The Wedding Sanctury 2013

Sunday 3rd March sees the return of The Wedding Sanctuary, a very unique wedding show designed to offer top design inspiration, personal style advice and the best one to one planning support available. The event has been organised by the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners, an alliance that promotes professionalism within the industry and a body which we are very proud to be active members of.

This years event is being hosted at the prestigious RSA House, a gorgeous Georgian building combined with a contemporary style in the heart of London- a stunning venue for your wedding whether you're looking for a grand affair or a more intimate ceremony.

Image courtesy of RSA House

Unfortunately we are not able to make attend this year due to a clash of dates. However, at the first very successful event which was held in 2011, Bellissimo's Melanie was delighted to be asked to be one of the speakers for the day, presenting on how to get the best out of your wedding suppliers. Again, there will be speakers presenting through out the day at this years event on various different subjects useful in planning your wedding. The event is split into 2 sessions, 11am-1pm and 2pm-4pm to allow each guest to benefit from a lot of personal attention from the experts and ensure each guest has a great experience. We look forward to the 2015 event where we will hopefully be in attendance again!

Most of these photos are from the pre wedding shoot at RSA House but some are from the 2011 event which was held at Somerset House and show just what a wonderful event it is.  If the usual crowded wedding shows really don't appeal to you and you want to benefit from one to one attention from the experts, then this is the show for you.

 

If you are interested in going to The Wedding Sanctuary, booking is essential as limited tickets will be available on the door. Visit The Wedding Sanctuary website for more information and to purchase tickets.

Photo Credits

Photographer- JuliaBoggio Studios       

Venue- RSA House

Styling & coordination - UK Alliance ofWedding Planners

Makeup- Mariam Jensen                                

Hair- Severin Hubert for Hepburn Collection 

Florist - Mary-Jane Vaughan      

Wedding Dresses - Johanna Hehir

Bridesmaids dress- TwobirdsBridesmaid

Suits- Cad & The Dandy

Stationery - Cutture

Accessories- VictoriaMillésime

Cake- Tempting Cake

Hire (tableware etc) - OptionsHire

Models- Chloe-Jasmine Whichello, Joseph Bader, Sjaniël Turrell 

Top 10 Trends for Weddings in 2013

Now it can be said that at Bellissimo we don't subscribe to the following of fashions when it comes to weddings. It's YOUR wedding so we believe you should have whatever you want and like, whether its the height of fashion or not. However that doesn't mean to say that current fashions won't influence you and your decisions and it isn't to say that current fashions shouldn't influence you- as long as you like it! That's the most important thing- it is your day after all. We have noticed some popular "trends" emerging for weddings for the coming season or two so we thought we would share with you at the start of this new season what we think Brides will be incorporating into their day.

1. "Vintage" elements / influences 

Vintage wedding styling has been very popular for a few years with the use of vintage china and old fashioned accessories. However, we are seeing a decline in strong vintage styling, with many people now choosing to incorporate vintage items into a different overall theme rather than the whole wedding being centred around vintage styling. Don't panic - vintage is still very much here but we are seeing it being incorporated in different ways with subtle vintage accessories and touches, for example vintage style photo frames and post boxes.

Image courtesy of Damien Bailey Photography

Image courtesy of Tatty Lashes stationary

2. Clean lines - less is more!

We are seeing  more modern weddings coming through with cleaner lines and simplicity and less frills and detailing. They are equally as beautiful with a big wow factor and many still bringing in traditional elements but keeping it much simpler and eye catching. "Less is more" is definitely the motto for 2013 weddings. Weddings will remain decadent with the materials and items used but will be less elaborate in the amount of wedding dressing. 2012 saw lots of DIY 'Stuff' being incorporated into weddings- bunting, cupcakes, ti-pis, mason jars etc however for 2013 we are seeing the beginnings of a switch to classical elegance with the simplicity doing all the talking.

Image courtesy of Michele Austin Photography

3. The romantic look- peaches and pastels

This is quite an 80's colour scheme but it is having an resurgence but without the 1980's vibe! This time round it has a very soft and romantic ambiance but feels much more up to date and modern with less of the frills and not so much emphasis on the large sleeves and shoulder padding from the 80's! We're seeing lots of peach and pale pink roses and peonies making up beautiful, full floral displays.

Image courtesy of Erika Delgado Photography

The combination of mint green with the pale peach and pinks is also looking to be very hot in 2013. It has a very whimsical, romantic yet fresh summery feel to it.

Image courtesy of Three Nails Photography

4. The Roaring 20's

Whilst we think vintage is calming down, there are some eras which will be BIG this year! The iconic design led eras, the 1920's, 1930's and the 1950's will be huge this year. We're seeing lots of vintage cars and lots of Jazz bands being incorporated into weddings as well as lots of Art Deco fonts and styling in stationary and beautiful vintage Bridesmaid dresses. We can't wait to see the Charleston and Jives coming out. The decadence yet clean lines of the 1920's makes it a perfect theme for those who want a more stripped back yet romantic wedding.

With the popularity of Downton Abbey and the wedding which featured in the last series, its no wonder the 1920's has become a popular influence for weddings.

Image courtesy of blsciblogs.baruch.cuny.edu

Image courtesy of www.roaring30.co.uk

5. Lace

Lace is a classic embellishment which will never go out of fashion but in 2013 we will be seeing it every where- not just in dresses but running throughout weddings. Kate Middleton's wedding dress will still be a huge style influence for wedding dresses this coming season- big, beautiful and full of lace detail.

Image courtesy of AFP

6. Statement back dresses

Another huge trend we are predicting for 2013- our Facebook fans have gone made for the photos we have posted of dresses with beautiful statement backs to them. You will have your back to your guests throughout the ceremony so its lovely for them to be able to see your beautiful dress. 

Image courtesy of Ariel Ranae Photography

Image courtesy of Galia Lahav

7. Patterns

2012 has seen a few patterned bridesmaid dresses but next year they are looking to be really popular, with florals, geometric prints, paisley, stripes and spots. Patterns will run throughout weddings, being incorporated into the table dressing to add interest without the fussiness and having lots of 'stuff' on the tables. However, its important not to go too over the top- remember less is more and try to stick to two or no more than three colours featured for your bridesmaids to avoid everything being too busy. 

Image courtesy of Gabriel Ryan Photography

Image courtesy of Jonathon Canlas Photography

8. Dessert Bars

So sweetie tables have been big in 2012 but next year will see the rise in popularity of the dessert table. Dessert tables are a great option if you don't want a traditional wedding cake and cupcakes aren't your thing. A dessert table can also be a great way to display your wedding cake if you are having a traditional wedding cake. Make it a real feature of the room, plus its great for the evening as it gives your  guests something to nibble on if they're feeling a little peckish! We also think macaroon towers will be a bit hit this year- they have a real wow factor and are something a little bit unusual. You can do well to combine the sweetie table with the dessert table too for a great combination of little sweet nibbles to suit all your guests or why not sweet and savoury?

Image courtesy of Thayer Allyson Gowdy Photography

Image courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

9. Naked Wedding Cakes

The back to basics theme has continued through to the wedding cake with sponge and buttercream cakes without royal icing becoming very popular. They are a more rustic option but very beautiful when adorned with beautiful roses but practically speaking we're not convinced that they are the best option- they won't keep very well and you will be testing your baker as it will have to be made very last minute!

 Image courtesy of 4 eyes photography

We have seen the emergence of Macaroon Towers in 2012 and we think they are going to be even more popular in 2013. They are a great alternative to a traditional style wedding cake and will really get a 'wow' when your guests see it. They can be in any colour to match the theme of your day and they can be made in a large variety of flavours to match your tastes.

 

Image courtesy of Allyson Meredith Cakes

Another type of cake we see emerging this year is Temeri cakes which are a fabulous alternative to cupcakes and having a really special sentiment, perfect for a wedding day behind them. Temeri cakes are inspired by Japanese Temeri balls which are beautiful handmade silk balls which mothers make for their daughters to play with. Traditionally it is said that the balls bring good fortune and happiness to the recipient. This sentiment Temeri cakes the perfect favour for a wedding.

Image courtesy of makiscakes.com

10. 'Posh junk food'

People have grown bored of having a buffet for evening food. 'Posh junk food' and street food is becoming very popular. People are wanting their guests to be served food in a casual way rather than serving themselves. Having food vans is proving to be a popular option- for example, fish and chip vans, Mexican food, Paella etc We have also seen the idea of posh burger and chips or Kentucky fired chicken emerging, served in wrappers by usherette waiters. We think this will really take off as buffets have become a bit tired and guests would rather have something a bit different. With receptions often going on long into the night with more taking place on private land, we have seen people wanting to serve a 'midnight snack' to keep them and their guests going. Cookies and boozy hot chocolate have been favourites! 

Image courtesy of Damien Bailey Photography

Image courtesy of Trevor Pearson Productions

We're also seeing a change in the drinks being served at weddings with signature or bespoke cocktails being on the Menu. Select the Bride and Groom's favourite cocktails shaken or stirred to order, with a little help from your wedding planner as to what goes down well with guests. Its great to make it really personal by having a  menu made up of the Bride and Groom's favourites but remember, your favourites might not be every body else's! Our advice- keep them light and not too alcoholic and choose cocktails made from a variety of different base alcohols, for example a vodka based cocktail, a rum based cocktail and a champagne based cocktail. A good selection for a summer wedding could be a Mojito, a Cosmopoliton, Lychee Martini, Strawberry Daquri and Espresso Martini.

Image courtesy of Angela Ward Brown Photography

We can't wait to see all of these trends in real life in our weddings this year! They are going to be beautiful!

x

Review of the year 2012

What a year 2012 has been for Bellissimo! It has been a really exciting year for Bellissimo along with Simply Events, the non-wedding event planning side of the Business and the first very spectacular season of Beach Weddings Bournemouth!

The year started with in January with a wedding show at the RNLI college in Poole, a beautiful modern waterside venue. This was the second successful wedding show we have organised at the RNLI college and we are looking forward to the third one coming up very soon this January.

Shortly after in February, ITV's Daybreak launched 'Here comes the tide', a competition for a viewer to win the first ever beach wedding! Melanie had great fun down on the beach filming the trailers for the competition and meeting Michael Underwood.

March brought Cupcake Camp, a charity fundraiser organised by the Simply Events part of the business. This year the Cupcake Camp was raising money for a fantastic local charity, Diverse Abilities plus and also Childline with Ester Rantzen being a celebrity judge! We were thrilled to raise over £3000 this year, double our total for last years event.

Image courtesy of Christian Lawson Photography

All throughout the first few months of the year we were keeping extremely busy with bookings and viewings of Beach Weddings Bournemouth.

Before we knew it, it was April which meant our very first Beach Wedding at our new and exciting beautiful beach venue. Just to add more pressure, it was LIVE on ITV's Daybreak! This meant a very early morning for all involved and for the Bride too! Although the weather wasn't perfect, the rain held off for the special day and the day went without a hitch! The viewers of Daybreak voted Kate and Frazer as the winning couple. The marquee was filled with cameras and microphones and Angelica Bell and Michael Underwood were there to talk to the television cameras. Unfortunately the camera's cut to an ad break at the vital moment of Kate and Frazer saying 'I do' however we can  vouch for the fact that it was a beautiful moment! We must say thank you again to everyone who worked very hard to make the 'Daybreak Wedding' a huge success!

Following our first Beach Weddings Bournemouth wedding, wedding season really got started! Simply Events also helped to organise the Great Dorset Bake Sale in aid of a great Dorset charity, Diverse Abilities Plus.

Image courtesy of Seeker Photography

Our first Bellissimo wedding of the year was Helen and Thomas's stunning Studland Bay wedding. Their wedding as a romantic seaside themed marquee wedding on the clifftop over looking Studland Bay. It was a beautiful sunny day and we loved working with Helen and Thomas.

Image courtesy of Big Bouquet Photography

The 1st June saw us welcome a new member to the team. Nicolle joined us from Bournemouth University to complete her placement. She was rather thrown in at the deep end with her first weekend consisting of the setup of two weddings, a Bellissimo marquee wedding and a beach wedding! It didn't put her off though!

The Bellissimo wedding was a stunning traditional country marquee wedding on a private property in Wimborne. The wedding was very chic and elegant and the crystal chandeliers were just stunning! And the Bride's Jimmy Choos were just to die for!

Image courtesy of Damien Bailey Photography

Image courtesy of Damien Bailey Photography

In June we also had the pleasure of working with the lovely ladies at Parallel Venues to style their wonderful venue Camms Hall to showcase it for weddings. Frances worked with us in 2011 and we welcomed her back to work on this event with us. The venue looked absolutely stunning and we welcomed lots of Brides and Grooms to the venue to have a look.

Image courtesy of EFC Photography

Images courtesy of EFC Photography

On the Simply Events side, we organised two amazing special birthday parties, one was a 70th Birthday party and the second was a surprise 30th Birthday party. The 70th Birthday party was an intimate family dinner with a black and ivory theme for a very special lady. She was bowled over by how stunning the venue looked and all the little finishing touches we added. The 30th Birthday party was held at the Branksome Dene community centre and we were contacted by a very generous lady who wanted the party organised for her boyfriend. Although he knew something was going on, she managed to keep the party a secret from him but he threw the biggest surprise when he proposed to her at the party!

Image courtesy of Columbia Photography

Melanie and Nicolle were also very excited to be invited for a day at the wonderful Goodwood House followed by and afternoon at Glorious Goodwood. We were spoilt with a delicious lunch and a wonderful private box and afternoon tea at the Race Course. Sadly we didn't win any money on our horses but we had a great day and it was wonderful to meet lots of other lovely wedding planners and event managers. Goodwood house is just stunning and we would love to plan a wedding there!

With August came the wedding of Mercedes and Chris at the stunning Bryanston School in Blandford. This was a tradition wedding with the chosen colours being midnight and pale blue. The venue speaks for itself and the guests enjoyed a sunny drinks reception over looking the tennis courts and Dorset countryside.

Image courtesy of Holly Marsh Photography

On the Simply Event's side we also organised a private post-wedding BBQ at the Mother of the Groom's house to continue the celebrations.

September was a busy month for us to say the least! During September we had 15 Beach Weddings Bournemouth weddings and a Bellissimo Wedding. We helped Chantal and Pascal plan their wedding after meeting them at Helen and Thomas' wedding earlier in the year. They realised after being to Helen and Thomas's wedding how much they still had left to do so asked for our help! Their day was a combination of English and French influences with a purple colour scheme.

Image courtesy of Amanda Clay Photography

October saw us welcome another new member to the team and Melanie's new business partner for Simply Events, Hazel Hatch who has come on board with a wealth of experience in the events industry.

In October, we also traveled to Earl's Court London with our Beach Weddings Bournemouth caterers Fish Face who were competing in the Event Caterers Team Challenge at the National Restaurant Show. Melanie helped Fish Face to present their menu and food and Nicolle was there as the unofficial photographer!

The day after, Melanie traveled to New York with the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners for their annual study tour.

In October Beach Weddings Bournemouth was announced as one of the finalists at the Dorset Business Awards. We were one of the three finalists in the tourism category and are absolutely thrilled to be recognised for all the work we have put in and all the visitors we have brought to the town.

The last weekend of October was extremely busy for us! The Thursday saw us celebrate the 1st Birthday of Beach Weddings Bournemouth and the fourth birthday for both Bellissimo and Simply Events. Our guests were invited for afternoon tea and bubbly on the beach! We were thrilled to have so many of our suppliers, friends, previous couples and business associates come to celebrate with us. Fish Face produce phenomenal food for us and Katie Francesca who had already sang at many of our weddings and events this summer wowed our guests with her beautiful voice. We even had our hair and make up done as a special treat by Laura from Hair by Laura and Tara from Make up by Tara and Lisa Notley made us a fabulous 1st Birthday cake! And of course a big thank you to the lovely ianH Photography for taking all the fabulous photos!

Image courtesy of ianH Photography

On the Saturday it was the last Beach Wedding of the season! And what a wedding it was! We had the lovely Ian Hamilton with us who had photographed both the first and the last weddings of season and the Bride and Groom, Kate and Tim were just great! The weather was stunning considering it was the last Saturday of October and the Big Red bus was probably the highlight of the day!

The next day was not only our wedding show at The Italian Villa, Compton Acres, but also our Beach Weddings Bournemouth Autumn Open Day. Both were a huge success so a big thank you to all those involved in both. Then to top it all off, that night we went out for our Beach Weddings Bournemouth end of season meal, needless to say none of us had much energy the following day!

Phew we were busy in October!

November brought a new and fresh Simply Events website, so do go and take a peek if you haven't already! Whilst November may have been quieter with weddings, it was full steam ahead with planning the weddings for next year- we have some fantastic weddings coming up next year which we just can't wait to share with you so keep your eyes peeled! We are very excited! Hazel and Melanie have also been very busy planning lots of corporate events for next year as well as sourcing lots of accommodation for our clients and planning those all important Christmas parties!

We also all got all glammed up to go to the Dorset Business Awards Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony at the Lighthouse, Poole. We all got our glad rags on and had our hair and make up done and got ourselves ready for our James Bond themed night. The evening was fantastic and the food that Beales Gourmet provided was just divine! Sadly we didn't win the Award but we are very proud to have been one of the three finalists in the Tourism category. We had tough competition being up against some long established businesses so we feel it was a huge achievement to get as far as we did.

We have worked with some great people this year and have absolutely loved every minute of it! It has been a lot of hard work but totally worth it! Launching Beach Weddings Bournemouth has been amazing and something really special to be a part of. Having Hazel on board for Simply Events has given the business a new lease of life and I'm sure we will be telling you lots more about our events over the coming months. We all love what we do and it is so amazing to be part of people's wedding days. A big thank you to everyone we have worked with this year and to everyone who has really got behind us and supported us in everything we have done this year. We are really looking forward to another year of amazing Bellissimo weddings, events, Beach weddings, wedding shows and more and sharing it all with you!

All thats left to say is Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Melanie, Nicolle, Hazel and Natasha

xxxx