Off to Wed at the Folly Farm Centre

As we step into spring tomorrow, it may not be as warm or sunny as we’d like but the splendid Off to Wed wedding fair at the Folly Farm Centre will undoubtedly bring joy to our brides and grooms from the Bristol and Bath region.

 There’s still time to change your plans for Sunday 1^st March and head over to this romantic rural location with eco credentials between 11am and 4 pm – we can’t think of a better place to say ‘I do’. Whatever stage of the planning process you may be, Off to Wed is a great opportunity to meet wedding specialists and ask for advice.    

With a host of local wedding experts in bridal fashion, photography and all other aspects of wedding planning, you’ll be inspired by the live demonstrations and creative designs on offer. You can expect to meet talented vendors such as Angela Hyde Couture, Clifton Rocks, Green Wedding Boutique, Jax-Glam Beauty, to name a few.

One more thing: the first 50 people to pre-register will also receive a FREE glass of fizz! We’d love to hear from both couples visiting and vendors showcasing at the Off to Wed wedding fair via Twitter and  Facebook. 

A Weekend of Cakes and Cocktails

This post is dedicated to our brides-to-be as a sweet treat in the build up to the wedding. Why not get the girls together for a fun afternoon of cake baking and cocktail making? Nothing bonds a hen party like good food and drinks! Once you've shared a few treats, you'll  feel a lot more relaxed about all those pressing wedding details. 

With Tequila Rose - a pink strawberry flavoured cream liqueur, blended with a splash of premium Mexican tequila - you can kickstart the hen do weekend in high spirits. We've chosen this easy to make cocktail recipe created by Jacob Hewlett-Case, a top mixologist from Walrus Bar in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, for you to impress your hens. With a name evoking 16th century upper class Venetian balls, where participants used to wear intriguing masks, Masquerade is a real treat for your taste buds - whether you enjoy it  with a medieval banquet or a tapas tour. 

The Masquerade cocktail recipe

Ingredients

• 25ml Tequila Rose
• 25ml Creme de Mures
• 20ml cranberry juice
• 5ml tequila
• muddled berries
• 50ml cream
• edible glitter (optional)

Method

Shake all the ingredients together, apart from the cream and double strain into a chilled glass. Layer the cream on top and garnish with the edible glitter. 

For more Tequila Rose recipes, just head over to their Facebook page. And don't forget to let us know which one you enjoyed the most via Twitter and Facebook! 

Miscellaneous Monday: wedding fair hacks, buyer beware, and mini keepsakes!

Favourite wedding fair hack: West Weddings 2014 wedding calendar!

Here at West Weddings one of the things we talk about the most is wedding fairs! Who's hosting them, where they are, what's special about each one, etc. We realise that with all the fairs popping up throughout the year, it's easy to get lost amid the confusion! So, to make your planning easier, we've compiled a list of all the wedding fairs we're promoting here on the blog, organised by date. Get to it by clicking the tab on the top of this page (or using this link: Wedding Fair Calendar: 2014).

If you click the link for each event, it'll take you to more information about the fair (venue, entry fee, etc.). Stay tuned, as we'll be updating this page regularly!

Favourite keepsake: Miniature wedding cake ornament

It wouldn’t be Miscellaneous Monday if we didn’t have something to feature from the world of Pinterest! So without further ado, two words: cake. ornament.

This business will create a miniature replica of your wedding cake for you to keep as an ornament. What a fabulous way to remember part of your special day! Aside from the piece of cake you may save in the freezer for a few years, normally our wedding cakes are gone in the blink of an eye. Here’s a way to remember all the thought and hard work you put into it (though sadly there may not be an easy way to commemorate the flavour!).

Favourite ‘buyer beware’: Stop Stealing Photos

OK, maybe it’s a stretch to call this a ‘favourite’ but we did want to share! Sadly, there is no shortage of photographers marketing themselves online using photos they took from other photographers. The website linked above is dedicated to letting people know about these photographers so that they can be avoided. Seeing isn’t always believing, so be on your guard while shopping around for your wedding photographer!

Thankfully, we here at West Weddings are proud to say we’ve worked with some top-quality photographers throughout the years who we can completely endorse (like Interlace Photography, David J Brewin, and Photodabek, just to name a few!). So if you’re on the hunt for a great photographer, consider these folks highly recommended!

Spotlight on: Pretty Amazing Cakes

Anne Gliddon takes pride in her romantic, vintage-styled cakes and cupcakes, which she provides to brides around the west country through her small (but in her words, ‘perfectly formed’) Bristol business: Pretty Amazing Cakes.

She crafts each cake from scratch, and tailors it to every bride and groom’s specifications, putting to use her attention to detail and eye for elegance.

One of the cakes that Anne made for our Winter 2012 ‘Anna Karenina’ bridal shoot, garnered so much interest from our readership that it’s become a much-requested classic!

Anne also produced another beauty for our shoot in the Spring 2013 edition of West Weddings. This gorgeous, pastel-coloured, romantic-to-the-hilt cake, styled by The Little Wedding Helper, became another instant favourite (at least among the entire West Weddings crew, who couldn't stop ‘ooh’ing and ‘ahh’ing over it when they saw the photos!).

Pretty Amazing Cakes is not only limited to cakes of the 3-tiered variety, however. She has a range of wedding cupcakes that particularly suit the ‘vintage afternoon tea’ reception.

If all of these offerings aren't enough, Pretty Amazing Cakes is inspiring a new trend in beautifully decorated cookie wedding favours. These delicious treats are sure to be much appreciated by guests, and have the unique trait of being able to be matched perfectly to your wedding colours and theme.

All of Anne’s cakes and cupcakes, as well as her booking information, can be found on her website at: www.anniescakes4u.co.uk

Let them eat cake

Pretty Amazing Cakes is one of those fabulous companies that do what they say on the tin – delicious and fantastic-looking cakes for weddings and other special occasions. 

You may have seen one of their creations in our last issue – for our Imperial Russia shoot, we had a beautiful four-tier cake with deep red sugar roses balanced on top. 

The opulent cake was a real hit, so we thought we’d spread the word about how good these cakes are.

Based in Bristol, Anne Gliddon designs and bakes bespoke wedding cakes, cupcakes and cookies to make any day that little bit more special. Whether you’re looking for a vintage style, or something original and funky, Anne can take a design idea and turn it into a reality. Even better, consultations are free and you get to partake in some cake tasting while you discuss your ideas!

As well as wedding cakes for the grown-ups, Anne has also been known to make something fun for the kids to enjoy as well. Most recently she’s created a Dolly Mixture Delight – a specially made sponge cake with dolly mix lining the tiers and jumping out of the top with wiring. The multi-coloured icing stars made it look even more fantastic.

But the fun doesn’t stop there. Anne’s cookie favours are a delicious way to delight your wedding guests. With a personalised name tag, they can also double up as place settings. Like her wedding cakes, Anne’s cookie favours can be personalised to tie in with any part of your wedding theme, from the colour of your bridesmaids’ dresses to the bouquet. Available in a variety of flavours, including classic vanilla, ginger spice, and lemon lush, previous shapes have included glam shoes, birdcages, and matching brides and grooms. 

Designs can be adapted or originals drawn up. Alternatively, wedding cupcakes are a popular choice, and can come with a matching top tier for the traditional cutting of the cake. 

Like the celebrations they’re served at, Anne’s Pretty Amazing Cakes are unique and memorable – and tasty too! For more photos of her fantastic creations, check out Anne's Facebook page.