Bellissimo hosts Spring Wedding Fayre for Menzies Carlton Bournemouth

We have just taken delivery of a lovely disk of images from one of our Spring wedding fayres which we were asked to put together and host for The Menzies Carlton Hotel, Bournemouth so we thought we would share some of these images with you courtesy of the lovely John Howarth from Columbia Photography, Bournemouth.

The Fayre was a great success with local brides and grooms in attendance who had come along to meet our selection of local supplies and also to have an opportunity to see what facilities the Menzies Carlton and East Cliff Court Hotels have on offer between their two properties on The East Cliff in Bournemouth.
The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed and on this occasion as this was a small and intimate fayre we were able to run on the basis of one supplier per area only so that we had a good selection of exhibitors without repeats of certain types of supplier.

We ran two very successful bridal fashion shows - the second being standing room only. Gowns were provided courtesy of Special Occasions bridal wear in Lower Parkstone, with mens outfits provided courtesy of Moss Bros, Bournemouth. Everyone both in front of and behind the scenes worked incredibly hard to make this event a success. Many thanks to all of our exhibitors and the female models and our boys from South Coast Butlers who all looked very fetching in their outfits. The brides and Mums and the children looked absolutely beautiful.

We are glad this was such a success for all who took part as wedding fayres are time consuming and tiring for people to take a stand or take part in - its a very early Sunday morning start!

Our next Fayre will be at The Menzies East Cliff Court Hotel on Sunday 10th October 2010 from 11am to 4pm. Contact us for further details for exhibiting and attending.

Where will you be watching The World Cup 2010? Enjoy - the Italian Way

Bellissimo is delighted to be working in conjunction with The Paradise Bar at Da Vincis, Poole Quay and together we are promoting the exclusive hire of The Paradise Bar for your viewing pleasure for all of the main World Cup Matches 2010.

The Paradise Bar is part of the Da Vinci's restaurant and brasserie situated on Poole Quay which offers relaxed, rustic Italian charm. This venue can be hired for up between 20- 25 people with a private well stocked bar serving draught beers and summer cocktails by the jug together with delicious home made tapas served to you and your guests for only £12 per head. There is an outside terrace with seating which will be exclusively for your use as well. The Paradise Bar features a wide screen TV for viewing of the matches. What a great place to be with your friends to watch those crucial matches!

Menu for tapas:

Fresh Homemade Tapas @ £12.00 per head

Focaccia con Olives

Home made Italian bread served with marinated olives (V)

Antipasto Da Vinci

Selection of fine Italian cured meats served in the traditional way

Bruschetta di Canape

Small portions of toasted bread topped with sun blush tomatoes, basil

and garlic with pesto dressing (v)

Arancini alla Siciliana (served hot)

Italian specialty typically served at weddings; little fried Sicilian rice balls, stuffed with peas and mozzarella (V), or mozzarella and bolognaise sauce

Pizzettine (served hot)

Individual homemade pizza with a selection of different toppings, including vegetarian mozzarella and tomato pizza (v) and Italian sausage with chilli

Calamari Fritti

Deep fried squid served with homemade tartar sauce

Dough Balls

Delicious homemade dough balls deep fried and served with olive oil, garlic and balsamic dip

The Paradise Bar can accommodate up to 25 people comfortably. Exclusive hire of the bar with private bar staff is included together with use of the terrace bar to the rear for your enjoyment of the match.

Space is strictly limited and the main matches are expected to be booked very quickly so email melanie@bellissimo-events.co.uk or call 01202 533014 to secure your date now or to request an email for a full list of World Cup 2010 fixtures and availability

Flowers in the Barn - by Sarah Pepper

We recently had the pleasure of working with Sarah Pepper and her team when we came together for an On the Day Co Ordination for a lovely bride and groom who were having their wedding at the Stunning Great Barn, Higher Ashton, Devon.

We were very pleased to meet Sarah and her team on the day and had to post something about the floral arrangements which graced the tables as shown above. The bride chose tall vase arrangements to avoid the eye line of her guests featuring ivory avalanche roses with paperwhites, tulips, ranunculus, anemones and foliage.

Sarah can be contacted at www.sarahpepper.co.uk

Bellissimo supports "Roof of The World Rally" Bournemouth Team - Bournemouth 2010

(Images courtesy of Michael Palmer Photography)

(Image courtesy of Positive Films)

Here at Bellissimo we are delighted to be supporting a team of brave (if not a little crazy!) people who are planning to drive from London to Tajikistan in July across some very difficult terrain in a Land Rover to reach a school for children where the vehicle will be donated to the school at the end of the journey. Bravo to them!

A few weeks ago we supported this event by donating our services of event planning for a celebration and fundraising dinner which took place at Monkberrys, Bournemouth.

We assisted Charity Road Trips with the ticket sales, entertainment organisation, fundraising, raffle and auction prices, organising goody bags for the ladies to take away on the evening and helped with the smooth running of the event on the night.

Charity Road Trips had a fabulous turn out of around 80 great people who came along despite this taking place on a Wednesday night and spent their money on raffle tickets and auction items, drank well and had a jolly nice time. We were treated to the songs of Sinatra courtesy of the always fabulous Anthony Adams - Tribute to Frank Sinatra - www.anthonyadams.co.uk followed by tunes from Monkberrys resident DJ Jay Ratchett. The evening raised a lot of money for the charity. For more information about this trip and how you can help sponsor the event or get involved with further events coming up please log on to www.charityroadtrips.org

Good luck to the team for July!

Happy Easter at The Italian Villa

Bellissimo was proud to host Easter Sunday Lunch at The Italian Villa, Compton Acres this year in association with The Villa's on site and always fabulous caterers - Beales Gourmet. The menu was delightful and it was so nice to see the Villa full of families and friends enjoying the glorious sunshine of the day followed by a walk around the beautiful gardens of Compton Acres.

All children (and some adults in fact!) were treated to after dinner chocolate eggs although where they had room after the lunch I will never know!

Above are just some of the images which we took on the day showing how it could have been a summers day. We were very pleased to receive so many lovely comments after the event that everyone had thoroughly enjoyed their lunch and the view over the gardens.

If you wish to hear about any further events which we run at The Italian Villa or anywhere else, please email us and we will be pleased to keep you updated on our future upcoming events.

WOW Ceremonies Dorset

(Image courtesy of www.beau-coup.com)

(Image courtesy of www.examiner.com)

(Image courtesy of www.chocostudio.com)

Last month we had the pleasure of being introduced to Heather Downie - Retired Superintendent Registrar for Dorset - who now operates her own business under the name of Wow Ceremonies which offers a unique selection of personal ceremonies for all occasions all across Dorset and the surrounding areas. Who better to conduct an important ceremony for you than the former Superintendent Registrar. Heather is extremely passionate about her new business and is very experienced in what she does.

Here at Bellissimo we think this is a brilliant idea. Perhaps you wish to have the legal element of your marriage conducted in private on a small scale and then have an outdoor ceremony to celebrate with friends and family? Perhaps you have always dreamed of "getting married" in the New Forest. Well now you can! We all know that the UK laws prevent the actual legal marriage taking place outside or in a clearing in the Forest for example but if you had the legal marriage ceremony first then you could have a private ceremony which Heather could write for you personally conducted wherever you like. Heather will happily work with you to help you write the words if you have some ideas of your own.

Somewhere else where we feel this will prove popular is with couples who go abroad to marry and then come back and want to involve their family in friends in the marriage and post marriage celebrations. Well, having a ceremony when you return to the UK followed by a wedding reception can make your family all feel part of your special day - even if they were not there for the legal marriage. A personal service will be written to make it very special and can actually be more emotional and certainly more personal that the legal marriage itself.

There is so much scope here and we firmly believe that ceremonies for baby welcoming or naming ceremonies will grow hugely in popularity as an alternative to religious christenings. You can still select "god parents" or guardians for your baby who can still make commitments to you and your baby for their future.

Heather can be contacted by email on info@wow-ceremonies.co.uk or by telephone on 01300 321709 and she will be pleased to discuss any ceremony requirements which you may have.

Why not speak to Bellissimo to put together a celebration for you including the services of Heather Downie - call now to discuss your requirements be it for wedding, baby naming, special birthday celebration, milestone anniversary celebration, renewal of vows. Whatever you have in mind - we will be glad to speak to you and meet with you for a complimentary consultation

FREE Wedding Open Day - The Carlton Hotel - Bournemouth - Sunday 25th April

Come along and meet Bellissimo and the team and a whole host of local suppliers and exhibitors who help make Dorset's "wedding world" at The Carlton Hotel Bournemouth on Sunday 25th April 2010 from 10.00am to 4.00pm

This is a completely free event with bubbly and canapes on arrival. Free parking available at the Hotel. This is a great opportunity to be shown around both of Menzies Hotels on the East Cliffe - The Carlton and East Cliff Court to see what function suites and rooms they have available for your wedding and have an opportunity to meet suppliers all under one roof.

The Hotel are running promotions for Sunday lunch and afternoon tea on the day so bring along your family and friends to enjoy the day.

We have stands covering everything from flowers and chair covers to accessories and bridal gowns and operate on a "no duplication" policy so you will see variety at this relaxed and friendly wedding fayre without several suppliers offering the same service and competing for your attention.

Bridal fashion shows will take place at 11.30am and 2.30pm featuring bridal gowns and mens wedding attire.

We are also going to be entertained by a string quartet and a vocalist who will perform example sets of what they could be playing at your wedding

For more information on this event please log on to our upcoming events page at where you can download our pdf flyer - or call or email us with any queries

A full list of the confirmed exhibitors will be published shortly