Hello Wedding chicks!

I wanted to give a massive shout out today to our caterers.

When we started planning our wedding, there was one thing we were sure about. We did not want to scrimp on the food. Matt and I are both veggies, and we wanted to prove to people that there was more to veggie food than they thought.

We were surprised at how many comments we got regarding our choice to have a veggie wedding! Comments such as

‘I might bring a packet of ham with me’

or

‘What, no FISH even??’

To us it was a challenge to prove everyone wrong. And we succeeded in a massive way!

We used a local Norwich business called the Green Grocers.

‘The Green Grocers’ is a grocers/cafe in Norwich, and Luke the owner had just gone into catering. He uses only organic, seasonal and local produce and I can honestly say that everyone at the wedding was blown away.

He made us a vegetarian feat, a huge buffet of amazing dishes that blew our minds.  He also made us a lovely selection of canapes for the drinks reception, which was washed down with cloudy Pimms and lemonade.

For desert, he served up an amazing Eaton Mess, and in the evening brought out a fantastic giant cheese board, which was served with loads of nice bread and pickles and chutney.

Not only that, but Luke’s sister Beth was on hand to co ordinate it all, making sure all the tables were set and co ordinating their team of helpers.

We couldn’t have asked for more. They were fantastic!

Love

Emma xxxxx

A Wedding favour or two, for charity.
I love this idea! You can buy your favours from Breast Cancer UK from a £1.50 donation.

You can also get cards & pins to place on the tables for your guests.
Designer Jenny Peckham has created an exclusive cupcake pin badge for Breast Cancer UK. They are available now so get in there quickly!

Make sure you order at least 28 days before your wedding to guarentee they arrive on time.

Another charity offering wedding favours is the NSPCC. I found this information via Ethical Weddings which is one hell of a great site you should be checking out!

If you love this idea like I do, but the charity closest to your heart is not featured here.. get in touch & see what they can do. I know many of them have great ideas like this to make your day even more special whilst helping to change the lives of others.

Ok, so now I am going for a work out later to prepare for my own charty event- The Tower 42 Challenge. I’m bricking it, but its for The Prince’s Trust, a great cause.
To learn more or to sponsor me, please read I can’t believe I am doing this!!!

Much Love
Charlotte xxx

Only 5? I have allowed myself to pick only 5??
Yes, well, you would be utterly bored if I listed them all!!!

My Top 5.

1. The Dress
Naturally.

For most Brides to Be, its the most important feature to get right & something that should be the most fun… should be… after we have nearly killed ourselves to look as good as impossible….
I know many Brides who have run straight out to try on dresses immediately. I, as you know, am not one of those Brides, but I still want it to be utterly stunning, to match me.. ha ha ha! And I love how excited people get when they try dresses on! Even the big bad ones!
This amazing Claire Pettibone dress is actually for Sale! Click here to see more.

2. The Speeches
I just don’t know how they do it. The best man speeches are always great! Funny. Soooo funny. I know people get great tips on line- check out Wedding Speeches & Toasts by Maggie Mayfair for some great advice.
My hats of to you the Best man, its always a cracker!

3. Flowers
I love the flowers that are chosen for weddings!!! Peonies, Cala Lilies, Roses, sunflowers.. the list is endless.

They always look stunning & in my humble opinon, the simpler, the better.

4. Food & Drink
People always seem to remember the food! Sometimes because it was fantastic.. and sometime becasue it was awful.
I have sampled both, but like many, I remember the awful ones the most! So i am working hard for my food NOT to be a ‘bad food’ story.

I love food in general, but wedding food is so delicious becasue sooo much care & preperation goes into it all.

Don’t get me started on the cake!!

5. The Venue
The more magical & unusual the better for me! I showed you these tents from Papa Kata last week which I think are amazing!

You can also have a stunning manor house which often do a great deal on the whole day’s package.
I have also heard of tree house weddings, lake sided venues, Barns, beaches.. you name it I am sure someone has had a wedding there!

As the venue is where you spend the day, its so important to get one you like! I am still trying. I have found it but its a little out of my range right now….

So, there’s to Emma & her wedding next week!
I’m bursting with excitment!

Charlotte xx

Happy Sunday wedding lovers!

Argh.
I have been trying to find out about ‘free’ glass hire for our wedding- what a kafuffle.
I can’t seem to get a simple answer anywhere- not even on the phone to customer services! I can only imagine many of you are having the same issues??
So, today, “My Name is Charlotte, Happy to Help”. Except, I really am!

I have checked out supermarkets & a wine store. I aim to keep this as simple as possible for you!!

Waitrose
* Wine glasses, pint & 1/2 pint glasses come in cases of 24
* Champagne glasses come in cases of 48
* Enquire & Order in-store
* No deposit required
* 48 hours of rental
* Book ASAP to avoid disappointment
* Collect glasses from your store & return clean
* No additional purchase required
* £1 payable per broken glass
(I asked in Welwyn Garden City- details may vary per store. Click here for the store finder)

Tesco
* Wine glasses, pint & 1/2 pint glasses
* Enquire & Order in-store
* No deposit required
* Book ASAP to avoid disappointment
* Collect glasses from your store & return clean. Click here for locator!
* No additional purchase required
* They do charge for breakages

Sainsbury’s
* Minimum of 48 hours notice required
* Loaned for upto 7 days (day 1 being your collection date)
* £20 deposit
* Sign contract in store
* £1 per breakage
* As in store as they all differ to how many they have available. Click here for the locator.

Morrison’s
* Wine glasses, pint & 1/2 pint glasses come in cases of 24
* Champagne glasses come in cases of 48
* Enquire & Order in-store (trust me, its better than on the phone with this place…)
* £20 Deposit required on booking
* 1 week’s rental, more can be discussed at time of booking
* Book ASAP to avoid disappointment
* Collect glasses from your store & return clean
* Additional purchases- depends on the store- one said its not required, another said £50-£60, another said “a few bottles” Erm….
* They do offer a sale or return, but it differs by store so you may have to ask a few of your local ones
* 50p payable per broken glass & deducted from the deposit
They didn’t seem too sure of the guidelines in Morrison’s, not in 3 stores & at Head Office so to be honest, I personally would steer clear!

Majestic
Again, this is store specific, so check with your local store manager
* Wine, champagne & pint glasses available
* Wine Coolers/ ice bins available to hire as an extra
* They offer sale or return on drinks
* You have to buy wine/ drinks form them on ordering the glasses
* No collection service on glasses but they do offer a free delivery service (T&Cs apply)
* Click here for more info & to find your local store

ODDBINS
also do free glass hire, but again, you need to contact your local store. More details on how to contact them if you click here!

Ok, so all in all its a great deal to get this free hire & with such a small fee for breakages. But the bad news is.. this is store dependant. The larger the store you visit, the more likely they are to be able to meet your quantities. You have visit or call the store customer services not by calling their Head Offices. As I visit the supermarkets regularly for work, I was able to gather a decent amount of info, but pleeeease don’t take this as gospel! it really is a ‘enquire within’ job I’m afraid!
What about water glasses? Seems we are on our own there. The good news is that you can buy plenty of very cheap & nice ones in supermarkets & pound stores! There we go then.

Chink plink
Charlotte xx

Happy Saturday!
Wow, its looking to be another scorcher so we’d best make the most of it today!

Yesterday I went for a business meeting with Emma/ Birthday drinks at the Charlotte Street Hotel. Not only is it a great name, in my bias opinion, but its such a lovely place to go & have afternoon tea & champagne. The perfect birthday treat!
Emma took me, with the girls, for my 30th celebrations last October & its been a firm favourite ever since! I know I should be more original for Emma’s but its such a great venue!
Also, Emma was supposed to be having a surprise party tonight, which as you guess is no longer a surprise…
So I am out again with Emma, Matt, Rob & friends tonight. We are heading out near my neighbourhood, to Brick Lane.

Anyway, drinking bubbles in the late afternoon sun inspired me to share my thoughts & my research on wedding day bubbles!

I think there should be champagne or bubbles at any wedding, its a tradition & for may, a treat. However it can be very expensive filling the thirst of a whole wedding party!
So, given my extensive research in this area over the last 10 years… here are a few for consideration…

My favourite; Laurent-Perrier Rose

So fresh & tasty. I find it less dry than most champagne.

Carly’s recommendation; Veuve Clicquot.

Not only is it lovely but also completely vegan/ vegetarian. Many are vegetarian, but they don’t advertise it on the labels so its worth double checking online at the Vegan Forum

If you have time to wait & stock up you might want to do what I am planning- Buy champagne before Christmas for your wedding- even if, like me you will still have 10 months to go. It won’t go off, but you might want to store it out of sight so you don’t drink it before-hand! I will have to be disciplined on this one!
Sometimes the supermarkets go down to as low as £10 per bottle on their own brands or have up to £10 off branded versions.
Yum.
In additon, check out online deals throughout the year. They often have great deals on buying cases which brings the individual bottle price down to around £10 each! Nice.
Tesco are key players in the champers case discounts, but also check out MySupermarket.co.uk they compare the prices at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado & ASDA.
Sainsbury’s do a magnum of their own label for around £30 which I have had a few too many times & it is really tasty!

I plan as you may too, to have some champagne at my wedding- pink bubbles are a firm favourite, but I will also be serving Presecco.
Why?
Its really very nice, much cheaper & some people don’t care for champagne anyway! I particularly recommend Tesco Finest Prosecco & Valdo prosecco which I pick up at Sainsbury’s as introduced to me by my sister/ Maid of Honour.
Good work Bec.

Do you have any recommendations to help us brides to be??
Please let us know in the comment box below.

Mmmm its given me a thirst!
Charlotte, hic xx

This has been, so far, my favourite bit of research for my wedding….
CAKE.
Is it a cupcake tower, a 4 tier of squares, circlular 5 piece tower with fruits cascading down? The choice is pretty immense!

I would say, that in all your endeavours to find the perfect cake, you must look here.

ChoccyWoccyDoodah
Simply delicious.

Right now- Eye candy first, details to follow….

Wedding cake Heaven….. Isn’t the detail stunning?!

Soooo cuuuuuute…..Something for the tables? Favours? Simply find any use for these lovelies!!

Ok, so I am going of the track here, but aren’t they great? How could I not share these?

I really love this one. Maybe its my love of Brighton, maybe my love of candy shrimps…

See, I wasn’t lying. Delicious eye candy.
They are heavenly, desirable & making my mouth water!
As I promised- the details… A bit about these chocolate geniuses…
“We specialise in chocolate one-off sculptured fantasies, bespoke wedding cakes using only the finest chocolate and ingredients, chocolate gifts (small and thoughtful, as well as extravagant gestures), birthday cakes with a choice of flavours decorated in chocolate, slabs of chocolate, chocolate fantasy pets, really really naughty stuff … All in chocolate!”

So the naughty stuff might be something fun for your hen or stag dos!
If you are in Brighton, I strongly recommend a strole down The Lanes & check them out. If Brighton is unaccessible, fear not, they are also available to order online & have a selection of cakes in Selfridges.
I can’t imagine you are finding many reasons not to visit either location!
What do you think? Love it?

Here’s one image, the kindest people at ChoccyWoccyDoodah sent me, because it reminded me of Emma. Its her favourite saying & I know she will love this!

All You need Is Love Em… (And lots of chocolate?!)

Charlotte xx

As you know from Brighton Rocks, I was strolling through The Lanes last week & something caught my eye.

Cakes.

Lots & lots of stunning cupcakes.

I’m a huge fan of anything pretty, sweet & edible, so these little beauties are a winner. Not to mention I am researching for a wedding-cake-cupcake-tower for my own wedding. I love the idea of lots of cupcakes so there’s something for everyone, but a large one as the main cake ontop.
I think I just struck gold.

Welcome to cupcake heaven aka, Angel Food Bakery, Brighton.

Tucked in the heart of The Lanes is this great little treat. If you, like me, enjoy looking at them but remember you have a white dress to get into, then you, like me, can buy one for your man to try & have a hot cup of Earl Grey. Let him approve the cupcakes. He makes all the right noises, which is his entire assessment. I had a nibble from the side, just to be sure they were as good as he Mmmmm’d.

Pssssss. Check out my nails! Its The Thames I told you about last week! Still loving it!
Not only can I now recommend these cupcake personally, but I can tell you of others who love this place too.

I’m a frequenter of Brighton, so when my sister moved there 4 years ago, I made the most of the stay overs! Through her, I know many ladies who live there & they have all given a big Mmmmmm to this place.

So, sit back & enjoy the Eye Candy.

Other than having a cuppa & a tasty piece of cake in their shop, Angel Food do, of course, cater for weddings.

Many of my friends are vegetarians, vegans, coeliacs or a little bonkers, so i always have to consider this & my wedding will be no different. Nut allergies worry me the most!

Its not clear from their shop, or the site, if they cater for any dietry needs. I would suggest giving them a call or go to the site to enquire. Click here.

Mmmm the eye-candy.

Charlotte xx

One of my favourite films is Sophia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette.  When it came out a few years ago, it got a right pasting from the critics, yet I can watch it again and again.  Why? Because it a feast of visual eye candy!

When it came to planning my wedding (and also this site), this film has been an major inspiration. I just love the sorbet colours and punk rock soundtrack!

Apart fromthe dazzling array of colours, the film uses shoes made by Manolo Blahnik and cakes by Laduree.

Take a look at these fabulous images and use them as inspiration for colour palletes, favours, hen parties and make up..

…and then dance around the house to Adam and the Ants and The Cure!

Hope you like them as much as i did!

Emma xx