weddings Archives - Page 4 of 23 - Hanami Dream

Keeping your wedding guests well watered

by Hanami Dream | 7, June, 2019 | blog, tips

With World Gin Day this weekend, my thoughts go to wedding drinks.

Keeping your wedding guests well fed, watered and entertained is key to a really happy wedding day. Get this right and you’re on to a winner.

Remember everyone loves free things! If you can’t afford to pay for the bar all night then perhaps welcome drinks and some with the meal will be a nice gesture.

Here’s a quick guide to getting the drinks right for your wedding day.

1. Drink seasonally – if the weather is hot then you’ll need to make sure you’ve got plenty of cool drinks including non alcoholic beverages and possibly extra ice too. And vice versa, if it’s cold then consider offering a hot toddy, mulled wine or a hot chocolate to warm up your guests.

2. Service – if your guests are serving themselves then they may pour more than a bar tender. However they may drink less depending on the time of your wedding or on a weekday. So allow more or less accordingly.

3. Bar – the main alcohols to stock a basic wedding bar include: gin, vodka, rum, tequila, whisky, beer, wine, and champagne. And make sure you have a good selection of soft drinks, mixers and non alcoholic options too.

4. Drinks with the meal – roughly you can get 4 servings per bottle of wine (and 18 servings per bottle of liquor). Consider placing bottles of wine (and water) on the table for people to serve themselves during the meal.

5. Drinks with the toasts – allow 1 bottle for every 8 guests for the champagne toast and only pour half glasses (as most guests will just take sip and go back to their original drink).

6. Quick calculations – Here’s a quick sum to give you a rough number of drinks needed for your wedding = number of guests x 1.5 x number of hours of serving.

Cheers!

Photography by Farrow Photography

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Dealing with difficult wedding guests

by Hanami Dream | 17, May, 2019 | blog, tips

There will probably be some tough decisions to make with your guest list. Ultimately, it all boils down to who you want in the room with you and how well do you want to know the people that are there.

After the guest list headaches, chasing RSVPs and endlessly revising the seating plan, there may be some issues to consider so you can avoid any dramas with tricky wedding attendees.

Here are my top 6 tips for dealing with difficult wedding guests.

1. Think about your guest list from the start. Be specific on the invitation to avoid unexpected plus ones. Have a plan if an unexpected guest arrives.

2. Brief your attendants. Perhaps give them on stand by with a secret code word to intervene with difficult guests. Think about any guests that may need to be kept a part (or away from the free bar!)

3. Seat difficult guests near the back or side at the reception. Consider seating divorced couples apart. Think about having a sweetheart table if your parents are not able to sit together on a traditional top table.

4. Ensure guests are kept well fed (it helps soaks up alcohol) to avoid drunken antics. Happy guests are less likely to be tetchy or bored.

5. Ask for any dietary requirements in advance. Make sure there’s no surprises on the day.

6. Keep the children entertained to stave off boredom. Consider outside or an additional room for them to play.

Photography by Farrow Photography

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Wedding traditions: Toasting the happy couple

by Hanami Dream | 27, February, 2019 | blog, traditions

There are many traditions, rituals and customs that people uphold and perform in connection with weddings. Some of these have now lost their relevance in modern society and sometimes we are not even sure why we undertake them. However we continue to perform them for fun, family tradition and superstition, especially as many of them have derived from efforts to bestow the happy couple with good luck.

After the ceremony, one of big focal points of the wedding reception is the speeches and toasts. Here’s a quick guide to toasting the happy couple on their wedding day.

Why do we make toasts at weddings?

Traditionally toasts were a way of checking your drink wasn’t poisoned. This custom harks back to the Middle Ages to check that you hadn’t been poisoned by your enemy. A small bit of wine was poured into each other’s glass, clinked so that the wine splashed into the other person’s glass, and then tasted. This is also why often the toast is joined by the phrase ‘to your health’.

Some say that the clink sound was to keep evil spirits at bay. And back in Elizabethan times, an actual bit of spiced toast was put in drinks to flavour it and to soak up the dregs (with the person being honoured receiving the saturated piece of toast).

Nowadays, a toast is used to express and share feelings in words at a special event.

Photography by Farrow Photography

Who makes a toast at weddings?

Traditionally, there are a number of speeches with each ending in a toast. The first of these is a welcome toast performed by the host (often the father of the bride) who concludes his speech by toasting the bride and groom.

The second speech is often by the groom, who finishes by toasting the bridesmaids and attendants. The best man replies on behalf of all the attendants and ends with a final toast to the bride and groom.

Photography by Thomas Phillips

When do you make toasts at weddings?

Toasts generally follow after the speeches which brings the formal part of the wedding day to an end and is a signal for the informal part to begin.

What do you use to make toasts at weddings?

Traditionally a different drink is served for the speeches at a wedding. Guests have their glasses charged and ready to take a sip after each toast. This can be with champagne, sparkling wine or Prosecco. Alternatives for drinks to accompany the toasts could include a shot for each toast, a signature cocktail, sparkling elderflower or have your guests choose their own drink.

Photography by Squib Photography

How do you make toasts at weddings?

Originally a toast would be raising your cup as a drink offering to the god(s). This translates now with an arm outstretched with a glass in your hand and saying either: please be upstanding, please raise your glasses, or join me in toasting. Followed by a sentence for everyone else to repeat like ‘to the bride and groom’, ‘to the happy couple, ‘to your health’ or something else as equally poignant.

Cheers!

Photography by Farrow Photography

Whichever customs and traditions you decide to incorporate into your big day, Hanami Dream wish you health, wealth, happiness and all the very best in your married life.

Take a break from tradition with this handy guide to modern alternatives to personalise your wedding.

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Inspiration: bright contemporary museum wedding

by Hanami Dream | 18, February, 2019 | blog, inspiration

Modern museum wedding

For some absolute wedding goals, take at look at these images from a recent photo shoot at the Ashmolean Museum of Art & Archaeology in Oxford. The photos are picture perfect, with a modern and bright, walking work of art vibe to showcase this stand out classic wedding venue.

Ashmolean Museum wedding venue

This venue is a beautiful hidden gem of a wedding venue. From the outside you don’t know the expanse of options that are available inside The Ashmolean Museum. It provides a truly wonderful labyrinth of options to hold a wedding or special occasion. See my wedding venue review of the Ashmolean Museum.

Decadent décor

The Ashmolean Museum gives you maximum impact with minimal effort, as the backdrop of this venue needs no help in packing a punch – the wow factor is there for you already! This is a venue which is quiet, personal and intimate, yet very much on the grand scale.

There are many options and different ways you could use a combination of the galleries for all the elements of your wedding day. Each one has it’s own character, atmosphere and capacity that can be suited to your number of guests and requirements. This shoot has images taken in: the Grand Forecourt; Ceramics Gallery; Randolph Sculpture Gallery; Grand Staircase; and the European Art Gallery.

Contemporary bridal wear

This wedding photo shoot shows modern Charlie Brear outfits including a Carson Jumpsuit; separates in the form of a Luna top and skirt; plus a low V, effortlessly cool, boho Nyika Dress.

You’ll be a living statue and your own work of art on your wedding day at this venue.

Fun florals

The stunning flowers in the bouquet, crown and arm cuff made a real statement alongside the cool architecture and simple white outfits with: Red Snaps, Astilbe Gloria, Avignon Blooms, Red Euphorbia, Brown Lisianthus, Protea, Cafe Mocca Rose, Hot Pink Lace Rose, Parvifolia, Red Robin, Mimosa and Long Ruscus.

The bright and colourful florals made this the Ashmolean and their amazing technicolour dream wedding venue.

images credits:

As featured in OX Weddings Winter 2019 edition | http://oxweddings.co.uk/the-magazine/

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“You have such sound advice and always willing to share and guide”

by Hanami Dream | 15, February, 2019 | testimonials

“Thank you from the Bride’s mother too!

You have such sound advice and always willing to share and guide.

Wishing you continued success for 2019 because it is MUCH deserved. “

Mother of the Bride – February 2019

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Top tips for a gin filled wedding

by Hanami Dream | 8, February, 2019 | blog, guest post, tips

Gin filled wedding

The gin renaissance is still going strong and continues to be the on trend drink of the moment with flavoured gins being on the rise.

Here are some ways to include the nation’s favourite drink in to your wedding day courtesy of Liz Beswick, Co Founder of Collagin. She married on World Gin Day in June 2017 and had her business partner Cam Brown running the Collagin bar on the day. This, paired with insider tips and feedback from other brides she has helped, means Liz knows a lot about making a wedding a gin filled event!

Whether you are looking for ‘ginspired’ wedding décor, table pieces, wedding favours or a stand out bar, Liz shares her top tips from her personal and business experience below.

Make it personal

Everyone loves the personal touch at weddings and this is often what people remember about the big day. Put gins on the tables or behind the bar or even as wedding favours that you know your guests love. For example, place a mini bottle of Salcombe gin for Jack on table 9 to remind him of his childhood holidays but put a Cotswolds Gin for Julie on table 4 to remind her of THAT drunken hen do. The guests will be so touched by your gesture and the effort gone into knowing and thinking about your guests.

If you don’t have budget for personalised wedding favours, place gin bottles behind the bar with note tags on them explaining why you chose the gin. Or even better, create cocktail lists based on names of your guests or on your favourite places or memories as the bride and groom.

Use gins that compliment your colour scheme

Do you have an obvious colour scheme? If so, let the gin add to it! Bridesmaids in pink? Then only include pink gins at your wedding. Pretty pinks include Pinkster Gin, Collagin Rose or Malfy Rosa. Violet flowers? Make the centre pieces even more spectacular by including violet gins in the display. Good ones include Whitley Neill Parma Violet or Violetta. Continue your colour scheme through to the smallest touches and it will make a huge impact.

Make it unique

Everyone has seen all the major gin brands at weddings, so to get people talking, and to make your wedding décor or bar look different and to stand out, feature gins that people don’t see every day. This will grab attention and intrigue. Plus it will be very funny to get photos of Auntie Carol doing shots of Collagin with bridesmaid Beth after discovering the new tipple at your wedding. It might then become her favourite gin and will always remind her of your special day.

Make it different

Make the gin theme different – I am not talking about just the gin brands you use, but also how you display the gin bottles. Put fairy lights in empty bottles or use them as reed diffusers – get creative! Also, choose different tonic water brands to create a distinctive gin bar. We love Lixir tonic water as they are made by two lovely British lads. Again, the tonic water doesn’t need to be your everyday tonics so choose something unique or with a story.

Make it worth an Instagram post

Stack them into pyramids, decorate them with glitter, relabel them with your initials or wedding logo. Whatever you do to your gin, make them Instagrammable! If you are getting your invites designed, the same designer could create labels to stick on to gin bottles featuring your wedding design and initials or your wedding date and use them as table numbers.

Email the gin or tonic water brands about your big day

Collagin LOVE getting emails from brides. If they know you are using Collagin for décor or behind the bar at your big day, they will offer trade prices or save up their empty bottles and send them to you. Tonic waters might do the same (the smaller the brand the more likely they are to help or be less rigid with prices!) Just explain you are a bride to be and see if they can offer reduced prices for a larger order or in exchange for lots of pictures from your wedding album. There is no harm in trying! This also works for hen do orders.

Most importantly, make sure YOU the bride and groom get a drink. It is amazing how everyone assumes you are catered for but are often the last to get their food and drink at their own wedding. So, if you are looking to drink on the big day, ask your Maid of Honour to make sure you are saved a glass of your favourite G&T.

About Collagin

Young In Spirit is the world’s first alcoholic drinks company to combine spirits with collagen, with the first drink being Collagin – gin with added collagen. The people behind the idea are gin and beauty lovers and Oxford based ‘Gintrepreneurs’ Camilla Brown and Liz Beswick who recently snared two Dragons’ in the Den.

@collaginuk

@collagin

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Top Fall 2019 colours from Pantone® for autumn weddings

by Hanami Dream | 8, February, 2019 | blog, trends

Autumn 2019

I’m always excited to see the next Pantone® announcement for their predictions of colours that will dominate the scene for forthcoming seasons. So with the fashion weeks kicking off (this month is New York, London, Milan and then Paris) we start to think about this year’s autumnal months.

This week saw Pantone® showing their hand for the Fall/Winter colours to look out for later in 2019. And it’ll be great to see which colours will appear in autumn weddings this year.

There’s an array of rich vibrant earthy colours. Out of the 12 main colours, 8 of them are from the red palette. There are 3 orange colours and 5 reddy/browns, with some of the peach colours paying a slight nod to Living Coral, the colour of the year. What is great is that a juicy green has made it alongside the neutral and core basic colours too.

Seventies festival vibe

Perhaps to match the festival and eco friendly vibe on trend at the moment, there is a plethora of reds, oranges and browns that dominate the Fall 2019 colours.

There’s a real sense of being grounded and at one with the world. With the feeling of the warmth coming from Chili Pepper, Biking Red, Peach Pink, Rocky Road, Fruit Dove, Sugar Almond, Dark Cheddar and Orange Tiger.

For me, it’s like someone has opened a door on the décor of my childhood house with memories of all the orange and brown on wallpaper.

Mouth watering food

There are lots of culinary references in the colour names that make my mouth water just thinking about them. Perhaps this in light of the importance that we are being made more aware of nowadays to cook fresh and sustainable food.

There are strong flavours in these colours that pack a punch both to taste and also visually. This plays on the trend to appeal to all 5 senses at a wedding or any event. Such as Chili Pepper, Crème de Pêche, Peach Pink, Rocky Road, Fruit Dove, Sugar Almond, Dark Cheddar (plus Vanilla Custard and Guacamole from the neutrals).

This evokes amazing memories of seeing guacamole being prepared by the side of our table in Mexico – the fresh, spicy and warming flavours produced by one small dish of food.

Succulent foliage

Alongside these earthy colours are greens conjuring up an amazing garden image with the forest green of Eden. Plus the bluey green of Bluestone makes me think of amazing succulent plants accenting and dotted about on the dry earthy ground.

The blues will certainly make good transition colours to next spring too.

Fall 2019 colours

The top colours for Fall 2019 are:

PANTONE 19-1557 Chili Pepper
PANTONE 19-1650 Biking Red
PANTONE 12-1110 Crème de Pêche
PANTONE 15-1530 Peach Pink
PANTONE 19-1234 Rocky Road
PANTONE 17-1926 Fruit Dove
PANTONE 18-1155 Sugar Almond
PANTONE 15-1150 Dark Cheddar
PANTONE 19-4055 Galaxy Blue
PANTONE 18-4217 Bluestone
PANTONE 16-1358 Orange Tiger
PANTONE 19-6050 Eden

Fall 2019 extra colours from LFW

Plus a couple of additional colours (instead of the peach and orange colours) from London Fashion Week round off the colours for Fall 2019:

PANTONE 16-0840 Antique Moss
PANTONE 18-3211 Grapeade

Neutral basics

Pantone® have also created a Fall 2019 Classic Colour Palette. These are a group of neutrals that are core basics in the form of cream, navy, grey and the addition of a green.

The bonus classic neutral colours for Fall 2019 are:

PANTONE 12-0815 Vanilla Custard
PANTONE 19-3815 Evening Blue
PANTONE 16-0000 Paloma
PANTONE 17-0530 Guacamole

Colour themes

It’ll be great to see how couples incorporate these colours in to their weddings later this year.

Pantone® is the world-renowned authority on colour and the Pantone® Color of the Year is always really influential in any popular colour themes in fashion, interior design and weddings.

See some of my trend predictions for weddings in 2019.

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“We can’t thank you enough for…rebooting our message and giving our brand a fresh boost!”

by Hanami Dream | 7, February, 2019 | testimonials

“We can’t thank you enough for not only keeping the presence up during a period of transition from our side but also rebooting our message and giving our brand a fresh boost!

We are so glad we got Hanami Dream to kick start our social media campaign, it has been a very worthwhile few months.

We will of course be in touch should we need any additional social media support and look forward to working with you again.”

Katie, Oxleaze Barn – January 2019

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Join me for my next Cotswold wedding styled photo shoot

by Hanami Dream | 4, February, 2019 | news, styled shoots

Following the success of the recent Secret Garden and Journey to the Centre of the Earth bridal styled shoots, Hanami Dream are proud to announce their next styled shoot for spring time this year.

The shoot is planned for this spring in the Oxfordshire countryside of the Cotswolds and I’m excited to offer the opportunity for local suppliers to join with me. So let me know if you’d like to provide products to bring my creative ideas to life in a wonderful new inspirational shoot.

The beauty of styled shoots (versus a real life wedding) is that this is your opportunity to be a little more extravagant and really show off what you’ve always wanted to do. You can indulge your fantasies. Maybe you’ve got a new product that couples won’t have seen yet or you want to create something really unusual that you wouldn’t normally do.

Styled shoots are 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.

Everyone works pro bono, so it is just your products that you’d need to provide to be involved. Nicola from Hanami Dream organises and styles the shoots. And the rewards are amazing with great imagery of your products in an amazing lifestyle surrounding, plus inclusion in all my promotion of the shoot and a feature on Hanami Dream’s blog, which is a UK Blog Awards winner in 2018 and wedding judge of the UK Blog Awards 2019. So there’d be plenty of exposure of your beautiful products.

Hanami Dream styled shoots have been published in Bride Magazine; Your Glos & Wilts Wedding magazine; Your Berks, Buck and Oxon Wedding magazine; SoGlos Weddings.

My shoots bring together wonderful local suppliers. Together we showcase the amazing talent that our part of the UK has to offer the wedding industry and all benefit from the lifestyle imagery and promotion.

If you’re local and are interested in showcasing your products in my next shoot then please email Nicola from Hanami Dream and outline what your product is and how you think it would fit in and enhance the theme. I’ve put together a mood board I can share if you want to get an idea of the kind of things that I’m after.

I am looking for some of the following (although this list isn’t exhaustive – if you can offer something I’ve not thought of I’d love to hear from you too):

Accessories (jewellery, bridal hat, shoes)
Bridalwear (separates with one part black – maybe dip dyed)
Cake (dark/black icing with fresh flowers)
Celebrant (and clothing)
Décor (dark, reflective and metallic)
Favours
Florist (wild flowers, dried flowers and grasses)
Hair & Make Up
Lighting (neon)
Suit (and dark floral tie)
Stationery (mirrors and bright florals)
Tableware (unusual crockery, cutlery, coloured glassware)

I’ll only be including one supplier from each category (ie only one florist will be used for the whole shoot) to provide clarity and clear communication.

You can see from my previous shoots that I really like close up detail shots which show off everyone’s products very nicely – it is all about the little details that bring any event to life.

I look forward to sharing more news as plans unfold for this collaboration.

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Inspiration: coral and gold festival wedding

by Hanami Dream | 17, January, 2019 | blog, inspiration

A laid back celebration in August 2016 saw the relaxed festival wedding of Verity and Paul at The Isis Farmhouse in Oxford.

: Photography by Kitson Photography

: Photography by Kitson Photography

: Photography by Kitson Photography

Relaxed and laid back vibe

This wedding was a real break from tradition with loads of beautiful handmade touches and a ton of personalisation. It fully embraced the festival trend and utilised the truly creative skills of the bride to diy many elements of the day. It seems like the perfect time to share this casual wedding – not only is the theme bang on trend but it also features the summery coral colour that is the Pantone® colour of the year in 2019.

Above everything else, this was a true celebration of love and family. It was a chilled out day with friends, less about structure and more an informal and fluid affair. Not overtly lavish but heaps of fun. With the focus on the people who were there.

Rural remote meadow view

The festivities began in the centre of Oxford where the happy couple officially tied the knot at a ceremony at the Town Hall. This was a day of two halves though. From town to countryside. After the ceremony, the whole wedding party walked together through the city centre. Then had a lovely drinks reception whilst on a boat ride down the Thames to the Isis Farmhouse. A stunning rural setting in Oxford’s flood meadows alongside the river was perfect for the wedding reception. You can only reach this venue by foot, pedal power or by boat. Around the back of the Farmhouse is a covered barn and a meadowside garden which was great for this relaxed celebration.

Rustic festival décor

The barn was set up with long trestle tables laid out in two lines. Along the centre of each table was linen, which draped off each end, with an array of brightly patterned mismatched vases containing wild flowers. The displays were mirrored by the flowers and plants hanging in macramé holders (made or collected by the bride) above the tables. These flowers were provided by a lovely friend who grows cut flowers in her garden and were arranged by the bride.

The bride made the place names which were cut out gold glittery lettering, plus a nice ice breaker card containing things to spot and capture was placed on each table. In addition, the bride had designed the napkins herself which contained drawings of important places and things throughout the couple’s history together.

Gold accents

The bride wore a gorgeous end of line strapless fitted fishtail satin dress with a chiffon capelet with bat sleeves. She accented this with Betty Ballroom gold high heel shoes, a gold hair vine and gold belt. Her hand tied wild flower bouquet in coral and gold colours was from an amazing flower farm near Wallingford who arranged the bridal and bridesmaids’ bouquets. She also held a vintage beaded ivory clutch bag. The chief bridesmaid wore a gold sequined dress to match the gold accents beautifully and the flower girls wore ivory dresses with gold bodices and ribbons (also made by the bride).

Creative catering

Food was served at the tables and consisted of a hearty lasagne or moussaka with healthy salads, plus a rustic buffet for the evening guests. The venue catered perfectly for vegetarian and vegan diets to ensure all guests were content. The two cakes (one lemon and the other chocolate) were also made by the venue and incorporated fantasy and action figures in lieu of a bride and groom topper (that the couple decorated themselves).

Entertainment for children of all sizes

The main focus of the day was to encourage guests to mingle and keep children (big and small) entertained with colouring, wands and a bubble refill station. There were postcards for guests to sign which would be sent to the couple and polaroids were taken of all the guests for a pictorial guest book. The day ended with guests dancing along to crowd pleasing classics on the dance floor.

Practical favours

The gifts for guests echoed the vibe of the whole day. They were handmade, low key and had purpose. Guests could pick which soap to take home, with a choice of either lavender or rose and geranium. These were boxed, branded and served in a vintage case. Plus there were some seeds to take away too, in order to sow in your own garden, share the love and remember this charming day in years to come.