Wedding Planning Panic

I know that I did this and a lot of the brides that I speak to also have their moments!! It is natural – you get one shot to get it right and there is a lot of stress involved from money worries, guest lists to the search for the perfect dress. It’s not like we can quit work for a year to plan it, nor stop all of our normal daily routine.  It all has to be squeezed in around our busy schedules.

So what are the most common worries for any bride?

·        The feeling that you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.  The first part of wedding planning is the hardest.  You may have an idea of the venue but don’t know the date yet, or have seen the perfect dress but don’t have the funds yet. Take a deep breath.  You will get there.  Buy a wedding magazine; sit down with a notebook and pen and some scissors and glue.  Get a cup of tea and sit and relax.  As you flick through the magazine circle any ideas you like.  There will always be a page in the mag that is dedicated to budgeting and planning the big day.  You mind find it a little rigid.   I think a great idea is to do your own.  Take the information from the wedding magazine planner and list all of the things on it that you want to have.  Split that in to the most expensive things like the photographer, venue etc.  The things that take a long time to arrange (these will be similar to the first list).  Then separate out all the things like invites that need doing by a specific date.  Split them out so that you plan and book one thing each month to allow for spreading the cost.  This way you are also spreading out the stressfulness and the fun over a longer period of time.

·        There is also a bit of fear that you may be too organised, that you should be spending lots of time looking for that special dress.  Not necessarily – it really is true that when you try on the one then you know.  This may take several trips to the shops or it may be love at first sight.  Everyone is different.  Don’t feel pressured to follow the herd!

·        You might not have any idea how you want your wedding to be styled.  Don’t panic.  Just concentrate on getting the dress and venue sorted and the rest will follow.  Think of what your favourite flowers are and what season you are marrying in.  Speak to a florist about whether you can get your favourites at that time of year.  Your florist will be able to give you ideas on the colours available and then you can use this information to choose bridesmaid dresses and other details.  Don’t feel that you need to have a ‘theme’.  It doesn’t have to be all ‘shabby chic’ or all one colour.  It’s your wedding – do it your way.  Choose what you like – that’s your style.

·        Once you find your wedding dress stop looking! You have the one; don’t cause yourself more angst by looking for anything better.

·        Choose your bridesmaids well and then delegate them the task of the Hen-do organising.

·        Join a wedding forum for brides getting married in the same year as you for support and hints and tips.

Creating your own floral arrangements

I've been a bit slack recently on my blog writing.  Life takes over.  From now on I am making a dedicated effort to blog more frequently.  I desperately want to keep up to date with all the new wedding trends and also keep our ideas fresh and new.  This takes so much time and is all consuming.  It is still Summer 2015 but we need to start thinking about what colours and trends will be in vogue in Summer 2016.  I tend to go more off of what is in the clothes shops now to get an idea what might carry forward into weddings next year.  The colours that I've seen the most of and have a penchant for our Navy and Coral.  I seem to have a half a wardrobe full of Coral coloured clothes.  

I'm loving pinterest for getting inspiration and for sharing ideas.  I am a complete addict!

With regard to flowers for the wedding day I've noticed that a lot of the styles are a lot looser and natural in form nowadays.  This got me thinking about whether those budding florists out there could possibly create their own floral displays.  We used a magnificent florist for our own wedding but I've always wished that I had done them myself.  Not because they weren't brilliant, the flowers at my wedding were everything that I wanted and more!, but because I was obsessed with trying to get our day to be as personal to us as possible.

So if you want to create your own floral displays then the first step would be to use a tool like pinterest to make a mood board of ideas and how to videos.

Next you need to be visiting car boot sales, flea markets, all your relatives for vessels to put your flowers in on your big day.  I love the idea of loads of mismatched crystal vases and small jam jars of loose posies of flowers.

 If you plan far enough ahead then you could even grow a lot from seed yourself.  Sweet peas are a stunning addition to a wedding bouquet and they are relatively easy to grow.  

Then you would be to visit the local flower market.  The biggest and the best being Covent Garden.  Speak to the wholesalers and tell them what you are doing, buy British and make sure you ask for advice on how to get the best from the flowers.  Always keep them in a bucket of water for a day before trying to arrange them so that they have soaked up as much water as they can.  If you are using oasis make sure you also soak this in water over night so that your flowers aren't wilting during the wedding breakfast.

You'll need a helping hand or two and plenty of workspace to get creating.  Make sure you have purchased plenty of foliage.  You'll notice that without foliage the flowers don't look quite right.  Raid your friends and families gardens for any interested greenery such as ferns, eucalyptus and grasses.

Have a little practise and see how you go. I don't think this is really about saving money but about putting a bit more of your own personality into your big day. How to create your own wedding bouquet

I also wanted to share with you a link to a fab blog on budget weddings.  This is actually our own wedding and some of my ideas.  The Budget Bride

The Key To Success

The Key to a Successful Marriage - A new type of guest book from Love Letters.

I went for a walk on the beach this morning and stumbled across a lovely piece of driftwood. I've had some rusty keys in my craft cupboard for a while now just because I loved them. I feel they have a real romantic look about them. So I have spent the rest of the morning putting the two together to creat a fabulous unique guest book. The idea is your guests write their names on the bag of the tag and their key to a successful marriage on the back, then attach them to the sign. Much nicer than a book and you can display it on your wall in your new marital home. Please email us at Lovelettersdirect@rocketmail.com for enquiries.

 

 

Shell and Brooch Bouquets

Here is my new project.  A shell and Brooch bouquet.  This is the first one I have made and I am in love with it.  I am hoping that some lovely bride will also fall in love with it and buy it for her wedding.  I want to make more of these.  I can match to a colour scheme and can also make button holes, table centres to match.  It was lots of fun to make.  Enjoy.

Coral Mood Board

I have a current fascination with all things Coral in colour.  I have a stunning Coral rosebush in the garden and I am constantly picking its blooms to bring into the house.  I am wearing Coral more and more and find myself drawn to Coral jewellery.  I am dreaming about Coral colour schemed weddings and would dearly love to pain some Coral Love Letters.  If there is anyone out there having a Coral colour scheme at their wedding please get in touch with Love Letters - I will give you a healthy discount for helping to satisfy my need for all things Coral.

Here's some ideas quickly gathered together for a wedding in Coral.  Some really good high street affordability going on here.

Another stunning blog with all things Coral

Take a look at my Pinterest Board http://www.pinterest.com/loveletters1/coral-mood-board/ for exactly where to get each piece from

World Cup Widows Offer................Free Hand painted sign or letters

WORLD CUP SPECIAL OFFER

A special offer for all football widows! Order in June and get FREE letters or signs

Offer 1: Order a MR & MRS + Surname and get your initials letters or a bespoke sign FREE!
Offer 2: Order 2 signs and get one FREE!

Limited availability so don't delay, order today!
Lovelettersdirect.weebly.com

Email Lovelettersdirect@rocketmail.com 

 

Table Planning

I don't want to go in to the hassle and stress of choosing who to invite, who not to invite or where to sit the invited! That is the bit of stress that you have to endure.  Trust me though it will all be worth it and those who don't get an invite will understand and those that do will not mind where they sit and even if they do they will be gracious and not say anything! Everyone is on their best behaviour at a wedding!

I want to explore some ideas for laying out your table plan so as to really make a statement and set the theme for your wedding reception.  Here are some of my ideas.

Firstly you can get some beautiful ones made up by professional wedding stationery companies.  One of my favourites is Knots & Kisses They currently have a great offer for orders made before the end of July 2014.

Knots & Kisses

I really like the idea of using old vintage keys and tying luggage tags to each one with guest names on them. Ask Love Letters to create a sign for you to say 'Tell us your key to success'.  Each guest then writes their advice on the rear and pops the key back into your vintage suitcase.

Here's another beautiful blog that details the use of keys in for weddings Inspired by this

Esty.com

 My next make is going to be a vintage suitcase combined with some old keys, ribbon, dusky pink ribbon, luggage tags and a lovely reclaimed wood sign all handpainted by moi......

watch this space

Adding a special touch to collecting cards on your big day!

My husband is all absorbed with the World Cup, even going so far as to demand dinner to be from a different participant country each night!  I meanwhile am busy looking at all things weddings.

Have just sourced another vintage suitcase to decorate for a special brides wedding.  Vintage suitcases are ever popular at weddings to use as table planners, card boxes or both combined.

Before http://lovelettersdirect.weebly.com/

Here's one I decorated previously: -

After http://lovelettersdirect.weebly.com/

It got me thinking of what else would make a lovely vestibule for all of the well wishing cards received on your big day!  With time on my hands I went searching!

How about a wicker lobster pot for a seaside/nautical wedding?

http://www.buythesea-bymail.co.uk/

I really think this would look fantastic and could be used as a garden feature after the special day to remind you forever more of all the wonderful wishes you were sent by your guests!

How about a dolls house?  If you have or know someone with the skills you could make one to match your new marital home or even a miniature wedding venue?

Lots of options on Ebay

For a rustic affair I have tried to steer away from the obligatory apple crates.  What about a hessian sack?  You can pretty it up with some raffia or ribbon and even stitch or paint your initials on it.  They are cheap as chips.  Check them out at you local garden centre or online.

http://www.gardening-naturally.com/acatalog/Potato_Sacks.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=google_base&gclid=CIKdx7HO974CFeyWtAodYDIAAQ

Anything that is used to store things can be adapted to use as a card collector.  It's up to you and your imagination.  Remember to contact Loveletters to create you some hand painted letters to say 'CARDS' or contact us and will create you a bespoke suitcase to include ribbon and decorations to exactly match your colour scheme.

White Wedding

A stunning photograph of a wedding we recently supplied some extra large white wooden letters to!

Flaming June Offer

SPECIAL JUNE OFFER

To celebrate the arrival of summer (at long last!) we have a very special offer for orders placed in early June – BUY 2 SIGNS GET A 3RD FREE!



Our signs look great on their own but also make a really great impact if there are a few of them dotted around your venue, perhaps one to welcome your guests, one to direct them around and one to celebrate the great day – your names & date & “Just Married” for example.



There’s never been a better time to order - 3 SIGNS FOR THE PRICE OF 2



You can also use this offer if you’d like more than 3 signs – we’ll knock a third off the price – order 6 you’ll only pay for 4 for example.



This offer is for a very limited time only and on a 1st come 1st served basis – so be quick! Just quote ‘SunnyJune’ when ordering.

The elves are in their workshop....

Christmas is in the air in the Love Letters household.  We are all about glitter and sparkles this year along with paper roses and cinnamon sticks!! 

Paper Roses courtesy of Leanne's obsession with all things Kirstie Allsopp!!!!  Instead of the box of dried rose petals or a scattering of diamante we are thinking a scattering of paper roses on the table along with some beautifully decoupaged wooden table numbers.  Add some red candles and some scented dark red roses.  Winter wedding theme - DONE!! (as Gordon Ramsey would say!)



Red Roses and wooden letters



On the wedding decor front we are now searching high and low for vintage items to hire out to our lovely brides.  Our latest finds are a vintage Polaroid camera and some gorgeous art deco mirrors which we are going to turn in to table plans.

We've also got a thing about berries. The hedgegrow's are full of them.  It's too early to start creating a Christmas wreath but it's not too early to make a stunning arrangement for the house.  This is Sunday's project.  Combined with a lovely walk in the crispy country air.  Watch this space for the outcome.  Am aiming for: -

 

 

Wine Charms

It's all about the champagne.  Corks popping, bubbles forming, fizz fizzing, guests quaffing.  Now with our new hand made wine charms you can add a little bit of unique to your champagne/wine glasses. 

We will hand create as many little charms as you require. You let us know the letters you would like, choose a colour for the letter to be painted, choose pearls, choose diamante, choose a ribbon colour to match your scheme.  Decide whether you would like the charm to hang from the top of the glass or whether you'd like it to clip around the stem.  We leave all the choices to you.  Your wish is our command!! They are our new favourite piece to create. 

Currently we are working on a beautiful silver and ivory scheme with ivory letters, pearls and silver ribbon.  The charms look stunning. 


We will keep striving to find more unique items to add to your wedding.

Watch this space......http://lovelettersdirect.weebly.com/further-venue-deacutecor--styling.html

Compliments

Just a few of the many kind responses we've had from our lovely customers over the last year.

Our letters are fantastic!  The hotel were very impressed and said they hadn't seen anything like it before!  We got lots of compliments on them.  They were placed on the fireplace behind us on the top table, so once we get the pics back we'll send you one with them showing.

My letters have just arrived................ they are absolutely wicked, I love them.

I just wanted to send you a quick email to say thank you for the lovely Mr and Mrs letters you made us for our wedding.

Just discovered your fantastic website and have just ordered my MR & MRS in ivory shabby chic, and your description above is just what I'm after with the inclusion of lace and pearls to add a touch of glamour! I can't wait...only a year to go! ha ha!

The letters were fab – the bride was really chuffed when I gave them to her the day before the wedding when we were decorating the marquee. Unfortunately over the course of the evening some of the letters went missing. They turned up the next day outside the church (the marquee was in the field next to the church)... someone had used them to spell out 'arse'. Thankfully the brides dad is the vicar and thought it was all quite amusing!
 

The numbers arrived yesterday and they look great!  Thank you.

Just want to say a huge thank you for the letters you sent for our wedding. They were just what we wanted and we received many comments. I have passed your details to quite few people so hopefully you may receive some more orders in the future.

http://lovelettersdirect.weebly.com/index.html

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.