Cake Toppers: Although I consider the choice of cake to be a very personal statement anyway, whether you go for a highly decorative cake or a refined simple cake, you can also have a bit of fun by including toppers to perch on top of your cake which always raise a smile when they are executed as perfectly as these toppers here.

image: green & stock
Love Hearts: A popular choice for many couples as you can print your names and wedding date on each tube. Lots of fizzy fun and it won’t break the bank. Who didn’t relish these great love heart sweets as a kid

Embroidered Sashes;…… of course!! From the hundreds we have stitched it’s always nice to get new wording choices. I love Michael and Valerie’s selection of ..’to have and to hold’.   Other popular words are, Always and Forever. On Our Wedding Day. Each one is stitched individually and is a brilliant keepsake for your special day.

……….and the list goes on, personalised printed napkins, candles, engraved cake knife etc etc. So many ways to add personal touches.

Katie & David
Ceremony
Gold colour scheme
Sat 17 July

Rachel & Richard
Ceremony
Silver colour scheme
Sat 17 July

Kirstie & Andrew
Wedding Breakfast
Gold colour scheme
Sat 17 July

Stacey & Callum
Wedding Breakfast
Glittering globes & gold colour scheme
Sat 17 July

Ross & Jo
Wedding Breakfast
Dusky Pink colour scheme
Sat 17 July

Congratulations to you all
x x x

There really is no reason not to have crackers in July and although the ones shown in the image here are very Christmasy because they are gold and match with the chair covers and sashes – you could have a lot of fun by making your own and have any colour or pattern you like. Imagine the fun!! Perfect for kids sweets, miniatures, cookies or sugared almonds even!! You could really go to town the the personal gift ideas inside, and why not include a silly hat too!! I dare you.

In this image you can see that the cracker is labelled with the guests name too, doubling up as their place name card.

If you feeling like you might want to have a go and make your own then  have a Blue Peter moment with a bit of cutting and sticking.

But don’t just take our word for it here are some other products available which you could team together to achieve that delicate vintage look only lace can give you. Above a delicate lace ‘table cloth’ in white laid over a darker base cloth for maximum impact. Ornate scalloped plates and pretty printed napkins – just imagine how well our lace sashes would have fitted at this table. Lace sashes shown here in pink but also available in white and ivory.

Timeless lace wedding dress, a real show stopper. So strong on textural detail the simple empress line shows the fabric off to its best.

There are so many ways to incorporate lace into your wedding theme, demonstrated here with two cake examples.

And the delicate laser cut work on this wedding invitation mimics lace brilliantly.

Let your imagination run wild and think of as many ways to include lace as possible.

I just love the idea of bridesmaids all wearing knee length floral dresses all in varying designs and styles,  creating an eye catching montage of flowers and colours. Floral wedding stationery can be easily found but why not go bolder with your colour and up scale the pattern size of maximum impact? Florals can translate into many aspect of your wedding, clothing for the bride and bridesmaids, venue styling, stationery, cakes and even pretty floral print shoes. Why not even consider a mini print floral design for your chair covers….ummm now there’s a thought, we haven’t done that one before, but there’s always a first time, so get in touch and see what we can create just for you.

credit: Martha Stewart image

In the example shown here the table cloths have a multi-coloured floral print with charming centrepiece flower pots – the overall look of the setting is changed purely because the of the patterned base cloth. Image how different this would look with a plain white cloth, even a solid coloured cloth would alter the impact of the table setting.

Another simple but really effective addition to a plain coloured cloth is a use of a patterned table runner as shown below.

credit: Martha Stewart image

This example uses wallpaper cut into the appropriate length, very quick and easy but just image how much fun you could have with this simple idea. The choice of wallpaper is so extensive and a couple of rolls should be enough, making it a very budget conscious option. Whether you would  opt for mini patterns or brash bold designs this is an excellent way to add personality to your venue decoration…..and patterns are so very vogue at the mo!!!

12th century Castle dressed with organza midnight blue sashes for Joanne’s ceremony on Friday

So here’s a little extra thing you may want to consider. What is the access like to your venue? To the room you have chosen to hold your ceremony in – and if holding your civil ceremony and wedding breakfast in one location – will you be having the whole day in one room or will you be transferring between two different suites?

Bear in mind your guests as well, do any of them require wheel chair access? Does the wedding venue have a lift? Not a glamorous thing to take into consideration but a very important one….and one that your guests will appreciate you taking time over……why do I mention this? This was on my mind this weekend as I was dressing chair covers at a local 12th century Castle -  with very limited access for unloading, I then had a mountain to climb to get to the ceremony room but WOW, when I arrived in the room the views were just stunning over the valley below and the adjacent hillside. What a pity Bolsover Castle didn’t have the foresight to plan a lift all those years ago in the 12th century!!! The plus side…. 75 stairs up and 75 stairs down to unload, and repeat 7 times…means my workout for the weekend was completed without a StairMaster anywhere in sight!!! But, joking aside, would like have been a good choice for elderly guests?

Here is an example of some of  this weekends embroidered sashes on a variety of fabric bases, satin and organza. Two different designs are shown here, floral design – positioned horizontally across the sash and filigree, positioned to the left of the wording.  Some couples choose to include their venue on their sashes, whilst others add a more personal choice of words as in the example of Micheal above.  I often get asked whats the most popular or typical wording, and that tends to be the christian names of the couple and the wedding date.

All the embroidered sashes are approximately 6 inches deep and are tied on the chair covers in the same way as the plain sashes. The embroidered sashes really are a talking point for many wedding guests and demonstrate your attention to detail when planning and making your wedding very specific to you.

We started with blue two tone sashes, one of my favourites.

Perfect fitting chair covers every time. These covers are ivory to match the venues table linens.

From Blue to Pink,  Clare chose to have two sashes tied together on the chair, overlapping the colours and tying at the side. Far more elegant than the deep green chairs now disguised beneath our covers!!

Combining our wine and pink organza sashes.

Next colour sage green sashes on ivory chair covers again, this time tying the sashes cravat style, see how versatile we can be!!!

..and a matching top table swag and cake table swag ( not shown) in the same sage green .

The chairs were transferred from the ceremony room into an alternative room for the wedding breakfast.

Our next colour scheme is one of our most popular, satin wine sashes.

We dressed the cake table with a matching satin wine sash too. And these embroidered sashes are for Jane and Carl to keep as a keepsake of their wedding day. Stitched with silver thread.

And finally our final colour of the day was mink, a new colour we have added to our sash collection this year, and proving very popular too. With matching table runner and a few extra bits of sparkle too.

All matching beautifully.

image:the dessy group

Cockliffe Country House

And here are the two colours working beautifully together albeit a paler version with a lilac sash.

….oh and one more thing……England made through to the next round of the World Cup 2010…(phew)