2012 is not just about the Olympics.

Weddings (of course)

At times it seems like an Olympic event getting the wedding planned, organised and completed.  So think of Make It Special as your team manager.  There to make sure that you are ready and prepared for the event and have a Gold Medal winning wedding.  Times are hard and it looks as though bridal budget's will be under more strain than before.  Few of us have the seemingly unlimited budget the Olympic event has and having married off four daughters I know exactly how that feels. Our aim at Make It Special is to help the bride (indeed whoever is paying) ensure the maximum value for money.

Of course now we own the shop as well we have a much wider choice available than ever before.  We are happy to design and arrange the whole event as before, but in these budget conscious days Brides are often looking at doing some of the elements themselves.  We are delighted to provide the raw materials including display stands, chair covers, table runners, sashes, vases etc either for purchase or hire (with a deposit).  However a word of warning - whilst it saves money and allows for flexibility, when it comes to the day itself there is seldom time to complete all the tasks unless you have a team of helpers, what with dresses, hair, make up and all that to deal with as well.  We book our weddings well in advance so emergency calls for assistance can rarely be answered as our team are working on other weddings.  So be sure you have the team and the time if you want to "Do It Yourself"

As part of our desire to help you cut costs we have decided to continue offering a package deal which was very popular last year.  We offer so many different items from flowers to luxury cars, wedding singer to favours, venue design to disco and karaoke, chair covers and sashes to - well just about everything.  So the more you have with us the greater the discount.  It all goes to help meet the budget.  Of course we work with you to ensure that you don't overspend (much).

Colours for this year so far seem to be Grey and Green.  I'm not a designer, that is left to my wife and the team, but I'm not so sure about grey.  However looking at various shows I think that it's really Silver rather than grey.But what do I know!!  Last year a number of this years brides are talking about yellow but that seems to have been overtaken.   Of course we have had a William and Kate wedding last year but it doesn't seem to have had much effect on current brides.  We don't currently have any 40 foot trees in stock, and to be honest I'm not likely to get any, but we do have some short artificial ones which look very attractive framing doors or aisles, but they are only about 4 foot, but then few people get married in Westminster Abbey.

The Shop

Getting the shop refurbished with the new consultation room, shelving, revamped stock and better lighting seemed to take an age but we are almost there now.  Just the floors to restain and the new stock to finish arriving and we'll be finished - at least for a month or so.  As I noted elsewhere it's funny what people want.  We purchased some art work to decorate the consultation rooms and generally brighten the place up a bit.  No sooner had we put the nails in the wall and hung them than we had sold them again.  So we bought in a second lot and they have gone as well.  The wholesaler we bought them from has also run out of reasonably priced stock so we are now looking for new suppliers.  As florists and designers, pictures were not something we were expecting to sell.  But if the customers want it then we'll get it. 

Banana Boxes (Shabby Chic)

Much on the same lines we found ourselves the proud possessors of a large number of wooden Banana boxes with handles and latches (not the cardboard type) which had been used as stacking shelves by the previous owners.  They are very "shabby chic" and much in fashion these days, indeed in the USA they are going for up to $200 so not surprisingly we thought perhaps we wouldn't just throw them out (in fact I quite like them).  They are really just the thing for the home designer, indeed there were some just like them on one of the makeover programmes the other day.  However I decided that as we were in Devon and hadn't paid for them we would offer them at a much more reasonable price.  So rather than buying a fake from one of those posh designer shops, pop in and see us and have a look at our genuine Banana Boxes before I pop them on Ebay (at Belgravia prices).

The Boss (Glynis) has to go into hospital for an op on her leg and B (my number 4 daughter)has delivered her second child (and our 7th grandchild) so the rest of us are going to run riot (not really Dear - honest)  but the remaining, and increasing team (yes we have a new member of staff) will still be there to offer the normal superb service, advice and expertise.

And so if you have any queries or just want a cup of tea and a chat give us a ring and we'll be happy to see you -  it gives us an opportunity to sit down.  Phone 01803 615101. Or just pop in, although we can't guarantee to be free (I hope we are serving customers).

Here are a couple of photos of the events just for fun.

           The stall at the Real Brides Show

A table for two - Make It Special & the Vanilla Pod at the Cridford Inn Combine

Two of the cars.  The others were in the warm.

And talking of warm, Kirsten Marie got a spot in the entrance, along with a biting wind and up to her knees in leaves (we swept them away for the picture.  She does not normally perform in fleece and legwarmers).