Make learning the art of modern calligraphy your new year’s resolution (and your new love!)

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Settling down with a clear desk, a glass of wine and a proper, old-school calligraphy pen and pot of ink is what makes me happiest of all. Seeing the pen bend and flow with the writing on the page, watching simple words turn into something beautiful…

Styling Louise Beukes calligraphy by Claire Gould (3)
I’d love to invite you to try your hand at modern calligraphy with me. My workshops last year were amazing – I met some wonderful brides-to-be and wedding creatives, and I am very much looking forward to the modern calligraphy workshops we have planned for 2017. Would you like to come along?

You can book online at www.byMoonandTide.com – choose the workshop date which suits you best, and bring a friend, or your mum or other half… the more the merrier! My workshops do sell out quickly, so don’t leave it too late!

Styling Louise Beukes calligraphy by Claire Gould (1)

Click here to book!

Modern calligraphy workshop dates for 2017 are:

Friday 28th April
Friday 23rd June
Friday 25th August
Friday 6th October
Friday 24th November  See more...

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Natural, organic and off-beat wedding flowers: the fabulous Forage & Blossom

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Wedding flowers have changed – I could dive into a bouquet these days and live there for a week: the organic and creative florals I see on blogs are out of this world.

My most recent discovery is the fabulous Forage & Blossom – and I asked lovely Alice to tell us a little about her world. It’s all kinds of enchanting…

Claire

Forage and Blossom by name and by nature.

I’m Alice, the founder of Forage and Blossom Flowers. I am a floral designer with an artistic background inspired by all things organic, off-beat and botany based.

My designs are influenced by the wild forms of the natural world and I like to bring in depth with scent, foliage and texture. I love to embrace the natural kinks and flairs of flowers and allow the blooms to flaunt themselves. If a flower has a particularly weird bend in its stem, its a definite keeper! I enjoy creating designs with natural fluidity and movement; each arrangement is as unique as the flowers within it.  See more...

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2016 wedding trend predictions… an English Wedding Book snippet!

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The last thing I want to do is suggest anyone fall in with the crowd and style their wedding for this year’s fashions. And yet… there’s a wonderful appeal to creating something new for your wedding, something your friends and family didn’t see at last year’s weddings, right?

I don’t follow trends in fashion; but what I see online does influence my tastes. I love messy foliage, tumbledowny style and design, upcycling and art. They impact on my home life, my calligraphy studio, the things I buy.

The same applies with weddings: we’re exposed to so many beautiful things online that we can’t help wanting a little piece of them… and this is what we’ll be seeing more of in 2016.

Feel free to run with these ideas and create something magical, or to ignore them entirely and pour your own fabulously creative style into your day.

1. Foliage | woodland | elfin brides  See more...

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Richly coloured calligraphy for a warming winter wedding

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I designed these invitations for something entirely different, but don’t you think they’re perfect for a winter wedding? As January looms and the days are crisp and frosty we’re all looking for warming colours: plum and gold are perfect for this time of year. Add a few gold accents and some wonderfully soft duck egg blues… this is styling heaven. If you’re considering colours to warm your winter wedding, this palette is all kinds of magical.

Calligraphy for a winter wedding Image credit Melissa Beattie Photography (15)

Images by the fabulous Melissa Beattie Photography

Invitations and stationery which have that unique, personal touch are the very best you can buy. For intimate weddings I recommend calligraphy: whether you order handwritten invitations or envelope addressing, your guests will adore the hand lettered touch.

Calligraphy for a winter wedding Image credit Melissa Beattie Photography (7)

For a larger wedding it’s more cost effective to have your invitations printed, but you can still add beautiful lettering. Choose handwritten place names, escort cards or even envelope addressing for your invites. I offer all of these services to my couples on my other website Calligraphy for Weddings.  See more...

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I love… Claire Pettibone and Melissa Beattie Photography

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… and if there was one image I could show you to prove how amazing they are, it would be this. Melissa Beattie Photography Lowther Castle5407

Discover them both:

Melissa Beattie Photography (amazing, lovely, ridiculously talented and shoots weddings all over the UK)

Claire Pettibone (only the best designer of statement wedding dresses in the world…)

This image is a sneak peek from a styled shoot at Aspire Photography Training – and I was there with my calligraphy. There’s a little more here for you to see…

 

with: Melissa Beattie Photography | Aspire Photography Training | Jenny Heyworth Photography | Aqua The Salon | Lucy Pearson MUA | The White Closet | Claire Pettibone | Calligraphy for Weddings | Made in Flowers

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7 different ways to say thank you after your wedding and how to give a little love back to your suppliers

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I don’t say thank you often enough. I would love to be someone who lights up people’s days by sending surprise thank you cards… but time runs away with me and I rush from one project to another. Even as I write this, I’m making a note in my calendar to ‘say thank you’ to someone once a month! After all, the English Wedding Blog wouldn’t exist without so many wonderful suppliers sharing their images, tips and advice here – I have a LOT of people to thank!

 

I’ve had some amazing thank yous this summer. There’s nothing better than a surprise card or letter from a bride and groom, after the wedding – believe me: you’ve no idea how thrilled your favourite suppliers will be to hear from you out of the blue!

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7 different ways to thank your wedding suppliers

  1. Write a thank you card. It doesn’t have to take long: spend 15 minutes writing a heartfelt thank you to a supplier whose personal touch made a real difference to your day. They’ll love you for it!
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Big Chief Tipis – quirky, original and independent weddings under canvas

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I do love a wedding success story, and Big Chief Tipis are an inspiring example of an independent family business in the wedding industry. They’re all made in Britain too! At the heart of Big Chief Tipis is a father, son and daughter team – and I met Hayley at one of my Manchester calligraphy workshops this summer… she’s brilliant and funny, a character and a lovely person! I asked Hayley to tell us all about Big Chief Tipis just in time for their open weekend in October:

Big Chief Tipis wedding hire image credit Melissa Beattie Photography (7)

All image credits Melissa Beattie Photography

Big Chief Tipis is a large event tipi hire company, based in the North West (but we cover the whole of the UK) whose aim is to turn dreams into memories! We specialize in providing tipis for any type of weather – not only for when the sun shines, but when it is “British” too! We can cater for any number of guests, from small intimate gatherings, all the way up to a wedding for hundreds as the tipis are interlinkable. Our tipis offer a quirky and original alternative to your standard white-walled marquee and look even more incredible when the sun sets and the firepit is lit inside.  See more...

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Big Chief Tipis open weekend at Holford Hall in October

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I have a confession to make: I avoid big wedding shows like the plague these days. There are only a few wedding events I’d choose to go to… and the open weekend hosted by Big Chief Tipis is one. They’re setting up camp at the historic Holford Hall in Cheshire, on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th October. If you’re free, and anywhere near Manchester or Cheshire, then GO! It’ll be one of the most exciting and inspiring wedding events of the season.

The weekend will showcase Big Chief Tipis’ unique and high quality wedding tipis. The idea of the open weekend is to give couples an exclusive insight into how a tipi can give their big day a really special touch to make it memorable for all. The tipis themselves can seat more than 500 guests and come in three different sizes allowing couples to mix and match Big Hats, Midi and Baby Tipis to ensure that every wedding experience is bespoke.

Big Chief Tipis wedding weekend 2015 Melissa Beattie Photography (1)  See more...

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PapaKåta Spring Open Weekend

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Open weekends, specialist and niche wedding fairs and supplier collaborations have totally taken over from wedding shows and I think I’ve just discovered the very, very best wedding event you could possibly go to. Think countryside and springtime, teepees and tents, plus styling tips and examples of the very latest wedding trends… and you’re almost there. If you’re free on the 21st and 22nd of March then make a date in your diary to be in Yorkshire at the PapaKata open weekend. You’ll both have an amazing time, I promise!

PapaKata wedding open weekend 2015 (3)

Some of the fabulous suppliers who’ll be there on the day – and who I’ve worked with and would recommend from the bottom of my heart – include Melissa Beattie Photography and The Charming Press. There are even more…

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PapaKata wedding open weekend 2015 (2)

By PapaKata…

As the days start to get a little longer and the spring bulbs start to appear, our gorgeous teepees and Sperry tents will be springing up at our Open Weekend on the 21 and 22nd March 2015.  See more...

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A styled countryside bridal shoot to steal your heart!

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Hey lovely! It’s been the most amazing summer already and time has flown here – I’ve been ever so excited to show you a styled bridal shoot from a few weeks ago, one which really spoke to my creative side and taught me so much about wedding styling.

Styled shoot at Aspire (14)All image credits: Melissa Beattie Photography

Styled shoot at Aspire (13)
Styled shoot at Aspire (12)

Styled shoots are one of my favourite things about being a wedding blogger. My friends who are planning their weddings love them too: they inspire our blogs, fire our creative sides and get us hooked on Pinterest… and in so doing they quietly sow the seeds for real weddings.

Have you ever seen a bouquet you just love, Pinned it and then discovered it was from a styled shoot with dozens and dozens more ideas to steal your heart? I have… it happens all the time with wedding blog features and I think wedding photographers, stylists and designers are the best for having the vision to create new and exciting shoots all the time.

Styled shoot at Aspire (33)  See more...

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