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

Finalising Food

I'm sorry I've been absent for a while and in the last couple of days I've tried to make up for it and get the posts up I've been planning for a while.
I have had a difficult couple of weeks that have been full of sadness due to the loss of my Nain (Nan in welsh) and has also meant I have had lots of travelling.
While this has been a difficult time, I have had a lot of support and so, for me, this isn't the place to process my loss.

So today I want to think about something more positive - food for the wedding!

Family Favorites: Christmas Roast, Hot Cross Buns, Birthday cake & BBQ

Food is a really important part of a wedding. I think I would go as far to say that, other than having a church ceremony, food is the MOST important element of the day for me. Food plays a big role in my life, when I get together with family a meal is normally the center of the occassion; our favourites are probably a BBQ or a Sunday tea (cold meats, hard boiled eggs etc all followed by cake and jelly/trifle) and I turn to food at sad times of when I'm feeling ill.

Both BH and I are foodies, we'd rather go out less often and eat at independent places when the menu's ever changing and ingredients sourced locally, we both enjoy cooking (tho BH to a lesser extent) and enjoy a good meal.

Love of food: Toad-in-the-whole, a traditional Turkish chicken dish from Selcuk
orange sponges for valentines and 3 cheese & broccoli quiche . Apart from Turkish chicken, all cooked by me!

For our wedding we were looking for a menu of classic, British winter warmers.
The whole day has a cosy rustic feel and we want this continued in what we eat, but we also wanted to be careful that we don't weigh our guests down with lots of heavy food.

Before the food tasting we were both a little a nervous, we had chosen the Guildhall based on the beautiful building and friendly staff; I have been to a wedding there but it was over 4 years ago and as it is council owned, we weren't sure about the quality of the food.

Winter Warmers: All images from BBC Good Food
Shepherds Pie, Roast Beef, Stew,
 Bread & Butter pudding, Welsh Rarebit and Apple Pie.

All of our concerns were hogwash! Nigel the Chef is amazing!
We tried 3 soups & 2 pate for starters, 2 mains (one came in both Goats & 'normal' cheese options) and 3 puddings. Everything we tried was amazing. not only delicious but well presented and we really felt that they had gone out of their way for us.
We had asked to try a 3rd main, but due to a mix up we weren't able to, however we were told where we could source the main item and my mum then purchased and sent us the item for us to cook up and test at home a couple of days later.

We really would have been happy to have any of the options we tried, however after talking through everything we tasted, our desire for a classic meal and also wanting our guests to have essentially the same meal while offering variation for those with dietary needs, we came to a conclusion and have now emailed to conform/order our wedding breakfast.

I can reveal that the starter will be soup and I will share the other details after the day.

TTFN ~ Kate xxx

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

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

Pages of Style #1: Including the Bard

Once Better Half and I had chosen our date and venue I knew I wanted to include in some way one of Shakespeare's work.

Since Midsummer Nights Dream caught my imagination when I studdied it at school I have loved the alternative world he created and have since enjoyed many more of his plays. I have to confess that I like to describe the style for our wedding as 'The enchanted forest from MSND in the middle of winter', however the very fact that we are getting married in January has led me, instead, to steer towards a differnt work.
 Another reason for the inclusion of his work is that the Bard is said to have performed in the Guildhall.

While I have already selected some quotes we could include on the order of service and a possible reading for the ceremony. I also want to include the text physically, by making decoration from copies of the play.

If you have spent any time on wedding or craft selling sites like Etsy will have seen the beautiful creations from pages of old books. I realise that for some people the idea of cutting up books and creating decorations out of them would be disrespectful and close to sacrilegious, however I do not hold to this philosophy and simply see stunning oportunities for hand crafted decorations for the wedding.
Before I got carried away I did check with BH half that he liked the designs I was considering and that he was comfortable with me cutting up old books.


Over the next few weeks I will share some of the fabulous ideas I have come across as well as some of my own creations - I hope you will enjoy the journey and share your own ideas and share your thoughts.

TTFN ~ Kate xx

PS I leave you with the face of Shakespeare from St Mary's Guildhall, Coventry. What do you think he would make of weddings today and using his work as inspiration?

Decisions and Dilemmas

Oh my, it's been a while since I've posted. Since I was last on here it's been a tad crazy; I've been in hospital, crafted and begun to plan the wedding, as well getting back to everyday life and work after op. Over the next week or so I hope to update you on the crafting, but today I will begin to update you on wedding related bits.

When I started to think about planning a wedding I knew the 'ToDo' list would be long, but I had not realised that the more stressful list was entitled 'To Decide'...
when? where? colours & themes? numbers? how involved do I want to be creatively speaking? how traditional? how formal? (breathe...) what to include? what are the most important elements? how much input do my mum, sister, friends & in laws have? how much of a surprise do I want to create? how DIY am I prepared to go? ...?...?...?

Many of these will be influenced by the fact that I love to go the extra mile in detail to make an event rememberable. I want to create a day that reflects us and that I've poured my heart into - but at the same time I have a busy year with work so can't take too much on and will need support from people.

So I come to my first dilemma, how much of my plans do I share on here and my Facebook page before the event?
I want record the journey and have other creative peeps feed into my ideas, but I still want my friends and family to have many surprises on the day. Therefore I will share elements of detail, ideas from other places and drafts as I plan and then give you all the crafting detail after the day.

 Which brings me to the first and most obvious decisions- date and venues.

Snowy Lane

WHEN?

We are getting married in January 2013. When we sat down we realised we had two choices, January or end June/July, so we went for January so we weren't waiting too long before we are husband and wife. It also means Better Half had less time of hearing about wedding and being asked lots of questions on opinions he doesn't have.
The other big factor is that I have always (well since I was about 6) wanted a winter wedding and had so many beautiful ideas for our day, that just wouldn't work in other seasons; and non of them would work in a 'Christmas in July' quirky way.
Just to be awkward: I don't want snow, just a beautiful frosty day.

WHERE?

 We had three possible options for the church and early on had narrowed it down to 2, the village church where my parents live and Coventry Cathedral. Both are very beautiful and are very important to me and after some discussion we decided that the more intimate church would suit the type of day we wanted - with our friends and family being the focus of the celebrations, not the building, feeling close and involved as we exchange vows.

The village church c. 1800-1890

The other advantage of the village church (as well as being able to walk to the service) is that I can make lots of beautiful decorations that will compliment the space, rather than be lost. Tbh I have far too many ideas now and I run the risk of the beauty of the church being lost in my crafts (eek!)


For the reception venue we knew what we couldn't do and what style of establishment wasn't to our taste. 
Marquee was out of the question (even if we had chosen a summer wedding) as it would mean hiring a location and make it too expensive. We didn't want a venue that feels like a conference centre, nor a village hall. Even though we don't have a HUGE budget our parents are being generous and we have saved hard to fund this and therefore want something that would be special for us.
We are both history geeks, National Trust members & BH has a degree in medieval history - we wanted something that reflected our passion for beautiful old buildings, that suited the time of year and somewhere I could add my creative flair.

We dutifully looked around a handful of country house hotels, but non of them quite fitted what we were looking for:
x One was too small
x Another was removed from the list within 5 minutes, no effort had gone into the open day and the annoying photographer (with big white background and flash umbrella that went off very 30 seconds) was the last straw
? If we could take the beautiful main hall from one of the hotels and put it in the place of the 'purpose built' complex at the forth, then we would have the perfect setting for a summer wedding. x Alas we couldn't do that leaving us with a beautiful hall on the end of a beautiful shell of a house and landscaped gardens that was let down buy its fraying carpets, grubby walls and over conference friendly layout. Or a lovely, well maintained hotel which felt cosy with a sense of luxury, that was in keeping with the period and style of the house, but to accommodate our guests we would have to use the modern block stuck on the end of the garden which didn't fit in with the rest of the property, or our tastes.

St Mary's Guildhall

The venue we finally went for was St Mary's Guildhall Coventry a hidden gem in the centre of Coventry. One of the few remaining medieval civic builds still standing (tho significantly restored after WWII) in the country. A reasonably small venue, with only a small courtyard of outside space; it has beautiful stained glass windows, high carved and painted ceiling and stunning tapestries. It is near Coventry Cathedral, over the lane from the ruins which we will use for photographs and features a vaulted undercroft for drinks receptions etc.
I am so excited - sorry WE are so excited. The staff are lovely, the menus look fab and the building is stunning. There's lot of scope for creating decorations, but not the need to spend every waking hour making them, as all we need to do is compliment the space not create an atmosphere.

The next instalment should be back to crafting - the next item on the 'To Do' list is the Save the Dates, which means decisions about all the stationary.

TTFN ~ Kate xxx

*I know thing can and will won't turn out on the day as I had planned. I want to turn my vision into a reality and to know on the day I did all I could to make it special for us.