So, what now? The biggest day of your life so far, you may have been planning it since you were young!  But what do you do, where do you start?  Such an exciting time, so much to consider.

Have you rushed to WHS Smith yet to buy out the whole shop of bridal mags?  Everything from cakes to flowers, venues to hair.  Ask yourself this, what sort of day do you really want?  It is not all about who Aunty Flo wants to sit next to or that you’re Mum wants you to arrive in a Rolls Royce!  Do you want a pretty vintage wedding with birdcages, lace and bunting adorning the ceiling, or a festival – outdoor style celebration – will it rain? Eek!  (Bridal Umbrella a must have!) Or, are you looking for an all out fairytale wedding with a princess dress that would be only good enough for Katie Price herself?  The ideas are endless and nothing is impossible!

Can you afford a big wedding? Or maybe you would just like an intimate occasion?  Either way, that’s fine, just make sure that it’s affordable to you, not the best idea to start married life in a massive amount of debt.

One of the biggest, first things to consider early on is your venue.  Does it have baby changing? Do they have adequate parking; is it big enough to accommodate your guests? Does it have disabled access? Are other weddings taking place on the same day?  Is accommodation available? Are they flexible with regards to the menu?  Maybe you don’t want coq au vin – just a good old fashioned roast beef, with Yorkshire pudding?

Once you’ve got your venue, next it’s time to start thinking about your suppliers.  Start with your photographer and car company – Beware of photographers there are hundreds and hundreds out there, there is a huge difference in photography – so make sure you see previous examples of their work, ask how long they will stay and roughly how many pictures they would take?  Have they worked at your venue before?

Now for the fun bit – your dress! The most important part of any girls big day, there are hundreds of new-season dresses from all the big-name designers.  There are hundreds of designers out there, for every body shape, budget, in every length and style.  Make sure that you get lots of ideas from your magazines, try lots on to get an idea of the style that looks best on your particular body shape, there are cheaper online alternatives available, just be very careful and check out your measurements thoroughly.  And remember, this is your Wedding Day – make sure that the bridal shop makes you feel as special as you are – so that you look and feel amazing on your day!

There are so many fun ways to make every aspect look amazing, from your cake and flowers to your invites and decorations, don’t forget to inject your personality and style by personalising your wedding, choose the perfect stationery and find a cake that won’t blow the budget – your day will soon start coming to life.

But for now wishing you happy planning, we’d love to hear from you!

I had been on the move for a few years and finally settled in my home town of Hertford. Since having children I was always fortunate that Leon could look after us all, after a few years of Jeremy Kyle and Tweenies and clearing up the usual daily dose of mess! I had always worked ever since I left school but apart from the friends I met along the way had never loved my work.

I realised that this wasn’t enough for me and I needed more! I had been really lucky to bring up my children in my way and had never missed any milestones – but I still needed to be there for my children for the rest of my life both financially and emotionally.

I could not imagine going back to sitting in an office again typing numbers into a calculator and missing my kids like crazy! I had learnt lots of new skills to include nappy changing, clearing up vomit, and slowly losing my marbles, and of course I now knew all the theme tunes from cbeebies.

I think that it was about 2009 that the initial seed was planted; I sat day dreaming about what my life could bring, I had always been an organised person although you wouldn’t believe it looking in my cupboards! I had loved planning every single last detail of my own wedding in 2005 and had often helped friends and family along the way that was the answer I would become a Wedding Planner. Would it be something that I would love I asked myself? Would it help the family financially? Would I be able to pick my hours and still be there for my kids? I answered yes to all of these questions.

I set about looking for courses; I was determined and spoke to my Husband that very night! Thankfully I usually get my way and he supported my idea. I began the course and excelled in every way, it was fun to study again and I could do it in the evenings when the children were asleep. It gave me the confidence and bravery to take it to the next level – it was then that Timeless Inspirations Wedding and Event Planning was born – my new baby!

Since then the company has diversified, when looking into the advertising opportunities it was my Husbands idea that we should hold our own Wedding Shows, these have grown massively since 2010, we work with some beautiful venues, are working in various counties and are meeting some wonderful suppliers that we can use for the Wedding and Event Planning side of the business. I always treat people in the way that I would like to be treated, I always take the positives from every situation, and it is because of this that I am now a Wedding Consultant at one of my venues and also offer Venue Decorating and Hire Services etc.

To me failure has never been an option; we have come too far to ever give up so we will always keep striving for bigger and better things. Don’t get me wrong it is a struggle sometimes having two young children but where there is a will there is always a way, thankfully we have got fantastic family and friends that have supported us. It will get easier as the kids get older and they are already in training to work for us!

Sometimes I felt like they didn’t believe it possible, sometimes I even had to kick myself just to double check that we ‘Sarah and Leon’ had their own company – very surreal really. Now they all believe in us.

I would urge anyone who is unsure, stuck in a rut, feels ‘I can’t’, just to give it a go. I didn’t wake up one day knowing how to run a business, it’s so easy to assume everyone has been doing this years! But I have learnt so much along the way about myself and the business, and I still continue to learn new things along the way. The feedback that we have had has been outstanding, and the feeling of being part of such a special day in someone’s life is overwhelming.

I found just by doing something, something for all of us, for the future, rather than spending the day doing daily housework that within ten minutes was always trashed again, feeling like I’d done nothing, the washing baskets were once more full, the house a mess and it was time to cook dinner and make tomorrows packed lunches, it felt very much like groundhog day.

Whilst of course this is still what I have to do, I also have this, my own ‘thing’, no one to answer to, no one to control me or my time , something that I can say, i’ve done that. It’s been such a lovely feeling to get feedback from clients and suppliers who have been so pleased with the service that we have offered.

Best of all is when people ask my children ‘what does your Mummy do’, hopefully they will answer ‘that Mummy has been the best Mummy’ and she runs her own business too. I promise to always do the best by my family and to make them proud of me. Thank you so much to my husband for the continuous support and always believing in me whatever happens.

I often wonder where we will be in 5 years time, but for now we will plod on and continue in whichever direction it takes us!

All you can do is try, do something you enjoy!

Good luck xx