Dolce Sposa » Vendors

Acclaim Food

dolceSPOSA — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:52:59 +0000

Acclaim Food is another wedding caterer we would like to recommend to all our lovely readers. To start it off, we would like to share with you a helpful wedding tip on How to Choose a Wedding Caterer which was kindly given to us by Scott Milne of Acclaim Food.

“There is so much to consider when choosing your caterer; budget, style of food, do they charge corkage? Once you have agreed the style and cost of catering, make sure you get at least 2 or 3 proposals that appeal to your theme and budget and go with the one that you have most rapport and confidence with. It’s important that your caterer can give you flexibility when it comes to last minute changes in numbers, menu additions, dietary requirements. The less stress for you, the better.”

Acclaim Food

Acclaim Food prides itself on being the caterer of choice for over 150 brides each year. Our friendly and personal approach from enquiry stage to the big day itself takes all the pressure away from our brides leaving them to enjoy their day. Every aspect of the day is covered in our detailed event plan.

With over 15 years experience at many of the top venues in London and the south-east, our aim is to make your day memorable with fantastic food at a budget you can afford. Our tasting service enables you to pick your favourite dishes and discuss your plans in depth.

Wedding Caterers – Acclaim Food

82 Barwell Business Park, Leatherhead Road, Chessington, Surrey, KT9 2NY
Tel +44 (0) 20 8397 8999

Email: info@acclaimfood.co.uk

Photos courtesy of Acclaim Food

Seasoned Events

dolceSPOSA — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:09:45 +0000

Due to popular demand, we are now slowly compiling a list of reputable wedding caterers for all our readers to see. Not all wedding venues have their own in-house caterer so it is quite common that couples will have to source a wedding caterer they can trust in helping them create mouthwatering food for their special day.

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Seasoned Events. It is one company we look forward to working with in some of our future wedding events.

For many, Seasoned Events is synonymous with inspiring food and events and symbolises stylish, imaginative food, scrupulous attention to detail and professional, charming staff.

The flagship of the award winning Crown Group and one of the UK’s leading independent catering and events companies, Seasoned Events has over 35 years experience in producing fabulous food and memorable events.

Seasoned Events can offer some of the most prestigious, stylish and unique venues in and around London. Whether you are looking for somewhere to hold your Wedding Ceremony, Reception and Wedding Breakfast or just the Drinks Reception, we have a stunning collection of venues for your special day.

Wedding Caterers – Seasoned Events

13 Bishop’s Gate, London EC2N 3BA
Tel +44 (0) 20 7334 3958

Email: lesley.healy(@)seasonedevents.co.uk

Photos courtesy of Seaoned Events

Unique Chic Stationery

dolceSPOSA — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 07:54:43 +0000

I discovered a new wedding vendor that inspired me with her creativity and style! Seeing their fresh, fun and beautiful wedding stationery made me realized even more how fun my job is and how much I love it!

Here are some of our top picks from Unique Chic:-

Wedding Stationery – Unique Chic

Email: hello(@)unique-chic.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 7771 550 153

Photos courtesy of Unique Chic

Julie Kim Wedding Photography

dolceSPOSA — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:23:48 +0000

Julie Kim is a London based wedding photographer who has recently been named as one of UK Top 10 Winter Wedding Photographer. She is known in the industry for creatively infusing documentary approach and contemporary quirky portraits at weddings that many past clients love.

At a Glance

Part of an overall list for Top 10 UK winter wedding photographer
Style – reportage/photojournalism
WPJA member
Wedding album – Jorgensen & other major suppliers
Production time – 4 weeks
Camera – Canon 5DII bodies and Prime lenses 24,35, 50, 85
Wedding photography package starts at £1,950 based on all-day coverage (albums, extra photographer are charge seperately)
Destination wedding will have extra incremental costs

Wedding Tip: Trust your photographer, especially if you have booked one for a particular style. Communicate how you’d like your wedding to be remembered and then leave them to surprise you with a set of amazing images. Kick back, relax and enjoy yourselves – that in itself will provide them with all they need!

Wedding Photographers – Julie Kim

Email: julie(@)juliekimphotography.com
Tel: +44 (0) 7772 524 334

Photos courtesy of Julie Kim Photography

The Perfect Make-up Foundation by Mailin Haddow

dolceSPOSA — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 09:26:40 +0000

With so many foundations out there to choose from, it can be difficult to know where to start. But keep in mind a few things when hunting for the perfect base: your skin type. There are foundations that give a matte finish which are great for oily skins , but for drier skins, a more dewy foundation can give a better finish.coverage.

If you want a very natural finish, then a tinted moisturiser or a sheer finish foundation is what you are looking for, such as Nars Sheer Glow Foundation (£35) or Laura Mercier Tinted moisturizer . For a medium coverage, I would recommend Dior Nude foundation, which is my most used foundation. If you have a lot of redness, broken veins, blemishes, you might with to go for a more full coverage foundation, like Bobbi Browns Foundation stick (£26).

Colour

Don’t just try foundation on the back of your hand – you will be wearing it on your face, so that’s the best place to try. Try dab of foundation on your cheek and our forehead and check in the colour in day light to give the best indication for a colour match. Generally foundations with a yellow undertone are more flattering than those with a pink undertone.

Application

To apply, you can use your fingers, a sponge or a foundation brush. I tend to find that when applying with a sponge, a lot of the products is wasted by being soaked up by the sponge, so my preferred way is to apply with fingers, blending into the skin, but avoiding the sensitive eye area, and then take a cosmetic sponge with a small amount of foundation to flawlessly blend under jawline and around the hairline. The warmth of the skin on the fingers I find helps the foundation blend well into the face rather than sitting on top of the skin.

The Perfect Primer by Mailin Haddow

dolceSPOSA — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:45:36 +0000

A good primer will provide a smooth canvas to apply your foundation on and it will also help keep your foundation looking flawless all day.

Apply the primer after your daily moisturiser all over the entire face. Let it settle before applying your foundation.

A favourite of mine and many other make up artists is Laura Mercier foundation Primer £27. However if you skin is particularly oily, or prone to shine around the T-zone, YSL Matt Touch £28 is an excellent mattifier but apply sparingly and only where needed to keep unwanted shine at bay.

The Perfect Moisturising Cream by Mailin Haddow

dolceSPOSA — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 06:47:26 +0000

The very beautiful, talented and charming Mailin Haddow of MV make-up will be sharing with us her bridal beauty tips on “How to Create the Perfect Base”. She will have a weekly bridal beauty column here at Dolce Sposa this month of April and it is something to look out for! Join us as we discover some tried and tested bridal regimens and beauty products that she swears by as a professional make-up artist.

The Perfect Moisturising Cream

Starting with a fresh cleansed face, always apply moisturiser to your face and neck, to provide hydration. Choose a moisturiser to suit your skin type, whether its dry, combination, oily, sensitive or mature. If you are already in a skincare routine that suits you, don’t go changing products in the final month before your wedding as that could cause some upset. If you are not getting the results you want from your current skincare, seek advice from a skincare professional several months before your wedding. Skin renews itself on a 28 day cycle so it will take a full month to see the difference and notice the benefits from a new product.

I really like Avene Anti- Redness light moisturising cream (£12.99) from Boots. Great for sensitive skin prone to flushing.

K.D. Concepts Wedding Stationery

dolceSPOSA — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:22:30 +0000

I’d like to share with you some beautiful wedding cards designed by K.D. Concepts. I first came across K.D. Concepts when I attended The Designer Wedding Show in Battersea in 2008. As you can imagine, there were tons of wedding stationery vendors around but I was amazed by their unique handmade wedding cards. I thought they were fun, creative and charming. I am sure a lot of couples will find them really interesting and it will be a sure hit for brides-to-be who wants something different.

1st row – Better Together £3.00 and Only You £4.25

2nd row – My Love £3.00 and My Love Gatefold £4.40

3rd row – Happy Couple £3.00 and Crowning Moment £3.00

Wedding Stationery -K.D. Concepts

K.D Concepts – (opens website in a new window)

29 Millhand Road
Hampshire, SO23 0QA

E: katie(at)kdconcepts.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1962

Photos courtesy of K.D. Concepts

Top 3 Wedding Stationery Tips

dolceSPOSA — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:22:03 +0000

A big thank you to Katie Semro of K.D. Concepts for sharing with us her top tips on how to make every couple’s wedding stationery planning as easy as 1-2-3.

Top 3 Wedding Stationery Tips

1. As in everything wedding-related, organisation is important. If you can start collecting your guests’ names and addresses as soon as possible this will make your life much easier when it comes to the invitations. Many couples run into delays getting their invitations out because they haven’t finalised the guest list.

2. I also recommend sending RSVP cards or postcards with your invitations. I think that this is the easiest way to get your guests to respond. People are busy, if you make it easy for them to get back to you, then they are more likely to do it. Also you’ll save yourself time because you won’t have to phone people to find out if they are coming or not. A second option with RSVPs is to use websites which allow guests to RSVP online, the website will also track everything for you making your job much easier! We recommend using Wedding Window who have great templates and also allows you to host a wedding website where all guests can go to get information about your big day!

3. When it comes to orders of service, many couples go for 1 order of service between 2 people, which is usually fine, but I always recommend 10 to 20 extra, depending on the size of the wedding, so you don’t have the embarrassment of running out.

Hope you find this article useful. We have picked some of our favourite wedding stationery made by Katie and you can find it on K.D. Concept profile page here at DS.

1st row – Bella Classica £4.75 and Majestic £4.25

2nd row – Satin Edge ££49 per table and Classic £3.75

Wedding Stationery – K.D. Concepts

K.D Concepts – (opens website in a new window)

29 Millhand Road
Hampshire, SO23 0QA

E: katie(at)kdconcepts.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1962

Photos courtesy of K.D. Concepts

Mailin Haddow, MV Make-up

dolceSPOSA — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:08:47 +0000

Mailin is a freelance make-up artist based in Glasgow, Scotland. She is beautiful inside and out, and she is professional and very talented at what she does. She specializes in wedding make-up but she also does fashion and editorial photo shoots for different magazines.

I personally would recommend her to all my readers. Mailin is the type of make-up artist you would want to work with on your big day. She knows how to make you feel comfortable on your special day and she is also great at giving you beauty tips the months leading to the big day! And most importantly, she knows how to listen and she ensures that you achieve the bridal look you want on your big day.

She is fabulous and a real expert at what she does.

At a Glance

£90 for the bride including trial
£50 for bridal party
Cosmetics used: MAC, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, Dior, Chanel, Clarins
Travels around Scotland for weddings
Also covers other parts of the country but at an additional cost

Bridal Make-Up – Mailin Haddow, MV Make-Up

Email: mailin(at)mvmakeup(dot)co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 7780678 656