Hole Lot of Punch

Feeling inspired to craft? It's a sure-fire way to personalise your big day, and a whole lot of fun in the meantime. If you're frightened of glue guns and glitter, try paper punchers to get you in the crafting groove. From simple patterns, to shaping and scalloping corners, the possibilities are endless. And when you've punched hundreds of holes, you can use the discarded shapes as table confetti! Try Glitter Monster Crafts for the shapes below.

BBD Theme: On Your High Horse

If you're getting married in the countryside, then why not consider an equestrian theme? Totally romantic, it harks back to a more chivalrous era, and would set a genteel tone to your big day. There's also endless motifs to add charm to your stationery and reception, starting of course with the lucky horse-shoe. Use rosettes as button holes and favours, encourage your page boys to carry hobby horses, and why not ride side-saddle up the aisle? And after a barn-dance or hoe-down, gallop into the sunset with the man of your dreams (hopefully not the best man!). Great news! Several of the vendors below have agreed to give discounts to Before the Big Day readers. Check out the details below.

Product Credits (from top left) - Horseshoe Stationery: Creative Ris, Horseshoe pendant: Bri Guys Girls, Hobby Horse: Rustic Horsehoe, Wedding Gown; B Trousseau Vintage Horseshoe Locket: Cosmic Girl, Red Horseshoe Heart: Altered Iron, (from middle left) Crocheted Rosette: Ninon, Corset: Jills Corsets, Lucy Horseshoe Ring: Michelle Chang Jewelry, Vintage Cowboy Boots: Trivial Pursuit, (from botton left) Horse Motif Stickers: Seasonal Delights, Fine Gold Horseshoe Pendant: Metal Made, Confetti: Not on the High Street, Persian Horsemen Stationery: Drenculture, Lucy Horseshoe Pendant: E Ria Designs

We ♥ Offers
Michelle Chang Jewelry is offering 15% off from now till end of Feb
Rustic Horsehoe and Altered Iron are offering 10% off
Cosmic Girl and Jills Corsets are offering free shipping with any purchase.
With all the deals, just mention Before the Big Day to the seller to claim your discount.

New Zine in Town

Already a huge fan of the e-zine Utterly Engaged? Well there's a new zine in town, and it's just as fabulous! Just launched, fresh off the press, and totally brilliant, it's called NonPareil magazine and the theme for the first edition is Beautiful on a Budget. Full of ideas for creating a wedding masterpiece, you'll be brimming with inspirational ideas after just a couple of pages!

Lavender & Honey

The French definitely know their food and drink, and they're a pretty stylish bunch, but I'd recommend looking further than gay Paris for inspiration. Just north of the Cote D'Azur is gorgeous Provence, the land of lavender, olives, sage, rosemary and honey. Check these mood boards out for a veritable feast of stealworthy ideas.

Keeping it Green

Favours have become one of the major cards to play for a couple looking to make their big day stand out from the crowd. There are millions of ideas out there, and I'd recommend a virtual stroll through Etsy if you fancy a few ideas. That's exactly what I just did, and I stumbled across Ormolu who isn't just massively talented, she's also super-eco-friendly, as her favours are professionally printed on recycled papers with soy inks using wind-power. That's a whole level of green that I didn't even know existed! Each of the 26 alphabet tags have their own particular sentiment... my favourites are "D is for delight", "J is for joy", "R is for remember" and "U is for us".

We ♥ Competitions

One way to keep down costs for your big day is to win competitions. It's a long-shot, but someone's got to win them. Try these links on for luck!

♥ Win your honeymoon, and Italian reception, and a gorgeous corset plus much more at You and Your Wedding (registration required).
♥ Win an amazing honeymoon in Malaysia at Brides Magazine. 
♥ Want a two night stay at the super luxe Taj Hotel in Boston’s fashionable Newbury Street? Enter the competition on the Elegala site by telling them your unique, buzzworthy, wedding idea.
♥ Win Helen Carter's Wedding Planner software worth £75 through the Wedding magazine.

♥ Win a Pixcellence Digital Wedding Photography Package worth £1250

Lets Hear it for Wood

**Trend Alert**  This summer, weddings are going to be all about wood. "???"  Stay with me here, it'll make sense in a sec. As we all get greener and more eco-friendly, our moods are turning towards natural products, and that's coming out in the number of woody products on the market. Don't believe me? Well check out all the stationery products below - don't you know, paper is soooo passé!

Product Credits (from the top): Love Tags: Perch Papiers, I love you Wood Cards: Palomas Nest, Bird Cards: Cabin, Wood Wedding Invitations & RSVP Card: Baumbirdy, Eco-Friendly Log Card Kit: Co Design, Faux Bois Cards: Paper Pumpkin, Wood Gift Tags & Placemarkers: Emililies, Printed Wood Cards: Night Owl Paper Goods

Snippet & Ink Mood Board ♥1

There's a fabulous wedding blog in the States called Snippet & Ink, and I've long admired author Kathryn's gorgeous mood boards. Here's her latest, entitled Juliet & Blue, which just makes me long for a summer garden wedding. Check out her site for all the picture credits. Meanwhile if you're keen to create your own board, click here for the magical Colour Palette Generator - it's amazing.