On your Wedding Day you are surrounded by love. All those you love and who love you are gathered together in one place to celebrate simply that, love. You are marrying the person you intend to spend your forever with, you are solidifying the love you have for each other and the connection you have found with another human being. In a world where so much can happen, much of it bad (I won’t list any don’t worry, I’m not trying to bum anyone out!), we should celebrate this – celebrate love, whenever possible. I know we have been trained to say, “it’s about the marriage, not the wedding”, and don’t get me wrong, the marriage is important! But I also think it’s a little bit about the wedding. Granted not just for the sake of having a wedding, otherwise the wedding becomes empty and it’s all a pointless exercise, but I do think it’s important to take the time to mark the things in life that are important and meaningful to us. It doesn’t matter if it’s big or small, with all the trimmings or kept simple, as long as at the core of it is you, your partner and the love you have for one another. This is what makes it one of the best days of your life.
And if you like the idea of being surrounded by love or are using ‘love’ as your theme, then have a go at making these hanging paper heart decorations. They could be hung from beams/ceilings/light fixtures at varying heights, on the end of pews, the backs of chairs, door handles…so many opportunities. You can of course make them in the colour and size of your choice, you will just need to change the choice of card and alter the length of strips you cut from what is shown in our tutorial.
Before starting, be aware that the thickness of your card and the number of ‘loops’ you wish your hearts to have impact the depth that your staples have to penetrate and hold.
We hope you like this beautiful DIY decoration and we wish you a wonderful wedding.
Here’s one for all the stationery geeks out there – raise your hand! Get ready to click play to scratch that stationery-buying itch because in today’s video stationery meets wedding in our Paperchase haul! We got very excited by this year’s wedding collection at Paperchase…picture two six-year-olds meeting Justin Bieber (sorry, probably should have thought of a less cringe-worthy reference!). I have said in previous blogs that there is nothing more exciting than cake but it’s a close toss-up for us as to whether we get our geek-on more for cake or stationery….cake/stationery/cake/stationery…that’s a hard one…votes in the comments below!
Whilst Paperchase of course have the expected wedding invitations, save the dates, RSVP cards and so on, they have provided so much more, so we’re checking out their slightly less-expected items. They have come up with some unique ideas for your wedding prep as well as for on the day, so even if you’re going to a specialist wedding stationer for your main items, Paperchase is still worth a squiz. It’s pretty too! We’ll link the items we picked up below, but we didn’t raid the entire store (not slacking, just didn’t want to bore you!), so do check out their website for more here.
Wedding venues can be large, intimidating spaces to think about decorating for your big day. The key is to first decide on the general ‘look’ you are going for – don’t just randomly buy bits and bobs as you go – you’ll end up with a mishmash of stuff that probably doesn’t look right together. A sure way to end up with things you don’t need and missing things you do. You may be sheepishly calling your look ‘eclectic’, but if it’s a Pinterest-worthy wedding you’re after…shop with a plan! Start with Pinterest or marking things you like in Bridal magazines, then after a month or so, look back at the type of things you’ve been drawn to. It doesn’t need to be a ‘theme’ as such, but enough of a common thread that it produces a cohesive look. Doing this will help you accidentally work out what you want for your wedding, rather than sitting down blankly trying to figure it out, then changing your mind half a dozen times. Then shop with a purpose, it doesn’t have to be all at once, you can get items as you see them, but you just need to know how it fits in to your wedding.
This DIY gypsophila heart might be just the thing for you. If rustic, natural and delicate are what you’re going for, then the addition of Baby’s Breath is perfect. These tiny white flowers instantly brighten and transform a venue whilst still being subtle. And nothing says ‘wedding’ quite like the colour white! All with the added bonus of being one of the cheaper flowers to buy out there AND they last, so you can make your decorations slightly in advance. Remember – you only have so much time to prep immediately before your wedding, so select and manage your tasks wisely. Unless of course you are Wonder Woman reading this, in which case ignore all warnings and proceed at will.
Weddings are expensive. Yes, some more than others, and yes it depends how many of the ‘trimmings’ you have, but there’s no two ways about it – it’s going to cost you more than going out for Smashed Avo’ on Sourdough! So when it comes to bridesmaids, for every person you ask, you multiply your costs. If you’re going all in, you’re looking at footing the bill for hair, make-up, dresses, shoes, thank you gifts, jewellery, bags and maybe even cover-ups depending on the time of year. The bill will soon mount up! At the end of the day, if you style out 6 bin liners and get your ‘maids to stand next to each other, people will know they are your bridesmaids irrespective of what they’re wearing, but we’re working on the assumption we’re aiming slightly more glam than that.
Of course, not all of this is necessary and you can pick and choose what you feel is necessary for how you want your wedding to look and the experience you want to have with your friends. They can easily wear their own jewellery, do their own make up and probably already have some shoes that would work, but there is still a cost. In more recent years, I have heard more commonly of bridesmaids being asked to pay for their own outfits – a tricky topic to negotiate. If you’re weighing up asking your bridesmaids to pay for themselves and looking for advice on how to navigate this, first and foremost, you need to have an honest conversation with them from the start, before anyone feels committed and obliged. Explain to them what they mean to you and why you want them up there with you by your side, but that the financial side of that is difficult for you to achieve. Perhaps you are able to put a certain amount towards each bridesmaid even if it is not the full amount. But whatever you do, do not go in with the mentality of, “you’re wearing it, so you should pay for it”, it is a cost that they are incurring because of you after all and that approach won’t go down well! They will generally still want to be up there with you if they can manage it, but of course may have their own financial situation to deal with, so you need to be prepared that some of your besties might not be able to say “yes”. Hello generation Economy Crash!
I personally do believe that if you’re asking someone else to pay, it does somewhat remove your ability to dictate the choice of dress and probably needs to be one they could wear again for another occasion should they so wish, at best you can give general guidelines about colour and length.
Alternatively, if you still really want to be able to pick the look for your ‘maids, have a discussion about what budget they would feel comfortable working within, what items that includes, and then stick within that. Give them time to go away and think about that number. Financials can be an awkward and uncomfortable conversation for many people to have, so don’t put them on the spot, encourage honesty and let them crunch their numbers…this is an unexpected expense, even if a nicer one than a broken-down boiler!
Swiftly putting my therapist hat back in its box now (my previous work-life trying to make a comeback there, as they say you can take the girl out of……).
In this latest instalment, Bride Society are here to help you keep those costs down by taking a look at the bridesmaids dresses available this season on the High Street – at High Street prices! We are wandering down the Oasis rabbit hole to see what treasures we can find. Trying them out on ‘real’ bodies and sussing out whether they are wedding-worthy. We haven’t tried on everything in the Oasis range, we are dedicated but there are limits, so check out their website for more, click here. They have a number of their outfits in different colours and lengths, so you could even mix and match – especially handy if some of the bridesmaids are more comfortable in some styles than others. Shop together and give them options, but our guide is a great place to start….
Links to dresses tried on in this video (in order of appearance):
We’ve all seen cake toppers before, usually the miniature couple on top of a three-tiered iced cake…but times have moved on…to the fun, the comical, and more importantly, the personal. You can see some of our top picks in a range of styles in our earlier blog post, click here.
Not only that, but it is now very common for couples to have cupcakes in place of the once traditional ‘wedding cake’. With lots of pretty wrappers to choose from, interesting ways to ice them, and their individual nature making them very easy to hand out, cupcakes have made a strong and lasting appearance in modern weddings. If you’re getting hot under the collar by the idea of cupcakes for your wedding, keep reading…
But fear not, you can still have a cake topper, it just becomes topperS! Now whilst it might sound an adorable idea to get super-miniature bridal couples for the top of each cake, I’m just gonna call it – choking hazard waiting to happen – especially when cupcakes are a renowned winner with kids! Ok, so maybe I’m emphasising the point because I’m not a big fan…but also because we have a quick and easy (AND cost effective) DIY idea for you…cupcake flags! These work especially well for rustic weddings, so if you’re already cutting up the hessian table runners, then this could be for you. Make it personal! We’ve used our stamps to spell out ‘love’, but you can make it whatever is most appropriate for the two of you. Perhaps your new surname, the date, or a ‘thank you’ to your guests. Personal touches are all part of what makes your day so special to the two of you and for your guests.
2018 seems to be the year for all the High Street chains to jump on the wedding bandwagon! And a wonderful bandwagon it is!
Every time we turn around at the moment, it seems like another shop is releasing its bridal collection with ranges for both brides and bridesmaids. Pretty exciting as this means doing bridal on a budget becomes ever more realistic, or even if it’s just that the idea of spending a substantial amount of money on a dress you will only wear once makes you antsy, it’s a great solution.
So far, we’d say there is still a significant gap between the traditional bridal boutique and your high street stores in terms of quality, purchase experience and generally the amount of fabric involved! However, over the coming years we’d guess that how we perceive ‘wedding dresses’ to look will shift as where we purchase dresses starts to diversify in this way. The shopping experience is obviously vastly different – if you’re someone who quite likes the idea of being able to order dresses online to try at home without a shop assistant hovering, then this may be the way forward for you. Always a love vs hate thing I think! You either appreciate the advice, input and assistance, or you find it a pressure, an annoyance or even feel self conscious. Think about how you like to shop.
This week we have tried out Coast’s latest bridal collection to see if it stands up to a spot of real-world testing and deemable as ‘wedding worthy’. Whilst your dress doesn’t need to cost the earth to be special, we still want it to be something you’re happy to be in on what we hope will be one of the most wonderful days of your life.
We didn’t try on every dress in their collection, we’re hardcore, but there is a limit! … So do check out their website if you want to see more.
Details and links to dresses we tried on in our video (in order of appearance):
You’ve dreamt of a spring wedding, maybe you love Easter or your wedding date just so happened to fall on the Easter weekend. You’re now pondering how to incorporate all the fun of Easter without it turning into a novelty/themed wedding! Well we’ve rounded up 6 tips to help you out!
Favours
Possibly the easiest way to give a nod to the Easter bunny is with your wedding favours. Why not swap out your sugared almonds for little jars or bags of mini eggs. A crowd pleaser for kids and grown-ups alike!
Check out our video to see just how easy (and cute!) these favours are.
Easter Egg Hunt
If you’re inviting children to your wedding (but let’s face it, the adults would enjoy this too!) and your venue is suitable, how about setting up an Easter Egg hunt to keep the children entertained during your drinks reception.
(More non-Easter themed wedding tips to help you create a wonderful guest experience at your wedding here).
Place Names
Along the same vein as your favours, another subtle but easy way to add a bit of Easter sparkle into the celebration is with your place names. Decorative eggs with each name in script? Or even Easter bunnies, spring lambs or Easter chick models/toys, sprayed to unify the colour and a name tag around their neck?
Egg Tree – Guest Book or Table Plan
Easter trees seem to be increasing in popularity year on year. How about turning yours into your guest book or table plan?
You could either have a tree, pre decorated with eggs, and your guests write their messages and tie them to the branches. Or how about the message be written on eggs, which are then hung from the tree?
Alternatively, swap out the messages for lists of who’s sitting on each table.
Cake Toppers
Gone are the days where you only have the choice of a miniature couple on top of your wedding cake. Personalised, decorative eggs or rabbits could feature on top of your cake to give that Easter hint.
(On the hunt for a non-Easter themed cake topper? Check out our video for some inspiration!)
Flower Girls/Page Boys
This idea may be a bit too much for some, but if you’re including little ones into your bridal party, what could be cuter than flowers girls wearing tutus, bunny ears and a fluffy tail hopping up the aisle (well maybe not the hopping part)?! Or how about the little ones as spring lambs? Just think of the photo opportunities!
Bonus tip.
And if you really want to go all out, then why not include a real Easter bunny in your wedding photos. We couldn’t resist this wedding shoot! Now where do I find a rabbit…
Check out our Pinterest page for more Easter themed ideas.
So here’s the thing, I’m going out on a limb and saying: white chair covers with organza sashes are a trend that has had its time! I’m sure when they first appeared on the wedding scene it was a good idea, and I can appreciate the clean look chair covers offer, especially in venues where there are some very questionable choice of chairs, so fine, but there are so many other creative, pretty and interesting ways to dress your reception chairs now.
Furthermore, yes I’m on a rant now but stay with me, I fundamentally just don’t ‘get’ those covers! Having sat on a few of them over the years as a guest – WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR LEGS?! I suddenly realised I can’t sit that ‘correctly’ for that length of time and desperately wanted to tuck my feet under, plus I could never work out how to pull my chair in / push it out without getting my feet under – I looked like I was doing some kind of Sea lion impersonation – is this just me?! AND WHERE DO YOU PUT YOUR BAG?! I instinctually wanted to place it under my chair out of the way of other guests as you’re typically sat in fairly close proximity with many people, but no. Fully admitting here that this could just be my weird issue and may not be anyone else’s! Anyone?
ANYWAY….I am thankful to say that when I’m at wedding fairs these days, even when I still see the white chair covers, suppliers are making attempts to be more inventive with how the sashes are wrapped and sometimes it’s quite genius what you see people doing. But where it gets really interesting for me is when they are jazzing up chairs that have no covers at all!
For my wedding, we decided to hire Camelot chairs (also known as Chiavari) from a local company that I found to be much more elegant (- check that your venue is happy for you to do this before putting down any money on this). But with limited additional resources to do anything further to decorate them, I chose to make these heart garlands to dress alternating chairs. I even picked a period romance novel to make them from for added romance, but they would also work well with music paper if that is more reflective of your theme and personalities. So alternatives don’t have to get expensive if that’s not your priority – it’s just that typically your reception is going to have a lot of chairs in it, so it becomes a big part of the visual and therefore if you can, I would recommend not overlooking this component.
How will you guys be doing-up your reception chairs? Send pictures and let us know! We show you how to make this romantic, chic, chair decoration in this how-to video:
Hammock – check • Beach – check • Racoons – say what now?!
HAPPY DAYS
You’re newlyweds looking for your blissful corner of the universe for a few romantic days (or longer if you’re lucky!) together, away from the fast pace of life to enjoy some quality time, reminiscing about your magnificent wedding day. You’re thinking somewhere warm – yes please! You’re thinking somewhere secluded – oh yea! You’re thinking somewhere beautiful – sign me up!! If those are some of your top honeymoon requirements, then the Banyan Tree resort in Mayakoba, Mexico could well be the second-best decision you ever made (to clarify, the first was marrying that gorgeousness that’s sat next to you on the couch!).
I recently took on the very arduous task of rating the Banyan Tree’s honeymoon vibes for you Bride Societers (I know that’s not a word, just play it cool and roll with me on this) to give you the low down on whether this resort is worthy of ‘honeymoon’ status and spending what is left of your hard-earned wedding budget!
This area of Mexico is definitely a picturesque part of the world and Mayakoba offers quiet, spacious beaches for long walks or relaxing on sun loungers. And despite this being a family resort, romance still felt undisturbed…now, of course I can’t guarantee that wasn’t just down to the particular families that were there at the time and that you might not get as lucky, but my sense was truly that everything was so spread out that you were never really on top of anyone else to be able to be disturbed by them. Even your villa, although right next door to others, is completely private and not overlooked by anyone…perhaps just a few birds and an occasional family of racoons.
If you are curious, you can also have your destination wedding here – just putting that out there! There are definitely plenty of restaurants and places to spend time with your wedding party whilst you’re here, but also plenty of opportunity to escape them too…perhaps the perfect balance!
Check out our vlog review to get a little snapshot into this beautiful location, see a room tour (Sanctuary Pool Villa – just so you know) and hear what we think makes this place awesome as well as heads-up on a few things…
You have spent months staring at a table plan, carefully manoeuvring sticky-tabs around drawn out tables on an A3 sheet of card to avoid political strife and family discord, with your pulse rising rapidly the second anyone hints at having to pull out or when your mother announces you simply must invite Aunt Beatrice after all. You finally got it figured out, but now your guests actually need to be able to find their table…so if you’re after a creative way to name/number your tables that you’ve not seen twenty times before, then we have a beautiful DIY idea here for you!
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This one works all year-round as you can use seasonal flowers, but if you have Spring in your step and are big on having flowers incorporated throughout your wedding, then look no further! You could match them to flowers used in your bouquet or on your cake to pull the whole visual together, or simply choose your favourite blooms that are currently in flower…that happen to handily be in your garden!
You don’t even need a fancy flower press like ours to achieve this look, if you lay the flowers flat between two pieces of paper/card and put a heavy book on them for 2-3 weeks, you’ll achieve the same effect.
In a very simple world where your future mother-in-law isn’t insisting you invite your 6th cousin 10 times removed who you’ve never met and didn’t know existed until about a week ago, else it will be some kind of massive family faux pas, then you can actually get married for a very reasonable sum. I should quickly put a disclaimer in here that this comment is in no way based on personal experience – my mother-in-law was a delight throughout my wedding-planning process – swiftly dodging making my own family related faux pas!
The bare basics to get legally married in the UK are not all that costly if you’re good with a pre-existing outfit from your wardrobe, an officiant and a wedding certificate, then you’re good to go. Otherwise, costs can rapidly start to mount. There are A LOT of pretty, beautiful, shiny things out there and if you’re a bit of a magpie you may find it tricky to stay on budget. There’s no hiding from it, for many of us this will be one of the most expensive days of our lives, but you should be as comfortable as possible with the amount you’re spending on it…spending the first few years of married life behind bars for fraud is probably not the way forward. And yes, the number you may like it to be is £00000.00, whilst still having all the trimmings, but let’s face it, that is unlikely to happen…although I’m pretty sure one of my relatives turned a profit on his wedding!
So with this in mind, we bring you a video packed full of our top money saving tips on how to save both big and small for your wedding day, to keep that budget in line and everyone happy. No haggling required!
If you’ve come up with some other great ways to save the pennies, share them with our other brides / grooms in the comments below! I’m sure they’ll be forever grateful!
Sometimes you just gotta get your stuff from A to B, and on your Wedding Day there’s plenty of ‘stuff’, believe us! But…it’s your Wedding Day! This is not the time to be grabbing a spare bin liner from your kitchen, not only for the risk of rubbish collectors accidentally picking it up! You’ve got to do it in style, so today we’ve got a DIY video for you for personalising Tote Bags. Do one for yourself and for each of your ‘maids, and maybe even make it a cute gift in miniature size for your flower girl / mini ‘maids! Everyone appreciates a gift that someone has taken time over with them in mind and if you’re all matchy-matchy you’ll feel like a solid group; Team Bride, not to be messed with. You’ll look like you mean business! And, of course, you can all use them after the day too – added bonus, especially with those 5p plastic bag charges! Yes, I know, we’ve thought of everything.
Whether you’re stashing your make up, hair pieces, jewellery, tissues for those teary “I do’s” or mini bottles of Prosecco, you’ll be so glad you made them!
If you’re making them for your bridesmaids, why not put a few small items in the bags for them too as a gift to say thank you for helping you through your day too – blister plasters, paracetamol, hair grips, chewing gum, compact mirror – you see where we’re going with this.
So if you’re in a wedding frenzy right now trying to find your perfect wedding venue and you’ve stumbled into this post, you can take a breath, we’ve got you covered! First of all, you should check out our earlier video on how to shortlist your potential wedding venues…if you’ve already done that and are eagerly awaiting part two, then hurrah, the wait is over!
Today’s ‘part two’ venue search video is here to help you once you’ve got some appointments booked in to check out these magical places where you might say your “I do’s” in person, but a sudden surge of feeling clueless and intimidated has just swept over your body. Other than figuring out if you like it and if it’s everything you’re imagining it to be, what do you actually need to find out once you’re there?
If you’re worried you’ll get over-run by their fancy sales pitch, then fear not, we have got you sorted with our suggestions of what you should think about before you head off on your merry way, helping you figure out what YOU need to know! We’ve got everything from, “can our dog bring our rings down the aisle?” to “can I land a hot air balloon on your lawn?” to “is confetti allowed?” and much more that you might not have thought about. Watch with a notepad in hand! There’s more you might need to ask than you realise.
Of course there is no need to panic! If you think of something after you’ve been, or indeed you’re watching this later on in your planning process, you can of course send them an email / give them a call – knowing how responsive they are is also a good test!
And with fingers crossed and a little bit of luck, you’ll be picturing your blissful day in your dream venue before you know it.
For your Wedding Day, you think about every little detail, from place settings to bridesmaid dresses to playlists and everything in between to make sure you and your guests have a wonderful day, but what about what’s going on underneath? Underneath your dress that is! Can we get a woohoo please? But seriously, a) more people than you think are likely to see you in your underwear on this particular day, b) you’ll want to feel great and oozing confidence throughout your day of being the centre of attention and c) there’s a certain tradition to prepare for that we don’t need to spell out for you!
Not that we wish to overfocus this post on our Brides-to-be…Grooms-to-be, if you’re reading this, a classy lingerie set always makes a good wedding gift in our opinion – start married life as you intend to go on!
So we at Bride Society have been hitting the High Street to round up the latest collection of Bridal Lingerie on offer, we picked up a bunch of different styles to review for you that we hope will see you from morning to night. Be mindful about the cut of your dress, i.e. strapless / halterneck / keyhole back / snug / clingy, and pick underwear as appropriate and if possible, we highly recommend trying the underwear that you intend to wear on with your W.dress so there are no stressful surprises on the day! If Spanx end up being the name of the game, no worries, you can always do a quick switch out in the evening if it’s not the ultimate look you’re going for – though all power to you if it is …. now suddenly getting flashes through my brain of scenes from Bridget Jones.
If you like anything you see in our video, we’ve included links to the products down below! But remember, confidence is key!
(If your brain is still stuck pondering on point ‘a)’ above, we’re talking your ‘maids who may well be needed to assist you into your dress / aid you in the washroom throughout the day, and then of course the obvious, new SPOUSE!)
We’re never disappointed around here when an edible DIY week comes around. This week we just ‘had’ to quickly whip up a batch of cookies to give you some inspiration for your wedding favours. This one even doubles up as your guests’ seating labels – now who doesn’t love killing two birds with one stone? Cost effective and not nearly as cruel or gruesome as I somehow just managed to make that sound! In fact not at all, we’re satisfying your sweet-tooth (and ours) with these heart-shaped iced cookies leaving everyone 100% happy, including the birds.
We’re using the same recipe for the bake as we did in our earlier video, although we’ve included the recipe again for you. If you’re in need of a reminder of the process, jump over to our Hen Party Cookies video first (but use heart cutters / shape of your choice, not hens – that would be random – unless perhaps you or your fiancé are farmers…it’s possible!)
Top Tip: If you have two sizes of heart shape cutters as we have, we suggest cutting the dough with the larger cutter and using the slightly smaller one to cut the icing as this will give a decorative frame around the icing and will allow for any little discrepancies that occurred during the rising process in the oven. And don’t go too small! Not only will you be upset that there is not as much cookie to eat, but you’ll find it a challenge to write people’s names on them!!
NOTE: This DIY also works well as a homemade Valentine’s gift – JUST SAYING! *hint hint* I’m really not aiming high here!
