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Wedding tips from boys site Iamstaggered UK

I came across this blog post on the I am staggered website which is a wonderful website for men about all things wedding related. It's just too good for men to keep to themselves though and us girls like to have a peek now and then to see what they're up to! Have a spy...it contains some great tips.

Blag Your Way As A Wedding Planner In Five Minutes

Andrew Shanahan

We’ve all heard about wedding planners. They have big files full of pictures of tiny cakes. They laugh at everything your wife-to-be says and go grumpy every time you say that you’d rather not have to sell a kidney just to get a performance by a Mongolian throat singer.
They’re not all bad though and the  Wedding Planner School who train wannabe wedding planners have offered us some advice about how blokes can blag the basics of wedding planning in five minutes. So if you want MANY brownie points then read on.
Some things to consider when planning your wedding:
1) Prior planning prevents poor performance

Research the date of your big day and make sure there isn’t a big sporting fixture on. The last thing you want is your guests missing the vows to tune in to their radios to find out who scored that all important qualifying goal for the world cup!


2) Use protection
It does rain in August and it can snow in May. Come rain or shine, you want your big day to be a success so don’t let it be ruined if the heavens decide to open. If you are planning an outdoors wedding, why not consider hiring a stock of white wedding brollies?
A sea of matching umbrellas can offer a variety of exciting shots for your photo album but ensure there is somewhere to store the wet umbrellas though!


3) Keeping numbers to a minimum
The last thing you want is for your long lost Aunt Gertrude to invite her neighbour and their dog along to your big day. The easiest way to ensure that this doesn’t happen is to simply say, “We are trying to keep the costs down and so are inviting closest friends and family only, I’m sure you understand.” The only time it is bad modern etiquette to disallow a ‘plus-one’ is if the guest doesn’t know anybody else and would otherwise have to spend the day feeling awkward on their own.

4) Take a calculated risk

Music students are a plentiful source of super-keen wedding musicians. You can discover rising talent for a fraction of the cost of an experienced professional. You may need to ‘hand hold’ a bit if they’ve never played at a wedding or reception before but your on-the-day coordinator can keep an eye on them for you. Just hold a thorough audition process! The same principle applies to student photographers, florists, hairdressers and make up artists.

5) Design, then decorate

Make sure you plan your decorating carefully so that the ‘concept’ is complete before you start buying decorative items. Flowers are pricey and somewhat short-lived so consider using fairy lights, potted plants, sculptures and fabrics as decorations instead. Check with friends and the venue to see if they already have items you can borrow before you splash out.

6) Keep an eye on the time

Think carefully about the timing of your day – leaving guests hanging around for an hour with no entertainment while you have your pictures taken will NOT be popular.

7) The all important rings

Avoid platinum and go for similar-looking white gold or even titanium for a hard-wearing lightweight and money-saving alternative. Keep to plain designs, diamonds may be a girl’s best friend and those “I love you” inscriptions can be endearing, they bump up the cost and go out of fashion quickly.



8) No verbal diarrhoea please
Be strict with your speech makers – if they ramble on for more than five minutes the joyous atmosphere created during the reception will be lost. You don’t want your guests to fall asleep, or worse, leave – so make it short and sweet.

9) Have your cake and eat it
This may seem like an obvious one, but it can and has happened – never display your cake on two tables pushed together with a cloth over the top – if someone suddenly decides to move the table your cake is going to hit the deck!

10) Human Resources

Call in favours from friends, but be careful to utilise their skills carefully and never delegate anything to people who stress you out – it’s just not worth it!

Head over to http://www.iamstaggered.com/ for a wealth of information at you fingertips from proposals all the way through to your wedding speech.
Or contact us for any wedding planning advice you need. http://www.daisychainevents.com/

Bonfire night

Bonfire night is nearly upon us. Some of you may be planning to go along to an organised bonfire and firework display and some of you may choose to avoid the crowds and host your own bash.
Hopefully you'll pick up some inspiration here!
So why do we celebrate bonfire/guy fawkes night? Well, I think we all have some idea that it was to do with a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliment but what actually happened?
Well, after Queen Elizabeth 1 died in 1603, a group of young catholics decided to plot to blow up the Houses of Parliment in an attempt to kill the King and members of parliment after their persecution of catholics.
The conspirators hid 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar under the House of Lords. As the plans developed, it became apparent that innocent people would be hurt or killed in the attack. Some started to have doubts and an anonymous letter was sent to Lord Monteagle warning him to stay away from Parliment on 5th November.
This letter made it to the King who then made plans to stop the conspirators. When the cellar was stormed by the authorities it was Guy Fawkes who was found with the gunpowder. He was caught, tortured and executed.

Today in Parliment they still observe the tradition at the state opening of Parliment of searching the cellars.
On the night the plot was foiled, 5th of November, bonfires were lit to celebrate the safety of the King.
It makes you wonder....are we celebrating the execution of Guy Fawkes or honouring his attempt to do away with the Government?!
A bonfire night party is one of my favourites! I love getting dressed up all warm and being outside watching a firework display. It's an easy one as far as dress code goes-anything warm!
I love bonfire night food too....the traditional favourites of roast chestnuts, baked potatoes and toffee apples just can't be beaten! If you're throwing your own party you could have a BBQ if you aren't having a bonfire. Check out www.fireworks.co.uk/party/recipes.html for some food ideas and recipes.

If you are throwing your own party and will be having a bonfire and fireworks please please be safe.  For advice on safety and the law regarding fireworks please visit the following sites.

http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/fireworkssafety/index.html

http://www.fireworksafety.co.uk/

Also bear your pets in mind. For advice about pets and bonfire night visit http://www.rspca.org.uk/allaboutanimals/pets/general/fireworks

Have a fun, safe night!

Halloween party inspiration

Halloween is just a few weeks away. Will you be having a party? It seems to be becoming more popular in the UK to celebrate this holiday although we don't quite seem to have embraced it in the same way as the Americans.

As I sat down to write this I did wonder "what is Halloween anyway?" We all know the history behind Christmas and Easter but just where did Halloween start?

Well it is thought to have originated with the Celtic festival of Samhain. This festival celebrated the end of "lighter half" of the year and the beginning of the "darker half" of the year. It was believed that the border between the otherworld became thin on this day which allowed both harmful and harmless spirits to pass through. In order to protect themselves from evil spirits, people would carve out turnips and pumpkins and place candles inside them. They would place these outside their homes on the Samhain holiday. The ancient Celts also believed that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on this night so they wore masks and costumes in order to avoid being recognised as human. Hence where the traditions of dressing up and pumpkin carving originated! The traditional colours of black and orange originate from black, meaning darkness and death and orange related to the autumn season.

So, will you be pushing the boat out for your party? You could be surprised at what a fantastic, professional looking party you could have for a relatively small amount of money. I've been amazed at the amount of nice quality (reusable-so keep them packed away for next year!) decorations, costumes and party items available on the high street. Check out all of those bargain high street chains such as Poundstretcher, Home Bargains and B&M as well as the usual suspects such as Asda, Morrisons and Sainsburys.
First off you need to decide on the theme of the party. For example do you want to terrify your guests at every opportunity or do you just want some lighthearted, spooky fun?
If your guests are going to be in fancy dress you could suggest a theme such as movie monsters, Harry Potter or The Addams Family or just give people free reign and see what they come up with!
If you are providing food it's fun to throw in a few spooky looking dishes. Jelly with plastic spiders or mashed up jelly with jelly worms mixed in. Or you could go a gross step further and make witches fingers (chicken or fish fingers with a flaked almond or piece of red pepper stuck on the end with a small amount of cream cheese to hold it in place). You may also want some "normal" dishes too just in case your guests are put off at the thought of eating witches fingers and jelly with spiders!

You can go all out with decoration if you want to with things like spiders webs, pumpkins, fake tombstones, skulls, window decals and much much more however its just as effective with some low lighting and a few well placed lighted pumpkins. One thing that can make all the difference is to play some spooky sounds into the room. CD's can be purchased from just £1 at most of the stores listed above and will provide you with sounds such as moaning, wailing, screams, creaking doors and whispering! Very scary!

If you're having childen at the party you could put together some inexpensive goody bags with halloween sweets and fillers such as eyeball bouncy balls, glow bracelets, stretchy skeletons and slime pots amongst other things! All available very reasonably priced from http://www.partybox.co.uk/

Think about how you'll keep your guests entertained. A few party games might do the trick! You can never go wrong with the classic apple bobbing! This is a game that both adults and children will enjoy.

You could also have a go at pumpkin bowling! You can usually pick up plastic skittle sets in most supermarkets or toy shops. Instead of using the ball to knock down your skittles bowl with mini pumpkins instead!

So there you have it, hopefully we have provided you with some spooktacular (geddit?!) inspiration for your halloween celebrations!
Let us know how you get on and send us your pics so we can feature them in a future blog!

If you'd like to our help to plan a Halloween theme wedding please contact us

(Images taken from Google images and www.partybox.co.uk)