A Little Wedding Wisdom courtesy of Kilver Court!

Kilver Court is more than just a designer shopping village: we’re the perfect wedding venue too! Overlooking the secret gardens we’ve got an array of beautiful rooms and we’re licensed for civil ceremonies. So what better way to celebrate our wedding credentials than with a fair? We’ve invited some of our favourite suppliers along to share their top tips and professional tricks to provide you with inspiration for your special day... but if you can’t wait that long, here’s a few ideas to help you get creative!

See Kilver Court's beautiful event spaces & expect blooming inspiration from an array of florists

Scrap Book
All girls know it’s never, ever too early to start planning your wedding, so why not start collating all your favourite pictures, fabric cuttings, pressed flowers and invitations in a scrap book? We’re always adding to our own at Kilver Court, so we can help you plan a day full of lovely ideas.

Have a pre-wedding shoot
Unless you’re a part time Kate Moss you might not feel entirely natural in front of the camera –  so why not have a pre-wedding shoot? Jessica from Red Rabbit Photography suggest it’s a great way to get to know your photographer and perfect your smile, so you’re relaxed and ready to enjoy yourself on the big day. Plus you’ll have lots more lovely pictures for the family album!

Feel Fabulous
What better excuse to pamper yourself than a wedding?! As well as having a brilliant makeup artist on the day, Jen from the Beauty Loft recommends beginning a detox up to three months before the wedding. Simple things like drinking two litres of water a day, increasing your fish intake and eating lots of fruit and veg (especially avocados!) will help your skin and hair look healthy and radiant.  Jen will be at our wedding fair advising on everything from eyelash extensions to irritable skin, and French manicures to facials.

Wedding cakes to taste and secret gardens to explore

Get ready, set, bake!
Has the Great British Bake Off inspired you? Get your family and bridesmaids involved in designing, crafting and of course, tasting cakes! Cake creator Helen suggests trying to link your colour scheme or wedding theme in with your delicious design.

For more ideas be sure to join us on Sunday 27th October, it’s a wonderful opportunity to see the ceremony and reception rooms available at Kilver Court.

Click for more info on Kilver Court's Wedding Fair

We'll be running a competition to win free* venue hire too - not to be missed for brides to be!

Kilver Court Designer Village - Best Retailer in Bath Life Awards 2013

Mrs Handbag reports;
Feature by Monty Saul 

Well, it’s been a super-crazy week – let’s start with the Bath Life Awards – we’d gaily entered for the Best Retailer section although not really thinking we could win, being situated outside the city….so imagine our delight when our name was called…Freddie stepped up to accept the rather fetching ‘Roman’ column award and it now sits proudly next to the till in the Emporium for all to see.

Kilver Court Designer Village - Best Retailer Bath Awards 2013 Photograph in Kilver Court Gardens

We’ve won a variety of gongs over the years – Queens Award (twice)and London Designer of the Year amongst others but as Fred said in his very off the cuff speech – ‘There’s been a lot of hard work gone into Kilver Court in the last couple of years..’ –  always the master of understatement as we have literally gutted  and rebuilt the heart of Kilver’s Victorian Mill buildings, so I have to say it’s rather nice for all involved to receive a public pat on the back…

Bedlinen and towels by Behrens Bedlinens French Silk Cushions No21 Interiors.  

Monty Saul - Mrs Handbag

I’ve spent today up to my elbows in boxes  and building rubble, knocking down walls and clearing out the stock room in preparation for the arrival of our exciting  new Interiors Brand – Behrens Bedlinens – arrived upstairs in the Great House today.

www.flowersbypassion.com Chocolate Delores cakes www.flowersforeddie.co.uk

Meanwhile the excitement is building  as our Wedding Fair comes together ..Sunday the 17th will see some inspirational wedding ideas gathered together.

Have a look at www.flowersbypassion.com and www.flowersforeddie.co.uk  to get some idea of the range of specialists we will have on site. Delicious canapé tastings with Fosters Catering and Chocolate Delores cakes and even a vintage car or two...

Talk soon....xMonty

Kilver Court - Wedding Fair Preparation

Feature by Monty Saul 
Mother-in-Law of Bridezilla....

No, not some dire B movie but a very excited Mum who finds herself assisting with her son and fiancée-in-Law's wedding plans for this summer.   As the mother of three boys, you cannot begin to imagine how exciting this is....

We have had the luxury of time as the love-birds got engaged last summer whilst on holiday in Capri, but what is scary is that suddenly it's now only five months away and there's still so much to do.

Photo by Andrew Brannan for Niki's daughter - Nostalgia at No1

The bridesmaids dresses still need finishing.... I've discovered long lost dressmaking (i.e. hemming) skills as Bella was determined to make the little bridesmaids dresses herself. Roger and I are nurturing lots of cuttings in the greenhouse for boosting the table decorations and I keep going back to the bedroom plan to try and work out where everyone is going to sleep.

Dove Cote Weddings at Kilver Court

It will be very interesting to visit our own Wedding Fair at Kilver Court on the 17th of March to talk to the best local suppliers about their ideas and of course there’s also the Kilver Court Pinterest site which has a whole load of brilliant ideas of how to personalize your big day.

Photos by Andrew Brannan for Niki's daughter - Nostalgia at No1

In the meantime I am haunting our outlet shops, looking for the perfect Mother-in Law outfit which needs to be sleek but comfy - looking in LK Bennett and lusting after their fabulous little dresses and stilettos but knowing that I'll need to not be sinking into the grass! Thank goodness they have some fab wedges in as well :)

L.K Bennett at Kilver Court

Will report in next week on my buying trip to the Birmingham Spring Fair and what goodies you can look out for in the coming weeks. Talking of goodies, I've just placed our first order with Rococo chocolates - oh the sheer naughtiness of ordering boxes of the prettiest, never mind, scrummiest chocolates, all beautifully packaged. Do hope they send us some samples....

Love
Mrs Handbag