Shoes, glorious shoes...

Shoes for your wedding day is an important decision.  Do you go for style over comfort? Bearing in mind you will be in your shoes from noon until night the idea of comfort could win the day.

The shoes you buy can be an investment or something which will be worn once only and returned to their box at the back of your wardrobe. Choose wisely and they can be worn time and time again for special occasions.

Practice wearing them indoors and make sure you have a supply of plasters just in case!

A really neat idea is to steer away from cream or white shoes and make a bold fashion statement and you can either match the colour with your bridesmaids or choose individual colours which will compliment each other.

If you can't find the colour you want consider going to a specialist company which provides a

range of shoes and then dyes them for you.

Yurt Weddings

Don't just restrict yourselves to traditional venues such as stately homes and marquees. Yurts make a great alternative and can be erected in your back garden or the grounds of a venue. Available in a variety of sizes and styles a Yurt makes a real fun option which can be used for a sit down meal or for late night dancing.

Very easy to decorate to work with your theme and these can also be rented out for a romantic honeymoon destination.

Cocktails

Why stick to champagne when you and your guests can enjoy Pimms, Bellinis, Mojitos, Margaritas or Kir Royale. When the sun is out and you'd like nothing more than a long cool drink topped up with ice cocktails are the answer.

You can have a signature cocktail designed for the day or stick to one of the great classics. Alternatively have 'his' and 'hers' cocktails and a non- alcoholic version for your designated drivers and under 18s.

Experiment before the day, get the colours to tie in with your day and don't make them too strong if you want your guests to last the night!

Balloons

Helium balloons have been used to transform party and wedding venues for years. They still make a great low cost way of changing the look of a bland room or marquee but use with care to avoid looking dated. I would suggest sticking to one or two colours, maybe all white or use the primary colour of your chosen colour scheme but try not to use big bunches suspended above each table.

The examples I have chosen show modern ways of using helium balloons to great effect and these are very easy to do yourselves. You can buy helium balloons in practically every colour and hire the machines to inflate them. You can also buy ribbons to tone in with your chosen colour.

Bridesmaids Dresses

Right on trend are mismatched bridesmaids dresses. This is actually a very sensible idea because you may have one friend who'd look great in a strapless or halter neck and another who would hate to wear one. If you have bridesmaids of different sizes and skin colour the idea of trying to get them all to love one dress is probably impossible.

You can stick to one colour and choose shades of it or you can choose the same dress and have it in a myriad of colours. J Crew is great for this idea and ship worldwide.

Give your bridesmaid a dress she would be proud to wear after the Wedding Day and not one she will cringe about when looking back at the photos.

Save the Date!

With people getting busier all the time you want to make sure no one is double booked for your special day. As soon as your Wedding date is set you want people to know about it so they can put it in their diary. Save the Date notifications have become really popular and you don't need to spend a fortune to share the news.

Try to be original and take a photo of you both holding the sign or the date displayed on a chalk board. If you are talented make the sign, shabby chic is all the rage so it doesn't have to perfect.

The sooner people know the date the sooner they can start planning to join you for your big day particularly if you are getting married in another country.

Wishing Tree

A modern twist on the guest book normally used at weddings is a Wish Tree. Either use a real tree in the garden of your venue or look at buying or making your own on a smaller scale. Set up on a table with plenty of pens and a good supply of wish cards and let your guests write their personal good luck messages on a card and hang it from the tree.

You can buy the most beautiful cards which can be personalised and are made from a wide range of card with co-ordinating ribbons. Alternatively you can spend a happy rainy afternoon making your own and using a stamp or metallic pens to add a special message.

At the end of the day they can all be gathered together and stored in a special box as a keepsake.