Blog

Izzy

‘Grow the Love’ with these beautiful ideas for incorporating living flowers and plants into your wedding from Wedding in a Teacup

Izzy

Today Hester from Wedding in a Teacup tells us about how to use living potted plants and greenery in weddings, rather than cut flowers. With some super helpful tips, it’s a must-read for any brides-to-be looking for quirky eco-chic ideas.

Over to Hester…

We love the idea of living flowers and greenery at a wedding. They look natural and informal and are a great way to add practical decoration, but more than that – there’s something about having something living on your day that is so wholly positive!

We like tables named after love-in-the-mist or sage, with pots and gardeners labels to mark them; tiny flower pots doubling as place markers and favours (check out our personalised labels created with these in mind); and an apple crate of herbs or flowers as a luscious table plan holder.

Izzy

A stunning jewel toned wedding cake with edible flowers, petals and berries for a rustic autumn wedding

Izzy

Today we have a mouth-watering guest post from P-J Parker of Emily Harmston Cakes, with a gorgeous autumn inspired wedding cake that features such beautiful rich purple colours. When we first saw these cakes we fell in-love with the use of edible flowers and petals – why not take a look for yourself?

Don’t forget we have a regular feature on wedding cakes called Cake Love, so do check out the link if you are after more wedding cake inspiration.

Over to P-J to tell us more about these stunning creations…

We have just seen the end of a glorious English summer but it brings an abundance of our beautiful berries that rival any array of the fruits that are imported. The colours and choice are breath-taking; it’s almost as if all summer long the sun has become concentrated to give the sumptuous jewel colours inside our blackberries, blueberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants and damsons.

I really wanted to capture the beauty of this season. The three tiered cake I made here incorporates two white chocolate and raspberry cake tiers at the top and bottom with a double layer of blackberry and raspberry cheesecake in the middle. All topped off with fresh edible Dahlias and handcrafted blackcurrants lollipops.

Charlie

Everything you wanted to ask a wedding photographer but were afraid to ask – a guest post from Bohemian Weddings

Charlie

Today we have a guest blog post from Michael and Andrea of Bohemian Weddings, one of our recommended wedding photographers, who have tips and advice on what to ask your wedding photographer to make sure you get the perfect photographer and feel for your wedding day.

Over to Michael and Andrea from Bohemian Weddings…

It may sound obvious but one of the most important things to us as wedding photographers is our relationship with our couples. The reason for this is simple, if we have a good relationship the couple are relaxed, we are relaxed and this really really shows in every photograph we take.

If you have just started your search for your perfect wedding photographer this is an exciting time as there are so many talented people out there who are amazing to work with. But it is important to note that the wedding industry like any other does also have its undesirables and unlike big corporate companies there is no law to enforce vetting of small self-employed photographers…it’s down to you folks!

To help you make the right choice we are going to guide you through what to expect based on questions we receive from our couples.

Izzy

Make your own edible flower wedding favours from flowerpot muffins to floral marshmallows and petal studded chocolates

Izzy

Today we have a great post from Jan of Maddocks Farm Organics with some great tips on how to create your own wedding favours using edible flowers. There are some truly beautiful ideas that are sure to inspire you to create some fab homemade wedding favours.

Over to Jan to tell us how to create these beauties…

Whilst increasingly popular, wedding favours are yet another expense and can be very pricey if they are not to look cheap and tacky.

An easy way around this is to make your own. Not only do they look much nicer but they also add a personal touch and can be a fraction of the price of commercial alternatives. Here are a few suggestions which are all very straight forward to make so it is job that could be delegate to the future mother-in-law or chief bridesmaid!

Flowerpot Muffins

These are a sweet idea for a rustic themed garden wedding. I used a classic Mary Berry recipe (you can’t improve on Mary perfection!) but any good quality chocolate cake recipe will do or you could use a rich chocolate mousse if you prefer. The mini silicone flower pots are available from Lakeland and other online retailers.

The choice of edible flower is important if you want the ‘plants’ to hold well. Tagetes and Dianthus are particularly good for this but cornflowers also work if you add them at the last minute. We also used springs of rosemary to add to the foliage.

Floral Marshmallows

Marshmallows make a lovely wedding favour and running some edible flower petals through the mix ensures that they are as individual as your wedding.

Charlie

Behind-the-scenes film with The Garden Gate Flower Company for a sea-meets-land wedding of seasonal British blooms

Charlie

Today I’ve got a pretty special blog post for you and something a little different. The lovely Becca and Maz from The Garden Gate Flower Company have had a short film made telling the story of one couples wedding flowers, from picking seasonal blooms in their Cornish cutting patch, to setting up the venue and delivering the brides bouquet (such a gorgeous moment!).

This beautiful film provides couples with a special insight into how one homegrown flower business creates stunning seasonal blooms for a wedding. So take a peep behind the scenes with The Garden Gate Flower Company and don’t miss that magical moment when Becca delivers the bride her bouquet – so sweet.

Also keep a look out for my other favourite moment of the film – their use of tomato cuttings for the table centrepieces!

http://vimeo.com/76329323

Now over to Maz from The Garden Gate Flower Company to tell you a little bit more about the wedding and the film…

Our friend, Emma Griffin is a super creative photographer, artist and more recently film maker, based in Cornwall. Together we had the idea to make a short film which told the story of Katie and Damian’s flowers from picking to setting up the venue and delivering Katie her bouquet.

Charlie

DIY bride Holly shares her top ten tips and advice for a handmade wedding

Charlie

You might remember that back in the late spring I featured Holly and Laurie’s beautiful picnic wedding that was full of creative handmade details, well today we’re lucky enough to have Holly back with us.

Holly’s sharing her top ten tips and advice for a DIY wedding and I’m sure that her advice will provide invaluable to any of you brides- and grooms-to-be who are in the stages of planning a handmade wedding.

Over to Holly…

1. Firstly (and probably most importantly) make sure you have a small army of friends and family who are willing and kind enough to help out and don’t be afraid to ask for help.

In his speech my husband Laurie described our friends as the ‘games makers’ of our wedding and they really were- we couldn’t have done it without them!

2. Make sure you have a willing fiancé.

Creating a handmade wedding isn’t a one person task, it will take up lots of your free time so make sure you work together. My husband Laurie helped me out so much with all the handmade elements of our wedding – he put up with me spending hours reading wedding blogs and chugging away at my sewing machine, he also spent a whole weekend printing out and tying up invitations and made dozens of gorgeous paper flowers.

3. Spend some time gathering inspiration before you start.

There are so many ideas out there that it can feel a little overwhelming sometimes. Spend some time gathering inspiration so you know the kind of wedding you want and you have an idea of how it will all tie together. Pinterest is such a useful tool and it is full of beautiful images and ideas.

There are also a few blogs I would recommend; The Natural Wedding Company for ideas and wonderful suppliers, Junkaholique for gorgeous vintage styling (and their wedding is one of the loveliest I’ve ever seen!), and Green Wedding Shoes for a dose of eco-friendly wedding loveliness from the USA.

Izzy

Alison and Rama’s back garden Bedouin tent wedding with a dash of English country charm and a bohemian bride

Izzy

Back garden bedouin tent wedding

What a treat we have for you today with another beautiful real wedding – this time with a bit of twist. Usually weddings are submitted to us by the bride or her wedding photographer, but today’s pretty Somerset wedding was sent to us by wedding stylist Kirsten who runs The Little Wedding Helper.

The bride and groom – Alison and Rama – had a down-to-earth wedding held in their garden full of bohemian styling, Moroccan lanterns, and a dash of English country charm. The couple decided not to have a wedding photographer, but lucky for us they allowed Kirsten to bring along her own photographer to capture some of their day and gorgeous details.

One of my favourite parts of Alison and Rama’s wedding is that guests were invited to bring flowers rather than gifts, which were then used to create the table decorations – what a lovely idea and one that created a vibrant palette of colour that really complements the Bohemian feel of their wedding.

So it’s over to Kirsten to tell you about Alison and Rama’s wedding and how she helped style it…

Izzy

Win wedding prizes worth over £1000 with the White Memoirs Vintage Wedding Fayre competition!

Izzy

*This competition is now closed 12:00 04/10/13*

Earlier this month we shared details of the fabulous upcoming White Memoirs Vintage Wedding Fayre that is being held in Cheshire on Sunday 6th October 2013. With entry to the fayre free, if you’re a bride-to-be and planning to go then make sure you enter to win one of 25 goody bags we’ve got to give away.

Today we’ve got an incredible competition in which you could win a bundle of fantastic wedding prizes worth over £1,000! Read on to find out what you could win and how to enter…

A free engagement shoot from Dotmoxee Photography is just one of the fab prizes!

The wonderful White Memoirs Vintage Wedding Fayre exhibitors have put together a fantastic giveaway of prizes worth over £1,000 for one lucky bride to win! If the date is in your diary or you were thinking about visiting this lovely wedding fair, then don’t miss this opportunity to win all of the following – yes, just one lucky bride will walk away with all of this…

Charlie

A wild and natural bridal bouquet of fragrant blooms and trailing jasmine for a Scottish wedding

Charlie

Hi everyone! A quick message here from Charlie – I’m really sorry that it’s been so quiet on the blog lately, but we’ve got loads of great guest posts coming up. There’s some gorgeous floral prettiness on the blog today, and coming up soon a beautiful Bedouin tent real wedding and a competition. Hope all your wedding plans are going well!

In order to find the loveliest inspiration and ideas for my readers I trawl the internet and blogs on the hunt for only the very best. When it comes to flowers, sometimes I spot a bouquet and am convinced that it must have been created by one of our talented flower farmers or florists – and quite often I’m right.

This is one such bouquet that I spotted on this Fairytale Scottish Castle Wedding and thought it was just the kind of wild and natural style that many of our TNWC recommended florists dream up – indeed, it is from one of our Scottish contingent, the lovely Pyrus.

Izzy

Get a free goody bag at White Memoirs Vintage Wedding Fair in Cheshire on Sunday 6th October 2013

Izzy

Here at The Natural Wedding Company we are delighted to tell all you brides-to-be that White Memoirs Vintage Wedding Fair is returning to Cheshire on October 6th 2013. This autumn wedding fair promises to be a ‘whimsical wedding wonderland designed for the vintage inspired modern bride’, and we’ve got the opportunity for you to win one of 25 goody bags – more details below!

Held at the beautiful “Festival Hall” a 1920’s ballroom in Alderley Edge, this new venue for White Memoirs Vintage Wedding Fair will host host 25 independent bridal suppliers from across Manchester and Cheshire, who specialise in providing services and products with a twist on tradition.

Coming up later in the month we will be hosting the White Memoirs Vintage Wedding Fair competition (here’s details of the last one we ran), where one lucky bride-to-be will win a bundle of fab wedding prizes – so put Wednesday 25th September in your diary and be sure to check the blog that day to find out how you can enter.

Today though, White Memoirs Vintage Wedding Fair has 25 goody bags to give away to 25 lucky readers of The Natural Wedding Company blog. Find out how you could win one below.

Seasonal wedding ideas:

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Winter

DIY + Inspiration

Real Weddings

Suppliers + Products

Browse the blog:

Planning

Advertise

Get your eco wedding business listed on our directory