Charity Prize Draw for the Wedding Wishing Well Foundation

The Guild of Professional Wedding Services will be supporting The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation at its next wedding fayre in January. 

From Guild members' personal experiences, they felt the foundation was a very important organisation to support because of their important work: organising and funding weddings for terminally ill people.   

The Guild members, who provide some of the very best wedding related services in our region, discussed ways in which to raise both awareness and funds for The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation and  decided to organise a ‘Charity Prize Draw’ with all funds being donated in its entirety to the foundation.   

With 25 prize draw winners, couples will be receiving discounts from Guild wedding service providers and in addition, the 'same value' will be donated to the foundation by the Guild members to boost funds for terminally ill people wishing to get married.    

The Charity Prize Draw will be held at The Guild of Professional Wedding Services Annual Wedding Fayre on Sunday, 5 January 2014 at Old Down Manor in Tockington, Bristol.

Come along to the wedding fayre and meet all the Guild members and also hear Naomi's story, the founder of The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation.  

For more information go to www.theuniqueweddingguild.co.uk and www.weddingwishingwell.org.uk.

Absolutely Professional

News from the Guild of Professional Wedding Services is all good, good good… four new members joined the current 30+ Guild wedding specialists during their bi-annual recruitment date in June, meaning this group can offer West Country couples even more wonderful wedding services.

The Guild of Professional Wedding Services provides a ‘one stop shop’ for all wedding requirements with businesses offering wedding services in  Bristol, Bath, Somerset and Wiltshire, all of whom have been vetted and approved to provide the very highest of standards.

The Guild's next wedding fayre is being held on Sunday 11th November at Farrington Golf & Country Club from 11am until 3pm.  This is a chance to meet the team at Farrington Golf, see the refurbishment of the restaurant and perhaps have a spot of lunch at this beautiful venue, and also to discuss all wedding requirements in general with over fifteen of the Guild members present.

The Guild's annual wedding fayre on 20th January 2013 will showcase the prestigious Old Down Manor in all its glory, with a flavour being provided at West Weddings' recent photo shoot. The Guild will be holding a ‘mock’ ceremony, plus there will be makeup and hair demonstrations and bridal houses and menswear on display throughout the day. All Guild members will be in attendance from 11am until 3pm, with free admission as always and a glass of bubbly or soft drink available together with a goody bag for some bedtime reading!

The Guild then continues a busy year with a further wedding fayre on Sunday 24th February at The Bristol Golf Club in Almondsbury from 11am until 3pm, and later during the summer there will be an open evening at The Orangery within the Compass Inn at Tormarton, meaning there's lots to see and do over the coming months - perfect for those who've just got engaged and are looking to hold their wedding next year.

Old Down Manor Open Evening

Old Down Manor is pleased to announce its first ever Wedding Open Evening on Wednesday 5^th September following two very successful wedding fairs. The open evening is from 5.00pm till 9.00pm with a fantastic range of wedding suppliers and the opportunity to have a personal show round with a wedding co-ordinator to start planning your special day.

 

As well as the beautiful Manor there is going to be a fantastic marquee provided by County Marquees. This will enable brides and grooms to see for themselves all of the available options that Old Down Manor can provide.

 

There is going to be a vast range of wedding suppliers from photographers to magicians and make-up to stationary. For a full list of the attendees please call 01454 414081.

What better way to sample the delights of Old Down by dining at the Bistro after viewing the Manor? On the evening there will be a 20% discount on food to all attendees. 

 

For further details and directions to Old Down Manor please visit www.olddownmanor.co.uk or call 01454 414081.

West Weddings autumn 2012 is nearly here!

The autumn issue of West Weddings is being sent to press as I type. And what a treat we have in store for you.

In our gowns section, we look at local shops A Class and Allison Jayne as well as previewing the latest dresses from Pronovias' White One diffusion line and Madeline Isaac-James. We're inspired by on-the-move honeymoons, birthstone engagement rings and the latest beauty products.

The grooms aren't forgotten with a feature in suit fitting plus tips on how to have a memorable - but not messy - stag night.

There is also our beautiful Great Gatsby-inspired photoshoot at Old Down Manor - 8 pages of gorgeous photography by David Brewin that is sure to whet your wedding appetite.

West Weddings autumn 2012 will be available from Friday 17th August at our usual stockists and is completely free. Happy reading!

 - Helen

Sneak peek: behind the scenes of the latest West Weddings photoshoot

One of my favourite things about being the editor of West Weddings is doing the photoshoots. It's always a really fun day when we get a great team of people together to create some beautiful photographs, and our photoshoot for the upcoming autumn edition was no exception.

 

Held at Old Down Manor in South Gloucestershire, and with David J Brewin at the photographic helm, we all had a brilliant time creating a 1920s inspired wedding. The photos from the day will be in the autumn edition of West Weddings, out on 17th August, and we'll also share some other shots on the blog. In the meantime, to whet your appetite, here are a few behind the scenes photos...

Hannah and I check out the grand staircase at Old Down

One of our beautiful dresses from Truly You

Ria from HUSH puts the finishing touches to model Jessica



David Hill-Souch from Shoot DHS, who art directed the shoot, with groom Tian

Hannah and I are pretty pleased with how it's going so far!

Verena from Truly You and Amanda from Bridezillas keep a close eye on proceedings - and you can just see Kate in the mirror!

Hannah, Jacqui and I check out David's latest shot

The West Weddings shoe collection, which usually lives under my desk!

Jessica strikes a pose in the bridal suite

Everyone was taking photos by the end!

We tried to get this peacock to be in a photo, but he wasn't having any of it

How to photobomb a professional shoot!

The West Weddings autumn photoshoot team were:

David J Brewin
Shoot DHS
Hannah Chapman
Kate Hacker (who took all the photos in this post except the final two)
Jacqui Lewis
Truly You
Bridezillas
HUSH
RSR Men's Hair
England's Finest Cars
Tigerlily Flowers
Hope Designs
Clifton Bunting
Poppy in Pearls

You are cordially invited...

... to attend the Old Down Manor wedding fayre!

Following on from the success of last year's event, 2012's fayre will be held on Sunday 22nd April from 11am to 4pm.

Old Down Manor is s stunning venue just outside Bristol, which has just opened its doors to the public. The former home of Tubular Bells musician Mike Oldfield, the manor is now owned by Arron and Katya Banks, who have given it an extensive makeover to become the luxury venue it is today. Today the manor is fully licensed for wedding and civil partnership ceremonies, with rooms available including the Orangery and the piano room.

The wedding fayre is the perfect opportunity to come and see this beautiful building for yourself and to chat with the wedding co-ordinator about your day. It's also a chance to meet a range of wedding suppliers from the local area and to be inspired with ways to make your day even more special.

Entry is free but donations to the RSPCA will be welcomed. There will also be a raffle on the day in aid of the charity. To RSVP, please email Lucy on lucy@olddownpark.co.uk. Anyone who registers to attend the fayre is also automatically entered into a draw to win free canapes at your wedding.