My new website

Hello everyone, I'm very excited to tell you about my rebranded website. I felt that to really take the business forward I wanted to trade under my own name, afterall I am the one who does the planning and works closely with my couples and clients to plan their wedding or party in Essex.
I have worked in the wedding industry for almost 10 years and I have built up lots of fabulous contacts and suppliers covering all budgets. I also wanted to get over the myth that a wedding planner is:

1. Expensive
2. not for everyone
3. a luxury

I don't really like to offer packages as I don't think you are a package. Each bride I work with is an individual and each one has diferent requirements. After our initial, no obligation consultation I am then able to get to know you and you know me and together decide if we want to work together, because that's what its all about, working together to plan the wedding of your dreams.

By working this way I believe that a wedding planner becomes accesible to more brides as the cost is based on the help you need. You may only need a little help with certain elements of your day or you may want someone to get you going with you planning or help you find certain suppliers. Its all about you and what you need.

Every bride needs a bit of help planning her day and sometimes by having a 'neutral' on your side it can help. My opinions will always be objective and not swayed by any emotions, which when you ask family members or friends they can be.

Have a look at the new site and do get in touch for a consultation, its FREE and you are under no obligation. What have you got to loose.

A marquee wedding in Essex

celebrate with flowers

Blake Hall

Jade's flowers

wedding planner London, Essex, Herts and Suffolk

WInter Weddings

Its is unavoidable but its getting colder and time to wrap up warm and think about open fires, hot toddies and if you are planning a winter wedding there are some gorgeous ideas around for your big day. Ideas for cakes, table decorations and styling ideas

Silver and white cake

More table ideas

Candle centre pieces with snowflakes

Christmas bauble place names

A fabulous ice sculpture

Will you have music during your drinks reception?

I love the drinks reception, and that has nothing to do with the champagne! The ceremony is over, your guests are mingling and chatting and you are having your photographs taken. What about some musical entertainment for your guests? Again there are lots of options as to what you can do and something for every budget. From a solo saxophone up to a jazz quintet. Perhaps you would prefer something more classical then you can't go wrong with a string trio or quartet, and most of them play so much more than classical music.
I always say to my couples think about the syle of your wedding and take into account the time of year, the venue and of course your musical preferences.
A Summer wedding suits a jazz trio outsdide on a terrace in the sunshine, something lively and a string quartet is lovely for a Winter wedding playing near a log fire. Vocals can be nice during drinks, but I'm not so keen on them during dinner and I think they can be obtrusive. Acoustic guitar and vocals is one of my favourite options as its very contemporary, for the mosern couple. You could go for a tribute act, especially if you have a favourite performer; Elvis, Madonna or Michael Buble. Give some thought to your budget. A quartet will cost more than a solo performer. Ask if they can perform at your civil ceremony as well. They might even offer this free of charge.

The Wedding Sanctuary

On Sunday March 3rd 2013 I am proud to be taking part in The Wedding Sanctuary with the UK alliance of wedding planners at The RSA House in central London.

Have a read of the article in You and Your Wedding for more details. Its going to be a lovely day with all things wedding. Do get in touch if you'd like to join us.


http://www.youandyourwedding.co.uk/planning/events/save-the-date-for-the-wedding-sanctuary/18361.html

What's Your First Dance?

I think that music is key to a great wedding and one of the most important things you will have to do as a couple is take your first dance as husband on wife. What is your first dance? I'd love to know. If you need some ideas read this blog from Essex wedding band, One Foot in the Groove

Whether you are having live music in Essex or a DJ for your wedding one of the things you need to give some thought to is your first dance. I meet so many couples who can’t decide what to have for their first dance. The thing to do if you don’t have a song is think about the time that you met, what was around at that time? think about the music you both like to listen to now, is there a favourite artist you both like? and always think about the lyrics they are so important.
Anything goes when it comes to your first dance, after all it is your wedding. Over the years I have literally sang allsorts of songs, from the lovely ballads; Songbird, Feel My Love, Stuck on You, Heaven to more unusual songs like Times Like These by the Foo Fighters and You Look Good on the Dancefloor by the Artic Monkeys!! See what I mean when anything goes.
If you are having a DJ then getting the song is easy, if you are having a wedding band in Essex  then its a little harder. Some bands won’t learn your first dance, as they are unable to do so,  you would have to play a recording, that’s not much good. A good top professional wedding band in Essex will be able to learn and play absolutely anything that you want. We are certainly happy to learn anything we are asked to.

I have listed my top ten songs, these are all songs that we have performed over the last few years and are in no particular order, just some of my personal favourites.

Times Like These – The Foo Fighters
So Amazing – Luther Vandross
Heaven – Bryan Adams/DJ Sammy
Feel My Love – Adele
Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
Rule The World – Take That
Fallen – Lauren Wood
Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol
Everything – Michael Buble
L.O.V.E – Nat King Cole

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/M3qlfEXcaLI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The Bridal Experience

On Sunday I shall be putting on my music hat and providing some gorgeous live music for a select group of brides to be at The Ivy Hill in Margaretting. This is an invitation only event organised by The Essex Events Company.

As a professional musician in Essex as well as a full time wedding planner in Essex I have been asked to provide two different options suitable for a cermeony, drinks reception or wedding breakfast. We are having a solo saxophone for the drinks reception as the brides arrive, followed by an acoustic set, with Essex acoustic duo, Acoustic Grooves part of wedding band, One Foot in the Groove.

Unlike a wedding fayre, this event is invite only and the brides will get a chance to really chat to suppliers, listen to talks about make up and hair and get some ideas about planning their wedding. The whole event is a great idea and much more intimate than your traditional wedding fayre. I'm looking forward to meeting some suppliers that I haven't worked with previously and of course meeting some lovely brides to be.

How do you cut corners with costs and not style?

Following on from our last post about saving money on your wedding without compromising on the style of your day

3. Cake for dessert

Over the years I have been working as a wedding planner in Essex and London I have always noticed that few guests finish their dessert or the guests don't eat all the cake at the evening buffet. Save yourself some money and choose a more dessert like cake and serve it after the main course. You still get to maike a big fuss of the cutting of the cake but then that is served to your guests as dessert after the wedding breakfast. What's left can go our with the evening buffet.

4. Buffet, BBQ or hog roast ? not a sit down meal.

If you are getting married in the Summer for example why not have an informal hog roast for the main course or a buffet, which can still be hot, instead of a plated meal. A sit down plated meal will   always be the most expensive option. A hog roast in the Summer can give a real relaxed feel to a wedding and save you an awful lot of money. This still works well for weddings out of season as there is something warm and comforting about a hog roast.

If you'd like to receive some more cost saving tips why not consider hiring EC Wedding Design, wedding planners in Essex for a planning workshop. We charge £150 for a 3 hour session with a professional wedding planner in London. This workshop is a perfect and inexpensive way to get you started planning your wedding. You ask the things you want and need to know and we will impart our professional knowledge to help you. If you then decide to go on and hire E C Wedding design to plan your day, this fee is deducted from your final bill.

How do you cut corners with costs and not style?

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In the climate we live in budgets for weddings are being cut all the time, not for everyone but for many. How do you work to a tight budget whilst still having thewedding of your dreams?

Here are a couple of things that might help when you come to planning your big day. I have many more money saving tips, without compromising on style. If you want to learn more think about a no obligation consultation with a qualified wedding planner in Essex or Hertfordshire to help you.

1. Numbers

Why not think about keeping numbers for the daytime lower. It would be lovely to have 150 people but you could be paying around £50 per head for them. Sit down together and each draw up a list of guests, then compare. If there are names you agree on then put them on the final list. Always remember on your weding day you want to look around the room and be surrounded by the most important people in your life. Not your third cousin twice removed who you last saw three years ago

2. what time you eat

If you plan your day so that you sit down to eat the wedding breakfast at about 6pm as opposed to late afternoon,you can avoid having to pay for an evening buffet because the wedding breakfast becomes dinner. This works for so many reasons, not just cost. It means the meal and speeches end at about 8.30pm and then dancing starts at about 9pm. Believe it or not this is the perfect time to start the party. Guests have had a few drinks, its dark outside and all of this makes for a better party atmosphere. If you want to invite some more friends in the evening you can, all you need to do is put on their invitations, please join us for a drink to celebrate our marriage. This makes it clear there won't be addittional food. If you do want to offer more food then do a cheese board for everyone.

Happy planning 

The Bridal Experience

For any brides in the Essex or Hertfordshire area that would like to come along to the Bridal expereince do get in touch. This is going to be a lovely afternoon where you can meet suppliers, listen to talks about wedding planning in Essex and listen to some great live music from Essex wedding band, One Foot in the Groove.

It is an invitation only event, it is not a wedding fayre, but a chance for brides to enjoy a little pampering, enjoy afternoon tea and chat one to one with some hand picked wedding suppliers in Essex.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-essex-events-company/bridal-experience-25-nov-2012/475289675868540?ref=notif&notif_t=like

Bridal Experience - 25 Nov 2012

An experience for brides to be and their guest - Invitation Only...

by: The Essex Events Company

Essex Wedding Band shortlisted for Awards

You may or may not know but my involement in the wedding industry started ten years ago when I launched my wedding band in Essex, One Foot in the Groove. Over the years we have literally played at hundreds of weddings and have built up an enviable reputation. Whilst I continue to work closely with my brides on all aspects of their wedding planning I also continue to run and sing with the band.

All of this expert knowledge on the industry I bring to all of my couples when planning their big day. I'm delighted to say this year Essex wedding band One Foot in the Groove have been shortlisted for The Wedding Industry Awards 2013, the second year in a row and we are finalists in The Essex Wedding Awards 2012. Fingers crossed that the band win an award for all of their hard work in providing fantastic live music week in and week out across the South East.

Thank You's

I received this lovely thank you from Denny and Louise for the wedding in Essex that I planned in the Summer.

Hi Louise,
             Denny and i can not thank you enough for making our wedding day so special, everything you done was so organised and professional and most of all stress free, we could not have done this with out your help. myself Denny and all of our guests, family and friends had a fantastic day and were commenting what a brilliant wedding it was and the best wedding they have ever been too and this was all down to all your hard work.
We feel you were so calming and very organised, you addressed things i never even thought about! and most of all keeping our costs within budget. I will be highly recommending your services to everyone i know that is getting married.                                                                                                                                                                                              Brilliant work and a massive big thank you again.

Louise and Denny Nash

Recommended Live Music

I mentioned last time about going to wedding fayres. If you are looking for some perfect live music for your drinks reception and or wedding breakfast. Then I highly recommend Essex wedding duo, Unforgettable. The duo combines saxophone and female vocals and is perfect to create a lovely relaxed atmosphere during your drinks reception.

Playing a variety of music from swing, jazz, pop and soul, the jazz duo in Essex will be playing live at the following fayre:

The Reid Rooms on Sunday 28th October also form 11am until 3.30pm

If you are looking for something different but elegant do go along and check them out. They play a selection of perfect background music, from jazz to current pop, all suitable to create a lovely atmosphere. They offer FREE live music for your civil ceremony if you are having one at the same venue as your reception. This is a great deal for a couple looking to have some lovely live music without it costing them a fortune.
For further details check out their website www.unforgettable-musicduo.co.uk

Essex Wedding Awards

The inaugural Essex Wedding Awards are being held at The Crown Plaza Resort 5 Lakes on November 29th. This is the very first time suppliers in Essex have been recognised for their hard work. As a wedding planner in Essex I am very excited to see who has been honoured for all of their hard work and I am very interested to see if Essex wedding band, One Foot in the Groove are winners.
Foe those of you that don't know, I manage the band and have done for the last nine years and in that time they have gone from strength to strength.
Last year they were shortlisted for The Wedding Industry awards. The only live band in the East of England to make it on the shortlist and they have been nominated again this year. They also won The Wedding Experts Award 2012. It really has been a brilliant year for them. Fingers crossed for the 29th November.

Company Rebrand

I'm very excited as EC Wedding Design is having a complete rebrand to reflect the style of both the weddings I plan and the clients I work with. I have also decided to work under my own name, Louise Perry as I feel that with over ten years experience working in the wedding industry my name gave my couples total confidence in what I do. Afterall when you hire me to plan any aspect of your wedding, you are hiring me.

Louise and Denny's Essex Wedding

I had the pleasure of planning the Summer wedding of Louise and Denny Nash earlier this year. The couple had chosen to marry in the local church and to follow with a reception in the garden of the groom's family home.
Louise wanted elegant with a little bit of bling, afterall this was an Essex wedding, the colour scheme chosen was champagne and cream. There are a lot of logistics involved with planning a marquee wedding, is the ground level? where is the power coming from? where will guests park? how do suppliers get to the marquee with equipment? and the list goes on. What I absolutely love about a marquee weddings is that it is a blank canvas to do exactly what you want with.
We were working to quite a tight budget and you would be wrong to think that because we weren't hiring a venue it would be cheaper. Marquee's can work out very expensive and you have to start out by setting a strict budget.
I recommended some suppliers that I thought would fit it with both the style and budget of the wedding but Louise was great at sourcing some of her own suppliers. Many I hadn't worked with before including the photographer, videoographer and the DJ and all of whom I would happily recommend to any future client. In fact Steve, from SImply Wedding Movies provided me with all of the video footage which I have edited into a short clip for you here.
I will tell you more about the problems with the weather, boggy fields, changing locations, broken toilets and how we remedied everything in another post but enjoy the pictures and video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J63NRTuWKKQ&feature=share&list=UU13jlp9SOcI4NkSfVKUvCQg

Wedding fayres

The Autumn wedding fayre season is upon us and now is the time to start looking at venues, if you haven't already chosen your venue and time to meet suppliers. Whilst the internet is great to do your research there is nothing better than meeting suppliers face to face and chatting to them. people always buy from people and I think its essential for a bride of groom to meet in person their suppliers.

There are lots of comapnies now that organise fayres, in fact if you search wedding fayres Essex for instance, hundreds will come up. Have a look at the background of the company that are organising it, see if you can see the calibre of suppliers that are exhibiting and plan your schedule. The best wedding fayres in Essex are the ones that are organised by the venue, as they will ask their recommended suppliers to exhibit so you know that the suppliers there have worked at the venue before. Better than that find the venues where the suppliers haven't paid to exhibit and are being invited because of their work.

Happy Planning

Why Hire a Wedding Planner?

A question I get asked all the time, why do I need one, aren't they expensive? aren't they a luxury?
I would have to say no to both of those. The cost of hring a planner to work with you can be offset against some of the savings she or he will make for you by negotiating on your behalf, not only that but planners can often give you a few tips about how to cut costs that you may not have thought about.

They are certainly not a luxury and now more and more popular here in the UK. Think about it, you have hired a venue and you have spent months working with the venue's coordinator on your big day. The venue coordinator works for the venue, not you and whilst they know their venue very well, they don't know you. This is where your wedding planner comes in. He or she will have gotten to know you and what you want on your wedding day.

You also don't need to hire a wedding planner in Essex for the full planning, you may just need a little help as the wedding gets near, or you might just want someone to make sure your day runs as you have planned it. At EC Wedding Design, wedding planner in Hertfordshire, no two weddings are ever the same and each bride is individual. You have absolutley nothing to loose by contacting us for a FREE no obligation quote to see if we can help you.

Louise and Denny's Wedding

At the end of July I had the pleasure in organising the Essex wedding of Louise and Denny. The ceremony was to be held at Bentley St Paul's church and the reception at the grooms mum's house in Stapleford Abbotts.

Here are just a couple of pictures of the day. More to come with full details of their special day.