The wedding is of the fabulous Kate and Tony Marr who had their new yeras eve wedding at Archbishops Palace, Maistone, Kent with the reception at The Moat, Wrotham, Kent. They had a small ceremony of 40 people and then in the evening there was an extra 30, ‘all our closest friends and family were there and we got to talk to everyone.’
Kate and Tony describe their day as ‘A detailed, down-to-earth, DIY day. It was a fantastic day and the best start ever to a New Year!’

The wedding is jam packed with personality and personal details. Kate spent a HUGE amount of time basically making pretty much everything for the wedding, She put so much fo her heart and soul into making the wedding totally ‘them’ that it really does go towards making their day even more special!

How they met
We met on facebook of all places! We only lived half hour away from each other and had so much in common. We spoke for about a month before we finally met and it was pretty serious from the start. We quickly decided to buy our first house together and moved in 6 months after being together. It’s now been 3 years and I’m grateful facebook was invented!!

The Propsal
We’d discussed getting married so I knew it was on the cards, although we’d not long got back from holiday so I was expecting it whilst we were away. It was bonfire weekend, November 2010 and we’d tried to go watch a fireworks display but it was so busy we couldn’t park so just ended up driving around trying to watch it out of the car window. We decided this wasn’t really working so headed home to watch fireworks from our garden! During the display Tony got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!

The Wedding Planning
I already knew I wanted to get married in winter so we were looking at the following December, 2011. It didn’t occur to us at first to pick New Years Eve, it was only after we saw the Moat and provisionally booked the 30th that it suddenly occurred to us, why not go for the 31st. So, with just over a year to go the planning began…

Venue
We were having lunch one afternoon at the Moat and noticed that they done weddings there, we had already viewed other venues and they were nice but didn’t seem very ‘us’. We took a look around and fell in love with the place!! As it was a winter wedding I imagined somewhere really cosy and homely, which this place screamed! It had gorgeous beams, quirky quotes painted on the walls and best of all we could have as many lights and candles as we wanted (which was a lot!) We picked to have our ceremony at Archbishops Palace (which believe it or not is a registry office) after finding the Moat and again it was a cosy room that we felt had a lovely feel to it. We knew we’d get some great photos outside and there were lovely fireplaces doted around.

The Dress
As all girls do I spent ages looking for the perfect dress but didn’t find anything that was very ‘me’. Everyone was expecting me to get something a bit quirky and I just couldn’t find anything I liked. I was with my mum and we decided to pop in to a dress shop without an appointment and see if I could try some dresses on. My mum picked one out and I have to say I didn’t think I’d like it, tried it on and fell in love!! It was by Mori Lee and was silver!! I’d found something that was a bit quirky but not to over the top.

Accessories and shoes
There was a competition being run by Lynsey’s Designs to win a gorgeous side orchid tiara so I decided to enter and won!!! I picked up the email telling me I’d won at 3am and woke Tony up to tell him (he wasn’t pleased) but I was so excited!! When it arrived I was so pleased, it was amazing and so sparkly (I’m like a magpie so loved it!)
I then had Fiona from Truly Tempting weddings make my jewellery. I sent her some photos of what I had in mind and showed her the tiara so she could match it all in and I couldn’t have been more thrilled with what she came up with. You would have thought it was all done at the same time. It was a gorgeous silver pearl necklace with elements that matched my tiara and a bracelet that also matched.
I fell in love with some irregular choice shoes that had been discontinued!! I spent ages trying to find a pair and after a long time came across some second hand ones online. They arrived and were perfect, although extremely high. It was getting near to the big day and I was worried about tripping down the aisle (it was slightly tilted) and ended up buying some sparkly heels by red or dead and some flats for the evening. In the end I wore the sparkly red or dead shoes and I’m glad as my feet didn’t hurt until the evening.

And the suit and bridesmaids
This was very much a down-to-earth, budget, DIY wedding and as I was getting a dress it seemed only fair that Tony got to buy a suit to keep. We decided to head to Matalan to look at their suits and he tried on a navy one which fitted him perfectly and he certainly looked the part!!
I spent a long time looking for bridesmaid dresses, so much so that I was panicking I wasn’t going to find anything. I spent a lot of time looking at the high street but there wasn’t really any ‘winter’ dresses about. I decided to get them from jjhouse.com and take the risk. My 3 bridesmaids picked the dress they wanted and I ordered them, they turned up so quickly and I was really nervous they were going to be horrendous but they were well made, a lovely colour and all looked how they should.

Theme
I wanted something that looked wintery, with lights everywhere so originally decided on white, silver and light blue. I then changed this to navy after picking a silver dress as I thought navy would make my dress stand out more. Of course I couldn’t tell Tony this so had to just pretend that I’d changed my mind as it was hard to find bridesmaid dresses!

Food
We decided we’d like to give people a choice of what to have. I had duck and herb pate, roast turkey with all the trimmings and cheesecake. Tony had Roasted red pepper soup, turkey and chocolate mousse. The food was gorgeous and the portions were more than generous!! I wish I’d eaten more or asked them for a doggy bag for the next day.

Entertainment
We had a DJ in the evening, a DIY photobooth for people to have some fun and take silly photos, a sweetie buffet and we had a fire in the back for people to toast marshmallows.

Flowers
We didn’t have flowers, I like them but I’m not really a flower person and I didn’t think it would go with our colours and winter theme that well. I was browsing through off-beat bride and saw a tutorial for a bauble bouquet, I loved it and decided I was going to give it a go. I made the bridesmaids using small silver baubles and blue tulle and mine using medium navy baubles, navy tulle and best of all, lights! I really liked the idea of twigs for centre pieces with crystals or lights and spent ages looking around about how to do it. I got vases from Ikea and stuck xxx salt mixed with glitter to them so it looked like snow/ice, found some brooms and got some lights from poundland! With some cutting, sticking and spray painting I ended up with centre pieces I was pleased with that had cost next to nothing!

Decoration
Because the Moat had lovely beams everywhere they decorated them with lights so that was one of the main things. I also got an aisle runner from eBay and painted our names and date on it myself, we decorated the side with petals and candles. I also made some heart bunting which had ‘Live well, laugh often, love much’ above our table.

Personal Touches
Everything was pretty much made by me!! It was so worth it though. We got a lot of comments from people about how there were loads of personal touches and everyone appreciated it. After the wedding we even got a thank you card from some guests saying how much they’d enjoyed themselves.
• Save The Dates – a picture of me a Tony with ‘Save the Date 31st December 2011’ written on my head and ‘Or we wrote on our faces for nothing’ on his!! Luckily the pen came off easily.
• Invitations
• Place Names
• Table Names
• Centre Pieces
• Painted aisle runner
• Bouquets
• Buttonholes
• Personalised scratch cards
• Personalised keyrings
• Cupcakes picks
• Heart Bunting
• Table Plan
• DIY Photobooth props including, lips, moustaches, pirate eye patch, ‘I’m only here fro the free wine’ sign and more…
• Sugar cubes in the shape of hearts (from eBay, they were so cute!)
• Heart biscuits (made by Jenny from Jennylovescupcakes) they sat on the side of the cups)
• Sweetie Buffet Signs
• We had an order of the day which including ‘terms & conditions’ such as keeping the bride in a red wine exclusion zone, dancing for at least 30 minutes and others.
• Our cake toppers were miniatures of our cats which I loved, they were so cute and now a keepsake from the day.

Special moments
I loved seeing Tony for the first time and thinking how nervous he looked! We had a sweetheart table and I’m so glad we did, it meant we got to spend some quality time together on our wedding day which can be extremely hard amongst all the buzz. Our first dance felt really special, it was quite late on in the evening and we’d both been mingling so it didn’t feel like we seen each other and then we got to have some time where it felt like there was only us there. The best bit of the day was seeing in the New Year with my new husband!! What a start to what will be a fantastic year and then I got to say we got hitched last year!

Planning Advice
Be organised! Make sure that you do things how you would like them, take a deep breathe and just enjoy the day. Try not to be overwhelmed but it all and remember people will be taking photos all day so don’t pull any weird faces (there are a lot of friends pics where I have a rather odd look on my face!). A tip for the Bride, which I’m so glad I did – take a bottle of water for in the car on the way to the ceremony, I got such a dry throat!

Biggest surprise
I’d planned everything down to the last detail besides really thinking much about timings on the day and I’m a bit of a control freak but I surprised myself with how relaxed and calm I was on the day. If something went wrong, it couldn’t be changed and there was no point in stressing. The aim of the day was to marry Tony and make sure everyone had a good time and this is exactly what happened!

I’m also delighted to be able to sahre this wonderful video with you from peter@ifitmoves.tv   www.ifitmoves.tv

Kate & Tony – The Short Cut from Ifitmoves.tv on Vimeo.

Supplier shout Outs

• Jewellery – Truly Tempting Weddings http://www.facebook.com/TrulyTemptingWeddings
• Tiara – Lynsey’s Designs http://lynseysdesigns.co.uk/
• Cupcakes - Jenny Medhusrt http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jenny-Loves-Cupcakes/163885073679931 I have to say the service we got from Jenny was amazing! I told her our colours and that I’d like snowflakes, she made up some samples and came to our house to drop them off and meet us to talk about what we were after, etc. They looked so good I almost didn’t want to eat them but am glad I did as they tasted amazing!! She was so helpful throughout the whole process, setting up for us, suggesting ideas and not getting fed up when I kept adding extra bits on to our order!! She also made us some cake pops for our sweetie buffet which quickly disappeared and some very tasty shortbread biscuits. She was very reasonably priced and I’m so glad I found her!! Next time I need anything sweet I shall be giving her a call!
• Photographer – Sassy  http://assassynation.co.uk/ Of course there was the amazing Sassy who I have to give a big shout out to. She was always genuinely excited when I’d email her with wedding plans and is so creative, friendly and talented. Picking Sassy to photograph our wedding was the best decision we made (besides getting married!). She was so fantastic leading up to the day, on the day and after the day! We love the photos that captured our day so perfectly and couldn’t be more pleased. Massive thanks to the gorgeous Sassy!
• Videographer - Peter Pittwood www.ifitmoves.tv  Peter, a TV producer, was advertising his services for free to build his portfolio so I contacted him he agreed to film our day! We spoke beforehand and he asked what sort of look we were going for, what we were after, etc. He was really helpful and on the day I hardly noticed he was there. Considering he wasn’t charging us and it was New Years Eve he stayed really late and made sure he captured all the important things. Many people commented on how great he was. I can’t wait to see our footage.
• DJ – Dan Potter http://www.soundsimpressive.com/index.html Dan was really helpful and even done our ceremony music for us!

For more information on Sassy’s work go to:
www.assassynation.co.uk
sassy@assassynation.co.uk
Sassy on FACEBOOK
Sassy on TWITTER
07968948114

Jennifer  & Peter Squelch were married on 31^st December at St Mary’s Church, Stamford, with 135 day time guests and another 40 invited to the new year’s eve party They describe their day as ‘The wedding was a cohesion of tradition, quirky DIY and black tie glamour. Topped off by an unforgettable new  years eve party.’

Jennifer and Peter certainly know how to throw a party, It’s clear that the guests had loads of fun and they were really looked after. Jennifer spent a lot of time thinking about the smaller details that all go towards making a wedding and party that bit extra special for the guests. I’m a big fan of a Tipi tents and it’s great to see one used in the winter, the fires make them so warm and cozy!

How they met
Peter and I met on a random Wednesday night in a local night club. I made him dance, he looked slightly uncomfortable. I thought his name was Dave until he called to arrange a first date the next day. The rest is history.
We’ve been together for 5 years, we bought our first house together, around the corner from our business, two weeks before the wedding. Moving, Christmas and wedding organisation, it was a testing time! I think that is why we look so relaxed in the pictures taken during the evening. It was our first opportunity to let our hair down in months. It really felt like Yes We Did It!

The Proposal
Peter is totally unable to contain a surprise. The proposal was no exception. He had booked a suite in a swanky hotel in Barcelona (one of my favourite cities) for my thirtieth birthday. However, once he had picked up the ring he couldn’t resist. It was a Tuesday night in December, we’d gone out for dinner. When we got home he was acting very strangely, following me around the house. I seem to remember telling him to go and make a cup of tea, at which point he got down on one knee.
The ring blew me away. A couple of years before he proposed I’d seen an antique ring that I loved. Unbeknown to me, Peter had taken a picture of the ring and had it made for me. It is my most precious thing. Not only because I think its so beautiful but because Peter put so much effort into getting me something he knew that I would love. How could I say anything but yes, immediately! Pleased to say, I still got my trip to Barcelona for my birthday!

Planning the wedding
The total planning time was almost exactly a year. We did our own catering so it was slightly more involved. I loved the planning, didn’t like the budgeting as much though! In the end we went over by about £1000. I’d recommend adding in a contingency into any budget. Especially for winter weddings as you don’t know what problems the weather will cause.

The Venue
Peter and I own a coffee shop and bistro on St Mary’s Street in the heart of Stamford. Over the years we have become part of the local community. There really was no other choice but to get married in Stamford. The church is just a few doors away from the shop and the choir drink coffee with us every Sunday between services.
The reception venue took us a little while to pinpoint. Peter found the teepees from papa kata  and once we’d seen them there was no going back. Finding a piece of land within walking distance of the church was slightly more complicated. During one of our many dog walks around Burghley park we saw a marquee on the ground and booked it there and then. I’m so glad that we did. During that last week, walking up to the ground every morning and hearing the birds singing in the park was a great healer!

The Dress
My dress was by Sassi Holford, I loved both Sassi Holford and Suzanne Neville when I first started looking for a dress. I found both designers at The bridal gallery. Lauren and her Mum were absolutely outstanding. I had no idea of the style of dress that I wanted until Lauren began to pick dress after dress that I fell in love with. They went above and beyond to ensure that my dress was perfect. I loved wearing it.
The shoes, I fell in love with a pair of Jimmy Choos. However, I couldn’t justify the cost as I knew I’d probably ruin them by walking through a muddy field in them. I settled for a pair of nude silk Kurt Geiger’s. I also bought a pair of red hunter wellies just in case.
My bracelet was a necklace that belongs to my Granny, my earrings were from Black Orchid, who are based opposite my shop in Stamford. My headdress was a last minute impulse buy from The Bridal Gallery, Finedon.

The Bridesmaids
The bridesmaids wore black silk strapless evening dresses that were made by Helen Kirkwood, an extremely talented dressmaker based in Stamford 07877169614. The shrugs were bought on line. The paige boy wore a tuxedo from Marks and Spencers. The flower girls wore ivory silk dresses from Next. I added some bulk to the skirts to give them a Nicky McFarlane feel by buying them some underskirts online. Their fur jackets were bought from faux-play. Their little gold shoes and hair clips were from Accessorise.

Theme
The wedding was black tie as it was new years eve. I wanted to throw in a splash of festive colour. There was plenty of greenery inside the teepees, including a metre wide ball of mistletoe. The flowers were simply red roses that added to the glamour of the occasion. My florist was patricia, from Oakham. Patricia is truly gifted, she has created some magnificent designs that generally have a vintage feel to them. When I got to the church it looked so beautiful, she really went above and beyond the call of duty.  Patricia Roberts on 07724687614

Food
We had a mass of warm canapés, washed down with mulled cider or mulled wine. Bangers and mash for mains and Wellington Fudge for pudding. This was a firm favourite at school. Each guest who attended school in Stamford received a copy of the recipe that we managed to track down from a retired dinner lady. In the evening we served hog roast and cheese.

Decoration
The teepees are so beautiful they called for careful decoration. We had to have the giant mirror ball, and it was truly magnificent. The guy in charge of hanging it compared it to “hanging the moon”. Patricia made some stunning pew ends for the church and attached them to the beams after the service. We hired the crystal they looked magnificent. The church looked beautiful, filled with candles and greenery. The flower ladies did us proud, complementing our colour scheme brilliantly.

Personal Touches

• I sometimes get myself into a bit of a pickle with my over ambitious grand designs and the wedding was no exception. It began with the invitations that we created ourselves. A good friend drew our illustrations for us. Creative Design printed them for us and designed the folders. Abbey, my bridesmaid and I spent an entire weekend wax sealing each invite. In total they cost is £120.
• We also wax sealed the orders of service. Unfortunately this resulted in a couple of minor burns to my hands, not what you want the week before the wedding.
• I spent some time looking through blogs like this one to get some ideas. The photobooth was one such idea. I bought the bureau from ebay and Peter lovingly restored it for the big day.  We bought a few bits and pieces, including the guest book and the bridesmaid’s presents from www.notonthehighstreet.com. I bought Peter a pair of cufflinks with “see you” and “at 2.30” engraved on them. He loved them.
• We are lucky enough to have several friends in the motoring industry. They took it upon themselves to organise the cars. They rocked up in three brand new Jaguar XJ’s. It was a complete surprise.
• We wanted people to enter the tepee and begin to explore. The first thing that they came across was the cake. My Mum owns a cake business, she is so amazingly talented. Her present to us was a magnificent 5 tier fruit cake decorated with every member of the bridal party. Each figure, she had hand made to capture their personality exactly.
• We had a vintage sweet stall supplied by Bronia Gardner bronia.gardner@btinternet.com. This got everyone talking about memories from their childhoods.
• The photobooth was kitted out with moustaches from etsy.com, hats, and disposable cameras.
• We had three open fires inside the teepees. By the side of each fire we placed marshmellows and chestnuts for roasting.
• When the band played in the New Year we bought confetti cannons. Due to the windy conditions we couldn’t have fireworks. However, the confetti cannons were the perfect alternative.

Entertainment
The band made the evening party. They were absolutely fantastic. We literally danced all night

Special Moments
There were so many highlights of the day.

• My sister and her husband couldn’t come to the wedding as they are currently walking across America. However, we skyped her throughout the morning and she was in the room with my Mum and my sister whilst I put my dress on.
• The church service was intimate despite the fact that it was packed with all of our loved ones. I remember every bit of this very clearly. Singing Jerusalem with the choir behind us as husband and wife was a very proud moment for us both.
• One of the biggest surprises came when we came out of the church to see a crowd of customers outside wishing us well. It was so lovely to see so many familiar faces.
• Pete’s speech was absolutely hilarious and had everyone in fits of laughter. Favourite quote “Ladies and Gentlemen, you don’t know true love until you’ve shared a parasite”. I did a stint of volunteer work in Nepal two years ago and came back quite ill, Pete had to nurse me back to health as I was quarantined for a couple of weeks .
• I think one of the biggest surprises for me was the way in which Beccy, our photographer, captured the day. I expressly said that I didn’t want any posed shots. I hate having my photograph taken and standing in a field for an hour in various line ups had zero appeal. She got this and her pictures are absolutely sensational. Looking at them brings back all of the emotions of the day. I love each and every one. Thank you Beccy.

The biggest surprise of the day.
The feeling when the clock struck twelve of all of our friends and family having the time of their lives on the dancefloor.

Supplier shout outs

• Photography -  Rebecca Goddard http://rebeccagoddardphotography.com
• Teepees from papa kata www.papakata.co.uk
• Dress – The Bridal Gallery, Northamptonshire. www.thebridalgallery.co.uk.
• Band – . J24. www.junction24band.co.uk
• Hair – Claire Hastie from AlterEgo  www.alteregostamford.co.uk
• Make Up  - Sarah fom Aromatica 01780 753443 in Stamford.
• Cake – Deliciously Different cakes 01780762978

For more infomration on Rebecca’s work go to:
Website:  http://rebeccagoddardphotography.com
Blog address: http://blog.rebeccagoddardphotography.com/
Email: beccy@rebeccagoddardphotography.com
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
Phone: 07540 224 249 / 01664 840 044

For me wedding photography is all about observing the day as it unfold.  Capturing two people in love, enjoying their special day with friends and family to help them celebrate.  The romance, laughter, fun, the tearful moments, the joyful moments and everything in between that will give the couple beautiful images to remember their amazing day.  I am based in Leicestershire, so I’m slap, bang in the middle of the country and get to travel all over and see some beautiful places.  Most of my bookings have been made by guests who have been at a wedding I’ve shot and one of the first things they say to me is ‘you just mingled in, we didn’t even know you were there!’  That is a huge compliment for me and it allows me to capture people naturally, resulting in beautiful pictures for the bride and groom.

You can tell from all the detailing that a lot of thought went into this wedding Zoe spent a HUGE amount of time, designing, and putting together things like the stationery, the favours, the escort cards. Every bit fo the wedding flows and links from one part to another, she has a great eye for detail don’t you think? I’m loving the pork pie cake, and all the autumn touches like the wedding bike, and all the amazing touches with the flowers and the table decor.

Zoe and Anthony describe their day as ‘An extravaganza of autumnal tweedy madness, with a spotty sophisticated edge! A sublime day.’

How they met
We attended the same secondary school from the age of 11 but rarely had much contact with each other, although we both knew of each other. We both stayed on into the sixth form and got together during the first term aged 16. We have now been together 15 years and got married 15 years to the day since we became a couple!

The proposal
Not the most romantic story – having been together for 13.5 years and already having had a son, we were just sitting on the sofa one day when I said – ‘Shall we get married’ and Anthony replied ‘yeah ok, when were you thinking of’?

The venue
The church was in the village where I (Zoe) had grown up and we had both attended the village secondary school. Our parents still live in the village and Anthony’s parents had married at the same church. There wasn’t really any discussion about this, it was where we always imagined we would marry.
The venue for the reception was stunning and fitted our personalities perfectly with stylish bright contemporary space against the traditional brick building. Plus, the venue also has a popular restaurant in the grounds at which we had celebrated many family occasions together, so it held special memories for us already.

The dress
Dress – A bespoke creation by Caroline Chamberlain at Burton Waters in Lincoln (she’s amazing!)
Shoes – Pure & Precious
Pearls – Lido
Headpiece – bespoke by Rebecca at Beetlebum by design using tweed I had purchased from Ebay, offcuts of my wedding dress and a spotty wooden button found in my mother in laws sewing box along with Rebecca’s own pearl buttons!

The suit and bridesmaids
Grooms suit was a vintage tweed 3 piece suit from online store Vintage Whistles which amazingly fitted like it was tailored specifically for him!
Adult spotty bridesmaid dress was from Monsoon. Headpiece – Debenhams, cardigan -Coast, shoes – Dune.
Flower Girl dress (age 5) – Adapted slightly myself from a dress by Michelle Samuels Design, tweed headband – Monsoon and adapted by Beetlebum by design with the addition of my spotty dress fabric, Shoes -Monsoon, cardigan – Monsoon.
Page Boy (age 3) – Handmade tweed waistcoat by Jems Clothing in Scotland other items Ted Baker.

Theme
The theme was simple autumn with a rust and mink colour scheme, tweed and plenty of spots thrown in!

Food
Starter:
Red wine poached pear with chilled melon, berries and coulis (v)
Home smoked cheese, walnut & brandy pâté (v) with pear & mustard seed relish & toasted
Tian of poached salmon & smoked salmon with beetroot & caper dressing
Main
Roast suprême of local chicken, served with Dauphinoise potatoes, smoked bacon creamed cabbage & a grain mustard cream sauce
Confit of duck leg with Dauphinoise potatoes, smoked bacon creamed cabbage, port jus
Seared fillet of sea bream with parmentier potatoes, Mediterranean vegetables & beurre blanc
Mediterranean vegetable tart tatin, glazed with mozzarella (V)
Dessert
Milk chocolate tart with chocolate sauce & fresh raspberries x 27 (inc 1 x no raspberries, allergy)
Crème brulée with berry compote

Entertainment
We had a string quartet as guests arrived at the reception. In the evening music was provided by ‘The Pesky Alligators’ band.

Flowers
I wanted a contemporary twist on autumnal flowers and shades. Ornamental white cabbages were included in my hand tied Brides bouquet along with twigs, oak leaves, berries and crab apples. The bridesmaid and flower girl bouquets were smaller versions of mine minus the cabbages.
The buttonholes were a tweed fan of fabric with berries, crab apples and greenery including fresh herbs such as rosemary.
The table centerpieces were hollowed out pumpkins as vases filled with complementary autumnal flowers in oranges, greens whites and browns.

Decoration
Table centre pieces as above.
Outside the venue we had an autumn display of pumpkins, squash and gourds that had been grown for us over the year by family and friends, friends of friends and even the local garden club got roped in! We had them all displayed around a vintage bicycle with a ‘wedding’ sign directing the guests into the venue. Cycling is a huge part of Anthony’s life and I was very keen to bring touches of this into the day.
The wedding cake was a tiered pork pie cake. We had seen one featured in a country living magazine and visited my parents small local butcher (Bailey’s, at Upper Broughton, who have since featured in Jamie Oliver’s Great Britain programme). We showed them a picture and it turned out they did actually already offer them so we ordered one (or 3!). We purchased a tiered metal framed stand and cake boards and decorated it with stems of ivy. Our florist provided us with all sorts of goodies – herbs, berries, apples, dried chillies with which we decorated each pie. We then ate this as part of the evening buffet. Our bride and groom were another ebay purchase and were Lego figurines in a wedding dress and suit. We also managed to buy a Lego bike which we propped alongside the groom!

Personal Touches
Where to start!!!
• Following the ceremony, in the church grounds, everyone received a glass of wine and a home-made shortbread in a stripy bag (very kindly made by a close family friend). This was actually adapted from a German tradition with where we have a strong family connection. It worked brilliantly as people were just beginning to get a bit peckish, it gave us the chance to chat with everyone and be congratulated as they all filtered from the church into the grounds and everyone stood around chatting and drinking whilst we were whisked away for a few couple shots by the photographer.
• I am a graphic designer and run my own greetings business Spotty N Stripy (this is where the spots for the wedding came from!) All the stationery was designed and handmade by me and followed the rust and mink colour scheme – and of course they were spotty! The orders of service were the same design as the invitations and menu place cards.
• I created translucent paper envelopes, printed with our names and date, filled with confetti and sewn up on the sewing machine which were displayed in wicker basket and handed out in the church yard following the service.
• The favours were cellophane bags of jelly beans tied with rust and mink ribbon with a spotty tag with our names on.
• I made brown paper bags of goodies (balloons, stickers, bracelets, crayons …). This included a personalised activity book (again spotty!) to each child with pictures to colour, dot to dot images and word-searches all themed on bikes or pumpkins – very useful when it came to getting them all to sit at the table during the meal!
• Place names – as everyone was given a choice of meal we decided to list everyone’s choices on their place card in case of any forgetfulness! I made cards that matched the wedding stationery and included the guests name and each individual menu. Anthony cut small circles of tree branch (from a eucalyptus tree in our garden which was sadly killed by the frost and snow during the winter prior to the wedding). We inserted a wire holder to each and these formed the stand for each place card.
• The tables were named after different types of bike – tandem, penny farthing, mountain, bmx (you get the idea!) So, I also made the table cards which included an outline drawing of each of the types of bike. These fitted with the escort cards we produced which were brown luggage labels printed with the names and image of the bike. Anthony made a large frame (he’s a joiner!). We painted it a mushroom shade and attached lengths of ribbon (in rust and mink) which we then pegged the cards onto (in alphabetical order). This worked brilliantly as people just removed the card from the frame which meant there were no crowds of people or a queue at a table plan! Once all the cards were removed we later asked everyone to sign the frame with a message to us – we now have this displayed on the wall of our lounge.

Special moments
• The wedding ceremony was our favourite part of the day and contained many special moments – one being when Anthony jumped in accidently with ‘I Will’ about 5 minutes too early and before the vicar had barely started – ‘hang on’ said the vicar ‘Sorry, I’ve waited 15 years for this moment’ replied Anthony’! Much laughter from the congregation and then everyone relaxed into the day.
• The Vicar that took the service is a friend of the family so it was very special to have him conduct the ceremony. My stepfather is a very talented organist so we were incredibly privileged to have him play for us and the church choir accompany him. I walked into church following the choir singing an anthem which created the most amazing atmosphere and again they sang for the signing of the registers. My younger brother (also an usher) did our reading and Anthony’s mum (with help and encouragement from her other half) wrote a poem for us that she read during the ceremony which was very moving.
• Personally, a special moment of the day was when I received gifts whilst preparing on the morning of the wedding from Anthony – despite us agreeing that we wouldn’t do this!! Firstly a bunch of flowers that Anthony had had specially put together to reflect the rest of the autumn theme and also a necklace in a beautiful walnut box he had made himself. This was no ordinary necklace – on our first anniversary way back 14 years ago Anthony had made me a necklace from the plastic lids of Smartie tubes (you may remember they used to have letters of the alphabet punched into them?) it spelt out my then name, Zoe Brocklebank - he had eaten a lot of smarties to get the right letters! This new necklace was a similar design spelling out I still love you Zoe Rampley. Smarties no longer produce these lids since they’re packaging changed a number of years ago. It turned out that Anthony had the grooms party searching high and low for these in the weeks preceding the wedding, purchases had been made from Ebay, people had been contacted including Nestle themselves, by the best man, who came up trumps by finding a load stashed away in a store cupboard which they let him have – I love this!
• And a highlight – Anthony and I had been secretly taking ballroom dancing lessons for 7 months leading up to the wedding and had a dance choreographed especially to Ellie Gouldings ‘Your Song’. Neither of us had ever done any dancing before and weren’t terribly good but the surprise and delight on the faces of our family and friends as we ‘performed’ the first dance was magical.

Planning advice
18 months seemed like ages to plan and book everything but the time flew by, try and be as organised as possible and make ‘to do’ and ‘done’ lists – have a diary with dates highlighted for deadlines for things like payments – I only stated doing this at the last minute and it made planning everything in the last couple of weeks much easier – wish I had done it all along! This will be especially helpful if you plan to make a lot of items yourself as we did – the last month or so was filled with tying ribbons and finalising all the design aspects we had done ourselves, so things like the photographers final payment and paying for our cottage for the wedding night slipped my mind – fortunately they were very relaxed about it!
The sense of achievement on the day and seeing how much people were enjoying all the special touches we had done really made it all worth the effort and I would so recommend making the day as personal to you as a couple as possible and where you can, get creative – even if it’s just a tied bag of sweets as a favour, it just makes it more personal.
For the brides on the day – having my hair and make-up done by someone else on the morning gave me chance to relax and enjoy being pampered – at no point during the morning did I get nervous and I felt fabulous when it was done, I would highly recommend it.

Biggest surprise
My first surprise was that my Dad did not embarrass me during his speech – I had totally envisaged this, but what he said was very thoughtful.
During Anthony’s speech our bedside table was brought to our top table – it was a table Anthony had made for me when I was 17 and is the only piece of furniture he’s made that we have kept and taken from home to home with us as we have moved over the years.
Anthony explained that when he had made this table for me at the age of 17 he had written a personal message to me inside with a marker pen and we were about to saw it open in front of everyone and read it out! A friend came forward with a saw and I set about sawing through the table (I didn’t manage it myself so Anthony took over) inside the message read ‘ I love you Zoe Brocklebank, will you marry me?). This had lived alongside me for the last 14 years. There was a gasp and a flurry of movement as handkerchiefs were sought out around the room and tears wiped away!
Turns out he had always intended to use this as the way he would propose – would have been slightly more dramatic than the way it actually happened!

Supplier Shout Outs:
All of our suppliers were superb and really went out of their way to ensure we got exactly what we had envisaged. I would have no hesitation in recommending all of them! We were very lucky to have found so many helpful and talented people.

• Fantastic photography was by Sarah Illingworth at Mirror Imaging – http://www.mirrorimaging.co.uk/
• Make up – Susan at Pretty Flamingo http://www.prettyflamingo.co.uk/ Susan also works alongside Sarah on the day and really kept everyone organised, especially for the group photographs, they work brilliantly together and you can totally rely on them on the day – especially when you splatter tomato down your pristine wedding dress!!
• Stationery – www.notonthehighstreet.com/spottynstripy – this is me!
• Hair – Melanie Rhodes http://www.thebridalhairstylist.co.uk/
• Dress – Caroline Chamberlain http://www.carolinechamberlain.co.uk/
• Flowers – The Arbour http://www.arbourflorists.com/
• Venue – The Carriage Hall http://www.perkins-family.co.uk/the-carriage-hall.tch
• Headpiece – Rebecca Bray http://www.beetlebumbydesign.co.uk/
• Suit – Vintage Whistles http://www.vintagewhistles.co.uk/
• Page Boy waistcoat – http://www.jemsclothing.com/
• Flower Girl Dress – http://www.michellesamuelsdesign.com/
• Pork Pie Cake -  F Bailey & Son Upper Broughton, Melton Mowbray, 01664 822216
• String Quartet – Nottingham Youth Orchestra http://www.nottinghamyouthorchestra.org/quartet.htm
• Band – Pesky Alligators http://www.peskyalligators.co.uk/
• Ballroom Dancing – Andy Fisher – he worked wonders! – http://www.danceinlincoln.co.uk/

Also just wanted to mention that both my Mum and Mother In Law got their outfits from Jane Young at Newark who are superb for occasion outfits and the service you receive is second to none http://www.janeyoung.co.uk/

For more information on Sarah’s photography go to:
www.mirrorimaging.co.uk
http://www.mirrorimaging.co.uk/Blog.aspx
FACEBOOK
sarah@mirrorimaging.co.uk

I LOVE a good old country wedding on a farm…….I’m a massive animal lover so if I were to go back and do my wedding again and I got married in this country a farm wedding would definitely be high on my list! The wedding is full of amazing homemade and personal touches, Becky and Tom have obviously spent a lot of time and effort to make their day look just as they wanted it! they really inject their own personality into the day, they look happy, relaxed and so do the guests…………..oh and look out for the dance off…classic!!

Becky and Tom describe their day as ‘The most magical English country vintage wedding with surprises, sunshine, cider, animals, hay bales, smiles, laughs and bags of love and grub!’

How they met
We met when we were 16 and I turned Tom down…ahhh!! We met again at 25 and he asked me out on a date and I said yes!

The proposal
Well not the most romantic….we were taking a 2nd hand sofa from our house to our garage and I dropped it on my foot. I sat on the sofa under our willow tree in the garden and Tom got down on one knee….wasn’t expecting that one!!

The Venue
Stoke St Gregory Church because it means a lot to Tom as his granddad was buried there and the vicar is wicked!! We love her!!

The dress 
Dress was by Pronovias from Parham House Brides in Dunster, shoes were Jimmy Choo and Headdress was bespoke design by Gillian Million – London

And the suit and bridesmaids
The Suits were from Moss Bros and the bridesmaids were a combination from Next, I love Gorgeous clothes for beautiful girls and Fever Designs

Theme
Country Vintage and vintage pinks and nudes

Food
Canapés made by Toms mum and a farmers picnic buffet for all the guests and a cheese board in the evening.

Entertainment
Area 52 a 10 piece band, Tony Mitchell live in the garden -Rat pack singer, our surprise dance off for the guests with the wedding party, garden games, looking at all the farm animals and the disco.

Flowers
I had vintage themed flowers including my favourite peonies. Bec from Marshmallow flowers did them for me.

Decoration
Bunting, old vintage suitcases, jars of sweets, vintage china, hay bales, flowers in the trees….

Personal touches
-Flip flops for the guests
-Hat ribbon for the guests to hang their hats on
-Wooden place names
-Stands to hang the picture of the dogs on for the different dog breed themed tables
-Pictures of all the dogs in the family to represent different breeds
-Individual messages in every guest favours with a lottery ticket
-Designed invites and order of service
-All the bridesmaids’ earrings and my bracelet were made from Tom’s nans old necklace (she left it to Toms mum when she died)
-All of the signs to the wedding
-Bespoke collars and leads for the dogs to match the wedding party
-All of the dog tins used with ribbon to put the church flowers in from the garden (sweet peas)
-The Willow outside the church with garden flowers in
-Cameras on each table

Special moments
Getting ready with all the people I love and the excitement, seeing Tom at the end of the aisle, seeing our parents so happy, a couple of my dogs being the ring bearers, the amazing vicar, the Morris minor which was my granddads favourite car, the top drawer speeches and our dance off for the guests!

Planning advice
-Plan everything before the day and if you have time personalize it as much as possible
-On the day relax, smile and just think about the main reason you are doing all of this
-Take as many pictures as possible and definitely get a videographer…they are your memories…
-Confirm everyone 2 days before…e.g. hire cars, beauticians etc

Biggest surprise of the day?
Having the staff from our rescue kennels as a guard of honour outside the church…wasn’t expecting that.

Supplier shout Outs

• www.marshmallowflowers.co.uk – wedding flowers – The Flowers were amazing so much effort and thought and new exactly what I wanted.
• www.craigandkate.com–  Photography – Made us feel at ease and captured everything , love them!
• www.parhamhousebrides.co.uk – My wedding dress – She was a true professional
• Kevin Stratton – videographer TWITTER - His first wedding and he did an amazing job
• www.gillianmillion.com - My headdress
• www.area52.co.uk 10 piece band - Everyone said they were the best
• www.huntstileorganicfarm.co.uk - Our Venue
• www.ilovegorgeous.co.uk – Flower girl dress
• www.bridalhairbyhelen.co.uk – Bridal Hair – Managed to do my hair, my smum, and and 7 bridesmaids all for the 12pm wedding..amazing!
• www.feverdesigns.co.uk - Bridesmaids dresses
• www.moss.co.uk – Men’s suits
• www.madisonsbeads.co.uk - Earing and necklace
• www.somerset.ac.uk/services-to-public-design-print.html – Did the invites, order of service,  signs for guests to hold, table plan, thank you cards – Amazing service, Great value and even better service
• www.morrisminorweddingcars.co.uk – The Morris Minor – Made out travelling very special
•  dominique.harris9@btopenworld.com  – The bespoke dog collars  – worked so hard to get them perfect
• www.quantockmotorservices.co.uk - The double decker bus
• www.northcurrychurch.co.uk/ - The Church
• www.next.co.uk - The bridesmaids shoes and a couple of dresses
• www.littlehousecakes.co.uk – Wedding cake – Every detail I asked for was achieved and the cake was perfect

For more information on Craig and Kate’s Photography go to:
www.craigandkate.com
www.craigandkate.com/blog/
howdy@craigandkate.com
www.facebook.com/craigandkate
www.twitter.com/#!/craigandkate
Studio: 01206 520396

We are based in Essex but travel all over the country and abroad. We are quirky wedding photographers who love what we do. We take cool pictures in an unobtrusive way so the special moments that happen on your day are completely natural and the real you!

The wedding is amazing on so many levels! I just love the relaxed, laid back manner of the day, Cass and John are just super cool and have totally taken the day as their own, they haven’t stuck to any traditions they didn’t’ want and done their own thing. The venue is AMAZING!! anywhere that has their own hay bales is a winner for me! All the lovely details that both the venue laid on and that Cass and John brought in them selves are all so well thought out. This really is a completely personal wedding with a couple who have gone all out to do it their own way!………….I LOVE!!

Shelly has been kind enough to tell me more about the day. 
‘Cass and John’s wedding was one of my faves of 2011 – plus I get to see Cass quite a bit as she works at East Riddlesden Hall where I am one of their preferred suppliers. She and Jon decided not to get hitched at East Riddlesden but opted for the beautiful Danby Castle instead.’

‘They dispensed with all kinds of tradition in favour of laid back loveliness. No bridesmaids, no ushers, just tons of fun family and fabulous friends. Jon and his best man (who is also his brother) wore sneaks and jeans and beautiful velvet jackets.
‘Then Jon and Cass decided that they would walk each other down the aisle – so they got two gos at it!’

‘Danby is a fantastic venue for the kind of bride who doesn’t want the usual boring trappings of a traditional wedding. After all, there aren’t many venues that can play host to hay bales round the dance floor, cockerels in the garden and a jury room. It’s perfect for brides who love a vintage, bunting laden affair complete with castle ruins.’

‘It made for the perfect backdrop for Cass and John’s nuptials. There were some beautiful little touches provided by both Cass and Carolyn (who is the lady in charge over at Danby), including tin cans and jam jars wrapped in lace and stuffed full of pretty country flowers, a vintage sweetie bar (yeah, so i had a few flying saucers and some strawberry jellies… what of it?) and napkins adorned with a sprig of lavender.’

‘And then there were the unusual touches… like the fact that Cass and John named all their tables after their favourite packets of crisps! And all the games for guests to play stacked high on a wheelbarrow.’

‘Cass looked stunning in her off the shoulder gown (normally she is a fan of the jeans) and brandishing a bouquet created by her new mum-in-law, went to the ceremony in an open topped red sports car. As a little surprise, we stopped off at a little bridge for a few photos on the way with Danby Castle in the background, before arriving in style in front of her guests.
The speeches were some of the funniest and most moving I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to and the BBQ was as tasty as it looked.’

‘Congratulations to them both. And thanks for letting me be a part of your big day.
Big thanks also to the lovely folk at Danby Castle for looking after us.’

For more info on Shelly’s work go to:
www.toastofleeds.co.uk
Toast Blog
Toast on TWITTER
shelly@toastofleeds.co.uk
0113 3560157

It was sent into me by Amy Stanley from Style By Design who is an Interior designer/graphic Designer/Wedding Stylist based in Virginia (USA).
I’ll pass the blog over to Amy to explain a little bit more behind the shoot and how it all came about

Why
‘I did this shoot for a few different reasons. First off, I love to work with different vendors from this area to see what kind of talent is around and so I can provide my brides with a high quality vendor list. I also like to promote the vendors who have really helped me along the way. I also want to inspire brides to step out of the box a little bit and learn that weddings don’t have to be so super traditional…in fact, the more creative they are, the more interesting they become and the more their guests will remember.
Finally, I always like to have fresh work coming from the studio…something that is going to grab a potential client’s eye. It’s hard to be so creative with actual weddings because brides rarely let you take the reins on the creative side. This is why I aim for 3-4 styled shoots every year’

What
‘I did A TON of DIY projects for this shoot. I’ve been collecting vintage frames and candlesticks at thrift stores over the past year because I had this vision in my head of a bohemian rustic wedding. In order to make the thrift items fit together, I spray painted everything the same colour…different designs in the same colour organized vintage chaos. I also spent DAYS cutting out individual paper feathers to use as escort cards and as the napkin ties on the table. I also created the Mr & Mrs. sign for the chairs as well as the Love Birds sign…both of which I hope to use as rentals!! In addition to the vintage & DIY pieces, I also used Jamestown Glass artefacts and pheasant feathers. The feathers were a uniting theme…used on the table, as escort cards, in the invitation suite, and props.’

Where
‘I chose the location because of a photo I’d seen of the covered patio area….I love the idea of doing a reception under one at some point in my career. They also have a super rustic wine cellar and other really amazing areas for photo opportunities.’

Who
Style by Design organized the shoot, did the graphics and decor
www.sbdva.com
FACEBOOK
amy.stylebydesign@gmail.com

DCPG Photography www.dc-pg.com
Cakes by Jennis FACEBOOK
Pure English Couture Bridal http://www.pureenglishbridal.com/
Bloom the art of flowers http://www.bloomtheartofflowers.com/
Salon Amore www.salonamoreva.com
Makeup- Katie Kiester

‘Christmas is a creative time of year and having flowers in the house at this time is a must, especially scented ones. If you want to do something a little different this year from just plonking some  blooms in a vase and hoping for the best – why not create your  own design?

Below is a step by step guide which shows you how to make this beautiful, but simple, arrangement that will be guaranteed to impress your friends. (And yourself!)’

You will need:
Glass bowl or similar, e.g. fruit bowl
Red aluminum wire
8 stems of hypericum berries, or holly berries
Some strands of bear grass
7 red roses or red gerberas
7 glass or plastic test tubes
Red food colouring
Beads and ribbons of your choice to pick up the style and colour of your home.
Large scented candle

Step One.

Make a circular wreath of the aluminum wire big enough to fit around the top of the bowl. Mould the wreath around the edge of the bowl before carefully pushing the test tubes through. For extra decoration wind the bear grass, glass beads and ribbons into the wire wreath. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can also thread individual berries onto wire for extra effect.

Step Two

Mix the red food dye in a jug of water and pour carefully into the test tubes, don’t fill them right to the top or they will overflow. Cut the roses and hypericum berries to size and place them into the tubes.

Once you have added all the flowers, simply light the candle, stand back and admire your handy work! You don’t have to use a scented candle; an alternative idea is to fill the bowl with cinnamon sticks, cones and orange slices. Or, if you have any coloured water left, add it to the bowl and float tee-lights upon it – just remember not to leave candles burning unattended!

(All materials available from florists and craft shops.)

Tips on arranging flowers at Christmas:

• When you get your flowers and foliages home, re-cut the ends of the stems before putting them into water.
• Always make sure vases are clean and use flower food.
• Take off any leaves that are below the water line.
• Flowers with soft stems, such as gerberas only require a few inches of water in the vase.
• Do not hammer the ends of woody stems – this is an old wives tale. Simply cut them at an angle with scissors or secateurs.

For more information on Boutique Paeony go to:
www.boutiquepaeony.co.uk
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

Rachel and Kevin were married on 4th June 2011 at Harrogate registry office with the reception in a traditional marquee in the Garden of the Royal Oak pub in Staveley where Rachel was brought up. (her mum lives next door to the pub) They had 130 guests and a fun packed day of village fete fun! Rachel contacted me just before Christmas to say that she was having problems pulling her wedding together as they were loving just outside of London and the wedding in Harrogate. I met them during the Christmas break and we talked trough what needed to be done.

It was apparent straight away that this was going to be a wedding that I really enjoyed planning, BIG traditional marquee, her mum creating loads of quilted loveliness (along with the other members of her local quilting group) a village fete theme, with what turned out to be  18 different village fete games, lots of other DIY elements, and loads of features that I was able to give them ideas and inspiration on.

I spent 6 months planning their day along with quite a few meetings up at the pub in Staveley (hard life) and I think you can tell from the photos that all the hard work was definitely worth it! I was joined by Lisa Fellows on the day who took these gorgeous pictures, along with Lisa Stonehouse  Rachel’s friends who took a few more informal ones.

Do let me know what you think of the wedding, I’d love to get your feedback, and I know Rachel is reading this as well, so I’m sure she would love to hear what you think of her day.

The Dress
Dress- from Louise at curvy Bridal in Boroughbridge. Silver colour with lots of crystals-beautiful dress-designer Mark Lesley. I had a diamante hair comb and silver jane shilton strappy sandals with diamante detail

The suit and bridesmaids
Only 1 bridesmaid Kevin’s 5 year old daughter Lillia.dress from monsoon Suit from tailors guild

Theme
Country village fete, with lots fo DIY elements

Flowers
lots of sweetpeas-soft pink and similar roses, trailing amaranthus and country flowers Sharon crampton Blush flowers Ripon

Cake
We had a Yorkshire cheese cake from the Yorkshire cheese company and a lovely simple fruit cake made by the brides mother and decorated by a friend’s mother

Entertainment
lots of sweets and books and fete and garden party games-splat the rat, aunt sally,giant snakes and ladders, guess the name of the teddy, giant space hoppers, guess how many sweets in the jar to name but a few!

Favours
Place names were apples with tags

Decoration
bunting and loads of it made by Rachel’s mum joyce smith of the Quilting Barn,staveley..Table runners quilted by Joyce and other members of her quilting group. Joyce made a unique quilted cupcake wall hanging also.

How would you sum up your day
Wonderful..really me!

Special moments
-Getting the ring on my finger!
-Seeing Kevins face when we were saying our vows,
-Laughter whilst we had photos taken..
-Wearing my weddington boots,
-Having Lillia there,
-My mum driving my dad, Lillia and I in the wedding car!

Planning Advice
Go for a DIY theme and express yourself

Biggest surprise
Getting a lovely necklace from kevin

What planning service did you book from me?
Partial Planning

What made you decide that you wanted to book a planner?
We were having a very DIY wedding with lots of outside elements that needed pulling together. The wedding was also a good 3 hours away from where we currently live

What do you feel were the biggest benefits of having a planner involved with your wedding?
Keeping the ideas flowing. Tying ideas together, keeping to time lines, sourcing suppliers All the help with planning and minimising stress running up to the big day

Supplier Shout Outs

• Photos- www.lisafellows.com
• (last 4 photos) www.ls-weddings.co.uk
• Reception- www.royaloakstaveley.co.uk
• Marquee- www.mudfordmarquees.co.uk
• Flowers – www.blushbespokeflowers.co.uk/Blush%20Home.html
• Cake- joyce smith 01423340700+ jeanette’s mum icing it
• Vintage  crockery- www.thevintageteachest.co.uk
• Hair and help with makeup – Nicola connell 07713628961
• Wedding Planning – www.bohoweddingandevents.com

Thanks once again to Chloe Adlington from Adore by Chloe, for tacking over the Blog for me and putting together this cute DIY tutorial for you.

DIY Angel Wing Chair Backs

I’m feeling very festive already this year and have been indulging in some early Christmas crafting for various magazine projects, radio interviews and new blog content over the past few weeks! I’ve saved one of my favourite DIY ideas from a recent photo shoot for you though.

Thanks so much to Butterworth Photography for the images, they look so sweet! Don’t you think they would be the perfect chair decorations for a wedding or a special festive touch  to your Christmas dinner table?!

To make them you will need…

Paper doilies – available really cheaply online
Cello-tape
White cardboard (I’ve used yellow card in my tutorial as it shows up better in the step-by-step photo’s but white does look better!)
String or ribbon to tie them to your chairs

Step 1 ~ Fold a piece of card in half then draw a wing shape. Cut out your shape then open up to reveal your angel wing template…

Step 2 ~ Roll your paper doilies into tight little cone shapes and secure with cello-tape

Step 3 ~ To make smaller cones start by folding the doily in half before rolling, you’ll need to roll enough to cover your wings, gradually getting smaller to follow the shape to the centre

Step 4 ~ Attach the paper cones all over your cardboard wings with cello-tape, I bent the end of the cone over the top of the wings and taped on the back to hide the cello-tape, then added some little cello-tape rolls underneath the cones to secure them down at the front!

Step 5 ~ Attach some ribbon to your wings and tie them to the backs of your chairs for heavenly decoration

What do you think? For lots more DIY projects and handmade wedding ideas visit my website: www.adorebychloe.co.uk and read my blog here
Follow me on Twitter: @ChloeAdlington or Facebook

If I don’t see you at the Boho Christmas Bash on Wednesday (which I’m very excited about!) then have a fabulous Christmas! I see you back here in January with my next DIY project.

Chloe
x

I’ll hand the blog over to Jenni
‘Making your own confetti is really easy and simple.   If you have a fiancé who buys you roses, then this is a great little project to do with the petals when the roses are past their best or if you have a rose bush in the garden (or your mum does) then you can make confetti free! Just save the petals when pruning!’

YOU WILL NEED:

For the petals
Scissors,
Kitchen Roll /Paper
A Tray
Rose Petals (or roses)

For the Cones:
Card or paper if you wish to make cones to put confetti in.
Double sided tape
Any embellishments to co-ordinate with your wedding. i.e Ribbon etc.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) Lay kitchen paper onto your tray

2) Take the rose heads and remove all the petal, lay them out on the tray.

3) Once you have removed all the petals, take the tray to a warm space like an airing cupboard and leave it there to dry the petals for a few days ( Ours were ready in two days).

4) Remove from the airing cupboard when they are ready. You can store them in a plastic bag until you have enough for your needs if you wish.  If you crush and scrunch them they break up and will go further, but this is optional.

TO MAKE THE CONES:

1) Take  a piece of A4 Card or paper, and cut off a third of it (you can make 3 cones out of one piece)

2) Roll it up to create a cone shape and snip off the end at a 45 degree angle

3) Add double sided tape to the angle you just cut.

4) Remove the protective paper from the tape, roll up your cone and fix into place.

5) Add any embellishment or leave plain if you desire

6) Fill with your confetti and place into baskets to hand to guests, or fill a basket with confetti and let guests scoop into cones or grab handfuls.

Thanks you to Jenni for this tutorial, if you decide to try this your self do let me know how you get on.

For more information on Jenni’s work go to:
http://bespokenfor.co.uk/
info@bespokenfor.co.uk
FACEBOOK