Whilst I now have over 50 posts on this wedding blog and get a thrill from knowing that Wedaholic.com is offering good advice to brides around the world. I have to take my hat off to BridesClub.com who have now reached 100 posts!

In much the same vein they offer superb advice on all aspects of wedding planning, with categories on Beauty, Bridal Party Engagements, Fashion Trends, Wedding Dresses and Wedding Flowers & Decorations to name just a few.

Additionally they keep right up to date with all the celebrity wedding news and this latest post is a great run down of 10 top stars and the wedding designers they used.

BridesClub.com is certainly a site I will be visitng on a more regular basis!

Elle

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THE BEST WEDDING TIPS ON THE INTERNET

Each week you can receive a great wedding tip by simply filling in this form:

After you have clicked on the "Send My 1st Tip" button follow these 6 easy steps to ensuring you receive a free unique wedding tip every week.

The most important step is that you you click on the confirmation link in the email sent immediately to your inbox - if you don't you won't get your wedding tips!

A TESTIMONIAL :

"Hi Elle, I just wanted to give my thanks for the generous, often funny and thoughtful planning tips I have received. Our wedding is in just over two weeks time. It's the first time we're getting married (as for many people), and inevitably, there are things we had not considered. I really appreciated many of the planning tips for this reason, also because they were very practical and down-to-earth. Great job, and many thanks again. It must be great to know you are making a positive difference to the marrying couples that receive these. Best Wishes" - Marcela Read more testimonials here

P. S.

You will also send you a Free "Wedding Dress Ideas" Report with your first tip!

Is your future husband looking for great ideas for his stag?

If so, why not get him to participate in a spot of bungee jumping and stock car racing!

This is exactly what Steve Williams, long term caddy to Tiger Woods, did prior to his wedding to Kirsty Millar.

Best man Tiger joined Steve on the Nevis Highwire near the South Island township of Queenstown for the 440 feet jump. They both jumped from a cable car held by 1,247 feet of tension wires spanning the Nevis Valley - eight seconds later they were faced with just a 100 feet gap between the canyon's walls. No wonder this is regarded as one of the world's most incredible challenges for all adventure tourists!

The following day saw Steve and Tiger take part in a 12 lap celebrity stock car race just south of Auckland on the North Island. This was a new experience for Tiger , but not so Steve who when not caddying is a New Zealand champion in modified saloon cars. One can only imagine the small print in their respective insurance policies, when asked about it Tiger stated it had been "taken care of".

Money was raised during the day for the Steve Williams Foundation, to help provide sporting careers for disadvantaged youth.

More sedate stag and hen ideas can be found on Confetti.co.uk!

Not Everyone Wants Their Special Day Ruined By A Gimmick - But Some People Do!"

To quote Jimmy Car, who plays Antoni the owner of Confetti Magazine.

The 5th of May sees the release of a new comedy "wedding" film in the UK called "Confetti". Directed by Debbie Isitt you can check out the trailer right here - even download it to your iPod.

I popped over to IMDB to see if anyone had had a chance to see it and luckily there have been some great reviews from people who went to the test screeningd. You can also check out further reviews at TimeOut.

To quote one of the reviews:

I saw this film at a preview screening on 25 April 2006. This is an awesomely funny film that can only be described as British. My immediate reaction was that this film is funnier than "four weddings..." even though they are poles apart in their feel.

In a nutshell the film follows Confetti magazine as they run a competition for the most wacky wedding, with the prize for the lucky couple being a house. The three finalists are the musical wedding (Matt & Sam) , the tennis wedding (Josef & Isabelle) and the naturist wedding (Michael & Joanna) - all competing for `Most Original Wedding of the Year'.

It seems the film is shot in a similar way to "The Office", very much the look and feel of a fly on the wall documentary (or should I say 'mockumentary' as seems to be the right buzz word for it!) , with brilliant improvised acting from many great British actors - in fact Martin Freeman plays Matt in the film.

To learn a little more about what it is like to be on set of an improvised film take a read of Martin Freeman's brother Jamie describing his own experience:

"For me this mostly involved chatting (in character) to whichever actors happened to be around....Not a single word of dialogue has been written; it was all made up in the heat of the moment."

The cast also includes:

Jessica Stevenson (Shaun Of The Dead, Spaced, The Royle Family)
Stephen Mangan (Green Wing)
Felicity Montagu (I'm Alan Partridge)
Rob Webb (Peep Show)
Olivia Colman (Peep Show, Bruiser)
Meredith MacNeill (Man Stroke Woman)
Alison Steadman (Topsy-Turvy, Life Is Sweet)

I can't wait to see it!

Elle

I received this question a few days ago, when I asked brides for their number one wedding question:

"hmmmm....lets see.....as of right now my fiance and I haven't did done much buying for the wedding, because we plan to have it around this time next year...but I have started planning things like the colors, my wedding dress style, bridesmaids dresses, suits, and reception colors and setup. Is there anyway that you could provide a sort of detailed checklist of everything I should consider when planning? My mother will helping me with everything because she is a great seamstress, interior designer, and she, along with my aunt, have sewn and directed for several weddings, so they will be designing my dress, the bridesmaids dresses, and providing the decorations and setup. I would like a checklist so we cannot forget anything! I would also like to know when is it a good time to actually start buying and sending out invitations. "

My reply to this bride went as follows:

Thank you for your question.

It got me thinking that I should work on a more detailed checklist than the one my husband has on his wedding tips site.

Here he states :

* Send out the invitations about 8 weeks before the wedding date.

And

* Order your wedding invitations and thank you notes, etc. about 4 – 6 months before the wedding day.

Though I would do well to beat the 10 page checklist included in my friend Deborah’s wedding organiser.

Try looking at this simple sheet so as you can start to tick things off now.

Good luck with your planning.

Elle

Hi Everyone,

This morning I had this question relating to sending out wedding invitations:

" I am having an out of state wedding, 9 hours away. When is the best time to send out my save a date cards for my October wedding, I have put inside my cards, hotels that are giving my guest's a discount on their rooms. I want my guests to have enough time to plan in advance. Aso when should i send out my wedding invitations?"

This was my reply:

- Thank you for your question.

I have always thought that the traditional 8 weeks before a wedding to send out invitation cards was a little short. I guess in times gone by people may have had less choice and commitments in their lives, who knows, but it does seem we are all so much more busy nowadays and people can go on holiday all times of the year.

When I got married 6 years ago in Scotland, I was living in England and the majority of people were traveling up from there. I know it isn’t another state but even with 7 hours driving to a place most had never been to I wanted to take as much stress out of the situation as possible. Thus when I sent the invitations I included a map of the town and a list of the different places they could stay. I also included my own descriptions (tried to make it funny!) and my review of places to eat in the town as many were making their stay in Scotland part of a week’s holiday.

I had a lot of good positive feedback on this, because it showed I cared and though I couldn’t make the bookings (nor would I want to get involved) I outlined everything they might need as well as I could. For example many guests were bringing children and thus I had a section on where they might take them for an afternoon. I felt like I was working for the Scottish Tourist Board !

I would imagine if people are traveling to your wedding they will be staying more than the one day and thus the help and advice you can give will be very much welcomed. I never sent save the date cards because I had spoken to everyone I really wanted at the wedding to ensure they had nothing booked on that date – I just sent the invitations and my booklet 4 months before the wedding. I know this isn’t traditional but as they say in the UK – “horses for courses” – maybe you also have that expression in the States.

In your case I would send out the save a date cards with your hotel info during May or June, I always think the earlier the better because this gives guests the opportunity to shop on the internet for cheap flights etc. You can then send your invitations out 8 weeks before the wedding.

I hope this helps.

Ultimately go with what feels best for you, modern weddings vary so much from traditions and customs set hundreds of years ago!

Good Luck

Elle

Eminem's recent wedding was anything but usual. The most unusual thing about it though was his choice of bride - his ex-wife Kim who he famously idealises torturing or killing in his many hit songs including Kim, Bonnie and Clyde, Puke and Stan.

His latest hit single "When I'm gone" which was released prior to news of his impending nuptials, should have given his fans a clue of his changed feelings towards his ex-wife. In the final verse of the song he says, "I walk right up to Kim and kiss her, Tell her I miss her, Hailie just smiles and winks at her little sister".

The world's biggest rap star orginally married childhood sweetheart Kim in 1999 but the marriage only lasted 14 months before he flied for divorce and entered into a bitter custody battle over their daughter Hailie, now aged 10.

Fast track seven years and we find that this second marriage didn't delight everyone, his outspoken grandmother Betty Kresli said:

"He needs to think twice about marrying her again, or at least get a pre-nup this time around."

Well Betty will be relieved to know that a prenuptial agreement was signed a week before their January 14 wedding in Rochester Hills! - and so must Eminem as news has it that after just three short months he is filing for divorce again!

Prenuptial agreements don't sound very romantic but for some couples they are essential - are you one of them?

Elle

Tower Bridge, one of the most famous landmarks in London, was yesterday a scene to a wedding with a difference!

During the 2006 London Flora Marathon Katie Austin 25 and Gordon Fryer 34 from Romsey near Southampton ran the first 13 miles with her Bob to the Tower, where they then stopped for a 80 minute service! They then continued afterward with the bride's mum Tina, all the way to the finishing line.

You could hardly mistake the couple as Katie was wearing a length ivory wedding dress with train above her running shoes and Gordon and Kate’s father wore traditional waistcoats and wing-collared shirts and cravats. They did though shortened their trousers so as their running wasn’t impaired.

The ceremony took place at the Bridge Master's Dining Room which is registered as a licensed premises for civil ceremonies by Southwark Council. Reports state that despite the rain the brides hair and makeup held up and on leaving the bridge they were greeted with confetti showers and loud cheers.

Despite getting married they still had time to raise money for Help the Hospices and if you would like to donate please head over to http://www.justgiving.com/marathonwedding. This national charity gives time and care to people with incurable illnesses.

Their wedding video was produced by PurpleWeddings.co.uk and hats off to them for capturing this fantastic wedding.

You can watch the whole day unfold by watching this amazing 42:09 min video or a 4:32 min montage. The movie starts with their early morning preparations at the hotel, then next shows their trip to the start line on the tube with the bride's father Bob. Following this we see how they mingled and waited at the start line in the celebrity tent with the likes of Jade (not to be missed!), Steve Redgrave, Sophie Anderton, Rebecca Loos, Zoe Salmon and Gordon Ramsay. The movie shows the trio's interview with Sue Barker before they set out on the marathon through a pack of press photographers.

After aerial sots of London - Katy, Gordy and Bob are seen arriving at Tower Bridge for the 1pm ceremony. Next we see the couple exchanging vows with a reading from Katy's mum Sue, the registry being signed and then everyone relaxing with a glass of champayne. After chatting to the guests the married couple and the bride's parents leave Tower Bridge, through even more press. Finally we next see all four finish wilth Gordy carrying Katy over the finish line - amazing!

It may seem silly as you plough head first into the major task of planning your wedding - but I would like to bring to your attention 7 questions you need to ask yourself before getting married.

Relationship psychotherapist Paula Hall has put together 7 questions on the BBC web site.

The first question is pretty straight forward

1. Do we love, trust and respect each other?

I'll let you head over to the BBC web site to check out the other 6!

In fact Paula has also written a page on good and bad reasons for getting married. Amongst the good reasons I like are:

To make a commitment. You've decided that you want to be together forever, knowing each other's faults and failings

It's definitely worthing reading the other 5 good reasons for marrying.

One bad reason for marrying is:

You want a big wedding. The big white wedding may seem like a fairy tale come true, but it only lasts a day. Marriage is (supposed to be) for life.

..pretty obvious, but some people do!

I love my wedding dress to bits and I can't imagine ever throwing it away. It would be like throwing away some of the memories, plus I daren't think about the cost!

Here in the UK I'm not surprised to hear that the average cost of a wedding gown is now £826, an increase of 32% from the price tag of £625 in the year 2000. I know for a fact that most brides can't afford a dress at this price, though this doesn't stop them taking out a loan to pay for all or part of their wedding. As the average cost of a wedding soars to £20,000 in the UK it just scares me the amount of debt newly weds commit to at the beginning of their married lives.

So with all this in mine wouldn't it be great if you could buy a wedding dress for under £100, in fact pick it up whilst doing your weekly supermarket shop!

No I'm not dreaming because I would like to report the launch of the new George Bridal Collection at ASDA supermarkets in the UK! I have written a lot in Wedaholic.com about saving money and try to offer as many tips as possible, because not surprisingly it is a major source of stress. So for the budget consious I would like to point out that buying a dress from a supermarket may not be such a bad idea when you consider the oppportunities you have to personalise it.

Much of the media focus has been on a 2 piece cream wedding dress, where the corset top is £25 and the line skirt is £40. Though the collection also includes a 100 per cent polyester ruched-front dress retailing for £60 with a netted skirt and a contemporary full-length gown. In addition you can buy another second full-length gown which is described as sleeker with thin straps around the top. The bias cut dress is 100 per cent silk.

Angela Spindler, George's managing director, said:

"You've heard of fairytale weddings. We think that most wedding dresses are being sold with a fairytale price tag."

I read online that Kay Davidson, a corporate designer and personal stylist, praised the styling of the two-piece dress.

"They have kept it simple to reduce the cost but it allows the bride to customise the dress easily by adding beading or lace."

I couldn't agree more, why not get a dressmaker to add some elegant embroidery!

In fact for as little as £35 you can buy an adult bridesmaid dress and even cheaper at £18 you can purchase dresses for 1 to 10 year old girls.

So there you have it will this be the start of all supermarkets offering affordable wedding dresses? I do hope so!

I would like to introduce you all to a new editor on the Wedaholic blog, her name is Lesley Anne.

Lesley Anne will be primilarily writing about wedding flowers, her first blog is a fantastic article on bridal bouquets - not to be missed!

In her own words:

Flowers are my passion, and I love creating arrangements and floral accessories for weddings. I'm quite lucky because my parents have a gift shop and I sell my designs through that. We also sell other items for weddings including stationary, cake decorations etc, and we spend a great deal of time advising customers on things they may be unsure of.

Though Lesley Anne isn't just an expert on flowers as she also sells a million and one other wedding related products, these include:

Wedding stationary
Bride and Groom Glasses
Wedding Gifts (albums/frames etc)
Artificial floral wedding accessories (bouquets, buttonholes etc)
Charms for brides (wooden spoon, horseshoe etc)
Cake decorations and accessories

If you live in the London area I highly recommend you take a journey over to

The Gift Shop
10, Craven Park Road,
Harlesden
London
NW10 4AB

tel no: 020 8965 7317
fax no: 020 8965 7317
shop email: thomasval2004 at yahoo.co.uk
my email: lesleyanne_thomas at yahoo.co.uk

Cheers

Elle

The other day I was in our local WHSmith shop in Fife and I counted more than 11 wedding magazines. It seems online and offline there is all the advice you could ever want! In fact I quickly started counting the number of magazines for popular sports and hobbies like golf, computers and digital photography and none of them came close to the popularity of weddings.

I guess the great thing about the internet is the amount of free advice online. When I married in April 2000 the Net was certainly well established but it still seems there are a lot more quality wedding sites. With so many resources out there it may seem crazy that I’m about to mention another one, but I truly believe the following 78 wedding tips will really help you in your wedding day planning. First of all they are free and secondly they are short and get right to the point. Certainly the testimonials prove that many brides are finding them very helpful.

You will also receive a free "Wedding Dress Ideas" report you can download and read at your leisure.

Pop over to here and discover 78 free wedding tips that will make a real difference!