When planning a wedding there are certain items that are usually a given. The dress, the cake, the flowers. But what if you want to do somethings a little differently. Colours are becoming ever more popular for the bride as a white alternative, couples have been playing with the concept of the traditional cake for a while now, any one for a slice of pork pie or french cheese? So why not flowers? Using succulents, herbs, foliage and even veggies is one of the growing wedding trends set to continue well into the next few years. Plus as possibly one of the most expensive items on your wedding bill there is certainly case for waving the traditional expensive blooms and going with something a little different to adorn your tables and dress your venue.
Given that green and white is such a classic colour scheme, succulents, herbs and other foliage can make a fantastic and brilliantly different addition to your wedding venue. Clean, crisp and elegant they are the perfect addition to a country garden theme or a classic black tie event. They also pair well with traditional blooms if you don't want to forgo flowers all together. Here are my favourite ways you can use them to transform your day...
I’ve been using a new product in the last few weeks that I think would be a great secret weapon for stressed out brides as a little at home treat as part of your pre wedding skincare routine.
A few weeks ago my skin went a bit mental. I’m not sure why, well if I’m honest I was probably forgoing the night time cleanse a bit too often and not drinking enough water, but this was more than just maintenance. My skin was angry. I kept getting a strange heat rash/lumps at night, the texture was rough and dry like I needed a good scrub and I had huge pores! I have never really even noticed my pores before but here they were, huge and all over my face. I could have kept a lipstick in there.
Fortunately or not it was that time in every women’s life that we dread. You know, the time when every bit of skin care and make up you own, all runs out at the same time, forcing you to spend your holiday savings in Boots instead of flights to Barbados. So I was very excited when I remembered I had bought some of Charlotte Tillbury’s Goddess Skin Clay Mask a few months ago but not really used it. The 10 minute clay mask from Tilbury’s new skincare range, lays claim to visibly lifting, smoothing, brightening and tightening pores for baby skin, hurrah! Just what I needed, so kind of them!
Steve and I found this job very difficult. Considering we both love music it was a bigger task than we thought it would be and I am not sure we got it right. In fact sometimes I can’t remember which song we picked. I know it was the Beach Boys, I can never remember if it was “God only knows” or “wouldn’t it be nice”.
I think we put too much pressure on the idea of a first dance being the sum up point of the day and of us as a couple. Unless we picked the right song, credible yet sentimental, but definitely not soppy, we were doomed to failure and people would laugh. Ridiculous I realise, especially as we don’t really have the same taste in music, (except the Foo Fighters, but Steve has no choice in this if he wants to stay married to me), it doesn’t make us any less of a couple, I realise this now. At the time, we over thought it, looked in too many places, read too many lyrics and ended up picking a song we both liked but neither loved.
So, if Pinterest is anything to go by, and it usually is, the dress is no longer the only star of the show when it comes to big day dressing. Hair dressing, or more accurately how we dress, and what we dress our wedding hair with is now just as important. And it seems we have two camps, flowers or jewels! No matter which side your on check out the gallery below for the best floral crowns, glittering headbands and maybe even a princess tiara or two! Only the best for your wedding hair will do...
Floral motifs are having a huge moment, not just in branding and design, but they are inspiring some amazing and unique wedding themes. But they don't look how you think, gone are soft, garden pastel flowers we have seen dominate wedding stationery and venue design over the last few years, we're now seeing a lot more bold, vibrant and dramatic designs merging geometric prints, photography, and perspective to create something truly modern and exciting.
Take a look below and see how modern florals could inspire your wedding theme from stationery to fashion to live blooms...
Images from the top // Via My Little Fabric // Via Design Inspiration // Via Packing of the World // Via Rifle Paperco // Via April Davenport // Via Behance //
So, anyone with even the tiniest of interest in weddings, or fashion, knows of Vera Wang. Charlotte York wears Vera Wang in her 1st Sex and the City wedding to Trey, in the film Bride Wars, Kate Hudson's character famously says "you don't alter Wang to fit you, you alter yourself to fit Wang" or something similar...
She is an institution, dressing everyone from Kim Kardashian to Keira Knightly (2nd Wedding and Oscars red carpet respectively). She also has a pretty recognisable, and incredibly gorgeous signature bridal wear look. Tulle, feminine, big as you can make it, amazing dresses. That is until recently.
I, like most wedding bloggers have been glued to the recent NYC Bridal market catwalk shows and while I expect certain looks from certain designers Vera Wang's latest bridal wear collection surprised me. There was a distinct lack of the trademark ball gowns, no traditional princess dresses, and some very interesting silhouettes. It had more of the feel and sexiness of a Vera Wang mainline catwalk show. And I absolutely loved it.
The use of copper and metallic in weddings is a huge trend for 2015/16 weddings. And I love it! Pinky/copper tones have long been a staple in my pallet of favourite colours, if there was one trend I could go back a few years and include in my own wedding scheme this would be it!
Getting modern metallics right can be tricky though, like with most things balance is key and knowing where to hold back and where to let go will make the difference between trashy high shine and the midas touch! Here are some examples of the best ways to use wedding perfect metallics:
The Cake
I don’t really get etiquette. Until writing this post I wasn’t even sure how to spell it (I had my double ‘tt’ at the front not the back). I prefer to use my moral instincts and emotional intuition to help me figure out how to navigate social situations rather than an accepted but possibly out dated way to act. I think that’s how most of us live these days, right?
Weddings however seem to send us all a little Jane Austin when it comes to knowing how to behave. As guests we like a safety net to decipher dress codes, formality and gifts. As the Bride and Groom we want to make sure everyone is happy and this can send us a tad crazy! There were a lot of things Steve and I did with our wedding that probably did not follow etiquette, (we did not include anything about gifts with our invites, Steve was dead against it, looking back this was not the best idea) like I said we are not big on it. We wanted our day to feel natural and relaxed, not like we had followed a set of rules to create a 1 size fits all experience. We also didn't want to dictate who paid for what, this is for families to work out not etiquette.
However, what I do believe is that weddings deserve their proper respect, whatever that may mean personally to the individuals taking part, we should recognise the importance of the day and endeavour to celebrate it the way the couple would like rather than how we would like.
So how do you find the right balance? From engagement to thank you cards, how do you make sure you tick the right boxes without compromising on your own social intuition? I think the key is to go with what makes you feel comfortable, what you would expect from someone else and don’t be afraid to bend or even break the rules, especially if you feel another way would suit your guests better.
Don’t forget you can always do something different for those guests who might prefer the more traditional route, for example an e-vite or video invite might not be suitable for grandparent aged guests no matter how relaxed your wedding style. Although they may enjoy the creativity and would not want to miss out on seeing the video, a additional traditional invite to make them feel comfortable and thought of is a simple and lovely thing to do.
That for me is the crux of modern day etiquette, what can you do to help your guests enjoy the day. It’s not the order things are said, the syntax of your invites but the sentiment behind them. As long as you are clear, polite and inclusive, you are sure to have a great day without offending even the biggest stickler for the ‘rules’.
For me etiquette is about common sense, someone gives you a gift, you say thank you. If you are going to a formal, exclusive hotel reception, you put your best frock on. If you’re talking to people from a different generation to you, do it in a way they will understand but be inclusive. It’s not good to alienate people or not include them in the joke.
This is my take on a few of the bigger etiquette issues...
One aspect of the big day that has come up in my research around wedding etiquette is paying for drinks at the reception. I don’t think I have ever been to a wedding where I didn’t have to pay for my drinks at the evening do, and I am happy to do so. However, it seems in the US or Australia it would be considered extremely bad form to have a cash bar in the evening. I personally don’t get this; you’re paying for reception drink, canapés, a 3 course meal, table wine and toast drink plus favours. I think that’s enough, it’s up to cousin Freddy if he then wants to drink enough to satisfy a rugby team.
Invitation wording, there is apparently a right and a wrong way to do this. I think you should say what you want as long as it's nice. Our modern or extended families are so complex these days you should say what's important for the day and don't worry about what order it comes in. We have moved on significantly since the days of family hierarchy I would hope!
Gift list rules. Now as I mentioned Steve and I did not include information on this with the invite. Steve did not want to assume people would give us a gift but in not saying anything we just confused people. Instead we spoke to most of our guests personally and let them know the score. At the end of the day people will buy you gifts or give money, I don't think they mind and it's nice to be able to contribute. There are so many options now from charity donations to honeymoon funding. Pick what you feel comfortable with but don't be afraid to put it with your invite, again just be nice and you will be fine!
No Kidz allowed. This can be a biggie! Personally I think it is fair to not invite children and I have one. What's important is how you tell people. Close friends I would do it in person or with a phone call, not just on the invite. Everyone is different and it's important people understand your reasons for not including their bundles of joy. As long as you are honest people should respect your decision.
If you are really unsure of how to approach something check out Debretts section on Weddings and most of the major Bridal magazines cover the basics on etiquette most months. But for me I would say go with your gut, you know your guests best, have fun with details as people appreciate ingenuity, and use the good old childhood code of would you like it if it where done to you and you can't go wrong!
Happy Planning xx