Until these decisions are made it is difficult to organise your table plan. We have arranged most aspects of our wedding day but the table plan is yet to be decided, mainly because we can't seat people until all our RSVPs come in. However we have been looking at table plan designs, and I've been using the following photos as inspiration. Click on the images to be taken to their original source.
This post is going to focus on bridal updos. The updo continues to be extremely popular choice for brides as it is often the easiest way to keep the hair in place throughout the long day. Updos are also a very popular choice for bridesmaid hair. There's so many ways to accessorise bridal updos from flowers to tiaras, alice bands, combs, and, of course, veils. Here's a few images of inspiration to help you pick a bridal updo for your wedding day.
For more wedding hairstyles (not just updos) you can check out my bridal hairstyles board on Pinterest here.
I have to admit my personal favourites always include flowers, but I'm one of those women who loves plants / flowers in the house all year round. For our centrepieces we shopped around for inspiration for quite a while until we knew what we wanted and where we could get that on a budget. Our flowers are being grown by family and we are placing them in oasis in £2 pink jugs from Wilkos (similar here), with the top table jug being a white version from IKEA (similar here). On our cake and table for cards we are using these very popular IKEA plant pots, which I already own. You can see what they look like with a plant in here.
If you'd like to see more centrepiece inspiration, you can check out my Pinterest board here!
A few weeks ago I visited The National Wedding Show at the NEC Birmingham. I won a pair of VIP tickets from Bride de Force. Fleur & Hannah's blog and YouTube channel are really useful wedding planning resources, so don't forget to check them out. The National Wedding Show is the largest wedding fair in the UK, and is held once a year in London, Manchester and Birmingham. We're coming to the end of our wedding planning now but we still had a few suppliers to find, so I was keen to go. After all, you only get to be a bride once (with luck) so I was looking forward to enjoying the experience.
The National Wedding show I attended was held at the NEC Birmingham. The venue is a large exhibition centre, and we spent time walking around the show looking at different stalls and taking down information. Walking in I was immediately struck by the beauty of the wedding dresses. I already have my dress, but if you are a bride-to-be I couldn't recommend the National Wedding Show more. There were quite a few stalls, including one of the largest wedding dress suppliers in the UK, Berketex Bride. Many dresses were on sale and there were lots available to take away on the day. There were also changing facilities and we walked past many brides trying on dresses with their mums and bridesmaids in tow. This was really nice to see and you really felt the excitement of the brides looking forward to their wedding day.
Click on the images to enlarge
There were also many stalls selling veils, tiaras and bridal accessories, so it was very easy to get completely kitted out for your wedding day at the show. Other stalls available were for destination weddings, suit hire, musicians, magicians, wedding decorations, wedding magazines, Debenhams and John Lewis gift lists, photographers and lingerie. VIP visitors to the show got access to the VIP lounge, including a glass of wine, a beauty box of samples, Bare Minerals makeover and VIP seats for the catwalk.
The catwalk was one of my favourite parts of the day. They were held regularly every hour or so, and we watched the show at around 4.30pm before we left for the day. The show was really well produced; it was split into four parts, each with a different theme. The music was well mixed and brought a lot of energy, and the lighting was used to set the mood. There were many dresses and accessories on display, and suits for the groom. The one thing that could have been added to the show was dresses for the bridesmaids and mother-of-the-bride. I found that choosing these outfits with my maids can be more stressful than choosing my own dress so it would have been nice to have had some inspiration, particularly with hats/fascinators, which I didn't see on display at the show.
If you're a bride-to-be at the beginning of your wedding planning journey I would really recommend the National Wedding Show for a nice day out with your mum and bridesmaids. It's particularly useful if you are looking for local suppliers in the areas of London, Manchester and Birmingham. Have you been to the National Wedding Show? Did you find it a useful experience?
If you'd like more inspiration for the groom, you can follow my Pinterest board here.
Today wedding favours are still a common feature of most weddings, but couples are getting increasingly creative with favours. Favours can be almost anything, from sweet treats such as chocolates, to home made jam, cordial, plant seeds, and tea.
DIY favours are a great excuse for a bonding session with your bridesmaids or fiancé. They are also a good way to personalise your day. Favours can range from the expensive to the simple, but being on a budget doesn't mean you have to scrap favours. They are by no means compulsory, and for a while we considered not including them in order to cut down on cost, but after some research we discovered some great budget options that felt 'us' and suited our day. Below are some creative favour ideas that can be as expensive or as frugal as you like.
Choosing your wedding flowers can often be a bit of a minefield (albeit a very pretty one), particularly if you are on a budget. You may get lucky, in having a mother who loves flower arranging, or a florist or church-going friend who can help. For those of us who don't have these resources, here are some tips that may help you choose your flowers.
Think about the month you are due to get married. If you are due to get married in November and are dead set on peonies, you are going to end up disappointed. If you are keen on a particular flower, Google the month they are in season to see if they will be easy to get hold of. Here is a handy table which tells you when your flowers are in season.
The colour scheme for your wedding is also important when choosing wedding flowers. You may think that you don't have one, but don't forget to take into consideration the colour of your bridesmaid and mother-of-the bride dresses and the colours of the venue. If the venue is already very multi-coloured, such as a brightly coloured modern hotel, you may want to choose flowers that are mainly white with green foliage. If your venue is plainer, such as a town hall or marquee, you may want a mix of bright flowers to bring interest to the room.
You should also have a think about how you want to use the flowers on your wedding day. Most brides have a bouquet, bouquets for their bridesmaids, corsages for their mother and grandmother, and boutonnieres for the groom, best man and ushers. Will you use the same flowers to decorate the church/ceremony room and the reception? Do you want flowers as centrepieces? Some brides also use flowers to decorate their wedding cake. You don't need to have all of these by any means but it would be very helpful for your florist to know what you need the flowers to do.
When choosing flowers for your bouquet, don't forget to take the style of your wedding dress into consideration. A large cascade bouquet may overpower a tight, slim fitting dress, whereas it would balance out a princess/prom style gown well. Likewise, a round bouquet would suit a modern city bride, but might look out of place on a loosely cut dress and boho bride.
If you'd like to see more wedding flower inspiration, you can check out my Pinterest board on wedding flowers here!
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