Erin Layla Garton finalises her Wedding Details!

Every bride and groom wants their wedding to stand out, whether it going crazy with the flowers, choosing a spectacular or different venue, or picking a theme that you can really go to town with, but remember it’s your wedding, YOUR being the operative word. As long as the day reflects you and your partner and everything that you are together that’s all that matters. James and I have always had a different style to our friends, sometimes I think that we were both born in the wrong era, we are both heavily into classic décor, vintage finishes and anything oldy worldy! So I was sure, with me being a DIY fanatic and both of us loving spending our time trawling antique shops and Ebay that our wedding was going to have lots of ­­­­intricate details personal to us. Below you will see a few DIY details personal to my wedding that I am working on. I have included simple instructions in case you want to achieve something similar.

Napkins

We are keeping our floral decorations really simple, they are going to be white but a variety of different flowers, because of this I was really worried that by having white flowers and white table linen it might not fit with our theme of vintage rustic chic. So I decided that to inject some colour onto our tables that I would make napkins out of different vintage floral looking fabrics. This has turned out to be quite time consuming but I really cannot wait to see them all finished and folded nicely on our tables.

5 easy steps to make your own napkins:

Step 1 – decide how big you want your napkins, mine with seam allowance are
Step 2 – draw lines on the wrong side of all four sides of your napkins, 2 thirds of your seam allowance in. I have allowed 3cm seam allowance so I am drawing lines 2 cm in.
Step 3 – Iron the outer edge of the fabric inwards so it runs level with your line, press down firmly with the iron
Step 4 - Now fold along the drawn line and press down.
Note – Do step 3 and 4 on opposite sides of the napkins first and then do the other 2 sides.
Step 5 – Sew a straight stitch along all four sides, making sure to keep as straight as possible and to sew on the fabric you have folded. After sewing all four sides snip of any lose threads, press the whole napkin flat, and voila you have yourself a napkin!

Decorated bottles

As James and I are doing our own flowers we also need something to put them in, we will be using some vases that we have collected, but we also wanted to bring something different to our centrepieces. So we have also been collecting vintage bottles, nice liquer bottles and then also just some plain glass bottles that we are decorating, because I love the vintage feel and look of lace and pearls, so that is exactly what I am going to use to cover my bottles.

Step by step guide to decorating bottles:

Step 1 - First find the type of bottles you want to cover, I used sparkling wine bottles and sparkling elderflower bottles, they both have that champagne look to them.
Step 2 – Remove all labels, and wash to get rid of all the residue. This may take some work depending on the labels, but soaking them in hot water with washing up liquid and scrubbing them with a scour pad I find always works. Then make sure you dry the bottle throughly.
Step 3 - Heat up your glue gun and get your pearls ready, I got my half pearls aftering seacrhing the net, make sure they are half pearls (domed on one side and flat on the other, there is no need to get hotfix ones). With my pearls I bought the majority in white or ivory but I also got some golds, silvers, lilacs, pinks and greens to give it some extra lift, I also bought them in a number of different sizes. And think of your design, I personally go with what I am feeling at the time.
Step 4 – Start glueing, just place a spot of glue on the bottle and then place your pearl on top and press down firmly so that it is securely in place. You will have glue strings across the top of your pearls but don’t worry.
Step 5 – Once all your pearls have been stuck on, take out a oft toothbrush and brush away all excess glue and glue strings, and then sit back and admire your work.
Note – you can use lots of amazing haberdashy items to decorate bottles, like pearls, ribbons or for an edgy look how about buttons, I used gather lace, see picture below. Happy decorating.

Introducing Erin Layla Garton, our brand new bridal blogger!

James and I met working in a club in Manchester, he was at University and I was at Dance College, I was 17 and he was 20 and we fell in love. After 7 and half years together, in which we have both changed careers quite a few times, relocated down to Reading and bought a house, he finally proposed on Christmas Day 2010. It really was the best day ever and to this day people are always commenting on how unique and different the proposal was. You see James didn’t have it easy, everyone kept asking him when he was going to pop the question and I kept wrecking every chance by always putting my big mouth in it. For example, we went to see Michael Buble for our 7 year anniversary and I made the comment to him and to friends,” ooh wouldn’t it be romantic if James proposed , whilst Michael is singing our song!”, well suffice to say it didn’t happen. Instead he waited till Christmas Day and it was perfect.

There was no getting down on one knee, which he knew I did not want, instead he arranged for us to stay in the front room of his dad’s house, in the Cotswold’s. We had already had a perfect Christmas Eve with great food, company and presents and that night we went to sleep on a blow up mattress in front a roaring fire, a gorgeous Christmas tree filled with fairy lights and snow filling up the windows and French doors. I then awoke on Christmas Day at about 5am and noticed something very different; there was something on my finger. You see I am a very heavy sleeper and because of this James was able to slip the ring on my finger without me even stirring, he then spent a very unsettled night keeping the fire going, trying to get little bits of sleep, keeping his nerves in check and also making sure I didn’t hit myself in the face with my hand. The funny thing is that I noticed straight away that I had a ring on my finger but it took about 30 seconds for me to able to focus properly and see that I had the ring of my dreams; A vintage inspired ring with a centre diamond and 28 more diamonds adorning the shoulders and band. It was designed by the exquisite Cry for the Moon jewellers in Guildford, with the all-important diamond being picked by James.

The Wedding.

So we set the date of May 12th 2012 for our wedding, which also happens to be our 9 year anniversary, after 9 years together we really didn’t want to start counting from year 0 again, plus we loved the added romance of getting married on the day we first got together. From there it was onto organising the rest of the day and boy was it stressful at first. We had it in our head that we only wanted to spend a certain amount of money on the venue, but everything we saw that came within our budget was either not what we were looking for or was for venue hire only and with added catering costs it took us well over our budget. So in the end we thought we would go on an inspiration trip to The National Wedding Show in Birmingham, and we are so glad we did. Thanks to The National Wedding Show we found our venue, photographer and tailor for the groom’s suit.

The Venue; is the stunning Wroxall Abbey Estate (http://www.wroxall.com/), where we managed to get a great deal due to our wedding not counting as in their peak season. The venue is just what we wanted, it has beautiful grounds and the inside as an old regal feel to it. What is great is that the whole wedding is taking place there, they have an onsite cathedral which is where our ceremony will be held and then we have hired out the mansion on an all exclusive basis meaning we have all 48 bedroom for our guests plus no-one else apart from the wedding party is allowed in the building, perfect seclusion for everyone to enjoy the day.

The photographers; are the wonderful Anna and Michael from Two of US (http://www.twoofus.eu/). One piece of advice I would give to couples visiting an event with so many stalls, is try and talk to as many people as possible (it may be exhausting but it’s definitely worth it), and if you don’t get to speak to everyone at least pick up leaflets, half of them you may throw in the bin but you will have some gems in there. James and I spoke to at least half a dozen photographers on the day, we asked the same questions to all and got a lot of different answers and a lot of variances in prices, by the end of the day we were exhausted and still didn’t quite feel that we had found our photographer. So at the end of the day there we were sitting in the demonstration area resting our tiring feet, where we saw a photographer stand that we hadn’t visited, we had actually passed it quite a few times in the day but we thought the photos were too good to be real and also looked way out of our price league but decided to get one more leaflet to add to our already huge pile to go through. That last leaflet turned out to be the photographer we went for, they were exactly what we were looking for, quirky, well shot and personal pictures, at a great price and to top it all off Anna, who we arranged to meet 3 days after the show, was so friendly and genuinely did it for the love of photography, we warmed to her instantly. We got an amazing package with more on offer than all the other photographers we saw and at an amazing price, including 2 photographers for the whole day, Anna who will follow me and get the brides perspective and Michael who will follow James to get the grooms and also he will be snapping away getting all the quirky action shots, 2 photo albums, full copyright, full photo editing and an additional shoot for the bride and groom after the wedding. This additional photo shoot is something we had never heard of before but apparently it is very popular in Europe. Instead of the bride and groom going off on the wedding day for an hour or so and missing the chance to mingle with friends and family at the drinks reception to have pictures taken, they only take you away for 20 mins and then the next day you get all dressed up again and go on a photo shoot to different locations to get some amazing pictures together. We already can’t wait to see the pictures and they haven’t even been taken yet.

The suit has been designed and made by specialist tailors Clements and Church (http://www.clementsandchurch.co.uk/). We were served by the owner Aaron, who could not have been more helpful, and boy does he know his stuff, his expertise really put James at ease, even when he was told he wore the wrong sized shirts. After trying on a few suits, we picked a stunning 3 piece with a difference; it really has that vintage look we were going for and just happens to be the first one we saw when we walked in. We were originally going to get one tailor-made for James, but in the end there was no point, the cut was so excellent, that an off the peg suit worked perfectly, with a few minor adjustments it will look like he has had one tailored made without the paying that extra cost. James then picked a stunning tie that incorporates our colour scheme and the same fabric will also be used for the back of the waistcoat, I really cannot wait to see James in it on our wedding day.

So you can see for James and I, a trip to the National Wedding Show was invaluable.

Now a year has passed since we started planning and we still have a lot to do. One thing I have not mentioned so far is that I am a full on DIY bride and I don’t just mean invites and décor, I am intending on going as far as making not only MY wedding dress but also my 6 bridesmaid dresses. On my blog posts you will be able to follow my progress during the next 3 and half months till my big day and I will be including simple instructions for my DIY ideas and progress pictures on my dress.

Choosing the Gift List - From our real life bride Sandy

Many of our friends have asked about what we would like as a present on our big day. All we really want is for the friends and family that we love to be there to celebrate our special day with us, but people are quite adamant that they want to get us something.

I guess in the past Brides and Grooms wouldn't have been living together before they were married which is why they'd ask for crockery, kitchen appliances and general homewares. However, Adam and I have lived together for 2 years and our house is pretty much set up with everything we need, and in most cases double as we both lived alone previously. We still have a box full of plates, pots, pans, glasses and utensils that hasn't been unpacked since Adam moved in!!!

We began looking at alternatives to the Traditional Gift Registry and both really liked the idea of guests contributing towards our Honeymoon. We are off to Florida just after the wedding and are planning on visiting the Themes Parks and hoping to swim with Dolphins too. All of this adds on to the cost of our honeymoon. I had a look on the internet at some websites where you can set up your own website for guests to contribute to the honeymoon. Now the idea of this I LOVE. I love the idea of writing down a list of things we want to do and places we want to visit whilst on honeymoon and guests donating to us having a fun time. The only down side of this is the charges that these websites incur. A lot of them charge a fee to set up the website, some are free, but then a percentage of the guests' donation is withheld and some charge a set up fee AND keep percentage of any donations. I am just not comfortable with our guests thinking they're contributing to our honeymoon but somebody else keeping some of the money.

Our Travel Agent, said guests could contribute directly through them, but the honeymoon had to be paid for before our invites had even been written! D'oh!

With all of this taken into consideration we have asked that if guests do want to give a gift to congratulate us and wish us luck, they donate money for our honeymoon. Neither of us are completely comfortable asking for money as we don't want guests to feel they're being judged on how much they give (even though we never would judge and their attendance is far more important than any gift), so we are going to have a postbox for any cards and guests can drop money in if they wish.
We've not mentioned this in the invitations we sent out as really don't want guests to feel obliged, but with people asking, we have mentioned it on the website we set up to give guests details such as accommodation and directions.

Angela Harkin chooses the all important wedding rings!

Whilst searching for wedding rings recently, I discovered that (a) John is far fussier than me and that (b) I love a bit of bling!

John is keen to wear a wedding ring but trying to find him something he actually liked was the hard bit. After perusing countless websites and looking in numerous shops for ideas, I thought we’d never find anything he liked. However, his (extremely long) search for something a bit alternative led us to finally find a brushed steel ring that is very unique and something that he will be happy wearing forever.

My problem, however, wasn’t that I couldn’t find a ring but that I found loads of rings that I loved! I initially thought I wanted a simple plain band but I was quickly allured by the twinkle of diamonds and felt like a kid in a sweet shop. So much sparkle, too much choice! It was difficult to whittle it down to just one ring.

That’s not usually like me. I’m usually quite demure with my jewellery, often preferring costume jewellery to really expensive stuff however finding my dream diamond wedding ring has changed all that.

As John keeps reminding me, his ring cost a fraction of mine. But, as I’ve told him a thousand times, your wedding ring is a symbol of never-ending love. It shows your commitment to one another and is a symbol of eternal devotion. It’s therefore worth the price tag!

Once the wedding is over, the dress has been put away and the honeymoon is a distant memory, the ring is the one thing I’ll still be wearing every day of my life … besides I’ve already seen a beautiful eternity ring that would compliment it perfectly…. I think John had better saving for the first anniversary gift!

Blogging bride Katherine Charles' last post before her Big Day!

Well, it is finally here – after 15 long months of planning, we are 1 week away from our big day! I am rather on cloud nine after having a fantastic last week at work being thoroughly spoilt with good wishes, presents and cards. I could certainly get used to this! But I mustn’t take my eye off the ball just yet – I have a to-do list as long as my arm.

Thre are lenty of last-minute things that still need doing, including the table plan, picking up the suits and dresses, as well as doing that DIY décor project I started about 6 months ago and didn’t want to leave until the last minute!

And now, after months of planning the venue, the food, the flowers and the music, it’s time to concentrate on us– so the next few days are filled with beautifying appointments and lovely shopping trips with my bridesmaids, as well as the obligatory groom’s haircut! There seem to be 2 pieces of advice that everyone is giving me as we get closer to the big day and that is to appreciate it all, as it all goes so fast but my cousins wife had the best bit of advice for me….enjoy the build-up as much as the day - and in 2 hours, when I leave work, I plan to do exactly that!

Angela Harkin discusses the Mother of the Bride outfit!

All parents want to make their children proud on their big day and my mum is no exception. In her quest for the perfect Mother of the Bride outfit, she has managed to buy two outfits! I also won’t be surprised if a third outfit is purchased before the big day.

So it’s fair to say that my mum is very indecisive. Early on this year, she saw a beautiful raspberry-coloured dress and, on a whim, thought it would be a good idea to get it, along with all the pricey accessories. Then a few months ago, once John and I had worked out what colours we were having at the wedding, she decided to look for something completely different in the shade of midnight blue - her reason being that she needed to find an outfit that would tie in with the wedding party.

Mother of the Bride outfits can be expensive and I know other MOTBs who have shelled out a small fortune on their outfits, some even spending a few hundred pounds more than was spent on the bridal gown.

I don’t think you have to spend a fortune to look fabulous and in the words of my mum, ‘accessories complete the look’. This was her excuse anyway, when splashing out on a very expensive and gorgeous pair of designer shoes and matching handbag.

To top it all off, there is also the head gear to think of. Gone are the days where every Mother of the Bride has to wear a hat. There are many alternatives like hair pins, hair bands and fascinators. My mum has two fascinators and (unsurprisingly) has her eye on another one so she will definitely have a stunning piece of headwear for the day.

I asked her the other day what she would do with the first outfit she bought and she just replied that a woman can never have too many dresses. Maybe she’ll take a leaf out of all the big celebrities’ books and change outfits half-way through the wedding day.

Sandy Gaggini blogs about the all important groomswear!

One of the most straightforward and simple decisions we've made so far in the wedding planning process has been deciding on the suits. It was important to me (as I think it should be) that Adam decided on his own suit. After all, it's his wedding too and I got to pick my dress so it's only fair really.

He'd started by looking at suit hire websites where you could completely customise the suit and had a good idea of what look he was after. I was really pleased that what Adam liked was exactly what I'd pictured him in.

When my Mum and I attended the National Wedding Show in September (Adam had wimped out ill) I thought this was a good chance to have a look at some suits. Unsurprisingly, the style of suit I liked in my head matched the style I liked on the manikins, I was just hoping that Adam would feel the same. I grabbed every suit brochure that was going and proudly presented them to a poorly Adam when I got home, along with some of the goodies I'd picked up!!

One company really appealed to us, with shops in Solihull, and further North (Adam's family are in Manchester). We visited the Solihull branch a couple of weekends ago. I was in two minds as to whether I was going to go. I wanted a surprise waiting for me at the end of the aisle, but Adam wanted my opinion. The lady who helped us was lovely and helpful, and not disimilar to the ladies who helped me when I was dress shopping. When Adam was dressed up I don't know which one of us had the biggest grin!

So the suit is now picked, we just need to get the groomsmen measured, one of which is yet to be asked to be an usher. The store also offer a self measurement service which may be useful as they don't have a branch as far south as Australia where the best man lives!