English Wedding best of 2010: inspiration

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One of my favourite real weddings from 2010 was submitted by the brilliant photographer Joseph Yarrow. I always think Joseph gets the very best out of the brides and grooms he photographs because he clicks with them, and the results are always amazing. In the case of Jodie and David’s colourful wedding, I had to write two blog features: this is called…

Wedding Inspiration – Peacocks!

Get the look - a gorgeous colourful wedding. All images by www.JosephYarrow.com

To see the full post just click Wedding Inspiration – Peacocks!

To see David and Jodie’s wedding click the photograph below. You’ll love it, I promise!

Claire x

Bride and groom Jodie and David, by Joseph Yarrow

English Wedding best of 2010: real wedding

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Another favourite wedding featured this year was from March – in this case it’s the wedding dress I absolutely adore: the vibrant red is out of this world. Bride Gemma is stunning and wedding photographer Amy Wass is one very talented lady. Enjoy!

One of my favourite Amy Wass wedding photographs

Rhinefield House is a luxury wedding venue with bags of character

The wedding ceremony - the opulent setting makes it really special

The wedding speeches embarrass Gemma, just a bit!

To see the full post just click Stunning Red Wedding.

English Wedding best of 2010: vintage wedding

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This gorgeous vintage inspired wedding has a special place in my mind – when I think about the weddings I’ve blogged over the year, Vanessa and Michael’s day always makes me smile. Manchester wedding photographer Neil Redfern captured some incredible images of the reception at The Barlow Institute which positively glow with gorgeousness.

Vintage inspired English Wedding

To see more, please click Vintage English Wedding.

English Wedding best of 2010: real weddings

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In the spirit of the festive season and in the best tradition of television and radio over Christmas and New Year, I’m going to be writing a little “best of” series of blog posts over the next few days for you. These will be my favourites from the year, and will show you what the English Wedding blog is all about.

A wedding of pure beauty on English Wedding

Belle Epoque Knutsford wedding by photographer Chris Hanley

Catherine and Kevin were married at The Belle Epoque in Knutsford and I featured their wedding day in July. The photographer was English Wedding favourite Chris Hanley Photography, and you can see the full post by clicking A Wedding of Pure Beauty.

I’d love to hear your comments, and if you’d like to see more please pop your email address in the little box at the top right of your screen to get new blog posts delivered straight to your inbox.

Claire x

How to blog your wedding business

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This blog post is inspired by two of my wedding industry friends who are trying to build their businesses: one a photographer and one a wedding stationer. (I won’t name names: that would be embarrassing!) But seeing the topic discussed on the UK Wedding SEO blog made up my mind: I have to write a little about business blogging.

Wedding business blogging: getting it right

Blogging for your wedding business is easy, and quick, and will attract visitors to your site. You just have to do it right.

It’s not like writing a ‘weddings blog’ – you don’t have to write about anything else aside from your business: your new products, your design ideas, colours that inspire you, customer feedback etc.

I have a calligraphy blog which I feel ‘feeds’ my wedding calligraphy business. The blog generates about 30% of my web traffic. It’s hosted on Blogger, one of the two main FREE blogging platforms (the other being WordPress, which I like better now). See more...

English Wedding: it’s all about You!

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Writing a wedding blog is one of those things that makes you really think about your world. It’s easy to settle inside a little blogging bubble, but more fun to pop your head out and look at the world from time to time.

I want English Wedding to be all about you, and not about me. I encourage comments, emails and tweets (@english_wedding) and I love hearing about your wedding planning triumphs and worries: being able to help you is best of all.

I realised the menu of English Wedding didn’t really reflect this. About Me is all very well, but I feel happier now I’ve added About You! See what you think and please feel free to comment.

Claire x

English Wedding Blog: an introduction

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I wondered for a little while what to post on Christmas day… something festive, or a ‘Happy Christmas’ message (but the Queen has that one covered) – and in the end I thought I should post something YOU would want to see! So here are some of the best things you’ll find on the English Wedding blog, as a nice little introduction to the site.

Real weddings on the English Wedding blog

Real weddings on English Wedding. This is Sarah and Dan's wedding. Photo Credit: Katy Lunsford

You’ll find some wonderfully inspiring and creative weddings here. While I advocate and admire thrifty and budget weddings, there’s nothing more fun than to gaze at a gorgeous wedding day with stunning photography.

The menu at the top of the page will take you to the latest real weddings featured on the blog, and if you wish you can skip to your favourite kind: vintage weddings, contemporary, alternative, traditional: whatever your taste, we’ve wedding inspiration for you!

Wedding advice from the Experts

Planning a wedding together English Wedding Blog

Planning together: English Wedding Blog See more...

Merry Christmas!

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Have a wonderful Christmas everyone. I hope Santa’s been and left you many wonderful things under the tree – and I hope you have a wonderful day.

There’ll be another blog post later, but for now I just wanted to wish you a very Happy Christmas.

Enjoy your prezzies, your dinner and your time with family today.

I’ll be blogging every day so please check back for more if you can (and especially if you’ve new internet-type gadgets to play with!)

A quirky Hampshire wedding

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Modern bride and groom in gorgeous wedding attire

Here’s another gorgeous wedding from London photographer Matt Parry. He says (on his blog), “aidan and sarah’s wedding was another lovely laid back and informal affair with just a few traditional trimmings…just the way I like it!“… and you know what, it really shows when you ‘click’ with your wedding photographer like this.

My tip of the day then: meet your wedding photographer. If they ask about your wedding, your style, your personalities… and if you can really identify with them – book them! Matt Parry is right up my street.

In Matt’s own blogging style, I’ll show you all the gorgeous photos from Aidan and Sarah’s wedding day and finish up with Matt’s YouTube slideshow of their day at the end. Enjoy!

The wedding dress: beautiful vintage style lace

Bridal preparations go swimmingly with a little bubbly to help along the way!

And for the hairdressers, concentration on their craft!

Sarah is beautiful - and this photograph is divine. See more...

Budgeting for a vintage wedding

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Vintage and retro weddings are still big news and as we approach the beginning of 2011 I have to ask my burning question. Perhaps you can help me answer it.

Why are we still spending so much on vintage-inspired wedding days?

Credit: FashionEra.com

I can’t deny I love a vintage wedding theme, with inspiration from a few generations ago, gorgeous gowns and retro stationery and accessory designs. But isn’t it funny how our 21st century wedding budgets are still stretched when we plan a vintage wedding celebration?

I’d love to know – and I’m secretly hoping – whether vintage-inspired brides are the thriftiest and most inventive out there. Pre- and post-war brides were making their own wedding dresses and more, before most of us were even born.

Your vintage inspired wedding

Have you made your own wedding bunting, stationery, jewellery, flowers, cake… dress? I’d love to hear about your wedding plans if you have a second.

Vintage wedding budget top tips

Credit: www.fashion-era.com See more...

Institute of Directors wedding suppliers

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How about a little peek into the lives of the rich and famous? Did you see Nicola and Charlie’s gorgeous luxury wedding at the Palace of Westminster and Institute of Directors on the blog yesterday? Let’s go behind the scenes…

Wedding planner Andri Benson of Always Andri Wedding Design, who had the privilege of working with Nicola and Charlie to coordinate their wedding day, has shared some extra little bits with English Wedding. Find out who worked all the magic on their wedding day – from singing waiters to a gospel choir and more… it’s great to know who top wedding planners recommend!

Always Andri: On The Day Coordination

I have to mention wedding planner Andri first, of course. I’ve followed @AlwaysAndri on twitter for the last year and would recommend her to any bride – not only is she an expert wedding planner full of great tips and advice, she also has her own UK wedding blog where she posts endless inspiration for everything wedding.

Wedding Planner London, Surrey, Kent Always Andri Wedding Design

Always Andri Wedding Design See more...

The Ethical Wedding Supplier Pledge

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Just a quick note for today, as over the festive season I will be making some changes to the English Wedding blog.

The ethical wedding supplier pledge has been one of our successes of 2010 and with many suppliers signing up to the pledge, I’m a little worried the huge page might break WordPress. Which could be embarrassing.

So! Today I’m updating the ethical wedding supplier lists and splitting the lot into separate categories. There’ll be a page for ethical wedding accessories suppliers, one for jewellery, photographers, planners… etc.

If you’re interested in supporting the ethical wedding supplier pledge, we’d love to have you on board. It’s all about running a trustworthy, honest wedding business. Have a read… and I look forward to hearing from you!

Read the ethical wedding supplier pledge and sign up!