Christmas letters everywhere

For once in the year Loveletters aren't thinking about weddings.  We're all about Christmas from October onwards.  We have been getting our stock ready to do our annual craft fayre appearances.

Here are some pictures of this years letters - if anyone is interested then feel free to check out our Christmas page coming soon at http://lovelettersdirect.weebly.com/index.html

 

A wedding for under £5000

Why is it that weddings seem to cost the earth? Everything about weddings is expensive. Here are just a few ways that you could reduce the cost of your wedding from £20,000 to £5,000 in a few simple steps.

1. The dress – think about how important this is to you. To me it was pretty important, but the thought of spending £100’s or £1000’s on one outfit made me shudder. We simply could not afford for me to go mad and buy a boutique designer dress. I decided, and would highly recommend looking at high street dresses. I was totally surprised by the excellent quality of them. I ended buying a stunning Grecian style dress from Very.com for £200. I have just recently found and fell in love with the copy of The Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress from BHS. It is gorgeous and yes I know that £500 is still quite a lot of money. But compared to the average boutique dress it is a bargain. Decide where you think your money could be best spent but please do remember the high st when looking.

2. The venue – go to every wedding fayre you can. They are great fun and really are informative. Not only do you get to meet loads of different suppliers and collect information to look at later, but you get the best deals offered from the venues too. DO NOT BOOK YOUR WEDDING UNTIL YOU GO TO THE WEDDING FAYRE! You’ll find (like we did) that venues often reduce their prices especially for wedding fayres. We got a bargain. The brochure price on weddings at our venue was £7000, we couldn’t afford that.. We found a deal for a set amount of guests for £3000. Then we went to the wedding fayre and they were offering the same deal for £2750 – we snapped it up! Make sure that you check for the extras like linen hire and drinks. If these aren’t included they soon add up. Ask if there is a toast master provided. Be cheeky – they want your booking!!

3. Flowers – If like me these are very important to you then you want to spend a fair bit of your budget here. The best ways to reduce costs on flowers is to keep to a season. If you are getting married in January don’t ask for Peonies or sweet peas as they will be very expensive. Ask for more foliage to pad out the arrangements and ask the florist to use big blooms like Hydrangeas as they make the arrangements look fuller for less cost.
4. Venue decorations – Consider what the chairs at your venue look like. Do they really need chair covers? Maybe you could buy a reel of ribbon in your colour scheme and tie them around the chairs the night before. This would cost £25 and a bit of time rather than £250 for covers!! Check out our wooden letters for an alternative to flowers.

5. Cake – Consider buying a cake from Waitrose or Marks and Spencers. They are fabulous cakes and you can add your own decorations to them. Use ribbon or stick on some chocolate buttons to make a polka dot cake. This will save you £100’s.

Winter weddings

Now that winter is here, there will be many brides planning for a wonderful winter wedding. What could be nicer than a fur stole and sparkly jewellery combo with snow on the ground and the smell of Christmas in the air.

There are many colour schemes and themes that work for a winter wedding.

I really love the idea of a totally white wedding - not just the dress but the flowers too. They could be pure white roses, with some green ivy trailing down with a few dainty snow drops mixed in. Or go with the ever increasing trend of brooch bouquets which really shine in the winter sunshine. Maybe some mistletoe sprigs hanging from the door frames or even as the button holes. A must have would be a big sparkly (maybe snowflake style) tiara and a beautifully embellished dress. The groom could wear a black tuxedo style outfit with a crisp white shirt. A set of vintage ivory MR & MRS letters would look fabulous lined up along the fireplace above a roaring fire with ivy entwined around the over mantle mirror. The choices are endless – how about ‘LOVE’ in metallic silver and covered in glitter to add an extra sparkle.


Or what about a full on red and gold theme with Christmas tree’s standing to attention outside the main door and glasses of sherry to greet your guests. Twinkling fairy lights are a must!!! A daring red wedding dress with a beautiful bouquet of Ivory roses, or a gold wedding dress with bright red flowers to match Swags of holly on each picture frame and over the mirror would look stunning. Make sure you get ones with plenty of red berries on. Friends and family might have them in their garden so you won’t have to pay florist prices for these!! Instead of flowers for the centrepieces, vases could be filled with red and gold baubles which will glisten under the candle light. Wrap the favour boxes in red and gold wrapping paper and make them look like little Christmas presents. Maybe some miniature liqueurs would go down well inside! Here at Love Letters we have a choice of gold letters – gold leaf or antique gold. We can do any red that you can think from pillar box to burgundy. Imagine your new surname sparkling on the fireplace.


For an extra sparkle how about some diamante covered letters spelling out the word ‘AMOUR’. These really glisten in any light.

The choice is yours, but whatever theme you are planning for your winter wedding look to Lovelettersdirect.weebly.com for your unique wedding décor.

I saw the sign.....

Since getting married in April, I've had lots of thoughts about what I wish we'd had at our wedding, even now less than 6 months later my tastes have changed. My new passion is for wedding signs. There are so many things that a wedding sign can add to your day. From basic signs to point guests in the direction of the marquee and the toilets etc. To romantic signs such as 'To have and to hold' and 'Here comes the bride'.

We've just started creating signs and adding them to our repertoire. We've had orders for various signs including 'wedding party this way' 'bridal party' 'Charlotte and Shauns Wedding Party' 'Welcome to our wedding' and we are currently working on a sign for a pageboy to carry up the aisle saying 'here comes the bride'.

I am starting to get sign obsessed. I looking at every blank wall in our house thinking 'what sign could I put there??'

My husband (that still feels strange to type!) makes the signs out of reclaimed wood. He uses a sander to sand them smooth and then gives them a wash of paint (the choice is yours) and then sands it back again to give a vintage look. My job is to painstakingly hand paint each letter with a little help from a stencil and the to paint on various arrows. Then when dry we give it a bit more sanding around the edges for good measure.

We are loving making these signs and the possibilities are endless.

Wedding signs

It's very exciting times at Love Letters!! We've been doing so well creating so many different colour letters for brides to be that we have decided to introduce a new range to our business!!

They have started to become very popular with our new customers.  We love creating them!!  My husband makes me a sign out of reclaimed wood and we paint it with a wash of colour (most popular being ivory) ivory, duck egg blue, dusky pink etc and then I stencil on the words and numbers of their choice.  So far we've created signs saying 'wedding party this way', ' Welcome to our wedding' 'Charlotte and Shaun's Wedding Party' and many more.  We love created them because they look so effective.

I am really wanting to put one up in my living room (duck egg blue) to match the decor,  I'm just wondering what words to have.  Something seasidey me thinks.

We're also going to create a small one with a number '1' for the in-laws who are sick of their Chinese takeaway being delivered to the wrong house! Hopefully a Loveletters wooden sign will guide the delivery driver to the correct address!!!


Anyway for anyone looking for a unique idea to signpost their wedding with look no further than http://www.lovelettersdirect.weebly.com/ You could have 'Wedding This Way' 'Party this Way' 'Welcome' or even something like 'Marquee this way'. The options are endless.


Quote 'Blog11' to get 10 per cent off your wedding sign until the end of September 2011.

Mr & Mrs

It's been about 8 months since me and my (now) husband decided to set up out little business hanpainting wooden letters.  Since then we have had countless orders from mostly brides, some grooms and a few mother- in-laws.  We have painted letters in black, white, ivory, pink (lots of shades of),blue, gold, silver, red, beige, magnolia and many many more.

We have had some orders from home owners looking to decorate their house with unique words such as 'Sweetdreams' 'ZZZ', and 'Mmm... (including the dots!!)'.

Every time we paint a set of letters we try to take a photo to update our website
I can honestly say that every set of letters looks fantastic.  We really love it when one of our brides takes the time to send us a picture of our letters in action via facebook
It makes our day to see the letters in such beautiful settings.  We also welcome any comments on our facebook page from our happy customers.

At the minute we are busy painting everyday.  We have a little workshop set up at home and happily sit with the radio on painting away.  While the weather is fine we have started to do the 'shabby chicing' outside in the sunshine with the chickens roaming around the place.  They are very intrigued to see what we are doing and very disappointed when they realise that letters aren't edible!! 

To totally change the subject, the chickens are so cute or be it naughty!  They love the sunshine.  They spent their days lounging in the sun and dust bathing in the borders.  Occasionally they find the time to try and nibble some of our newly sprouting vegetables!!  Aside from this occasional naughtiness they are really sweet natured girls and lay us an egg a day.  I end up making cakes every week and having egg sandwiches at least twice a week.  They are the best eggs you could ever taste.  If anyone would be interested in giving a home to battery hens then more information can be found at http://www.freshstartforhens.co.uk/

Wedding Tips and Hints

Just a few bits and bobs that I've picked up on in the wedding business.

• Take a pack of safety pins and a min sewing kit with you for any emergencies.
• If the groomsmen are nervous about the speeches think about having them before the meal so that everyone can relax and enjoy the food that you have forked out for!!
• Print out a list of timings and suppliers phone numbers for the best man and bridesmaids to keep for emergencies.
• Put a basket of deodorant, body spray, hairspray, wet wipes, hair gel etc in the toilets for guests (and you!) to use.  
• Make sure the flowers don't drip water on your dress by wrapping the stems in toilet roll for a few minutes before picking them up.
• Before the big day create a checklist for the groom of things he needs to remember to bring with him on the big day.
• Wear a top with buttons down the front for your hair and makeup appointment so that you don't smudge your makeup or ruin your hair by taking it off over your head!
• Make a list of everything that you want back from the venue so that you can check it off the morning after.
• Buy heel stoppers http://prettypinktoes.co.uk/default.aspx to stop your feet sinking for the photos.
• Put some blank cd's on the tables with a note asking guests to upload any photos they have and post them to you.
• Take a mini medicine 'cabinet' with you - paracetamol, imodium, Kalms, Good Nytol etc
• EAT BREAKFAST!

* http://www.lovelettersdirect.weebly.com

Nearly a month married!!

So it's been 26days since our lovely wedding.  We are now blissfully married.  I can't believe how much I loved the whole getting married thing.  I was so nervous in the morning (and all night that the night before!), it was all I could do stop the tears rolling down my cheeks during the ceremony.  The registrar was so nice and kind to me that I felt like I didn't have to worry about anything.  Anyone getting married in Warwickshire you have made a good choice!!BROWNSOVER HALL HOTEL RUGBY

Equally the venue was stunning as I knew it would be, and the staff were fantastic.  They really could not do anything more for us!  Our every wish was their command! We couldn't have asked for more.  Brownsover Hall really is where the magic happens.

Speaking of Brownsover Hall, we exhibited there at the wedding fayre on Sunday.  I hope that they managed to book a few weddings just on my compliments about them to the brides I met.  We set up our stall right in front of the beautiful fireplace.  We met lots of lovely wedding suppliers and loads of excited brides and grooms.  We managed to take a lot of orders on the day and have had loads of enquiries since.  I can't believe the amount of brides having winter weddings at Brownsover.  But then again it would be a perfect wintry venue with candlelight and fireplaces and deep rich red walls.  Mind you it was perfect for us on our hot spring wedding day too.  There are two fireplaces that could be decorated with our letters (one in the reception room and one in the ceremony room there are also lots of shelves too).

Meanwhile back in the painting shop (our dining room) our table is littered with letters for orders we have taken.  We are painting day and night at the moment.  You can tell that the wedding season is upon us!!  I am so jealous!!!  We are getting excited about what colours people are choosing.  Ivory shabby chic is still the favourite, followed by gold and shiny!!  A couple of brides at the wedding fayre were having more unusual colours like orange and brown or red and green.  The choice is endless!  Whatever your colour choice we can create your words to match.

A wedding experience

We were exhibiting at the Kelmarsh Hall Wedding Experience on Sunday and we are still buzzing with excitement. The weather was beautiful and the marquee was in full sunshine for most of the day. The daffodils and crocuses were sparkling in the sunshine.

We would like to thank all of the brides for visiting us at our stall. Everyone was so positive and that is just what you need when you are starting a new business venture. We met some lovely suppliers too. Tracey from Edward and Emma was so friendly and helpful. Her stand looked fantastic. She has even offered her help when I am creating my own table plan in the next few days!! David Hughes(David Hughes Photography) was on the stand next to us and we are now friends on Facebook. His photography really is fantastic. Several of the photographers said that they would be interested in buying some letters for props. There were some lovely flower displays too.

In the main house there was a roaring fire with a fantastic fireplace that our letters would look great on. One couple are going to measure up to check that their surname will fit along the mantelpiece and then are placing an order.

We were offering a ten per cent discount to anyone that placed an order as a result of the wedding fayre so we wait with bated breath to see if any orders come through as a result.

We are just hoping now that the interest turns in to orders.

Kelmarsh Hall is a stunning venue.

Wedding Fayre

Just a quick note to say that we will be exhibiting at the Kelmarsh Hall Wedding Experience on Sunday 20th March.  Please come along and say hello to us.  We will have a special offer on the day for any orders we take.

Plus size brides

In my opinion building up to your own wedding is a stressful time for any bride. We want to look our best and will stop at nothing to get there. Being a plus size bride myself I have the extra anxiety of wanting to be a size 10 model bride but knowing that this is not going to happen. I have decided to give some of the tips and ideas I have found in my search for ways to help me with my confidence on my wedding day.

First off all I have managed to shed a few pounds since our engagement. I haven't lost as much as I would have liked but I have gone down a couple of dress sizes so I'm feeling a lot happier about wearing my dress. I chose my dress months ago and bought it in a size 16. I haven't been able to get in to it yet so have decided to be realistic and sell it. I've bought it again in the next size up and this fits perfectly.





With the aid of some magic underwear such as Gok Wans sex kitten corset I will be feeling confident all day.

I would also advise that if you aren't that comfortable with your arms then invest in a shrug of some sort to wear if you feel the need. There are some lovely ones like this one from Dorothy Perkins

The main thing to remember is that everyone is there because they love you and want to share in your joy. Don't let yourself get too hung up trying to be the perfect model bride. Enjoy your day and when you look back on your photos you will look gorgeous!!!

Childs Play

Some ideas for those who are inviting children to their wedding day. Firstly remember that it is a long day and children don't enjoy the same things as adults. Make them feel special and maybe just maybe they will behave!!!

During the service perhaps put a little reading book on their chair so that they can entertain themselves quietly whilst the grown ups watch the ceremony. For after the ceremony make sure they are provided with some confetti as they will love throwing it everywhere (some might even land on the bride and groom!)

Get them involved in the photos by buying a disposable camera and asking them to take some pictures of the day. They will relish this task and you might get some really interesting children's eye view shots of your special day. For the formal photos make sure you get any involving the kids over with first of all. Then they can be sent off to run about the grounds while the other shots are taken.

For the wedding breakfast put them all together on a children's only table. Give them pass the parcel type favours and colouring books. Bubbles will go down a storm. Make sure that you have a good selection of non alcoholic drinks for them. They could even have their lemonade in a champagne flute so that they can toast the bride and groom.

After the ceremony why not set up a pinata packed with sweets for them to bash to pieces and enjoy the sweets. This will keep them entertained for the beginning of the evening reception and tire them out also. Have a children's medley of songs early doors and they will be up and dancing away. The birdy song is always a winner for adults and children alike!!!

Children can make a wedding extra special. They just need a bit of extra consideration.

An article published

Just thought I would let you see an article I recently wrote about ideas on how to make your wedding unique.Once the engagement celebrations are over it is time to start planning for the big day. So much time, effort and money is spent making the day as special as it can be.

I believe that every bride and groom wants their wedding to be talked about for years to come. Everyone wants their wedding to be original to have that extra sparkle. That to me means adding lots of little personal touches that your guests will remember forever.

The reception venue is where you can make the biggest impact on your guests. From personalised favours to letting them choose their favourite song for the disco the choices are endless.

If you would like an abundance of flowers at your reception without the expense then plan ahead with your florist so that the arrangements can be easily transferred from the ceremony to your reception venue. An alternative to flowers could be a bowl of citrus fruit in the summer or in the spring a pot of flowering bulbs such as Hyacinths or tulips. The best thing about potted bulbs is that you can give them away as little presents after the event.

On the tables it is always nice to have a bit of sparkle. Maybe some table gems that shimmer like diamonds in the candle light. You can get these in any colour now and they look fantastic. Candles –lots of them are needed to give the romantic ambience. Also everyone knows that candle light is the most flattering lighting!! How about some rose or hydrangea petals in your colour theme scattered around the table. White linen, sparkly gems and colourful rose petals look stunning!!

When it comes to the favours the choice is endless, Chocolates, seeds, old fashioned sweets or even a lottery ticket. A nice idea that takes a little time and effort but costs hardly anything is to make beaded initials for each one of your guests and use these to decorate the favours. The wire and beads are inexpensive and it is a simple enough task to carry out in the evenings whilst watching television.

A personal touch can be added to each table with freestanding letters spelling out your initials or table names. BRIDE & GROOM can adorn the top table and set it apart. CAKE or your initials makes your cake table distinct and fun.

Once you have decorated the tables it is time to turn your attention to the room. If there is a focal point in the room such as a fireplace or mirror, make this a feature. We are having chunky freestanding gold letters spelling out MR & MRS ROSE (my new surname) on the mantelpiece of our wedding breakfast room. On the fireplace have plenty of flickering candles. Candles look even better in front of a mirror as the light is multiplied by the reflective surface of the mirror itself. If there is no real focal point in the room you can create one by hiring a star curtain or having a pedestal of flowers. If there is a staircase make this a focal point with a ribbon trailing down the banister. Ask your florist to decorate it with seasonal flowers. Carrying on with the initial’s theme why not display your new surname on the fireplace or top table?

An inexpensive treat for your guests would be to provide a small selection of toiletries such as wet wipes, tissues and body spray in the toilets. Put them in a small basket by the sink with a little note.

A current trend is for a candy buffet. These can be expensive but can be created for a fraction of the cost. Collect different jars and bowls and fill with retro sweets that you can purchase a good selection of from various websites. Buy some scoops and maybe some stripy paper bags and voila you have a candy buffet for the fraction of the price.

Instead of a DJ why not hire a jukebox? They can play music all night long just like a DJ but offer you more freedom. Your guests can choose a selection of songs. This means they are more likely to dance as they have chosen the songs. This would be a real talking point not to mention a focal point in the room.

If you are planning to use the outside space then some storm lanterns will add a nice atmosphere for the evening. In the day if the weather is nice you could hire some party games – such as giant Jenga or giant Snakes and ladders. At the outside entrance place a pair of bay trees with some outside lights in for a special feel. Or in the winter how about two mini Christmas trees with coloured fairy lights?

All of these ideas will help to create a unique and special day for you and your guests. I hope this has offered you some inspirational ideas on how to make your wedding better and different to all of the rest.

Spring has sprung

We are having a spring wedding. My favourite flowers are Hyacinths, Freesias and Roses.

My fiancé’s favourites are Tulips. We've kept our flower budget to the minimum by practicing different arrangements at home. I have had the idea of planting some Hyacinths in bowls and when they burst in to bloom I can use them as table decorations at our wedding breakfast.

I can then give them away as presents to the mother of the bride and mother of the groom. If planted in the garden they will grow back every year and remind them of our special day in April! The total cost of this will be less that £40. I will tie some pretty lace around the bowls to make them look more special.

Meanwhile on the business front, we are currently working on a few different orders. One bride has ordered MR & MRS in peach and they look beautiful. My fiancé is just given them a bit of a polish up before sending them out. Another order is for cream shabby chic MR & MRS. Shabby chic is our favourite design. As we 'shabby chic' each letter individually every letter looks different. I'm imagining a marquee with cream roses and white table linen and our stunning letters line up along the top table.

Gorgeous!!!

An introduction to us

We (my fiance and I) have been in full blown wedding mode since getting engaged on Christmas Day 2009.  We don't have thousands of pounds to spend (I wish!)but we still want a special and unique day.  This has meant we have had to get our thinking caps on.

The biggest achievement to come out of our wedding planning is the start of our new fledgling business.

Our venue has a stunning fireplace and is a real focal point in the room. We wanted to decorate it but couldn't afford to increase our flower budget. Then we had the idea of displaying our married name along the mantlepiece. We sourced some unpainted wooden letters from a carpenter friend and painted them in antique gold.

They look fantastic. I took them with us to our last meeting with the venue and the wedding co-ordinator said that she had never seen anything like it before. That was music to our ears! An idea was born! Since then we have supplied many different words such as 'cake' and 'Amour'

and many many 'Mr & Mrs's to brides and grooms throughout the UK and even as far away as America.

In this blog I want to share our plans and ideas for our unique wedding on a budget and also keep a diary of how our little business is going as we venture into the wedding market.