Entertainment provided by esc weddings caught on camera!

It was great to have wedding photographer and videographer, Randall Murrow on hand at the Surrey Wedding Suppliers Networking Evening to capture the events of the night.


Randall caught the shock on guest's faces as the surprise entertainment of the evening began. Operacatz wowed the crowd with their unique and glamorous take on some well known songs.


Check out the video below to see them in action:

Thanks to Randall Murrow for filming the entertainment on the night and thanks to Operacatz for providing something a bit different!

Esc Weddings celebrates successful Surrey Wedding Suppliers Networking Evening

On February 3rd Esc Weddings teamed up with Weddings in Surrey to host a networking evening for Surrey wedding suppliers at the beautiful Warren House in Kingston-upon-Thames. Over 200 eager guests signed up with 130 being able to attend the event.

We would like to thank the following suppliers for providing excellent entertainment on the night:
Caricaturist - Richard Machin, caRICatures
Magician - Ian Gray, Magic Ian
Opera singers - Daniella & Rebecca - Operacatz
Acoustic Duo - Suzie & Mike - Acoustic Air
Human Statue - Carrie Lovatt, Human Statue
Social Media Expert - Thomas Power, Ecademy

Special thanks to calligrapher - Cathy Horton, Event Calligraphy, for personally scribing all the name badges.

Wedding photographer Loukia Avvakoumides was on hand to capture the night's events unfolding. Below is a selection of her photos, for the full collection click here.

Suzie Sherwood, Acoustic Air

Helen Bull from Warren House handing out the bottle of bubbly from the prize draw

Carrie Lovatt, Human Statue

Daniella Ehrlich & Rebecca Moon, Operacatz

Pamela Wallin, Weddings in Surrey

Thomas Power, Ecademy

Thank you to everyone who attended this event.
Watch this space for details of the next exciting networking evening or email sophie@esc-events.co.uk to register your interest.

Esc Weddings team up with Weddings in Surrey & Warren House to host Surrey Wedding Suppliers Networking Event

Weddings in Surrey, Esc Weddings and Warren House are hosting a networking evening for Surrey Wedding suppliers.  The event will bring together Surrey's wedding experts and give you the opportunity to network, exchange information and ideas, whilst enjoying drinks and canapes, in the luxurious surroundings of Warren House, a beautiful Victorian Mansion house in the heart of Kingston upon Thames.


The date
Thursday 3rd February 2011 

The details

• Your opportunity to meet Tweetmates, new contacts, & make friends
• A talk from a social media expert will feature at 19:30 hours
• Tour this beautiful 18th century mansion house
• Enjoy the hospitality of Warren House's drinks and canapes
• A bottle of bubbly prize draw

The location

• Warren House, Warren Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 7HY

 If you are in the wedding entertainment industry and would like to showcase your services please contact sian@esc-weddings.co.uk with your details.

To register your attendance please RSVP before January 31st 2011 Here

Win an Exclusive Wedding Day Package!

 Wedding Planner, Photographer and Make-up Artist for your big day

worth £1,865.00!

This fantastic prize consists of three wedding services with professional suppliers who will ensure that your wedding runs smoothly while you, your mother and bridesmaids all look beautiful and the entire day is captured on camera for you everlasting memories.

Enter HERE

Full details on the three services:

An ‘on-the-day’ Wedding Planner from esc weddings: www.esc-weddings.co.uk

Your dedicated esc weddings planner will meet with you a month before your wedding so that you can pass on your finished plans to us, and we will point out any missing elements or issues we feel may arise. We will then take on your bookings to ensure all suppliers understand what is required of them and when they are due to deliver a service to you.

On your wedding day we will be at your venue from set up time until the last supplier leaves, ensuring everything is ready for your arrival and picking up on any imperfections, and correcting them before you or your guests notice. The full day will then be managed under our watchful eye, making sure everything runs smoothly. This will allow you and your family to relax and enjoy the happiest day of your life.

Worth £650

Wedding Photography with Loukia Avvakoumides: www.flickr.com/lukielou/collections

Loukia will conduct a site visit to your venue with you prior to your wedding to discuss your requirements, familiarize herself with the running order of the day, and establish the best photo opportunities.

On your big day, she will arrive in plenty of time to capture all the bridal preparations before heading off to prepare for your arrival at the church/registry office. All elements of your day will then be captured from the ceremony to the reception and up until cutting the cake and the first dance.

You will later be sent a disc of 300+ images (books can be purchased at an extra cost).

Worth £950

Bride & bridal party make up with Rebecca Clark: www.rebeccaclarkmakeup.co.uk

Rebecca will meet with you and the Mother of the Bride (or one Bridesmaid) up to a month before your big day, at your home in Surrey for a make up trial to work out exactly the look you desire.

On the day, she will arrive at your home or place of preparation in time to make up the Bride, Mother of the Bride and two Bridesmaids, ensuring all look wonderful and ready to walk down the aisle.

Worth £265


Enter HERE

Terms & Conditions

1. Competition is open for entrants from 1^st November 2010 – 28^th February 2011
2. Competition is open for weddings which are being held between 1^st April 2011 to 31^st December 2011.
3. Winner will be chosen at random
4. Competition is open to weddings being held in Surrey, Hampshire & London
5. Competition is not open to employees (or their immediate families) of Esc Weddings, Loukia Avvakoumides Photography or Rebecca Clark Make-up
6. The competition closing date is subject to change without prior notice
7. The winner will be notified in writing
8. The chosen winner decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into   
9. The prize is not transferable
10. No purchase is necessary and there is no charge to enter the competition
11. If for any reason a supplier is unable to attend your wedding day, a suitable replacement will be found to replace them
12. All entrants are automatically signed up to the Weddings in Surrey and Esc Weddings  Newsletter as a data collection legality

Enter HERE

Tips on surviving the wedding or party night if you are the planner

I was just putting together some tips for a press release on surviving a wedding or party if you are the planner so thought I would share them with you: 

If possible, get plenty of sleep the night before

Wear flat, comfortable shoes and take a change of shoes; a new pair will relive your feet from the pains the first pair gave you!

Plan plan plan –Put in the work before the event to ensure a stress free evening:

1. Use reliable suppliers who you have worked with before and who are fully briefed on what is expected of them. You can then trust them to get on with their jobs without being constantly checked and chased
2. Put together a detailed schedule of who is doing what and when and share with everyone before the event, as well as printing copies for all on the night
3. Have all required contact details to hand or saved on your phone so you don’t have to start hunting for them when an emergency occurs
4. Know your venue – you don’t want to spend the evening getting lost or asking for directions. A site visit beforehand is a must if the venue is unfamiliar to you

Remember to eat, drink and rest when you can

Don’t try to do everything yourself – delegate to those you can trust

If you are working at a large venue, radio communications will save you a lot of running around & telephone bills if you need to speak to colleagues or suppliers quickly

Don’t forget to feed your suppliers: Bands, toastmasters, bar staff etc all work better if they are fed and happy

Never drink on the job. If the client insists, stick to one glass to be polite but loose it as soon as she is not looking.

Plan the links between important moments of the night. A toastmaster or best man will come in handy to introduce entertainment / cutting of the cake / call to dinner etc

Put together an SOS kit containing anything you can think of that you might need; first aid kit, safety pins, bottles of water, speech cards etc. It will be an ever growing but invaluable tool for sorting any emergency that might come up 

Thank you note

It's always nice to receive a thank you note from brides so here is an extract from a recent bride's card following her wedding at Ashdown Park. Esc weddings were enlisted 3 weeks before the wedding to coordinate all last minute details and bring the day together. 

" Thank you so much for taking the strain off me in those last few weeks before the wedding and making sure that everything ran smoothly on the day!!

Thanks to you I was able to relax and enjoy the day knowing that if we had forgotten something - you hadn't!"

Photo courtesy of Ashdown Park. Wedding photos to be posted soon....

Wedding Themes

I was honoured to be asked to give my advice as the Expert Wedding Planner in this month's Hot Topic feature in Your Surrey Magazine. Here are my tips on theming your wedding: 
                                                                     

Q My fiancé and I love live music, and attend all sorts of different gigs and festivals. We want to incorporate this into our wedding theme – is there anything you can suggest?

Sian Says: Why not create your own festival? If you are able to hold your wedding in a marquee you are already half way there. Use straw bails as outdoor seating and bunting as decoration. Wildflowers, daisies and sunflowers will give a rustic, jolly feel.

Food could be outdoors, maybe with a choice of stalls from hog roasts to fish and chip vans and old fashioned ice cream carts.

Drinks can be cider, cloudy lemonade and wine in tin baths filled with ice for embellishment. 

Entertainment will be key at a festival / gig themed wedding. Maybe have a tribute of your favourite band for the evening dancing and ask any musical friends to play throughout the afternoon. This can be a great way of saving costs and also adding a personal touch.

Jam jars with tea lights inside, lamp oil torches, glow sticks and Chinese lanterns can be used as lights to decorate in the dusk/evening.  Perhaps try incorporating wellies, wristbands or lanyards in to enhance the theme further.

Your invites will be the first idea the guests get of your plans, so maybe look at making handmade invites on recycled paper or even sending ‘tickets’ to your ‘weddingfest’

Q I've heard wedding themes are all the rage nowadays, but I haven't got a clue where to start. We don't have a particular theme we want to follow, but I'd love something a bit different. Can you give me any inspiration?

Sian Says: A wedding theme does not have to be anything wild, wacky or unusual. It can be something as simple as a style or colour that is used throughout the elements of the day to tie them all together. Think about your own personal style and colour pallet. Are you bright and vibrant, earthy and natural, or maybe you prefer things pink and sparkly (though make sure your spouse is happy to go along with this choice!)

You may want to think about the season in which you are getting married. It will influence your choice of flowers, venue, dress and food, and can be incorporated into your invites, stationary, décor and entertainment.

Perhaps think about places that you have visited that have been special to you or you have particularly enjoyed.

If you want something a bit more unusual, think about hobbies or interests that you and your partner share. Maybe you are both keen film buffs and would like an old fashioned Hollywood style, or you both love scuba diving and want an underwater theme! 

Make yourself a scrap book containing any wedding photos and ideas that you like. This will also help when meeting suppliers so they can get an idea of your style. If using a wedding planner, ask them for ideas and suggestions of past themes that have worked, or maybe once they get to know you, they will be able to work out the perfect theme for you.