I’ve been a busy bee this week so unfortunately this isn’t a long blog post.. Just a few tantalising tidbits to keep you going until I get more organised!

I met What Katy Did Next again on Saturday to talk about the flower girl wreaths (which I finally bought again since I lost the last two somewhere in the process of moving house), wicker hearts which Katy is going to adorn with some beautiful fabric flowers, much like the ones for our wedding cake and headbands (it’s all coming together!); and also an idea I’d been having for a while, which may not initially sound that interesting: a personalised parent album. I though rather than a bunch of flowers (Dav’s suggestion), it would be more exciting to organise a really unique gift for both our sets of parents, and as soon as I spoke to Katy she came up with an abundance of ideas which I loved! Here are the ‘parent’ albums which will be filled with photographs after the wedding:

Parent Albums by What Katy Did Next

Aren’t they perfect?! Complete with “D&S” and the date of our wedding, fake polka dot grass (to represent our garden wedding), and bunting which actually matches the 600ft of bunting my Mum has made (but that’s another post!); and I’m going to commission a larger one for David and myself.

Another little preview I’m going to share is our table plan; I know I won’t be filling in the names until a week or so before, but I wanted to give you all a sneak peak, I’m quite pleased with it! I had a spare pale green wooden frame, around A1 in size, and I attached ‘strings’ of lace to the back, and then used some mini wooden pegs to attach card stock in different patterns. I’ll be stamping names in black with my faithful Cox & Cox alphabet stamps, but couldn’t resist stamping “Mrs Sally Hynes” on our sweetheart table card straight away!

Table Plan (unfinished!)

Last mini-preview: I’ve been collecting a few decorative bits and pieces to decorate the garden and marquee, and Mum’s been making garden cushions for guests similar to those here:

LOVE!

I hope this keeps you going while I get the wedding ball rolling again! I think that 99% of the wedding is organised now, which means I must have a backlog of information and inspiration to share; I promise to be back soon!

Sally x

P.S. Yes, you did read it correctly, my Mum really has made 600ft of bunting.. (So far!)

Days to go: 39

It’s getting close! And I’m still bored of waiting!

Last night Richard and I got down to some serious business with sorting out some of the finishing touches for the wedding day.

There he is!

I knew there was a reason why I always keep boxes that I get things delivered in. A decent sized All Saints box was given the vintage music treatment and is now our wedding card box for the day!

We’ve almost finished the table plan — I just need to find some dark red ribbon to stick around the edges to really make it look special.

We also made the menus for the tables!

I also FINALLY have a bid on my last bridesmaid dress on eBay (I actually screamed with excitement when I realised) so I can finally buy the three petticoats for the bridesmaid dresses this week.

So, still to come:

My bespoke bracelet will be ready next week. I shall be going to Chester to pick it up and try it on to make sure it’s absolutely right for me. Fingers crossed!

I’ve solved the earring dilemma! I managed to find the small rose studs online from Fletcher & Grace who are based in Australia and do free worldwide shipping! It worked out cheaper than if I would have bought them from Magpie Vintage here in the UK. Woop! I also cheekily asked Tatty Devine whether they would make me a smaller version of their big chunky acrylic heart studs — and they said yes! So I’ll get to wear my little heart earring in one of my top earring holes after all!

We’re having our engagement photo shoot this Saturday! Stand by for some sneak previews…!

The weekend after we’re meeting with the registrar and having our pre wedding video shoot!

This is all a bit exciting isn’t it?

Yes, I think I have my excitement back!

Days to go: 70

A quickie today (as I’m still feeling pretty dire and can’t see properly out of my left eye!) — yesterday Richard and I busied ourselves with the first stage of building our table plan board!

A while ago I found some real vintage music on eBay — on the theme of love! — for around £2 per song, which we cut up and glued to an A1 mount board (found in Ryman stationers for £7.99).

Et voila!

Wedding stationery for springtime — these designs are fun and colourful, bright and happy, from Inspired by Lisa.

Cabaret wedding invitation Inspired by Lisa

Butterfly wedding invitation Inspired by Lisa

Butterfly pocketfold invitation Inspired by Lisa

Lisa’s stand was a busy one at The Wedding Show on Saturday, and we barely had time to say hello and admire one of her beautiful table plans. What did strike me immediately was the quality of her wedding stationery. Invitations were beautifully made, table plans flawless, and there was an air of elegance and sophistication about the exhibition stand.

Elegant wedding table plan Inspired by Lisa

Wedding stationery Inspired by Lisa

Inspired by Lisa? Yes, I was!

www.inspiredbylisa.co.uk

Inspired by Lisa on facebook

Charlotte & Matt’s Wiltshire wedding reception actually made me squeak with delight when I saw Rebekah Daley’s designs featured. I’ve admired Rebekah ever since I set up my own wedding business — as a calligrapher I illustrate flowers and abstract designs on wedding poems. It’s nothing compared to Rebekah’s talents: I’d LOVE to be able to draw the elegant bridal portraits Rebekah excels at. These are simply divine!

My favourite couture wedding invitation by Rebekah Daley

I caught up with Rebekah Daley at the weekend and she told me, “We have worked with some wonderful and creative brides, from Grace Kelly and Marie Antoinette inspired weddings to vintage mini cooper table décor and pink Parisian themes.”

Marie Antoinette wedding couture stationery

Table number from Rebekah’s couture wedding stationery collection

A little about Rebekah’s background

Rebekah told me, “Our designs are strongly influenced by vintage fashion, which I have collected (and worn) since I was fifteen, from louche 1930s gowns to Kelly bags and gorgeous prom dresses. We like to think our wedding stationery is perfect for all fashionistas!”

Either I’ve been working too hard and my eyes have gone funny, or Rebekah will print your invitations in another language for you!

How Rebekah created Charlotte’s wedding stationery

I asked Rebekah how the design process works. “Charlotte and Matt’s wedding really stood out for us. Charlotte and I liased closely to create really personal invitations and reception decor for their elegant and romantic wedding. Charlotte chose a stunning ‘Watercress Repousse’ design which adorned all her stationery.

Charlotte and Matt’s wedding reception stationery, by Rebekah Daley. Photography credit: www.carolinepilling.com

“We created beautiful invitations and loved designing their Sweetheart table markers and table plan. These featured Charlotte and Matt in an exclusive sketch in their wedding attire, all framed in their blowsy sage green border. Charlotte kindly shared her wedding photographs with us after the big day and I was delighted to see that I was dead on with the sketch I created!”

Wedding portrait keepsakes

Rebekah Daley doesn’t stop at reception stationery. Her beautiful creations are perfect as wedding or anniversary gifts too, with ideas from sketches to canvases, starting at £120. Rebekah says, “We are delighted to have also worked with brides after their weddings creating baby announcement cards and event stationery, including a fabulous Sex and the City themed 30th birthday party.”

Rebekah Daley wedding invitations start at £3.50, with the full range of matching stationery from Save the Date cards to Thank Yous, envelopes and reception stationery. Couture designs are a little extra and full prices are shown on the website. Table plans are from £125 on board, and from £175 on canvas (which is a really good price I think for something as exquisite as this.)

Rebekah Daley is based in Conwy, and her stationery portfolio is available for you to look through at your leisure at Luella’s Boudoir in London.

This last post of the week inspired by Helen and Paul’s fantastic Shottle Hall wedding is all about art-inspired wedding stationery.

Two of Chris Hanley’s photographs really made me smile, and got me thinking about how UK brides can use art in their wedding themes. The logical starting point is wedding invitations of course — so here are some of my favourite ideas for you.

These are the photos that inspired this feature:

Handpainted invitations by Momental Designs

www.MomentalDesigns.com

I adore looking at Momental Designs’ creator Kristy Rice’s blog — it’s always full of wonderful colours, inspirational wedding invitation designs and original ideas. These invitations have been favourites of mine for a while: the gorgeous landscape illustration just shows the extent of Kristy and her team’s talents. These are so unusual and different, you’ll really stand out from the crowd if you check out wedding invitations from Momental Designs. They’re based in the US and ship all over the world.

Floral handpainted invitations by Momental Designs

www.MomentalDesigns.com

I told you I loved Momental Designs! Indulge me… just one more for today. This floral wedding invitation is out of this world, for the luxurious rich red and fuchsia shades. The detailing on this handpainted wedding invitation is beautiful, everything from the layering, the background papers, the font and ribbon used — is divine.

Vintage floral wedding table plan by Ivy Ellen

www.IvyEllen.co.uk

A UK wedding stationery favourite: Ivy Ellen. Their vintage floral wedding table plan is part of a complete range of matching wedding stationery, beautifully coloured and totally on trend. Ivy Ellen are based in East Sussex.

Bespoke art wedding invitations from A Bespoke Design

www.abespokedesign.co.uk

A Bespoke Design is a recent discovery of mine, via Twitter. These beautiful wedding invitations from A Bespoke Design were created with a caricature by Josie Camus, and the overall design works beautifully. The caricature looks fab with the addition of a little colour to match the card backing and ribbon of the wedding invitation. A Bespoke Design is based in Essex.