“Don’t Really Need…” by A is for Alphabet

“Letterpress Valentine Heart” by Lovat Press

“Love to Love” by Yield Ink

“Fly Away With Me…” by Cowboys & Custard

]]> http://alwaysandri.co.uk/adorable-finds-valentines-day-cards/feed/ 1 http://alwaysandri.co.uk/a-beautiful-bouquet/ http://alwaysandri.co.uk/a-beautiful-bouquet/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:00:20 +0000 andri http://alwaysandri.co.uk/?p=1043 Cream roses, delicate lisianthus, fragrant stocks with pops of blue grape hyacinths…a beautiful bouquet by Steph from fairynuff flowers as seen in the Secret Garden Shoot

What kind of wedding do you want?

To begin with what kind wedding do you want? Have you always imagined having a big white wedding with all the traditional trimmings, a weekend packed full of celebrations  or do you see yourselves just wanting a good party where you can let your hair down with your friends and family? It’s your wedding, don’t be swayed by what you think is the right thing to do; you want it to be a personal reflection of you as a couple so decide what stlye of wedding will work for you both.

What’s your budget?

Next to consider is the big money question, how much do you want to spend on the wedding? Be realistic, look at your finances and work out how much you can afford, the start of married life is not the time to be getting into debt. Will you need to start saving or do you already have a pot put aside?

Are there any family members that want to help? If so it’s worth talking to them at this stage to establish what are they expecting in return, is it a no obligation gift or are they going to want a large say in what the money is being spent on. If you feel it’s going to compromise the kind of wedding you want then consider saying no. It’s always a good idea to use gifted money for a particular area of the wedding such as the flowers or drinks and give them some say in just that area.

When to marry?

Is there a time of year that holds a special significance, an anniversary of an important date in your relationship? The budget may have a big effect on when you choose to get married because if you have to save you will need to give yourself long enough to do so. If the budget’s tight you may also want to consider getting married out of season i.e. not in the summer or think about a mid week wedding. Unless you’re having the most intimate of weddings or are willing to be incredibly flexible with dates you should give yourselves plenty of time to budget for and plan the wedding.

Who to invite?

Make a provisional guest list as soon as you can, there’s no point looking for venues if you’ve no idea who’s coming? Split your list into groups, family, friends- school, university, work, and within each group list in importance, close and not so close etc. (Grouping at this stage will also help if you eventually decide to do a seating plan.) This is also a good time to decide who you want to play key roles such the best man and chief bridesmaid and check with them if they’re going to be around for the date or time of year you have in mind.

Weddings, weddings, weddings

From a large city party, an outdoor ceremony and boat trips down the Thames in 2011 I got to work with some lovely couples helping them plan and coordinate their fabulous weddings.

While the world looked on as Royalty wed in April I planned the London wedding of Anne and Seb who were married the next day.

With beautiful photography by Shell de Mar (assisted by Anushe Low) it was a pleasure to see this wedding featured on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings blog and shortlisted for Your London Wedding Magazines Wedding of the Year.

Another great wedding I worked on was that of Katie and John’s at Northbrook Park, the highlight for me being able to make sure they got the outside ceremony they really wanted despite the British weather’s best efforts!

Photographer Marianne Taylor performed her usual magic in capturing this wedding and it was an absolute delight to not only see it featured on US blog Style Me Pretty but also in Wedding Flowers Magazine.

Creative Photoshoots

Last year was also a bumper one for photoshoots as suppliers from across the industry got together to work on creative photoshoots showcasing their work.

Photography by Fanni Williams

For this Peaches and Lace shoot at Beauberry House in Dulwich I put together a team of all local suppliers to me and the venue; this shoot featured on Love My Dress Blog.

Photography by Fiona Kelly

The Secret Garden shoot had the stunning Walled Garden at Cowdray as backdrop and featured on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings, Bridal Musings and the US Brenda’s Wedding Blog.

Photography by Chanelle at Sergerius Bruce Photography

The Modern Shoot as it came to be known took place at Altitude 360 in London, and a as nice little early Christmas present if was featured on Rock My Wedding in December.

The UK Alliance of Wedding Planners

I’ve always been very proud of my membership of the UKAWP, not only does it promote the professionalism of wedding planners within the industry providing support and further leaning opportunities such as Wedding Planning Excellence (WPE) which I attend every year but I have also made some great friends for life.

Photography by Julia Boggio

Last year I was  part of the planning team who put together the UKAWP’s Wedding Sanctuary at Somerset House as the Creative Director. It was a great event and I’m pleased to say we’ve now started planning this year’s.

…and the rest…

Summer Soiree Photography by  Helen Russell & Katy Lunsford

As well as all the work on weddings and photo shoots I also continued to attend a number of great networking events from the Rock’n’Roll Bride Party (my fourth) in London to the Love My Dresses Summer Soirée in Newcastle and various other little tweet ups and venue showcases too, everyone a great opportunity to meet new and old suppliers.

And as the year came to a close I launched my new look website and logo.

Thank you!!!

Looking back at last year like this and seeing everything I worked on and achieved really does make all the hard work that I’ve put into my little company worthwhile. But most of all it makes me truly grateful for the wonderful  couples I get to work with and fabulous suppliers without which I couldn’t have achieved so much.

On a personal note my husband and I also celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary and my little boy turned 6, so to my boys- thank you, I love you both!

Day 28: Pretty patterns

Anthropologie has a shop on the Kings Road; a treasure trove for wedding decor with some fabulous things, I fell in love with an amazing glass bauble chandelier which would be great as wedding decor but here are some pretty patterns from some cute teacups.

Day 29: Light

I was hoping to get a cool sun flare photo for today but no luck, here instead are some sparkly chandeliers from Heals

Day 30: Self Portrait

Well this is me…

So that’s it all 30 photos taken by me on my iPhone and edited on Instagram. I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing my pics and getting a little insight into my days. It’s been a fun little personal project to do although glad it was only 30 days, next up I’ll be doing a round up of 2011 at Always Andri Wedding Design.

Well it was back to work with a bang today with a day full of venue visits, just squeezing in a quick blog post while on the train. So I got to day 23 with my 30 day photo challenge so have a few more images to share with you today (days 24-27) and tomorrow (days 28-30) before a little round up of 2011 on Friday.

Day 24: under the tree

As parents of a 6 year old the presents under our tree mostly belong to him. I decided this year that we would spread the present giving out through the day and I’m glad I did as he definitely seemed to appreciate them all a lot more.

Day 25: Family

Christmas day for me is lunch cooked by me at home with my mum, dad and my boys…

Day 26: Boxes

Boxing day… a lazy day of eating leftovers, watching tv and playing with all those toys and this year was a bumper one for board games.

Day 27: After Dark

A day in London today assisting another wedding planner with a wedding at Claridges. I had meant to take a photo of some lovely London Xmas decorations after dark but didn’t get the chance. I am quite pleased with this photo though which I took outside Victoria train station.

Always Andri Wedding Design is now closed for Christmas until Wednesday 4^th January 2012

I’m a big reader, nothing I like more then to curl up in bed with a good book. I’m reading one of my favourite books at the moment ~ The Time Traveller’s Wife ~ I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve read it, at least once a year since the first time and I still love it every time. Do you have a favourite book you can read over and over again?