Make sure you email Julie as you might be in with a chance of winning a free pair of tickets – good luck! Just click here to read about the Wedding Genie Bridal Workshops

It is hosted by My Sugarland in conjunction with Tiger Lily Wedding Consultancy and will take place in Angel on Thursday 26th November 2009 – 7 to 9:30 PM (its free to go to so make sure that you book early as places are limited and I reckon that they’ll be going quickly) – you just need to email info@mysugarland.co.uk or penny@tigerlilyweddings.co.uk and confirm that you want to attend

Here is a bit more info on the event from the planners themselves….

“My Sugarland and Tigerlily weddings are hosting an evening for budding brides-to-be, engaged couples and wedding guests alike, to help prepare for the big day. Come and join us for an inspirational evening hosted by shop owner and former stylist to the stars, Zoe Lem. Alongside her will be Penny Merricks, Director and Founder of Tigerlily Weddings to advise with all aspects of the wedding planning and creative wedding design for your big day.

My Sugarland is a gem in the world of boutiques, not only in womens and menswear, but also in elegant bridal wear. The stunning dresses, separates and accessories are suitable for a range of clients; discerning brides as well as wedding guests. The unusual selection of bridal gowns and evening wear on offer at My Sugarland sets this bridal range apart from other bridal shops, including delicate vintage creations and beautiful dresses and separates from hard to find designer labels including Reem and Steve J and Yoni P among others. Zoe’s highly developed aesthetic ensures she is able to find a stunning selection of unusual creations from the deepest of treasure troves and understands the necessity for a truly vintage bridal look. On this special evening, discount will be offered on all products at My Sugarland as well as complimentary bubbly and canapés. And of course, it’s not just about the dresses. Photography is a key part of any wedding day so Pippa Mackenzie has been enlisted to advise on capturing the most sentimental memories.

The Vintage Bridal Evening encapsulates all elements of wedding planning including hair, makeup and nails. Zoe has arranged for a team of beauty experts to consult on this area, specialising in looks from the 40’s and 50’s. There will also be a chance to sit back, relax and enjoy a mini nail treatment in preparation for that special day. And all evening there will be a retro DJ as well as incredible jazz singer Kate Winter; the perfect way to entertain at any wedding reception.

Let My Sugarland and Tigerlily Weddings take the pressure off and advise on all aspects of your wedding occasion; this event is definitely not one to miss”

NB Places at this event are free of charge but need to be booked in advance as numbers
are limited. To reserve a place, please email: info@mysugarland.co.uk

Check out the sites for either Tiger Lily Wedding Planning or My Sugarland where there is lots more information on how they can help you out with making your wedding day really special. They both have great blogs too which are well worth a look for inspiration, tips and unique wedding ideas.

Vintage Caravan Interior via Myvintageparty

Here is my weekly wedding blog round up. What I have enjoyed reading this week – take a peek, leave me comments and your thoughts or just point me in the direction of any good ones I am missing please!

This week I am starting with Myvintageparty blog which funnily enough is a blog for all things vintage old and lovely. Myvintageparty hires out vintage china and crockery for special events and weddings and the more recent addition to the company is the fabulous vintage caravan (which I just love). Hire it for a vintage hen party or for afternoon tea and cakes on your wedding day (it looks like you can sleep in it too so there is little need to elope off to a hotel for your first night of married bliss!). What a great, fun and slightly novel idea – there is lots of other good chat, vintage tips, photos and inspiration on her blog.

For my photography choice it has to be Elemental Weddings and Portraits blog This couple are photographers based up in Scotland and their blog is full of pics of all the weddings that they have been shooting. There is clearly a LOT of wind up there in Scotland but they still manage to get pics of the bride and groom looking calm and relaxed – no wonder they are shortlisted for VOWS Awards 2009 (awards for the Scottish Wedding Industry). Check out their blog for recent pics from some lovely Scottish weddings and get voting for them for these Awards.

I got sent this blog by the bride herself Mithi, check out her wedding blog posts at Planetmithi blog – her wedding might be over now but looks like it was a whole load of fun. And more importantly for us it has masses of good ideas and tips (to steal) such as using old milk bottles for table numbers, really cool DIY table decorations, flower arrangements and hand designed name places.

Table numbers for Wedding - via Planet Mithi

If you’re looking for a few green tips I like her idea of a great way to recycle the flowers – she gave cellophane flower bags filled with flowers from the table arrangements to people as leaving presents. Wow I would have loved to have been at her wedding all very creative (which I suppose you would expect from someone that is an illustrator). Her blog is well worth a good read and a haven of inspiration for anyone getting married or involved in wedding planning.

Tabletop and decorations - via Planet Mithi

And last but by no means least – it is the blog of wedding planner Zoe Lingard. Her style and inspiration boards are beautiful and her blog is a good source of inspiration and tips for couples getting married – like for example the brilliant post that she has just written on wedding favours. Before meeting a wedding planner, or considering taking one on its well worth a look at their blog as it is an insight into their sense of style, what they like and how they work.

I am meant to recommend 5 but I have already written a long post and these 4 are so good that they make up for me missing out one!

The lucky winner of the free competition to win an Alan Hannah Dress

It was great to hear from the ladies at Morgan Davies Bridal boutique that last night’s bridal party in London was such a success.  Sarah Lakin, the lucky winner of the free competition to win an Alan Hannah wedding dress also happened to be at the party so it was celebrations all round.  It was a fantastic competition that I covered here on the site a couple of weeks ago and what a great prize – I wore an Alan Hannah ‘All that Jazz’ dress to my wedding and LOVED it– he is, in my eyes, a brilliant wedding designer.

Not only that it sounds like the whole evening was a roaring success – I was gutted to have missed it actually, as I heard that there were lots of brides to be there and lots of fabulous suppliers.  There was Cando photography (I have already featured some of his work in my real life wedding sections – the very popular post on Gems and Ali’s real life wedding in Yorkshire), Penny from Tigerlily wedding planning, who I am dying to meet and have heard great things about, and Annalize and all the crew from Morgan Davies Bridal to name but a few.   Bertie Bow who is a singer and violinist provided the music all evening long – according to the guests she was brilliant and  ’should sing everywhere’.

Boutique Bridal Party at the Zetter

The event was held at the stylish Zetter hotel, in Farringdon, giving brides the chance to see the bridal suite, which apparently is the perfect place to get ready for your wedding. What a shame I didn’t get to make it, but so glad it was such a success. Many congrats to Sarah, who won the competition – I bet you are going to look gorgeous in your dress and I can’t wait to hopefully cover your wedding in our real life weddings section.

Its good to hear a few words from Annalize who organised the event.

“Morgan Davies hosted their very first Bridal Boutique Party at the Zetter Hotel last night.  We had some wonderful brides attending.  There was lots to see, infact if you were a savvie bride you could have almost planned the whole wedding under one roof, which is what we entended.  Brides are busy and the whole evening was set up to make your life easy.  The contributors are tried and tested and recommended by Morgan Davies on a regular basis.  It was lovely for girls to meet the people behind the business cards and see that they all wanted to make a bride’s day as special as possible.  We had a wonderful informal fashion show, wich showcased a selection that has something for everyone.  Jenny Packham, Alan Hannah, Blue Bridalwear, Jesus Piero and new designer Stephanie James were amongst the featured gowns.  The Zetter Hotel had some lovely canapes to try and each girl had a glass of champagne on arrival.  We also had a draw for some prizes, which were jewellery from Dinnie Hall, something secret from Tallulah Lingerie, 3 tiara’s from Morgan Davies, a wedding bouque from Dansk and of course the all important Alan Hannah wedding dress which was won by Sarah Lakin, much to her surprise”

This is the list of tried and tested suppliers as recommended by Morgan Davies, based in Islington – I will I am sure get round to speaking with each one of them individually and covering their ‘wears and tears’ in more detail.
Dinny Hall (jewellers)
Bertie Bow (singer and violinist)
A suit that fits (bespoke tailoring)
The Zetter Hotel
Emmie Shoes
Tallulah Lingerie
Dansk flowers
Tiger Lilly Wedding Planners
Cando Photography
Penhalligons (fragrance profiling)
Nail Girls
Neal’s Yard (organic remedies)
Space NK
Fresh Hairdressing and Spa
Faux Show
Nicky Hambleton Jones (for helping the mother of the bride to find her outfit)
The White Wardrobe (bridesmaids dresses)

If you were lucky enough to be there let me know your thoughts on the night and please leave a comment ….