Bride Society

Q&A Christmas

21 December 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Bride Society Q&A, 100 Subscriber Thank You AND Christmas Message, 2018!

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It’s Christmas y’all!!!! Sorry, I’ve been around a lot of Americans lately – it’ll wear off and I’ll go back to being middle-class British soon.

Hopefully today lots of you will be officially starting your Christmas holidays. You’ve got that early morning alarm switched off, in fact now it’s all, “alarm, what alarm?”. You’ve got your favourite A-Z of Christmas movies lined up with a tub of Celebrations firmly planted next to your favourite chair, your jigsaw puzzle is picked out and you’re making a bee-line for that mug(s) of mulled wine…clear the way, Christmas is coming and you’re all over it!

First up on your Christmas viewing list is hopefully our latest YouTube video! I mean, if you’re feeling hardcore, we’re totally up for a BSoc. binge-watch, “do it, do it, do it” *coughs*. But if you’re just easing in, check out our Christmas message – this year we’ve brought you a Q&A, answering your questions so you can get to know Laura and me (Rebecca), the heads of the Society, a little better.

Also, pretty recently Bride Society reached its first 100 subscribers on YouTube! We could probably never truly convey just how excited we were to reach this landmark, but we want all 100 of you (and those of you who subscribed since!) to know that we genuinely appreciate the time you take to watch our videos and support us in what we do. We hope you’ve been enjoying watching us and have picked up some helpful advice or useful ideas along the way. We really do love hearing from you, so if you have tried any of our DIY’s let us know how you got on, send photos! If you have any tips to share, one Bride Society member to another, we’d love to be able to pass it on.

We hope you enjoy our video. We wish you and your fiancé(e) a joyful and relaxing Christmas and a very Happy New Year of wedding planning!

Love, Bride Society

Oh Christmas Tree

14 December 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Christmas Bauble Place Setting / Wedding Favour

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Let me just say, this week’s DIY is one of my favourites to date…super-cute bauble place settings / favours…I’m loving them to the point that I am pretty tempted to organise a winter-time vow renewal for my husband and me just so we can have these! (And because I still kinda love him, but mostly for this festive DIY, shhhhh.) “Why don’t you just host Christmas and make them for your Christmas table?” I hear you say, well ok, in my case that might be the way to go (for now!), but I REALLY want/need someone to make these for their wedding! So please let us know if you do and send us photos, we’d be so excited to see them.

We kitted ourselves out with all the components to make this DIY from Hobbycraft – they have a really good range of bauble types to pick from this year and so many fun things to put in them, so if you’re not feeling our bottle-brush miniature trees, check them out for alternatives. What’s great about these (other than them being adorable and full of festive joy) is that whilst they will function as name place settings for your tables, they are also a favour your guests can take home to put on their trees year after year, always reminding them of the special day they shared with you. We’re all for favours that last, though don’t mistake me, as a wedding guest I’m still 100% for edible favours, cookie me up any day of the week and I’m a happy guest, but we think items with a keepsake element may just have the edge. I (Rebecca), still get pretty excited when I spot elements of my own wedding favours at the homes of friends and family.

Eager to get crafting? Click the link to view our YouTube ‘how-to’ video. It’s fast to make and suitable for all skill levels. Don’t forget, send photos!

N.B. This video was not made in partnership with Hobbycraft, we are just genuinely loving their range this year!

Here are the product links for what we used in this video:

Frosted GreenBottle Brush Christmas Tree, 4 Pack, £1.00

Artificial Snow, 100g, £2.00

Fillable Glass Hanging Snow Globe, 8cm, £2.00

For more Winter-Wedding crafts, check out our YouTube playlist, click here.

—Bride Society

Trend Setter

7 December 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Wedding Trends for 2019

The end of the year is fast approaching so it’s the perfect time to be looking ahead to our wedding trend predictions for 2019.

We’ve rounded up some of the trends we think we’ll be seeing much more of in 2019 and one we think really should happen!

With the announcement of the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2019 yesterday (announced after filming the video), it’s probably pretty safe to say we’ll also be seeing lots more ‘Living Coral’ creeping into the world of weddings next year.

If cake’s more your thing, we’ve also looked specifically at wedding cake trends for 2019.

Let us know if you’re planning to incorporate any of the trends mentioned in the video as part of your wedding, especially if you’re planning a frosé drinks reception!

— Bride Society

With the Help of some Wedding Elves

30 November 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Winter Wedding: Mini Wreath Name Cards

If you’re looking to reinvent the humble wedding name card on your reception tables for your Winter Wedding, then these miniature wreaths could be what you’re looking for. They’re definitely what we’re (aka Bride Society) looking for! We think they are SO on point for a festive wedding – yes, I’m apparently not afraid to toot my own horn! Or for any festive celebration for that matter…these would look just as great on your Christmas table at home.

If you’ve already got your Christmas tree in situ then you can make use of any fallen needles, but otherwise use sprigs of rosemary like us. Of course rosemary comes with the added bonus that if any of it comes off on your guests’ plates, it’s all good as it’s edible and will just add a touch more seasoning to your starters!

Fair warning, this is not the quickest wedding DIY we’ve ever shown you (although we think they’re well worth the time) but of course you’ll get faster with practice, and they are still economical. We recommend getting your wedding elves in to help you with this one by getting a bit of a production line going, especially as it’s not exactly something you can prep months in advance as they’ll wilt eventually.

Got questions? Get in touch and leave us a comment, we’d love to hear what you think.

—Bride Society

It’s Show Time

23 November 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Wedding Guest Hotel Welcome Pack

Everyone loves a good wedding…to see someone you care about so full of happiness, perhaps reunite with old friends or family members that you rarely get to see now you’re all spread across the globe. A chance to get dressed up and dance the night away whilst surrounded by all the love, joy and hope anyone could ask for…

But you’re in a strange city, maybe even a faraway country, in a soulless hotel room, often at great expense – happily spent, but let’s face it, these are lean times. As wedding guests are often travelling from far and wide for the special occasion, what better way to help them settle in and feel part of the celebrations right away than leaving a welcome pack for them at their hotel in time for their arrival. This will let guests know that you really appreciate the effort they have made to share in your special day, especially when in reality the wedding day is so busy for you as newlyweds, it is near impossible to get around all your guests, let alone have the quality time you want to have with them. So this is just a really thoughtful added touch to make them feel valued… particularly ideal if all your ‘key’ guests are in the same hotel, PLUS the packs can easily be personalised to the guest, your wedding location and your personalities.

Check out our ideas for a British-based wedding welcome pack…

Had a go? Tell us what you put in yours and send us your photos, we’re super curious about what you’ll put in yours!

—Bride Society

Eco-Warriers

20 November 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Autumn / Fall Wedding: Leaf Confetti

Don’t miss our bonus autumn video available over on YouTube now! Perfect for an Eco-Wedding…

—Bride Society

Mrs by Brunch

16 November 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

DIY Bride to Be Pyjama Top

It’s the morning of your wedding, you’ve got your bridesmaids coming over, your make-up artist, hair stylist, florist, photographer (yes, they take photos of you BEFORE you’re made up) and potentially room service all knocking on your door. What do you wear? Seems odd to get dressed in everyday clothes, but by the same token, you aren’t really feeling everyone seeing you, and photographing you, in your fav. Hello Kitty pj’s. So here’s our solution, personalised pj’s! In our “Mrs by Brunch” tee, it’s obvious you’re dressed for the occasion but you’re still comfortable for lounging around with your ‘maids sipping the Prosecco…especially if you make alternative versions for them to wear so you all coordinate! Expert tip: Make sure you pick a top with a wide neckline, similar to ours, so that you don’t wreck your hair or make up when you come to get changed into your wedding dress!

If you’re a maid of honour reading this…what a lovely gift for your dear friend which will make her feel special from the moment she wakes up. Or maybe you’re the Groom-to-be and want in on the wedding morning action…why not change the text to “Grooming”?

We’ve got your step-by-step process of how to make this “Mrs by Brunch” pyjama top at home…if you’re feeling confident already, just don’t forget to flip the text before printing!

The plain white tee featured in this video was purchased from Primark.

If you have a go we’d love to see your photos of them in action. If you enjoyed the video, please give us a ‘like’ and subscribe to our channel. Thanks! You’re the best!

–Bride Society

Yum Yum, Cake in my Tum

9 November 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Wedding Cake Trends for 2019-2020

Wedding cakes are a big feature of any wedding and are here to stay…despite the attempt of a hostile takeover by wheels of cheese! I don’t have many strong opinions and you know I’m all for making weddings personal to the couple, AND I swear this isn’t just because I don’t like cheese, or even that I think it shouldn’t be an option….but you can’t replace cake with cheese, THAT’S NOT A THING! Plus think of all those plus-one’s who know only the person they are with – THEY ARE THERE FOR THE CAKE! I jest, sort of, but that said…

Whilst most of us still love cake at our weddings, it’s not ‘wedding cake’ as we traditionally think of it anymore. Our in-house expert cake baker, Laura of Green Kitchen Cakes, gives us the insider taste on the cake trends she’s seeing come through for 2019-2020 (yes, it does freak us out slightly to think that far into the future too, but that’s the wedding world folks!).

Have you used any of the styles we’ve talked about in this video for your wedding? We’d love to see your photos!

If you’d like to know more about Green Kitchen Cakes, or even book their services, you can find them here.

—Bride Society

Rings of Gold

2 November 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Autumn Leaf Wreath

It may be November and our thoughts starting to turn to the C word, but we’re still embracing the season with this foraged autumn leaf wreath DIY!

Use it to add a splash of autumnal colour to your wedding venue, either on the front door or inside your reception space.

Customise by adding a text banner across the front of the wreath to let everyone know who’s wedding they’re attending!

If you don’t fancy going foraging for real autumn leaves, or would just like to keep your wreath year after year, why not use artificial leaves like these ones from The Works?

And if you want to get your glue gun out, you could even add other seasonal decorations. Pine cones, acorns and conkers anyone?

—Bride Society

Accessorize This

26 October 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Accessorize Wedding Hair Accessories

I feel like it’s programmed into women in our society/culture that everything adorning our bodies on our wedding days has to be £££££. Whereas once upon a time, women did not wear a new, white dress for their wedding, but simply the finest dress they owned. And whilst I’m not trying to take anyone’s childhood fantasy of wearing the ‘big white dress’ and believe things should feel ‘extra-special’ in some sense, I’m all for bringing back a bit of that mentality where a wedding does not have to cost the earth. It’s not just the dress, it’s the jewellery, underwear, hair accessory…I have sometimes heard of Brides wearing jewellery borrowed or passed down to them by older female relatives, which is a lovely tradition, and of course handily covers of the ‘something borrowed’, this is a great start.

For my own wedding, although I wanted to create a fairly classically bridal look with my jewellery, I didn’t feel the need to spend big. To be fair, I should note that my necklace had been a recent birthday gift from my now husband, but my earrings were simply from Accessorize and I think they matched my Swarovski necklace pretty well! So when Laura and I started thinking about hair pieces for our latest video, we decided the High Street was a great place to start, namely, Accessorize. Today we are bringing you a range of wedding-worthy styles to inspire your wedding hair look – clips, combs, bands, slides, we’ve got it all to give you a taste of what is out there. (Product links below where available.)

Top tip: Take your hair accessory along to your hair trial so you can ensure it can be incorporated into your wedding hairstyle in a way you’re happy with. Or of course if you don’t have one yet, discuss what shape/style would work and what fastening they would recommend for your style.

Don’t forget to take a look at the Accessorize website here as I noticed they had some gorgeous pieces on there that were not available in store (or at least the store I went in to!).

Product links, (where available) in order of appearance:

1. Ciara Crystal Hair Comb £12

2. Feather Hair Comb £12

3. 2x Dipped Leaf Clips £10

4. 2x Whimsical Feather Hair Slides £10 (full single feather slide featured in this video was not available on their website, this is the two smaller clip version mentioned in the video)

5. Delicate Pearl Alice Hair Band £8

—Bride Society

Pick of the Pumpkin Patch

18 October 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Autumn Wedding Centrepiece Ideas

If you’re planning an autumn/fall wedding you may be wondering how to incorporate some autumnal touches to your Big Day.

We’ve come up with a super simple idea for your wedding reception tables which include the cutest mini pumpkins!

We found these cute mini white pumpkins in Aldi and with the addition of a few fairy lights and some foraged conkers, have created a really simple, effective and seasonal centrepiece for your wedding reception tables.

Add some autumn leaves and pine cones to create even more of an autumnal scene.

Change up the colour of the pumpkins on different tables to create some variety, or keep them the same to create a unified look.

Don’t fancy including candles for your table numbers? Why not paint the number on to a pumpkin instead?

If you have a go at making the centrepieces, we’d love to see your efforts! Tag us in your Instagram photos or leave a link in the comments below.

– Bride Society

An Apple A Day

12 October 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Apple Place Cards

Fall has arrived and here at Bride Society we’re feeling all those autumnal vibes! Pumpkin spice lattes, ankle boots, leather jackets, rich, red leaves on the pavement…I can get behind all that. Whilst at heart I’m (Rebecca) a summer girl, and the hotter the better, I find myself embracing autumn more than normal this year. Perhaps it’s because we actually had a more satisfying summer here in the UK and so the arrival of autumn doesn’t seem so cruel for once! That said I still came down with a cold the moment the temperature dropped, and autumn can keep it’s dark evenings, so I’m not entirely thrilled!

We set to thinking about all things autumn for this wedding season and we came up with these Apple Place Cards – perhaps inspired by a combination of the gorgeous red tones and my cold (an unconscious desire for vitamins)?! This is SO cheap to make and a delicious way of adding some colour to your tables, plus your guests can eat them afterwards! I mean, a wedding is nothing without cake, but an apple or two can reduce that indulgence guilt.

We hope you like them! Any questions or video requests let us know, we love hearing from you.

Happy Fall!

—Bride Society

The Bare Bones

5 October 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

How to get legally married in the UK

You’ve been picking out your bridesmaids and dreaming about dresses. You’re creating Pinterest boards every other day and you knew your colour scheme about 5 seconds after you said, “yes”. But when it actually comes to the practicality of the getting married part, the bit that legally gets you from engaged to married, what do you need to know?

In this week’s video we’re stripping back all the luxuries and trimmings of a wedding, as much as we love them, to give you the wedding 101 in what you actually NEED to get married in the UK. What that costs, what your choices are and what makes it legal – the bare bones. *Serious face*

Watch this before you start planning as there’s a surprise or two in there where movies may have led you astray! Hint: In the UK, you can’t legally get married just anywhere, anytime.

N.B. Please note that whilst all the information in this video is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of filming and on the date the video was launched, UK law in constantly evolving and for the most up to date information you should consult the government website here.

We hope you find this helpful! If you have a request for a future video, get in touch!

— Bride Society

Taking the (Floral) Biscuit

28 September 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Edible Flower Biscuit/Cookie Wedding Favours

Summer might be just about over but you’d be mistaken for thinking it was still in full swing with these colourful, floral biscuits!

We’re getting our bake on again with some really easy biscuits/cookies, decorated with seasonal edible flowers. They’d be perfect for your wedding favours or a great addition to a dessert table.

They’re really quick to make, can be made a few days in advance (perfect if you’re making them yourself for your own wedding!) and have the wow factor.

Add your own twist by adding the juice and zest of lemons or limes, or how about a dash of vanilla or almond extract for a different flavour?

Make sure your flowers are edible, from a reputable source and know which bits of the flower you can eat! We bought ours from https://maddocksfarmorganics.co.uk/

Getting married in a different season? Don’t despair, as seasonal edible flowers can be found at most times of the year in the UK.

If you have a go at making the edible flower biscuits, we’d love to see your efforts! Tag us in your Instagram photos or leave a link in the comments below.

— Bride Society

Warning: Video Starts Pre-Caffeination!

21 September 2018Bride Society Leave a comment

Get Ready With Me: Wedding Guest

It has been a glorious summer in the UK and I’m sure it’s made many Brides and Grooms very happy, as for once they have not had to contend with ‘inclement weather contingency plans’ that is the Brit norm. Let’s face it, ordinarily you’d have to be crazy to plan a completely outdoor wedding here. As standard we expect gale force winds and heavy showers – aka heavy rain, likely to cause minor flooding. But no! Nothing of the sort! In fact when the rain did finally return, I, along with many of my neighbours, all stood at our windows watching this strange wet stuff falling from the sky as if we were experiencing some kind of new, miraculous phenomenon! (Bear with me, I’m British, I’m supposed to go on about the weather.)

I hope you all got to celebrate weddings of loved ones in the sunshine, picking your outfits without having to factor in cover-ups or deal with your shoe heels getting caked in mud. We too had a wedding or two to attend this summer, which as you may imagine, we really look forward to. I (Rebecca) recently attended the wedding of an old university friend – we’ve spent the last couple of years chatting about his upcoming wedding and I know he’d been tuning into Bride Society, mostly to support my endeavours, but hopefully he got something helpful out of it along the way too, so I was really looking forward to seeing him saying his, “I do’s”, and to finally meeting his imminent wife-to-be!

So I thought why not include all of you at Bride Society in the excitement? Join me as I get ready for my day as a Wedding Guest and take a sneak peek at the day itself…spoiler: it was super lovely.

NB. The weather had returned to British standard by then.

Any questions or video requests, let us know in the comments below – we get very excited when we hear from you!