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| 26/02/10
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| Good Golly Miss Molly |
Really really pleased and excited today Molly has come back home after a well deserved makeover! To the untrained eye no one but us would have suggested that Molly needed a makeover, however we simply felt that the time had come to show her just how much we appreciate her and also we are dead set on keeping the standards of our cars at A1 pristine level. Molly has had a complete respray in her original Snowberry White inside and out plus she is being refitted with brand new super plush red carpets which are to die for! Can't wait to see the end result. |
| 24/02/10
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| Pretty Vintage, Pretty Fabulous |
I've just got to tell you about a Norwich based company called Pretty Vintage who can be found at www.prettyvintage.co.uk. Champagne Classics was fortunate to be included in the Spring 2010 EDP Your Wedding Guide and while having a little nosey in said publication I came across various new and inspiring companies offering a variety of different services with a unique twist. One such company which really made me sit up is Pretty Vintage run and owned by Lucy Morris. The services offered are vintage corckery and accessories hire which include dinner plates, teapots, cake stands, deck chairs, napkins, table cloths and bunting. I say include because the vast array and selection of gorgeous goodies for hire from days gone by are endless so that you can capture the quintessential flavour and atmosphere of a truly English tea time treat. The vintage theme (which I must just add does include the Morris Minor!) is right on trend for the 2010 wedding season, however even without the wedding experts telling us what's in and what's not this whole idea is 100% up my street it's not only totally charming but throughly civilised, oh plus Lucy has a great surname - of course! |
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| 21/02/10
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| Something Old, Something New |
It's Sunday, it's snowing AGAIN!, and the boys are watching iCarly. This seems like an ideal time to put the coffee on and add a few lines to the Champagne Classics blog. I was thinking about wedding superstitions and the consequent good luck things that Brides, Grooms and many of the family members of the couple do to ensure that luck is firmly on their side come the big day. One of the favourites is a very traditional and old ritual for want of a better word of the Bride carefully wearing a silver sixpence in her shoe on the day of the wedding. There is a charming rhyme attached to this that goes: "Something old, Something new, Something borrowed, Something blue, and a Silver Sixpence in her Shoe." Of course the lines in the rhyme are not only associated with the lucky silver sixpence but to other aspects of the Brides good fortune should she choose to follow the three steps in the lines of the poem. I'm sure that Bride after Bride has scrabbled around on her wedding day searching for the "new", "borrowed" and "blue" in order to stay lucky! It's not always necessary to be ultra organised and have a premeditated plan to boost your luck rating. It can be a fun and possibly a more personal thing to find items on the day from people who are closest to you? And if you're looking for a really great gift idea then why not buy a lucky silver sixpence. You could also look into buying a birth stone. The recipient and owner of his or her birth stone should consiquently have good fortune. Gem stones are monthly so for example July is Ruby, and December is Turquoise |
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| 14/02/10
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| A Bootiful Valentine Treat - Norfolk Style |
Okay so love is in the air as today is the day when we are supposedly celebrating the great works of Saint Valentine? Yes today is a recognised holiday to mark two Christian martyr's (no not tomatoes!), Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni - I bet you didn't know that and I bet you weren't even that bothered. However a more interesting piece of trivia about today in light of the fact that we are based in Norfolk is thus: there is apparently a character called "Jack" Valentine who on this very morn of February 14th knocks on the back door of houses leaving presents and sweets for the kiddies of the household! Well this is a tradition that I was not aware of but as I gave my one true Valentine (Rob) a Toblerone that should have lasted at least a week, well you can guess that courtesy of our children the Toblerone is no more! Oh and I found the silliest card I could find of a hamster holding a pink heart! Of course whatever your thoughts are about the origins of Valentine's Day one thing is abundantly obvious, it's all about romance in any way shape or form. So have a happy, smoochey, love encrusted day and if you can keep the romance going throughout the rest of the year too then you're all set for a cupidtastic 2010. |
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| 09/02/10
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| A Love Hate Kinda Thing? |
We all have likes and dislikes I think you'll all agree so my blog for today is based on the fluffy cuddly things that make me happy and the gruesome nasty things that make me want to have a good old rant! As I'm on my PC one of my super all time pet hates is going onto websites where you have to click more than three or four times before finding the information that one is looking for, two clicks is more than enough thank you very much. I like to keep up to date with what's hot and what's definitely not in the wedding industry and I found a wedding car company who's website just made me want to chuck my PC out into the street with it's multi click totally lacking in information style website. As I need to keep this blog balanced I will now kick off with a like, more of a love really which will apply to many of the ladies in the audience -Gerbera's - I think they are gorgeous, vibrant, bold, daring and certainly not backward in coming forward. I've seen some lovely wedding bouquets that have incorporated Gerbera's especially with Roses which I think works really well. I often buy a Gerbera plant the brighter the colour the better and when I feel a bit on the low side it gives me a boost. I HATE with a great big ugly H anyone who copies other peoples websites and the ideas that they have. Not only is it down right lazy but it shows that the copier is lacking in imagination, is not innovative and has no respect for the creativity of others. Coffee, I my goodness, I don't think I could go a day without my fix of coffee. I love coffee, in fact excuse me while I go for another slurp! I have a Tassimo coffee machine that I hug on a daily basis and I think is pure genius. Loath, can't abide people who are in the wedding car business to make a few quid simply because they've got a car. This happens all the time with fly by night companies setting up usually by retired people who think that all they've got to do is "turn up" in their old car. This is a recurring theme, I have lost count of how many enquiries we've received from distraught couples trying to salvage their big day having been let down by "Uncle Jack" or "Newvo Wedding Minors Ltd". Of course as a bit of friendly advice if you're in any doubt about your wedding car company, check their feed back i.e. testimonials (not a guaranteed science as some companies make them up!), their pedigree and when and where ever possible go for a visit to check the cars out up close and personal (web sites with their clever editing can make the ropiest cars look fab-u-lous if you catch my drift). TV Wedding programs make the best viewing, I love the Sky Wedding Channel. I really like to see what couples are choosing for their big day and I like the more reality style formats which are sometimes a bit staged but are fun all the same. Rob and I were married almost 14 years ago (he's one of my likes by the way!), and things have changed so much, the choice is quite mind blowing now with different venues, food choices, dress styles, cars of course ! I need a lie down now so I might do this again some time, I feel better for it! |
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| 09/02/10
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| Going Far and Wide All in the Name of Love |
At Champagne Classics we are looking forward to a full and varied "program" of events and outings throughout the 2010 wedding season which as you can see from my previous blogette began with a fanfare and a romantic flourish in Huntingdon. I have often said and stand firmly by the fact that our cars are suited to any occasion and or style of wedding so I thought it would be fun to share with you the viewer some of the towns, churches and venues where for "one night only", well "one day only" the Champagne Classics cars will be going to. In no particular order we will be in Colchester, Chelmsford, Norwich, Cambridge, Woodbridge, Holkham, Loddon, Hickling, Hertford, Great Yarmouth, Aylsham, Harleston and Lowestoft. We are fortunate to be going to some fabulous ceremony and reception venues this year. There are some that we have been to before and adore and others that are new to us but that we are very excited about. So again in no particular order The Old Rectory Hotel Crostwick, St Nicholas Church Bradwell, Sculthorpe Mill, Binham Priory, Heydon Grange, All Saints Church Swanton Morley, The Maids Head Hotel, Hunters Hall, Churchman House, Layer Marney Tower, Hickling Dairy Barns, Blickling Hall, St John the Baptist Catholic Cathedral Norwich, St Giles House Hotel, Caldecott Hall, Woodhall Manor Woodbridge, Longstowe Hall Cambridgeshire, Hotel Felix Cambridge, Olive Branch Restaurant Tunstead, Brundall Church, Hales Hall, Holkham Hall, Morston Hall, Jesus College Cambridge, Dragon Hall, Quendon Hall, PHEW!!! And this is just a snap shot we are literally going to be going here there and everywhere - brilliant! Our cars really do shine at any style of wedding large or small, themed or traditional, countryside or urbanised. I will of course throughout the coming months share more news and views on the forthcoming expeditions far and wide! |
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| 02/02/10
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| Maiden Voyage |
Well this was a "maiden voyage" in the sense that this was our first wedding of 2010 and what a fabulous start to the new season it was too. Our gorgeous Bride Jeannie who I can only describe as looking like a 1940's Hollywood movie star was picked up along with two of her bridesmaids at the very splendid hotel of The Old Bridge Hotel in Huntingdon. The Old Bridge Hotel sits on the banks of the River Ouse and quite close to the town of Huntingdon. From the hotel Jeannie and bridesmaids were driven in Sadie our 1961 Morris Minor Saloon to the registry office in Lawrence Court where the marriage was to take place. After the wedding ceremony Jeannie and her new husband Allen emerged beaming surrounded by their equally smiley friends and family who doused the couple in dried red rose petals. The couple were then taken for a champagne drive to their reception venue of The Three Horseshoes in Abbots Ripton. A thoroughly enjoyable day with wall to wall sunshine and with two lovely people. |
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