Seriously Cool Modern Cake Toppers

Got something to say? These seriously cool cake toppers will add a dollop of Danish chic to your cupcakes and canapés. Whatsmore, they'all double up as fabulous photo-props for your guests - particularly the moustaches, which come in several styles and sizes, from Mexican to Bearded. Designed by crafter Sarah Goldschadt from her home-studio in Copenhagen, you can buy them from her Etsy shop, Goldylocks, or pick up the DIY templates from her website.  

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Easy Lavender Wedding Favour DIY Project

Copying doesn't come easily to me - I was never one to look over my classmate's shoulder during a maths test, but when something as gorgeous as this tumbled into my Inbox, I couldn't resist! Cotswolds-based textiles designer Charlotte Macey sent out a DIY project for cute lavender sachets via Daily Candy, and I simply have to pass it on..... Wouldn't they make the best wedding favours? Charlotte promises it's easy-peasy, with no crafting experience required, so check out the instructions below. Never picked up a needle? Buy ready-made hearts from Charlotte here!

You’ll need:
Handful of lavender ♥ An old shirt or patch of fabric ♥ Needle and thread ♥ 1 cute button ♥ 1 pretty ribbon ♥ Piece of card approximately 15 cm by 10 cm ♥ Pinking shears

1. Pick a handful of lavender from the park {don’t get caught, and don’t blame us if you do}, bunch it together and hang it upside down to dry in a cool, dark place for a week. Once it’s dry, remove the buds with your hand.
2. Make a heart-shaped template approximately 9.5 cm wide and 13.5 cm high using a piece of folded card. Trace around the template onto two pieces of fabric, then cut with pinking shears. Sew button onto the middle of one.
3. Lay one heart piece on top of the other and loop ribbon in between to create a hook (any length you like), then pin it all together.
4. Sew around the heart, approximately 0.5 cm in from the edge, leaving a 4 cm gap on one of the long sides of the heart. Remove pins.
5. Fill with the dried lavender buds and sew the last few centimetres of your heart to seal it up.
6. Hang your creation inside your wardrobe to keep hungry moths away from winter clothes or place it under your pillow for a peaceful night’s sleep.

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DIY Wedding Fortune Tellers

One of the best things about meeting all the brides-to-be at The In-Wedding Show, was finding out what themes you are considering for your own wedding. Shabby-chic and vintage weddings are here to stay, as are butterfly motifs and vintage key themes. Wedding DIY projects were hugely popular - not least pom-pom making, and I'm predicting DIY weddings are a definitely a trend that's here to stay. One of the items on my stand that caught the eye of most brides, were my DIY fortune tellers. We included these at our own wedding, and my lovely husband designed and made each by hand - all 100 of them! The fortune tellers included fun facts about us as a couple, and inside, the menu for our evening meal. It was fantastic to see people working out how to use them as they sat down to dinner - they acted as a brilliant icebreaker. Make your own, by following the simple instructions below, or buy them via an Etsy seller like A Bespoke Touch or Kat's Crafts.

How To DIY Your Wedding Fortune Teller
★ First things first! Early on in your wedding planning, choose a signature font, and use it for all your DIY projects. It'll make everything look pulled together, and professional. At my wedding, we used a font called English which I downloaded for free from the internet. There's tonnes of free fonts available online, but be warned, once you start looking, it's impossible to choose which one!
★ Click for a fortune teller tutorial. When you click on the link, it'll automatically download the template onto your computer {the file is called 'cootiecatcher'}.
★ If this doesn't work, go to this link, click on 'Resources' and scroll down until you see Cootie Catcher {quite far down}. If you click on the link, it will automatically download the template.
★ Once you've downloaded the template and tutorial, all you need to do is open it in PowerPoint, and start adding your own details. Huge thanks to Gail Lovely for making this available.
★ You might have to practice a few times with the positioning of the words. Remember you can add pictures or symbols too! We added the name of our venue, the date of our wedding, and I Do!

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Fun Origami Wedding Favours & Wedding Cake Toppers

As soon as a spotted these fun origami wedding accessories, I knew I had to feature them on Before the Big Day. There's something super adorable about the hearts and stars, and as a wedding blogger, I feel inspired just looking at them! They'd work brilliantly as cupcake decorations, or topping cocktail stirrers. Alternatively scatter them like confetti on your wedding dining tables, or place on neatly at each place. If you were feeling extremely extravagant, you could given throw them as confetti! Created by Coppleshop and sold on Etsy, they're a super-green wedding detail, because you can make them out of recycled paper. Learn how to DIY your own 3D origami wedding hearts, and 3D origami lucky stars.

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Brilliant Cheap & Chic Bridesmaid Presents & A Competition!

Ever since one of my coolest friends chose Alphabet Bags for presents for her bridesmaids {pics here}, I've had a mega-crush on their fab designs. So when I discovered they'd launched a special range for weddings, I got very excited, and sent them a quick email promising a feature here on Before the Big Day. Imagine my excitement when they wrote back offering a fabulous Giveaway AND a Discount Code {sooo deserving of capital letters}. Win 5 bags from the Alphabet Bag Wedding Collection for you and your bridesmaids! All you need to do is Like Before the Big Day on Facebook, and leave a comment below saying which is your favourite bag. I'll announce the winner a week today {29th March}. Don't worry if you don't win, you can still get 15% off this week on bags, with the code BIGDAY.

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DIY Bride - Homemade Tissue Flowers

My preparations for The InWedding Show are in full swing, and all I can think about are the decorations for my Before the Big Day stand, and the room where I'll be hosting my special wedding inspiration sessions. It's just like planning for another wedding! I've been buying vintage props like this vintage typewriter, old apple crates, and crafting materials like peach tissue paper, colourful inks and heart-patterned straws. I'll be hosting four sessions on 22nd April, on the themes 'How to Make Your Wedding Fabulous {Themes & Colours}' and 'DIY Weddings Made Easy'. As part of my planning, I've been practicing my DIY skills, and I'm particularly pleased with how these little tissue flowers turned out. Made with nothing more than tissue paper, a toothpick and glue, they take less than 3 minutes to make! Check out the tutorial from fabulous crafting blog Oh Happy Day, and make sure you sign up for my wedding inspiration sessions when you buy your tickets for The In Wedding Show {only £3.50 in advance}.

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My Latest Obsession - Wedding Macaroons

I'm aware that I'm hugely behind the curve on this, and that the macaron-trend ship has well and truly sailed, but I've suddenly become obsessed with macaroons at weddings. It's part of my new love of colour and brights, which in turn is almost certainly a response to the endless grey of the English winter. Once hugely expensive, you can now by macaroons at M&S, making them an affordable treat, and a lovely present for a girlfriend who's invited you round for dinner. Of course, the Ladurée macaroons {or macarons in French} will always be the ultimate luxury, for the packaging alone! If you can't afford to give all your guests a box of macaroons as a wedding favour, why not try a DIY macaroon wedding cake?

{Photo Credit} Aimeentnguyen via Vintage Rose Garden

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Wedding Favours - Wrap With Love

One of my favouite activities is wedding window-shopping at Etsy - I thoroughly recommend it to anyone with a spare minute to fill! On my metaphorical stroll earlier today, I discovered LillaLotta, the sweetest little store of handmade cotton tapes. It's run by Anna Barrow, who lives in a sleepy little village in the South of France, with her large noisy family of five little children. Along with her standard selection below, Anna also offers bespoke tapes, decorated with the wording and images of your choice. Just imainge - there are so many ways you could use the tape on your big day, from tying your bouquets and buttonholes, decorating table vases and, of course, adding to personalised wedding favours.

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Cute Felt Heart Wedding Favours

This winter wedding season is all about fabulous felt! It's being used in all the best wedding details, from favours to decorations. It's one of the easiest materials for crafting, as your stitches either disappear in the fabric, or work as a detail in the design. It's also super-cheap, a key asset for the DIY bride. Check out a tutorial on how to create your own hearts here or here, and buy your felt from eBay. I've fallen in love with these gorgeous felt and wool hearts by Sweet PB, so if you're not in the mood for wedding DIY, you can always get creative with your credit card! I'd use them as table decorations that would double as favours, or you could create giant hearts for your flower girls to carry instead of bouquets.

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DIY Christmas Wedding Favours

Edible wedding favours are always popular, and these gorgeous gingerbread men are the best addition to a winter wedding. Get your girlfriends baking, and encourage them to use their imagination in the decorating. Just imagine a gingerbread man bride and groom! These would also make a fantastic extra Christmas present - DIY your own with this recipe from The Primrose Bakery Book via Daily Candy.

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Hey DJ - How to Choose Your Wedding Music

Wedding dancing. It's a whole genre of its own. But how can you guarantee your guests will fill the dance floor all night? Why not ask them for their favourite tracks? Leave these fab, free, print-your-own cards on the tables through dinner, and encourage your guests to fill them in during dinner. They'll make for a fantastic conversation starter, and you can ask one of the ushers to pick them up ahead of the cake-cutting. Huge thanks to the team at brilliant blog The Wedding Chicks for this inspirational idea. Click here for the template.

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Say it with Wedding Cake

We're a HUGE fan of cupcakes here at Before the Big Day, and that probably explains the extreme excitement over our latest discovery. Yummy Card is simply the best invention since sliced bread, although it involves cake not bread. To be precise, it involves both a cake and a card. For the princely total sum of £9.50, you can send an individual, personalised cake PLUS a card anywhere in the UK via First Class post. Is it just me, or does that seem almost too cheap? I'm going to be sending them to everyone I know before they put the prices up! P.S. They also do Yummy Card wedding favours, although you'll need to give them a call to figure out logistics.

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Edible Wedding Place Cards & Cakes

After your wedding ceremony, all eyes are going to be on your wedding reception and the focal point - your wedding cake. So you're going to want your wedding cake to be one hot momma! Just lately, I've fallen for B Cake Studio's delicious designs. Angela runs the company, which is based in lovely South Wales, and she's an expert in modelling sugary fabulousness. Every wedding cake they make is bespoke, and designed to match your wedding colour scheme or complement your theme. She's also started making place card cookies as a twist on traditional place cards. They're great for a bride on a budget {place card and favour in one}, and they can be completely customised to coordinate with the wedding, right down to using the same font that was used on the wedding invites. Now that's what I call wedding inspiration.

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DIY Wedding Favours with Washi Tape

DIY brides looking to stamp their mark on their wedding favours need look no further than washi tape! This fabulous multi-coloured Japanese accessory is taking over the crafting world, and it's truly the easiest way to personalise your wedding. I'm loving the idea of combining these kraft-style boxes with washi tape, to create the perfect wedding favours for your guests. Check out Etsy sellers for thousands of different designs of washi tape - these are from Le Box Boutique.

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Vintage Teacup Wedding Favours

Vintage is a wedding trend that shows no signs of going out of fashion, and I'm a huge fan. There's something whimsical and romantic about using old-fashioned crockery at your big day, and it can add a lovely sense of history if you use old family china. If your grandparents have smashed theirs years ago, then never fear, Bedcrumb are here to save the day. They'll provide you with a cute vintage teacup and saucer, filled with scrumptious marshmallows or sweeties, all tied up in net with a vintage fabric bow, and a tag which can be personalised with your own special greeting. You could do all of this yourself, but for only £5 each, I'd be tempted to buy them in!

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Gorgeous Heart-Shaped Pottery Wedding Present

My husband and I {nope still not used to it!!} have just closed our wedding list, and are glowing in our guests' generosity. Some people who didn't even come to the wedding gave us presents - how kind is that! It's all slightly blown us away, and we can't wait to receive all our lovely gifts in a couple of weeks. This wedding business is something of a rush, as a bride, I can't quite believe you get an engagement ring, a gorgeous wedding dress, fabulous shoes, an amazing wedding day, a perfect handsome husband, and then people give you presents??? I feel like the treats should be spread out a bit more! We chose Heals for our wedding list, but if you're looking to go a bit more quirky, how about creating your own list with lots of gorgeous Etsy items on it? First on my list would be these gorgeous heart bowls from JD Wolfe Pottery - there's something about their earthenware nestling goodness that is right up my street.

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My Wedding Favours: Fortune Tellers & Vintage Keys

Wedding favours are a touchy subject. Some people think they're naff, others think they're a waste of money. Personally I think they're another opportunity to personalise your wedding, with the added benefit of giving your guests a warm and fuzzy feeling. At our wedding, we chose to give everyone a vintage key and the girls got grey pashminas, handed out by our amazing wedding planner, Kerry Bracken, as the sun set. The keys fitted in with our secret garden wedding theme, and everyone loved them! Lots of the ladies are still wearing them round their wrists or as necklaces, so they were definitely a hit. My Boy also created wedding fortune tellers, which included a Q&A about our relationship, plus the menu. It was fantastic to see people working out how to use them as they sat down to dinner. For a fortune teller tutorial, click here and search for Cootie Catcher {that's what Americans call Fortune Tellers}. Alternatively, you can buy them via Etsy seller Kat's Crafts. Gorgeous sneak-peak pictures by Jemma Harding Photography.

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Introducing Confetti Wedding Favours

Whether it's a Royal Wedding Street Party or your own fabulous big day, you're going to want to keep your eye on the little details. The wedding favours, the decorations, the table plan, the wedding stationery - it's all those little things that make a wedding stand out from the crowd. So don't miss the Confetti website - it's packed with ideas, and everything's organised by theme {so helpful!}.

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Introducing Azulsahara Stationery & Wedding Favours

Favours are a tricky subject for many brides. Some say that it's not a UK wedding tradition to give these mini-presents, but personally I'm all for them - not least because they're a fantastic opportunity to show your creative side. Whether you choose an edible option {chocolates are always appreciated}, or something more valuable, make sure you put yourself in the shoes of the guest - the last thing you want is discarded favours left on the table. Wedding stationery company Azulsahara help their brides with a fantastic selection of wedding favours, to match their invitations. This creates a fab 'together' look, where everything is the same pattern. Whatsmore, all their wedding favours are personalised with the names of the bride and groom, and the date of the wedding with no additional cost. Check out their gorgeous selection below, and on their website.

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Fun Wedding Biscuit Favours

Lots of brides agonise over what to have for their wedding favours, only to have them left, unloved, on the table at the end of the night. I know of one bride who handmade each guest a heart-shaped lavender bag, only to have half of them left behind - heartbreaking! One way to make sure your wedding favours are appreciated is to make them edible, and my latest crush is on these cute iced-bisuits from Biscuiteers. Pick one of the designs below, or get creative, and call on their special bespoke service, where you can work with them to create a brand new range of biscuits just for your wedding.

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