Michelle & Will

On behalf of Love & Lord the leading Italian Wedding Planning company I had the pleasure of working with Michelle & Will on their romantic wedding in Tuscany.

Despite a torrent of rain, that could have put a real dampener on the day, the couple had a beautiful ceremony in Sienna a historical walled city - a town so well preserved and maintained, free of traffic and full of history and monuments, to be considered an essential part of the world's cultural heritage.

At the Town Hall, Palazzo Comunale where the civil ceremony was held, Michelle walked down the aisle to join Will and he was blown away by how beautiful she looked.

After the ceremony we managed to get a few photographs in the Piazza del Campo among the tourists and Guests before getting back on board the coaches and making our way to Villa Vignamaggio in Greve, Chianti.

The Villa of Vignamaggio, surrounded by an elegant Italian garden in a stunningly beautiful corner of the Chianti countryside, offers an authentic testimony of country life during the Renaissance period. The main part of the villa dates back to the 14th century. The Gherardi family who bought the villa from the Gherardini at the end of the 16th century, were responsible for its present appearance.

Mona Lisa, the daughter of Anton Maria Gherardini, was born at Vignamaggio in 1479. It is rumoured that Leonardo's Mona Lisa painting was of her in fact those are Tuscan hills in the background. The film Much A Do About Nothing was also filmed here making good use of the lovely Italian Gardens.

Due to the weather the wedding breakfast was held inside but with the stunning flowers of every colour that Michelle had chosen the room looked amazing.

It was then time for the dancing, and of course that was going to be a fun time as well.

Julie & Guy Wedding

Congratulations to Julie & Guy!

Joshua Rhys has arrived weighing in at 6lb 14oz and perfect in every way!

Patrick Swayze

Patrick & Lisa Swayze

As we have all heard Patrick Swayze died last week after a brave battle with cancer. This weekend I was reading The Mail on Sunday and they had an extract from Patrick & Lisa's book 'The Time of My Life' its a moving account and I was particularly sadden but also somehow happy to read about their renewal of vow ceremony that took place last Summer.

Being the cowboy that he is Patrick Swayze road into the ceremony on a white stallion, which was perfect for our romantic lead hero but it was their vows to each other that I thought were really beautiful.

Lisa's vows:

'While the future is an unknown, the one thing I do know is that I will love you. I'm very lucky to have found you in my life and am grateful that I have had the ability to open my eyes and see what I have. Because what I have, the love, the greatness and enormity of what I feel informs everything around me and brings me back to what I cherish most. And in cherishing the most there is for me, I cherish you more'.

Patrick's response was:

'How do I tell you how lucky I feel, that you fell into my life? How grateful I am that you chose to love me? I know that because of you, I found my spirit, I saw the man I wanted to be. But most of all, you were my friend. Together we've created journeys that were beyond anything we could imagine. Journeys that dreams are made of......Yet you still take my breath away. I'm still not complete until I look in your eyes. You are my woman, my lover, my mate and my lady. I've loved you for ever, I love you now and I will love you for ever more'.

Taken from The Mail on Sunday. The Time Of My Life byPatrick Swayze & Lisa Niemi 20.09.09

Wedding Bugs

Wedding Bugs

Looking for something a little different, quirky and a touch

contemporary for your wedding transport?

Throw in competitive prices and you have Wedding Bugs!

Billy Nixon introduced his company to me recently Chauffeur driven Cream VW Beetle Convertibles. I did fall in love with his charming cars.

Wedding Bugs offers couples a range of packages but are also happy to do bespoke quotes to meet your requirements. They might be the perfect car for your bridesmaids or Groom and Bestman. Or you could have a whole fleet for the Bridal Party.

For more information: http://www.weddingbugs.co.uk/

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