Alice in Wonderland inspiration…

You’ve got a very important date… Just don’t be late!

Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham carter all star in Tim Burtons version of Alice In Wonderland due for release in the UK on 5th march 2010, and we are very excited about it – already! We are predicting lots of spring weddings inspired by tea parties and general madness.

For planning your own Madhatters Tea Party, follow some of these tips:

Key invites – Walt Disney Pictures; Keira’s blue wedding dress via FashionBride; Clock necklace from MadeNew; Eat me ring from Folksy; Oversized plant cup by Gitta Gschwendtner.

Things are not what they seem with these whacky but gorgeous details:

Stationery -Use labels for save-the-date’s and the seating chart, and include graphic images of curious objects on the invites. Use embossing and letter press for an authentic vintage look.

Play with size – As Alice kept growing and shrinking her perceptions were screwed – play with various sizes of objects around the venue, such as oversized planters and hangings, to tiny dolls-house sized objects in amongst table centrepieces…

What to wear – You don’t need to look as wired as Johnny Depp to pull off this theme – Be inspired by the pale blue dress worn by Alice for a non-traditional wedding dress & hire top hats for the guys.
Jewellery can be bold & colourful. Made-New make one-off pieces made from vintage jewellery and this one themed on watches is perfect for the white rabbit. Gift bridesmaids with these cute cake rings to wear with mis-matched colourful dresses – or have fun on your hen party making them with Fimo – remember that?!

Reception – Decorate the venue with chandeleirs by Madeleine Boulesteix, made from teacups, jelly moulds and vintage cutlery. Have jars of cookies, cakes & sweets on the table with ‘eat me’ labels – use these for dessert to save on the extra course… Have ‘curious objects’ around the venue  – especially great for kids

For more tea themed ideas check out our other tea party inspiration board

Country style wedding

Claire & Joe’s August wedding reflected the rustic surroundings with the wildflower dispays and touches of home-made charm in the details. All their family and friends got together to create a day full of personal charm. As a photographer herself, Claire trusted friends to capture the day – it can often make for a more relaxed and personal style as your friends know you well…

“Flowers came from a local wholesaler and were agapanthus, lavender, freesia, astrantia, blue scabious and gypsophila (for the country look)  shamrock crysanths, pale pink large roses, white akito roses.  Agapanthus were amazing.  They are also called African Lily and matched the bridesmaids perfectly.”

These romantic shots in the cornfield were taken at the reception venue, Wethele Manor, near Leamington Spa.

The details can really tie the whole theme together – Big themes were lavender and jam jars, used as table features, for floral displays and favours.

“The table centres were arranged by Joes aunt and the bouquets and button holes done my one of my bridesmaids!  (I believe everyone is a professional!). My mom made strawberry jam for the favours.  Mini jars bought online for a bargain of £26 for about 150 mini jars.  I had everyone I know collecting empty food jars for 7 months as we used them as lanterns outside at night and for the flowers to go in on the tables and in the church window sills.  It was a great way of making £350 worth of flowers go a long long way.  Plus my friend then had all the jam jars for her wedding a few months afterwards! “

Tips for Wedding Perfect Skin

Here is a top tip countdown to help you achieve the flawless skin you deserve for your special day, put together by the guys at Organic Surge – they know their skincare!

Remember, planning is everything – think ahead and don’t get caught out!

1. Banish Those Blemishes Early. If you are troubled with mild – or severe blemmishing seek some advice from your GP. If the problem is a more severe one such as adult acne or acne rosacia, it may be worth while to seek out a respected dermatologist. Skin problems do not always go away overnight. Timeline: 6 months to 1 year ahead

2. Avoid The Burn. Don’t get too much sun exposure before the big event. Sunburns, peeling skin and tan lines can sabotage your special day because they’re difficult to cover up completely!

3. Super Skin Rejuvenation. Every two weeks, make sure you use an effective exfoliating dermabrasion which can help combat shiny, taut facial skin, making it a perfect palate for makeup. With a more even skin tone with diminished lines and wrinkles, you are half way there to your flawless look. Don’t forget the neck, chest and back areas if your dress is low-cut. Peels can do wonders for spotty, rough skin! Timeline: 2 months ahead up to day before

4. Plan your colour scheme… Pick out your shadows and foundations early, and practice with them. If you are going to use a make-up artist, have a practice run-through to make sure you like it. Brides should choose a lip colour in a warm, fairly bright shade. Roses, pinks and reds look great in photos and keep teeth and wedding whites clean and fresh. Timeline: 2 months ahead

5. Luscious lashes – it’s all about the eyes! Tinting your lashes elimates the inevitable racoon eyes that plague so many happy occasions! Don’t forget your eyebrows – a tint and reshape will ensure your eyes will be perfectly framed. Have a few trials with a quaified beautician to ensure you acheive the perfect color match. Timeline: 1 month ahead, with a retreatment 1 week ahead

6. Treat Yourself to a relaxing Facial! You owe it to yourself to relax, clean and nourish your skin. Timeline: 1-2 weeks ahead

7. The Wonder Of Waxing! If you decide not to go the longterm route with laser hair removal, have a professional therapist wax your legs, bikini line, underarms and brows. Timeline: 3-4 days ahead

8. Expect the unexpected and be prepared. If something can go wrong, it will, so make a “911 Skincare Kit” with some essential quick fixes to help on the all important day.

9. Keep Your Face On… Give your foundation staying power by using a gel foundation primer before you apply your make up. Add a light dusting of loose powder to prevent any unwanted shine.

Most important, have a sense of humor. This is your day, and no matter what happens, you are special and your beauty will radiate from within.

Bright and breezy

A wedding created in soft colours with lots of texture.

Sharon & Orion had a load of fun at their Nottingham wedding, getting around in a pedi-cab, and the ushers and bridesmaids following behind on tamdens… The subtle tones they chose for flowers and bridesmaid dresses combine perfectly with the texture of Sharon’s dress.

Here’s Sharon: “We got engaged in January had about 6 months to plan the wedding, having decided to embrace the magic of 07/07/07 (!)… I knew next to nothing about flowers or dresses but soon had piles of magazines thrown my way from recent brides. It was overwhelming so I narrowed it down by cutting out the few things I did like and making my own scrap book. I wanted it to reflect our tastes and personalities so was drawn to subtle colours and lots of texture, which I think came through especially in the flowers (my bouquet dried out beautifully too). The planning came together bit by bit and we had a fabulous day thanks to the help of ebay, my cutting and sticking qualifications and, of course, a few great friends.”

The fresh look of the day was captured by Yvonne Lishman – we love the wide angle shots of the bridal party playing on their bikes.

Here are some of the cool details:

Where to start: Your wedding style

As part of our ‘Advice from the Experts’ feature, venue stylists Pebble in the Pond have joined us as our style experts, giving you the advice you need to think through and develop your wedding style. Here’s Emma to give you the spotlight on getting started.

“When we sit down with our bride and grooms for our initial ‘get to know’ you meeting over a cup of coffee or two, we like to get under the skin of who you are as a couple – the best weddings in our view are when every detail reflects who you both are, creating that individual, unique day that no other couple could host.  We, being extremely nosy, like to get to know the following…

How much is the day about you two and how much about your family and friends?  Bringing touches of your family and friends into the day is a lovely way to make everyone feel welcome.  The family will love sweet peas from your grandma’s garden in vintage style tea pots to decorate the tables or dad’s home grown lavender sprigs tucked into a napkin.

What do you as a couple love doing?  Music fans, why not recraft old music sheets into cones to hold real petal confetti.  Teenage sweethearts?  How about some old school nostalgia with small, reclaimed blackboards to display table numbers and your table plan and recycled glass platters filled with old fashioned sweets – 80s disco optional!

Think about where you are getting married and how you can make your day empathetic to that.  Getting married in a place piled high with history?  Transport your guests back in time by having a high tea served upon vintage crockery with china cake stands laden with goodies.Ivy from the garden is wonderful around candlebras and as a napkin decoration.  If the venue has a kitchen garden or fruit trees, would it be possible to offer some wonderful produce as take home gifts?  ‘Grow your own’ seed packets make gorgeous favours.  Getting married by the sea?  Decorative driftwood can make interesting tablecentres or why not use pretty shells at your place settings?

In planning a ‘greener’ wedding obviously seasonal is key and something we always bear in mind – there’s nothing more refreshing than arriving at an early spring wedding to be greeted at your table by ribbon wrapped, terracotta pots filled with scented narcissi after a long, dark winter.  Likewise at an early December wedding, we can’t resist throwing in a touch of the ‘C’ word – cinnamon bundles tied with organic cotton lace, fragrant dried orange slices or vintage style tea cups filled with soy wax candles….”

How the Pebble in the Pond service works

Here at Pebble in the Pond, we can help you with as little or as much decoration and detail as you require – we pride ourselves on working with you to develop your own ideas, as well as throwing in a few of our own, to make your wedding as unique as you are.

We are a wedding venue stylist and have a wide assortment of beautiful accessories to compliment your day.  These range from organic cotton tablecloths and vintage style print and lace table runners through to recycled glass centerpieces, vintage style crockery (tea cups and saucers, tea pots, cake stands etc), candlesticks, baskets – the list goes on.

All the items are for hire however we also offer a styling service where we can come and set up your venue the day before or the morning of your wedding so that you can enjoy your day, confident that when you arrive at your chosen venue it will look fantastic.

We also offer a wonderful range of unique and individual handmade favours which can be personalised to you.

In everything we do we try to be as environmentally friendly as we can.  As many of our materials as possible are organic, reclaimed, fair-trade or locally sourced.  We support local artists in the creation of our wonderful pieces and we give 5% of our profits to charity.

Buying Bridal on a Budget

Example of a wedding dress available from Oxfam Bridal

There are now so many options for buying a wedding dress, and buying on a budget doesn’t have to mean second hand.

If I say the word charity shop don’t think granny jumpers, but gorgeous designer bridal – and all brand new! Oxfam Bridal are dedicated bridal boutiques all over the country, such as the store in Heswall, Wirral, where they have up to 200 never-worn wedding dresses in sizes from 8-24 in stock at any one time. They usually sell these wedding dresses donated by top designers, which are often worth over £1000, for between £100-200, with the rare high-designer piece going for up to £300 – what a bargain!

At the Big Green Wedding Fayre the fashions shows from Oxfam Bridal were stunning, and I really couldn’t believe the prices, just because the designs are end of line.  My favourite was a long bridal coat from designer Neil Cunningham worth £5000, but this one Oxfam dont sell, they rent it out to brides so they don’t have to fork out so much to be able to wear it.

Try on a range of wedding dresses at Oxfam Bridal

Oxfam are receiving donations all the time so the stock is constantly changing as a result. The gorgeous dresses in these photos are ones that have been sold previously in Oxfam Bridal shops, but numerous other styles and sizes and sizes are always available. So just find your closest store, pop along and see what you fall in love with – you can’t afford not to! The great thing is that the Oxfam bridal shops are staffed by volunteers so all the money for your dress does straight to charity – double bonus!

How do Oxfam get never-worn dresses?
When the new collections come in, bridal boutiques donate their unsold dresses from the prevous season to charity so they can claim back the VAT. One of the winners of this is Oxfam who have a dedicated warhouse set up to receive the donations and distribute to their shops throughout the UK.

Remember, no-one is going to know where you got your dress unless you tell them. And even if they do, does it matter?

Rail of Wedding dresses at Oxfam Bridal

Red carpet event

We all had a great time on Thursday at the Sex and the City event celebrating the launch of the Organic Surge skincare range into Boots stores nationwide – is that why the event was held at a London cinema next door to a Boots store?

Here is the red carpet shot of Liza and I at the event:

Niki and Liza at the Sex and the City launch of Organic Surge skincare

Thanks to all at Organic Surge for a great event.

Niki

Is SATC’s Samantha getting married?

Image: Pa Images

Rumours are rife around the web that Samantha, the character played by Kim Catrell in Sex and the City, will be tying the knot in the second film, due for release over here in June 2010.  But just like end of series cliff hangers, producers are known for filming bogus scenes to throw fans and journalists off the scent – so looks like we might just have to wait and see…

However, Sex and the City fever is rife over here as tomorrow sees a themed event and private screening of the first SATC film to mark the launch of the Organic Surge skincare range into Boots stores nationwide – and guess who’s bagged a ticket! A whole host of girls will be dressing up and heading down the red carpet in VIP style for the private viewing of the film and each will get a goody bag of the Organic Surge range.

Organic Surge is a natural range of skin and haircare products, leaving out the harsh chemicals and synthetic perfumes for a range that is kinder to your skin and the environment. I’ll give you the low-down on the range when I have given the products in the goody bag a go…

The Big Green Wedding Fayre

When I was planning my wedding 3 years ago I spent hours trawling the internet to find just the suppliers & ideas that were light on the environment but full on style.

These days are behind us with a range of specialised websites giving us everything we need – and now there is the chance to see a whole host of like-minded people all under one roof at the Big Green Wedding Fayre.

This weekend is the long-awaited one stop event for planning your wedding in an earth friendly way with the Great big green wedding fayre. On Sat 5^th and Sun 6^th Sept, Crosby Hall near Liverpool will play host to an array of wedding suppliers. Register in advance and receive a goody bag on arrival, plus the chance to win a luxury eco Spa! Highlights of the weekend include a glam catwalk show from Oxfam Bridal, workshop by ethical jewellers CRED and beauty demonstration by The Body Shop Home

Images: Dress from Oxfam Bridal, Jewellery made by Rosie Weisencrantz, Marquee from Eco-Event management, fair trade cupcakes from Little Cake Heaven

Ticket offer: The lovely people at Ethical Weddings are offering you 2 tickets for just £8 (usually £6 each). To reserve your place and claim the offer, visit the Great Big Green Wedding Fayre website and quote ‘Ethical Weddings’.

If you are near Liverpool then why not pop along and see what the green wedding fuss is all about. Get yourself to Hall Street Station on the Northern line and a pedi-cab from Liverpool Pedi-cabs will take you the rest of the way in carbon-less style!

For the most up-to-date details check out the facebook page dedicated to the event.

Milla Jovovich intimate wedding style

Not all celebrities want the huge weddings with hundreds of other stars in attendance. This weekend Milla Jovovich married her long time partner director Paul Anderson in an intimate affair in the back garden of their home Beverly Hills.

You can see photos of the wedding here

Get the look:

Images: Orchid, rose & lily bouquet from Budget Designer Florals in USA, Long Adria dress with bead detail and split sleeves from Temperley London, Long romantic style hair design from Brides.com.

Dress: Milla walked down the aisle in a full length retro-inspired white gown which she had designed, taking inspiration from the 1960’s & Grecian. For Grecian influenced gowns, try the Lorelei dress wear-again style from Motasem

Flowers: A hand tied white orchid bouquet mixed with roses is a classic bridal design. If you are concerned about the milage, ask your florist to source locally grown, or you may want to consider white flowers that are seasonal to the date of your wedding.

Hair: Milla let her hair loose in an ethereal style, with headband of twisted leaves with a medieval influence. Remember to consider your face shape when choosing your hairstyle, and how it will work with the dress. It was a pity you couldn’t see the detail on Milla’s dress as her hair covered the beaded panels…

To go with their Spanish-style house, Milla & Paul had a latin style occasion with a Spanish flamenco guitarist during the cocktail reception, then a Cuban band afterwards.

However worth the wait, I’m not sure I would have coped with a six year engagement.