The Orange Restaurant With Rooms, Pimlico, London

This week I went to sample a new venue in London - The Orange Restaurant. They have recently refurbished this beautiful building to bring four delighfully appointed rooms to their restaurant guests so you can add in an overnight stay after your meal. We sampled the food too and had a wondeful evening - it was a very lively and busy place to be on a wet Monday night in London. We chose rib-eye steak and pizza from their wood fired ovens which gives that beautiful aroma when you dine. We stayed in the St Barnabus Room which has been beautifully finished with stripped floor boards and high ceilings and a very chic finish and lots of lovely touches including a docking station and charger for your iphone. This venue also offers exclusive hire perfect for your own function or wedding and its ideally situated for a pre-Christmas shopping spree followed by a lovely dinner and overnight stay - I will be sure to return!

For more information visit www.theorange.co.uk

Table favour Ideas

(Photograph credit - http://www.americanbridal.com/)

Favour ideas are getting far more interesting these days - and with so many to choose from where is a bride to start? Well, we have compiled a shortlist of our favourite ideas to help you along your way - and favours are not just for weddings - why not leave a small table gift for your guests at your Christmas table of party or next fundraising event. Its a lovely touch to add to any celebration or occasion - especially with edible gifts look to personalise them with the wedding or event details and keep the favours in line with your event/wedding theme - they don't have to cost a fortune. In our family the Christmas day host always leaves a table gift for each guest - inexpensive Christmas table favours!

* Jars of jam or honey

* Flavoured olive oil miniature

* Single stem flower at each place setting

* Small heart shaped vanity mirror for the ladies

* Lottery ticket for the next draw after your event

* Go eco-friendly with plantable favours such as seeded paper ("Love Grows" - above)

* For a Christmas event what about a lovely christmas decoration with ribbon and labelled with the event details maybe local or handmade

* Potted herbs

* Miniature servings of gourmet coffee or herbal tea

* Miniature personalised jars filled with candy or chocolate

Do you have any unusual table favour ideas?

Wedding Planning in the US

I was delighted last week to spend a few days exploring a small part of California in the US to visit a friend but also to get some ideas and inspiration to bring back to the UK to pass on to my clients for their own weddings and events. Having been in the US during Halloween and then seeing the shops filling up with their treats for "fall" and the "holidays" it was wonderful to see just how differently the seasons are celebrated in the US. Halloween celebrations are huge in the US with all the children being escorted for a very well organised trick or treat evening with their parents following with tumbler of wine in hand and dressed to suit the occasion - such fun!

We visited a lovely placed called Los Gatos not far from San Jose, California and I was inspired by the beautiful shops displaying wonderful flowers and plants - full of inspiration for weddings.

I also met some American ladies to talk about wedding planning in the US and how different wedding planning is in the US compared to the UK. In the US its pretty much top of the list for couples when they decide to marry that the Wedding Planner is contacted first of all to help assist the couple with their arrangements. Amercian couples fully understand the concept of wedding planning and the invaluable help which the planner gives to the couple due to their experience with planning weddings and events over and over again and being able to plan for every eventuality and to share their design ideas and connections with local suppliers. It seems as if its quite unusual for a couple to marry wedding without a planner being involved.

American brides do not take the chance of their wedding day passing as a "blur" with them trying to ensure that every little detail unfolds as they want it to during their day - they get the professional in to help from the beginning. The services of a wedding planner in the US is not considered a luxury but an essential service.

The US have clearly got it right and whilst here in the UK we are behind the US in this thinking - we are gradually catching up with this concept!

Cupcake heaven - Martha Stewart's Cupcake book

Having just returned from a short trip to the US, I must tell you about this lovely cupcake book by Martha Stewart - I am currently addicted! Full of wonderful ideas for cupcakes for every occasion - perfect if you need some inspiration for your own celebration. There really has to be a cupcake for every occasion! I have already tried making a few - think I will start working my way through the book! Yummy!