How to use Balloons to Brighten Up Your Big Day

Who doesn't love a balloons? Cheep and cheerful, a big bunch can add a huge amount of colour and texture to your wedding. The secret is in the size and/or the quantity.

You either need a few massive balloons, or hundreds of small ones, and they have to be filled with helium. Anything else starts to look like a slightly sad children's party.

We used giant white ones at our wedding, and I'd recommend looking on Amazon and eBay to find the best deal. To save money, buy helium from party shops like Party Pieces or Argos, and fill them up on the morning of your wedding. Pimp your balloons with fancy strings....for inspiration check out The Giant Balloon Company or buy them from Out of My Bubble.

                                                  Mr & Mrs Balloons by Out of My Bubble

                                             Blush Pink Wall Decoration by Belle Epoque Co

Giant Balloons by Out of My Bubble

1. Letter Balloons by Out of My Bubble, 2. Heart Balloons by Belle Epoque Co

Will You Marry Me Balloon by Belle Epoque Co

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Enormous Gold Love Balloons for Your Wedding

If you asked me why I have such a crush on giant letter balloons, I honestly couldn't give you the answer. There's just something hilarious and beautiful about them. We had silver LOVE balloons at both our London ceremony and French wedding, and they made for the most brilliant props. It's easy-peasy to buy them yourself, and pump them up with helium from eBay - I'd just recommend buying two of each, just in case one fails on your wedding day. If you wanted an alternative XO looks super-effective, or your initials, or you could get really ambitious and spell out Happy Ever After! Check out my other blog posts for more balloon ideas.

{Picture Credit} Supply and Co

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An Elegant Wedding with Giant Pink Balloons & Jimmy Choos - The Reception

It's pom pom time! Regular readers will know I've been a fan of DIY tissue pom poms ever since I made them for my own wedding. They were such a success, and so easy to make, that I've been recommending them as the cheap and chic wedding decoration. Fab couple Joe and Mimi chose pastels as their wedding colour palette, and I love their cheerful peach, pink and cerise poms. Throw in a Kate Moss-inspired wedding cake, a brilliant photo booth and hundreds of vases of avalanche roses, and I'm a very happy wedding blogger indeed. Enjoy Chris Giles Photography's brilliant wedding pictures, and Mimi's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire. There's tonnes of great tips and vendors there for you to steal!

Joe and I got married on July 27th 2013. The service was held at St. Margaret's Church, Fernhurst in West Sussex, and then the reception was at The Duke Of Cumberland Arms, a beautiful 15th Century pub. 

I didn't have any bridesmaids - instead my daughter Evie and my niece, Holly were my flower girls. They wore beautiful silk chiffon dresses from I Love Gorgeous, which had a dusky pink satin ribbon tie and hand embroidered roses. 

An Elegant Wedding with Giant Pink Balloons & Jimmy Choos

It's rare for a wedding to include three of my favourite decorations in the world - giant fluffy pompoms, a carnival-style sign, and enormous round balloons! But Joe and Mimi have managed to tick all my wedding boxes, with their beautifully styled, quintessentially English big day. Like all sensible couples, Joe and Mimi drew on the talents of many of their friends and family to save their pennies and create a truly personal wedding. Mimi's mother made her wedding dress, drawing inspiration from Phillippa Lepley's designs, Joe's good friend hosted their wedding at his pub, The Duke Of Cumberland Arms, and Joe {yes THE GROOM} made the wedding cake! He is a professional chef, who specialises in cakes and cake decorating, but still - that's some pretty impressive skills. I've fallen for Mimi's pretty 'just-picked' bouquet, her apricot and pastel pink colour scheme, and her beautifully dressed flower girls and page boys. Stunning pictures published with thanks to Chris Giles Photography.

Joe and I got married on July 27th 2013. The service was held at St. Margaret's Church, Fernhurst in West Sussex, and then the reception was at The Duke Of Cumberland Arms, a beautiful 15th Century pub.

I am extremely lucky to have a mummy who was once a professional seamstress - she had made my two other sisters wedding dresses, and so I challenged her to do mine - a combination of a few Phillippa Lepley designs. 

Hot Air Balloon Wedding Theme

Have you ever been in a hot air balloon? I haven't, but there's something uniquely romantic about them. The idea that you could just float away together into the sunset, surrounded by billowing silk. It's all about new beginnings, and of course the film Up provides tonnes of inspiration. Just imagine a gorgeous wedding themed around the hot air balloon. You could include lots of stripes to mirror the fabric of the balloon, and lunch could be served in picnic baskets decorated with giant balloons. Take a look at these gorgeous ideas and products, and don't miss my Love is in the Air Pinterest page for tonnes more wedding inspiration.

{Photo Credit} Jose Villa - more on Before the Big Day here

{Photo Credit} Jessmyn Harris, see more from this wedding | 2. Unknown

{Photo Credit} Jade and Matthew Take Pictures

{Photo Credit} Logan Cole, see more from this hot air balloon wedding

{Credit} Hot Air Balloon Wedding Invitations by Hootsie

{Credit} 1. Hot Air Balloon Fingerprint Guest Book by Bleu de Toi | 2. Hot Air Balloon Wedding Invitations by InkPad Design

{Photo Credit} Caroline Tran, more from this wedding on Style Me Pretty

{Credit} Hot Air Balloon Wedding Invitation by Eden Craft Project

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Amazing Rainbow Honeymoon Shoot

So I need to come clean - I've actually posted this honeymoon shoot before, but my newborn baby has decided to have a growth spurt this week, so I've had no chance to do any blogging! Instead I bet on the fact some of you lovely brides-to-be might not have spotted this fabulousness in Before the Big Day's archives. Combining a rainbow theme and hot air balloons, it's a dreamy concoction that ticks every one of my blogging boxes. Shot by Jose Villa, and style by Joy Thigpen, it's too perfect for words. Don't you wish you could be swept away in a hot air balloon the morning after your wedding? So romantic! P.S. For more from Before the Big Day's archives, be sure to take a look at our Real Weddings, Wedding Themes and 2013 Wedding Trends.

♥ Want to see honeymoon ideas? ♥ Or how about balloon wedding ideas? ♥

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A Marie Antoinette Inspired Balloon Wedding Shoot - Part 2

The balloon shots from this wedding shoot were so fabulous, they deserve a blog post of their own! Shot and styled by the fantastic team at Synergy Styling and Photography, on location at the The Deer Park Country House Hotel, these pictures are the perfect inspiration for your wedding portrait photographs. It's often difficult to relax in front of the camera on your wedding day, and fun photo props can help bring out the real you, having a good time! You could easily ask friends to organise this simple and budget-friendly idea at your own wedding venue, choosing a balloon colour that fits in with your wedding theme. For more inspiration on how to use balloons at your wedding, check out my Pinterest page.

{Wedding Shoot Credits}
Location: The Deer Park Country House Hotel
Styling: Sue Fyfe-Williams, Synergy Styling and Photography
Photography: Venetia Norrington, Synergy Styling and Photography
Bunting: Bunting with Love
Chair Covers: Beautifully Seated
Dress: Kate Walker Bridal
Favours: Cookies with Love
Flowers: Claire Hassall, Haughty Culture
Hair: Bridal Hair by Helen
Make-up: Elle Hitchens
Models: Sarah and Graeme at Shoot DHS Models

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A Marie Antoinette Inspired Tea-Party Wedding Shoot

Take one beautiful venue, add a Marie Antoinette theme and a rather delicious tea-party, and you've got one seriously fabulous wedding shoot. You can't fail to feel inspired by these fun images, styled and shot by Synergy Styling and Photography. I've fallen for the bride's Marie Antoinette hair-style, her flirty pink parsol and divine Charlotte Balbier gown. Even the groom looks handsome enough to eat - in dapper black tie. Menswear in the UK tends to favour morning suits, but I'm a huge fan of the US fashion for men to wear black tie at evening weddings - definitely an export worth considering for your own big day. With bunting, a cake stand, vintage china and tea-party themed wedding favours, this is one wedding theme you could easily imitate without breaking the bank. Hire vintage china, or start collecting from car-boot sales and charity shops now! Huge thanks to Venetia Norrington, from Firetopp Photography for her beautiful pictures.

{Wedding Shoot Credits}
Location: The Deer Park Country House Hotel
Styling: Sue Fyfe-Williams, Synergy Styling and Photography
Photography: Venetia Norrington, Synergy Styling and Photography
Bunting: Bunting with Love
Chair Covers: Beautifully Seated
Dress: Kate Walker Bridal
Favours: Cookies with Love
Flowers: Claire Hassall, Haughty Culture
Hair: Bridal Hair by Helen
Make-up: Elle Hitchens
Models: Sarah and Graeme at Shoot DHS Models

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Real Pink & Sparkle Wedding: Lialah & Daniel - Part 2

So with all my excitement yesterday {new Jubilee Offer for Advertisers}, I completely forgot to put up Part 2 of this gorgeous peony pink, giant balloon, Simply Bloom Photography wedding. With tonnes of vintage wedding details, and more pretty petals than you can shake a stick at, you're going to want to save every picture on your Pinterest wedding inspiration board. Just take a look at the super-cool alter area, created with vintage pastel-painted doors, and the vintage lantern, dresser and candlesticks. I'm also slightly obsessed with the pine cones {so good to see them at a summer wedding}, and the blue mason jars, which are so expensive here in the UK and incredibly cheap in the US {v unfair}. Don't miss the picture of the wedding cake by Lady Bugg Bakery, with its gorgeous silhouette cake topper, created by DIY bride Lialah - stunning! Beautiful pictures published with thanks the team at Simply Bloom Photography. You can read more about this wedding on the wedding blog Green Wedding Shoes.

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