Your Wedding Day Diet - Virtually Fat-Free Raspberry Muffins

{Posting by Alice Cowen, Before the Big Day's Personal Trainer & Nutritionist} As you plan for your wedding, you may well be dieting, but everyone needs a treat every now and then, and this recipe for fat-free muffins is AMAZING! Great as a snack or for breakfast, you can eat one without feeling guilty, and they really are super-easy to bake. If you don't like raspberries, you can use chopped apple instead. Just take a look at the instructions and the ingredients below, and get baking!

   Put flour, sugar, oats, baking powder,                                               Grate the carrots
   baking soda and nutmeg into a large mixing bowl

   Mash the banana                                                         Add the egg to the dry ingredients....

  Then the raspberries, banana, carrot and                       Gently mix all the ingredients together adding
  olive oil as needed                                                       the milk

   Add the mixture to muffin cups....                                  And bake in the oven for 20-25mins at 200º C

Ingredients

3 medium sized carrots
1 banana
3/4 of a cup of plain flour
1/2 cup brown flour
1 cup of oats
1 cup of frozen raspberries
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
approx 1/2 cup of skimmed milk
3 tablespoons of olive oil

xaLx

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Wedding Fairs & Events This Weekend

What are you doing this weekend? A little bit of wedding prep? If you're stuck for ideas, then I recommend heading out to a wedding fair. There's usually one happening every weekend, and this Sunday is a particularly exciting day, as I'm going to be the in-house blogger for The In Wedding Show. I'll have a fabulous inspirational stand with tonnes of theme ideas, and I'll also be hosting several special wedding inspiration sessions for lucky brides and grooms. Taking place at the beautiful Alexandra Palace, The In Wedding Show will bring together the UK's finest wedding professionals all under one roof. You can buy tickets for £5 on the door. If you're not in London, don't worry, I'll be featuring all my wedding show details on the blog over the next few days.

Meanwhile, if you're still looking for the perfect wedding dress and wedding shoes for your big day, don't miss the exclusive Belle & Bunty and Emmy Shoes Designer Day at Belle & Bunty's London boutique TODAY {21st April 2012}. They've joined forces with Emmy to offer brides the opportunity to pick their perfect Belle & Bunty Wedding Dress and then accessorise to the max with Emmy’s beautiful shoes, belts and headpieces to get your total bridal look all in one go! There will be fizz and treats on the day {with special offers for those decisive brides!} Appointments are limited so book yours now – call 020 7267 3322

♥ Want more wedding details ideas? ♥ Or how about wedding theme ideas? ♥

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DIY Bride - Homemade Lace Votives

Before I got engaged, I never really thought of myself as a crafty or creative person. But it's amazing how a wedding can wake up those school memories of glue and glitter. DIYing your wedding details is the easiest way to personalise your wedding, and it'll save you a fortune at the same time. So over the next few weeks, I'll be posting a few DIY wedding ideas, all of which I've attempted myself, with varying degrees of success. I figure that if I can do it....so can you! This first project involves glue, lace {I bought mine here}, and jam jars. It's so incredibly easy, I'm not sure it even counts as wedding DIY.

{First step}                                                                 {Second Step} 
You'll need...                                                                Fold the lace around the jam jar, leave an extra
Glue, lace, scissors, a jam jar                                       2cm and cut, using your scissors

{Third step}                                                                 {Last Step} 

Add glue to one end of the lace                                      Wrap the lace around the jam jar & neatly line
Try not to get glue on the floor like I did                           it up before glueing. Add pinwheels or candle.

And you're done! See - I told you that was easy. For smaller jam-jars just buy thinner lace. For more jam-jar wedding ideas, check out my Pinterest page.

♥ Want to see more DIY wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about wedding decoration ideas? ♥

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Whimsical Vintage Wedding Paper Bunting

Loving this pretty upcycled paper bunting that I spotted on my online stroll around fab crafting site Folksy. Created by the online Scottish boutique, Peony and Thistle, they're made out of the pages of rescued vintage books, so every banner is unique. They'd be perfect for a shabby chic wedding.

 ♥ Want to see some shabby chic wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about wedding decoration ideas? ♥

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Real Brights Autumn Garden Wedding: Kirsten & David

You've got to love sunflowers at a wedding. I've fallen head-over-heels for the beautiful wedding flowers in this fabulous big day from last autumn. The golden light and the glowing orange details colours create wonderfully warm effect, and I'm loving the outdoor family dining, the lanterns and the beautiful twinkling overhead lights. Throw in a beautiful bride with a flower in her hair, and hand-painted wedding stationery and I'm in heaven.  I'm loving all the vintage prop details, the old watering cans, the jam-jars filled with flowers, the blackboards, and the birds nest confetti baskets. So many stealworthy DIY-able ideas, you'll want to save these pics on your Pinterest board for sure! Huge thanks to Jessamyn Harris for her truly beautiful pictures.

Wedding Credits
Venue and Food - Barndiva
Planning and design - A Savvy Event
Florals - Fleuressence
Hair & Makeup - It’s a Date

♥ Want more autumn wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about vintage wedding ideas? ♥

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Today I ♥ - Sandpaper Wedding Confetti Hearts

Let's me honest, weddings can be a pretty girly affair. So why not add these touch lough 'Kiss Me' confetti hearts to your wedding tables, as a nod to the man in your life. Punched from sandpaper, they'll juxtapose nicely with your pretty pink peonies, and flowered napkins, and they're perfect for a rustic style big day. Pick them up from Etsy shop ScrapHappieAZ {they also come in pink and polka dots!}.

♥ Want more rustic wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about wedding detail ideas? ♥

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Choosing Your Wedding Venue - 6 Questions to Ask

You're engaged! Congratulations! So where are you getting married? If you don't have an obvious venue, this can be the question that strikes fear into a bride's heart. If you're finding it really hard to choose where to celebrate your wedding day, don't worry, you're not alone. I have two newly engaged friends, who are right now tearing their hair out over where to get married. They're both very different - one couple are looking for the perfect field and farm, the others are on the search for the best London landmark, with Kew Gardens high on their list. The venue is key to the type of wedding you'll be having, and that's why it can be the hardest decision. Until you know your wedding style, it's hard to pick your wedding venue. And until you pick your wedding venue, it's hard to pick your wedding style. Argh!! But fear not, help is at hand thanks to Before the Big Day. Here are five questions to help you make a decision.

{Photo Credit} Caught the Light

1. How many people do you want to invite?
2. Home or abroad?
3. Urban or countryside?
4. Decorated or empty?
5. Smart or casual?
6. Budget - big or small?

Or there is the Lucky 7th option....have two weddings like we did! One in France, and one in London. One large and one small. One expensive, one budget. One countryside, one urban. One inside, one outside. One casual, one elegant. The best of both worlds!

♥ Want to see some wedding theme ideas? ♥ Or how about wedding decoration ideas? ♥

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Before the Big Day in the BBC Magazine

After the immense excitement last week, when I appeared on the BBC World Service, you can imagine the incandescence when I discovered Before the Big Day had also earned a mention on the BBC magazine website! *Happy dance!* Please do take a look....here!

{Product Credit} Tongue-in-cheek posters created by Livy Love Designs

♥ Want to see some wedding theme ideas? ♥ Or how about Real Wedding ideas? ♥

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