The credit-crunch bride who wore a £50 wedding dress says she felt like a 'million dollars' as she weds her man

By Daily Mail Reporter

Her wedding day may have cost just £480 - but radiant bride Odette Fenwick said she felt a million dollars as she married her soul mate Christopher May.

The biggest day in the life of the 19-year-old and her 21-year-old groom Christopher May had a bargain basement price tag - but that did not matter to the happy couple.

And as they celebrated their marriage today, Christopher said: 'The money is irrelevant, it is just a special day.'

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Crunch-hit brides opt for Friday weddings

By Jonathan Petre

The credit crunch has led to hundreds of brides switching their big day to Friday to save on the spiralling cost of weddings.

New research shows that church weddings, traditionally held on Saturday afternoons, are increasingly taking place a day earlier when cars, caterers and photographers are cheaper.

The trend has been growing for a number of years as the cost of getting married has mushroomed, but Church of England clergy say the phenomenon is even more apparent now as couples struggle to pay for their wedding and a mortgage.

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08.08.08 - An Auspicious D8te!!

Russian marriage offices have seen a surge of applications to wed today, due to the supposedly lucky character of the date: 08.08.08, officials and local media said.

In Moscow, registry offices will stay open late as applications to marry on August 8 are up by more than two thirds compared to a normal Friday in summer, a spokeswoman for the city's registry offices Yevgenia Smirnova said.

Normally between 900 and 1,000 marriages take place on a regular Friday or Saturday in summer, she said, but applications had already reached 1,675 by the end of last week.

More than 16,400 Beijing couples have applied to have their marriages registered on the auspicious date of Aug 8, 2008, the municipal bureau of civil affairs said.

On the same day last year, just 3,390 couples registered their nuptials, it said.

The number eight is believed to bring happiness and fortune. The three eights in Aug 8, 2008, therefore, make that day especially popular.

"Eight is such an auspicious number, and with the opening of the Beijing Olympics, the whole nation will be celebrating with us," Li Jun, who will be among those officially getting married on Friday, told China Daily.

"And having 2008-08-08 stamped on my marriage certificate will make it extra special," he said.

Do you know what today? - everyone of my overseas wedding planners are rushed off their feet, we have a wedding just about everywhere, from Tobago to Tuscany!

*New* - Thailand Weddings

We can now arrange innovative, stylish and memorable weddings and celebrations at luxurious resorts on Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Phuket, Thailand.

Our knowledgeable and experienced team in the U.K. and Australia ensures that you can now host your ideal event in Thailand without the concerns associated with dealing with overseas suppliers such as language, cultural and time-difference barriers; being overcharged or misled about what you will receive on arrival; or not having the time to visit Thailand before inviting your guests to your wedding.

Locations in stunning turquoise waters and world-class golf courses are some of the many attractions in Koh Samui and Koh Tao. Hosting your wedding in Thailand is an exciting experience and is a true holiday for you and your guests. A wedding in Thailand provides the perfect incentive for your friends and family to not only enjoy your ‘big day’, but also to provide them with a perfect holiday. Included in our service we offer information regarding the best value flights and accommodation for your guests.

Click here to request further information on our weddings in Thailand

Lapland - Winter White Wedding - New Venue Just Added!

Winter White Weddings in Lapland, Finland

You are sitting in a sledge pulled by husky dogs. It takes you through a magical snow covered forest. The snow is so white that you wonder whether it is real. Finally you reach your destination. A chapel made of ice and snow. You step in the chapel and look around. The chapel is decorated by ice sculptures and it is the most beautiful place you have ever seen. It is totally quiet. In the evening magical lights, the Aurora Borealis, light up the sky. Is this a dream…

Other possible venues in the winter include a small romantic wooden Tieva chapel. For your wedding transportation you can also use a sledge pulled by a reindeer or a husky.

Complete the wedding celebration with a genuine performance of Lappish songs called joiku. If desired the bridal couple can get married in colorful Lapp costumes.

In the evening you can enjoy a very special wedding dinner in our log house restaurant. For your wedding night you have several options including a Honeymoon Snow Igloo, a Wedding Turf Chamber, Glass Igloo or the Queen Suite. The next days you can take part to our optional excursions and enjoy the beautiful and peaceful nature of Lapland.

For further details of our Winter White Wedding in Lapland click here or email me karen@weddingsabroad.com

Surviving the school holidays with your sanity!

Here in the UK we are entering our third week of the school summer holidays. I am very fortunate to have childcare for my children, but some days we stay home, and after a trip to the beach or park I feel the lure of the laptop and need to have a quick fix of "work". I use the term work loosely because my job never feels laborious just completely enjoyable!

On these such days my thoughts turn to those women you work whilst caring for their children, and to them I give my utmost respect.

Many mothers would love to work and be at home with their children, but few know how to do it. Discovering the balance of work and home can be a lot more challenging when your office is your kitchen.

While the roles of stay at home mother and career woman have long been considered mutually exclusive, a growing number of women are showing the world that they can have careers and stay at home with their children.

Here are my top tips for a working mum staying at home:

1.Get dressed. Seriously I always feel I get so much more done when I am showered, dressed and ready for the day. Can you remember the early days and your highest achievement was just to have a shower! Get up before your kids and get a quick shower, it will wake you and energise you for the day. However if your kids can hear a pin drop like mine can, your plan may alter and you find yourself sharing the shower, as I did this morning with my two eldest.

2. Invest in a slow-cooker. I think these are the best invention ever, I love the fact I can chop up everything at 10am and bung it all in and hey presto! come 6pm we have a divine dinner. My husband doesn't agree though as he thinks all slow cooker food tastes the same...overcooked! Hence why he prefers to cooks a scrumptious dinner every night instead...okay so that suggestion might work for some! You could also do as I do on the days I have to make dinner, and learn how to make mince & dumplings in 10 minutes flat and bung it in the oven.

3. Delegate. Delegate to your kids. I say if they are old enough to make the mess they are old enough to clean it up! I also give mine little tasks to do such as stamping brochures or punching holes to file papers. They think it's fun and also teaches them a valuable skill about being responsible.

4. Midnight calls. Identify what you can put off until the evening, and what you need to get done during the day. Email can be checked and responded to at anytime, but calls to clients need to be done in office hours. I am lucky in that I can pick any hour in the day and speak to one of my wedding planner partners somewhere in the world. Often whilst my brood are sleeping I will call Australia or New York!

5. Wireless Working. Make sure you have high speed wireless internet, so that way when you do get to do some work you waste no time. Best of all it can be done in the house or out in the back garden whilst the kids are playing.

6. Schedule. Plan everything before the holidays begin, that includes play time and trips out, don't forget you need to plan into your schedule time out for the kids and lots of fun activities, it is their holiday after all. Also segment your days, activities, downtime, work time and TV time, but it’s a great productivity tool no matter what the ages of your children.

7. Barter. Arrange with your Mummy friends to have play dates at each others home. That way you are guaranteed a few hours off, okay so in return you gain a few more children but it is critical for your sanity.

8. Snacks. Buy loads of healthy snacks and ready to grab food. Prepare cut up vegetables or similar picnic options in the morning, put in plastic containers in the fridge and let them help themselves throughout the day. My kids will play "picnics" happily on a rug on the lawn for an hour or two. Although it does take me an hour to clear the garden before bed, as usually ten dolls and various colourfully clad bears have been in attendance!

9. Creative Combination. Find creative ways to combine your work with your kids. If your client is agreeable, for example, you could hold a business meeting at MacDonald's, or some other restaurant that has a play area for kids. If a client is coming to meet with you in your home, perhaps she could bring her children so your kids could play together while you meet. Take your kids with you when you go to buy office supplies or run other business related errands.

10. Count your blessings. Stop beating yourself up and think of all those working mothers who would love to be in your shoes. Think of the long commutes, no uniform of PJ's and less time they spend with their kids....okay sometimes that's a good thing! Only joking! Working from home means you not only get to work at home but you live there too.....some days to me that is just bliss.....

Follow me on Twitter?

If you enjoy this blog, and are craving for more information, then you may want to follow me on Twitter. I was introduced to Twitter by fellow wedding professional, Rebecca Grinnals, a leading wedding and honeymoon expert of Engaging Concepts, by way of a blog post this week. Thanks Rebecca, I am now following you!

Not sure what Twitter is? It’s a next-generation chat room that spills over to mobile devices. Conversations, ideas, and news often breaks there before it does on blogs, and often before traditional news. There are many influencers there (that publish on other mediums), and relationships are being formed.

You can follow me on Twitter (my user name is karentb) and I’ll add you back

If you are on twitter and want to connect with other readers of this blog, leave your link below in the comments so we can all connect. Let’s build a wedding related community.