Darby & Joan Vintage

In February we featured a company here who provide organisation, styling and vintage crockery for events in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, now for those of you looking for gorgeous china & crockery of times gone in Derbyshire we're delighted to welcome Darby & Joan Vintage.

Darby& Joan Ltd is a Derbyshire company passionate about the enduring beauty of china & crockery from years gone by. We love that vintage pieces have a story to tell & can add a little personal magic to any setting or event. Everyone loves to be individual & to create a wedding or party that is a little bit different.  If you love the idea of a vintage themed event then maybe we can help. Modern vintage means classic, elegant & timeless style. Those thoughtful touches will add a touch of glamour & bring a talking point to any table, room or garden party.

If you don’t want to embrace the whole vintage theme then why not have a more traditional day with elements picked out which are undeniably vintage? Darby & Joan can work with you to help you achieve the style you are looking for. We have collected a stunning selection of English vintage china, glassware, table linens & vintage props & accessories for any kind of event where a touch of vintage glamour is required.  We have styled and co-ordinated photo-shoots and have worked with retailers on their visual merchandising.

We also offer a bespoke Afternoon Tea menu and service. You don't have to be having afternoon tea at Claridges to add a touch of refined elegance to your special event.  There is something indulgent about having a tea party, especially if you include a glass of something fizzy....

Whether you are planning a vintage themed wedding, a relaxing afternoon with the girls, a summer tea party in the garden, a treat for mother’s day or a baby shower, afternoon tea is a lovely & indulgent way to celebrate your occasion. For you to buy - we source gorgeous vintage pieces to create bespoke items, unique cake stands, hand-poured natural wax teacup candles & candles poured into delicate glasses. The perfect gift or a stunning addition to your wedding tables. 

What's not to love!  

As well as visiting their website  you can connect with them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter

RS Wedding Designs

Earlier in the year Rachyeta featured us on her lovely Shaadiesque blog and we are very proud to be featured in her Supplier Lounge there, so I am very pleased to be able to share with you news of her exciting new planning packages.

Think you can’t afford a wedding planner? Think again! RS WeddingDesigns  is offering pick-n-mix planning from just £280 with their Theme Design packages.

“No bride wants a cookie cutter wedding but all too often weddings try to foist a package wedding onto them that really doesn’t reflect their personality,” says Rachyeta Singh. “With a Theme Design package, it’s a small outlay that can really open your eyes to what else is out there.”

“It’s your opportunity to do something different and make your big day stand out.”

The package starts at £280 for design ideas, rising to just £395 if you would like RS Wedding Designs to recommend suppliers as well.

The idea for the Theme Design package came from customer demand. Rachyeta often updates her blog with gorgeous reception decor ideas and her eye for colour and attention to detail can turn a dreary hotel package wedding into something rather wonderful.

One bride who avoided a cookie cutter wedding, but ordered some gorgeous cookies, is Catherine, who booked a Theme Design package with Rachyeta.

“The theme Rachyeta chose for us was a paradise dream theme, because our love story was something out of a dream,” Catherine says.

“The place names were little puffy clouds, the set up was a light blue and pink infusion. Our favours were a mix of a thermometer shaped ginger biscuits and an aeroplane shaped biscuit, as I am a doctor and my husband is a pilot.”

“Her venue suggestion was spot on and everyone had a blast.”

So how does RS Wedding Designs come up with these special touches? The company takes an innovative approach to wedding planning, building up an online directory of preferred suppliers to add to the creative flair of Rachyeta and her team. As such, RS Wedding Designs brides not only get great ideas, they also get great discounts.

“Brides use Google a lot nowadays to research wedding ideas but it’s a real shot in the dark,” Rachyeta says. “You may find the supplier of a product you want, but how can you be assured of quality? There has to be a degree of trust and nothing beats a recommendation from those within the industry.

“Our suppliers are people who will deliver. There is a great deal of vetting going on before they are added to our directory. We want to get to know the company behind the business logo - and, in the wedding industry, the photographer behind the camera.”

You can contact Rachyeta through her website, follow her on Twitter and get gorgeous inspiration from her Shaadiesque blog and her Bridal Street, rs1 blog.

Little Bundles Bunting

There are virtually endless different themes and colour schemes for your wedding these days, but it's not always easy to find exactly what you want within your chosen theme/scheme. As a stationer I am happy to and enjoy creating special stationery to your theme or colour scheme and find it hard to understand when businesses won't help or say that they can't help - there's usually a way around most 'problems'! I enjoy a challenge and usually the process of trying to find a way of solving a problem gives you a deeper knowledge of your area of expertise, the best, easiest and most cost effective way of doing something. Even if you don't use all the techniques you research straight away, the chances are you will need the information at some point in the future.

Today we welcome another 'can dooer', Emma Scott from Little Bundles Bunting.......

 

How did Little Bundles Begin?

I’d been looking everywhere for personalised bunting for my daughter’s birthday, back in 2004; all I could find was generic bunting in basic colours from companies who only wanted to sell me what they stocked, no-one was prepared to source fabric and create me a unique design. It was my, then 4 year old, daughter who announced to everyone that her “mummy” was going to make her bunting! I have always had a creative flair, so thought why not!

Do you just make bespoke bunting?

The majority of our business is made to order bunting, but we have just started to offer bunting lengths for hire. This has come after a very successful run of Union Jack bunting for the Royal Wedding. We still want to produce exclusive bunting, so anything to hire will be made as limited editions. Our bunting has been used at all sorts of parties, events and weddings – and weather permitting, can be used outside.

What makes you different from other bunting companies?

The most important thing for us is that our clients get exactly what they want. A lot of the time they come to me with a great idea, but can’t visualise it. It’s my job to then design something, get the fabrics and colours together and either send samples or email a photo of the design, layout and colour scheme.

We want to make every client feel that they are unique, not just another number. We spend a lot of our time discussing what the client wants, then of course time making the bunting. If we don’t have a specific fabric in stock, we will then go out and source it. It is us providing a completely bespoke service to our clients.

Where do you retail your bunting?

Our clients are all over the UK, and through online shops have sold to the USA, we can post our items anywhere! The majority of orders come directly to me, but we have sold via online shops such as ETSY and Ebay.

  

You can visit Emma's website, find her on Facebook  and follow her on Twitter. With vintage styled weddings here to stay bunting is ideal for decorating your venue or garden so why not make yours one of a kind?

The Balloon Lady

Today on our blog we welcome Lucinda, The Balloon Lady, with some advice on venue decoration as well as some gorgeous photos of her work.

Decorating a room for a wedding

Decorations for your wedding reception are essential – they set the mood for the day and if done correctly will bring your colour scheme and theme in to the venue and transform it making it unique to you.

Your florist/balloon decorator should always be able to advise you on what works best in any room, as they will have worked there in the past, and they should be able to make suggestions of various styles and designs that will suit both the room and you.

After 17 years in the business I find the following advice essential when working out how to decorate any room and I do hope it helps you.

If you are in a tall room I would always recommend using tall arrangements – whether you want to have flowers or balloons – as these will fill the ‘empty’ space above peoples heads and draw the eye through the room. There are so many styles that you can chose from, including tall candle sticks, cocktail glasses and vases filled with masses of blooms – or even displays of tall balloons in your colour scheme – which can look very elegant – but also add a slightly more relaxed atmosphere to the day.

In rooms with lower ceilings it is important not to over fill these – as they can then end up feeling cramped and over decorated. Perhaps look at lower arrangements of flowers – such as the popular gold fish bowls, cubes filled with roses and traditional round arrangements of flowers – and in balloons look to the smaller designs, such a pretty topiary trees, or single balloons with little balloons inside – floating on pretty tulles.

Colour schemes are also very important to consider. Many venues keep their walls to neutral colours, which means that you can chose any colour scheme or theme and it will always go in the room. However there are some venues that have very distinct wall colours, such as dark reds, or browns and in these rooms, I would always advise you to either chose your colours to match – or have the bridesmaids and accents in your chosen colour scheme – but include lots of neutral creams and whites in your centrepieces so that they don’t get over powered by the room.

With colour schemes remember that some colour schemes are very easy to co-ordinate with in flowers, such as shades of pinks, purples, reds, oranges and yellows – where as greens – turquoises – blues and browns are more difficult, as there aren’t as many flowers available in these colours. With these colours its worth either considering a contrasting flower colour or using balloons that are made in hundreds of colours and can be custom matched in thousands more, these will really pull your scheme together an should blend your dresses and the bridal bouquets to create one overall theme.

Have a think about all the areas you want to decorate, and make a list to discuss with whoever is decorating for you. Don’t forget the entrance, this is so forgotten and over looked, but it is the first impression visitors will get of your day, so something simple like an arch of matching coloured balloons will lead guests in. 

Everyone remembers their guest tables – but don’t forget yourselves, so often the top table is looked at as of secondary importance– but so many pictures will be taken here that you need to remember to frame it beautifully – weather you have balloons floating over it or at either side, or ribbons or fresh flowers swaging the front of the table.

Finally you must consider your budget, it’s very easy to get carried away decorating your wedding and you really must prioritise the most important areas first. Remember that tropical flowers will always be more expensive, where as seasonal flowers will be more reasonable and that balloons will always give you more impact and inject more colour in to a plain room than a simple floral arrangement.

Many thanks to Lucinda, take a look at her website for more inspiration and ideas, and follow her on Twitter.