Wedding Trends for 2014 - Watercolour Wedding Theme

Ombre weddings have been massively fashionable this year. I'm a huge fan of swathes of colour, and the shading effect is simple stunning, particularly as a contrast against the lovely white background of a wedding marquee or wedding dress. For 2014, the trend has developed into a more subtle effect, where the colours gently blend into each other, just like a watercolour painting. As you can imagine, this style works best on wedding stationery, but it can also look fabulous on your wedding cake, or your bridesmaids' dresses. And it's surprisingly easy to DIY, with tonnes of bloggers posting tutorials {see the links below}. Take a look at these gorgeous ideas - many more on my Watercolour Wedding Theme Pinterest board.

{Photo Credit} 1. Watercolour Wedding Cake, picture by Onelove Photography | 2. DIY Watercolour Escort Cards, by Once Wed wedding blog

{Photo Credit} 1. Julia Mikos | 2. Watercolour Wedding Cake, picture by Harwell Photography

{Photo Credit} 1. DIY watercolour marshmallows by Idlewife blog | 2. Unknown

{Photo Credit} Dip-dye watercolour chandelier, pictured by Dallas Curow, more from this shoot

{Photo Credit} DIY Watercolour Lavender bags by 100 Layer Cake wedding blog

{Photo Credit} Unknown

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Cupid's Bow Wedding Cake Topper

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you'll know that one of my biggest regrets from my wedding, was not buying a cake topper! You'd think as a wedding blogger, that such an obvious wedding detail would have been on my To Do List, but it escaped my eagle eye. The consequence is that I'm obsessed with looking out for the wedding cake topper that could have been. This morning I spotted this fabulous contender by Icing 101 - isn't it fab!! P.S. This arrow is only £20, but if you're DIY-minded and want to make your own - check out this tutorial from the nesting blog Somewhere Splendid.

{Credits} Picture by NIKKI N Photography, Cake by Bakery On State

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A Pretty-as-a-Picture, Pastel-Themed, Vintage Wedding

As promised, it's time for the reception details from the heavenly summer wedding. With delicious vintage props and stunning DIY burlap details, it's a wedding blogger's delight! Kelly and Ren organised their own big day, and decided to rip up tradition, by opting out of having ushers and bridesmaids or speeches and cake, and instead chose to have a drinks and canapé reception before the ceremony, lawn games afterwards, and a cheese board selection in the evening. They even walked down the aisle together, along with their daughter, as a wonderful statement of family. Fabulous inspiration for any bride wanting a non-conventional wedding. More wedding ideas to snaffle include the lovely fingerprint guest book and Kelly's handmade burlap jamjar glasses with pretty pastel straws {LOVE striped straws}. Huge thanks to The Cole Portfolio for their fantastic photographs of the day - and enjoy Kelly's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire!

We got married at the beautiful Hill Place in Swanmore, Hampshire. I helped style a photo shoot at Hill Place in 2010, and fell in love with the homeliness and character of the elegant Georgian house, as well as the beautiful grounds. 

Hill Place has its own unique style, and we knew that it would fit perfectly with our vision of our day. To compliment the property, we opted for pastel tones and vintage props.

A Pretty-as-a-Picture, Pastel-Themed, Vintage Wedding

On a cold grey evening like this, when all you want to do is snuggle up in cashmere jumpers, it's hard to remember the halcyon days of summer, when we drank Pimm's on countryside lawns. But Kelly and Ren's big day will take you right back there, and you'll love all of Kelly's creative wedding ideas. As a stylist, she was always going to come up with something pretty special, but I've fallen for her unique wedding style. Stealworthy ideas include the gorgeous photo-prop bicycle {more pics in the second feature}, Kelly's sparkly brooch bouquet {DIY'd!!!} and stunning Maggie Sottero wedding gown, complete with Gone-with-the-Wind-style train. Other handmade details include all their wedding flowers, the butterfly and burlap decorations, and elegant wedding stationery. Huge thanks to The Cole Portfolio for their stunning photographs of the day - more to come in Part 2, and the reception details!

We got married at the beautiful Hill Place in Swanmore, Hampshire. I helped style a photo shoot at Hill Place in 2010, and fell in love with the homeliness and character of the elegant Georgian house, as well as the beautiful grounds. 

My wedding dress is by Maggie Sottero {my favourite designer} and I bought it from The Ivory Boutique in Winchester. I felt that finding my dress was a bit of a 'mission', but as soon as I tried it on, I knew this was the one.

Introducing Bloom & Wild Wedding Flower Subscription

My biggest extravagance is fresh flowers. There's nothing I love more than to come home to buckets of tulips or peonies. I used to buy my flowers from Colombia Flower Market in East London, but now I've got my little son, it's not as easy to get over there. So I was thrilled when a friend recommended Bloom & Wild. They're a flower subscription service, who send you a bunch of flowers in the post every week, or every fortnight. What's amazing about their service, is you don't have to be at home to receive the bouquets, because they come through the post, in an innovative letterbox size box! The flowers are super-fresh, and last forever - my bouquet is still going strong over a week later. Bloom & Wild bouquets would make a brilliant wedding present - just imagine if you bought a year's subscription - it would literally be the gift that kept on giving! If you'd like to try Bloom & Wild, check out their bouquets, or enter their competition to win a three month subscription. Enter before next Friday, and you'll be in with the chance to win a free bouquet through your letterbox every 2 weeks.

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An Exquisite English Country Garden Spring Wedding - The Reception

After all the excitement of the Wedding Blog Awards, I completely failed to publish the second half of Jo and Luke's incredible wedding. And you've got to see these amazing pictures, as they're chock-a-block with wedding inspiration. Jo chose a beautiful garden theme, which fitted perfectly with their Friars Court wedding venue. The owner is clearly some sort of wedding decoration genius, as he's created a wonderful romantic world of swinging lanterns and vintage props. There's so many stealworthy ideas, it's hard to pick my favourite, but....{deep breath}....I love the swinging white lanterns, the 14 real, blossoming cherry trees lining the marquee, the tables named after flowers, the mossy logs, the memory table {complete with budget-savvy Waitrose cake}, and the wooden LOVE hearts hanging off the water bottles. Don't miss Jo's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire, they're full of wedding inspiration, and take a look at their wedding photographer, Lily Sawyer's website - she's a serious talent!

We got married in Alvescot Church on 27th April 2013 near where I grew up. For the reception, we wanted something near to the church, and we were fortunate enough to find the most incredible venue available in the next village. Friars Court is an old country manor, and we held our reception in the gardens and the garden room. 

We also had a marquee on the old tennis courts. We wanted to make the most of being in the countryside - particularly for our friends from London. I wanted it to be an extension of my childhood - of which I have such happy memories. 

An Exquisite English Country Garden Spring Wedding

This incredible English country-garden wedding has been a long time coming! I've found it super-hard to edit - every one of Lily Sawyer's shots is incredible, and lovely Jo and Luke created such a beautiful wedding day, it's hard to choose which pictures to exclude! Jo's friends call her an English rose, so she themed her wedding loosely around the tea rose, with plenty of pretty blooms in her wedding bouquet, and rose wedding stationery. Jo and Luke followed tradition, and married in Jo's local village church, hosting their reception in the gorgeous gardens of Friars Court. You'll fall head-over-heels for all their country garden wedding details, but first, drink in Jo's stunning Essense of Australia wedding gown, her elegant vintage jewellery, and the amazing DIY'd church flowers. More amazing photographs of Jo and Luke's reception, coming soon! Huge thanks to Lily Sawyer and second shooter, Esther Bissessar.

We got married in Alvescot Church on 27th April 2013.. The church is over 900 years old and is situated in a small village in Oxfordshire on the edge of the Cotswolds, where I grew up. 

For the reception, we wanted something near to the church, and we were fortunate enough to find the most incredible venue available in the next village. Friars Court is an old country manor, and we held our reception in the gardens and the garden room. We also had a marquee on the old tennis courts. We wanted to make the most of being in the countryside - particularly for our friends from London. 

A Winner at The Wedding Blog Awards

So if you follow me on Twitter, you might have spotted a few excited tweets last night and this morning {like a million}! It's all thanks to one of the most amazing evenings of my entire life! Last night, I won Editor's Pick at Wedding Magazine's Wedding Blog Awards. It was the last prize to be announced, so I was ready to put the evening down to a fabulous experience, and then {as if in slow motion}, I heard my name being announced as the winner! I'm now the proud owner of a beautiful award, I got to kiss a very attractive man from Made in Chelsea, and I drank plenty of champagne at The Ritz - which has to be the dreamiest place to get married, and I got the best and biggest goodie bag ever! What's more, I even won a mini-break in Sicily thanks to the amazing Hotel Imperiale Taormina. HUGE thanks to everyone who voted for me - I'm so thrilled and flattered to have won the Editor's prize - but I'm sure Before the Big Day wouldn't have come to Ciara's attention, if it hadn't been for your votes. Take a look at a few of the pictures below...there's be much more to come later today on my Facebook page.

{Photo} Me & the Editor of Wedding & Wedding Flowers Magazine, Ciara Elliott.

A bit like the Oscar's I have a few thank you's...
♥ To Julia Bowden - the best hair and make-up artist in the world, who made me look and feel super-glam. Book her for your wedding now! More beauty posts from Julia coming soon on the blog!
♥ To Ciara and the whole team at Wedding Magazine
♥ To the Hotel Imperiale Taormina for my amazing prize
♥ To Intricate Creations for making my lovely trophy!
♥ All the fantastic companies who contributed to the goodie bag! I'm still working my way through it - more info coming soon.

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Five Easy Ways to Avoid Breaking Your Wedding Budget

I'm yet to meet a bride who doesn't have to work within some sort of budget. Even the luckiest of girls balk at spending tens of thousands on what is ultimately a one-day affair. Here on Before the Big Day, we're all about saving pennies, whether it's through DIY projects, or clever compromises, but it wasn't until my best friend started planning her wedding, that I realised just how many thrifty hints I had in my back pocket. Here are a few of my favourites - I hope they help you stick within your budget....

{Photo Credit} Tanya Lippert Photography

1. Go online for your wedding favours, stationery, decorations and general wedding supplies. There's a reason the high street is failing, and it's because savvy shoppers buy everything from Amazon or eBay. Before I buy anything, I compare the prices on Amazon and eBay, and any other relevant online shops. I've found giant white balloons priced at £5 each on some websites, while you can find them on eBay for less than a pound - particularly if you're buying in bulk. It's the same with paper lanterns.

2. Wedding cakes are another wedding detail where you can make massive savings. A designer cake can cost over a £1000, and although they'll be beautiful, and taste fantastic, not everyone can stretch to such a massive sum. If your mum's not up to baking a fashionable naked wedding cake {the icing is the hardest element to recreate}, then buy your tiers from M&S or Waitrose, and DIY your own decorations using fresh flowers or fruit, or even butterflies.

{Photo Credit} Anna Louise Crossley, more from this pink themed wedding

3. Look out for secret sales and voucher offers online. It's amazing how many big name boutiques offer discounts on their dresses and accessories on their websites. Find the bridesmaids dresses you want on the high street, and then go online to see if they're cheaper. You could even do a spot-check on your iPhone from the changing room! 

4. Wedding flowers are easy to DIY. I recommend spending money on professionally tied bouquets and buttonholes, but fabulous table flowers are easy to create on your own, using blooms bought from your local flower market, or online. If you're not artistic, then avoid fancy arrangements and fill lots of small vases or jam-jars with the same flower, and mix and match.

{Photo Credit} Paige Jones

5. One of the biggest expenses of a wedding is the reception meal. Three-course meals are pricey and often unnecessarily extravagant. Instead host a BBQ with a selection of table salads, a picnic {complete with baskets and blankets} or a vintage tea-party. With fun styling, no one will notice you're trying to save money. Offer wedding cake for pudding, or keep it cheap and very cheerful with a DIY ice-cream station, complete with cones, toppings and 99p flakes.

** For more money saving tips - How to Buy Your Wedding Dress for Less **

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Wonderful Wedding Blog Web Links

So for me, this week has been all about planning what to wear to the Wedding Blog Awards at The Ritz. I've no idea what I'm going to wear, but our lovely Wedding Blog Beauty Expert, Julia Bowden is going to be doing my hair and make-up beforehand, so at the very least, I'll look great from the shoulders up! In the meantime, the weather's been turning, and so have my thoughts, towards autumn and winter weddings. There's some fabulous seasonal themes out there for autumn brides - take a look at my Pinterest boards for some sneak-peaks of next week's posts. This weekend I'm in Dorset, so expect some countryside inspiration....I'm thinking log fires, apple crumble, and handmade blackberry jam wedding favours! Enjoy your weekend - here's the best from the wedding blogs this week.

{Photo Credit} Unknown - buy a heart punch

♥ A sweet and easy autumn DIY - more on my Autumn Pinterest board
♥ An elephant at a wedding? And why not!
♥ Hot on the heels of the flower crown, comes the flower necklace....would you?
♥ The table flowers at this New York wedding look like they're growing out of the table - stunning!
♥ An elegant French chateau wedding - I'll be at The French Wedding Show if you want to come and chat!
♥ This is what happens when an American bride gets married in the UK
♥ Oh my - this Norwegian wedding is beyond stunning
♥ Another French wedding, this time flush with pink pom-poms....and did I mention The French Wedding Show {sorry!}?
♥ L-O-V-E polka-dots at a farmers-market inspired wedding
♥ A very stylish London elopement
♥ Spring brides will fall hook-line-and-sinker for these florals!

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