Now I say ‘colourful’ but it’s really that certain kind of deep hued colours from another era – almost like a cross between the old fashioned colours of a circus crossed with a gypsy caravan. This pretty wedding took place on a farm in Portland, Oregon (a place I’d love to visit) and the bride owns a vintage hire company which explains the very lovely eye for detail.

I’m not a huge fan of the over-the-top art style installation ceremony backdrops you see in some weddings, but this use of the mismatched fabric bunting for this outdoor wedding on a farm seems to fit quite nicely.

What’s more appropriate for an outdoor wedding ceremony on a farm than hay bale seating, and in keeping with the other rich colours at this wedding they are covered with a variety of crocheted blankets.

This wedding just goes to show that you can have your bridesmaids wear individual mismatched dresses and still look utterly fabulous – no need for matching dresses or even matching colours.

What an utterly lovely wedding – as mentioned, I especially love the colours and how they fit with a farm wedding venue.

If you love their style and have been inspired, take a look at all the photos from this Portland farm wedding.

Images: Leah Verwey via 100 Layer Cake

I am priveledged to live near a vibrant community of small, independent wedding businesses with more and more opportunities to meet with them and experience the products and services they offer.  A few weeks ago I got to spend the evening with Nicola from Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe at her new “Made By You” bridal workshop.

We were joined by a group of brides-to-be, two of whom I’d previously met at my 5th birthday party the month before, and another couple I’ve exchanged emails with.  Each bride-to-be was there to create a unique bridal accessory that they could wear on their wedding day.

Held at And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon, a quirky little cafe and bakery in Manchester, everyone was greeted with a hot drink and cake – the best way to start any crafting session I think! Next Silver Sixpence’s Nicola gave an introduction and explained the different pieces that people could make, including all kinds of headpieces and birdcage veils, to ring pillows and lucky horseshoes.

After this, everyone dove into the glittering jars, bowls and dishes full of pearls, beads, vintage trinkets, feathers, ribbon and lace.  Silver Sixpence’s Nicola had brought along different samples that the girls could try on to help them decide what they wanted to make – this is so important because, if you’re like me, and haven’t ever really worn a headpiece or birdcage veil, you want to know what you’re about to make will suit you.

Some of the girls had bought along swatches from their wedding dresses to ensure that they chose complimentary fabrics and laces for their designs.  For anyone who wasn’t sure, Silver Sixpence’s Nicola was on hand to offer advice and suggest how pieces might come together. There was much hustle and bustle as everyone chose their pieces and dreamt up their designs.

Once everyone had a clear idea of what they wanted to create, Silver Sixpence’s Nicola advised the girls on where to start and showed them how to create different elements of their designs, like creating fabric flowers and attaching clips to bases.

The hubub and excitement of choosing fabrics and laces and beads slowly gave way to a concentrated hush, as everyone began sewing and putting their designs together.

Almost everyone had finished their accessory by the end of the evening, a few girls still had tiny bits to finish off, but Nicola kindly offered email support for any difficulties.

This is the lovely group of brides-to-be wearing their handcrafted headpieces, including Eulyn (who created these beautiful wedding invitations inspired by ours), Lydia and Faye who came to my 5th birthday party, and Janet from Beautilicious 40.

Oh and just a sneaky one of Nicola and me…

Silver Sixpence In Her Shoe

Nicola is the designer behind Silver Sixpence In Her Shoe, making handmade, bespoke accessories for the modern, vintage inspired bride.  All the accessories (including headpieces, veils, garters, shoe clips and ring pillows) are made using one off fabrics and trimmings.

Nicola also hosts hen party events where you can craft your own vintage inspired headpieces using her gorgeous materials, or alternatively you can attend one of her “Made By You” bridal workshops.

For full details visit www.silver-sixpence-in-her-shoe.co.uk or contact Nicola at nicolawellard@hotmail.co.uk.

Silver Sixpence In Her Shoe is one of the fabulous businesses listed in The Natural Wedding Company directory.

Images: The Natural Wedding Company

I must admit to not being a fan of certain ideas that are dreamt up for weddings, and I didn’t think I really liked the idea of bringing your three-piece suite outside and setting it up like a living room at your wedding reception – what’s wrong with wooden benches?  However, on warm and sunny days, like those we are being blessed with at the moment, I can quite easily see the appeal of reclining in a comfy armchair outside.

So, driven by my own personal desire to be sitting outside at this moment on a plush old fashioned sofa or chaise longue, I am sharing some ideas for creating your own mini living room set-ups at your wedding – outdoors, weather depending!  I’m sure they would work just as well as a chill out spare in a tent, tipi or yurt.  Get scouring Ebay for second-hand furniture!

Do you like the idea of outdoor living rooms or is a bit too contrived?  Thoughts on a postcard, or just below in the comments box.

Images: (1) Gabriel Ryan Photographers via 100 Layer Cake; (2) Dixie Pixel via Ruffled; (3) Weeno Photography via Ruffled; (4) Brandon Kidd and Erin Hearts Court via 100 Layer Cake; (5) Gabe Aceves via Ruffled; (6) Twin Hearts Photography via Project Wedding

Some of my favourite emails are from you lovely readers, sending me pictures of your wedding stationery that has been inspired by my own wedding invitations or save the dates.  Today I get to share with you Hollie’s wedding stationery, which was also inspired by ours, with a few tweaks and her own stamp on it.

She combined our two ideas, turning her wedding invitations into a larger version of our sealed save the dates.  I love this idea, I can imagine it would be lovely to receive one of these in the post and to unfold it.

Hollie also included additional information for her guests on luggage tags, decorated with a piece of lace doily before glueing the information on top.  I love this combination of brown recycled card, black text and the white lace effect.

Hollie told me, “They took me forever to make, but definitely worth it with the response I got from them – people said they looked very expensive and must have cost a fortune!”

You can view our original wedding invitation and save the dates, plus some other reader inspired wedding stationery from Eulyn and Lisa.  If you are searching for supplies to make wedding stationery like you’ve seen on the website, check out our DIY section for online shops stocking similar products.

Have you been inspired by our wedding stationery?  I would love to hear from anyone who has been inspired and if you are happy to send through some pictures of your creations that would be fantastic.  Do email me at charlie@thenaturalweddingcompany.co.uk.

This is one of the loveliest cakes I’ve seen for a while, I love how simple it is and yet so beautiful.  A simple white frosted cake covered in edible spring violets – heavenly!  If you love the violets and are planning a spring wedding, don’t miss this feature I did recently on inspiration for using violets.

And if you can read Polish, head over to Every Cake You Bake for the recipe on how to make this cake, or some great photos that might inspire you to make you own version.

Image: Every Cake You Bake

The thing about blogs is you can share all kinds of news in real time, whenever you life.  This news, however, has been under wraps for the past 9 months, and Mr Rigg and I haven’t been able to share it with anyone until today.  One month from today, our wedding is going to be featured in the July 2012 issue of Country Living magazine!

I’m not even sure where to begin in telling you how excited I am about the whole thing – where do I begin?!  I have been an avid Country Living reader since we bought our own house and I always enjoy the beautiful ideas and inspiration that they share, as well as the pieces on small rural businesses.  To think that our wedding will now be part of that tradition is so amazing!

I am delighted to think that our little wedding will showcase some of the fantastic suppliers and businesses who helped make our day so lovely is just wonderful – from Mark Tattersall’s beautiful photographs, to Charlie Ryrie’s seasonal field-grown flowers, and Talia’s incredible wedding feast.

If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you’ve probably already seen some of our wedding photos and read about our day.  If not, or even if you fancy a look, you will be able to read all about our wedding in the July 2012 issue of Country Living magazine, which will be on sale in about a month’s time (around June 10/11th) or a week earlier if you’re a subscriber.

A huge thank you to everyone who was involved with our wedding and to all the businesses who continue to support The Natural Wedding Company.

Image: Mark Tattersall Photography

Wedding bouquet and flowers are just getting more and more interesting I think – is anyone else feeling this?  The creativity of florists and combinations of blooms and foliage, with grasses, seedheads and all manner of beautiful items is just breathtaking, and going in a really exciting direction.

These bouquets reminded me of a painting, one of those old dark paintings you see in country houses where the deep jewel coloured flowers are big and blousy, falling out of a wide jug and almost gleaming from the picture.  But I’m getting carried away – at the very basic, these bouquet are unusual and beautiful – be bold brides-to-be and let your knowledgeable florist or flower lady create something truly stunning for you.

Image: Tec Petaja via 100 Layer Cake