penny picks top 5 unusual venues

If youre going to splurge on anything foryour wedding, it should be your venue. Having a show

stopping venue will distract your guests from some of the less expensive (or missing) elements of your

big day. Look locally for museum and heritage sites and other tourist attractions.

If I could get Mark to agree to another wedding, here would be my top five unusual picks. . .

1 Alnwick Castle, Northumberland

Everyone knows that I always wanted a castle wedding and what better castle than one that

featured in not only the first two Harry Potter movies but also Robin Hood Prince of Thieves? It would be as close to getting married in Hogwarts as I could get.

2 The Treehouse, Alnwick Gardens, Northumberland

Adjacent to the castle are the Alnwick Gardens that offer you a more rustic and enchanted affair so

howabout an actual treehouse? Its a bit Swiss Family Robinson with actual wooden bridges and it

would provide the most magical backdrop for photographs.

penny picks top 5

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3 Palm House, Sefton Park, Liverpool

I once went here and loved the light that flooded into the Victorian glass house it would be absolutely perfect for a wedding. Filled with beautiful plants from around

the world, it has a lovely ambience I imagine would be hard to beat.

4 HMS Warrior, Portsmouth

If getting married on a warship floats your boat then the Warrior might just be for you. Docked in the historic dockyard, youll treat

your guests to a location steeped in history with beautiful harbour views.

5 Titanic Belfast

Its all about that staircase for this venue. You knowtheone where Jack waited for Rose

in the movie. Imaginedescending down it, your dress swishing downthe stairs. . .

3 Palm House, Sefton Park, Liverpool

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penny picks top 5 wedding blogs

Id be lying if I said that PrincessonaShoestring isthe only wedding blog worth reading, so here are afew of my favourites that I visit regularly to give

meideas for my bridestobe.

Rock My Wedding

www.rockmywedding.co.ukBefore you even get to the content of this blog the design blows you away oozing elegance and style. I especially love the DIY Projects section giving you heaps of fab ideas of how you can make yourown

elements of your wedding.

Courting Whale

www.courtingwhale.com/blogNow this site is pure wedding porn. Their

weddingtrailers transform a wedding to make it look like a Hollywood movie.

penny picks top 5

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Boho Weddings

www.bohoweddings.comThe tag line says it all: create the wedding you

want, not the wedding youre told to have! I couldnt have said it better myself! Full of tips,

trends and inspiration.

Before the Big Day

www.beforethebigday.co.ukAn excellent blog jampacked with inspirational postsand they also keep uptodate with sample

saleinformation too so maybe you can afford to getyourself a glam dress.

Style Me Pretty

www.stylemepretty.com/destinationweddingsBeautiful reallife weddings from provincial France tofarflung exotic locations. A must see for anyone

planning a destination wedding.

Boho Weddings

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penny picks top 5 high street

If youre looking to keep costs down, then a great place to start is buying from the high street.

Dress and Accessory Shopping

Debenhams have a fantastic array of dresses, and bigger stores often stockCoast dresses too.

Monsoon is a must visit for anybridetobe looking for a high street wedding dress. BHS bridal

departments in the larger stores are great for bridesmaid dresses, especially when trying to

match colours of adult and junior bridesmaids. Theyre also fabulous for all the little accessories garters, tiaras, wraps, shrugs, headbands for little

bridesmaids (I could go on all day).

Shoes

The best advice I can give you about shoes on your wedding day is: think comfy. I love Next

occasion shoes. Theyre usually super comfortable and excellent if you have big/wide feet! Accessorize

also do spangly flip flops that are perfect for a change for an evening boogie.

penny picks top 5

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Cake

We might all want a Choccywoccydoodah cake, but if you cant afford a bespoke cake then

there are some great high street alternatives. Major supermarkets stock plain occasion cakes,

that you can jazz up after you buy them. My pick would be M&S as they often have offers on

their cakes, and you can order them up to a couple of months in advance. They also have cutting

cakes so you can mix and match your flavours.

Get Crafty

Embrace your inner crafty self and make your own favours, table centres, table plans and place cards. Stockup on supplies from

places like Wilkinsons and Hobbycraft. M&S now do favour packs and Lakeland do great moulds

if youre going to makeyour own edible favours!

Designer Bargains

If you desperately want to go designer, but want to bag a bargain then look at TK Maxxs for wedding and bridesmaid dresses. Also check out designer outlet villages Bicester Village near Oxford has a Jimmy Choo outlet if only Id known that before Imight

never have started playing bingo. . . never have started playing bingo. . .

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Hello again, Penny here!

For more information about upcoming books,

events and other fun stuff, you can go online:

www.annabellwrites.com

www.quercusbooks.co.uk

@AnnaBell_writes

@quercusbooks

Lots of love, Penny x

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