We ♥ Charlie Brier Vintage Wedding Dress Sample Sales

Have you heard? Massively exciting news! Charlie Brear from The Vintage Wedding Dress Company has just announced her annual trunk sale, and it's SOON. Taking place on Thursday 23rd January in London, viewing is by appointment only. This gorgeous boutique is renowned for its heavenly gowns, both vintage and vintage-style, and this is your opportunity to get your hands on them at discounted prices! For full information and to book an appointment, call 0207 637 4898.

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Intricate Hand-Painted Watercolour Wedding Stationery

A few months back, I was lucky enough to attend The French Wedding Show, as their in-house wedding blogger & real life bride. I've been meaning to post the pictures {by Caught the Light} for months, so stay tuned for that feature, coming soon! While I was there, I was lucky enough to meet some truly fabulous vendors, including the brilliant wedding stationery designer, Gemma Milly. Gemma's stand was hugely popular throughout the show, as it was cleverly created with lots of pretty, vintage details. Looking at her work, you can see she has a fantastic eye for conceiving a wedding as a whole, and designing the prefect wedding stationery to suit the theme and colours chosen by the bride and groom. Receiving one of her bespoke invitations couldn't fail to get your guests excited about your big day, and building anticipation is key to creating a wedding that stands out from the crowd. I'm gushing, but just take a look at her work, and you'll love it too!

{I want this!} Gemma Milly's Watercolour Collection

{I want this!} Gemma Milly's Garden Vintage Collection

{I want this!} A bespoke design

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A Mint Themed Country Pub Wedding with Rustic DIY Details - The Reception

Barn wedding venues are pretty much the most popular in the UK. They're such versatile spaces with all the benefits of a marquee, without the potential for cold ankles! Laura and Ben chose the gorgeous Olde Bell for their wedding venue. It's a hotel with a barn attached, and it's actually where my husband and I spent our mini-honeymoon after our official London wedding ceremony. The gardens are stunning, as you can see from Laura and Ben's stunning wedding photographs by Kate Gray Photography. I absolutely love all of Laura's clever wedding details. Make sure you read her answers to the Before the Big Day Questionnaire - she saved lots of money by using great local vendors, and DIY-ing much of her reception stationery, using hessian, an old London map, and vintage-style luggage labels. My favourite details? The personalised rustic signs, Laura's simple Grecian-style hair band, the wedding favours reflecting their heritage, and the incredible wedding cake, complete with totally original flavours! Don't miss Part 1 here.

We got married at The Olde Bell, Hurley on Saturday 21st September 2013. We looked at seven local venues on Christmas Eve 2012, and this one just felt right.


The Olde Bell had a country feeling that Ben & I grew up with, and we instantly knew we could easily achieve the soft, romantic wedding atmosphere we were hoping for. The grand hotels we looked at just seemed a bit formal for us, and we didn't like the thought of knowing that people other than our guests would be in the venue on the day.

A Mint Themed Country Pub Wedding with Rustic DIY Details

It's been way too long since I featured a gorgeous real wedding, and it's definitely time to introduce all you newly engaged brides-to-be to the wonders of stealworthy ideas. These are the snippets, goodies and wedding details that you can only get from the fabulous pooled creativity of real brides. Stunning couple Laura and Ben are a great example. With their rustic barn wedding, pretty mint and vintage theme, and eye for a bargain, their wedding is chock-full of wedding inspiration. Laura loves a good DIY project, and packed loads into her wedding to give it that personal touch so key to making your wedding stand out from all the others you'll go to this summer! You'll love her handmade table names, printed 'Wed-Libs', and rustic wedding signs. For favours, Laura chose to reflect her and Ben's heritage, with palm leaf fans sent over from the Philippines {Laura's mother is Filipina}, and miniature bottles of Ouzo for the boys {Ben's mother is Greek Cypriot}. I love Laura's elegant wedding style; the lace overlay of her fitted wedding gown, and her simple up-do and cathedral-length veil, decorated by her mum with diamante. Enjoy these brilliant pictures by Kate Gray Photography of the wedding ceremony, and stay tuned for all the reception shots, later this afternoon.

We got married at The Olde Bell, Hurley on Saturday 21st September 2013. We looked at seven local venues on Christmas Eve 2012, and this one just felt right.



I was spoilt as my hair and make-up was done by the ridiculously talented Lauren Appleby who again happens to be one of my best friends and one of my bridesmaids. Lauren is trained in everything from stage hair and make-up, to wigs and special effects make-up for TV and film, and even body paint! Having someone I know so well to help me get ready was what dreams are made of. Thank you so much for making me look so beautiful ☺!

Ethereal Boho Bridesmaid & Flower Girl Dresses

There's something eternally romantic about a gaggle of flower girls and page boys following a bride up the aisle. I always wanted lots of little girls at my wedding, but when it came to the date, no one I knew had any daughters. In the end I just had five grown-up bridesmaids, and one page boy, who ended up sleeping through the whole ceremony, completely missing his 'Here Comes The Bride' flag-waving moment. If I had my big day again, then I'd definitely dress my flower girls in these whimsical gowns from I Love Gorgeous. They're pretty and feminine, and I love the styling of their 'Midsummer Night's Dream' shoot. Feast your eyes on the stealworthy wedding detailing, from strawberry baskets, vintage china, sparkly shoes, LOVE balloons and that giant flower pomander. Styling by Mary Mathieson for I Love Gorgeous, photographs by Christina Wilson.

Wedding Trends of 2014 - Pantone's Radiant Orchid

For those of you who don't follow the Colour of the Year {where have you been??!!}, it's the shade named each year by the colour company Pantone. Last year it was all about Emerald Green, and 2012 was all about Tangerine Tango. This year, the colour is Radiant Orchid, a warm purple with pink undertones, which apparently radiates great joy, love and health. Hmmmm....generally I'm a little sceptical about colour companies and their claims, but Pantone is pretty authoritative on trends, and I can guarantee similar purple colours will crop up across the wedding world throughout 2014. The added benefit is that it's a lot more wearable than Emerald Green or Tangerine {!}, and your bridesmaids won't mind wearing a radiant orchid gown, or carrying bouquet of pretty purple flowers! Here are a few of my favourite on-trend wedding details. P.S. I'm very pleased to point out that my blog uses radiant orchid as one of its accent colours....sooooo on trend it hurts!

{I want this!} Clockwise from Top Left
1. Purple Bridesmaid Maxi Dress by Blush Fashion, £98.49 | 2. Antique Victorian Amethyst Ring by Maejean Vintage, £430.50 | 3. Glitter Heart Cake Toppers by Gnomes Whimsy, £6.19 for 24 | 4. Bridesmaid Purple Anemone Hair Clip by KisforKani, £17.96 | 5. Yippee Penant Flag by Betawife, £30.97, | 6. Three Blackberry Pie Paper Pom Poms by Pomtree, £7.43

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Starting Your Wedding Planning

Happy New Year to you all! If you're one of the huge numbers of future brides who's got engaged over the festive season - congratulations! There's something about the magic of Christmas and the promise of a fresh new year that gets guys going, and many a girl has woken up to an engagement ring in her stocking. If you're one of those lucky new brides-to-be, or even if you've been engaged for a while, it's never too late to get organised. In these digital days, it's easy to save all your wedding details online {I recommend Pinterest}, but with a romantic glance back to the old days of pen and paper, I've fallen for these gorgeous wedding journals by Starboard Press. They'd make the perfect momento after your big day, and are a great present for any newly engaged couple.

{I want this} 1. Bunting Wedding Journal, £24.47, | 2. Rustic Wedding Journal, £24.47

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Real Secret Elopement Wedding: Crystal & Matt

Crystal and Matt eloped and got celebrated their big day in a secret ceremony without any other guests. Now how's that for an inspiration for couples struggling to edit their guest lists! They chose the most incredibly romantic location I've ever seen, unfortunately for us Brits, is all the way over in Atlanta Georgia. But we can still fall in love with idea of getting married near a tumble-down mansion, there must be hundreds in the UK - why not check out the National Trust for ideas. Other totally stealworthy ideas include Crystal's gorgeous simple strapless dress, the cute bright yellow of Matt's buttonhole, and the stunning sewn vow cards, created by Ashley of Dolci Odille. Best of all, I love the pics, and they're thanks to the massively talented team at Simply Bloom.