Friday 27 June 2014

A 1950's Vintage Themed Wedding with a Grace Kelly Inspired Bride - Part 2

With a vintage 1950's theme, and a rustic-glamorous venue, this wedding is something of a humdinger! the bride and groom, Tania and Tegid threw themselves into the planning process, adding tonnes of personalised ideas, and doing a fair few DIY projects along the way. There's lots of money-saving tips in Tania's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire, including print-your-own wedding stationery from Zazzle, make your own favours with Jen's Sweet Shop vintage bonbons, and original 1970s figurines of Princess Leia and Han Solo as a cake topper. I'm also a big fan of their heart-shaped blackboards - such a useful photo prop! Loving all their wedding pictures, published with thanks to the talented team of Ben and Hannah of HBA Photography.


We got married in the Midlands on 31st August 2013. The ceremony was held at St John the Baptist's Church in Middleton, followed by our reception at Shustoke Farm Barns in Coleshill.



We saw a lot of lovely old hotels full of character, but for the number of guests we had {approx. 90}, with most of them we would have had to have held our wedding breakfast in a marquee away from the main venue. So when we found Shustoke Farm Barns, a red brick 18th century building which was still being renovated {we saw it pretty much as a building site, without a roof!}, we thought it was perfect. It had all the beautiful traditional rustic charm, but with the added bonus of lots of capacity!



Thursday 26 June 2014

A 1950's Vintage Themed Wedding with a Grace Kelly Inspired Bride

Bride's looking for an idea for a theme for their wedding will love today's Grace Kelly-inspired big day! Bride, Tania is a huge fan of the 50's star, and chose her Justin Alexander wedding dress based on her unique, elegant style. This in turn led to 50's inspired stationery, bridesmaid dresses {by Mori Lee}, traditional bonbon favours, and even the vintage suitcase as a wedding card postbox. I'm head-over-heels for their barn wedding venue, booked on a leap of faith, considering it wasn't even finished when they made the reservation! Add in a stunning bouquet of roses and eucalyptus, groom Tegid, in his morning suit, and two lovely late-1950s Daimlers for wedding transport, and I'm in wedding-heaven! Fabulous photographs published with thanks to Ben and Hannah of HBA Photography - don't miss the reception pictures coming later today!


We got married in the Midlands on 31st August 2013. The ceremony was held at St John the Baptist's Church in Middleton, followed by our reception at Shustoke Farm Barns in Coleshill.


I am a big fan of Grace Kelly! So my dress was very much inspired by her timeless look. We therefore had a hint of a 50s vintage theme throughout the wedding, from the 50s inspired design on the stationery, the style of the bridesmaid dresses, the traditional bonbons for favours, all the way through to our vintage suitcase, which we used as a wedding card postbox.



Tuesday 24 June 2014

Original & Brilliant Pinata Wedding Decoration

The reason I started this blog - all those years ago {!} - was as a record of all the fantastic and original ideas I'd found. It took me a while to choose the theme of my wedding, and before Pinterest was invented, it was the only way I could save all my wedding inspiration. I'm still dazzled by all the fabulous, fun and creative wedding products on Etsy - regular readers will know it's my secret go-to source for ideas. My latest find? I am OBSESSED with the sheer coolness of these glittery love heart pinatas by Party Pony Pinata. And don't you wish you could get married on that beach......


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Monday 23 June 2014

Real Rustic Beach-side Wedding

I've fallen in love big-time with this wedding. There are just so many stealworthy ideas, and every time I look at the pics, I spot more and more. I've only just noticed that they used a slice of log as a cake stand - super rustic but super stylish! It's all down to the happy couple, Betty and Kent. Betty is an interior designer, and you can really see her talent reflected in these gorgeous pictures by Punam Bean. Lace is a dominant theme, starting with Betty's dress, and continuing to the bridesmaids' parasols and the delicately decorated water bottles. Also loving the bright pop bottles and pashmina library, plus Betty's fab red shoes - yum!


Monday 16 June 2014

Truly Wearable Silky Wrap Bridesmaids Dresses

If I had a £ for every real wedding I'd featured that included Dessy bridesmaids dresses, I'd be a very rich wedding blogger indeed! There's no doubt their gowns are gorgeous, and super-wearable, but I'd like to break their hold on their wedding world, and recommend a new, boutique designer. Hiding behind these life-rings is the 'Octopus Infinity Wrap Dress', designed by Coralie Beatrix! It's a special gown that converts into several different styles - depending on your bridesmaids' style. The gowns come in a massive array of colours, and in multiple sizes - from child-size, to maternity and plus size. I love the luxurious silky jersey satin fabric, and the fact you can pimp your gown with a mermaid train! P.S. Another recommendation from Before the Big Day Real Brides is House of Brides for bridesmaids gowns.


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Thursday 12 June 2014

Fall in Love with Claire Pettibone Wedding Dresses

There must be something in the air - I've been day-dreaming about planning my wedding all over again! Maybe it's the lovely sunshine, or the wedding invitations dropping through my letter box, but I'm going to have to start a fantasy wedding Pinterest board to get it out of my system. First on every bride's list is the wedding gown, and my favourite designer at the moment has to be Claire Pettibone. Her wedding dresses are a work of art! Here are just a few of my favourites, but do have a browse through her collections - they're all up on her website.

{Above) Beauty, {Below} Devotion

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Chic Separates for Summer Wedding Page Boys

Are you having pageboys at your wedding? I was supposed to have my nephew, but it didn't quite work out. The plan was for him to walk down the aisle ahead of me, with a sign saying 'Here Comes the Bride', but unfortunately he fell asleep just before his big moment! To be fair, he was only one, and now I've got my own little son, I realise how impossible they are to manage. I also had no idea what I wanted my nephew to wear. In the end, my mum picked him up this outfit from M&S, and he looked super cute. {See pictures of my wedding}.  If you fancied going for something a little more bespoke, on of my real brides discovered Little Linens, and I've since become a huge fan of their chic separates. They're great for flowers girls and bridesmaids dresses as well {although for me Monsoon has cornered that market}, but their real strength is their pageboy range. Take a look! Now all you've got to do is keep them clean until the group photographs.....



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Friday 6 June 2014

Burlap & Peach Modern Desert Wedding

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say we need more peach in the world. More peach and more burlap. Luckily, Karen and John, the happy couple in this real wedding understand the worth if giving good peach and burlap, and celebrated their big day in serious style. I'm loving their cute-as-a-button ring pillow, Karen's gorgeous laid-back style {simple veil, hair down, let the dress do the talking}, the family-style dining tables, and the glamorous golden table numbers. Throw in the wedding favour succulents and bluey mason jar vases, and I'm a very happy wedding blogger. Incredible photographs published with thanks to Sarah Yates.


Wednesday 4 June 2014

Nominate Before the Big Day for the Wedding Blog Awards 2014

How quickly a year passes!!! Last October, I was lucky enough to win Editor's Pick at the Wedding Magazine Wedding Blog Awards 2013, at a start-studded ceremony at The Ritz Hotel. It was a FANTASTIC evening, and an amazing honour to win - and I can't tell you how much of a confidence boost it gave me. So I'm hoping I'm not pushing my luck, by asking you to vote for me ALL OVER AGAIN! Wedding Magazine have just launched the application process for 2014, and I have a huge favour to ask. Could you quickly tap in a few words for praise for me? This year I'm going for Best Big Day Inspiration, as I rather think it suits Before the Big Day. All you need to do is visit Wedding magazine's blog awards page and fill in the deets. Literally a one minute affair, and everyone who nominates will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win golden tickets to Wedding Magazine's fabulous Bloggers' Tea Party {oh yes!}, and a Diamonfire jewellery set worth £80. Plus it would make me a very happy lady....almost as happy as this bride!


{Photo Credit} the very talented We Resolve

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Exciting Alex Monroe Jewellery Sample Sale

My favourite jewellery designer of all time, Alex Monroe, is hosting a sample sale round the corner from my house. It's like they planned it especially for me! My mum gave me his Bumble Bee necklace for my 30th birthday, and I still wear it every day. You'll love his nature-inspired, intricate necklaces, rings and bracelets, and you're bound to pick up presents for your bridesmaids, or even something naughty for your wedding day. Prices will start at £40, and on sale you'll find samples, discontinued jewellery & slight seconds from across their collections. It all starts this Saturday 7th & Sunday 8th June at the hip Shoreditch venue, The Hoxton Hotel. I'll be there bang-on 11am, and the sale is open each day until 6pm. There's an Entry Fee of £1, which will be donated to The Haven Breast Cancer Support Centre. Enjoy!


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Tuesday 3 June 2014

Pretty Unique Printable Wedding Stationery

Given half a chance, I'd spend hours of every day browsing the amazing artistic offerings that make up Etsy. If you haven't discovered it yet, you're going to fall head-over-heels. Along with Pinterest {& Before the Big Day}, it's the only website you need to create a truly individual wedding day. My latest find are the fabulous stationery designers behind Yes Dear, Studio. Aubrey and Philip create gorgeous, unique wedding invitations and Save the Dates - many printable at home - a genius idea to save you precious pennies. My favourites are pictured below - I love the vinyl botanical design {which comes with a real-life record!}, the desert-style invitations, and the library book style. They've also designed bookmark Save the Dates, so you can start your theme from the start!





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Monday 2 June 2014

Destination Mexican Wedding Featuring a Donkey & Tequilla

The perfect wedding is an alchemy of romance, design and organisation, plus a supercalifragilistic-expialidocious photographer. In this case Stephanie Williams from This Modern Romance, seriously rocked the wedding photographs, taking pics of every little, exquisite detail. The bride and groom behind this romance are Erica and Abrahm, who celebrated their big day on Valentine's Day in the gorgeous mountain town of San Miguel De Allende in Mexico, at an historic colonial villa called Casa Chorro. The wedding theme of orange and grey, succulents, wood and French linen worked perfectly with the venue, and I've fallen for Erica's lace Monique Lhuillier dress, bespoke-dyed Kate Spade shoes and succulent bouquet. Their wedding coordinator, Guadalupe Alvarez from Penzi Weddings, did an amazing job of coordinating the three days of celebration. Not only did she provide the flowers, decor, and Benito the tequila donkey, but her team built the whole raised reception dance floor on the villa grounds in less than two days! Amazing!


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