favourite finds Archives - The Natural Wedding Company

Blog: favourite finds

Charlie

Our Top 10 Eco Valentine’s Day Gift Guide featuring ethical British businesses

Charlie

Our 2017 Eco Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

Samantha and I are sharing our favourite finds for a possible Eco Valentine’s Day gift for your loved one – women, men, and even a gift from your little ones. We’ve stuck to all UK based businesses and artisans, most of them small independent businesses. You’ll also find we’ve tried to include ideas across a span of costs, with only one true ‘blow the budget’ gift.

In putting together this guide we discovered that neither of us celebrate Valentine’s Day in a big way. I’m sure lots of people choose to celebrate their love and gratitude towards each other on a daily basis. But for those who are looking to give something special or just a token of their love, here are some ideas.

Personalised Valentine’s Biscuits

The Kitsch Hen is run by a former TNWC Real Bride, Caroline (part one + part two of her wedding is not to be missed). Her iced biscuits are homemade from locally sourced ingredients, and all handstamped. We love this option because it can be personalised to a meaningful message – lyrics from ‘your’ song, a love quote from your favourite novel, or just a simple ‘I Love You’. A scrumptious Eco Valentine’s Day gift.

£12 for 6 personalised biscuits – Buy them here

You Are My Favourite Valentine’s Day Card

Our friend Lucy Says I Do always has a fab offering of Valentine’s Day cards, and we love this design. Short and sweet, perfect for anyone not wanting to give an overly mushy card full of text. Printed onto FSC approved card and with a brown kraft envelope it’s a great card for the eco-chic.

£3.25 – Buy it here

Fairtrade Gold Heart Ruby Ring

Charlie

Felt flower crowns for flower girls straight from the pages of Brambly Hedge and The Flower Fairies

Charlie

We are huge advocates for real British grown cut flowers, but these sweet felt flower crowns for your little flower girls captured my heart. I first spotted them over on Instagram when Samantha at Proverbial Daisies tagged me in a post. I loved their soft muted colours, that they were handmade by a fellow mummy, and that they offered something a bit different.

Brambly Hedge meets The Flower Fairies

Aren’t they beautiful? In my opinion they look like a cross between Brambly Hedge and The Flower Fairies, and any regular reader will know I have a soft spot for both of those books.

Charlie

Rustic brown ‘Thank You’ luggage tag postcards from Wedding in a Teacup

Charlie

Wedding blogs, TNWC included, focus lots on the actual day, but when it’s all over there’s usually the business of thanking those who helped and who came along to share your celebrations with you.

When I spotted these new ‘Thank You Very Much’ postcards from TNWC business Wedding in a Teacup I was certain they would be a hit with a number of my readers. They combine a number of elements that are so popular here on this blog – beautiful brown card, luggage tags, and postcards.

Charlie

Arrow shaped blackboard with recycled Sari hanging tie from Nkuku

Charlie

Occasionally I like to share some of my Favourite Finds on the blog, but I’m quite picky about what I think is worth sharing – I want to make sure it’s something I think you’ll really like. These chalk boards (they come in an arrow shape and a square) from Nkuku – one of my favourite online shops – are affordable, come from a company that has an ethical sourcing policy, and the hanging ties are made from recycled Sari’s.

Plus, they would be perfect for wedding signs if you don’t have the time nor inclination to make your own from wood and blackboard paint. I feel that buying items like this for your wedding is a worthwhile investment (if you are only after a few) because they have so many future uses around your home – blackboards are always useful whether it’s for writing down your shopping list or just leaving each other sweet messages.

Charlie

Fairtrade and organic summer bridesmaid dresses in vintage inspired floral prints

Charlie

People Tree is one of the original fair trade clothing brands in the UK and one that I love. As ‘ethical’ and ‘fairtrade’ has become more mainstream it has been great to see People Tree’s collections grow and there to be even more choice of beautiful clothes.

I ended up on their website checking out what was in their sale when I spotted a number of dresses that I thought would make perfect summer bridesmaid dresses and knew I had to share them with you.

Please bear in mind these are currently in the January 2013 sale so they might not stay around long. Even if you come across this post later, do check out their current collections as I’m sure there will be more lovely items – www.peopletree.co.uk.

Lora V Neck Dress

This vintage inspired dress is made from a pretty floral print in 100% organic Fairtrade certified cotton and is £37.50 (50% off) in the People Tree sale. Perfect for a English country garden wedding.

Charlie

New Wives Club Christmas Special: a rustic driftwood star garland from Miki Organic

Charlie

Following on from last week’s gorgeous willow Christmas tree skirt I’m back to share another lovely festive find. This string of driftwood stars is available from online eco-chic shop Miki Organic and would be a pretty addition to your Christmas decorations, especially if you love the natural look.

Each garland is just under a metre long and costs £15. If you haven’t come across Miki Organic before you must check out their beautiful collection of homewares and gifts all underpinned by their ethos of sustainable, ethical, and beautiful.

Tomorrow I’ve got a fantastic DIY Christmas project so do check back for more festive fun as part of my Natural Wedding Christmas Special.

Image: Miki Organic

Charlie

New Wives Club Christmas Special: a beautiful rustic willow Christmas tree skirt from Rowen & Wren

Charlie

Happy 1st of December everyone! Yesterday afternoon I mentioned that I was going to make these four weekends in the run up to Christmas all about crafting, decorating and gifts for the festive period, so here I am with the first of those specials. To make it easy to find all the special Christmas blog posts, I’m going to tag them with ‘Natural Wedding Christmas Special’.

Charlie

Exquisite embroidered wedding scrolls from Upsticks Boutique – alternative wedding stationery or keepsake

Charlie

There are so many beautiful wedding ideas out there, but sometimes something pops into my inbox that just seems that little bit extra special. When Caroline from REloved Boutique in Nottingham emailed me to tell me all about the beautiful embroidered wedding scrolls made by her friend Sally I was intrigued.

From her shed studio nicknamed Upsticks Boutique, Sally uses recycled, reclaimed and vintage fabrics to create what I can only describe as art – in particular, she makes these beautiful wedding scrolls with your wedding date and details hand-stitched into them.

They have a variety of uses, from a keepsake of the day (particularly beautiful when framed) to actual wedding invitations to be sent out to your guests. She’s also started making ‘save the dates’ in a similar style, and is keen to expand into all elements of wedding stationery.

Charlie

Pop the question with this fabulous ‘Marry Me’ proposal cake from Choco Mallow Coco

Charlie

Whether it’s the boys or girls doing the asking, everyone’s always looking for that right moment to pop the ‘will you marry me?’ question – it doesn’t matter if it’s cuddled up on the sofa or in a grand gesture of love.

This new ‘Marry Me’ cake from TNWC business Choco Mallow Coco is an utterly fab way to ask that all important question, complete with a hollow in the middle of the cake to place your ring. Made using local free range eggs, and fair trade and organic ingredients wherever possible, this beautiful cake is now available online from the Choco Mallow Coco ‘Cake Shop’.

Charlie

Eco-friendly birch bark cake toppers and confetti for a woodland wedding

Charlie

One of my Favourite Finds recently is this Etsy shop who are creating these beautiful wedding items from biodegradable birch bark. There is a wonderful selection of cake toppers (like these cheerful little birds above), cupcake toppers and mini flags, birch bark confetti in the shape of leaves or hearts, and even a cute little ring bearers pillow.

This is the birch bark confetti, which is full compostable making it a great eco-friendly option. I think it would be particularly nice at an autumn or winter wedding…

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