Wednesday 31 July 2013

Introducing Genesis Diamonds Engagement Rings

This week on the wedding blog is turning out to be engagement themed! After yesterday's gorgeous engagement shoot, today is all about incredible diamond engagement rings. If you're yet to chose your sparkler, or you're sneakily checking out the blog before your boyfriend's popped the question, then I really recommend Genesis Diamonds. They have the most incredible selection of engagement rings, by fabulous designers, including my favourites Tacori {for some seriously bling-tastic rings} and Simon G {if you're looking for something subtle and elegant}. All their diamonds are guaranteed conflict-free, and if you want to pay over several years, they even offer financing - yippee for a bigger rock!! Since I've already got my engagement ring and wedding ring, I've got my eye on their eternity rings....{here's hoping my husband reads this feature}.


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Tuesday 30 July 2013

Vintage Tearoom Engagement Shoot

Engagement shoots very rarely make their way onto Before the Big Day - unless there's a serious theme, or some very clever portrait ideas, I don't think they're very interesting for anyone but the friends and family of the happy couple. But for I had to make an exception for this fun shoot by Victoria Mitchell Photography. It took place in the cutest little vintage cafe in Southall, and it involved cake, books and tea, three of my favourite things in the whole world. Enjoy the pics - great inspiration for your own engagement shoot, no?





A Bit of Before the Big Day Housekeeping

Before the Big Day has evolved! I'm constantly trying out new things with the blog - mostly in a slightly haphazard way - keeping up with the baby and blogging doesn't leave much time for anything else {apart from eating cake}. So I've just added a new widget by Link Within. Essentially it adds a series of boxes at the end of each of my blog posts, with fabulous similar articles from Before the Big Day's Archives. It's amazing what it throws up - there's brilliant features there I forgot I've written. Be sure to give them a click! And while we're on the subject of housekeeping....have you discovered our amazing free newsletter? Sign up for exclusive content and special offers, and I promise never to spam you!


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Monday 29 July 2013

Before Your Big Day Boudoir Shoot - Do or Don't?

Have you ever heard of a boudoir shoot? Lots of wedding photographers offer them as part of a wedding package - they're like an engagement shoot, but involving bridal lingerie! The idea is you have the pictures taken as a present for your husband-to-be, as a reminder of how lucky he is to be marrying his sexy, glamorous wife. They're usually teamed with some sort of makeover, so you can be sure to look your best. I love the idea of dressing up in pretty lingerie, although I don't know if my current bras would take the heat - I'd definitely have to go shopping before any hanky panky takes place! For more sophisticated ideas, take a look at my Pinterest board - I'm thinking the best option is to go slightly theatrical, like in this Pin by Elizabeth Messina.


{Photo Credits} 1. Jose Villa | 2. Adorro Impressions

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Friday 26 July 2013

Colourful DIY Printable Drinks Flags

Drinks flags are a hugely popular way to personalise your wedding. Their DIY friendly and add fun flair to your drinks. Make your own out of ribbons like I did for my wedding, or buy these printable flags from He Saw Sparks. I'm loving the 'Happily Ever After' slogan. Just print the flag template on cardstock or photo-paper, and trim. You can attach the flags to straws, toothpicks, stir-sticks, or anything else you have handy!


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Wednesday 24 July 2013

Real Theatrical Vintage Wedding: Laura & Paul - Reception Details

Details, details, it's all in the wedding details! This gorgeous vintage big day is going to blow your mind with its incredible selection of stealworthy ideas. Laura and Paul wanted their wedding to stand out from the crowd, so they hired Chris from Beautifully Vintage to help them out with dressing their wedding reception. And didn't she do a good job! There's a old-school glamorous feel to the vintage props - I love the gilt frames, lace ribbons and old keys. Laura decided to use a vintage tea-set as her table plan - a fantastic idea I've not seen before, and she continued the theme by buying an antique cup and saucer as a wedding favour for female guest. I love the DIY'd naked wedding cake and the stunning just-picked table flowers with their gingham ribbons, plus the lucky horseshoes - you can never have too much good fortune at a wedding. Big love and thanks to wedding photographer Anna Louise Crossley for capturing every detail with such panache!


We got married on Friday 31st May at 12.30pm at St Gregory's Church in Preston, which holds family memories for my husband, so was lovely it meant something something to him. We then hosted our wedding reception at The Shireburn Arms in Hurst Green.


Anna Louise Crossley was our amazing wedding photographer!! I met her when I was bridesmaid for my friend last year, and she was her photographer {and friend} too. I love her reportage style and she just makes the photos look so stylish, yet effortless, plus I love the filters she uses.


We wanted our wedding reception that had a 'nice feeling' to it. Nothing too grand, but we wanted the room to be nice with that old but new look. I wanted to feel cosy and comfortable, but for the venue to still to be stylish. 


I also wanted somewhere different to where anyone we, or my friends, or my friends' friends had got married. Also no patterned carpets was very important ;-)! The Shireburn Arms in Hurst Green fitted the bill perfectly.


I wanted a vintage theme, but nothing too extreme, and I wanted it to be stylish and quite glam too. I didn't think I would be a pink wedding girl, but it seemed to fit the theme perfectly and I do like the dusky/nude pink look. 


Deannamic Designs created our wedding stationery, including the menus. I went to discuss with Deanna what I wanted which was something a bit old looking but with a touch of glam. So we decided on brown kraft card but with pink ribbon and pearls. All my stationery looked gorgeous.


I wanted to try and give the wedding a bit more of the personal touch so I decided to collect vintage teacups, and give one to each lady guest as one of their favours. I had lots of fun trawling around charity shops and vintage fairs looking for them {although I'm not sure Paul did!}.


Inside each cup was a chocolate with a picture of Paul and I, marked with our wedding date and thanking our guests for being there. The male guests got this and a miniature bottle of JD. We also chose to make a donation to Rainbow Trust Charity on behalf of each guest, in memory of my nephew Jack who died last year at the age of two. Rainbow Trust very kindly made a card for each guest with a badge and it was lovely to see a lot of our guests wearing the badge.


I didn’t want your usual type of wedding cake, and as soon as I started researching I found naked cakes. I couldn't decide between the one I found, or a cheese cake as I love cheese.


But when I told my Mum I was thinking about a cheese wedding cake, she couldn’t believe it {she loves cake}, so that swayed my decision. I am so glad I chose the one I did now. My friend Kelly made it, and she more than did me proud – it was just what I wanted.

I really wanted to focus on wedding details – I love organising things and having a project, and I knew that some people would really appreciate the little things I did, and that our wedding would stand out for that reason.


Our table plan was a DIY project – I decided to use a vintage tea-set plus tea-posts with cards with names/table names on each one. 



Our florist was called Flower Design and my flowers were beautiful! I found them by looking at the Facebook site of one of my friend's wedding venue. I wanted my flowers to look vintage-y and have a more 'just picked' look rather than being too 'done'. I knew I wanted sweet peas and peonies included too.


When it came to decorating our wedding venue, I started out by trying to collect all kinds of vintage items myself to use as display items however at a wedding fayre I found Chris from Beautifully Vintage


I loved that she designed what I had in my head, so I decided to use her expertise {and her lovely accessories} and asked her decorate the wedding reception instead. We talked a lot about what I wanted the venue to look like and she totally got it – it was gorgeous, and I cried when I walked in!






On the welcome table, we had old family wedding photos in lovely old frames. It was my idea, but Chris from Beautifully Vintage sorted it all out, and made it look fab.


I loved it planning my wedding! I am a really organised person so having a project like this was fab for me. I loved getting into the detail, and researching everything before I made decisions.


My advice to brides planning their wedding would be - take your time researching ideas before you choose things. It's so easy to get excited by everything when you start looking but think things through first. Also have a theme, even if only lose, this will help you choose between ideas if you are struggling. 


Also, be organised and start early – I was adamant I wouldn’t be doing my table plan at the 11th hour – and I felt so much less stressed for it and could enjoy the build-up the closer it got. And enjoy – it's fun!!!


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Real Theatrical Vintage Wedding: Laura & Paul

As a wedding blogger, I felt a certain amount of pressure to fill my wedding with wedding details, but my big day had nothing on Laura and Paul's wedding! With the help of Chris from Beautifully Vintage  they filled their wedding reception with a veritable stage-set of stunning vintage details. The result is a theatrical Great Gatsby feel, which must have created a real sense of excitement for their guests. Make sure you check back later today for the second feature on their wedding reception details - you won't want to miss them! That isn't to say there isn't tonnes of wedding inspiration in this post! Just take a look at Laura's exquisite Paloma Blanca wedding gown, her bridesmaids' fantastic Ghost dresses {I've long been a fan of Ghost}, and Paul's dapper suit, waistcoat and white tie combo. I love the glam feel of this wedding, from the vintage broach on Laura's bouquet, the Bentley wedding transport and the girls' gorgeous hair and make-up. Huge thanks to wedding photographer Anna Louise Crossley for her gorgeous pictures - love the shot of the girls in the bath!


We got married on Friday 31st May at 12.30pm at St Gregory's Church in Preston, which holds family memories for my husband, so was lovely it meant something something to him. We then hosted our wedding reception at The Shireburn Arms in Hurst Green.


I love shopping and buying dresses so I wanted to keep my options open and try all styles of wedding gowns. But I was adamant I wanted Jimmy Choo or Louboutin wedding shoes! In the end I chose Jimmy Choos - I love that I can wear them again even with just skinny jeans.


My wedding dress was by Paloma Blanca and came from One and Only Bridal in Preston, as did the veil which was very long, one tier, and fine, and my gorgeous headpiece – I loved both of them.


Choosing my dress took a bit of time! I knew straight away after trying a couple on that big strapless dresses weren't for me. but what I was undecided on for a while was whether to go for a Jenny Packham slinky beaded number, or something a little more traditional. I opted to feel more 'wedding-y' and most people weren't surprised at my choice, as it was quite fitted and understated but classy-looking, which is what I usually try to go for in an outfit.



Our florist was called Flower Design and my flowers were beautiful! I found them by looking at the Facebook site of one of my friend's wedding venue. I wanted my flowers to look vintage-y and have a more 'just picked' look rather than being too 'done'. I knew I wanted sweet peas and peonies included too.


I wanted a vintage wedding theme but nothing too extreme, and I wanted it to be stylish and quite glam too. I didn’t think I would be a pink wedding girl, but it seemed to fit the theme perfectly and I do like the dusky/nude pink look, so I chose that as my wedding colour.


I found my bridesmaid dresses in Ghost. They are all gorgeous girls and I wanted them to look and feel a bit glam. Their shoes were from Debenhams – nice big heels and were a bargain. As their gift I bought them a lovely pearl beaded handbag each to compliment the look.










Paul’s suit was from Slaters in Preston. He wanted navy blue as it felt different to the usual black or grey. He looked gorgeous! And so did our son in his little version!


Anna Louise Crossley was our amazing wedding photographer!! I met her when I was bridesmaid for my friend last year, and she was her photographer {and friend} too. I love her reportage style and she just makes the photos look so stylish, yet effortless, plus I love the filters she uses.



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