It's Shoesday Tuesday: Simple & Elegant!

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I love these cause they are elegant, classy with just a touch of fun! That and I am really digging peep toes right now... are you?

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Blá's Idea of the day: Get the kiddies to make a card for the bride & groom.

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You all know I love kids at weddings, that said, they can be a handful and its important to keep them busy and entertained throughout the day.

These little 'packs' are an excellent and fun way to occupy the little ones. ~ Have them 'make' a card for the Bride & Groom during the drinks reception or meal.

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Friday's Wedding Photo Fix: Must have shot with your Bridesmaids!

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Love this!

But as the song goes { the bride } should have put a ring on it :)

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Bla's Idea of the Day: Engagement Shoot Guest Book

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This is such a great idea, and gives your guests something to do, look at and inspire them when 'signing' your guest book! You are definitely sure to get more then just a list of names with this guest book idea!!

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Celebrity Destination Weddings

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We've had a bit of a 'Destination Wedding' theme going on this month on Wedding High, mostly because of the fantastic 16 weddings we've featured from the Bahama's... it got us thinking about Destination Weddings more and more and who has them and who they suit.

I know from couples that I speak with, or help plan their Destination Wedding their choice is often driven by 3 main factors, budget, a love of the country, or one of the couple is originally from there. All lovely reasons.

While having our chat about Destination Weddings here in Wedding High HQ we realised that it is nearly the norm for Celebrities to get married 'Aboard' and we wondered why?

We expect that it is largely down to the fact that they rarely have one permanent base or home town { so to speak }, that and the fact that are looking for the next bigger and better wow! :)

So what are your favourite Celebrity Destination Weddings? Leave them in the comments below and we'll put together your Favourite Celebrity Destination Weddings Montage!

To get your started:

Photo from Liz Hurley's Wedding to Arun Nayar in 2007, India. 

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Hawaii Wedding Inspiration Board

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In keeping with the Destination Weddings theme, here is a little bit of Hawaii Wedding Bliss!

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Blá's Idea of the Day: Luggage Tag Place Names & Favours

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I love it when you come across an idea that is simple, unique and multi-purpose!

I love this idea of using luggage tags as place names/ escorts cards at weddings, that can also double up as your favours.

It means that whenever your guests travel or use their suitcase they will be reminded of your special day :)

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Destination Weddings: what are the hidden costs?

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As we come to the end of another busy month here on Wedding High, were we featured over 16 Destination Weddings, it got us thinking, how easy is it to plan a Destination Wedding and what are the pit falls? We had a chat with our very good friends BestWeddingAway.ie, experts at Destination Weddings, to get the facts: 

Getting married abroad is easier than ever before and with so many amazing venues to choose from, it’s incredible food and sunny climate it is no wonder that Italy is in the top 5 for overseas wedding locations. British brides are fleeing for the airport, with new research showing almost one in five weddings (18%) now take place abroad. Apart from the weather, scenery and the other many attractions a destination wedding as, couples on a budget may find their pound goes further when they are further afield. A Mintel research found that in 2011, the average wedding abroad cost £6,585, around a third of the cost of a UK wedding. Whilst getting married abroad can be substantially more cost effective we always urge couples to consider these following areas to avoid coming up against charges they hadn't planned for. 

• For weddings abroad many ‘packaged’ weddings have all the ‘essential’ services but can forget the all-important transportation for guests! Ask your wedding planner for a breakdown of each item and how far the ceremony venue is from the wedding reception venue to understand if transport is required.

• In Italy prices given by suppliers don’t always include VAT. VAT prices in Italy can vary depending on the services chosen between 10% and 20% so not having this included could put you into a false sense of security with your budgeting.

• Make sure you understand what exactly you are charged for. If you buy a packaged wedding you must be able to identify clearly all the cost elements. It must be very clear how much you pay for each third party supplier and much you are paying your wedding organizers. Only in this way you can ensure that each service you book is going to live up to expectations. Make sure you know exactly the name and the details of all third party suppliers so that you can personally check references.

• Sometimes couples try the DIY approach to a wedding abroad thinking that they will be able to avoid unnecessary costs, especially those related to the wedding planner. In many instances these are false economies for some very simple reasons. 1) If the wedding planner is a reputable company with a decent number of weddings a year performed they have good purchasing agreements with third party vendors therefore they are able to purchase services at a much lower rate compared to a single couple. Even though the planner puts a mark-up on services the overall cost paid by the couple remains almost the same as if they had purchased the services directly. The only difference is that liaising with all wedding suppliers is time consuming, requires local knowledge and often is a risky business. It is in fact extremely difficult to check the reliability of all suppliers from abroad, test them beforehand and make sure that the day of your wedding they will deliver as promised. 2) The stress factor has a huge cost that often is underestimated. Dealing with a reputable wedding planner allows the couple to have total piece of mind during the wedding day instead of running around chasing suppliers making sure that they do what there were supposed to.

• Bureaucracy is often underestimated. Make sure you know extremely well what the legal requirements of a wedding abroad involves before making any other commitment. Couples might make commitments to wedding reception venues before knowing that in order to obtain the non impediment certificate they must go in person to their consulate or embassy of the country they want to marry in and without realizing that this must be done several days before the wedding or worse, the embassy or consulate is hundreds of miles away from where they had planned to have their ceremony and /or reception. A logistical nightmare and a large waste of money.

• Do some homework before making important decisions. It is important to understand the geography and the logistical challenges of chosen wedding venue abroad. Couples need to understand distances, types of roads and local means of transport available, traffic conditions in the various months of the year, driving times from the various places, etc. It has happened that couples book hotels too far away from ceremony locations or reception locations and that they find themselves spending large amounts on transport. Or having underestimated completely the driving time in places such as the Amalfi coast where very narrow roads sometimes make it impossible to cover even small distances in a reasonable time. Having to take a ferry to reach a reception venue 10 minutes away across a lake can be a lovely experience if the weather is good but could turn into the worst nightmare if it rains and the lake is rough. Sometimes we have been asked for wedding ceremonies in a place such as Florence and a wedding reception with sea view. The problem id that, in order to get a sea view leaving from Florence you must drive for three hours.

BestWeddingAway.ie are experts at making overseas weddings personal and special. They specialise in Italian, Greek and Balearic Islands weddings and can plan dream days at a number of glamorous venues in Tuscany, Lake Garda, Sorrento, Santorini and Majorca to name a few. 
 

For further information on getting married in Italy and to see details on possible dream wedding locations in Italy please visit our website www.bestweddingaway.ie.


Wondering if a Destination Wedding is for you? Check out some of BestWeddingAway.ie's past weddings and the venues they offer... we're in an absolute swoon here at Wedding High HQ!!! 

Badia di Campoleone

Santorini Beach 

 

Ravello Luxury Villa 

Submitted by Propose PR

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Wednesday Wedding Dress Wow: Disney Wedding Dresses

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Our 'Idea of the Day: 'Modern Disney Princess Bridesmaids' went down a treat so today I thought it might be fun to take a look at the Disney Wedding Dress collection, see how the two compare :)

Snow White

Cinderella

Aurora

Ariel

Belle

Jasmin

Pocahontas { Not an official Disney Dress} Source

Tiana

Rapunzel

Which is your favourite? I rather like Aurora's! :) 

Unfortunately poor Mulan doesn't have her own dress and I wasn't able to find a suitably 'Mulan Inspired Look' to complete the collection.

Check out DisneyBridal.com for full details on all the dresses above.

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Blá's Idea of the Day: 'Modern' Disney Princess Bridesmaids

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This makes me want to get married all over again... and have a 'Modern' Disney Themed Wedding! Perfect if you are Disney obsessed and can't decide which 'Princess' you want your bridesmaids to be!!

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Bahamas 16 Islands Wedding Invitation, Wedding No 16: Laura and Richard's "Pink Sand Paradise" Wedding

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The Famous rosy-hued sand of Harbour Island is where Laura James and Richard Baker of Fareham, Hampshire had their dream wedding. They said "I do" beneath a bougainvillea and palm-fringed arbour while the crystalline ocean lapped the shore. Laura, a graphic designer and Richard, a police constable, are the last of the 16 lucky couples that won the 16 Islands Wedding Invitation.

Tiny Harbour Island is just a ten minute boat ride away from Eleuthera and every bit as pretty, with its pineapple groves and old clapboard houses. 

What it lacks in size it makes up for in glamour, for its laid-back atmosphere, exquisite pink sand beaches and pastel-washed New England-style clapboard houses have made Harbour Island a magnet for the rich and famous and earned its 300 year old capital Dunmore Town a name as the `Nantucket of the Caribbean’. 

Dunmore Town’s sophisticated shops, gourmet restaurants and vibrant nightclubs have made it the haunt of celebrities including Bill Gates, Elle McPherson and India Hicks, all of whom have property here.

Laura and Richard and their two guests stayed at Watercolour cottage, Harbour Island. We wish the happy couple a long and happy marriage! 

Sadly we have come to the end of our Bahamas 16 Islands Wedding Invitation feature, but not to worry, if you feel like you are having withdrawals, you can top up on your dosage by clicking on to the  Bahamas 16 Islands Wedding Invitation homepage  to get more information on the beautiful Islands of the Bahamas or check out their Facebook page which has some stunning pictures and tips for your Bahamian Wedding! 

So what do you think? Did these 16 couples make you want to take a trip down a sandy aisle in the Bahamas? 

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It's Shoesday!A splash of colour anyone?

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With a perfect dress must come perfect shoes! Adding a splash of colour not only adds a bit of your own personality to the wedding but it can tie in your color theme nicely. Another plus is that your wedding shoes don’t have to be put away gathering dust, they can get many post wedding outings! And let’s face it…it can give photographers that unique shot! Would you go for something colourful?

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Blá's Idea of the Day: The American Football Garter Toss

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Now this is a garter toss that the man can get behind :)

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Bahamas 16 Islands Wedding Invitation, Wedding No 15: Teresa and Tarik's "Landfall Elegance" Wedding

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Teresa Maria Gilarranz Pena and Tarik Demnati of London said ‘I do’ at the same spot that Columbus is said to have first hit the New World, using the white-stone cross, San Salvador’s Landfall Monument, as their altar. Teresa Maria, a sales advisor and Tarik an engineer, are another one of the 16 lucky couples that had won the 16 Islands Wedding Invitation. Upon being told of their dream wedding arrangements, Teresa said, “We are looking forward to having an intimate and romantic wedding in the most popular scuba diving destination."

San Salvador is soaked with history and fascinating topography!This dramatically beautiful island - the very first `New World’ landfall made by Christopher Columbus on his great exploration of 1492 – is actually the exposed peak of a submerged mountain which plunges 4,572 metres to the ocean floor and has caused many a shipwreck (even though it’s home to one of the world’s last-remaining kerosene-powered lighthouses, at Dixon Hill.)

It's fascinating underwater topography has made San Salvador one of the world’s most popular dive destinations as there is so much to explore, including huge 20 metre high walls of coral so tall they are known as The Grand Canyon.

And in this one-time haunt of pirates there’s as much to discover ashore as at sea – like old plantations and the archaeological site where San Salvador’s earliest inhabitants, the Lucayan Indians, lived.

Teresa Maria and Tarik and their two guests stayed in the Riding Rock Resort and Marina. 

Congrats to the newly-weds! We wish you both many years of happiness together! 

Join us tomorrow for our last Bahamas 16 Island Wedding invitation feature where we will enter a "Pink Sand Paradise" to witness Laura James and Richard Baker of Fareham, Hampshire say "I do". 

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