However, I just had to do my ‘Something for the Weekend’ post this Friday as I am soooo excited about the wedding fayre we will be exhibiting at this Sunday!

This Sunday 19^th February we will be exhibiting at The Spring Wedding Expo at Milsoms Kesgrave Hall from 10.30 – 3.30. It is free entry but you can pre-register to avoid any queues on the day, you will also receive a goodie bag when you arrive. There is going to be up to 35 suppliers all under one roof to help you with planning your big day.

When The Suffolk Wedding Fairy (who are organising the fayre) first contacted me last year about exhibiting at the Spring Wedding Expo I jumped at the chance as I love Kesgrave Hall and think it will make a stunning wedding venue. Although Kesgrave Hall have only just started offering their venue for weddings the Milsoms group are very experienced in wedding planning because as well as Kesgrave Hall they also own other venues across the region so you can be assured you will be in safe hands.

This is our first wedding fayre of the Spring and we have made a few adjustments to our stand and will have some new designs to show you so come along and have a chat with us!

For more information about The Spring Wedding Expo or to pre-register visit The Suffolk Wedding Fairy’s website or facebook page.

You could do modern Vegas without a doubt but wouldn’t it be nice to mix it up a bit and go old school? I’m thinking embrace the whole theme and have the men in Rat Pack inspired suits and the ladies in cocktail dresses.

Alfred Sung dress

I’m not usually into ‘proper’ bridemaids dresses but I love this Alfred Sung dress on Dessy’s website. Can you imagine your bridesmaids in these? They are such a cute style and would be so comfortable throughout the day, plus I love this bold pop of colour.

For the wedding breakfast and reception, which is where most themes really take hold, you could have cocktails being served as arrival drinks and cheeseburgers and steak instead of the traditional three-course meal with a jukebox playing in the background.

Neon Sign

And how about your own neon sign? How cool would that look! Also it’s something that you would get to have a keepsake afterwards.

Elvis and Vegas go hand in hand so why not name each table after an Elvis song? Here are some examples:

• Viva Las Vegas (you would have to have this song!)
• The Wonder of You
• Burning Love
• Can’t Help Falling in Love
• Stuck on You
• A Big Hunk o’ Love
• Love Me Tender
• Shake, Rattle and Roll
• All Shook Up
• (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear
• Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
• Loving You

Finally why not have blackjack tables to entertain the guests during the evening? There are plenty of companies that provide these along with fake money for you guests to play with. It would be a great way to get guests interacting as they arrive and at the beginning of the evening.

So that’s another theme off the list for this week, if any of you have had or are thinking of having this theme I would love to hear about it, just head over to our Facebook page and leave a comment!

The dresses take inspiration from old Hollywood but are kept up to date and modern too. I love the style and sophistication of the dresses and if you’re looking for something simply gorgeous but not too fussy then I don’t think you can go wrong here. I also love the way the company describes the brand on the website: “…luxury bridal brand that focuses on timeless elegance, luxurious fabrics, hand finishes, detailing and experience”.

Not only can they provide you with bridal dresses they also supply bridal accessories as well as a ‘lifestyle range’. So take a look below and see what you think!

I’m talking proper wedding blogs, where a lot of the authors are doing this full-time, as their living. (This is not to say blogs that suppliers have are not worth looking at) These people are really the ones in the know for all things wedding. They get invited to new launches, previews of new ranges as well as the major wedding shows, meaning they are bang up to date of what is happening in the wedding world. There are so many fantastic blogs out there but I thought I would share a few of my favourites with you:

London Bride – I love this blog because you can find great inspiration for your day with new and quirky ideas. I just also love the whole design of the site.

Rock N’ Roll Bride – showcases the most original and inventive weddings you can find. This blog really encourages you to do things your way.

Style Me Pretty – you will find the prettiest and most sophisticated wedding inspiration and ‘real weddings’ here.

The Perfect Palette – this is the most fantastic blog to visit if you are having trouble coming up with a colour palette. You will find a huge variety of colour combinations here.

Oh So Beautiful Paper – this blog helps satisfy my obsession with paper, design and fonts. This American blog is filled with ideas and inspiration for you to take to your stationer. (*cough*Lemon Pie Design*cough*)

Bow Ties & Bliss – Another blog from the US but I believe this is where a lot of the wedding trends start. This blog is another great one for inspiration and new ideas to stay ahead of the game!

Not Another Vintage Wedding – my newest blog love after they (sorry I don’t know the authors name!) followed me on Twitter. This is THE blog for modern, stylish brides.

So there you have it, just a small handful of blogs for you to investigate over the weekend. Have a good one!

So when in late 2009/early 2010 Hayley told me her and her partner Craig were engaged I was over the moon for them both. Particularly as we had always told her Craig was ‘a keeper’! I was even more thrilled when she asked me to create their stationery for them – very brave indeed on their part as I had literally only just started the business and hadn’t had designs printed yet, been to any wedding fairs or even completed a single order as Lemon Pie Design. They were to be my guinea pigs.

I got together with Hayley one evening when she was having a ‘Gold Party’ at her mums house. Not as in a party when everyone wears gold but a party where a jeweller comes along and weighs any unwanted gold you have and gives you a price for it! So I took along my (very) rough print outs of the designs I had so far and Hayley had a look through (as did her friends and sister, mum and nan) and decided on Lexie. Unbeknown to either of us by her choosing Lexie she was to start a bit of a trend. (More on that later.)

A colour palette of purple and silver was chosen and we decided to alternate the colours for the day and the evening invitations. So the day were silver background and purple text and the evening were purple background and silver text. Hayley also decided that she preferred the strips of diamantes to be stuck halfway along the bottom of the cover opposed to the individual diamantes.

Once all the RSVPs were back it was time to move onto the ‘on the day’ stationery. The colours and the diamantes strips were carried over onto the ‘on the day’ stationery and all in all we created name tags to be tied around the favour boxes, table numbers and a table plan. We used purple satin ribbon threaded through the name tags and the favour boxes were silver with a single diamante in each corner. The biggest talking point of the stationery on the wedding day itself and at wedding fayres afterwards was the choice of names for the tables. Conveniently guests were sat at ten tables and Hayley and Craig had been together for ten years, so each table was therefore named after a year they had been together, i.e 1999/2000 – first met, first date, first kiss.

When we started attending wedding fayres we took a copy of Hayley & Craig’s table plan with us to display and found everyone loved the idea as it was so personal and individual. Everyone would stop to read it and comment on it. We also displayed copies of Hayley & Craig’s other stationery at the fayres and, as I mentioned earlier, we quickly realised that Lexie was going to be a very popular design indeed. We were amazed at the number of couples who chose Lexie as their design in the following few months and it was a great boost for us as a new business to be providing such a popular design.

Hayley and Craig got married at the gorgeous Haughley Park Barn and the reception looked stunning in this converted barn. The ceilings were draped with voil and fairy lights creating a really pretty atmosphere that perfectly completed the sparkle of the diamantes on the stationery and the purple and silver colour palette. One of the absolute best bits about being a wedding stationer is being able to create stationery for my family and friends. I love it when they tell me the design they want before they have even started planning their wedding or before they are even engaged!

There is an absolutely massive selection of watches on the market so there is sure to be one to suit your grooms style. Here is a very small selection of the ones I found that I think would look great on your wedding day.

A classic watch with a leather strap tends to have a more traditional feel and can look very dapper.

1. Tag Heuer watch      2. Emporio Armani watch      3. Hugo Boss watch

Bi-metal watches are perfect for the man who can’t choose which colour he prefers! Joking aside, bi-metal looks very stylish and grown up.

1. Omega watch      2. Gucci watch      3. Citizen watch

I like the chunkiness of a bracelet watch, it looks modern and classy.

1. Tag Heuer watch      2. Emporio Armani watch      3. Calvin Klein watch

If your groom isn’t into a classic or mainstream style what about something a bit more fun and funky?

1. Guess watch       2.TW Steel watch      3. Ice watch

We have had three couples who have chosen a butterfly theme and have carried it through onto their stationery in very different ways. First up was Karen and Nick. Karen had chosen Lexie as her stationery design and so we created stationery with a modern feel to it using a graphic style butterfly on each piece of stationery. Karen really carried her theme all the way through too which I think is great; if you have chosen a theme why not carry it all the way through the day? We included the butterfly on all their stationery items including their save the date cards so as soon as these went out their guests knew their theme. Karen had also found some beautiful table number holders on Ebay that had large sparkly butterflies on them which we put her table name cards in that were each named after a type of butterfly. See Karen & Nick’s full ‘Real Wedding’ story here.

We used the same style of butterfly on Jenna and Kay’s stationery but in different ways. Jenna’s stationery was very bold and her and Tim had chosen two different colour palettes for the day and the evening. Kay’s stationery was very soft and pretty using a baby pink palette teamed with baby pink organza ribbon.

Aside from your stationery – which is obviously a brilliant way to incorporate your theme (!) there are lots of other ways to have a butterfly theme that needn’t include glittery butterflies stuck everywhere!

How about these ideas…

Wishing Tags

I think these butterfly wishing cards would look so pretty hanging around the room or on a wishing tree and make a great alternative to the normal cards or guest books you find.

Conversation starter sticks

Or how about these conversation starter sticks? They are a great idea if you have guests sitting on a table who haven’t met before or don’t know each other very well.

Cookie cutters

You (or someone that can bake if you can’t!) could make your own favours using these cutters. Simply put some icing on them – maybe with the guests name or initials – and they would look great placed on the napkins. Or make a hole near the top, thread some ribbon through and hang them from chairs or a wishing tree and let guests go and find theirs!

How to make origami butterflies

If you’ve got some patience and the time why not make these cute origami butterflies. They could look really stunning dotted around your venue, especially if you use some gorgeous paper to make them with.

Hair clip

This quirky hair clip would really make a statement and be a fantastic attention grabber!

Shoe clips

Finally… how cool are these?! You can even bring your theme into your shoes! You can choose a perfect pair of shoes that you can wear again but add these to style them up for your wedding day. Genius. (Also check out the Blingbacks website they do other fab styles too!)

So there you have it, I hope this post has given you some ideas of how to use your butterfly theme in a slightly different way and how to really make it your own.

Aside from my personal obsession though, notebooks/journals/diaries etc are fantastically useful when you are planning a wedding. If like me things make more sense and seem clearer when you write them down then a notebook is an essential part of your wedding planning kit. When planning a wedding you will no doubt make a LOT of lists and rather than having lots of individual bits of paper with lists and notes on all shoved into a folder why not put them into one of these little beauts?

1. Sydney Harry Notebook    2. Cath Kidston Notebook    3.Pearl Lowe Notebook
4. Paperchase Notebook    5. WHSmith Notebook    6. Soul Water Notebook
7. Laura Ashley Notebook

Now I know I am probably rather slow on the uptake here, and it is something I have been meaning to have a proper look at for ages, but I have finally discovered – and fallen in love with – Pinterest!!!

Some of you may have heard or even use Pinterest but for those of you that haven’t let me enlighten you…Pinterest is basically where people create boards of stuff they like. The boards can cover anything, literally ANYTHING! But best of all there is a whole category for Weddings & Events. Here you will find boards that have been put together by wedding suppliers, brides or grooms-to-be or anyone that loves anything to do with weddings. It. Is. A-maz-ing!! (Can you tell I’m really very excited about this??!)

So head over to Pinterest.com click where it says ‘Everything’ a drop down box will appear and you will see at the bottom the ‘Wedding & Events’ category, click on this and a whole plethora of wedding fabulousness will appear. (Failing that click here!) I like to scroll down, find an image that catches my eye and then click on it to see what else that ‘Pinner’ has put on their board. Trust me you will become hooked.

These boards are a fantastic way to gain inspiration and new ideas for your wedding. Best of all? It’s free!! I love magazines as much as the next person and love the mood/inspiration boards that are often included in Bridal magazines but with Pinterest you are given such a huge variety and selection of boards that are quick and easy to access when you have a spare few minutes that you may find yourself putting down that magazine. Though I have to point out that some of the bridal magazines do have their own Pinterest accounts so maybe find those too.

A good point to make also is don’t just look on the Weddings & Events section have a look at the other categories as you just never know where you are going to get a great idea from. And why not set up your own account*? It’s really quick and simple to do and when you are looking online you can simply ‘Pin’ the image from the website and it will attach to your chosen board. This is fantastic way to gather all of your ideas and thoughts in one place and hopefully make it easier to see a theme occurring.

*To set up an account you have to ask to be invited (you will find this on the homepage) but you will receive an email in a couple of days confirming you have been accepted. I’m not sure if anyone is ever turned down but I’m sure they’re not.

So why not check my boards out? I have to admit though I only have a few images so far but intend to be using my boards to add general stuff I like but also create mood boards for inspiration for new designs. I plan to spend Sunday curled up on the sofa (the weather will undoubtedly be rubbish to go out) exploring other Pinners boards and making some more of my own. Happy Pinning!

Have a look at these boards that I love and follow:

Jodi McKee

Amy Kirby

Jane Wang

Christine Martinez

Camille Juco

Therese MacKendrick

Kate @ Wit + Delight

Our heart design – Elodie – is in our top five of most popular designs. It’s pretty and delicate and is best shown off in this set here. Elodie works well across all items of stationery and can be as used as simply or elaborately as you like.

Obviously stationery is a great way to show off your theme but how about these other ideas…

You couldn’t really have a wedding with a heart theme without Love Hearts sweets could you? I think just about everyone loves these sweets and they are a fun little addition to your day. I can imagine them in glass bowls in the centre of tables or on a table as guests walk into the reception venue so everyone just helps themselves.

 Love heart sweets

I know everyone loves a bit of table confetti and a lot of people automatically go for the metallic shiny hearts you get in card shops or crystal gems in heart shapes but I personally love this cute personalised heart confetti. It can be personalised with names or places that mean something to the couple. I think it’s a really unique idea to personalise your day and that will get your guests talking.

Confetti

I can’t get enough of this style of laser cut artwork, I think it looks simply stunning. This one has actually been cut out by hand – imagine the patience and steady hand you would need for that! It would look great on your cake or guest book table and I think it perfectly sums up what weddings should be about.

Hand cut artwork

How cute are these mini heart blackboards? There are so many ways in which you could use them; as they have done in this image on jugs of drink, or you could use them on each guest’s glass or napkin instead of a place card, or even on a sweet table on each bowl of sweets.

Mini blackboards

If you are DIY-ing lots of aspects of your wedding and you are up for a bit of a challenge then why not try to make this heart garland. You could use any fabric or paper that you like, maybe using different colours and patterns to create interesting looks. String them around your venue to create a pretty and fun feel or why not string them from pew to pew in your church rather than using flowers?

Heart garland

The fabulous ladies at Cupcake Occasions can just about create anything you want in the form of a cupcake (I’m not kidding – check out their muppets cupcakes, truly amazing!) But why not get them to create heart themed cupcakes like these ones here? They will be something that both look and taste gorgeous.

 Cupcakes

It was difficult deciding which theme to go with first as there are so many that I could tell you about but I hope this first theme has given you some ideas of how to approach your theme in a different and unique way.