We have reached the finals!

Yes its true - we are very happy bunnies over at Bellissimo and Simply Events!  Last week we were delighted to discover that we had been shortlisted to reach the finals of the Langtry Manor Business Woman Awards 2011 in the category of Small Business of the Year.  This award is sponsored by The Federation of Small Businesses and they are looking for a small business with a big attitude to business!  Well - we think that's definitely us as we have had a big attitude to making it in business from day 1!  Bellissimo is in its third busy year and Simply Events, the sister company, was launched at the end of 2010.  

Bellissimo is a wedding planning business which concentrates on helping couples plan amazing and unique weddings and Simply Events concentrates on private and corporate event planning for individuals and businesses.  Both businesses were started by Melanie Kiani and Bellissimo was launched in September of 2008.  Both businesses were started single handedly without the recourse to any form of borrowing or assistance and started in the dining room!  Business has grown from a complete standing start after a lot of effort and research and months of planning in advance.  Business is tough in the market which we are all currently working in so probably not the best time to start a business - but when is?!  Melanie has worked hard over the last 3 years to create a good business platform and profile in the local community and has taken on a student, Frances, from the local University Events Management Degree for her placement year to help her on her way into future business.  Frances herself was nominated and shortlisted as a semi finalist in the Business Woman of the Future category in these awards which was a great achievement for a young business woman.  So, the hopes for the future is that both Bellissimo and Simply Events will continue to grow and build on the good relationship which has been created over the past three years.  

The Langtry Manor Business Woman Awards were set up to reward the achievement of women in business in the local area.  There are 11 award categories this year in total all sponsored by female friendly businesses - two of them are voted by the public. 

The awards dinner where the winners will be announced is taking place on 19th May at The Langtry Manor in Bournemouth and we are really looking forward to being there on the night and are thrilled to have been placed in this category as one of the finalists alongside two other very worthy finalists.  

We will keep you posted on the results but whatever happens we are pleased to in the running!  Thank you to Tara  Howard of The Langtry Manor and PPR Media Solutions who have put these awards together for the past two years and are clearly doing a great job in recognising and rewarding the strong place which women in business have in the local area. 

Wish us luck 

x

The WIBN Sunflower Ball - Friday 17th June 2011

We are delighted to bring you some news of an upcoming event this June in the beautiful town of Poole, Dorset. In aid of the fantastic Lewis Manning Hospice and teamed with The Women In Business Network the "Sunflower Ball "is an early summer event not to be missed.  

Arranged by our sister company Simply Events The Sunflower Ball will be held at The RNLI Lifeboat College in Poole on Friday 17th June 2011 which is a striking and contemporary building overlooking Poole Harbour.

The Lewis Manning Hospice is Poole's voluntary hospice offering specialist palliative nursing care to around 650 local people living with cancer and other life threatening illnesses. The hospice receives around a 1/3 of the necessary funding from NHS Bournemouth and Poole the rest they have to raise themselves they currently need to raise in excess of £50,000 a month to cover running costs. Time to Care is a recent appeal from the Lewis Manning Hospice to raise £2.5million to build a new facility that will enhance existing services of the day hospice. 


We are delighted to be associated with this event and the plans are well under way. Please join us from 6.30pm for a Pimms drinks reception on the terrace over looking the water. After enjoying the wonderful scenery you will be treated to a three course meal with wine followed by coffee and petit fours. Get your dancing shoes ready to dance the night away to a DJ and some wonderful Big Band Entertainment. If you fancy yourself as a bit of a fun gambler try your luck at the fun gaming tables. To ensure we raise the most money possible for this fantastic charity we will also be running a raffle and auction throughout the evening but most of all this will be an evening of fabulous fun and entertainment.  

Sunflower wedding inspiration board inspired by the plans which we have underway for The Sunflower Ball - 17th June 2011

Use this as an opportunity to entertain clients or staff or just an excuse to get those glad rags out and have a nice evening with friends or family.  You can make a night of it too by booking one of the RNLI College's newly refurbished rooms and enjoy a leisurely breakfast the following morning with a water view. 


For more information please contact us or to reserve your table/tickets please do so as soon as possible by contact Diane on 0845 521 2324 or email diane@wibn.co.uk 


Full details of the event can be viewed on the dedicated webpage The Sunflower Ball Website

Images courtesy of- 

Sunflower table- weddingo.co.uk 

Shoes-getmarried.com 

Collage-primadonabrides.co.za 

Candy Buffet Table-designedbyyourstruly.blogspot.com 

Bride and Bridesmaids-wedding-splendor.com 

Invites-mypersonalartist.com 

Cake-weddingandcakes.com 

Sunflower field-myweddingsandmore.com 

Cupcakes-queenofartscakes.blogspot.com 

Wedding table setting-bride.ca

Royal Wedding Timings Announced

The all important timetable for the forthcoming Royal Wedding on 29th April 2011 have been formally announced - in typical Royal fashion its very specific and it should most certainly run exactly to time!

So, get hanging out that bunting and planning your special wedding celebration - here is how the day will unfold:

Image courtesy of kateandwilliamwedding.info

The following timings have been confirmed for the royal wedding day on 29 April:

Between 0815 BST and 0945 BST - The general congregation will arrive at the Great North Door of Westminster Abbey.

From 0950 BST - Prime Ministers and Governors-General of various Commonwealth countries, the Diplomatic Corps and other guests arrive at the Abbey.

1010 BST - Prince William and Prince Harry leave Clarence House for Westminster Abbey.

1015 BST - Prince William and Prince Harry arrive at the Abbey.

1020 BST - Members of foreign royal families arrive at Westminster Abbey from Buckingham Palace.

1020 BST - Kate Middleton's mother, Carole, and brother, James, leave the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey.

1025 BST - Minor members of the Royal Family leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey.

1035 BST - The Duke of York and his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, leave for Westminster Abbey along with the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal and Vice-Admiral Timothy Laurence.

1038 BST - The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall leave Clarence House for Westminster Abbey.

1040 BST - The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh leave Buckingham Palace for Westminster Abbey.

1048 BST - The bridesmaids and pages leave the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey.

1051 BST - The bride, accompanied by her father Michael, leaves the Goring Hotel for Westminster Abbey.

1100 BST - The marriage service begins and is relayed by speakers along the route.

1215 BST - The carriage procession of the bride and bridegroom with a captain's escort of the Household Cavalry, followed by The Queen's procession with a sovereign's escort of the Household Cavalry, leaves Westminster Abbey for Buckingham Palace.

1230 BST - The bride's carriage procession arrives at Buckingham Palace.

1240 BST - Members of the Royal Family and members of foreign royal families arrive at Buckingham Palace.

1325 BST - The Queen and the bride and bridegroom, together with their families, appear on the balcony.

1330 BST - Fly past by the Royal Air Force and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Information courtesy of bbc.co.uk

How will you be celebrating?  We would love to hear all about your plans.  We are planning a family day with the girlies - house all to be decked out with lots of appropriate decorations, pink fizz on the go and lots of yummy food for a lovely lunch and watching the events unfold.

Enjoy it - could be a long wait for the next one!

x

Ceremony timings to be lifted

Couples who wish to marry under the stars in the moonlight maybe just maybe are about  to have their wish granted with the ban on night time weddings being lifted.

Current laws in the UK (The Marriage Act 1836) state that a wedding ceremony  has to take place between the hours of 8am and 6pm. The Church of England rules are not intended to be changed but it appears that civil ceremony restrictions are possibly set to be removed under the new proposals which are part of Protection of Freedoms Bill.  These changes will allow marriages to take place 24 hours a day in England and Wales and will also apply to civil partnerships. 

There are currently not the same time restrictions in Scotland.  The changes are expected to boost the demand for evening civil weddings especially during the summer months

Although England has a long way to go before they match up to the 24 hour weddings of Las Vegas - the new proposals will not allow last minute weddings as you get at the chapels in Las Vegas as at least 15 days notice will will be required.  

(Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk)

What do you think about these proposed changes.  Do you fellow planners think they will be popular?  In reality we wonder how keen Registars will be to perform ceremonies at midnight and how much it will actually cost people to have a Registar come out to perform a ceremony at that time?  There are all kinds of practical implications involved with having ceremonies at unusual times but as planners we would welcome the opportunity to work with couples who want a wedding which is out of the ordinary - it could make for more creative and unique weddings.  

Perhaps the general public don't understand that you CAN  have a ceremony event now at any time of the day or night and at whatever venue you wish by having your legal ceremony perhaps with just the bride and groom with two witnesses in your jeans the day before your "wedding" - here you say the legal vows but you don't event  need to exchange rings.  You can there hire a bespoke ceremony company/celebrant who will write a personal ceremony for you (with or without your involvement) and you can have that ceremony in front of your family and friends, exchange rings, say whatever you like and you are not bound by the restrictions of the laws we have in this country.  Maybe generally its not well known enough yet that this kind of service exists  and perhaps a change in the law is not really needed - just better promotion of ceremony companies and more promotion from local Councils of that service rather than a change in the law.  Will a change in the law put ceremony companies out of business?

William and Kate get his 'n' hers wedding cakes

Well will this be the first of many wedding fashions which will follow after the Royal nuptials in April?  The Times reported on Sunday (yes I am a day late - I usually get to read the Sunday papers some time on a Monday evening!) that Kate and William will each have their own choice of cake for their wedding.  Now this is not a new idea by any stretch but not something that we see an awful lot - but perhaps during latter part of 2011 and into 2012 brides and grooms will follow suit and cake designers will be asked to produce two different cakes for weddings - great business for them!

The official wedding cake chosen by Kate is reported to be a multi-tiered traditional fruit cake in white and ivory and is being embelished with lots of handmade sugarpaste flowers to incorporate some ideas which Kate has had and is being made by cake designer Fiona Cairns. 

William on the other hand has requested McVities make him a cake based on a childhood love for Rich Tea biscuits - can't wait to see how that turns out - how different.

We would love to hear your ideas for his and her wedding cakes - maybe traditional vs cupcakes or fruit vs chocolate or something decedent.  What about real cheese cake vs something ultra sweet.  Let us know if you have had this at your wedding.

For the full story go to the story from The Telegraph