Susan Fowler Bouquet Preservation

When Mr LG & I married in April 2008 we had a wonderful display of spring flowers in shades of blue and lilac in tubs which we had planted specially for the occasion, as well as gorgeous tall table vase centrepieces which looked all the more stunning for the lilac coloured water in them. My bouquet was especially pretty with roses, scillia and other flowers following the blue/lilac theme. The day after the wedding I took the bouquet apart so that I could dry the more robust flowers but unfortunately the more delicate blooms were unsaveable. I wish I'd known about the service that Susan Fowler offers before our wedding as my dried roses are now rather sad looking!

I specialise in preserving any fresh flower, brides bouquet, buttonholes, corsages etc infact any flower from any memorable occasion. They are dismantled carefully then prepared for pressing, preserving and drying.  They take from 4-6 weeks to dry then after consultation with the client, are reassembled and laid on fabric backing of silk, satin, taffeta etc before being framed.  Variety of designs, new unique contemporary collage style available including the new “seaside theme” design.

NEW FREE SERVICE when you book preservation of your special flowers-PHOTO DIARY (on CD or by email) to show the flowers being dismantled ready for preserving so you can see what has happened to the flowers. Brides in particular love to see what was being done with their flowers whilst on honeymoon!

PRICES -from an affordable £90 upwards and smaller items such as paperweights (£25) are available.

TIMESCALE -I can preserve flowers up to approx 2 weeks old depending on condition. Even if a flower in a bouquet is going brown, it doesn't mean the rest of the flowers can't be saved.

DELIVERY/APPOINTMENTS- Simple no fuss advice on care and packing of the flowers before you send or deliver them to me. Local pick up can be arranged or you can if you wish deliver in person. If you post, it's easy...just send them by Royal Mail Special Delivery and I receive them the next day. Appointments available at lovely venues in Truro, St Austell and surrounding areas! View your preserved flowers or commission a special project in relaxed comfortable surroundings!

 Mob: 07799 160638

Hilltop Studio (By appointment only)

64 Currian Road

Nanpean

St Austell PL26 7YB 

Visit Susan's website to view her portolio, find her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter. You can also email her direct.

The Wedding Reporter

One of the lovely people I met first at the Taunton Tweet Up in the summer this year and then again at the opening of Isabella Grace Bridal Boutique in Tunbridge Wells was Emma Woodhouse who is The Wedding Reporter. I do like to discover and bring to you diverse  ideas and information connected to weddings and Emma certainly offers a service that I'd never heard of before - and to be honest wish I had done before our wedding in 2008!

I have always written down everything important that’s happened to me. I think I have a phobia of forgetting momentous events, and I like taking time to think about what’s happened as I write it down. Reading it back years later I end up being astonished by things that I thought I’d remember forever.

You think that you’ll remember everything about your wedding. It’s one of the biggest days of your life, right? So much blood, sweat and tears goes into the preparation that you can’t actually comprehend not remembering all of that pain for years to come. How could you possibly forget anything about something so momentous?

The answer is: easily. Weddings are an absolute hurricane of chaos, a tour de force of emotion and adrenaline, and a blur of conversations amidst a sea of faces. In the same way that you won’t get enough time to properly talk to all of your guests, you also won’t get the opportunity to savour the sheer brilliance of the day.

I created The Wedding Reporter in order to offer a service to any bride and groom who want an added layer of texture to the memories of their wedding. Essentially, I attend the wedding as a professional guest; jotting everything I see, hear and feel in my trusty notebook. I burst into tears at the entrance of every single bride because I believe in the power of love. No two wedding reports are the same because no two weddings are the same.

After the wedding I write all my notes up into creative non-fiction account of the day. At the end of it, the couple will have a literary legacy of their day. The words become their property, so they can simply print it off and send it out with thank you cards, or I can have it made into a real book for them. My affiliated designer can create a bespoke cover and publish the reports into unique hardback books that sit beautifully alongside your photo album.

I have created The Wedding Reporter out of a passion for both words and love. There is something luxurious about the written word; I like taking time to labour over the exact sentence structure and choice of words used. This thoroughness is the very least that I can do when endeavouring to narrate what many people will consider to be the best day of their entire lives.

If you would like more information or would like Emma to attend your wedding, you can contact her through her website, Facebook, or Twitter  

Wedding Keepsake Booklets

What happens to all the wedding stationery after the big day? Whilst some guests will collect all the different items and keep them for a while, most probably ends up in the bin fairly quickly. Lil’Guy have recently been producing booklets containing the full marriage ceremony wording plus the Order of the Day, menu and thank you messages from the bride and groom.

22 Page Wedding Keepsake Booklet

Using top quality materials such as Grade A rhinestone buckles and embellishments, genuine Swarovski crystals, gorgeous ribbons and flowers these Keepsake Booklets make a wonderful memento for guests which is far less likely to just be ditched.

The card used in both the budget and bespoke stationery at Lil’Guy is obtained direct from the manufacturer, who use world-renowned mills and the sustainable forests are FSC certificated. The pulp is elementally chlorine free, which essentially means that the bleaching agent is not released into the environment but is continually reused.

The booklets can be supplied boxed or loose for handing out at the church or venue.

Love Locks

Today I'm very pleased to introduce Laura Tanner from Love Locks UK. Love Locks can be used in a variety of ways as Laura explains ....

LoveLocks UK has recently launched in the United Kingdom as part of the successful LoveLocks™ brand from the USA. LoveLocks™ are inspired by an ancient custom believed to have originated in China, where lovers lock a padlock on a chain or a gate and then throw the key into the misty valleys, symbolically locking their love forever.

From this tradition, LoveLocks™ have created artful double-heart designed locks which feature a unique and patented 'lock one time only' feature, meaning that they require no key- once your love is locked, it is sealed forever! These padlocks can be engraved with a couples special message as a representation of love, or to mark a special time in their lives.

 

LoveLocks™ work together with wedding venues and tourist destinations to design and create beautiful 'Love Scapes' (which may be in the form of a gate, a sculpture etc.) and it is our desire that each Lovelock placed on a 'Lovescape' will bring joy and create lasting memories which future generations can enjoy and embrace.

Couples can integrate LoveLocks™ into their weddings in several ways - one is to provide each guest or set of guests with a LoveLock, either pre-engraved or for personalised engraving on the day, to be locked onto the scape. A really unique, memorable and lasting favour! Another is through the Tree of Life ceremony, which offers a beautiful way to unite families together.

LoveLocks™ have endless applications however, for proposals, engagements, christenings, memorials, birthdays or simply to say 'I was here'!

LoveLocks™ can be purchased through our website. If your venue does not currently have a LoveScape be sure to let them know about LoveLocks™ and perhaps we can work with them to get one installed before your big day!

Many thanks to Laura - you can visit her website, find her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter!

Alex Kilbee Photography

If you're looking for a great photographer for a Suffolk wedding then check out the work of Alex Kilbee

"A year ago on Saturday we had amazing weather, unlike this year, so it was really great that Hayley and Craig chose that day to get married. One of the great things about Suffolk is that it's awash with fantastic wedding venues and Haughley Park Barns is one amazing place. Unlike a lot of barn wedding venues, Haughley isn't just a barn in a field with some pretty lights, but a whole beautifully laid out and landscaped country park, complete with stunning Tudor style hall.

Up at Haughley there is a lovely farmhouse where Hayley spent the morning getting ready along with her mum, dad, bridesmaids and lovable pooch 'Teddy'. It's always great to spend time with the bride while she is getting ready as there are so many opportunities for story telling moments which make wonderful photographs and really help set the scene in the album. While Hayley was getting, Craig had arrived with his best man and I spent some time with him before Hayley made her grand entrance. It was a simple ceremony and the clouds which had been threatening to rain on us decided to move on and let the sun shine down as the happy bride and groom were presented to their friends and family for the first time.

Haughley also has some fantastic glass sculptures dotted around the grounds and really, you just can't pass up a photo opportunity like that can you?

One of the things I love about taking bridal photographs is creating something that the bride and groom can look back on in years to come. Something Hayley and Craig certainly have done as to mark their anniversary Hayley created a Youtube video of photographs from their wedding."

Alex

Many thanks to Alex for sharing this lovely wedding with us. For more gorgeous photos go to the website and  Facebook page, you can also follow Alex on Twitter.

The Wedding Booklet Company

As you probably already know, I am always on the lookout for different ideas for weddings as well as the traditional, to give you plenty of ideas to work with when planning your big day. Favours are sometimes something that couples struggle with: Do we really need them? Do we give one to everyone? What can we give that will be practical as well as a nice memento of our day? 

Today I'm pleased to welcome The Wedding Booklet Company to the blog with a practical and lasting answer to your favour dilemma!

Wives are rocking the wedding market!

Meet Rachel and Rachel – they deliver brides across the country this season’s hottest wedding accessory. The Wedding Booklet Company is the first business in the country to offer personalised booklets for guests which not only feature a picture of every single person, but also information about them and how they know the bride and groom. They are not only a fantastic conversation starter, but also a novel way of combining getting to know other guests at the wedding and a keepsake favour that lasts way beyond the end of the wedding day.

So How Does it Work?

After choosing a themed template and colour scheme, the bride or groom receive a link to a fill in a very short form for each of their guests and the rest is taken care of! Described as doing for the wedding market what match day programmes have done for sport, these booklets are completely personalised for each client and are guaranteed to give any wedding the wow factor, with price options to suit all budgets.

Meet the Team.

Rachel & Rachel!

People often say it’s the simplest ideas that are the best and after Rachel Johnson decided to produce these booklets as favours for guests at her wedding, the overwhelming feedback she received was the green light she needed to start up the company with accomplished graphic designer Rachel Fell. Rachel has over 6 years experience of working at the top level in graphic design after graduating from Teeside University with a graphic design degree. Now working for the prestigious Manchester Evening News, she is working on a wide range of projects including Urban Life Magazine, illustration and advertising design. Rachel is an extremely talented and creative all round designer who specialises in typography, layouts, logo designs and custom illustrations and is available for commissions. She is calm under pressure and always on hand to offer clients ideas on every aspect of design. "The Wedding Booklet Company is such a fantastic idea and I’m absolutely delighted to be able to create such wonderful mementos for brides and grooms. It is a brilliant feeling to produce something that really helps makes people’s wedding days extra special."

Rachel Johnson is a trained journalist who has nearly a decade of experience of working in the newspaper, magazine and radio industry and is currently freelancing as a media expert. She graduated from Newcastle University with a Degree in English Language and a year later graduated from UCLAN with a PGDip in Broadcast Journalism. Rachel’s the one who makes sure that every guest has a smile on their faces as they read their words in the wedding booklets and uses her creative writing skills to get the very best descriptions for each guest. “With so much choice in the wedding market these days, it’s really hard to find things that are truly unique, which is why I decided to create the wedding booklets for my wedding. The response was just unbelievable and after several people wanting to sign me up on the spot for their weddings, I knew this was a good opportunity for us”

How can we help you?

Both girls got married last summer and are experts when it comes to wedding planning, so don’t be afraid to ask them anything – they’ve heard it all before! They are extremely friendly and creative and are able to tailor-make your booklets to suit your theme, colour scheme and budget to make sure you get the very best service and product. They both look forward to working with you soon. 


Thank you to both Rachel's - what a fabulous idea! You can contact them through their website, 'Like' them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

New Arrival & White Gold Images

Having recently spent a few days in the West Country a tweet from a photographer about a wedding in Cornwall caught my eye this morning. I lived in Devon as a small child, had numerous happy family holidays on the Cornish coast and spent a fair few weekends driving around Dartmoor with my Grandfather in his later years, so am reasonably familiar with the area. On Friday I needed to get from Plymouth city centre to Saltash to visit my niece and the newest addition to the family, month old baby Nathan.

Fuzzy pic of gorgeous baby Nathan taken on my mobile phone

Now, I rarely rely on Wanda, the satnav, to take me anywhere as I swear she has a very warped sense of humour - she famously took Mr LG and I from village 1 to village 2 in Italy up and over a mountain rather than round the main roads. Yes there was a 'road', yes it was registered and useable (?!), but although it was a two way road it was only one car wide with a sheer rock face on one side of the car and what must have been a 1 in 2 drop on the other side - I do not have a great head for heights and Mr LG does not have a great tolerance for gibbering wrecks in the passenger seat so this was not a pleasant experience for either of us!

Anyway, last Friday I was a little unsure of how to get to my niece's house as I've only been there once before so I turned Wanda on for guidance. I was pretty sure that I should be taking the A38 in the opposite direction to Exeter and so set off following the signs whilst waiting for Wanda's gps to find me. Was a little surprised when she started to direct me away from the A38 but obeyed her anyway - should have listened to my intuition! When she instructed 'in 300 yards take the ferry' I suddenly realised that I was in a queue, one way, heading towards a stretch of water and a ferry with absolutely no idea how to avoid it. What should have been a 10 minute drive across a bridge over the Tamar to Saltash turned into a 45 minute journey involving the Torpoint ferry, thanks Wanda!

Ages ago the lovely Yvonne shared some valuable advice for those of us who hate having their photo taken. This morning I've been reading her blog  and I felt I just had to share with you the beautiful and intimate wedding of Vannavy and Oliver in Cornwall as captured by Yvonne. With a mixture of black and white and colour photos Yvonne has captured perfectly the joy and happiness of the day in a way that Vannavy and Oliver are sure to treasure forever. Please do read her blog and visit her website!

Cute as a Button

Since giving up the day job last September to concentrate fully on my business I have become rather addicted to Twitter, as I think it may have been mentioned before! The wedding business is a particularly friendly and happy one to be involved in, and I have built up a solid base of both brides/grooms to be and other suppliers. Twitter is my 'office gossip' as well as being a support network and sometimes a sounding board for new ideas.

Emma Buzec was a bride to be when we connected on Twitter and has since started her own business and I'm very pleased to welcome her to the blog today with her alternative to the traditional flower bouquets and buttonholes.....

Cute as a Button was set up in March 2011. The idea was born from looking for ideas for my own 2012 wedding when I came across button bouquets on the internet and had my heart set on getting one. However, our wedding is being put together on a very small budget and I could not warrant spending so much on a bouquet - so I tried to forget all about it!

After quite a few discussions with friends, family and hubby to be, I decided I would try to make one myself. I tweeted photos of my progress and got some amazing feedback. Through tweeting I was contacted by another bride to be asking how much I would charge to make her a button bouquet - so that's how my first order came about!

I now have a website, Facebook page, and am of course on Twitter! I have had further orders, and one of our bridal bouquets was used in the catwalk show at A Most Curious Wedding Fair in Norwich this year. We had our first ever wedding fair stand at "Truly Vintage" wedding fair, Glemham Hall at the beginning of June.

 

Many thanks to Emma for sharing the story behind Cute as a Button with us and I wish her much success with her business. I had a beautiful fresh flower bouquet on my wedding day and have tried to preserve it as best I can but inevitably it will never look the same as it did on the day. Perhaps Mr LG and I should hold a renewal ceremony each year so that I can use all the new and exciting ideas that I keep coming across! 

Sunkissed Ceremonies

Well we've had an extremely dry Spring this year with some glorious sunshine then June arrived, more damp squib than Flaming June! Although the rain is desperately needed for the crops it would be good to get some sunshine and warmth back again - on Sunday evening Mr LG even suggested lighting the open fire, something which the LGs and I needed no persuading about! 

Today I'd like to welcome Julia Tsiaka from Sunkissed Ceremonies to our blog. Julia is a Celebrant on the beautiful Greek island of Rhodes .......

All About the Ceremony By Julia Tsiaka

If you’re looking for a wedding ceremony that’s completely your style and totally unique, consider a Celebrant wedding ceremony on the beautiful sun-kissed Greek island of Rhodes.

Sunkissed Ceremonies is a brand new Celebrant wedding service in Rhodes which creates tailor-made wedding ceremonies, in the English language, for couples who want to make their special day extra special.

Celebrant wedding ceremonies are becoming increasingly popular all over the world because they allow couples the freedom to express themselves in their own way; to celebrate their wedding day in the way they really want, with respect for their personal beliefs and cultures.

You can hold your Celebrant wedding ceremony in Rhodes at any time of the day or evening, you can express yourself freely when you say your vows to one another and you can include elements of any and all religions and beliefs.  You can include readings and music of any kind and mix up traditional and modern rituals.

The exchange of rings, the exchange of vows, the readings, the music and any other ritual held at a wedding is purely ceremonial and can be performed at any time and in any location.  And that’s where I, as a professional Celebrant can help you to make your wedding ceremony unforgettable.

                                                          

Many couples choose to register their marriage with a simple visit to their local Registrar first before jetting off into the sunshine with family and friends to celebrate their “real” wedding ceremony.

Banish any thoughts of not holding your wedding ceremony at exactly the same time as your marriage registration.  After all, you wouldn’t Christen your baby or hold a naming ceremony on the same day that you register their birth, would you?  There are few events that we celebrate at the same time that we register them.  Why should weddings be any different?

As your wedding Celebrant, I will spend a great deal of time getting to know you before creating your personalised wedding ceremony.    The ceremony will be completely unique to you, revolving around the story of your lives, your interests, how you met and how you feel about each other, and moulded around your beliefs and lifestyle. 

You are free to keep as much of the traditional wedding service as you would like and I will suggest some ways to make your ceremony unique with the inclusion of less traditional rituals that might suit your circumstances, like the sand ceremony, the unity candle or the wine ceremony.  See more examples of rituals on my website

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Consider the benefits of having a Sunkissed wedding ceremony in Rhodes. 

• It’s an economical option to holding a full-blown traditional ceremony with a Registrar in attendance at an approved UK venue

• You can choose to have a simple UK marriage registration before or after your Celebrant wedding ceremony in Rhodes or combine your Celebrant wedding ceremony with your legal Greek marriage registration on the island

• You can invite the family and friends that you really want to have with you on your special day – perhaps ask them to splash out on airfares rather than give you a wedding gift.  Ask those guests who cannot join you in Rhodes, and/or the traditionalists amongst them, to your legal marriage registration in the UK.

• You can hold the ceremony almost anywhere you like, at any time of day and there are no time restrictions

• You can style your wedding with a fun or favourite theme, e.g. roaring 20’s, masquerade, wild west, geek, movie stars, Titanic, ancient Greeks, etc. or perhaps just a colour or particular style such as blue and white, ecological, vintage or simply something that fits in with the gorgeous sun-kissed location

• You can express yourselves in any way and with any words, e.g. vows, readings, music, songs, dancing, etc. and stage your own ceremony choreography

• You can include other members of your family in the ceremony, e.g. children, or include a remembrance for someone that is no longer with us

• You can include any religious elements that you like from one or more religions, rituals such as breaking the glass, jumping the broom, handfasting, or even make up some of your own

• You don’t need any documentation, expensive legalisations or translations for a Sunkissed wedding ceremony – everything is in English

• It’s fun and it’s in the sun!

• You can have one heck of a long wedding celebration following your Sunkissed wedding ceremony – it might last until your return flight lands in the UK!

So, if you really want to put some sparkle into your wedding ceremony, come to the Greek island of Rhodes and say your vows in a very special location.

My thanks to Kitty for hosting this article on Celebrant wedding ceremonies in Rhodes.

You can find out more about Julia and the services she provides on her website, email her and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.

In April we featured Laurra and Maria Nalty from One Life Ceremonies with suggestions for those of you who would like to do your wedding ceremony where and when you wish, and I'm a supporter of The Any Campaign which is working towards changing the law so that you CAN get married anytime, anywhere - please do visit their website and sign the petition if you think the law should be changed!

Vintage Scoops

This winter was long and hard with several bouts of snow - which I have to say I for one am not complaining about as I think it's good to have differences in the seasons. Could have done without the brakes on my 4x4 freezing solid so we were effectively snowed in here at Lil'Guy HQ but that's another story! Now though we're looking forward to summer - long sunny days and balmy evenings. How many of us remember (or even still hear) the tinny chimes of the ice cream van on a hot summer afternoon after school and bugging a parent to be allowed an ice cream or lolly?! 

With vintage style weddings set to stay there are various ways of carrying through that theme and we are pleased to introduce you today to Betty the ice-cream van who with owner, Hayley, will bring fun, retro style and refreshment to your special occasion!

Hayley was inspired to start her business when a friend tried and failed to hire an ice-cream van for her wedding reception. Betty is a renovated 1973 Bedford CF ice-cream van, decked out in 1950s style in pretty pale blue and cream and decorated with floral bunting. On offer is delicious local ice cream, favourite ice lolly flavours, old-fashioned drinks such as ginger beer, cloudy lemonade and dandelion and burdock, plus retro sweets. Hayley serves the treats dressed in vintage-style florals to complement her van.

Hayley says: ‘It’s a trip down memory lane for some guests, but great for keeping the little ones happy, too. It’s a unique addition to a wedding.’ No event is too big or too small and Hayley will be able to advise you at every step, from deciding how much ice cream you want to selecting flavours to suit your event

Vintage Scoops is the perfect complement to a country or town wedding, and creates some great opportunities for photographs of the day. 

Betty loves being the centre of attention so why not go and join her on Facebook, check out the website, or follow Hayley (aka Mrs Scoops) on Twitter.

Amethyst Photography

As mentioned in a previous post, working from home I do miss out on 'office gossip', but make up for it by going onto Twitter. Not only do I get to tweet with people I now consider to be friends but I also make valuable contacts within the wedding industry and I get to introduce them to my readers here. Today I'm pleased to feature Wayne Cook from Amethyst Photography, who I consider to be a friend as well as a great photographer - so if you're in the Stockton on Tees area and need a photographer check out his work. Here he shares with us one of his favourite weddings - he sent more photos across than I asked for so that I could pick and choose from them, but I couldn't, and I make absolutely no apology for using them all!

This is the wedding of Claire and Andrew a couple from Billingham, who married at Judges Country Hotel in Yarm.

Claire is a senior buyer for a company and Andrew is a trainee teacher, and had been planning all aspects of the day for a couple of years.

Sadly, Claires father had passed away a few years ago, and wasn't able to walk his daughter down the aisle so she was given away by her twin brothers John and Kieron. Andrew is a bit of a sporting celebrity locally, as he plays semi professionally at football and also cricket.

The day itself was pretty cold, and Andrew and Claire, decided as it was that once in a lifetime day, they would brave the cold winds and wander around the grounds for their photographs, as Judges has many lovely areas to have shots taken, from the bridge over the lake, to a circle of thorns.

  

There are also many secret gardens hidden among the grounds and we explored all in our time with them.

This was quite a surreal wedding for us, as we not only knew the bride and groom and family, but also a large majority of their guests which made ordering them around for shots so much easier.

Despite the weather, everyone had a fantastic, and at times emotional day.

 

I'm sure you can all see why I found it impossible to chose which photos to use. I love the mix of black & white and colour and the way Wayne has captured the essence of happiness and joy without formality.

So, a fun, friendly and above all professional photography company with competitive prices! You can contact Wayne through his website, find him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.