Our rendition of "12 Days of Christmas" festival styleeee!

The big man is coming tonight!!!! We are all massively excited here as we know how good we have all been this year...well for most of it anyway, no names mentioned! 

Here is our rendition of "12 Days of Christmas" festival styleee! 

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me…..

Twelve fireworks flashing

Eleven children playing

Ten campers camping

Nine dozen straw bales

Eight ales and ciders

Seven hoggs ‘a’ Roasting

Six hoola’s hooping

Five rocking bands…..(and breathe!) 

Four hundred friends

Three bridesmaids

Us two in love

and the best wedding in the world…….

Wishing you all the most beautiful Christmas, hope all your dreams come true...

Love from SJ, Simon, Rowan and Mimi xxxx

Kris and Kim’s AMAZING Isle of Wight Festival proposal – Get your hankies ready! Written by SJ

Festival lovers Kris and Kim packed up for the IOW festival in June this year along with their friends Gemma, Grant, Su and Louis, little did Kim know what the crew had in store for her…

This gorgeous couple grew up living around the corner from each other and were actually at the same high school, but not in the same year. Kim, by her own self admission, calls herself a bit of a cougar! Check this chick out! They met properly about six years ago at a hotel bar they both used to work at, Kim was Kris’s boss…and still a cougar… Although their jobs meant they saw a fair bit of each other, these guys took a whole two years waiting for the love fairy to come and sprinkle her magic dust over them. Jeez that fairy tries the patience of a saint!

They have been together for four years now and Kris had decided that the love fairy had sprinkled enough love dust to last for a lifetime, but wanted to plan something really special for his girl! 

Obviously having thanked the fairy, he started to conspire with his crew to plan a proposal never to be forgotten!

For months, Kris had been plotting behind Kim’s back with conspiracy crew (sorry guys but conspiracy crew just feels sooo right!) to make this perfect. Kim still doesn’t know quite how he pulled this off as she speaks with Gemma and Su (both girls on the pics and video) on a daily basis and they see each other every weekend. I can tell you now this is a tough job! One of our friends is getting married and we are the event planners, but NOBODY else knows about this yet! I have almost got to the position of having to bind my mouth with masking tape up the pub on a Friday!

The lies got sooo big that Kim later found out that she was there when her ring was delivered, the girls used the excuse that it was the spare part to a car! These guys are big car geeks, so she didn’t even bat an eyelid! Good work those girls! Would the guys have been flapping around making big hand gestures and going red in the face..?! Not judging…just sayin!

By the time they packed themselves off to the festival EVERYONE knew to include their families, no pressure there then Kris! Tension, in an exciting way, was mounting…

After last year’s mudfest at Leeds for Su’s 30^th they decided to treat themselves to caravan this year. Look at this pic as their own experience of mudfest…Now I met my hubby looking  like this too, so of course I think this is just the hottest look!

 They started the weekend off with a hearty meal and few drinks at one of the locals on the other side of the Island. Kim knew something wasn’t quite right but drew the conclusion that she had upset everyone! “ Nobody would hold a conversation with me and they would all of a sudden have something really important to do, or dash off to the loo” The crew told her later that they were all so excited, but petrified that booze and secrets just simply didn’t mix! I’m hearing you guys on so many levels right now! Gemma, (who you will see was six months pregnant) didn’t have this excuse, but as Kim explained to us, she just simply can’t lie, so ended up avoiding Kim all night!

The big day came and Gemma (oh responsible one, unable to lie) was assigned the task of looking after the ring. Odds on favourite she wasn’t going to end up in a mosh pit or at a ciderfest!  The whole crew held their breath whilst getting through security that the ring wasn’t pulled out of the bag! Her Daughter Pippa Florence was born last August and these guys love the fact that she has been to her first festival!

Kim goes on to explain to us, in her own words I hasten to add…”The guys in the video are Gemma's husband Grant (the tall bald one) and Su's boyfriend Louis (the dark hairy one, who is also Kris's cousin) and they will definitely be part of our wedding crew that Kris is going to have to choose from! He has a lot of close mates and brothers who are all after the best man spot but I'm leaving that one up to him to decide”

“Grant is normally the super organised one (he's in the RAF) but it was Louis who was flapping on the day as the girls apparently took too long to get me back after we had nipped to the posh loos before Biffy Clyro came on” Come on girls you were doing so well!!!

As Kris whispered sweet nothings to Kim with his arms wrapped around her, the conspiracy crew were hard at work getting their T-shirts on and positioning themselves in the right order. This sounds easy, but after a few beers at a festival, I’m sure was a task and a half!  Kim could have turned around at any moment! Just before Biffy came on to play his set THIS HAPPENED!!!

 This gets an almighty awwwwww from us! 

Have you got your hankies ready?! We asked Kim how she felt about the whole festival proposal experience?  “ I think it's safe to say I am amazed by the whole proposal, though the gang were all surprised I didn't cry (I think I was in shock). I did finally burst into tears at the end of the Sunday night after Kings of Leon finished, we all turned around to leave and there was a massive fireworks display and they played 'All you need is love' by the Beatles. Pretty much a perfect weekend! 

 Conspiracy crew, you all get a massive huge thumbs up from us here at TWFC, we not ONLY do we love this, but had a bun fight to get the blog! I’m still on tea duty here and it ended up in bribery, well these things happen! You all did a fantastic job to make this perfect for these guys! Have you thought about hiring yourselves out?! 

Plans for their big day in summer 2016 definitely involve live music to reflect their love for each other, one of their local bands has already agreed to play. Kris is working on asking Biffy Clyro but just needs to make sure he has enough room to fit Biffy in his line-up!

Hen and stag plans are for the boys to head off to Le Mans for the racing but based on their history Kim tells us it could be anywhere from Vegas to Ibiza. The girls are heading to Dublin as it ties in nicely with going to a few Irish sessions for the music, without Kim having to convince anyone to go to a festival!

Watch the video here...( get more hankies!!!!) 

Kris and Kim, we hope you have the most amazing day that you guys really deserve!

If you have an engagement or quirky wedding you want to share with team here, drop us a line at info@weddingfestivalcompany.co.uk. The best stories are being entered into a competition over the next twelve months to win a weeks skiing accommodation for 4 in Bansko here! 

http://www.saintgeorgepalace.com/

Love Out xxx

Butterfly Collective- Marvelous Mod vibe for your line-up! Written By Simon Williams

Photographs by Chris Meany Photography and Rock Inspired Photography

We are well and truly getting into the festive spirit here! Planning which bands we are going to go and check out over the Christmas break that would add some razz and dazz to your line -up! 

 Now, we like live music…We like live music a lot! Be it at our local pub or Glastonbury Festival (two of our team have tickets for 2015… AC/DC are a big rumour… so excited, one of our team is likely to be playing there!!!). So when we heard the Butterfly Collective were performing at one of our local venues, us we just had to pop along and check them out!  Now, we have worked with the Butterfly Collective at previous festivals that we have organised, it’s fair to say we love what they do! 

But we heard that their set had undergone some major changes, so we were intrigued to find a little bit more. It’s always a tough one when you find out a band you already rate have changed their set list, especially when you know what they already did rocked! However, the Butterfly Collective did not disappoint!

These guys are a perfect party band for your own festival celebration and play the best mod music in town. From the Jam to The Who, The Small Faces to the Kinks, Oasis to Blur, these guys kept the venue screaming out for more all frickin night! Boy do they know how to get a party pumping, giving non-stop entertainment throughout their show. I call it a show, as not only are these guys incredibly talented muso’s, but their energy is electric!

Butterfly Collective owning the stage at the Celebration Festival 2014! 

 Most people associate mod music with Lambretta’s and rightly so, but the mods were and are still are passionate about their music. The mod scene has some of the finest music ever written. Tin Soldier by the Small Faces, Won’t get fooled again by the Who, Park Life by Blur (that was narrated by Phil Daniels who starred in Quadrophenia) to name but a few!

The Butterfly Collective are on fire right now peeps!  All of the favourite mod tunes plus some superb Northern Soul to get the crowd skanking about and crying out for the encore! Check them out on Facebook to get a sneaky preview of what they are up to. We were already excited about working with them next festival season, now we are buzzing for this, can’t wait hear more from them!

So whether you and your other half are mods with a Lambretta’s, sharp suits and miniskirts, or you just love great music, a Wedding Festival from the TWFC is the best way to party with the finest sounds around. We can plan a line-up for you that will stamp your day with BEST WEDDING EVER!

Love Out x

Setting the stage for your big day! - Written by Rowan Bastable

Hello hello! Rowan here from TWFC. I didn't get the best night’s sleep last night, I was awake all night thinking about music, bands, events and why I think live music is such a vital part of any wedding festival...

It's hard to put into words, being a musician myself, I suppose it's very much in the blood. If I'm really honest, I'd probably book 100 bands for a wedding festival and forget about feeding anybody!! That’s why we make such an epic team here. My role is very much about the stage, lights, sound and getting you the perfect line-up to get your wedding rockin'!

So here goes…

My top tips when booking live music for your big day...

1. Setting the atmosphere - Nothing quite sets the scene like live music and as festival loving bride and grooms' to be I'm sure you'll very much agree!

Live bands are great fun and will really make an excellent feature for your event.

There really is nothing quite like the feeling of 'togetherness' that comes from dancing wildly to a band you love or joining arms to sing that chorus everybody knows (or pretends to know!) the words to.

Making music a more focal point of your day will make the atmosphere last on a high from bar one to midnight!

2. This is a party! We're not about sit down 3 course meals and stiff upper lips here at TWFC. We're about letting your hair down and throwing that mad party at a venue you've always dreamed of! Why just party in the evening on your special day when you can party all day (Or all weekend if you choose)?
I believe that your wedding day is as much about celebrating your joint personalities as it is about celebrating your love for one another. What better way to express the diversity of your tastes than through the bands you choose to play on the day? Are you the sort of "rock-chick" that wants to turn up on the back of a Harley and rock out all day, or perhaps you'd like to float in amongst the sounds of a barbershop trio?
I'd perhaps suggest to start your line up nice and easy with some beautiful acoustic tunes in the background, whilst everybody mingles, and then slowly build the atmosphere to blistering dancing in the evenings finale! But hey, maybe you want to skank away to your favourite ska band at midday? The choice is yours!

3. Creating memories to cherish - Whether it be singing along to your favourite songs around a campfire or stage diving in your wedding dress (yes we've seen this done!), the music that you choose will create lasting memories for yourself and your guests.

 

Who knew you had a secret love of Irish Dancing? Well they all found out at midnight on your wedding night didn’t they...?

4. Something for everyone - We appreciate wholeheartedly how daunting a task it seems to try and please everyone when organising your special day. From the choice of food to guest list management there's always someone or something to worry about. Well why not safely remove that worry when it comes to booking your big day and work with us to make it unforgettable!

Be it rock, rap, folk, acoustic, indie, funk, or all of the aforementioned, you could arrange a line- up that perfectly complements you and your guests tastes. Let there be something for everyone to enjoy, you most certainly won't regret it!

5. Well known songs or original masterpieces? We work with a vast network of professional musicians who write and perform their own music (and a few covers if you require) and guarantee only the highest quality of musicianship from the bands that we book. Why not have a real Irish Folk band play at your festival, as opposed to a rock band who have learned songs by request?

Of course we understand that you may wish to book a covers band or two for the day! It's totally up to you, but by offering your guests a range of genres and original music throughout the day the feeling of being at a real music festival will certainly come to life!

6. One band, or a whole festival? - As I'm sure you are aware, most weddings have one function band, who will play one pre- defined genre of music generally for 2 hrs (2 x 1hr sets of 3 x 40min sets) and can charge an obscene amount of money due to demand... that means placing all of your trust (and a large sum of money) in the hands of one band to provide all the entertainment for your guests. There is, of course, no problem with that, if that's what you want? However, here at TWFC we would look more towards you having multiple bands to provide entertainment for the entire day/night and of course it will help spread the cost for you, as you won’t be potentially look at thousands of pounds per band!

So your husband-to-be is a staunch heavy rock fan... but you prefer a bit of Motown and Soul... how can you choose a band to please everyone? Well don't, choose six!

7. Choosing the right bands - What to look for when deciding which bands you wish to play? If you're not musically minded yourself how will you know the best from the worst? Well here are a few things to consider...

* A Good Demo - All bands should have a good quality recorded demo that you can hear online. This will show off their musicality! When they are in time, in tune and sounding great, you know that you are onto a winner!

* Good Equipment - A band should be able to provide all of their own musical equipment for the event (Some wedding bands will also supply the PA for you, but of course for a festival style wedding you'll have one set up for the weekend).

* A High Quality Photo - You want to know what your band are going to look like, right? All good bands will have a professional, quality, press photo of themselves online, that you can see.

* Reliability - A complete must when playing a wedding. It is so important that the bands you choose to play are reliable and trustworthy! All good bands will have testimonials online to their performances and professionalism and they are always worth checking out before you part with your money!

8. The Stage - It's vitally important to have a decent set up for your festival. You'll need stage, lights, PA, microphones and an engineer just to start! We aren't all technically minded and this can all seem very daunting, but all you really need is someone that you trust to control the entire affair for you. From setting the equipment up, to stage managing for the day, to packing it all down and taking it home at the end of the weekend. The last thing you need to worry yourselves with is how the PA works and whether it'll do the job for your many guests who are raring to party!

So there we are... my pointers to consider when thinking about booking bands for your wedding festival!

It would be my absolute pleasure to help guide you through all aspects of arranging your line-up for the day. How about a bit of heavy rock for hubby to be, some funk and soul for yourself and the bridesmaids and a bit of acoustic folk for auntie Jane (who won’t really will moan about all the racket!!!)?

Remember that whatever you wish, you can make happen!! It'll be the best day of your life for sure!

I hope you all have a fantastic week and an even better weekend!

Love Out x

Our top reasons to put on a wedding festival! - Written by SJ

Happy Friday beautiful People!

SJ here, I hope you are all looking forward to a super exciting weekend! I've woken up super early this morning, it's only 5.45am! Why? Well firstly the Chihuahua decided she wanted to try and claim the majority of our bed (she smaller than a cat...!) How can I be mad at her, it's only sleep after all!

Needless to say she won the fight! Once I was awake I was too excited to go back to sleep because today IS an exciting day! Today, guys, is the day that the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park opens and this weekend I shall be behaving mainly like a child there!

 In amongst my excitement and the planned theft of my niece and nephew (as an excuse to go to the Winter Wonderland you understand!) I thought I would write a blog after a chat we have been having here at TWFC this week about the top reasons to hold a wedding festival.

Jeez, where to start?! We could probably give you fifty awesome reasons to hold a wedding festival! However,  not listed in any particular order (as they are all equally fabulous reasons to get yourselves involved with doing something mind blowingly amazing for your big day!) this is what we have come up with...

1. Don't get us wrong, we love, love, love all weddings and all things weddingy. However, what makes us start to bounce up and down is when couples decide do something a bit radical and out of the ordinary.  Stand out from the norm!  If you love music and are free spirited, a wedding festival is a perfect choice to celebrate your marriage. Get yourselves out there and put on a wedding to go down in history as the best ever!

2. Invite everyone! If you have decided that you are going to put on music festival, the base cost per head thereafter for a festival wedding is significantly less than a traditional wedding. It stops all those awkward conversations about who you can and can't invite and the seating arrangements for sure! So what if aunt Mavis ends up sharing a straw bale with your top biker mates... they will probably end up buying her a Tequila Slammer and she will end up partying on down with them and loving every minute of it! WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN THIS HAPPEN!

3. Brings us nicely on to "anything goes! " You can put on a whole range of things for your guests to get involved with. For example what we find really works is a vintage tea party. This is the perfect place for aunt Mavis to hang out (pre Tequila Slammer!) where it's a bit quieter from your main stage and she can catch up with uncle Frank who secretly (wants to be drinking the Tequila with your biker mates!). From street entertainers and carnival acts, through to rock choirs and Teddy Bear Picnics, you can balance your line-up to absolutely wow all of your guests... from your party animals through to your Grandma (who was rolling her eyes at aunt Mavis, but equally secretly wants to be the biker boy's top chick of the day! Plus Tequila does turn her tummy a bit!).

4. Make a weekend of it! Depending on your venue, you can party for the whole weekend!  For all of you already married reading this, you will know that wedding time goes at 27 times the speed of a normal day! Find a venue that offers camping (with plenty of places for people to stay who don't opt to camp) and let your guests drop in and out for the weekend. A great way to spend the day after your big day is to play rounder's and "old skool sports day races". This is when aunt Mavis can be found sipping Pimm's over the BBQ, with her new best mates... the biker boys from the night before!

5. Weddings can be expensive, not only for the happy couple, but guests too! Lose the dress code so that guests don't feel like they have to spend a lot of money on a new outfit. Choose the right bar company (we have our own – Just sayin!) so that the drinks are priced at pub prices reasonably.  Nobody wants to pay £7 for a G&T regardless of where you are! You will find that your guests are so much more relaxed (not just through affordable drinks, I hasten to add!) and happier to just go with the flow and get down and party much harder with you guys!

All in all, a wedding festival is one epic party! You don't lose the romance of your blessing, in fact we think it's hugely romantic to have a service outside, packed with everyone you want to invite.

Rights guys, I'm off to book my ice- skating and other fun stuff for Hyde Park, plus I feel it's way too early to be talking about Tequila quite so much!

Have a truly amazing weekend!!!!!!

Love out xxx

Spectacular Competition Prize worth - £1200!

Good Thursday morning to you all,

With Halloween just around the corner this can mean only one thing, the launch of wedding booking season, hoorah! We can't wait to start talking to you all about your wedding festival ideas.  To celebrate this and the launch of our new website, we are going to run a monthly competition for all brides-to be for the next three months, how fabulous is that?!

Here at The wedding Festival Company we absolutely love giving away prizes and we are hugely excited about this one in particular. This spectacular prize for one blushing Hampshire bride-to-be is worth a staggering £1200! 

Even more exciting, we have some fantastic sponsors working in conjunction with us to give the lucky couple a day to remember .Vinnie's Vintage Vehicles, Hill Head Hair and Beauty, Kings Country Bar and Restaurant and Katy Cain Photography.

The winning couple are going to spend an afternoon and evening experiencing some fabulous treats! It all starts with the bride-to-be being booked into, and pampered at Hill Head Hair and Beauty for bridal hair styling and make-up. She will also be given some top wedding day tips about skin care in the big lead up to her special day.

From there the couple will be collected in style by the gorgeous Sleepy Jean 1965 vintage classic and taken to the beach hut in Eastney where a bottle of champagne will be waiting for them on ice, along with Ella the baby camper and a classic VW Beetle! This is a rare treat to get involved with these Vdub beauts all in one go for the afternoon. Sleepy Jean is not only a stunning classic, but she has been known to produce some of the greatest bacon sandwiches in town! The super talented Katy Cain will be poised to shoot the couples official engagement photos in the beach hut, on the beach and having the time of their lives with the classics. To mark their special day they will be gifted twenty of these images on a disk. Engagements shots are a fantastic idea for your wedding invitations and Katy will make sure you have images that you can't wait to show to all your friends and family.

After your shoot Sleepy Jean will then accompany the winners to the Kings Country Bar and Restaurant in Botley for a fabulous three course meal at this exclusive restaurant. This a favourite haunt for our team, we put on a spectacular wedding festival in the grounds there last July.

For Hampshire based brides this prize gets even better folks! Sleepy Jean will escort the bride, and up to four more members of the bridal party, from her home to the wedding venue, and on to the reception, on the big wedding day. 

This makes us all want to have our wedding day all over again, we are tingling with excitement and cannot wait to see your photos!

The winner will be announced on our Facebook page on the 20^th November 2014. If you haven't already liked our page to find out more about what we are up to and some amazing top tips from the experts at The Wedding Festival Company. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all the latest news and up to date competition information.

To enter this competition, and opt in, please email us info@weddingfestivalcompany.co.uk  with your name, the date of your wedding and your postcode.

Good luck to all of you.

The Wedding Festival Company xx