Warming Your Soul

Bride Society Leave a comment

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

Bride Society Leave a comment

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

Bride Society Leave a comment

…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

Bride Society Leave a comment

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

Bride Society Leave a comment

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?

Bride Society Leave a comment

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 !

Bride Society Leave a comment

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

Not so Spooky Pumpkins

Bride Society Leave a comment

We’ve got the love for Autumn (aka ‘Fall’ for our friends overseas) right now, with all the rich colours and crisp falling leaves it brings.  If you’re having your wedding in this beautiful season, then we’ve got a series of tutorials coming up that you’re sure to be inspired by.  So quick… Hit Subscribe over on our YouTube channel so you don’t miss a thing!

With Halloween coming up this week, we thought we’d bring you our favourite pumpkin ideas to kick off this wedding season, though we’re going more glam, less spooky!  Give these gorgeous floral pumpkin centrepieces a try for your reception tables (or even just your home if you’re super keen!).  Either use the pumpkins in all their natural orangy glory, or grab your paint brush and transform them into the colour of your choice, going classic white as we have or whatever ties in with your theme.  Tip: Remember to leave time for them to dry thoroughly and you’ll likely need to give them two coats.  PLUS keep those brush strokes all in the same direction to keep it looking professional!

Once that’s taken care of, watch how to transform the simple pumpkin into something wedding-worthy…

…if you fancy doubling up your creation as your table names/numbers then simply add your text, and there you have it, your own masterpiece!

 

–Bride Society

 

Cookies! Biscuits! Cookies! Biscuits!

Bride Society Leave a comment

Whichever side of the pond you’re from, whatever you call them, I think we can all agree we’re pretty happy to eat them!  There’s nothing better than an edible tutorial video in our opinion, for obvious reasons…and of course we’d recommend you make a practice batch, you know, just in case!

There are many places for the humble cookie/biscuit in a wedding (if you try really hard, and we think you should), such as favours for children (and adults too!), name places or even a ‘cookie table‘ – a genius idea I sampled at the most recent wedding reception I attended in the USA with all the imaginable cookies, it was pretty awesome. 

Ok, ok, so you probably shouldn’t go overkill, so for now, here’s just one idea for how to feature these yummy things we call biscuits/cookies/biscuits/cookies into your celebrations…HEN PARTY COOKIES!!!! 

A fab idea as an activity at your Hen, or even just as a parting gift.  Simply grab some hen shaped cookie-cutters and cluck this way…

 

 

Whilst we’ve walked you through the basics of baking & decorating these treats, we recommend getting experimental too, perhaps adding some flavouring such as Vanilla Essence, or if you’re having more of a Winter theme, then a pinch of cinnamon & nutmeg.

 

Enjoy!

–Bride Society

Is there anything prettier?

Bride Society Leave a comment

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, around here at Bride Society we love the pretty stuff that is confetti!  Ok, not so much the boxed stuff you buy from high street card shops that is basically tissue paper…please NO! Step away! I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of buying it for someone’s wedding at some point in the distant past, but no more!  Plus trends have definitely made a shift from guests bringing their own confetti to it being provided by the couple. Not only does this handily overcome any unfortunate circumstances where guests forget to bring any, but also allows you to select your own look for your photographs, both in terms of type and colour.  With an added bonus that this tends to make venues happier as it is easier to control the biodegradable nature of the product (please check with your venue on their rules regarding confetti before getting too excited about our DIY video!).

We love both fresh petals and dried petals as confetti options.  Feeling the squeeze around your purse as you’re reading this? Don’t panic!  This doesn’t have to be as costly as it sounds…if you’ve still got plenty of time before W-Day, try saving the petals from any bunches of flowers you exchange with your fiancé(e) in the run up and dry them out – instant added romance!  Alternatively, turn to your own garden, or even rope in parents and bridesmaids, this is the type of low risk wedding task people love to get involved with.  We know, we know, “genius” we hear you say!

So, now we’ve got the confetti sorted, let’s check out this rustic-feel, yet trendy, DIY idea on how to present it, we’re thinking envelopes, and we’re thinking decorative tape…come this way…

–Bride Society

Save

Save

Save

Be Our Guest

Bride Society Leave a comment

Your wedding may be all about you and your fiancé, but we know you want your friends & family to have fun celebrating with you too!

We’re chatting through our top tips to keep your guests informed, entertained and engaged on your Big Day. With ideas to suit all budgets from as simple as adding information to your invitation/wedding website to hiring transport to ferry your guests from ceremony site to reception.

 

 

– Bride Society

 

Shake your Pompoms!

Bride Society Leave a comment

…We’ve been holding on to that one for weeks!

One of our most versatile DIY videos to date; tissue paper pompoms.  SO many possibilities!  We’re excited, can you tell? Large, medium, small or a combo of them all, it’s Goldilocks paradise!  So easy to make, minimal equipment and certainly nothing ‘specialist’ required.

This is a really lovely way of decorating a space quickly and cost-effectively that looks super pretty.  They can be used for Weddings (obviously!), Hen Parties, Birthday’s, Baby Showers…you get the idea!  Just pick your colour of tissue paper to suit your theme and event.  And what’s great, if you have the storage space, is you can always hang on to them for the next occasion!  See, versatile!

Scissors at the ready….

–Bride Society

Champagne? Go on then!

Bride Society Leave a comment

We’re big fans of making things personal here at Bride Society. Those touches are what people notice, and lets them see ‘you’ in your wedding.  So today we’re demoing how to personalise champagne flutes. If you’ve not got the budget to buy something super fancy or you quite simply just want to do it yourself, then pop down to your local supermarket and pick up some plain champagne flutes.  Minimal equipment necessary, just make sure you’re using ink suitable for glassware.

You can create designs for all different purposes; maybe you want to pop the question to your bridesmaids, thank your Ushers, or you could even write ‘Mr X’ and ‘Mrs X’ ready for your first toast as Husband and Wife. The possibilities are endless, well, depending how much you want to say and how small you can write!!  So let us get you started…

–Bride Society

Dresses, Dresses, Dresses…more specifically, ASOS Bridesmaid Dresses!

Bride Society Leave a comment

You’re planning your wedding, your budget is rapidly decreasing, you’ve picked your bridesmaids but now they need to look the part!  What to do?  On the very presumptuous assumption on our part that you’re not having a nudist wedding (but all power to you if you are!), then shopping is the name of the game.

If those pennies are slipping away a little too rapidly, or maybe you’re even toying with the challenge of having to let one of your ‘maids go to keep you in the black, then hold up!  Look no further, take a breath, put down the brown paper bag…these days there are many more options than the default Bridal Shop dresses, and price tags, as beautiful as they may be.

Bride Society took a turn about the high street to see what alternatives lie out there in the wild, and found ASOS.  An online store with a wide variety of dresses to suit almost any shape, size and taste.  Even better they offer some dresses in multiple designs and lengths if you are going for a more ‘mix and match’ type look, and trying to keep everybody happy!

In this week’s video we try out, and tell you exactly what we think of 5 different ASOS-brand ‘bridesmaid’ dresses to help you in your quest…we told you it would all be ok…

–Bride Society

ATTENTION: This post is cake related!

Bride Society Leave a comment

It’s true! Around here at Bride Society, we get pretty excited about all things cake, and this week we’re checking out cake toppers.

Times have changed and trends have moved on from the once traditional porcelain bride and groom on top of our wedding cakes. There are now a huge variety of personal and imaginative toppers out there, something to suit every couple.  Not to mention the fact that this means you can spend a little more time thinking about cake, always a win!

We think this is a great opportunity to put a bit of ‘you’ in to the day – nobody wants to be at a cookie cutter wedding (my personal number 1 bug-bear, shhh), they want to know they are at your wedding.  This can be totally inexpensive and will make that ‘cutting of the cake’ photo extra special.

We’re taking a look at a bunch of different styles in this video, so take 5, grab a cuppa (or a glass of wine, we won’t judge!) and join Bride Society for spot of inspiration and then head on over to our Pinterest board to see our top picks!

 

 

–Bride Society