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Venue • Decor • Flowers • Accessories • and so much more

SPECIAL EDITIONLGBT WEDDING FAYRE

SUNDAY 11th OCTOBER 2015

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Opulence are based in the beautiful settings

at Dunchurch Park Hotel.

Tammy and her team are fully qualified professional makeup artists, specialising in Bridal Hair and Makeup, massage - Swedish, bamboo and hot stone, facials, manicures, pedicures, nails, waxing reflexology, body wraps and treatments, gentleman’s grooming including traditional wet shave. Transgender transformations, make up lessons and master classes. Offering a full range of pamper experiences at our exquisite rural retreat.

Why not book your appointment at Opulence to start your special day with the ultimate pampering and luxury experience you deserve on your wedding day, or if you just want to unwind and treat yourself to one of the many treatments available then Opulence is the place to be.

When making a booking with Tammy at Opulence please mention The Smarter Bride - and they will provide you with a complimentary glass of wine with your treatment.

To contact Tammy and to make a booking please call: 01788 522333

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Opulence are based in the beautiful settings

at Dunchurch Park Hotel. Contents

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Real Life Brides 6

Forest of Arden 10

Through the Lens - Jemima Stubbs Photography 12

Mr & Mr 14

Real Life Bride 16

R & L Photography 19

Mrs & Mrs 20

The Smarter Bride 22

Real Life Grooms 26

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Real LifeBrides

How did you two meet?At the time Stacey was working at a local bar and Ashleigh was a …. A very regular customer and a very big party girl. Ashleigh took a shine to Stacey very quick so quick she made a bet with her best friend that she would be with Stacey by the end of the year. A year past and Stacey still was still playing hard to get and at 5:00pm on the 27th of October 2011 Stacey gave in just as Ashleigh was about to give up, it was the best but hardest decision of Stacey’s life as she was still straight at the time but four years later neither of us have looked back.

Who’s idea was it, to do a rainbow powder shoot on a farm? And where did you get that idea from?We had seen the shoots on Pinterest and fell in love with the whole concept, so we messaged Jemima and she got very excited about doing it. As we didn’t want to get in trouble by anyone we had to find some land to do this in so we chose Ash’s cousin’s farm in Marrick north Yorkshire.It was perfect amazing views, it was somewhere we could be free to just have a ball, and luckily the sun made an appearance as it was chucking it down the day before. We are both wacky, competitive and a little bit weird so as far as the lovey dovey photo shoot goes we knew that wasn’t for us.

Where did you find, or meet your photographer? And why did you specifically choose her?We found Jemima on Facebook, we had been stalking photographers for months within our budget and there was just none in the area that were up to what we wanted, we wanted to stay local as possible as Ashleigh is a true Yorkshire girl.So a phone call to our parents who are helping out massively and they said pick your dream photographer from the ones you have seen and that took us to the wonder that is Jemima!

Your photographer has done an amazing job for your engagement shoot the photographs look fantastic, do you have any secret ideas for your wedding day shots?We met Jemima for the first time that day so we were feeling very nervous about it all. But all we can really say is choose someone who is going to put you at ease, and make you laugh, it is meant to be the happiest day of your life and what

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says happy more than laughter, be true to yourselves as a couple, if you was outrageous go big.If you want romantic that’s perfect don’t just feel pressured into doing what others want it’s YOUR day!Our big day we have a couple of ideas as a family of cheerleaders Stacey and Ashleigh are north east champions! We are going to make things personal with some stunts going up in our photos it’s going to be ALOT of fun! Not much of the standing in lines and having that plastered on smile our photos are going to be very relaxed.

When are you getting married? Have you planned to get married for a long time? Or was this something you agreed once legislation came in?We were talking about marriage at about 6 months into the relationship, but that just wasn’t possible. We finally set a date on the 20th October 2014 almost a year to the day that we will be getting married.

Where are you getting married? And why have you chosen that venue?We are getting married on the 23rd of October in a beautiful venue the Kings Head Hotel in Richmond north Yorkshire, we chose the venue as it was in the hometown Ashleigh grew up in. It is also the first town stacey calls home, as an army child I moved around a lot and Richmond has offered us the stability to call home. It was actually our first choice venue!

Do you have a theme for your wedding? i.e colours, style etc? Why did you choose that theme? Do you both have the same tastes? Are you feeling nervous about your special day?We love Halloween but wanted our wedding quite elegant not a fancy dress do, so we have chosen the colours navy and orange as they complement autumn perfectly. We have totally different tastes if it was up to Stacey we would be having a full on star wars / harry potter wedding but Ashleigh really doesn’t like that sort of thing. At this moment with 41 days to go we are really laid back although Stacey has turned into a mini bridezilla.

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Can we ask the question, what will you both be wearing on your special day? Dress or tailored suit?We are both wearing dresses, we are stick-ing to the traditional route we have not one clue what each others are like. It has been an absolute nightmare sticking to that rule as we are best friends and who else would you want to show our special dresses too?

How did you both feel when same sex marriage finally became legalised in the UK and now also in America?It was an amazing feeling! Best news in years for the LGBT community. Everyone should have the right to be happy all over the world no matter who you are and as our seven year old daughter says as long as people are happy and love each other why should it matter!

Would you both like to have children in the future? Is this something you have talked about?We would love to extend our family next year! We talk about it constantly we are so excited to bring another beautiful little person into our crazy hectic life. We already have a seven year old from Stac-ey’s previous relationship, we are so bless-ed to have her and she is very excited for the big day!

We are holding our first LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) wedding fayre in Oc-tober do you think there is a need for this?There is a massive need for events like yours we have had some venders not want to have our custom because of who we are! Which really is disgusting, everything is focused around the typical hetro relationship but wedding industry people need to start realising not every-one fits into the straight brackets.

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If you are still trying to find the perfect venue then why not

consider The Forest Of Arden Marriott Hotel and Country Club.

Set in the heart of the West Midlands, with a picturesque woodland. This is the perfect place to tie the knot in its quiet rural surroundings.

With 214 bedrooms and a large selection of function rooms that are fully licensed for civil ceremonies. It’s hard not to fall in love with this spectacular venue. To add a speck of luxury to your big why ask about their purpose built marquee. It holds 350 seated people and is available from April to October.

You will be given a wedding coordinator to help pick the right wedding package for you. Whether it be an all inclusive package starting from £6995 to a bespoke package to suit your budget.

We will be supporting The West Midlands First LGBT wedding fayre here on the 11th October 2015.

Joanne Pinchers Sales and Marketing co ordinating has said “The Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel and Country Club and the special events team are really looking forward to hosting the first LGBT wedding fayre in the Midlands – we have done a few same sex marriages and we hope to do more following the LGBT wedding fayre with The Smarter Bride.”

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Midland Fertility is the Midlands’ longest established independent fertility clinic dedicated to ‘building futures, transforming lives’. In more than 27 years, Midland Fertility has achieved many ‘firsts’ in the Midlands, the UK and the world, and, since it opened in 1987, more than 6,000 babies have been born after treatment at the clinic, which is now in Tamworth, on Ventura Retail Park. The team delivers a full range of diagnostic tests, specialist investigations and fertility treatments including a dedicated miscarriage service, advice and counselling along with the recently launched ‘See My Baby’ pregnancy scanning service. Midland Fertility also launched the ‘it feels great to donate’ campaign in early 2015 and has seen a significant increase in those interested in donating their eggs or sperm, enabling the team to treat more of those in need of donated gametes to achieve a pregnancy.

T: 01827 311170F: 01827 54600E: lynsey.bissell@midlandfertility.com

Tamworth House, Ventura Park Road,Tamworth, B78 3HL

www.midlandfertility.com

The clinical team also offer practical advice along with nutritional and lifestyle guidance to help all patients become ‘fertility fit’, giving everyone their best possible chances of becoming a parent.

Midland Fertility is proud to have an open door policy and offers advice and fertility treatment options to single women, lesbian women and gay men who want to preserve their fertility or to start a family. As Midland Fertility is independent of any larger organisation, the diversity, cultural differences and individual wishes of all patients are respected and Midland Fertility aims to support all patients through their own fertility journeys.

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Tell us a bit about you and your business, where you are based, why you became a photographer, and how long you have been a photographer?

I’ve been a professional photographer for 3 years now and I live in the Yorkshire Dales. I started pursuing photography because I’m a geek and I love the creative side of it!

How did you meet the girls Stacey and Ashleigh?They contacted me to book me for their wedding photography and I met them for the first time at the engagement shoot.They are lovely girls and were an absolute blast to work with.ith.

This shoot was completely different to a “normal” engagement shoot, who came up with the idea? And what was it like to photograph a same sex couple? Was this your first one?Yes I think holi powder shoots are more com-mon in the U.S. Stacey tagged me in a holi powder shot on Instagram and commented something like how cool would this be and I immediately emailed her after seeing it and said lets do this! This was my first same sex en-gagement shoot yep. Photographing a same sex couple felt just the same as a shoot with a guy and a girl. The only thing that really felt different to this shoot was that these two were running around a farm covered in multico-loured powder haha!

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Now that same sex marriages have been legalised in this country and America are you seeing more same sex brides and grooms now booking weddings? We are holding our first LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual) wedding fayre in October do you think there is a need for this? Based on standard wed-ding fayres you have attended? And why?Yes. I think an LGBT fayre would be great for building the community and to help cater to any specific requirements that general wedding fayres might not cover.

Through the Lens

Do you have any secret ideas for the actu-al wedding shots?No I do have a nice idea for a location to shoot at though and will work from there on what feels natural on the day.

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Back in issue 3 we did a Under the sea inspired shoot. As well capturing a Mr and Mrs...

...we also captured Mr and Mr and Mrs and Mrs.

We are so pleased to present to you in this special edition the photographs from this shoot to inspire same sex couples for their big day.

Back in May 2015 we hosted an under the sea inspirational photo shoot. Take a look at the images captured on the day for some inspiration and how to add the wow factor to your perfect day.

From looking at the pictures you can see shades of blue took over the theme. Not only giving a look of luxury but also sophistication. Different shades of Blue from Baby Blue, Navy to Teal! Has proved to be a very popular colour choice for weddings in 2015 and is also set to trend in 2016.

The setting for this shoot was at The Ramada Hotel in Solihull. For the Mr and Mr shoot the grooms were wearing their suits provided from Fine Attire Men’s Hire based in Hall Green Birmingham. Our first groom wore a grey tail coat suit with a kingfisher blue cravat and hanky. The second groom is wearing a black tail coat and aqua cravat.

The amazing Lights were supplied by Light Of Your Lights. Free standing pure white letters. Any combination can be created from Light of Your Lights including Numbers. The perfect white letters were perfect for the shoot.

Matching buttonholes for our grooms created by L’homme de Fleurs Floral Boutique based in the heart of Birminghams Jewellery Quarter

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Real LifeBride

Where did you get married? We got married at archbishops palace in Maidstone Kent.

Where did you get your dress from? I got my dress from a small bridal shop in Chatham.

Who supplied the flowers? I brought my flowers from the range and eBay and made myself.

Who done hair and make up? Ebony was the name of my hair and makeup artist, found on Facebook.

Did you have any wedding cars if so who supplied them? My wedding car was my dads car.

How did you two meet?We met through friends.

How long have you been together?Just over 5 years,we got together June 2010.

Who proposed to who? Sarah proposed to me.

How did they propose?On christmas day (after getting my dads permission) with a teddy bear in a big box holding a heart saying ‘I followed my heart, and found you’’ holding a little ring box and got down on one knee in front of our family.

What made you choose your venue and the date? Venue was reasonably priced yet still looked very grand and pretty, and the date was just a random picked date, 1st may we didn’t want to hot or to cold.

How did you choose your dress? I tried on so many different styles , after losing 10 stone it was important to feel comfortable in my dress, I took my mum and sister along for advice.

Where did the inspiration for your colour scheme and theme come from?Our colour scheme was rainbow/ pretty relaxed really, my favourite colour is pink but its not my wifes colour , I didn’t want it to be all about me so we just had a rainbow and hearts theme.

How many Bridesmaids did you have and how did you choose? Just the one, my sister.

Who was the best man?Sarah’s brother was best man.

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Describe the week before? Organised, rushing, emotional?The week before was manic at times but actually pretty stress free and relaxed, and it felt like something big was happening but not sunk in that it was our wedding. The day before was lovely, nice meal out together all calm and relaxed.

How did you spend the night before the wedding? I spent the night before at my sister’s house with her and my 3 nephews , so far from quiet and relaxed, we got a takeaway and went and got breakfast for the next day. Then when the kids were in bed we did eyebrow waxing , baths , pampering etc

What did you have for breakfast on the morning of the wedding? Breakfast was croissants, chocolate twists, and a selection of fruit including strawberries grapes and kiwi, and to drink was orange/apple juice and prosecco, my sister set it all up lovely on the table.

Who were you with?My sister and nephews until 11.30 when hair and makeup came, then my parents arrived at about 12 .

Describe the build up to the ceremony? What was happening? How were you feeling?I felt so so calm all morning, it was completely surreal, until getting my dress on and walking down the stairs greeted by my dad at the bottom I then started to get emotional and hot!!

As you stepped out of the car and got ready to walk down the aisle what do you remember thinking?I don’t remember much of what I was thinking, so many thoughts I just couldn’t wait to get in and see Sarah. Oh and don’t trip over your dress!!

What music did you walk down to?We walked in to Ellie Goulding how long will I love you.

What happened during the ceremony? Were you both emotional? I got emotional walking down and seeing her look so beautiful, we were quite chilled in the ceremony, got a bit tongue tied and I had to ask the lady to repeat haha! But it was very relaxed and people laughed, and said aww so a nice mix.

Did you get the giggles etc?There were no major giggles.

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How did you decorate the venue?The ceremony venue didn’t need decorating. The only thing we included were little tissues I made in bags ‘’for your happy tears’’ that the registrar loved and had some.

20.What flowers did you choose? I made the flowers for my sister and I, ivory and purple roses with a touch of bling.

21.Did you have favours? What was the inspiration behind them?We had a sweet table, and kids table with goody bags and toilet baskets that were all used as a little favour.

Tell us about the speeches? My dad did a little speech,was very humorous as my dad is. Lots of laughter and a lovely welcome to Sarah to our family at the end made me well up.

What cake did you go for?We had a selection of cakes, bought from asda a picture of Sarah and I printed on to one, with two lady penguin cake toppers on the other and penguin cupcakes (I love penguins).

What did you choose as your first dance and why? We had kodaline the one. Just seemed perfect for us.

How did you party the night away?We had a few drinks and a dance, entertained our guests, catered to their needs, played in the photo props and had lots of laughs.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?We are due to go on honeymoon on October 2nd 2015. Just to a cottage in Wales with our own hot tub. Abroad will be next year when funds are better.

What is your best memory of the day?Wow so many! Walking down the aisle with my dad was pretty special though. He is ill so im glad we got chance before he passes away.

What is your top tip for happy couples to be? On the wedding day, don’t fret the small stuff, it really flies by so quickly you will hardly have chance to take it all in. I wish I could go back and do it all again on a regular basis! Just smile, love and be happy.

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My name is Rachel Frost and I have been a photographer for 3 years, I am based in Warwick however travel all over the country to do photoshoots.

I have always been interested in photography and after much deliberation and a few photography courses to hone my skills I decided to set up my own business. I specialise in wedding photography, however I have catered for all different occasions from model headshots to family photoshoots and also business promotion. My preferred style of photography is natural light and candid which I hope shows in all my shoots, I love catching people in their natural surroundings, feeling relaxed I feel this makes for much better photographs.

Recently I have been lucky enough to get an invite to become a member of The Smarter Bride Team as their resident photographer, I of course was honoured to be asked to be part of such a well organised and professional set up and immediately jumped at the chance to be on board.

Our first promotional photoshoot was at Kilworth House on the boarders of Leicestershire, if you have never been here I recommend you go. The surroundings were beautiful, the models were great, all the suppliers were ready to showcase their hard work and everything was planned down to the most minor of detail, so really it made my job a lot easier.

The first photoshoot was relatively quickly followed by a second at a Lavender & wild flower field in Hampshire, luckily the weather held out and it was again another great day all round. Different suppliers, different models, a great way for The Smarter Bride and myself to give everybody a chance to stand out and promote their business.

In October I will be participating in THE Smarter Brides first LGBT wedding fayre, personally I feel that this is a brilliant idea. I know from personal experience that planning a same sex wedding can be daunting

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For the Mrs and Mrs shoot we had our two models wearing dresses from Pearls and Lace based in Hall Green Birmingham. One dress is a soft gentle romantic lace sheath style with a corset lace back detail. On the straps and on the front of the dress, beautiful diamante and pearl details complete the design. This dress would be perfect for overseas weddings and is also on trend with more brides opting for the lace and less princess style. The price of this dress is £600.

Our second model is wearing an off the shoulder dress and is a more modern fishtail style. It has zip encrusted back with sparkle sequins and diamante throughout and fun tulle skirt. This dress is perfect for those wanting a more traditional but fun element to their wedding. The price of this dress is £700.

Our gorgeous brides had matching Blue Roses and Gypsophilia bouquets created by L’homme de Fleurs Floral Boutique based in The Jewellery Quarter.

Stunning Hair was created by Beena and Make Up designed by Loren Lane based in Nottingham.

Kris Says...All the suppliers worked hard on the day and it was a pleasure to work with everyone. I was pleased how everybody’s product worked with each other to create the inspiration for couples who read our magazine. I was delighted that our model’s agreed to do the same sex photo shoot as its important that everybody has the opportunity to be inspired.

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The inspirational guide and wedding directory.

Based in Solihull, The Smarter Bride is a online wedding directory.

Their aim is to promote Midland based companies giving inspiration for weddings.

We interviewed Sarah and Kerry from The Smarter Bride to find out a little bit more about them.

The Smarter Bride

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The inspirational guide and wedding directory.

Based in Solihull, The Smarter Bride is a online wedding directory.

Their aim is to promote Midland based companies giving inspiration for weddings.

We interviewed Sarah and Kerry from The Smarter Bride to find out a little bit more about them.

Could you tell us a bit more about yourself?The Smarter Bride is an online luxury on trend wedding site for both suppliers and brides.

It keeps brides up to date with all the latest wedding trends and ideas, making planning quick, fun and easy. We promote professional and highly recommended suppliers within the industry and also offer suppliers business and social media support.

We have a directory that brides can use to source their suppliers and we offer the suppliers, who join us a great platform to advertise and promote their business on both the web and all social media.

What made you want to start up the smarter bride and how?Kerry and I both got together and started The Smarter Bride because we felt the industry needed a different approach when advertising wedding suppliers and offering brides help and advice. We ourselves had experienced poorly run directories who offered no help and we wanted to change that.

We wanted to create a high quality bridal platform for suppliers to advertise their businesses as well as offering brides of the uk the very best in wedding information and ideas.

We also love the industry in which we work, and are very passionate about helping other wedding businesses grow and succeed within this industry who are as passionate as we are about their work.

Our aim is to become over time one of the most recognised brands within the wedding industry and one of the first places brides and suppliers think to come when they need help and advice.

Why did you start getting involved with LGBT?The reason we started to get involved with LGBT

The Smarter Bride

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was that we realised after doing many wedding fayres over the years there was not any wedding fayres tailored to the LGBT community and we wanted to change this especially now that gay marriage has been legalised. This is our first ever LGBT wedding fayre and we hope it will be the first of many and that we can educate other hotels and venues that there is a need for this within the community.

How did you get involved in LGBT?We have family and friends that are gay so getting involved was easy for us and we have welcomed with open arms from all organisations we attended PRIDE Birmingham and had a stand there for two days promoting our wedding fayre and it was a very enjoyable and fun two days.

Can you tell us anymore about the LGBT?It has been difficult to judge how this wedding fayre will go with it being the first one but we hope it’s a success so we can work with our sponsors to achieve more for the community and around the UK as we have had a lot of support from all over the UK.

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Real LifeGrooms

A review of a same sex wedding at The Forest Of Arden.

Ade and Paul Keenan were thoroughly over the moon with their wedding.

They told Fairytale Dreams The Wedding Magazine all about their special day.

“The whole day was brilliant and made very special to us both. Especially the Location, the food, the accommodation, all of it.

The whole day was better than what we could have ever wished for. The feedback we got from family and friends who attended was overwhelming and everyone had huge praises for everyone at the Forest of Arden and its amenities.

All the staff were brilliant and very helpful with any request, especially our wedding organiser Kerry who was given the daunting task of choosing our entrance and exit songs. To which she accomplished magnificently, she also was very patience when we were constantly phoning with changes.

Also our toastmaster Sam who ensured the day ran smoothly without any hiccups, she even managed to calm our nerves. Throughout the planning stages we were kept informed and they tried accommodating our wishes.

The wedding packages they provide helps takes the stress of remembering the little things such as placement cards and napkins. Also the florist, resident Dj and chair cover hire companies which are included in the packages have the same ethos as the Forest of Arden and will go out of their way to ensure the day is spectacular. People actually commented on how organised we were, but it was all included which took the stress away from us. If we could have the day all over again we would not change a thing, can we do it again.”

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