Directory is now changed to Professionals

In the upcoming days on www.finalstitch.co.uk we will be increasing the ways in which companies can present themselves.

Up until now, companies have only been able to passively advertise within their company listing in the Directory. We have decided to improve on this, given that many companies are active professionals who can offer best advice to the brides on the site. With this in mind, we want to provide areas for companies to actively communicate with brides.

What’s new?

• Professionals from companies will be able to engage in discussions and respond to questions in the forum.
  
• Professionals will be able to showcase positive feedback from our brides in their profile.
  
• Professionals will have the option to place adverts in the new Pro Shops (similar to Marketplace).
  
• Category ‘’Directory’’ is changed to ‘’Professionals’’.
  
• Company presentations on the site will no longer be called Company Listing but Professional Profile.

Where do I find my new Profile?

Changes that you used to do in your Company Listing, will now be done in your Professional Profile at the new address www.finalstitch-pro.co.uk (username and password remains the same).

What’s the difference between
www.finalstitch.co.uk and www.finalstitch-pro.co.uk?

• Finalstitch.co.uk is for brides and future brides. Among other things, the site includes a category called Professionals, where brides can find products and services suited to them.
  
• Finalstitch-pro.co.uk is a tool for Professionals (companies) to communicate with brides on the site Finalstitch.co.uk. Companies can manage their Professional Profile there, communicate with brides, answer their questions, write blogs and place adverts in the PRO shops. Everything that you create on finalstitch-pro.co.uk will appear on finalstitch.co.uk.

Who is a Professional?

We use the word ‘’Professional’’ when referring to people who present their services on the site. These are for example, head of companies, sole-traders, marketing or communication directors etc. We do not call these ‘’companies’’. A company is not a human being. Behind every company there is a real person. And we call these ‘’Professionals’’. If you have a company and a presentation on our site (or you are considering it), we would be happy if it would be ‘’you’’ - a person with a real face and name, who would be talking with our brides and future brides and offering them your products.

What features does the Professional Profile offer you?

 

1. Edit your company information - text, photos, contacts etc.
Everything that you used to do in your Company listing you will now be able to do via www.finalstitch-pro.co.uk.

 

 

2. Contribute in the Forum as a Professional
The Forum section is a strong part of Finalstitch.co.uk. Our brides give advice to each other and share their valuable experiences there. In the Forum, you can highlight your expertise by contributing to discussions with your professional advice. Build up your reputation by answering their questions and help out brides with their wedding issues.

 

 

3. Showcase positive feedback from our brides in your profile
Brides on our site who have had their wedding, have the opportunity to recommend wedding suppliers they were particualry happy with within their wedding photo album. If you have an active Professional Profile, this positive customer feedback will be automatically displayed in your profile.

 

 

4. Add your advertisements to the new PRO shop
PRO Shops are like the Marketplace, which already works very well. Marketplace is an area in which brides can sell their second hand wedding goods.
PRO Shops will be a place where you can add your products and offer them to future brides. PRO shops will be connected to the Marketplace, and it is this connection that will bring future brides to your adverts.

 

5. Publish articles and short messages
Talk directly with our brides. Show case your work. Ask brides for their opinions. Share behind-the-scene information. Give advanced notice of your special offers and latest deals to our brides. Keep in touch with existing customers. Publishing articles and short messages will allow you to achieve all of this. Articles and short messages that you write in your Professional Profile on www.finalstitch-pro.co.uk will be displayed in the Professional Photoblogs on the site www.finalstitch.co.uk. Brides and future brides will be able to see them and comment on them.

 

 

Asmira Team

Dear brides to be, @boycee will be the new administrator of Finalstitch.co.uk.

Welcome her here.

Asmira Team

New privacy settings

We have added an extra option to the visibility of your blog posts. So far you have been able to publish your blog posts (albums, articles, short messages) either to "everyone" or "friends only". Now you are also able to publish for "registered users only". Please also bear in mind that from now on the default visibility of your blog posts is set to "registered users only" (this used to be "everyone").

From today you will also be able to control the visibility of your personal information (name, age, location, about me, information about your partner etc.). You can choose from the same three options as with the visibility of your blog posts i.e. "everyone", "friends only", "registered users only".

Remember:

• Visibility "All users, including non-members" means that your posts (albums, articles, short messages) can be seen by anyone (i.e. your friends, registered and unregistered users).
• Visibility "Only for registered users" means that your posts will be visible to your friends and registered users.
• Visibility "Only for my friends" means that your posts can only be seen by users who you have confirmed as your friends.
  
  
• Visibility of your previous posts in your photoblog will remain unchanged. However, if you want to change the visibility of an existing album or article, you can simply click the "Change the name, date and description" button. If you want to change the visibility of all previous posts, go to your Settings and then Privacy.
• The only exception is the visibility setting for your short messages. It can not be changed for individual messages, but you can change it by the "Change visibility for all my posts" option.
• If you're unsure what your current privacy settings are, just take a look at the bottom right hand corner of your photoblog.

We've added some screens below to help show you what the new options look like.

In your settings the Photoblog tab has been replaced by Privacy. On the left side you can choose who can see your personal information and who can add comments to your photoblog. On the right side you can change the visibility of all your previous posts.

If you want to easily change the visibility of all your previous posts you can do so by clicking "Change visibility of all posts" on the right hand side.

All new posts now have the default set as "Only for registered users" (the grey lock icon). This can be easily changed at anytime.

The visibility of your albums and articles can be changed after they've been posted simply by clicking on "Change the date, name and description".

Asmira Team

Opinion poll reveals: First a baby then getting married ?

Couples who decide to begin their family and then get married, are not rare today. This and other interesting facts are revealed by our recent opinion poll among 300 UK brides and brides-to-be here on our wedding portal Finalstitch.co.uk.

It is not surprising, that couples who celebrate their wedding with their offspring are nowadays quite common (ca. 29% of all couples). Almost 40% of all couples plan to, or have actually had a baby before their wedding. Traditional patterns in family planning are vanishing; many young couples are not afraid of first opting for a child before planning a wedding or even thinking of getting married. This change in order is helped by our more modern society’s acceptance of different forms and orders of family planning than possibly it would have even a few decades ago.

As a reaction to our poll many current and potential future mothers indicated to us their expectations of their own family planning in relation to their wedding date. The following diagram provides insights to questions such as: When is it most common for couples to start their family – before or rather after the wedding? How frequently do couples actually plan their starting a family or do they simply wait until nature takes its course? Or might there be reasons to not have a family at all?

Planning a wedding, planning a pregnancy and becoming pregnant at just the right time – this is the wish of about one quarter of future brides who hope to conceive shortly after their wedding. On the other hand, only one fifth of couples plan to wait for a while after the wedding before becoming parents; perhaps to enjoy time together as wife and husband before having children. Only a very small minority of couples do not plan to have their own children (2%), and even fewer prefer to adopt a child (0.3%).

Most women know or feel, when the time is right for them to have a child, whether this is before or after the wedding. The important thing is that one’s relationship is stable, and that there is some degree of financial stability. Possibly, potential mothers may hope to have an established job or career, to which they could return after maternity leave. Financial security may be important to couples who wish to give their child (or children) the very best possible opportunities they can afford such as a private education or a larger family home. With many women establishing a career before they start their family it may be fair to assume that the primary reason for this is to accumulate greater wealth which will help to achieve this aim. For others a stable and trusting relationship between the couple is the absolute priority. Certainly many other reasons also exist for couples to not have children at all.

The official birth statistics issued by the Office for National Statistics provide some insights on the overall situation in the UK. UK women today have on average 1.96 children (year 2008). The timing of the arrival of these children in their parent’s lives is also interesting. It is a fact that over the past two years the number of women giving birth between the ages of 35 and 40 saw a strong upward trend and a similar trend is seen for women between 30 and 34 years of age.

The mean age of women having their first baby has risen slightly over the past decade – from 28.4 to 29.4 years. There are a number of reasons for this trend, however two reasons seem to be prevalent. The first reason is that women are fertile longer as diseases decrease and assisted conception techniques become more successful . The second reason would seem to be that some couples wish to have children later, possibly for reasons relating to their career.

A lot of interesting opinions from current and future mothers can be found and shared here in the forum of Finalstitch.co.uk.

Asmira Team

To change or not to change the family name: that is the question?

When it comes to the choice of family name, the centuries-old tradition of taking on the surname of the groom seems to prevail as the most popular choice among bridal couples. Even today, more than 80% of UK couples choose the surname of the groom as their family name. This is just one of the interesting discoveries we have made as a result of our recent poll among 300 brides here on Finalstitch.co.uk.

Are UK couples particularly conscious of tradition when it comes to the family name or are there other good reasons for opting for the surname of the groom? A look at the discussions in the forum of Finalstitch.co.uk provides insights and some additional explanations. For many brides, a new name represents a true commitment to the future husband and the beginning of the new phase of life, which marriage presents. Moreover, for many it is important to share the partner’s name as a sign of love - especially so if common children are planned, who will carry the common family name. The slightly bothersome bureaucracy needed to change personal documents like passport, driving license are not perceived as a hindrance, more an obligation of the marriage process. One bride commented in the forum: "Even if I’ll have some stress with changing my ID, I will be so happy doing it. I’ll realise that also officially I belong to him!”

On the other hand, there are also practical reasons for "giving up” a surname. For example if the bride does not particularly like her maiden name or if it is a complex or little-known surname that needs to be spelled on every occasion it is given. Also, disputes with the family or the origin of a surname (e.g. in case of carrying the name of the non-biological step-father) contribute to the fact that getting married is considered a good opportunity to “get rid of” an unpopular name in a practical way.

Certainly there are just as good reasons for the minority of those brides who want to keep their surname at all costs. Reasons for this can be an “endangered”, a rare or traditional surname that one would not like to give up. In some instances the groom takes on the surname of the bride, for example to have the same name as the bride and her children from a previous relationship. A business-related reason to keep the bride's name would be the takeover and continuation of a family-run business known under this specific surname.

One might think that compound names (or double-barrelled names are quite popular, since they allow couples to continue to carry both surnames after marriage. Even more so as some brides state that it might be painful "to break entirely with the previous surname, respectively the previous identity." Interestingly enough however, our poll does not support the case. A compound name still remains an exception in the UK. Only slightly more than one tenth of couples choose a family name in which either the bride carries a compound name (in 8.7% of cases), both take such a name (3.3%), or more rarely that the groom takes on such a name (1%). One of the reasons for the relative unpopularity of compound names might be family planning, as few couples would like their future children to have a surname which differs from that of both parents. Recently, an amusing posting in the forum was made by a bride-to-be who had chosen to take her husband’s name and who had a young daughter: "Well Mum, are you excited? Tomorrow you’ll belong to us! “

Our identical polls on our portals Fairelanoce.fr (France) and Brautpunkt.de (Germany) revealed that UK couples choose a compound name much less often than for example French couples. In France, it is twice as common to take on such a name. On the other hand, UK men are much more likely to take on the name of their future wife (in 3.3% of cases) compared to their French counterparts (1.8%). By and large, for bride or groom, taking a new surname is not a hard-fought question, but rather a sign of their commitment to one another, not only on their big day, but also for the rest of their lives.

Asmira Team

Opinion poll: A wedding budget of £ 21,000: Fact or Fiction?

At present, how high are the costs of organising a wedding in the UK? According to a recent article by the Guardian, the average wedding budget is approximately £ 21,000, but we were curious if this figure is a fair representation of what the average bride and groom are willing to pay for the realisation of their big day. We asked you brides on www.finalstitch.co.uk how much you spend for the organisation of the wedding. However, the 300 responses to our wedding budget survey show an astonishing result. Most couples don’t seem to be willing to spend as much as the Guardian’s report would suggest – according to our survey the average wedding budget is closer to £ 8,000.

So what could be the cause of this huge discrepancy? Is it possible that a new financial crisis driven trend is emerging towards conscientious saving on one’s wedding? Certainly, our research as shown in the chart below indicates that more than half of you participating brides on Finalstitch.co.uk indicate a spend significantly less than the sum of £ 8,000. Although the cost of the honeymoon is not included in this budget, a significant gap remains that needs clarification.

For many, the budget they should allow for their wedding day might be something of an unknown quantity. Never having married before, they won’t be aware of trends or even the myriad of options and services available to them. Even for those saying ‘I do’ once again, things may have moved on significantly since their previous ‘Big Day’. It would not be unreasonable to speculate therefore that couples planning a wedding may look to wedding agencies and wedding service providers for some indication of the ‘normal’ spend. In light of this, it is possible that to boost demand for their services these wedding agencies and service providers might communicate average wedding budgets that lie far above reality. Some couples might rely on this expert opinion and if they can afford to, may budget for a similar wedding spend.

As our survey result illustrates, for one third of you brides the £5,000 mark is the financial limit you are prepared to spend on the wedding. Many things need to fit into this budget: a wedding dress, a suit, shoes and accessories, the wedding rings, a photographer and the meal or buffet on the wedding night. Other items such as a special wedding location, a live band, elaborate wedding decorations or gifts for wedding guests run the risk of stretching the wedding budget.

It seems like you brides on Finalstitch.co.uk however take advantage of the many different possibilities that the internet provides today, and in doing so you certainly manage to keep costs relatively low. You exchange ideas and inspirations and enjoy the benefits of good advice and top tips on how to plan a wonderful and yet affordable wedding. Not surprisingly, a popular topic in the forum is the subject of how to save money and what the typical budget might be. Some of you brides may delay big household purchases or home improvements, if in doing so you can ensure that the wedding will not require to be postponed due to a lack of financial means. We have also discovered that couples often decide to invite a few more friends to the wedding rather than straining the wedding budget with expensive frills.

To us it seems that the relatively low wedding budget of the users on Finalstitch.co.uk derives also from the high personal commitment of you brides to the wedding preparations. Many of you put a lot of time and energy into planning your dream wedding and you are often able to make great cost savings by finding cheaper alternatives on the internet. Some of you brides like to give a more personal touch by making your own wedding stationery and planning and organising the decoration of the reception, wedding cars or the church. By taking such an active approach to the wedding plans brides can make great cost savings that would otherwise be paid to wedding service providers. The services of a wedding planner are therefore probably rarely called upon here on Finalstitch. Instead, families and friends are often involved in the wedding preparations: entire wedding meals may be prepared by grandmothers, mothers and aunts; skilled friends may be asked to be the wedding photographer and cameraman, and sometimes couples might ask a friend to demonstrate their DJ skills rather than pay for an expensive live band. An enormous amount can be saved on the cost of the wedding dress which can be ordered online from China or even ordered tailor-made during a holiday in Turkey or a similar destination.

Location of the wedding celebrations can also make a big impact on cost. In a restaurant for example, the celebration room is usually included in the price of the meal, but one might pay a lot more if the celebrations take place in a special venue such as a castle where neither service nor food are available. The cost of such a location and expenses for the catering might add significant additional costs.

Certainly, the other extreme still exists with regard to the wedding budget. In some cases the magic threshold of £ 21,000 is actually exceeded - but only for less than 3% of couples. They are willing to go to great expense to invite their large family at home and from abroad or for instance celebrate at a prestigious location.

The "national" wedding budget is substantial as every year about 270,000 weddings take place in the UK. The wedding industry is therefore worth well over £2 billion per annum. UK couples are not unlike their European counterparts and our identical surveys among 500 French and 500 German brides showed very similar results. Thanks to sites like www.finalstitch.co.uk, which operate throughout Europe, nowadays brides are able to support one another by exchanging ideas on how the hard-saved money for the wedding could be best invested. Greater quantities of useful information seem to offer the modern bride real cost savings in wedding planning – a trend we hope to see continue!

Asmira Team

Wedding dress from China - Bargain or flop?

Many brides are not troubled by the choice of colour or cut of their wedding dress, but rather by the price of it. Consequently it's often the wedding dress that burdens the wedding budget tremendously.

An attractive alternative to buying an expensive wedding dress in a bridal shop or possibly spending lots of money on renting a dress, is ordering an astonishingly cheap dress "Made in China" or from some similar far-away location. Whether the purchase of such a "Chinese-dress" is the affordable and convenient alternative is however THE question – which is being hotly discussed by the brides in the forum thread Online dress from wholesale from internet.

Such a wedding dress which has been manufactured somewhere in a factory on the other side of the globe, might delight on the sample photos, looking like the most gorgeous, and seemingly no less luxurious than the dress on offer at the local bridal shop. But the fact that you get it tailored to your own measurements, does not mean that you will automatically be completely satisfied. Many brides advise against purchasing a dress online due to all the risks involved - wrong size, bad quality or late delivery. Better than entering such an "experiment" might be to enjoy the professional advice at the nearby bridal shop. Moreover, why should the bride miss out on the unique experience of trying out a variety of wedding dresses?

But one should not generalise. Evidently, there are many brides who are actually very happy with their "online" wedding dress – they received it for a "bargain price" in the described quality, cut, colour and no obvious defects.

For it is true that such a dress might be so cheap, thanks to the low production and labour costs in an emerging market like China, that it won't necessarily be of a low quality. A sticking point, however, could be the cut, which might fit better an Asian rather than a European woman.

So if you want to order your wedding dress from "far far away", have a quick look in Online dress from wholesale from internet to learn what kind of experiences other brides have had regarding this wedding dress issue.

Asmira Team