DIY Wedding favours/name tags

I Love these and they are so simple to make and at very little cost, they double up as great favours too!
You will need: small luggage tags (always make a few more than you need to), Ribbon or string for tying, a small plate, some tea bags & kitchen roll.

Step 1, Place a couple of tea bags onto your plate and add hot water,
carefully squeeze them with the back of a spoon
 so all the tea stain comes out.



Step 2, Put as many tags in as you can and make sure they are well covered, put the tea bags on top of them and leave for about ten minutes. (You will need to do this in batches). After ten minutes, remove the tags and place on the kitchen towel to dry, place another layer of kitchen towel over them and press down to remove excess moisture.

Step 3, Leave the tags to dry in a warm place over night, if the have curled slightly they may just need putting in a heavy book once dry, although I've never needed to. Once dry, in a pen of your choice, (I like Berol Italic in medium from smiths) carefully write out the names taking care not to smudge the ink. Once the ink is dry, if your not using the string that is already on the tags, snip off string, cut a length of ribbon at least 4", fold in half and with the loop end, thread through till you have a small loop just poking through, then tuck both the ends into this and pull.

Step 4, Collect your flowers into small bundles, I like to use lavender as this can be used dry, even when cut fresh it will stay looking good. You could use other dried flowers, or if making them on the day of your event you could use fresh. I also like to use herbs as they can also be made in advance & smell lovely, this teams up nicely with very small centre pieces of lavender with rosemary and sage. Herbs can be pretty when in flower. ooops look at that... I've been off on a tangent of flowers... where was I?... Oh yes, Tie your tags onto the little bunches of flowers, I forgot to say, if your just using the string provided you could also wrap lace around too for a pretty vintage touch.

P.S If you love this idea but want a short cut, hop over to my facebook page and there is an etsy link there to buy the tags ready made.

Thank you.

Vintage wedding. All in this together!

I am a control freak! and a perfectionist! and possibly a little bit hard to live with at times.... Now throw in a wedding day, my wedding day and if you know me well you may just want to run a mile, thankfully & lucky for me I Have the most lovely & supportive friends and family. I will never forget how at the very last minute, when I was still insisting I didn't need any help...(the day before) they all blissfully ignored me and helped me & my hubby have the best wedding ever. My mother in law offered to make my cake... most brides would of been thrilled, I wanted to make mine myself without any help! My mum wanted to help lay my beautiful china.... you must be kidding, I know what cup looks best with what tea plate. My friend/florist wanted to do the flowers in the hall.... erm I thought I'd do those too. If I could of taken my own photo's I would of. looking back I was an absolute nightmare before my wedding although not until the last week, I had kept my bridezilla under wraps well. I cracked the week before under pressure of doing everything myself as I had insisted. I was sewing bunting till midnight, making cakes 3 days running, making orders of service, tying lace around anything that stood in my way, even the dog got it. Then 2 days before W day my second tier of my cake melted... yes melted, then came my melt down, I rang my friend wailing... (I'm very lucky to have a lovely lady who makes beautiful cakes as a friendwww.Lisasicedgems.co.uk)   Bring it round she insisted, I'll re-ice it now, so at 7.30pm I went walking down the road with my cake hiding under a Cath Kidston tea towel, and a big frown on my face. as soon as I walked in the relief washed over me and I realised I'd been really foolish to not let anyone help. After this I quietly admitted defeat... actually I didn't have to admit anything, one by one our friends & family tactfully took on the little jobs to pull our vintage wedding together, Lisa re-iced my cake for me, my future brother in law ended up doing the flower decorations around the hall, my mother & sister in law did all the table decorations, my sister helped hold me together and my maid of Honor went above and beyond, I even had our best man making the favours out of lavender. Our friends did our bar, another friend lent us bunting. It really is overwhelming when I think of how everyone pulled together for us. Everything went beautifully and if I could give one bit of advice it would be this... trust in your friends and family, they know you, they love you, they will always do what is right by you, relax and enjoy the build up to your day & most of all delegate!!

Pretty as a picture

DIY Special... simple table decorations

I did these simple decorations for my wedding and they looked lovely and are a good way to fill every nook and cranny and are fab to use on tables as they do not take up too much room and you can still see over the top of them. They are so easy to make so get all your maids, the mums and I even had the best man making these fab little jars that can also double up as favours. Step 1.

Collect all jam jars ect the best ones are spice jars, I had everyone collecting them and they soon add up. Step 2.

Add pretty lace or ribbon to jars or both, Tip... look out for a fabric/wool/craft shops, they often sell bundles of off cut lace and ribbon alot cheaper than buying online or on the roll. Step 3.

Raid everyones garden! I raided mine and my sisters, however we planned for this a year in advance. The year previous we looked at what was out in the garden already so we knew what we'd have to use, then I bought seeds or plants of anything extra I wanted that I knew would be in flower the time I was getting married. Don't fret if you dont have a garden as there are companies that specialise in cut your own. A good idea is to raid the hedgerows, this is especialy good when creating an autuminal theme as you can forage for some beautiful things. Step 4.

Arange your flowers in the jars. I also used the larger jars as tea light holders and they looked so pretty in the evening! Happy DIYing. Watch out for more diy tips for planning your wedding by Chintz 'n' China.

Throwing a bridal shower.

Bridal showers, originally from America are becoming increasingly popular in the UK. If your a M.O.B, C.B or M.O.H then read on, we're here to help you throw the best bridal shower ever. If she's a crafty bride why not treat her to one of our wedding DIY Tea Parties . They include a Full Afternoon Tea and there are some lovely ones to choose from. We have Cup Cake classes with Lisa of Lisa iced gems. Button hole & Bouquets by Christine, with flowers from the garden, or Make your own cake stand, by myself (limited numbers apply ). However if your bride would just like to sit back and relax a little we can host a beautiful Tea Party on vintage China and leave you to chat about the big day while we serve out more cake. Craft packages from £30.00pp Afternoon Tea Parties from £7.50pp (minimum & maximum numbers apply) Hosted either at yours or in our shabby chic conservatory. Please also see us on http://www.mrandmrsfunique.co.uk where we have been awarded their seal of approval.

Vintage Tea Parties. Hire or buy debate.

Hire or buy? Well obviously im going to say hire, & hire from us, but let me tell you why... Collecting vintage China for an event seems like a great idea, it is soo pretty and looks fantastic . Other brides have done it, how hard can it be?... 'answer....Very!' What starts off as a lovely DIY project can soon turn into a nightmare leaving you £s out of pocket . You really do not need the added stress of searching/buying the amount you need, in time for your big day. Being a vintage hire company I always have my magpie goggles on and over the past two years I have seen China prices rocket with the popular vintage trend. Don't get me wrong there are still bargains to be had but probably not many in the time scale that is your wedding. Expect to pay around £15.00 for a vintage cup, saucer & tea plate, now times that by your guest list...alot isn't it?! and that's before you get started on teapots, sugar bowls & tongs,milk jugs, cake stands.... the list is endless. At Chintz 'n' China our antique China is stunning and in perfect condition . We provide a free washing up service, will deliver and collect from your venue and for a small fee lay the China on your tables. For stress free planning we also offer a full venue decoration service with fresh flowers straight out of the cottage garden. Instead of paying that £15.00 for a trio the cost to hire would be £2.50 We specialize in tiered cake stands (which as i wright this humble little blog are being hired and used by the Russian Olympic team for the London Olympics) they look absolutely stunning for afternoon tea or to place your canapes on. Of course the real beauty of hiring China from us is that we will look after you and when your finished using it we will come and clear it and take it back to its home, ready for the next happy couple Packages start from £50.00 please see our website for further details.www.chintznchinavintagehire.co.uk

UGH... NOT THE SEATING PLAN....

Tips & advice on the seating plan.

Seating plans unfortunately are one of the things that can only be put together last minute, & I mean last minute...
I could not understand what all the fuss was about when organizing your wedding seating plan, after all these people are your nearest and dearest and all get along, right?
Unfortunately this is not the case for some people and I was no exception! With divorced parents, and an extended family beyond belief I had my work cut out.  You can try and have your seating plan done a month before, however realistically 2 weeks is probably best. Cutting it fine you say? You would not believe who and why for whatever reason might have to miss your big day last minute. Here are some tips to keep stress levels down & good luck! x

Chintz 'n' China

Tip 1 Scrap the head table, this was such a relief to everyone. We had round tables that seated 8 & the hubby & I did not fancy the other 6 being awkward parent moments, neither did the parents! Letting each parent host their own tables is a fab idea and it worked brilliantly, (plus if they really don't get on you can put a lot of space and friends between them). The parents really enjoyed hosting their tables, and we enjoyed a lovely relaxed Afternoon Tea on a table with our 2 best men + wives and maid of honor + partner. Smiley faces all round!

Tip 2 Although round tables do look nice, the trestle table is making a welcome come back! Think country church fete. Not only can they look really pretty, especially in a marque or quaint village hall, they put no end of would be seating problems to rest! There is none of this "what 8 people will work best together on this one table?" Instead you can really pile your friends & family round and it does not matter as it flows!

Tip 3 Works nice with tip 2. Instead of a formal top table, consider having a table for just you two! There is nothing like nestling in to your new hubby/wife and having tea for two. There is plenty of time to mingle with people all day! This is a nice moment where the two of you can reflect on the day so far.

Tip 4 Wright everyone's names on tags, draw up a sketch of your venue with tables, as large as you can and place your named tags onto your sketch. Its far easier than writing over & over again rough table plans. You can shuffle your guests around till your hearts content and it's perfect!






                                     

                                      Tip 5 I love this one! No Plan, 

Just invite your loved ones to pick a seat.