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Maybe this sounds a bit stupid, but when I saw this picture it reminded me the importance of telling your guests when something is meant to be taken home as a gift. Many wedding favours are quite obviously there to be taken home – most often than not you find one in your place at dinner with your place card tied onto it. But more and more of you are getting really creative with wedding favours, and I sometimes wonder whether guests know if they are supposed to take them or not.
I love the idea of these flowerpots planted up with herbs as a wedding favour, especially when they are incorporated into the table decorations (it also saves on money by doubling up table decorations as wedding favours), but will your guests know they’re allowed to take apart the table decoration?
If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook you’ll probably know that this past weekend I went to London for the first Etsy UK Wedding Event. It was a fabulous showcase of British Etsy sellers who are crafting beautiful wedding items and I was delighted to be invited to get involved.
I’ve long been a fan (and customer) of Etsy, a number of my TNWC businesses have Etsy shops, and I’ve always tried to support small hand,are businesses by featuring their work here on the blog.
No doubt there are lots of you who would have liked to attend the event on Saturday but were unable to, so I wanted to try my best to share the experience here on the blog. With a little help from my sister Izzy Burton we’ve created a sort of virtual showcase of just some of what was on display at the event in the form on inspiration boards.
I do hope you enjoy having a look around!
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last New Wives Club post, mainly because as I’ve said before I’m really picky about the ideas I share on this feature, and consequently I find it a challenge to find something blogworthy each Sunday.
I came across this fab idea for using bamboo canapé forks/sticks as plant markers. By coincidence, I have rather a lot of these exact bamboo canapé forks as I bought a bulk amount for a dinner party my mum had a couple of years ago. They seem endless, and now I know what to use them for!
I am at risk of going flower mad for wedding cakes, I think it’s all our gardens and hedgerows bursting into bloom that has got me mad for flowers all over again. So today I wanted to provide some pretty inspiration for those who don’t want flowers stuck all over their wedding cake.
This tall wedding cake is both modern and quirky with it’s geometric pattern decorating the sides and its funky angular heart cake topper. I particularly love the colour palette of this wedding cake, they are really pretty shades of pink, blue and that yellowy gold.
My only query with this cake is – how on earth to do you cut it up?? Surely you would end up with very thin tall slices for everyone – perhaps you have multiple layers of cake and buttercream hidden beneath the icing outer, that way you can cut it into small chunks and ensure that everyone gets a tasty mouthful!
At the point in my life when I got married (nearly 2 years ago now!) I always knew I’d wear a traditional wedding dress in the sense of it being white/cream/ivory. I do however love coming across alternatives to the pale colours of the traditional wedding dress, and part of me wishes I was the kind of bride who wanted to wear something unique and different.
When I came across this stunning bride in her dark blue Liberty print and lace wedding dress I was instantly in love – perhaps it’s that romantic part of me that loves to dream of ‘days gone by’, but it just completely bowled me over with its Jane Austen beauty.
Here at The Natural Wedding Company I love to promote seasonality, and to encourage and inspire couples to choose to plan their weddings fitting in with the season whether that be flowers, food, or decorations. Choosing seasonal blooms for your wedding flowers is one way to reduce the environmental impact of your big day (rather than imported flowers), as well as reflecting the beautiful and varied times of year.
Recently on my Facebook feed I’ve been seeing one particular spring flower popping up in bouquets from various TNWC flower businesses – the snake’s head fritillary. This very dainty bell like bloom is a native English flower that makes it appearance during the spring months.
Following on from my previous floral ‘odes’ (‘an ode to violets’ and ‘an ode to old-fashioned roses’) today I’m going to showcase the snake’s head fritillary. From bouquets and buttonholes to table centrepieces, I’m going to show you how you can incorporate it into your spring wedding.
Image: The Garden Gate Flower Company
I’m delighted to have put together this feature on the snake’s head fritillary with the help of some of my talented TNWC flower businesses. As I know many of you are planning your wedding and searching for a florist who grows their own or sources local British blooms, I’ve included their details and where they are based in the country as all of them provide stunning flowers for weddings.
Bouquets and Posies
When it comes to wedding flowers what better place to start than with bouquets. Every bride needs a bouquet and I have a beautiful selection here to showcase all featuring the dainty snake’s head fritillary.
First up this seasonal spring bouquet from Susanne at The Blue Carrot based down in Cornwall. Along with the snake’s head fritillary, Susanne used the following homegrown flowers: parrot, double and single tulips from her tunnel; hellebores; narcissi, ranunculus; and feverfew. She also added a few sprays of jasmine, which she bought as a plant from B&Q and used the cuttings.
Flowers: The Blue Carrot
Here’s a close up of this beautiful bouquet – I particularly love how Susanne combines colour, with the sweet shop pastels set off by the addition of those deep, velvety purple hellebores.
Flowers: The Blue Carrot
*This ticket giveaway is now closed 12:00 09/05/13*
Evening lovely friends! You might have heard that this weekend in London it’s the first ever Etsy UK Wedding Event, and it looks set to be a cracking day. I’ve got five pairs of tickets to the afternoon to giveaway to some of my lucky readers, so keep reading to find out how you could get your mitts on a pair.
The Etsy Wedding Event is taking place in Soho in London this Saturday 11th May 2013, and will be full of wedding inspiration, including a selection of unique handmade and vintage items. I’m told there will be a little bit of everything on show from decor and dresses to stationery and tableware!
Here’s one of my Etsy wedding inspiration boards as featured on the Etsy blog this week
As well as a selection of handpicked Etsy sellers there will DIY workshops running throughout the day. Hosted by Parapluie Events, these DIY workshops will let you have a go at making a selection of wedding decorations from colour themed pom-poms to bride and groom pegs.
