Jill Thorning Jensen and I met at a wedding in the Lake District a couple of years ago and have stayed in touch ever since. She is responsible – along with the lovely bride & groom Jen & Kenton – for some of the beautiful images on Magic Dust’s website.

I knew I was in for a treat working with Chris Taylor…

I love an October wedding, mainly because the couples getting married tend to be relaxed about the UK weather but also because, when the weather is good it’s often fantastic! Cut to a glorious autumnal day in North Norfolk and we had the makings of a truly wonderful day (actually, couple of days) for Liz & Dermot.

Chris Taylor lives on the North Norfolk coast and is one of the friendliest yet professional photographers I have had the pleasure of working with. I’d been treated to a look at his pre-wedding shoot photos by a very happy Liz & Dermot a couple of weeks prior to the wedding so I knew he would capturing some wonderful memories on their big day.

Choosing the right suppliers for your wedding day is so important and I believe that you have to trust your instincts about people. The easiest people to deal with are those who are confident enough in their ability to deliver a fabulous service at a price that reflects the level of that service and the quality of the product fairly and with whom it is effortless to build a genuinely enjoyable professional relationship.

If fabulous photography is one of your priorities and you want to invest in images that you will never tire of looking at, I can’t recommend Jill or Chris highly enough.

I’m just trying to convince Mr Willson that we need to renew our wedding vows and hire both of them to capture our day…

Until next time, happy planning

So, if you’re just starting to think about stationery, or you want to check you’re on the right track, click here and let me chat to you for just a couple of minutes…

Until next time, happy planning!

Head over to Cupcake Style and get your pinny out… Stay traditional and bake the yummy vanilla ones or make apple & raspberry cupcakes and convince yourself that covers off 2 of your 5 a day!

A tip that has revolutionised my cupcake baking is to use your piping bag to evenly distribute the cake mix into the cases, thus ensuring a lovely level top to ice – you’ll have to work hard to convince people you made them yourself.

Start practising now and who knows, you may decide that a ‘Big Wedding Bake-Off’ is the ideal way to produce home-made favours. Just make sure you give yourself enough time to enjoy the process rather than finding yourself drowning in buttercream when you should be relaxing with a glass of champagne.

And if the thought of baking brings you out in a rash but you are now craving cupcakes, why not head over to one of our favourite cupcake professionals and ask Tina at Sprinkles & Swirls to do the hard work.

Until next time

The rooms are more ‘spa hotel’ than ‘traditional b&b’ and your friendly hosts will work hard to ensure that you have the break you need. Whether it’s a couple of ‘wedding planning-free nights’ to recharge your organisational batteries or a grown-up get-together with friends, you’ll find plenty to do in the local area.

Walks by the river – Little Gables has the Walkers Welcome Award and they have a stash of local maps & walking books to choose from as well as a boot room for drying clothes and muddy footwear.

If that sounds a bit too energetic, don’t panic as there are plenty of places your hosts can recommend for eating and drinking your fill.

So go on, run away to the country for a couple of days, kick some leaves about, revel in the British Autumn and, if Ross is there, tell him I said hi!

Delving through the Magic Dust Wedding Tip Wednesday video archive (and watching through my fingers as surely nobody actually enjoys seeing themselves on film?) I uncovered this step-by-step guide to 2 of my favourite napkin folds… I use these myself when entertaining and they never fail to spark a conversation that often ends with a demonstration!

Happy folding,

We have been helping people who are simply looking to find out more about wedding planning as a career (and believe me when I say that I tell it like it is, make no false promises and will leave you with a clear idea of whether or not this is something you really want to pursue) as well as people who have started (and not always finished) home-study courses and are looking for the expertise and advice that only someone who actually does this work every day and is happy to share their experience can give.

The beauty of the one-to-one, face-to-face format of our private Master Classes is that each class can be tailored to suit the needs of the individual. No Powerpoint presentation but a clear structure and a flexibility that has generated 100% positive feedback since we launched this innovative training nearly 4 years ago.

So, if you are thinking about becoming a wedding planner and would like to find out more, do get in touch. You can read more about the Master Class here, we will happily put you in touch with Master Class graduates who can tell you about their experience and we are now taking bookings for Spring 2012.

We’re here to help, not only couples getting married, but those people who are committed to becoming not just a wedding planner, but one of the very best wedding planners a couple can hope to work with.

Best wishes

PS – attending a Magic Dust Master Class is also the only route to being considered for our exclusive, invitation-only, Mentoring Programme which exists solely to advise, support, coach and develop the very best new wedding planners.

For those of you who are planning winter weddings under canvas, here are just a few tried-and-tested tips for ensuring that things go according to plan – have a happy, toasty time!

Until next time,

Thanks to Great Wilbraham Hall Farm in Cambridgeshire for the wonderfully evocative winter wedding photo!

At Magic Dust we are big fans of only spending the money you need to, and can afford to, but we know that doesn’t mean you have to compromise on things. You just need to be clever, happy to research lots and open to ideas!

Two things have struck me this week that I want to share with you…

Firstly, make a nod to the lace trend and personalise your invitation envelopes with a band of decorative lace tape from Cox & Cox. So simple, effortlessly stylish and a great way to hint at the sort of wedding celebration you are planning right from the start. I worked out that if you used 50cm of this tape on each envelope you could buy 1 roll for £4.50 and have enough to personalise 132 envelopes – that’s just over 3p each so what’s not to love about that!

Good old Cox & Cox inspired me twice this week. Inviting children to your wedding means ensuring you have thought of ways to keep them entertained… as quietly as possible. Of course you can go down the colouring pens and sticker books route but there are so many different options out there if you look. These Surprise Balls are ideal for slightly older children (think 7+), will keep them busy with all the unwrapping involved and, if you’re planning a Christmas wedding, will look fabulous amongst the baubles and other festive decorations.

Until next time, happy planning

As a self-confessed stationery addict, it made perfect sense for me to become a Phoenix Trader a few years ago. I get first dibs at their gorgeous range of stationery and I get to share it with people I know will love it too. It’s the hobby that keeps on giving!

I could hardly disguise my excitement when I saw the latest additions to the range – the Wedding Momento box is an absolute steal at just £10.00 (P&P £2.95). It comes flat-packed so is easy to send as a gift to a bride-to-be or simply as a ‘To Me, Love Me’ pressie.

You can order it through the link in this blog or by emailing me direct at Magic Dust and, subject to availability, you should have it within a fortnight (express delivery is available for a small fee).

And while you’re at it, why not indulge in a spot of super-organised Christmas stationery browsing and stock up early (I’m offering 10% discount on all Christmas products ordered before the end of September).

Until next time,

After a hectic few months, and just before the next rush begins, my husband suggested and paid for me (yes, he really is this wonderful!) to spend a morning at The Grange Spa in Pointon, Lincolnshire.

The treat started the minute I drove up towards the beautiful old red-brick house. Walking into a beautifully airy reception where friendly staff greeted me and made me feel immediately welcome, I felt the stress just melt away.

Small but perfectly formed is how I would describe The Grange Spa and, as someone who has visited spas all over the world (call it an obsession if you will!) I can tell you that this is a big compliment. No over-crowding, no fighting for a quiet place to relax and no pressure to do anything you don’t want to do.

I enjoyed a solitary swim in the gorgeously warm pool, read a book for longer than the usual 5 minutes, allowed myself to relax completely as Joanne treated me to a fabulous nurturing massage and finished off my morning with a great pedicure by Fi. I even had time to relax in the Quiet Room for half an hour writing my diary and that is a treat I truly appreciate.

So, if you live close enough to treat yourself to a day of pampering or ever find yourself in the area in need of a spot of pampering, take my advice and call The Grange. It would also be the perfect place for a sophisticated hen party too or a lovely thank you for bridesmaids perhaps.

I don’t say this often and when I do, I really mean it – I will definitely be back.

Oh, and did I mention that they serve the most delicious cake too? That’s the sort of pampering I truly believe in!

Until next time, happy planning