Wedding Planners and media gathered on a sunny Wednesday afternoon for a Wedding Showcase of afternoon tea and a fashion show, at Somerset House put on by Trigerfish in association with handpicked suppliers.

Fisher Productions supported the event by providing design, lighting, sound and staging within the neoclassical architecture of the Portico Rooms. Somerset House is an amazing wedding venue, set in the heart of London.

We were treated to afternoon tea which was a gorgeous selection of sandwiches and cakes, followed by a selection of canapes and a rose petal martinis by Table Talk.   

Their were two exclusive fashion shows by renowned wedding dress designer Johanna Hehir. The models wore designs by milliner Vivien Sheriff which sat upon hair styled by Lifestyle Salons.

Pinstripes and Peonies – what a refreshing florist, with bouquets entwined with mint, tulips and roses. Sweet peas and glorious colour. Their flowers are so tasteful and delightful such lovely people to help you bring together your wedding day- I highly recommend them.   

 The affair saw wedding experts swap stories and tips, learning more about the suppliers at the event, I was made very much aware of just how great this team of suppliers worked together, it was such a great event!

We all headed home clutching amazing goodie bags filled with; Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour crème, a Fisher Production USP stick, Privé Hair Products and a simply stunning potted fuchsia plants by Pinstripes and Peonies. Some, however were lucky enough to have a sweet pea bouquet popped in their bag!

For more information on weddings at Somerset House, check out www.somersethouse.org.uk.

Nicola Hall of Hall of Cakes featured yesterday, Tuesday 20th December on the Hairy Bikers Best of British – Weddings edition on BBC 1.

Nicola Hall was selected to discuss the history of wedding cakes and from her studio in Kent as she prepared a bespoke six tier wedding cake for a wedding.

So, click on the following link and take a look as she is a natural TV celebrity.  If you don't have 45 minutes fast forward to 25.17 and watch till 33.41

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b018wbf8/Hairy_Bikers_Best_of_British_Series_1_Weddings/

For more information on Nicola Hall, Wedding Cake Designer of Hall of Cakes check out the website www.hallofcakes.co.uk.

Maud Fierobe of French Bubbles have opened a 'pop up' champagne bar and shop in the heart of the West End for the month of December.

They are proud to present a concept that brings together French Bubble's twenty award-winning growers champagnes and an amazing selection of French cheese and characuterie from Une Normande a Londres.

To shop is located at: 22 Wellington Street, The Opera Quarter, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 7DD.    And, open from 11am to 11pm daily except for Monday.

For more information visit www.frenchbubbles.co.uk.

The date is set, the dress has been bought, even the honeymoon has been booked well in advance… the only thing left to discuss is the matter of finances. Not wedding budgets, more like ‘who will get what if this does not work out?’

For many prospective brides and grooms (namely our American and European counterparts) Pre-Nuptial agreements are considered a usual part of the wedding planning process. We in England and Wales however have been reticent to follow suit, that is, until recently.

Ante-Nuptial agreements, as they are more formally referred to, have notoriously been considered a device purely for the rich or famous and in fact have scarcely been enforced or encouraged by the English courts. Recent developments however have changed this view. Pre-Nups are now considered to carry weight in the English courts, and in some circumstances indeed decisive weight.

With more people entering subsequent marriages or getting married later, Pre-Nuptial agreements are more frequently being used as a form of protection to avoid that ‘messy divorce’ less dependant upon whether you have sizable assets to protect, or a less substantial nest egg that you’ve worked hard towards attaining. That said, before you decide whether a Pre-Nup is right for you, there are a number of questions you should consider:

‘What is it that I am agreeing to?’

Although the courts respect a party’s autonomy to an extent, it is important to obtain legal advice for this position to be promoted. One of the major factors in the enforceability of a Pre-Nup is whether or not you were fully aware of the implications of what you entered into. As a minimum, you should obtain legal advice explaining to you the effect the agreement has on your legal rights upon divorce and the advantages and disadvantages that signing it may have for you.

Another key reason to ensure that your Pre-Nup is explained to you by a qualified legal advisor is to protect you, a possibly vulnerable party, from the effects of pressure. Being forced into or pressured into signing a Pre-Nup may well render that agreement invalid. So if you want to sign, be sure. Do both of you intend on the contents as set out in the Pre-Nup to be effective? Speak to a solicitor specialising in marital agreements.

Bear in mind, though it may sound obvious, to make sure that the agreement is in writing. Unlike the law of contract, the law governing pre-marital agreements requires that the Pre-Nup be explicitly set out in writing and not merely discussions of your intentions, make sure it is properly drafted and contains exactly what you want it to cover.

‘Do I know the full picture?

A lot of the time people entering into Pre-Nups only want to protect certain types of property. It is possible to use the Pre-Nup to “ring fence” and protect non-matrimonial property (acquired pre-marriage, gifted and inherited property) as against matrimonial property.

Whatever the circumstances, if you are entering into a Pre-Nuptial agreement, you both need to be satisfied that you are aware of the other’s complete financial position. (In some other jurisdictions where Pre-Nuptial agreements are considered binding, it is possible for a party to waive the need for the other to disclose assets.)

In this country, if you do not receive full and frank disclosure of all your fiancé(e)’s financial assets, the agreement that you enter into would not be binding in relation to the hidden asset or property, so the court could still award financial relief from any asset that you do not disclose. Make sure if you want the Pre-Nup to protect everything that you fully reveal all matters to your partner before you both sign on the dotted line.

‘What do we have?’

If you both have limited financial means, then the courts will apportion whatever limited resources you both have in order to meet your needs, and most importantly, the courts will give priority to housing any children and the parent who lives with them. A Pre-Nuptial agreement in these circumstances will be futile. The court will not enforce the Pre-Nup if it does not provide for both of you and the children.

Similarly, agreements which leave one spouse dependent on state benefits will not carry much weight, at least where that could be avoided by distributing your joint resources in a different way on divorce (or dissolution of your civil partnership).

You need to seriously consider whether yours is a case where a Pre-Nuptial agreement is necessary or even relevant, before incurring the costs of having one drawn up.

What about the kids?

Following on from the point above, if either of you have children that live with you (be they from a previous relationship or the current union), are the children’s needs met by the terms of the Pre-Nup? If not, then the Pre-Nup will be invalidated. “A nuptial agreement cannot be allowed to prejudice the reasonable requirements of any children of the family.”

How close is the big day?

If the wedding is imminent, there will probably be a greater risk of pressure to sign the proposed Pre-Nup. Although there is not a ‘cut off point’ whereby you must sign and finalise the agreement before the marriage (as is the case in some other countries), you must consider the time you choose to sign very carefully. Though the Law Commission propose that there should not be a time limit to invalidate an agreement, the courts have shown reluctance to enforce agreements entered into on the eve of a wedding.

Signing a Pre-Nup while steaming your dress the night before the big day, is not a good idea!

How sure can we be?

No one can really guarantee at the outset of a marriage what the consequences of time or significant events will bring (for example the birth of children, one of you suffering a serious illness, unemployment, or business failure). So, should there be a ‘sunset clause’ included in your Pre-Nup, stating that the agreement should cease to have effect after a certain period, i.e. the longer the marriage the less relevant the Pre-Nup on divorce years later? This is something that is being considered by the Law Commission, though the there may be difficulties in formulating these restrictions.

Lastly, and above all, it is important to remember that, no agreement can depose the jurisdiction of the court in England. When one of you applies to the court for a financial remedy, the courts will have the overriding power, and not your Pre-Nuptial agreement. The courts will ultimately decide how your assets are divided to suitably provide for both of you and the children. So although the Pre-Nup will be significant, you cannot set into stone a contingency plan for divorce, though if you sensibly consider everything above, there is more chance you can expect to retain some control.

To discuss any of the issues raised or to receive advice on any other Family Law matter, please contact Linda Hawkes at linda.hawkes@fishermeredith.co.uk on +44 (0)20 7091 2747 or her assistant solicitor, Mandeep Benning at mandeep.benning@fishermeredith.co.uk, on +44 (0)20 7091 2757.

Please visit Fisher Meredith’s website www.fishermeredith.co.uk.
 

The Wedding Reporter the acclaimed website created by Emma Woodhouse covered the recent VOWS launch event on Tuesday 11th October when she visited with Laura Caudery of Fetcham Park.

Emma created the Wedding Reporter two years ago after her hands-on experience in the wedding industry, a successful wedding blog and a penchant for all things matrimonial since her own big day.  

She adores putting into words all the emotions and memories that are generated from weddings and with a background in theatrical writing and formal training in fiction & creative writing, her love of weddings comes second perhaps only to her love of words.

This is very evident in the reports she covers on her website www.theweddingreporter.co.uk.

To see the report that she wrote on the VOWS event please click on the following link http://www.theweddingreporter.co.uk/2011/10/28/vows-wedding-event-11th-october.

As couples left on the evening, some passing comments that we received were:

'‘Lovely event,  relaxed atmosphere,  friendly, refreshing,  different,  intimate, and a good use of my time’.

Since, the event we have received the following feedback from the couples, and this has reinforced the vision of VOWS, that it was all about offering advice in a non pressured environment. 

Feedback:

Thank you very much for your hospitality on Tuesday evening. It was a lovely event and I really enjoyed meeting the ‘VOWS’ team.

Thank you again for a really lovely night,

LC.

Thanks for sending the brochure. We found last night really useful and made some good contacts and were given some helpful information. Most of what was on offer was out of our price range, but it was great to chat through ideas.

Many thanks

RS

Thank you so much for organizing such a brilliant evening! It is such a great concept. I had been feeling quite nervous about coming along on my own, but as soon as I arrived I was made to feel so welcome and everyone I spoke to were so down to earth and put me at ease and I've come away with some fantastic tips for my wedding! The champagne and canapés were yummy too!

Thanks  again.

CP

 
Many, many thanks for recommending the VOWS event – If I were a bride to be, or planning my daughter’s wedding VOWS would be the perfect event in every way- everything under one (very beautiful) roof.

MA

Great job on the great event last Tuesday. it was all very well done and the whole team was absolutely lovely… I’m glad I got the chance to finally meet them all. Thanks again for inviting me.
Best,
HS

Please watch this space for details on where VOWS will be going next.

Paul Antonio is a renowned artist extraordinaire and this is evident by the pictures captured by Julia Boggio who is an acclaimed photographer at the recent launch of VOWS at de Le Cuona.

One of Paul's specialities is 'window graffiti' which you can see above and certainly created the WOW in Walton Street for the launch.  

On the night Paul also created the name badges for all the VOWS Team and individual signs for each representative with their company name which were simply stunning.   He is just so talented.

Paul Antonio of Scribe is a person for your 'little black book' so, do check out the various videos he has on You Tube and if you need any caligraphy or window graffiti, Paul is your man.

Julia Boggio the acclaimed photography, part of the VOWS Team captured the wedding cake designed by Nicola Hall of Hall of Cakes at de Le Cuona in Walton Street at the VOWS launch.

Also, caputured was the works of Paul Antonio the acclaimed caligrapher and 'window graffiti' artist.

For full details on all these members of the VOWS Team please visit their profiles.

For more information on French Bubbles and their range of amazing champagnes that Maud Fierobe offers, please visit the website at www.frenchbubbles.co.uk.

After a year of planning, the VOWS (Visualise Our Wedding Secrets) event launched last night and was a huge success if we say so ourselves.
 

The brain child of Chelsea Bidwill and Sarah Ducker together, created the VOWS Team, all hand picked wedding experts and together we pulled off the launch event at de Le Cuona in Walton Street.

The de Le Cuona showroom was the perfect setting for the launch event and mirrored the vision of a couples ‘wedding journey’ perfectly.

The VOWS Team was:

Lise Herud ~ Bespoke Tailor and Dress Designer
Lynn Crean ~ The London Wedding Dress Finder
Linda Hawkes ~ Fisher Meredith
Duncan Owen ~ Effect Event
Sarah Jagger ~ Hair and Make Up
Patrick Wyatt ~ Jeweller
David Burgess ~ Blink Studio
Julie Gray ~ Bovingdon’s
Julia Boggio ~ Julia Boggio Photography
Maud Fierobe ~ French Bubbles
Rachel Ames ~ Society West
Paul Antonio ~ Scribe
Nicola Hall ~ Hall of Cakes
Fiona Craig ~ Lifebloom
Siobhan Craven Robins ~ Wedding Coordinator

The initial feedback from couples who came along as they left was: ‘relaxed, great to be able to really speak to ‘real’ people, friendly, non pressurized, informative and fun’ and that was the VOWS teams goal.

So, do watch this space www.vowsblog.co.uk as this won’t be last of VOWS.