Spring into Action!

Planning a Spring or Easter Wedding and looking for a theme? Why not use birds? For some great Diy tutorials and birdie cake topper ideas and paper crafts visit here: http://www.lalalaurie.com/these crafts are so cute!

A touch of Vintage style!

Anyone who regularly reads my blog will already know that I love anything that can be done with my glue gun! And the quicker the better! Well you wont find a much quicker or easier idea than this to add a touch of vintage style to your reception tables! This is a really great way to also use up some of your left over lace from your wedding dress or coat if you are having it made, and if you are only at the buying fabric stage get a couple of yards extra. If not try and get a bit of sale lace or if this is even outside the budget you could always buy a packet of doilies which would give the same effect. As for the glasses anything goes, try saving up some jam jars, baby food jars or sauce jars to add some shabby chic style to your tables!

So first of all get your lace or doilies and cut them into shapes around the flowers if required and to the required heights, then either paint them with some clear drying glue like pva glue or a paint on starch or spray them with a good quality starch to make it stand good and straight. Leave to dry.

Next simply get your glass container, wrap the lace around to fit and glue it on with the glue gun.

Add a candle or t light & voila! Beautiful yet inexpensive table centers for your tables.

And last but not least I just wanted to share this gorgeous cake picture with you, I think this is Class! You can still have your traditional white cake and surprise your guests when you cut into it with this truly modern twist! I am sure that most confectioners and cake makers could recreate this for you easily. Yum, it makes my mouth water!

Have Fun!

Maureen

DIY - Mass Scrolls instead of Mass Books!

Sometimes the most simple things are the best, if you are struggling with trying to get your head around the traditional Mass Booklet then why not take a lead from the Americans, who are opting instead for a Mass Scroll! These are very easy to make yourself and can be colour co-ordinated to match your theme, also they would look really pretty in a basket with matching ribbons, here's some ideas for what you may like to include on them:
Your names,
Date, location and time of ceremony,
The order of events for the wedding ceremony, including titles of readings and songs,
The names of the wedding party,
Names of your parents, clergy, readers and musicians,
Thank-yous, dedications and remembrances.
Remember it's your day, so do it your way!
Maureen
On a slightly different note, a friend of mine has just launched his first album, so he is looking for hits on you tube, every hit counts so if you like this video please look for gravel poets on you tube! (or request a radio station to play them!!!!)If you live in the Dublin area and would like to come along and see them you can find the list of upcoming gigs on their website : http://gravelpoets.com/fr_index.cfm you can also buy this song or indeed the full album by clicking on the cd baby box on their site

Black and Cream mood board/Inspiration!

Heres another mood board for all of you ladies who are thinking about having a black and cream or black and white themed wedding.

If you have a colour that you would like to see on a board please let me know and I will see if I can find one for you,

Maureen

Feeling Blue?

I have been busy this week making up some floral mood boards, for brides that have enquiries regarding different colours, I'm loving the colours of this one in particular and so I thought I would share it with you, I actually had this colour for my own wedding so I suppose it is a colour I have always liked, will show you another one during the week!
Maureen

I spy.......a way to keep the kids occupied!

I came across this idea on Martha Stewart you can find the full tutorial here: http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/photogallery/decoration-templates#slide_17

I thought it was a great way to keep some of the older kids and perhaps some of the younger ones! occupied during the wedding and is a great thing to add to a goodie bag etc if you are making them for the kids at your wedding, and as Marthas site says, you never know but one of them might even take the best shot of your big day!

D.I.Y - Floral Table Plan

Another D.I.Y tip for all of you!

Click on the picture to enlarge,

You could also make this up using Ivy or fake Flowers, for a christmas wedding you could also stick on some pine cones or baubles,

For spring/summer some butterflys or little birds,

Could also embelish with sequins and glitter!

You can also get some really pretty hat pins (your florist should be able to get some for you!)

Or if you are lazy like me you could just use the glue gun and glue everything on!!

Whatever you choose - Have Fun!

Maureen

Centerpiece Idea

The Painted PotsCovered Toilet Rolls!

The Finished Product!

Here's a quick and easy project for all of you D.I.Y. Brides!

It's also great when you consider that it is virtually free to make and using mostly recycled things thus helping the environment!

So What you will need is the following:

1 x Pot for each centerpiece,

Some Large Twigs From the Garden or ask for Mitsumata or contorted willow at your local florist

lots of old toilet rolls,

Some fabric or wallpaper to match your theme,

Some fringe, ribbon, feathers, boa, or beaded fringe (try hickeys)

Some crystals or Glass beads with holes in top,

Some Moss

Thin wire or see through thread(fisherman's thread)

Some Plaster of Paris (or a small bag of cement)

& Some Small Flowers to decorate (silk will work best here but you can use real if you have time the morning of the wedding!)

and a glue gun is also a great help!

Begin by painting your pots in colours to match your chosen theme,

You could spray paint the bottoms and just paint the collar by hand if wished
Pick out one two or three branches per pot depending on size of pot and size of branches,

Make up plaster of Paris (or cement) following the instructions on the packet,

And add to the pots, with the stick(s) inside, holding them in place until they set

Cover the old toilet rolls with the fabric or wallpaper, using the glue gun

(or failing that double sided sticky tape!)

& don't worry if it doesn't quite cover the ends as your ribbons etc will cover them anyway

When they are dry have fun sticking on your embellishments either end of the tubes, you could just put a simple strip of satin ribbon in a complimenting shade either side or whatever you wish

Make a couple of small holes in one end of the tubes and thread them with the invisible thread or wire which will be used to hang them

Hang them on your tree, along with the crystals or glass beads

Use the Moss to Cover the bottom bit where the plaster of Paris is and randomly glue on some small flowers to the tree

Stand Back and admire your work!

(Use your imagination for these trees, they can look so Fab, you can also try these ideas,

if you are having a Christmas wedding, how about adding a set of battery operated fairy lights to each tree (Dunne's have some fabulous one's at the moment with little stars on) Or buy them now and save them for your summer wedding if you just love the fairy light effect!

Use strings of Pearls if you are having a pearl themed wedding (you can also pick these up very easily at the moment look out for tree garlands)

You could hang small Christmas decorations from the branches

If you are having a spring or Summer wedding why not try adding butterfly's, lady birds or small birds to the branches

Hang strips of organza ribbons with diamante hearts or ovals from the branches

O.K that's enough from me, I hope I have helped, If you make one of these please e mail me a picture, & I will "showcase it here on my blog, I would love to hear your ideas too, or if you have something that you would like to share please e mail me!

Have Fun!

Maureen

Red Christmas Theme - Floral Mood board.

As Promised here's not one but two red mood boards for your chrstmas theme! I love the idea of the little snowy christmas tree in the cloche for a table center, these would also make great gifts for aunties etc to take home at the end of the night. They can also be planted which makes a really great memento of your wedding and is also "green" and helping the environment. I love gold with red but you can just as easily use silver if that is your preference. For a red and gold theme think lots of candles in red and cream with gold bouillion wire wrapped around them, lots of gold baubles and red and gold ribbons, pine cones, and berries,(if you are not getting married untill next christmas start collecting in the jan. sales!) add a sprinkling of fairy lights but with gold accents instead of silver and again make use of christmas trees, if you can find mini ones real or fake they make great table centers, dont forget your tables accent them with pretty red and gold christmas crackers and red ribbons on crisp white napkins.................
And if you are brave enough to wear a red dress, check out the stunner above, it's by Ian Stuart, I so LOVE, LOVE, LOVE his creations, there is also a really fab hat that goes with this dress (and yes it also comes in white! & Ivory)You can find it here:http://www.ianstuart-bride.com/docs/5.param_dress_masquerade.html
I have also found a really great idea for table centers which I will share with you ..........................tomorrow!
See you then!
Maureen

Ferrero Rocher Place-Cards

I recently did a post on how to make Ferrero Rocher trees, but just came across this idea, which I think is really great and easy to make, just print out your guests names onto some nice card stock and perhaps you could put something like "Our Wedding" or the date or your names on the other side Put a cocktail stick in the center and glue the two sides together. Once dried stick into a single ferrero rocher et voila! Sometime simple is best!

Winter Wonderland anyone?

Ooooooh! O.K. so I admit, I love Christmas! and although I love the summer and the sunshine it's somehow nice to get back to crisp cold days with a lovely fire inside! (although I do hate the rain!!) But this time of year I get alot of brides asking about Christmas weddings and winter themes, what can we do to make it different? Well you can do alot! You can go for a lovely silver and blue theme as above or an equally beautiful red and gold theme (maybe I will do that tomorrow? Check back!) And although I think that the picture on the bottom left (with all the Christmas trees) is a little in the extreme, you could achieve something a bit more subtle by using the same idea. let your imagination run wild! Think Fog machines, and lighting effects with snowflake filters, beautiful iridesent snowflakes on the tables and lots of fairy lights. You can make beautiful and not very expensive table centers by using some of the plants that are available such as small christmas trees with snow or gittered finish and put lots of pincecones and t lights around the base of them, If they come in plain pots just spray paint them in a colour to match your scheme. Or how about some nice glass hurricane jars filled with baubles and fairylights? Put a cracker at each place setting and you could also pick up some inexpensive chocolates in the shape of christmas trees or snowmen (the type that you hang on trees) and tie one to each napkin with a piece of ribbon. Of course if it all seems like it's just too much work, we would be happy to do it for you! Check back tomorrow for the red and gold theme!

Preston you are an Inspiration!

Any of you who know me or regularly read this blog, know that I spend alot of my spare time surfing the internet in search of inspiration and new ideas for wedding flowers! One of my all time favourite floral designers is Preston Bailey, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE his work! Check out these amazing floral sculptures that he created, they truly are a work of art!

Preston also recently designed the Wedding Flowers for the Wedding of Billionaire Heiress Ivanka Trump (daughter of Donald & Ivana Trump) & her long term boyfriend Jared Kushner
in a star studded ceremony in Trump National Golf Club in Bedminister New Jersey, as always the flowers were beautifully elegant & classical without being overpowering!, I can but dream that one day I will have an unlimited budget to work with!!!! Click on the pictures to enlarge - there is a SERIOUS amount of roses in that Chuppah!

Preston we are not worthy!!!!

Ivanka Trump with her husband Jared Kushner

The beautifully decorated golf club, where the ceremony took place

Preston with the Happy Couple

Eye Candy!

I am always on the lookout for new ideas for bouquets and just came across these fabulous pics on this blog http://flowerwildevents.blogspot.com I love the traditional style of bouquet mixed up in this way with a modern mix of flowers and wonderful jewelled colours, it really is lovely to look at and because there are so many colours in it it will work on so many levels. So come on all you Brides for 2010 & 2011: Be inspired!