The BAFTA award-winning team at The Garden Productions, who made the first series of One Born Every Minute and more recently, 24 Hours in A&E, is making a new documentary series for Channel 4 about love and relationships.

We would like to hear from same-sex couples planning a civil partnership between October 2011 and May 2012. Perhaps one or both of you came to terms with your sexuality later in life. Maybe you were previously married and you have children from that relationship. Whatever your story, we would like to hear from you.

Please email love@thegardenproductions.tv or call Becky on 020 3465 9060 to find out more.

Getting in touch does not oblige you to take part in the series.

As you know, Holly, Sue’s daughter is having her reception in the Village Hall and after much debate we have decided that we need a helping hand. Both of us are excellent cooks, but that is just it we are general cooks, we can put together some fabulous meals but catering for a hoard of people is a very different story and besides that Holly wants something a little more up market than we are capable of producing and to be quite truthful I could do without the stress.

Anyway, Sue has found a great Chef from her Wedding Organizer e-book called Simon Smith and he is fantastic!

Simon has had a varied worldwide culinary career over the past forty years . He trained in Switzerland and then Paris. From there he moved on to London and worked as Chef saucier at ‘’The Inn on The Park’’ Park Lane. In addition he has worked at the British embassies in both Paris and Vienna, catered for a wedding for 4000 in New York (so ours will be a doddle) and worked as a private chef aboard super yachts, but he is so down to earth and easy to talk to.

We had thought of a sit down meal but the ideas Simon came up with for a mix and match (some hot some cold) dishes had us sold  in a matter of seconds. He knows where to source all the tableware, how much food and drink will be required for the number of guests invited and has come up with some beautiful ideas for the table settings and of course we are going to have chair covers

We are meeting up with him for a taster session and I for one just can't wait!

Sky Living’s hit show ‘Four Weddings’ is back and we are looking for more brides/grooms-to-be to attend and score each other’s weddings.

The production team would love to speak to brides who are planning their dream wedding NOW.

If you are interested in finding out more then contact:

4weddings@itv.com or call 020 715 73803.

If you are lucky enough to be chosen and win your episode, then you'll be whisked away on the ultimate honeymoon. So, what are you waiting for? Get in touch with the Four Weddings production team today.

After a lot of handbag searching Sue found the receipt and yes she confirmed that we had indeed got two fittings so Saturday morning saw us off to the Bridal shop. I had to remind Holly to bring the new underwear she had chosen as this is vital at the fitting stage as if it is not comfortable or shows through the dress we can go and change it. The dress was indeed too big, but because of the style of it, we were assured that the alterations required would not be a problem. I did ask Gillian our assistant, who has the patience of a saint, should we wait until the final fitting before making the alterations and she smiled at me and said “I will note down the changes and make the adjustments after the final fitting, as some brides put the weight back on as quickly as they lose it”. It wasn’t a wasted visit as we still had the shoes and veil to chose and even though the dress was too big we were able to buy exactly what Holly wanted. We took the shoes with us so she can get used to the heel height (she lives in her trainers) and break them in round the house.

The bridesmaids arrived about an hour after us with Sue’s sister Mary for their fittings and after much giggling in the changing rooms they appeared like little angels with no adjustments needed. We got their shoes sorted at the same time and then had a struggle to get them to change out of their outfits to go home!

Whilst we were choosing the shoes a bride and her mother came rushing in, the bride being in tears. Times are tough as we all know, but they had ordered the dress from an internet site overseas and when it had arrived the box looked like it had been kicked round a football field and the dress was damaged and not anything like they were expecting. The wedding was in two weeks and they were struggling to find anything suitable. I felt really sorry for them but I was so relieved I had persuaded Sue not to go down this route as I think she would have had a nervous breakdown had Holly’s dress arrived in such a state. I always like to see and touch what I am buying and the advice given to us by Gillian was worth its weight in gold. I must remember to remind Sue to take her some chocolates when she finally goes to pick the dress up to thank her for all her help and patience!

The dress above is from Alison Evans Bridal Shop- take a peek at what else she has in stock Alison Evans Bridal Shop

 Charlie Brear, who was one of the panelist  and runs the Vintage Wedding Dress Company, commented that “this historic house and stunning grounds offer a truly special location for a wedding and that the ‘elegant and relaxed' country house hotel caters for most requests, from civil ceremonies in its Orangery, or private rooms, to blessings in the estate's church”.

 “We are delighted with the national accolade from The Independent as we have been working very hard at Stapleford Park to provide an exceptional Wedding experience for any Bride or Groom, while offering flexible Wedding Packages.  Now that we also have full access to St Mary Magdalene in the hotel grounds for blessings, it really helps complete the ideal wedding day”.  Sarah Smith, Wedding Coordinator, Stapleford Park commented.

Stapleford Park can cater for Weddings of all sizes, from a discreet and intimate blessing in the Morning Room to a larger blessing in the estate’s church for upto 160 guests.  For more information contact Sarah Smith on 01572 787000, email weddings@stapleford.co.uk or

Click here to visit Stapleford Park website

 To read The Independent article, click here

 For further information contact Rebecca Collin, PR & Marketing Manager dt:01572 787016 or e: rcollin@stapleford.co.uk

About Stapleford Park (www.staplefordpark.com)

 Set in 500 acres of woods, parkland and beautiful gardens, Stapleford Park is one of England’s finest stately homes offering guests an irresistible combination of informal luxury and the best of the English countryside. Each of the 55 bedrooms have been individually designed and reflect the style of their creators; renowned names such as Mulberry, David Hicks, Sanderson, and Crabtree and Evelyn. Guests can also indulge in a game of golf or in a number of country pursuits including, archery, falconry and shooting. 

Stapleford Park is  a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

VIEW STAPLEFORD PARK'S ADVERTISEMENT IN THE WEDDING ORGANIZER E-BOOK HERE

The Wedding Organizer: Let's talk about Pink Weddings and your campaigning for gay rights. What is Pink Weddings?

Gino Meriano: Pink Weddings is a social enterprise designed to help couples with their wedding planning – both gay and straight couples. People can get completely stressed out about their wedding, and for gay couples it can be even more stressful, so Pink Weddings provides someone to talk to and get help with the planning. We are in touch with a wide network of gay-friendly suppliers, so that's one of the most obvious ways we help.

We give guidance and pricing structures – a couple might say "we've got x thousand pounds in the budget and, x number of guests, what can we have?" Most is achievable with an open mind, we help couples get want they want.

The Wedding Organizer: And what about the gay rights campaigning?

Gino Meriano: Well I sort of fell into gay rights… I wanted something for my partner and I in 2000 – 2001 to help celebrate our partnership, and he said, why not build a website, so we did. That was the start of it all.

When the Civil Partnership bill came in, I was brought in as consultant. Soon after the bill became law, Bromley Register Office said that it wasn't going to offer civil partnership ceremonies. People in the area e-mailed me, I couldn't stand it and put a march on, after arranging it with the police and town hall. Bromley overturned their decision after we brought the high street to a stand still and from that day on I suppose I was a gay rights campaigner

The Wedding Organizer: How would you describe yourself?

Gino Meriano: Tired! No: a gay rights campaigner for same-sex families.

The Wedding Organizer: Why do you feel a company dedicated to helping gay couples plan their wedding is needed?

Gino Meriano: I'm so glad you ask that, because there are some people who can't believe that it is needed, but homophobia is still there, even after all these years of civil partnership ceremonies, and it is definitely present in the traditional wedding industry. I've been to straight wedding fayres and exhibited as Pink Weddings, the abuse from exhibitors and visitors was incredible.

The Wedding Organizer: I interviewed couples at one of your fayres years ago Gino and I was shocked at some of the stories they told me about being turned away by wedding suppliers.

Gino Meriano: It's incredible, isn't it? People are still not being as inclusive as they could. I see it when I go with a gay man to see a potential venue, there's inevitably the "where's the bride?" question. When the partner says "I'm gay" you see how their face changes – that homophobia is still there.

I also see it on brochures and promotional material released by wedding companies. Some venues are not even prepared to put up "civil partnership" on a post advertising their wedding ceremony rooms.

But I should add that there are people out there who are really getting it right; the brochure produced by Cheshire East Register Office for example. It's the best brochure I've seen in a long time. I literally bow down to them! It's so classy, so right, all couples are represented in it. I was blown away when I saw it for the first time.

The Wedding Organizer: Aside from the acceptance and being treated with the same courtesy as any customer should be, do gay couples have any particular needs when it comes to a venue for example?

Gino Meriano: For some couples; they may not be comfortable being overlooked by members of the public for the reasons we've just discussed. Having photos outside can be an issue for them, when the photographer asks them to hold hands and kiss for example. For people who have these worries, we help them to find a venue that's exclusive, in which the grounds are theirs for the whole time without other people around.

The Wedding Organizer: Do people get hung up on the language used? I knew a gay couple who refused to let people call their ceremony a 'wedding'.

Gino Meriano: In the beginning it was confusing, no-one knew whether to say marriage, Civil Partnership, wedding – it was all up in the air. 90% of the time people say "I'm getting married to my partner next year" because that language is bred into you, society dictates marriage.

There is a sticking point about the word marriage because of the legal definition of it being a union between a man and a woman, and I think about 1% of people get wound up about its colloquial use.

Wedding venues and advertisers etc can put "marriage and civil partnerships" or just refer to "weddings" and that will incorporate everyone without putting any noses out of joint. The use of the word "wedding" seems fine now.

Over the years I've loosened up about this too. It makes me think about why we called ourselves Pink Weddings: Pink was the political aspect and 'Weddings' because that is the event. You know, I've even written to the Oxford Dictionary to ask them to put Civil Partnership under 'wedding' and not 'marriage' so language is important, but less confusing than it once was.

Coming up in part two…
In the next part of the interview, Gino talks about some amazing wedding planning experiences and give lots of advice to couples planning a gay wedding. Watch this space!

Do they obviously know their stuff?

If so, why not drop us a line to tell us so we can interview them and publish it here? Then they get the recognition they deserve, and other couples benefit too!