Wedding Stationery Ideas

There was a time when I featured tonnes of wedding stationery on this wedding blog, and I'm worried I've been slightly remiss by leaving it out. About a year ago, it was all I could think about, and I spent so long choosing my own wedding stationery, that we nearly sent the invitations out too late. Traditionally they should go out 3 months before the wedding date, but if you're getting married abroad, I'd move that back to four months, and send a Save the Date as soon as you know your venue. That way people can book their flights early. My other recommendation would be to ask people to RSVP fairly quickly. That way you can invite more people before it gets too late. We left it a bit too late, and ended up with only 85 people on our guests list, when my ideal number was 100. If you still haven't chosen your wedding stationery, then check out these gorgeous wedding invitation suites I've found this morning. See what you think, and do add a few comments if you've got any recommendations or advice on wedding stationery.

Akimbo via Oh So Beautiful Paper

Momental Designs via Pinterest via Ruffled Blog

Unknown via 100 Layer Cake {please tell me if you know the designer}

The Hungry Workshop via Oh So Beautiful Paper

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Carnival Themed Wedding Cake Toppers

Wedding cupcakes are still cool, despite the fact they've been knocking around the world of weddings for a good few years now. So how do you make them stand out from the crowd? Try a fantastic topper, like these cute felt bow ties or wavy flags from Knock Knocking. Both would make a gorgeous addition to a carnival themed wedding, and there's something about their fuzziness that makes me happy.

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Secret Wedding Support

First of all I have to admit that I didn't discover Gilsa myself, it was the lovely ladies over at Delphine Manivet who tracked them down. They are, without doubt, the best invisible support in the world, and as they're French, they're somehow chic. Even though, in essence, they're just sticky chicken fillets, when you wear them, you feel sexy. I wore them on my wedding day under my backless, Anatole wedding dress, and no one would have known there were there. Somehow, they even add cleavage - remarkable!

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Real Romantic Wedding - Ingrid & Howard

Without question, this is one of my favourite weddings ever. If I had my time again, I'd be choosing the same blush colour scheme, delicate leaf-edged veil and heavenly chrysanthemum bouquets. I'm head-over-heels! The gorgeous Ingrid and Howard celebrated their big day at picturesque San Ysidro Ranch with the help of wedding designer extraordinaire, Angel of Love and Splendor. Plus, Jose Villa was there to take these fabulous pictures, and the flowers were by Kate of Flower Wild Design. There are so many wedding details to steal that I'm at risk of gushing, but let's start with the ribbon-decorated chairs, the pink sand-filled jam jar lights and frosted fruit table decorations. I'm also loving Howard's bright buttonhole against his dark suit, and the dramatic fern and peony napkin decorations. Don't miss the cute little zinc place names, you can just see them in a couple of the pictures. August and autumn brides should pay special attention to the chrysanthemum flower arrangements. They come into season around about now, so they'd be a great addition to your wedding flowers.

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Colourful Flower Garlands For Your Flower Girls

Flower girls are a must. They add a delicious dollop of cuteness to your wedding day, and if you send them up the aisle first, everyone will be smiling by the time you take your turn. If you're feeling nervous, they're a great way to take a bit of the focus off the bride, and if you team them with page-boys then you'll be lucky if anyone takes a picture of you and your groom! When it comes to dressing your flower girls, it's all about whimsical romance, and these fabric flower garlands from Pretty Swell totally work that look. They come in every colour you can imagine, and they're full adjustable for big and little people.

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That Friday Feeling Wedding Web Links ♥18

So it's summer, and wedding season is in full swing. We've been to six so far this year already! I wonder how many brides who've been reading this wedding blog are getting married in the next month? If it's you, here's to the best day of your life. If I had one trademarked piece of advice, it would be Eat Breakfast. Believe me, I had two weddings, so I got to practice. The first felt slightly fraught, and involved me shouting at my mother and husband about helium balloons about an hour before we walked down the aisle. Ironically, said balloons spelt LOVE. The other wedding was totally relaxed and blissful. And the difference was breakfast. So eat it.  For all of you not getting married today, Saturday 30th July, here are some gorgeous wedding web links to keep your wedding inspiration running all weekend. P.S. It's going to be sunny - woohoo!

♥ Make your own wedding wine labels - this also works for dinner parties.

♥  My new super-cute Facebook page, complete with clever landing page to welcome you. Please Like Me!

♥ How much would you love a Cupcake Campervan to turn up at your wedding?

♥ Seriously sexy bikinis for your honeymoon - trust me, this one will blow your husband's mind!

♥ Lovely DIY wedding picnic ideas - everyone loves a picnic right?

♥ Buy these nude pumps from Steve Madden - I did, and they go with everything.

♥ Stylish glitter-nails - fun for your bridesmaids fingers.

♥ A Tuscan wedding where you wish you'd been a guest, and worn a red dress.

♥ Inspiration for when you want even the envelope of your wedding invitation to look gorgeous.

♥ Make your own DIY raspberry favours.

♥ I wanted a camel at my wedding, but they don't have them in France.

♥ And the bridesmaids wore brown??? Trust me - with these dresses, they'd love you.

Plus my favourite features from Before the Big Day this week
♥ Why I love Heal's
♥ Wedding ring advice your future husband needs to read
♥ A ribbon-themed wedding idea

Have a great weekend xx

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Real Sunshine Yellow Wedding - Marchelle & Iain

Some brides really know how to rock their wedding look. I'm sure I looked lovely on my wedding day, thanks to a heavenly Delphine Manivet wedding dress and my French hairdresser Joel, but I didn't come anywhere near the fierce, fabulous awesomeness of Marchelle on her big day. Just check our her hot red lips, her skyscraper Christian Louboutin heels, and her beautiful blonde bangs. Other fabulous details include the cluster of sunshine-clad bridesmaids and their luxurious rose bouquets, tied with turquoise ribbon. I'm loving the contrast of the two colours - such an easy wedding idea to replicate. Stunning pictures published with thanks to Our Labour of Love.

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Honeymoon-Perfect Bikinis

Anyone else hate shopping for bikinis in the shops? There's something uniquely horrible about the lighting, and they never have the size you want. That's why I bought my honeymoon bikinis online, so that I could try them on in my own bedroom, without banging my elbows into the mirror. Have I mentioned I'm incredibly clumsy? Well I'm the first to fall over when I'm putting one leg through a pair of bikini bottoms. Try Simply Beach - you can sort in size, colour, brand and price. I've just bought a lovely striped number for my next holiday.

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Your Wedding Flowers for Less

Wedding flowers can blow your budget. They certainly blew mine, and that's despite me knowing all the secret tips. Unfortunately most of my wedding tips didn't translate into French for my wedding, but if you're getting married in the UK, then this advice on wedding flowers is going to save you a fortune. If you're looking for super-high end designer flowers, then this is not the feature for you - but right now, most of us are trying to save a few pennies on our wedding budget, and I'm all about cheap and chic. To get you in the mood, here are a few pictures of my own wedding flowers, taken by the lovely Chloé from Caught the Light. We couldn't DIY all our wedding flowers, because we needed to hire the vases from the florist, and it worked out as more economical to keep him on-side. But we saved a fortune by buying clouds and clouds of baby's breath from a local market. Our wedding planner Kerry Bracken collected it on the night before the wedding and it stayed lovely and fresh. Our Provencal florist, Stéphane, was wonderful - I'd recommend him to any bride planning to get married in France.

Before the Big Day Tips - Your Wedding Flowers for Less

1. Keep it seasonal. For a list of what flowers are in season for your wedding, click here.

2. Consider using plants rather than cut flowers for your table displays. Some garden centres will rent you plants, but even if you need to buy them, you can give them away as lovely presents after your wedding. You could even grow your own plants, whereas growing enough flowers is a mammoth task.

3. Keep it simple. Single blooms in lots of vases take a lot less time to arrange, and that means the florist will charge you less for their time. This isn't going to give you a luxury look, but elegant simplicity is very in right now!

4. Choose a cheap variety of flower, and buy tonnes of it for a dramatic effect. For example, I used baby's breath - a flower I hate when mixed with roses, but adore on its own. Carnations have the same effect. They're dreadful dotted in bouquets, but when you mass loads of them together, the effect completely changes, from awful to awesome.

5. Buy direct from a flower market and ask a friendly florist to moonlight on your behalf. This probably only works if you have a friend or a friend-of-a-friend who's a florist, but it's worth asking around. They could do your wedding flowers instead of giving you a wedding present.

6. DIY. Now I say this with huge caution. If you're doing simple single blooms as suggested in Hint 3, then you're not going to find this too traumatic. If, however, you're thinking luxurious mixed and hand-tied bunches, then you're not going to be able to produce the effect you want. Plus it takes hours, and it has to be done really near the wedding. You do not want to be arranging flowers the morning of you wedding. Really, trust me, you don't.

7. Don't DIY your buttonholes. They're harder to produce than you think, and they're going to be in every photography. Ditto for your wedding bouquet. Even if your budget is tiny, splash out.

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DIY Signature Wedding Cocktail

One of the easiest way to add your own personal twist to your wedding day is to come up with a signature cocktail, complete with a snappy name. We chose the Georgia Peach Bellini, because my name is Georgia, and I love bellinis. Simple, sweet and yummy. Plus it saved us money, because you don't need to use posh champagne when you're mixing it with peach purée - Prosecco or crémant will do just the job for less than half the price. Why not create an old-fashioned lemonade bar, with a choice of pink lemonade or traditional, plus a bootleg lemonade for the grown-ups? I'm loving this DIY wedding stationery, with print-your-own details from Etsy seller La Belle Parties {top} and Blush Printables {bottom}. Which signature wedding cocktail will you choose?

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