Wedding Trends 2011

For all those starting to think about weddings for 2011 here are a few bits and pieces that could give you a kick start in the right direction.

Beautiful bridesmaids dresses from the Veromia 2011 collection.

(photos courtesy of fashionbride.wordpress.com)

The Wedding Dress is one of the most important elements to the day 2011 will see some changes to the dresses we are seeing in fashion at the moment in 2010. 2011 gowns are set to be embellished with many dimensional details, lots of hand stitched crystals and large floral appliques, this years fashion of ruffles will be replaced with embellishments being used to add volume to the gown.

Beautiful dress from Benjamin Roberts Enzoani collection for 2011 

 (photos courtesey of fashionbride.wordpress.com)

The very popular Swarovski crystals will stick around in 2011 and will be used in the center of tiny floral appliques as well as large crystals used to embellish the entire gown, feathers are even set to make an appearance on the gowns to create something that truly looks like a fairytale.

(photo courtesey of shoeworship.onsugar.com)

Colour wise the traditional ivory will of course still appear but colors such as pink,vanilla, an antique ivory,pearl violet and an ice blue are set to make an appearance on the bridal catwalks. Bridesmaids will move into wearing jewel bright colours and colours that co-ordinate.

Hair accessories to accompany the dress will stick with this years headband trend and will see fascinators make a huge appearance with all those attending the wedding being able to get on board with the trend. Birdcage veils can be accessorized with vintage brooches, flower corsages can be be attached to tiaras and pretty much anything can be used to make a bespoke fascinator.

(photo courtesy of  cachicdesign.com)

As far as the wedding day goes its set to become extremely feminine and frilly with the vintage elements still proving very popular. Despite the vintage theme still sticking around for 2011 will be the turn of bright and tropical colours to be used. Some color combination's you could use for your big day: Olive or khaki green, Cherry and luscious lime,Purple,Peach and Pearl, Black and Silver, Mocha and Pink,Yellow, Light Grey and Pink, Hot Pink, Chocolate and Cream, Orange.

Beautiful Peach and Pearl Wedding cake

(photo courtesy of Maise Fantaisie wedding cakes)

Now on to the day itself - we are finding that some trends are developing with couples choosing to have a smaller affair - more intimate.  We are finding that couples are not so scared these days to scale down the wedding to include only the close family and friends for the main part of the day and possibly having a smaller celebration following the ceremony - possibly a favourite restaurant and going to town on a smaller number rather than having a larger number of people at their wedding celebration but having to cut back on the type or amount of food or trimmings that the bride and groom can afford to supply.  Using the couples home or home of the family is also quite popular.

We are also discovering that quite a lot of couples now choose to have a reception during the day following the ceremony but dont necessarily go into the evening - this is a great way of saving money on the overall spend but also it means that there is no pressure for evening entertainment, food, or that additional "wow" factor or avoiding that sometimes difficult lull or period between the day and the evening.  Couples who have chosen to it this year have really enjoyed the lack of pressure and avoiding the really long day and have gone off in the evening around 5/6pm either on their own to enjoy a romantic meal together or a meal or cocktails with close family.  Sounds like bliss!

(photos courtesy of countymarquees.com)

Well these are just trends and its what "they" say but we say hang on to your individuality and don't necessarily do what everyone else is doing - find what inspires you and what says something about you when planning your wedding.  Let it be a reflection of your personalities and your relationship.  To hell with trends if thats what you want to do!  Are you planning a wedding for 2011 and 2012? What plans are you making?  We would love to hear from you

Cycle 4 Mum- Fundraising events

As an events company we are often asked to support charitable causes and help to organise events for charity without charge.  This is always a tricky one as we would love to help everyone if we could but we just could not turn this opportunity down to help Fiona Knight and Lucy Beck. We were delighted to have have been of help during the course of this year to Fiona, Bournemouth Solicitor, in her efforts to raise money for the Alzheimer's Society. Fiona's mother Joyce has been suffering from Alzheimer's for the past 10 years in connection with her mother having this illness Fiona decided with the willing help of her colleague Lucy to undertake the huge effort of a  bike ride from London to Paris a distance of around 320 miles, in order to raise money and much needed awareness of this condition. Phew!

Ladies at the "Send Off Black Tie Ball"

(photos courtesy of Richard Budd Photography)

As well as the charity bike ride other events have been organised by Fiona with the help of Bellissimo to ensure a lot of money is raised for this worth cause. A Quiz Night on Friday 28th May at Key West on Bournemouth Pier, a French Evening on Saturday 17th July in Bransgore and a lunch at the Bournemouth Air Festival on Thursday 19th August. All the events had fantastic ticket sales  and a large  amount of money has been raised so far for this worthy caused.

One of our lovely tables of supporters for the events - thanks folks!  Could not have done it without you!

One of our younger guests, Luke who enjoyed the dinner (and his book!!)

Whilst sitting writing this blog Fiona and Lucy are busy riding their bikes, as the send off a Black Tie Ball was organised at The Carlton Hotel on Friday 10th September. A selection of entertainment was provided to the attendees, magic from the fantastic James Brown who had guest gobsmacked by his outstanding magic act. Frank Sinatra tribute Anthony Adams came along and treated guests to a few Sinatra classics. A charity auction with incredible prizes ranging from a Red Arrows Signed Suit which sold for £200.00 and a day trip to Rome which sold for £420.00.

Signed Red Arrow Suit kindly donated by Gina Mackin of Westpoint Catering

The wonderful Frank Sinatra tribute artist Anthony Adams.

A lovely meal was served to everyone with the amazing photographer Richard Budd in attendance to photograph the evening so that guests could purchase photographs in aid of the charity after the event.  Thank you Richard - wonderful as always! A disco finished the night off and everyone danced the night away.

Guests enjoying their meal and entertainment at The Carlton Hotel

Thanks goes to everyone who donated their services on the night and supported the event by coming along and making it a true success.

(image courtesy of www.positivefilms@ukonline.co.uk)

Melanie - Bellissimo pictured with the crazy ladies Fiona and Lucy - getting ready for their bike adventure!

Due to Fiona and Lucy currently being away on their adventure the final amount for all of the 2010 fund raising efforts is yet to be known but we hope that a significant sum of money has been raised and we have enjoyed working alongside Fiona and Lucy for such a worthy cause. and were happy to donate our services for these events throughout this year.  For more information of new events and fund raising activities take a look at Fiona's website Cycle 4 Mum.

JETS

This summer (well it was summer although it really did not look like it!) we had the pleasure of working with a Bournemouth jet engineering company at Bournemouth Airport to organise for them a corporate event.  This company had relocated from Southampton to Bournemouth Airport and wanted to launch their arrival with a lovely family day for their staff and clients.  With a position just off  of the runway it was the perfect place to see the planes take off for the Bournemouth 2010 Airshow. Well so we thought! With planes  unable to fly due to the terrible weather conditions it was fairly quiet on the flying front which was such a shame.  However - never fear - we had a lot of fun in store for everyone in any event.

The day ran according to plane despite the weather. With Mosaic Jazz coming along to entertain the guests, this time as a four piece qith a fabulous vocalist joining them.  We have used Mosaic a few times now this year for weddings and events and they always prove really popular with the guests and are very flexible to work around timings where they are needed - pleasure to work with. 

The younger guests were kept amused with face painting, transfers and tattoos plus magic and entertainment courtesy of Wyn the Magician (actually - to be truthful the adults actually joined in with the face painting and enjoying the kids magic shows too!)

With a fully stocked bar and a BBQ of delightful food from salmon to delicious New Forest meats prepared with French flair by Lio Balland from Rhino Catering guests seemed to be able to have another glass of chilled Pinot Grigio and ignore the terrible weather conditions and carry on as if the sun was shining!  What a lovely group of guests!

Lio and his team hard at work to feed the guests 

We at Bellissimo enjoy the variety of events that we get to organise and love a challenge.  We can cater for pretty much anything that you wish to see at your event. This client had a brief which we followed closely and we attended various site meetings to agree what we could arrange for them.  We arranged the marquee, catering, the bar, entertainment and service and co-ordination on the day.  We also organised security and health and safety which was very important consideration in this location. 

If you have a business and would like to arrange an office celebration, Christmas party, corporate open day, business launch then for more information take a look at our website or give us a call for a complimentary consultation to discuss your requirements. Thank you to JETS for choosing us to plan your corporate event for you.

Real Weddings: Katie & Andy - All the Fun of the Fair and Las Vegas!

The Wedding of Katie and Andy took place at Key West on Bournemouth Pier. in August of this year  The package chosen by the bride and groom was our "on the day management" which meant that we took care of last minute details and decorations and running of the big day in order for the bride and groom to relax and enjoy themselves.

(Pictures Courtesy of Picture this Photographer)

With the ceremony taking place in the morning at The Townhall in Bournemouth, Bellissimo arrived early at the couple's chosen venue to start the transformation. The chairs were covered and finished with burgundy sashes and each table centre piece had burgundy balloons to match. The couple had a love of Las Vegas and their wedding reflected this. Each table was named after a different Las Vegas hotel from The Venetian to The Bellagio, and guests had a personalised poker chip to take away as a memory of the day.

Guests arrived at the venue for a drinks reception shortly followed by the happy couple who were transported down the Pier in true style..........on a golf buggy! Despite the rain falling all morning the sun managed to shine just in time for their arrival.

Food for the day was a BBQ and hog roast which was enjoyed by all of the guests. Some truly heartfelt speeches followed and one extremely comical one with photo props by the best man with help from the groom's brothers.

After dinner the party got started and Las Vegas was bought to Bournemouth with the arrival of Absolute Fun Casino. Guests enjoyed gambling away their wedding money with some big winners and sadly some losers!

Evening guests began to arrive just in time for Katie and Andy to take to the dancefloor to the beautiful voice of Alicia Keys singing "If I Ain't Got You" with the guests joining them on the dance floor the party got underway and guests really were dancing all night.

Our on the day management package helped Katie and Andy to enjoy the last few weeks of lead up before their wedding with Bellissimo taking care of the last minute details and taking over the supplier contact allowing them to enjoy their last few weeks of looking forward to their wedding rather than worrying over the details.  We helped then to source their chair covers and arranged collection and fitting on the day and returning after the wedding thus saving them money.  We arranged the collection and setting of their wedding cake so they did not have to on the day.  We decorated the venue for them in their chosen style.  We produced and agreed with them a schedule for the day and distributed to their suppliers so that everyone knew exactly where they were meant to be and when and we were the first point of contact on the day so that the bride and groom were not disturbed in the lead up to their wedding or on the day.  We were there all day to oversee the setting up and smooth running and helped to manage the food service for the day and the evening. 

We were delighted to receive a lovely testimonial from Katie and Andy which you can view on our Testimonials page.  If you are interested in discussing an on the day management package with us please contact us for further details and a complimentary consultation.  Our packages start from just £450 but we always manage to save our couples money with our supplier contacts plus this small price purchases piece of mind and no stress!

Congratulations Katie and Andy - it was a real pleasure to help you on your special day - thank you for chosing Bellissimo and we wish you both the very best wishes for your future together.

Frances and Melanie

Anyone for a game of netball?

Here at Bellissimo its not all about weddings! So we were was delighted to organise the Third Annual Bournemouth & District Law Society charity netball tournament - this is the third year that we have been behind the running of the event.

The tournament was attended by 7 teams of local solicitors. We were delighted that fab photographer Richard Budd came along to the event and donated his time to take some fantastic photographs - just look at the action shots he managed to get for us!

Team AB (Alrdidge Brownlee Soliciors) were the winning team, closely followed by the winners of the last two years Matthew Minxes (Matthew & Matthew Solicitors). A great day was had by all and £330 was donated to the winning teams chosen charity- Julia's House.

Thank you to all firms who took part and especially big thanks to Richard Budd www.richardbudd.co.uk for your invaluable input with the photographs you took on the day - we all enjoyed having you! 

The Green House.....not just an environmentally friendly place to stay

We recently had the pleasure of being invited to view the re-furbished and re-opened The Green House Hotel which claims to be the greenest hotel in the UK.  We found this to be real gem of a hotel set in Bournemouth a short walk from the beach, town centre and the Bournemouth International Centre - so a great central location.

The hotel opened in April 2010 after undergoing a complete refurbishment,with all materials used being extremely environmentally friendly. The hotel operates observing five core principles:

• Source Locally
• Reduce, Re-use, Re-cycle
• Consider what goes in and what goes out
• Insist of high welfare standards
• Will be open and honest to its staff and customers

In the hotels restaurant you will find the selection of food comes directly from local suppliers, from free range Dorset eggs for breakfast to New forest mushrooms with your steak at dinner, an wonderful wine from the hotels extensive wine list to enjoy

With space available for both conferences and meetings, The Green House could be a very unique meeting place for all sorts of businesses.   We also understand that the Hotel soon hopes to be fully licensed for civil ceremonies so guests can then enjoy the space for their wedding ceremony and may also be able to arrange an exclusive hire of the Hotel for their wedding.

With a stunning backdrop and beautiful gardens surrounding it is the perfect setting for a magical day and is particularly suited to the couple who hold green/environmentally friendly values important to them when planning their wedding or event. 

The Green House Hotel already provides a selection of packages to choose from for it to be used as a unique venue with wedding breakfasts catered for up to 80 guests and evening receptions to 100. The Hotel will  not cater for more than one wedding on any given day. Everything about the day will be bespoke including the menu which our award winning chef will create with you. 

For more information about this unique and beautiful boutique hotel take a look at their website thegreenhousehotel.co.uk  - we certainly enjoyed our visit and look forward to working with them in the near future

Couture Cake Company- Bespoke Award Winning Cakes

We recently met the lovely Louise and she has become a member of The Women In Business Network.
Creating not just wedding cakes, but cakes for all occasions. A real artist in making sugar craft flowers and can also creates unique edible favor for your guests.

(images courtesy of couturecakecompany.co.uk) 

Louise's business Couture Cake Company is based near the beautiful Sandbanks in Dorset. With a very broad background from working in media to a very successful website design company. Louise has always had a passion for creating cakes,  she is now in the process of retraining as a cake decorator and designer.

Louise has already achieved success in winning a Gold Medal and a Merit for two cakes she entered into the Inter-Collect Cake Decoration competition for colleges across the South.

(Inter-Collect Cake Decoration Competition winner- Paris Showgirls) 

An extremely talented lady who will ensure to create the perfect cake for your Wedding day or special occasion.  For more information take a look at Louise's website couturecakecompany.co.uk 

Beautiful sugar craft roses. 

Unique Favor idea- Rose Macarons.