Second weddings
Second weddings can be an etiquette minefield. We reveal how to get the guest list, the location and the style right – for a day that fulfils your dreams without offending anyone. By Kate Hodal.

The Marque of great taste
Nicolas Roulier is the restaurant manager of the Bybrook Restaurant at the Manor House at Castle Combe. Here are his recommendations for choosing champagne.

Bottom’s up
Lucy Corry tries out the top fizz that’ll add sparkle to any wedding reception – and it doesn’t have to break the bank.

Let them eat cake...
If you don’t want to pay a fortune for someone to make your wedding cake, why not have a go yourself? for a more contemporary twist than the traditional three-tiered creation, how about an tempting pyramid of cupcakes? try this easy-to-follow recipe…

Beat those post-wedding blues
After months of careful planning your big day is over; so how do you make sure you don’t start married life on a downer? The experts reveal how to prolong the honeymoon feeling and fill the wedding void. By Sam Wylie-Harris

A rock around the clock
Professional toastmaster and master of ceremonies Peter York explains how he helps wedding days pass without a hitch.

VICTORIA'S DIARY: Wedding belle
Victoria Ashford shares her big day with us.

If music be the food of love...
Linda Harris learns why it’s important to let the music match the mood of the moment.

UK romantic breaks
With the average cost of a honeymoon now at £4,500 and rising steadily thanks to a hike in fuel prices and airline taxes, couples these days are considering something closer to home for a honeymoon getaway. We share our ideas for a romantic break in the UK.

It’s all in the planning

Louise Tarling married Martin Watson at the Tithe Barn in Bradford on Avon this summer and honeymooned in San Francisco, Hawaii and Las Vegas. Here are their tips for a hassle-free wedding.

Do me a favour...
Wedding favours are small gifts left on the table at the reception to say thank you to guests for attending. They can range from very simple sugared almonds to quite elaborate and personalised gifts. Wedding favours were originally sweets wrapped in fine material or placed in a box.

Children at Weddings
AFTER the wedding ceremony, there will be lots of talk

It’s all in the name
When brides are planning for a wedding something that seems obvious can easily be overlooked, but choosing a married name is one of the most important decisions to make.

Bluffers’ guide to wedding speeches
YOU don’t have to be a professional public speaker to give a good speech. Wedding speeches are a time to celebrate the couple, but they can cause the speechmakers restless nights in the run-up to the reception. Relax and read our bluffers’ guide to making a memorable speech.

Second weddings
IT'S the day you’ve been dreaming of since you were a little girl – but this time round, you want to get it right.

Honeymoon hotspot
Tropical white beaches, palm trees and

Finishing Touches

show-stopping short prom dress, to a flowing full-length gown, whatever your choice of dress, accessories are key to pulling your desired look together for top-to-toe perfection.

Wedding belles are dressed to impress

Seen by over 750 million people around the world in 1981, Princess Diana’s royal wedding gown is one of the most famous dresses to ever walk down an aisle.

Roses are red?

Roses are red, according to the poem, but if a new design of rose is anything to go by, they can also now be blue, green, purple or all three if you desire, as bride-to-be

Wedding venues

Stanton House Hotel, Swindon

Forget having a white wedding – go green instead!
Your wedding should be one of the most special days of your life, but it can also be one of the most wasteful. The beautiful dress which is worn once, the delicate flowers that only last a few days and the transport used to get guests to your wedding all contribute to harming the environment.

Get the party started!
When organising a wedding reception you are probably planning a party for at least 50 people, maybe even as many as 100 or 200, so first you need to decide if you are going to organise it yourselves or if you want to leave it to the experts.

Picture perfect
After spending so much money and time on your wedding day, you’ll want a way of keeping your memories alive. Photographers and videographers can be one of the most expensive parts of a wedding, so you need to make sure you’re getting what you want.

Bridal Beauty...
Here comes the bride, all dressed in white... and wearing a garish shade of bright green eyeshadow that overshadows her beautiful gown. Your wedding day is one of the most important of your life and is an occasion that will forever be captured on camera. You want to look back and reminisce with fond memories, rather than cringe in horror whenever you peruse your wedding pictures.

Celebrities descend on Castle Combe for popstar & cricketer’s wedding
The star-studded event saw former England fast bowler Darren Gough as best man and Taylor’s former bandmates from Liberty X arrive for the ceremony at around 3pm on Saturday, December 29.

All aboard the wedding train
The Swindon & Cricklade Railway is a small but friendly steam railway set in the rural valley of the River Ray, just south of the ancient and historic town of Cricklade, and can offer a stylish alternative for your wedding venue.

Planning your big day
For most weddings the preparations need to start at least a year in advance and if you are looking to hire out popular venues during the summer months then you may even need to book them 18 months to two years ahead.

Find your perfect honeymoon...
After months, if not years of planning, you arrive at the airport of your dream destination, only to discover that you have arrived in the midst of the hurricane season. Not a good start. Washed away is your sun-cream, your soggy flip-flops and most notably of all, your first holiday together as husband and wife. Whether you are looking for snow or sand, the following guide suggests destinations around the world

Europe’s the place to paint the town red
Scott McPherson checks out the top places for stag parties.

A weight off of your mind
MOST Brides’ worst wedding nightmare, aside from the groom not showing up on the big day, is wobbling down the aisle instead of gliding down it.

Wraps off giving
WEDDINGS aren’t just about turning up with a handkerchief at the church and throwing some confetti for most guests.

Success is just a matter of preparation
Lois Avery looks at how building a rapport with your make-up artists can ensure your wedding day look is unforgettable.

It’s a hat trick
WEDDINGS are probably more nerve-wracking for the mother of the bride than the blushing bride herself.

Still room for God
Rev Simon Tatton-Brown tells Gordon Simpson that church weddings are still in vogue.

No need to end it in tiers
NO fairytale wedding would be complete without a fairytale cake as the centre piece, but the tradition to have a cake on your big day has a long history.

Focus on making the right choice
CHOOSING a photographer to capture your wedding day is as important as choosing the dress.

That dress dress is worth the wait
EVERY blushing bride-to-be has a clear image of the perfect wedding dress in her mind, but choosing from the huge range of styles, shapes and shades on offer may seem like a rather daunting task.

The true cost of a wedding could add up to a nightmare
THE most important issue when planning a wedding is the budget.

The best a man can get
PERHAPS even more nerve-wracking than actually getting married, the best man’s speech is the stuff of urban legend and many a bout of cold sweats in the middle of the night.

A glut of invitations can lead to wedding fatigue... pace yourself
Laura Haynes has some tips for guests to cope with an endless round of weddings.

Gift ideas
Stand out from the crowd with elegant and sumptuous gifts in this season’s rich colours, featuring deep blood red and regal purple.

Weddings on the web
Use the internet to make planning your wedding and keeping guests informed easy and stress free.

DIY : create your dream wedding
W ith so many wedding packages available at a range of venues across the world, wedding planners springing up everywhere, and the pressure to throw money at your wedding, it can be a refreshing change to go back to basics.

Beautiful brides
Stand out from the crowd with strong earth colours that are so fashionable right now.

Bridesmaids
Many women dread being a bridesmaid through a fear of being forced to wear a taffeta bouffant of a dress or dwarfing the bride if they are larger than her.

Mother of the bride
Although it’s your daughter’s special moment, as the mother of the bride you’ll also have to think carefully about your outfit for the big day.

Lording it up...
Liz Lambert and Marcus Willacy decided to take a step back in time and recreate a mediaeval wedding. Here’s how they made their dream a reality.

Honeymoon hotspots
Whether you want old fashioned romance or a hedonistic holiday, we take a look at the most popular honeymoon destinations.

Money Business
Money might be funny in a rich man’s world, but for everyone else it’s no laughing matter; especially when it comes to something as expensive as a wedding.

A lads wedding survival guide
Surviving your sister’s wedding... Steven Cook says: ‘I have’

Do me a favour...
Wedding favours are small gifts left on the table at the reception to say thank you to guests for attending.

Join us on a trip around the world...
... as we look at wedding traditions from around the globe.

Party in style... for your last night of freedom!
Once the joy of being picked as best man or chief bridesmaid has passed, it’s time to start worrying about organising a stag or hen do.