Sunday 19 February 2012

Wonderful Weekend Wedding {WWW} Blog Links

How was your week? Mine's been a bit of a write-off, after I caught mega evil flu last weekend, I've spent most of the week in bed, feeling sorry for myself. There definitely seem to be some serious bugs going round, but as an added benefit, I lost my appetite, so I've finally dropped those last, stubborn, Christmas pounds. I feel like I'm ready for spring now! The one good thing about this week, was that I had plenty of time to ramble around my favourite wedding blogs, and to discover a few brand new finds. That means that this week's Wonderful Weekend Wedding Blog Links is something of a bonanza. So don't bother with going outside in the cold, just jump right in, for some serious wedding inspiration!



{Photo Credit} Jose Villa

♥ Imagine eloping to Paris in a blush-pink Vera Wang wedding dress {via wedding blog Snippet & Ink}

♥ A stunning pastel-themed Byron Bay wedding fresh from Australia {via wedding blog Style Me Pretty}

♥ Adorable wedding stationery and a short wedding dress, it doesn't get better than this wedding {via wedding blog 100 Layer Cake}

♥ Loving the pastel-coloured cake

♥ Who wouldn't want a baby giraffe at their wedding? {via wedding blog Snippet & Ink}

♥ It doesn't get much more adorable than a vintage pink caravan serving cake {via wedding blog Style Me Pretty}

♥ Imagine eloping to Paris in a blush-pink Vera Wang wedding dress {via wedding blog Snippet & Ink}

♥ Did you celebrate Valentine's Day? If not, celebrate love with a fabulous DIY bridal shower themed around V Day {via wedding blog 100 Layer Cake}

♥ And the bride wore....a cardigan?

♥ DIY your own watercolour wedding invitations {a huge wedding trend this season}

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Unusual Wedding Cake Toppers

On my wedding day, the cake topper is the one detail I completely forgot, and instead of something lovely, the wedding caterer added a hilarious plastic bride and groom. Don't do the same! Pick up a cute wedding cake topper from Potter & Butler. From teeny-weeny baubles, to mini-pom-poms, they make even the simplest of wedding cakes look gorgeous. {Secret hint! Buy your white wedding cake tiers from M&S, for a super-cheap, super-chic, cake on a budget. They even do cake-tasting packs for £6}


If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up for our free newsletter and click for more wedding cake ideas. Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Saturday 18 February 2012

Real Pastel Summer Wedding: Denise & Bobby

I'm hugely impressed by all the stealworthy ideas from this fabulous Florida wedding. Denise and Bobby got married in the sunshine, surrounded by palm trees - what a way to tie the knot! I'm loving the neutral colour Denise chose for her bridesmaids' dresses, totally flattering, and the wedding colour palette chimes exactly with her pink pearl necklace and the pastel bouquets. Don't miss the scrolling on cake and the stationery - teamed together they create an element of vintage whimsy - perfect wedding details to catch the eye. Big love to the team at Simply Bloom for their simply gorgeous pictures!


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Thursday 16 February 2012

Vintage Romantic Wedding Dresses by Claire Pettibone

Choosing your wedding dress is one of the hardest decisions in the run-up to your wedding {unless you're like my friend Erin, who's first dress was The One!}. It took me months, and by the time I'd finally picked my divine Delphine Manivet gown, much of the fun had gone out of the experience. I'd just let myself get too worried about price and style, and then it all got a bit late! So, with the aim of making wedding dress shopping a happier experience for Before the Big Day wedding blog readers, every week I'm going to feature my favourite wedding dress designers. All the best wedding inspiration, at the tips of your laptop tapping fingers! First up, UK wedding dress designer Claire Pettibone.


{Credits: Photography by Elizabeth Messina; Gowns & Styling by Claire Pettibone; Make up by Stephanie Lawrence; Model – Ciara Christensen; Venue at Sunstone Winery}

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Wednesday 15 February 2012

Stunning Wedding Dress Separates

Anthropologie-inspired wedding boutique BHLDN has struck on a fabulous wedding trend for 2012. Wedding dress separates. You buy a top and two bottoms, or a bottom and two tops, and you can mix and match them as your wedding day progresses. It means you can swap your swingy skirt after the reception for a pair of sexy shorts for dancing. Or add a silky camisole instead of a corset for guilt-free cake-guzzling. It's a genius idea, as it keeps your guests guessing, and guarantees a longer life for your wedding day outfits. What do you think? Would you wear separates on your wedding day? P.S. Net-a-Porter's Wedding Boutique also has a fabulous selection of wedding dress separates.



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Tuesday 14 February 2012

Honeymoon Underwear

Personally I go through underwear fazes. I'll not buy any for ages, and then I'll suddenly despair of my greying knickers and unstructured bras, and go on a shopping frenzy. On your wedding day your knickers will be more about function than fun, but for your honeymoon, you'll want to treat your husband! One of my recent secret discoveries is Ann Summers. Have you checked out their new ranges recently {AnnSummers.com for lingerie}? There's something for every taste, including a gorgeous selection of white, every-day lingerie sets, alongside the {gulp!} adult toys. And the price will suit even the most wedding-busted budget!


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Monday 13 February 2012

Wedding Flower Crowns

If you're looking for an original way to bring flowers into your wedding, then look no further than this 2012 micro-trend for spring/summer brides. The flower crown is making a comeback from the seventies, and it's the perfect accessory for a boho-bride. I'm loving the simple twist of green laurel leaves, but the bolder bride should dive right in with a fully bloomed crown. They're super-easy to DIY, {check out a tutorial here}, and you could make them for all your bridesmaids as well! For more flower crown inspiration, check out my Pinterest page.


{Photo Credit} BHLDN


{Photo Credit} My Hands Made It


{Photo Credit} Austin Gros Wedding Photography


{Photo Credit} Caught the Light

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Saturday 11 February 2012

Loving Maids to Measure Bridesmaid Dresses

Let's be honest, bridesmaids can be tricky. Why is it that they nearly always end up looking dreadful? Is it because most brides have an evil side, and can't help but make them wear ghastly dresses? Or is it because there just aren't enough decent bridesmaids dresses out there? I completely flunked the whole exercise and asked my bridesmaids to wear dresses of their choice in soft grey. Huge mistake - they all ended up in different shades {who knew that was even possible??}, that clashed {ditto!!}. So my recommendation is to bite the bullet and dress your ladies in the same material and colour, but different styles. Luckily a friend of a friend has started a fabulous boutique that will rescue you from trailing round the shops with a flock of bridesmaids biting at your heels. Maids to Measure offers a bespoke dressmaking service, online or by appointment, and their gowns are gorgeous, and only £195 with all fittings and alterations. And their website is super-cool. I just wish I'd found them this time last year!


If you enjoyed this post, why not sign up for our free newsletter and click for more bridesmaids ideas. Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Friday 10 February 2012

Real Bollywood-Themed Wedding: Reena & John

Original wedding ideas and quirky details are what you need for a truly memorable wedding. But what if you're stumped for inspiration? Wedding blogs can provide tonnes of wedding ideas, but if you're looking for a wedding theme that's unique, then you need to have a really good think about what's important to you as a couple. What hobbies do you do together? Where did you meet? What's your favourite food? Have a think and you're sure to come to the perfect wedding theme. The gorgeous couple in this wedding, Reena and Jon created a fabulous wedding surprise for their guests, all thanks to Reena's cultural heritage. After a traditional church wedding, plus a helicopter ride to the reception venue {cue some seriously dramatic pictures}, they changed into Indian costumes, and arranged for a performance by Bollywood dancers! Such a fantastic idea, and I'm loving all of Reena's other wedding details, including the vibrant purple theme, and stunning floral displays. The beautiful cake was DIY'd by one of her bridesmaids! Reena's kindly filled in the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire, so do take a look at her answers for hints and tips on how she put together her wedding. She thought of every detail! Huge thanks to Kelly Green from Lola Rose Photography for her gorgeous pictures.


The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Reena was kind enough to fill in our bridal questionnaire, aimed at helping other brides with their planning process. Feast your eyes on her answers for helpful hints and tips from someone on the other side of her big day!

Where and when did you get married?
We got married at St. Lawrence Church in West Wycombe on 29th May 2011, and hosted our reception at the Crowne Plaza in Marlow

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
The Church had sentimental value to us as Jon’s parents were married there over 35 years ago which made the wedding service feel extra special. We had just over 200 guests at our wedding, so we needed a reception venue that was large enough to cater for everyone. We really liked the contemporary feel of the Crowne Plaza, with its beautiful grounds and picturesque lake.

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
The theme of the wedding was LOVE with a symbol of interlinked hearts. Our tables were named ‘LOVE’ but spelt in all different languages.We also had heart shaped confetti on the tables and even our cake topper was heart shaped! The interlinked hearts also appeared on all our wedding stationery. I wanted to use a bright and vibrant colour theme for our day as I feel weddings are such a happy occasion and bright colours reflect this perfectly. I used bright purple organza chair sashes and lisianthus in our HUGE table centre pieces contrasting with the classic white table linen and white roses which really worked well.

Who made your wedding outfit (dress, veil, shoes and accessories), and how did you come to that decision?
I was very lucky and had two amazing wedding dresses as I felt that it was still important to reflect my Indian heritage on our day. My white wedding dress was an ivory Maggie Midgley dress which had a sweet heart neck line and a swarovski crystal bodice and a long cathedral train. I wore this with a long veil that had a subtle diamond edging. I wore elegant ivory earrings and matching bracelet and my bridal shoes were from Dune.


My Indian wedding dress was flown in from India was a contemporary couture outfit that I designed myself with help from the Mona Vora design team. The stunning outfit was made from pure silk and had amazing detailed embroidery on the red skirt and ivory bodice top. I wore gold accessories which complimented the look. It was so much fun designing this wedding outfit and knowing that there isn't another one like it anywhere!

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
My husband also had two wedding outfits. His classic grey morning suite was hired from Moss Bros, with ivory waist coat and matching cravat. He also wore his great grandfather’s tie pin which has been passed down through the family. Jon also had a bespoke contemporary Indian wedding suit hand made from black and gold silk which he couldn't wait to put on.

And how about your bridesmaids’ outfits?
I had 4 bridesmaids who all wore (two-toned purple) Adrianna Papell dresses. I went for contemporary bridesmaid dresses and the girls all looked stunning. They all wore the same gold and purple sparkling hair grip, gold earrings, gold bracelets and gold shoes. My 3 flower girls wore ivory dresses with ivory ballet pumps. 

And your ushers?
The 7 ushers all wore morning suites hired from Moss Bros with their waist coats and cravats all complimenting the purple colour theme. The 2 page boys aged 2 and 4 years old had mini versions of Jon’s morning suit and looked so cute.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
One of my bridesmaids made our wedding cake, which was absolutely superb. She made us a huge 5 tier fruit cake with white icing and purple and gold ribbon tied around each tier.

Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
For our favours we had lilac and white heart shaped chocolate dragees and placed 5 of them in bright purple organza favour bags. We hand tied each bag with a personalized ivory and gold ribbon which had our names and wedding date printed on it. This was a team operation as we had over 200 favours = 1000 dragees! We also got bubbles for the kids which kept them entertained.

Who was your florist, what flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
We used Eden Floral Design in Marlow – they were brilliant. My bridal bouquet was a large tear-drop shape of ivory calla lily, purple lisianthus, ivory roses and sweet peas with tasteful looped gold bear-grass with just a touch of light summer foliage. 

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
We chose Lola Rose Photography as we had a personal recommendation and were delighted with the pictures Kelly took of our special day. We also chose Visa-a-video to film our Wedding and between both they have managed to capture such amazing memories!

Did you enjoy planning your Wedding?
Our wedding took 16 months to organise and it was so much fun. St Lawrence Church was absolutely beautiful and we hired a 1949 Rolls Royce Silver Wreath which took me and my father to the church. Our surprise journey, courtesy of my father, to our reception venue was truly spectacular as we arrived by helicopter and landed on the lawn in front of our stunned guests. We wanted to incorporate both cultures equally into our special day, whilst keeping our ‘Love’ theme throughout.


Lizz Lipscombe our amazing violinist performed various sets at our canapé and champagne reception. Our Wedding breakfast consisted of modern Asian fusion cuisine. We had Bollywood dancers for our evening entertainment along with Dhol Drummers and a confetti cannon for our first dance.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
I would advise all brides to savour every single moment of their big day as it goes so quickly!

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Thursday 9 February 2012

Shopbop's UK Wedding Boutique

Huge excitement all round. Shopbop is now available to UK buyers! If you've not discovered this super-cool online boutique, you're in for a treat. It's a bit like ASOS, but with all your favourite US designers, plus a fabulous wedding boutique. I've lusted it over it for yonks, but never been able to flex my credit card muscles, but now they deliver for free to the UK for orders over $100. Finally I can buy my Splendid Tees and Eberjey knickers, without having to fly to New York - woohoo! Pick some up for your honeymoon, or Valentine's Day.


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