Bee Mine

Is there anything sweeter than this honeycomb heart? I'm hugely passionate about paper cuts - there's something uniquely romantic about an individual, handmade piece of art. Made by Louveteau in her Idaho studio, you can choose whether you'd like this heart mounted on white card, or left as a stand alone curio for your mantlepiece. I reckon they'd make the perfect every-day Valentine present. Bee Mine?

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Honeymoon Nightwear

Knickers! I'm ALL about gorgeous underwear, believing you can look drab on the outside and still feel sexy, safe in the knowlege your knickers would blow their mind. Nightware falls into much the same category, and that's why there's two reasons why I'm loving this collection from Mulmulstore. Named after a fine cotton muslin from India, mulmul is the epitome of femininity. Soft, delicate and ethereal, it is often referred to as the “wonder gossamer or woven wind. Sounds perfect for a honeymoon to me! Check out their website here.

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Real Wedding: Jen & Dom

A beautiful destination wedding for this gorgeous sunny day. Jen and Dom collected their friends from around the world to The Hilton Hotel in the Maldives for an unconventional, super-cool celebration. Jen dressed her bridesmaids in casual summer dresses, and gave them parasols instead of bouquets, plus gorgeous pedicures in the place of shoes. They wore flowers in their hair and big smiles all day! I'm also loving the coconut-style woven cocktails, and the live band that walked the bride down the aisle. Don't miss the pics of the turquoise detailing and the seaside-themed table accessories, plus Jen's starfish bracelet. There's no picture of a wedding cake, because Jen and Dom chose a bottle of Tequilla instead, and all the guests had a shot instead of a slice. Just goes to show that if you do your wedding your way, it makes for a truly special day. Jen's dress was designed by David Fielden, and the lucky photographers were Segerius Bruce, who get to work at all the best destination weddings!

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Great British High Street

Budget not all that big? Looking for a dress for under £300? Look no further than the great British high street. I took a lovely online browse over the weekend, and stumbled on these gorgeous dresses from none other than Karen Millen . The longer dresses are gorgeous, and one of the shorter dresses would be a great option if you're planning to change later in the evening. I've always found mini-skirts easier for dancing the night away!

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Real Wedding: Julie & Mark

How much do I love this wedding? *THIS* much. Julie and Mark celebrated their big day in super-style, and on the sunniest day England has ever seen! I've fallen for their Julie's gorgous gathered dress and her sweet sparkly tiara, plus her fantastic pink-soled shoes, sent all the way from the States. Also loving the lily bouquets, and the modern look of the grass looping in and out of the blooms. A great take on a classic look! The groomsmen are looking pretty impressive as well, with their fabulous grey morning suits, matching cravats and buttonholes. If you're wondering about the amazing venue, Julie and Mark chose Down Hall Country House Hotel in Hatfield Heath for their reception - love the pillars! Huge thanks to Celine Chaplin for her gorgeous photographs. Don't miss her blog, if you're choosing a photographer for your own wedding.

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Flower Power

Don't you wish you were five again? Those were the days when you could wear ruffles, polka dots and flowers all at the same time, and no one would point and stare. The great thing about weddings is that you can channel that inner child, and dress up your little bridesmaids in gorgeous girly-girl dresses. Sweet Plume is one of those boutiques guaranteed to make you go aah. Brittany and Brianne handmake each outfit and are happy to take custom orders. Don't miss their Etsy shop and check our their blog for some super "sweet" discounts. My favourites have to be the feather dresses, do you think they come in adult sizes? And I know the cupcake dress isn't exactly your standard wedding fare, but it is the best outfit I've ever seen!

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My Wedding - Engagement

It's taken me a while to come round to writing about my own wedding. I'm not sure why. I'm not naturally shy, but I'm determined not to become one of those 'it's all about ME' brides. Bridezilla. Bride of Frankenstein. You get my gist. But considering I'm out there gathering ideas from all these other lovely brides, I think it's only fair I share my own planning. So with exactly a year to go, here's my story....

The Boy and I met 'officially' in 2006. We'd actually bumped into each other years before, through his best friend Kiran, but neither of us really remember it. Apparently it was in the Nando's on Upper Street in Islington - dead romantic! Our first date was at a Japanese restaurant called Koi's, near Kensington Park - I'd recommend it, because you have to take your shoes off, and it's good to check out a guy's socks before you consider him as a future husband. So one thing led to another, we bought a flat together, went travelling for a year, and by the time I turned 30 in February last year, I was pretty much ring obsessed. In fact I started Before the Big Day four months before we got engaged. Talk about a hint!

The Boy asked me to marry him on 4th January in the mountains in France. We were skiing, and I'd headed home early for a bath, and while I was tucked up in my dressing gown, The Boy wrote 'will you marry me in the snow'. He went down on one knee, and read out an extract from The Great Gatsby {below}, and I said yes. And cried a bit, and he might have too, but he's too macho to admit it.

I had to wait till we got home before I got my proper diamond ring. I always thought we'd choose the engagement ring together, but The Boy had taken matters into his own hands, and picked one for me. It's a solitaire diamond, and it's perfect.

We decided we wanted to get married abroad for lots of reasons. First of all we really want a wedding in the sunshine, and in the UK you can pretty much guarantee rain. Secondly, friends of ours had celebrated their big day in Carpri the year before, and we'd had such a riot that we wanted to recreate the mood.

So we picked the South of France, specifically Provence, because we spent our first summer holiday there, and we'd fallen in love with the food and wine, olive trees and lavender. Also, it was close enough to the UK to keep flights cheap, but far enough away to be sunny. Also, I can speak French, or at least, I think I can! In the next installment, I'll show you my inspiration boards, which I'm using to give my suppliers a sense of our wedding style. Do leave me comments and tell me about your engagement stories!

That Friday Feeling ♥ 5

It's been such a week of sunshine and showers, brides getting married this weekend must be so stressed out about the weather. I'm keeping my fingers crossed the forecast rain won't come, but if it does, don't miss the ideas below for cool umbrellas and wellies. It's been a particularly inspired week on the wedding blogs, so check out these gorgeous links for all the best ideas.

♥  Take heart from this really rainy wedding found on Cup Of Jo
♥ This wedding is why I went into blogging - it just melts my heart to see the happiness of this gorgeous bride and groom via Rock My Wedding
♥ A stunning hand-made crocheted wedding dress via 100 Layer Cake - believe me, it's amazing!
♥ Fabulous brollies for a rainy-day wedding, spotted on Love My Dress
♥ Succulent inspired wedding stationery and bouquet on Unruly Things
♥ Zinging brightly-coloured wedding featured Rock n' Roll Wedding
♥ Introducing a fabulous new British stationer - Miss Emma Ruth, discovered via Little Miss Wedding
♥ How come I didn't find Emmy Shoes first! {see the pics above} Kudos to Rock My Wedding for a genius discovery!
♥ These June Petals lampshades would make any venue look romantic, spotted on Little Miss Wedding
♥ Add some sole to your shoes with these fantastic ideas from London Bride
♥ I love the candy-coloured nails in this picture {below, thanks to Love Letters & Sky Paints}

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