Blog: favourite finds
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Paper flowers made from maps, sheet music and love letters

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Moll and Mostin paper flowers

Today I get to share these beautiful paper flower creations from Moll and Mostin – a new business I’d not come across until recently and I most certainly fell in-love at first sight.  Moll and Mostin is run by the lovely Lucy, who tells me she’s had a lifelong love affair with paper, vintage “and everything I can get my hands on at antique markets!”

Starting out making greetings cards with the magazines and papers she’d collected, she soon started looking for uses for those bits that were left over.  From here, Lucy began creating these beautiful vintage paper roses for hair pieces, fascinators, bouquets and buttonholes.  Each one is made by hand from pretty vintage papers – Lucy can even make them with papers of your choice, with maps and sheet music current favourites.

Paper flower fascinator

Engaged couples have also asked Lucy to make bouquets from copies of their love letters or photos together – a wonderful way to incorporate how you met into your wedding day.  Lucy says, “I love the that the bouquet will not wilt and die after one day – it’s not only a greener way of doing things, but it means you have an extra momento.”  In addition to creating the paper roses, Lucy runs hen party workshops so that brides can carry a bouquet where each paper rose was made by her closest friends.

vintage paper flower buttonhole

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Real wood wedding invitations engraved with a bird on a branch

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real wood bird wedding invitations

How incredible are these invitations – made of very thin real wood they are then engraved with a personalised message.  This one in particular I liked with the tiny bird on a branch, and thought they would make lovely wedding invitations if you had the budget and wanted something really unusual and special.

They are made (I believe) in the Netherlands but can be shipped anywhere in the world, and new trees are planted when one is cut.  Take a look at their Etsy shop for more designs and details.

bird on a branch real wood invitations

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Medal buttonholes made from wood and vintage fabric

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woodland medal buttonholes

I thought these were so inspired when I spotted them on Etsy.  Made in the UK from a slice of a tree branch and hand-stitched vintage fabrics I think they would make great buttonholes.  They are quirky and a bit different, and I love the handcrafted and natural look of them.  They are made as brooches so come with a metal pin on the back, easy to fasten to suits.

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1910s Edwardian style cream tiered lace wedding dress

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Edwardian style lace wedding dress

I think the Edwardian era must be my favourite when it comes to wedding dresses, or at least the early period of the 1900s.  This blog post is purely self-indulgent because I just love this dress and wanted to share it in all its loveliness.  I love my wedding dress but how much do I wish I could wear this one!

1910 inspired tiered lace wedding dress

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A romantic honeymoon bolthole in the lavender filled countryside outside Budapest

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romantic eco honeymoon Hungary

Pippins is a romantic self-catering cottage set amongst the lavender fields and vineyards in Hungary.  This pretty honeymoon bolthole has whitewashed wooden clad walls, a private terrace and pool, and is surrounded by unspoilt countryside.

honeymoon cottage in Hungarian countryside

The cottage is set out in an open-plan style with a separate bathroom, and in the winter months you can snuggle up in front of a crackling woodstove.  In the summer Pippins runs 95% on energy produced by the PV panels located on the cottage roof, and in winter its heating and hot water are produced by the log fire.

boho chic honeymoon cottage

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Creating a handmade style ‘save the date’ for the uncrafty bride

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vintage inspired save the date stamp

There has been quite a bit of talk in the wedding blog world about those couples who want a handcrafted feel to their wedding whilst not feeling they are particuarly crafty or creative.  For any brides out there feeling like they’re not creative enough, or don’t have the time to be handcrafting wedding stationery, then this stamp (or one like it) could be your answer.

There are lots of businesses offering custom made or personalised stamps, but I thought this design was particularly nice and it gives you more than just your names or address.  Stamped in black onto my *favourite recycled brown craft card it would still have that handmade feel.  This beautiful stamp (costing under £30) is made by Etsy seller Love To Create Stamps who are based in Florida but ship worldwide.

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Acorn cap floating beeswax candles for an autumn wedding

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acorn cap floating beeswax candles

Etsy is a treasure-trove of wonderful goodies, I can’t tell you how much I love it.  I spotted these tiny floating candles, made from beeswax filled acorn caps, and just thought they would be beautiful for an autumn wedding.

In bowls of water, perhaps like below with addition of colourful autumn leaves, they would look simply stunning on your reception tables.  What a genius idea they are – what do you think?  They’d go really well with this idea for place cards made from oak leaves.

floating acorn candles autumn wedding ideas

They are available from Etsy seller Green Baboon Designs.

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Cute eco-friendly notebooks for an organised bride

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eco-friendly notebooks

These cute little notebooks from Yield Ink are handprinted onto recycled card notebooks and come packaged in this sweet calico drawstring bag.  I think they would be great for an organised bride planning her wedding, or a not-so-organsied bride that wanted to be more organised.

During my wedding planning I was always coming up with ideas on what we could do, or another item for another list, and we ended up with so many pieces of paper floating around we had to stick them in a rather ugly binder.  A little bag of these would have been much nicer.

little bag of books from Yield Ink

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Romantic handmade bouquet made from recycled fabrics and old world details

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fabric flower wedding bouquet

I am pretty addicted to Etsy as it is so full of beautiful and unusual finds, and I’m currently in the midst of buying most of my Christmas presents from Etsy sellers.  This romantic alternative to a fresh floral bouquet is handmade from recycled fabrics and embellished with old world finds.

fabric flower wedding bouquet

Each fabric flower bouquet is custom made, so you can choose the colours and beadwork you’d like, and they come in a variety of sizes.  Ideal for the bride who wants a keepsake to treasure long after her wedding.  These bouquets are handmade by the incredibly talented Etsy seller Cultivar.

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Seasonal wedding wreaths with apples, ivy and berries

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November seems to have well and truly arrived today, with everywhere damp and chilly, and trees bare with their leaves around their roots.  Something jolly is in order I think, to bring a little cheer to this weekend – and what better than a gorgeous autumn inspired wreath with apples, berries and pine cones, and ivy woven throughout.

This pretty seasonal wreath above is made by JW Blooms, one of the lovely florists listed on the directory.  If you are planning an autumnal wedding and want to reflect the season in the way you decorate, why not incorporate some natural wreaths – they would look stunning hanging on the heavy old doors to a church, or perhaps the entrance to a rustic barn.  Smaller versions could be tied to the back of the bride and grooms chairs with a loop of ribbon, or even placed on tables with flickering candles in the middle.

And if you’re not getting married you can still get one of these beautiful wreaths (the apple wreath is the ‘Somerset’ for your front door – they come in three other designs including ‘Festive’, ‘Nordic’, and ‘Traditional’.

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