gold Archives - The Natural Wedding Company

Blog: gold

Charlie

Fairtrade gold mining and the difference you can make by choosing fairtrade gold wedding rings

Charlie

Freshly mined fairtrade gold for fairtrade gold wedding rings // April Doubleday // The Natural Wedding Company

We share a lot of pretty things here on our blog, like most working in the wedding industry. The wedding industry is big business and with that there can come a price, a price that we may not always consider. When we are investing so much money into certain aspects of our wedding day it can be worth taking a minute to open our eyes (and hearts) to the reality behind the items we purchase. Most of us are aware of issues that have arisen from diamond trade but have we ever considered the cost of gold?

In 2013 our friend and jewellery designer April Doubleday visited one of the few fairtrade/eco gold mines in Colombia. She took her son Jon and filmed their adventure, producing this 9 minute long film.

Fairtrade gold wedding rings // April Doubleday // The Natural Wedding Company

Where do your wedding rings come from?

Everyone should watch this short film before before buying your wedding rings. Let’s be open and honest about where these precious and symbolic love tokens come from. That means considering who mined the gold, how it was removed from the land, and the state the environment is left in.

In your next tea break we’d love you to watch April’s film and gaining an insight into the lives of those who mine the gold for our jewellery.

“Fairtrade and its standards offer miners a better choice and a way out of poverty” – April Doubleday.

Charlie

Chloe and Sam’s modern spring woodland wedding with earthy organic decor, gold dipped feathers, and lush green and white florals

Charlie

This week’s modern spring woodland wedding is incredibly beautiful. There are mismatched chairs under waxed scaffold-board tables, gold-dipped feathers, vintage candlestick holders and garlands of greenery. Every single element of this wedding is carefully planned yet natural and organic. It’s a strong contender for my favourite Real Wedding so far (and it’s the final one of 2016) and I just love that they did it all themselves.

We first met Chloe and Sam when the gorgeous couple featured in this rainy romantic Cornish wedding shoot back in March. I think we all knew then that their wedding would be a beauty and it certainly hasn’t disappointed.

Bride Chloe tells us more about their modern spring woodland wedding…

Charlie

A London country house spring wedding shoot with a wild bouquet and colour palette of pink and gold

Charlie

Country house spring wedding

Wimbledon has a special place in my heart as it was the place where I was born and spent the first few years of my life, so when this beautiful country house spring shoot landed in my inbox I was especially excited to share it with you.

This recently renovated south London country house wedding venue is set within the stunning Morden Hall Park, which is run by the National Trust. The park contains a variety of natural landscapes, including parkland, a river, meadow and marshland – an idyllic backdrop for this spring wedding shoot.

Photographer Eva Tarnok told me that they wanted to reflect the elegance of this historic venue, but also to showcase the natural beauty surrounding it – I think they did a great job.

Samantha

Tim and Sarah’s autumn barn wedding on a rustic Kent farm with gold pumpkins, twinkly lights and a tweed suit

Samantha

Today’s relaxed autumn barn wedding perfectly showcases the benefits of using seasonal and local produce and suppliers within your big day. I am sure we all love seeing what each new season brings, and it is so lovely to see when a wedding truly embraces the season they fall in.

Tim and Sarah’s wedding does just that, featuring the most stunning dahlias, quirky transport, a fire pit, a groom in tweed, a bride in wellies, and some copper pumpkins – because what autumn wedding wouldn’t be complete without a few for good measure.

Tim and Sarah, 17th October 2015

Tim and Sarah were married on an autumn’s day in the gorgeous barn at The House Meadow at Worsenden Farm surrounded by their friends and family. The whole day was perfectly captured by the wonderful TNWC Recommended Supplier Livvy Hukins Photography. To accompany the beautiful images it would only be fair for us to now pass you over to the beautiful bride Sarah to tell you a little bit more about their big day…

Charlie

TNWC Real Brides: Vicky’s gold glitter and sequin wedding cake and bar signs

Charlie

If you are reading this on Thursday, I will be playing with spring blossom at a flower crown workshop by Catkin – you can join in by following me on Snapchat (anaturalwedding) where I plan to share some pictures and maybe even a video or two of what I am up to. More pictures will follow on Instagram and Facebook.

But in the meantime, I have some gold glittery love for you all (even us natural brides often can’t say no to a splash of gold glitter can we?) with some handmade picks from TNWC Real Bride Vicky. She got married last summer but we are only just catching up with the final few bits of her homemade wedding.

You can find all her previous posts here, which include some fab DIY projects and ideas. Over to Vicky…

While I loved planning the wedding I have to admit that by being maybe a bit too organised I found the last couple of months leading up to it, dare I say it, dull! I just wanted the day to arrive.

Initially there was lots to plan and make and decide and then I hit this lull. I really wanted to get on and do things but realistically I couldn’t because everything that was left was last minute things.

Everything was piled up waiting in the spare bedroom – or ‘Wedding HQ’ as it became for the year. Even the confetti bags had been made and boxed up. Like most churches we could only use natural confetti which suited us fine so we had bought a lot of natural flower petals and popped them into bags ready for our page boy to hand out.

It was during this lull that I decided it was best to stay off websites and Pinterest, as the temptation to do and make more and more things was too great.

I did cave in and make a glitter cake sign…

A sequin bar sign…

Charlie

Romantic rainy Cornish wedding shoot with rustic and vintage styling in the grounds of a cutting garden

Charlie

I have literally poured over this shoot for hours in a bid to narrow down the beautiful images – there are just too many that I wanted to share. This romantic rainy Cornish wedding shoot features a real couple, a vintage bike, spring florals, and a stunningly decorated ceremony arch.

More and more I’m seeing inspiration shoots that use real couples, and I think it is so refreshing. Just like the fairytale woodland shoot we recently featured, that also featured a real-life couple, the images today just ooze with love and genuine warmth and fun. That’s what I want to see from an inspirational wedding shoot. I want to be inspired by that authenticity against a backdrop of gorgeous and interesting props and styling. I have a feeling that’s what you would like to see as well.

Having spent many of many childhood holidays in Devon and Cornwall, this shoot captures everything I associate with this magical area on a wet rainy day – the damp vibrant moss, the moody greys, and splashes of colour, a palette taken straight from the towering hedgerows of these counties.

So it’s with a huge thank you to the lovely Gemma from Box and Cox Vintage Hire down in Cornwall that I get to share all this loveliness with you. She styled the shoot and showcased some of her collection of vintage hire items, including their new wooden arch which was so spectacularly dressed. The location was The Cornish Cutting Garden and they also created the stunning florals. Over to Gemma to tell you more…

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