Our Great New Wedding Planning Workshops in Bristol

How 2 I Do now offer three different Wedding Workshops depending on what stage you are in with your planning and where you would like professional support and inspiration.

The How 2 Get Started Planning your Perfect Wedding Workshop is designed for those who are just taking the first steps into planning their Big Day. It covers all of the basics of where to start planning as well as fantastic inspiration for venues, Wedding planning timescales and crucial key questions to ask suppliers. Those who attend this workshop will also receive a free copy of How 2 I Do's useful new 50 page book called "The Essential Guide to Getting Married in Bristol", which is worth £10.00.

How 2 Afford your Dream Wedding is designed for those who need some practical budgeting help. It shows couples how to allocate their budget to be able to afford everything they need for their Wedding. There are also lots of money saving tips and advice and a fun exercise to knock thousands off your total budget, plus they will be sent an interactive budgeting tool, making the £20 per person fee well worth it.

Finally there's How 2 Make your Wedding Day Sparkle. Steph from How 2 I Do named it this as she says it's all to do with the little touches and behind the scenes planning that make a Wedding seem really polished and run smoothly and seamlessly. This Wedding Workshop covers Wedding Style and Themes as well as more practical areas like contingency planning and timescales for the Big day. Couples who attend this workshop will come away with an inspirational mood board, a sample table plan and a personal timetable to ensure that their Wedding runs like clockwork.

The workshops cost just £20 each per person or you can book all three for £50 per person. You can learn more about the workshops including dates and locations on the How 2 I Do Website or contact Steph by email.

How to have Happy Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids are a big part of your Big Day. You probably have selected your closest friends or Sister or like me had some hard decisions to make about who your Bridesmaids are if you have an extended group of friends from childhood and University as well as family to consider. Unfortunately my budget didn't stretch to the full 11 adult bridesmaids so I opted for family and one friend who I had lived  with through University and up until we both moved in with our then Boyfriends and now Husbands.

Picking your Bridesmaids can be tricky but picking their dresses can be trickier still. Adult Bridesmaids will probably set you back about £200 to £250.00 each by the time you have bought a dress, shoes, a gift and a bouquet and that doesn't even cover any hair and make up. Of course you can do it a lot cheaper if you can find dresses on the high street or in sales. Great High Street options are Monsoon or Coast, which both have regular sales. This dove grey Kipp Dress from Monsoon is £110.00 from www.monsoon.co.uk and is very elegant with it's soft draping and embellished neck and waist.

With adult Bridesmaids it's nice to have a consistent theme or colour but to allow them to express some individuality. Also it's essential to consider that Bridesmaids come in different shapes and sizes and some may not feel comfortable in short, strapless or low cut. One great idea I have seen recently is an innovative design from Two Maids that means that all of your Bridesmaids can have the same dress but wear it in 15 totally different ways from strapless, backless, halter, cap sleeves or one shoulder.

These dresses can be bought in Bristol from the Mews, Clifton www.themewsclifton.co.uk. You can also buy a matching bandeau to go underneath for a more modest look, which is great for curvier girls. They even work on pregnant Bridesmaids too thanks to their flowing silk jersey design. They also make ties to match all of the colours for a complete look for the guys too. The Photos below courtesy of Two Birds at the Mews Clifton, show the full length dress with two of the 15 options.

If you are having little Bridesmaids Monsoon Girl has some lovely dresses like this Audrey Butterfly one for £46.00 show below. For Brides on a tighter budget it's worth checking out BHS for a range of coordinating dresses and little waistcoats and cravats for any page boys.

As it's the tradition in the UK that Bridesmaids don't pay for their dresses but get to keep them it's well worth getting them something that they will wear again.

Why Bristol is a Great City to Get Married In

Last night the fantastically glamorous Goldbrick House hosted a wedding tweet up organised by the Little Wedding Helper and it was a great networking event for Bristol Wedding Suppliers. Loads of local suppliers turned up to sample the free champagne and canapes and make some new Bristol wedding contacts.

It made me realise what a great City Bristol is to get Married in with so many talented and enthusiastic people on your doorstep ready to make sure that you have an amazing Wedding. Kirsten Butler aka the Little Wedding Helper organised the event to allow everyone to put some faces to names we regularly see in our twitter feeds such as Cloggins and West Weddings. Kirsten offers a bespoke wedding, event and marquee styling service to ensure that wedding venues look amazing.

I arrived at about 6:30pm and the event was already in full swing. Katherine from Goldbrick House was on hand to welcome everyone and hand out some delicious canapes. Goldbrick House in situated on Park Street and is a conversion of two Georgian town houses and a Victorian factory. It is now an incredibly stylish "food and drink emporium" that is licenced to hold civil ceremonies. Looking at their wedding pack, I was actually surprised at how affordable a glamorous wedding at Goldbrick House could be as they don't charge venue hire, just a minimum spend that you could easily meet with a reasonably sized reception.

It was lovely to meet Emma Woodhouse, aka Cloggins or "The Wedding Reporter" who offers brides a really original service where she will come along to your wedding and experience it as a guest and then write you a detailed report of the day that you can treasure forever alongside with your photos. Emma is an experienced freelance writer who is currently writing some pieces for Wedding Ideas Magazine.

Speaking of photographers, they were out in full force and it was brilliant to meet so many passionate people including Marie Man, Taylor Barnes, Sam Gibson, Nevil Lane Studio, Proof Photography and Jacqueline Helen. I also met Abi and Lisa from Marry Me in Somerset who have also just launched a photography directory, called Marry Me in a Flash.

I was lucky enough to win a free cut and blow dry and some great L'Oreal hair products from a raffle prize donated by McQueens Hair Design also based on Park Street. Here's some of the people in attendance. Well worth checking out their websites if you are getting married in Bristol or the surrounding areas.

The Little Wedding Helper -Bespoke Event Stylist www.littleweddinghelper.co.uk
Goldbrick House - Licenced Wedding venue www.goldbrickhouse.co.uk
How 2 I Do -Wedding Planning Workshops www.how2ido.co.uk
The Wedding Reporter -Freelance Writer www.theweddingreporter.co.uk
Marry Me in Somerset -Wedding Directory www.marrymeinsomerset.co.uk
Cheltenham Wedding DJ -Wedding Specialist DJ www.cheltenhamweddingdj.co.uk
Marie Man - Documentary and Fashion Photography www.marieman.com
Taylor Barnes Photography -Wedding Photographer www.taylorbarnesphotography.co.uk
Jacqueline Helen - Wedding Photography www.hacquelinehelenphotography.co.uk
Proof Photography - Family and Wedding Portraiture www.proofphotography.co.uk
McQueens Hair Design and Colouring Specialists www.mcqueenshairbristol.co.uk
Nevil Lane Studio -Styling and Photography for Kids www.nevillanestudio.com
West Weddings - South West Wedding Magazine westweddings.blogspot.com
Perfect Wedding - National Wedding Magazine www.perfectweddingmag.com/
The Mews Clifton - Luxurious Bridal Boutique www.themewsclifton.co.uk/
Sam Gibson Wedding Photography www.samgibsonwedding.co.uk
Lizzy May Photography -Wedding Photographer http://lizzymayphoto.blogspot.com/
Bridezillas Ltd Bridal Accesories Boutique www.Bridezillas.biz
Rachel Goodchild -Wedding Blogs www.weddingblogdesigner.com/

Apologies to anyone I've missed out. I hope to meet you at the next event.