A guest blog post this morning to make you smile. Fancy stepping in the hallowed footsteps of the floppy-haired secret-crush inducing naughtier-than-he-looks Hugh Grant? Here’s how…

Even if you don’t live in the same parish as the famous UK wedding venues mentioned in this list you could pull a few strings to try and stage your wedding at one of them. It might be a bit tricky to arrange a wedding at number five in the list though!

Luton Hoo Hotel wedding venue by Calotype46 on Flickr

Luton Hoo Hotel as seen in Four Weddings and a Funeral. Photo by Calotype46 on flickr

1. Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire

This beautiful place, located just 30 miles from London, was a stately home when it featured as the hotel staging the second wedding reception in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. Do you fancy yourself as the next Hugh Grant? You do? Then this is the wedding venue for you!

In a case of life imitating art, Luton Hoo was later converted into a spa hotel. It was a wise move as the verdant grounds to be found there make it a very popular wedding reception venue. Film buffs should be especially keen to say their vows at Luton Hoo as the home was also used in the films Eyes Wide Shut, Wilde and Never Say Never Again. So if Hugh Grant doesn’t do it for you there’s a great cast list including Nicole Kidman and Sean Connery to aspire to there instead!

2. Marylebone Register Office

Marylebone Register Office has a humbler and more functional appearance than Luton Hoo but still deserves inclusion in a list of famous wedding venues. This is the place where Paul McCartney broke millions of Beatles fans’ hearts when he married American photographer Linda Eastman there in 1969.

After the death of Linda, Sir Paul married Heather Mills in a decidedly grander affair held at Castle Leslie in County Monaghan, Ireland. Following the break-up of this marriage, the world’s most famous bass player married Nancy Shevell at… Marylebone Register Office, of course.

Other famous marriages here include Ringo Starr, Liam Gallagher (twice!) Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas. There should be a red carpet outside!

3. Gretna Green, Scotland

Did you know that one in six Scottish weddings take place in a little village in the south of the country?

The place is Gretna Green; a spot which has also proved popular as a wedding venue for English couples thanks to a law passed in 1753. Lord Hardwicke’s Marriage Act really put Gretna on the map by saying that if a prospective bride or groom was under the age of 21 then parental consent was needed to make the marriage legal.

This English law did not apply to Scotland and resulted in thousands of love-struck runaway couples eloping to Gretna, one of the first villages beyond the border, to get married. The law has been done away with but Gretna – which has several wedding venues – is still seen as a wildly romantic place to say: “I do”.

As for celebrity weddings in Gretna Green… does Kerry Katona count?! Speaking of which…

4. Stormont Castle, Northern Ireland

You’ve heard of a stormy marriage but have you heard of a Stormont marriage? Stormont is the beautiful castle in Northern Ireland where the country’s assembly meets to discuss and vote on vital matters of state.

Over the years, legendary politicians like Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy have swept down Stormont’s imposing drive and you can follow in their footsteps by holding a wedding reception at the Stormont Hotel next door.

5. Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is without doubt the most famous wedding venue in Great Britain, and the good news is that there is no waiting list to get married there.

However, the bad news is that you can only formalise your marriage there if you are a member of the Royal Family, an order of the Bath Members or a resident of one of the Abbey’s Precincts.

No wonder members of these exclusive categories are considered such good wedding prospects!

James Christie writes for Thomson Local business directory. Use Thomson to find wedding suppliers near you.

This guest blog post brought a wry smile to my face this morning — so for any men planning to propose in the near future, here’s some advice to help you propose without a hitch!

Photo credit: Alison Groves (click to see featured wedding blog)

Of course the first step in any wedding is the proposal, and what is a proposal without the perfect engagement ring? Taking that first step can be a frightening prospect as there is always some amount of doubt in the back of the man’s mind as to whether or not his proposal will be accepted.

It’s almost like a toddler taking his or her first steps when learning to walk. You see the baby standing there precariously, wobbling back and forth a little awkwardly, until enough courage is amassed to take that giant first step. This is probably what most men are experiencing when trying to find the perfect moment to ‘pop the question’ and one which would be great parodied on classic comedy hours such as America’s Saturday Night Live or the UK’s fabulously famous show of the late 60’s and early 70’s Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

However, that fatal first step really can be a potential hazard to your health, so plan your moment wisely men! There is the story of a young couple standing atop the Brooklyn Bridge and as the man went to propose, the engagement ring fell to the levels below, much to their chagrin. The young man began climbing his way down the bridge to find the ring but the traffic came to a halt as onlookers thought he was trying to commit suicide. That isn’t quite the earth-shattering, ground-breaking event he was looking for!

Finding just the right engagement ring is often difficult enough, but getting the courage to make the proposal is almost more stress than many men can handle. It is all well and good to get creative when proposing, but be careful not to get too zealous in your plans. As a side note, if you intend to pop the question whilst skydiving or standing atop Mt. Everest, it might be wise to take out some insurance as well – on both the ring and your lives!

The Beautiful Company is a specialist online jeweller that carries an extensive selection of eternity rings, engagement rings and wedding rings. Ask about the buy-now pay-later option and their exclusive 30 Day Money Back Guarantee.

Photo credit: Tino and Pip (click for wedding feature)

I’m going to show you an email, and then I’m going to say just what I think about a) plastic surgery and b) the idiots who think brides are their ideal customers for procedures.

This could get messy…

Here’s the email I found in my inbox this morning:
I can’t fault Bella’s polite approach, but it’s certainly a one-email-fits-all thing, so I don’t feel bad about my response. She’s only asking for a guest post about skincare… all perfectly harmless (I’ve nothing against moisturiser!)  — but the string attached would be a nice backlink to a blog about cosmetic surgery. Kerching?

My reply to the email (sadly it’s one of many)

I have strong feelings about anyone in the business of making money from people’s vulnerabilities… this is me explaining that quite nicely:

It’s a topic I find it difficult to be too nice about — that’s as polite as I wanted to be.

My opinions on surgery:

1. I have no problem with surgery after an accident. Severe burns and scarring can be traumatic — if an operation or two will help, it’s a good thing.
2. I don’t like vanity. I don’t like our society’s perception of beauty. I don’t agree that surgery is the answer to a crooked nose, small boobs, wrinkles, a big tummy, saggy bum… whatever. The answer is to accept whichever of your bits you don’t like. Simple.
3. There are huge risks. General anaesthetics shouldn’t be taken with as little care as, say, Smarties.
4. This is a multi-million pound industry feeding off people’s vulnerabilities. That’s not nice.

Cosmetic surgery and the wedding industry:

The big clinics like Transform (ick) have spotted a gap in the market over the last year or two. Brides. An easy target, they seem to think. Every bride wants to look perfect on her wedding day. How patronising and condescending is that?!

Brides also have a lot of money — if they’re prepared to spend £x,xxx on a venue, catering, photography, flowers… these businesses want some.

So these companies have been advertising in wedding magazines, and they’re now trying to get in with the wedding blogs. They’ll never, ever get any advertising space on English Wedding. (I’m also trying to avoid using words which will encourage their Google advertising on this post.)

The real beauty in weddings — it’s not about cup size

Because beauty is inside us, and being pretty on the outside is the tiniest little part of that. Accepting our flaws and vulnerabilities makes us more lovable. Your husband will love you for who you are — warts and all, as the saying goes.

I think getting married is a sign of maturity. The same kind of maturity which can lead a girl to accept those bits of herself she’s not so keen on — after all, when someone falls in love with you exactly as you are, you learn to see yourself through their eyes.

And they love the bumpy, wrinkly and bent bits on the outside of you, just as much as they love the soul on your inside.

The idea of spending £5k on invasive procedures to lift, mould and shape parts of a person’s body seems ridiculous.

The perfect wedding — love and commitment (not skin)

Having a perfect wedding isn’t about flaunting your perfect body. It’s not about your figure or your face — it’s about sharing your love as a couple with all of your friends and family, coming together in celebration and making a commitment.

Marriage means you’ll be together forever. Your wedding day marks the first day of that lifetime commitment — and these businesses who are after your money for surgery don’t even see that.

Keep your focus, think about being married for the next thirty, forty, fifty or sixty years — and join me in sticking two fingers up at the cosmetic surgery companies who can’t see the beauty in growing old and wrinkly together.

Pre-wedding season, I was peering through the tumbleweed at various wedding photography websites and genuinely surprised by a) the numbers of wedding photographers out there, and b) the lack of blogs!

A quick look at this as a little aside: I searched for ‘wedding photographers’ and got a map with chicken pox. There are so, so many photographers out there! (Even more if you zoom in). I knew that though…

wedding photographers — a rash across the UK?

I was on a bit of a mission to discover new wedding photographers — ones who hadn’t submitted to my blog before, so I could raise awareness of English Wedding blog. And I was looking for their real wedding features to get an idea of what they do.

Four out of five didn’t have blogs.

And I was surprised — in this day and age, surely a wedding business blog is as important for SEO and promotion as facebook, more important than twitter, on a par with having a presence at wedding shows and fairs?

I discovered with my wedding calligraphy businesses very early on that writing a blog would generate 40% more traffic to my site. Let’s make that more personal: for every 100 people who’d browse my site, another 40 of those who found my blog via Google search would then come and have a look at my website.

That’s how I fell in love with blogging and it’s partly where English Wedding blog came from. Now when a photographer, invitation designer or wedding entertainer gets in touch, I look for their blog. Instantly.

Why? It shows me a deeper insight into their work than a portfolio. I see a wedding photographer’s portfolio as a hand-picked selection of their very best bits. If I want to know more about their work, I look for real weddings, large size images, quick to scroll through. It has to be a blog.

In this day and age it really does surprise me that so many wedding businesses don’t blog. And I’d really love to know why. Is it time? Is it that blogging hasn’t registered with the wedding industry yet? Am I just too geeky for my own good? (I read a lot of tech news and web design articles.)

So — if you have a blog, please show me (comments below — I’ll pop over and have a look ESPECIALLY if I haven’t seen your blog before — I’m in the mood for discovery and adventure

and if you don’t blog, I’m really interested to know why. Would you, and is there something holding you back? Please share

Claire xx

Some of the guest blog post ideas I’m sent for English Wedding are fabulous. This is one. Honestly written, funny and charming — and full of genuine advice for grooms. We’ve heard a lot about looking good in wedding photos from various blogs recently, but never a real focus on the groom. And I like to think I know what men need: practical advice, useful ideas and humour. The other thing men need is Tamara Kuzminski — a Hertfordshire wedding photographer full of great advice. She’s the author of today’s guest blog post — so welcome, Tamara, and thank you!

When planning your wedding, most of the advice focuses on the bride. Unsurprising really, when statistically, it’s the brides who do most of the planning and the grooms have (perhaps an unfair) reputation of just turning up, looking smart and saying “I do”. But just because the boys aren’t necessarily as motivated when it comes to collecting ribbon and drying out petals, it doesn’t mean that they don’t want to look their best.

So here are my top 5 tips for you, the groom, to make sure you look just as gorgeous as your bride in your wedding photographs.

The groom’s top 5 wedding photography tips

1. Empty your pockets.

You’ve gone to the effort to look smart in a suit. You are sleek, cool, handsome. But what’s that bulging out of your pocket? That’s right, it’s your mobile phone! (That’s what you were thinking too, right?)

Your wedding day is one day when you won’t need all that with you. Everyone who’s anyone in your address book is either there with you or has apologised for not being able to make it (and therefore knows that it’s going on). Bulky pocket contents not only drag your suit down, ruining the lovely line created by your tailor (or the tailor who made it for your suit hire company) but will also be noticeable in your photographs. Especially when it’s such an easy fix. So as soon as you arrive at your church or venue, give your phone (and wallet and keys) to your mum, your sister or your best friend’s wife. If there is an emergency, they know where you are. Oh, and don’t forget to tell your best man and ushers to all do the same!

2. Undo your jacket buttons.

You’re having your photograph taken with all the guys. You know the scenario. Awkward standing around, nervously looking at each other waiting for someone to make the first move. Then someone dares to raise an arm over the groom’s shoulders and suddenly everyone joins in to form a big huddle. There’s suit jackets crowding around everyone’s ears and gaping in front of chests. It’s not really a great look.

Suit jackets are created to hang really well when you’re standing up straight. As soon as you try raising your arms, that great shape suddenly can become a hindrance. But with the simple unbuttoning of your jacket, the shape is allowed to flow again.

3. Dare to wear colour.

Why let the girls have all the fun in the fashion stakes on your wedding day? It’s a great opportunity to allow your personality to really shine, in a way that you perhaps don’t get to do during the working week. Don’t think that a groom’s suit is all about black. Or maybe grey. There’s a multitude of colours out there to choose from. Or, if you’re not feeling bold enough to go head-to-toe in another colour, how about just flashing it a bit with the lining of your suit? Or having a coloured waistcoat? Or a characterful tie or bowtie? Or even your socks or style of shoes. It’s all about letting your personality be seen. Tradition is great, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative too.

Don’t forget your ushers and best man either. You will look fabulous co-ordinated, but all wearing different shades of the same colour is the new black.

4. Stand tall.

We all know that you have the physique of a gladiator, but just in case you need some help showing it off to its full advantage (a.k.a. helping to hide the bits you don’t like) then these can make a big difference.

No matter how slim you are, tipping your chin down slightly is a trick used by all celebrities and is much more photogenic than raising it up. If you’re worried about your chin, the best way to minimise it is to stand tall and bring your chin forward slightly (even if it feels slightly odd). Your photographer will be choosing the most flattering lens and angle to photograph from too, so don’t overthink it. Remember that genuine expression and emotion wins over a stiff pose every time.

Men naturally stand facing the camera straight on but it’s not necessarily the most flattering pose. If you angle yourself slightly and put your weight on your back foot, it will look more natural, unless you’re going for a more graphic and stylised look.

If you’re not sure what to do with your hands, put them in your pockets. It’s easy when you’re with your bride, she’s so gorgeous you can’t keep your hands off her anyway! But if it’s just you, or you and your groomsmen in the photograph, they might not appreciate the same touchy-feely approach. If you’re feeling awkward with your hands, just hide them away in your pockets (opening your jacket button at the same time).

5. Be yourself, have fun and have confidence.

This tip is probably the most important of them all. If you only take one thing away with you, make it this one. Be yourself. If you’re relaxed in yourself, this will come across in your photographs, and most importantly, you will enjoy your day.

Most grooms are not particularly comfortable in front of a camera, so if that’s you, remember to tell your photographer this. Or even better, schedule in an engagement or pre-wedding shoot with them. This might sound like your idea of a nightmare (why would you put yourself through this more than once, eh?) but the confidence you’ll gain from seeing the photographs your photographer can get will mean that it’s not something you’re worrying about on your wedding day. You know and trust that they’ll get great images so you can just have a great time. Having no confidence in front of the camera is the biggest difference in terms of getting good versus great photographs. And I know you’re after “wow!”

If you have any more tips, all the grooms out there would love to hear them. Please do share them in the comments below.

Tamara Kuzminski is a Hertfordshire wedding photographer, photographing weddings in the London area and Scandinavia.

Hello! For starters: I’m only cringing a little bit at the title. OK, so it’s not a dire warning about the Royal Mail. Your wedding won’t be flashmobbed by angry postmen; even postal strikes aren’t going to have that much impact on your day. So let’s not panic — this is a sensible blog post with wedding advice for couples and suppliers alike: a few things that can go wrong when you’re relying on our wonderful postal service, and how to make them go right instead. (PS do you like my pink stamps? I love Photoshop! Queen, take note!)

Pay the right postage; save on wedding invitation stamps

For anyone who didn’t know, the price of stamps is going up in April. It’s worth thinking about buying your stamps now to save lots of money. The bigger / heavier your wedding invitations, the more you’ll save by buying stamps before the 3oth of April.

The price of a first class stamp and what it covers

A standard first class stamp will cost 46p until the 30th of April, when the price will increase to 60p. Standard stamps are valid for items up to 240mm long; 165mm wide, 5mm thick and up to 100g in weight. If you’re posting 50 wedding invitations and they’re that size, that weight, you’ll save £7 (every penny counts!)

Measure and weigh your wedding invites for postage

Larger and heavier letters cost more to send. If your wedding invitations contain information sheets, diamanté buckles, or are heavy pocketfold formats, be careful to buy the right stamp for their size and weight. Never assume your wedding invitations weigh less than 100g: it all depends on the card stock you’ve used; the envelope quality, and whether you’ve included a reply slip or information sheet.

How to be sure of what your invitations will cost to post

Have one of your made-up wedding invitation packs weighed at the post office or ask your stationer to calculate the postage price for you. If you use the wrong stamps and your wedding invitations cost more to post than you’ve paid, they could be held at the delivery office while your guests are asked to stump up the additional postage cost and a £1 handling fee! Don’t forget the price increase on the 30th of April!

This happened to one of my wedding calligraphy clients this week. The poor girl felt awful as a couple of her guests had had to pay (£1.12) for their wedding invitations to be delivered!

Stamps or great big ugly postage stickers on your invites?

It might seem easier to get all your wedding invitations ready and just take them into the post office for them to add your stamps for you. If you’ve spent a lot on making your wedding invitations look good, don’t forget your envelopes. Stamps look nice but those big postage labels they use at post office counters can look awful squidged onto an envelope! Ask the counter staff to give you normal stamps instead. Even if you need more than one, two stamps look nicer than a huge sticker on your delicate little envelopes!

Wedding mail order — use Special Delivery

When you’re ordering other bits and pieces for your wedding, don’t skimp on guaranteed delivery services, and ask your suppliers how they post orders out.

Bespoke items worth £100 or more should always be sent by Special Delivery in my opinion: if the supplier charges more for this, it’s worth paying. Recorded delivery is not a viable option. In my personal experience Recorded delivery can be no better than first class: my postman never used to ask for a signature for recorded items, only for Special Deliveries. Anything ‘Recorded’ was just dumped in my porch with the normal post. Also, even if a Recorded item does go missing, you’ll have to wait a month or so before Royal Mail will accept they’ve lost it and look into the matter for you.

There is a big price difference to watch out for: Recorded delivery costs the same as first class post plus 95p while Special Delivery costs from £5.90.

See the full price list on the Royal Mail website here: Royal Mail 2012 Prices pdf

If you hover over the link it looks strange, but I promise it’s a genuine link. If in any doubt go via this page: http://www.royalmail.com/prices2012 (scroll down and click on the pdf).

Safe packaging for wedding items in the post

Don’t skimp on packaging if you are sending out parcels to suppliers or posting anything relating to your wedding: your wedding invitations, for example, for calligraphy.

I see many different packaging styles when couples send me their invitations. Some use two boxes with bubble wrap and protective foam while others simply throw placecards into a paper envelope and hope for the best.

(This week I’ve had an order for envelope calligraphy from a groom. It was very carefully packed and the envelopes arrived in perfect condition… in a box for a “cordless rechargeable leisure inflator” — which has kept me smiling all week! — it may not be beautiful packaging, but the tissue paper and careful wrapping worked like a charm.)

In my opinion it is always worthwhile using plenty of packaging to protect valuable items whether these are wedding invitations or your bridesmaids’ accessories, and wherever you are sending them to.

If you have any further advice about posting wedding invitations or sending weddingy bits through the post, please use the comments box below to share with other couples. Wedding suppliers — do you have any more tips? Eco-friendly packaging, perhaps?

Claire x

Please feel free to share this helpful, tongue-in-cheek wedding infographic  — tell your facebook friends, or share this on your wedding website or blog! A link back to this page on English Wedding blog would be marvellous, thank you kindly. Click on the infographic to see it in all its big friendly glory — and enjoy the read.

Smiling? Then please do share with your friends, or embed the graphic on your own wedding website or blog if you have one. Its url is

http://english-wedding.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/how-to-save-creatively-for-your-wedding.jpg

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One for the wedding business owners today… As I write blog features for English Wedding I often find myself visiting websites of jewellery and cake designers, wedding venues and stationers, wedding bands, caterers and make up artists. You’re all on facebook; most of you are on twitter — it’s amazing how the way we promote our wedding businesses has changed.

Aside from wedding photographers who usually do blog, it seems to me the last step in the flurry of social media activity required from a wedding business these days is a business blog. Could it be that we’re all so time-pressured now a blog would be a step too far?

How wedding businesses will use social media in 2012

Think back five years or so: we were all doing the same things, weren’t we… if you’re anything like me your wedding business keeps you busy from dawn till dusk in the peak wedding season, and then when it gets a bit quieter you’re still busy promoting your business via the wedding magazines and any other way you can think of.

Essentially, making your wedding products takes up a lot of time. Running a wedding business is a lifestyle more than a simple job. And the demands of twitter and facebook — even Pinterest — came on top of everything we already had on our to do lists… everyone was doing it; it’s difficult to take the decision not to, right?

But blogging? It seems a lot of wedding businesses either haven’t considered blogging, or have seen it and thought “no way, I need to sleep sometimes!” Is it worth blogging your wedding business then, or can you really afford not to?

My thoughts in favour of wedding business blogging -

1. A blog is a great way of showcasing your latest news / designs / events without having to update your website
2. Blogging needn’t take up the time you think it will. I write my wedding calligraphy blog in advance: writing posts for a day, four times a year or so, and scheduling them as updates. Four days a year, in total!
3. Google is taking more and more notice of regularly updated sites — ie blogs. If you’re not updating your website regularly, blogging will bring you traffic
4. Blogs are a networking tool as well: you blog, you comment on someone else’s blog, they comment on yours, you do this more and more and widen your internet reach — and now Google is looking at interaction and social search when ranking sites too
5. Time management is key: could you use some of the time you’re spending on twitter and facebook to update a blog instead?
6. Beginning a blog isn’t as hard as you might think. And it can be free — visit WordPress.com when you have 10 minutes free and just try it!

Against wedding business blogging

1.  If you’re getting enough orders / earning enough money and you don’t foresee this changing any time soon, there’s no need to try and improve things by blogging
2. If you struggle to manage your time and your social life or family life is suffering, it’s probably more important to give yourself some ‘me time’ than get into the habit of swearing at WordPress
3. Some people are really nervous about blogging. If you find the idea stressful, now isn’t the time. You probably use facebook already — it’s another way to promote your business in the same constant, fast-moving way as a blog.

What do you think?

Do you have a wedding business blog? Are you considering writing one? If you have an opinion on the subject, or a question for me about blogging a wedding business, don’t be shy — share your thoughts by commenting below

I have a guide to blogging a wedding business due for publication soon — sign up to English Wedding blog updates so you won’t miss the launch date.