Not a time of year that jumps to mind when the word Wedding is mentioned, but what better time of year for a family celebration is there? Basingstoke wedding professionals have some ideas for your festive wedding…

Christmas Themed Wedding Flowers

Paula who creates some wonderful wedding flower arrangements all year round, suggests that a perfect winter bouquet would have beautiful red grandprix roses, hypericum berries and skimmia. For her, Christmas time has the most beautiful flowers! If red isn’t your thing, then how about lime green orchids with black baccara roses for a striking bouquet combination.

Gemma the wedding stationer uses for her Christmas invites and table settings, gold and silver ribbons, she has also been busy making bauble shaped place cards. She suggests naming tables after Christmas themes and using these images on table plans. Another great tip from her that also saves money, is to send your Save the date cards combined with Christmas cards!

Christmas Wedding Bouquet

Wine Devine recommends the Christmas tipple of Rubis.  Its is an indulgent blend of fortified red with a premium chocolate flavour. You can drink as a liqueur or as a dessert wine with chocolate puddings or drizzled over ice cream!

Paul Smith is playing hard over Christmas, he is performing his regular slots at Tylney Hall Hotel on Christmas Day and Boxing day with singer joining him to perform some Christmas Carols.  His Christmas Weddings will have him playing the Piano, the saxophone and clarinet!  Performing a huge range of work from Artie Shaw to Michael Bublé, a huge range of gentle ballads, pop or full on swing improvisations.

And lastly, what can be more festive than snow at Christmas? In Hampshire at the moment metcheck.comp are saying there is a 10 percent chance of snow on Christmas Day so you never know!

Standford Springs Golf Club Wedding Fair Venue

Its a great chance to check out the venue between Newbury and Basingstoke on the A339 near to Kingsclere (in North Hampshire) and to meet some of the local Wedding Professionals.  Alan Bowman will be there to show and talk about his Wedding Photography.  The photos on this page were taken by Alan during the recent wedding of Joanne and Graham at the Golf Club.

Standford Springs Wedding Venue

The venue is easy to get to and has lots of parking.  For contact details and information on how to get there, please see the Standford Springs website.

Standford Springs Wedding Venue

Standford Springs Wedding Venue

Alan Bowman is a Wedding Photographer based in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Established in 1998, Inge joined the photography team in 2002. They are dedicated to providing you with the very best professional service and a range of the highest quality presentation products. Both are passionate about their work and provide for their clients a natural, relaxed and sensitive approach to wedding photography which reflects the demands of today’s modern bride and groom. Alan Bowman 01256 354319 alan@alanbowman.com www.alanbowman.com

The wedding fair held near to Basingstoke opens at 11:00am on the 12th of September.

Entry is free and to get you into the spirit there will be  complimentary glass of sparkling wine waiting for your arrival!

Old Basing Wedding Fair

There will be a huge range of exhibitors to help you with your Basingstoke Wedding.

Alan Bowman Wedding Photographer will be there to show his recent wedding photo albums and work.  Gemma from Handmade by Gemma will be showing her wonderful hand made wedding stationery.  Jayne Anne Bridal will have a huge range of wedding dresses for you to see and she will be hosting a Bridal cat walk at 12:30 and Trevor Cruickshank from Cruickshank’s Cakes and Events Catering will be showing some of his award winning cakes and wedding catering.  Gold Finger wedding rings will be showing their individually made wedding rings.

You will also see the following Basingstoke Wedding Professionals:

• Balloons 4 U
• My little wrapper
• Fun Casino
• Chandelle Travel
• Scentsation flowers
• Blue Bella
• Frenzy Balloons
• Absolute Disco
• Cornwell Photography
• Cathy Laney’s Flute Guitar Duo
• Frog Prince Tiaras

We look forward to seeing you there !

The fair will close at 3:00pm.

Please note the complimentary wine is for visitors aged 18 and over only.

More local Wedding Fairs can be seen on our Basingstoke Wedding Fair page.

Paul Smith has been performing professionally for around twenty years and can be heard playing piano in the restaurant most Monday evenings at Tylney Hall Hotel.

Wedding entertainment is not just limited to the piano. The saxophone is also available (accompanied by backing tracks many recorded by Paul Smith). This is immensely popular and is often booked in addition to the piano to add variety. A superb jazz quartet and a seven piece band specialising in Traditional Jazz and Dixie complete with the straw hats cover the increasingly popular jazz styles. Finally, a ten piece function band specialising in Soul and Blues with many pieces by Van Morrison add to the flexible line up available.

Paul Smith particularly enjoys playing swing music as it is up-beat and ‘lifts the soul’.

The ‘day job’ stays with music. Paul Smith teaches woodwind at the City of London Freemen’s School and Yateley Manor. A great source of satisfaction can be found in running the various ensembles at the schools including a very professional sounding Concert Band who recently performed Shostakovich’s Festive Overture at the Dorking Halls and a competent and ever growing Jazz Band.

Paul Smith has two web sites; paulsmithmusic.co.uk and paulsmithmusic.biz where more information can be found including demonstrations and repertoire lists of the ensembles. You may also contact him via mail@paulsmithmusic.co.uk.

Paul Smith has been performing professionally for around twenty years and can be heard playing piano in the restaurant most Monday evenings at Tylney Hall Hotel. Paul Smith mail@paulsmithmusic.co.uk paulsmithmusic.biz paulsmithmusic.co.uk

The Perk Scheme is run by Destination Basingstoke and offers up to £1,800 worth of local shopping and leisure offers for its members. You can now buy individual cards for yourself or family for just £20 – (was £30). The perk card contains offers with around 60 different local businesses including Basingstoke Weddings suppliers, Handmade by Gemma, Cruickshanks Cakes, and Wedding Entertainment by Paul Smith.

How can you save Pennies?
You can make savings at all sorts of places including: Cinemas, Restaurants, Health & Beauty Salons, Hairdressers and Jewellery Stores and now your local wedding suppliers!
Below are the offers you could take advantage of when planning your wedding if you purchase a perk card:
Handmade by Gemma will offer a 10% discount on wedding stationery orders when presented with a valid Perk Card. Terms and conditions apply.
Cruickshanks Cakes & Event Catering-
15% off any celebration cake and 15% off any catering booking over 30 people when perk card is shown. Terms and conditions apply.
Paul Smith’s Wedding Entertainment-
Receive 10% off Paul Smith Wedding Entertainment when you present a valid Perk Card.

Terms and conditions may apply on these offers so please check directly with the supplier.

Helping the town of Basingstoke
Your Perk membership fee goes to Destination Basingstoke – a not-for-profit marketing agency for Basingstoke and the surrounding area. It aims to promote the Borough as an attractive place to live, work and visit, and as a first choice location for business.

Profits from the membership scheme will go towards the marketing and promotion of Basingstoke so the more members we have, the more we can promote the town.

Terms and conditions do apply to individual offers but most can be used repeatedly until 12 months from when you signed up. If all offers are taken up, and those that allow unlimited usage are used four times, then the total package is worth around £1,800.00.

How do I join to get great discount on my wedding?
For more information about how to join the ‘Perk Scheme’ and get great discounts on wedding suppliers contact the perk scheme directly on 01256 461167 or visit the website at destinationbasingstoke.co.uk

For more information about the suppliers listed and what they do best please contact them directly or visit their websites.

Handmade by Gemma- handmadebygemma.com

Cruickshank’s Cakes & Event Catering- cruickshankscakes.com

Paul Smith’s Wedding Entertainment- paulsmithmusic.biz

Work by Trevor Cruickshank

The prestigious Salon Culinaire International De Londres at Hotelympia in London, runs every two years, giving experts in lots of different fields the chance to compete with the best of the best in one of the highest and most recognised awards in the industry.

Work by Trevor Cruickshank

Trevor entered three different pieces and his handmade sugar mask was judged to be the best!

Work by Trevor Cruickshank

Our congratulations go to Trevor and his fine work which you can have at your wedding, call him on 07593 145969 to discuss your Wedding Day on or visit his websites cruickshankscakes.com / cruickshankscatering.com.

Trevor Cruickshank is an award winning Wedding Cake maker. With over 13 years of experience, he makes tradional and modern cakes for weddings in and around Basingstoke. Cruickshanks Cakes 07593 145969 cruickshankscakes@hotmail.co.uk www.cruickshankscakes.com

GlobalGiving.co.uk

These days the traditional wedding gift seems a little out of kilter for some. Many couples have already set up home and are now looking for alternative ways to channel the generosity of their guests in celebration of their ‘big day’.  Giving to charity to help those more in need is fast becoming a favoured wedding gift alternative, and with Global Giving’s on-line Wedding Gift Registry, a couple can choose the charitable projects that mean most to them, asking guests to donate to the cause instead of buying yet another toaster!

It’s quick and easy to create a Wedding Gift Registry page on Global Giving and let guests know how to start giving. Your wedding registry page is easy to personalise and there are over 350 charitable projects to choose from all over the world. Everyone and anyone can choose a cause, give, and see the impact of their donation. It is fast, easy to use and allows someone to make an informed choice when giving to charity

The betrothed can easily sign up for an account with GlobalGiving.co.uk and then create a wedding list. Then pick the projects that they would like their guests to donate towards. You can pick as many projects as you like to put on the list. You can then send the list to your guests directly from the Global Giving website and the guests can then donate to your chosen causes. A running total on the site is kept showing how much has been raised by the guests so that you can thank your guests.

Global Giving can also handle Gift-aid so any donations by guests from people within the UK will be eligible for Gift-aid so the lovely tax-man doesn’t get involved and the whole donation goes to the cause.

Over the last year we have posted over 30 articles about weddings, services and things of interest for those planning a wedding in and around the Hampshire town of Basingstoke. We have had over 3500 visitors. Mostly from around the area, but some from much further afield.

The team of Wedding Specialists who write and illustrate the articles of BasingstokeWeddings.com have over 250 years of experience between them.  That is a massive amount of knowledge that you can use to make your wedding a wonderful occasion.  With such a diverse set of skills and the huge amount of experience, they are best wedding specialists you can find in and around Basingstoke.

This year they have done more weddings than ever before and they are on track already to do even more next year, giving many more happy couples the benefit of their experience and knowledge.

Its been a challenging year in many ways for everyone, but their expertise in the wedding business has helped hundreds of couples from Basingstoke and the surrounding areas to have a wonderful day that they will remember.  Over the year they have all added to their offerings, made improvements and worked very hard to ensure they deliver the best possible service.

Some of our many visitors from the last year according to Google have come from London, Basingstoke, Reading, Woodley, Pudsey, Southampton, Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bracknell, Windsor, Immingham, Newquay, Sheffield, Bristol, Glasgow, Crowthorne, Edinburgh, Milton Keynes, Wokingham, Wembley, Chelmsford, Winnersh, Chineham, Winchester, Ewell, Coventry, Oxford, Bournemouth, Poplar, Woking, Aldershot, Eastleigh, Portsmouth, Cleethorpes, Slough, Wallington, Edgbaston, Binfield, Derby, Watford, Teddington, Dundee, Hinckley, Sale, Newbury, Salford, Cardiff, Abingdon, Bath, Salisbury, Batley, Walton-le-Dale, Billingham, Frimley, Caerphilly, Flitwick, Liverpool, Northhampton, Burnham, Walton-on-Thames, Farnborough, Romsey, Camberley, Newcastle upon Tyne, Esher, Solihull, Plymouth, Nottingham, Stockport, Croydon, Bagshot, Egham, Harrogate, Worthing, Langford, Chatham, Ascot, Marlow, Warrington, Hemel Hempstead, Rock Ferry, Winsford, Cosham, Thatcham, Ipswich, Lasswade, Thurrock, St Albans, Rotherham, Letchworth, York, Stevenage, Cookham Dean, Northampton, Wombwell, Dartfort, Leicester, Swindon, Guildford, Bradford, Aveley, Totton, Aldermaston, Ely, West Moors, Royal Leamington Spa, Compton, Luton, Tipton, Iver, Wakefield, Lambeth, Maidenhead, Dunmurry, Huddersfield, Thames Ditton, Norwich, Dunstable, Greenock, Langley, North Tyneside , Meriden, Waterlooville, Andover, Leighton Buzzard, Virginia Water, Exeter, Hove, Rochdale, Halifax, Histon, Royston, Brierley Hill, Rainhill, Uttoxeter, Paisley, Somercotes, Matlock, Kilwinning , Ampthill, Chertsey, Brighton, Bolton, Redhill, Westerham, Belfast, Perth, Blackburn, Gravesend, Denmead, Dumbarton, Wednesbury, Hull, Hindhead, Waltham Cross, Rushden, Doncaster, Gateshead, Dudley, Kirkcaldy, Livingston, Harwell, Colchester, Fareham, Rusper, Beaconsfield, Haddenham, Sutton, Stourbridge, Ashford, Leyland, Stanwell, Cheltenham, Rayleigh, Cheshunt, Hastingwood, Stoke on Trent, Boness, Silchester, Connahs Quay, Gloucester, Chichester, Chandlers Ford, Hengoed, South Cernery, Alton, Henley-on-Thames, Carlisle, Walsall, Loughborough, Darlington, Fordingbridge, Mossley, Havant, Kirklees, Lancing, Shipley, Conwy, High Wycombe, Lincoln, Westhoughton, Kensington, Chorley, Clacton-on-Sea, Birkenhead, Bletchley, Swallowfield, Hereford, Chester, Biggleswade, Sutton in Ashfield, Kenilworth, Odiham, Sunderland, Calne, Bedford, Avon, Macclesfield, Kempston, Mansfield, Banbury, Overseal , Kettering, Rutherglen, Neath, Wigan, Northfleet, Newport, Evesham, Rugby, Basildon, Newcastle under Lyme, St Ives and Hastings.

We are looking forward to the next year and all the weddings that we will help with!

On Sunday you will be able to buy dresses with massive discounts, see and sample Trevor’s fine Wedding Cakes which are again available with some huge discounts, especially for early bookings!

The event will be held at
Ridgeway Centre – Map
Blackdown Close,
Buckskin
Basingstoke
RG22 5BN

For more information talk to Jayne Ann ( 01256 406650 )  and Trevor Cruickshank ( 07593 145969).