We are still here!

2014 has been so busy for us that blogging has been left behind. However, we have some amazing new venues for 2015 so keep watching this space.

In the meantime, here are some photos to whet your appetite .....

And the wonderful image below is from a renewal of vows that we organised in August!

Words - two extremes?

Lately, I have been looking for words again as some of my brides have requested help with finding readings. To be honest finding something that hasn't been seen before is not likely. There are the tried and tested and then there are the "new" ones that are currently doing the rounds.
However I went to a wedding last Saturday - as a guest - and saw in the order of service the title A Lovely Love Story. I thought i knew what it would be having seen that title before but it was new to me. I have to say the lady who read it deserved a huge WELL DONE. Try reading it aloud and you will see what I mean.

A Lovely Love Story

The fierce Dinosaur was trapped inside his cage of ice.

Although it was cold he was happy in there. It was, after all, his cage.

Then along came the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

The Lovely Other Dinosaur melted the Dinosaur’s cage with kind words and loving thoughts.

I like this Dinosaur thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

Although he is fierce he is also tender and he is funny.

He is also quite clever though I will not tell him this for now.

I like this Lovely Other Dinosaur, thought the Dinosaur.

She is beautiful and she is different and she smells so nice.

She is also a free spirit which is a quality I much admire in a dinosaur.

But he can be so distant and so peculiar at times, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

He is also overly fond of things.

Are all Dinosaurs so overly fond of things?

But her mind skips from here to there so quickly thought the Dinosaur.

She is also uncommonly keen on shopping.

Are all Lovely Other Dinosaurs so uncommonly keen on shopping?

I will forgive his peculiarity and his concern for things, thought the Lovely Other Dinosaur.

For they are part of what makes him a richly charactered individual.

I will forgive her skipping mind and her fondness for shopping, thought the Dinosaur.

For she fills our life with beautiful thoughts and wonderful surprises. Besides,

I am not unkeen on shopping either.

Now the Dinosaur and the Lovely Other Dinosaur are old.

Look at them.

Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.

And that, my friends, is how it is with love.

Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together.

For the sun is warm.

And the world is a beautiful place

And then, by chance I came across this beautiful lullaby. The words are so beautiful and I don't think they would be out of place at a wedding. And there is a book with illustrations by Nikki McClure - see it here . If you'd like to listen to it, it's by Cub Country and from their home page choose Stretch That Skull Cover and Smile and it's track 12 (links don't work beyond their home page, sorry)

May the stars drip down in light on you 

And you close your eyes to see the moon 

And sleep will pull you through 

May the starlight find you 

Dreams of sand out in some desert wide 

That will blow all day into the night 

And there will come a new dune 

May the sand wash over you 

Somewhere out in the old ocean tide 

Where the seaweed and the starfish hide 

You'll float away on waves of blue 

May there always be a moon 

Then the morning light comes gently in 

And you wake to sunshine and the wind 

Whose whispers will be true 

May I always have you

credits

Jeremy Chatelain

Dresses, flowers and words

I came across these dresses last week which are very simple but quite classic and most certainly won't break the bank. 

Open back dress. £99 from Uterque

Long ruffle dress. £125.00 from Uterqüe

White floral guipure dress. £79 also from Uterqüe

Liked the idea of these flowers to go with them.

 And finally, some lovely vows

The average cost of a wedding

I have been reading lately about the average cost of a wedding. I'm not sure these figures mean very much at all - except to scare people who are thinking about getting married.

I have looked through some American websites where very brave couples allow their budgets to be published along with the photos of their day. When you look closely, the figures rarely agree with the final total quoted, nearly everyone has the words about, give or take in the calculations somewhere.

It was also interesting to see how the "average" numbers from the UK and the US compared. The UK numbers come from the Brides App and the US ones come from a website Cost of Wedding

                                                                                     UK                USA         

TOTAL                                                                     £19,871          $25,292

UK equivalent (Thomas Cook tourist rate)                                         £15,347

It's interesting to see that the UK figures don't include a Planner, Invitations or Gifts & Favours. 

Also interesting is that the US figures carry a note with them saying:- 

"The average wedding cost in the United States is $25,200. 

Couples typically spend between $18,900 and $31,500 but most couples spend less than $10,000."

The surprise when the exchange rate is calculated is that contrary to the "conceived wisdom" US weddings cost less than UK and even less if you believe that most couples spend less than $10,000 - that's £6,068 which makes us look extremely extravagant!

Is it worth it? Only the individuals concerned can say. I was privy to a conversation on Sunday where a couple were saying they wanted different things. She wanted  her "day" with the dress, flowers, bridesmaids etc and he just wanted to get married without any fuss. Hopefully, they will find a compromise - or maybe they will just continue to share their lives.

 

Flowers and ribbons

I trust you all had a very Happy Easter. Did you hunt eggs, take a leisurely stroll, run a marathon or have an amazing family weekend which is what I did. It seems very quiet and VERY still here today which after 5 grandchildren is quite a change!

And now it's back to work  .....  Every now and then a new wedding trend appears and sometimes it provokes a "Hmmm and a squiggle of the nose" and sometimes it is just a complete hit and I instantly love it. I perhaps should say here, that if I didn't do what I do and was able to run a little shop, it would be a ribbon and button shop. I can loose myself in a haberdashery department for hours (especially if it is as beautiful as the one in Liberty's!)  So when I saw the ribbon trend, I was hooked from the start. What I really love about the way ribbons are appearing right now is that they are big, blowing, billowing and long. Almost a first thought rather than a last. Take a look at some of my favourites.

There are some good lessons to learnt from these images (which are from Pinterest) - see how amazingly well the turquoise blue shows up against any background, that ribbons that are too close in colour to your dress and/or the flowers don't have the same impact and contrasting ribbon colours work really well too.

Reminder ...... Special Offer with Canadian Sky

Don't forget that we posted a special offer on April 10. For couples booking the Little Log Cabin or a Gazebo ceremony will get a pair of tickets for the Sunset Cocktail Cruise on board the new Hornblower Cruise at Niagara Falls whilst for those wanting to book a ceremony on board the Sunset Cruise during these dates, we are offering a bottle of sparkling wine from the local Konzelmann vineyard.

Special Offer with Canadian Sky

We have a special offer available for weddings booked through Canadian Sky during the week commencing May 19th 2014 and also during week commencing August 11th 2014.

Couples booking the Little Log Cabin or a Gazebo ceremony will get a pair of tickets for the Sunset Cocktail Cruise on board the new Hornblower Cruise at Niagara Falls whilst for those wanting to book a ceremony on board the Sunset Cruise during these dates, we are offering a bottle of sparkling wine from the local Konzelmann vineyard.

A summer wedding at The Little Log Cabin

The Gazebo, Queen's Park, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Niagara Falls at dusk