Real Wedding: Nathaniel and Tamara at Lillibrooke Manor, Maidenhead, Berkshire

Late this summer we co-ordinated Tamara and Nathaniel's wedding at St Lukes Church and Lillibrooke Manor in Maidenhead, Berkshire. These fantastic shots were captured by the incredibly artistic Jamie Thompson from Studio Rouge.





Tamara and Nathaniel had planned the perfect wedding, but wanted the peace of mind that the logistics were managed to ensure it became a reality on the day.

We met a year before their wedding and were in regular contact to provide supplier suggestions. Closer to their wedding we extensively discussed the day's arrangements. Following this meeting we produced a wedding day plan and a timings schedule, then spoke to and confirmed the details with all the suppliers.





Tamara paid great attention to detail with lots of special Zimbabwean touches that made their day meaningful, from the invitation design to the family wedding car, sourcing the national flower to relabelling the bottles of wine and the cake topper to the favours; there was a whole host of personal touches that made for an extra special day. During the week of the wedding we reviewed the final plans and timings together as well as collecting and storing all of their decoration items.





On the morning we decorated the church and Lillibrooke Manor, see the video of the set up here. Luckily we were equipped with our emergency kit with our ivory umbrella to hand when the rain came. We greeted all of the suppliers and supported their set up, organised the guests going to the buffet table, helped book taxis, stored the veil, moved garden games and liaised with the best man for announcements amongst many other things.





Being the point of contact on the wedding day ensured everything went smoothly and relieved the couple of any stress.













Wishing you both a wonderful married life together filled with much love and happiness x






Credits


Photography: Studio Rouge


Videographer: Capture the Day


String trio: Giardino Strings


Caterers: Complete Catering


DJ: Sound Bookings


Cake: Especially Delicious

Details we love: bottle escort cards

A thirst quenching alternative to a table plan.

Photo credit: Jonas Peterson via 100 Layer Cake

Q&A: Our reception venue is quite dark, but we are not allowed to use candles. Can you suggest some alternatives for lighting up the room?

Last weekend we used battery operate candles, available from Cox and Cox , they were effective and lasted all afternoon and evening.

You could also use fairy lights to create a romantic atmosphere. They are easy to get hold of and not expensive, try wrapping them around bay trees, archways, banisters, in clear vases or look for blossom style ones like these from Debenhams or Laura Ashley.





Photo Credit: One Love Photo via Rock n’ Roll Bride

Behind the Scenes: Lillibrooke Manor Wedding, Maidenhead

Yesterday we had the pleasure of co-ordinating Tamara and Nathaniel's wedding at St Lukes Church and Lillibrooke Manor in Maidenhead.

It was fantastic to work with them to help plan their day, they are a lovely couple and had so many wonderfully unique ideas to incorporate into their wedding.

This video shows a small part of Janet and I setting up in the morning. The day began with an hour of steaming open freeze dried peony heads- fiddly, but worth it when you can not rely on fresh ones being available, they looked beautiful on the arrival drink table.

We moved on to the church to sweep away debris blown in and move papers from the doorway, before organising the confetti, spare readings, reserved seats and order of services.

The next stop was displaying road signs to direct guests to the remote manor house, after our sat nav directed us the wrong way up a one way system on the first visit we decided this was a must!

We then ran through some checks with the catering company, resulting in a quick dash to buy the missing raspberries needed for the arrival drinks and locating the lost desserts still en-route from London.

Janet and I then unloaded the decorations we had been storing and set to work on decorating the barn with many items that reflected their personalities and Zimbabwean roots. This included scattering the national flower, Gloriosa, on the top table, name settings in elephant favours, an elephant cake topper, safari animal table names, table plan, guest book, card box, wine with personalised labels, gifts under the top table, child seating, toys and much more.

The DJ arrived early to build his equipment, after showing him the space we tested the back up music we had for the wedding breakfast and the first/second dance songs.

The courtyard was the next location to organise the garden games, throws, flowers, arrival drinks and the string trio, but moments before the Routemaster bus full of guests pulled up the rain started to fall so a quick turn around and the set up was duplicated inside the adjoining small barn.

This was all simply the preparation, look out for our next post on the wedding celebrations. We can not wait to share some of the photos with you and less wobbly professional video footage, including all of the great supplier details who all made the day so special.

Equestrian name setting

If you are an animal lover add a touch of personality to your tables with a tiny chalk horse. These horses can have names scribbled on in chalk to make a unique name setting. They are available here on Etsy.

Easy tool to create your seating plan

Simply register with www.marthastewartweddings.com to access the online seating chart tool, you add your room dimensions then start populating with tables and names to drag and move around to get the ideal arrangement. Easy peasy!

DIY: Seed Matchbook Favours

These floral favours make a pretty decoration for your tables and symbolise the beginning of a relationship that grows over time, a unique memento for your guests. The free template to edit and directions can be downloaded here.

Found on Martha Stewart via iDIY

Photo credit: www.mathastewartweddings.com

Hannah & Pauls Easter Wedding: Wokefield Park, Reading

This Easter weekend we had the pleasure of working with a lovely couple, Hannah and Paul, for their wedding at Wokefield Park in Mortimer, Reading.

Once they are back from their honeymoon in Thailand we shall look forward to sharing some professional pictures and details of their day.

They incorporated so many personal touches into their wedding and were incredibley well organised, even taking the time to write us a thank you note in the midst of all the wedding mania….

“Thank you so much for all of your support and assistance in the run up to our wedding. You have been fantastic ever since we met you... I know our guests will love everything you have done...”

Venue Decoration Service Launched!

We have recently launched SugarBlossom's Venue Decoration service, previously it was only available as part of the Day of Co-ordination package. This has been in response to the number of brides who have been surprised to discover that many of the setting up tasks they expected their venue organiser to do are not offered, or worse still they had planned to go and decorate the day before- only to find out they could not access the venue due to another event or wedding booking.

Will the staff at your venue set up and decorate your room(s) according to your specifications on the day of the wedding?

Few venues take on this responsibility to create the style and atmosphere you have planned for, so you may need to make arrangements with family or friends. Alternatively we offer venue decoration in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Hampshire. Read more... or email us with any questions, info@sugarblossom.co.uk

Photo credit: SugarBlossom's own image

Kissing Booth

This print would be perfect to encourage some impromptu photo silliness if you are planning a photo booth at your reception. In the past we have set up informal photo areas to capture some ridiculous shots with:

• Wigs
• Empty photo frames to pose behind
• Silly sunglasses
• Fake moustaches on sticks
• Piles of marker pens and doilies to make signs
• Boxing gloves
• 'I'm married!' flags
• Piles of hats
• Sunglasses
• Piles of disposable cameras
• oh anything wacky we could get our hands on!

To buy the kissing booth sign for notonthehighsteet.com. click here

Photo credits: www.notonthehighstreet.com and www.breathepictures.com

Your Wedding’s Finishing Touches

If you are getting married this summer you may have been focused on the main elements of the wedding day and need to do some final tuning to make your style come together perfectly.

As part of our ‘On the Day Co-ordination’ we always complete a final site visit with the bride and groom later in the planning process. It is important to have a last run through when there is still time to make changes, at the visit we visualise how they want the space to be used with the items already ordered, what the venue provide and check what is missing to create the 'wow factor'.

When you next go back to your wedding venue consider their colour options and your scheme for the day and check:

• If you need to hire any additional tableware, for example coloured napkins, table runners, charger plates, coloured wine glasses can be very effective
• Should you order any additional flower decorations, do you want fresh petals sprinkled down your aisle, would it work to use flowers planned for the reception in the ceremony room first?
• Do you need to organise for any furniture to be moved?
• What style are the chairs- can you hang any name signs, ceremony programmes, flowers, bows or confetti bags on them?
• Will you have to source any table name holders, cake stands or the cake knife or are the provided?
• If weather permits is there space for any outside decorations, garden games or lighting?
• Is there space to display any quirky extras such a photos of older family generations getting married, candy bars or alternative table plans?
• Can you customise cocktail stirrers or party flags for cakes?
• Is there space to set up a photo booth? You could start collecting fun gimmicks for evening shots, we did this for the wedding pictured for a heap of relaxed shots.

These finishing touches really pull a wedding together. Do get in touch if you need any support in the run up and on your special day x

Photo credit: www.breathepictures.com

DIY: Sparklers, Straw and Matchbox Wedding Projects

Are you getting married close to Guy Fawkes night and looking for some final DIY projects to personalise your evening celebrations? Or you may not be celebrating on Bonfire night, but you are having fireworks and would love to add some more fun into the mix?

I saw these 4th July pieces a couple of months ago and have been saving them to share for the approaching Autumn brides. Click here to visit the post from Twig and Thistle with instructions and a pdf to download- they are so simple and cheap to make, but brilliantly effective.

Twig and Thistle Via Wedding Caberat

Picture credit: All images from www.twigandthistle.com

Colour Schemes and Details of Your Wedding

We recently stumbled upon http://www.tiethatbindsweddings.com/ and loved the way they share our passion for a consistent beautiful theme featuring in lots of unique ways throughout your wedding. All the images in this blog entry are from the delightfully talented Mekala from Tie That Binds, for this wedding they produced a range of stunning blue and yellow co-ordinated pieces.




Firstly picking your theme and planning your wedding starts with the colours. Your colour scheme says a lot about you as a couple and gives you the chance to make a statement.

However, as Mekala comments, don't be closed-minded about where to find your colour scheme. You can find inspiration in anything- from the location of your first date, to your great grandfathers favorite vintage tie.


The biggest fad of the season is to skip a colour theme and go with an overall look instead! This look can be inspired by fashion, an era of time, a childhood story, or even a piece of fabric. These invitations were inspired by fabric purchased at £1 a metre!







Dig around in your and your groom's history to find a theme that works best for you. In this wedding the colours were inspired by the groom's formal military uniform. The story of the couple surviving 4 years of being apart while he attended West Point Military Academy was a huge part of bringing the wedding together.


This brings me to the next big part of planning a wedding: the details. As a frequent attendee of weddings, it's easy for them to blur together. White dress, flower girls, a big kiss, a dance, the end. Tie That Binds strive to find ways to make the wedding unique. For this wedding, the love story of the bride and groom was so significant that they crafted two books - one at each table.

The first book had his version of their love story, and another with hers. These books not only caused the tables to talk amongst themselves and trade books, but also gave those out-of-towners an inside view into how their romance came to be. These types of details were used throughout the rest of the wedding- on the napkins, sweet bags, a vintage pin, handcrafted jewelry gifts- each detail made the wedding unique to the couple and their love.


Thank you Mekala for sharing these gorgeous images and the couples story with us. If you are looking for ideas on how to use your theme across your wedding day visit http://www.tiethatbindsweddings.com/ for some fantastic ideas- and the most important and best bit is that the Tie that Binds ship to the UK!

Picture credit: All images from the Tie That Binds, http://www.tiethatbindsweddings.com/

Spring 2010 Colour Palette

The 2010 Spring colours are here!

Direct from the New York fashion week is a selection of colours put together by top designers that would work perfectly for weddings- mix and match the vibrant brights with classy neutrals to find your colour scheme.

My favourite is the fusion coral with the eucalyptus- such delicate colours. Click here for more details.

Picture credits: http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/Pantone.aspx?pg=20694&ca=4

Perfect Parasols and Unique Umbrellas for Rain or Shine!

Pretty ivory umbrellas are part of our wedding day emergency kit to tackle the unpredictable English weather. Although they have been known to come out for posing under on the driest of days!
At the same time as protecting you and your guests from the elements they have an equally important function of looking gorgeous in your wedding photos.

Some of the parasols and umbrellas we have seen are so pretty they could be used as an alternative to bridesmaids bouquets or to decorate the venue, setting a vintage or exotic feel to the day.

We love the last photo to copy for a quirky thank you note. There are step by step instructions on the wedding bee blog here.

Picture credits:

1 & 3- www.brolliesgalore.co.uk

2-www.rhembein.com

4- www.idooriginals.com

Sweet Signs to Guide Your Wedding Guests

I spotted these cute wedding signs on Cox and Cox’s website earlier. What a pretty way to make sure that all your guests know where they should be heading.

These enamel signs are printed on both sides, so they are tough enough to hang outside and to overcome any windy weather that may turn them over.

They start from only £10.00 and you can find them here http://www.coxandcox.co.uk/categories/any-excuse-for-a-party

Images from Coxandcox.co.uk

Simple DIY Steps for Gorgeous Wedding Trees

Branches are a fantastically effective way to decorate a venue or have as a table centre.
We were inspired by the picture above to have some fun with spray cans and hanging crystal garlands for a winter wonderland effect.



They can also serve a purpose as well as being a pretty embellishment; why not use branches to hang luggage style tags for guests to write their messages on in place of a guest book? Or a wishing tree is an ideal whimsical task for such a dreamy decoration.



The latest blog from the wonderful Wedding Chicks is dedicated to this very topic; the girls with good taste have looked into how guests can leave you meaningful messages here.

Together with decorativebranches.com they have put these six easy steps together for creating a decoration with branches. Click here to look at their blog for more details and enjoy what may be one of your first DIY projects for 2009!

Picture credits:
1. www.etheraldecor.com
2. www.weddingchicks.com

Martha Stewart has the Dreamiest Wedding Ideas…

We have just spent five fun packed days in Toronto- it is such a hip city with a relaxed vibe, we would definitely recommend it. Anyhow, no holiday would be complete without purchasing a whole heap of wedding magazines for fresh ideas on alternative traditions and styling.

What we have just discovered, and I am so eager to share, is Martha Stewart Weddings, mentioned repeatedly in the magazines for a very good reason- she is a wedding guru with absolutely exceptional taste.

All of the pictures on this blog are from her site, but the best bit is they are all DIY projects you can make yourself. Visit here to become as equally addicted as us!

A Modern Alternative to Table Plans- Escort Cards

We are not being disloyal to our love of table plans in anyway, but today is the day to announce that we have also been admiring escort cards on American websites from afar and feel like showing off some of our favourite finds to raise the profile of them a little more over in the UK.

If you are having designated seating you will need a table plan, or the popular American alternative of escort cards, to let your guests know what table they will be sitting at.

The most popular designs are either tent folded so they stand easily - you simply write your guest name on the front and their table name/number inside, or a card tucked into a miniature envelope with the guest's name written on the outside.

You can make a pretty display with escort cards by arranging them on a table in rows separated by flowers or by hanging or pegging them over a length of ribbon.

These save the normal crush at the table plan and also let your wedding planner or a bridesmaid make any adjustments that may be needed on the day.

Displaying the escort cards hanging from a ‘tree’ (or multiple trees) is stunning:

Wishing rocks are an alternative idea, simply place a rock on, or near, each escort card, along with a sign instructing guests to make a wish for the couple on their respective rock and then place it in a large vase. After the wedding you can keep it at home, a container filled with good wishes:

Picture credits: Meg Smith, Paperdolls, Style Me Pretty and The Knot