Getting married in October?

Finding a good Wedding Photographer can be very difficult and expensive, your wedding photographer will be capturing all the details of your wedding day for you to remember for years to come and these images have to be what you want and capture all the special moments.

Wedding Guru has a brilliant photography offer for any brides who are struggling to organise their photographer for their big day! In association with SEO Creative photography we are offering brides the chance to have 2 photographers for their big day for only £800. For this money you get all the images on disc so you have full rights to get them printed out or put into an album as you like.

Many wedding photographers will charge you a lot of money for a certain number of images to be printed and for extra prints you can end up paying thousands of pounds! We will give you all the images taken by 2 professional photographers of the day including full editing on a selection. By giving you all of your images you can use them and print them as many times as you want, even giving them as gifts to family members.

This offer is only for October 2010 but we hoping to extend it further! If you are interested in photography offer please email info@wedding-guru.co.uk

This offer does not include any travel expenses which are charged at 40p per mile from Knutsford Cheshire.

Trendy high street store Urban Outfitters are getting into the wedding scene with a new online wedding store, Urban outfitters have always been where the cool and trendy people get their clothes and is slightly more expensive than other high street stores like Topshop.

Urban outfitters are trying the line of Bridal garments online before branching out to stores and are being created by Anthropologie’s designers who will be working with other guest designers to create the bridal range.

If Urban outfitters bridal line is anything like their traditional line these garments will be trendy, and very diffferent to the most other bridal gowns. I doubt they will conform to traditional meringue style dresses but will probably go for either a chic look or a laid back look.

Who knows but I am interested to see what this line looks like as Urban outfitters are probably the least bridal company on the high street with quite an underground style for their shops it is a far cry from the prim and proper bridal boutiques you associate with wedding outfits.

CEO Glen Senk explained.

“We want to offer a community for brides,” he said. “Travel services, wedding planning and flowers are things we could potentially offer. We’re trying not to be just about selling products. We want to help the bride plan the wedding.”

The team aren’t ust going to produce wedding dresses but are looking at bridesmaid dresses, jewelry, shoes, accessories and even invitations.

We are in the fortunate circumstances that despite the economy we are still likely to have lovely wedding, much more than I had ever imagined. Most of this is down to the generosity of my Mother and luckily we are both in good jobs in an industries that are thriving (touch wood). It seems that although people are spending less money on weddings, it is occasions like these that are actually helping the economy.

With unsurity ahead a lot of people don’t want to let go of the money they have, just in case, but a lot of people are seeing the value of being around friends and family and celebrating love. I guess it is a ray of sunshine for a lot of people and for this reason as more people get married it gives the economy just a little bit of a boost.

So what the government should be doing is trying tp get more people to marry, and renew their vows it will lift the mood of the nation and business wil benefit from dress makers, high streets as other guests want something to wear for the occassion, local hotels and accommodation, venues, cake makers, printers… the list is endless, as I am realising.

These occassions can really help boost local communities and celebrities who can afford flash in the pan marriages should be setting the example. Celebrities would be great as they ted to get married again, maybe even twice in one recession. So I put it out to all Big Brother stars, soap stars, X factor, who ever you are go to some TV or Music award meet someone you love right now and do your bit for the country.

As you can probably tell my wedding is looking to be quite traditional, and politics will not be the main agenda but should new brides hold onto strong feminist views when planning a wedding or are we all just hypocrites?

I try to think of myself as being a modern woman, I work hard and make my own money and we share the bills straight down the middle in our household. Me and Luke have an equal relationship, and we both have different strong points that we bring to the partnership.

I wouldn’t say that I am an active feminist but there are some views I believe in and I do think women should be treated as equals within reason. However I believe that equality is subject to context, as men and women are different that should be respected and celebrated; rather than trying to make everyone the same. This is of course only referring to physical attributes, when it comes to intellect, the same opportunities should be open to both genders.

So what about marriage? Most feminists are not against getting married but it is the way you do it and which aspects of the traditions and customs you adopt for your ceremony.

The most condescending tradition is that the father of the bride should give his daughter away, representing the bride going from her fathers care into her new husbands’. This is a tradition that I am not taking up, although I will be given away, it will be my Mother who walks me down the aisle. This is due to my Mother being the most influential person in my life and I am proud to walk down the aisle with her, as for being put into Luke’s care… well as mentioned before it is a partnership and he can try as much as he likes but ‘obey’ will not be n the vows .

Another tradition is taking on the surname, I will be taking on Lukes surname, as I am not particularly attached to my surname and have been known as both Routledge, and Benstead in the past (my fathers and step fathers surname). I also want to have the same surname as my children when we do start a family.

Many feminists keep their own name or add a double barreled surname, that is their choice and I think if for some reason I had been attached to my surname I may consider it. Other feminists opt for a hybrid of both names, or choosing a mutually agreed surname that has no reference to either surname. I quite like the idea of surnames being passed down as it helps if you wanted to trace your family tree, also gives you a sense of belonging to something (must be a tribal influence).

As I am not a feminist, I do not feel any guilt in wanting to feel like a princess for one day, I wouldn’t want to be a hypocrit but I think that a feminist wedding can be just as lovely as a traditional.

The flawless bride was Doris, a mannequin from Bayside who spends most of her days on the balcony of a Victorian Terrace on Canterbury Road and has become a local celebrity to No. 96 tram passengers over the past 20 years.

Doris is a fashionable mannequin who keeps up with the trends of the seasons and has even been known to don a footy scarf in support of the AFL grand final. Her outfits change on a weekly basis but her wedding gown was the designed in anticipation of her owners, Anne and Graham Lindsay, to get her married off so as not to become a lonely old spinster.

“I have said all along that I would like to get a man,” says Anne, who delights in dressing Doris in op shop finds as a hobby. The mannequin has her own wardrobe in the Lindsays’ house featuring all manner of outfits, and accessories including 10 hats and five wigs. The women at the local Uniting Church op shop even put aside outfits for her. But Doris’ new bloke created a fashion crisis.

When a St Kilda mannequin collector offered up “George”, Ms Lindsay snapped him up and a balcony wedding was hastily arranged. She bought a second-hand wedding dress and bolero jacket and made a bridal veil and cummerbund so the couple would look the part for their week-long wedding pose.

“If you’d been on the balcony for two decades, wouldn’t you love anyone that came into your life?” Ms Lindsay says of the quickie marriage. Her husband said the wedding stopped traffic. “When George went up, a lot of people pulled up and did a double take.”

Doris may have kept her figure over the years but has weathered somewhat from exposure to the elements. “She looks all right from a distance but she’s pretty rough up close,” says Mr Lindsay. “She scrubbed up all right in her wedding dress.”

The Lindsays inherited Doris from a friend who worked in a shoe store, 25 years ago when the store closed down. The “lady of the balcony” has had many male admirers in her batchelorette years, including the Port Phillip Deputy Mayor and Albert Park ward, even female Councillor Judith Klepner has had her eye on Doris.

“We love Doris – she is an icon and reminds us to adjust our wardrobe for the change of seasons,” she said. “One of the unexpected joys of travelling the 96 light rail is coming across Doris resplendent on her Canterbury Road balcony. Doris is a total fashionista and an important figurehead. She never seems to date or show her age.”

Doris’ marriage will cause heartbreak to some admirers as she has received Christmas cards, and an anonymous admirer has left a Valentine’s Day gift of flowers for many years.

Doris’ fame has spread as far as San Francisco as the Lindsays received letters from a gay couple who had a male mannequin. Unfortunately the romance never blossomd in the way the proud parents would have liked keeping Doris as a single mannequin.

It hasn’t always been sweetness and light for Doris as some passers by who tried to spark up a conversation with Doris, got frustrated with her quiet demeanor and started to throw rocks and stones at Doris and the Lindsays house. Mr Lindsay however chased the culprits in defense of his ‘dummy’s’ honour.

In her younger days Doris was a bit wild and it was not uncommon to see her accompanying the Lindsays at street parties and nightclubs and she used to be quite a flirt wearing skimpy outfits.

“We decked her out in a fishnet bikini and you should have seen the cars. At first glance, she was pretty striking and blokes would be looking up at her and not where they were going on the road. We’ve had a lot of fun with her over the years.”

“She’s part of the family,” adds Ms Lindsay.

However now she is older she seems ready to settle down and set up home and balcony with her partner.I’d like to wish Doris all the happiness as she spends the rest of her days with her new partner.

Today is Barbies Birthday and she looks great for 50, although between you and me I think she’s had some work done! I wondered about Barbie and Ken, if they are married or just living in sin. I had a look and found Barbie Bride’s.

She seems to be fond of the traditional white dress with long veil. The above image has a strapless dress and full skirt which seems to suit her figure well. After trying on many wedding dresses I’d have to admit this is one of my favorite styles, but the skirt can be a bit uncomfortable depending on the layers and weight of the material. The image below shows an imitation of the famous Vera Wang wedding dress, which is fitted with an elaborate fishtail that spills into a short train.

The first Barbie doll was released 50 years ago today and is one of the most popular children’s toy to date, approximately 3 barbie dolls are sold every second all over the world and older Barbies, if in good condition, are worth thousands. Vogue famously published an article a few years ago urging its fashion conscious readers to buy a Barbie in mint condition and hide it under their bed for a few years.