Wedding Colour Scheme - Bright Colours

Bright colours are gaining popularity in weddings this year and are a great choice for couples looking to stay away from all things 'vintage'. This colour scheme works particularly well in a marquee wedding as it injects life into what would be a big white space. Don't be afraid to use several different colours to really mix things up! Take a look at the mood board below for more ideas.

Image credits, from top left: michaelangelosevents.blogspot.com, weddinginvitations-online.com, emmalinebride.com, oncewed.com, blog.pinkcakebox.com, notonthehighstreet.com, blog.delightfullittlemess.com, www.wedding-etc.com, coxandcox.co.uk, onewed.com, notonthehighstreet.com, notonthehighstreet.com.

We Apologise For the Delay to this Service...

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I last blogged, and what a horrible two weeks at that! Firstly, my Mum was taken to hospital on the 14th of May, which meant I headed off to Gloucestershire to babysit seven cats and one grumpy teenage brother. I was there for almost a week, but luckily my Mum came home from hospital after being diagnosed with a kidney stone (owww). 

Just when I thought I couldn't get any more harrassed, the people selling the house Mr Moosh and I are buying decided not to exchange contracts with us. Despite previously saying they were happy to exchange and complete, they suddenly wanted to wait for visas to go to Australia! Needless to say, this made me one very stressed and angry individual. 

Due to all of this, my blog has been pushed further and further down my list of priorities until I suddenly realised I'd gone a fortnight without posting. So, I throw my hands up and apologise for the lack of wedding-related stuff round here recently. Whilst I wait for the temperature in the flat to get to a level where I can use a computer for more than five minutes without melting, have a read of this article I wrote for Cornish wedding blog Pasties & Petticoats. The blog is the brainchild of the lovely Donna Sharpe, who's a very talented wedding photographer who'll hopefully snap the pics for my own big day next year! 

Some Unusual Finds - Why You Should Cast A Wide Net When Shopping for Wedding Decorations

One of the traps people fall into when planning their wedding is thinking everything should be sourced from wedding-specific suppliers. This will firstly lead to spending more money than necessary - a 'love' sign from a high street shop still says love, but will be a lot cheaper than the one from an online wedding store. It will also mean you miss out on potentially finding those little quirky bits and pieces that add such a personal touch to your big day decorations. 

When you pick up a wedding magazine, the first thing that will happen is a load of inserts fall out and land on your feet. These brochures will often be for companies promising a 'one stop shop' for wedding decorations and accessories - place cards, table confetti, bunting etc etc. There's nothing wrong with these companies, but the lure of getting everything from one place means you will pay a premium on the price. It also means your wedding decorations will need to fit with the ranges they have on offer - the silver range, the purple range etc. If you want a more 'eclectic' feel to your day, or simply if your colours are not available, then these decoration sets are unlikely to prove useful. 

When thinking about your wedding decorations, it helps to cast a wide net and source individual pieces from a variety of places. Not only will this mean you can shop around for the best deal, but it also means you're more likely to find things meaningful to you and the look you're going for. It's also good to have an open mind on where decorations can come from. For example, you can find a huge variety of tea light holders in home furnishing shops. They might not have been designed specifically for weddings, but if they're the style you want then it doesn't matter. 

Whilst doing some shopping today, I popped into Paperchase to look at the pretty displays and found they stock a range of wedding supplies, from cup cake cases to place cards to confettti:  http://www.paperchase.co.uk/collections/wedding/icat/oewedding/. I also stopped off at Next, and saw that their home department had a huge variety of 'inspired by vintage' accessories that could be used to decorate a wedding. 

I found this wooden 'love' sign for £5.

I also got two of these very sturdy glass tea light holders at £3 each.

As you can probably tell, there's nowhere suitable in my flat to take pictures, so I resorted to using a cushion as a backdrop! I will be using both these pieces to style my wedding, most probably as decorations for the cake table. Next is not a shop many people would consider when choosing their wedding decorations, but the selection of accessories they had proves that you can find pretty things in the most unusual of places if you're willing to look hard enough.

Wedding Colour Scheme - Yellow

In the spirit of spring, even though we seem to have had summer in March and it's been pretty miserable since, here's a bright and cheerful yellow wedding mood board!

Image credits - from top left: sangmaestro.com, calyxflowers.com, boards.weddingbee.com, dilshil.com, flowerpic.co.cc, boards.weddingbee.com, prettypaperinvitations.com, atozweddingplanning.blogspot.com, weddingcircles.com, chicweddingideas.blogspot.com, marthastewartweddings.com, fortezi.blogspot.com.

An Alice In Wonderland Wedding

Lewis Carroll's brilliant Alice in Wonderland can be a great source of inspiration for a fun and colourful wedding. The general idea with this theme is that nothing should be too formal or 'matching'. I've put together a mood board of Wonderland-based ideas below.

 

Wedding Colour Scheme - Black & Red

Inspired by this wonderful Mass Effect mood board on the 'When Geeks Wed' blog - http://whengeekswed.com/blog1/2012/03/13/mass-effect-inspiration-board/ - I've put together my own black and red wedding colour scheme. They're probably not the first colours you'd think of when considering weddings but, like all colour schemes the secret to success is moderation. Pick out a few key pieces that can 'cope' with either colour - red flowers or black bridesmaid dresses, for example - instead of using them everywhere. White/cream would be a good accent colour for this palette. The black and red colour scheme works particularly well in a contemporary city wedding. 

As you might be able to tell, my numerous pleadings to Mr Moosh for him to teach me how to put all these images into one mood board fell on deaf ears. We'll all just have to put up with the long, stringy lines of images until I find someone else who can help, or I throw the computer out the window! 


Image credits: perfect-wedding-day.com, wedding-flowers-and-reception-ideas.com, beautiful-bridal.blogspot.com, beautifulcliche.tumblr.com, http://www.wedding-buffalo.com/black-bridesmaid-dresses.

A Wedding Planner Should...

This post is inspired by two things. Firstly, a conversation I had over the internet with a lady in the United States, who'd just fired her wedding planner because the planner was trying to push her into changing pretty much everything about her wedding. Secondly, the publication of the first issue of Unique Bride magazine, which has broken the mould of wedding magazines to say that your wedding is about you and should be filled with things you care about and look like you want! Thinking about these things has prompted me to clarify how a wedding planner should help you achieve a wedding that is as unique as the people getting married.

When I set up Strawberry Soufflé Weddings, I was adamant that I wouldn't be just another boring wedding planner, but someone who genuinely cared about getting you the wedding you wanted. As a bride-to-be myself, it can be rather soul-crushing to repeatedly hear the phrases "have to" or "you must" as soon as you mention the W-word. People who you thought were perfectly sane will start climbing the walls when you tell them your fiancé wont be wearing a tie, or that you don't want fake nails (my bridesmaid quit over the last one). It becomes very hard to stay true to the style of wedding you have imagined as a couple. Understanding all this is why I want to emphasise the most fundamental aspect of my business:

I WILL NEVER TELL YOU HOW YOUR WEDDING SHOULD BE. EVER. 

My job is to help you get what you want. Think of me as an extra pair of hands who can run around doing all the boring things whilst you enjoy yourselves and get on with your lives. Need a hundred paper pom-poms attached to the ceiling of your marquee - I can do that. Need someone to find you a supplier of steampunk wedding accessories, or vintage teasets - I can do that too. Organising your wedding can be fun, but it can also take up a huge amount of time, which is why it can be helpful to book one of Strawberry Soufflé's services - from full planning to venue styling. I think a lot of couples worry that hiring a wedding planner means you'll end up with someone else's wedding, but that's not how I work. A big part of my job is to meet with you and find out what makes you tick, what you like and dislike, and what you do and don't want on your big day. I then work with all of this to give you a wedding that is a reflection of you as a couple. No idea is too 'strange', no detail too small. 

Remember, there is no "have to" when it comes to weddings. There's only you, your partner, and the things you like. 


For more information and to arrange a free initial consultation, email info@strawberrysouffleweddings.com