Bridesbook.co.uk

The saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. You just need to look at a certain auction website to see thousands of listings showing designer pictures where the dress is for sale as low as £4.99 or even 98p! Brides go in to high street bridal stores looking at dresses then are amazed to see those same dresses on the auction website or other independent websites being sold for hundreds of pounds less than they saw in bridal store. Some brides then purchase these dresses maybe thinking that they are being sold at trade price and are expecting a genuine designer dress to arrive as the seller was using a designer image. Imagine the brides horror when her ‘dream dress’ is delivered to her house in a cushion cover or jiffy bag. Then she takes the dress out and instantly notices that it is a nasty fake copy. Can you imagine the look on the brides face when she realises that she has been misled by the seller and basically robbed of her money. Some people may say well ok the dress was only £4.99 plus £80 shipping charges it’s no big deal. But to the bride it is, her dream of a perfect wedding has collapsed around her. I must add that I have seen fake copy wedding dresses being sold for up to £700! Imagine that, a bride can pay £700 for a fake copy when she could pay that price or less for the actual designer dress in an authorised high street bridal store! I have seen the fake copies that brides can receive. They are utter rubbish and only fit for the rubbish bin. As the Company Director of Bonny Bridal UK Ltd, I have received many telephone calls from the shops that my company supplies where the store owner is looking to purchase a dress immediately because she has a distressed bride in tears who had received a fake copy dress after buying it online thinking she was going to receive a genuine designer dress. I am in a position to warn brides about the dangers from purchasing their bridal attire online. In 2005 I created a website called Brides Aware. This is a data base website where suppliers, shops, and brides can leave their horror stories from buying online to warn other brides. You can view this at www.bridesaware.co.uk  I also created Brides TV. This too can be viewed online. On here are videos of me showing the difference between a counterfeit fake copy and original designer dress. You will be shocked. These fake copy wedding dresses have no beading at all compared to the originals, the embroidery is terrible, and the dresses are made from cheap fabrics. View this website at www.bridestv.co.uk  Other fake copies can come with zips that are not sewn in straight and odd sized panels. When buying a dress online from other countries, these can be sent to the bride declared as a ‘gift’. The seller does this so that the bride does not receive a huge charge in respect of the Customs Duty and VAT charge. By doing this the dress enters the country illegally because the commercial value has not been declared. Customs & Excise can then enter the bride’s home and take the dress. It is also against the law to purchase counterfeit good. So not only has a bride wasted some of her wedding budget on a counterfeit dress, she may risk having her home raided by Customs & Excise. Not a good start to getting married! Designers do not sell their dresses online, let alone allow them to be sold on auction websites. I must state that brides will sell their genuine dress on auction websites therefore I will not commit myself by saying that only fake copies are sold online. But it is easily noticeable if the seller is a bride or a counterfeiter. All bridal stores have a sale rail. The dresses on them are usually ex samples. These can be purchased for half the RRP. Some stores may even offer a payment plan so that brides can pay for their dress in instalments. Brides also receive the guarantee and protection from the store and designer.

The Professional Toastmaster has been part of the Social scene for centuries and it is, perhaps, at weddings when one can really see him at work in close up, for there is no doubt that by having a Professional Toastmaster looking after the day, it enhances the event and by keeping to a pre-arranged timetable, he will make sure that it runs smoothly and to perfection.

He will have seen the Bride and Groom weeks before the wedding, going through the day in its entirety, advising how long each aspect of the day will take, running through the format and covering everything so that everyone will have a clear idea of the day and indeed, a fair amount of pressure is already lifted off the couple when they realise just how the Toastmaster is involved and the immense amount of work he does and support he gives. He really does take over the worries and responsibilities of the day allowing the bridal party to relax and enjoy the occasion.

This meeting not only forms a strong rapport between everyone, but also gives the Bride and Groom the confidence in the way that the Toastmaster, now no longer a complete stranger, will run their day exactly how they wish it to be.

There are so many points to be covered, if in a marquee, wet and dry arrangements, the logical drawing up of the seating plan and top table, is there a 1st Aid kit available just in case, facilities for disabled guests, who supplies the cake knife to name just a few matters which are dealt with.

Another very important part of the proceedings is who are making the speeches. Traditionally, it is the Bride’s Father (or close Member of the family) followed by the Bridegroom then the Best Man. The Toastmaster offers tremendous help and advice to those involved as it can be quite an ordeal for those not used to public speaking ! Aspects such as content, format, time and emotions are all covered.

So much of his time is ‘behind the scenes’, liasing with the photographer, videographer, the banqueting manager or caterers, and the entertainment in the evening, all helping to make sure of a great success. So much could go wrong, but by being one step ahead all the time, he takes care of all eventualities, quietly and efficiently.

All this should be considered very strongly when arranging the reception as so many venues offer their own ‘master of ceremonies’, a duty often performed by the duty manager or even member of staff and generally they are the first to admit that they are not a highly trained and experienced Professional Toastmaster !. Also, so often one hears the Bride, when asked if she has thought about having a Toastmaster, reply that she is having her Uncle, a brother or a great friend in the armed services to carry out those duties !  That poor person would spend his time worrying and continually asking the Banqueting Manager what he should so next, whereas the Toastmaster would know exactly what to do at all times.

Peter has been a Professional Toastmaster for over ten years, is a Fellow and currently the Vice-President of the National Association of Toastmasters that is widely acclaimed as the foremost group in the profession. He is extremely experienced in all types of weddings and his very warm personality, detailed knowledge and ability to adapt have earned him a superb reputation which has resulted in him looking after events, held in palaces and pubs, all over the Country.

So you've got engaged? Congratulations!
Of course once you've toasted your engagement you will realise you 
need to organise a wedding! Although this sounds simple, this is no simple task.

After all surely  all you need is a venue to get married and a venue for the
reception.  Right? If only things were that simple!

With weddings the devil really is in the details. Planning a wedding 
can be a delight or a chore depending on how organised or not you are.
Here are a few things you'll need to think about:

If you want to get married in a church? If so which church? And this 
limits where your reception can be as it shouldn't be too far away as 
you don't want your guests to get lost en route!

Of course you're going to want a cake, flowers, maybe a sweetie table? 
There really are so many options that you can go to town as much as 
you want!

You'll notice that I've not mentioned something that is in the title 
of the article so far - namely choosing a wedding photographer? Well 
read on!

Long after all the flowers have died, cake has been eaten and the poor 
jokes of the best man have been forgotten there are only a couple of 
things that will remain from your wedding. One of these is your dress; 
the other is your wedding photographs. What are you more likely to get 
out and show your grandchildren?

A dress and say "Look, what a wonderful dress we had a lovely day" 
of course we didn't hire a professional photographer so we haven't got 
anything else to show for our day? OR "Look at this amazing album 
what a beautiful record of our day, showing us both looking a million 
dollars and so happy, look at how we're looking at each other as that 
light really shows off my dress?". I know what I'd rather people say!

So now I've convinced you that you really want a professional 
photographer to capture your day, you want someone who will be able 
to react to any situation that happens on your day.
So here are the points to consider before committing to hire a 
professional photographer.

You're going to spend a lot of time with this person before, after and 
particularly on your wedding day so it's essential that you get on 
with them. It's no good them having an amazing portfolio if you can't 
imagine yourself working with them. So I'd say this is one of the most 
important things, as you need to feel comfortable enough that you know 
you will get the images you want and deserve!

Of course it goes without saying that you'll not only want to see some 
examples of their work but also some full weddings, ideally some 
finished albums as delivered to clients, but, complete wedding 
galleries are also good. This gives you a much better understanding of 
their work and ensures you don't just see a dozen lucky images plucked 
from a few weddings.

Of course there is the usual questions of cost, you need to be clear 
how much you can afford and to that end ensure you can accurately 
gauge how much your complete wedding package will cost including any 
extras.
That's it! Really it honestly is. If you get on with the photographer 
and like their work (and you are happy you've seen enough depth) then 
I say go for it! Sure there are lots of other questions that you can 
ask that are listed in bridal magazines, but, these are designed to 
sell bridal magazines rather than really help a bride decide on their 
wedding photographer.

I'll leave you with one last thought, if you're on a budget (and who 
isn't!), and you value having lasting memories of your wedding day 
when you look your best then really look at spending as much as you 
can on your wedding photography and not trying to cut corners. So I'd 
always recommend going for as nice an album as you can afford and for 
someone who is going to be able to capture those images that you'll be 
proud to show your grandchildren!

Greg Thurtle is a Dorset based wedding photographer living in Tarrant 
Hinton nr Blandford Forum and offers modern, contemporary and fun 
wedding photography for his clients.