Your East Anglian Wedding news and ideas from around the region

How low can you go when it comes to alcohol for summer weddings

With a bumper wedding season ahead in the UK this summer, make sure you cater for all your guests' needs and be sure to offer delicious no and low alcohol options at drinks wedding celebrations. With a range of great wine, cocktail or gin alternatives to stock up on this summer for the designated drivers and sober curious, there's something for all taste buds leaving guests happy, refreshed and clear-headed the next day - hallelujah to that!

An alcohol free stag/hen do - 6 tips from the experts

Research by Hen Weekends & Stag Weekends found that over the past few years, the search terms 'alcohol free' and 'non alcoholic' have become increasingly popular, with the former having an increase of 1,941 monthly searches between January 2016 and January 2022. As well as this, the company looked at their own data from 2021 to find that almost half (36.7%) of their booked stag and hen weekends include at least one non-alcoholic activity. With a boost in non-alcoholic alternatives hitting the beverage scene covering everything from 0% beer to clean gin, there's ample choice to still have a celebration and still feel like and adult!

Tips on keeping your wedding dress safe pre- and post-wedding

While everyone has their own budget for the big day, nobody can deny weddings are an expensive business, with a total average bill hovering around £20,000-£30,000. The dress is likely to account for over £1,000 of this – and could cost much more if it's a designer number.

When asked, 86% of brides-to-be who haven't yet purchased their dress didn't know that it might be protected under their home insurance policy! comparethemarket.com has shared some helpful things to consider ahead of bringing home the special dress.

Duncan James from Blue and Claire Richards from Steps will sing at your wedding!

To celebrate the nation's love of cheese, as we head into wedding season, Mini Cheddars has brought together two pop icons - Duncan James from Blue and Claire Richards from Steps - in musical matrimony to form the ultimate wedding supergroup - Simply Wed. And one lucky couple will win an exclusive performance from 'Simply Wed' at their wedding this September. To mark the launch of the wedding supergroup, Mini Cheddars commissioned research revealing the ultimate wedding playlist with Dancing Queen by ABBA taking the top spot – 46 years after it was first released. A poll of 2,000 wedding guests saw Don't Stop Me Now by Queen and Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline complete the top three. The 'big day' playlist also included Happy by Pharrell Williams, Toploader's Dancing in the Moonlight, as well as Mr Brightside by The Killers. Also featured in the top 40 were Single Ladies by Beyonce, 5,6,7,8 by Steps and One Love by Blue.

Celebrate weddings in style with tasty wines from Bordeaux

Wedding season is back and this year it is expected to be bigger than ever. Whether it's a traditional nuptials or a celebration party for a lockdown marriage, choosing the right drinks for the big day is essential. With everything from dry whites and crisp rosés to sparkling wines and modern, fruit-forward reds, Bordeaux delivers unparalleled wedding wine inspiration. Delight guests with a delicious sweet wine cocktail before moving on to something a little unexpected – perhaps a dry white from Entre-deux-Mers or an unoaked red wine from Saint-Emilion? Celene Opale Crémant de Bordeaux is an original choice for toasting the new union and a fresh and fruity rosé is perfect for dancing the night away.

Wedding flowers 2022 - which are the most popular?

Floral bouquets and decorations are still very much the focus of many couple's wedding plans. From pedestal displays to moongates and arches the choices are endless when it comes to displaying blooms on your big day. Based on UK Google Search Volume, wedding insurance specialists Protectivity's research has revealed the the most popular wedding flowers for 2022. What's more, if you don't know your cosmos from your hydrangeas, the team has provided advice on choosing your wedding flowers.

The most popular UK wedding locations

The UK is full of gorgeous locations that are perfect for weddings. From the rolling countryside to the history-rich cities, no picturesque location is out of reach for soon to be newly-weds. But, of all the places to tie the knot, where is the most popular? New data analysed by Surrey resort and wedding venue, Foxhills, has revealed the most popular wedding locations, showing the favourite places in the UK for all types of marriage ceremonies. By analysing data on the total number of weddings in a year and scoring them by how many times they occurred in various types of marriages, the most popular wedding locations in the entire nation have been discovered.

Most popular celebrity weddings of all time

New research by DC Jewellery has revealed the world's most popular celebrity weddings of all time, from Royal weddings to A-listers, when there's a famous couple tying the knot we can't help but want to know all the finer details: what did they where? Who was on the guest list? What cake did they have? The research proves that the world's fascination with British royalty is real. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had the most popular celebrity wedding of all time (beating Kate and Wills), with a total of 301,600 Google searches since 2018 and 2,579,200 total Google searches in the last year alone. Kate and Prince William had the 6th most popular celebrity wedding of all time, with 1,050,600 searches in the last year, closely followed in 8th place by Kate's sister Pippa's wedding to James Matthews.

Couples are planning deluxe weddings

In the past couple of years, tying the knot has been challenging. Getting married is an important decision, and recent events had only contributed to rousing doubts and dilemmas around this life-changing milestone. Many couples resorted to intimating weddings that abided by government regulations. From Zoom ceremonies to short guest lists, brides and grooms have embraced the micro-wedding trend. But, as we cruise confidently back towards normality, large celebrations seem likely to make a welcomed return. This sparks one obvious question: how is the rise of big, jaunty ceremonies altering the plans of soon-to-be-married couples? Here, the team at Langley Castle, has taken a look at how we can expect to celebrate weddings in 2022, detailing both trends and tips you may want to consider for your own big special event.

Out with the old - and in with the new wedding laws

The Law Commission of England and Wales has today outlined recommendations to reform weddings law that gives couples more choice over where and how their wedding takes place. This will be music to the ears of many couples who are currently restricted by many of the outdated regulations. The main law which governs marriage is from 1836 and it seems madness that modern couples are still having to adhere to these policies that do not reflect their beliefs or blended unions.

What your wedding favours say about you

The wholesale experts at WholesaleSweets.co.uk have looked at the sweet treats a couple chooses and what it says about them. Wedding favours are usually a small, fun and sweet way of saying thank you to guests for attending a wedding. Traditionally wedding favours were sugared coated almonds but over the years people have put their own spin on wedding favours and now give out things like sweets, jars of honey or jam and even mini shots. Kathryn Hague from Wholesale Sweets said: "Wedding favours have been around for years and it's really interesting to see what people choose for them these days.

Mystery stags and hens dos - reduce the stress!

2022 is the year of the re-organised Covid wedding, there will be around 350,000 weddings across the country this year which means nearly 700,000 hen/stag and sten dos! srprs.me, the world's leading mystery holiday provider, has collated its top tips for organising the least stressful, most spontaneous mystery trips perfect for stag and hen dos this summer - saving friendships from endless decision-making in the process. Anneke Nijenhuis, Chief Surprise Officer at srprs.me, wants to take the stress out of planning a stag or hen do with the following tips...

9 tips on how to prepare for an outdoor wedding

Outdoor weddings became increasingly popular during Covid due to restrictions and the safety of guests. However, the outdoor wedding trend looks like it's here to stay with celebrities like Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker recently hosting a beautiful outdoor wedding on the Amalfi Coast. A British summer's day can be enchanting, being surrounded by nature, the brilliant blue skies above, and an aisle strewn with flowers, a perfect setting for a magically romantic wedding. Planning an outdoor wedding requires several considerations from locations, decor, and weather, the experts at Queensmith have listed their top tips on how to be prepared for an outdoor wedding:

How to choose the perfect shade of white or cream - Tips from Colour Me Beautiful

When searching for your wedding dress, you'd be forgiven for thinking it's an easy task just deciding between white and cream! However, although wedding dresses have traditionally been white or cream, these colours come in many different shades and you need to ensure that if you're going for white or cream, that you'll be choosing the most flattering shade for you. In order to help you, Cliff Bashforth, MD of style consultants Colour Me Beautiful, has shared his top tips with County Wedding Magazines.

Ryan Reynolds’s cocktail suggestions to combat the heatwave

Summer has officially arrived in the UK and during the upcoming heatwave, take Hollywood film star and co-owner of Aviation Gin, Ryan Reynolds' advice by serving up some Aviation Gin cocktails for al fresco celebrations. Aviation American Gin has been voted the world's highest rated gin (97 points, Wine Enthusiast) and has helped establish a new style of American gin - softer and smoother, with juniper in the background and citrus and floral notes in the front - resulting in more balanced cocktails.

Take a non-alcoholic walk on the wild side with Wild Eve Recipe no 1.

When planning your wedding day celebrations, accommodating your guests' needs is paramount when considering you food and drink offering. From veggies and vegans to the teetotallers - you should ensure you have something for everyone. Award winning Apothecary and herbalist, Amanda Saurin, is excited to announce the launch of her long anticipated organic botanical infusion drink, Wild Eve Recipe no 1. This innovative, small batch non-alcoholic drink is hand crafted from an exclusive selection of organic flowers, fruits, leaves, and seaweeds, hand foraged on the Isle of Harris, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The carefully blended botanicals assist to reduce stress, alleviate anxiety, and invite calm through the innate properties of the plants.

A good night's sleep with Dreams - 8 top tips!

Being a bride or groom is arguably one of the most exciting and heart-warming days of a person's life, but as the big day draws closer, pre-wedding insomnia can cause difficulty in falling, and staying, asleep. As we know, our sleep is very important and no one wants tired eyes on such a big day. But what can we do to avoid the sleepless nights? According to Dreams Sleep Expert, Sammy Margo, consistency is key. So, maybe it's time to drop the outdated wedding 'preparation' superstitions. Sammy says: "We love rhythm and routine, so sticking to the same routine of bed sharing makes sense before your big day.

From one bride to another: essential wedding tips!

Greetings card marketplace thortful.com interviewed 15 newlyweds to share their essential wedding planning tips to help future couples-to-be. From what to plan for the big day itself to things to remember when getting ready, here are the top 15 pieces of advice from one bride to another. spokesperson at thortful says, "We wanted to make the tips as authentic and real as possible, so we asked newlyweds what they wish they could have told their pre-married self as they prepared for their big day. We hope these tips can truly help any bride who's worried about the planning and make the day extra perfect!"

The big day without the big price tag

With the average wedding in the UK now costing £32,273 it can be an expensive milestone in many people's lives. However, your big day doesn't have to come with a big price tag. With wedding season now upon us, and more people looking to tie the knot after prolonged pandemic engagements, it's more important than ever to plan your finances and work out where you can make savings in anticipation of the big day. With this in mind, Stacey Lowman, financial coach at Claro Money, shares her tips for budgeting for the occasion and saving on different aspects of the day.

New launch: new UK-wide virtual wedding planning service

Newly launched Wed-Start is led by industry veteran Isabel Smith, who has over 10 years' experience in planning luxury weddings all over the world. She has brought together the UK's very best wedding planning experts to offer a Wed-Start to all couples planning their dream wedding. Isabel says, "As industry experts, we know that a lot of couples feel overwhelmed in the early stages of wedding planning. There's so much fantastic advice out there, but there is also a lot of pressure. From family politics, to friends' opinions, to conflicting online guidance, it can all feel like too much...