Your Sussex Wedding news and ideas from around the area

The Cricketers has everything you need to get the party started

Hidden upstairs at The Cricketers is The Greene Room, a stylish and elegant venue for private parties, functions and events providing a whole floor dedicated to decadence. With its own well-stocked bar staffed by the venue's friendly team, sublime gourmet menus, views overlooking the Lanes and a flexible layout across three interlined rooms, it has everything you need to get the party started. If you're getting married in central Brighton, The Cricketers is just a stone's throw from the Town Hall or a short walk from the seafront bandstand. It's the perfect spot for your elegant and intimate wedding reception, exclusively available for you and your loved ones to celebrate your big day in style.

Propress launches the MINI Clothes Steamer - perfecting for wedding dresses!

Professional and long-established British fabric steamer manufacturer, Propress, has unveiled the Propress MINI Handheld Clothes Steamer. A revolutionary product that combines over 40 years of steaming expertise with cutting-edge technology, the MINI allows users to say goodbye to the days of wrestling with an ironing board and hello to the future of garment care with beautifully crease-free clothes, whether at home, in the office, or on-the-go.

The Propress Mini Handheld Clothes Steamer (£110) is available in Arctic Grey, Idol Blue or Vintage Pink from the Propress website. It heats up in under a minute offering the convenience of crease-free clothes with a simple touch of a button. Its efficiency and ease of use make it a must-have for every fashion-savvy individual, plus it is versatile enough to treat various home fabrics from curtains to bedding, and is ideal for weddings or even hoteliers.

Brighton's Royal Pavilion is an icon of the city and emblematic of its rich Regency heritage

This inimitable former royal palace offers a unique venue for civil wedding ceremonies and receptions in the heart of Brighton and Hove's cultural quarter. After many decades of restoration, today it can be enjoyed in its original 1823 splendour. An extraordinary building, the Royal Pavilion is often referred to as a fantasy palace. Where there was once a modest house by the sea, George IV created one of the most strikingly beautiful buildings in the UK. Designed as a royal party palace, the purpose of the Royal Pavilion has always been to delight and enchant guests at every turn. Today, it continues to serve this purpose, both as a visitor attraction and as a remarkable wedding venue.

Winter wedding inspiration from leading wedding planner

Matthew Shaw, founder & creative director at sauveur. shares his winter wedding inspiration for those looking to tie the knot at this time of year. Winter weddings have grown hugely in popularity. The festive season can be a truly magical time of year to host a wedding and stand out from the crowd but it does bring its own set of considerations for the planning. Whilst the key areas of your wedding planning will be the same as a wedding in any other month, there are a few different elements to consider to create an incredible winter wedding celebration.

How to kick-start your wedding planning

Samantha Gilchrist, Co-Founder and CEO of the UK's largest wedding venue collection, The Gilchrist Collection, shares her top tips on how to kick-start your wedding plans, taking away any unnecessary stress and disappointment in preparation for that special day. Set a Date - possibly the most important aspect of planning as getting this date in the diary will allow you to move forward with your plans. When choosing a date, it's worth carrying out a simple checklist to help you nail that day down such as: Think if there is a time of year you both always wanted to get married in? A season you both love or a month that is special to you is a great starting point.

Find County Wedding Magazines on YouTube

We're never satisfied when it comes to providing our readers with enough wedspiration, which is why we've created our very own County Wedding Magazine YouTube channel! You'll find tons of big-day ideas, from venue tours to dream dresses, then take a peek behind the scenes of styled shoots featured in our titles past and present. We're adding more content all the time, so why not hit SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a thing? Simply head to YouTube and search for 'County Wedding Magazines' now

5 unique winter wedding trends for 2023

From décor inspired by the season's natural beauty to creative ways to keep your guests warm, wedding supply experts Aura Print have searched TikTok to bring you the top five quirky winter wedding trends for 2023.While traditional wedding fayre often includes champagne toasts and wine, a hot chocolate bar offers a warm, decadent, and customisable alternative for the colder months. As the evening progresses and temperatures drop, guests can enjoy a sweet treat to keep them going on the dance floor. For younger guests or for those who don't drink alcohol, a hot chocolate bar also provides a great non-alcoholic option. With over 112.7 million TikTok hashtag views, the hot chocolate wedding bar trend is set to take the winter wedding season by storm!

A more sustainable, ethical, and zero-waste approach to weddings

Reports suggest that 4,910 tonnes of unrecyclable plastic was used up and left behind at British weddings last year, with this in mind, 77 Diamonds has released a planning guide to promote a more sustainable, ethical, and zero-waste approach to weddings. Individually, one wedding can produce as much as 20kg of plastic waste. What's more, the black bags used to collect the rubbish are themselves potentially harmful. They can take as many as 90 years to break down under the ground. But it's not just plastic which has an impact. Food wastage is also a common theme for most weddings.

Kate and Kate Celebrants tipped for the top

Kate and Kate Celebrants are super-proud to be named in a 2023 industry list of the top 29 celebrants in the UK, especially since they're the only ones from Sussex! Kate and Kate say, "As we're knee-deep in 2023 wedding season we're loving meeting our couples, hearing their stories, getting a feel for the vibe they're after for their ceremony, throwing ideas about and drawing on our many years of experience to give them the best wedding ever. In fact, we still love the whole process as much as we did when we started. We're so thrilled that our couples thought enough of us to not only nominate us but follow up with votes of confidence in the form of five-star reviews.

AI creates the ultimate first dance song

There are over 217,000 first dances in the UK every year (1,950,000 in the US) yet couples usually pick the same handful of songs. Have you ever wondered why tracks like Etta James' At Last and Just You And I by Tom Walker are so popular at weddings? And what makes them so timeless? Function Central, a platform for finding and hiring musicians and bands for events, have answered exactly that! By analysing the most popular first dance songs to find the top 10 that couples choose, they have used AI to create the world's ultimate first dance song based on their findings, showing couples that they can have a timeless first dance song that is unique to their wedding.

A grand occasion at The Grand, Eastbourne

While visiting The Grand Hotel Eastbourne recently, I was able to pop in to its autumn wedding fair where guests could see this breathtaking venue wedding-ready in all its finery. Able to accommodate weddings of all sizes from 16 guests for a wedding breakfast on the Gallery to 250 reception guests in The Compton Room, The Grand had the whole range on display. I loved the intimate wedding area, with the Arundel Room set up for a ceremony, the Norfolk Room set up for a drinks reception and the Arlington Room set up for the wedding breakfast. Peacefully secluded along their own corridor these three rooms make sure you have the privacy you'd want on your small yet big day.

How to make your engagement ring shine for wedding day

Between shampoo, hairspray, moisturiser and hand cream – we can all agree that our beautiful engagement rings go through a lot on a daily basis. After all, many of us wear them every day without ever taking them off! But if your big day is just around the corner, it's crucial to keep your ring looking its best for those all-important wedding photos and to ensure your nearest and dearest see it in all its glory. With this in mind, experts at family-owned jewellers and diamond merchants, Chisholm Hunter, offer their specialist advice on how to get your ring gleaming before your big day... Max Brown, Retail Director at Chisholm Hunter, shares their top tips for ensuring your engagement ring is sparkling ahead of your wedding day: "If you want your precious jewellery to look its best on the big day, we recommend taking your ring to a professional jewellers for both ultrasonic and steam cleaning and using fine emery paper followed by a full polish to remove any surface scratching.

Venues for the perfect autumnal ceremony

New research conducted by ethical jewellery brand Sacet has revealed the top country wedding venues across the UK that would make the perfect location for an autumnal ceremony. By analysing a number of factors (including guest capacity, number of reviews, professionalism, quality of service and value for money) of over 30 wedding venues that offer barn, country and forest-style weddings in the UK, the top 10 were revealed. Brinsop Court Manor House and Barn, in Hereford, has been crowned the overall winner, with top ratings across all factors (quality of service, response time, professionalism, value for money flexibility and average rating). It also had the most number of reviews and can hold between 30 to 250 guests.

The most popular spas to escape to have been revealed by Spabreaks.com

The most popular spas to escape to have been revealed by Spabreaks.com, with East Sussex National Golf Resort and Spa featuring in the top five. The UK countryside offers some of the most dramatically beautiful and diverse retreats you could ask for when it comes to a spa escape. From classic and exquisitely luxurious country house hotels to eco spa; total wellbeing retreats to family friendly escapes with plenty of space to roam outdoors. We're spoiled for choice here in Sussex and indeed the UK when it comes to idyllic locations for a mini-break. All rooms in the contemporary East Sussex National Golf Resort and Spa overlook either the resort's 18-hole championship golf course of the 1,000 acres of lush green South Downs countryside, setting the scene for a relaxing getaway with your best girls or your soon-to-be spouse.

Are these popular 2023 wedding song cursed?

Research from wedding entertainment providers Function Central shows couples are taking risks choosing songs for their weddings with shockingly high divorce rates. Function Central used existing data on the songs most likely to end in divorce to see whether couples were still taking risks by adding these songs to their upcoming nuptials. This data was then cross-referenced against existing wedding playlists of engaged couples to see whether couples were still choosing these songs for their weddings. The results were concerning for any superstitious couples worried about whether certain tracks were deemed bad luck for long lasting marriages.

Lady M Occasion Wear voted Women's Best Clothing Brand 23/24

Lady M Occasion Wear based in Newick, East Sussex, has just been voted the winner of Women's Best Clothing Brand 23/24 by Prestige Awards. Our huge congratulations go out to the team! The boutique offers a wide range of mother-of-the-bride and -groom attire by the best designers in the business and can accommodate all types of weddings, from formal to relaxed and everything in between. You'll find a full range of sizes and styles to suit all body shapes and tastes, as well as a good selection of wedding guest outfits and a collection of hats and fascinators to coordinate beautifully with any outfit.

5 reasons couples fail at sticking to their wedding budget

With the cost of living on everyone's minds, budget expert Isabel Smith, offers some insight into how couples can set (and stick to!) their wedding budget. The number of couples who are going overbudget on their wedding is dropping, from around 2/3 in 2018 to somewhere around 50% this year. This may be due to savvier couples setting more realistic budgets, or people simply refusing spend a penny more than planned owing to future financial uncertainty, but either way, I am all for it! I've never been an advocate for getting in debt over your big day, no matter how special you want it to be.

The perfect couples advent calendar

Couples looking for that x-factor idea to get them in the Christmassy mood this festive season need look no further than A Twist Of Date's personalised couples' advent calendar. This personalised QR-code collection of romantic, fun and creative couples' activities adds a spark of magic that is sure to make 2023 a December to remember. Perfect for long-term busy couples looking to reconnect through heart-warming moments, it's a no-brainer alternative to the typical chocolate-filled Christmas countdown. Whether it's an impromptu trip to your local ice rink, engaging in an act of kindness together or writing each other a romantic letter to be opened on Christmas, each day brings something new and exciting to share together.

How to master taking the perfect engagement ring photo

Proposals are often one of the most memorable, special and magical moments in a couples life, so it's only natural they want to share this joyous news with their friends, family and colleagues. In 2023, one of the most common ways for couples to share the news of their engagement is through social media. Couples often post gorgeous pictures in real time of themselves along with the dazzling engagement ring. Sharing the news via social media is a quick and easy way of telling your loved ones the news without having to individually call everyone, which can be overwhelming and time consuming. However, taking the perfect photo can be a bit of a challenge. Whilst it's not a competition to see who has the biggest ring and whose ring sparkles the most, a lot of people want their ring to look as desirable and shimmering as possible.

Gabriella Casemore launches new range of innovative, transformable poppy hairpins

Inspired by the wildflowers of the Sussex Downs, jeweller Gabriella Casemore has launched a new range of innovative, transformable poppy hairpins that beautifully combine modern bridal styling with sustainability longevity. Created for brides and bridesmaids, each piece is cleverly designed to instantly transform into timeless jewellery to wear forever, as a unique reminder of the most special of days. Personalised bridesmaids' gift packages are available too, perfect for an unusual pressie idea. Hand-crafted with meticulous dedication to sustainability, each piece is created using recycled silver and ethical gemstones. Other flower designs are also available with a variety of jewellery choices at www.gabriellacasemore.com/pages/bridal-collections