A Royal Affair

Essentially You will be hosting a gathering of some of the industries finest on Friday 29th April from 10.30.



The Dress Code will be 'Red, White & Blue' or 'Fit for a Princess'

We will be keeping you updated on all the happenings of what we are sure will be a show stopping wedding. For more details and to join in the fun email info@essentially-you.net

Our Interview with Tamryn Kirby

The Supplier's Speech - Essentially You

 Before I start this week's 'Supplier's Speech', I should admit to a little bit of bias here because I truly love this week's featured wedding professional - the wonderful Julie Tooby from Essentially You. Julie is a multi award winning wedding planner, co-ordinator and all-around fabulous woman. So, before I get totally carried away like a winning actress at the Oscars, I'm just going to hand over to the woman herself...

Tell me a little bit more about your business...
I founded Essentially You in 2005 and I've now been planning & co-ordinating weddings for over ten years. Our aim, our goal and our business is to ensure that our couples have an amazing, memorable and enjoyable day. Whether we are planning the entire event or just applying the finishing touches, we are professional and committed. Our knowledge and expertise means that all we work with can rely on our excellent advice. We work closely with our couples, to deliver their perfect day but never taking over.

What's so great about working in the wedding industry?
Everything! To me, this industry is something to fall in love with. Meeting with lovely couples and being part of the magic of the day and seeing the smile on a bride's face when she sees her special day come together is priceless. For me, this isn't a job, it's a lifestyle.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions a bride should ask when booking suppliers?
Really, I think they should have a list of what exactly they need to achieve with each specific suppliers and work to a specific budget. It's very important to cover all the groundwork at the early stages and then there's no surprises further along the line. A key question is always costs - do quotes include VAT? Are there any extras such as mileage charges? But mostly, you have to ask yourself if you like that supplier and want to give them the honour of being involved with your wedding.

Have you got any great wedding tips you'd like to share?
Feel comfortable with every one that will be working on your day, especially suppliers such as photographers as you'll be spending a lot of time with them over the months of planning and on the wedding day itself. If your clever with your budget, you'll be able to afford an 'on the day' co-ordinator and they will look after you and make sure the day you've planned is the one you get. It's an affordable but invaluable service.

What makes a wedding really fabulous?
Personal touches. A wedding should be all about the couple and guests should be leaving saying "that was a great wedding because it couldn't have been anyone else's day but theirs".

Have you seen anything really great at weddings recently?
A recent wedding had a fabulous 'secret midnight party' - the majority of the guests left and then the bride, groom and their closest, most party loving friends, went on dancing through til dawn and they had breakfast together at dawn. It was great!

How do you prepare for a wedding?
Prior to the day, I have a comprehensive questionnaire that I work through with my couples and once this is complete, I meet the couple again to run through the day with them. On the day, I work to this planner and check all is correct and and to check that everything is just as they wanted. The aim of the game is that the couple and their friends and family relax and worry about nothing. It should be a seamless day and one full of memories for the right reasons.

What do you think the next 'big thing' in weddings will be?
Right now, whatever happens at the Royal Wedding in April will be big news but other than that, we look to the US for a lot of our trends - they tend to hit the UK 12-18 months later!

If you could give brides one piece of advice, what would it be?
Relax and enjoy the day - it's once in a lifetime.

To find out more about Julie and the services she offers, including the very popular 'on the day' co-ordination, visit her website -www.essentially-you.net or follow her on Twitter -www.twitter.com/julietooby

Using a Wedding Planner

It’s the biggest day of your life and you want it to be perfect and memorable. At first glance hiring a wedding planner may seem a little extravagant but in the long term it will save you time, money and of course stress!

So what should you look for? What questions should you ask?

Firstly, do a little research and select the best 2 or 3 that appeal to you. Look at their website; does it have testimonials and photographs? Take a look at their ‘About Us’ tab, this should give you an idea of how long they’ve been a wedding planner and what their previous experience has been. Once you’re happy with what you’ve seen arrange to meet them for coffee or invite them round to meet you and your fiancé at home. This is incredibly important; this person is planning the most important day of your life, you have to get on and feel a synergy between you.

The best wedding planners will listen to what you want your day to be and be able to advise you on a timeline of what should be done when. They’ll work within your budget and will have the best suppliers already on board, giving you peace of mind that you are getting first class value for money.

As you head closer to the main event all you need to do as the bride-to-be is sit back, relax and let your wedding planner do what they do best – plan weddings!

Top five reasons to hire a wedding planner

1      A good wedding planner will be able to chat with you and visualise the day as you have dreamt it and bring those dreams to reality.

2      They will help you to provide creative, practical and cost effective (where required) ideas and solutions to help realise your special day.

3      As we all know weddings can be a costly affair and the mention of the' W' word can send your budgets soaring. Your WP will be able to keep these in line and help you stay on the straight and narrow.

4      In today’s busy lifestyle planning and preparing for a wedding can take in excess of 250 hours to plan- your wedding planner will be able to save you some of this so that you have time to spend with your loved one!

5      Not only will your wedding planner be there for the build up to the big day, but will also be on hand on the day to make sure everything goes to plan and all the little details are perfect.

 Article by Award Winning Wedding Planner Julie Tooby

Image from Flickr, Uploaded by Wedding Paraphernalia

First published by http://www.theweddingcommunity.com/