Roseblade Photography

Owen Roseblade gets top marks from us as a wedding photographer. He took fantastic shots that told the story of our wedding day beautifully, answered all our questions (before and after the day) helpfully, and didn't keep us hanging around with fixed smiles.

Cost: As anyone planning a wedding will know, getting a good photographer will cost you. Owen is an excellent photographer and as such does not come cheap. We would say, however, that it was worth it. He does do different packages to suit different budgets - depending on how much of the day you want him to capture.

Quality: The pictures are fantastic. They aren't just the traditional posed shots - Owen brings imagination and creativity to photography. He picks out what makes your day unique and brings that out in the photographs.

Service: Owen was helpful, friendly and cheerful throughout the whole process. He was cheerful and took photos without being intrusive. He captured the moment but didn't make it about the picture.

Product: As part of the package we bought we got a DVD slideshow of the photos, put to music which was lovely to show friends and family after the wedding. We also got an album which was beautifully produced and presented and a disc with all the images on so we could print our own.

Website - http://www.roseblade.com/Home.php

Youngs Suit Hire

Another highly recommended company we used for our wedding. We wanted four suits from Youngs (groom, bestman and two fathers) but when we came to order they advised us that if we ordered a fifth suit we would get the groom's suit free. What this meant in effect was that the fifth suit was free (apart from a small insurance fee - which was about £6 per suit) and that we were able to collect the suits up to ten days in advance. This in itself was worth the extra money as we were able to check the sizes and that we had what we wanted with plenty of time to make any necessary changes.

Cost: Comparable to other suit hire companies. Platinum deal was definitely worth the money.

Quality: The suits were great - they looked good, fitted well and there was a good range of colours and styles available to choose from.

Service: We used the Reading branch to place the original order and to collect three of the suits from. If not cheerful, they were helpful and polite - no complaints. We also used the Leeds and Thurrock stores, and had similar reports back.

Overall: Fine - good product, good price, good service.

Website - http://www.youngs-hire.co.uk/

Ti-Bihan

Ti-Bihan is a tiny two person gite in Brittany, France. We stayed there for one week on our honeymoon.

Cottage: The gite had everything you could need. The kitchen is modern and well stocked and the bedroom very comfortable. There is a living room with sofa, TV and dining/games table and chairs. The bathroom is also modern with a good power shower. The garden is also beautiful and is very open to the countryside. We went in August and it was fairly warm and sunny so we don't know whether it gets cold in winter - the floors are stone and it is quite open plan. However it does have a fireplace and thick curtains which would help.

Area: The gite is in a remote hamlet (Rotz) so there is plenty of open countryside around for walking. We took a GPS which helped us not to get lost but there are a lot of footpaths and walks marked by coloured signs. The nearest beach was also lovely (Penn Lann, about 30 minutes drive from the cottage) - sandy and not crowded. The nearest village is Caden (3km) and the website mentions the bakery although it was closed when we went so we can't comment on their croissants. Those from the bakery in Beganne (4.6km) were lovely though. We also visited Rochefort en Terre (12.5km) a very pretty town with lots of good souvenir shops. There are plenty of supermarkets reasonably close.

Service: The owners also live in Rotz and are currently renovating a couple of other cottages (the hamlet only seemed to have about ten though so don't be worried about hoards of tourists!) so they were on site if we needed them. They are very friendly and helpful and happy to recommend places to visit. When emailing before the holiday they were also helpful and quick to reply.

Cost: In August a week at Ti-Bihan cost us £385. Our security deposit was about £100 and was returned in full even though we did break a glass.

Overall: This is a lovely peaceful get away cottage for a couple. If you are looking for seclusion somewhere pretty this is ideal.

Website - http://www.escapesinbrittany.com/

Longcombe Farm Holiday Cottages

We stayed at Longcombe Farm for three nights in February, in the Dovecote cottage. Longcombe Farm is made up of six holiday cottages and the owners live on site as well. Most of this review is general, with a specific section about the Dovecote at the end.

Price: Reasonable. We went in the off season (February) and only stayed for a long weekend so it cost about £168.

Service: Friendly and efficient from start to finish. Our breakage deposit was returned in full within a week of our holiday. We appreciated the thought put in - milk was put in the fridge ready for our arrival and there were tea and coffee supplies in the room.

Facilities: The swimming pool was lovely and was a good size. We would have preferred it a few degrees warmer but overall it was fine. The games room was good - we played pool (a slightly run-down looking table but fine for amateurs like us) and we enjoyed the use of the (free) video collection. We also enjoyed freeview TV in our cottage.

Area: Very pretty, although as it was February and rained a lot we didn't go for many walks and we didn't visit the beaches nearby. Two attractions we did visit and would highly recommend are Paignton Zoo and The House of Marbles.

Dovecote: Dovecote is a pretty, tasteful, two-person cottage. When we arrived we found it clean and warm. Bed - comfortable, good size and warm. Bathroom - very nice, good shower (towels provided). A few notes for anyone thinking of renting Dovecote...
1) The cooking facilities are limited - only a microwave, kettle, toaster and plug in two-ring hob. We found cooking and washing up in this tiny kitchen a bit too much effort and went for takeaway when possible.
2) The cupboard on the wall by the door in the kitchen does not have a hinged door. It isn't really a cupboard and the front is only held on by magnets so if you try to open it (as we did) it will fall off.
3) The TV does not twist round so you can watch in bed. If you try this it will fall off the wall.


Website - http://www.longcombe-cottages.co.uk/index.html