Real Luxury Red-Themed Wedding: Gwen & David

Every now and then a wedding comes along that just completely blows my mind. This is one of them. Every detail is super-chic, and en masse they're a perfectly mixed, uber-elegant, rock n' roll wedding cocktail. With red and black as their theme, Gwen and David selected luxury red roses as their flowers of choice, which tied in Gwen's bright red lipstick, their red cupcakes and even their signature cocktail Lady in Red. Everything else was black, including Gwen's bridesmaids dresses and the table cloths - such a dramatic look. My favourite detail has to be the table markers-slash-favours. Designed as vinyl records, guests had to flick through Gwen and David's 'record collection' to find their seat, which is an amazing idea for the music lovers out there. Simply stunning photographs as ever from the talented Stephanie Williams - she really knows how to catch every detail. And if you're wondering about the dramatic location, it's Union Station in Los Angeles, which is, I'm sure you'll agree, a pretty kick-ass venue.

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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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Real Monochrome & Pink Wedding: Denee & David

Everyone's individual wedding style is fabulous, but occasionally a wedding comes along that is just so 'you', you want to copy every little detail. Denee and David's big day is soooo my style. The cute muslin lavender bags, the striped ribbon on the buttonholes, the black-centre anenomes and Denee's fabulous Erin Cole veil are all just perfect, and that's before we get to the reception. I love the clear-sided marquee, the chunky church candles and the monogrammed menus. Denee picked slate grey as her signature colour, and the silky ribbon around the cake and table runners create a real feeling of restrained elegance. Massive thanks to the ladies at Simply Bloom Photography for their hugely inspiring pictures.

♥ Want more winter wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about grey-themed weddings? ♥

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Incredible Tinted Wedding Dresses - Would You?

Do you already have a picture of your wedding dress in your mind's eye? If you're looking for someone to create your fantasy dress, then look no further than the NYC-based British designer, Samuelle. Inspired by the ideas and vision of each individual bride, Samuelle will create the custom wedding dress of your dreams. I've fallen hard for her delicate blush gowns! My favourite it is the one in the last picture with the pink tinted bottom.

♥ Want more wedding dress ideas? ♥ Or how about pastel wedding ideas? ♥

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Real Romantic Castle Wedding: Natasha & Chris

Combine a castle, a beautiful Grecian-style wedding dress, and classically English country-garden flowers, and you've got one very happy wedding blogger. I'm completely in love with the elegant style of this beautiful wedding, with its lovely bridesmaids dressed in dark blue, and flower girls in white. This was a seriously big wedding party! Gorgeous couple, Natasha and Chris chose Hedingham Castle in Essex for their wedding venue, and said their vows in a Norman keep built around 1140 {wow!}, before heading outside into the beautiful gardens for their wedding portraits. I'm loving the flowers girls' crowns {huge trend for this season}, Natasha's chic up-do, Chris' sharp three-piece suit, and the gorgeous, pastel delphinium table flowers. Beautiful pictures published with thanks to the very talented Amy Turner at Imag1ne.

♥ Want more summer wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about castle wedding ideas? ♥

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We L♥ve Etsy Weddings

Any bride worth her salt needs to know about Etsy. During my wedding planning it was my go-to website for wedding inspiration, and bespoke, unique wedding details. As a wedding blogger, it's equally fabulous for spotting wedding trends in the making, and DIY ideas. If you've not discovered it yet, you're in for a treat. It's like eBay, but without the auctions, and with a massive dollop of handmade and vintage chic. Tonnes of talented individuals from around the world sell their beautiful wedding {and non-wedding} products, and you'll be blown away by the loveliness. If you follow me on Twitter, you might have spotted that on Friday, the Etsy UK team hosted a wonderful press breakfast with yummy pastries! I had to keep it secret till now, but today Etsy launched a special wedding website, combining curated wedding trends, how-to's, expert advice and real weddings, and of course shopping. They've also introduced a new service - the Etsy Wedding Registry, so you can pack your wedding list with unique and vintage items - woohoo! I just wish they'd started it a year ago for my wedding - we went with Heal's in the end - great service, but not as much fun.

♥ Want more vintage wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about DIY wedding ideas? ♥

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DIY Bride Wedding Stationery Ideas

Every now and then I stumble on a website that makes me feel like it's Christmas Eve. You know that feeling of butterflies in the tummy? That's what I get about the online stationery boutique Wonderland Room. Before my wedding I went slightly crazy and bout tonnes of treats, including the boxes you can see below, plus the roller stamp and tonnes of washi tape. I used the rolling stamp to spell out my guests names on their place cards - a super easy DIY wedding project.

♥ Want more wedding decoration ideas? ♥ Or how about DIY wedding ideas? ♥

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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!

 ♥ Want to see more DIY wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about wedding favour ideas? ♥

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