I love today’s colour scheme from Gabrielle and think it would be a beautiful palette for a New Year’s wedding, and what about stealing inspiration from those lovely star candle centrepieces? You can find more colour scheme inspiration from Gabrielle at The Green Gables by checking out her Colour Crush series so far.

Lighter colour palettes may be more popular than dark but deeper shades can give a winter wedding a wonderfully warm and cosy feeling. This colour palette of diesel blues and greys may be a little unusual but imagine it against a snowy backdrop with candles and exposed wood.

I can picture this palette working brilliantly in a cosy barn venue with twinkling fairy lights, lots of greenery and touches of light blues and greys to lift the deeper diesel colour.

What do you think, can you imagine using this palette in your winter wedding?

Read more

I am so thrilled to be back with this ‘A Day in the Life’ feature on the blog.  Embarrassingly it’s been over a year since I did my first one (have a read here) but I do hope that I can bring it as a more regular feature.  The idea behind it is to give you a peek into the lives of some of the fab wedding businesses that you can find on our directory.

Today I’m handing the blog over to Natalya and Fiona who are the dynamic and creative duo behind Pyrus, flower farmers growing seasonal and organic blooms from their walled garden near Edinburgh and weaving them into the most fantastic floral arrangements.  

Over to Natalya and Fiona…

Earlier this year we invited the wonderful photographer Nic Rue to spend the day at the Pyrus flower garden and studio outside Edinburgh, documenting us as we prepared for a late summer wedding.

We first met Nic when she came to one of our flower classes with friends and knew we wanted to work with her on a project.  We were nervous about opening our doors to be photographed but we needn’t have worried, in fact it was a pleasure to share our studio with her for the day.  She brought a plethora of cameras in her kit bag and the results are a combination of digital and film shots which captured the Colstoun estate we are based on beautifully.

Read more

I’m a bit late to the game when it comes to wishing you all a very Happy New Year, but a huge warm welcome to the blog to all new and existing brides-to-be and couples planning their weddings – I am so pleased to have you here!

The last 4 months of 2013 for me were completely chaotic after my first baby arrived at the end of August.  For any other mummy’s out there you will know how you have no idea beforehand just how much your life will change.  Trying to go from ‘me’ to ‘mummy’ as well as running a small business has been challenging, to say the least.

I have a folder stuffed full of the most beautiful real weddings to share with you all as we head into the spring, full of lots of ideas that I’m sure will provide you with some inspiration for your own wedding days.  I thought I’d give you a little guided tour of what’s already in the blog archives for you to get stuck into, and if you find it’s ‘you’ then I hope you’ll check back for all the new content coming soon.

The Directory

One of the most important parts of The Natural Wedding Company website is our Directory.  It’s stuffed full of some fabulous wedding suppliers who can help to make your wedding day dreams a reality.  It’s a wedding directory with a difference though, because all the businesses we work with have underlying eco or ethical principles by which their run.

TNWC Real Brides

Last year we followed the journey of six lovely ‘Real Brides’ who each shared their wonderful plans for their individual weddings. Due to my little one throwing my life out at the end of the summer, I am still catching up with these lovely ladies (who are all now married!).  You can read all about their wedding plans on the TNWC Real Brides feature, and coming soon we’ll be featuring some of their weddings.

Become a TNWC Real Bride

Are you getting married in 2014 or 2015?  Would you like to share your wedding planning adventure with our readers?  If so, you might like to apply to become one of our next TNWC Real Brides – full details here.

Real Weddings

If you are looking for inspiration from real weddings, we have a lovely selection in the Real Weddings category.  I loved the wild and seasonal flowers at Chloe’s wedding, the handmade decor and picnic feast from Holly’s wedding, the autumnal touches at Laura’s barn wedding, and the stunning yurt from Jessica’s magical woodland wedding.  Do go explore the Real Weddings for tons of real inspiration.

Seasonal Inspiration

Here at The Natural Wedding Company one of the most important things to us is being seasonal – whether that’s seasonal flowers, seasonal food, or simply taking inspiration from the season in which you are getting married.  So we have a category completely dedicated to Seasonal Ideas.

Read more

It’s all about a Christmas inspired colour scheme on the blog today with this Colour Crush palette from Gabrielle at The Green Gables – lashings of festive holly berry red and icy white tones. 

Sometimes one colour is all you need. Red is a gorgeous colour to use in a Christmas wedding, not just because of its festive glow. Red is a bright, bold, cheerful, vibrant colour and in several cultures symbolises good luck and happiness.

You can choose the red to suit you, from bright orangey reds to deep purpley reds. Make red the prominent theme with solid blocks of colour in the flowers, bridesmaid dresses and stationery. Or for extra Christmas sparkle use red as an accent colour with lots of white and touches of silver and gold.

What’s your perfect palette for a Christmas wedding?

Read more

I took a look back through the Real Weddings we’ve featured on the blog, and it’s been months and months since we last featured one. In other words, it’s been too long – I know how much wonderful inspiration and ideas that other couples’ weddings provide, and we have lots of pretty ones lined up for you.

Today we have the romantic, rustic country wedding of Hayley and Iain who got married in Cheshire this past September which was sent to me by Christopher Ian Photography, one of the great photographers on our directory.  Over to Hayley to share with you the details of their beautiful day…

Read more

If you’re looking for some autumn or wintry colour inspiration for your wedding, the lovely Gabrielle from The Green Gables is back today with her new Colour Crush series featuring another beautiful colour palette to inspire you for your wedding.

Over to Gabrielle…

If you’re pondering where to begin with finding a colour scheme for your wedding, looking at the season you’re getting married in is a great starting point. Autumn is a season rich in colour with shades of green from light to dark, oranges that go from amber to gold, deep reds and soft greys.

This autumn centerpiece has a gorgeous combination of oranges and bluey greys that make a striking, and a little unusual colour palette. The softer shades make a lovely base colour for the whole wedding with pops of amber and russet to being the palette alive.

Would you use all of these colours or pick out just one or two?

Read more

We haven’t had much of a chance to get that Christmassy here at The Natural Wedding Company, but today we have a great DIY project to inspire you all to get into the festive spirit.  The lovely Julie from Hollyhock Lane has put together this ‘how to’ guide on creating a simple wreath made from paper leaves – ideal for hanging in your home or equally nice to be incorporated into a winter wedding.

Over to Julie to tell you how to get crafting…

So it’s that time of year to adorn our houses with pretty ornaments and festive decorations and if you have even the smallest urge to make something, now is as good a time as any to get crafty.

Of course, if you’re getting married, then you probably have even more reasons to get those hands busy, so here’s a tutorial for a wintry wreath which can work as a Christmas decoration, but it’s not so obviously Christmassy that it could also work as an elegant wedding decoration. Think over the front of a church door or, perhaps, adorning a table or the back of an important chair or pew.

Materials Needed

• Paintbrush
• Scissors
• Wreath base, mine was 30cm diameter (or you could make your own by winding together some hazel/willow twigs)
• Decorative fake berries
• Craft knife (not pictured)
• Cardboard cereal pack (not pictured)
• Super glue / hot glue gun / contact glue
• Acrylic paint – white and brown (I used raw umber for my brown)

Read more