Etsy Christmas 2023 – Fiancé(e) Gift Guide

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Ultimate Gifting for your Fiancé(e) / Partner / Spouse this Christmas!

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Christmas is fast approaching!  Maybe that incites gleeful joy or sheer panic, or perhaps both…either way, it’ll be here before we know it, there’s really no stopping it (ok, I’ve not forgotten the pandemic Christmases, but technically, even those still happened!). 

If it’s panic stations because you’re drawing a total blank on what to get your partner this Christmas, or you’re super-chill and just looking for a few ‘extra bits’ for them, we’ve taken the leg work out of your Christmas shopping for you and rounded up our favourite finds from the wonderous world that is small shop online promoter, Etsy. 

By shopping our list you’ll be supporting small businesses…and us…, so spreading even more festive cheer…well done you!  All the product links for the items shown in our video are listed below to make your shopping even more effortless, and you’ll be at the top of our ‘nice list’ as they are all affiliate links, so we earn a few pennies from every referral at no extra cost to you.  Win win!  Know we’re out there somewhere raising a glass of eggnog to you!

And whilst you may be thinking, nah, I can’t be doing with thinking about Christmas shopping in November, well, we’ve posted this video now so you can take advantage of the Black Friday Sales (NB. we have no foreknowledge of which items on our gift guide will be having sales) – see, we’re thinking of you!

For a personalised, budget-friendly, socially conscious Christmas, look no further than our 2023 Gift Guide:

Product links (in order of appearance):

Affiliate links – we get a small percentage of the profits made through our referrals at no extra cost to you when purchased through the links below.

NB. Prices shown are the full price costs at the time of recording and do not reflect any sale pricing.

AD. Quick shop our Etsy Collection here!

You can also find all our picks and more on our dedicated Pinterest board:

We hope you find something you love for your partner, we’re excited to hear what you picked, let us know in the comments (assuming you don’t think there’s a risk of them spotting your comment on our site!  We’d hate to blow the surprise).

Looking for more festive inspiration?  Check out our ‘Winter / Christmas Wedding Ideas’, it’s bursting with ideas that work for more than just weddings, such as dinner parties and your Christmas tables, like how to make your own Christmas crackers!

If you just can’t get enough of us, don’t forget you can also find Bride Society in all of these places!  Join the Society:

— Rebecca and Laura, Bride Society

Groomsmen/Usher/Best Man Duties

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What to expect when you’re asked to be a Best Man, Usher or Groomsman

With our channel being called Bride Society, we don’t always give as much attention to the more traditionally male filled roles* in the wedding. But today we’re changing that and following on from our Bridesmaid/Maid of Honour Duties video, we’re turning to the roles and responsibilities of Best Men, Groomsmen and Ushers!

*Gender is irrelevant for wedding parties and actually the most important thing is having the people you care about most, standing with you during your major life event!

You’ve been asked to be a Groomsman/Usher/Best Man (delete as appropriate) but you might not even know what that role is and what you might be asked and expected to do as part of that!

The varying roles come with varying levels of potential tasks and responsibilities so we’re here to help de-mystify what you might have just agreed to!

Or, if you’re the couple in the midst of planning your wedding party proposals, what you might be able to ask your nearest and dearest to do when they accept their roles in your Special Day.

Thanks for watching!

We hope you’re feeling more confident about accepting this special role in the wedding. Any comments/questions /video requests, drop them in the comments box and we’ll do our best to help!

For even more content and to be a part of the Society, join us in all these places:

–Rebecca and Laura, Bride Society.

ASOS 2023/24 Winter Wedding Bridesmaid Dresses

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ASOS Bridesmaid Dresses: Reviewed

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November arrived before I could blink!  Anyone else?  And the second those clocks went back, a little ping went off in my head telling me winter is hurtling towards us, for better or worse! 

If you’ve been around here for a while, you’ll know I’m a firm summer lover…sunshine, warmth, and long daylight hours is where I’m at.  That said, I can’t deny winter has its merits, and I’m guessing if you’re thinking of having a winter wedding, that you might be someone who gets those winter-feels.  The cosiness, the big jumpers, twinkly lights, hot chocolate, the Christmas gatherings & celebrations, Strictly Come Dancing, the so-trashy-they’re-good Xmas films (so basically, I’m happy until about Jan 2nd! Haha)…  Or maybe you’re not such a fan and landed on the extremely genius idea to have a winter wedding in a bid to brighten up these cold, dark months, with something fun for you & your favourite people to look forward to!

With the chilly season on the horizon, we decided it was time to take a look for the perfect wintery bridesmaid outfit.  We checked out online retailer, ASOS, to see what they’ve brought out for the 2023/24 AW season.  Take a look at the dresses we picked and find out what we thought in this week’s video (time stamps in YouTube video description box if you’re looking for the review of a specific dress).

Product links (in order of appearance):

  1. ASOS DESIGN bare shoulder prom scuba midi dress in forest green, £65.
  2. Pretty Lavish one shoulder satin midi dress in plum, £75.
  3. Anaya Bridesmaid tulle one shoulder maxi dress in emerald green, £80.
  4. ASOS DESIGN twist pleat maxi dress in sequin silver, £60.

Please note: The views expressed in this video are those held by Bride Society only. We are in no way affiliated with ASOS and this video has not been sponsored by them or any third party.

Which dress is your favourite?  Comment below!  Let us know if you pick any of these dresses and tag us in your photos, we’d love to see.  You can find us in all of these places:

–Rebecca and Laura, Bride Society

Pressed Flower Pumpkin DIY

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No carve pumpkin inspiration

When you think of autumnal weddings, the colours of the changing season spring to mind; burnt oranges, rusts and golds and when it comes to decor, you can’t get much more seasonal than including pumpkins around your venue!

Carving a scary face into a jack-o-lantern might not quite fit in with your wedding theme, but thankfully there are so many more things you can do with pumpkins and gourds that do!

Enter our pressed flower pumpkins!

An incredibly easy way to make an impact without the scare-factor. Perfect for a wedding or even just your porch decor, and without any of the mess.
We’ve kept everything edible in this inspiration video, from the flowers to the glue and even the gold leaf. So once you’ve finished with using your pumpkins as beautiful decor, you can cook up something delicious with them!

Items used:
Pressed edible flowers
Edible glue
Gold leaf

Looking for more pumpkin inspiration?  Check out our Autumn/Fall Wedding Ideas playlist on YouTube for all things autumnal wedding!

And don’t forget, you can join the Society in all of these places:

— Rebecca and Laura, Bride Society

Cricut Place Card Tutorial

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Whether to Invest in a Cricut Machine and How to Deboss, Draw and Cut Tutorial

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If I was able to plan my wedding all over again, what would I do differently?  Honestly, I’d run out and buy a Cricut machine straight out of the gate (or you know, order it online like a regular person!).  It actually makes me a tiny bit sad I didn’t have my Cricut Maker back then…not that it existed at the time! 

I was a DIY bride, with next to no previous craft experience, but knew I wanted to make my wedding personal.  The trouble was that I also wanted it to all look sleek, not have that ‘homemade – I stuck dried pasta onto a sheet of paper’ feel.  You know what I’m saying!   And for me, Cricut is what elevates that homemade vibe to pro level, with its precision cutting and range of materials to suit almost any theme and desire.

So, let me save you from future regrets…if you know you want to DIY your wedding, with personalised touches at every turn, from the engagement party right through to the post wedding thank you’s, then this is THE piece of kit.  If you just want a personalised ‘welcome’ sign, then yea, you’re better just hopping on Etsy, but if the creative juices have already started bubbling away and your Pinterest boards are filling up, it could be worth the investment.  Whilst I went with the Cricut Maker, they now have a wider range of machines, from the Cricut Joy all the way up to the Cricut Maker 3, so if you don’t think you’ll need every function under the sun, all-singing-all-dancing, or don’t have the space, you don’t have to splash out quite so big.  Choices! 

That felt like quite the hard sell for someone who has no affiliation with Cricut themselves!  Anyway, on to today’s Cricut project…PLACE CARDS! We’ve created a step-by-step YouTube tutorial, suitable for absolute beginners, as well as those just trying to pick up a few extra tips on how to make a name card for your place settings.  We’ll be talking you through creating a design in Cricut Design Space, how to use the ‘debossing’ tool, using your machine to draw and finally how to cut using your fine point blade.  Whether you want to specifically create a name card or not, these instructions & tips can easily be adapted to your own project – time stamps for each step can be found in the video description box over on YouTube.

What we used:

*Amazon Affiliate Links – we get a small percentage of the profits made through our referrals at no extra cost to you when purchased through the links marked with asterisks.

NB. This video is not made in association with Cricut.  Some materials listed above are affiliate links, these are clearly marked by an asterisk* where applicable. This means we get a small amount of commission from the retailer for the referral at no additional cost to you.

Looking for more content like this? Check out our YouTube Cricut playlist or find us in all of these places too:

–Rebecca and Laura at Bride Society

2024 Wedding Trends

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It’s that time of year again and the most eagerly anticipated video of the year (completely unsubstantiated claims!). It’s our wedding trend predictions for 2024!

We’re covering the pop culture phenomenon already having a huge impact on weddings and that’s only going to increase going forward. Hint: think pink! The rise of the wedding content creator, floral hacks and more! We’ve got a full round up of what’s going to be big in 2024.

And while we’re covering a lot of bases, you may notice one small omission…cake. But that’s because we’re going to give our wedding cake trend predictions their very own video. Coming soon!

Do you agree with our trend predictions? Have you noticed any other trends about to explode in 2024? And are you featuring anything we’ve mentioned in your own wedding? Let us know in the comments below!

-Bride Society

Napkin Folding – Two ways, “The Fan” and “3 Angled Pockets”

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Step-by-step instructions on how to fold napkins into a decorative fan or a pouch for your cutlery.

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Two easy ways of folding napkins to add host points to your next gathering!  Whether you’re prepping wedding reception tables, pimping up your Thanksgiving / Christmas tablescapes or trying to impress your future mother-in-law with your entertaining skills, styled napkins will earn you big points with your guests. 

These days whenever we’re entertaining guests for dinner in our home, if I’ve managed to set aside enough time after cleaning and tidying the entire house (which is a tricky balancing act as I always have to leave it as late in the game as possible, otherwise I’ll turn around and find my husband (accidentally) messing it up again!), I love to get fancy with the napkins on my place settings.  At least one guest will always comment on them and a couple more will refuse to use the napkin because they’re, “too pretty to undo”…which is basically my objective these days!  I know, I know, a napkin is a practical thing that’s there to be used, and I’m sure they would if they absolutely needed to, but if it’s being regarded as a piece of art, then who am I to argue?  *Gives self a pat on the back*

First up in our tutorial is “The Fan”, for that little decorative flourish to your tables, or if you’re after sleek sophistication, try our “3 Angled Pockets” fold that will keep all your cutlery / silverware neat & tidy.  Both of these styles work best with a large, square, cloth napkin:

Looking for even more styles to try?  Check out our YouTube playlist here!

Having a go?  Tag us in your photos over on Instagram, we’d love to see what you did with yours!

If you can’t wait another whole week for more content from us, check out Bride Society in all of these places too:

— Rebecca and Laura at Bride Society x

Bouquet Alternatives

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Bouquet ideas for your wedding beyond the traditional flower bouquet.

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When it comes to weddings, there are so many aspects of the day and traditions we participate in, that often we don’t really give that much thought to. I know for me, flowers, and therefore bouquets were one of those things. My brain just went, “We’re getting married, therefore we need bouquets” -period- and I did nothing more than simply pick out what type of flowers and colours I wanted. It was an auto-pilot decision because that’s just ‘what you do’. But what if you don’t?! There’s nothing to say you have to stick with that tradition…it’s an opportunity to mix things up!

So if you’re looking for alternatives to traditional flower bouquets for your bridesmaids (or flowers girls, or even yourself as the bride), there are plenty of creative options to consider and we’re here with our latest video to provide you with a sprinkle of inspiration. We’ve rounded up a wide array of options, some even still involving flowers, just not in the traditional bouquet presentation. Curious? Check out our latest video here:

We also have a dedicated Pinterest Board to support this video where you can find all the styles we’ve showcased in today’s video. You can check that out and save the pins to your own boards here:

Remember to choose an alternative bouquet option that reflects your personal style and complements the overall wedding theme. These non-traditional alternatives can add a beautiful and memorable touch to your special day.

Got any other ideas? Share them with other couples by commenting.

Looking for more content like this? Check out our ‘Wedding Chat’ playlist over on YouTube or find us in all these other places too:

— Rebecca and Laura, Bride Society.

Wedding Cupcake DIY – Lemon Cupcake Recipe

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Cake! One of the highlights of any wedding reception. If you’re thinking of DIY-ing this part of the day, then cupcakes could be an easy (and not toooo time consuming) option. These don’t just work for your wedding cake display, they could be used as wedding favours. We all love an edible favour! Or just for an everyday treat (although you may need to scale down the recipe for that one).

One quite big caveat if you’re planning on making these cupcakes yourself for your own wedding. They really need to be made the day before, which is when you’ve probably got quite a few other things to do! So it could be a task for some very helpful friends or family members. Especially those who are a fan of, and confident with baking.

And if you still want that cake cutting moment and photo, it’s easy to add a small cutting cake to your display to slice into as newlyweds.

Lemon Cupcakes:

To make 45 cupcakes – scale up/down as necessary

  • 600g butter/margarine
  • 600g caster sugar
  • zest of 6 lemons
  • 9 eggs
  • 600g self raising flour

Bake the cupcakes at 160oC (fan) for 20mins

For the lemon syrup

  • juice of 4 lemons
  • 75g caster sugar

Add the lemon juice to the caster sugar and mix until dissolved. Brush this over the top of all your cupcakes to add an extra hit of lemony flavour.

We filled the middle of our cupcakes with lemon curd. To do this, use an apple corer or spoon to remove the centre of the cupcake. Fill with lemon curd and replace some of the cake to cover the hole. Then add your buttercream!

For the buttercream:

  • 500g butter
  • 1100g icing sugar
  • 1tbsp of lemon curd (or more if you prefer a more lemon flavour buttercream)

Beat the butter, icing sugar and lemon curd together for approx. 10 minutes.

Decorate the cupcakes to fit your theme and enjoy!

Having a go?  We’d love to see what you did with yours, simply tag us in your photos over on Instagram @bridesociety_uk.

Want to see some more baking content? Check out our Edible DIYs YouTube playlist.

-Bride Society

Beach Wedding Inspiration

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Ideas for Every Aspect of your Beach / Destination Wedding

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I spend a lot of time day dreaming about being on the beach.  I’ve been lucky enough to spend holidays on some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and can definitely relate to the desire to get married on one of them.  Guaranteed sunshine (almost anyway…assuming you’ve not picked a beach in the UK!), exquisite sunsets, the sand between your toes and the tranquil sounds of the lapping waves…and quite possibly a built-in honeymoon if it’s a destination wedding.  What’s not to love?!

The setting of your beach wedding will already be doing most of the work for you, but if you’re looking for a little inspiration to elevate your beach wedding even further, we’re here with ideas and inspiration for every little aspect, whether you’re trying to decide what footwear to go for, the cake design or what guest book to choose, we’ve got something for you in this week’s video:

What’s your favourite idea?  Let us know in the comments!

We have a whole dedicated Pin Board that supports our Beach Wedding Ideas video! Find it here:

For even more content from Bride Society, don’t forget you can find us in all of these places:

— Rebecca and Laura, Bride Society.

How to Make a Hen Party Extra Special for the Bride to Be

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You’ve been given the honour/responsibility of organising the hen party for your loved one, and while it may sometimes be a challenge to even just wrangle a group of people to the same place at the same time, you still want to add those extra touches to make the hen party or bachelorette extra special for your Bride to Be.

Small touches can make the Bride to Be feel thought of, excited and make the event feel more personal. And can be done easily for very little or no budget! Of course you can splurge if you have more to spend, but we’re hopefully giving ideas for everyone in our new video.

Videos mentioned:

If you have any other ideas, please leave them in the comments below to help out anyone else who has been tasked with planning a hen party.

Looking for more content like this?  Check out our Wedding Chat and Hen Party Playlists on YouTube for all things wedding all the time!

And don’t forget, you can join the Society in all of these places:

Your Wedding Website Checklist

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The essential details, plus the extras, to include on your wedding website!

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We hope you’ve been having a lovely time planning your wedding so far, hopefully there’s not been too many bumps in the road…no unsolicited opinions on your venue choice / no demands over which relatives HAVE to be invited / no hair pulling over balancing the budget spreadsheet (we can dream!).  Now you’re coming up to the exciting stage of figuring out your wedding invitations (things are about to get REAL!) and perhaps you’re also starting to contemplate a wedding website. 

Firstly, do you really need one?  Well, no!  Surprised to hear us say that?  Well, this definitely falls under the ‘extra touches’ / ‘going the extra mile’ category of wedding activities.  Your wedding can and will still happen if you choose not to have one, believe me, weddings happened without them for years – my Mum will back me up on this.  So, if you’re already feeling overwhelmed with the volume of tasks in front of you and the idea of creating your own website for your wedding doesn’t sound appealing…just don’t do it!  You’ll be fine, it’s all good I promise!

If you’re feeling curious and in the ‘could be swayed either way’ camp, then here’s why you might want to shimmy on over to the, ‘let’s make one’ camp:

  1. They can help ward off a myriad of questions from guests in the run up to the big day, when let’s be honest, you’ve got other things you need to be doing.  Like, literally anything else.
  2. If guests misplace their invite and can’t remember where they’re supposed to be and when, they’ll likely still have the website tab open on their phones.  That, or you / your Mum can really quickly re-send the website link via text.
  3. If you have invitees who live abroad, a website RSVP is much more efficient and reliable.
  4. Easy, automatic tracking of RSVPs.
  5. A quick way to communicate up-to-date information with your guests should plans alter or evolve.
  6. No more trying to squeeze every little detail onto your wedding invitations.  We want them to be stylish!
  7. An opportunity to give guests additional information that you know would be helpful, but wouldn’t normally be included when only sending the traditional, written invitation.
  8. Or you simply want to save on the RSVP stamps and Postie mileage!

Sold?  Great!  There’s so much choice out there that I’m confident you’ll find something to meet your needs. 

…If you’re now keen to make sure you’ve remembered all the essential information on your website and wondering what extra details you could include to make sure you’ve covered off everything your guests could ever want or need, then join us in our latest YouTube video for your wedding website checklist:

We hope you found that helpful and gained a few extra nuggets for your website.  Got anything else you’ve decided to include that others might like?  Share by dropping it in the comments box!

Looking for more content like this?  Check out our Wedding Chat playlist on YouTube for all things wedding all the time!

And don’t forget, you can join the Society in all of these places:

— Rebecca and Laura, Bride Society

Bridesmaid/Maid of Honour Duties

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What to expect when you’re asked to be a Bridesmaid/Maid of Honour

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The proposal box has been unboxed, the hugs have been given, Champagne finished off, the bride-to-be is beaming with joy, and you can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of happiness for her. But that means one thing, you’ve agreed to be a bridesmaid/Maid of Honour (delete as appropriate) and have a special role to play in this wedding planning journey.

But what have you actually signed up for and what are the realities of taking on this position of not only honour, but also responsibility?

That’s where we come in to shed some light on the roles. We’re talking through all the ‘duties’ that may be involved as you support your friend/family through planning their wedding.

Of course we’re talking generally about the roles and part you might play, but have an open and honest conversation with the Bride right at the start so you’re both on the same page when it comes to expectations of how much or little you’ll be asked to do!

Thanks for watching!

We hope you’re feeling more confident about accepting this special role in your bride-to-be’s wedding. Any comments / questions / video requests, drop them in the comments box and we’ll do our best to help!

For even more content and to be a part of the Society, join us in all these places:

–Rebecca and Laura, Bride Society.

Wedding Money Saving Tips

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5 Savvy Wedding Budget Saving Ideas

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The cost of living just keeps on going up, most of us are feeling the pinch and those piggy banks are pretty much tapped out!  BUT, you’re still dreaming of your perfect wedding day (as you should!) and whilst there’s always compromises to be made, you’re feeling determined to make it happen…you’d just rather do it without having to eat gruel for the next 5 to 10 years!  Fair.

We 100% get it, so we’ve put together our top 5 cash saving tips that go beyond the failsafes “have an off-peak / off-season wedding” or “DIY everything!” (NB., not always actually a cost saver, be warned), to help create a little more breathing room in that wedding budget.

Here’s how to save money & still have the wedding day you want! Let us know which money saving hack is your favourite: 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5?  Comment below!


Thank for watching! For more content and to be a part of the Society, join us in all these places:

— Rebecca and Laura, Bride Society.

Twisted Candle Hack

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How to create twisted candles

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In what appears to be a part two in a how to elevate your plain candles series, we’re getting all twisted! (Check out our part one: painted candles here)

This hack to add interest and detail to plain candles is even simpler and even more budget friendly than the painted candles. Everything you’ll need alongside the candles, you’ll definitely already have in your kitchen.

Adding twists and bends to your candles can create a more modern look than the handpainted designs but if you’re a “more is more” type of couple, mix and match the styles of candles to create a beautiful table scape on your wedding reception tables.

We’re showing you how to do a simple twist in our twisted candle tutorial, but have fun with creating different shapes in the candles and numbers of twists. The technique is exactly the same.

What you’ll need:

Tip: Before you spend a lot of time getting your twist on, check your wedding venue will allow real candles.

Having a go?  We’d love to see what you did with yours, simply tag us in your photos over on Instagram @bridesociety_uk.

Want to see some more candle content? Our painted candle tutorial can be found here. And let us know if you want a part three!

Looking for more DIY ideas for your wedding?  Check out our YouTube playlist.

-Bride Society