Picking the perfect wedding dress.

http://www.benjaminroberts.co.uk/england-p-1069.html

(The dress above is not Sam's I wasn't going to give that away before the day but I do thinks a gorgeous dress.)


When Sam first showed me the dress of her dreams I was pretty sure the style would suit her perfectly! This isn't always the case though you might see a dress in a picture try it on and just doesn't look right so keep an open mind.

Unfortunately the dress Sam originally fell in love with was impossible to get hold of in the UK and so her only choice if she wanted this dress was to get a replica made. I suggested to Sam before she gets attached to a certain style of dress she should look for one that is a similar style but available in UK and to find a local stockist then go and try it on to make sure the style was right for her.

A wedding shop in Nottingham did happen to have a dress similar to the one she had fell in love with. She gave them a call and made an appointment to try it on and lucky me got to go along too. Just I thought the style suited her perfectly! While we were there she decided to try various different dresses just to make sure that this style was definitely the style for her and it was by far the best. There was a small hitch though the dress Sam tried on was actually by a an expensive designer and over Sam's budget!

Now knowing that style really suited her and that was definitely the kind of design she wanted we went about trying to find a local dress maker that could make a replica as first thought. As we started to look for dress makers it became clear that this wasn't going to be cheap either. So what next? We started searching the Internet for a dress in the style she wanted but within her budget, not an easy task as Sam has expensive taste!

The Nottingham bridal shop where Sam originally went did in fact have another one in the same style but at the time Sam didn't try this particular dress on because it wasn't in her size. She decided to ring the shop back to find out the name and price of the dress. It was more reasonable but still slightly over budget! Would she ever get the dress of her dreams for the right price?! We decided to find out all the stockists in the Midlands area who had this dress and Sam set about ringing all of them to see if anyone had one in stock and more importantly within her budget.

Jackpot at shop in Matlock, Derbyshire! Not only did they have one in her size to try on, it was in her price range too (only just though!)  Not one to let the grass grow under her feet within an an hour Sam and I were on our way to Matlock! Within 10 seconds of trying the dress on Sam knew this was the one for her. It completely flatters her figure and it most certainly has the wow factor, its also fits perfect with the theme of the wedding and so the dress the was chosen! Unfortunately though you wont get to see it until September!


Have a happy Monday!


Kathryn xx

Spring is in the air!

Off Topic Tuesday.

Today I decided to go slightly off topic, still on weddings but not Sam and Andrew’s, will have more of their wedding progress soon.

With the weather being so lovely these last few days it got me thinking about all the beautiful flowers and colours we associate with spring. If you were thinking of having a spring wedding and what might you include.

One of my favourite things about spring is my beautiful cherry blossom tree, I love to see it in full bloom it looks so pretty. With this in mind I definitely think pink would be a great colour choice for a spring wedding, especially if your wedding venue has cherry blossom trees in its grounds. I think one of the prettiest sites to see in spring is when there are rows of cherry blossom trees together. When there is a gentle breeze the blossom falls from the trees to the ground like confetti, such an idyllic setting for wedding photos.

My other favourite flowers  of spring are tulips these delicate white and pink ones would making wonderful addition to a spring wedding.


More popular colours for spring.
Fresh vibrant yellow, greens and purples.
Soft lemons and whites.
Soft Lavender.
Lime greens and pinks.

After the royal wedding last spring another flower that I think will be hugely popular this year is lily of the valley.

Simple but stunning, doesn't she just look gorgeous too!



Enjoy your lovely sunny Tuesday.


Kathryn x

How to choose the right wedding photographer for you.

“Your wedding will only last one day but your photo’s will last a life time” 


Today our bride and groom-to-be Sam and Andrew have gone to meet their chosen photographer http://www.samuelkirby.com/# for a consultation this is where they can see his portfolio and look at his work.


I’m a bit of a photo addict, I love taking photo's and I also spend hours and hours surfing the net and admiring other peoples! There are so many different styles of wedding photographers these days for example contemporary, traditional, vintage. Choosing the right one for you is something that can take a lot of time and research. The decision shouldn't be made lightly after all these people are solely responsible for documenting your day, something that you and your future generations will look back on for years to come. I have read on many a photographers websites that you need to think of your wedding photo’s as an investment and i completely agree with this, unfortunately this was not the case when I got married 9 years ago and it’s something I now regret, so take note!


Few tips to bare in mind when choosing your photographer.



1. Start researching early the best normally get booked up quick.



2. Make an appointment to look through their portfolio.



3. When you met them did you like them, i think this is really important after all they are with you for one of the most important days of your life you have to feel comfortable with them. 



4. The budget, when you haven found your photographer and they have given you a quote make sure there isn't going to be any extra charges.




I cant wait to be able to share Sam and Andrew's wedding photo's with you after they are married. So watch this space!

I believe in pink!

What girl doesn't just love a bit of pink in their life's? Well I certainly do it’s always been my favourite colour and someone else who loves it too is our bride-to-be Sam, it will be playing a big part in the theme of the wedding. With this in mind today I thought I search the web for some pink love and here is some of the gorgeousness I found.


“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”― Audrey Hepburn

And so as my search for pink loveliness comes to end for the day as Elizabeth Taylor once said:
"I fell off my pink cloud with a thud"

The Flower Girl.

 What wedding would be complete without a flower girl!  A sweet innocent beautiful little girl, in a gorgeous dress fit for a little fairy princess. Sam and Andrew are having 3 little fairy princess’s at their wedding and I cant wait to see them, their dresses are perfect!
The tradition of the flower girl is said to have started back in ancient Rome where they are thought to have carried sheaves of wheat and herbs to ensure blessings of prosperity and fertility. Back in medieval times the young attendants at the wedding used to carry garlic this was said to ward off evil spirits. Fashions and traditions may have changed over the years but our love for having flower girls hasn't.

Here are  few ideas for your modern day flower girl.

Click on the picture's bellow for a link to the shops website:

 

There is so much more choice these days when choosing  flower girls dresses. These are just a few I found at high street stores and I think they are all gorgeous!

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Bridesmaid dresses, so many to choose from!

Our bride-to-be Sam is having 4 bridesmaids and 3 flower girls. The tradition of having bridesmaids is something that has been around for hundreds of years, back in ancient times it was usual for the bridesmaids to wear a dress that was very similar to the bride, the reason for this was to ward off evil spirits this is not usually the case when choosing your bridesmaid dresses today! It is now more usual to go with the theme and colour scheme of your wedding rather than with the superstition's of days gone by.


As its usual for bridesmaids to pay for their own dresses its nice if you can pick something they can wear over and over again, Sam did have this in mind when she chose the dresses for her bridesmaids and has gone for something that the girls can definitely re-use for other occasions. Not wanting to give too much away I'm not posting the dresses that the girls will actually be wearing but I have picked out some dresses from high street stores that I think would be perfect for a bridesmaid to wear.








Click on the link below the dresses and this will take you to the store where they can be purchased.

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The Pinks

Cutie pink structured dress. 

                                                    

Petal bailey tapework dress, Phase Eight

Pleated Party Dress, KaliKO

Pink capped sleeve dress. 




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The Neutrals

White Sadie Cotton Lace Shift Dress

Sleeveless Lace Dress Cream. 

Animal Print Lace Dress.




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                            The Yellows

BOUTIQUE BY JAEGER Bow Back Dress

       Pleat Midi Dress

                                                     Yellow Vintage Prom Dress. 

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The blue/greens

SEAFOAM SKATER DRESS. 

Feverfish mint skater dress. 

JANE NORMAN Cutwork 1 Shoulder Dress 

These are just a few of the dresses in the shops at the moment that I think would make great bridesmaid dresses, there are so many lovely ones out there that it was hard just to choose a few.

How I love an afternoon tea party.

Carrying on from yesterdays blog finding the perfect scone recipe I thought I would stay on the theme and talk about my love for afternoon tea.  As i have already mentioned Samantha and Andrew our bride and groom to-be are having this as their wedding reception and I couldn't be more excited!

"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." 
Henry James 

Afternoon tea has been around since 1840 and was introduced by Anna the 7th duchess of Bedford and is now one of our favourite English traditions. It all began because the duchess got a little peckish in afternoon. The evening meal wasn't normally served in the duchesses household till around 8'oclock  at around 4'oclock in the the afternoon the duchess started to get hungry so requested that a light snack of bread and butter, cake and tea to be brought to her room. This became somewhat of a habit and soon she started inviting guests to join her for this afternoon treat and that's how the custom of afternoon tea began.




I absolutely love organising an afternoon tea party, I have organised a few in the past for birthday parties, baby shower, christening, in fact they are perfect for a number of occasions. With mothers day being nearly here why not treat your mum and give her afternoon tea. They are easy to organise and always huge success.

Menu Suggestions

A selection of Sandwiches

Cucumber and cream cheese

Roast beef and horseradish

Ham with chutney

Smoked salmon, dill and cream cheese

Egg and watercress

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A selection of cakes and desserts, not forgetting

some lovely strawberries and cream.

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Scones, clotted cream and jam

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A selection of tea's 

So if your struggling for idea's for an up and coming occasion why not spoil them and host an afternoon tea party. If you don't already have china cups and saucers you can normally find your local charity shop will have selection in for you to buy and they normally don't cost more than a few pounds for a set. Alternatively if you're thinking of a grander scale then there are lots of companies on the Internet who hire out vintage crockery for a reasonable price.