This is Dillington House in the heart of Somerset countryside. It was the venue for my wedding a few years ago and it was incredible. Situated at the end of a long drive through sprawling grounds, the stately home itself was an ideal location for our vintage theme. It’s a beautiful setting with historic charm and you can hire the whole house, so guests can stay the night as well.

See more at www.dillingtonhouse.co.uk

We love bunting here at SlaterSparke. It’s such a simple little decoration that can be hung up at a wedding, birthday, party or simply at home, to give that sweet old fashioned English country garden look. Makes me think of quaint church fayres and village fetes. I found some beautiful ‘Happy Birthday’ bunting for my son’s first birthday recently and, it looked so pretty in our dining room, I really didn’t want to take it down afterwards! The bunting featured in the photo above is from Printed Wonders and there are loads of beautiful retro fabrics on eBay, so you could even make your own.

Accessories are usually one of the last things we buy for our wedding day, and I’d say it’s as important as the dress. It’s a statement piece and we must get it right. This stunning ‘Zara’ headband from Alan Hannah would suit hair up or down and could be just what you’re looking for. It’s available in white, ivory and pale pink, and has a hint of vintage style to top it off. Beautiful!

]]> http://www.slatersparke.com/blog/wedding/beautiful-fatima-from-cymbelin/feed/ 0 http://www.slatersparke.com/blog/slatersparke-news/baby-birthday-cards-coming-soon-to-slatersparke/ http://www.slatersparke.com/blog/slatersparke-news/baby-birthday-cards-coming-soon-to-slatersparke/#comments Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:51:09 +0000 Hayley http://www.slatersparke.com/blog/?p=844

Here’s a sneak preview of several brand new card designs we’ve produced exclusively for a local baby clothing and toy store, but soon they’ll be available to buy here. With a unique Scandinavian natural woodland theme, each card is created with either boys or girls in mind, but there will be designs which also suit new parents where the gender isn’t known. So with a mix of earthy browns, lush greens, colourful toadstools, ladybirds and other cute details, we hope you’ll find the perfect design to congratulate any lucky new born in your life.

These new baby cards will be on sale later in November, but if you simply can’t wait then email hayley@slatersparke.com. Or if you live in Bristol then visit Gentle Baby Things on North Street!

Here’s a great idea for place settings for your wedding breakfast tables – crisp green apples with name tags tied to the stalks. Granny Smiths are probably the best bet for a brightest green and look lovely if you’re going for a white rustic or contemporary theme. Green is a natural striking colour which contrasts well with white and I must say, every time I browse the net and see a table with green & white, I instantly take a look. It’s particularly summery but could work for any season. I’ve seen this idea a few times before in the past, but cropped up recently on the tragic-but-entertaining ‘Don’t Tell The Bride’ on BBC3. I hate to admit it but on this occasion the hapless groom actually managed to create something quite tasteful! The image above was featured on Delightfully Engaged but you’ll find other examples on other sites and you can easily take this idea and make it your own.

After watching the Great British Bake off last night I
just couldn’t resist advertising these wonderful, tasty little delights. My mum
used to make them all the time, filled with either butter cream or ganache,
pink, purple or blue, either way they are delicious and a stylish touch to your
wedding. You could even pack them up as wedding favours or cake tower, it’s
endless!

Photo by www.pinkloveschocolate.com

A fingerprint tree is simply a picture of a tree where your guests can each leave their mark on your wedding. You can download tree images from various sites, but we found this one above from www.styleunreveiled.com. Its a fab way to remember all your guests in years to come. Choose colours you’ll be happy having on your wall at home, as it’s great to frame, display and treasure forever!

I personally can’t understand it, but some people would choose cheese over cake any day, which is why the idea of this cheese tiered wedding cake is so great and it can double up as supper for your evening reception, along with your crackers and pickles. You could of course have a cake as well, but most people would opt for either one or the other. It’s just a cheese cake after all!

Photo by www.world360photo.com

The 50s style wedding is becoming more and more popular. I’ve been to a couple of weddings where I’ve been completely inspired by the wonderful 50s theme. I simply had to post this silk chiffon dress I found, shown with French corded lace by Naomi Neoh, isn’t it beautiful!

www.naomineoh.com

These fantastic drawstring bags will fit into your vintage wedding a treat! I personally find organza bags a bit predictable, so by using other options like this,  you’ll avoid that cliché. Shop around online and you can pick these up for a reasonable price and they can be filled with, quite frankly, anything you like.

You can purchase these from www.dottydreams.co.uk

I am very proud to announce another SlaterSparke design launched this week, ’Beautiful Day’. As you can see the style is very vintage due to not only the lace but the pearl embellishment in the centre, this jaw-dropping card should get your guests talking. The SlaterSparke team think this will be one of our most popular designs.

A little SlaterSparke secret which I’ll share with you – all our designs are named after a famous song.  So, if you can think of a song we haven’t already chosen that would suit our wedding stationery then please let us know.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Hx

I am very proud to annouce one of SlaterSparke’s new designs…I bring you ’Joy’!

‘Joy’ is made up of our favourite vintage style lace, satin ribbon and a fabulous large brooch – just stunning! It was a bespoke card I put together for one of our brides, which we were so pleased with, we had to launch it as soon as possible. Gill very kindly sent us some photos of ‘Joy’ in all its glory on her wedding day. Photography by Susan Renee.

I love these vintage style fruit crates, a really nice touch for your vintage themed wedding. This photo was taken at a friends wedding so her parents had them for years, however I picked one up for £12 from a local reclamation yard, unfortunately this was after our wedding so I turned it into a toy box for my little one. What I problably would of done is filled it with herbs, used it to store my favours and confetti cones or simply for stacking, either way, they look great!

Watch this space!

www.slatersparke.com

I always like to blog about local companies so when I found Bristol Vintage I just had to broadcast it. It has everything you need from crockery, bunting, jugs of wild flowers and even wind-up gramophones to make your day a day to remember. They cover the whole of the south west co-founded by Ali Cook & Katie Daniels.  Between them they have over 10 years experience organising boutique events, weddings, parties and film premieres.  A really beautiful website and look out for SlaterSparke Ltd on their blog!

www.bristolvintage.co.uk

…to your napkins or menus to double up as a favour, it looks really colourful and quite an exciting thing to receive. Let’s face it, most of us haven’t had a candy necklace for years, bring back the child in you and fling them at each other just like old times.

Photo by www.lisafellows.com

I am so pleased to announce that we are now selling our wedding stationery in Cardiac, Bristol. For those local folk, please pop along and take a look. They’ve chosen to sell our ‘Elegance’ card and a new design which will be available this week, we’ve called ‘Glorious’ so don’t forget to come back to my blog and take a look before it’s available to buy, it’s going to be a favorite amongst you lovely brides!

Unfortunately we don’t offer table plans at the moment, however we can make the cards for you to create your own. Using an old suitcase and some vintage style lace it’s easy. Not only does it look effective it’s different and in keeping with the vintage touch! You could pick up an old suit case from a charity or junk shop or to make it a bit more sentimental ask a relative if they have one hidden away in their loft.

Photo from www.corsetsandcanapes.com

What a great, effective idea, this pink rainbow cake looks fab and of course totally delicious. You would never know until you cut the first slice that there is something a bit special inside. You can find the recipe on www.call-me-cupcake.blogspot.com. Some yummy extra layers for the cake lovers like myself, nom, nom!