TOP 8 SUPER EASY TIPS
WEDDING BELLS
Nothing shows your love and care more than something handmade – so what better way to spread the love this Valentine’s Day than by crafting your own card?
Learn the art of origami specially for the one you love with this craft from Li Kim Goh on the Hobbycraft Hub – it spruces up any old card for a much fancier look!
YOU WILL NEED:
Red origami paper White origami paper
METHOD:
1. Place your 7.5cm square paper in a diamond position, fold it in half and then unfold. Then, repeat this on the opposite side.
2.
Fold the top point down to the crease line in the centre.
3.
Then, fold the bottom point up to the top edge.
4.
Now, fold the bottom right edge to the centre.
5.
Fold the bottom left edge to the centre, too.
6.
Turn over your origami heart.
7.
Fold the top and side corners of your heart inwards.
8. Turn over your project – your origami heart is complete! Glue it to a blank card and write your sentimental message for a finishing touch.
Cream card Envelopes Glue stick Black pen hobbycraft.com
Planning your special day can leave you feeling more stressed than blessed. Isabel Smith, founder of the wedding consultancy Wed-start, is here to save the day with her top tips for planning your dream wedding.
Please visit: wed-start.co.uk
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lGo paperless
Try sending out email wedding invitations instead of physical ones to cut costs. Some companies provide digital designs for you to easily personalise, or will build you a free or cheap website to track RSVPS.
Budget blooms
Source your bouquet from the supermarket to cut costs. Then, you can follow a Youtube tutorial to learn how to tie them together so that they last all day.
Charity shopping
Trawl through your local charity shops to find hidden décor gems like vases and tea light holders for your table centrepieces. This way, you can cut costs on the finishing touches.
Entertain the little ones
Spend a little of your budget on a local magician or balloon artist to keep the kids occupied and avoid any interruptions during the speeches.
Dates matter
You might be able to cut costs by booking your venue and catering between Monday and Thursday. But you may find yourself in competition with corporate bookings, too.
Forget favours
If your budget doesn’t allow for favours, please know that no one will usually notice their absence. Consider putting more money behind the bar instead if you still want to give your guests a little something.
Separate seating
Manage your seating plan carefully. If you know two family members are likely to clash, seat them as far apart as possible, or have another relative keep an eye on them.
Dress code
Outline the dress code on your invitations to make them especially clear with any guests who might cheat the ‘don’t wear white’ rule.
Peering into my new sister’s beautiful blue eyes, I was lost in wonder. ‘Will she stay this little?’ I asked my mum Vicky, then 30, as she cradled my little sister Lydia.
Mum and my dad Malcolm, then 36, laughed.
It was February 1984 and I was only three, but I’d just been given the most important job in the world. I was a big sister now.
I took Lydia – who I called Lyd – under my wing.
When I practised ballet, she toddled beside me, mimicking me with her chubby little legs as I stood in first position.
Sat next to me watching Beauty and the Beast.
Our parents split up when I was 14 and Lyd, 11, and Mum took us to live with our grandpa Allan and grandma Margaret, both then 74.
Sharing a bedroom, we lay awake for hours, gossiping all night.
Spent our teens and early twenties lathering ourselves in fake tan and visiting each other at uni.
Lyd became a jet-setting
lawyer, while I settled in
Wakefield as a journalist.
But I was always hopping on a plane to visit her, first in Abu Dhabi, then America, when she ended up settling in Texas.
Lyd was my soulmate, and we chatted daily over video calls, Whatsapps, Facebook messages and Instagram comments.
And Lyd’s heart was always at home, so in November 2016, she travelled back to Yorkshire to marry Stu, then 33, in a beautiful wedding. I was a bridesmaid.
So proud of my sister, who looked stunning as she walked down the aisle.
In July 2018, Lyd called me. ‘It’s weird,’ she said. ‘I’ve constantly got pins and needles in my hands and feet.’
‘Probably nothing,’ I reassured her.
But the next month... ‘Doctors think it’s MS,’ Lyd said. ‘They’ve found lesions in my brain.’ Multiple sclerosis is a lifelong condition affecting the brain and spinal cord.
Lyd was starting treatment to ease her symptoms. I longed to hug her and tell her it’d all be OK. ‘The pins and needles spread to my legs. I can barely use the left side of my body,’ she told me. ‘It’ll be OK,’ I said, but, really, I was terrified.
That September, Lyd had the