2013

Our best wishes for 2013.
May it bring peace, health and happiness for all. 

It's Christmas!!!

Where has 2012 gone? Christmas is almost here so can we wish everyone reading a very Merry Christmas. Hope you all have a fab day.

A lovely website called "verynicethings"

There are such cute things on this website www.verynicethings.co.uk that I thought I'd share it with you. BUT can I say here and now - they don't sponsor me, they don't pay me and they have no influence over me whatsoever.

I recently bought one of their prints for my new granddaughter. It was personalised with her name and birthdate so had to be especially ordered. They were very good at keeping me up to date with its progress and it arrived safely package when I was expecting it.

So ... good service deserves recognition and I have gone through the site and picked out some things that may be of use to go on a wedding present list, as a gift for a bridesmaid, as favours or maybe to use to decorate a reception venue.

A lovely wedding gift

Do your friends have a sense of ... humour, justice? A rather nice kitchen plaque

A really cute gift for a flower girl

A decor theme?

Gifts or decor or both

An outdoor tea light holder for decoration

Wrap these covers around jam jars to make pretty illuminations

These are origami wish boats. Give as a favour for guests to take home and fold then make their wishes for  the happy couple or themselves.

Because life gets back to routine eventually - a bright apron for doing the chores!

Take a look at the full site and leave me some feedback. I have a couple of other sites to share in the coming weeks if you like the idea of a "feature site"

The National Wedding Show 2

The end of last week and the weekend were busy for us as we were exhibiting at the National Wedding Show. Putting a stand together is not an easy task - never too sure how much/little to display. In the end we went for simple - mostly wedding images with a few scenic posters showing some of the Ontario landscape.

We were lucky enough to meet some super visitors to the show and also to get some AMAZING enquiries covering venues as far apart as Toronto (VERY urban, edgy and up-to-the-minute) and Kenora (up in the NorthWest of Ontario, VERY rural, laid-back and really only accessible by prop or float plane). So quite diverse - we should have some fun doing all the research and scheduling.

These two locations will give you an idea of the scale of Ontario.

From Toronto to Kenora is 825 miles in a straight line 

but to drive it's between 948 and 1031 miles 

Fall 2013 seemed to be the most favoured time for weddings next year and I must admit, I love that time of year in Canada and the leaf colours make a stunning backdrop and even in the City, they add something.

These are a selection of my favourite Fall wedding images taken by some of our photography partners.

Change to UK Wedding Law

As from this month, the law in this country which dated back to 1836 regarding the time of day during which English and Welsh weddings must take place, has changed (Scotland has always been different).  It is now possible to get married at any time - in theory. However ... local authorities and religious groups will not be forced to conduct marriages outside the traditional hours of 8.00am to 6.00pm. In reality very few weddings happen at 8.00am or after 4.00pm but if you wanted a sunrise or sunset ceremony, you would have to find a venue that was happy with the idea (which I don't think will be that difficult as generally speaking, receptions last into the night anyway) BUT the registrar to conduct the ceremony has to be as flexible. I've just looked at a local council website and their registrars work from 8.00am to 6.00pm on Monday to Friday and 9.00am to 4.00pm on Saturday. The issue is going to be that whilst the Government have taken notice of public opinion and made this change, they are not going to allow any extra funding for Registrars to work extra or unsocial hours. It is also something that local authorities and churches will not be forced to comply with.  So yes, you are allowed to but the practicality may mean that you aren't able to.

National Wedding Show

The National Wedding Show at Earls Court is the place to be this weekend. I am going tomorrow to set up our stand, D29, and the show is open on Friday; 12pm-7pm, Saturday; 10am-6pm and Sunday; 10am-5pm

Last year, we had a really successful show and our stand was very busy. It doesn't look like it here as this was taken before the show opened, but believe me, it was. 

We're really looking forward to being there again and hopefully meeting up with some of you. I doubt I will get the chance to blog but you can follow me on Twitter @MaplePennie (I'm sure I will have chance to tweet a little) or you could take a look at my Pinterest boards - there's lots on there and not just weddings.

Have a great weekend, whatever you're doing.

For the Groom

With all the fuss and to-do over finding THE dress and thinking about what the Bridesmaids will (and won't wear), the Groom sometimes doesn't get a look in. Just a smart suit and a tie to go with colour scheme. Looking through the J Crew site this morning, I found some fab ideas to help the Groom stand out from the crowd.

Suits, smart casual tweed casual (which look really good with a bow tie) or a waistcoat & matching pants with rolled up sleeves - perfect for a garden or beach wedding.

And if you're looking for ties or socks ..... 

There's silk, tweed, flannel, cotton or chambray in a traditional shape

 or there's 

The Hill-side® chambray tie that comes in plum violet, indigo or black

or yet, a bow tie maybe, in tartan, flannel or silk

and socks in dots, stripes and clashing colours

If these don't take her fancy, maybe try the James Bond look!

and if all of this leaves you feeling WOW ... what the heck do I do,

  

Ask Jack - He knows best!

A Candy Themed Bridal Shower

I guess when your surname is Lauren, style comes as given, and when you own Dylan's Candy Bar, you don't need to think too hard about a theme. So, is this what you would expect from Ralph Lauren's daughter, Dylan?

The invitation

Welcome to the party!

A Lemon Drop cocktail?

Or ... a Bubble Gum cocktail?

* Candy shaped cards for guest messages

* and an over-sized vase to put them in

 * Caviar gems atop cracker rings

Savoury filled cones

Burgers!

And fries!

Who doesn't LOVE macaroni cheese?

* A chocolate disc with bride & groom on top of a cupcake

* Mini milkshakes served in shot glasses with pretty straws
and choc chip cookies

The shower cake - Dylan & Paul

Guests by the Candy Bar

* The Candy Bar from above

* Favours - Jelly Beans to take home

* Favours - Collect your own from the Candy Bar

* Another favour - candy necklaces, tucked into jewelry boxes.

The packaging makes it special

An elaborate bib necklace made from dragees is a candy
masterpiece too good to be eaten

* A crown-shaped form, covered with glittering hard candies,

A bouquet of sugar flowers  - don't you just love it?

If you notice the images where the caption has a * at the front, I don't think they would need to be done professionally, although you'd need to be quite 'crafty' . The other thing that really hit me what how effective the candy bar looked with shades of a colour. I'll look through my craft sites and see if I can find the basics and do another post with the links.

This shower was featured under Planning & Tools on the Martha Stewart website.