Real Weddings; Nick and Mellissa

The wedding of Nick and Melissa took place at The Captains Club on Christchurch Quay. It was a very stylish wedding with a simple black and ivory color scheme. The beautiful images that you will see in this blog are the work of John Haworth at Columbia Photography

The brides beautiful Jimmy Choos!

Now thats one happy chappie groom before the ceremony!

Thats because he has this lovely lady to wait for at the alter!

The Vows

Lovely view of the couple from the back of the Church. Nick and Mellissas wedding ceremony was held at the stunning Church in the centre of Ringwood, Dorset - The Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul and the Church was packed with all guests who had taken on the dress code really well and dressed in black and ivory for the day

One of the little ones getting in on the action during the ceremony...well why not!

 The groom and his collection of lovely ladies and new wife

 Brides bouquet finished with diamantes in the heads of the roses - flowers by Rebecca Meddings of Serenity Flowers - simple yet elegant ivory roses throughout the day

With a wedding reception full of exciting elements it was bound to be a very enjoyable day. The bride and groom wanted the day to be all about their family and friends coming together and having a really good day and a fabulous party and thats certainly what they had!   We arranged for those lovely people from The Smiley Booth company to set up a dedicated photo booth for guests to use and the images were collected as a keepsake for the bride and groom with space for the guests to write a few words - this really did had a fun touch to the evening and the bride and groom were thrilled with the prop box and the chance to jump in the booth with most of their guests during the course of the evening to have some fun pictures taken!

Beautiful image of the happy couple with the backdrop of Christchurch Quay

The guests had a treat over dinner with surprise singing waiters......they had done a great job of fooling everyone - the lovely staff at The Captains Club had them serving from the canapes right through the clearing the main course so the guests were certainly surprised when they lept into song!  Even the bride and groom did not know which waiters were the singers until they started!

Bellissimo provided a Full Planning Package to Nick and Mellissa and we worked very closely with them to achieve their special day over a period of 8 months and we arranged most elements of their day for them from finding their venue (and it was third time lucky here!) through to invitations, photography, videography, decorations, on the day management - the list goes on. .  Nick and Mel many congratulations to you both - its been a pleasure and we know we will stay in touch 

 If you would like more information about our full wedding package or any other packages we offer please contact us for a free consultation

Wedding TV.....Three Grand Weddings

Here at Bellissimo we are very proud to announce that our very own Melanie Kiani has been asked to present the second series of Three Grand Weddings which is currently being filmed and is due to hit our screens on Wedding TV in the New Year

The show sees three couples family and friends plan their weddings for them. With a £3000 budget and an expert Wedding Planner on hand to give advice each week they will look at a different aspect of the big day. Three couples from different areas of the UK are currently having their weddings planned for them  by their teams and the lucky couples will battle it out to win a dream honeymoon.

Melanie is delighted to be involved in this very exciting project although this is such a busy time for planners it was certainly  an opportunity not to be missed! Melanie was asked to present after Wedding TV saw the video of her presenting on the home page of Bellissimos website, they liked her presenting skills and wanted to incorporate that in the show together with her experience as a Wedding Planner which Wedding TV thought would help to compliment the show.

Planners are not just reserved for the rich and famous and using the experience and contact of a Wedding Planner can help couples save money on their wedding and keep them on budget.  The second series of Three Grand Weddings will help couples to see how they can have a fabulous wedding on a tight budget and still have a fabulous day - it can be done!

We can't wait to see the show!

Real Weddings; Andrew & Ina

Andrew and Ina's wedding was something very unique - a very distinct two part wedding that made it an extra special day. This blog all about their day will give you a little taster and will allow you to enjoy the stunning images taken by Angela Ward Brown.  

(photos courtesy of Angela Ward Brown)

Andrew and Ina welcomed guests from locally and Norway to their beautiful wedding in Milford on Sea. With Ina originating from Norway it was important for them to remember Norwegian traditions as well as incorporating some British ones as well.   

Surrounded by family and friends, Andrew and Ina's wedding day started at the picturesque Westover Hall Hotel. Walking down the aisle to the stunning voice of Victoria Mellor singing "Songbird", Ina looked radiant in a 1950's inspired wedding dress - and "THE dress" took some tracking down alright!  Ina was extremely grateful that we tracked this little number down for her in the USA and had it personally organised for her from the lovely ladies from a boutique in Boston and shipped over with just a few days to spare before the wedding.  Thankfully it fitted like a glove and Ina customised the dress to make it her very own.  One very stylish bride!

After the ceremony guests were treated to a delectable wedding breakfast followed by a selection of hysterical speeches following and relaxation out on the terrace of the Hotel overlooking the sea.  This was one very relaxed wedding breakfast and celebration.

We love this image - the beautiful bride catching a kiss from her daughter after the ceremony.

The evening reception was to follow. The reception choice of Andrew and Ina was their own beautiful back garden at their home in The New Forest.  We spent time decorating the marquee turning it into a vintage inspired dream, even incorporating a tree that had the marquee built around it. Candles and flowers lined the pathway and the garden was decorated with so many tea lights that it looked like something out of a fairy tale when it began to get dark. The flowers that helped to create this fairytale were provided by florist Rebecca Meddings at Serenity Flowers. 

Ina loved her bouquet!

 This is one of the views from inside the marquee with the tree we had to incorporate which was dressed to compliment the wedding and was loved by all - so romantic and within the theme of the day

Guests were treated to and array of cocktails provided by the boys from the mobile bar company  Honey and Lime who did an amazing job.  So professional.  They were set up in an outbuilding within the grounds of the garden with a wonderful black granite bar and a personalised cocktail menu for the bride and groom and fine wines selected by the bride and groom.  Whilst at the bar they were treated to some magic and professional pick pocket and magician James Brown. With more guests arriving a very delicious BBQ was served to everyone by Beales Gourmet who are always a pleasure to work with and with beautiful cupcakes by Cupcake and Co served for dessert which were cupcakes Ina had spotted when looking through one of our Martha Stewart books a while back these were as light as a feather and topped with delicious lemon and vanilla frosting and served in gold cases and topped with edible gold leaf.  We were pleased that Cupcake and Co could re-create these exactly for what Ina wanted.

Entertainment for the evening came from swing band The Jazz Canons who got all the guests up on there feet dancing away to some swing classics. 

Andrew and Ina chose to ask Bellissimo to help them on a full planning basis. This meant we got involved with the wedding right from the start. We worked with them to locate the venues for their distinctive "two part" wedding with a beautiful seaside location during the day and moving back to their enchanted vintage inspired garden party at their home in the evening. Marquee weddings require much more planning and organsation and its really a job that the bride and groom do not want to be dealing with for days leading up to their wedding.  Especially this wedding where it poured with rain for days before!  Andrew and Ina wanted to concentrate on welcoming their guests from Norway not worrying about the rain coming in to the marquee and how we were going to sort out all of the arrangements for the day.  We were on hand throughout the co-ordination to assist with supplier sourcing, decorations, dealing with all of the invitations an RSVP management. On the day we were on hand to set up the marquee, dress the venue and help co-ordinate the suppliers to ensure a smooth and stress free day was had by not just the bride and groom but all their guests.

Andrew and Ina - many congratulations - it was a real pleasure for us to help plan your special day and we enjoyed every minute

If you would like further information and prices for our full planning or any other service please call or email

xx

The kids get a chance to stretch their legs between courses!

Beautiful chair swags by Serenity Flowers

Bellissimo goes VIP.....

Bellissimo is very excited to have recently joined forces with a company called Wedding VIP card.

This card is quite simply a privilege card, that provides couples with a selection of suppliers who have teamed up with Wedding VIP to offer a number of discounts. Bellissimo are offering 10% off wedding planning packages to all those who purchase a Wedding VIP card.

If you would like to know more about this new card, Olga and Emma the creators will be at our wedding shows on Sunday September 5th at The Hallmark Hotel and again on Sunday October 10th at The East Cliff Court Hotel in Bournemouth. In the meantime click on the link above and have a little look and see what you think.

We at Bellissimo are very much looking forward to being part of the Wedding VIP Card suppliers and wish Olga and Emma all the best of luck with their new venture.  We think its a great idea and are excited for them with their first launch out to brides on 5th September followed by their second appearance with Bellissimo on 10th October and then a launch party and suppliers meet in November - can't wait!

Dave and Carolines Wedding Part 2

In Part 2 of one of our beautiful weddings from this year we feature some more images from the wedding of David and Caroline. The wedding breakfast started with a drinks reception in the gardens at The Great Tythe Barn, they were so lucky with the weather! It was absolutely gorgeous. After drinks guests were seated in the Great Tythe Barn for food and entertainment once again provided by the stunning voice of Victoria Mellor

After eating it was time for the speeches. First up was the bride's father who talked about Caroline as a little girl and how he remembered the first time he met Dave! This was followed by Dave, the groom, who thanked everyone who had helped Caroline on their big day and told us the story in his own comical way of how they first met.

What came next was possibly one of the funniest speeches we have ever seen. Dave's groomsmen with the help of Bellissimo set up a screen in the centre of the wedding breakfast, during the hysterical speech with reference to the Stag do in Las Vegas! They would stop to play video clips of Dave from his younger years, the best one being Dave dancing and singing along to Jon Bon Jovi. Copies of this DVD were then handed out to all the guests to further Dave's embarrassment!

The evening then continued without a hitch, with music from Mowtown band The Milestones and DJ also providing the entertainment. The guests danced the night away and were served a bacon butty and a selection of cupcakes to refuel them to ensure the dancing continued.

It was an absolutely wonderful day and we at Bellissimo enjoyed every minute of it. Although weddings for us can be a stressful and this was a very long day for us we always enjoy seeing the smiles on the guests face and making the day extra special for the bride and groom!

Congratulations to David and Caroline

(photos courtesy of Jennifer Sinclair Photography)