This time of year often signals the end of the busy summer wedding season, though many couples are now seeing the benefits of having an off peak winter wedding.
There’s loads of great reasons why having a winter wedding will bring you comfort and joy:
Good for your pocket
Off peak weddings could be better on your budget plus wedding suppliers may have more availability at this time of year.
Decor taken care of
Some venues may already have their Christmas decoration up which could mean you don’t have to worry too much about decorating the space any further.
Rich colour palette
The rich warm winter colours are luxurious and comforting plus lend themselves for extravagant textures of velvet and gold metallic décor.
Dreaming of a white Christmas
Let’s be honest snow on your winter wedding would be the ultimate romantic weather scenario (providing your venue isn’t too hard to reach), so it’s exciting that there might be a chance of snow for some stunning wedding pictures.
Wet weather plans in hand
Contrary to a summer wedding, there seems to be less pressure about the weather for a winter wedding as you won’t be expecting it to be super sunny, so you’ll make inside plans regardless.
Wrap up warm
No fear of fainting like in the summer heat or sweating in all your attire. Guys can go to town in a full three piece suit and ladies can keep warm in wraps, boleros and fake fur.
Embrace hygge theme
With the nights drawing in earlier and light fading quickly, there lots of opportunities for romantic lighting options like candles and huddling up round a firepit toasting marshmallows.
Holidays are coming
If you have a wedding around Christmas or New Year then your guests might already be off work anyway, so they won’t need to take any extra holiday to come to your big day.
Fresh wedding season
Your guests shouldn’t be too ‘wedding-ed’ out as they may not be going to as many other weddings at this time of year. Plus your wedding may look more unique as it will utilise flowers and produce from a different season to popular summer weddings.
Fly off for some winter sunshine
There are some good rates around for honeymoons at this time of year and travel to some tropical countries is better as it won’t be during wet or stormy season.
Feeling pretty proud to have one of my wedding shoots in print!
Check out pages 67 & 68 of the latest edition (June/July) of Your Glos & Wilts Wedding magazine to see my Journey to the Centre of the Earth styled wedding shoot featured.
I was over the moon to be approached by a beautiful local venue last year (via a great photography partner) to style their wedding venue in order to show it off in a new light and provide all involved with wonderful lifestyle imagery.
I always have a number of ideas swilling around inside my head that are waiting for the right venue and season to utilise a certain theme. I’d had this particular theme in mind for a while and it had evolved and I had time to mull it over a long time before I’d even visited the venue for the first time. As soon as I saw Oxleaze Barn, I noticed all the blue accents around the 1700s barn and farm, so I knew that this theme would work perfectly there.
Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne (published in 1864) features an expedition to Iceland and exploration through volcanic tunnels. (See some of my previous styled shoots based on other classic books.) The Icelandic edge took me to cold, icy places and this wintry theme seamlessly fitted a modern winter styled barn wedding. I especially wanted to emphasise that this wedding venue was available year round, thanks to their underfloor heating, and wanted the images to exude warmth and play on the hygge trend with a relaxed and intimate vibe. Plus it was great to have the opportunity to showcase the evergreen and expanse of their garden.
I also wanted to include nods to the book with the inclusion of volcanic rock themes through slick agate, intricate hollow geode or timeless marble.
Styled shoot
It is really important to me that my blog creates wedding inspiration in the beautiful Cotswolds. The uniqueness of the blog comes from showcasing my own beautiful and inspirational, trend-led styled wedding shoots, collaborating with local venues and innovative wedding suppliers.
Before starting Hanami Dream in 2014, I worked for over 6 years for an international clothing brand where I planned and managed photo shoots in some fabulous locations around the world. Now I get to combine my wonderful experience with my passion for weddings whilst supporting local businesses.
A styled shoot takes almost as much time and effort to produce as a wedding day and entails bringing together everything from many different suppliers.
For me the process always starts visually. Firstly on Pinterest where I collate my thoughts, then secondly on paper where I sketch out a floor plan, each scene and how every element will come together on a tablescape. Sometimes I have an idea of a product and I search for the best local supplier to provide that item. Other times, I see something that someone has created and I file it away for the most suitable shoot in the future.
The beauty of styled shoots (versus a real life wedding) is that it is a great opportunity to be a little more extravagant and really show off what you’ve always wanted to do. You can indulge your fantasies with new trends or products that couples may not have seen yet or something really unusual.
This styled shoot was a collaboration of like minded people that created great things together but perhaps didn’t have the budget to produce this kind of work if they all worked independently.
And most importantly, the suppliers I used are all local to the venue. This means that for anyone planning their wedding at this venue, this look and feel is completely achievable and realistic. The images might be Pinterest worthy but they are not unattainable.
Whether it is a styled shoot or a real life wedding day, the key is that each event is personal and tailor made.
Brief
We are very lucky to live in a beautiful part of the UK and are surrounded by some seriously talented wedding venues, professionals and suppliers. It was brilliant that so many wanted to be involved in this shoot and they certainly didn’t disappoint with the products that they provided.
They were all given the same brief of what I was trying to achieve:
volcanic rock elements to make a statement at this wintery wedding alongside grey, icy blue, gold and white accents coupled with acres of tulle and delicate airplants
I also provided them with my collated vision and ideas on my Pinterest board.
The themes I wanted to encapsulate included:
winter
modern
industrial
tactile
ethereal
delicate
hygge
The colour palette followed the Spring 2018 trend colours of grey, blue and lilac, alongside gold and white accents including:
Little Boy Blue
Pink Lavender
Ultra Violet
Almost Mauve
Alongside neutrals of:
Sailor Blue
Harbor Mist
Coconut Milk
Designs
The creative suppliers worked wonders in transforming my overflowing pot of ideas and pairing it down in to realistic and achievable products for us to showcase.
Usually each shoot starts with a muse or product that sparks the theme and everything flows from that element. For this shoot, it was some marbled concrete pots, concrete coasters, concrete letters, and concrete table numbers. Unfortunately due to ill health, the supplier wasn’t able to provide these items in the end for the shoot. However this marble look and feel was present on other elements.
Cake design – I wasn’t sure that a Cotswold barn wedding was the right setting for a geode cake, so marble made the perfect theme for the cake. The Pretty Cake Company never fail to impress with their spectacular cakes and exquisite replica flower sugar work. And the beauty for this shoot included 4 different tier heights and the cascade of flowers matched the real ones immaculately.
Stationery design – Continuing my quest to present novel alternatives to paper stationery, I initially was keen to utilise actual shards of agate for table numbers and place names. Sourcing these locally, economically and timely proved harder than first planned. Thankfully, the incredibly talented Emerald Paper Design was able to create trompe-l’œil card replicas to give the same look and feel along with her beautiful gold calligraphy. The whole suite featured geode style watercolour stationery with gold accents and a navy envelope.
Flowers – despite my love of flowers, I’m discovering that a lot of my briefs recently have become almost ‘anti-flowers’ (ie just foliage, paper flowers, plants in pots) and this shoot focused heavily on succulents and air plants. Succulents are certainly one of my own fascinations and I’ve even started to propagate some for my own terrarium at home. For this shoot, I wanted the bouquets to feel modern and give a contrast against all the soft tulle. I loved the use of delicate air plants (a wonderful evolution on the succulent trend) and glass suspended baubles. Plus Enchanted Floristry brought along their amazing moongate that helped encapsulate the sense of entering a volcanic tunnel.
Jewellery – It was brilliant to work with We Three Kings and their pieces echoed the colours and accents incredibly.
Suppliers
It’s the little details that bring any event to life and this was made possible by the wonderful local suppliers who provided their time, services, venue and products for free. Together we showcased the amazing talent that our part of the UK has to offer the wedding industry.
Despite the snow machine not materialising and a last minute change of models, the finished result was well worth the effort again.
Dress – From the outset, I wanted to include a blue dress in this shoot. Ideally I wanted a bridal separate like the Sweet Caroline Norma J separates but these aren’t readily stocked in local dress supplier shops. However thanks to Fairytale Occasions we were able to demonstrate a blue dress alongside a full tactile tulle white dress.
Lighting – Oakwood Events are an absolutely amazing company – friendly, reliable and highly sought after. Despite their really busy schedule, I was fortunate enough to involve their services again and showcase a brand new addition to their portfolio (which they sped through the design process especially for this shoot). It’s like they can read my mind! And luckily they don’t think my ideas are too crazy! I love that these displays give an industrial feel which is a great contrast with the relaxed vibe in the room.
Please do get in touch, if you are a local venue, wedding supplier or photographer and are looking to collaborate on a styled bridal shoot in the future.
I’m pleased we didn’t have to wait as long as last year for the Pantone® announcement of the Fall/Winter colours to look out for in 2018. In fact, it even took me a bit by surprise!
With the fashion week season just kicking off (this month is New York, London, Milan and then Paris) we start to think about those autumnal months.
And it seems that Pantone® are back in their stride, as we return to a top ten of colours (rather than a dozen that we saw for spring 2018). Plus I’m pleased to see the report continuing to be predictions again rather than a counting colours exercise from the catwalks.
It’s great to see an increase and update to the bonus colours that act as neutrals and core basics too.
Bonfire night warmth
I love this collection of bold colours that will trend in Autumn. They certainly pack a punch and make a huge statement.
Alongside some typical, rich autumnal colours, there’s some great accompanying vibrant shades that sit nicely alongside the colour of the year, Ultra Violet.
You can feel the warmth of the reds, orange, yellow and brown colours radiating out like the flames of a bonfire on Guy Fawkes night with Red Pear, Valiant Poppy, Ceylon Yellow, Martini Olive, Russet Orange (and Meerkat from the neutrals).
Peacock blooms
The dark, jewel colours (of Nebulas Blue, Ultra Violet and Quetzal Green) are fitting for my prediction of peacock inspired weddings this year. With the deep teal of Quetzal Green even named after a striking colourful bird.
Many of the names of the colours in this season seem so evocative and conjuror up images of space, sky, sea and land. With the interstellar cloud of dust of Nebulas Blue, Ultra Violet (the colour of the year tipped to suggest the mysteries of the cosmos), the cold, dark North Atlantic water of the Sargasso Sea and the expanse of poppies in Flanders Field reminiscent of Remembrance Day.
I’d love to have the job of thinking up the names of the colours – any one for a cocktail to accompany Martini Olive?!
Winter transition
With the start of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang today, it’s lovely to see some icy counterparts to take us in to winter with Crocus Petal (a paler version of Ultra Violet) and Limelight (a lighter version of Ceylon Yellow). They’ll make good transition colours to next spring too.
Fall 2018 colours
The top ten colours for Fall 2018 are:
PANTONE 19-1536 Red Pear
PANTONE 18-1549 Valiant Poppy
PANTONE 18-4048 Nebulas Blue
PANTONE 15-0850 Ceylon Yellow
PANTONE 18-0625 Martini Olive
PANTONE 16-1255 Russet Orange
PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet
PANTONE 15-3520 Crocus Petal
PANTONE 12-0740 Limelight
PANTONE 18-5025 Quetzal Green
Fall 2018 extra colours from LFW
Plus a couple of additional pops of pink from London Fashion Week round off the colours for Fall 2018:
PANTONE 15-1515 Mellow Rose
PANTONE 18-2045 Pink Peacock
Neutral basics
Pantone® have also created a Fall 2018 Classic Colour Palette. These are a group of neutrals that are core basics in the form of navy, white, beige, grey and brown.
You could wrap yourself up in these warm neutral colours. This is hygge at its best – with a great addition of Meerkat brown – so comforting, warm and cosy.
The bonus classic neutral colours for Fall 2018 are:
PANTONE 19-4031 Sargasso Blue
PANTONE 11-4801 Tofu
PANTONE 14-1116 Almond Buff
PANTONE 14-4107 Quiet Grey
PANTONE 16-1438 Meerkat
Colour themes
It’ll be great to see how couples incorporate these colours in to their weddings later this year.
Pantone® is the world-renowned authority on colour and the Pantone® Color of the Year is always really influential in any popular colour themes in fashion, interior design and weddings.
Inspired by Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne (published in 1864, featuring an expedition to Iceland with exploration through volcanic tunnels), this modern winter barn wedding shows the stunning hidden interior of volcanic rock in the form of slick agate and timeless marble. Planned and designed by Hanami Dream and beautifully captured by Squib Photography.
Acres of gentle, ethereal and floaty tulle were placed wonderfully alongside tactile sheep skin rugs and the tendrils of delicate air plants (a wonderful evolution on the succulent trend) in glass suspended baubles.
The industrial style lighting pairs wonderfully with relaxed seating, exuding hygge with its intimate vibe. Set in a tucked-away Gloucestershire barn with year-round warmth thanks to its solar panel and biomass generated underfloor heating.
An impressive moongate wreath backdrop surrounds the cool blue 1700s barn door, with hints of blue featured in all the details, using the Pantone Spring 2018 colours of grey, blue and lilac, alongside gold and white accents.
Plus, this wedding continues the quest of Hanami Dream to present novel alternatives to paper wedding stationery – this time with name places on geode slices, along with modern script style calligraphy in gold.
Oxleaze Barn was a great location for this wedding – beautifully renovated with some stunning original features, yet adapted efficiently to provide a comfortable space. It offers year-round weddings which made it perfect to showcase a winter wedding. Tucked away in rolling countryside, with a landscaped courtyard and firepit, along with access to a phenomenal private garden. The ladies got ready in the spacious Artist’s Studio before making their way across the courtyard and into the wonderfully warm barn.
The ceremony took place on one side of the barn with rustic willow chandeliers hanging above the guests (from Oakwood Events). From each chandelier clear baubles hung down, all holding their own delicate air plant.
The aisle was lined with Chiavari chairs covered with chiffon vertical drops (from Everything Covered), then tied up simply and elegantly with a few stems of dried lavender (courtesy of Enchanted Floristry).
This led to the impressive moongate (by Enchanted Floristry) which was adorned with moss, an amazing asymmetric floral display and bedecked with lavish succulents and stunning air plants.
The flowers, berries and silver green foliage were echoed around the room in the table displays, buttonhole and bouquets (all by Enchanted Floristry) which filled the room with a beautiful fragrance of eucalyptus. Florals included avalanche white roses, asparagus fern, brunia berry, eucalyptus silver dollar, eucalyptus small-leaf gum, eucalyptus baby blue, dusty miller, dried lavender, leather leaf, birch twigs (sprayed white), eryngium, sea holly and thistles. But the stars of the show were all the wonderful air-plants dotted around the barn (supplied by www.andysairplants.co.uk).
The bride was dressed to impress in a mix and match bridal gown by Lilly with its dual layered style to combine an intricate, beaded tulle overlay with an elegant satin slip-dress underneath. She was escorted by her attendant in an exquisite powder blue prom dress which fitted the colour theme flawlessly. (Both dresses from Fairytale Occasions.)
Their make up used shimmering iridescent colours to echo the ethereal vibe and the hair was captured in a cascading braid (exquisitely executed by Blushing Brides Hair and Make Up).
Standing spectacularly tall was the four-tiered marble cake (with different tier heights) embellished with edible gold leaf (which really enhanced the grain of the marble) and a dramatic sugar flower cascade. The cake was festooned with replica air plants, ivory roses, succulents, brunia berries, thistles and dusty miller leaves which complemented the dusky green/grey marble perfectly and mirrored the real flowers seamlessly. Another masterpiece courtesy of The Pretty Cake Company.
The other half of the barn was laid for a banquet style wedding reception, complete with grey galley shade loft-style chandeliers (from Oakwood Events) above solid wooden tables and benches (crafted by Cotswold Event Solutions) lined up in front of the roaring open fire. The beautiful heart cut outs in the tables echoed the ceremony thrones and, for extra comfort, sheep skin rugs (from The Witney Blanket Hall) were placed over the benches for a luxurious feel.
Wedding stationery (designed by Emerald Paper Design) embraced the geode style with a watercolour invitation with gold accents, an information card, an RSVP card and an RSVP envelope all tied together with gold thread and a little monogrammed tag. The menu was in the same style as the invitation with exquisite gold calligraphy.
Guests could find their tables by referring to the geode style table plan tabs with gold accents mounted on a rustic pale blue barn door. At the table, the geode style watercolour place names had gold edging and modern calligraphy to represent slices of agate. (All by Emerald Paper Design.)
Down the centre of the tables ran swathes of pale blue organza table runners (from Everything Covered) for a light and airy feel. Topped with exquisite floral displays (by Enchanted Floristry), along with modern gold cutlery, plain clear champagne coupé glasses, plain clear glass candlesticks with 32cm tapered white candles, along with blue glass bottle vases and glass salt bowls (all from Vintage Gold China) giving a simple, striking and delicate tablescape.
The gorgeous ladies wore stylish jewellery (by We Three Kings) including an 18ct yellow gold, tear drop pearl and half carat, old cut diamond earrings with a matching pendant by the bride. The wedding ring was 18ct yellow gold with scattered, flush set diamonds. Whilst the bridesmaid wore an 18ct yellow gold pendant with three, coloured, fine quality sapphires and a selection of 18ct yellow gold and coloured sapphires stacking rings.
The magnificent expanse of the picturesque garden provided a fantastic backdrop (including a great maze-like area) and the evergreen emphasised how wonderful the outside space is regardless of the season.
It’s the little details that bring any event to life and this was made possible by the wonderful local suppliers who provided their time, services, venue and products for free. Together we have showcased the amazing talent that our part of the UK has to offer the wedding industry.
Inspired by Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, this modern winter barn wedding shows the stunning hidden interior of volcanic rock in the form of slick agate and timeless marble. Acres of gentle, ethereal and floaty tulle were placed wonderfully alongside tactile sheep skin rugs and the tendrils of delicate air plants (a wonderful evolution on the succulent trend) in glass suspended baubles.
It’s the little details that bring any event to life and this was made possible by the wonderful local suppliers who provided their time, services, venue and products for free. Together we have showcased the amazing talent that our part of the UK has to offer the wedding industry.
Thanks to all these wonderful suppliers #keepitlocal
I’m Steven, a full time professional photographer who set up Squib Photography in 2002 and is lucky enough to photograph some beautiful weddings in the Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. I also cover pretty much the rest of the UK and have even been lucky enough to be booked to cover some destinations recently overseas.
After completing my studies at Oxford Brookes University I started Squib Photography and have photographed in excess of 450 weddings to date. I like to provide a professional, yet flexible service offering a mixture of formal and reportage photography to perfectly capture the atmosphere of a wedding day.
Every wedding is important to me and I will strive to tell the story of the day using natural light and little posing as possible. I do so in a relaxed, informal way so the couple can enjoy those special moments and leave me to document that for them.
I am always open to new ideas, input from couples and understand that every wedding day is very different, so will always work carefully with them to make sure you receive a personalized, bespoke service.
At Oxleaze Barn we endeavour to offer a venue and service that is relaxed, friendly and flexible. Oxleaze is a family run business located on a working farm surrounded by Cotswold countryside. The Barn is a beautifully renovated grain store dating back to 1702. Whilst we have maintained its original features which give it such rustic charm, we have adapted it to run as an efficient event space.
We only have one wedding a weekend to ensure you have the time to decorate and enjoy your day without feeling rushed. The Watering Hole manage the bar exclusively and can offer a variety of drinks packages and a cash bar to suit your requirements. We have a list of recommended suppliers with whom we work closely, but you are not obliged to use them, and can choose your own caterer.
Oxleaze Barn comprises of The Barn and The Milling Barn. The ceremony and the wedding breakfast take place in The Barn. The Milling Barn is available for the drinks reception and dancing. The Barn opens onto a stunning landscaped courtyard and fire pit, with a wide garden gate available for late night street food vans.
Blushing Brides Hair and Makeup, Hair and Makeup Artists are based in Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds.
With Blushing Brides you make one booking and get two artists working for you, two artists with individual skills, ideas and experience.
We are firm believers that with specialists who have honed their individual skills over many years you get a superior experience, the look you have always wanted and better value for money.
Lauren (Makeup Artist) and Laura (Hair Stylist) have many years experience working for brides and bridal parties, we bring all this to help you achieve the most beautiful look for your special day. Far better, we believe, than one person pushing themselves to do both.
Emerald Paper Design is a wedding stationery and modern calligraphy studio based in Cheltenham, UK. We specialise in bespoke watercolours, illustrations and calligraphy to create stationery you and your guests will love. Whether you are looking for something modern, something floral, or something completely different, we can help create something with an individual touch.
Enchanted Floristry is an innovative, bespoke high quality floral designer. Highly talented, incredibly passionate and driven by a complete love of flowers. Along with training by top floristry schools and an impressive array of qualifications, is her eye for detail and creative new ideas.
Operating out of a beautiful Shepherd’s hut and workshop in rural Oxfordshire, Enchanted Floristry creates and produces incredible customised floral designs with the WOW factor for weddings.
Their impressive moongate, a freestanding 2 metre high wreath, provides a spectacular backdrop for your ceremony and can be dressed to suit the theme, season and colours of your wedding.
Chiffon Vertical Drops for Chivari chairs and Organza Table Runners.
Ellie Tanner is a venue stylist who started out in the industry in 2005 with chocolate fountains and soon found her passion for beautiful wedding decor. She has built up many years of experience working with many various venues around the South West, transforming venues into memorable and stunning weddings and providing excellent customer service to couples.
Our quaint little bridal boutique is based in Highworth, Swindon, Wiltshire and we currently stock designer wedding dresses, prom dresses & a full accessory collection.
We aim to make the whole experience of finding and purchasing your dream dress relaxed and stress free, whether it be a wedding or prom dress. We offer a friendly service in a relaxed atmosphere for all our customers and operate an appointment system to ensure that everyone receives an exclusive one-to-one service to help build your dream look.
Oakwood Events supplies stunning lighting for stylish couples. We design and install lighting schemes for barn weddings using fairy lights, festoon lights, bare bulbs, paper lanterns, chandeliers, drapes, uplighting, bunting and dance floor lighting.
Lighting is a unique addition to your wedding and can be used to highlight features like beams or stone walls, change the atmosphere between day and night or make a colour or design statement to match your theme. We pride ourselves on top quality design, professional installation and amazing features; explore our Pinterest boards for inspiration and to see how our lighting adds wow factor to barn weddings.
The Pretty Cake Company offers a friendly, personal and bespoke wedding cake design service to produce breath taking wedding cakes that will be remembered for years to come. Our aim is to produce a wedding cake that is individual to the bride and groom – always focusing on the attention to detail that makes all the difference. We have over 10 years of experience in designing and creating wedding cakes and work closely with numerous prestigious wedding venues in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and The Cotswolds. We will work with you and take your ideas and inspirations in order to create a truly memorable wedding cake. We pride ourselves on using the finest quality and freshest ingredients available.
Unlike many other cake companies, we now specialise only in wedding cakes, as this is our true passion. Now we are able to focus on keeping up to date with current bridal trends and ensuring that our clients receive expert advice in the wedding cake field.
Clients are guaranteed a friendly, efficient service where quality is never compromised. Consultations by appointment only. We are based in Minster Lovell, Witney, West Oxfordshire and can deliver to a wide area.
The Watering Hole Events offers a range of superb mobile bars, including the latest edition – the ‘Edison Light’ bar – creating the perfect atmosphere for any event. We have a wealth of experience in the industry, with our event cocktail bars and staff attending a multitude of functions, including: weddings, corporate functions, and milestone birthday parties all across the UK – particularly focussed around Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and Birmingham.
A range of your favourite cocktails can be chosen, along with real ales, cider and lager on tap. We can also arrange your daytime drinks package, which includes welcome drinks as your guests arrive, a toast drink and table wine, chilled and served, until the evening cash or free-bar opens.
Our event teams recycle all bar waste, from glass bottles to plastic cups, at every event. So you can continue to enjoy your party with a “green” conscience. Every event is unique, exclusive and exciting, so we believe that every bar service should reflect just that!
We Three Kings was established by Bill and Nicola Maddocksin 1995 and is situated in a 17th Century listed building in the Cotswold market town of Witney, Oxfordshire. The gallery workshop in Bridge Street is where Bill and Nicola Maddocks design and make beautiful pieces of jewellery at the bench. They offer a specialist jewellery service, their bespoke designs allow them to tailor the design and materials to suit your style and budget.
Working closely with other specialist trades enables them to offer hand engraving and an assortment of other services including CAD, casting, plating and stone cutting of the highest quality. We Three Kings also offer to service and repair your jewellery whether it is a general check-up or complete overhaul.
Bill is a goldsmith working in residence within the gallery and is happy to discuss design ideas. Appointments are free and you are not committing yourself until you are happy with the design and the price. After that a deposit is required if you decide to have the piece made up. It takes approximately six to eight weeks after designing to create the finished piece.
They work in gold, silver and platinum and can source practically any stones you require from the highest quality diamonds to semi-precious stones and beads. It is also possible to remodel existing pieces of jewellery. Bill can melt and reuse old gold if it has a sentimental value and old stones can be cleaned and reused to create a new unique piece.
They make jewellery for all types of occasions and appreciate it can sometimes be difficult for customers to be confident when having a piece made as a surprise so they offer a service where you can present a sketch in a box allowing the design and materials to evolve so the final piece is exactly what you want. Another option is to choose a stone which can be given in a presentation box and you can come in and design the piece together.
Cutlery, glasses, candlesticks, candles, glass bowls – Vintage Gold China
Vintage Gold China is a boutique vintage china and gold cutlery hire company based in Gloucestershire. We specialise in hiring elegant, fine china, bronze candlesticks and genuine vintage gold cutlery. From small tea parties, village hall get-togethers, hen party evenings, showy dinner parties, wedding breakfast or celebrating your golden wedding anniversary, Vintage Gold China will help you create the perfect, glamourous vintage setting.
With access to our beautiful collection of elegant tableware consisting of quality vintage English fine bone china, French porcelain, vintage bronze gold cutlery, Victorian style glass dessert plates, bronze and glass candlesticks and many styles of votive – you will find all the tableware accessories you need to tastefully style your event. We can also supply luxury table linens from our sister company, Table to Dine For.
We supply to events in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Avon and Wiltshire areas. For weddings, parties and events, contact us for your tailored quote.
Witney Blanket Hall was built in 1721 by the Company of Blanket Makers. For over 120 years, every blanket woven in the town came to the Hall to be weighed and measured, and upstairs in the Great Room the Company set the Rules for the Trade. After 1845 the New Mills established their own measuring, and the redundant Blanket Hall became variously a Brewery, a Lemonade Factory, Engineering Shop, Office of births marriages and deaths, Dancing School, and latterly, a distinctive gentleman’s house. During most of its history, the Hall is also where many of the town’s Public Meetings took place, the death of Kings solemnly commemorated and the birth of Princes celebrated with great feasts. In the 18th Century, the Hall housed the town’s Fire Pump. In 2015, the Hall reopened its doors to reveal this illustrious past and offer woollen blankets and throws, coffee pies and assemblies, both commercial and cultural. Visitors are always welcome and are invited to come and find out more about the infamous Witney Blankets.
The Pie Shop offers its famous pies and platters, as well as tea, coffee and cakes. We are licenced so wine and Blanket Hall Beer are always available. The Hall can also be open outside hours by arrangement and is often available for hire by Companies and Societies.
Take a look at a behind the scenes look at the briefs that were given to these fabulous suppliers and how the Journey to the Centre of the Earth theme came to life with their designs and products.
Inspired by Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, this modern winter barn wedding shows the stunning hidden interior of volcanic rock in the form of slick agate and timeless marble. Acres of gentle, ethereal and floaty tulle were placed wonderfully alongside tactile sheep skin rugs and the tendrils of delicate air plants (a wonderful evolution on the succulent trend) in glass suspended baubles.
See more images in our gallery and the amazing local suppliers who came together to make this shoot possible in this blog post.
Hanami Dream are looking for ‘the boy and girl next door’ type models for a winter hygge styled wedding shoot with a literary theme. The shoot will take place at a beautiful venue near Lechlade, Gloucestershire this October half term.
Female – think Tess Daly or Margot Robbie (from the Will Smith film Focus) approximately 20-30 years old, 170 cms tall or less, size 10-14
Male – think Chris Hemsworth (though not with the hair extensions in the film Thor), approximately 25-35 years old, around 175 cms tall, 40” chest, 32” waist
The shoot will be approximately 2-3 hours in the afternoon of Wednesday 25th October (weather permitting) and will provide some fantastic lifestyle shots for your portfolio (it’s also great as an engagement shoot or brilliant practice being in front of a camera before your big day).
One fitting prior to the date may be necessary. Own transport is required to GL7 3RB.
This project is supporting and showcasing local, independent wedding businesses – everyone provides their services and products for free and in return gets some wonderful lifestyle shots to use at a later date. This is a collaboration of like minded people that create great things together though don’t have the budgets to produce this kind of work if they all worked independently. See the images from Hanami Dream’s last styled bridal shoot.
If you’re available and would like to be involved in this fantastic styled bridal shoot then please email Hanami Dream on info@www.hanamidream.co.uk including
a quick intro
your stats
a contact number and
2 images of yourself (1 x face shoot, 1 x full length)
I’m not going to lie, I’m like a kid on Christmas Eve when I’m waiting with baited breath for the Pantone® announcements. For three times a year, I feel like a proper journalist waiting for the news to break about the next season’s top colours. (And I’m nearly beside myself waiting for the colour of the year announcement in December!)
Yes, I get excited! So when the fashion week season kicks off (this month is New York, London, Milan and then Paris) I’m on stand by waiting for Pantone® to make their declaration.
And it was quite a delay this time, as Pantone® waited until not only after New York Fashion Week to finish, but London as well. Whilst the fashion crowd have now moved on to Milan, I was beginning to think that Pantone® weren’t going to reveal a colour report at all this time. And if I may moan about Pantone® for one minute, I must say that I’m disappointed that it is less about their predictions now and more just about counting colours that designers have used. Don’t get me wrong, their report is comprehensive and incredibly impressive (blimey, there were around 180 shows at NYFW alone!) but I guess I feel it’s less about foresight in advance now.
However, it is good that their analysis is taking more of an international view for the first time and this report is a great overview of fashion designers’ use of colour in their Autumn/Winter 2017/2018 collections.
Plus I’ve already fallen deeply in love with the collection of colours that will trend this Autumn. Don’t get too excited. There’s no huge surprises. In fact, I probably could’ve written this article without even seeing the colours as they’re fairly typical and what you’d expect.
But they are a beautiful, rich collection of classic autumnal colours.
Looking at them makes me want to run, jump, kick and roll in a pile of crunchy fallen leaves all in the vibrant hues of Grenadine, Autumn Maple, Golden Lime and Butterum.
Even the distinctive, pale pink Ballet Slipper sits well with the cooler, wintry colours of Marina, Navy Peony and Neutral Gray.
For me, the stand out colour is Shaded Spruce, a rich warm dark teal colour, which is a wonderful evolution of the Greenery colour of the year. It will take us from the freshness of spring/summer to the evergreen foliage of the winter.
Pantone® Color Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman was right when she said that, “Cocooning colors are something you just want to wrap around yourself and feel comforted.”
New York and London fashion weeks were full of tactile fabrics such as fur, velvet, quilting and tweed with a bit of Hollywood glam. These Fall/Winter 2017/2018 colours are Hygge at its best – comforting and cosy. How warming would that glorious and rich Tawny Port be to sup apres ski!
I also love the combination of the grey and yellow (maybe next year we’ll finally have a yellow as the colour of the year!) as it feels like such a comforting ray of sunshine.
The top ten colours from NYFW for Fall 2017 are:
PANTONE 19-4524 TCX Shaded Spruce
PANTONE 17-1558-TPX Grenadine
PANTONE 17-1145-TCX Autumn Maple
PANTONE 13-2808 TCX Ballet Slipper
PANTONE 16-0543 TPG Golden Lime
PANTONE 17-4041 TPX Marina
PANTONE 19-4029 TCX Navy Peony
PANTONE 17-4402-TPX Neutral Gray
PANTONE 16-1341 TCX Butterum
PANTONE 19-1725 TCX Tawny Port
Plus these from LFW (which are pretty similar to the ones from New York apart from a very welcome addition of a purple, a dark neutral brown and a fabulous yellow in the mix):
PANTONE 18-1662 TCX Flame Scarlet
PANTONE 12-2904 TPG Primrose Pink
PANTONE16-1331 TCX Toast
PANTONE 14-4121 TPX Blue Bell
PANTONE 18-3531 TPX Royal Lilac
PANTONE 18-1018 TCX Otter
PANTONE 18-4028 TCX Navy Peony
PANTONE 16-1338 TPX Copper Tan
PANTONE 15-0751 TPG Lemon Curry
PANTONE 16-0639 TPX Golden Olive
It’ll be great to see how couples incorporate these colours in to their weddings later this year (and whether the luxurious fabrics and sheer tops will influence wedding dress designs).
Pantone® is the world-renowned authority on colour and the Pantone® Color of the Year is always really influential in any popular colour themes in fashion, interior design and weddings.
Designs
