Make your Own Christmas Cracker Favours

The talented Nella from http://www.lostmykitty.etsy.com/ has kindly offered to share her DIY tips for making crackers- these are such a personal favour option and ideal for a festive wedding. Check out her Etsy shop that has unique wedding crafts all made with love and care. From mini photo albums to silk corsages, I am sure there is something that you will fall in love with as an individual piece for your wedding day.

What You’ll Need- Makes a 10 ¼ inch cracker with a 5” x 2” cylinder for filling.

1. Wrapping paper (cut to 7” x 12”) – It is important to use a thicker paper as crackers made with thin sheets will tear apart too easily while being constructed.
2. Center tube (5” x 6” sealed with glue or tape) and ends (cut into 2” x 6” strips) – I purchased a sheet of handmade 90 weight ivory paper.
3. Cracker snaps
4. Fillers: fortunes, jokes, riddles, or a Christmas themed cutout; small gifts; and chocolates – I’ve used Sterling Silver Christmas charms and pretty silver ornaments for mine.
5. Organza ribbon (two 12” and one 5” strips)
6. Jingle Bells – It just wouldn’t be Christmas without that particular little jingle!
7. Utility Knife
8. Scissors
9. Metal Ruler
10. Cutting MatGlue Stick and Tape

Instructions:

Step 1 – Divide your 12” Wrapping paper sheet lengthwise at the intervals 2” 1.5” 5” 1.5” 2”. Draw lines along those intervals. Now mark ½” up the sheet in the 1.5” space and then score on each side. This will make it much easier to close your cracker ends without it tearing.

Step 2 – Glue and tape down your Cracker snap to the lengthwise center of the sheet.

Step 3 – Tape one end of the paper and roll the paper onto the center tube using the center lines you’ve drawn as a guide. Add a strip of glue to the edge of the wrapping paper and seal.

Step 4 – Tie off one end of your cracker with the 12” strip of organza ribbon. Be careful not to tie it too tight so as not to rip the paper. Now you are ready to fill your cracker!

Step 5 – Here I have all the items I’ve put in my crackers I’ve attached the Sterling Silver Snowflake to one of the Christmas ornaments using the 5” strip of organza ribbon. Fill the cracker and tie off the other end using the remaining 12” strip of organza ribbon.

Step 6 – Now that your cracker is complete, roll the 2” x 6” strips into the ends of the cracker to keep them nice and stiff.

Step 7 – To add the jingle bells, thread each bell to each end of the organza ribbon. Push the bell down the ribbon and then tie a pretty little bow.

Step 8 – Your cracker is now complete! Fight the urge to make it snap. I unfortunately couldn’t help myself with this one but it was the best two seconds ever!

What it will cost:

Paperchase Wrapping Paper 2m 3.50 25 Paperchase Round Ornaments 3.50 72 Paperchase Jingle Bells 3.50 90 weight Ivory paper from Jarrold’s 1.70 Roll of Ribbon from Jarrold’s .99 25 Cracker Snaps on Ebay 2.40 Sterling Silver Charms on Ebay 17.99 Chocolates from M&S 1.98

Total 2.40 per cracker. Can’t beat that price for Sterling Silver!

Bella Barcelona- A Mediterranean Wedding

Having just returned from coordinating a client exhibition in Barcelona, I am full of love for the city. The event was held at the base of a castle, the perfect setting for romantic visions of wonderful Spanish weddings in the city or local villages. The photo opportunities are limitless, the city is surrounded by mountains and the sea combined with Gaudi's architecture you will be spoilt for creative backdrops. Gastronomically you and your guests will be in for a treat. Catalans take their love of Mediterranean food and wine very seriously, and the area is famed for producing the best sparkling wine ¨Cava¨ in Spain.

These images highlight just some of the gorgeous locations- you could get married in the old rooms of the Capuchin monks, have an outdoor ceremony with wonderful views, in a stylish art deco hotel or aboard a yacht.

The region is very accessible, with its three airports (Barcelona, Girona & Reus) serviced by many airlines. There are also an enormous number and variety of accommodation options, particularly apartment hire to make your wedding an affordable experience for you and all your guests.

P.s… You will need: application to marry form, certificate of no impediment, certified translations of all required documents, official declaration stating where you reside and a consular registration certificate. Residency requirement is 21 days if non-catholic and nonresident. The above information is for guidance only and should not be regarded as legal advice. It is important that you verify all information with the local marriage license office before making any wedding or travel plans.

Picture credits:

1. Monastery El Convent in Blanes http://www.el-convent.com/

2. Gaudi collage by Fernanda Ferreira, Flickr

3. Capella de l'Hospital de Sant Pere http://www.poblesdecatalunya.cat/

4. Ayre Hotel Gran Via http://www.ayrehoteles.com/

Timeless Beauty of Clay Flowers

Nella and Jonathan McCraw got married earlier this month in Edinburgh. Instead of classic fresh flowers Nella opted for clay flowers by Blossoms that look astonishingly lifelike and added a quirky touch to their wedding day. Wedding photographer John Carroll captured these great shots of Nella’s bouquet.

Debashri at Blossoms is an etsy seller who made all of the flowers in these photos. She creates the most beautiful clay flowers, crafted petal by petal.

Although looking incredibly delicate they are durable, yet feather-weight.With clay flowers you can have any flower you love, regardless of the season and keep them for a lifetime after your wedding day. They can even be scented with your favourite fragrances, designed to wear in your hair or have as your wedding cake topper.

Photo credits: 1, 2, 3 & 4- John Carroll (http://www.johncarrollphotography.com/) 5- Blossom & Blooms http://www.debashri.etsy.com/ / http://www.blossomsandblooms.blogspot.com/

A Perfect Website for DIY Inspiration

We blogged recently on some of the wonderful Martha Stewart’s DIY projects, that was the start of the DIY frenzy- admittedly nothing has been created in the real world, yet, but in our virtual world we have saved lots and lots of great ideas to try! Now is the perfect time to start practicing with these ventures now the nights are starting to draw in- what better way to spend the evening than cosying up with a glass of red wine and a pile of ribbons/crepe paper/glue… surely that is not just our idea of a great time! Visit this website for masses of absolutely fab ideas www.oneprettything.com

The Church of England Relaxes Wedding Law

Today’s new law makes it much easier to pick your ceremony venue if you were considering an Anglican church. Previously, the only way you could get married in a church was if you attended regularly, lived in the parish or applied for a special license. From today under the new rules you can marry in a church if:

1. Either of you were baptized or prepared for confirmation there
2. Either of you has lived in the parish for six months
3. Either of you has regularly worshipped in the parish for six months
4. Either of your parents has lived in the parish for six months during your lifetime
5. Either of your parents has regularly worshipped there for six months in your lifetime
6. Either of your parents or grandparents were married there

There are over 16,000 Church of England venues to pick from so this really is an exciting step forward on finding your prefect ceremony location. For any further help on finding your venue email us at enquiries@sugarblossom.co.uk

Operation Nice!

Operation Nice is guaranteed to brighten up your day! The creator is the very lovely Melissa from Melissa Head Design who encourages individuals to be proactively NICE. Click here to visit her site and read some positive news, upbeat stories and download tools to make the world a brighter place.

Martha Stewart has the Dreamiest Wedding Ideas…

We have just spent five fun packed days in Toronto- it is such a hip city with a relaxed vibe, we would definitely recommend it. Anyhow, no holiday would be complete without purchasing a whole heap of wedding magazines for fresh ideas on alternative traditions and styling. What we have just discovered, and I am so eager to share, is Martha Stewart Weddings, mentioned repeatedly in the magazines for a very good reason- she is a wedding guru with absolutely exceptional taste. All of the pictures on this blog are from her site, but the best bit is they are all DIY projects you can make yourself. Visit here to become as equally addicted as us!

Follow SugarBlossom’s Blog!

Blogspot has come out with their newest feature- Follow This Blog. We would love to see who is reading our blog; it would be great if you could take a moment to Follow Me using the link on the right of our blog. You can sign up whether publicly or anonymously, if you Follow Me publicly we can follow you back! Thank you x

Love Fortune Tellers

These are a quirky keepsake that can be used in a number of fun ways- an alternative wedding breakfast menu, a trivia quiz on you and your new husband or uncovering romantic love quotes. We adore the ‘Love Origami’ by Cox & Cox (image above) that have French phrases underneath the colourful hearts; a pack of 30 is only £10.00.

They look pretty displayed piled up in vases or scattered over the tables during the wedding breakfast.

If you have the time why not try making them yourself, as possibly the simplest form of origami they are so easy to do we can recall making these in the school playground! Click here for a useful template to use. If you do decide to get creative and do them yourself we would love to see the end results- email us at enquiries@sugarblossom.co.uk

Image on left from Martha Stewart Weddings

Real Wedding- Alex & Craig

Sandra, from Divine Day Photography, has a natural talent at putting people at ease and the skill of capturing unscripted wedding moments as they happen. We love this wedding she took at the National Liberal Club in London, Alex and Craig’s chic city wedding is full of fun touches. This stunning venue is located in the heart of London with the gorgeous terrace overlooking the river Thames and Embankment Gardens.

These shots illustrate why Sandra has recently won an award from the Artistic Guild of Wedding Photography Journalism. Be sure to check out Divine Day’s website, for more of Alex and Craig’s lovely day!

A Modern Alternative to Table Plans- Escort Cards

We are not being disloyal to our love of table plans in anyway, but today is the day to announce that we have also been admiring escort cards on American websites from afar and feel like showing off some of our favourite finds to raise the profile of them a little more over in the UK. If you are having designated seating you will need a table plan, or the popular American alternative of escort cards, to let your guests know what table they will be sitting at.

The most popular designs are either tent folded so they stand easily - you simply write your guest name on the front and their table name/number inside, or a card tucked into a miniature envelope with the guest's name written on the outside.

You can make a pretty display with escort cards by arranging them on a table in rows separated by flowers or by hanging or pegging them over a length of ribbon.

These save the normal crush at the table plan and also let your wedding planner or a bridesmaid make any adjustments that may be needed on the day.

Displaying the escort cards hanging from a ‘tree’ (or multiple trees) is stunning:

Wishing rocks are an alternative idea, simply place a rock on, or near, each escort card, along with a sign instructing guests to make a wish for the couple on their respective rock and then place it in a large vase. After the wedding you can keep it at home, a container filled with good wishes:

Picture credits: Meg Smith, Paperdolls, Style Me Pretty and The Knot

Dine in the Sky

A mini blog today to show you this fun idea for an engagement party meal, or even your wedding breakfast! Celebrate your nuptials high in the sky and you will literally feel like you are floating on air! Check out www.dinnerinthesky.com

Images from dinnerinthesky.com

Inspiring Invites with a 2009 Preview

If invitations could walk many would be worthy of their own high fashion catwalk shows- here in the UK we have some of the most amazing designers and today we are lucky enough to showcase some of their work. The invites below are new for 2009 from Kelly Geeson Designs

(http://www.kellygeesondesigns.co.uk/):

Big thank you to Kelly Geeson Designs for this exclusive sneak preview to SugarBlossom blog readers before the invites appear in any magazines.

Kelly Geeson Designs also has some top tips for choosing your invitations:

• Don't be afraid to use colour. An elegant and stylish look can easily be achieved without sticking to ivory and cream
• Make sure you allow plenty of time to have your stationery designed and printed
• If you are stuck for a theme or idea for your stationery make a list of ideas that you are using throughout the rest of your day, such as your choice of flowers, the style of your dress, any jewellery you have chosen, etc, and a bespoke design can be created to match.

Another designer we are besotted with is Sugalily (http://www.sugalily.co.uk/)- they have a stunning range of invites, we particularly adore the ‘Vintage Glitz & Glamour’ and ‘Country Garden’ ranges shown below:

It is not only us mere SugarBlossom wedding planners that have fallen for Sugalily’s charms- A list couple Pearl Lowe and Danny Goffey, part of the famous Primrose Hill set, have recently picked Sugarlily to design all of the stationery for their vintage inspired wedding.

Whilst it may seem the purpose of invites is to gaze at their beauty, there are some fundamental pieces of information to remember to include:

1. Reply card with any dietary requirements
2. Directions and map
3. Local hotels/guesthouses/B&Bs for people needing to stay over. If the hotel is providing a special rate for guests at your wedding, make sure to mention it.
4. An optional gift list there are mixed views on whether this should be included or only made available if people request a copy, although it is becoming more and more common to pop in with the invite.
5. Transport options to get to the area - train, bus, airports.
6. Information about Car Parking if required
7. Local Taxi numbers for the evening or those without cars
8. Any other details that may be useful if people are staying for a weekend; such as local attractions, taxi numbers, restaurants…

Don’t miss a blog! Subscribe using the link above or email enquiries@sugarblossom.co.uk for regular wedding updates.

Launch Your Wedding Style with Save the Dates

We had considered blogging on stationery as a whole, but the topic is too immense and too much fun to sum up that simply!

And why would we want to… so first up, Save the Dates- announcing upcoming weddings, the first opportunity to set the style and expectations of your big day.

I must admit for my wedding I initially saw these as a good excuse to start getting creative and shouting about our wedding as early as possible! But the response we got to them was great and made us realise how valuable they are.

The early broadcast of planned nuptials meant guests who lived abroad were able to start planning their trips to the UK and for our friends and family at home it made sure they kept their diaries clear and had plenty of notice for travel arrangements.

This is why we encourage our clients to embrace the start of the stationery frenzy with Save the Dates- whether cards, fridge magnets, book marks, theatre style tickets or even paperweights they are a great way to maximize the number of guests that will be able to make your wedding.

Subscribe to our blog to make sure you don’t miss our future blogs on invites, order of the day and table plans, menus and thank you cards.

Wedding Cakes- Almost too Pretty to Eat!

SugarBlossom love everything sweet and sugary, so wedding cakes, whether wacky, whimsical or elegant, are always a highlight of our planning! Having a wedding cake is an old tradition, but one that has evolved over the years- in medieval times it was sweet bread that was thrown at the couple to determine how many children the couple would have and a sign of good fortune. Thankfully, today the wedding cake is motionless and displayed in a prominent position to be admired. Your cake is a fantastic opportunity to be creative and dream up elaborate ideas with your wedding planner to reflect your personalities. Specialist wedding cake companies can make these a reality to the extent some seem more like pieces of art!

Little Venice Cake Company, MaisieFantasie and Peggy Porschen are all well known for their stunning wedding cakes and come highly recommended by us, also favoured by many celebs.

If you have the tastes of the celebrities, but not necessarily the budget, we also absolutely adore The Cake Fairy (http://www.thecakefairy.com/) they create incredibly tasty works of art without the price tag to match! Guidelines for servings: Round sponge: 6” = 14 8” = 28 10” = 46 12” = 66 Square sponge: 6” = 18 8” = 32 10” = 50 12” = 72 Round fruit: 6” = 28 8” = 48 10” = 80 12” = 112 Square fruit: 6” = 36 8” = 64 10” = 100 12” = 144

Marriage- The Perfect Excuse For an Extravagant Holiday…

Your honeymoon is a once in a lifetime opportunity to go somewhere exotic or incredibly romantic to celebrate the start of your new life as a married couple.

Whether you are looking for pure indulgence on an island retreat or exploring far flung culture, here are some locations to consider depending on the season you are getting married:

• Winter (Jan to Mar) This is an ideal time to visit the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean, particularly Sri Lanka & the Maldives
• Spring (Apr to Jun) South East Asia is great at this time of year with a mix of city and fantastic beach options, we love the Vietnamese vibe in Hanoi followed by Langkawi’s fantastic beaches
• Summer (Jul to Sep) There are more choices closer to home in the summer, why not try the romance of the Amalfi coast or the glamour of the Côte d’Azur?
• Autumn (Oct to Dec) Venture to the other side of the world to benefit from New Zealand's or Australia's summer weather, perfect for a mix of adrenaline activities and beautiful scenery.

Lastly wherever you choose to go; Don’t forget to take a copy of your marriage certificate and let everyone know you’re on honeymoon to get complimentary extras like room upgrades, massages, fruit, wine etc… Also if you are going to change your passport into your married name make sure that all documents and booking details are all in the same name and not a mixture of maiden and married name.

Image is from our collection

Flower Flair on a Budget

We love flowers here at SugarBlossom and would never let a limited budget put us off- in fact we relish the challenge and enjoy thinking creatively with our clients to stimulate some amazing ideas. Obviously the easiest way to save money is to have fewer flowers or not opt for the fussier styles. Here are our top 3 tips for saving money on flowers:

1. Give flowers that may seem dull on first impressions a chance; for example carnations in a pomander ball look stunning
2. Buy seasonal flowers – over the year the cost of flowers fluctuates due to what’s in season and key events like Valentine’s Day and Mothers Day.
3. Give flowers more than one role! Move the ceremony flowers to your reception and pop the bridesmaids bouquets in vases or bouquet holders

Ten Ways to Have an Eco Chic Wedding

From earth friendly invites to nature loving honeymoons, going green no longer means you have to compromise on the style of your big day. The average UK wedding can produce 14.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions (Findings from the offset company Climate Care). By incorporating SugarBlossom's green ideas into your wedding planning you can help reduce the size of your wedding's carbon footprint on the environment. 1. Pick your venue Choosing a location that is as close to as many of your guests as possible will reduce your wedding’s impact in a big way. Also research locations where the proceeds support eco-friendly causes, the National Trust is worth investigating. 2. Greener transportation You’ve picked the venue, now how will you and your guests get there- try to provide as much information on local transport options as possible. Also why not arrive at the reception with your groom on a romantic tandem bicycle? 3. Source locally Almost anything can be found locally, but some things are more important than others. Food and drinks are a great place to start and to show off your region’s best. To find local food producers, visit www.bigbarn.co.uk 4. Ideal invites There is an increasing number of suppliers of recycled, handmade, or tree-free invitations out there, Cherry Gorgeous is one of my favourites- their cards are both ethical and stylish. 5. Dress the part Recycle a dress—whether it's your mother's gown or a gorgeous find from a vintage shop. Borrowing jewellery also makes a great "something borrowed”. 6. With this ring… Pledge your commitment to the earth and each other by choosing a ring made with environmentally conscious precious metals and conflict-free diamonds.

7. Flower power Before choosing your bouquet, look for a florist that supports organic flower farms and uses seasonal wildflowers- you could cut the emissions that would be generated by shipping flowers from far away. 8. Do the environment a favour When it comes to wedding favours, why not share a living gift, like a small potted plant, with each guest. Packets of seeds and soy soap also make great green favours. 9. Gifts of conscience Ethical gift lists are on the rise; the Oxfam Unwrapped service has tripled in the last year and By Nature’s unique wedding list service have a selection of green, organic and ethical products. If you have all you need, why not create an online donation list to a worthy cause or ask guests to dedicate trees to you both in the MarryMeWood (www.carbonneutral.com/weddings). 10. Enjoy an all-natural honeymoon Plan a honeymoon where you can commune with nature at an eco-resort that preserves the environment. Both Responsible Travel and Ecoescape have lots of dream destinations. A wedding planner can assist you in designing a wedding to your unique specifications, even more helpful when you wish to infuse eco-chic elements into the celebration. Working with an expert, such as SugarBlossom is the best possible way to cut through the clutter to discover the things you believe in, and will love.