To celebrate a year of documenting weddings from the matrimonial frontline, The Wedding Reporter is launching a newly rebranded website to coincide with the beautiful bespoke hardback books that brides and grooms can now commission for their wedding reports.

Launched in March 2011 by freelance writer Emma Woodhouse, The Wedding Reporter aims to create literary legacies for discerning couples who wish to have a firsthand, creative non-fiction account of their day. This romantic narrative acts as context to the images and films of a wedding, tying together the aesthetics with traditional storytelling and acute observation.

In collaboration with Leah Spicer Creative, the newly rebranded hardback books offer couples the opportunity to have their very own love story published for posterity.

With beautiful typography, bespoke illustrations reflecting details of the wedding and the opportunity to incorporate photos alongside the narrative, published wedding reports offer an ever-lasting way to cherish the wedding day memories.

Creator and director of The Wedding Reporter, Emma Woodhouse commented: “As well as being a beautiful aide-memoir for newlyweds to pass on to future generations, wedding reports are a fantastic gift for parents, bridesmaids and even guests who are unable to attend the wedding for themselves.”

For more information about The Wedding Reporter, visit www.theweddingreporter.co.uk.

If you are looking for the perfect keepsake from your wedding then look no further…

Ex fashion designer Lindsey Napp runs a small Surrey-based company called Picture My Dress, offering bespoke fashion illustrations of brides and their wedding dresses. They make a truly personal and unique wedding keepsake. She set up her business after many years designing for world renowned labels such as Nicole Farhi and Elizabeth March to name just a few.

Each illustration is completely original. Working from photographs provided by you, Lindsey will recreate your dress in a hand drawn illustration, which will be presented in a high quality double mount, you can choose from either framed or unframed.

You can even choose the type of paper you would like for your fashion illustration. Choose from either Hand-Made Himalayan Paper (Vintage Sepia Look) or High Quality White Watercolour Paper (Classic Look). All portraits are hand-drawn using Graphic Design Markers, Ink and Designers Gouache.

She also offers gift certificates, which come in a beautiful presentation box and can be given as a wedding gift.

Find out more on her website www.picturemydress.com

Here is my 2010 Christmas Gift Guide, I have been searching high and low to find all the must-have gifts for this season. Yow will find everything from stocking fillers to blow-the-budget ideas and even a round of my favourite festive food and drink. Enjoy!

To view the gift guide full size either click on one of the pages or click the link above.

I’m always keeping my eyes out for fabulous items to add to my gift list and when I saw this gorgeous heart shaped Le Creuset casserole dish I knew I had to have it. Luckily for me and my bank balance I found a fantastic website that sells Le Creuset cookware at a cheaper price then anywhere I have previously seen. This gorgeous dish was reduced from the usual £95 to £75, plus they offer free shipping. I also couldn’t resist the Almond 18 inch casserole dish (below), it is such a classic and would make a perfect addition to your wedding gift list!!
Read on…

Hi wedding girl, I am hoping you can help me, I am the maid of honor at my best friends wedding next month and I want to buy her something special as a wedding present, something for both her and her husband that they can really treasure for years to come, do you have any ideas?

Thanks, Carly

Hi Carly, finding something really special for a wedding gift is not always easy but I have recently come across something that I think might be perfect. Motivation expert Lizzi Vandorpe has just launched a stunning book called The Blessings Book of Marriage.  The Blessings Book of Marriage was written by Lizzi Vandorpe a motivational public speaker, blogger and author. The book was created for anyone experiencing the joys of being in love, the pages within The Blessings Book of Marriage contain beautiful photography by Celia Mannings, Jason Harris and Martin Wilson, and quotations giving voice to the excitement of romance.
Read on…

I love the idea of GlobalGiving.co.uk, it is an organisation that enables you to support well-vetted, grassroots projects all over the world.
You can browse projects from all over the world. Most of the projects on GlobalGiving.co.uk are in the developing world where a small amount of money usually goes a long way, benefiting communities that wouldn’t otherwise have access to supporters in the UK. Over £17 million has now been raised for 1,500 projects, across GlobalGiving’s US and UK websites.

Visit their website and watch their video to find out more www.globalgiving.co.uk

You can also find out more about setting up your gift list here www.globalgiving.co.uk/gifts/registries.html

Hi Wedding girl, I am looking for a gift for all my bridesmaids (I have 6), I wanted to get them all a bottle of champagne but I think that is going to be too expensive, I want to spend about £15 for each. Have you got any ideas, maybe a small bottle of  liqueur or some coll chocolates or something?

Sarah

Hi Sarah

Buying bubbly for 6 bridesmaids could definitely end up being very expensive, but I may have just the answer, this month Harvey Nichols is to launch its own label Prosecco. It will be available at Harvey Nichols Wine Shops nationwide and priced at £13.50. This would make a lovely gift at an affordable price, also a great option for having at your wedding reception.

Lots of people have been talking about the gorgeous poppies that the X Factor contestants have been wearing so I wanted to  post to let you know where you can get them. For the third year in a row, Yarwood-White has been commissioned by X Factor stylists to create bespoke Poppies for the X Factor Finalists.

In week 4 of the live shows the contestants wore the simple but beautiful Poppies which were finished with soft velvet and a glass bead centre.

I think these would make really lovely gifts for bridesmaids. You can purchase the beautiful poppies from Yarwood-White.
They costs £35 and for every poppy sold, Yarwood-White will donate £5 to The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal on your behalf.

www.yarwood-white.com

What better gift for a stylish best man than a hand tailored suit! Well now you can give them just that, aSuitThatFits.com are offering these gorgeous silk gift vouchers to spend on individually hand  tailored garments. You can choose the amount you would like to put on the voucher and with individually hand tailored suits starting at just £150 they can cater for almost any budget. What’s more, their beautiful silk gift vouchers are even personalised with your names and the receiver’s name for that bespoke touch, in beautiful calligraphy embroidery. The gift vouchers come perfectly gift wrapped in a pearlescent black box, silver tissue and red ribbon.

They will individually hand tailor the recipient’s suit to perfectly fit their body contours and their personal style, with the thousands of fabrics, styles and attributes to choose from. They have three London branches and TailorStops in 13 cities nationwide.

So if you and you hubby are looking for something really unique for your best man or perhaps your father or any other special member of your wedding party who deserves a really fantastic gift then this could be just what you are looking for.

To find out more about out Embroidered Gift Vouchers please visit www.aSuitThatFits.com or call 020 3006 7999

We all love pouring over the details of real life wedding stories in magazines and on the web, but wouldn’t it be great to read your very own wedding story in a stunning, commemorative book?

Well now you can, Your Wedding Story Book is a brilliant new service providing personal wedding stories, written by professional journalists and produced in luxury, coffee-table books. By creating a beautifully written account of your celebrations, to accompany your wedding photographs, Your Wedding Story Book will help you relive all the excitement, atmosphere and joy of your very special day and provide a memorable keepsake to hand on for future generations to enjoy and feel part of the bigger picture.

Each narrative will be crafted by a professional writer, to ensure that it is lively and engaging and reflects the nuances and emotions of your big day. Creating a story book couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is simply send a high-resolution disk of your wedding photographs to Your Wedding Story Book and an experienced writer will then interview you and write up your story.

We’ll ask questions about the whole experience from the smallest finishing touches, to the unforgettable, heart-stopping moments you experienced on the day, and all those interesting behind-the-scene incidents that made your wedding unique. Your story will add context and a voice to all the emotions you felt and effort you put into your celebrations, and will be published in three, bookstore quality, luxury, coffee-table books.

Your Wedding Story Book is the inspiration of Gillian Rowe who has a wealth of experience working on glossy magazines and national newspaper supplements. Gillian knows just how to bring to life all the details of a couple’s story, from how they met, to the proposal and choosing the dress – even the best man’s speech! Your Wedding Story Book offers far more than a traditional wedding album ever could. If you are looking for something truly unique and special to capture the essence of your day, Your Wedding Story Book will help make your dreams come true.

You can find out more at www.yourweddingstorybook.com

You can view examples of the wedding story books here www.yourweddingstorybook.com/story-books

Gift service Lilac Blue, the sister company of Quintessentially Gifts, is re-launching its wedding list service this autumn – Lilac Blue Weddings www.lilacblueweddings.com.

Lilac Blue was set up in 2002 as a personal shopping service and Lilac Blue Weddings came to life when a customer requested to have her wedding list with the company a few years later. Lilac Blue Weddings soon established itself as an exclusive service to those in search of unusual gifts and excellent customer service.

Antoinette Hunter, Managing Director of Quintessentially Gifts, says: “ We have very much run Lilac Blue Weddings as an additional offer to our established personal shopping service, but feel that now is the time to take our service to the next level and make it available to all those couples interested in a very personal wedding list and the service that goes with it.”

Read on…

Hi Wedding girl, I’m looking for a gift list where I can have a normal list with all the usual gifts but I also want an option where our guests can donate to a charity, is this possible or will we need two separate gift lists?
Tara – Brighton

Hi Tara, I think letting your guests donate to a charity is lovely but of course you wouldn’t mind the wide screen TV if one of your guests insisted! Well John Lewis gift list service now let you have both! When brides and grooms to-be compile their wedding list at John Lewis they can ask guests to donate to a CAF Charity Account. CAF is a registered charity so it claims back the Gift Aid from gifts given by UK taxpayers boosting donations to the couples’ account. The money is then distributed by the couple to any charities of their choice.

Find out more about their gift list service at www.johnlewisgiftlist.com

Hi Wedding Girl,
I love your blog! Such great ideas and a little bit of wedding heaven, thank you!
I have found some gorgeous necklaces for my young bridesmaids but I’m struggling for something for the pageboys.  Have you got any suggestions?

Natasha

Hi Natasha

Buying gifts for pageboys is always a little trickier than bridesmaids as there is a lot less on offer. One thing that I have seen recently that really stood out that would be suitable for most ages was these personalised silver plated money boxes from www.thebridalgiftbox.co.uk. they come in four designs; Digger, Fire Engine, Camper Van and Ship and you can have a personalised message engraved on to them. i think this is a lovely gift that you can’t go wrong with!

They cost between £25-£29 from www.thebridalgiftbox.co.uk

We all know that couple who are impossible to buy for, the couple who have so many friends that you want to make sure YOUR gift stands out from the crowd.

Well bridesmaids, help is at hand with brand new radio service FauxShow. FauxShow is an individual radio show created especially for your loved ones.

Take two FauxShow radio professionals, a list of the couples favourite tracks, add some anecdotes, tantalising tales and drunken details of debauchery and FauxShow will hand make you a radio show dedicated especially to the bride and groom.

A quick telephone chat with the FauxShow girls is all it takes to get your (Faux) show on the road! Recorded to CD and packaged in a gorgeous presentation box, this really will make a fantastically unique wedding gift

Your gift will also stand the test of time as the couple can download it onto their MP3 players and listen to it for years to come.

You can find out more and listen to examples at www.fauxshow.co.uk

Any Sex and the City fan worth her Manolos would jump at the chance for her own ‘Carrie’ necklace, well now you can have one!!

I love these personalised necklaces from Kendi Jewlz!! They sent me this fabulous Wedding Girl necklace which I adore!

Kendi Jewlz was created after trying without success to get a unique tag for a close friend. Something that is so popular in the States was nowhere to be found in the UK and so Kendi was born. Read on…

We are getting married in July next year and we really want our guests to contribute to our honeymoon instead of buying us gifts, we know that some people are not very comfortable with this and feel it is a bit impersonal, is there a good way to ask or should we just put something in the invitation? Also is there a good company we should use for organizing this?
K – Middlesex

Hi K
Asking for money towards honeymoons instead of gifts is becoming more and more popular with couples, especially for those who already live together and have set up home. How you ask the guest is always a bit of a tricky one and yes some guests can find giving money a little impersonal. I would recommend using a company who specifically deal with these sort of gift lists as they can help you present it to your guests in a way that will make them excited and really let them see what their money is going towards!!

I really like this new company called Honeymiles, they are really young and modern and get what couples want from their honeymoon and their gift list!!
Read on…

I just wanted to tell you girls about this gorgeous new book, Cake Chic, that’s just been released by Peggy Porschen. I’ve just had a copy sent to me and couldn’t contain my excitement, it’s just stunning!

I am an absolute cake fiend so have completely fallen in love with this beautifully presented girly book.  After the enormous success of her books Pretty Party Cakes and Romantic Cakes, Peggy now focuses her considerable creative talents on creating cookies, mini cup cakes and super stylish cakes for all manner of occasions. In this book Peggy has combined her acclaimed gift for matching charming design with striking colours and her amazing flair for accessorizing cakes like fashion outfits to produce her most striking and elegant collection of cakes yet. Read on…

Wedding Girl, I’m looking for some ideas for my gift list. My partner and I are already living together so do not need anything for our home, we also have our honeymoon all booked and paid for. As we are quite comfortable we were thinking that perhaps we could ask our guests to donate money to a charity such as Unicef or BHF instead of buying us gifts we don’t really need. Do you know the easiest way we could this and do you think it’s appropriate or could it offend people who want to buy us gifts.

Claudia – Sterling

Hi Claudia

I think it is a wonderful thing to ask your guests to donate to a charity instead of buying you gifts that you don’t really need, especially if the charity is for a cause close to your heart. I don’t think it would offend any of your guests if you asked them to do this but I would suggest putting together a small gift list for some more traditional presents for anyone who feels they really want to buy something for you and your fiance.

Many charities now have it set up so you can easily set up a donation gift list with them, I have listed details for Unicef and The British Heart Foundation below.

Read on…

Hi WG

I’m getting married this summer in the Bahamas, I’m so excited!! I want to find a gift for my two bridesmaids that reflects the tropical theme of the wedding, have you got any ideas?

S – Middlesex

Hi S,

I have the perfect gift for you, I have completely fallen in love with this! It’s the Exotic Flower gift set from Elemis that my friend bought me as a thank-you gift. It is sooo lovely!!!

It comes with a Nourishing ‘Exotic Island Flower Body Balm’ that moisturises and softens your skin, not to mention smells like heaven! If it came in a litre bottle I would be stocking up!!!

The Monoi Oil leaves the skin unbelievably satin-smooth and the exquisite aroma of the Frangipani flower, known as ‘Flower of the Gods’  intoxicates the senses as the ‘Exotic Fragipani Monoi Moisture Melt’ warm oil nourishes and smooths dry areas.

Your bridesmaids can complete their spa indulgence with the lavender scented travel candle.

Tropical Bliss!!

I’m so excited!! Following on from the successful launch of their Weddings and Parties category last year, notonthehighstreet.com has just announced its new personal Wedding List Service. So I headed over to check it out…..

The first thing that I love is that they offer you access to your own experienced personal consultant to help you through the entire gift list process from getting started online to selecting the gifts which best reflect your own personal style. Unlike many of the high street giants who will leave you to fend for yourself with a scanning device, your personal consultant will be on hand to guide you as much, or a little, as you would like, ensuring that you are happy with your gift selection and that you have a wedding list that your friends and family will be excited about and delighted to buy from. Read on….

Liquid gifts are always a hit at weddings and Demijohn has created the most delicious range of wedding favours in personalised bottles!!

As a continental style liquid deli, Demijohn allows the bride and groom to choose the size and shape of the glass bottle and the delicious liqueur, whisky or spirit to go inside. They will also write a free message of your choice on the bottle.

The range of drinks is both huge and wonderful. I tried the summery Raspberry Vodka, with its brilliant red colour and smooth flavour of Scottish raspberries infused with vodka. The h2b tried the unusual Damson Gin Liqueur which he couldn’t get enough of! For a more Scottish wedding favour you could choose the Bramble Scotch Whisky liqueur which brings together the flavours of Scotland in a wonderfully rich and fruity tasting alcoholic drink.  Read on…

I’m looking for a thank you gift to give to my 3 bridesmaids on the morning of the wedding. I want something that will be a unifying accessory that they can wear on the day as they are not wearing bridesmaids dresses (they are all wearing black dresses and satin black shoes).

Carrie – Dublin

Hi Carrie, a unifying accessory is a lovely way to bring the look together for the bridesmaids and a bold statement piece will be perfect to make the girls stand out. I adore this crystal Bordeaux Heart Pendant with LOVE engraved on it from Swarovski. It will look wonderful on the day and make a spacial keepsake that they can hold onto for years to come to remind them of your happy day. This is also a necklace that they can wear any time outside of the wedding. Well worth the £78.

This can be bought in any Swarovski store or online at www.swarovski.com