Snowflake wedding invitations, fairy lights and sparkle!

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Snowflakes and sparkle today – with a difference. As winter lands firmly this week and we wrap up, light fires and snuggle to keep warm, I wanted to share these beautiful snowflake wedding invitations with you. They’re beautifully designed, unique and different.

Winter wedding invites – snowflakes!

If you’re planning a winter wedding these gorgeous invitations and matching wedding stationery mix the magic of snowflakes with the rich colours of a more festive theme. They’re by WBD Designer Wedding Stationery in London – where the designer is my lovely friend Wendy Bell whose own wedding featured on English Wedding Blog!

I love the detail of Wendy’s snowflake wedding invitations – the careful layout, creative colour palette and rich colours. But most of all when I look at this gorgeous stationery I look with my calligrapher’s eyes and heart – those swirls on the RSVP card are just divine! These are perfect – elegant, different and wintery warm wedding invitations. Recommended!

Find out more: www.wendybelldesigns.com

Explore Wendy’s World!

Yorkshire Wedding Venue – an interview with Wentbridge House Hotel

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When it comes to planning your wedding day, choosing your venue is perhaps the most important decision you have to make. It’s almost up there with choosing the bride’s dress! There are so many facets that make a venue right for your big day and it can be difficult to find one that satisfies every requirement.

There is so much to think about, so I am sharing this interview with you today to set you thinking about your wedding venue: what to look for, questions to ask and how to choose the right venue for you as a couple. With thanks to Yorkshire wedding venue Wentbridge House for the interview!

Wentbridge House is quite unique in that it has a church next door – do you work alongside the church?

Although religious wedding ceremonies are less common than in years gone by, a large percentage of couples still wish to get married in a church.
Of course, this adds another factor to consider, as you search for a suitable venue that has a perfect church in close proximity. See more...

A fun festival themed wedding with sparkly surprises

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Good morning everyone! I’m having a very exciting week this week and today’s gorgeous wedding totally fits my romantic and happy mood…

I begged for this one – Essex wedding photographer Tracy Morter happily said I could share her lovely images with you on English Wedding Blog (hurray!) and today’s beautiful bride Claudine has written a fantastic wedding report to share with us all.

So do get yourself comfy and prepare to enjoy some amazing moments: from a bunny to a first kiss so good the vicar made them do it twice, all the way past the Mosh Pit table to the Festival of Light, which was kept a secret until the end of the day. Beautiful images, wonderful memories and a really lovely couple.

“Just be there for each other and embrace the unplanned because it will be something you’ll remember and smile about for the rest of your lives.”

A fun festival themed wedding in Essex

The bride and groom: Claudine & Ian Webster See more...

Vintage wedding invitations – gorgeous new ideas for 2013

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Morning everyone! It’s time to indulge ourselves in some gorgeous vintage wedding invitations from my friend Joanne Linder at Vintage Twee. Fellow paper-lovers, grab a cuppa. I have treats for you!

One of the North West’s very best wedding stationery designers, Jo spends her days handcrafting these exquisite and charming paper treats. Using retro and vintage type styles, kraft papers, lace and pretty embellishments, Jo creates such beautiful accessories for any vintage wedding theme.

Brand new vintage wedding invitations and save the dates

Now Vintage Twee has launched a brand new range with vintage wedding invitations, save the dates and matching accessories to set the scene for your vintage wedding day!

Find out more about the six new collections below – I love them to bits and I hope you do too!

The Vintage Travel collection

…for war time romance and nostalgia. This range captures a nostalgic feeling and authentic vintage appeal from the use of kraft browns, twine, old stamps and beautiful handwritten-type text.

Behind the scenes with the UK Alliance of Wedding Planners!

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Afternoon everyone – today’s blog post is a very clever collaboration with the lovely Lou at Whimsical Wonderland Weddings. We’re introducing the UK Alliance of wedding planners (UKAWP) at work and play!

Right here on English Wedding Blog I’m showcasing what wedding planners do: looking at the behind the scenes process of wedding planning. Over on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings (wow Lou, typing your blog name is hard work! 😉 you get to see some of the wedding planners at play! They let their hair down a bit and got dressed up in wedding dresses to create a fun and inspirational shoot. Enjoy! The photos are all by Eliza Claire Photography.

The UK Alliance of Wedding Planners (UKAWP) exists to promote professionalism within the wedding planning industry, but also helps to educate brides (and suppliers!) about what wedding planners do. We have a large number of wonderful members across the UK, each working independently and running their own successful businesses, but with one single aim – to provide brides and grooms with a professional planning service for their wedding day. See more...

Quote for the day!

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Good morning everyone! While I catch my breath after a brilliant weekend and prepare for an even more amazing week, I’m sharing an inspirational calligraphy quote with you this morning! Loads to share with you this week – I have a great blog post collaboration with Lou coming up this afternoon, it’s Kirstie’s vintage wedding (with calligraphy if I’m lucky!) on Thursday.

Lyrics by Frank Turner, calligraphy by me (a personal project started at 6am on Sunday the 25th of November). From I knew Prufrock before he got famous, my calligraphy quote for the day goes:

Life is about love, last minutes and lost evenings, about fire in our bellies and furtive little feelings. And the aching amplitudes that set our needles all a-flickering, they help us with remembering that the only thing that’s left to do is live.

Well that’s certainly my plan for this week, what’s yours? 😉

Claire xxx

Celebrity first dance song ideas

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I don’t know much about celebrities, and I don’t read gossip magazines – in fact I wouldn’t recognise a Kardashian if one slapped me. However, I am interested in first dance song ideas – and this rather entertaining infographic shares some cool first dance songs. It also shows the celebs choose the same songs as we do – At Last, Iris and even a little Green Day feature in the list. Wondering what Kate Moss and Jamie Hince’s first dance song was? It’s on the list… Enjoy x

Hats off to Wedding Invitations UK for researching all of this!

Windsor Autumn Engagement Shoot

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Here’s a great tip for your engagement photography: choose your favourite season to get photos you’ll love and cherish: how about waiting for cherry blossom in May, daffodils in April or buttercups in June? For now, a favourite time of year: this guest blog post is by Martin Price Photography. Sarah and Mark made a great decision to have their engagement shoot in Autumn… all those gorgeous colours, kicking leaves and some amazing pre-wedding images to treasure forever.

I am a big fan of engagement shoots. It’s surprising just how many people are nervous about having their photograph taken, so this is the perfect opportunity for couples to get used to being in front of the camera and for them to get to know their photographer better. This makes for much better photographs on the big day and is why I include an engagement shoot for all of my clients.

Sarah and Mark will be getting married in spring next year. For their engagement shoot they asked for an autumnal feel to the photographs. After I suggested a few options they picked Windsor, a town they often visit and one with so many great locations for photography. See more...

The secrets of a confident first dance

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A recent wedding blog post had me chuckling – fondly! – at the mention of an awkward shuffle in lieu of a flashy, choreographed or extrovert first dance. I’d be an awkward shuffler, and quite happily. But I’d still be nervous as the centre of attention. So when today’s guest blogger Amy got in touch with her secrets of a confident first dance, I was so pleased. I’m sure plenty of you will find these tips inspiring and useful. Enjoy…

Photo credit Phil Bourne www.e-motionimages.co.uk

The secrets of a confident first dance

As with most things in life, a little confidence goes a long way, but if the thought of your first dance fills you with dread, finding your confidence is easier said than done.

Why is a first dance so nerve-wracking?

Dancing badly, being embarrassed and feeling a fool are all typical concerns. It’s completely understandable seeing as there will be eyes staring, cameras poised, camcorders at the ready and the possibility of an unwelcome YouTube appearance…. See more...

Best of the wedding blogs – a belated catch-up!

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Oops… I have of course been saving up great wedding blog posts for you over the last couple of weeks, but with one thing and another I’ve been sat on my little list and haven’t gotten around to sharing my best wedding blogs with you! So sorry…

Essex wedding by Tracy Morter Photography

This glorious festival wedding will be on English Wedding Blog soon – I couldn’t resist, it’s beautiful and so much fun! In the meantime, click the image to see more on Tracy Morter’s wedding photography blog

Of course the good news is I’m here now, and I have some gorgeous real weddings, creative ideas and discussions to share with you. Here’s my best of the wedding blogs for the last couple of weeks or so: See more...

Real wedding blogs

A stately home wedding at Stoneleigh Abbey – a magnificent venue and one of my favourite wedding blogs of the last few weeks.
Pop Looks Bach Down the Aisle… irresistible title and a stunning wedding. The best part is, this will be on English Wedding Blog very soon! Yay!

A DIY-filled Walcot Hall wedding – part two!

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Good morning! A special hello to everyone who’s popped back (although not literally popped, because I was careful with you) after reading yesterday’s oh-so-tempting blog post about Bev and Nath’s Walcot Hall wedding! Today as promised I can share all the fabulous details of their day as well as some wonderfully spontaneous, romantic, beautiful moments from the wedding reception.

Bev told me the DIY was hard work but it meant they had the most personalised wedding. She said there was nothing they would have changed. Nath spent many a weekend stamping quotes from films and songs on cards that were placed around the venue, and this loveliest of couples took the time to write a small personal message on the back of each person’s place setting tag – it’s one of the lovely touches that prove to me that details on a wedding day can mean so much to people. The trick is to find a balance – and Bev and Nath did it perfectly! See more...

Embrace the lace! A Walcot Hall wedding

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Hello there! What do I have for you this morning… let’s see. A romantic, DIY-filled, inspiring wedding with hydrangeas, home baking, wildflowers… but I am only going to show you half of Bev and Nath’s incredible Walcot Hall wedding, because there’s far too much for one day. I don’t want any of you lovely blog readers to pop, after all. Or me!

So today I’m going to share some beautiful things with you, and then tomorrow I’m going to share even more. We’re talking hydrangea bouquets in a rainbow of colours, a gorgeous UK bride and groom, a quirky dream wedding venue, a cathedral length veil and a wedding dress by Romantica of Devon. Bev and Nath’s wedding also features individual bridesmaid styles, tons of ideas for reception decor (coming up tomorrow!) and the most sublimely romantic wedding photography…

Photographer Emma B says she was “in wedding heaven” with Bev and Nath at Walcot Hall – and I can really see why this gorgeous day made such an impression. I know you’ll love it too. Remember to come back tomorrow for more! See more...