A Weekly Wedding Round Up And A New Logo!

Thank goodness its Friday! It means its only two days to go now till the launch of the brand new section of wedding stationery on my website. The new concept is called 'Simply Knots & Kisses' and it is a range of blank wedding stationery packs for you to buy direct from the website http://knotsandkisses.co.uk
Here's a sneak peek at the new logo for this range ...

To finish the week I wanted to share with you some of the inspirational images from the web I have found this week for weddings.
It seems everything I have been attracted to this week is in gorgeous warm shades of peaches & cream ... a colour combination I feel is equally at home in a summer or winter wedding.

 

all images from www.pinterest.com

What Stationery To Order For Your Reception & Wedding Day?

I’m asked by a lot of couples these days .. many of whom are on a tight budget … where they could make savings with their reception stationery and what is essential.
So here are my tips for what to include on your stationery order…

1.Order of Service

I think these days Order of Service and whether you need them can be very dependent on your point of view and what type of wedding you are having.
A church wedding is almost certainly going to require some form of order of service. This can range from a brief layout of the service with pages to refer to in Hymn and Prayer books, to a full order of service where the hymns and prayers and any wording the congregation needs to say detailed.
If you aren’t having a Church or Religious ceremony, it may be an option to dispense with an Order of Service, or alternatively have a very simple ‘Order of Day’ card which gives your guests an idea of what they can expect throughout the day.

2. Menus

I have plenty of Brides who like to have one menu per person at their wedding .. using the menu as part of a place setting for each guest. However if you are on a budget perhaps it’s worth considering just one menu per table. Alternatively have a menu poster or board framed at the entrance to your reception, or incorporated into the table plan, for your guests to look at as they come in.

3. Placecards

I have to say I think this is the one thing you can’t dispense with for most weddings. Although I have been to a few weddings where the couple have wanted all their guests to mingle and therefore no-one has been given a specific place to sit, most Brides & Grooms will want to make sure certain people are sat on certain tables and placecards are a must.

4. Table Plan

As above, if you do want your guests to sit in a specific place, a table plan is a must.

I offer several options to couples, from fully mounted and even framed table plans, to a rolled poster which they can display as they wish, and even just the artwork … to really suit any budget.
Often a flat printed table plan will be cheaper than one which is heavily embellished to match your stationery .. although check beforehand as this may not always be the case as printing costs are high compared to the cost of layered card.

Tropical Orchid Themed Wedding Stationery & Styling

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I'll hopefully have been enjoying myself in the south of cornwall .. as I'm writing this as a pre-scheduled post whilst I'm on holiday :)

I've had the pleasure to make some invitations recently for a lovely client who is getting married on a Cruise Ship next year, and who's Save the Dates I designed previously.
Her colour scheme was Orange & Pink with Orchid Details .. but she also wanted a glamorous touch so I added an ivory card and pearl details .. inspired by the pictures she sent me.

The invitations were sealed in their own matching ivory boxes and tied with fuschia pink ribbon before being pre addressed to send to her guests.

To match the stationery I designed here are some styling ideas for a tropical Orchid themed wedding ... perfect for any beach or cruise ship wedding .. or just if you want to inject a splash of colour into your wedding!

The gorgeous dresses are from www.bhldn.com



Wedding Styling & Inspiration : Anna Karenina

Some of you might have heard me say on twitter that last week I went to see the new adaptation of Anna Karenina starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law. Its one of my favourite books and I have to say the movie adaptation was stunning!
The costumes and theatre style setting were nothing short of sumptuous and so glamorous I came away brimming with ideas for a wedding moodboard!
The main colours I remember from the film are smoky greys, deep rich red burgundys, deep blacks and of course all set against a flurry of white snow ... it would be perfect for a winter wedding!
Keira wore some gorgeous gowns which reminded me very much of the theatrical dresses of Ian Stuart Bridal and some amazing pillbox and top hats with veils covering her face.

Here's my moodboard to inspire your Anna Karenina style wedding! ....

credits : www.bhldn.com ; www.ianstuart-bride.com ; www.dcbouquets.co.uk ;

www.craftjuice.com ; www.pinterest.com

Wedding Sashes & Belts

I've always been of the mind that the accessories and not the dress make a great wedding look and that you can buy a very simple dress for under £500 and make it look stunning and individual with the accessories you put with it ... a completely plain dress can be made to look like the perfect vintage look with a lace shawl or birdcage veil, or the perfect winter wondeland dress with a white fur wrap and some relatively inexpensive diamante.

On this note today I wanted to look at Belts & Sashes which you can buy and add to your simple dress to make it look stunning.

First up are these gorgeously simple sashes from www.bhldn.com ...

They also have these incredibly pretty floral numbers for adding some vintage detail to your wedding dress ...

Next up are these beautiful pieces from http://victoriamaryvintage.com which can include some original vintage elements and are just stunning!

 

Finally if you are after something with some sparkly vintage glamour I found Australian based company msGDesigns selling on http://etsy.com who have these gorgeous 'jewel encrusted' sashes perfect for a 1920s style wedding ...

More Christmas Wedding Stationery Ideas!

Its going to be an incredibly busy week here at Knots & Kisses. There are lots of orders to finish and go out before I go on holiday for a week on Friday .. plus the final preparations to put in place for the launch of the new concept for the Knots & Kisses website which launches on the 1st October when I get back.
I can let slip that its going to be called 'Simply Knots & Kisses' and will be revealing more details very soon!

Thanks to everyone who let me know last week how much they liked the new Christmas range ... I was so pleased with the response!
On that theme I've also been doing some bespoke designs for a Christmas wedding over the last couple of weeks and wanted to share them with you today.

The client was after a traditional Christmas feel with red and gold colours.

Supplier Spotlight : Gorgeous & Classic Wedding Cakes

It's lovely when you get contacted by a supplier who shows you their work and it turns out its really lovely!
This was definitely the case when Julie from Aunt Julies Bakery www.auntjuliesbakery.co.uk contacted me with photos of her lovely wedding cakes.
Its really nice sometimes to keep things pretty, and classic with a vintage twist with your wedding cake and this is where I think Julie's cakes fit in.

I'll let Julie tell you more about how she started and what she does ...

"We are based in Gloucestershire and I launched the cake business along with my fiancé Ben in February this year. I was in IT Security before and got very tired of sitting in the office so took the plunge to do something more creative! I’ve been involved in the wedding industry before as my sister is a florist and I saw first-hand how rewarding it is – that matched with my love of creating pretty and tasty treats provided the perfect solution! We are currently gearing up to do a number of wedding fairs in the new year with a new cake collection launching soon.

The main aim of Aunt Julie’s Bakery is to be affordable for those many couples who have to plan a wedding on a budget, whilst allowing full flexibility to meet their requirements. The designs on our website can all be tailored to match wedding colours and themes or we can create something completely unique. Our three tier sponge cakes start from just £155 and we publish our prices on our website which includes delivery and set-up at Gloucestershire venues.

I pride myself on my close attention to detail, ensuring each creation is perfect in both looks and taste. All cakes are homemade to order using fresh, quality ingredients. All cakes are suitable for vegetarians and use free-range eggs."

Tel: 01452 621543

Email: info@auntjuliesbakery.co.uk
Web: www.auntjuliesbakery.co.uk

Vintage Christmas Wedding Styling Ideas

I'm hoping you all loved the launch of my 'Vintage Christmas' range of Wedding Stationery yesterday.
Hopefully there are lots of lovely Brides & Grooms that are planning their Christmas Wedding who loved it as much as me :)

Today I wanted to share with you some styling ideas to match my new range.
As I mentioned yesterday I think you can't go wrong with the classics when it comes to styling a Christmas Wedding ... lots of real holly and fir boughs, plenty of tartan and red and white gingham.
Of course you've got to take the opportunity to have a fabulous Christmas tree as well! As something different why don't you leave small tags next to your Christmas Tree for your guests to write messages on and tie to the branches as an alternative to a guest book!


images from www.b.lovedweddings.com ; www.pinterest.com ;
www.intimateweddings.com ; image of tree decorations : Knots & Kisses



Its only a personal feeling but I feel that its best to avoid anything too glitzy, glittery and gold when styling a vintage style Christmas wedding for fear of it just looking like a standard Christmas party!

Add in gorgeous natural elements with wood, pine cones and some handpainted enamels and you create a stylish look for your wedding.

A dessert table with traditional sugar candy canes would look amazing and perhaps vintage baubles on each place setting as a favour for your guests!

image from www.inspiredbymrsstevens.com





New Wedding Stationery Range - A Vintage Christmas!

I'm excited this morning as I am launching a brand new range of wedding stationery for all you Christmas and Winter brides out there!
Christmas is most certainly my favourite time of the year .. as a designer I just can't help spending hours decorating the tree, the fireplaces and wrapping presents in gorgeous bits of paper and ribbon.
And if you're having a Christmas wedding its surely twice as much fun!

I'm therefore delighted to introduce my new range .. 'A Vintage Christmas'.

I wanted to evoke Christmas images of the past ... lots of victoriana with holly, candy canes and pretty little robins. The 'Vintage Christmas' range has the same feel and style as my 'Storybook' range as I felt both had those same echoes of childhood and literature about them.

The collection comes with a full range of matching reception stationery for you to decorate your venue with .. hopefully alongside a huge Christmas Tree of your own!

When it comes to styling ideas for a Christmas wedding you can't beat the classics ... dress with plenty of firs and holly. Mix and match red and green tartans with red gingham. For a really vintage feel I would avoid the obvious choice of golds and possibly use wooden ornaments, fir cones or handpainted enamels .. and perhaps a vintage bauble on each plate for your guest's favours.
For more styling ideas for your Christmas Wedding check back on the blog tomorrow for my styling moodboards and product ideas :)

Wedding Activity Bags For Children

I need to declare myself now .. I've never been one for children. Honestly admitting this to most women is sometimes like admitting to having killed someone! I do however adore my niece and nephew, and also now have several friends who have small children of their own. So if I was ever to get married there will inevitably be children at the wedding ... even though I always thought I'd be the sort of girl who would be quite happy to advocate a 'No Children Please' policy!

If you are in the same situation .. or if you adore children but just want to keep them happy! ... having something to keep the kiddies occupied at your reception, especially if you are having a sit down meal, is a must!

In which case how adorable are these gorgeous little brown paper activity bags from Dottie & Belle at www.notonthehighstreet.com ! Honestly I'd quite like one myself! These brown paper bags and gift tags are not going to look out of place in your Vintage style wedding scheme for example.

Alternatively there are these fab little boxes .. also on www.notonthehighstreet.com from Yo-Yo Me.

Art Deco Style Thank You Cards

I was a bit sad last week when I sent out my final package to a bride I've been working with all year on her wedding stationery.
Gemma & Gary had a fabulously glamorous Art Deco affair at The Daffodil Restaurant in Cheltenham and last week I sent them their Thank You Cards to send out to all their guests.

The design fit in with their Old Hollywood Art Deco theme and I incorporated one of their wedding photos taken by wedding photographer Matt Davis Photography. You can see the full details and photos of the wedding .. including the reception stationery I made ... on Matt's blog http://www.mattdavisphotography.co.uk/weddings/gloucestershire-wedding-photography/the-daffodil-070712/

Here are the Thank You cards design ...

A Wedding Theme : Rustic Sunflowers

I'm often asked to incorporate peoples wedding flowers into the theme for their wedding stationery and Sunflowers are always popular for those looking for florals which really stand out.
In the past I've created stationery with a striking black and yellow modern look to go with the sunflowers, but the flowers also look beautiful in a vintage rustic setting.
Here's an adaptation of my Sketch range of Wedding Stationery with a Sunflower Motif, which would be tied in string and come with a brown kraft envelope just like the rest of the range ... http://www.knotsandkisses.co.uk/sketch.html

I love the ideas of sunflowers being wrapped in twine and used in a rustic barn setting, so here are a few styling ideas for your wedding below ...

credits :

www.pinterest.com ; Mae Collection by www.johanna-hehir.com ; http://simplynaturalevents.blogspot.com ;

www.ruffledblog.com ; www.brides.com ; www.rusticweddingchic.com ; www.theweddingofmydreams.co.uk