All the latest wedding news for couples getting married in the North East, along with bridal fashion and beauty inspiration and honeymoon ideas.
Expert advice on how to clean your engagement ring at home
Wearing your ring every day will take its toll - a build-up of things like oil, debris and cosmetic residue can create a thin layer on your ring making it look dull.
The good news is that there is no reason you can't keep your diamond as vibrant and twinkly as the day you received it- it just takes a little sprucing up every so often.
Jewellery experts at Queensmith have shared their straightforward tips for when you need to clean your ring safely at home.
Posted: 23 April 2022
Refurbished outdoor terraced ready for spring and summer
With glorious sweeping views of the North East coastline and a grand interior staircase as a backdrop to photographs, what better location is there to enjoy the most memorable day than The Grand Hotel, Tynemouth?
The company has just refurbished the beautiful outdoor roof terrace, which is adjacent to the elegant Orchid Suite, and is equipped with firepits, festoon lighting, speakers, comfortable outdoor seating and a rooftop bar. Guests can enjoy refreshing arrival drinks and tasty, homemade canapés during drink receptions while taking in the stunning sea views of the award-winning Long Sands Beach.
Posted: 22 April 2022
Written in the Stars: the perfect wedding for your star sign
When it comes to organising your wedding you can be pulled in so many different directions, it's easy to lose sight of how you envisioned your big day. It's common to become overwhelmed and doubt what style of nuptial suits you.
So, instead put it in the hands of fate. Get the stars to light the way and offer some useful suggestions. Are you unsure if you would thrive in an extravagant event or would favour a simpler, intimate ceremony? Well your zodiac placement may be able to offer some guidance. We explore the perfect weddings ideas for each star sign.
Posted: 21 April 2022
Honeywell Biscuit Co's new wedding range
Honeywell Biscuit Co has launched a new range of seasonal and bespoke wedding biscuits - perfect as favours, place settings and gifts for the bridal party! Nestled in the heart of the Northamptonshire countryside, the bakery is home to more than 2,000 cookie cutters and a team of biscuit artists creating beautifully decorated biscuits for weddings up and down the country. When it comes to flavours and favour designs the team have taken on everything from the traditional to the weird and the wonderful. Various biscuit flavours are available from popular vanilla to gingerbread and all are suitable for vegetarians, vegan biscuits can be organised too.
Posted: 21 April 2022
Prepare for wedding season gifting with Viners
There will be a whopping 350,000 weddings in 2022 due to two years of cancelled and postponed plans. With guests likely to be attending more than one event this year, as well as the happy couple themselves tying the knot and needing a gift list - where do you begin with choosing multiple presents?
Viners is a highly distinguished, trusted and much-loved cutlery brand with over over a century of cutlery manufacturing experience. Here's their gift guide for some much-need wedding gifting inspiration.
Posted: 19 April 2022
Ten jewellery superstitions to know before your big day
Certain jewellery worn on your wedding day can bring bad luck to brides and grooms, according to experts. Ethical jewellery experts Ingle & Rhode have gathered some of the most unusual superstitions surrounding accessories that you might not know about. From necklaces to bracelets, lots of jewellery has hidden meanings that are considered lucky or unlucky, depending on what it is and when it is worn. Some jewellery, like rosary beads, are considered good luck, whereas wearing pearls on your wedding day suggests that you will have tears in your marriage.
Posted: 19 April 2022
Nicola Peltz’s wedding gown inspires brides-to-be
Analysis of Google search data reveals that online searches for 'square neck wedding dress' exploded 1,556% on the 9th of April, just hours after Nicola Peltz and Brooklyn Beckham married at her family's estate in Palm Beach, Florida. A new finding by fabric experts Dalston Mill Fabrics reveals that online interest for 'square neck wedding dress' skyrocketed sixteen times the average volume in the first few hours after the couple tied the knot, an unprecedented spike in the public searching to mirror the bride's elegant custom-made Valentino gown.
Posted: 11 April 2022
Brits think Beckham wedding is OTT
Brits are on the fence about Brooklyn Beckham's £3 million wedding this weekend, with over half suggesting under £10,000 is adequate for a wedding allowance. As Nicola's father Nelson Peltz foots the bill, over four times the amount David and Victoria spent on theirs in 1999, we surveyed 1,000 Brits to ask how much they think is a reasonable amount to spend on a wedding day. The research, from event experts Gazeboshop found 23% of Brits cap their wedding budget at £5,000, while the majority of those planning weddings are happy to stretch to £10,000 for their celebration.
Posted: 10 April 2022
Elephant Gin's beautiful personalised gifts that give back
Fresh from winning Taste Master at The Spirits Business' Gin Masters Awards 2021, having been awarded the world's best gin by a panel of independent judges who described the gin as simply "stunning". 2022 sees the lauded brand offer their gin in stylish gifting options with a personalised dedication and miniature bottles which are great as wedding favours. Elephant Gin offers a gift that both tastes great and is one of a kind, 15% of the profit from each bottle also gives back to foundations that work to protect African elephants (they've raised nearly £1m to date)
Posted: 7 April 2022
2022’s biggest TikTok wedding trends
We all remember the lockdown TikTok dance routines that everyone copied and shared on the app - also the start of the County Wedding Magazines' teams' obsession with The Weeknd's Blinding Lights track! But did you know, how much the app is actually used to help couples plan their wedding days? The hashtag #WeddingHacks has a whopping 103 million views on TikTok. From ways to keep your wedding stress free, to theme and location inspiration, the app is clearly a source of enlightenment for couples planning their weddings worldwide.
Posted: 4 April 2022
The myth of the Common Law Marriage
During the pandemic, temporary measures were introduced to the wedding scene to allow more flexibility and couples to proceed with their wedding even under lockdown laws.
Weddings were permitted to be conducted outdoors at certain licensed venues across England and Wales, which meant couples could still marry safely during the lockdowns.
In an exciting move towards helping couples have the wedding of their dreams, outdoor weddings at licensed venues will be legalised permanently as of 6th April 2022, under The Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
Posted: 4 April 2022
Post-pandemic hen, stag and sten dos boom!
The wedding sector like many others suffered a huge setback when the Pandemic struck in March 2020 but unlike other industries, events were rescheduled rather than cancelled.
With that in mind, a significant increase in weddings is expected this year as long awaited plans are put into action to trigger the much discussed 'Wedding Boom' and with that comes the rise in belated hen, stag, sten and hag dos - get ready to par-tay like it's 2022!
Posted: 31 March 2022
Sustainable wedding trends in 2022
With the world becoming more conscious of its own environmental impact, it's no wonder that sustainable weddings have been growing in popularity over the years. The alternative can also be a lot cheaper helping to make your wedding more affordable as well as eco-friendly.
A new study by Money.co.uk has revealed the most popular sustainable wedding trends on Pinterest, from sustainable confetti and invites, to rings, decorations and favours here's exactly what sustainable wedding inspiration people are saving and searching for in preparation for their big day...
Posted: 28 March 2022
Mother's Day (and wedding day) gifting for mums!
Finding the perfect gift for our mum's can be a difficult, as finding a gift to thank her for everything she does seems like an impossible task especially with all the help and support on hand during the wedding planning process and the big day itself.
Leading gifting specialists Farrar and Tanner has a large selection of gifts for her that can be engraved with a heartfelt message to show her how much you care.
Ideal for Mother's Day and wedding day 'thank you' gifts, give back with a personalised handpicked, gift-wrapped present, delivered straight to you or directly to your mum.
Posted: 23 March 2022
The wedding trends to look out for in 2022
With 2022 predicted to be the summer of love for weddings, after two years of postponed I dos, there's going to be a whole host of wedding inspiration to whet the appetite of nearlyweds-to-be.
Whether you already have your venue or know your colour scheme, research by Diys.com has revealed that the top wedding trend for 2022 is all-things vintage! Likely driven by our obsession with Netflix' Bridgerton, we just can't get enough of regal pomp and splendour.
Read on to find out what we should be looking out for in 2022!
Posted: 21 March 2022
Are your parents contributing to your wedding day?
New research from Wealthify has found that just over a third (35.7%) of parents in the UK plan to contribute financially to their children's weddings.
More than 40% of parents in the UK plan to contribute between £1,000 and £5,000 with an additional quarter planning to contribute between £5,000 to £15,000 on their children's big days. A further 1 in 10 plan to fork out a substantial £15,000 to £30,000.
In a post-pandemic world, where many celebrations were cancelled or postponed, Brits are celebrating their nuptials in a big way. Data shows that we are spending more than ever, and London parents are the most generous on average, willing to cough up £14,757.14 to see their children tie the knot.
Posted: 16 March 2022
Outdoor civil weddings and civil partnerships made permanent
One positive that came from Covid affecting the wedding industry, and trust us there are not many, was that it highlighted how archaic our weddings laws are in the UK and how badly they needed modernising to reflect couples' desires.Temporary legislation allowing outdoor civil weddings and partnerships to take place outside of a permanent structure such as a pagoda, has been in place since last summer. At the time it allowed Covid-secure weddings to go ahead, however, the move was so widely received that from April it will be a permanent change.
Posted: 15 March 2022
A must-read wedding novel from reality TV star and presenter Georgia Toffolo
After two years of postponed and cancelled weddings, here at County Wedding Magazines' HQ we just can't get enough of all things wedding and with 2022 set to be a bumper year of love and nuptials we're in for a treat.
What's more, for a complete wedding fix, we've turned to TV star and Sunday Times Top 20 bestselling author Georgia Toffolo's fourth and final instalment in the Meet Me In series, where saying 'I do' is just the beginning...
Posted: 15 March 2022
Should you get married on Mother's Day?
Choosing your wedding date is one of the most important things when it comes to planning your wedding. We are very quickly moving from traditional etiquette into a society where we are far more flexible with these. Award Winning UK Wedding Planner - Illy Goodall from Illy Elizabeth Weddings shares her insight into whether you should get married on Mother's Day.
There are certain days within the year that you should try to avoid getting married, however with the backlog of weddings this year we are using any given date possible. Whilst I don't think there is personally anything wrong with setting the date for Mother's Day, it can be inconvenient for some people who wish to spend this day with family.
Posted: 14 March 2022
Creating the perfect sweet table at your wedding
Online sweetie wholesaler Wholesale Sweets is helping couples create the tastiest sweets table for their guests to enjoy on their wedding day. Sweets tables are a great way to give guests another treat at wedding receptions and over the years they've become extremely popular. Kathryn Hague from Wholesale Sweets said: "We understand that catering to your guests is an important part of your wedding day so we wanted to give couples some tips on how to create a gorgeous sweets table that guests will keep coming back to...
Posted: 9 March 2022
Collaboration across continents needed to make bride’s dream dress a reality
Back in 2020, photographs went viral of Jasmine Dauphine, a high school student in Washington DC who was wearing a stunning red dress purchased for her prom – this sadly was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Andréa Benton, a native of Cincinnati, saw the gown and knew she needed it for her wedding. She discovered that the dress was made to order in China by Lunss Couture, a company favoured by American women seeking custom-made affordability.
Posted: 24 February 2022
Discover this countryside wedding venue in Northumberland
Located in the tranquil countryside near Corbridge in Tyne Valley, Healey Barn is a luxurious wedding venue full of character and charm. The original building was converted by Cripps & Co back in 2015 and still includes many historical touches. The Long Barn features an impressive-raised cruck roof, three giant candelabra, wall-mounted candle holders, a canopy of fairylights woven into the oak ceiling and an open fireplace, which creates an enchanting and romantic atmosphere. This location is perfect for ceremonies with 144 guests and gets transformed in the evenings for beautiful receptions with a dancefloor.
Posted: 15 February 2022
Don't miss Newcastle Cathedral's wedding exhibition
After substantial remodelling in 2021, Newcastle Cathedral will host its first large-scale exhibition from February 16th to March 24th, 2022. A Century of Wedding Gowns will showcase wedding dresses and accessories from the last 140 years collected and curated by Sunderland-based Kevin Thornhill. He studied Art and Design at Manchester University to work in theatre wardrobe. After serving his time with London theatres and the Emanuels where he was a member of the team making Diana, Princess of Wales, wedding gown before returning to the North East to run his own wedding business.
Posted: 10 February 2022
Planning a wedding in 2022? Choose a theme based on your star sign
Following a 7,200% increase in interest for the search term "zodiac wedding" in the past 12 months¹, event specialists, AYRE Event solutions, delve into how your star sign traits could be used to choose your perfect wedding theme.
Speaking with wedding experts at AYRE Event Solutions, mystic and astrologer Inbaal Honigman says: "People will generally pick a partner whose temperament they match with, and star signs have a significant role to play in that compatibility. Similarly, when it's time to book a wedding, star signs certainly play a part."
With this in mind, wedding experts at AYRE Event Solutions analyse astrological birth charts to reveal 12 wedding themes inspired by the 12 zodiac signs:
Posted: 9 February 2022
Exchange vows at Redworth Hall Hotel in County Durham
Situated in one of the most beautiful areas in the North East, Redworth Hall Hotel is a 17th-century Jacobean manor that provides the perfect setting for weddings. Set in 26 acres of landscaped grounds and woodlands, the stunning property boasts classic architecture with contemporary and modern features. The venue has several function rooms available to accommodate for ceremonies and receptions of all sizes. The largest space is the Prince Bishop Suite, which hosts 180 seated guests and includes a private foyer area and a bar.
Posted: 8 February 2022
