Upcoming Wedding Fairs

If you're looking for fresh and fun wedding ideas to make your big day stand out from the crowd, then you're not going to want to miss the up-coming Spring/Summer Wedding Fairs. They're always chock-a-block with the latest fashions and trends in everything from dresses to stationery, and everything in-between. I'm particularly excited about the The Wedding Sanctuary, which I'll be attending on Sunday 20th March. See more details below, but if you can't attend follow my Twitter feed here, and prepare yourself for an onslaught of wedding inspiration.

♥ If you're a London bride looking for a venue and vendor ideas, don't miss The Wedding Sanctuary on 20th March. It's an innovative wedding show designed to offer top design inspiration, personal style advice and the best one-on-one planning support available. Top names in the industry such as Julia Boggio Photography, Sassi Holford, Zoe Clark Cakes and Emmy Shoes will be paired with the fabulous wedding planners who make up the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners to offer top tips and the opportunity to ask specific questions regarding every element of your wedding day.

Even the grooms will be catered for, thanks to the wedding bloggers from Staggered who will be on hand to help with suits, stag dos and speeches. The Alliance will also be offering a range of talks addressing the trickier issues when planning your wedding like how to set and stick to a budget, and how to get the best from your suppliers. You will also be able to have a personal tour of the sumptuous Somerset House and enjoy the splendid views and facilities on offer. Don't miss it!

Tickets only cost £10 for one or £15 for two, so it's a real bargain - click here for tickets

 ♥ Meanwhile just minutes away, Wimbledon bridal boutique Luella's Boudoir is hosting a Wedding Fair at One Marylebone on the 20th and 21st March.

They've teamed up with Cosmo Bride, plus experts from Bespoke Events London, Hayford & Rhodes, Rhubarb Food Design and the Little Venice Cake Company to provide all-round wonderful wedding inspiration! Add in some seriously gorgeous gowns thanks to designers like Charlotte Casedejus, Lisa Redman, Jaqueline Byrne, Caroline Atelier and Aussie designer Johanna Johnson {my favourite!}, and you've got a match made in heaven.

Yarwood White will also be showcasing their latest bridal hair accessories and jewellery. And there'll be stunning engagement rings on display, including unique oval cut diamonds.

Tickets cost just £12 each (or take along your mum or a friend and get two for the special price of £18) with £2.00 per ticket going towards The Eve Appeal. Click for more information.

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Introducing Renira and Jane Photography

Your wedding is going to be one of the biggest days of your life, and you're going to want some seriously exceptional photographs to record those magical moments. Renira and Jane Photography have a unique approach to shooting a wedding and between the two of them they capture the whole story of the day from every angle, with personality and fun. With a combined seventeen years in professional portrait experience, you can trust them to take gorgeous photographs you'll treasure forever. Based in Oxfordshire, they're happy to travel, and their 2011 package includes an engagement shoot, so you can all get to know each other. By the time you reach your wedding day you'll be comfortable in-front of their cameras, and pose-perfect! Check out some of their work below, and keep checking back on Before the Big Day for more of their real weddings.

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Real English Beachside Wedding: Diana & Adam

As soon as the sunshine comes out, my thoughts turn to the seaside and to beach weddings. Whether you're planning a destination wedding or a UK seaside affair, you'll love the wedding inspiration from Diana and Adam's gorgeous big day. Weddings by the sea are amongst the easiest to theme, because there's so many iconic images. Diana and Adam used them all to great effect; my favourite wedding ideas to steal are the rock favours, the fish and chip snack straight after the church service, the beach hut pictures. I'm also loving the bridemaids flower crowns and Adam's dapper top hat and tails! Gorgeous pictures published with thanks to Anna Rosell.

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Cute Wedding Day Jewellery

We all know that when a couple gets engaged, the boy gives his girl a ring to seal the deal. But did you know that traditionally, the groom gives the bride a present on her wedding day as well? Grooms at this stage might be shaking their heads slightly ("Where's my gift?"), until they spot this gorgeous necklace that could solve all their problems. So it's not a string of pearls, but it says we're together forever, and what more could a bride want on her big day? Pick one up from Lucky Accessories.

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Spring Yellow Wedding Theme

Doesn't it feel like the first day of spring to you? We've got lovely golden sunshine in London town, and I'm going to take myself down to Colombia Flower Market and go bulb crazy. There's nothing prettier than planters of fresh daffodils, and I'm feeling hugely inspired by this heart-warming yellow shoot from inspirational e-zine Utterly Engaged.  The stylists have brilliantly illustrated how you can carry your theme from the invitation to cake, without going overboard, and yellowing people out. Plus picking flowers of all the same colour is a great way to add drama without ratcheting up the cost.

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Chic Minimalist Wedding Favours

Whatever you decide to give away as wedding favours - if indeed you decide to give favours at all {there's a debate to be had there!} - make sure they're wrapped just right. You definitely don't want to be choosing anything predictable. Instead go for a chic, utilitarian look with these graphically designed muslin and paper bags from Humunuku. Or you could borrow their wedding inspiration, buy a stamp from Etsy and make your own!

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Cute Clutches for Your Bridesmaids

If you're looking to coordinate your bridesmaids, then don't forget their accessories! They'll be needing a cute clutch to hold all the bridal essentials; lip gloss, plaster, Bach's Rescue Remedy, needle and thread, mini-fan, etc, etc! These cute clutches from Oatmeal Lace Design can be completely customized with coordinating interior lining and exterior fabrics, and come with one detachable bloom at your request.
 

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Before the Big Day Wedding Theme - Butterflies

Choosing a wedding theme should be fantastic fun. You can let your imagination run wild, and pick something that reflects your personality, lifestyle and venue. If you're looking for a fashion-forward wedding, buttefly-themed weddings are seriously on-trend for spring and summer 2011. They've fluttered their way onto dresses, wedding cakes, stationery, wedding favours, and now on to wedding blogs! For plenty more Before the Big Day wedding theme ideas, click here.

{Above} Butterfly wedding dress by Alice Temperley, Papillon wedding dress by Jenny Packham

{Above} Butterfly Wedding via wedding blog Brooklyn Bride

{Above} Butterfly-printed silk wedding gown from Colleen Quen Couture, Butterfly Bouquet via wedding blog Brooklyn Bride, Butterfly Stamps & Favours, created by Amber Karson Events via wedding blog Ruffled

{Above} DIY Butterfly Cake via Before the Big Day

{Above} Butterfly Bouquet pictured by Adrienne Maples via wedding blog Style Me Pretty

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Wonderful Wedding DIY Ideas

One of the favourite aspects of my wedding planning has been the DIY projects. I wasn't very crafty before The Boy asked me to marry him, but I quickly realised that DIY was going to be the only way we could afford all the fun ideas I wanted to include in our wedding day. Plus, I think DIY weddings are always much more personal to the bride and groom. You can see my DIY wedding projects here - I've had varying degrees of success, and I'll be able to show you much more next week once we've finally sent our invitations out. In the meantime, feast your eyes on these fabulous crafting items from Inspire Lovely. Just looking at them makes me feel inspired, so I hope they give you plenty of wedding ideas too!

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Real Yellow-Themed Wedding: Lesego & Lize

This gorgeous garden wedding is bursting with personality. It shows exactly how you can combine your own quirky characters into a wedding that truly celebrates who you are as people. Lesego & Lize tied the knot on a beautiful farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg surrounded by their awesome families and lots of colour, love and joy! The happy couple chose sunny yellow as their theme colour, and added plenty of DIY wedding details. I'm loving the lanterns, the ushers ties, the hay bales, the white ceramic vases and the stunning grey and yellow wedding stationery. As a wonderful memory-maker, Lesego and Lize asked their guests to sign a quilt - such a clever idea, and a wonderful record of a beautiful day. Huge thanks to We Love Pictures for these gorgeous detail-filled photographs.

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