Hiring a wedding planner

Louise from Tighe the Knot tells her story and as to why couples should hire a wedding planner.

“I was originally a teacher of Business Studies and Law but had helped friends with different parts of their weddings for around 2 years before I planned my own. I did love parts of teaching but I love organising and planning more so decided to do a diploma in wedding planning to gain some further knowledge and then set up my own business. I have only had the business for a 4 months but it is slowly getting there and I get to meet some very exciting venues and suppliers on a weekly basis.

I love wedding planning as very few people get to be a part of such a happy occasion as their full time job. Everyone loves a wedding and you usually deal with people who are excited and in love, what could be bad about that? Although there are stressful times, having been through the process myself I know what can help calm people and I hope that I am there to ease the stress so that they can enjoy the day!

I hope to be unique to others in the industry as I ensure I plan the day the way the couple want it, not based on my own ideas or the trends of the time. Although knowledge of fashions can help in the process it is important to realise that every wedding is unique and therefore should be special to the couple. I also help plan hen and stag parties which can be an additional stress to the couple. I like to think I am the go to person for everything wedding based and therefore can cut down the amount of time and research the couple have to conduct.

My main goal for the business is just to keep building fantastic links with some wonderful suppliers to ensure that the couples get the best deals possible, I like to think that everyone can afford a wedding and hopefully this will remain the case in the future. Wedding planners are not a luxury, but can save money and stress for the couple. This can be through discounts that the planner has negotiated, their knowledge of when to get the best deals or just the couple knowing that on the day everything will be sorted without them having to do anything but enjoy it!”

You can view her website here:- http://www.tighetheknot.co.uk/

Or connect with her on facebook or twitter

North Cyprus wedding specialists

After getting engaged to her Turkish fiancé at a family meal, Jade Izzet had her heart set on sharing the breath taking views and beautiful weather of North Cyprus with her friends and family on her wedding day. For around half the price of a wedding inside the Euro Zone, the couple created a truly unique and memorable event. Inspired by her experiences, Jade now helps others organise their own personalised weddings in sun-drenched North Cyprus, with her events company Angelic Events. Continue reading →

Memorable Indian Weddings

Indian Weddings are all about splurging and what a better way to do so by inviting your dear friends and relatives in a heritage hotel or a beach resort where everyone will have fun and enjoy the events. We had a talk with Sunaina Sharma from Memorable Indian Weddings who is expert at planning destination weddings anywhere in India and have clientele from India as well as USA, UK, Saudi Arab and Canada. (many non indian residents tie the knot in India).

Here is a quick Q and A round we had with her.

How did this idea of destination weddings and Memorable Indian Weddings happened ?

Oh, it’s a kind of a story. I was working with Cvent, an online event management software company and took a break from my job so that I can have more time for my kid. During this period I thought of going back to studies and did Post Graduate Diploma in PR and events. I was lucky to assist Amrish Pershad, a floral designer based in Delhi ( he is the one who designed the floral sets of the movie Monsoon Wedding) as my first job in weddings. From him I learnt a lot about wedding and that one should always work towards ones niche. Hence I focused myself towards Destination Weddings. And this is how Memorable Indian Weddings was born. We are two partners and each of us looks after client servicing and supplier management respectively.

What makes you unique amongst the plethora of other planners ?

We understand the difference between destination weddings and normal weddings and also how the requirements and desires of one couple differ from another. When it comes to designing, we believe in personalizing weddings down to the finest details to make it unique, memorable and fun.

We are young, creative, full of ideas, approachable and transparent. We work in client’s interest and of suppliers or hotel. E.g., we tell client everything about a hotel; it’s pro as well as con. We don’t just sell hotels for the sake of closing but advise what fits best.

So if you are the bride who wants to trust her planner completely, we are the ones!

Why do you love doing what you do?

Weddings are not just events, there lots of emotions running around at every moment in wedding events. You can actually feel the joy of guests, happiness and sometimes even uneasiness of bride, joy and so much more which can’t just be put in words. It is an honour for us that we share all these moments with our clients.

It feels amazing when you watch all the ideas unfolding and taking shape on the wedding day making it the most memorable day of the couple.

What’s the average size of the weddings you plan?

We have done weddings with just 10 guests to 100 guests. Apart from this, couple weddings are also quite common.

Though when we talk about destination weddings which involve guests traveling from all over the world; it is not always possible for every relative of yours to make it for wedding day and hence generally, we have a gathering of 100-150 guests on an average.

How many weddings do you handle each year?

Wedding planning need lots of ground work, co-ordination, planning and execution. Add to this that remote condition wherein you and your guests are at different location and even different time zones, it needs even more attention and promptness.

We commit ourselves to at-most 10-12 weddings an year.

Could you tell us a few destinations in India to get married?

India is vast in terms of culture and nature both; it is full of colors and rituals. One can get married in Regal way in Palaces of Rajasthan in north or have an intimate wedding on the backwaters of Kerala down the south. Even if you think of chic English wedding on beach, you have Goa beaches are famous for them.

The best part is whether you wish to have a 5 Star Luxury wedding or a moderate wedding, it has options for all. All you need is time in hand and a planner to make your dream come true.

What are your goals?

Might sound quite cliché but our goal is to help bride and grooms in planning their wedding in India and make their wedding day memorable one. We are very happy with the number of weddings we are doing.

As there are many people in India who wish to tie the knot abroad; now we have expanded and have strong supplier network in South East Asia, Italy and Greece as well.

What are your tips for the brides planning for a destination wedding?

Plan in time and hire a right wedding planner. I read it somewhere, there is a planner made for every bride. If you don’t hit with one, move on and find the one with whom you connect. As weddings are emotional events, connection with your planner is imperative.

And on your wedding day, let just things flow and not control them. It is your day and you should just enjoy, don’t worry about seating chart and fireworks timing and leave it for your planner.

For more information on Destination Weddings in India, visit them at

Visit their Website - http://memorableindianweddings.com/

Like them on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/memorableindianweddings

Follow them on Twitter - http://twitter.com/M_indianwedding

Pin with them on Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/MIWsunaina/

Funny Best Man Speech

I wanted to do another feature about best man speeches because I know how best men tend to be worried about their own speech. I had remembered that when John Dryden gave his funny best man speech at James (Motty) and Louise’s wedding - everyone had said how brilliant it was! So I decided to interview John about his speech. Continue reading →

Bearsted Babes

What is Bearsted Babes?

Bearsted Babes is a well established Childcare Agency covering Southeast London & Southern Counties. Providing qualified,experienced and above all friendly child carers to homes & hotels,specialising in providing a mobile crèche facility for all types of Corporate Events & Weddings, Private functions and Parties. Make your wedding day less stressful by using the services of Bearsted Babes

How did it get started?

Bearsted Babes started in 2007 as a babysitting agency for homes & hotels by myself a mother of 3 children. Our goal is to expand the business and become national!

What makes you unique?

We have a fantastic, friendly team of qualified child carers, with a vast range of experience and qualifications.
Using our many years of experience & professional approach we aim to work in partnership with the parents to make the day, evening or event as successful & enjoyable as possible.

Tell us why people should hire your crèche business?

From the first contact with the bride and groom we listen to their requirements and create a package that we feel will offer the best service Bearsted Babes can provide. The Bride and Groom’s priority is to make sure their mini guests are well entertained while parents are free to enjoy themselves with the knowledge that their children are being safely looked after. Bearsted Babes can offer this service and more.

All childcarers have relevant qualifications & hold a current Enhanced CRB, they attend a face to face interview & a minimum of 2 references are obtained, which can be viewed upon request. We do not take references given to us by hand from the child carer whilst attending the interview.

All child carers are over the age of 23 & have had at least 2 years experience.

A few testimonials from previous satisfied clients…

“Vicky and Bearsted Babes come highly recommended by our family, Vicky is always professional, communicative, quick to respond to enquiries, and always on time. Our 1 year old daughter thrives in her company & has lots of fun when she comes to babysit for us each week. Due to health problems I need some extra help, & Vicky is someone we trust completely with the care of our daughter, which is not something any parent does lightly, but she has become more of a friend to the family than “just” a sitter, which is testament to her capabilities.” - Belinda

“We were guests at the Jones wedding who were fortunate enough to be able to enjoy your services. We were delighted with the childcare provision and the children appeared to be having even more fun than the adults. The high ratio of staff and their attentive manner ensured the children were kept preoccupied with a range of, individual free play and group activities. It also gave us the confidence to enjoy the wedding breakfast in the knowledge that you would come and find us if there were any issues.” - Beth Spencer

“Thank you for supplying a wonderful team of really friendly child carers. We recieved so much positive feedback about the service you provide that it helped make the day extra special and parents were delighted to have a break knowing that their kids were in extremely experienced hands. Many Thanks to you and your team for helping us out at such short notice (and to those who were willing to stay later than originally planned.)” - Jane