Wedding Bands: What a Palaver

WARNING: Crazy bride lady!!!!!

Phone camera photo of my engagement ring
As sent to my family, as I was on holiday in Scotland

If there is one thing I know that drives BH crazy it's my inability to make a decision quickly, we have spent hours in restaurants with me trying to decided what I want to eat and when it comes to clothes shopping, well! tbh, he's given up.

I thought I was doing ok with the wedding; I seemed to have gone the other way - I knew exactly what I wanted and was prepared to put in the work to get it, that was until it came to the rings...

When we were in Scotland a few months ago we popped into the Edinburgh branch of the Jewellers BH had purchased my engagement ring from; this visit was a change for my man to have a look and try on some rings to figure out if it was something he wanted, at the time I also had a look at rings and quite liked the way a 2mm band looked. 

LimeBlue store Farnham

Then 6 weeks ago we went to the store local to us and had a look again, this time the lady went through a few more options, but I stuck with 2mm, even though I was unable to try it on my ring finger as the sample was too small. 

Last Saturday we went and collected the rings, and for the first time I was looking at MY ring! and it was small, so small it looked like a washer. On Sunday we gave the rings to my parents to keep safe. Sunday night I got myself into a tizz and decided it was definitely too small, rang my Mum Monday and had the ring posted back.

Today I went back to the shop, they were very understanding, let me go through the options again and sorted everything out so I could order a different width. I selected a 3mm band this time and left the shop. 

About 30 minutes later I returned, still not 100% certain, did I actually want a 2.5mm (I know I am totally crazy). Out came the boxes once again, the lovely staff suggested different ways to look and compare the rings to get a really good idea. After some discussion and encouragement and reassurance I was happy with the decision I had made early, I stuck with my new order and for the first time new I was happy with my choice of ring, that I will (hopefulyl) be wearing for decades to come.

I cannot recommend LimeBlue enough, the staff have been so friendly and helpful on every occasion  If they can put up with me, they will give anyone the best service available and their diamonds are stunning!

If you live locally to one of their stores (or are passing near by) definitely take a few moments to pop in and have a look.

Invites: Finished Product

Now all the invites have been sent (hopefully all have been received) and RSVPs are (very) slowly beginning to arrive; I thought it was time I shared them with you all.

I have already shared with you how we came to some of our decisions, Beautiful Detail looked at the fonts and colours I have used and On My Marks explained the use of a pocket-fold invite and belly-band, but now I bring to you the full details (and dilemmas).

The outside with belly-band

I really like it when an invite comes as a complete package, when all the elements and info tie in together and it feels like a whole and we had a lot of information we wanted to pass on, as most people are coming from out of town. BH, on the other hand, prefers a simple (elegant) style invite.
Using a Pocket fold enabled us to combine both tastes as well as creating a handmade item.

The inside: all elements in their place

I knew there are lots of possible setups for pocket folds, and to make life easier I ordered a sample pack from PDA Card and Craft, who had the widest range of designs that I could find; this allowed us to physically look at the options and mock up a couple of ideas. As part of the pack we also got swatches of the paper they stock and were able to know exactly what we were buying (BH got rather annoyed as it took me weeks to decide which pearlescent card I wanted to co-ordinate with the Laid card we'd chosen)

All the elements of the Invites
You can see the stamp of the church which is hidden behind all the info sheets.

We opted for the A6 Pocket-fold in Brilliant White Laid (Contour) with matching A4 card to create the Direction and further info sheets and paper to make the sections for the RSVP, we also selected Crystal White for the RSVP folded card and A4 card to make the invite inserts, finally we chose to get matching Brilliant White Laid envelops to finish the set.

I also decided to create a 'belly-band' to hold the invite together, but also to add a decorative, crafty element to the design. The demo band was just hessian, BH felt this was too shabby for it to work with the more formal style; I then found the grey stitch grosgrain ribbon, and after a second demo, we both felt that the design was greatly improved by its inclusion.

Invites to the church and reception

As we had selected the smaller smaller size for the pocket, I chose to design two invite sections; one for the marriage ceremony in the church and the other for the reception. This meant that no element was too crowed, we could include the drinks at the church and info about photo before welcome drinks in Coventry on the relevant invite and that we didn't have to re-think the whole design for the handful of evening invite we sent.

Directions: front and reverse.
Driving, Public transport and vintage bus info
Map designed on Powerpoint

Choosing the A6 pocket had its upsides (or John Lewis gift list cards fitted perfectly tucked, hidden. behind the info sheets) and one big downside - with all the info we wanted to include I wasn't able to use pre-cut inserts and had to faff with publisher and pdf files to create the desired size and spacing in-between each element.

Further Information: front and back.
Local hotels, when photos being taken, Confetti (natural petals only),
reminder the dress warm, a note about gifts and full contact info for my Mum.

As we are providing a vintage bus for people and many of our friends have dietary requirement we decided to include a self-contained and pre-addressed RSVP card to make keeping track of these details simple.

I originally ordered the circular RSVP seal stickers from Label Amour (their ebay store), who then kindly designed and printed the coordinating address labels.

RSVP card and sticker seal
The card fold on itself has my
 parents address on the reverse

Addressed Envelope with sender address label
It took my months to practice my handwriting

Having invested in lovely envelopes I decided that I wanted the invites to look good from the minute they are picked up off the floor so I spent sometime practicing my hand writing and created guide lines for stamps and the. return address stickers.

These invites have been a real team effort, BH has guided the overall look and had some really good ideas during the design phase. He was responsible for the gluing of the pockets and all stamping, while I took charge of the cutting and assembly.

Pockets and elements ready to start assembly.

I have to say I'm really pleased with the finished result and from the feedback we've received our friends and family like them too. Now they are finished I know they were worth the time and effort, but the whole process did begin to get to me after hours of hand cutting the elements.

I have now started work on the Menu, place names and Order of Service to complete the set, but this time I am asking friends to help with the cutting.

Do let me know what you think of these.

TTFN ~Kate xxx

Accessories: Preparing for the Season

Getting married in January I need to be practical – it’s going to be cold and probably wet!

Following on from yesterdays post, I want to share with you my provisional thoughts on the other accessories I have had to consider to weather proof my outfit.

Wellies 

Ok, lets be realistic, I’m having a indoor wedding, and even when I am outside it will be on concrete/paths, I don’t NEED a pair of wellies. But then I think about my heels, with very little grip and my flats made of satin and the fact that a winter wedding is THE perfect time to buy a pair of Hunter (http://www.hunter-boot.com/) or Joules boots.

My sister has already bought a pair of (childrens) Hunters to co-ordinate with the colour scheme and I've got a cute pair of purple spotty wellies for my Goddaughter/Bridesmaid, so I just have to decide which pair I want to buy.

Let it snow (or rain):  Hunter RHS Original in Violet, Navy Golf Umbrella, Clear dome umbrellas,
Weddington boots with bow photo from here, Edwardian Style Umbrella (Pagoda) photo from here
 and Hunter Original Gloss wellies in stone photo from Amazon

If you follow me on Twitter you will be aware that the wellies have caused me some distress. About 3 weeks ago I discovered that the Joules Spring/Summer 12 range had wellies in the perfect shade of purple, I started hunting and eventually I found a pair at Topshop, advertised as purple but when they arrived they were Navy Blue. Finally, on Sunday I managed to win a pair on ebay and I got them a little cheaper than if I'd got them in the shops.

Umbrellas

This is the one area where I could get carried away… In an ideal world I want a white umbrella for me, a purple or taupe umbrella for my sister, plain children’s size umbrellas in lilac and black/taupe for my Bridesmaid and Pageboy and 4 black umbrellas for the ushers to use to help escort people. In reality I am hunting Ebay for the best options.

Wrapping Up

I have thought long and hard about this and a wonderful friend came to the rescue. A ‘normal’ coat would not work with my dress and I cannot afford to spend hundred of pounds on one for the day. While I like cloaks I think I am the wrong age to wear them, I look at photos of women in their mid to late 20s and I think they often look daft and it would suit me dress.

Staying stylish keeping warm (left to right): Shawl with rose detail, Lace overlay Imam by Pronovias,
Coat with fur collar and sparkle belt, Fur lined hooded cape, knitted short shawl
and full coat with fur collar and cuffs Madeline Issac-James 2012 photo found here

I then started looking at knitted shawls, when I was younger I would have a couple in my dressing-up box and loved them. So I contacted my amazing friend Jill, who owns North Star Yarns (http://www.northstaryarns.com/), for advice and she offered to make me one as my wedding gift – how cool is that? Yet another fabulous handmade item for the wedding! I have since realised that a shawl would be able to have a second life if we had children, I love the idea that something made for our wedding won’t just sit safely in a box.

The wedding getting closer and now I have all the elements of my outfit sorted I'm getting really excited.

TTFN ~ Kate xxx

4 Somethings

Most English/British Brides know the rhyme:
'Something Old, Something New,
Something Borrow, Something Blue
And a sixpence in my shoe'

Being a traditionalist at heart, I really wanted to make sure I met the 'somethings' criteria, and I wanted to do it so I had an item (or items) to cover each point. The Knot suggests these are tokens given at the last minute by close female relatives, however most Brides I know have pre-planned the items.

Something Borrowed
I know the logical thing would be to cover this in order, but my something borrowed is my most important item and I want to explain why it is borrowed and not old.

My parents on their wedding day

Meaning: by carrying/wearing something borrowed from a happily married woman you are hoping that their good fortune and long lasting, happy marriage will be carried into your future.

I cannot find the link, but I read somewhere that a good item to borrow is a veil, as this was the item to keep evil spirits from the bride.
 I really liked this idea so set about asking the women i am close to about their veils. Getting married within 4 years of each other my Mum, future MiL and Auntie all had some sort of late 70s/80s Juliet cap - while this look is going through a revival, it does not fit with the simple, classic feel I'm aiming for.
I am still considering a veil and to read more thoughts on this,                                                        please see my previous post.

Silver coin purse

Instead I have selected to carry a silver coin purse. I have no idea how old this coin purse is, but I do know it has been carried by my Great Grandma, my Grandma, Mum, Auntie and sister at their weddings. All have happy marriages that are an example to me of what it takes to make a relationship work and all are important women to me. My Ma & Pops have been together 58 years, some of that good fortune would be welcome in our future!



Something Old

Meaning: By Carrying something old a Bride is carrying continuity to the past and the family she is 'leaving'

I have a sting of Baby Pearls, they are a short necklace of small beads that I was given on my 1st Birthday from my Mum & Dad, they had previously been my Mum's and were given to her on her 1st Birthday also.
They date from the late 50s/early 60s and are the oldest piece of jewellery I own.
I can't wear them as they are too short for a necklace and too long for a bracelet, but I am looking at options for how I can incorporate them into my day.

Something New

Meaning: Looking forward with optimism for the future

Brides today will wear many new things on their wedding day and I have been mulling over what i should count as this item. My shoes will have been broken in. My dress will only be worn on the day, and I want my 'something' to be something I wear/use during our marriage. My Jellewery was a 21st present (see up-coming post on Dotty Vintage Weddings).
However I have been told that someone will be getting me earring to match my pearls, I don't know when I will get these (there's still Christmas and my Birthday before the wedding), but if I don't wear them until the day, they will be brand new and something I will use for years to come

Blue bead as
part of hair piece

Something Blue

Meaning: Blue in British tradition represents love, fidelity and purity. Other colours carry the same meaning around the world, tho I do wonder if this was put in place so it rhymed.

I have chosen to make some items for my hair and incorporated into one of these are 2 blue Swarovski crystals.

TTFN ~ Kate xx

Tasty Treat: Rocky Road Recipe

Rocky Road

Recently I wrote about my cake and sweetie table for another site I guest blog for. In that post I forgot to mention that I am hoping to make some of the sweet treats for the buffet. And today I thought I would share one of the recipes I hope to use.

With the wedding in January I thought I would try and add a warming twist on the chocolaty favourite Rocky Roads, I did this by adding the spice of ginger biscuits in place of boring digestives.


Rocky Road is a really simple thing to make and tastes amazing, and if you don't like one element, you could always swap it with something else, or just leave it out.

Cross section of Rocky Road

Ingredients 
(approximates)

12 ginger nut biscuits
1 small bag of mini marshmallows
1 bag share size Malteasers
1/2 bag sultanas
3/4 tub glace cherries
2 blocks milk chocolate cake topping

Everything looks better on a
 pretty stand

Break biscuits into small pieces (about 5mm x 5mm) and slice cherries into 6 or 8 pieces.

Add to a large mixing bowl with marshmallows, Maltesers and sultanas.
Mix together

Get a rectangle or square baking tray out and leave near where you are working.
(I find silicone is the best type of baking tray for this)

Melt chocolate; either for 1min30 or 2 mins in microwave or in a glass bowl over gently simmering water, until all the squares have melted. Instantly pour the chocolate on to the dry ingredients and stir.
Once everything has been thoroughly coated, put mixture into baking tray and press it down to ensure its tightly packed. Leave to cool to room temperature, then place in fridge.

Leave for at least 2 hours and the turn out and slice with a large,                                                    sharp knife (it might help to run knife under a hot tap.

Make a cup of tea and ENJOY!!!

TTFN ~ Kate xx

Invites: On My Marks

I have had this post drafted for a while now, and have wondered whether it would give too much away for my guests, but as they will be recieving their invites soon, I thought I'd share some of my basic ideas.

A selection of the invites we have received in the last couple of years

We are about 4 months until our wedding and I have spent the last few weeks going cross-eyed as I cut the different elements so I can soon start assembling our invitations.
For each package there are 4 sheets that form the invites and additional info, 3 parts to the RSVP and 2 decorative parts, times that by 75 and its a lot of cutting!

The invitations has been one thing that has been a true compromise between BH and I, as we have rather different tastes:
He would have something very simple, elegant and traditional, he doesn't like calligraphy looking fonts and he wouldn't bother with additional info, rather send an email. Where as I want the invite to be very hands on with lots of detail and handmade design and I LOVE calligraphy looking text.
So coming up with the final design took a few redrafts. A few months ago I shared with you the fonts, colour and paper we had chosen.

We now have a final design:
We have chosen a pocket fold case; the center, flat part will hold the invite to the service.; simple black text on pearlescent card secured with photo corners so it can be removed and put on a shelf/mantelpiece.
The pocket will hold the reception invite, directions and an additional info sheet: providing local hotels, information about photography, confetti, dress code, gifts and full contact details for my mum.

Clockwise from Top left: Portrait Grey and yellow, Landscape Baby Blue, Brown with ribbon tie,
Grey with blue & yellow details, Square Pale Blue & Turquoise with titled inserts, Yellow invite with red leaf details,
A5 Christmas themed invite with tartan and ribbon detail, Fir cone detail with a woody brown detail,
Green with Paisley design and Red 3 section, duel language pocketfold invitation

To create the decorative/crafty element, and to satisfy my 'Bridezilla' tendency that the invite has to reflect us and have something handmade, we have decided to add a 'bellyband' around the folded card. This also allows me the opportunity to add some rustic texture to an otherwise formal item.

Clockwise from top left: 'M 'monogram floral fabric and ribbon, Yellow 'French Country' solid band with vintage framing,
Modern Grey with wedding date, Yellow bubbles with initials, Simple white and featuring couples story, Baby Blue Bow

As well as the bellyband I am adding a crafted touch with 2 stamped details.

As we know we have several friends and family with food allergies and also need to know if people would like space on a bus, we are including an addressed (but not stamped) RSVP card to make life easier for guests and our parents.

So here is my invite sneaky peak; these are the materials for our invitations:
2x custom cling stamps & acrylic bloc
Hessian fabric
Natural Charms grey stitch ribbon
Pocket fold in laid card
3 fold card in pearlescent card
Purple and petal paper
RSVP sticker
Matching card in laid and pearlescent for inserts


Once we sent all our invites i will provide a more detailed post with lots of photos of the final design.

TTFN ~ Kate xx

Flowers Finalised

Buttonhole, Hair wreath,
Bouquet, Table Wreath
Corsage on bag.

While I was at my parents for a few days, I finally managed to meet up with my friend Fay, who is a talented florist and who is kindly doing my flowers for the wedding.

What I love about having a friend do the flowers for you is that you can discuss the details over a cup of tea and a giggle.
Fay's known me for years, so as I sat there explaining the theme and the look I'm going for, she could follow me and begin to picture what I'm after.

I knew exactly what 'items' I would like her to create and, even though I am doing the church decoration, there was quite a list:

1x buttonhole for groom, using both flowers.
4x buttonholes for grooms family, Best man and Ushers, using one type of flower
4x buttonholes for my family and friend, using the other flower
4x girlie buttonholes for 'team Bride'
3x corsages for Mums and BH sister
2x hair pieces for bridesmaids
2x flowers to carry for bridesmaids
1x bouquet for me
12x table centers
decoration for around cake
20+x sprigs for the choir
and possibly 4 small vases for around reception

The thing I love about Fay is that she has known me for years, so she very quickly caught my vision for the look of the day of a magical/fairy tale woodland. I was also able to show her the plant my Grandma's been growing for use at the wedding and tell her exactly what flowers I would like - thankfully she agreed that it would all work well together and would be in keeping with the 'theme'

TTFN ~ Kate xx

Pages of style #6: Top Tables

Table settings using book pages
 ideas: 1) Cutlery pouches
2) scroll place setting
 3) Flower napkin rin

I really like it when I go to a wedding and some thought and time has gone into the name tags, menu and how each place setting looks. It elevates a wedding from fancy meal to special event.

There's also lots of fun to be had:
Laid back bbq reception, how about turning those pages into a pouch for each person? You could place a napkin, cutlery, salt & pepper sachets and maybe a ice breaker question for each guest. Place the pouches in a wicker basket, for a rustic and accessible display.

A simple idea is to turn pages from your chosen book into napkin rings.

As the pictures to the left display, you could attach a flower to each name tag. perhaps attach a brooch clip and they could double up as favours for the female guests.

Cut pages to make
table numbers

For table numbers you could cut the number from a page and then mount it on plain paper -this would look effective either with the number made of the page or in relief (the coloured base showing through).

If you want to make the books the central theme to a wedding, you could take you inspiration from the table settings to the left.
By simply creating fans from the pages you can make 3D place mats and simple decorations for the backs of chairs.





TTFN ~ Kate xx

Tricky Traditions

The Marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert:
The start of most British wedding traditions

In last few weeks I have 'met' some lovely fellow brides and one of them wrote a very moving post about why she won't be following all traditions, and this got my thinking about the traditions we have chosen to follow and why.

Before I go on I want to explain something about myself: I love the pomp and ceremony of British customs, I spent my time at uni going to formals, enjoying the dressing up and 'rules' of etiquette we followed.
At heart I am a traditional girl, I like that there are things that have been done by generations (albeit since the Victorians), therefore we have chosen to follow most traditions, but not all...

My Home Village
As well as being traditional, I am a home bunny. When we started talking about weddings I knew I wanted to be getting ready at my parents house & my childhood home. For me a hotel room in a unfamiliar location
                                                                 would not have felt right.

Village church - at the bottom of my road

4 things
I am keeping to 'Something old, something new, something borrowed and something new'; there are many way to do this, but I have chosen to have an item for each 'something' - once my 'something old' has been located I will share all four with you.

A proud Dad at my sisters wedding

Given away
My dad will be giving me away - I am very lucky; I have amazing parents who are supportive and encouraging in all parts of my lift and who are still happily married. To have anyone else other than Dad walking me down the aisle would be odd.

Speeches
My worst nightmare would be lots of people speaking, I think the traditional combination reflects all the key groups; the couple, family and friends. BH would be ok if I wanted to do a speech but I feel I would of had my moment and the speech is his.

There are many other traditions we are following: wearing white dress and matching bouquet with BH buttonhole, cake cutting and first dance, but there are a couple I'm 'messing with':

                                   Top Table
In the Guildhall there is a raise Dias and they would normally have a long, one sided top table for a wedding. We, however, have chosen to sit at a round table (still with our parents, best man and maid of honour) in the middle of all our guest, we have invited them to celebrate with us so we want to be with them not 'Lording' above them.


Master of Ceremonies
I do not like Toast-masters! They are not a British tradition from what I can tell and I find them naff (sorry if you're having one, this is obviously just my opinion). I had originally asked my FiL (to be) if he could do this role and was told that "it would not be appropriate" as parents are hosts - who will do this role is still up for discussion.

Team Bride
I have never wanted a fleet of girls walking in front/behind me as I process down the aisle: I have the world best sister (yes I'm biased) and a collection of amazing friends, so when it came to choosing my adult bridesmaids I decided to get creative - my sister is my only bridesmaid, but my fabulous friends (including one guy) are my 'Team Bride' they are all taking an active role in the day, will have a buttonhole/small corsage and are joining me and my family for dinner the night before the wedding.

I think every bride & groom need to plan their day their way, traditions and etiquette change over time and there's every reason to break out the box. A traditional day has always been what I dream about and so I happy to have a formal wedding that can include many of the customs.

TTFN ~ Kate xx

3 Witches of Warwickshire

I thought I'd share a funny moment in my wedding planning:

Last Monday I went with my Mum and very good friend, Naomi, to source some twisted willow for the wedding. I had found Wroots online and as they weren't too far from my parents we set off to look at and purchase some sprigs.
No one thought that it would be sensible to take the larger car (my dad's) for this errand, so off we went in my mums small Honda.

We managed to get lost finding the exact address - even though we had driven past it 4 times!

5 bundles of 6foot & 2 bundles of 4 foot willow twigs and lots off giggle later we all piled into the car!

The car was long enough (just!)

My Mum couldn't look left at the junctions but other than that we were fine.....

When Better Half saw these photos he said we looked like 3 witches whose broom had broken down and decided to use the car. Charming!

I don't think I have laughed so hard my sides hurt for several years - was definitely worth the hassle as the willow is beautiful.

I just want to say that the guy at Wroots was amazing, didn't snigger once! Patently gave us directions, put up with my 'thinking out loud' and even helped us load the twigs into the car. The willow is fantastic value too.

TTFN ~ Kate xx

Bridal Beauty: Under Pressure?

Like most Brides to be I have a full time job and in the last few weeks it's been really busy as I've been planning and organising the Holiday Club (which turned out great). This was followed by a long weekend at my parents where I thought I'd get time to do lots of blogging, however between wedding shopping, wedding crafting and seeing friends this blogging time didn't materialise.

So here I am on my lunch break, wearing a face mask and typing my apologies.

Coming back from weekend of party food, roast dinners and take aways, I am aware that I have a few extra pounds to loose before W-day. I don't think I have ever felt so confused about my size...

Growing up I was a BIG girl and by the time I was 16 I was ok with that, that was me. Since then I have been diagnosed with Crohn's, lost a lot of weight due to the disease and nearly died.

Is it really important for me and other brides to be their thinnest on their day? If I watch the Wedding Channel it is sponsored by weight watchers and each break is framed by an ad showing a beautiful girl shrink to a size 8 for her day - do we need to be told 8 times an hour we are fat and have to be a thin bride?

Yes we all want to look and feel our best, but is conforming to societies standards of beauty the way to do it?

If you are a girl where you have been thin and that's how you feel most beautiful, then returning to that size is great. But I don't see why I should strive to get down to my previous small size when that meant illness and hospital. As long as my dress fits and I'm healthy that will be enough to me.

However, I am obsessed about my skin and hair. After my first turn in hospital my skin is in a never ending cycle of breakouts and I have a weird shelf of hair on my left side as I suffered some hair loss through the stress of the illness. To return these back to their previous good condition involves dedicating time and finding the right products, I have to remember to keep to a daily skin regime and take the time to care for my hair. I need to spend time weekly pampering - oh what a shame!

I also have to eat a healthy balanced diet to make sure my body is getting everything it needs to restore my skin and hair and to keep it healthy.

My beauty must haves: 1) Lee Stafford hair growth products, 2) healthy meals inc fish and lots of veg,
3) selection of my face products, mostly Soap & Glory, 4) I must remember to drink lots of water, 5) body pampering products even more Soap & Glory. I buy all my products from Boots

So for the next 4 months, I will be eating healthily and exercising, not because I want to be thin, but because I want my body to be healthy and strong - ready for the start of the next chapter in my life.

TTFN # Kate xx

Veiled in Confusion

Variation on a Birdcage Veil

To veil or not to veil...? It's a question that I think every bride asks, even if its only for a few seconds to confirm her choice.
I remember when I was a teenager, being in the car with mum and driving past a wedding. Mum made a comment about the bride in a veil and Lorna (my sister) and I both said we wouldn't wear a veil when we got married, this slightly shocked my mum at the time, as for her a bride wears a veil.

Since I've been engaged I have known how I want my hair - down and curly with a homemade hairpiece or two, and I remained adamant I didn't want to wear one, right up to the point I started trying on dresses.


Then the world of veils was open up to me....
I knew there was a selection, but I would never have dreamed of the detailed terminology there is in the area.

Firstly what length do I want?
I knew I definitely didn't want a birdcage, having a traditional full length gown and a formal wedding, I knew it was not right for the occasion. I also think a shoulder length veil (especially a very poofy one) looks ridiculous on short girls, & I'm only 5'3"!
Likewise a veil that is as long as my dress (chapel, cathedral or regal) would not suit the small, intimate village church we had chosen.
This still left me with a host of length options from elbow to knew length. I have to admit to standing in a mirror with a tape measure trying to imagine what they would look like.

Clockwise from top left: Beautiful Birdcage Veil, Veil length Guide, Shoulder Length
Cathedral Length, Kate Middleton (my favourite)

Next, decision is material, trim and scatter...
Some veils come in a fine net, these tend to quite stiff, the thread thick and a honeycomb pattern to them. The other option is tulle; there is a choice of 'standard' or silk, some companies (especially in America) offer 'Bridal illusion' but I think that's just the non-silk tulle. In some cases you also have a choice of fine or firm...

Trim is how the veil is edged and there is a long list: from cut edge to lace or crystal, and scatter if the amount and spread of crystals across the material.
I have found the easiest way to understand the options is to look at a veil websites Wedding Veils Direct were very helpful.

L-R: 1) Lace Edge Veil 2) Coloured Ribbon edge 3) Crystal scatter 4) Pearl edge

3 Tiered Veil

Gather, blusher and tiers
These are the two elements that I find the easiest to understand.
Gather is simply how much the material is pulled together at the comb. The more gather the narrower it is at that point & the poofier the veil. There are 3 options: no gather, part or half gather and full gather.
The blusher is where the veil covers the face.
The tiers are how many layers, often different lengths down you back, of veil you would like.
If you have a blusher you will have a 2 tier (at least) veil, but you don't have to have a blusher if you want 2 or more tiers.



Just as I started to get my head around the choices, vintage styles began to become popular, Kate Moss and Lily Allen both wore beautiful 1920's Juliet cap designs; during the 1980's a variation had been popular, and were worn by my mum, future mother-in-law and my Aunty, which incorporated a solid hat or wide band with the veil attached.
I don't this the very loose version would suit me, nor the dress & wedding, but perhaps the 80's version would suit. Maybe I should try my mum's veil and see if I could wear that?

Kate Moss' beautiful boho Juliet cap veil
sourced here

Drop veil
Not the Bridezilla!

Shortly after I started looking into wedding dresses I saw an episode of Bridezillas, normally I'm not keen on their choice of outfit, but this bride was wearing a very simple veil that fell over her, no comb or gather. As I tried to describe it to mum i found myself saying 'imagine a child dressing as a ghost under a sheet, it sits like that'. I like this style, and its not dissimilar to the veil the Duchess of Cambridge wore, except she used a tiara to secure the tulle. While I'm trying to avoid 'Kate does Kate', I would be happy to heve her veil as it was stunning.

Off to research more options and seeing what would be within my budget.

TTFN ~ Kate xxx

Birthday Party in a box

Box ready for brown paper wrapping & note to Bro-in-law

In the last few months both my wonderful Better Half and my brother in-law have celebrated the big (to me) 30! While my man was able to take the day off, my fab soldier Bro-in-law was busy at work on a tour of duty.

Being a big kid at heart I decided to make & send him a 'Birthday Party in a Box': trying to include all the classics from childhood parties, I thought it would be a fun way to celebrate with some friends out there. In the end it took 3 boxes and a silly pressie wrapped separately.

I thought I'd share with you my silly idea, what was included and how I did it.

Box  Contents:
Party hats for everyone + a Pirate Captain's hat for the special boy
Pirate cups, napkins, Balloons & loot bags
Jelly (ready made in pots)
Crisps, Sugary biscuits & savoury snacks
Prizes for pass the parcel
Pin the tail on the Donkey
Bubbles & noise makers
Pepperami (instead of mini sausages)
30 birthday cake & candles in the shape of numbers '3'&'0'









Goodie bag contents: 
Keeping in mind that these are going to a) grown men and b) men who are doing a job in a difficult circumstances, their loot bags contained:
Hot chocolate
Cup-a-soup (white packet)
Spinner & noise maker
Pen
Sweets
Pepperami

Pass the Parcel
A Party must have! I chose some water balls (they soak up water for fights) and classic mini bags of Haribo for between the layers.
There was enough layers for each of the 8 players to get a go and then the prize in the centre. Each layer was different to the one before to prevent the lads getting confused.



Packing the Boxes:
To qualify for the free post to BFPO addresses the boxes can't be any bigger that a shoe box & have a max weight of 2kg. So my first task was to locate the boxes, I had 1 shoe box lying around and then discovered that (Diet) Coke x12 boxes would be about the right size.

I tried to 'theme' each box: The shoe box had all the elements that make it a party, the hats, goodie bags, pin the tail on the donkey and the cake & cables etc....
Box 2 was filled with food, the snacks, jellies etc
and Box 3 had the pass-the-parcel and crisps.

After I had stuffed them came the tricky part - securing the boxes so everything stayed inside, I used an entire role of clear parcel tape to secure the boxes.

Covered in tape

Box 3 ready to go

Box 3 wrapped

 

Then I wrapped them in party paper, labelled them asking that they are opened at the same time (BiL has habit of just opening things as soon as he gets them), added a note to box 1, wrapped them in brown parcel paper, labelled them & filled in a customs sticker.
Thankfully each box was under the 2kg! (yes I weighed them!)


Last touch & Posting
Finally: We have a tradition in our family that you should always have something to open on 'the day',we had also contributed to an ipad, so we sent him his card & a mini-cricket set as his present (odd shaped item on the top of the right).

My better half had to take the boxes with him to work as I don't have a car. But he did report that he sent them safely and with 10days to get to the birthday boy.

I just hope he enjoyed the party!!!

TTFN ~ xxx