WOW!

I saw this photo and simply thought WOW! so had to share it, such an impressive table display.

for more details check out http://www.karentran.com/

Celebrity Wedding Cakes

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes served a five-tier white chocolate mousse wedding cake decorated with marzipan roses at their wedding in Bracciano, Italy

For their Santa Barbara wedding, Avril Lavigne and Deryck Whibley chose this four-tier, half-vanilla, half-chocolate wedding cake created by Perfect Endings

Kate Moss and hubby Jamie Hince enjoyed a six-tiered wedding cake by London baker Peggy Porschen at their garden party reception. The ornamented traditional white cake was surrounded by yellow roses at the base.
Photo: Mario Testino / Vogue

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi enjoyed a red velvet wedding cake from Sweet Lady Jane adorned with pink and purple roses.

Keeping with their black-and-white wedding theme, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries chose a six-foot-tall chocolate and vanilla wedding cake, by Hansen's Cakes, which was studded with chocolate chips.
Photo: Startraks Photo

Hilary Duff chose a cake without frosting for her Montecito wedding to Mike Comrie. The three-tiered creation, by Fantasy Frostings, had a vintage-home-made feel and was adorned with roses.
Photo: HilaryDuff.com

At their Los Angeles wedding, Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro sliced into a four-tier cake with layers of Oreo cheesecake, chocolate cake and strawberry shortcake

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale enjoyed a four-tier wedding cake covered in black magic roses at their Los Angeles wedding reception



One of the most extravagent cakes must be Donald Trumps!

This fifty-pound, seven-tier Grand Marnier chiffon cake was served at the wedding of Donald Trump and Melania Knauss. Created by Mar-a-Lago pastry chef Cedric Barbaret, the cake was topped with 3,000 white-icing roses

Featured Dress Designer - Justin Alexander

Today I decided it may be a useful resource for brides to be searching for their perfect dress to feature various dress designers. I realise just how difficult it is to find your dream dress with so many different things to take into account, such as style, colour, cost and practicality to suit your style of wedding.

Our Featured Dress Designer is ... Justin Alexander

Style 8527

    

style 8524

Style 8535

Style 8535 -back

style 8440

Style 8465

Check out his website at http://www.justinalexanderbridal.com/collectionlist.php?collection=1

Happy Dress Hunting!

Picnic Wedding Inspiration

Fancy doing a little something different, a little more relaxed maybe and low key. If you love outdoors and are thinking of having a summer wedding then why not have a Picnic themed wedding

Here at this ceremony all the guest are sitting on blankets with beautiful picnic basket floral arrangements to add some extra colour to the outdoors

Red and White Check straight away makes you think "picnic time"! just think of all the wonderful touches you can add to your day and of course what day would be complete without strawberries and cream...

After the ceremony you could use picnic blankets and number them in the same way you would a table 

I love this idea of a tea/lemonade bar, draped with blankets to give it that picnic feel

Add a touch of yellow instead by using sunflowers, stunning flowers  and picnic basket favours add a nice finishing touch

Each numbered blanket have their own picnic basket for the guests to enjoy.

Or you could do a mix and match effect, picnic blankets but with a buffet lunch or BBQ or Hog Roast, whatever takes your fancy really. Let your imagination do the work.

Decorate the outdoors with bunting and paper lanterns and you have the perfect wedding venue.

My Very Own Real Wedding

I guess my story is almost one of a romantic fairytale, which actually sounds quite funny considering i am now in my 40's.  Like alot of women nowadays after two previous failed relationships I began to give up really on love. Then one day a friend of mine asked me to go online and check out a guy who she was about to meet off a dating site she was on. I agreed but in order to do this i would have to set up a profile. So i did, he checked out ok and i guess curiosity got the better of me so i must admit i did check out some of the guys profiles. Then one day i recieved a message from a lovely man in Australia, he was chatty and we found that he had links back here in the UK and we had a fair few things in common. Ok I thought here is a man who is far enough away to avoid anything complicated, after all he was in a different country completly over the other side of the world plus he was good company and we would pass away the day chatting for hours over nothing really lol. After about 3 months it was decided he would come over for a 3 month holiday to give us chance to get to know each other even better. Well he did, we had a great time,  I instantly realised that we had a real connection and well before long we realised we were soulmates. After hours of talking via internet and phone - gosh the bills! then me visiting him over in Australia we made plans to be together. As Sean was born in the UK there was no problem with him moving, We did discuss me moving to Australia but my daughter has an illness which meant really our options were a little restricted. So Sean moved over just over 3 years ago, we got married on 3rd July 2010 and the rest is history.

Our Venue

We both decided as this was not our first marriage we just wanted something personal, low key but had our personalities written all over it.
After spending 6 yrs in Kent prior to moving to North Yorkshire we decided that it would be the best place to hold our wedding. After all most of my friends were based down south, we had some guests flying over too so to be based not too far from the main airports was definatly a plus point. It did mean though that along with my parents we would have a 250 mile commute for our wedding. Still although it would be a challenge we knew it could work.

After looking around we found the most beautiful barn location called Ratsbury Barn

based in the Tenterden countryside it was peaceful, rustic and surrounded by fields and beautiful scenery. Perfect!! it was pretty much a blank canvass for us to put our own stamp on.

As we were on a pretty tight budget i decided to make my own menu's and save some money by making my own table decorations.

I decided as with all my flowers due to the distance we were travelling for our wedding that using real flowers would not be practical, so I decided to use foam roses and a butterfly or two to go with my theme.
The logistics of getting our home made wedding cake down to kent was interesting as it was chocolate and we were in the midst of a really hot summer. Still we got it there intact.
I was pretty lucky as i was still visiting kent for work on the odd occasion so it made talking to my chosen suppliers easier.

Theme

Our theme was pastels with pale pink, cream and lilac along with the odd butterfly here and there. To add a little of our personal touch to things I had a bouqet with some eucalyptus in and bought my husband and the best man Australian flag cufflinks so that there was an aussie touch to the day. Oh and not to mention the choice Australian music played by the DJ, such as Men at work and kylie lol.

I also put out a little sweet table, its amazing what glassware you can find in shops and charity shops, this proved a popular touch to our day

Food

To fit in with the rustic charm of the venue we opted for a kentish cream tea followed in the evening by a carvery in a roll, things went down a real treat

Bridesmaids

I had 4 bridesmaids, two of my best friends Hilary and Debbie and My neice Abi and My daughter Caitlin. The adult bridesmaids went for victorian lilac Alfred Angelo dresses and the two younger girls went for butterfly themed dresses from BHS.

The Ceremony

The Ceremony itself was beautiful, it was a kentish ceremony and we had already made pre-arranged changes to some of the vows and wordings just to make it more personal. We were joined by 40 of our closest family and friends. Unfortunatly Seans Mum had passed away prior to his move but she was with us on the day as i carried some of her worry beads in my bouquet, we knew she was pleased for us had given us her blessing.
we kept things informal mostly with just the formal touches such as the greeting line, speeches and first dance.

I cannot repeat some of the suggestions that were made about tying me to the anchor and dropping it in lake

I really enjoyed my wedding day, we did things our way, it was relaxed and we managed to get around and spend time with all our guests. If i could change anything it would be to add a bit more flair to my candy table and maybe have the cake made by someone nearer to my wedding destination as it was a very stressful affair for my mother who not only made it but transported it.

 On the whole our day was everything we hoped it would be.

My Tip

As we had alot of outdoor space we took along some garden games such as noughts and crosses and giant pick up sticks even outdoor chess is good fun. It gives guests something else to do and they are relativly inexpensive to purchase.
As our wedding was around the world cup we also took the opportunity to play football and we had some amazing shots of us all running around in our finery, even something that small made our day memorable.

Finally I must say that my day wouldnt have been what it was without the help and support of my wonderful family and friends.

My dad and his friend did a great job of the wedding photography and dvd for us, they did a really professional job.

flowers by www.sarahsflowers.co.uk

Venue : http://ratsbury.com/

Wedding Flowers & Meanings

With so many beautiful flowers to choose from when it comes to deciding what flowers to have in our bridal bouquets it can often be quite a difficult decision to make.

So today I thought we could look at flowers and their meanings which may in turn assist you in making your choices.

roses

Apple Blossom - Good Fortune

Camellia - Gratitude

Carnation - Facination

Crysanthemum (red) - I love you

Crysanthemum (white) Truth

Cyclamen - Modesty

Daffodil - Regard

Daisy

Daisy - Innocence

Forget-me-not - Rememberance

Gardenia - Joy

Heather - Good Luck

Honeysuckle - Generosity

Hyacinth - Lovliness

Hydrangea - Boastfulness

Ivy - Fidelity

Iris - Burning love

Jasmine- Amiability

Lilac - Innocence

Stargazer Lillies

Cala Lillies

Lily - Majesty

Lily-of-the-valley - Return of happiness

Magnolia - Perserverance

Mimosa - Sensitivity

Orchid- Beauty

orchids

Rose- Love

Snowdrop - Hope

Sweet Pea - Pleasure

Tulip - (red) I love you

Tulip - (white) I am worthy of you

Violet- Faithfullness

Gerbera

Gerbera- Innocence and Purity

Cala Lily - Purity

Todays Featured Supplier - Catterick Candy Trees

Catterick Candy Trees have everything you need for anyone who has a sweet tooth. This beautiful Candy Cart can be hired complete with glassware and sweets for a very reasonable price.

The also do a great range in sweet trees so why not check them out at

www.catterickcandytrees.co.uk

Cross Butts Stable Hotel & Restaurant - A Perfect Rustic Venue

Today I have stumbled accross the most beautiful wedding venue in North Yorkshire.
Cross Butts Stable Hotel & Restaurant was rebuilt and refurbished after the awful foot and mouth disease experience in the uk back in 2001. Many families who had been in farming lost their livelyhoods.

Cross Butts has a really rustic charm, which it would be hard for anyone not to fall in love with. So if your looking for a venue with that something special take a look at their website below.


http://www.cross-butts.co.uk/weddings.php

Step out in Style

Why not step out in style and make a statement? When choosing your bridal wear, whether it be yours or your bridesmaids why not choose to add a splash more colour.

Nowadays more and more brides are choosing to wear coloured shoes with their dresses and what better way to bring out the colours of your chosen theme? fun too!

I love the way the coloured shoes are matched to the bridal flowers

I love the mix of colours in this one

So what do  you think? love them or hate them? will you be daring enough to go for a splash of colour this year?

Would love to hear your thoughts