Never mind the huge amount of women who wouldn’t be seen dead in any of it

There’s been a distinct lack of wearable tech for women.

That is, until now.

Cuff are a business providing a range of jewellery items with smart functions. These smart functions are numerous – from notifying you about a text, tracking your activity, to guaranteeing your safety – they’re everything wearable tech is supposed to be.

So how would you make use of it? First there’s the notification feature. This will prove to be the most consistently useful. When you’re out shopping or behind the wheel of your car, you don’t have access to your phone. So you don’t know when someone’s trying to contact you. With Cuff, you’ll be alerted by a slight vibration, allowing you to pull over or drop what you’re doing to check your phone.

They can help in an accident or when you’re in immediate danger too. A long press on the jewellery will send out an alert to selected friends and family members providing them with your GPS location. And it’s these sorts of safety features that make wearable jewellery such an attractive idea. Not to mention how good they look.

What’s more, information such as allergies, blood types, and insurance details can be pushed to your jewellery, ensuring that authorities know what they can and can’t give you.

It’s one of the first pieces of wearable tech that hasn’t been designed by tech geeks for tech geeks.

You have to admire the company’s ambition

Cuff are attempting to dive into a market currently lead by the world’s biggest companies. The world’s biggest. Apple, Google, Samsung – they’re still finding their feet in wearable technology. So for a start up to come along and attempt to change the wearable landscape is a bold move.

This could resonate with everyone from the 16 year old school girl to office workers. They’re attractive. But that doesn’t mean they’re sure to take off. The jewellery market is a busy one and bringing a new product along isn’t something that was expected.

Would you wear Cuff’s smart jewellery? Let us know!

One thing no one prepares you for is after you’re married, when your honeymoon is over and you need to settle back in to the real world. But you’ll still feel in wedding mode; not good when you have to return to work.

And it’s probably because you still have a few things left to do.

Clean and store your dress – The sooner you have your dress dry-cleaned the better. There are services out there that specialise in cleaning your wedding dress. You should aim to find one of these as they’ll use specifically designed solvents to make sure your dress comes out as good as new. Once you have it back, keep it stored in a cool dry place.

And if you didn’t buy your wedding dress, make sure you return it on time!

Thank you notes – Now all the hectic wedding stuff’s over you have time to thank everyone that made the big day happen. It’s easy to just move on, but it’s a nice gesture that goes a long way with friends and family. Take time to write personal notes to each and every person that helped put the day together. Sure, it’ll take a while, but they deserve recognition!

Money – Make sure that everything that needs paying off has been paid off. You don’t want caterers or the DJ chasing you for money when you return, so do it as soon as  possible. And chances are, you’re going to have to open a few new bank accounts relating to you and your new partner!

Order the wedding photos – You’re probably itching to see all the photos from the special day, so speak to your wedding photographer and organise to have your pictures sent over to you on a DVD or however the photographer prefers to do it. You might have to choose all the pictures that you want editing and putting in an album too, and the photographer won’t wait forever.

Your new address – If the marriage involved a move, then the time after the honeymoon is the perfect time to tell everyone you’re new address. A quick email will suffice. But if you’d rather be more traditional you can purchase cards informing everyone that needs to know about where you now live.

It’s hard to move on from the wedding, but you have to do it at some point, and there’s a lot that needs doing. The sooner it’s done the sooner you’ll be able to start enjoying your new life as a married woman!

We’ve put together a list of apps you must download to help you sort everything from the playlist to the seating arrangements.

Appy Couple – This handy app help bride and groom create their very own wedding app and website that helps keeps all those details in check. Flick through hundreds of different designs and personalise it with various details of your big day including photos, lodging info, and your story. And you can customise which guests see what on the app/site. So you can choose that only the bridesmaids see a certain areas of it which you can update with wedding plans!

Top Table Planner – The seating arrangement is probably the most boring part of organising your wedding. And it can take a long time to find the arrangement that’s the right fit. This app makes the process a whole lot easier. Simply add the names of your guests into the app and then you can drag and drop them to the appropriate tables. No more trying to arrange them with sticky notes!

Evernote – Wedding planning is full of scribbled notes, half baked ideas, and a huge list of things to remember. Keeping all these different things organised isn’t easy work. You have things written down on scraps of paper, online articles, ideas in your head – how can you collate them all? Evernote. It’s the best app to help you stay organised and you can create notebooks that you can share with the groom or other people helping you organise the wedding.

Wedding party – This app allows friends and family upload pictures that they took of your various wedding events in one place. Because trying to put everyone’s photographs together isn’t easy work. Simply invite them to the app and see your special day from every angle!

Spotify – You probably already have this app downloaded to your phone, but if you don’t, you should. For a little a month you have access to pretty much every song on the planet. And you can create your own personal playlists for your wedding. So if you haven’t booked a DJ or a band, you can do it all yourself with ease!

So those are our top 5 apps to help you planning your wedding. If you have a your own favourite app that you think makes the whole process easier then let us know! We’re always looking to help those soon to be brides!

Thankfully for you, there are a few things you can do to calm those pre-wedding nerves, and that’s what we’re going to look at here.

Get plenty of sleep – It doesn’t matter what day it is, if we haven’t had our beauty sleep we become stressed. And quick. If it’s the day of your wedding times that stress by 10.

Wedding prep will leave you exhausted, so make sure you get plenty of rest the night before the wedding. You don’t want to wake up with bags under your eyes screaming for coffee.

Delegate – Too many brides try and take on every, single, job on the day of their wedding. It is their day after all.

Don’t be this girl. Put trust in your bridesmaids and family. They’re there to help you, so make use of them! Something goes wrong; call upon your best friend or mum. Don’t try and go it alone.

Take time out – There will be so much to do on the day that it’ll fly by. And that in itself can make you stressed. So don’t be ashamed to take a few minutes out to yourself every hour or so. Those 15 minutes are the perfect opportunity to take stock of everything that’s going on and to recharge your batteries.

Eat! – Another one brides always forget to do!

If you don’t eat, you’re going to get grumpy. Get grumpy and you’re going to become stressed. So when you wake up eat a hearty breakfast to fuel your day. And don’t skip out on meals either! There’s probably going to be lots of champagne on the way round, and drinking all that on an empty stomache isn’t a good idea.

So there you have it. Our 4 tips to keeping those wedding jitters at bay.

Remember, it’s your day, so enjoy it!

Are you hosting?

The first decision you’re going to have to make is whether you want to host it yourself or let someone else take the reins. Doing it yourself is a little more common, but sometimes the bridesmaids or family members may offer to host the party for you. If someone else is hosting it, don’t be afraid to voice your opinion, it is your engagement party after all.

Should guests bring gifts?

One of the things you’re going to have to decide, whether you’re hosting or not, is if you want the guests to bring gifts or not. The gift scenario is often a source of confusion for guests, usually bringing up a “should we, shouldn’t we?” scenario.

Make sure you’re clear on your gift policy and if you expect them, provide a list to give them an idea of what you want. It might sound cheeky, but it’ll save a lot of confusion.

Prepare a toast

You’re going to be asked, at some point in the evening, to say a few words on your recent engagement. And so it’s best to be prepared. Write a short, sweet speech thanking everyone for coming. Just make sure it doesn’t drag on. The guests are there for a good time, not to hear you drivel on for hours on end!

Mingle

The engagement is going to be a great time to get together with your nearest and dearest before the wedding, so make sure you get round to seeing everybody at least once. You shouldn’t spend the whole evening in the corner of the room with your best friends. Get out there, speak to people, they have come out to celebrate your engagement after all.

Oh, and don’t forget to take a camera! You’ll want to remember the engagement party, and those pictures will be a great addition to your wedding album!

Do you wing it? Or take time to find out the right ring size.

Ask a friend

Your first port of call should be friends and family. Chances are, her mother will have bought her a ring in the past. Failing that, her best friend should know her ring size. Just make sure you ask someone who doesn’t blab. They need to be good secret keepers.

And if they don’t have her ring size they can invite her out for a day of shopping and they can try a few ring sizes on “for fun”.

Become a thief

If she’s always wearing a ring on the engagement ring finger, you’re in luck. Just make sure she’s out, and then steal the ring and take it to jewellers for a sizing. Remember though, you can’t just take a ring that she wears on another finger. Different fingers are different sizes, so if you pick the wrong finger the size could be way off.

Buy the ring for someone else

So you’re both in store looking at rings. Why not pretend you’re looking to buy for your mother or sister. But oh wait. You don’t know a ring size. Tell your wife to be that it looks like she shares a similar sized finger. Ask her to try a couple on and bingo, you have her ring size.

Find a ring

This one’s a little risky. Especially if you aren’t a good liar. It involves taking a few rings home and saying you found them. Get your partner to try them on, if one fits, it’s her ring size. Simply take it back to the store!

It isn’t easy to pull off so use this as a last resort.

Here at Chris Winspear we stock a large variety of engagement rings suitable for any bride. And we can help you find her size too.

Here, we’ve put together 5 of the best gift ideas out there that’ll work for pretty much any couple.

You can thank us later…

A gift from their registry – The first port of call should be their registry or gift list. This will give you an idea of the kinds of things they’re in need of. Some of it will be way out of your budget, but then there will be stuff more inclined towards the money you have.

What you must make sure of is that you don’t buy the exact same gift as another guest. That would be embarrassing.

Money – It sounds a little thoughtless, but what you must remember is that the bride and groom are probably in need of help financially. Perhaps they’re saving for something big like a new house or a new car, or maybe they need a little help climbing out of debt.

Regardless of what it is, I guarantee that they’ll be happy with money as a wedding gift.

Something personal – You’ve been invited to the biggest day of their lives so you probably have a reasonably close relationship with them. Why not remind them of that relationship or give them something to cherish that’s personal to the both of you.

A photo frame filled with pictures of you both for example. Or an old toy you once both played with when you were younger.

Personal gifts often prove to be the most popular.

Jewellery – If you’re buying specifically for the bride, you can’t go wrong by purchasing personalised, designer jewellery. Here at Chris Winspear we have a selection of pieces perfect for those of you looking to buy the perfect gift for the next wedding.

We even have the more corporate gifts for the groom too!

Gift basket – For those of you on a tighter budget then why not consider a wedding gift basket? Fill it with champagne, flowers, bath treats, sweets and anything else you think the bride and from might like. It’s a lovely gift that doesn’t mean you have to break the bank.

It’s all about being on the same page.

To make sure that this is right for you, here are 4 things you both should have discussed with one another.

Kids: The next big step after marriage, more often than not, is to have children. But do you both want kids? If yes, how many? When do you want them?

Starting a family really is wonderful, but it can also put a strain on a relationship. Make sure you both know what’s coming.

Money: Money. It makes the world go round apparently. But it’s also one of the biggest causes of break ups. Once you’re married, how are you both going to deal with money? It could be awkward if one of you earns more and isn’t willing to share.

How are you going to pay bills? What about debts that one of you might have? Not figuring out your money situation could break the marriage apart before it’s even begun.

Work: Are both of you going to work? Or will one of you work more hours than the other? And what if one of you needs to relocate for your job? How will you feel moving across the country?

Work takes up a big portion of your life and often dictates the things we can do. If you don’t balance working life with home life, it could spell disaster.

Spare time: What kinds of things do you like to do together? Will you have time to enjoy those things once you’re married?

Think of the chores too. How will they be delegated? One person washing up, the other drying?

Not being on the same page could put an early end to your romance. So make sure you both understand where the other person is in their life!

That last one is pretty important. If you poison everyone, it’s going to stick in their minds for quite a while. Regardless of how well everything else went.

So don’t leave your guests with a bitter taste in their mouths. Get the caterer right.

Only DIY if you must

Sure, you want to cut down on costs. But you want the food to be great and have time to enjoy the day, right?

If there are more than 20 people, hire a caterer. Don’t spend the wedding running around making sure everyone has their food.

Get recommendations

The best way to find a reputable caterer? Listen out for recommendations and check testimonials on websites. If countless other people have used them and thought they were great, you can’t go wrong.

Tastings are fun, but you don’t have time to visit every caterer in town. Narrow your list down to around 5 caterers that have a good reputation.

Budget

There’s a caterer out there for any type of budget. But remember, you get what you pay for.

Of course different catering companies have different requirements. Some have their own serving dishes, pans, pot etc. Others rent them, and some ask you to rent them.

Take your time to find out exactly what you’re paying for.

Special requirements

You probably have guests attending with special diet requirements. It’s important that your caterer is prepared to offer vegetarian meals, children’s meals etc.

The venue

It’s important that there’s somewhere in the venue for your caterers to set up. Speak with the venue beforehand and discuss the fact that you will be hiring someone to provide food. They may be able to open a specific room for them to use.

Taste

Now that you’ve narrowed it down, head out to each one for a tasting. Meet with the cooks. Get to know their options.

Nothing will give you a better indication as to which is right for you.

That’s why it’s so important to take your time.

To help you make the right decision we’ve put together a guide on choosing the wedding venue that’s best for you.

The budget

It’s not something that people like talking about, but it’ll be one of the biggest influencers when it comes to choosing the wedding venue.

What can you realistically afford? There’s no point blowing your whole wedding budget on the venue. So think carefully how much you can set aside.

How many people are attending?

After the budget, size is the next big consideration. You need something big enough to hold all of your guests, but not so big that it makes your wedding look like a small get together.

And remember, the more people you invite, the more likely it is to be an expensive ordeal.

Where will the ceremony be?

You don’t want to have to travel the width of the country to your reception. So make sure you book two places that are reasonably close.

It’ll make the travelling time nice and short.

What time of year?

Nearly all wedding venues are open all year round, so whenever you want to get married, it shouldn’t be a problem.

Remember though, if you want a winter wedding there is a chance you’ll be snowed in. So make sure that the venue is easily accessible when the weather is bad.

Will you be staying there?

A lot of venues nowadays offer you and your guests the chance to stay overnight, because let’s face it, you won’t be feeling too good.

It’s an excellent choice if you want to extend your wedding, but may not be wise for those planning their day on a budget.

What does the venue offer?

Some venues offer extras as part of their package. For example the place you’re looking at might provide catering or decor. Make sure you know exactly what you get in the package you’ve chosen.