Urban Soul Orchestra

Not being much of a fan of 'wedding music' that provides the same generic rubbish for every wedding, I am always excited when bands get in touch to offer something a bit different.

And our music industry connections means we know some very decent musicians who'll charge you a lot less than so called wedding bands and DJs.

I'd like to draw all you UK brides' attention to Urban Soul Orchestra. The band have a long history with the music industry (playing with Soul II Soul, Groove Armada among many) and have recently branched out into offering brides and grooms a 'non tacky' band for their weddings. Hurrah.

They're able to create pretty much whatever you want. They can do classical, chill out, rave music - whatever you need really. Urban Soul Orchestra are perfect for couples wanting one band who can do it all - from an acoustic assemble during dinner and a DJ set or big band to party to through the night.

Their DJs include Dan Lywood and Jose Carretas (Gorillza) and they've just created a 'Little Big Band' with 3 vocalists, quartet and backing tracks.

They've also played at celebrity weddings (including Peter Andre and Jordan - kind of reason enough to book them!)

See www.urbansoulorchestra.co.uk for more

All About Yurts

Here at Savoir we love supporting small businesses so when Lucy from All About Yurts got in touch to tell me about the 2 yurts her partner had designed and built I just had to show you them.

UK based and available to hire at festivals Lucy and Al are now making them available for weddings.









These offer a gorgeous alternative to marquees and would be perfect for a wedding reception at home/festival style wedding. And celebrating in a structure someone has lovingly built is just perfect for weddings if you're a sentimental old soul like me!

Some of my fave photos of brides

Pretty gowns, happy brides, amazing style... here's a selection of photos that wowed me so I had to make sure you saw them too...

This photo actually leaves me a little speechless, which is rare to say the least. In fact all the photos from this wedding are exceptional. Lillian and Leonard - 2 ridiculously talented photographers.



Backless dress, tattoo, peonies, earings - what's not to love?



Look at that smile! There's nothing better than capturing the pure joy of a bride (no apologies if that sounds cheesy) and the beaming smile and crinkly eyes showcase this perfectly. Oh and the lace is pretty divine too.



And then a totally different kind of shot. A good contrast to 'happy' wedding photos this makes me think she's having a rare reflective moment before the 'hecticness' commences. And I heart the structure of that dress.

Bridesmaids - um hello, do they get much better than this?

Fun and sexy. Yes please.



The whole of this wedding is absurdly fabulous. I feel like I say this a lot and then another beautiful wedding just ups the ante.



Grey tights on bridesmaids not school girls. Love it.



Look once and you see pretty bridesmaids in coral dresses. But look again and they're wearing navy converse. Fabulous.



I like the lace peeking out and the unusual shape of these dresses.



Love the lace and contrast bewteen elegant dresses and lighthearted fun photo...

More blog love

Fresh after my post about wedding blog fatigue I thought it totally appropriate to list some of my current favourites.

Rock My Wedding and not just because they asked me to write a piece for them. UK based, featuring fab weddings and lovely creative ideas I love the writing style of RMW.

Anna and the Ring Well there can't be a bridal blogger out there who hasn't discovered Anna's witty and compelling blog. I read it for her eloquent turn of phrase not to mention her fab wedding commentary.

Black Eiffel claims to explore lifestyle and design. And it does. Well. Always brightens my day.

The Drifter and the Gypsy - There's photography,art, fashion just about everything for people who like pretty things apparently. That's definitely me.

Inspired to Share Colleen's planning her wedding and sharing her journey and design inspiration along the way. There are simply too many delicious images on her site and I insist you take a look if you haven't already.

Lovely Clusters is a shop where girls can browse handmade vintage items from creative artists and designers around the world and Rachel is their resident designer and blogger. She features everything from moodboards to interiors and I'm always happy when Google Reader tells me there's a new post.

This is Glamorous does exactly what is says on the tin. I get lost in this blog for hours. Quite simply divine.

Wedding blogs - gift or curse?

I've been thinking lately about wedding blogs and how they affect brides planning their big day. When I (and I imagine other wedding professionals) browse blogs I'm pretty much just excited about what I come across. My only negative feelings tend to be that I don't have time to go through them all in enough detail.

But I've been wondering whether the same is true of brides to be, or brides that are now wives but find they still love being part of the online wedding world.

If this applies to you do you find you're generally inspired by what you see on design blogs, photography blogs, and brides' personal blogs? Or is there a small part of you a little bit hollow inside because your wedding isn't or wasn't that creative/inspiring/pretty/insert any adjective here??

Wedding blogs and the internet have without a doubt changed the way brides can and do plan their big days. And I love them. But I just wonder if the flip side of all this wonderfulness leaves some brides (planning a perfectly fabulous day) feeling just a little inadequate?

What are your thoughts ladies?

Classic black and white

I've been coming across so much gorgeous colour in weddings recently and thought it would be nice to source out some clean, simple black and white images. Sometimes I like the endless possibilites of monochrome...