Sonia's Baby Shower

Sonia's Baby Shower

One of the lovely things about this job is the wonderful friends you make.

I first met Sonia a couple of years ago when the couple got married and we have stayed in touch. We try to catch up a couple of times a year with a day of culture and lunch in town (there is always a lot of lunch and a hint of culture) & of course I was thrilled to be invited to her baby shower!

Sonia & Phil are having a little girl any day now and I cannot wait to meet her I am sure she will be as lovely as her mum and dad.

STOP PRESS! Lyra Jane has arrived! Congratulations!

Beautiful Bride

Every Bride wants to look beautiful on her wedding day and even though most Brides will spend hours choosing the venue and the dress they sometimes leave their hair and make up to the last minute. I would always recommend that you invest in a professional make up artist.

I recently spoke with Cheryl Huggins, Beauty & Make Up Expert and asked her for some tips for Brides to be and she offered this advice:

Schedule a consultation with your make up artist as so that you can meet and look at their previous work and testimonials.

Before the trial go through magazines & find images that you like, Romantic, Elegant, Hollywood or Natural, its fine to say you like the look of these eyes but this lipstick, look for images that will work well with your features and skin tones. Always include looks that you definitely do not want and show these to your artist as well.

If you have not tried false lashes before don't rule them out, have a go at your trial, they can make your eyes looking stunning in photographs.

A picture of the dress or your theme will help the artiste to build a visual image of the look you will create together.

Let them know if you have any special requests allergies , birthmarks you want disguised.

Don't be afraid to say you don't like the look of your first trial, remember its your day and it may take a couple of go's to get exactly what you want.

Once you feel comfortable and are happy with your look, take a picture and write down the products & colours that have been used.

With your choice completed do not change your skin care or beauty regime close to the day of the wedding with rigorous facials, teeth whitening or fake tans as at any time your skin could react badly. If you are going to have a spray tan have it for your trial as well.

Always let the artist know all the details of your day such as timings, number of bridesmaids that may require make up, does the Mother of the Bride so that time can be built in to accommodate all on the day. Last minute additions may not always be possible.

Invest in regular skincare, eat and sleep well and drink lots of water to glow inside and out!

Look gorgeous and enjoy your day!

Amanda Brady - Distinctly Floral

We recently worked with Sarah & Barry on their wedding day & we had such a great time. Sarah had chosen Orchids as her flowers for her wedding & they were just stunning.

I asked Amanda Brady for some tips on using Orchids for a wedding & this is the advice she gave me:

"Orchids are fabulous flowers to add a touch of glamour and “wow” to a wedding. They used to be a sign of wealth in times gone by due to the cost required to cultivate them, hence the orchid houses at Kew Gardens.

These days they are much more readily available and are wonderful for weddings. There are a range of orchid varieties available, including phalaenopsis (or moth) orchid which is most popular for bridal bouquets and look beautiful as shower bouquets, or with individual heads added to hand-tied bouquets.

Other varieties include the slightly waxy and very robust cymbidium orchid which are great for table centres or even overarm bouquets; these are very wilt resistant and individual heads can even be scattered on tables for an additional touch of glamour, or floated in votives or low bowls. Dendrobium or Singapore orchids are a slightly smaller headed orchid and can be used as a secondary flower or are more commonly used in corsages; they also look fabulous on mass in tall vases.

Our favourites are the more unusual vanda orchids especially the striking Blue Magic which is in fact a deep purple. These are more like the phalaenopsis orchids in shape, but are very hardy and have been known to last months as a cut flower.

For Sarah and Barry, we chose the white phalaenopsis orchid as the primary flower and added the cymbidium orchid as the secondary flower and to add additional height to the tablecentres.

Using just orchids throughout the wedding gave the overall look a classy, elegant and sophisticated feel.

info@distinctlyfloral.co.uk

A Chinese bride has attempted to break the world record for the longest wedding dress by walking down the aisle in a 2,162m-long (7,083ft) gown.

Lin Rong's dress was made for her by her husband-to-be, Zhao Peng, and his family in eastern Jilin province. It took their 200 wedding guests three hours to unroll the fabric and decorate the train with 9,999 silk roses. Mr Zhao's mother said she knew her son was trying to express his love, but she thought the dress was a waste of money.

"I do not want a cliche wedding parade or banquet," China's Xinhua news agency quoted Mr Zhao as saying.

So instead, he decided he would use his nuptials to challenge the current wedding dress world record of 1,579m (5,180ft), set in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on 1 April 2009. Mr Zhao enlisted most of his family to pitch in with his idea, bringing materials, choosing patterns, making silk roses and stitching on jewels on the day, Xinhua said. His aunt, who conveniently is a dressmaker, had agreed to make the design.

Romantic gesture

And Mr Zhao's feat did not end once he had tied the knot.

After the event, he cut the dress down to 1,984.1022m, to represent his bride's date of birth, and added 608 crystals, one for every day they had dated. Mr Zhao said he had submitted his attempt to Guinness World Records in London and would also be sending video footage.

"Both the length of the dress and the number of silk roses pinned on the wedding dress can make history," he said, but added that it did not matter to him whether he was successful or not.

The whole effort cost Mr Zhao about 40,000 yuan ($5,800; £3,470), but his schoolteacher bride was reported to have "laughed and cried at the romantic gesture".
Mr Zhao's mother appeared less impressed.

"It is a waste of money in my opinion," she told Xinhua.
"Though I understand that he wants to show his love on the big day."

Wedding Idea's Magazine

In this month's Wedding Ideas Magazine Jennie & Paul's wedding is featured in the Real Wedding Section.

See more beautiful photographs of the couple on their special day.

Jennie & Paul's Wedding

Jennie & Paul met on the Internet and it was the start of a beautiful relationship.

Exactly 12 months after they first met Paul took Jennie away for a romantic weekend and popped the question and Jennie immediately said yes!

The couple picked Gatton Manor Golf & Country Club for the wedding ceremony and reception. It had lovely grounds and hidden gardens that were just perfect for their special day.

Jennie had decided on red as her main theme colour and her four bridesmaids has stunning strapless full length satin dresses with matching shoes.

Jennie's gown was embellished with tiny seed pearls and diamond beads it was truly beautiful.

Jennie decided on Grand Prix red roses as her main flower for both the bridal party flowers and the reception decoration. Jennie's bouquet was stunning made up of red roses and diamante pins whilst the bridesmaids had cream roses hand tied with red organza.

After an emotional civil ceremony Jennie & Paul exchanged vows and made their way out to their drinks reception to Signed Sealed Delivered by Steve Wonder!

During the drinks reception whilst the happy couple went off to have photographs their Guests enjoyed drinks, canapes and were entertained by magician Hugh Nightingale.

We held the drinks reception on the terrace which we dressed with rose petals, rose trees that we brought in especially and red heart shaped balloons.

This lovely little arch was one of the pictures that Jennie really wanted unfortunately all the tiny roses had died by August but we made small red and ivory organza ones and wired them to the frame to give the same effect, we were all really pleased with the results.

The couple were back just in time to hear Andy Wilsher start his performance as a surprise to the Guests Andy had been hired to perform his Frank Sinatra Tribute Act which was just fantastic for a sunny afternoon in Surrey.

It didn't take long for Paul to get in on the act and before long he was dueting with Frank which every one loved.

Then as a complete surprise instead of a first dance Paul sang solo to Jennie. He sang Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars and Jennie was just blown away.

The Guests were then asked to take their seats for dinner, after speeches, the Guests enjoyed a 5 course meal.

The dinning room was dressed to match the couples theme and the tables were dressed with rows of small glass votive holding a red rose head decorated with diamante.

Each table was named after a Disney character so each table had a Disney character attached to the table name holder (which the couple kept as keepsakes).

Jennie and Paul sat on a small 'sweetheart' table.

It was soon time to cut the cake. The cake was fabulous, three tiers with each tier decorated with red roses and diamante. Jennie & Paul's initials were engraved in icing on each side and it looked stunning.

Kate at Sophisticakes had done an amazing job which included setting it up and using a spirit level!

The DJ arrived and it was time for dancing and everyone took to

the dance floor including the New Mr & Mrs Chappell.

As dusk set in we had time for two more photographs - this amazing one on the bridge (which I had to test out to make sure it was safe first!) and my favourite photograph of Jennie & Paul with one of their heart shaped balloons.

In fact I loved it so much it is my new advert.