Hi All!
This week it’s all happening on our blog as we move to a new website. It means we won’t have any posts whilst we get on with the move but make sure you come back to see our gorgeous new website. On there will be more dates for our wedding planning workshops and we will of course have lots more inspiration and information on how to help you plan your wedding.
Have a great week and don’t forget to come over to www.theweddingdolls.co.uk.
x
I just love this car. I’ve always been slightly miffed that on my own wedding day I was within easy walking distance so never got to have a gorgeous vehicle to get me to the church on time. But if I did this would have been first on my list.
Polly Pootles is a classic VW Beetle chauffeur driven service that really stands out from the crowd. Based in Kent, Helen, the very lovely owner and chauffeuse, used the 1968 VW beetle at her wedding day in 2008. It then underwent a professional restoration and came out the other side looking very sparkly and a gorgeous pearl white in colour.
Helen started using Pootles to chauffeur other couples on their big day and has been pootling to fabulous weddings for the past 3 years. She regularly blogs about the weddings she’s been to so you can get ideas and inspiration on how the VW can be used to make your day extra special.
For more info on prices and booking details click here.
All images: Copyright Polly Pootles
This week has been full of excitement and anticipation. Not least as the Olympics has arrived in London town but that our new website is almost ready to go. That was until we hit a slight wordpress snag. We’re desperately trying to work out how NOT to manually move over 500 blog images from wordpress.com to wordpress.org as it doesn’t seem to want to do it automatically for us. If anyone has any idea there’s free wedding planning sessions in it!
The WD’s rethink their IT strategy
On the blog this week we’ve got caught up with Olympic Fever by having a special Going for Gold blog post which is an inspiration board of all things gold for a wedding. It’s such a great accent colour for anytime of year and you can use it as little or as much as you like to compliment any theme.
Our designer of the week was the brilliant Claire Pettibone whose dresses we have admired for ages. If you want to float like an Ethereal Queen through your wedding day then these are the gowns for you.
@Claire Pettibone
We just love a lotion or new potion at the Wedding Dolls and just some of our favourite products come from the range by Mitchell and Peach, which is produced right here in Kent. Our Fantastic Find of the week is their miniature set – just perfect for that honeymoon carry case.
Next up was all talk as we looked into Brides making a speech on their wedding day. Traditionally left to the guys, we now find more and more brides want to be part of the speech line up so they can thank their loved ones themselves or pay tribute to their gorgeous new hubbie. Would you? Find out more in Speechless Brides.
This week we also gave you the heads up on the next big thing for Bridesmaids coming to a wedding near you in 2013. Yes it’s bling’s best friend Sequins, and lots of them. See how you can get your Bridesmaids kitted out and bang up to date in next to no time.
Lastly our Saturday Shopping tip this week was for online store Pearl and Earl. It’s got loads of good little buys to help decorate your venue and is also a great place to buy those latex balloons we were banging on about last week. If you’re bored with the Olympics already you’ve just found something to do instead!
Happy Sunday Everyone
x
Today our fabulous find is a local beauty business, Mitchell and Peach, that was recommended to me by a friend and now I just can’t get enough of it. Since having a hand op I’ve needed to keep moisturising my hand and I’m addicted to their hand cream (60ml, £17). From first glance at the fabulous packaging you’ll be hooked too and the cream has a beautiful scent which absorbs really quickly.
I’ve steadily worked my way through the rest of the product range which includes: a handwash (300ml, £19), a cream soap (4 x 100g, £28), a revitalising shower wash (250ml, £20), a relaxing bath oil (100ml, £39) and a rich, nourishing body cream (180ml, £36), all perfumed with a unique lavender and peachy fragrance.
Best of all there is a luxury travel collection (5 x 75ml shampoo, conditioner, bath oil, shower wash and body cream, £31.50) which is just perfect for a honeymoon treat or for a gorgeous bridesmaid gift.
Behind the products are father and son team, Ian and Jod Mitchell, who now manage the business, which was started over 100 years ago from Covent Garden. All their Mitchell & Peach products are hand-blended in England using the finest natural ingredients, including matured essential oils from the family’s lavender fields in Sevenoaks and honey collected from hives on their estate. What’s more the range is free from parabens, mineral oil, sodium lauryl sulphate and synthetic colouring and are not tested on animals.
The products are only available in selected stores including Annabel’s in Chislehurst and Harvey Nics daaarhling, or you can order online. And with a growing celebrity following, including Yasmin Le Bon, you’ll be in good company!
Image courtesy of Mitchell & Peach
Sometimes you find a website that you’re no longer going to be able to live without. And Cox and Cox is it. If you are DIYing your wedding it’s the perfect place to find unique decorations and accessories. It’s one of our favourite places to start when we’re styling weddings (and our houses too!). You’re sure to find something you love in the first few clicks!
All images from Cox and Cox
Last month we worked at Nettlestead Place which is a medieval manor house in Wateringbury, Kent. It’s a really unique venue and makes for a rare mixture of formality and intimacy.
It is a venue that has exclusive hire so your wedding party will be centre stage. Ceremonies take place in the historic 13th century Undercroft which has a roaring open fire and a very cosy feel. It seats up to 120 guests for the ceremony and up to 45 people for a wedding breakfast.
The gardens and terraces overlooking Nettlestead’s large sunken pond make for great photo’s and your guests can enjoy a walk around manicured lawns, hidden rose gardens, paths and water features.
Up at the top end of the garden is the marquee for larger receptions (up to 200 people) which has beautiful views right over the Kent countryside.
There is ample car parking space in Nettlestead Court Farm or the wedding party can drive down through the medieval gatehouse that straddles the drive.
Annabel Tucker lives at Nettlestead Place as well as running it as a wedding venue and so is on hand to offer a flexible wedding experience and will help make the venue work for you. Check out their website for information on prices and view the picture gallery.
Images 1-3, Courtesy of Nettlestead Place
Image 4, The Wedding Dolls
I’ve spend most of this week up to my armpits in muddy washing. Rain is bad enough but flooding and outdoor events mean that my wellies aren’t the only thing getting soggy! Still in this country rain doesn’t usually spoil play and we crack on anyway, especially my kids who have rolled around outside for 10 minutes got cold, wet and muddy, come back in, got changed and then started the whole process over again. So before I go back to my alternative office aka the utility room, here’s the quick round up of the blog over the past week.
We kicked off sharing the beautiful designs of Claire Mischevani with you. Her bespoke designer bridal service has featured in Vogue, Elle, Grazia, Brides and You & Your Wedding amongst others. If you want something completely different and perfect for you in every way you’ll want to check out her website for your dream dress.
Next up was the Kent wedding of Jon and Emma, who were married at Bradbourne House. Emma talked us through their plans and shared the details of the day which included bespoke stationery designed by Jon himself. Take a peek at the rest of the pictures here.
Next up was a reminder of a gorgeous wedding we worked on last year in Malta. Louise and Warren used wedding planners to cut out all the travel expenses of going to Malta to check on arrangements, as well as the stress of trying to do it all themselves. We worked with the couple on plans this end whilst the Maltese planner was on location to organise local suppliers and double check arrangements before we arrived. The colours of this wedding were just stunning and Louise embraced the then emerging trend of different Bridesmaid dresses which looked absolutely amazing.
Finally we shared our top five picks for Bridesmaid dresses that fall above the knee. The sales are in full force on the high street and there are lots of bargains to be had if you want your Bridesmaids to have an alternative look.
Happy Sunday Everyone
x
Image 1 & 2: Juliette Harrison.
Image 3 & 4: Kay Young
Today we are really pleased to be sharing a fantastic vintage photoshoot at the very lovely Upnor Castle, Kent. The shoot was set up by Margate based photographer, Robert Marriott with the help of Maxine Gregory of Tea-licious and Sandra Andrews of Vintage Curves.
We just love the vintage dresses, the gorgeous red detailing and wow – that cake! Here are just some of our favourite shots but take a look at the slideshow for the full shoot. Enjoy!
Image Credits Robert Marriott – thanks Robert!
Photo Shoot Credits:
Stylist’s Stephanie Stanley, Lacey Biginton and Leanne MacPherson
Florists Mals Bespoke Bouquet, Flower Heaven and Helen Louise Jury.
Red Ruffle cake supplied by Francesca Pitcher, Cupcakes by Samantha Vanstone
Vehicles from Amandas Vintage Car Hire, Simply Stunning Cars and Retro Caravan Hire.
Today on the blog we are sharing with you the wedding of Chris and Katie, who got married back in May at Port Lympne. The lucky couple had lots of friends to help out and so we asked Katie to tell us about their big day.
Katie tells us “Port Lympne was the only venue we looked at and we fell in love with it. I had been there previously for work and thought it would be really different and unique to get married there. Erica at Port Lympne helped us so much and was brilliant.We had 72 guests for the daytime, with another 130 coming in the evening. We wanted quite a traditional wedding but with a few personal touches. We had a VIP safari trip as part of the wedding day so we all got on big safari trucks and spent an hour going round the park seeing the animals.
Our wedding photographer was Kerry Ann Duffy. I had heard about her through some friends and then when we looked on her website we knew she was our photographer!
My dress was from Brocades Bridal Studio in Sittingbourne. They were really helpful and had some beautiful pieces. As well as my dress I also bought there my veil, hairpiece, a necklace and earrings. I borrowed my sister’s bracelet for my ‘something borrowed’. My shoes were from BHS – they were comfortable enough to wear all day and all night!
Chris’ suit was hired from Slaters in Canterbury. It was grey with a white shirt and purple cravat. The bridesmaids dresses were also from Brocades and the flower girl dress was from Next.
We had a motor racing theme for the reception as Chris is a mad motor racing fan. For our table centres we had flowers in tyres instead of vases and our table names were the names of Formula 1 drivers. Our favours were Air Ambulance scratch cards as it’s a charity close to our hearts. For the children’s favours we got party bags from All About Party Bags which contained activity books, stickers, sweets and bubbles.
Our brilliant stationery was made by a friend of my sister, Tomarty, and included invitations, table names, table plan, post box and guest book. A friend, Jo Tantum, did our wedding flowers. We met up to discuss the flowers but I had no idea what to pick apart from the colour so we left it in her hands as we trusted her to do a beautiful job. I had no idea what they were going to look like until I saw them on the day but I was over the moon with them! My bouquet was a mixture of ivory and lilac roses, purple lisianthus and eucalyptus. There were also button holes for the men and corsages for the ladies as well as flowers for the tables. The wedding room didn’t really need much decorating as there are gorgeous animal murals all over the walls so we didn’t have flowers to decorate the room.
Our menu was by the in-house caterers and we gave our guests choices so we had starters of Pate, Garlic Mushrooms or Melon & Parma Ham followed by Salmon in chive sauce, Chicken in mushroom sauce or Romney Marsh Lamb. Dessert was Apple Pie, Chocolate fondue with strawberries or Lemon tart. It was all delicious! Throughout dinner we had some table magic by a friend who is a magician.
Johanna Hehir has launched her new diffusion collection, Mae by Johanna Hehir. This gorgeous new range features soft georgette, silk crepe and vintage style lace in the dress designs. Dresses range in price from £1000 to £1500.
Johanna says “Naming the collection was far simpler than I thought it would be. When my daughter suggested we use Mae (my second name), I knew it was a name that perfectly suited the type of girl who we envision wearing any one of the dresses from this collection”.
Johanna has established herself over the past ten years as one of London’s leading bridal designers. Her signature style has clean, unfussy, classic cuts with romantic detailing – we just love!
We’ll let you know as soon as the range is available – in the meantime check out this gorgeous video from the collection shoot day or for more about her other gowns take a look at our previous blog post.
The Wedding Dolls 