In this weeks interview post we are talking to Sharon from Get ahead hats in Thaxted.
Sharon has this beautiful barn conversion where she runs her branch of Get Ahead Hats from. With 100′s of hats in stock and a stunning dressing room so you can try on your complete outfit with lots of different hats, it’s a very special place to complete very special outfits. I spent a fantastic morning with Sharon in her showroom, looking at all the stunning hats and hearing all about what makes them so special.
What makes Get Ahead Hats so special?
All our hats are designer hats and many are exclusive to Get Ahead Hats. Made in the UK they are exceptional quality, and often couture, so you can be assured of something truly special.
Get Ahead Hats was started 22 years ago. There are branches throughout the UK, all in beautiful country locations, where you can be assured of a warm welcome and comfort whilst you select your special hat.
What is important to you at Get Ahead Hats?
Helping clients find the perfect hat to compliment and set off their outfit, whilst ensuring it’s an enjoyable experience.
Can you make bespoke designs?
Many of our hats are already exclusive to Get Ahead Hats, and alterations can be made to some hats in stock.
Can I hire a hat or do I have to buy it?
All our hats are for hire or sale.
Where can I see some of your hats?
You can visit the showroom or visit the website for a taster. Between all the showrooms in the UK there are 1000′s of hats to chose from, and we can get hats from each other usually within 24 hours.
You will also be able to visit us at the Blake Hall Wedding fayre on 11 Oct 09, where we will have a selection of hats on show for you to try.
How much do you hats cost?
Buying hats and fascinators start at £40 upto £500 for some couture hats.
Hiring hats and fascinators costs range from £20 – £90, with the average cost being £40
Can I bring my outfit to try on with your hats?
Yes, PLEASE do! It’s hard to find the perfect hat without your outfit, so we actively encourage all our customers to bring all of their outfit, including shoes, handbags and other acessories if they already have them. If you are looking for some accesories for your outfit we also stock a range of handbags, pashminas and jewellery.
How soon before the wedding do I need to think about hiring my hat?
If you are getting married around the time of Royal Ascot, you need to plan ahead and reserve your hat sometime in advance, but otherwise once you have your outfit, come and have a look as the earlier you come, the more choice you have, but I can always fit ‘last minute’ ladies in too.
How can I get in touch with Get Ahead Hats?
Get Ahead Hats
Goodards Farm
Thaxted
Great Dunmow
CM6 2RF
Our clients normally collect hire hats on thursday and Fridays, returning them on Mondays, however we are flexible. Clients who purchase their hats take them with them.
How often do you get new stock in?
Our winter stock starts arriving in September, with next spring and summer range arriving in March/April.
In this weeks interview we are talking to Patrick at Wish Lanterns. Wish lanterns are becoming more and more popular at weddings in the UK and with a long and interesting history, they are going to be around for many more years to come.
Where does the tradition of Wish lanterns come from?
The tradition of wish lanterns is a pretty long and interesting one - The original Kongming lantern is thought to have been invented in China during the the 3rd century. The invention is credited to a military strategist called Zhuge Liang, but this is quite probably wrong. Apparently the Chinese have a bit of a habit of giving credit to people who were already important figures of their society! The lanterns were originally used as signalling balloons, but over the centuries they became used at celebrations as a sign of good luck, which is where we took our Company name from, with the idea of making a wish as you release one.
Why are Wish Lanterns good for Weddings?
We’ve found a lot of people come to us because they don’t want to spend the time or money on organising a fireworks display. Wish Lanterns don’t need a professional to come and let them off, and it can be a really nice way to round off the reception by getting all the guests outside to let one off. The feedback we’ve had nearly all mentions how nice the guests thought it was to really get involved in doing something for the wedding!
What is important to you at Wish lanterns?
We believe one of the most important things about or company is to make sure the customer is happy, all orders that are made before 4pm are dispatched on the same day on a next day delivery service. There’s always someone here to answer the phone, and we make sure all emails are answered the same day we receive them. We also follow up with our customers to make sure they’ve arrived on time and everything was fine with them. People are often pretty shocked when they get their order within 1 day of making it!
How can I use wish lanterns at my wedding or celebration?
There’s a couple of different approaches to using our wish lanterns at weddings. You can either get a couple for the Bride and Groom to release, whilst everyone watches, either before their first dance or after the ceremony. Or some people like to go for the mass release of lanterns, where they give each guest at the wedding a lantern and they can be let off simultaneously, this is quite nice as it really gets everyone involved in doing something for the wedding.
Can you do bespoke designs?
We do offer customized wedding packages, which you can see at http://wishlantern.co.uk/wish_lantern_weddings.html. For these we put a custom insert into each wish lantern, with the name of the couple and the date of the wedding. You also get wish cards, which people can write messages on or keep as a keepsake from the day.
Do you do bulk orders for weddings?
Our largest wedding package consists of 100 lanterns, but we can do larger bulk orders. Just need to give us a ring or drop us an email and we’ll let you know our best price!
Are wish lanterns safe to use?
Wish Lanterns are very safe to use, one of the reasons we get a lot of people for weddings coming to us is that their a lot easier to organise than a fireworks display. Literally all you need is a lighter to set them off, there’s no explosions or big bangs or anything like that. Although of course we wouldn’t recommend children lighting them.
How long before my wedding should I look to buy my wish Lanterns?
Well we can do next day delivery, and our offices are open 9-5 so it’s really up to you! They don’t have a use by date, so you can buy them well in advance or just a few days before.
Where can I see some of your Wish Lanterns?
You can see photos and videos of our wish lanterns on our website www.wishlantern.co.uk/
How much do Wish Lanterns cost?
They vary in price, depending on how many you want, or if you want the customized wedding packages. But you can see the full list of prices on our website, it ranges from £16.49 for a pack of 5 to £159.99 for a pack of 100.
Do you have a returns policy?
We do have a returns policy, if they haven’t been opened we can do a refund minus a £10 processing fee.
What are Wish Lanterns made of?
Wish Lanterns are made of flame retardant rice paper, bamboo, a fuel cell and a very small peice of wire.
In the second of the series of feature interviews on my blog we are talking to Mark, Creative Director at Lenik Media Wedding Films, about why you should consider having a film of your wedding and what you should look for when talking to wedding film makers.
Meet Mark
Here is Mark’s interview:
Why should I have a video of my wedding, I already have a photographer?
There is no doubting the importance of having your wedding professionally photographed but I do think having a good quality professional video of your wedding day is equally important. A photo can tell the story of the day and capture a single moment in time but you can’t hear your vows, enjoy the speeches or see the first dance you spent months rehearsing.
What should I consider when speaking to Videographers about my wedding?
Equipment is very important…. Do they film in Standard Definition or High Definition? What audio equipment do they use, shot gun mics, radio mics? How long have the company been filming weddings for? Are they full time or part time? Do they hold the relevant insurances? Don’t forget to ask what experience have they had and to see some of their previous wedding films.
Should I have one or more videographers working at my wedding?
This depends on numerous factors. 70% of the weddings we have filmed have been 1 camera shoots. An experienced wedding videographer will know where he needs to be before he needs to be there and will capture all the required shots. Also if you want a more relaxed feel to the wedding 1 camera maybe what you’re looking for as he/she will blend into the crowd, 2 camera men start to become more noticeable. The advantage of a second camera man is you can have both the Bride and Groom’s preparation’s filmed and you also have the freedom with the second camera to get more artistic shots whilst the main camera man captures the essentials. On the whole the second camera will give you more angles and more shots but is by no means essential.
Do they need to be able to work with the photographer?
Definitely! If you want the best out of your photos and video the camera man and photographer need to be working together and not getting in each other’s way. You will generally book your photographer first so ask them for recommendations of videographers or vice versa.
Will the videographer, direct my wedding?
Hopefully not. Time on a wedding day is limited and for both the camera man and photographer to get the shots they need I find that the photographer needs to act more like the director and we then work around them. This way we also get more natural relaxed shots as your not concentrating on the video but on your photo’s being taken. We will ask for a few shots once the photographer has obtained all he/she needs but this won’t take more than 5 minutes
How long before my wedding should I look to book my videographer?
Ideally if you don’t want to be disappointed I would book at least a year in advance, especially if it’s in the summer season.
How did Lenik Media start?
I graduated from the Northern Film School in 2002 desperately looking for a job as a runner with in a production company. I was living in Leeds with my long term girlfriend (now wife) so was unable to move to London (where most of the jobs in film production are). I took a job in recruitment to save up enough money to buy a camera and edit suite. I got a lucky break with an events company who asked me to cover all of their events which was enough for me to go full time. With regards to weddings, I started out with only having filmed my Sister’s wedding and using that as an example whilst exhibiting at wedding fairs. I was charging next to nothing so I could build my portfolio and gain valuable experience of filming weddings. 250 weddings on, I run a team of 3 and we do around 50 weddings a year.
What makes your films so special?
Over the years I have filmed, directed and edited videos for Adidas, Nike, HBOS, Malibu and Carling and input the same high production value techniques into our wedding films. We use only the best equipment, with an outlay of £15,000 this year on new cameras, audio equipment and stabilisation devices to obtain specialist shots. We have over 6 years experience of filming weddings and have constantly pushed the boundaries to create elegant, cinematic and professional wedding films. We are hoping to pick up an award in October with our entry into this year’s IOV awards being shortlisted for the open category. We are really proud of this achievement as ours was picked to be in the top 5 out of thousands of entrants. As a company we are constantly trying to push forward and be on the cutting edge of the wedding film industry.
What is important to you at Lenik Media?
Making our clients happy!!!!
How do you present my Film?
Your DVD or Blu ray will be fully authored with menus, chapter selections etc professionally boxed with artwork and packaged as you would expect a consumer DVD to be from Blockbusters, HMV, etc.
How much do Lenik Media wedding films cost?
Our prices for 2010 start from £795 for coverage from the ceremony to the first dance rising to £995 for coverage of the bridal preparations to the evening party. You also have a number of optional extras such as guest messages, bride and groom interviews, post bridal shoot, to name a few, which you can add onto your chosen package.
How long after my wedding is it, before I get my film?
On average you are looking at a 12 week waiting period but this can fluctuate depending on peak periods.
How can I get in touch with Lenik Media?
You can email mark on mark@lenikmedia.com or you can call us on 0113 2505737/ 07886482024
Where can I see some of your films?
You can visit our website which is www.lenikweddingfilms.comwhere you will find lots of video examples. Also we upload new videos to our blog from time to time. Alternatively We can post you a show reel DVD .
Are you happy to travel all over the UK and further a field?
We are more than happy to travel anywhere in the UK and abroad (subject to travel fee’s)
This film is titled Laura’s Wedding Dream, it takes sometime to download but is worth the wait, so set it off and go and make a cuppa to have whilst you watch it.
One of the many reasons I love this business is all the different people I get to meet who offer amazing and often different services to brides. I’m going to be running a regular feature on my blog featuring interviews with other wedding vendors, and hope that you find inspiration and ideas for your big day.
To kick off these interviews I am really excited to be featuring an interview with the Biscuiteers crew, who make and deliver the most delicious biscuits.
How did Biscuiteers start?
Biscuiteers started 2 years ago. We came up with the idea when on trip to NY – we saw there was a gap in the market for a completely new iced biscuit gift company
What makes your biscuits so special?
A great deal of time and love goes into making each and every biscuit, they are completely handmade by biscuit-mad Biscuiteers so you can be sure they will always taste and look delicious.
What is important to you at Biscuiteers?
Spreading a little biscuit love and making really beautiful, imaginatively designed biscuits- we enjoy sending biscuits to people nearly as much as you all love eating them!
How can I use Biscuiteers at my wedding?
We have a beautiful range of wedding favours that can be used for all sorts of things – invites, place settings or just as a thank you for coming! All our wedding favours can be adapted to suit your theme or colour scheme and can be found at Biscuiteers. Please contact Izzy on 08704 588 358 or at Izzy@biscuiteers.com and she will be more than happy to help you with your big day.
Can you make special orders?
We offer a bespoke service that is a perfect way to add that special something to your wedding. Our biscuit icers are experts and can recreate almost anything in biscuit form! So if your fiancé is car crazy or you would like to add a bit of personality to proceedings, please get in touch and we can design some original biscuits for you. Possibilities are endless!
How long before my wedding would I have to order my Biscuiteers favours?
You are more than welcome to place your order whenever it suits you and many brides contact us up to a year in advance, but we would certainly advise that you get in touch with us at least a month before your wedding
How long do the biscuits stay fresh?
Our biscuits will stay fresh for 4 months, but we challenge anybody to keep them for that long!
How do you present my biscuits?
We offer a variety of packaging options for wedding favours. If you are giving the biscuits to your guests as gifts we can present them in our beautiful biscuit card boxes or wrapped in cello and tied with a ribbon. Our keep-sake tins are also available as a lovely way to offer the biscuits with after dinner coffee.
How much do Biscuiteers wedding favours cost?
Our favours start at £2.75 each and we have a minimum order of 50. Bespoke prices are based on design complexity and quantity, please get in touch with Izzy for a personalised quote.
Can we buy Biscuiteers biscuits anywhere else?
Our biscuit cards and tin collections are available to buy online at Biscuiteers. We are also stocked in Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty, Fenwick and John Lewis. You can also find us in Galerie Lafayette and Colette in Paris.
What ingredients do you use to make your biscuits?
In our yummy biscuits you can find – Biscuit: flour, butter, sugar, golden syrup, pasteurised egg, the best cocoa powder, vanilla pods or all spice. Icing:icing sugar, water, meriwhite meringue powder, food colours*. Crunchy sugar:confectioner’s glaze, carnuba wax, food colours*. Allergy advice: contains wheat gluten, eggs and milk.
Our biscuits are made in kitchens that also prepare lots of delicious things that include nuts and sesame seeds. We use natural and naturally derived colours wherever possible (carmine, carotene, beetroot extract, red cabbage blue, paprika, carbon and caramelised sugar) but your biscuit collection may contain up to 4 of the following: E129, E124, E122, E104, E110, E133, E155, E153, E102. As all our biscuits are handmade, there may be some small variations in colour and design in each tin. We think this adds to their charm – we hope you agree!
Here are some teasing glimpses of how delightful their biscuits look and be sure to check out the Biscuiteers website to see more of their delicious biscuits!
If you know of someone who offers weddings services and they would like to be interviewed for the blog, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
