You’re Engaged: Now What?

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CONGRATULATIONS!  This New Year is especially exciting as you are engaged to the love of your life AND you get to plan your wedding!  You’ve had a wonderful Christmas/New Year’s celebrating your engagement, showing off your ring to whoever will look and telling your engagement story to any passer-by who notices your newly-engaged-glow.  And whilst your excitement continues, people are beginning to ask you if you’ve set a date and probably another hundred questions you don’t have the answers to yet.  It’s ok!  Take a moment.  Whilst we know you’re excited about planning your big day, we also know that it can be a daunting task to bring your dream day into fruition, the stakes are high…but hold on to your excitement and remember why you are doing this!

Take a deep breath and we’ll begin – we’re talking you through the first steps to get you on the planning path to a successful W-Day and warning of a few pot-holes to avoid.  Just those first few things you should do/think about though, we are not going to overwhelm you with information that makes you want to hide under a rock and declare you’re having a ‘long engagement’.  DO NOT FEAR, come this way….

And remember if you want more help, we have lots of other videos on our channel!

—Bride Society

Time to Cover Up!

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Brrrrrrr! It’s pretty chilly outside, to be specific, it’s -17°c where I am right now. And when those winter months get chilly, all I can think about is getting cosy, suddenly every heavy jumper I see looks really appealing when I would otherwise reject it as ugly.  Although you may be dreaming about a Winter Wonderland Wedding, you may not be necessarily wanting a long sleeved, high necked dress (although you legitimately may be.  Side note: this fits the description of the dress my mother got married in, which she picked out in Winter, but then was married in August on the hottest day of that year, oops! Moving on…), so if you’re instead picturing a short sleeved / strapless number, then a cover-up may be for you!  Now, to be clear, we’re not suggesting you grab any old oversized jumper to throw on over your beautiful dress….we’ve picked out a range of styles and options you might like to consider, not just for you but perhaps your bridal party too.  The ones we have chosen, without a jumper in sight, are all ordered from the high street to give you some ideas, but Bridal Boutiques also offer similar styles that are incredibly beautiful too.

If you’re sat there thinking, “but I don’t want to disguise this beautiful dress that I’ve paid all this money for, I can handle the cold!”, then ok, it may not be -17°c on your big day, but it’ll probably still be pretty uncomfortable out there, particularly for your ‘maids who are likely to have thinner dresses on.  Consider getting a cover-up just to get you from A to B stylishly, then you can whip it off before you head down the aisle.  We have everything here from faux furs to leather jackets to little lacy numbers (if you’re just trying to avert a light chill).

Stay warm and cover up in style! (Links to featured products are listed below.)

—Bride Society

Links for featured products (in order of appearance):

1. Ted Baker Faux Fur Scarf in Maroon (also available in Pink)

2. Coast ‘Luella Faux Fur Scarf’

3. Monsoon ‘Luvenia Feather Cape’

4. Jenny Packham at Debenhams, ‘Ivory Sequined Leaf Shrug’

5. Phase Eight ‘Constance Beaded Cape’

6. ASOS ‘Storm & Marie Glam Sequin Collarless Blazer’

7. Ted Baker leather jacket, models own.

 

Thank You & Merry Christmas

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2017 has been a special year for us as it marked the beginning of Bride Society.  It’s been a wonderful year of experimenting, learning, spending time with an old friend, and having fun working on something we both love.  We wanted to send all you readers/viewers our biggest thanks for the support you’ve given our channel since we launched, we’re so appreciative of each and every one of you and the time you take out of your busy lives to see what we’ve been up to.  We hope you’ve enjoyed our videos as much as we have enjoyed making them.

A special thanks to our husbands, who have spared us from their lives for many hours whilst we’ve worked on setting up this business, as well as the support they have shown in terms of ideas and feedback (even when we’ve rejected it!).

We wish you all a wonderful Christmas with your fiancé(e) and a very Happy New Year (especially if 2018 is the year you’re getting married!).  We’ll be back next Friday with more content and look forward to sharing so much more with you in the year to come.

 

(Warning: This Christmas Message may not be on a par with the Queen’s Speech, but it does contain Christmas jumpers!)

Love Bride Society.

Bring out your Inner Child

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So, full disclosure, I’m currently sat in my shorts, t-shirt and sunglasses in a sunny villa in faraway lands trying to write this blog post about hot chocolate wedding favours.  As idyllic as that sounds, and is, it seems to be making it somewhat challenging to get my head in the zone to talk about winter wedding favours!  That said, I’m still sat here drinking hot tea – you can take the girl out of Britain…

Apologies to all of you sat there reading this who are shivering with three jumpers on, wondering how much it will cost you to turn the thermostat up another degree or two.  If it’s any consolation, mosquitoes think I’m super juicy and will soon bring recompense for my gloating!

Ok, so HOT CHOCOLATE…a childhood favourite for many, ourselves included, and something that brings so much choice in flavours and toppings.  These miniature favours can be so adorable for a winter wedding that all guests will love, both big and small.  There’s definitely a romance to cosying up with a mug of hot cocoa.

This might be a win for the kids but it can also be made more ‘adult’ by attaching alcohol miniatures with a ribbon.  We’re showing you a couple of examples in this tutorial but it’s easily adaptable to your flavours and toppings of choice…

 

BSoc Tip: After you pop your mini marshmallows in the jar, compress them down slightly to reduce gapping if you’re planning to put another layer in, otherwise your next topping will just filter down into all the holes and you won’t achieve a nice layering effect.

 

Ok, back to the beach for me…

 

—Bride Society

Dreaming of a (Wedding) Winter Wonderland

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White topped post boxes, branches laiden with snow, icicles hanging from rooftops…it all makes for a pretty beautiful picture.  These may all be things you were dreaming of for your wedding when you picked this time of year to say your, “I do’s”.  I mean, who doesn’t love snow!  That wasn’t a question, I know there’s lots of people, but I don’t talk to those people, let’s move on….

 

So there’s the fringe benefit (or perhaps for you a slightly more central benefit) of cheaper supplier and venue rates in the winter, ‘off-peak’ season – wedding win, there’s the beauty of snow, as we’ve established, and then there’s the love of all things cosy…blankets, warm drinks, open fires, all of which can be incorporated into your wedding.  But whilst there are upsides, there are also potential challenges that should be considered and catered for so they can be headed off at the earliest sign of trouble, or indeed planned around in such a way that they never become an issue in the first place.  Winter Weddings are Wonderful, they just might need a little extra foreplaning, and that’s where we come in!  Watch now for help to navigate, and enjoy, this planning journey.

 

Any further questions or help required, let us know in the comments, ideally before panic sets in…

—Bride Society.

No Coal for you this Christmas

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If you’re getting married this Christmas-time, we’re pretty confident you won’t be getting a lump of coal in your stocking this year!  No matter how old we get we still love a good stocking around here, so we figured a lovely way to bring a touch of Christmas to your wedding day would be to personalise one for guests to pop your wedding card into.  And whilst for me a stocking is not a stocking without an apple and satsuma in the toe, this is a great way to incorporate your theme, your guests get to feel like Santa and you have a fun way to transport your cards home!

We’re using iron transfers to personalise initials and year of wedding onto our stocking, but you could use your new married name, the date of your wedding, or simply type ‘cards’ onto it.  A really festive touch.  You could even go the whole nine yards (I should really look up where that saying comes from; why nine? It’s kinda odd) and get a Santa sack for gifts too!

 

Of course, you don’t even have to be getting married to have fun with this video…maybe you’re hosting Christmas this year and would like to do something fun for your guests or kids!

 

Tip: Whilst we include instructions on how to use the transfers in this video, please refer to the manufacturer instructions in the manual provided with your paper as they may differ.

 

Ho ho ho!  —Bride Society

Deck the Tables

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It’s the 8th of December, by now many of you will have put up your Christmas Trees, draped your twinkly lights and hung baubles from the branches, the excitement has begun.  If you’re planning a Winter Wedding or simply hosting a Christmas gathering, then come this way as this week we’re talking festive place settings and favours.  In fact this is a two in one…taking inspiration from those Christmas trees, we’re personalising baubles that can be put on guests place settings – acting as name cards, and then doubles up as a favour for them to take home to put on their own tree, as a reminder of this special occasion year on year.

Quick, simple, sweet.

–Bride Society

Christmas Gift Guide

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With the festive period being popular for lots of new engagements and Christmas only a few weeks away, we thought we’d help you out with some Christmas present ideas for your other half or the newly engaged couple in your life!

 

  1. ‘Next Christmas We’ll Be Married’ Card

Not exactly a present, but what a lovely way to share the excitement of your upcoming wedding with your partner. We especially like this fiance card from Not on the High Street. Or what about a personalised card with your new married name on?

 

Fiance Christmas Card by Norma and Dorothy

 

2. A Wedding Magazine Subscription

Want to give the happy couple a year of wedding inspiration, why not buy them a wedding magazine subscription? Even better if you know their favourite magazine. Want to give them an actual physical gift to open on Christmas Day? Opt to start the subscription in January then buy the December magazine to wrap up, maybe with a bottle of something bubbly to enjoy while reading!

 

3. Wedding Box Subscription

Either for your partner or a recently engaged friend, what about treating them to a Bride to Be Subscription Box from The Wedding Box? They offer 3, 6, 9 and 12 month options along with ‘one-off’ options.

A gift in the post containing beauty products, inspiration and sweet treats every month? Yes please.

 

Wedding Subscription Box – The Wedding Box

 

4. A Planner

For every organised bride and groom to be, or those who want to keep track of all their wedding plans! A planner is a great gift idea and there are so many to choose from, to suit all styles. How about this cool Rock and Roll Bride x Veronica Dearly collaboration or a personalised Wedding Planner by Illustries.

Planners can give lots of practical ideas and tips as wedding planning can be daunting when you’ve never done it before!

 

5. Books

DIY wedding? If you know the couple are planning on making certain elements themselves but aren’t necessarily sure where to start. Why not give them some help with a book on that subject. For example, if they’re planning to grow their own wedding flowers, ‘Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers: How to Grow and Arrange Your Own Flowers for All Special Occasions‘ by Georgie Newbery is not only a beautiful book but also gives really useful advice about tackling the task. Tailor the book to the couple and you can’t go wrong!

Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers – Georgie Newbery

 

 

Happy shopping!

-Bride Society

 

Warming Your Soul

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The first snow of the season has just fallen outside the door and we’re pretty excited (if you don’t like snow, we probably shouldn’t talk for a while).  What could possibly get you feeling more festive than the white stuff?  So with that in mind, and a brownie in the shape of a Christmas Tree in hand, we write this blog post…

It’s definitely cold, so what better to warm ourselves with than some warm (cold) festive drinks.  We’re bringing you our fav Festive Drinks Recipes for your Winter Wedding or Christmas gathering (it’s the 1st of December, there’s no holding us back on the C-word now!).  By all means, just make these because you feel like watching a Christmas movie under a blanket by the fire, don’t let us hold you back from the cheer!

We’ve whipped up some alcoholic and non-alcoholic options for you today.  All the recipes can easily be tweaked to taste and adjusted to be made with more or less ‘cheer’ as desired!

We’re concocting:

Share with us your festive favourites in the comments section!

–Bride Society

A Wintery Touch

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Feeling that chill? The nip in the air, the morning frost, the cosy evening fire…. all a sure sign that Winter is well on its way.  Whether you love the season for the hope of snow or the excuse to snuggle up in your pjs, we’re guessing it’s one of your favourites if you’re planning to get married during this time of year.  And then there’s that fringe benefit that it can often reduce costs to get married in this off-peak time.

We’re kicking off our winter-inspired wedding series with this Pine Cone Place Card tutorial.  Here at Bride Society, one of our favourite things about winter is how beautiful everything becomes with a fresh snowfall, so these pine cones have been given their own touch of winter.  These are not only the perfect idea for your wedding breakfast tables, but would also look impressive at a home dinner party (we’re being good and not mentioning the ‘Christmas’ word just yet! That didn’t count!).

 

BSoc tip: If some of your pine cones have seemingly hit the mulled wine a little early (aka, they are a little tippy!), pop a small blob of Blu Tack (or the white alternative you can now buy) on the bottom.  It’ll be hidden and will solve all your tippy / tipsy problems!

 

Let the snow commence….

— Bride Society

All About The Base

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…the Confetti Cone base!  So you may recall a couple of months ago we made you a promise; to bring you PART 2 of our DIY Confetti Cones video, showing you how to make the base to display them. Then we strung you along for seemingly weeks on end, posting all manner of other videos but not that base, without a word, so rude!  We apologise for our behaviour, whilst it was never forgotten, we did get a little over-excited about other things.  But needs must, the time you have all been waiting for has come, you can rest easy, your confetti cones are no longer destined to roll around your table with the slightest breeze…yes, we know, we are single-handedly saving your entire wedding day with this one video.  You’re welcome.

Ok, so maybe you had other options, like just winging it, or, radically, putting them in a basket, but if you like what you caught a glimpse of in PART 1,  I T  I S  H E R E . . . !

–Bride Society

One Halo that Won’t Slip

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We love the Flower Crown trend that’s been growing over the last couple of years, personally I’m enjoying the shift away from the once traditional tiara – but they are two styles for two very different types of weddings.  Flower crowns are beautiful but can be costly to buy, and you may be thinking, “I could give that a bash”… well now you can with our new ‘how-to’ video!  A truly beautiful bridal look for a more relaxed, bohemian, or festival themed wedding.  You can choose flowers/foliage that tie in with your bouquet and buttonholes, in colours that match your theme, or go eclectic picking flowers you love that are in season at the time of your wedding.

There are so many options here.  You could make a fuller crown for yourself and slimmer ones for your ‘maids, or one that just covers part of your head, or even that just sits in the back of an up-do.  ALSO, regardless of your wedding style, if you’re having a flower girl, we adore how sweet they look with their miniature flower crowns, regardless of whether you’re wearing one.  This tutorial can be adapted to all these styles and we’re excited to see what you create, so be sure to send us your pics!

Embrace the Flower Power! (Apologies for the dated reference! I’m not as old as that just made me sound.)

–Bride Society

Use What Nature Gave You

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Autumn is in full swing now with fallen leaves everywhere.  So if you’re getting married this season, save some money and use what nature gave you (pun intended) with this beautiful leaf place setting.  It’s a simple idea but looks really effective, particularly if you can find some super-sized leaves!  So take some time-out with your fiancé(e), wrap up warm and take a stroll to collect some leaves.  Move quickly though before too many people trample on them – if you spot a good one you may have to rugby-tackle a pedestrian or two (only a semi-serious suggestion, at your own risk)!

Once you get home, lay them out flat between a couple of sheets of newspaper and put a weight on top of them whilst they thoroughly dry out.  Before spraying them in your chosen colour, we recommend Blu Tack-ing your leaf to the covered surface so the wind doesn’t cause it to take off whilst you’re spraying, or whilst it’s drying!  This will also help them to dry flat again after the moisture of the spray.

Watch how we turn the simple fallen leaf into a gorgeous Fall Wedding name place setting:

–Bride Society

Munchkin Pumpkin…Need We Say More?

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Doing a little happy dance here at Bride Society HQ because these gorgeous mini pumpkins, aka Munchkin Pumpkins, are just so darn cute!  We can’t get enough of them!  Not only are they adorable, but is there a better word in the English language than ‘munchkin’?  So we’re mostly excited because we get to use the word ‘munchkin’ over and over.

Today we’ve brought out the gold spray paint to turn these miniatures into a classy name place setting for your Autumnal tables, be it at your wedding, for Thanksgiving, or just because.  Watch our tutorial for a quick how-to and we’ll get you going…

Top BSoc tips before you start:

  1. Cover surface before spraying (unless you’re down with the everything-gold-look)
  2. Spray in a well ventilated area (save the headaches for the seating plan!)
  3. If you’re spraying outside, try to pick a still day – the wind will unhelpfully blow the spray away from the desired spot and therefore you’ll end up using up more spray (frustrations!).

Ok, now enjoy saying, “munchkin pumpkin” a few more times and away you go…

 

 

We’ll move away from the pumpkins for another year now, reluctantly, but we hope you liked our pumpkin-inspiration for your Wedding.

–Bride Society

! BONUS FOOTAGE ! Pumpkin Alert !

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Now we’re just spoiling you!  Seeing as today is Halloween, we couldn’t help but bring you another taste of our Autumn Wedding ideas, pumpkin themed of course!

If your wedding is at this gorgeous time of year, get creative with what nature has provided for you!  For your mid-week treat we’re giving you ‘message’ pumpkins, yes ‘message’, not ‘massage’, that would just be weird.  By which we mean style up your pumpkins to say whatever you want – your initials, married name, date of marriage, or, like us, use them to welcome your guests to your venue.

In the UK, a variety of colours are now becoming much more widely available, however, if you don’t see something that suits, just grab your paint brush.

Check out how we did ours:

 

–Bride Society