Wednesday 28 September 2011

Simply Fun: We introduce you to Marry'oke

Simply Bows and Chair Covers are delighted to introduce you to Cumbria based Your Brilliant Day and their unique Marry'oke Wedding Video's!

We think theyre fab and fun and give you wedding video a modern twist! See for yourself here but don't forget to turn on your sound!

Simply Hitched: A Simply Bows Real Bride: Marie

Simply Bows and Chair Covers present you with a real life Simply Bows and Chair Covers Wedding... Marie and Martin......



   Where and when did you get engaged?  
Martin wore a kilt and proposed to me one Saturday morning (my first Saturday off work in a long long time) just before we were about to move into the house we bought together in October 2009.

What was your wedding date and wedding venue?
Saturday April 16th 2011 at the North Lakes Spa Hotel, Penrith.

 Why did you choose your venue? 
We chose Penrith for a halfway house between our two families in Yorkshire and Glasgow and we always loved driving past Brougham Castle on our travels to visit family.  We always thought it would be lovely to have our wedding pictures taken at Brougham Castle when we tied the knot and would have loved to have had an outdoor ceremony at the castle if it had been allowed. Not forgetting the gorgeous scenery of Lake Ullswater to go in with the bargain.  The North Lakes is virtually round the corner from Brougham Castle and just off the A66 and M6 junction so ideal for logistics for us.  Inside the hotel is beautiful with lot’s of great open fire places and a lovely spa and the staff were so accommodating and flexible to meet our needs as we were quite specific about what we wanted from our wedding and they delivered absolutely everything and then some more.


Did you have a “theme”? 
Our theme was based around our love of rock music as we got to a lot of live music gigs.  The tables were named after genre’s of music such as the Classic Rock Table and The Metal Table, our cake was a replica limited edition Marshall Amp stack, our music was a live band, Our ring holder was a ribbon bound drum stick, and Martin and I even performed a couple of songs ourselves at the evening reception





What was your wedding colour scheme?
Our favourite colours Cadbury’s Purple and Black. We had Cadburys purple pin tuck taffeta table overlays with Black damask runners and beautiful white chair covers with double bows of Cadburys Purple and Black as suggested by Kristy

Why did you choose Simply Bows and Chair Covers and what were they like to work with?
Having looked for different suppliers over the internet (having the wedding away form home meant a lot of research to get the best of our time in Penrith before having meetings which meant we had decided who to use before we arranged to meet, although the snowy weather conditions scuppered a visit where we were meeting with Kristy, our photographer and the hair salon all in one day so that was an interesting day!  The website looked very stylish and superior to the others we had viewed and demonstrated an ability to go a little extra to the usual white covers and a simple bow on the chair.  Meeting Kristy was absolutely wonderful and she set up a mock table for us and it looked absolutely beautiful, she made additional suggestions to us and gave us the idea for having Cadburys mini chocolate’s for our favours to match our colour scheme.  My initial instincts proved correct when choosing Simply Bows and Chair Covers early on from researching the websites.




What sort of dress did you choose and where from?
The dress was Honey from Berketex Bride, a strapless ivory A-line dress with a soft organza layer making it all floaty and with sequins and pearls and bugle bead detailing.  I loved this on the website but tried on lot’s of other dresses elsewhere first and nothing stood out, until I eventually got into the Honey dress, should have gone with the initial instinct as I did with the photographer and with Simply Bows and Chair Covers! 
I absolutely loved my dress and so did Martin.


What did your bridesmaids wear?
I had 1 bridesmaid, my 11 year old niece Rebecca, although her dress was from Suelisse in Hamilton near Glasgow so her mum and Gran had to help with dress fittings for me. Her dress was a Cadbury’s Purple down to the floor with drawstring back and sequins and bugle beads around the top edging. She looked so lovely and grown up on the day.


 Who was your photographer?
Rachael De La Mare, De la Mare Photography, Rachael was so fun to work with and made the experience so relaxing rather than stiff and posed.


What “special touches” did you add to your day?
There were so many that to us they were special touches because they were things that meant something to us and were exactly what we wanted for our day, nothing was a compromise to please anybody else.  Martin wore a kilt being Scottish and so did both Dads, our best man and usher, which was great.  We wanted the day to be relaxing and fun and casual where everybody could be themselves and enjoy the day rather than feeling uptight and uncomfortable so our meal was steak pie and our evening buffet was sausage and bacon rolls with chips – loved by all.  For the welcome drinks we had huge buckets of ice with Budweiser bottles in and glasses of red or white wine – a drink everyone will enjoy.  For the toast we gave everybody a voucher to pick their own drink from the bar so as not forcing beer drinkers to drink a glass of champagne but allowing the champagne drinkers the option to have that.  We created playlists of background music for pre ceremony and drinks reception which were all our favourite songs which mean something to us.  Our rock music theme with the replica Marshall Amp stack cake (a limited edition black and purple cake to match our colour scheme), the ring holder drum stick, the live band and the tables named after music genre’s was really personal to us.  One table was the Funk table which is actually an album name by my favourite artist Glenn Hughes formerly of Deep Purple, so my favourite artist was represented in the colour scheme and one of the table names.  The live band were friends of mine who I have been watching live for 11 years and are personal friends so the songs they played were songs that I have rocked along to for years, as well as some mainstream songs to allow everyone to get up and have a dance.


What was your favourite part of the day? 
There are so many, when I arrived back form having my hair and make up done I found Martin had arranged a present in my room with a lovely card he had made himself addressed to his wife – which made me sob, then I opened the present and it was pictures form our engagement shoot – one of the two of us laughing with a verse written over from Corinthians – one of my favourites, which we couldn’t have in the ceremony as we had a civil ceremony – I cried buckets and the make up was compromised but it was so lovely!  Walking down the aisle was a very strange experience – the moment Martin turned around – the whole room disappeared and it was just him and I getting closer to each other staring into each others eyes and it was such a joyful, emotional thing. Again I cried buckets.  I had a hilarious moment on the dance floor which is something only my friends and I will get but the band were playing The Wall by Pink Floyd and during the intro mixed in the tune Popcorn to which my friends and I were dancing the Robot Square Dance, a dance that features in a music video for a song called Robototron for a band we all like and go to see , an unplanned thing that just happened and I was in stitches at this.

Where did you go on honeymoon?
We planned an amazing route with lot’s of activities to do a fly drive around the West Coast of the USA but in the end before we booked everything we realised we were probably going to be pretty tired and in need of a relaxing holiday and so we booked a 2 week all inclusive holiday to Cuba – where we only had 2 days that we didn’t do anything and spent our time Scuba Diving, Horse Riding, Fishing, Driving Jeeps, Swimming With Dolphins, Snorkling and just having so much fun.

What would be your top tip for another bride to be? 
Don’t get stressed, be very organised and know what you want and make sure you communicate the exact details to everybody who is having a part in the day so that they know what is expected of them and where to be at what time.  Make sure your day is about you and your husband and not about compromising to please others, your taste may not suit everybody and knowing just the right things to blend in or make a larger feature is a skill to ensure that you are having your day for you but that everybody gets chance to have fun and enjoy the day.  I spent the entire reception on the dance floor with all of my friends and family having fun with me!

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Simply Unique: Married on a rock in the middle of the sea....

Everyone wants their wedding day to be original. But trained lifeguards Becky Watkinson and Samson Hutson put more effort than most into coming up with a unique wedding venue.

Even more amazing... their 50 guests swan out to watch Becky and Samson tie the knot on a little rock off the North Devon Coast. Even Becky's 80-year-old grandpa, Brian Machin took the plunge. And the groom's father, who cannot swim donned a lifejacket and floated to the rock on his back.


Speaking before the ceremony Becky said: 'We’re not really conventional people - I wouldn’t want to wear a dress and Samson wouldn’t want to wear a suit. In the end the bride wore a white tutu over her wetsuit and the bridesmaids tutus were pink! One guest even wore a suit!



Becky and Samson tied the knot perched on a rock in Hele Bay, near Ilfracombe, Devon. The rock the ceremony took place on is about half a mile out to sea. After the service, the pair jumped off the rock into the sea, followed by some of their braver guests.





Becky admits her grandmother Muriel Machin, on the other hand, is 'not quite so excited' and will travel to and from the rock by boat. 'Nana made me laugh so much - she said ‘at 75-years-old I consider myself ancient and I certainly won’t be squeezing myself into a wet suit’,' Becky said.
'So many people said "no way" when they saw the invitation and that they’d watch it from the beach. But everyone slowly came round."

'The vicar is doing it too - that’s how we met him - during a coasteering session.'He’s the only vicar in the UK to do this sort of thing I think."

For the past two years, the couple, who are experienced coasteering instructors, have taught surfing, kayaking and climbing in and around Ilfracombe. They are both also trained beach lifeguards. 'We really love living in Devon and can’t think of anywhere better for the wedding,' Becky said.


 






Monday 26 September 2011

Simply Debate: To Cover or not to cover....

After starting off a debate on the Facebook page of Wedding Ideas Magazine over chair covers, Simply Bows and Chair Covers felt the urge to rush to their defence (understandably so!).  The debate started when we were featured in the latest issue of Wedding Ideas Magazine with the opening line "There is absolutely no excuse for boring reception chairs!" 
One lady took offence to this and decided to write to this effect on the fab magazines Facebook wall how she thought chair covers were a waste of money and the biggest con in the wedding industry!  She was quickly put down with comments on how chair covers can not only transform a room and create a theme but they also cover up ugly chairs.

So here are just a few examples of how chair covers can not only help enhance a wedding or events theme but also completely transform a dark and/or characterless room.....


Room 1- Before



Room 1- After!

Room 2- Before



Room 2- After!




Room 3- Before


Room3- After!
We rest our case!!!

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Simply Charity: The Bride's Ball

The Bride’s Ball will raise money for three local charities,  the Holistic Cancer Care Centre at James Cook University Hospital, Age UK (Darlington), and St Teresa’s Hospice, in Darlington – three of several charities with which the firm feels a close connection.

Joanne Gilligan of Latimer Hinks, whose battle with cancer inspired the choice of the Holistic Cancer Care Centre as a beneficiary of the ball, with Paula Whittaker of Poppy’s Bridal, in Darlington, and solicitors Natalie Palmer and Helen Thomas.
Latimer Hinks Solicitor, Helen Thomas, one of the event’s organisers, said: "This is the ultimate in dressing up, for ladies – and if not gentlemen! Putting on a wedding dress is something all girls dream of and this is an opportunity for anyone, to go all out and have a fantastic night, raising money for three great charities. We all have family members, friends and work colleagues affected by cancer, ageing and ill health and we wanted to support them by doing something different which was going to raise much needed funds.”

       The Holistic Cancer Care Centre was chosen because of the support a colleague  Joanne Gilligan has received during her own battle with cancer.


Sunday 18 September 2011

Simply Showcase: Where can you come and see us this Autumn/ Winter?

The Autumn wedding fair season is upon is!

Wherever you are, Im sure there will be a wedding fair near you that one of the Simply Bows and Chair Covers team will be exhibiting at to meet with you and talk through what we can do to make your big day stand out from the crowd....


If there are any locations we havn't covered below and you would like to see if we have an office in your area please email us on enquiries@simplybowsandchaircovers.co.uk


  • The St George Hotel, Nr Harrogate, 25th September 2011
  • Harrogate Wedding Fair, The Cairn Hotel,  2nd October 2011
  • Newby Hall, 9th October 2011
  • Ripley Castle, Nr Harrogate, 16th October
  • The Crown Hotel, Harrogate, 23rd October 2011
  • Marriott Preston 23 September 2011
  • Whalley Abbey 6th October 2011
  • The Invincibles Suite @ PNE 23rd October 2011
  • Britannia Hotel ( Newcastle Airport), 11 September 2011
  • LRS Event, North East Autumn Spectacular Bridal Show ( Newcastle Civic Centre),16 October 2011
  • The UK Wedding Show ( Newcastle Racecourse) 1st and 2nd of October 2011
  • Holiday Inn, Jesmond, Sunday 2 October 2011
  • As You Like It Saturday, 12 November 2011
  • LRS Event, Great North East Bridal Show ( Great North Museum),13 November 2011
  • Woodhill Hall, Northumberland 4 September 2011
  • Horton Grange, Ponteland,  11 September 2011
  • White Swan, at Alnwick,  20 November 2011
  • At the St George Hotel Harrogate, 25th September
  • The Cairn Hotel Harrogate, 2nd October 2011
  • The Howard Assembley Rooms, 2nd October 2011
  • The Grand Theatre, Leeds, 2nd October 2011
  • Newby Hall, nr Ripon 9th October 2011
  • Ripley Castle, Ripley, nr Harrogate 16th October 2011
  • The Crown Hotel Harrogate, 23rd October 2011
  • Jersey Farm Hotel, 25th September 2011
  • Swinton Park, 30th October 2011
  • Scampston Hall, 20th November 2011
  • Close House Wedding Fair, 29th September 2011
  • Durham Marriott Wedding Fair, 29th September 2011
  • Redworth Hall Wedding Fair, 9th October 2011
  • Dissington Hall Wedding Fair, 6th November 2011
  • Wynyard Hall Wedding Fayre , 2nd October 2011
  • Live the Dream- Carlisle Racecourse; September 25th 2011
  • Gilsland Spa- October 2nd 2011
  • Morton Manor, Carlisle- October 9th 2011
  • Broomley Grange- December 3rd and 4th 2011
  • Lumley Castle Hotel - Durham , 16th October  2011
  • Staincliffe Hotel - Hartlepool, 25th December 2011
  • Redworth Hall Hotel Open Evening First Thursday of each month

        Saturday 17 September 2011

        Simply Celebrity Entrance: 200 Metre red carpet for Cornwall bride!

        Bride Samantha Poser got married last week in her home town of Luxuyan in Cornwall.


        The bride made the ultimate celebrity entrance to her wedding to Adam Kerby as unbeknown to the bride, her father Phil had arranged a 200 metre red carpet to run from his house, across the main road and then through the village down to the church, much to the astonishment of his daughter, as well as some inquisitive villagers and motorists.


        Phil, who owns a carpet shop, had gone to elaborate lengths to fool his beautician daughter into thinking that she was going to make the bridal entrance on the back of his elaborately decorated quad bike.The bizarre ruse worked as Sam braced herself to mount the unusual steed before it was revealed she had her very own magical red carpet for the fairy tale stroll to the church!
        Love it!

        Friday 16 September 2011

        Simply Boutique: Exciting New Bridal Boutique Opens and we're thrilled to be a part of it!

        Simply Bows and Chair Covers are proud to be involved in the Glamorous Supplier Showcase at the new Glamour Bridal and Prom boutique based in Bolton.
        The boutique is located just accross from Prestons of Bolton (Diamonds of the North) Jewellers and has just opened. Simply Bows and Chair Covers Lancashire is one of the pretigious local suppliers specially chosen to work with the boutique theming their shop window and inspiring brides with new themes and ideas for their big day.
        The boutique stocks dresses from some of our best loved designers including Charlotte Balbier, Alfred Sung, Madeline Gardner and Amanda Wyatt. 



        This fabulous boutique will also be holding exclusive designer weekends from each designer where a representative from the designer will be present to answer any questions you may have. .....
        14th & 15th October- Alfred Sung Signature & Calista Collections
        12th & 13th November- Madeline Gardner
        13th and 14th January- Charlotte Balbier
        February (date TBC)- Amanda Wyatt





        Glamour Bridal and Prom is situated on 12-14 Bank Street, Bolton, BL1 1TS and will operate the following opening times:

        Mon:09:30-15:00
        Wed:09:30-15:00
        Thurs:09:30-19:00
        Fri:09:30-15:00
        Sat:09:30-17:00

        So if you are based in the Lancashire area, why not pop along and visit the boutique, see some of our great window displays for a little inspiration and pick up a brochure...

        Photographs by Natalie Cadman Photography


        Monday 12 September 2011

        Simply Fashion: Mark Ronson marries in candy-pinstriped suit

        It was no surprise last week that Mark Ronson and Josephine de la Baume tied the knot in true fashionista style living up to their ultra fashionable image!

        The couple were married in Aix en Provence, in the South of France, and the groom almost outshone the bride in a candy-striped suit and Ray-Ban sunglasses oozing his unique sleek style.
         
        Josephine looked glam in an extremely low-cut Zac Posen wedding gown and cropped veil tue to her earlier revelation to ASOS Magazine that Zac had offered to design her gown for her and she was thrilled with it.‘He’s an amazing friend and I love his dresses, they’re so well fitted. I’m really excited and he’s so excited about it.’
         
        Jospehine's low cut gown

        Sources have previously said that the newlyweds will split their time between homes in New York and Paris once married. ‘They will still visit London but France will be their European base’, a friend said.
        BRIT Award winner Mark, 35, met his 26-year-old bride in 2009 and proposed to her in February of this year. But the couple managed to pull together their wedding plans fast enough to kick off the ceremony just six months later in spectacular style with all of their friends and family and of course a good handful of celebrity guests. The benefits of having a team of 'people' to help, eh?
         
        Nice day for a white wedding: The weather in Aix en Provence today was beautiful and sunny as the guests chatted outside
        Beautiful day in Aix en Provence
         

        Saturday 10 September 2011

        Simply Fashion: Vera Wang makes wedding headlines again

        Vera Wang has made headlines (and the Simply Bows and Chair Covers Blog) alot recently as she is contiually picked to design the wedding gowns of the Hollywood A list (and B list!).

        In August we brought the Kim Kardashian Wedding sneek peek to you (didnt see it? Click here).



        Well world renowned Vera Wang who designed Kim's dress had now revealed that you too can wear a dress just like Kim's! It was only a matter of time until Kim Kardashian wedding dress lookalikes hit the stores - but we didn't expect Vera Wang, the original's designer, to get in on the act.
        The high end dress-maker is to launch a range of kopykat Kardashian dresses, giving brides across the U.S. the chance to emulate the reality TV star.
        The two designs, which will go on sale in February at affordable retailer David's Bridal, will deliver cut-price Hollywood glamour to the masses.

        Vera Wang Design No.1

        Vera Wang Design No.2


         The two styles will be on sale from February and will cost less than $1,600 each

        Vera Wang also recently announced a partnership with Zales to sell diamond and sapphire engagement rings - some of which are rumoured to resemble the Duchess of Cambridge's elegant design. It seems there is no stopping Vera Wang at the moment and something tells us it will only be a matter of time before she hits the wedding headlines once again!