Janie Medley = Scrumptious

Loving the wreath work of Janie Medley and her new blog The Brides' Cafe. These wreaths have a really dense weight to them that makes me happy without them feeling solid and fake. I think the scale of them really works too: we're struggling to work out how very big the wreath at the end of our ginormous barn should be so as not to be lost above our 'altar'. These feel like they could work well, even so far as to be packed out with silk flowers and primped with a few fresh blooms on the day to prevent excessive wilting.

Yum Yum Janie! Keep up the good work!

Bouquet Spotting

Walking along the beautiful Shad Thames on my way to work this morning I spied something rather delicious. No it was not the Conran cakes nor the gift shop stocking Burts Bees.

It was the Shad Thames florist and their display of wares. They make the most gorgeous bouquets and are the only place that I splurge on flowers. £30 for exquisite bundles of the most extraordinary colour combinations and designs that trump Columbia Road cheapness in their style and display.

And what did I spy this morning? A bouquet of crisp navy and whites! Of course I didn't have my camera with me this morning (that would be too easy) and I'm off to the train station this evening for a weekend away so buying it didn't seem very sensible. Instead, I took notes and promised to return next week. Googling the notes has brought me this combination of colours and I'm delighted to say that it worked. It worked beautifully.

And suddenly I've got butterflies.

Above: Vibernum berries, white agapanthus, anenome and ranunculas.

Navy+Patent+Leather+£20=SMUG BRIDE

One job down, 4,218,838 jobs to go. The gorgeous loveliness above ticks every box I had in my head for the older girls:

• comfortable heel height without stilleto or kitten heel (bleurgh)
• round toe without scary points or harsh angles
• ankle strap for comfort and ease of style
• navy
• not satin

Of course, at £20 a pair, these sort out the Sister and the Best Friend in one fell swoop.

The fact that they are now online at £25 a pair just ups the smug factor another iota. Hoorah for forward planning!

A good catch

Bouquets bemuse me... It seems a strange thing to want to carry around and is actually only in your hands for the walk down the aisle before it gets left with a bridesmaid and then (most likely) left on a table somewhere before you actively throw it away…

Difficult to deny the beauty of this one, taken from the site of designer wedding planner Rebecca Thuss.

And anyway, I’m such a fidget, it’s probably best to have something to carry rather than wringing my hands or hitching at my skirt with anticipation and nerves.

Maybe that’s all that they’re actually there for....

Hmmm. That's a thought for a Monday morning...

Garden Arbours and Aisles

Some images to inspire your garden wedding. Loving the bamboo aisle, the arbour and the tealit path...

Sadly not exactly ideal for a frosty November afternoon, but a girl can dream!

I fear all these pictures were stored in my 'I Love' file long before I thought I'd share them with the world. Apologies for not being able to author them: do get in touch if you know where they are from!

One Year Today

The Boy and I will be wed in 365 days and four hours. The weather today is pretty grey-skied but fresh clean air and not an ounce of mugginess. This week, if the sky has been clear, it has been crisp with a frosty chill to the air. If the sky has been overcast, the weather has been somewhat milder but not damp or oppressive.Despite rather anxious dreams involving bad photographers and chipped nail polish on my wedding day, I am absolutely overjoyed that I can now count the days to the start of my married life in months rather than years.