An Essex Wedding news and ideas from around the county

All the latest wedding news for couples getting married in Essex, along with bridal fashion and beauty inspiration and honeymoon ideas.

Wedding News: Could you have to pay inheritance tax on a wedding gift?

Could you have to pay inheritance tax on a wedding gift?

Before the big day comes around, whether you are a guest giving a present or contributing to the cost of the honeymoon, or perhaps a relative considering helping towards the cost of the wedding itself, you ought to consider the inheritance tax implications of making such gifts. James Mabey, partner at law firm Winckworth Sherwood advises on the inheritance tax implications of wedding gifts. In the UK, if you die within seven years of making a gift, inheritance tax may be payable on the value of the gift after your death. This is because gifts are considered to be part of your estate for inheritance tax purposes.

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Wedding News: The Range to open new Chelmsford store

The Range to open new Chelmsford store

Following months of anticipation, leading British Home, Leisure and Gardens retailer, The Range is delighted to confirm that three stores will be opening across the UK including our new flagship store in Chelmsford. Stores will open their doors to the public at 9am, 1st December in Chelmsford, Cwmbran and Leamington Spa; representing a renewed commitment to bricks and mortar retail, bringing unbelievable value and variety to the UK's high streets and retail parks.

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

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.

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Wedding News: Greenwoods raise over £3,500 for Essex charities

Greenwoods raise over £3,500 for Essex charities

Over 100 people enjoyed tea, cake and entertainment at Greenwoods Hotel & Spa on Sunday 19th November for a fundraiser supporting two essential charities. The event which took place in the afternoon included a luxury raffle with donations from local businesses which raised over £3,500 for the East Anglia Air Ambulance and Brake, the road safety charity that helps support families affected by road crashes as well campaign for safe and healthy mobility for all.

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Wedding News: Winter wedding inspiration from leading wedding planner

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.

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Wedding News: How to kick-start your wedding planning

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.

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Wedding News: Find County Wedding Magazines on YouTube

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

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

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.

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Wedding News: 5 unique winter wedding trends for 2023

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!

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Wedding News: Houchins Pop Up Sunday Lunch

Houchins Pop Up Sunday Lunch

Head over to Houchins and indulge in a warm and inviting Sunday feast alongside your friends and family at its pop up restaurant in collaboration with the amazing @thenewlondon. Experience a wonderful afternoon at Houchins, filled with mouthwatering dishes, live music, and a crackling fire. The lunch is taking place Sunday 3rd December between 12pm-4pm. For just £39.50 per person enjoy a fabulous three-course Sunday lunch.

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Wedding News: AI creates the ultimate first dance song

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.

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Wedding News: Taking a step back!

Taking a step back!

A reader recently explained to us at An Essex Wedding mag how she knew she was a total control freak and how her partner had suggested to take a step back and hire a wedding planner. She was confused and wanted advice. We spoke exclusively to Joanne Alexander of Moments Like This Weddings to find out her words of wisdom !

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Wedding News: How to make your engagement ring shine for wedding 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.

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Wedding News: Venues for the perfect autumnal ceremony

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.

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Wedding News: Festive shopping at Greenwoods!

Festive shopping at Greenwoods!

Enjoy some festive shopping in real style at the Greenwoods Hotel & Spa Christmas Sparkle Shopping Event on Thursday 30th November from 6pm till 10pm. This annual event gets bigger and more sparking each year with over 30 stands selling a wide range of gifts, including fashion, beauty, jewellery, accessories, interiors, and so much more! Located in the stunning Garden Suite all dressed up for Christmas, enjoy the festive music, indulge in a glass of prosecco and a mince pie or two and tick off all the family and friends on your Christmas shopping list under one wonderful roof.

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Wedding News: Are these popular 2023 wedding song cursed?

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.

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Wedding News: The luxury bridal dressing service you need on your wedding day

The luxury bridal dressing service you need on your wedding day

On the morning of your wedding day, naturally as a bride you would have booked your makeup artist, hair and photographer otherwise known as the bridal team, but have you considered having a professional bridal dresser to make sure you and your bridal party are looking absolutely perfect for your special day? Inspired by one of her beautiful brides and her mum, Essex-based Nicola Worrall - a bridal consultant of eight years - realised she could help brides feel extra special, take away extra stress and worry, and allow the bridal party to enjoy their morning getting ready and Nicola Worrall Bridal Dressing was created!

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Wedding News: 5 reasons couples fail at sticking to their wedding budget

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.

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Wedding News: The perfect couples advent calendar

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.

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Wedding News: How to master taking the perfect engagement ring photo

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.

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Houchins Spring Wedding Show

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