by Hanami Dream | 28, December, 2016 | news
I hope you’ve had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas. At this between and betwixt time, I often take the time to reflect on the past year. And what a fantastic year it’s been for Hanami Dream weddings and special occasions in 2016!
I’ve continued to study with UKAWEP and was proud to be picked as Student of the month in October. The course has (and continues) to open my eyes up to a whole world of weddings beyond just wedding planning.
My focus has changed this year and I’m concentrating on making the blog work commercially as well as providing inspiration to brides and grooms in the Cotswolds. This feels like a fantastic evolution, which really excites me and fits in with my current family life, plus combines my experience within the scope of the wedding industry.
I enjoyed working with a great venue and local businesses on a stunning Wind in the Willows styled photo shoot which featured on the blog as well as on Bride Magazine.
I also worked as a consultant with a local venue to help them with their first wedding open day where I held a wedding planning drop in clinic.
Plus I launched #UKWedLunch in August – a Twitter hour for brides and grooms to be who are planning their weddings in their lunch breaks.
I’m delighted to have enquiries for different aspects of the business including venue styling and consultancy, as well as such lovely testimonials from happy couples and suppliers I’ve worked with in 2016.
The blog featured posts on different elements of wedding planning, local wedding venues, catering vans, a series titled ‘the holy trinity of wedding planning’ and some wonderful guest posts from local wedding professionals (with top tips and an insight in to different elements of wedding planning from their area of the wedding industry). See the top ten posts of 2016.
My blog has had an exciting year and continues to go from strength to strength. The highlight of 2016, was being a finalist in two categories of the UK Blog Awards in April and I was delighted to get a highly commended award.
I was also chuffed to have some of my articles (on seating plans and stationery) published on Bride Magazine online too.
I’m pleased to add to my honoured collection of accolades with #QueenOf Wedding Inspiration by The Royal Connection, the #SmartSocial award from Marketme, #BrightPig’s Business of the Week and I was also picked by Jacqueline Gold CBE to be a WOW Winner.
I’m really proud to have won the UK Academy of Wedding and Event Planning’s Greenery (SS17 and colour of the year) Pantone® mood board competition again this year.
If all this wasn’t enough, I’m over the moon to have found out last week that I’ve been shortlisted for the next round of the West Oxfordshire Business Awards #WOBA2017. So I’m looking forward to meeting the judges in the New Year and to seeing what other exciting things 2017 has to hold for Hanami Dream.
Now is also a great time to look forward to the brand new year ahead. I’ve lots of plans afoot including focusing the blog on supporting and promoting local wedding professionals, services and venues #keepitlocal. And I can’t wait to produce more styled photo shoots and have more opportunities to collaborate with local suppliers.
Many thanks for your support in 2016 and here’s to an exciting and very Happy New Year!
by Hanami Dream | 11, February, 2016 | blog, trends
We’ve had a gloriously sunny (albeit a bit chilly) day today. What a welcome change after all the recent wet and windy weather in the UK. Whilst it might still officially be winter, the blossom on the trees and the daffodils certainly think it’s Spring already here! Plus, every day we are gaining 6 more minutes of daylight and it’s not long until the clocks change and then we’re in the home straight to summer! Not that we’re wishing the year away but our thoughts have been drawn to the autumnal months already with the exciting announcement from Pantone® today.
Released to coincide with New York Fashion Week, Pantone® have announced their colour report for Fall 2016 with some more soothing colours following the trend of their predictions for Spring/Summer 2016.
Before you read any further, I want to get across how much of a huge fan of Pantone® I am. Maybe this is why I’m so disappointed and how I feel a bit short changed from this latest report. After the shock of getting two colours of the year in 2016, I was full of anticipation to see what the next big twist would be and what excitement was in store. But I’ve been left a little flat. It seems that half of the ten colours for Fall 2016 are duplicates from the Spring/Summer 2016 predictions. I feel like I’ve seen this before.
Forgive me, but to me the first 5 colours (of Riverside, Airy Blue, Sharkskin, Aurora Red and Warm Taupe) could easily be mistaken for Snorkel Blue, Serenity, Lilac Grey, Fiesta and Iced Coffee announced in the Spring 2016 report.
Don’t get me wrong, I really like these 5 colours, which (with the exception of Aurora Red) are beautifully delicate and calming – perfect for a wedding palette at any time of the year.
In addition, the other five colours are earthy, rich and grounding. They remind me of a fantastic laid back holiday in the autumn sunshine of Marrakech. Exploring the souks, relaxing on the terrace of a riad and looking out at the Atlas Mountains on the horizon as the sun sets. They take in all the varied beauty of Morocco including its coast, the lush valleys, stunning mountains and all the way to the desert. Isn’t it amazing how colour evokes so much feeling and memories as well as a sense of escapism!
The top ten colours for Fall 2016 are:
- Riverside (PANTONE 17-4028)
- Airy Blue (PANTONE 14-4122)
- Sharkskin (PANTONE 17-3914)
- Aurora Red (PANTONE 18-1550)
- Warm Taupe (PANTONE 16-318)
- Dusty Cedar (PANTONE 18-1630)
- Lush Meadow (PANTONE 18-5845)
- Potter’s Clay (PANTONE 18-1340)
- Spicy Mustard (PANTONE 14-0952)
- Bodacious (PANTONE 17-3240)
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.
I can’t wait to see these autumnal colours featuring in couples’ colour schemes and personally love the combination of Potter’s Clay, Spicy Mustard and Bodacious for being a bit different.
It’s always great to see fresh new colours and combinations, so this time I guess I’ve been left wanting (and maybe expecting) just a little bit more.
See some of our trend predictions for weddings in 2016.
by Hanami Dream | 28, December, 2015 | blog
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Photography by Farrow Photography
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We hope you’ve had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas. At this between and betwixt time, we 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 healthy regime and start thinking about personal special occasions that we have coming up.
Next year is going to give us plenty of reasons to celebrate as a nation with the Queen’s 90th birthday and we hope there’s street parties aplenty to mark such an amazing milestone in June.
In the music world, 2016 would have also seen the 80th and 90th birthdays of musical legends Buddy Holly and Marilyn Monroe respectively. Plus it also marks 150 years since Beatrix Potter was born
It’s also a leap year in 2016 so ladies this is your chance to pop the question. Let’s not take the lead from the Greeks and Romans though who thought that starting any new life event (from getting married to christening a child) in a leap year would bring bad luck.
Maybe you’ve got your own personal celebration in 2016. Perhaps you’re expecting a baby (much like Bridget Jones in the third installment of the film series set for release next year) and will mark this new arrival with a baby shower or a christening. Other babies due to famous faces in 2016 include:
- Coleen & Wayne Rooney
- Andy Murray & Kim Sears
- Tom Fletcher & Giovanna Falcone
- Cat Deeley & Patrick Keilty
- Anne Hathaway & Adam Shulman
- Emma & Matt Willis
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 Kendall Jenner, who will reach her 21st birthday in 2016).
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 and we’re sure their special days would influence wedding trends in 2016:
- Kimberley Walsh & Justin Scott
- Tom Daley & Dustin Lance Black
- Lady Gaga & Taylor Kinney
- Emma Bunton & Jade Jones
- Liv Tyler & Dave Gardner
Or maybe 2016 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:
- Lady Gaga
- Ellie Goulding and
- Usain Bolt
Whilst celebrating their 40th birthdays will be:
- Ronaldo
- Benedict Cumberbatch and
- Isla Fisher
Other big birthdays include Janet Jackson, Gordon Ramsay and David Cameron’s 50th; Tom Hanks’s 60th; Dolly Parton’s 70th; and Robert Redford’s 80th.
Whatever you’re celebrating in 2016, we wish you a very Happy New Year.
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Photography by Farrow Photography
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Photography by Farrow Photography
by Hanami Dream | 3, December, 2015 | blog, trends
The Pantone® Color of the Year 2016 is Rose Quartz AND Serenity. Yes, we get two colours for the price of one next year. It’s the first time Pantone® have ever announced two colours and a long time since a pastel colour has hit the top spot. They are a nice calm change to the recent bold jewel colours of the last ten years. We can already see these colours featuring singly in couples’ colour schemes and look forward to seeing people using them in tandem too.
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 2016 was for Peach Echo, Buttercup or a great neutral colour like Iced Coffee. However we we didn’t see two colours coming! Nor a pastel colour. What we have got is something more relaxing and more choice.
by Hanami Dream | 29, September, 2015 | blog, trends
At this time of year Spring seems a long way off – we’ve just entered the Autumn Equinox, the leaves are changing colour, nights are drawing in and the mornings are bitterly cold (thankfully we’ve had some lovely sunny days though!).
However those lovely folks at Pantone® have just announced their colour report for Spring 2016, released to coincide with New York Fashion Week. And this palette of ten fresh and vibrant colours gives us hope for the Spring time when everything will come back to life again.
The colours seem full of sunshine and are really vibrant rather than just subtle pastels. There seems a real cohesion and they blend together in harmony. There’s not a colour that jars amongst them and we can already imagine some nifty colour partnerships amongst them.
We love the combination of the navy Snorkel Blue, yellow Buttercup and aqua Limpet Shell which transports us right to a tropical beach in the summer time – representing the sky, sand and sea respectively. Which is just the desired outcome by the Pantone Color Institute™ who say that ‘Colors this season transport us to a happier, sunnier place where we feel free to express a wittier version of our real selves.’
These colours are intended to be calming, soothing, relaxing and have a sense of escapism. This is a chilled out vacation in Cuba with days spent relaxing by the sea and nights full of fiestas.
The top ten colours for Spring 2016 are:
- PANTONE 13-1520 Rose Quartz
- PANTONE 16-1548 Peach Echo
- PANTONE 15-3919 Serenity
- PANTONE 19-4049 Snorkel Blue
- PANTONE 12-0752 Buttercup
- PANTONE 13-4810 Limpet Shell
- PANTONE 16-3905 Lilac Gray
- PANTONE 17-1564 Fiesta
- PANTONE 15-1040 Iced Coffee
- PANTONE 15-0146 Green Flash
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.
We wait with baited breath for the release of the 2016 news. Could it be the turn of an orange colour to be the Color of the Year such as Peach Echo? Or perhaps a strong neutral like Iced Coffee that will blend with Spring as well as Fall colours? Or our particular favourite is Buttercup. Let’s wait for December to find out!
