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Charlie

Fern and Dominic’s woodland bird and country flower inspired wedding at their idyllic Somerset village

Charlie

This beautiful summer woodland bird and country flower inspired wedding is a delight to share, not only because it’s full of lovely details that will undoubtedly inspire many of our brides, but also because it’s the wedding of one last years TNWC Real Brides, Fern (find all her blog posts here).

Fern and Dominic planned a natural down-to-earth wedding in their home village Montacute in Somerset. This idyllic rural village provided a pretty backdrop against which they celebrated their marriage, and wove into their wedding day some of the things they love most – woodland birds and country garden blooms. Over to Fern to share her wedding day…

Fern + Dominic, August 2015

Our wonderful August wedding was everything that we had hoped for. It was really important to us right from the beginning for our day to be really welcoming, intimate occasion to share with our family. We had a very small wedding party with only one bridesmaid, best man and one usher, but this was right for us. Lots of our guests commented on how much they enjoyed the relaxed family atmosphere.

Charlie

Save nearly £500 on wedding photography with this exclusive offer from Betti Confetti Photography

Charlie

I am excited to announce that the lovely Gemma of Betti Confetti Photography is offering four of our couples the opportunity to save nearly £500 on wedding photography. When she proposed this exclusive offer to me I was delighted that I’d be able to share it as I know that opportunities like this are rare, but pretty special if you can take advantage of them.

Save nearly £500

In celebration of 2016 being a Leap Year, Gemma of Betti Confetti Photography is offering 29% off her complete wedding photography package, which amounts to a saving of £464. But the offer is only available to the first four couples who book mentioning this Leap Year offer (and it expires on 4th April 2016) – so if you love Gemma’s photography don’t hang around, drop her an email at hello@betticonfetti.com and start chatting.

Samantha

A romantic Austrian fairytale woodland wedding with a caped wedding dress and autumnal details

Samantha

Today’s inspirational shoot is like something out of a fairytale, a laid-back modern fairytale but a fairytale woodland wedding nonetheless. Think little red riding hood, with a touch of Hansel and Gretel and a whole dose of an intimate love story to rival any Snow White or Sleeping Beauty.

Set in a secluded forest, this stunning Austrian shoot provides an abundance of autumnal and winter wedding inspiration, with gorgeous shades of green, berry and cream, incredible fashion and a to-die-for candlelit first-dance.

Here’s the film from the shoot to give you a little taster of just how beautiful it is:

Stefanie who created the shoot told us: “Summer might be a classical time for a wedding but in autumn, when it’s cooler outside, a wedding can be equally beautiful. With furs, blankets, candles and fire bowls the wedding party can easily spend unforgettable hours outside. Natural materials, homemade cakes and other sweets turn the party in something unique and personal.”

Stefanie of Mademoiselle Fee explains the dreamy vision behind the shoot: “Our idea was to accompany a newly wed couple on a romantic walk through an autumnal forest. The two have just exchanged vows, maybe in a chapel close by.

What we wanted to show was a couple, close to nature and grounded, spending this most beautiful day where their hearts are drawing them – to the forest with a little secluded house.”

Charlie

What a truly seasonal British Valentine’s bouquet looks like – hellebores, daffodils, primroses, snowdrops, violets and more

Charlie

I love roses, but garden grown and in season, not on Valentine’s Day. But what does a seasonal British Valentine’s bouquet look like? We asked Anne-Marie from Forage For to make us a Valentine’s floral creation – she is quite renown for her stunning floral designs.

So from one corner of Suffolk in a walled garden, this is what was seasonal this year – and it’s worth noting that this has been a particularly unusual year, with unseasonable weather resulting in quite an array of flowers.

The above floral heart features bellis daisies, witch hazel, primroses, hellebores, snowdrops, heather, daffodils, violets, violas, scabious, muscari, blossom and cow parsley (yes really). This crazy unusual weather means that Anne-Marie still has one cow parsley plant that’s hung on all winter and is still flowering. Incredible.

Charlie

Wreaths throughout the seasons: learn how to make a living winter viola table wreath

Charlie

Well what a week it’s been full of wreath idea – and nothing Christmassy in sight. Alice from Lock Cottage Flowers has shown us how to create a January moss wreath, seasonal Valentine’s wreaths, and today she’ll be showing us how to make a table wreath with potted violas and ivy. If you’d like to see all the posts in this feature series then you’ll find them here at Wreaths Throughout The Seasons.

I’ve really loved her use of living plants in her wreaths, and creating living centrepieces is something we’ve previously shared on the blog. I would love to see more weddings using them in creative ways, and as these ideas show they would work beautifully for a woodland inspired wedding or an eco-chic city wedding perhaps.

Over to Alice…

How to make a winter viola and ivy table wreath

Charlie

Budgeting for your wedding dress without compromising on your ethics

Charlie

When I was asked for write a blog post with my tips and advice on wedding dress budgeting, I pretty much dismissed the invitation immediately because budgeting is not my strong point – or to be truthful, even something I’m vaguely good at. But this year I am trying to take up some challenges, even if they might seem small like compiling advice (eek) on budgeting.

TSB have put together a guide called Saving for your Wedding with some sound advice from fellow bloggers such as Annabel at Love My Dress and other industry suppliers. I’m not sure I’ve ever really written about budgeting, because let’s face it, I’m inclined to pretend budgets don’t exist! But once I got thinking on the topic, I realised I did have some advice (and experience) to share.

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon we are reminded everywhere about falling in love, that feeling that we all find so hard to describe or put our finger on, yet so many try to put into words. For me, falling in love with *the* dress for your wedding is a pretty similar experience.

I guess this is where my first piece of advice, or perhaps even a gently warning, stems from. In starting the search for your wedding dress, you are putting yourself out there to fall in love with a dress. It goes without saying that if you venture in boutiques or shops with wedding dresses priced out of your budget, you are risking falling in love with a dress that you might not be able to afford, or you will stretch your budget for – stretch, or (if like me) completely yank apart.

Charlie

Wreaths throughout the seasons: learn how to make a seasonal heart-shaped wreath for Valentine’s Day

Charlie

Today it’s all about creating seasonal Valentine’s wreaths – I particularly love Alice’s wild and twiggy heart with its bright red berries. These could be used to decorate your door this weekend or the smaller heart wreath would make a great DIY project for a wedding.

In case you missed it, on Monday we shared how to create a hellebore moss winter wreath as part of a new blog series called Wreaths Throughout The Seasons with our friend Alice from Lock Cottage Flowers. We’re hoping to inspire you to start putting up seasonal wreaths on your front door or in your home at times other than just Christmas.

Over to Alice…

How to make a seasonal Valentine’s wreath

This first Valentine’s wreath is made from British parvifolia (small leafed eucalyptus – smells divine) and dried lavender which isn’t too visible here, but is very fragrant. These smaller wreaths are terrific for hanging on a small space in the kitchen, or hanging on a doorknob. For weddings they make terrific chairbacks.

I used heavy duty garden wire – the kind used for wall training roses – a coat hanger could be taken apart and used as well. Don’t worry if the heart is slightly wonky – this is preferable.

Charlie

Wreaths throughout the seasons: learn how to create a January moss wreath with seasonal winter flowers

Charlie

I am delighted to be kicking off a brand new feature series on the blog this week on seasonal wreaths – I’m calling it wreaths throughout the seasons. Back in my teens I spent a couple of years living in America and it seemed that every season or holiday celebration houses would be decorated with wreaths. I have often thought it sad that we don’t do this more in the UK, and I found out my friend Alice at Lock Cottage Flowers shares my thoughts on this.

So we’ve decided to do something about it – Alice is going to be creating some lovely wreaths of all kinds to take us through the different seasons and holiday celebrations, and I’m going to be showcasing them here to inspire you on the blog. I even want to set myself a personal challenge to decorate my front door at least in some way to fit in with Alice’s posts, so watch this space.

Alice has even set up a hashtag on Instagram #11monthsofwreaths where seasonal wreaths can be posted that fit with our project guidelines below. We’ll be posting all of the wreaths shown here to that hashtag and hopefully more wreath makers will tag theirs as well – please join in.

Valentine’s – I’m sure many of you are well aware that this coming weekend is Valentine’s Day, so this week Alice has created a series of seasonal spring wreaths that are fit for Valentine’s Day or to bring a little cheer to your home this damp spring.

So over to Alice for more details…

Wreaths are not just for Christmas

Wreath making is my favourite form of floristry and one of the oldest so I think it’s a shame to just do Christmas wreaths and the occasional memorial wreath. Fortunately, a lot of brides order flower crowns (a type of wreath) or I’d go bananas waiting until December to be allowed to make them.

My rules for this project are:

No floral foam
Only British flowers and foliage used
Wreaths must be seasonal
Christmas wreaths will be excluded from this project

The first instalment that I’ll be sharing this week covers late winter and early spring:

How to make a hellebore moss winter wreath

Samantha

Delicious edible flower inspiration for savoury dishes to wow your wedding guests

Samantha

Did you see the beautiful edible flower inspiration we brought to you last week? The inspiration we have for you today is just as lovely, but takes on a more unusual twist. Ever thought about serving flowers with a fish dish? No me neither!

These beautiful images are a collaboration between two of our lovely recommended suppliers from our directory; gorgeous edible flowers and herbs by Greens of Devon and all perfectly styled and captured by the talented Betti Confetti Photography.

Inspired by Italian and Mediterranean al fresco dining, these mouthwatering images prove that pretty flowers aren”t just for topping the wedding cake. They are so effective at adding the finish touch to every dish throughout your big day!

Charlie

A snowy bleak mid-winter wedding inspired shoot with shepherds hut and a seasonal hedgerow bouquet

Charlie

A snowy bleak mid winter wedding inspired shoot

A few years ago on an incredible snowing January day, a little group of us braved the icy roads in Dorset to put together this beautiful wintry shoot. The shoot was featured on Love My Dress and as such for one reason or another I never got round to featuring it here, on my own blog. So here it is!

Exquisitely captured by Jennie Hill Photography, seasonal winter wedding flowers by The Flower Field, wedding pies by Tricky Treats, a Sabina Motasem wedding dress (plus a vintage one), and shot at Portesham Vineyard. All the extra bits were brought together by myself and Jennie Hill, and our bride and groom were a real couple, Jennie”s brother Nick and girlfriend Kerry.

The photoshoot team

Jennie Hill and I first met at the Eco Wedding Fair in Bristol, got chatting and soon realised we had shared ideas about creating a beautiful, natural and seasonal wedding shoot. We wanted to celebrate the bleak mid-winter English countryside in all its seasonal glory, whilst bringing together and showcasing the talents of a small team of British businesses.

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