For many brides-to-be, choosing the perfect underwear for her big day is almost as important as the wedding dress itself – and quite rightly so. Striking a balance between fabulous and functionality doesn’t come easy, especially when there is so much beautiful bridal underwear to choose from. The biggest decision will revolve around the style of dress you have chosen. If strapless is the theme then it’s no good buying something cheap and cheerful hoping it will hold you up all day and into the night. With bras and particularly larger cup sizes when support is a priority, you really do get what you pay for. A good quality, properly fitted bra is a wonderful thing and you’ll hardly even know you’re wearing it. The last thing you need to be worrying about on your wedding day is checking everything is still where it should be every five minutes!

A popular choice of bridal lingerie is a basque and these come in a range of designs to suit the majority of wedding dresses. Backless, strapless, moulded cups, fancy or plain, the choice is incredible and there are styles to flatter all body types. For a natural looking hourglass shape and excellent support under your dress, choose one with lightly boned panels at the front. A basque always teams perfectly with stockings and suspenders making you look and feel absolutely fantastic, and a traditional bridal garter is a nice little addition too. Nude coloured, seamless underwear is ideal with a white dress, especially if it’s made from a sheer fabric or is figure hugging. This type of lingerie is always a smart choice as it will be invisible under your dress so there’s no danger of the dreaded VPL. There’s nothing wrong with some light support shapewear on your big day to iron out any little lumps and bumps. Do remember that you’re going to be in it all day, so don’t go for anything too tight no matter how good it makes you look, as you need to be comfortable standing, sitting and eating, and probably doing a spot of dancing later on. If you’re not confident about choosing lingerie that is appropriate for your wedding dress, you can always ask the advice of your dressmaker at a fitting. They are generally a great source of what will and won’t work which should help you to decide what designs to look for. After the practicalities, it’s really down to personal preference and confidence in what you’re wearing, but it’s always a sensible idea to have a trial run to make sure there are no wardrobe malfunctions on the day. Take your gorgeous undies along to one of your fittings and try them with your dress so that you can be confident everything is going to look amazing. Browse the major brands online without the hassle of walking for miles on the high street and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the huge choice of women’s designer underwear available - there really is something for everyone no matter what your shape or size.

Snooty Frox of Harrogate is Celebrating its 10^th Anniversary as the North’s leading Special Occasion wear store with in house promotions supporting two charities.

Offering The Ultimate Shopping Experience, we stock over 50 exclusive designer collections with co-ordinating accessories from size 8 to 24.

Our exclusive designers include Condici, Ian Stuart, Linea Raffaelli, Paule Vasseur, Presen & Mireia.

NOW OPEN Ladies Casual Wear department, our designers include Masai, Sem Per Lei, Bianca, Libra & JJ Garella.

Free Parking & we also provide The Wild Plum Coffee Shop.

Snooty Frox of Harrogate,

34 - 36 Hookstone Road,

Harrogate,

North Yorkshire,

HG2 8BW

Tel: 01423 815320

Web: www.snootyfrox.co.uk

Crystal Flowers are a design team specialising in Weddings, Events, Corporate, and special Commissions.

We offer a friendly and professional service using our wealth of expertise to inspire our clients. Our style is Modern, Fresh and Seasonal. We source only the finest flowers available to ensure our designs are of the highest quality.

Weddings : Symbols of romance and affection
- your wedding flowers are one of the most important elements of your big day.

Together we create with you and for you the right style, from funky and fun to elegant and chic.

Crystal Flowers will enhance, harmonise and compliment every aspect of your wedding especially the dress!

Events : If you are searching for that elusive combination - Dramatic and reasonably priced - then you have found it!

Planning a party or themed event…
Crystal Flowers never fails to impress - we use colour, shape, light and texture to capture a mood, helping to celebrate the spirit of the moment.
Crystal Flowers are based on the Wirral in between Liverpool and Chester, we cover Merseyside, Cheshire and all surrounding areas.

Please contact us for a free consultation at your home or chosen venue.

Telephone Angela Chang on 07973 753 454 or Julie Vaughan on 07982 676 721

You can also contact us on 0151 678 6981 or email us at [email protected].

Website http://www.crystal-flowers.co.uk

We try to have something for everyone at The UK Wedding Shows and are delighted that the guys from Staggered will be joining us at some of the new seasons shows, dispensing valuable advice for Grooms everywhere from their stand at our exhibitions and on our blog. Read on for a blokes-eye view of The Big Day……

On first inspection you’d probably think a wedding would rank somewhere between, “Small Girl With Ice-Cream” and “Parcel Delivery” on your average bloke’s internal list of terrifying situations to be confronted with. But when you start to break it down the Big Day contains a number of situations that rank wayyyyy higher on the Terrifying-O-Meter; perhaps even somewhere between “Rooney Broken Bone” and “Getting Things Caught In Zips.” So what is it that’s giving your groom, best man or father of the bride a nasty case of wedding nerves?

Walking Down The Aisle

Sounds stupid doesn’t it? The bride’s the one who has to do the aisle-walking dressed in the big frock and pokey shoes and yet the father of the bride is the one who’s sweating over it. Why? Well mostly because it’s his big moment. All those eyes turn towards him, he has to stick to that weird slow-walk rhythm and he knows that at the end of the aisle he has to hand his daughter over to some spotty oik he’s only met twelve times.

How to combat: Practice makes perfect on the walk and try and have the big, “You know I’ll always love you Dad” talk a month or so before, not in the car on the way to the church.

Saying His Vows Right

I do, just two little words that give men more problems than nearly any other. In this case though it’s not the weight of the ceremony or the pressures of commitment that petrify him, it’s the sheer bloody simplicity. Someone says the words and you just have to repeat them, that’s easy! Exactly, so you’d be really stupid if you messed them up wouldn’t you?

How to combat: Get hold of the text of the wedding ceremony you’ll be using and go through it a few weeks before. You can even practice if you like. Then it’s up to the registrar or vicar to put you at your ease. Fortunately, they’re nearly all very good at their job and if you schedule in a meeting a few weeks before then they’ll help put you at your ease.

Wedding Speeches

This one is perhaps the most understandable. After all, writing a wedding speech is difficult enough when you consider the formalities and the etiquette you need to observe and that’s before you factor in that it’s supposed to be eloquently emotional (the groom/father of the bride) or effortlessly entertaining (best man). Twin that with most people’s natural hatred of public speaking and you’ve got the perfect storm of fear.

How to combat: If they’re struggling to write it send them to a professional speechwriter like Burn The Toast for help with their speeches for weddings Alternatively, move the speeches to before the dinner, restrict everyone to toasts only or cancel them altogether.

Commitment

Ahhh, where would the romantic comedy genre be without this old trope, that secretly men fear the idea of living with a woman more than they fear sharks, or fire, or sharks on fire? It’s almost unheard of for men to actually act anything like the male characters from Friends. The closest most men will ever get to the commitment question is when one of their more laddish mates says, “You know that means you can only sleep with one woman for the rest of your life?” A question that’s easy to contend with because the friend in question last had sex in 2001.

How To Combat: Ignore it. He’s bought the ring and gone down on one knee, he’s not about to flit now.

Confetti

It’s evil stuff.

How to combat: Fire.

Staggered is the UK’s leading men’s wedding website and the perfect place to find proposal ideas, stag do pranks, wedding suits and all manner of other stuff.

There are so many choices for the modern bride and groom, it is easy to personalise the wedding day, but they may want to add something to their day that is completely unique. It is always possible that someone somewhere has had the same cake, flowers or dress that you choose, but everyone has a unique story to tell about their relationship.

Helen Burns, poet and lyricist tells us something about her special moments. “I started with the venue. During the four years of courtship while I p-a-t-i-e-n-t-l-y waited for the proposal, I had dreamt of a marquee wedding. When hubby proposed in Curacao I was on cloud nine and I wanted everyone to share in this excitement. Our relationship is very much based on fun and that would be a big part of our day, as well as having all the things that I love as a ‘girly girl’. My dress had a real Spanish feel to it which I was probably subconsciously drawn to as my late Nana Emiline is of Spanish descent. Our day would be a fantastic celebration with each and every guest involved, and a poem about our relationship would give Great Auntie Maud (who I had met five minutes earlier!) an insight into us, our day, our celebration. My poem to hubby was entitled ‘The Proposal’ and was given to each guest as a place setting; a unique keepsake to treasure forever.

A special bespoke poem about your own love story, from first date to proposal, could also be recited in a speech or given as a wedding party gift, place setting or favour. They are perfect ice-breakers guaranteed to make your guests laugh AND cry and ideal for any Best Man/Father of the Bride nervous about public speaking, but wanting to deliver something eloquent, heartfelt, sincere and with a double dose of humour!”

If you want to bring a touch of poetry to your day Helen can be contacted through her website www.forbetterorverse.co.uk

Julie Dawson at The Wedding Genie is an expert in helping the smooth running of this important day and offers the following advice.

You maybe excited, happy, nervous and scared all at the same time, the big question I am often asked is - “What is the first thing a bride should do when she wakes up on the morning of her wedding? “

Based on my own experiences and that of others I have had the privilege to help along the way, I thought I would put together a simple list to help you focus on what’s important on one of the biggest days of your life.

• Smile! It’s your big day!
• Have breakfast, something light perhaps cereal and fruit. Try not to miss eating because you are nervous, you will feel even more jittery if you are starving and as the day goes on you will have less time to eat. Make sure you have some nibbles in the room where you are getting ready. If you really can’t face anything put one of those power snacks in your bag to give you a boost when you need it.
• Don’t go to the window and panic about the weather. Our English weather changes so fast in a few hours it will probably be lovely for your ceremony. So just get on and enjoy your preparation. You can’t do anything about it and you will have put a plan in place anyway for bad weather.
• It’s your job to look and feel gorgeous! Give yourself plenty of time to be pampered. Getting hair and makeup done takes longer than you think. Let your bridesmaids help and delegate if you want anything done.
• Make sure you have your little bag of essentials. For each bride that might be different, but your favourite lipstick or lip-gloss for touching up is one that should be in there. A miniature perfume if you want to freshen up as the days goes on. Tissues, you will cry at some point, blotting tissues if the weather is hot and you want to avoid shine on your wedding photos. If you don’t want to use a bag then make sure your bridesmaids have those things for you in their bag. Extra things you should have close by, to keep in the car or your room, an emergency sewing kit, spare tights/stockings, clear polish for runs in tights, safety pins. If you wear contact lenses make sure you have a spare pair.
• It is a good idea to have worn those new wedding shoes for a few hours to break them in. There is nothing worse than having sore feet. You can even have a spare pair for after the ceremony just in case they do start to pinch. Clear blister plasters are a godsend and really do work.
• Take time to enjoy the details of your day. Go and have a look at the tables and decoration before anyone else. You have spent months planning these details, so take them all in before your guests are seated.
• Remember today is all about you and your life partner. Just take a few minutes to think about how much you love your husband to be and why you are meant to be together. It will make you smile as you walk down the aisle.
• Don’t panic, what ever is not done now probably won’t matter and no one will notice.
• Enjoy every single moment of your day. It is true, all brides will tell you the hours just speed by.
• If you hired a wedding coordinator roll over in bed, smile, and begin the pampering in total comfort and enjoyment.

One last thing, your wedding will be fantastic because weddings just are. They are all about you and your family and friends, no one will notice the little mishaps that may occur. If the weather is not as you wished, a good photographer will make sure you have the best pictures and there is always time to pop out when the sun comes out.

www.theweddinggenie.co.uk

What to order when – your quick guide to wedding stationery by Sophie

Once you’ve got engaged, all the preparations can seem rather daunting in the excitement. Help is at hand for your wedding stationery. We find that the questions we’re most often asked are when to order stationery, and whether it all needs to be ordered at once. Here’s our handy guide:

1. First stage: Order Save the Date cards as soon as possible after you have fixed your wedding date: usually at least 9 months to a year before your wedding. These cards are a great idea if your wedding is at a popular holiday time or mid-week - make sure your most important guests aren’t busy elsewhere. Don’t worry too much about colours at this stage – just choose something you love. You can coordinate later!
2. Second stage: Order Invitations, RSVPs and pocketfolds. We recommend sending out invitations at least 2 months prior to the wedding. You’ll also need to allow enough time for your stationer to make the items (we ask for 4-6 weeks). Once you’ve found a design you like, choose a colour theme. Your stationer should send out a proof showing all of your details in your chosen colours. This way you’ll be sure all the details are correct before the order is completed. Consider having Pocketfolds; they contain not only the invitation but an RSVP and information card for details of hotels, directions etc. tucked inside – we love making life simple!
3. Third stage: Order on the day items. You can do this much nearer the wedding. These items include menus; order of service; place cards; table cards; table plan - anything that will be used on the big day itself! We suggest making on the day items to match your invitations to follow your theme through. We know how long it takes sometimes to finalise things such as details with the vicar, caterer and your final guest list. We usually request wording for order of service and menus around 8 weeks before the wedding and details for table plans, place cards, table cards, etc. 4 weeks prior to the wedding.
4. Fourth stage: Order favour boxes and thank you cards. You can actually order these at the same time as any of the previous steps - many of my clients have purchased these at the same time as the invitations! Leave the thank you card inserts blank if you want to write your own message, or we have some standard examples that you could try out. Both thank you cards and favour boxes can match the rest of your stationery too.
5. It easy to order in several stages, meaning minimal fuss and the chance to evenly spread payments before your wedding! If you prefer to order everything at once, your stationer may provide the items in stages: we prepare your order in two batches - the first batch includes the invitations and RSVPs, the second includes all of the ‘on the day’ items. Of course, we give you plenty of reminders as to when we need your information!

Having set out our suggested timescales, we realise that it’s not always possible to stick to them. Don’t worry – we can often help out if you’ve got a tight timescale. Just ask us for advice, we love to help! Please visit our website http://www.cardsbysophie.com/