Finally finished my Invites: now just to hand them out

Hectic day cutting and assembling my invites. Honestly I'm not sure if I had the choice again if I would make them from scratch. Maybe now I've had some trial and error with sourcing materials, paper and embellishments BUT I'm fairly certain from all the errors I made the invites have cost me more. 

I have loved doing it and I know they are exactly how I wanted them but I was very impressed with Julia's invite from Pure Invites. They offer a massive selection, print them for you and if you want to save money you can assemble them yourself. This also means if you want purchase slightly different embellishments etc then you can. 

Cameos and Flowers

More little gems from Imagine Doing It Yourself. I blooming love this website and I'm just collecting lots of trinkets to play with in these dark horrible months.

I think the Cameo will work wonderfully with the Afternoon Tea theme, the only problem is it only comes in one size. I think I can work with it though. Keep following the blog to see the end result xxx

Special Invite for the Parents

Now I know my mum, and I know that she will keep the invite I give her forever....and ever! So with this in mind I thought I'd make my parents a special invite. 

DIY Guest Book

For all of those creative types out there I have found a guest book that you can decorate (or get someone else to decorate) for your day.

By doing this you can guarantee its going to match your invites and table plan. Also you'll create something unique and one off to your day. Its available on Imagine doing it yourself

Something Special for the Day

A while ago I read that some brides have purchased a perfume for the big day. Smell evokes memories and the idea is that when you wear the perfume again you will be reminded of the day. I thought this was a lovely idea but hadn't really found anything that was different. 

My lovely husband to be and I had a really yummy 3 day weekend the other week, involving just spending time together and eating nice food. We also had a fab day strolling around Liverpool and when we went into Harvey Nichols I was drawn to the lovely peonies on the Jo Malone stand. Peonies and roses feature quite a lot in my wedding plans and so obviously I was intrigued. 

I tried a bit of the cologne, I loved it and he loved it so we brought it. Added bonus is that it a peony and rose fragrance which will hopefully mirror the fragrance of my bouquet and evoke happy memories. Already it reminds of a super weekend we had together which already makes me smile 

Its squirrelled away in its beautiful packaging and every now and then I keep sniffing the lovely tissue paper which was spritzed with the fragrance. 

Cannot wait to wear it and now its less than 6 months! 

This time 12 months ago

This time 12 months ago we got engaged! Happiest day ever. So I thought i'd share some pictures of where we got engaged. The stunning Coworth Park

The memory of him down on one knee will be something I will treasure for ever, and now its less than 6 months until I say I do 

Flowers in your hair

Flowers in my hair is something I always dismissed, however from delving a bit deeper into Blossom's website I can't help but wish I was getting married outside in a boho dress just so I can wear flowers in my hair!

Have a look at these little beauties. I'm so trying to schedule a day in Dorset to go see this amazing and unique work

Hair Drapes, Tiaras, Comb Tiaras and Hair Vines

So when I first starting browsing for hair accessories I naively assumed that they were Tiaras and Combs.....How wrong can you be. Its a maze out there, trying to find the right hair accessory is like being abroad and not knowing the language. So here is what I've concluded:

Hair Drape: The really beautiful hair pieces that have two combs and can be 'draped' across the bun, under the hair or even across the forehead. Unfortunately the only ones I have found are quite pricey, except this bargain one in Debenhams which comes in at £8 :-)

If you want something a little more special than look no further than Jules Bridal Jewellery. Absolutely incredible hair pieces, all so elegant and if you are planning a 20s themed day then they are what you need. I could buy about 20 combs, pins and drapes from this lady 

Anita at Jules Bridal Jewellery 

Tiara Comb: Rather than the full traditional tiara this a mini tiara mounted on a comb. Presumably these are more comfortable than the traditional comb and can be nestled in the bouffant bit of the up do. Amazingly John Lewis have one of the best selections, and all very reasonable. 

Hair Combs: Now these can come in a side version or just a normal comb. These will add a glamorous touch to any hair style without the need for tiara.

This lovely example is available from Blossom, they have an online shop but they do also have a studio in Dorset which has got to be worth a look   

Blanche from Blossom

Hair Vines: Never heard of a hair vine... No me neither. Typically they are delicate strands of pearls and diamante with small little hoops on the end. This means they can the be pinned anyway the bride desires. 

This one is also from Blossom, so pretty 

Hopefully this will help future brides in the search for the perfect hair piece, at least you'll know what to search for now :-)

DIY Grey and Lemon

Just for Beckie 

Lemon and grey was one of the many colour schemes I had in my mind whilst planning the wedding, however the venue to me was more of a warm colour scheme, so the pink became the theme. 
Doesn't mean to say the lemon has left the mind. Its such a fresh and delicate scheme and would look beautiful with white chairs and lemon roses, dove grey ribbon the napkins and lemon bon-bons for favours -although I still stand by my thoughts that favours are a waste of time and a donation to charity is much better :-) 

Think how pretty lemon macaroons would look too!! you could even make your own, heres a really cool recipe with popping candy

DIY - Embellishments

Look at these lovely sparkly embellishments! Such a treat to unwrap these and can't wait to get started using them on my various projects. 

I think the starfish are just perfect for a coastal wedding like Julia's. I will be hanging on to the art deco style ones for my own. They were so cheap, less than a £1 each for most of them, from a website called Imagine Doing it Yourself. Wish I'd known about them sooner as they even have sparkly peacock feathers, which would have been ideal for Sarah's big day. 

DIY Cream and Floral Table Plan

Goodies arrived this morning so I've been experimenting with some cream, floral and dusky pink table plan headings for Julia. 

These have been done using the paper that has been used on the invites so should tie everything all in 

North West with a twist

Imagine your own little village for your wedding. With a private Chapel and plenty of accommodation for your guests, very reasonably priced enabling the party to carry on all weekend. including self catering cottages and rooms in cottages. Then picture views like this 

This is Nant Gwrtheyrn. A very unique venue. Consisting of an old mining village that was abandoned and now has been restored. I have a few friends that this would have been perfect for. If there was a lot of family coming for the wedding, or you just wanted to make it a massive weekend of fun! The picture doesn't  do it justice. Definitely worth having a look at the website if you are think of having a lot of people and want to make it an experience. There is the option of both religious and civil ceremony too, which is quite hard to find. It has a private chapel on site and plenty of room for the reception too 

North West Wedding Venues

Becky wants a Venue that has a nice ceremony room. So many venues have the room as an afterthought and this seems to be why many couples choose a church despite not being religious. A church will always look amazing in pictures. She even said her self that she has looked at a few churches despite not wanting a religious ceremony. 

Having plenty of room for her guests to stay is also a key point. With this is mind I started doing some research and have found some gems. 

Firstly Rookery Hall  in Nantwich. Its absolutely beautiful and also part of the Handpicked hotel Chain that Chilston park belong to. The ceremony room is what caught my eye. Its so elegant and they have a selection of rooms that can be used. Admittedly chair covers and chair ties have been used but this room would work just as well with the Chivali Chairs that are becoming popular.

The room rates and Wedding packages are also very reasonable and generous, at the moment they are advertising 20 rooms at from £105-£135 per room. Bargain! 
I will most definitely be attending their wedding fair on sunday the 24th of November 

After this comes Chateau Rhianfa in Wales. This looks like it comes straight out of a fairly tale, what girl wouldn't want to get married here! The rooms again are incredible and there are lots of accommodation options too. 

Drift Wood Centre Pieces

Imagine a beach themed wedding with these for centre pieces, stunningly natural and would look lovely on a a pale blue table with hessian. Found them in a little shop at Blakemere Craft Centre

Add in these lovely little sea shells and I think you have a beautiful and natural themed table 

Lace Parasol

A friend got married last year and whilst looking at her wedding pictures I was struck by how eye catching her parasol was. It photographed beautifully and added a real delicateness to the image. 

Doesn't she look amazing xx

A few minutes on google and I've found one that I may have to invest in (hopefully it won't scare the sun away!) Its by Boutique Accessories by Harriet and very reasonably priced bearing in mind its lace. I have found others that start at £25 also. 

Lovely Bridesmaid Present

I always go to Jersey Pearl when I'm looking for pearl earrings, quite often a really good find can be had in their store in Jersey. They are also online and at the moment if you sign up for the news letter they give you a £10 voucher (with terms and conditions) 

The ones below would make a beautiful gift for a bridesmaid and are available online

Bird Tea Lights and Mini Bird House

On one of my days off last week I took a trip to Inspirations Wholesale in Bromborough. They have an amazing array of Wedding decorations and decorations for the home. They also do a huge range of material flowers if anyone fancies trying to make their own centre pieces. Something I'm not brave enough to do yet!  Prices are very reasonable but you have to remember VAT is added on at the end. This is where I found the fushia pink organza I used for Sarah's top table, a bargain at 99p for an end of the roll. 

These super cute bird tea lights are from there and can be found online.

I also fell in love with these dinky bird houses. Hopefully we will have sunshine and I can decorate the outside seating area with them. I may fill the bird houses with sweeties too, as a little treat for the guests. They look in need for a bit of decoration, I was thinking of painting some pink roses on them to carry on the theme, what does everybody else think?

DIY Cream Table Plan

Another close friend has asked if I can put together a table plan for her. 
This is what she wants

•  Neutral colours, such as cream and white
• Vintage
• Silver touches
• Framed 

I have sourced an initial frame for brainstorming with. In Dunelm Mill I found this pretty cream frame and thought it would be a good starting point

In a local art shop I then came across some silver paper, I then began playing around with them and this is what I've come up with so far. I'll do a step by step when its all done, so keep checking the blog ;-)