Granny's Teaparty

Pete and I took my In-Laws to see the wedding venue this week. Going to see it again I was just as impressed and  *sigh of relief* they liked it too. It all became real for us again, it was no longer out of sight out of mind, in just less than a year we would be back here getting married. I welled up!! Also Revisiting was extra good for me as it galvanised me to continue collecting and finding pretty ways to decorate, I feel lots of charity shop runs coming on.

Already I have collected a vintage china trio for every guest from gift and charity shops, boot sales and eBay. There is method in my madness as these are going to be place settings, with individual luggage tags attached and for afternoon tea later. I got my inspiration from my favourite tea shop in Cardiff - The Pettigrew Tea Rooms. They use vintage cups, plates, teapots and 50's music which gives a lovely ambiance I want to recreate. I am a sucker for a cream tea!

Also I was going to turn some of the leftovers into teacup candles to be lit in the evening, a tip from Kirsty's Home Made Home. http://www.channel4.com/4beauty/style/budget-fashion/how-to-make-a-teacup-candle
Luckily I have particularly crafty bridesmaids who have already offered to help out, an offer I'm sure they will come to regret!
           

With these already on the table, I started looking for a small centrepiece to tie everything together. My friend had cake stands on her tables, with roses heads and cupcakes decorating them. Another friend had teapots on vintage books. Both looked amazing on the day.

My original thought was birdcages. There were so many nice designs to choose from. However after looking through bridal magazines some brides had really gone to town with beautiful flowers inside and outside, trailing ivy and roses but I wanted to do
something a bit different. 

After I considered candelabra, again stylish and not difficult to pick up. These were more what I had envisaged, but the extra tall metal ones were too formal for me. So I have currently set about trying to collect miss matched candelabra.  Nothing ever matches with me including my socks! I love the Laura Ashley white and crystal ones but the old fashioned Silver ones have an old school glamour to them. I have decided to layer lace and crochet doilies underneath which my grandma has kindly agreed to make

In thinking about centrepieces, I began wondering what to give our guests as
favours. Out of all the ideas I had seen little pots of jam and honey with "Spread the Love" tags were the cutest. I found that pots were relatively cheap and I have been making jam (how WI of me) for a while. But my head has been turned lately by the Candy Bar craze, the idea of collecting vintage sweet jars and filling them with old fashioned sweets really appeals. Also with a few children at the reception they can tuck into them when it all gets a bit boring! Personalised bags are cheap on EBay and I'm hoping this will bring the look together. I have bought a few cut glass bowls and barrels from charity shops and I have seen some large ribbed jars which will complete the table. I am going to use the left over lace to make some bunting to deck the table.

My New DIY project of the week is to renovate a Vintage suitcase to hold cards. I have bought a small suitcase and some Cath Kidson material to line it. I will show you the finished project!

http://www.mrsaveragebride.com/2012/08/diy-vintage-gift-card-suitcase.html

I'm following this guide from another Bride blogger, I'm hoping it will look like this when its finished.

My wedding is definitely going to look like granny's tea party!

The W day dress

 On the journey to find my wedding dress I had been told that you WILL find THE perfect dress, from the moment you try it on you will just “know”. But what did this “knowing” involve? That you cry uncontrollable, your mother swoons and faints or you become overcome and want to part with thousands of pounds. I just didn’t think I would ever experience this.

I really wanted to find a lace vintage style dress, the satin diamante puffy creations just weren’t for me, I wanted something quietly sophisticated and more traditionally vintage.  I researched a few designers that created vintage inspired dresses. The first one I found was Justin Alexander. The glamorous new collection oozes vintage charm, with timelessly beautiful dresses.

 

Then I found on my travels Lyn Ashworth; the dresses are captivatingly understated with amazing silhouettes. Accented with elegant lace and vintage style brooches. Mori lee, which create feminine dresses with amazing embellishment however some dresses were on the puffy side. Lastly Pronovious who’s lacework is second to none but are a bit pricey.

 

If all these modern designers failed me I located The Vintage Wedding Fair which sells over 400 vintage dresses from various eras. So I would find myself an original dress to love which was just as appealing.

So my maid of honour and I hot footed it to these chosen boutiques. I initially tried on Tea length dresses channelling my inner Audrey Hepburn. Although at being only 5ft 3, I felt these actually accentuated my height deficiency. After rattling through 15 dresses I thought I would never find it. The first dress that made me draw breath was Justin Alexander’s 8530, however I had to add an embellished belt as the long length meant my waist needed accentuating. The vintage styling made me feel very elegant. Although returning a week later the dress did not hit the same high notes and no motherly tears were shed. It was back to the drawing board. I was beginning to feel that I would never find a modern dress to fit my vintage styling and began looking more into the original vintage route.

However, in another boutique my mother found a Pronovious Sample sale that I had looked at the previous week. From the moment I tried on their Menorca dress, I had this peculiar magical feeling of this being the dress for me. I didn’t want to take it off it was so beautiful and when my mother burst into tears it sealed the deal. As it was a sample it was £600 reduced from £1800, a steal! We took it out there and then before another bride got her mitts on it. I have now refused to look at any other dresses as I can’t afford to change my mind (I have seen brides end up with 3 dresses eek!) but every time I look at it it’s just as beautiful.

So my message to other brides is, keep calm, everybody is different and that perfect dress is out there for you. But I’m afraid I’m just as ambiguous as all the rest in saying “when you find the one for you, you will just Know”. Damn!