2013

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!

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2013

I hope you are all enjoying reading the wedding adventures of our TNWC Real Brides – they are all planning such varied but personal days and I can’t believe that it’s almost time for some of them to actually get married!  Today we have the lovely Nik who is planning a two part wedding and she’s got some fab ideas for being thrifty with your wedding flowers….enjoy!

Tick Tock!

Before I launch into today’s post, I just wanted announce that there’s only just over two months to go ’til we say “I do”!!

This is both terrifying and very exciting.  On the one hand, soon I will be married to the love of my life, which is indescribably surreal and wonderful; but on the other hand, I’m a terrible coordinator in charge of the biggest day of my own life, and am constantly terrified that I’m forgetting something important!  I hope this is a normal fear, and I keep reminding myself that we want a simple, relaxed day and that the ONLY important thing is that we come away from it married to one another.

All Things Floral

This month, I thought I’d give you a rundown of the many ways we plan to feature flowers/plants in our wedding celebrations.  With our wedding being split into two parts, two days apart, it was crucial that we came up with floristry solutions that would ensure we could decorate both our venues, but that also fit within our relatively small budget of £200.

Fortunately, I’m not a fan of huge arrangements or expensive blooms – I much prefer a rustic, simple, ‘thrown in a tin can’ kind of feel and adore wild flowers and abundant foliage, so I’m happy to go with a ‘whatever I can get my hands on’ approach.

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2013

This beautiful wedding on an apple farm in California is how I dream of my life being – one day…one day.  When I’m looking for weddings to share snippets of with you here, the words ‘farm‘ usually draw me in.  Some can be a little twee and cutesie, but others, like this one, and just truly heavenly I think.

Let it be said, an apple orchard, late evening sun and a Jersey cow are to have me audibly sighing at my desk.  Oh, and did I mention goats in a similarly romantic setting have the same effect?

I am quite prepared to getting married again when I come across weddings like this.  I’m also about to upsticks and more to the rural idyllic lifestyle that fills my dreams.

Enough about my wistful daydreams.  This wedding is packed with beautiful details, I especially liked their wedding invitations packaged up in glassine envelopes (what a fab idea!) and with a brown craft address label.  Floral postage stamps are a pretty good addition too – imagine one of these dropping through your door!

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2013

Wow, where to follow on from a lovely day on the blog following the news that my husband Nick and I are expecting a baby!  Thanks so much to everyone who’s left me a comment, or shared their good wishes on Facebook and Twitter.

I thought it would be nice to just share some pretty inspiration to finish off your working day and take you through to the evening.  This cheerful image of a rather yummy yellow enamel teapot alongside an earthenware pot of purple and orange blooms seemed rather fitting for such a happy day.

On Monday evening I had a wonderful discussion on #britishflowers hour on Twitter with a number of British flower farmers and florists about what colours are popular with you brides-to-be this year.  It was so interesting to hear what palettes and shades you are choosing, and that blush, peach and apricots are some of the most popular.  I would love to see someone planning a late summer/early autumn wedding have this beautiful purple, yellow and orange combination!

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2013

When someone adds one of my blog post links to there’s I get a message about it, so I was delighted when I got this one and discovered that someone had been inspired by my own save the dates.  Quite by surprise the save the dates we made for our wedding have become one of the most popular blog posts I’ve featured and many, many TNWC readers have recreated their own versions – I love seeing them all.

Most often people use the recycled brown card that I myself fell in love with, but these ones created by an American letterpress and stationery company use a white card and are equally beautiful.  The couple were inspired by the ‘tying the knot’ version of my save the dates (another ‘most viewed’ blog post) where a knot is tied in twine as you open the save the date.

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2013

You’re probably sick and tired of hearing me saying how the simplest ideas are often the best, but I really do think it’s true.  So often we can overcomplicate what only needs to be a very simple thing – take table numbers, for instance, they can quickly become complicated and over-elaborate if you spend too much time thinking about them, when actually all they need to do it display a number or a name.

I love these rustic wood table numbers because they are so simple, effective, but also quite beautiful when displayed next to some pretty flowers.  The best kind of wood for these if you want a rustic look is salvaged or reclaimed wood, it’s not only more weathered but also each piece is likely to be different (which I love).

We found a fantastic reclaimed timber yard near us that we visited before our wedding to stock up on off-cuts of wood to make our wedding signs.  Search out somewhere like this near to you, or a timber merchant who might be willing to give you, or sell cheaply off-cuts.  Then with a simple lick of colour, paint on your hand-drawn numbers.  You don’t even need to create a fancy stand for them, simply rest them against you vases or pots of flowers.

Images: Raya Carlisle Photography via Style Me Pretty

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2013

For me, creating a welcoming wedding reception table for your guests to dine at is an extremely important part of a wedding.  I love touches such as flickering candles, a sprinkling of fresh flowers, and soft fabrics.

If I was still planning my wedding, this image above would definitely have been added to my inspiration folder when it came to dressing our tables.  I love the natural hessian/linen cloth draped over the table, the collection of mason jars emitting their soft candlelight, and those jolly looking menus that along with the floral colour break up an otherwise quite neutral palette.

The way these tables have been decorated captures that rustic but elegant look that I wanted to achieve for my own wedding, and I hope you find some inspiration from it too.

Image: Ellie Grover via Green Wedding Shoes

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