Monochrome is set to be an interesting trend for 2012.

Inspiration comes from Audery Hepburn in Funny Face, continuing our love of all things vintage…

Think Chanel couture, bold, brave and oh so elegant.

Both our Cherish range and our Brighton range are available in monochrome colour ways.

Cherish Wedding Invitations

Cherish will compliment a romantic theme beautifully, whilst Brighton is perfect if you’re looking for something modern and unique.

Brighton Wedding Invitations

Whichever’s your favourite, you can be sure a monochrome element will give a sharp and sophisticated look to your day.

Get the Look: Cherish Wedding Invitations and Brighton Wedding Invitations can be found online at www.ivyellen.com.

The 2011 Wedding Ideas Awards took place at the Brewery in London on January 14th and as revealed last month Ivy Ellen were shortlisted for the Best Wedding Stationery category!

Although we didn’t win we are thrilled to have come such a long way in so little time. We had a great day out meeting up with so many wonderful suppliers from across the wedding industry, and of course the ever glamourous Wedding Ideas team (Lucinda pictured with Lewis and Jeremy from Ivy Ellen below)!

photo courtesy of John Ryan - Weddings by Ryan

A full list of the winners can be found at www.weddingideasawards.com along with lots of images from the ceremony.

Thank you very much to everyone who took the time to vote for us. We’ll get it next year!

We are delighted to announce that Ivy Ellen have been nominated in the Best Wedding Stationery category at the 2011 Wedding Ideas Awards. The award nomination marks the end to a fantastic maiden year and we are thrilled to have been nominated, especially as the nominations are decided upon by the votes of brides & grooms from across the UK.

Also nominated in the Best Wedding Stationery category are The Hand Crafted Card company, Cards by Sophie, Lucy Ledger and Mandalay Wedding Invitations.

The ceremony, due to take place on January 14th 2011, will be held at The Brewery, London and sees the top wedding suppliers from around the UK pipped against each other across 16 categories. For details on the event itself visit www.weddingideasmag.com

The Categories:

Best Bridesmaids Collection:

• Impression
• Dessy
• Alfred Angelo
• Ebony Rose
• Romantica of Devon

Best Plus-Size Collection

• Sonsie by Veromia
• Gorgeous with curves by Benjamin Roberts
• Julietta by Mori Lee
• Callista by Alfred Sung
• Unforgettable by Bonny

Best Dress Collection

• Benjamin Roberts
• Maggie Sottero
• Veromia
• Justin Alexander
• Amanda Wyatt

Best Dress for Abroad Collection

• Mori Lee Voyage
• Sandals at Dessy
• Maggie Sottero Destinations
• Mon Cheri Destinations
• Mark Lesley Paradise

Best Bridal Accesories

• Glitzy Secrets
• Chez Bec
• Tantrums and Tiaras
• Flo & Percy
• Vintage Sparkle Co

Best Bridal Shoe Collection

• Freya Rose
• Paradox
• Rachael Simpson
• Filippa Scott
• Victoria Allinson

Best Bridal Retailer

• Harrogate Wedding Lounge
• Creatiques
• Linda Gray Bridalwear
• Heavenly Bodies Bridal
• Wedding Belles of Otley

Best Groomswear Collection

• Moss Bros
• Cameron Ross
• Heirloom
• Hugh Harris
• Ultimate Formal Hire

Best Wedding Stationery

• Ivy Ellen
• Handcrafted Card Company
• Lucy Ledger
• Cards by Sophie
• Mandalay Wedding Invitations

Best Photographer

• English Rose Weddings
• Nicole Photography
• Weddings by Ryan
• Blue Light Photography
• Ashton Photography

Best Wedding Venue

• Parklands
• Gosfield Hall
• Clearwell Castle
• Down Hall
• Leez Priory

Best Gift List

• House of Fraser
• Buy Our Honeymoon
• John Lewis
• Debenhams
• Cancer Research

Best Special Touches

• Ambience Venue Styling
• Confetti.co.uk
• Bridal Gift Box
• Brides and Beauty
• Giddy Kipper

Best Planner

• Essentially You
• Simply Elegant
• Orchid Weddings
• Champagne Tango
• Plans and Presents

Best Wedding Flowers

• Sarah’s Flowers
• Emma Lappin
• Bella and Fifi
• Traditional Flower Co
• Silk Blooms

Best Destination Choice

• Sandals
• Couples Resorts
• Turquoise Weddings
• Exclusive Yacht Weddings
• Planet Holidays

Voting closed on 1st December 2010, so it’s fingers crossed time for everyone!

The National Wedding Show has today launched a brand new national charity initiative to raise vital funds for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Women across the UK will be called upon to wear their wedding dresses to work on the 17th September 2010 which will be known as Brides at Work Day. In addition to this, Ocean Media will be donating 50p from the sale of each ticket purchased for the National Wedding Show to help win the battle against this disease. Ashley Roberts, event director comments:

‘The National Wedding Show is delighted to be supporting Breakthrough Breast Cancer through the Brides at Work initiative. It is a sad fact that I am aware of so many people that have been affected by breast cancer either directly or indirectly and this gives us the opportunity both to raise awareness and funds for the essential and pioneering work of Breakthrough Breast Cancer.’

We’ve all had to endure months of wedding chat with the office Bridezilla and all too often don’t get a chance to see the bride in the dress that has been the focus of all those months of angst. Brides at Work presents the perfect opportunity for girls to relive their princess moment and for colleagues to join in the fun. And it’s not just for the Brides; Grooms, Bridesmaids and Mothers of the Bride are all encouraged to don their wedding finery and celebrate Brides at Work.

Every year nearly 46,000 women and around 300 men are diagnosed with Breast Cancer in the UK. The good news is that through better awareness, better treatments and better screening more women than ever are surviving breast cancer. Breakthrough Breast Cancer is dedicated to the prevention, treatment and ultimate eradication of breast cancer. The charity fights breast cancer on three fronts; research, campaigning and education. Breakthrough funds ground-breaking research, campaigns for better services and treatments and raises awareness of breast cancer. Through this work the charity believes passionately that breast cancer can be beaten and the fear of the disease removed for good. Breakthrough Breast Cancer is delighted to be working with the National Wedding Show on such an exciting project, as Chris Askew, Director of Fundraising at Breakthrough Breast Cancer comments:

‘Breakthrough Breast Cancer is thrilled to be benefiting from ‘Brides at Work’, a brilliant new fundraising campaign encouraging brides to put on their wedding dresses again all whilst raising vital funds for our pioneering research, campaigning and education work. We look forward to seeing bridal parties in unexpected places on the 17th September!’

Brides at Work is open to all, no matter when the wedding took place or indeed if it is more of a work in progress…. all that is needed is a wedding dress and a willingness to raise awareness and funds for the fight against this devastating disease.

Autumn 2010 Dates for Diary: 1-3rd October, Earls Court, London and 8-10th October NEC, Birmingham

Come and see Ivy Ellen – stand K40 at Earls Court and stand C14 at the NEC.

For more information visit the National Wedding Show website www.nationalweddingshow.co.uk

Or Breakthrough Breast Cancer www.breakthrough.org.uk/bridesatwork

Ivy Ellen has teamed up with one of the UK’s leading wedding favour and gift suppliers ‘And All Things Nice’ to offer our readers & followers the chance to enjoy a 10% discount when purchasing any items from their website. Simply use the promo code  AATN10IE when shopping at www.andallthingsnice.net and save money!

And All Things Nice are known for supplying quality wedding favours, gifts and decorations for your big day. All items are unique, original and extremely affordable, so if your yet to sort out the finishing touches for your big day visit www.andallthingsnice.net.

Will Apple's Wedding Ticketing system destroy Wedding Stationers?

Apple have applied for a patent on a new ticketing system that could revolutionise the wedding industry and boost wedding photo and video sales. But will it sound the death knell for wedding invitations?

Apple’s iphone, ipods and ipads are changing the way we interact with information and entertainment. Their new ticketing set up (called “Concert Ticket +”), which integrates with itunes, is a natural add on and could be a huge boost to Apple’s sales. Using the barcode based system concert goers may never have to worry about forgetting tickets as long as they have their phones, there are assumed environmental benefits of a paperless system as well as cross selling opportunities of being able to sell tickets to album buyers and visa versa.

One of the additional ticket systems mentions a wedding invitation system where wedding party members could access maps, gift lists, calendar reminders, etc through their smart phones. The exciting cross selling opportunities for wedding photographers and videographers are that the electronic wedding invitation or program may include an option to view or purchase wedding video or wedding photos, to get an audio recording of the toast, or to obtain the playlist of music at the reception.

So what will this mean for wedding stationery suppliers like us? Is this the beginning of the end? Why should people buy beautiful paper stationery over electronic alternatives? At Ivy Ellen, we have noticed a trend towards people communicating certain aspects of their wedding online. For example, instead of using an information insert (or booklet) details like maps, hotels, etc are being posted online and instead of purchasing RSVP’s some people have simply been adding their email on the RSVP line of their invitation.

Far from seeing the end of invitations we believe that there are still good reasons to send beautiful wedding invitations and the environmental argument is not necessarily as straightforward as you may think.

From an eco perspective paper is a natural fibre and is one of the best environmental stories on the planet. For example, did you know that in the forests we source our trees from, for every tree cut down, three to four trees are planted in its place? Paper only accounts for 11% of wood extracted from forests. There are an estimated 25% more trees in the world than 100 years ago and in Europe forests are increasing in size at a rate of 1.5 million football pitches a year. That means that when you buy wedding stationery from us and FSC accredited sources you are increasing the number of trees on the planet.

Compare this with the web, smart phones and computers. All of which use electricity in abundance. With Google, for example, scientists have found that an average search on a PC generates about 7 grams of C02. According to The Sunday Times performing two searches is comparable to bringing a kettle to boil. Although that may not sound like a lot, Google handles in excess of 200 million searches daily. Google’s data centers actually use half the energy of your standard data centre. These data centers are constantly active providing us with the internet, burning through electricity and emitting C02. Also paper has a 62% recycle rate (in Europe), which is far higher than the rate at which computers and phones are recycled. Using an online information system is not adding trees to the planet and may be a lot less environmentally friendly than we think.

We believe there are other profound benefits to using beautiful papers and printing techniques for your wedding stationery in much the same way that listening to an album on vinyl beats the tinny sound of an MP3. Sure both play the same tune, but it is the subtle differences and nuances that you lose. Beautiful wedding stationery has soul. It is wonderful to receive. Just think how many truly personal letters or invitations come through your letterbox each year. How do you feel when you receive them? They are way more special than an email in your inbox or on your Facebook page. They feel wonderful in the hand and often have your friends’ handwriting on them (how often do you see that these days?). When you send your guests an invitation by post you are giving them that feeling. How does that make you feel?

Wedding stationery also supports the work of creative people and craftsman who create something you can keep and hand on to your grand children. Wedding stationery won’t crash, get a virus, be accidentally deleted or disappear because there’s a power cut.

Your wedding stationery can really add a key visual element to your table decorations and tie together your colour scheme on the day with important elements like, menus, place names and table plans all of which would not have the same effect if this information was stored on your guests phones.

Finally, as with your wedding invitations your guests will appreciate a thank you by card more than a thanks by phone or email. It says so much about how you feel about them and their gift which in turn makes them feel really appreciated. It if you want to feel closer to your friends and family, beautiful wedding stationery, well chosen and posted through their door can really help you.

Your wedding is one of the most important and personal moments in your life. You deserve the best and your special day deserves to be remembered always. Beautiful wedding stationery from Ivy Ellen can help you do just that. Good luck with your plans and do call us if you need any advice or help.

Details of Apple’s new patent can be found at patentlyapple.com

Details of Paper’s great environmental story can be found at twosides.info

Still basking in the success of their recent iPad launch Apple are not content with grabbing massive market share of the music, entertainment and mobile phone markets. A recent Patent Application shows that they plan to take a slice of the Wedding Market too threatening jobs and livelihoods.

The Application shows a wedding invitation system where wedding party members could access maps, calendar reminders, gift lists and receive wedding invitations electronically through their smartphones. If brides and grooms and wedding planners start moving over to this new system it could be catastrophic for thousands of creative wedding stationers around the world.

“This could be a serious threat to our livelihoods and our staff’s jobs. We have put our life savings into our wedding stationery business, Ivy Ellen, which launched at the National Wedding Shows in October and recently showed at the prestigious Designer Wedding Show. The irony of course is that much of the artwork for our cards is prepared on Apple Macs, being a Mac fan I’m very disappointed in them,” – says wedding stationer, Jeremy Corner, Ivy Ellen Ltd.

One of the advantages of the new system is that it is could be more environmentally friendly as it uses a paperless system and therefore appeal to the Green Wedding sector.

“Three to four trees are planted for every tree cut down to make the paper for our wedding stationery. Our products actually grow forests. According to The Sunday Times scientists have found that performing two internet searches is comparable to bringing a kettle to boil. God knows what C02 those billions of daily internet clicks are really emitting, but online wedding stationery systems certainly won’t be planting trees like our FSC accredited suppliers are” – says Jeremy

He continues: “I think it will be a real shame if couples move away from traditional invitation sending. It feels so special to receive something personal like a wedding invitation or wedding thank you card through the post. Your wedding is the one of the most important days of your life, it deserves more than an email.”

Read Ivy Ellen’s blog for more http://ivyellenweddinginvitations.co.uk/weddinginvitations/

Details of Apple’s new patent can be found at patentlyapple.com

Details of Paper’s great environmental story can be found at twosides.info

A close friend of the Kate Middleton, Andy Grayson (pictured here skiing in Switzerland with the couple), has revealed that the couple have eloped and married in secret on a recent ski trip to Europe.

There has been mounting speculation in Prince William (27) and Kate Middleton (28) would be announcing their engagement this year, but this will come as a total shock to many. “There will be a lot of broken hearts across the world when this gets out”, speculated Grayson who is a relative of Ivy Ellen. The couple have been an item since 2001 where they met studying together at St Andrews University. It is thought that Kate and William have done this in reaction to continued invasions of privacy by the press and paparazzi. “I think they just wanted something special in piece and quiet, although I hate to think how the Royal family will react to this news,” said Grayson.

UPDATE: This was our APRIL FOOL story for 2010. Hope you all enjoyed it