Who would win? Brides versus Doctor Who

I don't mean that brides are the new enemy of The Doctor...despite any superficial visual similarities they may have to the Daleks...i.e. the long skirt to the floor and smooth motion across the floor.

What I mean is that traditionally brides know how to keep secrets and know the power of a well managed reveal.

Brides keep their wedding dress hidden from all but their chosen inner circle of friends and family. The first time their wedding dress is seen is on her wedding day, together with her expensive hair and  amazing makeup. She is seen for the first time with the whole ensemble and her bridal party in her chosen venue. 

We're great Doctor Who fans and like so many others, we can't wait to see Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor.

When I say, we "can't wait"...actually I mean I wish the new series started this Saturday...but it can't and we shall have to wait until the Autumn.

When the BBC released the promo shot of Peter in his new Doctor Who outfit, it was for sure an interesting glimpse into what we might see in the Autumn.

But would it have been more memorable, more special, to have seen him for the first time in his first episode with everything that goes to make Doctor Who what it is...the script, the action, the humour, the tension, the music, the acting, the lighting, the charm....not just a still of a costume.

I remember watching drip fed promo making-of trailers and documentaries of a much awaited James Bond film. When I eventually watched the film, all the drip fed promos had spoilt it for me...they had some how taken away the magic that normally makes a James Bond movie so compelling. I knew what was coming, I knew how it was done.

And this is where, in our opinion, brides get it right. They keep the magic locked away until they reveal it at exactly the right moment and in the right place...on her wedding day.

In this respect brides beat Doctor Who, every time...at every wedding.

#toptip if you're using #pinterest: many brides use Pinterest nowadays for inspiration and it's a great idea. Our tip though is that you create a "private" board for your best pins for your wedding. Otherwise, if it's public your guests just need to look at your wedding board and they may see some things you'd rather have kept a secret until the big day.

Steve Dunster

Using Pinterest for your Wedding Inspiration

If you haven't discovered Pinterest and you're getting married, sign up TODAY...it's free...and you'll love it.

We're of the generation that doing wedding research meant buying way too many wedding magazines, using scissors to cut out the best bits and glue to paste them into our "Wedding Inspiration Scrapbook."

Nowadays, like everything else in the Digital Age, there's a better, faster and cheaper way to do the same thing...and it's called Pinterest.

If you haven't already done so, Sign Up for your free account with Pinterest, decide whether you want to say a bit about yourself and put up a profile picture.

Before you can pin, you need to create at least one Board, onto which you can Pin the cool stuff you find. You can create as many Boards as you like but don't have too many to start with. I would recommend you start off with maybe: "Wedding Stuff I Like", "Humour" and "Cute" ....or something just to get you going.

As soon as you start Pinning, you'll realise you want more Boards, so just create them as you think of them. You'll find your own level.

Now you're ready to start Pinning. There are two modes of Pinning:

1. When you Pin pictures already on Pinterest onto your own boards, and
2. When you Pin pictures into Pinterest and your own boards from a website you're looking at

Pinterest is huge and has come from nowhere in the last 12 months or so. If all you do is:

a) search Pinterest for "wedding", or

b) select the Pinterest "Wedding" category

...you'll find an endless supply of inspiration already posted into Pinterest by other brides and wedding suppliers.

In the process of this you'll no doubt come across Boards of Pinners (jargon alert: Pinners = users of Pinterest) who have similar tastes to you, in which case you can click to Follow their Board or maybe even Follow the Pinner (in which case you'll follow ALL their boards, but you can Unfollow any boards you don't like at a later date). Pins by people and Boards that you Follow will appear in your Timeline, just like Facebook etc.

Go to the Pinterest Help Centre and it will help you put a Pinterest button onto your Internet Browser. Then, whenever you are browsing the Internet and you see anything you want on one of your Boards, all you have to do is press the Pinterest Button on your Browser and select which Board you want it in.

Boards can either be Public or Secret. As soon as you start narrowing your choices for your wedding, we recommend that you have some new Boards that are Secret and in here you can put the things that you're seriously considering...that way all your choices will remain a surprise for your guests on your Big Day.

You'll soon find that your Wedding Board fills up and you may want to Split it into say: Wedding Cakes, Wedding Shoes, Wedding Dresses, Wedding Venues, Wedding Photographs, Wedding Rings...you get the idea.

You can re-Pin anything from one of your Boards to any of your other boards and this is how you can stay organised.

If you like something but you don't have a Board to Pin it in and don't want to create one for it, you can just Like it by clicking the Heart.

It's not just photographs that are on Pinterest. You'll find many "Infographics".  These are usually very interesting and show in a graphical and digestible form how to do something.

You'll also find links to blogs, useful websites, videos and a whole host of thoroughly engaging things.

If you really like a particular Pin, you can click through and it will take you to the original website that the original Pinner got it from. This is often the supplier so you can buy it if you choose to.

Also, if you click on a Pin you can leave comments that the Pinner will see and an interesting exchange can often result.

Pinterest is great on a desktop or laptop computer but the tablet and smart phone Pinterest apps are awesome.

If you do try, do follow us on Pinterest. We've got some particularly popular "Ideas for your Wedding" and "Wedding How-To Tips" Boards as well as Boards with our latest photography, offers, tips and advice...as well as a little humour ;)

It might sound a bit involved but Pinterest is very intuitive, thoroughly addictive, free and an amazing way to get inspired for your wedding.

Enjoy

by Steve Dunster