Archive for the ‘Suppliers’ Category

Wedding Day Makeup Tips

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Today is the last in our series of makeup treats and great makeup recommendations.  They say the eyes are a mirror to your soul, they certainly need to look good on your wedding day. I am afraid that Mascara and lipstick are a permanent fixture for me. I wanted them perfect for my wedding day.  Check out Claire’s top tips below.

Eyeshadow

For long lasting eye colour start by applying a colour-free lid foundation or oil free concealer, being careful not to apply too much, or else it will crease. Dab loose powder around your lashes and on the cheekbones so you can brush away any eye shadow that falls from your lids as you apply it, if the colours you are using are of neutral tones. (If you are applying stronger shades with a deeper pigment, try applying the eye shadow first, then clean up any specks that have fallen under the eyes and then apply your base etc). Apply a little light reflecting powder to the eye sockets near the nose to open up your eyes.

Now you can apply your colour starting with a natural shade on the lid. Build up and out using slightly deeper shades finishing with the darkest shade at the outer edge of the eye socket, or in the socket and blended to create the illusion of larger eyes. The secret is to build up the colour gradually and blend as you go, for long lasting makeup.

MAC – Pearlematte Eye Shadow, Mineralize Eye Shadow

All shades and deep pigment.

Chanel Les 4 Ombres

Mystic Eyes, Smokey Eyes more shades available. Wonderful quad of colours in Chanel’s signature packaging, perfection!

Aveda Petal Essence

Single eye shadow in a pretty delicate shade, suits all skin tones, nice as highlighters too.

Bourjois Little Round Pot

Amazing quality, and excellent range of colours.

E.L.F Duo Eyeshadow

Two complimentary shades, a great choice of colours, excellent durability.

Mascara

For a fuller lash take the brush to the base of the roots and wiggle from side to side as you slowly run the mascara wand through the lashes to the ends. For a more natural look, take the mascara wand and remove excess with a tissue and pply to lashes but not from the base but just from half way.

Aveda Mosscara

Thickening mascara, doesn’t clump, great brush, doesn’t dry out easily.

YSL Faux Cils

For the false eyelash look, if you want to build up a set of lashes to flutter this is the mascara for you. Apply a waterproof top coat though for your wedding day.

E.L.F Earth and Water Mascara Duo

Excellent value, this regular or waterproof mascara is long lasting and smudge proof, ideal factors for your wedding day makeup bag!

Well how do you all look, I hope your weekend has been fabulous. If you are planning on doing your own makeup then I hope this has helped. If you want more advice then why not check out Claire’s blog site. or email to ask her a question.

Until next time, happy planning.


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Wedding Day Makeup Tips

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Today our makeup tips from Claire are all about having a fabulously healthy glow and luscious lips.

Bronzer

For a healthy glow apply a little bronzer on the forehead, nose and chin. Use sparingly to avoid a shine. A cream bronzer can work really well on dry skin, blended again with a brush, adding a little at a time.

Claire’s Top Recommendations

Bobbie Brown Bronzing Powder

Various shades, in a great silky smooth compact powder in lots of shades, also great used on the eyes for an overall sun kissed look.

Lilly Lolo Bronzers Loose Powder

Fabulous mineral makeup range in four wearable and versatile shades, great on eyes also!

E.L.F Healthy Glow Bronzing Powder

A touch of sunshine, this lovely soft and easy to blend bronzer is value for money and easy to pop into your bag.

Cheeks

Use a large brush to apply to your cheeks, temples and forehead. To create contours apply a little lighter shade to the top of the cheek bones, blending out. On the apple of the cheeks, using a smaller softer rounded brush, apply either a sheer colour to give a feeling of light reflecting properties, or a soft pink to give a healthy pinched cheek look, very pretty for your wedding day.

Nars – Orgasm

Made wih transparent pigmens that never look heavy for a soft and sheer look, a faourite wih all my clients. It look stunning on my brides just on the apple of the cheek.

Nars Highlighting Blush Powder

Had to add another of my favourites from Nars, its essential for adding sheen to any part of your face,makes a great highlighter above cheek bones and over the eyes.

MAC Powder Blush

Amazing pigment, and an array of shades and tones to suit everyone. A favourite of mine. Great as eye shadow too.

Now ladies they see how we get those fabulous eyes to mesmerise our gorgeous husbands to be.

Lips

Line your lips with a dab of foundation to help fix your lip colour or apply a lip plump. Then apply a lip liner in a shade that’s similar to your natural lip colour. Don’t use a lip liner if you’re wearing a nude gloss or sheen. finally apply your lipstick using a lip brush.

Benefit Lip Plump

Great for a base for lipsticks, also gives them a little plumpness.

Avon Glazewear Intense Lipgloss

Medium full coverage that doesn’t bleed or feather and there is a great range of colours.

MAC Lipstick

My favouries are: Hug Me, On Hold and Sweetie. Great with MAC Lipgloss over the top for the ultra sexy lips, apply the gloss after the ceremony for your pictures.

Two complimentary shades, a great choice of colours, excellent durability.

Well another fantastic lesson, I am so glad I am having my husband to myself all weekend. He is going to be blown away with my transformation.

Until Tomorrow, happy planning.


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Wedding Day MakeUp Tips

Friday, February 26th, 2010

I love makeup and this week we have got a really excellent guest featuring on our blog. Claire Hanson is a leading Makeup & Hair artist with over 15 years experience, she has worked with people such as Lionel Richie and Jon Bon Jovi and featured in leading magazines such as Marie Claire and Elle.

If you have a copy of The Wedding Bible you will have seen her work in there too. She has now bought this passion and knowledge to my pages here…..  Over the next three days we will be offering the very best advice on all things makeup.  Today its all about Foundation and those dark circles we sometimes get, especially when wedding planning attacks in the middle of the night! So if you are thinking about doing your own wedding makeup read on.

Foundation

Foundation can be a mine field…. The right colour of foundation will blend well and you won’t notice at the jaw line. Remember, foundation shades often changes once on the face so always ask for a trial at the sales counter, and ask if you can, to apply it yourself. This way you’ll know how it feels to apply and to blend. Then leave it for a while before buying to see how it wears. Some makeup houses will give you a small sample to try at home. Always look at yourself in natural daylight too – the department store lights aren’t the most flattering. Ideally try and leave the jaw line area clear if your skin is OK, including the cheek area. This is the area of the face that you notice first and if the cheeks have too much base, it will show the added makeup such as blusher or bronzer much more. The aim is to create a flawless base in which to highlight and add contours so keep your skin as fresh as you can. Add a liquid sheen to the foundation if you want the dewy look, or if you are prone to dry skin. Buff the base after with a Kabuki brush in circular motions to blend and remove excess foundation. If you don’t like wearing foundation mix a little with your moisturiser to create a slightly heavier more durable tint. Warm it on the back of your hand before applying it and don’t apply it to thick or all at once or it can look streaky.

Claire’s recommended Products

Mac Strobe Cream –

Great product for a dewy base is mix with base, or apply alone to freshly cleansed skin.

Narrs – Sheer Glow Foundation

Used on many of my clients for an exquisite coverage, not too heavy, and giving a healthy appearance, the skin looks alive.

Avon Ideal Shade Fresh and Light Foundation

Brush on liquid foundation with light adjusting pigments.

Circles

It can actually be the vein in the inner corner of the eye that gives the impression of darkness. This applies also to the outer corners, where once a small dab of concealer is applied can take years off your eyes. Try this first before applying it under the eye area. Light reflecting powder is also excellent for reducing darkness. Apply with a brush sweeping it just beneath the eye.

Sante Natural Concealer Pencils

Are amazing, natural and totally free of parabens and synthetics.

Disappear Smoothing cream concealer

By Estee Lauder is an all time favourite of mine.

Secret Camouflage by Laura Mercier

Another all time essential in my kit – covers everything!

D’un Coup De Pinceau by Borjois

Excellent at covering blemishes and has a handy brush applicator.

Well ladies I am off to practice. Tomorrow its all about getting that lovely glow and those fabulous lips! Don’t miss it.

Until tomorrow, happy planning.

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Creative Wedding Photographer – Featured Supplier

Friday, February 19th, 2010

I was so excited to meet Steve Gerrard last week at his studio in The Custard Factory, Birmingham. His style of photography is really refreshing and edgy. You can see from this picture straight away what I mean. Steve is also a thoroughly nice man and very easy to be with, I can’t wait to work with him.

We chatted about how he became a photographer and I asked him how his style and technique is different from that of many of his contemporaries, and what advice he could give newly engaged couples looking for a photographer. I think its much better if you read what he has to say for himself in his own words.

Hi Folks, this is Steve Gerrard. I’m a wedding photographer based in the Midands but I travel all over the UK and beyond to shoot weddings and I love my job. We’re not your typical wedding photographers. We hate cheesy, forced pictures. We love couples who want to have fun and are after something different with their wedding photography. We’re on a mission to make wedding photography cool again!

Our style is a mixture of styles. We’ll capture those candid shots of your mates laughing, your parents getting emotional and, of course, the first kiss. We also want to show off that dress and the cool suit and create the best pictures of yourselves you’ve ever seen!

Everyone has different tastes and wedding photographers vary massively in stye and approach and also what you get for your money, so we recommend taking time to browse lot of sites until you find something that excites you and suits your own style. Meeting the photographer is a huge benefit too. After all, this person will be with you on your wedding day. You want to get on with them and enjoy having them around.

You should also check how long your photographer will be there on the day. We think its important to cover the day in full so don’t limit our time at all. We’re often still there at midnight!

You may even find your venue won’t allow any photography during the service. This happens all too often and is a real shame in our opinion. Don’t find this out on the day. Check beforehand.

We want our couples to have the best of everything which is why we only use Queensberry wedding albums as well as using the finest printers and craftsmen for all our products. It means we’re not the cheapest photographers in town but our clients tend to see their photography as something extremely important and appreciate our attention to detail and quality. After all, once the main event is over, the flowers are dead and the cake is eaten, your photographs are all that remains. Imagine showing your album to your children in ten years time….

There are plenty of great photographers out there. There are also some terrible ones! Find the photographer which suits you best.

As a Wedding Planner I have to say that photographs are one of the most important things for me when brides ask for advice on what to spend their budget on. Once the day is over your photographs last a life time and you can relive your memories over and over again as you turn each wonderful page of your album. I would really recommend the best photographer that you can afford to capture your day. I hope you love these pictures as much as me. It makes me want to go and get married all over again.

Until next time, happy planning.

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Wedding Cake Heaven – Featured Suppliers

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

Even in today’s modern weddings where traditions are sometimes thrown to the wind, the Wedding Cake is still one of the most important symbols in a couples special day. A few weeks ago I met the lovely Pauline and Julie, mother and daughter team, from Cakeydora. Their cakes are to die for and so beautiful! We love it when we find local suppliers who we can really recommend and these ladies certainly fit the bill. I asked Julie how they started their business and if she could give us her pearls of wisdom on how to choose and budget for your wedding cake.

Cakeydora How it all began!

After years of making cakes for her own children Pauline gained cake orders through word of mouth. As the orders came flooding in Julie helped out and gained knowledge passed on from her Mum. This in turn led to Cakeydora being born.  The name Cakeydora is the name my Mum was christened by my Dad due to her always being in the kitchen beavering away on cakes, so it seemed like the natural choice when choosing the name of our Business!

At Cakeydora we are passionate about baking and design. We are always developing new designs and recipe ideas to make our cakes stand out and taste fantastic. Along with your cakes we also provide Wedding favours in the form of cookies and cupcakes. These can be personalised with an edible message or photograph, our gingerbread men and ladies are a firm favourite as well as our more recent “Hollywood icons” cookies! Cakeydora has featured within several publications including “Your West Midlands Wedding” magazine and counts one of the leading High Street names within the UK as their clients.

 

Cakeydora’s Top Tips for Choosing your Wedding Cake

How many guests have you got attending?

This will determine the size of the cake you will need. Make sure this is enough for all your guests. If you decided to cut the cake at the reception so that your evening guests can see your cake prior to it being cut, then you will to take into account the extra guests. Equally, you don’t want too much left over that may go to waste.

Set A Budget

The price of your cake will naturally depend on the size, type (flavour) and number of tiers and the complexity of the design and decoration. If you opt for a large cake with a lot of detail, you will be pay considerably more than a less extravagent design.

Consultation Service

Find out if your chosen baker is willing to arrange a consultation meeting with you. This will enable you to run through your ideas and also taste samples of possible cake flavours, yum!

Cake Type

You want your cake to look amazing but you also want it to taste amazing! It’s worth considering the following when choosing the cake flavour(s)

Decoration and Design

Your baker should be able to guide you through the design process and give advice on choosing decorations and colours that work with your theme. Your cake should reflect the overall feel of the day: pick and choose elements that will compliment each other.

Be Prepared

When visiting the baker it’s a good idea to take along photographs and designs of the the type of cake you would like. i.e. shape, colour, display options. This will be a great starting point for your baker and will also save time.

Colour Swatches

Providing your baker with colour swatches is a great way for your baker to make sure you cake will match up with your theme, where colours can not always be matched 100% it will be possible for them to blend and compliment each other.

Display

Decide how you wish your cake to be displayed i.e stacked, on pillars or on a stand? If your cake will require a stand ask the baker if they can provide one for you to hire for the day.

Delivery/Setup

Does your baker provide a delivery service/set up service? If so is there a charge?

Time

Don’t leave ordering your cake at the bottom of your “to do list”. Good bakers are often booked well in advance so to avoid disappointment book early!

Well thanks Julie for great advice. If you are on a strict budget consider serving your cake as a dessert, or let your guests take a piece home as a favour. Your venue or wedding planner will be able to sort that out for you. I hope you liked today’s blog it has certainly made my mouth water. Julie and Pauline will be showing their cakes in Birmingham at Debenhams wedding fair this weekend. Go along for a taste and chat.

Until next time, happy planning.

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Cupcakes for your Wedding!

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Cupcakes are great for weddings I really love them. If you read our blog regularly you’ll know that The Wedding Genie are always looking for beautiful practical ways of saving money, as well as ideas to reflect your style and personality. What better way to do this than using these darling cupcakes. At the end of your wedding day they can be packed up into clear plastic boxes to give out to your guests as favours. Another practical way of saving money is using them as dessert.

It does beg the question of how you keep to the wedding tradition of cutting the cake. You can always ask your supplier to bake a small round cake to adorn the top of your cup cake tower. I have to say thats exactly what we did at our wedding. For the non traditionalists amongst you why not get photographed feeding each other a little piece of cup cake!! Our brides at The Wedding Genie are individual, stylish and fun so this idea may really appeal.

I happen to have met a most fabulous cup cake designer called Sarah Barnes, who runs Blue Door Bakery. You may have seen her mentioned on our blog in the past. Today we asked her how she started her business and to give her tips and advice when choosing cup cakes. To make your mouth water even more we feature some of her cakes for inspiration.

Sarah, how did you start your business and why Cup Cakes?

I’ve always baked wedding cakes and special occasion cakes for friends, I was being asked to make more and more and decided to take the leap into professional baking about a year ago. Blue Door Bakery was formed and the rest, as they say, is history.

Delicious love heart design

If you are Choosing Cup Cakes what should you ask your supplier?

Cupcakes need to be fresh to enjoy them so we make them no more than 36 hours before delivery. They are hand made in small batches, because you can really taste the difference! Check the ingredients used, for instance we use local Shipton Mill organic flour, free range eggs, real butter and the best vanilla and chocolate.

Fabulous for a tea party or summer marquee wedding

What flavours do you make and what is your personal favourite?

I make many flavours and always try to cater for any special requests! Some of my favourite include Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Mint Choc Chip Cupcakes, Red Velvet Cupcakes and Rocky Road Cupcakes, yum!

Rocky road!

How do you decide on your designs?

All of our cupcakes are designed in consultation with the bride and groom, to tie them into their tastes, colours and themes. We aim to make cupcakes as individual as your wedding.

Butterfly Heaven

What should a Bride and Groom do if they want you to bake their cupcakes?

We have a minimum order of 24 cupcakes so we can concentrate on wedding orders. Sometimes couples have seen exactly what they want and they get in touch, tell us what they want and book in. Other couples visit for a consultation, tasting and general chat to help get some ideas and discuss cake options, either before or after booking to secure a date with us. We are happy with whichever they prefer, we do love to talk about cake! Our prices start at £1.90 per cupcake.

What if Brides want to make their own Cupcakes?

We have recently started running two cupcake decorating classes. This first is a 1.5 hour session, Cupcake Decorating Workshop, it covers making and using various icing types, piping buttercream icing, making decorations and you leave with your own box of 12 cupcakes. The classes are perfect for hen parties and cost £25.00 per person. The other class is Creating Your Own Wedding Cupcakes, this workshop is 2.5 hours long and is £35.00 per person.

Well I for one may take one of those classes, if you want any more information email sara@bluedoorbakery.co.uk.

Well I hope we have given you a taste!! excuse the pun, for cupcakes. I for one may take one of those classes., if you want more information email sara@bluedoorbakery.co.uk

Watch out for more supplier blogs over the next few weeks.

Until next time, happy planning.


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Choosing Wedding Suppliers – Tips & Advice Part 2

Friday, January 29th, 2010

The second part of our Supplier advice focus’s on how to find good suppliers and how to manage them. Its important to strike up a good relationship with these people, they will be responsible for delivering your wedding day vision, be careful who you choose and make sure you fully understand what they are offering you.

Here are our top tips for:

How to Find Suppliers

As a rule word of mouth recommendations are the best. You may know friends who have recently married, I know myself a wedding I went to had an entertainer who I just loved and so I booked him for our wedding. Check out local wedding fairs, they are a good source of suppliers in your area. You get chance to meet the suppliers and chat to them to get an idea of their services. Its also good as many of the suppliers are then in one place and it cuts down the amount of times you have to set up appointments and travel to them. Of course, wedding fairs are often held on Sundays too so its easy to get time to visit. Social networks such as Twitter and Facebook are another source to find suppliers. The venue you have booked probably has a trusted supplier list you can use. On line wedding directories are another good source and of course you can search by area. If you book a photographer you like they can often recommend good hair and makeup artists that they are used to working with.

Once you have found a list of suppliers you want to pursue, call them and discuss their services and ask them to send out literature for your perusal. The websites of the suppliers should be informative and give a good idea of their services and style, but beware do not take their website as the only indicator of service and quality. Its much more efficient to do as much research as possible to avoid wasting time with face to face meetings with suppliers that are not suitable for you. Make a shortlist of two or three to visit, seeing too many is overwhelming and confusing. When you meet them find out about their experience and what type of service they are offering you. They should also have the relevant insurance such as public liability. Do not sign any contracts unless you fully understand what you are getting and how much you are going to pay.

Managing Your Suppliers

Set up a spreadsheet which lists your suppliers. If you don’t use a computer then make sure you list them in a note book. Ask them when, and how much, deposits and balances must be paid. Record that on your spreadsheet or notes and don’t forget to add each supplier as you book them. That way you are sure to pay when necessary and you can see outstanding balances. This will help you stay organised and stop you missing important payments. Also list their details such as phone numbers, web sites, and their contact names. If you decide to change your guest numbers or alter times in the day let the relevant supplier know so they are prepared. For example, you don’t want your evening guests turning up before your DJ. Information on your wedding can really mount up so stay organised and keep it all in one place.

We hope this gives you a good idea of how to find and choose suppliers. Its a hard task sometimes so if you need help just give us a call and we will  be happy to source you the best supplier to meet your needs.


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Choosing Wedding Suppliers – Tips & Advice

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

Well you have set the date and budget, chosen the venue, thought about the guest list and agreed your priorities! You are now in a position to think about your main wedding suppliers. This is a very important part of the wedding planning process. You need to be sure you choose the right suppliers to provide you with exactly what you want to make your wedding day vision become a reality. Split this up into bite sized chunks and keep it simple. Our blogs this week look at what you need to think about. So lets dive straight in!

Lets Start with a List of the Main Suppliers you may need

Who Should I book first?

We recommend that you set your priorities and decide on what you and your finance really want on your wedding day. For instance, this may include great photographs, brilliant flowers, food to die for and the Dress! Looking for these suppliers first will mean that you have fulfilled your priorities. It will also stop you from being overwhelmed with a huge list and not knowing where to start. We recommend that you book a photographer early; they tend to get booked sometimes a year in advance. Florists also get very busy as well as popular entertainers. Choosing your dress should be done as early as possible, if you have time, at least six months prior to the wedding day. This will allow for delivery and fittings. The style will also determine your flower choices, decor and possibly the wedding theme.

What to Think about before you start to look for your suppliers

Before you spend hours looking for suppliers think about what type of wedding you are having, this will determine the type of suppliers you pursue. If its a vintage style then you can look for suppliers that specialise in that area. It may be important for your photographer to have a certain style, reportage for instance and definitely not traditional. Be sure to decide on your budget for each supplier. Spending many hours researching is quite miserable if you are checking out vendors you can’t afford. Thinking about these types of questions will reduce the search time and help you focus on suppliers that meet your needs.

In our next blog we cover where to look for suppliers and how to manage them. The Wedding Genie knows only too well how hard it can be to find the right supplier. If you want help just give us a call. We only work with trusted and recommended vendors so you can be sure of great service and quality.

Until next time, happy planning.


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