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Charlie

Vic and Farid’s pretty country fete wedding with floral bunting, an Etsy dress and a dried flower meadow bouquet

Charlie

Vic and Farid’s country fete wedding is beautifully soft and natural; set in an idyllic wood panelled village hall, it is pretty and understated yet fabulously chic.

Holding both the ceremony and reception in the bunting-filled village hall, the couple enjoyed a relaxed and captivatingly charming day in Leicestershire with all their favourite people, whilst TNWC recommended photographer Sarah Brittain Edwards Photography captured their day perfectly.

Choosing retro sweets as favours and dried flowers for her bouquet, we asked bride Vic to tell us all about the ideas behind their cute country fete wedding…

Charlie

TNWC Real Brides: Lisa’s handmade napkins and bunting, vintage crockery collecting and other last minute wedding preparations

Charlie

For any of our regular readers you’ll probably have realised that our lovely TNWC Real Bride Lisa is now married, however she got so busy in the lead up to her wedding day that it’s only now post-wedding and post-honeymoon that she’s been able to fill us in on the final aspects of her wedding planning.

Over to Lisa to tell us more…

Vintage crockery, stamping, bunting, lots of napkins and trying to get ahead…

In the run up to our big day, we realised that a lot of the things we wanted to do could only be done at the very last minute, such as our favours which were Welsh cakes, the flowers (which Tom’s mum was growing) the drinks for the drinks dispensers etc. We also found that we were still coming up with ideas even up until the eleventh hour! Below are some of things we did manage to do in advance (thankfully!!).

The hunt for vintage crockery

For our reception we had beautiful Kata tents, if you are not familiar with them they are a type of interlocking tipi and are absolutely beautiful inside. You could pretty much leave them as they are without doing very much decoration, I can imagine them to look stunning with very simple table settings and lighting. However I have always had my heart set on a very colourful, mismatch of styles filling the tables and all around.

Charlie

TNWC Real Brides: Miriam’s sharing her homemade wedding details of tartan bunting and a personalised save the date stamp

Charlie

The lovely Miriam and John are getting married this coming Saturday! So excited for them both and fingers-crossed this incredible British weather hangs around for them.

So over to Miriam for her last pre-wedding blog post…

DIY weddings stitch by stitch

One of my favourite things about The Natural Wedding Company blog is that there are so many beautiful homemade creations from other brides for your wedding and beyond. With our wedding looming very close I am starting to realise how much I will miss all the planning, researching and creating that has occupied most of my brain-space for the last 18 months. Having this creative outlet in my otherwise very science-oriented life has been wonderful, and I will surely miss it – but luckily I will have John and our new married home to carry on the next creative adventure!

Like many brides, physically creating aspects of our Big Day and researching novel ideas has hugely spurred on the crescendo of excitement towards the day, so I thought it would be good to share some of the homemade or personally designed aspects that are not too difficult to incorporate into a wedding to ensure that intimate feel for your guests.

Personal by design

There are some fantastic suppliers out there who will go the extra mile to create something handmade and personal for your wedding, without stretching yourself too far trying to do absolutely everything by yourself (as I am prone to attempting!). I was very lucky to find Noolibird via The Natural Wedding Company, who crafted this beautiful personalised stamp that we used to make our save-the-date cards, and might use somewhere in our home post-honeymoon decorating.

Charlie

Announcing the winner of the stunning vintage sari bunting from Ganesha

Charlie

Another day, another winner – I do love running competitions! Would you like to see more on the blog throughout the year? Leave me a comment to let me know, and I’ll see what I can do.

Today’s prize, from Ganesha, I wish was winging its way to me – its this beautiful string of bunting made from vintage sari silk by the Calcutta Rescue, a clinic providing free medical care to anybody in need. Like yesterday’s comeptition, there were too many entries to be writing them out by hand and pulling out of a hat, so I’ve used the random number generator to select our winner…

A huge congratulations to Sara Willoughby, I will be in touch with you directly to ensure your beautiful string of bunting reaches you safely.

Charlie

Decorate your wedding with lace-edged and vintage fabric bunting with this fantastic discount from Devon Vintage China

Charlie

Devon Vintage China has a beautiful range of bunting – some made from vintage fabrics, others incorporating vintage doilies and some that are lined in English made cotton lace. To celebrate our 5th birthday, they are offering our readers an exclusive 10% discount on all bunting hire, which can be sent anywhere in the UK – a wonderful way to decorate your wedding venue.

They have two types of bunting – a colourful and patterned range made from a mixture of vintage and new fabrics, and a white/ivory range made from vintage cotton fabrics, some with vintage doily inserts and edged with English made cotton lace. Bunting is a wonderful way to bring cheer to your wedding venue and really ties everything together.

Charlie

Win a beautiful string of silk bunting made from vintage sarees from Ganesha

Charlie

*This competition is now closed*

I’m so jealous I can’t enter this competition today – one lucky reader is going to win this beautiful string of silk bunting made from vintage sarees. This is just one of many lovely products that you can find at Ganesha, an online shop full of handmade accessories and gifts, including vintage and upcycled, all fairly produced from Indian, Bangladesh and beyond!

Each string of bunting is 5 metres long and has about 16 flags that are 23 x 21cm. Each one is unique and a riot of stunning colours, perfect for decorating your wedding venue or tent with in true vintage eco-chic style! The picture above only shows part of one string, and I think they are a beautiful alternative to the traditional floral bunting if you are after something a bit different.

Charlie

Vintage silk saree bunting

Charlie

I came across this stunning silk bunting made from vintage sarees on one of the businesses listed on the directory. Ganesha is a fair trade shop that sells gorgeous gifts, accessories and bits for your house – but this bunting really stood out.

I’m beginning to feel like I’m a bit bunting-ed out, the stuff is all over the wedding world, you feel like you won’t ever see an original piece of bunting and that it’s only ever floral or Cath Kidston-inspired. Then you stumble across bunting like this, which is not only made from vintage silk, but it’s also recycling an unloved product, and on top of this each string is unique.

Lovely at a wedding, but also perfect for a hanging in your bedroom. Yey for interesting and different bunting!

Charlie

Win beautiful sweetheart vintage bunting

Charlie

The lovely MonkeyPuzzle (who makes this beautiful vintage blanket bunting) is running a giveaway this weekend to win this pretty sweetheart bunting.

Simply head over to her blog and leave a comment to say where the bunting might end up if you won it. I’ve done it and so should you!

Charlie

Recycled vintage wool blanket bunting

Charlie

A truly delightful find on Etsy – bunting made from recycled vintage wool blankets and embellished with embroidered flowers. This bunting is available from Monkey Puzzle in various colours of embroidery and different designs.

These would be a beautiful addition to any wedding or party, or even just to brighten up your home!

Or perhaps you could be inspired and have a go yourself – I have found on a number of occasions old wool blankets at the carboot, so if you’re a crafty person you could have a go yourself.

Charlie

Recycled homemade bunting for festive New Year wedding

Charlie

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year! This creative project might be short but hopefully sweet as I’m getting ready for a lovely New Year’s eve with my family.

I wanted to do something festive and jolly that would be lovely for anyone having a New Year’s eve wedding (there was one in our village today!).

This bunting is easy to make and uses up any leftover scraps of paper from Christmas – I found some brown paper (my favourite wrapping paper of choice) and some blue crepe paper.

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