Magical May

This month, we thought it would be great to look at a fairy tale themed wedding. May is that month when the weather is starting to warm up and the sun is a more frequent visitor so you can start looking at lighter and brighter colours!

For this theme we opted for a dark silver coloured sash to be complimented with pale pink accessories…….whoever heard of a princess that didn’t like pink?!

So the invites, because if we’re honest, if you don’t have those it’s a bit of a non-starter! We found that there were lots of great invites that fitted with the colour scheme we’d chosen and many others besides! These simple invitations were £13.50 for 50 on amazon.co.uk. 

We love these for their simplicity but you could always adapt them with some DIY and plenty of glitter if that’s more your style!

It’s time for the wedding breakfast; your guests are all looking for their seats. Name cards on the table are incredibly important so that everyone is sat where they should be. Your table plan will have been a laborious and long drawn out process to make sure that Old Aunt May doesn’t upset Grandad like she did at the last family gathering!

We found these names cards on amazon at a bargain price of £12.88 for 50. They fit the theme perfectly and not only do they look fab but as they sit on the wine glass it’s much easier for guests to pick theirs out.

Your guests arrive at their table; the first thing they’re going to look at is the centre piece. We love the use of flowers in centre pieces, they add an extras fresh feel to the room and aren’t overly showy and yet still grab your attention. Who can forget the iconic rose featured in Beauty and the Beast? Well we think this a great statement for your table. Pink roses can be found at most florists and won’t cost you the earth. From experience we find that you don’t want your centrepiece to have too much height, guests will want to be able to see the person they’re speaking to on the other side of the table! We found these great vases on amazon, £30.50 for 5 at 30cm tall. They have a simple elegance that will add class to your overall display and not overshadow the entire table!

Next up the favours. After deliberating for a while as to whether pixie dust was a good idea (do your guests really want to find glitter in their hair 3 weeks later?) we thought why not give your guests their very own magic beans? If children are attending they’ll love it and if the grown-ups don’t get them, they’ve got themselves some broad bean plants for home growing!!

Baby pink organza bags can be purchased online at a very reasonable price of £10 for 50 bags at the favour fairy.com. The beans themselves we opted for a broad bean seed at £2.00 for 30 on amazon. Put together we think these will look really cute and are definitely a quirky and original favour! 

We’d love to hear your thoughts for a fairy tale themed wedding. Perhaps you’re already married and have some great tips on how to make a fairy-tale day even more magical or ideas on how to add extra princess sparkle. Drop us a line on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crowhurst-Park-Weddings/186642608072745?ref=ts&fref=ts

Happy ever after!

Your BBFs

Stress Less

It is common for the bride and groom to be nervous when the big day finally arrives. Months and months of planning all falls onto the day you finally tie the knot. Here are a few tips on how to calm pre wedding nerves running up to the big day.

stress stress stress stress STRESS!!

One of the best ways to keep you calm would be to spend time with your family and friends, especially those that are playing a big role in your wedding such as the maid of honor and the best man. By spending more time with your wedding guests it can create an exciting feel and really calm down your nerves running up the big day. Close family especially are always a great help when going through wedding jitters as they are there as support and will ensure you have fun during and after the ceremony.

Pamper and gossip with the girls makes everything better. 

Every wedding still has a list of things to do right up to their wedding day, do not feel as though you have to take responsibility for absolutely everything, the last week running up to the wedding should be a relaxing time for you and your partner. Why not spend a day together to just relax and give the responsibility of the ‘to do’ list to a close relative or friend to help you out.

A top tip I suggest all couples should do is to have a good night’s sleep the night before. By winding yourself down and having an early night will make sure that you wake up fresh and calm for the day ahead. And a good tip for brides by having an early night you will wake up looking your best and give you a good bounce of energy to get you through the day. Being in a good mood will reflect onto others and make your day the best it can be.

Sweet Dreams.. 

As the start time for the ceremony approaches, couples should spend some time to themselves, sit down, have a glass of water and relax.  For brides to be once hair and makeup is finished a good way to relax would be to spend time with your bridesmaids having a gossip or head out in a nice little unseen spot and have some photographs taken. For the groom sit down with the best man and a few of your mates and have a drink and chat to calm the nerves a bit.

When calming your wedding jitters, always know that your family, friends are always there for support and know that your wedding organizer is there to take a big weight of responsibility off your shoulders. Just think how great the day will be and think about all the great things you will be planning in your future together.

All the best,

Your BBF x

Sprinkles of Cheer

A small detail often overlooked is the ‘sprinkles of cheer’ – otherwise known as wedding confetti. A time to celebrate the end of your wedding ceremony, surrounded by friends and loved ones, covering you head to toe in multi-coloured bits of rice paper. But is it really necessary to conform to this tradition?

Rice and Naan?

Years ago, the traditional confetti came in the form of dry rice and was liberally thrown all over unsuspecting couples by way of congratulating them. Thankfully, this is one tradition that has passed by the wayside and the modern day image of confetti tends to be horseshoe and love heart shaped bright paper. But why not shake it up a bit and add your own personal twists?

Would you really want this poured over your head? 

Fresh Thinking

Fresh petals may be an expensive treat to be used for your confetti, but it will add a touch of fresh luxury to the feel of your day. Choose your favourite flowers to match in with colour schemes and personalities. Not only is totally environmentally friendly, but they will smell divine. You could even try herbs, lavender has a great scent and is brightly coloured to boot. Dried or fresh, the choice is yours.

Beautiful and smell lovely too!

Having an Autumn or Winter wedding? Try collecting some beautiful dry leaves instead and embrace your season of choice. The photo opportunities will be endless.

That warm autumn feeling. 

Out With The Old…

For a ‘cheap as chips’ option, roll up your sleeves and recycle old newspaper by cutting your own confetti. Not only does this look chic and interesting, it’s also right on trend and will compliment any vintage inspired wedding.

Bubbles are another cost effective option and with no mess, every venue should be agreeable. Bubbles are popular as little favours for the tables, however I think they are more suited as confetti. You may like to have your bubble bottles personalised and this can be done so easily for a very small cost.

Putting your own personal touch on these teeny tiny details can make your day just that bit extra special.

Blow us a kiss!

Share the multi-coloured love,

BBF

Thanks for the Favour!

There’s always that one thing that you want to say to guests on your Wedding Day and that is a big thank you! You also want to give your guests the best memories possible from your special day. What’s the best way to do so? Getting creative with your favours of course!

Family and friends are the ones that make your day special so try to give them a gift that they will remember. The traditional favour is usually sugar coated almonds in small organza bags; these are good to have as they are cheap and traditional. Although nowadays it has become more popular to use sweets in a bag instead, this could work out to be a more cost effective option and would suit both adults and children.

If you wanted to go that extra mile and spend a little bit more, another great idea would be to give out personalised favours such as gifts with names on or individual small gifts or gestures. A great example would be personalised named chocolate, not only would this be a good favour it would also double up and become a name card on each table.





 



Tasty treat and practical too!



An alternative idea would be to relate a gift to part of your wedding. For example if your wedding was in the winter season why not supply your guests with small hand warmers or gloves to keep warm when gathering outside. Or, on the other hand, if you are planning a summer wedding why not supply ice lollies as a refreshment to go alongside with the celebratory drink? Cheap and Cheerful.

 

What you don’t want to happen during your meal is to have lots of screaming and crying kids running around and ruining the atmosphere. Instead of giving them a favour of chocolate and sweets try gifting them a colouring book and some crayons, this would help to settle the kids down and keep them at the table.

Let the speeches begin!

Remember - It is your day and it is just one day, so make every little thing count.

Chloe

Your BBF

X

 

A Perfect Spring Wedding…..DIY Style!

Well the wedding season is well and truly upon us! This week kick starts our bookings for this busy season and one thing that really suits spring weddings are DIY touches.

There are many ways to add DIY touches to your big day

We automatically think of pale colours - greens, pinks and yellows with birds, butterflies and vintage inspiration. Weddings can be expensive and you want to keep the cost down without cutting corners and having to miss out on those extra little touches which make your wedding day perfect. Here’s a few tips on how you can have a perfect Spring wedding, at a price you can afford....

Let’s start with the invitations…

For a spring feel, simple and elegant with splashes of those pale colours. Pay a visit to your local craft shop they are bound to have a selection of different papers and decorations that can be used to make those invitations more affordable and even a bit more personal. You could try layering different textured card and paper, stencils and borders, diamantes and beads to add that bit of extra sparkly detail. There’s so much to choose from! So go and explore and see what suits you best.

Craft shops can offer an endless choice of inspiration

Place Cards

There are so many different ways that you can produce name placements and seating plans for your guests to make them quirky and unique. I’ve seen plenty of cards simply folded over with guests’ name written on the front but why not jazz it up with a print or attaching little objects that are symbolic to your wedding and can be keepsakes? How about making small cupcakes and writing your guests name in icing or even writing their name on a flag and sticking it in? The opportunities are endless.

Seating Plans

Seating plans are yet another one of those all-important necessities at weddings. We all have certain members of family and friends that need to be seated separately…a drunk uncle cracking inappropriate jokes to a group of children is never a good mix. The way you want your seating plan to look will effect how much you need to spend. So, here are a few tips… If you decide you want a paper/card layout then you can buy this in bulk from arts and craft shops as well as any decorations you may want to add. You could buy stencils for the text or create it on a computer and print it out. If you want to add bits of fabric and ribbon then the best place to go is a fabric or haberdashery shop.  These can all be stuck together using glue so it’s relatively easy it just takes time and patience. How about having a get together with close friends and family who may be willing to help you with your DIY cost effective wedding preparations for brainstorming sessions? Then you could have arts and crafts get togethers to have a good old gossip about your wedding, whilst adding those personal touches at a bargain price. The seating plan needs to be displayed for everyone to see and can be mounted and placed on an easel, put in a large photo frame or simply stuck or hung to the wall…whatever suits you and your venue.  

Confetti

You say “I Do”, walk back up the aisle with your loved one, head outside and you’re congratulated with shouts and showers of rice confetti! All shop bought confetti can get a bit repetitive….it only seems to be full of hearts and horse shoes. So how about making your own confetti to give to your guests to throw over you? You could make your own confetti shapes using paper or even rose petals can be romantic. Rose petals can be bought in huge bulks from online shops such as eBay for reasonable amounts and then you could make the packets to put them in. For example, paper cones, paper bags and organza bags. Paper confetti can be cut out using hole punchers that can be bought online and from craft shops in specific shapes and sizes.

Personalise your confetti, you can even make it environmentally friendly

Decorations

Lots of brides want mismatched decorations and furniture at their wedding but aren't sure where to look. For example, a vintage tea party theme. You want old, worn out, flowery patterns, intricate detailing but it’s difficult to find these in a shop today. The best places to look for these items are antique shops, boot sales and charity shops! You’d be amazed at the old treasures you can dig up and all for a thrifty price tag too. So get out there and get digging…You never know what you’ll find!

There are loads of other decorations you may want at your wedding….bunting, personal signs and messages, table decorations, ornaments etc to hang if you have an outside wedding…the list goes on! For nature inspired weddings you could go and collect pine cones, acorns and etc that have fallen from the trees…for free too!

Vintage themes work brilliantly for DIY touches

Cake Time

Cakes are a must have at any wedding! Unfortunately, they can be a bit pricey but everyone seems to have that one person in their family who offers to make theirs, so why not take them up on it? Or if not, why don’t you give it a go yourself? You can practice with different types of cake…fruit, flavoured, Victoria sponge, chocolate or one of each. There are lots of online tutorials on how to make icing decorations or look out locally for cake making classes that can teach you the basics. Or perhaps, instead of having one big cake, you could have a tiered cupcake stand and they could be decorated individually…The choice is yours. 

It's amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it

Favours

It always nice to give your guests a token gift to say thank you for helping you celebrate your special day. The most popular favours are sweets and chocolates but flower seeds of flowers used at the wedding are an excellent tooth friendly alternative. The way you present them can be up to you…organza bags, paper bags, gift boxes, mini jars etc. Sweets and other small gists can be bought in bulk (just look on Ebay) and then you can divide them between your guests and keep your costs low. You could also include little messages which could be hand written or printed off.

For bridesmaids, best men, page boys, flower girls and so on, it may be nicer to get them something a bit more personal. Items of jewellery are quite popular and you could get them engraved with their title for the day and the wedding date to make it more personal.

Sweets and chocolates make a nice little treat for your guests

Bouquets

Flower bouquets can be pretty pricey and only last for a couple of days before they die. Why not make your own non-flower bouquet using brooches, beads, diamantes, butterflies, shells, feathers, bits of fabric and so on. You could also make origami flowers to make it look a bit more quirky and fun. They can work out cheaper and last forever….another beautiful memento from your special day. You could ask family and friends to donate objects to add, so it makes it that bit more personal. Alternatively go to craft shops, jewellery sales, charity shops and boot sale to dig up a few treasures. You can make it any size you want, add as much or little decoration and have as many colours as you like. 

We are in love with these alternative boquets!

You can look online for more examples and inspiration on everything mentioned above and so much more! Have a look at how other DIY Brides have kept the cost down and then DIY away to your heart’s content!

Charms & Keepsakes,

BBF & Guest Author, Chloe Tomlinson

xx

Walking in a....

...Winter Wedding Wonderland

Crisp mornings, rich autumnal colours, endless blue skies….Winter is a beautiful time of year and yet is so often overlooked when it comes to planning your wedding day.

There are many positive aspects to having your special day during our coldest months and with a few small changes you can make sure everyone has a truly memorable (and warm!) day.

Purse Friendly

Most venues find the months between November – March to be the quietest of the year, so this gives you more opportunities to get a great deal and have the pick of the dates.  A lot of wedding suppliers will be able to be much more flexible with costs and packages, so don’t be afraid to ask.

A winter wedding can save you a small fortune, so drive a hard bargain

Weather Woes

When planning a wedding during the most popular Summer months, the emphasis on good weather can create a lot of unwanted pressure and should it turn out to wet and windy, it can ruin all of your plans. At least with a winter wedding you know it will be cold whatever happens and you can tailor your wardrobe well in advance, I’m thinking faux fur shawls, long elegant gloves, feathers and heaps of luxury fabrics and materials. Buy some beautiful white umbrellas in case of rain, these look fabulous in photo’s. It may be a good idea to purchase some nice wellies beforehand and put a fun spin on your photo’s should it be wet, the brighter the better of course!

Bright wellies will help to make light of any bad weather

Warming Treats

Swap the usual celebratory drink after the ceremony for some warming mulled wine, it will be a welcome treat for your guests. For children and non-drinkers, try warm apple and blackcurrant squash or a delicious hot chocolate.  

Photographs tend to take a while at the best of times and in the winter months your guests will get cold. Why not give out some hand warmers or scarves to your guests whilst they are waiting? You can get some excellent prices for gifts such as this online (and personalised)  and it will also serve as a lovely memento for your guests to take home.

Extra Touches

Here at Crowhurst Park we are lucky to have a huge 17^th century inglenook fireplace, which not only heats the rooms but also provides a fabulous backdrop for indoor photographs. There is nothing quite like warming your hands by an open fire after a day out in the cold. Ask your venue if they have a fireplace and if they do make sure it is lit and fully stocked with logs for your wedding day.  I always recommend this as a ‘Plan B’ should the weather really be dreadful.

With long dark evenings during the winter months, light becomes ever important. Candles and tea lights add a romantic cosy feel to any room, just be sure to check with your venue that they allow them. Or why not treat your guests to a firework display before or after dinner? You should be able to get a good display done professionally for under £500.00 and with it being dark by 5pm it doesn’t have to be late. Or for a more purse friendly option, hand out sparklers, children and adults alike will love them.

Food

Finally, the all-important food. During a winter wedding, I recommend comfort food all the way. Think chunky vegetable soups, cottage pie or even a traditional roast with something such as sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce for dessert – Yum! If the menu your venue has supplied doesn’t look very winter friendly, it’s probably because they do so few in those months. Don’t be afraid to make suggestions and ask if you can tailor your menu, it’s a reasonable request.

By using the above tips, you can create a truly memorable winter wedding on an impressively thrifty budget, whatever the weather.

Love & Mittens,

Julie BBF
x

If Your Name Isn't Down....

...You Aren't Coming In!

 Do you really want moany old Aunty Margret at your special day? You haven’t seen her for two decades yet somehow she’s hanging on the ‘maybes’ list….Or how about your second cousin John, who always gets absolutely slaughtered and invariably causes a huge family bust up..?

Separating the people you WANT to be at your wedding from the people you feel you HAVE to invite  can make the difference between a day you will never forget and a day you will always want to forget….(and could pack a financial burden to boot).

I always advise my brides that compiling the Guest Lists and drawing up Table Plans are one of the most difficult parts of wedding organisation. With family politics and dynamics as they often are these days, it’s not as straightforward as it once was. Follow my simple tips to help you glide through this potentially lethal social assault course:

Peer Pressure

You will find a lot of pressure actually comes from those closest to you such as parents, friends and even your fiancée. It’s important you set them straight right from the word 'GO'. Don’t let others influence your big day…It is supposed to be a celebration of your love for each other and such a personal thing deserves to have guests who genuinely want to be there to share it.

Don't feel forced to invite someone just because they invited you to their wedding. That was their choice, this is yours...

"Back in my day..." Yeah, yeah...shut it Grandma.

A Shot in the Foot

Do you dream of your wedding reception being all jagerbombs and drunken shenanigans? If not then you will find some people on your guests lists who are unable to contain their inner party animal. I like to call these guests ‘questionable’ but some would call them ‘Trouble’….

You want all of your guests to feel comfortable and at ease at your wedding, so any guests who have a certain habit of being inappropriate or causing a stir, need to be discussed before invitations go out. ...

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, Floor.

Be Ruthless

Every Guest List has a limit, so you need to mean business. You don’t really want a maybe list, do you absolutely want them there or not? In today’s economic climate everyone has a budget to stick to, so if that means you can’t afford to have ‘plus one’ invites for your single friends, then do not be embarrassed to just invite them alone. Chances are they will know other people there and you can sit them with likeminded friends. Otherwise you could end up scrimping and saving whilst a whole host of people you have never met enjoy your wedding day.

Table Woes

What you want: Likeminded guests bonding over intelligent conversation, constant chit chat and belly laughs. What often happens: Couples or families ignoring guests they don't know, stiff and disjointed conversations and fake polite laughter......

Fake laughter can be scary. Don't let it happen at your wedding.

There are a few points I can give you to help you create a successful table plan.

1. Shake it like a Polaroid picture

A lot of people make the mistake of sitting guests within their own family or friends, so that each table has its own pre-determined identity. One of the best things about weddings is meeting new people. All of your guests already have one thing in common - You two! So shake it up and let them mix. You will have a good idea of what your guests are like in general and try to mix them to bring out each person’s best qualities.

2. Less is more

The less tables you have in a room, the better it will generally look. Our Ballroom here at Crowhurst Park is recommended to have 6 round tables plus a top table. Can we fit 7? Yes. Does it look nice? No. I am always an advocate that round tables need to be full in order to look right. It is much easier to use spare space to lay out a room nicely than it is to try and make a half full round table look nice.

3. Liaise with your venue

Make sure you know exactly how your tables are numbered and where they are going within the room. This will enable you to successfully separate those pesky people who don't see eye to eye and make use of the room you know you will have to create the best ambience possible.

Remember - It is your day and it is just one day, so make it right!

Invites & Name Cards,

Julie

Your BBF

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