Sunday 21st April 2013

We helped Hotel Du Vin to host their very first wedding fayre. Hotel Du Vin in Cheltenham (formerly the Carlton Hotel) is a beautiful venue for a drink, for something to eat, for an overnight stay...and for a wedding! That's right, they do weddings! They have beautiful rooms for both wedding ceremonies and receptions and if you are having a big do...you can even have exclusive use of the hotel.

We worked with Hotel Du Vin to create their first wedding fayre so that people could see what they have to offer and also meet with other fabulous wedding services too.

As with our fayre at The Daffodil, we wanted the fayre to have an atmosphere so that wedding couples and their family and friends could treat the event as a day out and not as 'trawling another fayre for ideas'. So, throughout the event, we had various bands and performers take to the stage to entertain everyone. There was James of Pictures and Piano, demonstrating his repertoire of classical and modern music, Swing From Paris who get everyone moving with fantastic jazz music, and Steve Franks who played acoustic guitar.

We had an array of services:

So, here are the services that were involved:

Gemma Gaskins who takes stunning wedding pictures

Metamorphis Styling who will make you look and feel a million dollars with Bridal make-up and also delicious sweet favours

Vanilla Pod Bakery who kept us all happy with samples of heavenly chocolate cake throughout the day

Hilles House who are a new wedding venue set in the countryside near Stroud

Sue from Fansia Tickle brought her wedding range of fascinators, and they were beautiful! They caught everyones eye! fantastic ideas for the Bride or Mother of the Bride.

Bijou Biscuits brought along their melt in the mouth biscuits which are beautfull used as favours, place names and gifts.

Naomi from Lush Imaging showed couples her amaing wedding photography

Lisa displayed examples of the beautful jewellery they design and make at R.J. Spicer

Simply Flowers created a couple of gorgeous bouquets and centre pieces

Stuart from Every Event Hire, showed off his sparkly dance-floor, poseur tables and other hire items.

Steve of Steve Richardson Wedding Photography brought with him a beautiful wedding memory box made up of photo's he had taken and plenty of examples of his wonderful work.

Rather than a bridal show, we had the gorgeous Elouise and Elena modelling dresses throughout the day from Grand Jour and I think you will agree, they looked absolutely stunning!

Every couple walked away with a goody bag which included a discount for the spa at hotel Du Vin.

We have another fayre in the diary, also taking place at Hotel Du Vin, which is on 1st September 2013. See you there!

Saturday 30th March 2013

Alex and Iain are both project managers and so it would be fair to say that their planning was second to none. We got involved about a month prior to the wedding as they wanted us to be there on the day to ensure it all ran smoothly and so that they could relax and enjoy all of their careful planning.

The wedding celebrations started on the Friday evening with dinner for 45 at their wedding venue - The Frogmill. Alex stayed at the hotel that evening in one of their courtyard rooms which was lovely and spacious. Perfect for an evening spent with the girls! The next morning, bright and early, Jennifer Davies - hair and make-up artist - made the journey out to get the girls all glammed up and ready for a day of celebrations. Meanwhile, their 100 guests gathered in the large vaulted hall for the wedding ceremony. Alex had plenty of helpers, wih three bridesmaids, four flower girls and three page-boys!

After the ceremony, they made the most of the sunshne - albeit cold - and had their photograhs taken in the gorgeous grounds by Cat Wise who is a friend of theirs. The children had huge bean bags to chill out on, although the adults were more interested in them than the children! They were hired from Every Event Hire as were the huge flags lining the drive way to The Frogmill, setting the colour theme for the day.

The wedding breakfast then ensued and they tucked into melon, pork and a chocolate brownie that made me want to dive straight in - but I did show some restraint! Flowers helped to add height to the tables and were provided by Belles Blooms. They looked stunning.

In the evening, they went all out. Every Event Hire were put to work and laid down a starlit dancefloor, starlit tables, poseur tables which were fantastic for guests at the bar and also mood lighting on the pillars of the room. It was all extremely effective and it meant that both daytime and evening guests got a real treat when they saw the room set-up ready for the disco! He also left some tandem space-hoppers for the guests enjoyment which went down a storm - especially with the Ushers! The DJ was provided by The Frogmill and was from Vibe Entertainment taking requests throughout the evening and letting the guests dance the night away.

Alex and Iain cut their cake, which was from Marks and Spencer and they decorated it with mini-eggs, what with it being Easter weekend and all! Guests were then invited to the photobooth so that Alex and Iain had lots of photographic memories of their day and their guests. The photobooth doubled up as their guest book and provided lots of entertainment for the guests too.

At the end of the evening, guests that weren't staying at the hotel were able to hop on a bus back to Cheltenham which was provided by Denwell's.

A few words from Alex and Iain:

'We had an amazing day - Thank you for all of your help'

Friday 16th November 2012

Buffy and Chris contacted us a couple of monhts before their special day. We were absolutely thrilled to find out they were getting married at Hilles House - a fantastic venue where we coordinated a wedding earlier in the year. We absolutely fell in love with the ethics and values behind their special day which put lots of emphasis on the marriage and less on the pomp and ceremony of the wedding day itself.

Buffy and Chris's hopes and dreams made for a very relaxed and informal day at Hilles House on a very foggy Novembers day. The main hall in the house was set up for a 1930's afternoon tea with all catering done by the chefs from Gloucestershire College. Absolutely amazinf flower arrangements were created by Juliet from Thoughtful Flowers.

Buffy had a bit of a baby bump and so had her dress made for her by Cocoa Couture. Her make-up was done by the fabulous Kate Gordon who gave Buffy the natural but glowing look that she wanted. Buffy's hair was created by the very talented Sheena, who not only finger waved Buffy's hair to perfection, but it also lasted for quite a few days allowing Buffy to visit many more family and friends with her 'wedding day look'.

We greeted the 40 guests with a glass of warm autumn punch as they arrived in their floor length gowns and suits. We then seatd them for afternoon tea. There was no seating plan, and guests sat where they wanted which made for an immediately relaxed atmosphere. The cakes and sweet treats were made by Yani of Yanina's Bespoke Cakes. We cleared the main table and the Buffy and Chris asked guests to gather around for their ceremony.

After a glass of bellini, the rest of the day followed absolutely no set structure at all and both Chris, Buffy and their guests were able to do as they pleased. They showed a silent movie (The Artist) on a big screen provided by Beyond Eternity Promotions and drinks were served from the bar; the fires were lit and so crackled away whilst guests gathered around them to natter the afternoon away.

In the early evening, everyone was entertained by Swing From Paris who are just fantastic at creating beautiful background tones to compliment a reception. A huge bonfire was lit in the gardens, and we served a spiced butternut squash soup to guests to keep them warm whilst they admired the bonfire. This then led into an evening of canapes and accompanying cocktails which were served to guests as they continued to enjoy the easy mood. It was a pleasure to work with Buffy and Chris and so lovely to put together a celebration of marriage that was a bit out of the ordinary.

other bits and bobs not mentiond here:

Toilet hire was provided by the very reliable Bisley Leisure Hire

1st Ace Taxi firm shuttled guests from the field (car park) to the house

A few words from Buffy and Chris:

'Chris and I were very relaxed,a lot less aprehensive than expected. Ideally, we would have found you earlier in the process...The people we have spoken to all commented on the tone of the day. How relaxed and refreshingly unorthodox it was. Saying it was a very tasteful, elegegant affair, seamlessly flowing from one element to the next - just what we were looking to achieve. The help you gave us was unbridaled, very friendl, professional, generoud and very considerate. The options you presented were fantastic. Once again thank you so much for making our wedding day so special.'

Saturday 20th October 2012

This wedding was not a usual one for us, this is because Sara and Darren atually won ther whole wedding through competition with Glos Media who publish the Echo and Citizen. They asked family, friends, neighbours and nearly everyone else in Gloucester to collect thousands of tokens for them and they were lucky enough to win.

Our prize offered into the competition was to help plan their wedding and to be there on their special day to ensure it all ran smoothly.

Sara and Darren did not get to chose the date of their wedding and so they used it to their advantage by setting a very autumnal theme for the colours and decor. The Bridesmaids wore chocolate coloured dresses with gorgeous white stoles, and Ava and Elsa, the flower girls looked like little angels in white dresses with a chocolate coloured trim. Sara had all eyes on her in a stunning lace dress from Taffeta and Lace and with her hair styled by Cream and make-up by Jade on the Lancome counter in Cavendish House, Cheltenham.

Sara and Darren had set their hearts on a church wedding, and chose to get married at their local church in Barnwood (St Lawrence). Darren waited at the alter in his suit from Beaus and Balls and their ceremony was just beautiful with carefully selected poems, hymns, songs, exchaging of rings from David Edwards Jewellers and even bell ringers playing as we left the church.

We used the church grounds for their formal wedding photography which was carried out by Gemma Gaskins working with Tom Barton. Sara and Darren were then whizzed away to The New County Hotel in an Alvis Grey Lady by Nostalgia Wedding Cars.

The wedding breakfast tables were decorated with centre pieces from Daisychain florist and with gold candles to create a warm glow. Balloons were provided by All Occasions who created a beautful display behind the top table as a focal point. Louise Rowles stationery provided finishing touches.

The wedding breakfast, served by attentive staff at The New County Hotel, was excellent. In between the celebrations, guests took polaroids for the guest book and scribbled their notes, as well as posting their gifts of vouchers for a honeymoon to be selected form Virgin.

In th evening, Sara and Darren cut into their absolutely amazingly crafted cake from Blue Fuchsia and then danced away to Michael Jackson and Leona Lewis for their first dance.

A few words from Sara and Darren:

'Thank you so much Roseann & Charlotte for making our wedding day so special. We couldn't have done it without you guys. In fact, it feels like my right arm has been cut off as it was like Roseann and I were literally joined coming up to the last month of the Wedding. It was a day that we will never forget. Lots of Love Mr Darren Hendry & Mrs Sara Hendry'