THE DRESS

You know I can't do anything the easy way. Why not get a loan from the bank, ask a relative, blow your savings and blast it One Wonderful Wedding Day and quite probably an Epic Honeymoon?? Nooooo.... I have to make sure that my wedding is frugal, recycled and second hand to the point of insanity. Don't worry with only 9 months to go I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that I really can't do everything and I will have to pay for a professional on some points at least.



One of these points is THE DRESS.

The options are these:

1. Buy the fabric myself and have a professional (friend of the family with 20% discount) make it perfectly fitted.
2. Buy the fabric myself and get my wonderful Oma to make it. 
3. Buy the fabric myself and make it myself - no I am in no way qualified to do this.
4. Buy a second hand dress.
5. Buy a vintage dress hints from {frolic!} here
6. Buy a brand new dress in the sale

 
sold dress by adVintageous

Things that are UNDECIDED:

1. The fabric - lace, silk, satin, crushed silk...
2. The length - over the knee, knee length, floor length...
3. The shape - shoulder straps, Aline, empire....
4. The colour - white, mocha, cream, champagne...
5. The extras - beading, lace...

short or long dresses by Sarah Seven

Things I have DECIDED I don't want:

1. a strapless dress.
2. velvet fabric.
3. any other colour than from the white - beige range.
4. a two piece outfit - it has to be a dress
5. uncomfortable
6. scratchy
7. cold

And with that I am a little bit less lost but I will keep you up to date!

Colour Palette Inspiration

Alright so it's a baby room - you can tell what I have on my mind! Way ahead in the future, Mum. Nonetheless there is something brilliant about this set of pictures so I'll try to describe it.

Why I am loving this:
The colour palette.
The pom poms
Pastels with a hint of hot pink.
Ceramic pastel animals.
The unbelievable rag banner.
Lots of light.
Basics of pine (love wood) and white.

image via here

DIY: Boutonniere, Hair Adornments and Banners

I LOVE hessian and linen. These are great inspiration for doing your own timeless and everlasting bouquet, hair slides, boutonniere and venue decorations. Reusable venue garlands are a wonderful idea. This would be really easy to add to if you wanted to add some pinks or blues to liven it up. From Milkpod Studio

BAMBAKO Headpieces

Easy DIY project for you bridesmaids hair. Make with left over fabric from the dresses or a matching length of ribbon and sequins, feathers, gems, beads lying around the house. This fine example is from Bambako who have a wide range of sophisticated hairwear. Beautiful.

The Discovery of Ornamented Life

Upon the discovery of HORNE I was delighted to find this range by Ornamented Life as they recycle chipped plates and crockery and make them pretty again. It's beautiful artwork, a fantastic DIY idea and it means you don't have to throw the plate away!

Ring Pillows Retro Tea Party

Another simple DIY project to prepare well in advance are ring pillows. Adorable, vintage, lace hankies - maybe with sentimental value - can be used to decorate the small pillow. Personalise yours by embroidering your initials into it and stitching your favourite shade of silk ribbon to it...

Cake Decoration Topper

This can't be that hard to do! Two birdies, a bundle of fake flowers and a whole bunch of wires and floristry tape and off you go! Found on etsy. Made by HaveandHold

DIY Bridesmaids Clutch

Great DIY Project as gifts for the bridesmaids

DIY Wedding Stationary

Planning a wedding for a reunion of two nationalities, with relatives coming in from various locations, is always a little more complicated than if everyone lived in the same village so it's best to let everyone know well in advance what's happening and where. My time frame goes like this:

Save the Date cards & homemade gift: 1 year in advance
Wedding Invitation: 6 months in advance
Location Information Packet - including accomodation, sight seeing & a little bit of history with basic event timetable: 3 months in advance or upon receipt of RSVP
Invitations to Rehearsal Dinner/Night: 6 weeks beforehand
Event Timetable & Directions: 2 weeks beforehand

paper, card, inks, embossing powder, stamps, bulk or small amounts of 10, paper creasers - cellophane bags for making favours - paper punches, paper trimmers, scissors

Some great online sources:
Liz's Crafts
Paper Crafter
order sample swatches to match the exact hue you're looking for.

But when it come to paper, I want to have felt it so here are some places in Edinburgh
Paperchase on George St.
Daintree Paper on Morningside Rd and their blog which has handy guides and templates

Ready made cards are:

• quick & less time consuming- no designing, cutting, glueing and messing up!
• cheaper than printed invitations
• unique if you buy from small gift shops with start up designers who only print in small batches
• ideal if you have a small wedding planned as each card will have to be written by hand! You could save yourself some time and print out smaller insert papers with your wording and personalise it with your handwritten signatures or small note
  

Ready Made Card Shops in Edinburgh:
The Bay Tree Co on Hanover St.

Wisteria Cake

Woodland wedding, purple wisteria cake. Wistful, romantic, classy. Love it.
Pic courtesy of Martha's Wedding site where you can even find out how to make it.

Bridesmaid or Flowergirl Headdress

Bridesmaid or Flowergirl headdress available from AprilHilerDesigns on Etsy.

Budget Lighting Ideas

October in Edinburgh is dark already at about 4 pm and as we're likely going to celebrate around that time lighting has to be taken into consideration. This is gorgeous and simple to make with a metal basket (unused garden hanging basket), fairy lights, moss, twine, ivy and ribbon.

Wedding Favours

Wedding Favours by beadstyle on Etsy

The Mystical Woodland Banquet

The moss covered table, the wood rounds to display individual platters and the tiny acorn details. Great idea for the wedding!

More Cake!

This is just stunning! The rich cream base colour and the PERFECT little mushrooms, acorns and ferns and moss.

Woodland Berries Cupcake

chocolate_berries_cream, originally uploaded by My Artisan Cake Company.

There's got to be cupcakes!

Woodland Fairy Flowergirl

Woodland Fairy, originally uploaded by Cutie Patootie Tutus.

Isn't she adorable? Ideas for the flowergirls dress. Easily handmade.

Woodland Wedding Cake

Woodland Cake, originally uploaded by EB Cakes.

Today I'm looking for everything to do with my Mystical Woodland Wedding them... this cake is inspiration for it. To keep within budget I will probably be baking this myself with help decorating from my artistic Dad. The wooden slice-of-tree cake stand is frugal ecofriendly idea - as long as you haven't cut the tree down especially for your wedding day...that's not okay.

Ye Olde Keys stationary- love it!

Old keys on stationary perfect for the vintage feel I'm going for from Etsy seller JessicaZ

Thank you to Style Me Pretty

This is a dedicated Thank you to the Style Me Pretty people.

Thank you for all the inspiration on your site!

With only 465 days to go I have been searching for some wonderful DIY projects and lo and behold here you are to my rescue!

From favours to table decor, bridesmaid gifts to food - you can find everything on Style Me Pretty