spring 2012 wedding shows

22 February 2012 0 comments

We’ve returned from our second Glasgow adventure at the Scottish Wedding Show and we’ve just about recovered from the fun of the Designer Wedding Show last weekend, too! We’ve a wonderful time meeting lots of friendly faces – old and new – and today we have a run-down of all things wedding shows.

And the winner is…

We’ve shared images above of our refreshed stand design, with some beautiful styling items and original gift list ideas that visitors over the weekend loved seeing in the flesh. We also met lots of lovely couples who entered our competition to win £250 in vouchers to spend on notonthehighstreet.com. We drew the winning couples at random this morning and (drum roll please) I can announce, that the winners from the Designer Wedding Show are Rebecca Edwards & Robert Cherry and the winners from the Scottish Wedding Show are Lauren Wilson & Thomas Renicks!

Congratulations to both couples and we hope you enjoy spending the vouchers in the lead up to your wedding day!

Check out Facebook

We will be uploading some lovely photos on Facebook today, so feel free to tag yourself in any of the pictures and share the picture of your lovely day out with your Facebook friends. If you were ‘papped’ with one of our ‘IT’ bags at either show and have found yourself in our Facebook album or can see your image in today’s blog post, please email us at weddings@notonthehighstreet.com with your name and wedding date for a chance to win £50 worth of vouchers to spend on the site!

Culinary delights in Glasgow

Glasgow really did make us feel welcome this weekend, and we managed to mix work and play to a certain extent – although it is such a lovely part of our jobs – I can’t say it really feels like hard work!

We had a wonderful meal and a couple of glasses of post-set-up wine at the most incredible contemporary Indian restaurant, Mother India. We literally couldn’t recommend this place more and award tens all round for food, service and atmosphere. If you go to Glasgow, you must go here and don’t leave without trying the Delhi Lamb or the Butter Chicken (or both and find someone to share with like I did!)

On Saturday night we headed to the centre of town and had yet another beautiful meal at an Italian restaurant, Amerone. Again, we couldn’t recommend it more and left suitably stuffed and extremely satisfied by the beautiful Scottish Scallops, deep fried Buffalo mozzarella balls and much more than I can list…YUM!

Exhibitor love

Out and about at the show we ate delicious chocolate fondue courtesy of Chocolate Days and met the lovely and very talented wedding band, Daytura. We frolicked in the LookLook Photobooth, using a variety of fun props (so fun in fact the results are far too embarrassing to share!) and Christine and I even indulged in a bit of dental on our lunch break! I kid you not…we actually got our teeth whitened by the lovely people at The Teeth Whitening Shop. The results were fabulous and I’m not withholding the evidence for any other reason except that, like the photo booth, the before and after shots are too embarrassing to show! But take my pearly white word for it, the results had us smiling!

Our lovely sellers

We met the lovely Avril and Tom from Yield Ink again! It was so lovely to see them and we very much enjoyed their visit to the stand to say hello. We were actually showing off some beautiful items from the Popcorn range on our stand which they very much liked to see!

We also met the Emma from Kullakita Cards who is currently on maternity leave, but her products will be back on the site very soon. We also had the pleasure of meeting both her gorgeous, content and very smiley little girls, who were helping mummy at the show!

Lovat Press, one of our stationery sellers who are actually based in Glasgow were exhibiting at the show. Their stand was full of gorgeous wedding stationery offerings.

Posted by nellcrook on 22 February 2012

a real ruffled romance

21 February 2012 0 comments

Kate & Dave’s fifties-inspired wedding was accented with pink touches and designer shoes to make it a romantic-filled day. It really is all about THE SHOES… who could resist?!

Who popped the question and how did it happen? Three years after we got together, Dave came into the primary school where I worked and he got all the children in my class to line-up, each holding a letter to spell out ‘will you marry me’. When I walked in they were all there and Dave was in the centre, down on one knee.

When and where did you get married? We got married in July at St John’s The Evangelist church and had our reception at Aldermaston Manor in the West Berkshire countryside. We took full advantage of the sunny day with a buck’s fizz and canapés reception and a 1950s retro ice-ream van on the stately grounds.

Tell us about the wedding details… Our day had started to have a bit of a fifties theme with the dress and the colour scheme, so I wanted everything to tie in. For the flowers I love pink germanises, as they’re a really shocking pink, so I had those for the ushers, best man and the bridesmaid. I wanted shocking pink roses for my bouquet but they came in white on the day which was a nightmare. Luckily, they were fine in the end and tied in nicely. We didn’t want table flowers so instead we had candelabras entwined with ivy and such. For the transport we had a 1950s black and white Bentley and used a little mailbox for guests to put all their cards and presents in.

Tell us about your wedding fashion… I definitely knew I wanted some Christian Louboutin shoes and didn’t really want white ones so I could wear them after the wedding too. I found a pair that were pink satin with crystals on the front and in my size, so it felt like shoe fate! I got them months before the wedding dress and they were the beginning of the whole wedding theme.

I bought two wedding dresses. My first one was a complete disaster. It had a humongous long dress and train with really puffy sleeves and I thought I loved it as it fitted into the whole fairytale fantasy. But once I got it home it just didn’t feel like ‘the one’. Then I started looking at fifties-style dresses. I just thought they looked nice and as we had had our dance choreographed I needed something I could dance in – how we would of done it with the long train I’ll never know! It took me ages to pluck up the courage to tell Dave I hated the first wedding dress but he was really supportive and came with me to pick out a new one from Candy Antony. It’s a fifties-style wedding dress so a ballerina length, with a giant bow and a really big pink petticoat underneath with a shawl-like overlay. It was perfect!

What was your favourite wedding idea? There are a couple of things I really loved. For our tables we decided to incorporate my shoe fetish so each was named after a favourite designer, like Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik. I also had an apron with Mrs Stevens written on it as I’m so clumsy I knew something would end up on it during the wedding breakfast. Nobody, not even Dave, knew about it so was a real surprise when we walked in.

Do you have any top tips for other brides? Go to lots and lots of wedding shows and see people; finding a photographer was hard as you need to look at all of their work. When it comes to your wedding dress, make sure you LOVE it! Don’t listen to anyone else and just go with what you want your wedding day to be like. Also, enjoy the planning bit because the whole day goes in about three seconds!

Although they encountered a few dilemmas along the way, Kate has since started a wedding planning business, Klass Act. Make sure to take a peak and revel in the other gorgeous weddings that Kate and her colleague Karen have sprinkled their wedding fairy dust upon. They truly are delightful.

Posted by francescamasters on 21 February 2012

wedding shoe show offs!

20 February 2012 0 comments

We were ever-so-lucky to be prancing around our stand in Glasgow at the Scottish Wedding Show in some exquisite footwear, this weekend just been. The very lovely and talented Rachel Simpson provided us each with a pair of her wedding shoes to match our gorgeous nototonthehighstreet.com outfits for this show season (more on those to come soon).

The shoes were stylish, comfortable and very much admired by the many couples who visited our stand. We felt extremely lucky to be showing them off. Bridal shoes aren’t something we want to hide away under a dress anymore, they are an important style consideration and judging by her beautiful award-winning designs, this is something Rachel Simpson understands all too well.

At the Designer Wedding Show, Merryn was sporting the bright and sassy Lola Round Toe Shoes and Jo wore the classic Marilyn Suede Court Shoes, with both ladies opting for bolder tones.

This weekend in Scotland, Christine and I opted for vintage-inspired wedding shoes. Christine chose the delectable Carmen Satin T Bar Platform Shoes, with flashes of cool metallic leather detailing. I on the other hand chose Venetia Leather Peep Toe Platform Shoes, to match my fifties-inspired floral tea dress; I love them as they remind me of ballroom dancing shoes!

Fran and Louise couldn’t resist some of the quirkier styles, both of which were made of lace material! Both designs are cool but also very unique. Fran slipped on the Duchess Brocade Vintage Style Shoes – fit for royalty and a bride looking for something a bit different. Louise decided on the versatile Lily Lace and Satin Peep Toe Shoes that would also work beautifully for bridesmaids footwear.

We would like to send a massive thank you to Rachel Simpson for lending us her gorgeous creations above. It was so lovely of you and we enjoyed every second of the show wearing your stunning bridal shoes.

Please view Rachel’s stunning wedding shoe collection here.

Posted by nellcrook on 20 February 2012

it's showtime!

18 February 2012 0 comments

As you read this we’ll be nearing the end of the first day of The Scottish Wedding Show!

The wedding team had a wonderful time at the show last September with so many friendly faces stopping by, and we’re loving meeting more of you at the notonthehighstreet.com stand this time around too. We also really enjoyed chatting with the other exhibitors at the show and look forward to seeing friends old and new this weekend.

Fran’s beautiful blog post yesterday was inspired by the materials, patterns, design, food and drink that we regard as being iconically Scottish. These unique styling items are sure to add a dash of highland spirit or a flourish of Celtic charm to your wedding day. Kilts optional.

If you live in Glasgow or are Glasgow-bound this weekend and planning on visiting the show, do come along to our stand – we’d love to see you and say hello!

The images in this post are a sneak peek of just SOME of the beautiful gift list and wedding styling items you will be able to see, in the flesh, on our Scottish Wedding Show stand! All you need is below…

gift list

Set Of Six River Series Dinner Plates by Snowdon Flood

Stag Cushion by Rustic Country Crafts

Solid Oak Heart Trivet by Square Pear Furniture

Set Of Six Silver Plated Wine Glasses by The Orchard

Katini Chair by Papa Theo

Drippy Gold Cheru Milk Jug by Hanne Rysgaard Ceramics

wedding styling

Mimi Satin T-Bar Peep Toe Shoes by Rachel Simpson

Pair Of Antique Style Birdcages by I Love Retro

Set Of Ten Rustic Pillow Boxes by Wedding In A Teacup

Blackboard Bucket by The Wedding Of My Dreams

Blue Tissue Paper Pom Pom by Phillipson Zoet

Personalised Lollies

Love

The wedding team x

Posted by nellcrook on 18 February 2012

Scottish wedding style inspiration

16 February 2012 0 comments

Tomorrow the weddings team are jetting off to Glasgow to exhibit at The Scottish Wedding Show, inspiring this lovely collection of pretty that would be perfect for any Scottish or rustic wedding.

Decorate your wedding venue and tables with gorgeous products that have a slight Scottish feel or rustic edge. I’m a big fan of the Bucky The Deer Cardboard Trophy Head by I Love Retro – it would add a hint of whimsical wildlife to your venue and wedding day. Or you could place the Heart Twig Wreath by OG Furniture and Accessories about your venue or use to decorate the back of chairs. For a taste of heritage dining chic use the Harris Tweed Napkin Rings by Jock and Morag for your table settings and the Stag Place Card Settings by Vivi to display your guests’ names.

For wedding favours there really are no limitations. If you’re after something sweet and edible then the Heart Shortbread Biscuit Box by Shortbread Gift Company will be right up your street as they come in a selection of delicious favours. For something more obviously Scottish-related the Winter Woollies Pin Badge by Annon or the Handbag Mirror Wedding Favours by red berry apple would be ideal. Both are available in a number of colours and patterns so can easily be tied into your wedding colour theme. If you’re after rustic-styled favour packaging then the Set Of Ten Rustic Card Favour Boxes by Wedding in a Teacup are a lovely choice and will fit lots of treats.

Cufflinks are an easy way to incorporate the groom’s attire into your wedding day theme, whether it is a certain era or selection of colours. For a nod towards all things Scottish, Hannah Louise Lamb has a selection of intricately designed cufflinks that would complete any cuff. The Silver Wildlife Cufflinks are available in a number of animal designs and the Scotland Cufflinks have a beautiful matt and polished finish, (we have a set on our wedding stand this weekend so if you’re in Glasgow make sure you come and have a look). Other stag-designed cufflink choices are the Rutting Stags Cufflinks by Primrose & Plum or the Wild Stags Pewter Cufflinks by Wild Life Designs, both a great gift for your groom or the wedding party. And finally, for a classic pair with a twist, the Tweed Style Cufflinks by bethany athill are elegantly simple and made with a hand-woven fabric.

For the ladies, a touch of tartan can easily be achieved with gorgeous and creative accessories. Rather than a bouquet, have your bridesmaids hold an Anglomania Gigi Purse by Mademoiselle Bagatelles. They’re finished with a quirky skull and cross bone motif and are a perfect size to fit a small phone and essential make-up for touch ups throughout the day. Another option is pinning a Harris Tweed Yellow Brooch by breagha to the bridesmaids’ dresses for a splash of colour and rustic finish. Or you could incorporate them into a lovely hair accessory that your girlfriends will cherish forever after.

wedding gift list

And here are some Scottish-inspired goodies that will fit into your newly-wed home. You just won’t be able to resist!

Set Of Six Rocking Whiskey Glasses by Distinctly Living

Egg And Soldiers Breakfast Set by Takae Mizutani and sons

Stag’s Head Hessian Cushion Cover by Rustic Country Crafts

Glasgow Breakfast & GB Zoom Tea Towels by Gillian Kyle

Tartan Blanket Blue Mix by Shruti Designs

Tartan, Tweed and Wool Footstool by Pins and Ribbons

If you’re visiting The Scottish Wedding Show this weekend make sure you come and say hello for a chance to win a £250 gift voucher to spend on the site.

Posted by francescamasters on 16 February 2012

you've got mail

15 February 2012 3 comments

We don’t mean to gloat, but the wedding team received a rather special Valentine’s Day card yesterday.

It came in the form of an American-style mailbox with a gorgeous postcard cookie! Have a look at the images above – how cute is that?!

The creative genius behind it is our very own receptionist, Christine, who sourced the mailboxes online and used icing sugar and a pen with edible ink to create the postcard. She then used Valentine’s Love Heart Ribbon from Edamay to make it extra pretty!

We think that with different lettering they could also make really special and personal thank you gifts to bridesmaids and page boys and the mailbox can be used as a little keepsake box afterwards.

Christine is a self-confessed DIY crafting enthusiast, and has so many brilliant gift ideas that can be adapted for a wedding day. In fact, for all those who plan to visit The Scottish Wedding Show this weekend, she’ll be on the stand with us, so please do drop by for a chat if you are looking for DIY inspiration for your big day!

Posted by louiseboothe on 15 February 2012

Great Gatsby gift list inspiration

14 February 2012 0 comments

There is no denying the current resurgence and popularity of all things art deco with sprinklings of Gatsy glamour. Art deco inspiration can be seen everywhere, from the catwalks to the high streets. The latest Hollywood blockbusters such as The Artist and upcoming The Great Gatsby are testament to the current trend inspired by this divinely elegant decade whilst on our televisions, the latest gritty period dramas such as the recently-aired second series of Downton Abbey and the second series of the ultra-chic ‘upstairs downstairs’ re-make depict the Gatsby glamour at it’s best.

In my post a few weeks ago I touched on the Stylist editor, Alexandra Fullerton’s style predictions for spring/summer, pulling together some art deco-inspired wedding styling pieces. Today however, the focus is strictly gift list and full of gorgeous homeware influenced by the elegance of this bygone era.

The collection I’ve put together includes everything from chic furniture with clean, sharp lines to monochrome, mirrors and retro art work inspired by the time. I discovered a luxury chandelier, items inspired by twenties New York architecture, exquisite glassware and a beautiful vintage art deco tea-set.

Details of all the products featured in today’s post can be found below. So, go forth, put your best t-bar-dancing-shoe-foot forward and embrace the art deco love by furnishing your home with classic and elegantly designed gift list items that will stand the test of time.

Gatsby gift list inspiration:

The Great Gatsby Poster by The Literary Gift Company

1920s Art Deco Prints by I Love Retro

Art Deco House Number by House Bling

New York Bookends by Susan Bradley Design

Art Deco Espresso Cup Candle by The Vintage Tea Cup

Art Deco Candle Holder by Soft Philosophy

Sense Of The Orient by Soft Philosophy

Vintage Art Deco Tea Set by The Vintage Tea Cup

Carre Coffe Table by Liam Treanor Furniture

Chrysler Limited Edition Print by Fara Berry Designs

Mirrored Dressing Table by Holly Anna

Antonia Black Glass Dressing Table by Out There Interiors

Hanging Pendant Lamp by I Love Retro

ps I must say a very Happy Valentine’s Day from the Weddings Team!

X

Posted by nellcrook on 14 February 2012

the Love My Dress winners are announced!

13 February 2012 0 comments

We are very EXCITED to announce the lucky winners of our Love My Dress ‘Moment In Time Sign’ competition yesterday! You can see the real announcement here and more information about the competition (that is unfortunately now closed) here.

The winning couple will receive three gorgeous pieces of wedding signage from Delightful Living, who were also entrusted with the very fun but extremely tricky task of picking their favourite entry from so many wonderful ‘moments’. So much so, that during deliberations Delightful Living decided they would like to award two runner-up prizes in the form of one Moment In Time Sign made to order for each runner-up.

We would like to congratulate the winner and two runners-up and a big thank you must go to Delightful Living for making and arranging these wonderful prizes! While we’re gushing, we should send our love to Annabel at Love My Dress as it’s been great working with you on this comepetition!

The Wedding Team have loved reading all the entries and want to thank everyone who entered. The entries have made us laugh out loud, got us talking and in some cases had us holding back a few cheeky tears.

We thought the winning entries were just too lovely not to share on our blog too. So, boil the kettle, grab some biscuits (chocolate variety preferable), put your feet up (maybe not on your desk?) and enjoy…

Louisa’s winning moment in time

I remember so clearly the moment I knew Mr I was the one for me. We were out for dinner with friends, before we got together. He was sitting at the other end of the table, and I was chatting with my friend and fellow bookworm Madeleine about my favourite children’s book, Enid Blyton’s ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’. It’s a simply amazing book about an enchanted forest with a gigantic magical tree, which is so tall its branches reach into the clouds. Every so often, a new land comes round to the top of the tree, and the children in the book climb up and visit. Madeleine and I went round the dinner table asking people to tell us what their favourite land was. Nobody had a clue what we were talking about. Then it got to Mr I. Without hesitation he said ‘The Land of Take What You Want’. And that was it. It turned out it was one of his favourite books too, and we discovered we share a love of old children’s literature. We got together a couple of weeks later, and nine years later, we’re getting married in August. We’re collecting vintage Enid Blyton and Ladybird books from charity shops and we’re going to wrap them up and give one to each guest at the wedding.

The first runner up entry by Robert & Lindsay

The culmination of ring hiding and nervous secrecy came to fruition in the early hours of January 1, 2012. Along the banks of the Seine, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, I proposed to Lindsay, and to my great joy, she said yes. As I grasped for the ring in my jacket pocket, only hours after we brought in the new year, I had the feeling that I can only describe as the one you feel just before you get on a roller coaster: I knew that there was no turning back. I’ve known for a long time that Lindsay was the one for me, but to go through the process of actually proposing was as nerve racking as anything I have ever done. When she said yes, all the shaky emotions of anxiety and worry were replaced by feelings of harmony, well-being and especially love. I am so happy to be able to say that Lindsay will be my wife and that we will be forever connected for the rest of our lives.

The second runner up entry by Katherine

I have to say that our moment in time was the way that we ‘met’. Nathan and I went to the same secondary school, however he was 5 years older than me, so being together was never an option back in the day. After leaving school, I went to Uni in Bristol, moved to London and then to the Middle East. On moving to the Middle East and finding it hard to date, I signed up for a well known dating site and recieved a message from a hot blonde, also living in the Middle East, entitled ‘Well well well…’. It was Nathan – 15 years on!!! Little did we know, but our paths almost crossed many times – In our home town, in Bristol and in London, but it took us both to move all the way to the middle of the desert to find each other through an internet dating site! Love has a weird way of working out hey?

Posted by nellcrook on 13 February 2012

beautiful and new bridal accessories

10 February 2012 0 comments

With the wedding show season in full swing and the bridal fashion shows catching the attention of all brides-to-be, we just had to share with you a lovely notonthehighstreet.com Partner, Dee Dee Bridal. Dee Dee offers bespoke and ready-to-wear bridal hair accessories – everything from gorgeous headbands to embellished stylish combs.

Each piece is carefully hand-crafted using materials such as embroidered lace, beading, feathers and magpie finds to give a unique and original look. The attention to detail will complement any wedding dress style, making each accessory a piece you’ll love to wear on your special day and treasure forever.

To see the full collection CLICK HERE.

If you’re visiting The Designer Wedding Show this weekend make sure you come and say hello for a chance to win a £250 gift voucher to spend on the site. You won’t want to miss out!

Posted by francescamasters on 10 February 2012

fun wedding favour ideas

09 February 2012 0 comments

The traditional Italian custom of presenting bonbonnieres to each guest (five sugared almonds to represent health, wealth, prosperity, fertility and long life) has caught on here, as have American favours – which can be anything useful, edible or just pleasing to the eye. With so many options available and an ‘anything goes’ attitude, it’s become even trickier to decide on the perfect wedding favour.

The number of guests you invite is also a contributing factor and can make it hard work if you decide to create your own from scratch. If so, make sure to start crafting well in advance and keep your idea sweet and simple. I personally love homemade favours and believe guests really do appreciate the extra effort that’s gone into them.

To help with your wedding favour decision-making, here’s a short list of some fun ideas that can easily be adapted and personalised to tie in with your special day:

Chocolates and sweets are a budget-friendly and delicious choice that can easily be boxed and packaged to make an intriguing wedding favour.

One Hundred Loose Tiny Chocolate Hearts by Cocoapod

Personalised Handmade Chocolate Lolly by The Chocolate Deli

Eight Chocoholics Cake Pops by The Cake Pop Company

Handpainted Mr & Mrs Wedding Favours by Mollycupcakes

Garden seeds are an eco-friendly option and a great gift for all of your gardening–enthusiast friends.

Balcony Gardener Herb Seed Range by The Balcony Gardener

Sunshine In A Bag by Tree2mydoor

Pack Of Five Wedding Favour Forget Me Not Seeds by cherrygorgeous

Plantable Scroll Favours by Plant a Bloomer

A personalised keepsake doesn’t have to mean jewellery. The following alternative ideas would make unique favours for your guests to keep for a lifetime.

Initial Tie On Favours by Jo Heckett

Personalised Heart Keyring by milly and pip

Personalised Stone With A Star by Letterfest Engraving

Personalised Alphabet Handbag Mirror by studio-sweepings

For a tasty treat your guests can enjoy after your special day opt for a food favour with a touch of wedding sparkle.

Three Mini Jars Of Jam And Honey by The Wedding of my Dreams

‘Meant To Bee’ Honey Favour Stickers by Wedding in a Teacup

Personalised Champagne 24 Miniature Bottles by Park Lane Champagne

Personalised Wedding Favours by Bisquites

Once you’ve decided on your wedding favours, make sure they’re finished with some stylish packaging to build up the excitement of what could be inside. Your guests won’t be able to contain their anticipation!

Personalised Alphabet Gift Box by the letteroom

Wedding Favour Gift Box Small by Taylor’s Truffles

Ten Personalised Favour Boxes by Mollie Mae Handcrafted Designs

Set Of Eight Wedding Favour Boxes by Lilac Coast Weddings

Set Of Ten Vintage Style Favour Boxes by Francesca & Florence

Posted by francescamasters on 09 February 2012

win tickets to the Designer Wedding Show!

07 February 2012 0 comments

This weekend 10-12 February we’re back at the Designer Wedding Show in Battersea Park. We absolutely love the show and are excited to showcase more beautiful gift list products from our sellers, plus clever new styling ideas.

We’d love to see you there and have 20 pairs of tickets worth £32 each to give away! To win, simply email us at weddings@notonthehighstreet.com and let us know your most coveted gift list item. We will select 20 winners at random on Wednesday 8 February.

Hope to see you there!

Featured image by Designer Wedding Show

Prize draw terms & conditions: All entrants must be 18 years old at time of entry. All those who email weddings@notonthehighstreet.com with their most coveted gift will be automatically entered to the prize draw. We will select the winners at random on 8 February 2012 and the winner will be notified using the email address provided. Unfortunately, any entries received after midday on 8 February cannot be considered for the competition. Winners will receive one pair of electronic tickets each and there is no other choice of prize and no cash alternative prize. Notonthehighstreet.com is registered in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

Posted by louiseboothe on 07 February 2012

60 seconds with Rock N' Roll Bride

03 February 2012 0 comments

We ask the Rock N’ Roll Bride (aka Kat Williams) to give us her lowdown on alternative wedding gifts and what she predicts will be hot for weddings in 2012…

What makes a wedding gift ‘rock n’ roll’?

As long as the couple pick things that suit them and their personal style! Being rock n’ roll is a state of mind, whatever their personal tastes.

What’s your favourite gift list item from your curated collection?

Ooh it’s really hard to choose! Probably the gorgeous chair but I also love the multi-coloured chandelier!

What are your wedding style trend predictions for 2012?

‘Trends’ aren’t really something I pay attention to because I think all weddings should be a true reflection of the couple and their own personal style – however I do love rainbow weddings!

Wedding dresses – trash or treasure?

A bit of both! I’m not into being wasteful so I think trashing a dress (maybe by shortening or dying it) so you can wear it again and again is a great idea!

What’s the best rock n’ roll honeymoon destination for 2012?

Well this year I’m going to Las Vegas and New York so I’ll have to say those I think!

Thanks Kat! Read her blog here

The gift list ideas…

Multi Coloured Gypsy Chandelier

The Lavandou Armchair

Butterfly Dressing Table

Black and White 1970s Phone

Upcycled Pinup Vintage Side Plate

Posted by jokite on 03 February 2012

storing your wedding dress

02 February 2012 0 comments

I mentioned a few weeks ago that, after writing the post Trash or Treasure, I have decided to keep my dress. It really is just too precious to give away; I’m not sure if, even if someone had shown interest, I would have ever been able to hand it over.

So, then came the issue of how to store it… My dress has been hanging in it’s bag on the back of the wardrobe since it came back from the cleaners, and I’m sure it’s not very good for it to be swinging around each time I open the door!

When I picked it up from the cleaners, they did say that they could also box it for me, but the price (on top of the cleaning) made my eyes water and I was sure I’d be able to find something cheaper if I shopped around.

That was in August last year, and needless to say it became one of those things that I never got round to doing! Finally, last week I scouted around and came across The Memories and Nostalgia Collection who supply a range of items designed to preserve memories from lots of different occasions, and particularly storing wedding dresses. Some might describe the wedding boxes as a little twee, but I found a great priced one on there and my main criteria was that both the box and the tissue paper were acid free (the acid used in some boxes can cause permanent damage). The box arrived yesterday and at the weekend I will pack my dress up and store the memories away.

Image by Amy Murrell www.especiallyamy.co.uk

Posted by louiseboothe on 02 February 2012

a christmas eve engagement

01 February 2012 3 comments

You may have already noted that we’ve had quite a few recent engagements in the notonthehighstreet.com office, with each one being as unique and special as the last. Rebecca, our Head of Customer Service, has a very romantic Christmas eve proposal story which we wanted to share it with you.

How did you get engaged?

Neil decided to propose on Christmas Eve, my favourite day of the year. He had been mentioning how we should make Christmas Eve a romantic day as I love it so much, so we set off to Richmond for a lovely breakfast at Moomba and a little wander around the shops before heading home to light the fire and prepare for a traditional Christmas Eve in. The fire was lit and the candles were on the table. Dinner was ready so I asked Neil to get the champagne out of the fridge. At this point apparently he had started to worry I would suspect something as he pulled out a bottle of vintage champagne that was bought especially in Champagne a couple of years ago for a special occasion (wink wink) and, not knowing at that I was minutes away from a proposal, in true practical female style I questioned this decision in a rather crass tone… ‘well obviously our thoughts are in very different places…I thought that bottle was for a special occasion… (thinking, ahem, engagement please)’ but finally told him to just open it then, seeing as it was the only cold champagne we had. So with stooped shoulders, he continued to the lounge with the champagne followed by a slightly annoyed me with the food. We sat down and it looked perfect – just one thing missing, ‘music’ I said and before I could get up Neil was there, ‘I’ll do it, I’ve got it, you sit down’. At this point I started to think he was acting a little odd. He chose ‘The Blowers Daughter’ by Damien Rice (I love this song, good choice Neil I was thinking) – it turns out Neil had created a playlist entitled Our Engagement 24th December 2011 with a list of all the songs that mean so much to us both. He came back towards the table and stood in front of me (thinking back and talking to Neil it seems as though he was standing there forever… in my head I was thinking what is he doing, he can’t be… can he?)

As Neil started to go down on to one knee, I could feel my heart beating and the tears welling up in my eyes. He started to say beautiful things but I can only remember individual words not sentences as if I couldn’t compute everything that was happening! For a moment he stopped talking and called over our little dog Winnie, who had been remarkably quiet and sitting very still behind me. She plodded over with a bow around her neck which was holding a box. Neil removed the box from Winnie and opened it up to present the most beautiful ring before asking me to marry him. I think I was saying yes as he was asking me! We sat down in front of the fire and managed to drink two bottles of champagne whilst listening to our playlist and talking about each individual song and what it means to us.

Is there a theme/style for your wedding? Why did you choose it?

We are having a winter wedding on the 15th December 2012. The venue is in a beautiful manor house in Kent called Eastwell Manor. The Manor is particularly magical at Christmas with decorated garlands on the staircases and and real Christmas trees and lit fireplaces in every room. We want to have a winter theme with traditional reds and sparkles like ice – think luxurious with a Christmas edge. We chose the theme because it is so fitting considering the proposal. It’s our favourite time of year and we have so many ideas to add to our theme that I will be happy to share with you after the wedding.

Is your wedding planning turning out just as you dreamt it would?

Yes it really is! And it’s all entwined with everything Neil will love as well, and this makes it more than I dreamt of because he really was the missing link to my dream wedding.

What is your best wedding planning tip?

My top tip is to get organised! If you want everything you need get there first. I have a year and already I’m realising that I was lucky to get the venue I wanted. If you want the best entertainment, the best venues and a wedding on a Saturday don’t forget there are only 52 of them a year, so there will be many other people who want the same things that you do.

Thanks Rebecca and Neil, your romantic story has really made us feel warm inside on this freezing Wednesday! It’s going to be a lovely wedding and we can’t wait to hear more about it. We’ll keep you posted.

Posted by jokite on 01 February 2012

a circus wedding spectacular

31 January 2012 0 comments

Roll up, roll up for a fun-filled wedding day at the circus! Complete with magic tricks, elephants, nostalgic carnival favourites, clowns and popcorn favours, your guests will enjoy every minute celebrating your special day.

Inject the circus fever into your friends and family early on by sending them a Carnival Wedding Invitation by Paper Themes. The bold wedding announcement has a circus tent design creating the ultimate party impact. Paper Themes also have Fairground Wedding Invitations and Circus Wedding Invitations that would fit in perfectly. Or there’s the Circus Wedding Invitation by Bloody Gorgeous Designs that will get the drumroll rolling for an exciting day of carnival delights.

Sticking to no more than three colours when styling your circus wedding will ensure it doesn’t become a fairground fiasco. On the table, opt for bottles filled with Striped Paper Straws by Hello Pretty for a quirky addition to your cocktail drinks, and use the Popcorn Retro Bags And Boxes by Pearl and Earl to hold delicious flavoured popcorn favours. A great child-friendly favour is the Circus Party Bag by The Jollybox Company. Filled with circus-themed toys and props it will keep them entertained during the more adult parts of the day such as the wedding speeches. Make sure to also hand out Carnival Fair Tickets by Peach Blossom to all of your guests. Maybe they could be used as drink tokens or tickets for a raffle in true tombola style.

A growing trend for many weddings is to create a sweet counter covered in novelty treats like candyfloss, lollypops and jars of jellybeans. Ideal for a circus themed wedding, have a colourful selection of Large Candy Stripe Goody Bags by Pearl and Earl at hand for your guests to fill with candy. Nelly’s has a Nostalgic Sweet Hamper full of childhood goodies, while Candyhouse has a collection of Retro Sweets Jar that will go down a treat. Finish your sweetie bar with a Set Of Two Sweet Scoops by The Wedding of my Dreams to help your guests scoop up their favourites.

Complete your circus themed wedding day, whether it be in a circus tent or not, with quirky carnival details. The Circus Art Print by modo creative would make a welcoming wedding sign and will be sure to kick start the circus celebrations. Hang these Tissue Paper POMs Blanc by Life’s a Party! at different heights throughout for a splash of colour and drape Recycled Paper Heart Bunting by the green gables from the back of chairs. Have the groom and his best man wear these silver-plated Wild Elephants Pewter Cufflinks by Wild Life Designs to complete their circus attire and give each of your bridesmaids a Gold Elephant Charm by Tuli Storm as a sweet thank you gift.

On another note, make sure you don’t forget to enter our competition on Love My Dress, the UK’s most popular wedding blog, for a chance to win three bespoke wedding signs personalised with your own words by our wonderful sellers Delightful Living Weddings.

CLICK HERE to enter.

Posted by francescamasters on 31 January 2012