Along with the rest of the wedding blogging world I’ve been a bit enamoured with flower crowns (or however you wish to describe them) for a while now – delightfully without realising I fell into this trend early on with one of my flowergirls wearing a gorgeous garland of flowers in her hair for our wedding.

Usually they are quite bold and attention grabbing, or delicate and fragile strings of daisies.  This one is all together different I think, and perhaps my favourite so far – a simple garland of white clover flowers.  Growing up predominately in the countryside of Gloucestershire there has always been clover flowers everywhere – whether amongst my parents lawn or great swathes of the purple kind in fields.  I also used to pull the tiny white ‘petals’ out and suck the ends to taste a tiny burst of honey sweetness, oh to be a child again!

So while I get carried away on rose-tinted memories of my childhood, I shall leave you all to enjoy the pretty simplicity of this country flower garden, and dream about having your flowergirls hair adorned with ringlets of clover flowers.

Image: via We Heart It

A super sweet idea for wedding favours – as a food lover this is one of the nicest ideas I think I’ve seen – a tiny bottle of vanilla extract with a family recipe for homemade pancakes.  It’s a lovely present you can make yourself, especially dreaming up the little cards for the recipe, and a really nice way to share something from your family with your friends and other family members.  The only downside is the cost of vanilla extract, so perhaps a better idea for smaller weddings.

I also had to share the picture of how these little bottles and recipe cards were packaged up, because it’s just been done with so much care, not to mention very cute with the pair of owls printed onto tiny cotton bags.

Images: Martha Stewart

It’s Pancake Day and I’ve got a lovely pancake inspired blog post coming up this afternoon – so do come back for a read of that later.  Today I’m going to introduce to you three more of the businesses that are listed on The Natural Wedding Company directory, giving you an insight into the fab companies you can discover if you take a look through the different categories.

Loveducks Photography is run by Chamonix who brings her playful personality and quirky style to her wedding photography.  She also runs her business as eco-friendly as she can and donates 10% of her profits to charity.  Visit the directory for a full list of more eco-friendly and ethical wedding photographers.

If you dream of a honeymoon spent in a peaceful woodland glade or with stunning mountain views, then check out Eco Retreats.  Their tipis and yurts are set in a romantic location deep in the Welsh forest.  Visit the directory for a full list of eco-friendly and romantic honeymoon destinations.

The Real Cut Flower Garden grows seasonal country garden flowers for a more natural wedding.  Whether you dream of scented sweet pea arches, a bouquet of field grown flowers, or statement floral crowns for your bridesmaids, The Real Cut Flower Garden can help.  Visit the directory for a full list of seasonal and locally grown wedding florists.

You can find out more about the businesses that can help you plan a more natural wedding by looking through the directory (the luggage tag at the top of the page) or having a read of the Directory Showcase blog posts.

The lovely Kieran and Sinead from Bright Star Films are looking for one lucky couple to win a film of their wedding, and are especially keen to find a wedding with a handmade, rustic and vintage feel to it.  The prize includes up to four hours of filming on your wedding day, and both long (up to 20 minutes) and short (up to 5 minutes) versions of the edited film.

Kieran and Sinead are a married couple who have both worked in film and photography for many years – they recently set up Bright Star Films to create beautiful wedding films with a vintage feel to them.  Watch one of their recent music videos below to get a feel for their style and what you could win:

To enter the competition

Send the following information about your wedding to info@brightstarfilms.co.uk:

1. When is your wedding?
2. Where is your wedding taking place (within 100 miles of the Greater London area only)?
3. A few lines about the schedule for your day and anything special you would like us to film?

The closing date for entries is 4th March 2012.

Terms and Conditions

1. Your wedding must be taking place before 1st May 2012.
2. Your wedding must be taking place within 100 miles of the Greater London area.
3. The earliest wedding date for the winning couple is 9th March 2012.
4. All entries must be received by 4th March 2012.

These were originally designed as a ‘save the date’ but I think they could make an equally wonderful solution to your wedding invitations.  You could include an invite inside the tube, along with pencils, rolled up like a scroll.  I love these twiggy pencils – a perfect addition if you’re planning a woodland wedding.

Image: Mélangerie via Lesley Weiner

It’s Sunday and I thought I would share something a bit different to the normal inspiration-type posts.  This is an incredible animated ‘save the date’ from Charlie Scribble, one of the talented businesses you can find on the directory.  Charlie Scribble can bring your wedding stationery to life with their stop motion animations like this Padstow inspired ‘save the date’ they created for one couple…

As well as being incredibly cool and quirky, you eliminate the need to send out paper ‘save the dates’ to everyone, instead you can just email people the link, or if you have a wedding website you can embed the animation onto a page.  Visit Charlie Scribble to find out more about the animated stationery that they can offer you.

This little paper containers were too fun not to share, although I’m not sure their purpose at a wedding – I’m sure you can find some use for them!  I would love to know how you fold the paper to create these little pots, and whether you cut it or just fold it – does anyone have any ideas or if you’ve made something similar would love to hear how?  I love how they are tied with brown twine, and can be reused around your home – perhaps for tidying your desk or in your bedroom.

Image: Blue Colibri via Oh Lovely Day