Bridal Express

Reception inspiration for your garden wedding

We've been super inspired by This Young House's backyard wedding and highly recommend you take a look. US residents can have an officiant in their home to conduct the ceremony thus keeping everything on site for a seamless day. UK peeps aren't so lucky as they must be married at a registry office or other licensed venue plus we do have very unpredictable weather. However, we have heard of more than a few couples hosting reception in their own gardens lately. Here's a little moodboard we put together if you're thinking of going the DIY route.

You'll naturally need lots of glass and servingware for your guests and though you could hire these, it may well be cheaper to hit up Ikea for a bulk purchase and keep/give away later. You can also snag glass vases perfect for holding simple centre pieces such as a cluster of lemons and limes. Paper lanterns make for great lighting at dusk and look out for battery operated versions for a safer illumination whilst bunting is great for a vintage theme or use ribbon streamers for a simple but colourful touch. A marquee would make great shelter from the hot sun or summer rain if you have a large enough garden. Have plenty of cold dishes to hand, put the drinks on ice, fire up the BBQ and have lots of fun!

Here's how we did it:

Blue and gold bunting, 5m £11 at The Cotton Bunting Company, Hang fabric lanterns from trees for romantic twilight lighting £7.75 John Lewis, Ikea Svalka wine glasses, six for £2.73, make your own rose ice cubes, 16-piece cutlery set, £1.95, a shallow rectangular vase can be stuffed with citrus fronts for an easy peasy centrepiece, £1.99.

Brilliant reasons why it's great to have a smaller wedding

Many couples are thinking about having smaller weddings. Whatever your reasons are, Damian Clarkson, MD of A-list caterer Red Snapper Events who have catered for the likes of OK! magazine and the Angels Ball has give us a whole list of reasons why you're making the right choice.

Damien says, "As the big day draws closer, I have seen many brides become increasingly stressed and worried about the big day. I often notice that the stress associated with a wedding is proportional to the size of the invite list. So why give yourself the unnecessary extra work?"

His top reasons for having a smaller wedding are:

- Smaller weddings are usually more intimate. Most people choose to invite only family and very close friends. This can make it a really special day that you will enjoy and everyone invited will remember, rather than it blurring into a hazy memory with all the other similar large weddings they've attended.

- Having a restricted guest list means you can spend more of your budget on making the day truly spectacular. You can allow yourself to opt for the slightly more expensive menu and higher quality wine choices - following the expression of quality over quantity!

- An intimate wedding means you can actually have time to speak to all the guests, and share your special day with them instead of rationing your time by dividing it between 100 plus guests.

Children's activity box from Les Enfants

If you're having children at your wedding, I heartily recommend putting some thought into how the little dears will be entertained. if you don't want to put together a gift box yourself, and they can be challenging, then children's party specialists Les Enfants have created a Wedding Activity Box.

Inside the white box there's a wedding activity book, stickers, coloured pencils, a card game, a board game with spinner and counters, and a keepsake box all of which are suitable for three to ten year olds and costs £18 each.
 
“Children at a wedding can be lovely, but long speeches and having to sit still can test the patience of even the most angelic child. Normally parents have to pack a few toys or crayons in their bag when going to a wedding with their children. Our packs take that hassle away as they’ll keep kids occupied for hours, letting their parents relax and enjoy themselves,” explains Katie Burnett, founder of Les Enfants.

Les enfants also have Le Kids Club, a childcare service with activities fromLe Cinema to Le Arts and Crafts and Le Theatre to keep the shorter guests entertained.

Check them out online here.

Make your own rose ice cubes - cocktail perfection!

 

Aren't thse rose ice cubes just so pretty? I don't know how well they would last up in the heat of the sun at a summer wedding. So, I would suggest having a batch ready to be served with a themed cocktail and canapes straight after the wedding or maybe have them for your wedding shower - they would be the perfect compliment to a pink and cream theme. Find instructions for making them by Jonathan Fong Style at Wishpot (more about the latter another time).