It's your Wedding DAY, not a mish mash of colour

Recently, we have found that brides are purchasing lots of items in their colours but from lots of different suppliers - maybe because they are cheaper or maybe at that moment in time you just love those so have to have them!

But stop and think for a moment. Is everything going to match? Whilst we don't want everything exactly the same colour, we want tones coming together; remember that there are different sides to every colour. Your purple bridesmaids may be the red side of purple, but the chair cover sashes you have ordered are the blue side and will actually clash on the day.

Slow down a bit, use suppliers that will work backwards with you. Make you look at the whole picture of the whole day. It's your wedding; it's not your wedding favours are from here, your invites from here and the chair covers are here; it's a day, it's your wedding day.

So you've already bought the wedding favours, because you couldn't resist. Let's start from there. Let's put that wedding favour on the white tablecloth, with a white napkin, glassware and cutlery. Now let's add a ribbon round the napkin, that complements the wedding favour. Now let's add a place name tag to that ribbon. Ooooo let's use that lovely plum card as a backing because it complements the wedding favour box and the napkin ribbon - and suddenly your wedding stationery "look and design" starts coming together.

Don't be frightened to say to your suppliers "how will that flow with everything else?". A good wedding supplier will walk you through it - we do it every day, hopefully you will only do this once and we only get one day to make it work.

At the end of the day, it will also save you money - stop buying lots of bits on e**y and hope for the best .... look at your day as a whole and it will come together.

Winter Wonderland

You probably think we've lost the plot and should now be talking about spring and summer weddings .... but no we aren't as mad as we think we are.

The great thing about this time of the year is the January sales! Christmas brings lorry-loads of glitz and sparkle to the shops and no sooner have you deckled your halls, you've got to take it all down again but this is when the fun can start. Whilst you are rummaging through the fashion rails don't forget to shop around for decorations, ribbons and glittery bits that could be perfect for your wedding.

Candles are a perfect example. Opt for pillar candles and tealights, avoiding scented unless you can guarantee the scent will last until your wedding. Store in a cool place, keeping them away from direct sunlight or any where warm.

Dark, winter colours and crisp, bright white lend themselves to any wedding. Look out for wreaths which can be bulked out with artificial foliage and make fabulous centrepieces. Sparkly and organza ribbons can be found at knocked down prices great for your flowers or wedding favours. Look out for gift wrap, raffia and bags for your bridal party gifts.

Providing they will keep for your wedding, Christmas confectionery can be bought and stored in a cool place (not the fridge). Look out for silver and gold balls, foiled coins, fortune cookies and jellybeans.

But stop and think ..

Remember that a sale buy is only a good buy if you needed it in the first place and you therefore save yourself money.

Avoid bargains in unusual colours unless they are the colour of your wedding. You run the risk of discarding them at a later date.

Sale goods are often end of line which means you may not be able to purchase more in the future - make sure you buy enough at the time.

Have fun!

Ribbons and Bows

As we were uploading some photographs to Flickr today, we realised that we use a lot of ribbon, and when we say a lot of ribbon, we mean a LOT of ribbon.

Whether we use it to finish our wedding invitations as seen here in our California design or for creating a beautiful look on your reception tables with our Michigan Napkin Tags, ribbon gives a very feminine feel to your wedding stationery.

We use satin and sheer ribbon, depending on whether you want a sumptuous or a lighter feel to your design.

Use ribbons at your reception as a great way of adding colour; from the bows and sashes on your chairs, to little satin bows on your wedding favours. How about dressing up your napkins to bring in your colours?

Here we used black sheer ribbon as a bow and then finished with a smaller satin ribbon. The napkin look was finished with a personalised menu tucked underneath a personalised notebook.

Get creative with your wedding ribbon!