“I love joining in with #UKWedLunch and chatting to lots of other friendly suppliers!”
“I love joining in with #UKWedLunch and chatting to lots of other friendly suppliers!”
Carrie O’Donnell, Wedding and Event Pianist – December 2016
“I love joining in with #UKWedLunch and chatting to lots of other friendly suppliers!”
Carrie O’Donnell, Wedding and Event Pianist – December 2016
With great excitement, I’m pleased to say that Hanami Dream has been nominated in the UK Blog Awards again in 2017.
I was delighted to attend the UKBA16 award ceremony this April and receive highly commended in the events category. The awards are now in their fourth year and are the biggest and UK’s longest running programme to recognise influencer talent and I would love to build on my achievement of this year.
If you like reading my blog then I’d really appreciate your support again.
So please vote for Hanami Dream in the wedding category of the UK Blog Awards #UKBA17 at:
http://blogawardsuk.co.uk/ukba2017/entries/hanami-dream
The Public Vote is only open from 8am on Monday 5th December until 10am on Monday 19th December. So there’s only two weeks to get voting!
#UKWedLunch – Wednesday 30th November 2016
As well as general wedding planning chat, there’s some #toptips as well. This week’s theme is ‘thank you gifts’ #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 1: Gifts for guests can be great mementos of the day showing your appreciation & matching your theme or colour scheme #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 2: Sugared almonds are traditional (give an odd number) they represent Health, Wealth, Happiness, Long Life & Fertility #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 3: Couples are choosing unique, personalised, dated & themed gifts to eat, meet, keep or have as a treat #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 4: Give gifts to thank the wedding party for their support – these can be really personalised to the individual #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 5: You might want to buy your new spouse a 0 anniversary gift to celebrate your wedding day #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 6: Whether you give favours or not, don’t forget to thank all your guests for their presence and their presents #UKWedLunch
This week’s top tips taken from Hanami Dream blog ‘Thank you gifts at weddings‘ #UKWedLunch
JOIN US EVERY WEDNESDAY! on Twitter between 1-2pm GMT
Next week’s theme is ‘guest book alternatives’ #UKWedLunch
#UKWedLunch – Wednesday 23rd November 2016
As well as general wedding planning chat, there’s some #toptips as well. This week’s theme is ‘dietary requirements’ #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 1: Ask your guests as early as you can – include a section on your RSVP cards #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 2: Customise your menu so that anyone can enjoy the main aspect of the meal #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 3: Consider: Vegetarian, Vegan, Non dairy, Gluten free, Kosher, Halal, Hindu, Diabetic, Nut free, Child friendly #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 4: Establish elements of the menu – confirm with guests & show them specific ingredient lists from the chef #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 5: How you serve food can have an impact on offering alternatives (sit down vs buffet) #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 6: Don’t forget about all meals and beverages that are going to be consumed during the day including your wedding cake #UKWedLunch
This week’s top tips taken from Hanami Dream blog ‘Catering for special dietary requirements‘ #UKWedLunch
JOIN US EVERY WEDNESDAY! on Twitter between 1-2pm GMT
Next week’s theme is ‘thank you gifts’ #UKWedLunch
Set in the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside of the Cotswolds, this Wind in the Willows styled bridal shoot is an outdoor, autumnal adventure. Complete with vintage transport alongside a picturesque river, followed by a celebration in a grand hall dressed in marsala and gold, with chalk board and marble design features plus tactile fabrics like tweed, corduroy and suede. Planned and designed by Hanami Dream and wonderfully captured by Farrow Photography.
It is a true celebration of the beauty of nature and encapsulates the sense of an outdoors adventure as typified by the Wind in the Willows book by Kenneth Grahame. This is a chance to get away from the hectic, crowded city to a stunning and tranquil setting. Mole, Ratty, Toad and Badger would be proud to attend this relaxed bohemian wedding.
The Old Swan and Minster Mill was a perfect location for this wedding where the bride and groom gazed at one another during their wedding ceremony whilst on the love seats under the Temple Garden. This had the amazing backdrop of a splendid willow tree draping it’s branches in to the River Windrush, flowing on it’s way to join the River Thames.
The couple moored their rowing boat by a disused boat house, explored the peaceful setting with treks down the river, over bridges, carefree on a tree swing and enjoyed a sumptuous, rustic picnic sat on a blanket with their hamper on the riverbank.
Mr Toad would have approved of the vintage Humber car (from British Classic Car Hire) to experience the open road before entering the Great Hall through a paper floral archway (by Paper Tree Design) to feast on a mouthwatering banquet.
Once inside the happy couple sat in pride of place at the top table, in front of an impressive fireplace with a mantelpiece adorned with swashes of forest green foliage (from Classic Flowers) and fairy lights. The table was luxurious and tactile complete with a suede cream table cloth, copious amounts of marsala coloured candles in gold candlesticks and geometric copper tea light holders (from Talking Tables). Gold beaded charger plates were topped with gold vintage crockery (from Vintage Gold China), marsala coloured silk napkins and a chalk board design menu card (by Paper Tree Design), besides gold vintage cutlery (from Vintage Gold China).
Guests found their places by referencing the chalk board style table plan and name cards (with guest names paying homage to the character names and table were named after chapters from the book by Paper Tree Design) and were given an opulent, marsala marbled soap as their fragrant favour (by Stonesfield Soap Company).
The top table was swathed in a striking floral table runner with a loose relaxed vibe containing lots of greenery along with burgundy dahlias, flowing amaranthus (mirroring the weeping willow tree outside), ranunculas, hypericum berries, snow berries, skimmia and bombastic roses. These flowers (from Classic Flowers) featured in the remarkable bouquet that the bride cradled, as well as in her loose braided hair (by Lucy Beesley Bridal), her corsage and the groom’s buttonhole.
These florals were beautiful replicated on the cake (by The Pretty Cake Company) which also combined other on trend themes such as marbling, metallic gold lustre, drip effects and a chalkboard tier, which was sympathetic to the stationery and a nod to the author of the book.
The gorgeous bride braved the cold autumnal weather, with a beautiful smile complete with marsala coloured lipstick (with makeup by Lucy Beesley Bridal) and perfectly fitted the romantic A line wedding gown with lace sleeves, sweeping net train and floral appliqued bodice by Watters (provided by Mae Bridal). She completed her look with a short veil (by Richard Designs) worn low below a delicate hair vine (by Miranda Templeton) and gold coloured Blake shoes (by Benjamin Adams).
Our handsome, bearded groom suited the countryside surroundings with the dapper tweed jacket and waistcoat, coupled with a checked shirt, marsala bow tie and plush red corduroy trousers that he wore (from Keates of Witney).
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.
Take a look at the fabulous suppliers that were involved in this styled shoot – ‘Keeping it local with suppliers for the Wind in the Willows shoot’
And take a glimpse behind the scenes at the how the theme and designs came to life – Behind the scenes: Wind in the Willows shoot
#keepitlocal
Planning & Design | Hanami Dream | www.hanamidream.co.uk
Location | Old Swan & Minster Mill | www.oldswanminstermill.co.uk
Photographer | Farrow Photography | www.farrowphotography.com
Models | Jess & Henry
Hair & Make up | Lucy Beesley Bridal | www.lucybeesleybridal.co.uk
Bridal dress and accessories | Mae Bridal | http://maebridal.co.uk
Groom clothing | Keates of Witney | www.keatesmenswear.co.uk
Florist | Classic Flowers | www.witneyflorist.co.uk
Cake | The Pretty Cake Company | www.theprettycakecompany.com
Stationery (including paper floral arch) | Paper Tree Design | www.papertreedesign.co.uk
Cutlery & Crockery | Vintage Gold China | www.vintagegoldchina.com
Copper geometric tea lights | Talking Tables | www.talkingtables.co.uk | sourced by Lark Rise Flowers | http://larkriseflowers.com
Favours | Stonesfield Soap Company | www.stonesfieldsoap.com
Transport | British Classic Car Hire | www.britishclassiccarhire.co.uk
Set in the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside of the Cotswolds, Hanami Dream’s Wind in the Willows styled bridal shoot is an outdoor, autumnal adventure. Complete with vintage transport alongside a picturesque river, followed by a celebration in a grand hall dressed in marsala and gold, with chalk board and marble design features.
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
Location – Old Swan & Minster Mill
An enchanting blend of romantic riverside gardens and stunning wildflower meadows, traditional Cotswold stone buildings, superb fresh local food and outstanding service, the Old Swan & Minster Mill offers the ultimate wedding experience.
Enjoy a timeless atmosphere in this unique rural setting set across 60 acres of idyllic grounds that form a perfect backdrop for your wedding celebrations.
They can host a maximum of 50 guests for your formal ceremony in one of our true historic reception rooms or for the ultimate romantic ceremony why not get married in the riverside setting of the Garden Temple; licenced for outdoor ceremonies. Framed by the weeping willows, creeping roses or in Spring surrounded by thousands of early blooms, it is hard to think of a more bucolic location for your wedding ceremony.
For the celebration wedding breakfast that follows, move on to the Minster Room in the 600 year old, Old Swan. With its oak beamed ceilings and original Cotswold stone fireplace it provides the perfect setting for a relaxed and intimate celebration with family and friends.
The restored Malthouse provides an outstanding location and setting for your evening reception. Alongside the River Windrush and with stunning views of the wildflower meadows and rose gardens, enjoy a night of dancing and merriment in the newly refurbished barn (maximum of 80 guests).
For larger wedding parties, they can accommodate a marquee in our magical gardens.
Hair & Make up – Lucy Beesley Bridal
Bridal dress and accessories – Mae Bridal
Mae Bridal is a beautiful bridal boutique located in the Oxfordshire town of Witney, just 12 miles west of Oxford. A little haven filled with vintage elegance and timeless collections that will capture the heart of any bride.
Prepare to fall in love all over again in our appointment only designer boutique, with gorgeous gowns from a range of designers, as well as accessories and shoes that will ensure you are styled from head to toe.
Groom clothing – Keates of Witney
We are situated in the town of Witney on Market Square opposite the Butter Cross, and comprise of three floors, Keates Menswear, Men’s Hire-wear and Blossom Bridal.
We represent a landmark for quality and service and offer formal suits and accessories with a wide range of casual wear to suit all styles, taste, and occasions.
Florist – Classic Flowers
At Classic Flowers, they offer fresh, quirky and innovative ideas for all occasions from Weddings to Funerals or just saying ‘With Love‘. Their fully qualified and talented team of floral designers can help turn your next occasion into a gorgeous floral affair.
Cake – The Pretty Cake Company
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-Pretty-Cake-Company-Witney-Oxfordshire
Stationery (including paper floral arch) – Paper Tree Design
Paper Tree Design was created through a love of paper and a desire to produce beautiful and personal stationery and decorations. Thoughtfully designed, we focus on quality and attention to detail to make your stationery truly individual. With a background in Fashion and Textile Design, and 15 years experience in retail buying and product development Suzanne has a wealth of experience to draw on and is passionate about delivering design with little personal touches that reflect the clients loves and interests.
Living in rural Oxfordshire Suzanne cannot help but be inspired by the beauty of the natural world and the changing seasons, and can frequently be found in lanes and hedgerows with her camera and a sketchbook. Specialising in paper cutting, at Paper Tree Design we create your handcrafted wedding stationery to order. Choose to personalise a card from one of our ranges or commission a bespoke design. I am at my best working with your theme and ideas for a truly personal invitation and welcome you to come and have a chat and a cuppa in my Oxfordshire studio to discuss plans for your wedding.
Cutlery & Crockery – 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.
Copper geometric tea light holders – Talking Tables
Essential Party supplies for any Occasion
Copper geometric tea light holders – sourced by Lark Rise Flowers
Lark Rise Flowers, are professionally qualified florists, based in the rolling countryside of North Oxfordshire. They provide flowers for weddings and events throughout Oxon, Bucks, Northants, and beyond.
Stock is sourced from the major flower markets, and if seasonally available from an expanding group of British growers. The Eco commitment continues with a policy of recycling waste packaging and surplus green material.
Sandra, the Proprietor, is happy to meet with you for personal consultations and site visits. She will work with your brief, budget, or theme, to create a unique day for you both.
The Lark Rise team have a wealth of experience, having provided many wedding flowers, and decorated most of the major wedding venues in the area. They take pride and care in their work, from the simplest buttonhole through to beautiful bridal bouquets and venue décor.
“Surrounded by nature – working with nature”
Favours – Stonesfield Soap Company
Stonesfield Soap Company is a small, family-run business based in in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. It started off as a hobby, following on from our daughter’s 9th birthday party (a ‘spa science’ party, making bath fizzies, melt & pour soap etc), and as a concerned response to the huge number of unnecessary chemicals found in toiletries today. Since then, it has grown into a business driven by a passion for the manufacture of natural, artisan cold-process soap with an emphasis on design. The maxim that ‘beautiful skin deserves beautiful soap’ is at the forefront of what we do, with a firm belief that a good, natural soap should not only leave the skin feeling gently cleansed and perfectly conditioned but should also provide a positive visual experience, with the design of the soap playing an important role. The inclusion of various botanicals, clays, milks and a wide range of pure nutrient and essential oils, all carefully chosen for their individual properties, helps us create a very special soap indeed. We employ a strong ‘no palm oil’ policy and actively support a local conservation charity that works out in Sumatra. As well as soap, we are continually expanding our range of bath and skincare products, such as balms, bath bombs, salts and oils.
Transport – Angela Martin – British Classic Car Hire
I was really pleased to work with Farrow Photography on another styled shoot this autumn. We first joined forces in 2014 to bring to life some inspirational themes to show how you can enhance your milestone events. Following the success of our previous themed photo shoots, we collaborated once again to produce an amazing bridal styled shoot based around another well known story, The Wind in the Willows. It was also an honour to be able to showcase some amazing products from some fantastic local suppliers.
Theme
I choose the Wind in the Willows theme as it is another classic story with it’s roots firmly based in and around Oxfordshire. The book by Kenneth Grahame was written 108 years ago (published on 15th June 1908) and he took inspiration from the River Thames from his child hood and also from when he lived in Oxford when he was at school. In later life, he lived in Blewbury with his own family and The Wind in the Willows was based on stories that he used to tell to his son Alistair. It is even claimed that Mapeldurham was the vision for Toad Hall.
This book evokes such beautiful natural scenes of being beside the riverbank – a relaxing setting, which allows characters rustic picnics and peaceful treks down the river, all to contrast with hectic, crowded city life. Many cite that the book has a common theme of struggling with a sense of place. Whether it’s being comfortable with where you are or facing things that need to be changed.
For me, it typifies a sense of adventure and the great open road. So initially, I really wanted to focus on getting as many different modes of transport involved in this bridal shoot, including a rowing boat, a vintage car (poop poop!), a colourful old fashioned bow top caravan and even a barge, if possible.
There’s also a running theme of hospitality in the book, so I wanted to get across the feel of a decadent banquet in the Grand Hall as well as a sumptuous picnic.
I wanted to hint at the theme with slight nods to the book in place names, the table plan and on the cake. I certainly didn’t want to focus on the weasels at Toad Hall as their laughs and noises used to scare me when I listened to the cassette story as a child!
The final thing that I really wanted to capture was stunning, rich autumnal colours.
Styled shoot
A styled shoot takes almost as much time and effort to produce as a wedding day and entails bringing together the theme from many different suppliers.
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 is a collaboration of like minded people that can create great things together but perhaps don’t have the budgets to produce this kind of work if they all worked independently.
Brief
I am very lucky to live in a beautiful part of the UK and am surrounded by some seriously talented wedding venues, professionals and suppliers. I was honoured that so many wanted to be involved in this shoot and they certainly didn’t disappoint with the products that they provided.
I gave them all the same brief that I was trying to achieve:
an outdoors adventure with vintage transport along the beautiful riverside, followed by celebrations in a grand hall dressed in marsala and tweed with chalk board signs
I also provided them with my collated vision and ideas on my Pinterest board.
The themes I wanted to encapsulate included:
I wanted to focus on the following autumnal colours:
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.
Despite getting stuck in Calais (due to the migrant camp closing), the flowers thankfully made their way from the Dutch supplier in time for the shoot!
Suppliers
I couldn’t have been happier (and luckily) with the products that all the suppliers produced and provided.
See more about our Wind in the Willows shoot – Inspiration: autumnal marsala & gold Wind in the Willows wedding
And take a look at the fabulous suppliers that were involved in this styled shoot – ‘Keeping it local with suppliers for the Wind in the Willows shoot’
#keepitlocal
An outdoors adventure with vintage transport along the beautiful riverside, followed by celebrations in a grand hall dressed in marsala and tweed with chalk board and marble design features.
See more images in our gallery and the amazing local suppliers who came together to make this shoot possible in this blog post
Photography by Farrow Photography
#UKWedLunch – Wednesday 16th November 2016
As well as general wedding planning chat, there’s some #toptips as well. This week’s theme is ‘wedding vows’ #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 1: Vows are promises rather than laws nowadays #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 2: You can choose to use traditional vows including ‘obey’ and ‘worship’ #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 3: Consider alternatives of ‘to love and to honour’ or ‘love and cherish’ #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 4: In humanist or non-religious ceremonies you can personalise & write your own vows #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 5: Make sure the vows you say are values & commitments you are willing to stand by #UKWedLunch
TOP TIP 6: Capture the twinkle in your eye as well as the sincerity in your heart #UKWedLunch
This week’s top tips taken from Hanami Dream blog ‘To love and to cherish’ with thanks to Humanist Ceremonies #UKWedLunch
JOIN US EVERY WEDNESDAY! on Twitter between 1-2pm GMT
Next week’s theme is ‘dietary requirements’ #UKWedLunch