Fashion Inspiration: New York Bridal Market

Last week saw the Bridal Market hit New York, where the best wedding dress designers showcased their new collections for 2010 to the trade. We can’t all be lucky enough to pop over to New York for the shows so I’ll be posting roundups of some of the trends that were seen and taking a closer look at some of the designers that are available in the UK. As these are all catwalk selections we won’t be seeing the dresses in the shops until next year and even then there’s no guarantee they will all be available to purchase; so fingers crossed our favourites will make it into the shops.

1 & 3 Jenny Packham via Brides 2 & 4 Monique Lhuillier via Brides

5 & 6. Claire Pettibone via Brides

Colour Inspiration: Jade & Peacock Blue

Bride photo here by Mario Sales via Rock’n’Roll Bride
Blue water in cave photo here by Joanna Goddard via A Cup of Jo
Peacock photo here by Dawn McCarthy Photography via Rock’n’Roll Bride
Aztec mask via British Museum
Rings photo here by Greg Slick Once Studio via Brooklyn Bride
Peacock feather in Window here photo by Sean Flanigan via Green Wedding Shoes
Bouquet and bridesmaid here photo by Belathée via Design*Sponge

Stretching your Wedding Budget

We recently contributed a top tip on Stretching your Wedding Budget to You & Your Wedding


Save on…table decorations

“Why print separate menus and place cards when you can combine the two? And why not let your tablecentres double as favours. Little potted plants gathered around a cathedral candle looks impressive and everyone can take a souvenir plant home afterwards.”

If you’re thinking about what plants to use I think herbs are great as they have a lovely aroma which would complement the food at the table rather than overpower it and your guests would have a useful gift as well one that looks pretty. Thyme would be one of my favourites as there are a number of different varieties to choose from such as lemon or orange thyme which has pink flowers. You could have great fun sourcing vintage pots or buy plain ones that you could make-over to tie in with your colours. I would also provide little paper bags which could be easily personalized with a Thank you for your guests to take the plants home in.

For more budget saving ideas from fellow UKAWP members check out the rest of article here.

Always loves: Photo Booths

I love photo booths at weddings, they are great fun for the guests and you are left with some fab memories after.

In the words of Grace Bonney from Design *Sponge:

“Aaron and I both agreed that the vintage photobooth we rented was some of the best money we spent. Everyone had a BLAST taking pictures and as the night went on, the photos got crazier”

Photo by Belathée Photography via Design *Sponge


Photo by Mark Brooke Photographers via Green Wedding Shoes



Booth rented from Denon & Doyle , Photo by Greg Slick at Once Studio via Snippet & Ink

Often the booths will come with an assortment of props for your guests to dress up in, and if not, it’s easy enough to stock up on your own from local joke and charity shops. If they’re yours they would make fun mementoes of the day and if you plan on having kids you could keep them for their dressing up boxes.

Photo by Daniel Kiyoi Via Snippet & Ink

Photo by Mark Brooke Photographers Via Green Wedding Shoes



You don’t have to stick to traditional booths; a creative backdrop for your photographer to take photos in front of can be good fun.

Photo booth photos by Jeff Zielinkski Wedding Photos by Walter Pieringer via Green Wedding Shoes



Holding picture frames can inspire some creative poses…

Photo by Paul Carlson Photography via The Brides Café



Even just a simple piece of fabric…

Photo by Jose Villa via Once Wed



Have a black board handy and your guests can write personal messages so you can collate the photos into a wonderfully unique guestbook.

Photo by Jeremy Lawson via Style Me Pretty

Photo by The Nichols Via Style Me Pretty

DIY Tealight Lanterns

A number of venues these days restrict the use of candles even enclosed ones, so here is a little DIY project from Project Wedding to make battery operated tea lights look a lot more attractive

Supplies for each lantern

a. Battery operated tea light
b. 2 brads (I know them as butterfly pins)
c. Ribbon, several inches in length
d. Strip of vellum 2.5”by 5.25 (check measurement works for your size of tea light)
Trim one of the long sides with decorative scissors (Hobbycraft do a collection of screen printed vellum pieces which would be nice if you didn’t want to add the personalised initial)
e. Double sided tape

Supplies for optional embellishments:
a. Needle and Thread
b. Paper flowers
c. Pin
d. Printed letter

Basic directions:
1. Wrap the strip of vellum around battery operated tea light and adheres with the double sided tape.
2. Using the brads attach length of ribbon to the ‘lantern’ to form a handle from which to hang

Optional Embellishments
Pinhole monogram: before assembling the lantern, use a pin and printed letter as a guide to punch a monogram in the vellum strip.
Flowered Handle: after the lantern is assembled use a needle and thread to tack paper flowers to ribbon handle.

As well as looking lovely on tables or hung around the venue these could also work nicely as favours, you could attach a little note of thanks to them.

DIY Tea light Lanterns from Practical Wedding

Adorable Finds: Shrugs & Boleros

Having looked at Cover up options at real weddings here are some shrugs and boleros available in the shops and online now.

From Monsoon an ivory chiffon and satin ¾ sleeve Shrug

From Topshop a lace tiered Bolero

By far the best selection of shrugs and boleros I found were from Etsy where a number of shops sell them, here are just a few showing the varying styles available that deliver to the UK.

From Toccata an ivory silk and ostrich feather bolero

From The English Department an ivory silk organza Bolero

From Mary and Angelika a limited edition silver blue-grey satin and chiffon Bolero, this shop also has a good selection of lace boleros.

From Bonzie golden yellow raw silk Venetian ruffled shoulder wrap. This would be agreat way to add splash of colour to your wedding outift or for your bridesmaids.

Square Meal Venues & Events

Last week I visited the Square Meal Venues and Events exhibition at Old Billingsgate in London. Aimed at the corporate events market there were over 200 exhibitors the majority being venues of all shapes and sizes.

There would be too many for me to list but here are a couple that caught my eye.

The East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf, London is currently only available for wedding receptions but they are hoping to get a license to hold civil ceremonies in the near future. In the heart of Canary Wharf it features an amazing arched glass atrium which is 27ft at its highest point. It has a large capacity of up to 500 for a dinner and dance but also has a raised gallery for smaller parties up to 120.

If you’re looking for something a bit more traditional, Great Fosters in Surrey is a stunning Grade One listed Stately House available for civil ceremonies, civil partnerships and wedding receptions and is also a hotel with an outdoor heated swimming pool.



As well as the Tithe Barn & Painted Hall which can hold up to 180 for dinner there is also the Orangery and Conservatory for up to 100 guests.

I look forward to visiting these venues and many more from the show in the near future.

All photos taken from the respective websites.