Its nearly here. I haven’t written anything about Xmas yet because it would mean its time to put your thermals on and go out shopping. If like me, you don’t really fancy freezing whilst scrambling around shops looking for something unbelievable for that someone special, and then queuing up for hours when you’ve found it – do as I do - put your feet up and go online!
The first place I would look is in the beauty stores and I’m going to make this really simple. I’m not going to bombard you with loads of ideas. Whilst true beauty might be within – your skin deserves to be looked after and you can’t go wrong with spa brand, Elemis. It might seem indulgent and expensive normally, but the Xmas collections offer good value for money and the receiver of this gift will love you for it.
My top three from Elemis this Xmas are:
Something for the girlies -which includes a complete detox treatment with your Skin Bliss capsules, and 30ml of Pro-collagen marine cream, and a personal favourite, a full size Papaya Enzyme Peel. For the body – there’s a gorgeous bath milk and frangipani duo. Its the Superstars collection and costs just £45. What more could a girl want?
For the boys there’s this top collection which includes everything a groom needs to scrub up and look the part. Its a divine collection which will take them right through winter. With a facial wash, scrub, shave gel your basics are covered, and with the added Time delay and Eye reviver – they’ll be looking good for their big day. The Essential Grooming collection is a steal at £35.
If you’d rather get the bride and groom something they can enjoy together a spa treatment or a spa day might be in order. There are lots to choose from but Wildmoor Spa in Stratford Upon Avon gets my vote. At under £100 (per person) A Spa Taster includes a £30 Complimentary gift set. Now that really is a bargain.
All of the above beauty goodies are available at timetospa. Now didn’t I tell you, you wouldn’t have to leave the house!
Planning
“It is the bride who can learn to let go, that will have the most successful and enjoyable day”.
Just imagine planning the most important day in someone else’s life – as a full time job! Not only do you have to deal with a bride and groom who want their wedding day to be perfect (of course!) but you have to juggle the constant ear bashing of their family members. We caught up with two industry professionals who’ve mastered the art of wedding planning. Whether you’re planning your own wedding, or hiring a professional this is a must read…
Could you please tell us how Amore came to be?
Hemali and I co-founded Amore just over three years ago. We met whilst working at another wedding planning company. Unfortunately the owner of that company closed down due to ill health. Despite leaving that company, we were still getting approached by past clients to help plan their family member or friend’s wedding. As we started to get back in touch with our suppliers, they all said that we were the face of the company and that we should set up our own. We had always had a fantastic relationship with our suppliers and worked well together, and so we did. The rest, as they say, is history…
So if I was a blushing bride, what services could your company offer?
As wedding planners, we have built up a huge database of suppliers covering all aspects of planning a wedding. However we have vetted a preferred few in each category that we recommend foremost to our clients as our ‘Approved list of suppliers’. These are companies, who we know from experiences, are professional, fair in their pricing, reputable and we know won’t let our clients down. (the market has become so saturated and competitive that it’s difficult to tell the difference between the good and the bad). And having built up a relationship with Amore, they are always willing to offer some form of discount to our clients or go that extra mile.
We offer a range of different services from a complete wedding planning and coordination package, to a more bespoke service where clients can opt to buy in services from our preferred suppliers. Whichever service our clients opt for, we offer advice on all elements of the wedding and tend to get phone calls filled with questions and advice from the parents, siblings, uncles, aunts etc. Since we are planning probably the most expensive and memorable day in not only the lives of our couple’s but their families also, it is important to us that we get to know the families on a personal level. We have to say, our favourite part of any wedding / wedding related event is on the day itself when the family members come up to us with smiles and hugs, looking relaxed, stress free and thank us for all our hard work. It’s great seeing months of hard work come together on the actual day and appreciation is like the icing on the cake.
Now I know that you Urvashi married recently, what was it like planning your own wedding and what were the major highs and lows?
My husband is also in the wedding industry; he runs a highly sought after videography company, Shaadi Videography. We therefore had a lot of pressure on us as expectations were extremely high of our big day. However we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of working with our trusted suppliers and friends within the industry to create three truly amazing wedding events; a civil wedding day, mehndi night and the big Indian wedding. Having both been involved in so many weddings, we know what works and what doesn’t. We therefore created a wedding day that was elegant yet informal, with great attention to detail. Stemming from our Indian Summer theme and colour scheme throughout our wedding stationery, mandap and flowers, to ensuring there was ample food served throughout the day with our favourite signature dishes created especially for us and selecting entertainment that was both interactive and unique. It was important to us that our wedding reflected our personalities and would stand out in our guests minds. I can’t say there were any major lows, as thanks to my wonderful Amore team, everything went to plan! However with so much else to do such as juggling full time work with countless shopping trips, arranging overseas guest accommodation, preparing for pre-wedding events etc there were times when I thought had I not been a wedding planner I would have definitely hired one!
What advice would you give to a bride and groom planning their wedding in less than six months?
You must be organised and set yourself weekly targets as well as a deadline to have everything done at least two weeks before the celebrations begin. It can be both emotionally and physically draining and the last thing you want is to not have been organised from the offset and find yourself running around frantically during your wedding week. Be realistic as to how far your budget will stretch and about the limitations to what will be on offer at short notice. Couples planning short lead weddings must be willing to be more flexible with their requirements. Also don’t try and do everything yourself; delegate but only to the people around you who you know are organised and responsible. Finally contact us at Amore! Remember we have all the reputable suppliers you will need and we know what is and isn’t possible in any particular timeframe. From having 18 months to 1 month to plan a wedding, we’ve done it all!
Finally what have you learnt most about brides after spending so much time with them?
There are two types of brides that we come across; the bride who worries and stresses about everything and the bride who knows what she wants and plans her wedding with confidence. From our experience, it is the bride who can learn to let go, that will have the most successful and enjoyable day, and it’s this latter category that most of our bride’s fall into. Our advice to any bride who isn’t looking to hire a wedding planner, is to plan your wedding with utmost precision and delegate so that you can confidently let go and enjoy yourself on the day. After months of planning, the day itself goes so quickly and it’s a shame to see a bride worrying about things going on around her rather than enjoying the moment.
When I first heard about this newly launched body oil I had visions of smelly grease. The words Black Chicken on the label didn’t help – but you’ll be pleased to know, as I was to find, that the oil is neither black or has anything to do with chicken.
Love your body oil has a warm sensuous smell, with tones of lavendar and patchouli, making it perfect to use as a pre wedding massage oil. However it really comes into its own when used as a quick application after a bath or shower.
If like me you suffer from dry skin and are looking for something that will relieve your skin from dryness whilst keeping it hydrated and moisturised you’ll be sure to find joy with this product. Whilst you soak up some sun on your honeymoon you no longer need to worry that your skin is going to flake/look dull/dry out. You’ll have that beach glow all day long thanks to a powerful combo of 12 remedial oils which provide deep long lasting moisture to nourish dehydrated skin.
Available to buy from Selfridges.com and at www.blackchickenremedies.co.uk retailing at £45.50.
Flowers & Plants Association flowers.org.uk
Flowers have been given new and alternative meanings to ensure their meanings still have relevance for today’s brides and grooms.
The Flowers & Plants Association felt it was time to give the language a bit of a makeover to bring a new, updated meaning to flowers, that suits both florists’ and customers’ needs better.
The tradition started in the time of Queen Victoria, as a way for her subjects to send secret messages through gifts of flowers when it was deemed unseemly to openly express emotions. The meanings were written down in special dictionaries, and the language of flowers was born. Beech was used to represent ancient knowledge, blossom to express good fortune, and lilac to symbolise first love.
The new and alternative meanings are based on the flower’s folklore, botanical or common name, visual appearance or the sound of the name, to create a language of flowers for the 21st century.
Here’s just a taster of the association’s new flowers and plants meanings and what they can say to today’s modern lovers and friends.
Floriography – 21st century style
Alstroemeria – You’re so pretty
Amaranthus – Thank you for mending my broken heart
Ammi – You’re my queen
Aster – You’re a star
Begonia (flowering) – I love your smile
Begonia Rex – Thanks for your patience
Capsicum – You’re hot
Carnation – Your beauty is timeless
Chrysanthemum – You bring me laughter and happiness
Cornflower – You’re so funny
Cosmos – I love you more than chocolate
Craspedia – You light up my world
Dahlia – You’re great
Echeveria – I’m sticking around
Eucharis – I’ll love you forever
Ficus – I want to grow old with you
Gerbera – Cheer up
Gladioli – You’re so glamorous
Gloriosa – You’re my hero
Heliconia – Hello, gorgeous!
Hyacinth – You’re a lady
Jasmine – Fancy a cuppa?
Kalanchoe – You’re the Queen bee
Lathyrus – Sweetie pie
Lily – You’re so sexy
Lisianthus – Thinking of you
Muscari – With love
Nigella – I love your curves
Passionflower – I want to seduce you
Peony – You’re girly and great
Poppy – I can’t get enough of you
Protea – I love your muscles
Ranunculus – I’ll run to you
Red rose – I love you
Solidago/Solidaster – I love your smile
Solomon’s Seal – Sealed with a kiss
Tulip – You’re priceless
Vanda – You’ve got va va voom!
White rose – You’re my soul mate
Zantedeschia – I’m impressed
Zinnia – You’re crazy but cute
Flowers & Plants Association flowers.org.uk
There are hundreds of flowers that hold special meanings … these are some of our favourites…
Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) – splendid beauty, pride
Arum lily, calla (Zantedeschia) – magnificent beauty
Bluebell (Scilla) – constancy, forgive and forget
Campanula – white, gratitude
Carnation – red – “alas for my poor heart”; striped – refusal; yellow – disdain; pink – woman’s love
Cockscomb celosia – affectation, individuality
Chrysanthemum – red – “I love you”; yellow – slighted love; white – truth
Daffodil – regard, chivalry
Dahlia – good taste
Forget-me-not (Myosotis) – true love, “the key to my heart”
Freesia – friendship
Garden Pink (Dianthus) – pure love
Gladiolus – strength of character
Hyacinth – blue – constancy; white – unobtrusive loveliness
Iris – yellow – flame of love
Lilac (Syringa) – purple – first emotions of love; white – youthful innocence
Longi Lily (Lilium longiflorum) – pure and modest
Lily of the valley (Convallaria) – return of happiness
Love lies bleeding (Amaranthus) – hopeless, not heartless
Mimosa (Acacia) – sensitivity, secret love
Narcissus – self esteem, female ambition
Orange blossom – bridal festivities, virginity,
Orchid – longevity, elegance
Peony – bashfulness
Rose – symbolises love & good fortune; white – truth; white with pink blush – “only for thee”; large bright pink – “meet me by moonlight”; single stem – simplicity; red & white together – unity; small yellow – “thou art all that is lovely”; rosebuds – pure and lovely; red – eternal love; crown of blooms – reward of virtue
Rudbeckia – justice
Snowdrop – hope
Solidago – encouragement
Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum) – purity
Stock (Matthiola) – lasting beauty
Sunflower dwarf – adulation
Sweet pea – departure, delicate pleasures
Tuberose – dangerous pleasure
Tulip – red – declaration of love; striped – beautiful eyes
Veronica – fidelity
Violet – faithfulness, modesty
For more ideas on how to use flowers on your big day do visit the Flowers and Plants Association
Cupcakes: so last season sweetie. The hot new trend from the States making its way to our shores is decorated cookies. With the launch of world renowned cake designer Lindy Smith’s latest book, Bake Me I’m yours…Cookie, a craze for decorated cookies is set to burst into our lives.
Fairy cakes and biscuits were taken by our American cousins, given a transatlantic twist, and are now being fed back to us as cupcakes and decorated cookies. Stateside, decorated cookies are used as gifts and treats where a longer lasting nibble is needed, or where different shapes, sizes and colours are called for.
Not to be beaten at our own game, Lindy has seized the opportunity with the launch of her new book to show how creative us Brits can be. Wannabe US Martha Stewarts stick to their tradition of using royal icing on cookies and are thus limited in the effects they can create. Lindy takes the blank canvas of a biscuit and turns it into a work of art through the use of sugarpaste: there is an entire chapter on wedding favours – perfect for the couple who wish to say ‘thank you’ to their guests in style!
She’s even created her own range of cookie cutters priced from £4.25 to £7.60 to help you create your very own masterpieces – on sale at http://www.lindyscakes.co.uk.
The winter season brings out the festive moods in everybody. With white snow as the background, any colour stands out and gives a gorgeous look.
Winter wedding stationery could involve everything to do with the ‘winter season’ including festive colours and ornaments, snow covered trees, poinsettias, mistletoe, holly and snow flaked designs.
If you are choosing wedding colours for winter weddings think of deep red, forest green and ice blue.
The traditional red and green is a natural choice for Christmas time wedding stationery but for a twist, deck up the invitations in elegant gold and silver or navy blue and light blue.
Swarovski crystals and diamante embellishments will add a welcome sparkly extra.
The snowflake theme will continue to be very popular for winter weddings. We suggest scattering snowflake confetti into the invitation envelope to carry on the theme and create some fun and excitement.
Clean and crisp as fresh snow in winter, a classic silver and white wedding theme is an automatically elegant winter wedding stationery colour theme.
Elegant and modern, purple is also a great choice for adding a modern splash of colour to the winter wedding. For a royal feel to your wedding day, rich purple and shimmering silver create a truly majestic and enchanting winter wedding colour scheme.
The fresh and contemporary lime green – a fanciful and luxurious twist to traditional green, coupled with gold and white add flair and fancy to the winter wedding theme.
Instead of combining the snowflake with typical seasonal motifs such as snow-capped trees, holly, bells, mistletoe etc, ananya (www.ananyacards.com) suggests brides use something different and distinctive for invitations for their special day. Using colours and motifs of winter combined with something unexpected gives an interesting twist to wedding invitations. We suggest combining contemporary Western motifs with more traditional ethnic, Eastern designs.
The intricate design of the paisley is combined with subtle snowflakes to merge ethnicity with seasonal charm. The modest colour of the snowflake is perfectly harmonised with the bright colour of the paisley.
Using the colours of the season, the Christmas tree green is combined with the festive red. For a more contemporary look, purple has been combined with silver to give a regal and enchanting look.
For further information about ananya and our wedding stationery, please visit our website www.ananyacards.com
Leading beauty brand SBC is delighted to announce the re-launch of their fantastically popular Student Make-Up Kit, now with a brand new, chic look and contemporary design. Featuring everything a student needs for professional make-up application, accentuation and finish, SBC’s Student Kit provides trainee beauty therapists and make-up artists with highly-respected cosmetics at uniquely competitive prices, maintaining an outstanding balance between exceptional quality and considered affordability.
SBC’s Student Kit contains an updated nine-piece professional brush set, three concealers, three foundations, translucent loose powder, eight eye shadows, four crème eye shadows, three eye emphasisers, two lash crèmes, four lipsticks, four lip emphasisers, lip gloss, liquid eyeliner, a brand new bronzer, plus a range of essential accessories, such as sponges and a pencil sharpener, for perfect application every time. With all of these incredible products contained in a sleek and stylish new kit bag, which includes a lower zip compartment for maximised storage potential, SBC’s Student Kit is everything the new and returning student needs to excel during their course.
Other latest additions include disposable sponge applicators and mascara brushes to help students maintain a hygienic, uncluttered and easily manageable make-up set.
This makes a great pressie for a bride, giving her an ‘everything a girl could dream for’ make up kit. It could also be purchased for a mehndi party, or for aspiring make up artists to dress the younger children on the wedding day.
SBC has a long-standing reputation as an acknowledged expert in the beauty industry. Over 25 years of professional experience have been combined to create an exceptional line of luxury products, precisely crafted to suit all skin types. A dedicated commitment to excellence has led to the SBC Student make-up kit becoming the kit of choice for trainee make-up artists and student beauty therapists.
RRP: £110.00 – worth an amazing £250.00 if you purchased the items individually, plus includes FREE P&P. To order, simply go online to www.sbcgels.co.uk
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