a really rustic feel, you could have your wedding reception in a brewery or a barley field. Another idea is to use vintage beer crates for seating or to sign your vows on an oak barrel.

Seating

Instead of traditional cards, use personalised beer caps or coasters to tell people where they are sitting. An even better idea would be to use actual bottles so that guests can enjoy a drink whilst they find their seats.

Food

Use beer as a main ingredient in meals, such as beer battered fish or steak and ale pies. You can also pair your dishes and canapés with your favourite beers. This way, your guests are introduced to a new beer match with everything they eat! You can also put a twist on a traditional wedding cake by using beer as a key ingredient. For the best of both worlds serve a chocolate wedding cake made with a stout beer. This decadent treat will definitely be something to be remembered!

Drinks

A beer inspired drinks menu is a really nice touch. Serve beer based cocktails using a brew you created or choose beers that represent special times in your relationship. For instance, a beer from the country where you got engaged or the beer you were drinking the night you met.

Toasts

If your fiancée is not a fan of champagne, serve beer during the wedding speeches. Ditch the bottles and serve beer to your guests in tasteful chalices. There are many elegant beers with signature glassware, such as Leffe which has a cork and foil top.

Mad Hatters Tea Party Wedding

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Wedding Invitations

The maddest guests needn’t be invited, they will simply fall through the rabbit hole and stumble across your party by chance.

Dress code

Colourful, bold and avant-garde.

Hair code

No one is allowed to have similarities in hair colour or style, other than that, anything goes.

Wedding Décor

Matching furniture is forbidden; the more quintessentially Wonderland, the better.

Guests

Be specific when choosing your guests based on personality, if they aren’t at least slightly crazy, they won’t fit in.

Tea

Earl Grey is the only tea to be served. It needn’t be high quality and can be of any origin, just make sure it’s Early Grey.

Sandwiches

There are three sandwiches which are appropriate for a Mad Hatters Tea Party; minted cucumber, egg mayonnaise and mustard cress, and smoked salmon and cream cheese. Cutting your sandwiches into heart shapes is cute, but would Alice approve of your allegiance to the Queen of Hearts?

The Chelsea Bun

The Chelsea bun is known predominantly for throwing, so get involved, it’s what Tea Parties are made for.

Shortbread

Height should not be discriminated against; therefore, shortbread is totally acceptable at the tea table.

Wedding Floristry

Floral perfection should be avoided at all costs. If you have a budget for plants, stick to twigs, decaying leaves and fungi.

Hospitality

Being hospitable is essential. This can be achieved through planning a range of unrecognisable party games.

Weather

If you’re worried about being outside and it raining, it doesn’t matter too much as the best Mad Hatters Tea Parties are set in very little sunlight. For big budget tea parties, rain and mist machines are encouraged.

Seating

If you can’t get bums on seats, bums on anything is fine. Stools, shelves, giant mushrooms; anything goes.

Cheshire cat

One ginger cat is required as ‘purr’ its Cheshire heritage.

Timekeeping

This is banned as there is no time in wonderland. However, we would only suggest this tip as optional as if adhered to it can cause havoc, after all, you don’t want your guests to be late for this very important date.

Ice-breaking acts to entertain your guests

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When it comes to wedding reception entertainment ideas, there’s a number of ways which you can go. Many choose to simply ditch entertainment completely in favour of quiet talking or complete silence as guests struggle to work out just who they should speak to over their glass of Champagne. In order to break the ice, we think that a little wedding entertainment goes a long way and here are just a few ideas to get you started.

Bagpiper

There’s nothing quite like completing the wedding vows and heading to the wedding reception to be met by dulcet tone of the Bagpipes. Many of the guests may be in kilts anyway so it’s a perfect excuse to celebrate your heritage! Admittedly if neither the groom nor bride are Scottish or Irish, bagpipes may be a truly unusual wedding entertainment idea, but there are many other options. 

Living Topiary (or a puppeteer!)

Don’t go thinking that these two are just wedding entertainment ideas for kids, because they really aren’t. When you think about it, a wedding is a celebration and all about having fun, so it makes sense that the wedding reception entertainment is fun as well. With that in mind, Living statues are the perfect solution for ensuring a good time is had by all. These living statues always go down well, whilst a puppet show is an endearing way to tell the story of the couple. It’s bespoke, imaginative and unusual wedding entertainment most guests won’t have seen before.

Fortune Teller (or Tarot Card/Palm Reader)

Some strolling entertainment at your reception is often a fab way to get people chatting. Moving away from the music acts, there are some wonderfully romantic wedding entertainment ideas that at first might not seem obvious but then make sense when you’re there. One of these is looking into hiring a fortune teller, tarot card or palm reader. A great bit of fun, you never know, they may just see another wedding on the horizon between a couple of your guests!

Magician (or Graphologist)

If you aren’t too sure about predicting the future of those in your wedding party, ideas don’t come much better than hiring a magician for your big day. As the wedding reception entertainment, magic is sure to bring people together and provides a little relaxation for the Best Man and others ahead of the speeches later on! A graphologist is also an unusual entertainment idea for a wedding but no less compelling. Who doesn’t want to know what their handwriting tells an expert about them!? You never know, the writing might be on the wall for another marriage before too long.

Clever ideas for foodies

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Everyone knows that the wedding breakfast and reception will eat up the biggest chunk of your wedding allowance. So how can you squeeze the most out of your budget, while still being bang on foodie trend?

Informal dining options such as buffets, bowl food and rustic platters are shaping up to be hot this year. These all give guests the freedom to move around and enjoy proceedings, making for a more relaxed atmosphere. Remember, the key is to include a good mix of meat, fish and vegetarian options to accommodate all guests.

Offering wedding canapés as a starter or dessert adds a fresh twist and provides a good talking point for guests. Think miniature steak and chips with a warm horseradish cream – lovely!

Another huge trend this year will be reinventing classic dishes. Pay homage to your childhood favourites, with a twist. Think pie and mash, mini sirloin hamburgers, bangers and mash, or fish and chips all made from local produce. We particularly love the fish and chip option. If it’s not formal enough for the day time, it would definitely work for your evening guests, and it may work out cheaper than a buffet.

When it comes to desserts, the key is to think small! Opt for dessert tables or platters with an array of miniatures. smatterings of your favourites such as cupcakes, mini cheesecakes, dainty trifles, chocolate brownies or crumble will allow guests to tuck in. And with light portions they won’t be left feeling lethargic, meaning they can dance the night away!

One particularly lovely trend ‘bring a cake’ dessert table. Brides are asking friends and family to bring their favourite homemade desserts – cakes, flans and more. It’s a cost-effective way to add a personal touch, guaranteed to get everyone talking.

For a novel menu idea, why not serve an actual ‘wedding breakfast’ a la Carrie and Big in Sex and the City? A beautifully served full English with locally sourced produce, fresh orange juice or fruit to start and pancakes or waffles for dessert.