Every bride wants her wedding to be as unique as can be. A good place to start is with bespoke wedding stationery… Be inspired by a colour you love, or a flower from your bouquet, or your wedding venue – clean and contemporary, or elegant and traditional. It should reflect both your’s and your groom’s taste, and give your wedding its own unique identity. Your invitations set the tone for your big day, and if you want menus and place cards on your reception tables, you don’t want them to clash with your surroundings. Think about it all now, and you’ll have a gorgeous look for your wedding.

The colour Scheme – This could be taken from your flowers, or bridesmaid dresses, or even just a colour you love that is used as a highlight throughout your stationery and day.

Your flowers – Flowers can be a gorgeous visual on stationery, whether they’re classic white roses, pretty sweet peas, or bright pink peonies. (TIP: “The Flower Library” from ScissorPaperStone designs invitations matching your wedding flowers – perfect if you’re having something unusual or flowers of a specific colour).

Snapshot – Create a stylish wedding invitation that’s truly personalised using a photo you both love – a moment on holiday, your favourite place, whatever you want!

Words – You should always word your wedding stationery how you want to – if you’re not having a traditional wedding you can ignore the rules of “request the pleasure of your company…”. Try “we’re delighted to invite” instead – it’s more personal and less formal.

A personal memento – A family heirloom, or a token from your groom. With stationery the classic option is to have your initials designed as a monogram to personalise your invitations.

The time of year – A fresh spring bride, a dramatic winter evening, a lazy summer afternoon. The time of year you are being married is not only important for which flowers are in season, but also the general atmosphere of your day – twinkly fairy lights and mulled wine at Christmas, Pimms and strawberries in the summer – it could all be reflected in your invitations.

The Venue – It may be a grand old castle, or a white modernist hotel, but this is where you will be spending most of your time, and will give the greatest impression to your guests. Think about how your tables will look – menus, table numbers, name cards – its always the little things that count!

We’ve heard some whisperings from a few brides that the London 2012 Olympics next year may be interfering with your wedding bliss! If you are planning to have your wedding next July/August get your skates on and make sure you book your venue early to avoid disappointment. Also don’t forget to perhaps make a block booking in a hotel for your guests. There are lots of venues just outside London who still have some availability for next July and August. Many are offering fantastic package discounts and deals so do ask if they have any special offers for that period.

BIN bags and duct tape are not the first materials most brides would choose for their wedding dress. But sixth-form student Lorna Malone has created a gown made from the unusual materials for her art A-level.

The dress is part of her A-level work on surrealism. She explored making something conventional out of unconventional things. She was inspired to make something beautiful out of something that is considered trash.

She spent £5 on white bin bags and £9 on duct tape to make the dress in three days.

She said: “I used myself as a mannequin and created a corset, then attached more bags to the bottom to make the skirt. The dress has got a cardboard back, which I hole-punched, so the corset ties up with ribbon.”

Lorna used 60 white bin bags to make this unique dress.

I have just found some great cotton ball lights that would be a lovely addition to your reception area and look to be very versatile.You could use them around mirrors, on tables or in vases and they would certainly exude ambience and style. There are a multitude of colours to choose from so you can tie them in with your wedding colours.

This is a hand-crafted product sold with a unique twist – not your average fairy light string!

http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/cableandcotton/product/cable-and-cotton-pick-and-mix?utm_source=weddings&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=template_emailer_22.09.11_theme_1

Wedding Bits n Bobs have compiled a free information pack of suppliers that they consider worthy. And yes we have been included!! They have done the leg work for you and amassed  50 + fabulous wedding suppliers. If you’re interested go to : http://www.wedding-bitsnbobs.co.uk/supplierpack.html

A wedding at Christmas  can be a magical affair and as it gets darker so much earlier at Christmas time, you could have a late ceremony lit by candlelight or fairy lights.

For your venue think log fires and a huge Christmas tree taking centre stage in the reception space. In keeping with the seasonal theme use evergreen wreaths and roses or you could use potted Poinsettas  as stunning centre-pieces with large church candles providing a warm and cosy atmosphere. An alternative would be sparkling white tree branches draped in fairy lights.

Handmade crackers with carefully chosen gifts or sweets would be great as favours, with candy canes or chocolate money for the kids.

On arrival you could serve mulled wine followed by a hearty festive feast of traditional turkey will warm your guests with mini mince pies or star shaped cookies displayed on a tiered cake stand for dessert.

As far as colours are concerned you don’t need to stick to the traditional red and green. Colour themes could be white, midnight blue and silver, rich wines, and gold and ivory.

Your wedding invitations can reflect your theme and the time of year. You could incorporate snowflakes, christmas flowers, and use rich colours on your wedding stationery. See our snowflake and red rose designs below.

The brides stand on the left of the groom during the marriage ceremony to allow his sword arm to be free and ready to fight off other men who want her as their bride.                                                                               

Something old represents the link with the bride’s family and the past. The bride may choose to wear an old piece of family jewellery.

Something new represents good fortune and success in the brides new life, this is often her wedding dress.

Something borrowed from a happily married woman is meant to impart similar happiness to the bride.

Something blue symbolises faithfulness and loyalty and dates back to biblical times when blue represents purity. Frequently the bride’s garter is blue.

Bridesmaids and groomsmen were dressed in a similar way to the bride and groom to act as decoys to confuse evil spirits and thus protect the bride and groom. The veil was originally worn by roman brides.

The roots of the customary bridal shower originated in Holland. If a bride was unfortunate enough to have her father not approve of her choice of husband, he would not offer a dowry. Her friends would then “shower” her with gifts so she could still be married to her groom, without the help of her father.