by Hanami Dream | 14, January, 2015 | blog, traditions
One of my friends recently inherited something really precious. I think it’s more valuable than jewels or antique furniture. This heirloom is a time capsule. A priceless glimpse throughout the ages. A lovely family photo album that belonged to her father’s godmother.
The album covers weddings, christenings, graduations and some pictures of trips to visit friends and family. It charts these special occasions from the 1940s up to the 1990s and she arranged the pages so there is a wedding photo of a couple, and then a picture of the same couple at their child’s christening, graduation and often their children’s weddings too. It was clearly something that she treasured to keep all that time and to keep updating.
Whilst I don’t know any of the people in the album (apart from my friend), you can clearly see a family resemblance between the people on each page. More strikingly is how much each wedding photo is a time capsule for dresses (material, styles, length and colours) along with bouquets, veils and hair styles. They are an exaggerated example of fashion trends of their day and epitomise moments in time. We find that some decades have common trends such as:
1920s – Flapper style low waist, straight, flowing, lace dresses showing a bit of ankle. Bob hair cuts with hair accessories and head pieces.
1930s – Slim-hipped, long, simple, column dresses made from beaded, luxe fabrics, often with lavish embellishments.
1940s – War time shortages led to non-rationed net curtain or parachute silk, full skirted dresses. Or nice skirt suits. Big bouquets and wedding bands for absent husbands.
1950s – Rising hemlines and shorter veils meant shoes were more important. Sweetheart necklines, under lace, full skirted, small waisted, tea length dresses worn with gloves.
1960s – High waisted, empire line or A line mini dresses plus pill box hats with veils.
1970s – Hippy style, long sleeved, high necked, longer length dresses. Or trouser suits with big floppy hats.
1980s – Fairy tale, voluminous, princess gowns with puff sleeves and long trains worn with floral crowns.
1990s – Corseted off the shoulder dresses with full skirts vs bias cut, sheath dresses.
2000s – Strapless, sleeveless dresses.
2010s – Figure hugging, illusion backed, mermaid style dresses vs Hollywood split or pick up skirts.
We’ve captured some of these characteristics of wedding attire for each decade on our wedding time capsule Pinterest board. Plus there’s currently an exhibition running (until 15 March 2015) at the V&A in London that’s well worth a visit. It’s called Wedding Dresses 1175-2014 and looks at 300 years of bridal fashions.
What’s interesting is that trends tend to come back around again. And this decade seems to be about picking what style you want from the past and merging things together to bring your own dream to life. I, for one, really wanted a big bouquet just like my late grandmother had at her wedding in 1948. 
Plus a long train and long veil like a 1980s princess but strapless, figure hugging with a pick up style skirt as is common in this millennium.
It is strange looking back at some pictures from the recent past as the ones from the 1980s and 90s seem dated, whilst ones from the 1940s or 50s look relatively tasteful by comparison and more unaligned with current styles. Are some eras too recent for us to be able to appreciate for inspiration yet? Or is it that black and white photos are kinder? In any case our children will no doubt look back at our wedding photos and laugh at the fashions of the day. One thing that really struck my friend was the poignancy of the wedding photos from during or just after the war in the photo album. We can not imagine what it must have been like to live through a world war as a young couple, separated from each other.
There’s certainly something special and different about having photos from all the weddings and special occasions you’ve ever been to in your life together in one album. Nowadays digital photography often means that we don’t even print out any photos. Considering that for many, big occasions (like weddings and christenings) are the only times when people see their extended family. So it seems fitting that these momentous occasions are captured in time to pass to others as a wonderful time capsule.
Timeless. Captured. Memories.
by Hanami Dream | 29, December, 2014 | blog
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- plate of jam tarts with heart tops
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- vintage tea set trio with pink flowers inside tea cup
We hope you’ve had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas. For us, December is such a special month as not only are there Christmas festivities but lots of family birthdays to mark and share including our son’s, our nephew’s and my grandad’s 91st this year.
At this between and betwixt part of the month, many people take the time to reflect on the past year and look forward to the brand new year ahead. It’s a popular time to book holidays, make resolutions, kick start a new health regime and think about personal special occasions that are coming up.
Next year is going to give us plenty of reasons to celebrate as a nation with the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta, a solar eclipse in March, a new royal baby and the Rugby World Cup taking place in England in the autumn. Plus anniversaries in relation to Sir Winston Churchill will include the 50th anniversary of his death, the 75th anniversary of his first becoming Prime Minister, and the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. In the world of popular music, 2015 will also see the 25th anniversary of Take That, 15 years of Atomic Kitten and it would have seen the 70th and 80th birthdays of musical legends Bob Marley and Elvis Presley respectively.
Maybe you’ve got your own personal celebration in 2015. Perhaps you’re expecting a 
baby like Kate & William and will mark this new arrival with a baby shower or a christening. Other babies due to famous faces in 2015 include:
- Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher
- Liv Tyler and Dave Gardner
- Shakira and Gerard Pique
- Rebecca Adlington and Harry Needs
- Dawn O’Porter and Chris O’Dowd
- Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake
- Keira Knightley and James Righton
- Abbey Clancy and Peter Crouch
Perhaps your children are a little older and you’ll be celebrating their graduation from university or marking their coming of age with a special party (like Harry Styles, Justin Bieber and Tom Daley who will all reach their 21st birthdays in 2015).
Congratulations if you got engaged over the festive season (or if you’re already 
engaged) and are planning an engagement party and/or wedding in the new year. Here are some famous engaged couples we think could make it up the aisle in 2015 and we’re sure their special days would influence wedding trends:
- Declan Donnelly and Ali Astall
- Geri Halliwell and Christian Horner
- Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter
- Peter Andre and Emily Macdonagh
- Kimberley Walsh and Justin Scott
- Christine Bleakley and Frank Lampard
- Andy Murray and Kim Sears
- Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden
Or maybe 2015 will give you the opportunity to renew your vows, celebrate an anniversary, mark your retirement or enjoy a special milestone birthday with the important people in your life. Some famous faces turning 30 next year are Lewis Hamilton and Keira Knightley. Whilst David Beckham, Angelina Jolie, Declan Donnelly and Anthony McPartlin will be celebrating their 40th birthdays. Other big birthdays include JK Rowling and Craig Revel-Horwood’s 50th; Rowan Atkinson and Bruno Tonioli’s 60th; Henry Winkler (The Fonz) and Tom Selleck’s 70th; and Sean Connery’s 85th.
Whatever you’re celebrating in 2015, we wish you a very Happy New Year.
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- Photography by Farrow Photography
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by Hanami Dream | 4, December, 2014 | blog, trends
The Pantone® Color of the Year 2015 is Marsala. A wonderful earthy, reddy brown that we can’t wait to see featuring in couples’ colour schemes.
I remember getting a much-coveted Pantone® reference guide in one of my first marketing jobs. It was my ‘go to’ swatch of all the colours under the sun and I couldn’t live without it especially when talking with designers. 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.
Our guess for the Color of the Year 2015 was a bronze or a mustard colour to make the top spot next year – well at least we were in the right colour palette!
See some of our other trend predictions for weddings in 2015.
by Hanami Dream | 19, November, 2014 | blog, trends
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- Ornate silver coffee pot on table with mini playing cards
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Weddings are a wonderful celebration of love and marriage. They can blend together families, traditions, cultures, creativity and lots of personal touches. Whether a religious, civil or humanist ceremony, a traditional or themed reception, these special days are about what is important to each individual couple.
Despite some couples’ originality, there are always trends that appear and popular themes that epitomise a particular era (think puff ball sleeves from the eighties). Sometimes fashion, films, television programmes, celebrity weddings and even current affairs influence these trends. Of course, there are some timeless and classic themes that never seem to go out of favour, and with the live-action film of Cinderella set for release next year we’re sure the romantic fairy tale theme will continue to be strong.
So what will next year bring for us? The second of the Back to the Future movies (which incidentally is my favourite film of all time) is actually set in 2015. Released over 25 years earlier in 1989, the film predicted that in the ‘future’ we’d be riding on hover boards, driving flying cars, we’d have shiny, colour-shifting, automatic clothing (like power laces, size adjusting and auto-drying clothes), wearing trousers inside out and men would be wearing multiple ties. Whilst we’re a little way off flying cars, Nike have at least mastered the power laces (albeit a one off pair to sell for charity), the graphics of the 3D shark from Jaws 19 seem basic, video phoning is in common every day use and there is definitely a trend for shiny clothing.
Fashion definitely goes in cycles with trends of the past getting modern twists. So will Back to the Future correctly predict 1980’s fashion trends merging with the style of the 2010’s? There’s already luminous and iridescent colours along with off-the shoulder styles around, so we’ll have to wait and see if brides will be going down the aisle on hover boards by the end of the year!
Take a look at some of our slightly less futuristic, and probably more realistic, curation of predictions for wedding trends to look out for in 2015 (and see more of our inspiration at pinterest.com/HanamiDream/):
• Colours
I remember getting a much-coveted Pantone® reference guide in one of my first marketing jobs. It was my ‘go to’ swatch of all the colours under the sun and I couldn’t live without it especially when talking with designers. Pantone® is the world-renowned authority on colour and the Pantone® Colour of the Year is always really influential in any popular colour themes in fashion, interior design and weddings.
The 2014 Pantone® Colour of the Year, Radiant Orchid, has made a big impact this year. Other popular colours have been coral, sage, sand, teal, cranberry, navy blue and varying shades of purple that have come out of the influence of Radiant Orchid. Plus emerald (the Pantone® Colour of the Year in 2013) has still hung around this year too.
We wait with baited breath for Pantone® to announce the colour of the year for 2015, but there’s not long left as they usually announce it in December for the following year. Our guess would be for bronze or a mustard colour to make the top spot next year. Watch this space and we’ll report on what Pantone® reveal to be their choice and see if our prediction is right. Other colours that are also predicted to be popular include misted, neutral and powder colours plus different hues of blue (aquamarine, scuba, classic), toasted almond, tangerine, burgundy, sage and lavender. And, with the release of a film version of a notorious book, surely fifty shades of grey will also be prevalent next year!
Thankfully the beautiful trend for ombré (where a colour graduates in tone) is still going strong. Along with subtle colour washes, watercolour effects and pastel colours, the mood is definitely delicate and romantic. On the other end of the spectrum is a splash of bold colours with rainbow themes and geometric shapes.
Finally, the crowning glory is the decadent trend for metallic and iridescent colours, and all things shiny. We can’t wait for stunning copper, rose gold and yellow gold to be foremost in couples’ colour schemes.
• Cakes & catering
Rustic styling has been prevalent and we envisage more Medieval inspired décor and outdoor banqueting to be on trend especially with the popularity of Game of Thrones. Next year also celebrates the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta by King John at Runnymede in 1215. Think Robin Hood Prince of Thieves and you’ll see why things like naked cakes (not iced maybe with lots of fresh fruit) will sit nicely with this theme.
Meanwhile, for a more tradition style, individual cupcakes and cake pops will be replaced by more elaborate macaroon and croquembouche towers. Whilst the plain white traditional cake will see a return it will be covered in buttercream rather than fondant.
For the glitz and glamour of the 1920s, with Great Gatsby and Downton Abbey trends, cakes will be adorned with ruffles, be metallic or smothered in sequins and accompanied by some sophisticated cocktails.
Finally a sense of British nostalgia will be high next year with the impending General Election and the birth of another royal baby. So the food will follow suit with British food like fish & chips from snack trucks and food from childhood memories such as traditional desserts like sticky toffee pudding (which was a firm favourite at our wedding by young and old even on a hot summer day).
• Clothing
Lots of the bridal catwalk shows previewing next year’s dresses had strong undertones of current fashion trends – think really high Hollywood splits in skirts, tiered skirts and crop tops (who knew that this style would translate in the bridal world!)
Then forget strapless dresses, now it’s in with off the shoulder numbers, spaghetti straps, lace sleeves and even full length sleeves (yes, there’s that nod to the Medieval theme again). Whilst the arms will be covered up, it’s all about showing off your back either with a plunging design or an illusion back.
Dresses will be adorned with big bows or pearls and accessorised with floral crowns (to pay homage to Maid Marion again). Coloured and patterned dresses won’t just be reserved for the bridesmaids and we expect to see some wedding dresses in pastel colours such as pink, mint and grey, plus some brides taking inspiration from Angelina Jolie’s decorated veil.
For the guys, we think that tweed will increase in popularity, perfect for rustic and Wind in the Willows styling. Maybe two ties like in Back to the Future 2? Okay maybe not, instead more ruches and cravats rather than traditional Windsor knots.
• Venue
Despite the unpredictability of the British weather, there is still a trend towards celebrating in the great outdoors. Whilst it’s not legal to get married in the open air in the UK, you’d be able to witness the solar eclipse in March if you hold your reception outside. More and more venues are gaining approval such as stately homes, hotels and civic buildings, allowing more scope to have your big day somewhere a bit different (as long as it is a permanent built structure).
Supporting the popularity of the rustic theme is the use of converted barns with long wooden tables and benches providing an informal and country inspired style. Eco chic weddings are also on the rise with green suppliers focusing on environmentally friendly and fun celebrations, such as luxury organic wedding dresses, in season flower, conflict free eco wedding rings and sustainable invitations.
Or perhaps you’d prefer a destination wedding like George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin who enjoyed their relaxed nuptials in Venice earlier this year. Or a jungle themed wedding complete with bush tucker trials in homage to the recently engaged Declan Donnelly, presenter of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, and his fiancée, Ali Astall. Or maybe a sport inspired celebration at a big stadium influenced by the Rugby World Cup coming to England in the Autumn next year.
• Décor
Backdrops are still high on the ‘must have’ list for decoration statements from the big impact (and expense) of a floral wall, like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had at their Italian wedding, to the more affordable ribbon drapes, pompoms or fan bunting. Plus feature arch ways will still provide stunning focal points as well as balloon displays and even umbrellas as decorations rather than just a necessity to fend off the great British weather.
For the popular rustic styling, decorated mason jars filled with flowers that look like they’ve been picked straight from the field alongside decorative elements that nod to the season (such as pumpkins in Autumn or pine cones in Winter) will feature at many wedding breakfast tables.
Meanwhile, for the wonderful art deco styling alongside Great Gatsby themes, thinking lighting to make a big impression – large illuminated letters, neon or hanging light bulbs will fit in perfectly.
These are a few of our predictions for wedding trends in 2015. Not too futuristic, unless the influence of the new Star Wars film filters through to the wedding industry. See more of our curation and inspiration at pinterest.com/HanamiDream/. We’d love to hear what you think is going to be popular next year. Email us at info@www.hanamidream.co.uk with your predictions.
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- close up of red paper flowers and ivy wrapped around back of wooden garden chair
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- Photography by Farrow Photography
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by Hanami Dream | 14, October, 2014 | blog, trends
Children deserve a good party just like the rest of us. We know the importance of giving children memorable occasions to look back on in years to come.
Popularity of children’s party themes often follow the latest trends based on current films and children’s television programmes. Then there are some timeless themes that never seem to go out of favour. Take a look at some themes that have been popular recently and our predictions for some themes we think will be on trend next year.
Current trends
- Frozen – Disney princess themes are classics and always prove popular. Frozen is no exception and whilst the film came out at the end of 2013, Frozen fever still continues especially with the DVD release this year and impending cold weather. Even Elsa inspired wedding dresses are appearing giving brides the option to have this theme at their wedding too.
- Lego Movie – ‘everything is awesome’ with this theme. The building bricks might have been around since 1949 but there’s nothing old fashioned about these interlocking toys and they lend themselves very well for primary coloured, simple yet innovative decorations, favours, activities and food at any child’s party. The 2014 film certainly has increased construction based children’s parties. ‘Everything is cool when you work as a team!’
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – another classic theme that is currently having a revival with another new film. Cowabunga! Get your masks on, join these heroes in a half shell and make your own pizzas.
- Postman Pat – ‘everybody knows his bright red van’ and his black and white cat. This children’s television programme always gives lots of ideas for great themed parties – there’s always room for classic games like pass the parcel but the recent film has also seen integration of singing or talent contests in to the theme.
- How to Train a Dragon 2 – loosely based on a British book series, these films have seen a trend for viking parties. Decorating shields, donning a Viking helmet and competing in training exercises to qualify as Toothless dragon trainers with (or without) any ‘Hiccups’.
- Minecraft – initially a game about breaking and placing blocks but has now grown to include really imaginative things. The simple graphics in this game certainly make decorating a Minecraft party easy – pixelate, cut things into cubes or make them green! Plus the basic player activities of exploring, digging, cooking, crafting, brewing and farming make it easy to incorporate lots of activities to this theme.
- Rainbow Loom bands – jewellery parties to weave rubber bands into bracelets or charms give loads of opportunities to have rainbow coloured décor and food (like an amazing rainbow layer cake).
- Junior Bake Off – the spin off to the Great British Bake Off has not only seen a ‘rise’ in home baking but also in baking and cooking themed parties. Compete to impress the judges and then enjoy eating the end product.
- Bob the Builder – can he still fix it? ‘Yes, he can!’ Popularity for construction parties is growing and with a refreshed version of this children’s programme they will continue to gain favour further.
Timeless trends
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar – it might have been published in 1969 but Eric Carle’s book still provides inspiration for children’s parties 45 years on. The catering is easy – just use the book as inspiration and think bright colours and butterflies for the décor.
- Mr Men and Little Miss – there are nearly 100 colourful characters in this amazing set of children’s books (originally written by Roger Hargreaves commencing in 1971). What a great theme to incorporate into a fancy dress party with maybe a Mr Bounce-y castle, Little Miss Somersault circus skills, driving Mr Bump-er cars or learning Little Miss Magic tricks.
- Thomas the Tank Engine – this theme was good enough for Kim Kardashian’s nephew, Mason, recently and The Railway Series characters (originally written by Rev Wilbert Awdry) still provide inspiration nearly 70 years after they were first published. All aboard for some fun train races!
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – next year will be 150 years since Lewis Carroll’s book was first published. Follow the White Rabbit with hearts, red roses, tea cups and clocks. See how we organised our own Alice in Wonderland tea party.
- Wizard of Oz – this year marked the 75th anniversary of the film release of the Wizard of Oz. Follow the yellow brick road with sunflowers, rainbow colours and balloons when dressed for the emerald city. See how we went over the rainbow with our Wizard of Oz party.
- Wild West – cowboy parties are always popular with activities like panning for gold, lassoing, buckaroo, pony rides, sack races, horse shoe tossing and boot scootin.
Our predictions for future trends
- Paddington – there’s a new film coming out at the end of this year featuring Paddington Bear, the fictional character in children’s literature created by Michael Bond. This could influence trends next year such as travel themes, teddy bear picnics complete with duffle coats, marmalade sandwiches and love of all things British.
- Into the Woods – this is another film coming out in 2014. It stars James Corden and depicts a number of characters from popular children’s stories including Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk and Rapunzel. Plenty of autumnal adventures, toffee apples, gingerbread houses and other woodland fairy tale inspiration will spin off from this theme.
- Gotham – there’s a new American crime television series just started on Channel 5 based on characters appearing in the Batman stories. It focuses on the early days of Detective James Gordon but also includes Bruce Wayne and several of the Batman villains. The show is a bit too gritty for children but will certainly influence interest in more Batman themed parties along with Penguin, Riddler, Joker and Mr Freeze.
- Minions – these yellow henchmen will be enjoying a spin off film after the success of the Despicable Me films. Perhaps this will see an increase in villain based parties or perhaps more Antarctica inspired décor.
- Cinderella – without a doubt, princess parties will always be popular. We are sure that the live-action film set for release next year with Helena Bonham-Carter as the Fairy Godmother will continue to keep the magic and romantic fairy tale alive.
- The SpongeBob Movie and new 3D Popeye film – these new films will inspire under the sea, pirate, beach and sailor themes aplenty next summer.
- Star Wars VII – the long awaited sequel will surely mean that space travel, aliens and robots are popular choices for parties as the end of 2015 approaches.
- Rugby World Cup – England will be hosting the 2015 Rugby World Cup so we envisage this will ignite and inspire more people to play and support the game.
- Art parties – crafting is big business at the moment and this will spill over even more into children’s parties with painting, creating a magazine, pottery, sewing and movie making activities.
These are a few of our predictions for popular children’s party themes in 2015. We’d love to hear what you think are going to be big trends next year. Email us at info@www.hanamidream.co.uk with your predictions.
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- Children having fun at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party with hanging tea cups, giant clocks, red lanterns and vintage tea set
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- Mad Hatter at tea party wearing top hat and looking in a tea pot
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- White rabbit at tea party holding tea cup and stuffed toy rabbit at table with vintage tea set
by Hanami Dream | 15, September, 2014 | blog, tips
The peak of the wedding season may be slowing down but there are still plenty of couples looking forward to forthcoming nuptials and planning weddings in the coming months. So big congratulations to you if you have recently got engaged.
To help you out, here are 10 top wedding day tips (and secrets) for any newly engaged couples on how to enjoy your special day. Don’t just take our word for it – this is advice from married couples that they found invaluable for the day (or in the build up and preparations).
1. Eat the day like eating an elephant.
Its big so eat it slowly and enjoy every bit!
Geraldine, Oxfordshire
2. Choose your team well.
Just the same as if you were putting together a project team at work, the people you choose to have around you at your wedding are crucial. So pick the bridesmaid that will keep you calm when you are stressed, offer advice when needed, and won’t complain when you ask them to make favours the night before the wedding!
Helen, Oxfordshire
3. Have a trial run.
Make sure you have a trial with your hair dresser and make up artist before the big day. It was much better to make decisions about how I wanted to look before the big day. Plus I thoroughly recommend having a full set of fake eyelash extensions if you’ve got the patience to have them all applied one by one. They were so worth the effort as I didn’t need to wear mascara on the day (which also avoided any tears ruining my make up) plus they lasted for most of the honeymoon too, so my eyes still looked great in photos even on make up free days on the beach and by the pool.
Nicola, Oxfordshire
4. Eat a hearty breakfast.
Make sure you eat little and often and remember that breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Not necessarily a mad traditional British cooked breakfast with everything from devilled kidneys to stuffed quail, as this may give you more than butterflies — but just something filling that will keep you going, like porridge. It can be an awfully long time from when you eat in the morning until your ‘wedding breakfast’ in the afternoon, and there’s a lot of demanding stuff to get through in between!
Matt, Cambridgeshire
5. Keep your guests fed and watered.
Wedding photos take a lot longer than you would expect, especially to get those perfect personal shots of you and your partner which you will treasure in the future, so make sure you are keeping your guests fed, watered and entertained during this period so you can relax.
David, Oxfordshire
6. Delegate.
Have great attendants that you know and trust. Then delegate as many tasks on the day as possible to your trusted ushers, best men and bridesmaids. This leaves you free to really enjoy the day rather than worrying about the little things that crop up.
Simon, Oxfordshire
7. Spend time as a couple.
Build in a private moment after the actual wedding, to enjoy and savour a moment just for the two of you. For our wedding, we had the ceremony about 10 miles from the reception venue, we arranged a vintage chauffeur-driven car to take us from the wedding itself to the reception. The ancient Model T Ford we had could only go at about 25 miles an hour at most, so we had a lovely 25-30 minutes alone on the way to the reception, during which we shared a really good bottle of champagne! Looking back, that was one of our favourite moments.
Melanie, Cambridgeshire
8. Utilise friends and family.
I’m thrilled that so many of our friends and family were actively involved in some way or another – either via a specific role we asked them to perform, or by using their skills to provide flowers, cake, makeup, cars…it made it all so personal. Ask around and you may be amazed at the hidden talents your friends have!
Helen, Oxfordshire
9. Build in comfort breaks.
Honestly the best advice I was given was how to tackle going to the toilet as a bride. I had an amazing dress with a lovely long train and I had no idea how I was going to manoeuvre the dress around the toilet. Plus, whilst my bridesmaids were my best friends, there were some tasks I didn’t want to pass on to them on the day. How was I going to be able to do my business without ruining the dress or my dignity? Luckily a sage friend suggested the ‘reverse wee’. What a revelation – instead of sitting with your back to the cistern, you straddle the toilet and face the cistern. Hence the train and your dress do not have to be hoicked up or bunched up around the back of the toilet. Genius!
Nicola, Oxfordshire
10. Don’t rush away.
Whilst the idea of tossing a bouquet into a crowd of well-wishers, stepping into a flash car at the end of your reception and being whisked to the airport to start a fabulous tropical honeymoon sounds beguiling, our advice would be: don’t go away on honeymoon straight after your reception. Spend a relaxed day with a few select friends and family the day after your wedding, and *then* go away. A lot of people feel that the wedding day itself rushes, so this gives you quality time with the people you like most in your life. Anyone who was still around the day after our wedding was invited to a picnic. We didn’t supply any food, people just brought their own stuff, and we all sat around in the countryside and had some proper time with our mates with nice food and drink. It was like a simpler, more intimate version of the wedding day, with none of the stress or calls on your time.
Melanie, Cambridgeshire
Please contact Hanami Dream if you’d like to share any tips or insights from your wedding.
by Hanami Dream | 15, August, 2014 | blog, tips
“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true”
This month marks the 75th anniversary of the film release of the Wizard of Oz. With the themes of this story as our inspiration, we look at 7 tips for how to follow your own yellow brick road when planning a special occasion.
1. red – follow your heart
The colour red often signifies passion, energy and taking action. What better place to start when planning your special occasion than with what your heart desires. You can take inspiration and guidance from many different areas but make sure your event is personal. List out the things you really want to have at the occasion and what would make you happy. Think about how you want it to look, sound and feel to you and your guests (even taste and smell like too!).
Any theme can be adjusted to suit your occasion. For example, did you know that in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz book by L. Frank Braum in 1900, the shoes that Dorothy wears are actually silver? However, most people associate Dorothy with red shoes. Why? Because the film makers of the 1939 film adaptation decided to take advantage of the revolutionary use of new Technicolor. So you can tailor any occasion so that it brings your dreams to life.
2. orange – good communication
Orange is associated with optimism and communication. With this in mind, the next part of the planning process should focus on being able to communicate your vision with others. Once you have the plan of what you’d like your event to be like, share it with the people that are going to help you bring it to life.
Maybe you are involving an event planner, multiple suppliers or calling on favours from friends. Think about who needs to be involved, what they can offer, how it will come together, as well as where and when the event will take place. Also make sure you look at what budget is available and how much everything will cost.
At this stage, good relationship building is important and these friends (and colleagues) will help you along your journey. Just like in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy’s new friends give her support and the encouragement she needs to seek out the Wizard.
3. yellow – have courage 
Whilst yellow is often seen as a happy colour, it sometimes depicts cowardice. There will probably be some tough decisions to make when planning a big special occasion. Perhaps the reality of your budget means you have to rein in a few of your plans, or other people’s involvement means compromising on some thoughts, or maybe who you want to invite and have on your guest list causes headaches. So make sure you have the right people with you along the way to help with these difficult decisions.
For Dorothy, she sets her sights on finding the Wizard and stays focused on this end outcome. Her vision is clear, others join her and they stay on track despite facing obstacles along the way.
4. green – be resourceful
Don’t get green with envy. If there’s something that you can’t afford or can’t source, then consider making it yourself. Be self sufficient and do it yourself. Be resourceful to overcome set backs and perhaps consider different options.
Think about things you could borrow from friends, hire from suppliers or buy second hand rather than buying them new. There are lots of free local recycling websites to source products, online auction sites and car boot sales if you need to be clever with your budget. Or if you’re feeling crafty there’s lots of inspiration on sites like Pinterest on how to make event decorations like fan bunting, pinwheels, pom-poms or paper flowers (which are cheaper and last longer than real flowers). Involve your friends and family in making stationery as an ice breaker for different people to meet before the special occasion.
Take the lead from the main characters from the Wizard of Oz who all doubted their self reliance. They didn’t realise that they actually possessed the things that they were searching for all along.
5. blue – use support
The colour blue is said to be calming and instil a sense of peace, trust and loyalty. Keep this in mind when you are in the throes of planning your event.
At the beginning and end of your planning time, there will be a flurry of activity needed but in between it may feel like a lull of planning and decision making.
Focus on the end goal of what you want to achieve so you don’t get swept along or side tracked with irrelevant ideas. Remember that there are other things in your life as well as planning a special day and don’t lose perspective on everything else.
The support of your family and friends will be important. After all, there’s no place like home.
6. indigo – trust your head
Indigo is often thought of as the colour of idealism. However make sure you use your brains to not only visualise your dream but also to trust your intuition. Know when to include realism in your decisions too. Maybe you haven’t seen a second cousin for over 10 years that your parents think you should invite to your event but you don’t really know them. If you’d rather invite another close friend than your long lost relative then you may need the courage to address the situation with your parents to explain how you feel.
Perhaps use Dorothy’s friends (the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Woodman) as a guide to making decisions – what is your head telling you to do, do I have the courage to do it and, most importantly, how do I feel about it? Follow what your gut is telling you to do. Dorothy ventured in to the unknown and learnt to rely on her instincts and to trust her intuition to guide her on her journey.
7. violet – enjoy your creation
Don’t be a shrinking violet – let your imagination go wild! Inject personal touches in to your special occasion and you’ll be able to blend together families, friends, traditions, cultures and lots of creativity. Then enjoy it. Your earlier planning and communication with your suppliers will pay off now. You’ve put in a lot of effort, so now is the time to spend with your guests relaxing and making the most of your celebration. If you have involved a planner they can manage the special occasion for you which would mean you don’t have to worry about all the fine details on the day. Capture it too, so you have lasting memories of what you’ve achieved.
In the Wizard of Oz, the main characters all get what they really desired (a heart, brains, courage and to be able to return home) but they also ended up with much more than they first wished for.
Make your special occasion unique and tailored to meet your needs. Have the confidence to follow your own yellow brick road and your dreams can come true.
See how we went over the rainbow with our Wizard of Oz party.
Photography by Farrow Photography
by Hanami Dream | 15, August, 2014 | blog, inspiration, styled shoots
Photography by Farrow Photography
We decided to follow the yellow brick road as the next theme in our series of joint ventures to bring to life some inspirational themes for special occasions. These are to showcase how you can use a theme to enhance your milestone events, whatever the age of the guest.
1. red – follow your heart
Our inspiration was sparked this time with the build up to the 75th anniversary of the film release of the Wizard of Oz. We also learnt that apparently L. Frank Braum (who wrote the Wonderful Wizard of Oz book in 1900) was inspired by Lewis Caroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland so it seemed like a natural progression in our journey.
We loved the idea of lots of fun, friendship and camaraderie in our event and as we were using children as our models again we wanted to ensure we had lots of things to entertain them and keep their attention. Plus we wanted to capture a sunny summer vibe with bright on trend rainbow colours and we wanted to include sunflowers, balloons and emerald city inspired décor.
Other things that inspired this shoot included:
• Tin cans – it seems that my obsession with all the things you can do with tin cans has led my husband to worry that I’ll soon appear on the Hoarder Next Door programme on television. Yes, I saved A LOT of used tin cans in the build up to this event. But they are so versatile and really add to any rustic décor scheme – as lanterns, flower pots, adorned with tassels, with holes punched in or painted to suit any colour palette.
• Posters – we’ve recently been decorating our son’s bedroom and spotted a poster of a lion that we loved in a home decorating magazine. We searched high and low and eventually found the exact one from The Kid Who. So our son is now the proud owner of the lion poster by Ingela P Arrhenius, a great Swedish graphic designer and illustrator, and we are trying to decide what our next lovely purchase will be by Ingela.
• Strawberries – you might wonder how strawberries inspired this shoot. Well, it was actually in the act of trying to protect our strawberries from naughty birds scrumping our lovely fruit in the early summer. We were searching for netting to buy to put over the strawberries and came across various sizes of smiling scarecrows to buy. Hope we have more success protecting the blueberries from the predators this month!
• Paint – I’m currently in love with the chalk coloured paints by Annie Sloane (who incidentally resides in our part of the country). Some beautifully painted stools in the Old Pill Factory, in Witney, ignited my fascination with rainbow colours.
• Vogue – another fabulous shoot by Annie Leibovitz in Vogue in 2005 featured Keira Knightley as Dorothy and shows how subtle theming of the characters can still give a great affect.
• Scottie Dogs – okay so the dog in the film version of the Wizard of Oz was a Cairn Terrier, but how could we not love the dogs used in the recent Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Glasgow and wish there was a way to use them in this shoot?
• Old fashioned sweet shops – the Shake Shop in Witney is an awesome place to visit and, as well as shakes and smoothies, has loads of great sweets to chose from like giant rainbow lolly pops.
• Cakes – these are never far from my thoughts at the best of times but recently I’ve loved all the cake pops that are so popular and amazing rainbow layer cakes. We had a slice at a 
recent christening and were fascinated by the time and effort gone in to making a wonderfully impressive cake.
• Emerald green – this was Pantone colour of the year in 2013 and still seems to be everywhere (or is it just because we’re thinking about the Emerald City that we’re seeing it more?!) and we really liked the emerald furniture in the Relics of Witney recently.
We also read the Wonderful Wizard of Oz book by L. Frank Braum and realised how many differences there were between the book and the 1939 film adaption. This made us realise that whatever the theme, we could adjust it to suit our occasion anyway.
You can see more of our inspiration for this party and follow Hanami Dream’s Wizard of Oz board on Pinterest.
2. orange – good communication
For this event we also involved a great team of local suppliers to showcase their products and enhance our theme further. So as well as partnering with the wonderful Farrow Photography, we also shared our vision to go somewhere over the rainbow with 8 other suppliers each offering different products.
Our partners for this shoot were:
Caked In It – who supplied the rainbow layer cake and rainbow push pops
www.facebook.com/pages/Caked-In-It/159983567354526
@cakeditin
Cotswold Kids – who provided the ruby red sequin shoes worn by Dorothy
www.facebook.com/cotswold.kids
@cotswoldkids
Distinctive Petals – who gave the flowers in a sunflower bouquet, on the table, hanging in trees and in the hot air balloon basket
www.facebook.com/#!/distinctivepetals.florist
@D_Petals
Fairford Balloons – who offered the bunches of latex balloons, rainbow balloon arch and the hot air balloon
www.facebook.com/fairfordballoons
@fairfordballoon
Mrs W Tutus – who made the white tutu and blue gingham apron that Dorothy wore
www.facebook.com/pages/Mrs-W-Tutus/199071030217068
@MrsWTutus
Pedal Car Parties – who lent the vintage pedal tractor for the Kansas farm scene
www.facebook.com/PedalCarParties
@pedalcarparties
Teddy Bears of Witney – who loaned us the Toto and Mini Dorothy Steiff bears
http://www.teddybears.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/pages/Teddy-Bears-of-Witney/107426666094204
New stationery company launching soon – who produced the name place cards
Contact Hanami Dream for more details.
We love the opportunity to be able to support local independent companies and have some amazing ones right on our doorstep in and around the Cotswolds. #indieretail
For more information on the suppliers that supported this shoot and showcased their products, take a look at our No Place Like Home blog post too.
3. yellow – have courage
We had to make some tough decisions whilst planning the shoot and had to be realistic with what we could deliver in the time and budget. In addition, whilst not an ideal time of year, we had chosen to do it during the peak summer months when everyone is busy with lots of events. So this meant that some suppliers were not available or couldn’t sadly commit to this project. Plus, with any event that you want to hold outside, we were once again at the mercy of the elements. Despite a glorious few weeks of amazing sunny and hot weather, the week of our shoot was when things looked like breaking. We knew that we could postpone the shoot by a few days but some of the suppliers’ products would start to fade if we couldn’t use them when we planned. We were brave and continued with our plan of shooting one Friday morning and the weather was brilliant until lunchtime. Thankfully by this time we had luckily finished and packed everything away.
4. green – be resourceful
As well as having some amazing products supplied by our partners for this shoot, we also produced a number of the props and decorations ourselves. Funds, availability and suitability often mean that making things yourself (or having them commissioned) will ensure that they match and are completely tailored to your occasion.
The things we made included:
• Green teepees for the Emerald City – triangles of different material sewn together with a heavier duty material hexagon base, held up by inserting and tying dowels, then finished off with doors with material tie backs.
• Gingham bunting – my mum has an amazing stash of material including the blue gingham that I used to sew the bunting. This was from the remnants from my primary school summer uniform that she’d made for me!
• Pin wheels – made from card in the seven different colours of the rainbow. Relatively easy to construct with squares of card, scissors and split pins. Then hung in rainbow order for lots of impact. 
• Tin man – lots of sweet corn, chickpeas and tinned tomatoes were consumed to leave some different sized empty tins held together with wire and split pins to make the tin man. Finished off with a silver hat made from a circle of card and a red card heart.
• Painted tins – whilst I had a grasp on how to mix colours to achieve 6 of the 7 colours of the rainbow, I had to do research to discover the proportions for making indigo! I used a one coat, all surface paint suitable to go on a number of materials without a base coat.
• Crows – these were made with some simple origami skills of twirling birds from black card for the scarecrow to chase away.
• Net for hot air balloon – we plaited some wool together and tied it around the big 16″ balloon (supplied by Fairford Balloons) at the top, middle and bottom. Then tied long strands from the top band, through the middle band and to the bottom band and then attached them to a painted tin can full of flowers (provided by Distinctive Petals).
5. blue – use support
Most of our band of party goers were dressed in clothing to give a subtle hint of the theme, apart from Dorothy who had an amazing outfit.
The costumes consisted of:
• Dorothy Gale – white full length tutu with blue gingham apron and red ribbons (made by Mrs W Tutus), red ruby sequin shoes (provided by Cotswold Kids), blue gingham ribbons for plaited hair, wicker basket and Toto Steiff teddy bear (borrowed from Teddy Bears of Witney).
• Tin Woodman – grey cords (from H&M), light grey t-shirt (from Next) with red felt heart sewn to pocket and silver card pointy hat with red card heart.
• Cowardly Lion – brown cords, yellow t-shirt and ribbon ‘medal’ badge.
• Scarecrow – denim dungarees, check shirt (from Baby Bird at Mothercare), straw hat (from Fat Face) and prefect’s badge.
6. indigo – trust your head
So with our party visualised it was then just a case of bringing everything together and coordinating all the products coming from different suppliers and sources:
• Collected shoes, teddy bears, name place cards, balloons and flowers from suppliers
• Received deliveries of the tutu, cakes and vintage pedal tractor from suppliers
• Borrowed straw bails, prefect badges and table from friends
• Made tin man, sign for Emerald City, table runners, gingham bunting, costume accessories, pin wheel decorations, black crows and hot air balloon netting
• Collated all other props and costumes
• Ironed linen (why is it I find myself doing more ironing for work than I ever do in real life?!)
• Prepared and pruned garden
• Dressed the scenes by stringing up pin wheels, flowers in tins and crows, setting the table, tying rainbow ribbons round cutlery and the most important job of creating the yellow brick road with yellow chalk on a garden path.
7. violet – enjoy your creation
With everything set up, it was time for our party to begin. Dorothy, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow enjoyed playing in the following scenes:
a. No place like home – the farm in Kansas consisted of:
• Straw bails
• Wooden toy farm
• Hanging black crows
• Vintage pedal tractor (provided by Pedal Car Parties)
• Bunches of balloons (supplied by Fairford Balloons)
b. The Witch is dead! – the Wicked Witch of the East got crushed ‘under the house’ and all that could be seen of her was her:
• Black and white tights and
• Shiny red shoes
c. Follow the yellow brick road – off to see the wizard and along the way the friends played with:
• Chalk on the yellow brick road
• Pinwheels in the ground (from Cargo)
• Basket
• Dorothy and Toto teddy bears (borrowed from Teddy Bears of Witney)
• Rainbow balloon arch (supplied by Fairford Balloons)
d. Emerald city
• Two green teepees complete with ‘bell not working’ sign at the end of the yellow brick road.
e. Somewhere over the rainbow
• The party table consisted of:
○ Rainbow cups, cutlery and crockery
○ Table runner of burlap material, ‘yellow brick road’ and rainbow painted tin cans filled with gypsophila (flowers provided by Distinctive Petals)
○ Name place cards
○ Rainbow layer cake (created by Caked In It)
○ Rainbow cake push pops (created by Caked In It)
○ Heart, medal and prefect’s badge
○ Toto teddy bear (borrowed from Teddy Bears of Witney)
• The other décor included:
○ Pin wheel bunting
○ Tin man out of cans in tree
○ Lion poster
○ Scarecrow in tree
○ Hot air balloon (balloon supplied by Fairford Balloons and flowers provided by Distinctive Petals)
○ Tin cans filled with sunflowers (flowers provided by Distinctive Petals).
Then it was time to enjoy and capture our party somewhere over the rainbow.
To see all the photos from the shoot please go to www.hanamidream.co.uk/wizard-of-oz/
Farrow Photography & Hanami Dream
by Hanami Dream | 15, August, 2014 | blog, styled shoots
We love the opportunity to be able to support local independent companies and have some amazing ones right on our doorstep in and around the Cotswolds. #indieretail
We were really pleased to work with the following fabulous suppliers that supported our Wizard of Oz shoot and showcased their products.
Caked In It – who supplied the rainbow layer cake and rainbow push pops
www.facebook.com/pages/Caked-In-It/159983567354526
@cakeditin
Making the “Edible Incredible”. Whether you desire elegance, vintage chic, cupcakes or something more adventurous, Caked In It provide a friendly, customer focused bespoke service to achieve your deliciously dreamy cake. Shortlisted in the 2013 Wedding Industry Awards, they really do love what they do.
Cotswold Kids – who provided the ruby red sequin shoes worn by Dorothy
www.facebook.com/cotswold.kids
@cotswoldkids
Cotswold Kids opened in Witney in 2003, and specialises in baby and younger children’s fashion and gifts, toys, and nursery items, with key brands Natures Purest and Jellycat. A new website and online shop is imminent, in the interim using Facebook as their main customer-contact tool, pending their re-launch in late summer 2014. A big clearance sale is now underway, with classic baby and children’s fashion at great prices, Spanish shoes, Hunter boots, dress-up and occasion wear. Brands include Mayoral, Kate Mack/Biscotti, Kanz, Boboli, D’arcy Brown, and more. Don’t miss out! Do visit them on Facebook and Like to be sure you’re among the first to hear about new arrivals and special offers, not least their re-launch event (date tba)! Or visit their pop-up shop in Mill Street, Wantage for a selection of new baby gifts, toys and accessories. New permanent Wantage shop coming soon!
Distinctive Petals – who gave the flowers in a sunflower bouquet, on the table, hanging in trees and in the hot air balloon basket
www.facebook.com/#!/distinctivepetals.florist
@D_Petals
Distinctive Petals is a fresh thinking innovative floral design company. Specialising in wedding and events. Based in Witney in the rural Cotswolds, Distinctive Petals use from flowers from the auctions in Holland to make your floral dreams come true. Contact them at info@distinctivepetals.co.uk or on 07725806756.
Fairford Balloons – who offered the bunches of latex balloons, rainbow balloon arch and the hot air balloon
www.facebook.com/fairfordballoons
@fairfordballoon
Fairford Balloons was established by Paula Marshall 3 years ago within Enntwine Gift Shop based in Fairford Gloucestershire, run as a partnership with her Mother Val Marshall. After a few changes and a move to a better location in the town, Fairford Balloons has gone from strength to strength, now providing balloons for the whole of the Cotswolds/Gloucestershire/Wiltshire/Oxfordshire and even London on a couple of occasions. Providing something different to the standard helium balloons, Fairford Balloons have been a hit for all types of parties, weddings and events. Also offering a delivery service to keep convenience and customer service to a high standard. If you are interested in knowing more then please feel free to take a look at their website or contact Paula with any questions 01285 711057.
Mrs W Tutus – who made the white tutu and blue gingham apron that Dorothy wore
www.facebook.com/pages/Mrs-W-Tutus/199071030217068
@MrsWTutus
Mrs W Tutus hand makes Tutus, Tutu Dresses, Tulle Crowns & Wands for Bridesmaids, Flower Girls & Fairy Princesses everywhere! With 30 colours of Tulle available, we are sure to be able to create something that fits perfectly with your chosen colour scheme or with the imagination & dreams of your Little Princess! Please do not hesitate to get in touch with your requirements.
Pedal Car Parties – who lent the vintage pedal tractor for the Kansas farm scene
www.facebook.com/PedalCarParties
@pedalcarparties
Pedal Car Parties hires out a set of beautiful metal vintage-style pedal cars for children’s parties, and delivers them to village halls, sports halls, private homes and schools across the region for children’s parties. Included in the package are toy traffic cones, road signs, traffic lights and a pop-up garage, as well as coloured bunting and party game ideas to make the perfect party for the under 5’s. Pedal Car Parties was named Best Party Supplier in the South East by Netmums in 2013.
Teddy Bears of Witney – who loaned us the Toto and Mini Dorothy Steiff bears
http://www.teddybears.co.uk/
www.facebook.com/pages/Teddy-Bears-of-Witney/107426666094204
Teddy Bears of Witney has been fortunate to have handled teddy bears, new and old, for nearly thirty years. Every day they witness the joy they bring to people of all ages. They search the world for the bear-makers they most respect, love and admire, sot that they can share their bears with you. They are open seven days a week.
New stationery company launching soon – who produced the name place cards
Contact Hanami Dream for more details.
See how we went over the rainbow with our Wizard of Oz party.
by Hanami Dream | 4, July, 2014 | blog, inspiration, styled shoots
Photography by Farrow Photography
1. Pick a theme
We’ve found inspiration in many different areas (isn’t Pinterest great for sparking the imagination and losing a few hours in the making?!) but lots of things kept leading us back to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. So this is the theme we picked for our first joint venture. (By the way, you can see more of our inspiration on our Pinterest board.)
We are from beautiful Oxfordshire and Alice’s story has lots of connection with Oxford. There’s an Alice’s Shop in Oxford and for one day every year, the Story Museum turns Oxford into Wonderland to celebrate the first telling of the story. Alice Pleasance Liddell and her sisters enjoyed listening to Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (better known as Lewis Carroll), when she asked him to tell her a story on a boating trip in Oxford on 4th July 1862. So it’s not just the Americans who get to celebrate a special occasion on the 4th July! Other things that inspired this shoot were:
- A fantastic installation at Burford Garden Company. One day their tea shop had lots of teacups hanging from a tree and it looked like a perfect backdrop to a mad hatter’s tea party.
I just hope they had enough teacups left over for all their thirsty customers!
- Tim Burton’s gothic inspired Alice story. We liked that this was a different take on the usual Disney cartoon images that usually spring to mind.
- Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, a recent short lived US spin off show that featured modern day fairy tale characters based around the Alice story. Okay, we’re not necessarily all over the cheesier aspects of this but liked a modern day twist on the classic tale.
- Annie Leibovitz did an Alice shoot for US Vogue in 2010 which absolutely rocks – not a stereotypical Disney character in sight!
- US stylist Alexandria LaNier also did a wonderful shoot.
- Ruby & Stardust do amazing inspirational wedding photo shoots to help couples visualise the day of their dreams. We love their extravagant attention to detail.
- Whittards currently have a lovely Alice collection that attracted our attention too – it’s all about Alice right now!
- The Old Pill Factory in Witney always has brilliant visual merchandising and we love the eclectic mix of vintage products on display. Recently we were inspired by an old kid’s top hat that we saw with some tweed jackets. So we wanted to mention it as we love this place and are big supporters of local independent retailers (especially as this month is Independent Retailer Month).
However most of the imagery that inspired us featured adult models and we wanted to do something with young children.
2. Set the time, place and location
We decided we wanted to be able to share our inspirational shoot with the world to coincide with Alice in Wonderland Day on the 4th July. It’s when people are celebrating the day when the story was first told. If everyone is talking about Alice on that day then we want to be too! So our shoot was planned for the week before Alice’s Day and we held it outside in a residential garden so we could maximise the wonderful green lushness that’s around at this time of year. We let the lawn grow so all the pretty daisies came through, after all Alice did debate at the beginning of the story whether to make a daisy chain or not before she saw the white rabbit. We watched as the garden changed on a daily basis praying that the red peonies would bloom in time. Annoyingly the red ones came and went and then we were stuck with only pink ones but even these had gone over by the day of the shoot. And sadly no sign of any roses in time. Not even any white ones that we could paint! But luckily we found a post on Let’s Eat Grandpa about how to make really realistic looking tissue paper flowers so our production crew sprung in to action instead.
3. Make a guest list and send out invitations
As mums of little ones ourselves, we know how much fun children are but we also know how quickly they can flag and their attention dwindles. So we decided on a small ensemble to encapsulate some of the most well know characters from the Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland story. We had 5 brilliant models who thoroughly got in to their roles and all enjoyed pouring pretend tea (like most children seem to). So we invited:
- Alice
- Queen of Hearts
- Mad Hatter
- White Rabbit (at one point we even considered borrowing a real life white rabbit!)
- Cheshire Cat
4. Source suppliers for decorations, party favours & music
For this shoot, we begged, borrowed and made a lot of our own props. However, the first of these I already had – an old vintage tea set that my Mad Nan gave to me (yes, this is the name that she has titled herself!) She bought it years ago when she first got a credit card and got a bit carried away at an auction. She hid it under her bed and never told my Grampy about it as she didn’t want to tell him how much she spent on it. So when he passed away a few years ago, I inherited the tea set. Not being a tea drinker myself, it sat unused in a box in the shed. So I was pleased that it could take pride of place in this Alice shoot.
Here some other behind the scenes snippets of how we made or sourced some of the props:
- Miniature door – this was one of the first things that I made for the shoot. I saw these fairy doors on Roots Nursery and knew they would look great amongst the ivy at the base of one of the tree stumps in the garden for Alice to peer through.
- What tea party would be complete without teacups? Along with my Mad Nan’s vintage cups, we also made some paper teacups to really enhance the whole décor. We found an ingenious and really stunning template and tutorial by Next to nicx and we hear that they’re also in the process of setting up a store so you’ll soon be able to buy these nifty tea cups in kit form too.
- My in-laws sourced the next prop when they were enjoying afternoon tea in the Mad Hatters Tea Shop in Longton, Lancastershire. (Actually this theme was perfect for them as I think they spend quite a bit of time researching this pastime!) They found a beautiful paper teapot decoration in rose by Miss Etoile.
- Other things that we made included:
- Chequered floor – we bought some checked flooring tiles and stuck them to a bit of ply wood
- Hearts bunting – we stuck lots of red hearts on to fishing line (and got them tangled up too many times!)
- Big clocks – just some cardboard and cut out printed numbers (the roman numerals really tested our GCSE maths skills!) which were perfect for the background to dress the scene
- Various sizes of playing cards including two big ones made into a tunnel for the children to run through – again just painted cardboard and then we stuck hearts/spades on to them
- Playing cards garland – hope that no one in our house wants to play cards any time soon as I stripped out all the hearts suits from a couple of packs to string these on fishing line
- Queen of Hearts wand – bought a wicker looking heart from Sainsburys and painted the top red to finish off her outfit
- Other paper decorations and lanterns were bought from Cargo out of their last year’s stock. I’m loving all the honeycomb paper décor around at the moment though.
- The final significant prop that we used was the brass key the White Rabbit and Alice hold. This was a gift to my late father on his 21st birthday which he gave to me when I also hit that milestone age. It’s engraved with the dates when we both reached 21 so it was special to feature this in the shoot.
- Friends and family also have to be thanked for lending us other props such as: the old clock, carriage clocks, pocket watches (we were stunned by how many of our friends owned one of these!), various cuddly animals (such as rabbits and mice), croquet set and a treasure chest.
5. Plan party games and entertainment
With small children you need to have lots of things to entertain them lined up as their concentration doesn’t last too long for each activity. We had lots of bubbles to hand, a croquet set to play (complete with flamingos), lots of dancing, endless fun pouring glitter into teacups, running through playing card tunnels, hiding the dormouse in the teapot and eating all the lovely sweets.
6. Make the food and a cake
We didn’t put on a full spread for this special occasion but no Alice party would be complete without some jam tarts. The hearts theme continued with Love Heart sweets and some real fruit juice heart sweets from The Fruit Factory. They’re made from concentrated fruit juice so we thought they’d be better for our sugar deprived kids!!!
7. Set the table & decorate your venue
The only thing we couldn’t organise for the day was the weather. We should’ve guessed that anything set around the time of Wimbledon would have a chance of rain closing play. With the power of 10 day weather forecasts we could see that the weather might not be on our side and finally made a last minute decision to postpone by a day. It was a good call, as the day we’d planned had really heavy downpours but we had glorious sunshine for the actually day of our shoot. Everyone needs a good back up plan and thanks to all cast and crew for being so accommodating to change the day.
It was actually good that it rained before the shoot as it watered the garden and made it much greener again after all the beautiful sunny days we’ve been having. So all that was left was to:
- cover the chairs and the rose arch with ivy and our home made flowers
- hang all the tea cups and other decorations
- dress the table with cups, saucers, teapots, clocks, hearts, flowers, cake tins, pearls, sweets, tiny playing cards, stuffed animals and glitter
- hang playing card bunting in rose arch and heart bunting in Cheshire Cat’s tree
- pin up signs
- hide fairy door
- set up the Queen’s palace
- get Alice’s rocking chair in place
- arrange all props and toys for entertainment
8. Dress the part
As our models arrived, they each got dressed in their costumes for the day. We’d been inspired by some Handpicked Handmade girls dresses which are so sumptuous and voluminous that we had to make some similar for our Alice, Queen and Cat. We went for a no sewing route (like the Hair Bow Company ones) and simply tied strips of tulle netting around ribbons to create wonderful skirts.
The costumes consisted of:
- Alice – daisy headband, white t-shirt, blue handmade tulle skirt, white apron
- Queen of Hearts – gold crown (from H&M), black t-shirt, white handmade tulle skirt complete with felt hearts, red shoes, heart wand
- Mad Hatter – top hat with 10/6 sign (actually it was really hard to source a top hat as we were getting costumes together around the time of Ascot but found a great one on Oxfam’s online store), grey waistcoat and trousers (from Florence and Fred at Tesco), check shirt, cravat
- White Rabbit – rabbit ears (from Claire’s Accessories but these didn’t stay on for long!), cream waistcoat and trousers (from M&S), white shirt, pocket watch, white rabbit toy (from JellyCat)
- Cheshire Cat – cat ears (also from H&M), purple t-shirt, pink and purple handmade tulle skirt, purple shoes
And no one is fully dressed without a smile, so we also made some Cheshire Cat smiles on sticks for everyone to hold although everyone seemed to be full of smiles anyway.
9. Make the tea when your guests arrive 
Obviously we didn’t have real tea for the children to pour at our party but they still had loads of fun pouring ‘tea’ for each other.
10. Serve the food and enjoy spending time with your guests
As you can see our tea party was lots of fun. To see all the photos from the shoot please go to www.hanamidream.co.uk/alice-in-wonderland/
Farrow Photography & Hanami Dream
