All Things Wedding

Anna & Scott were married at the beautiful Chateau Saint Just near Paris in July 2011. They chose our Vintage Garden design in pink to compliment their vintage feel. Anna shares her top wedding tips with us below:

Did you have a look or theme in mind for your wedding day? 

We wanted our wedding to be romantic with a vintage feel and lots of flowers. I chose light pink as it went with the romantic theme and suited our outside garden ceremony. It was also important for us to incorporate some English elements into our day as we married in France so our table names were those of English country garden flowers and we had English roses.

Who were your top 3 wedding suppliers that helped make your day special? 

Image courtesy of David Bacher (www.photobacher.com)

We were delighted with the venue we chose which is Chateau Saint Just, near Paris. We were thrilled with the Chateau itself and it had beautiful grounds. It wasn’t always easy to arrange everything (not speaking much of the language!) but the Chateau were very accommodating to our requests and all the guests had such a lovely time. It was great for everyone to have dinner the night before the wedding and get to stay at the adjoining hotel there as everyone was so relaxed on the day. Another great thing was that they had no specific time that the wedding party had to end so many of us stayed up dancing till the early hours.

On this note I also have to recommend The Fabulous Boogie Band for ensuring everyone was on their feet dancing. They are based in Kent and after loving their music at a friend’s wedding they happily agreed to play at ours. We really appreciated the extra effort they took to make the travel requirements and everyone at our wedding, us included, loved them. They played a great mixture of songs and it felt really special to have live music. It certainly inspired everyone to keep dancing.

I also highly recommend The Pantiles Bride in Tunbridge Wells where I brought my Sassi Holford wedding dress. Before I found my dress I had tried on close to 50 and was getting frustrated at not being able to find my dream dress. It was a different story when I visited The Pantiles Bride as they seemed to stock a wider range of styles than in other bridal shops. I adored my dress!  The Pantiles Bride were also very professional and did some lovely accessories.

Image courtesy of David Bacher (www.photobacher.com)

What top tip would you give to brides whilst planning their wedding/on their wedding day? 

Whilst planning your day scour websites and bridal magazines for a wedding that inspires you and fits your theme, then adapt the key elements for your day. Try to organise as much as you can in advance as your be amazed at how quickly time flies by and you don’t want to be too stressed in the immediate run up to it. On the wedding day itself try to take everything in as it goes by so quickly!

Vintage Garden Wedding Stationery

Were you happy with your wedding stationery? 

Extremely! From the save the date cards to the invitations, order of service, table names and table plan, everything was perfect – all beautifully made with an eye catching design that was so pretty! I loved it all and many of my guests commented on how pretty the pieces were. What’s more Ivy Ellen were also very professional in responding to queries quickly and delivering the items without any hassle. I would thoroughly recommend Ivy Ellen.

Get the look: view our Vintage Garden Wedding Stationery

Colette and Barry got married at Lochgreen House in Troon, Scotland in May 2011. They chose to customise our Butterfly Love stationery in pink with custom foiling blocks to make their stationery unique and personal. Colette shares her top wedding tips with us:

Did you have a look or theme in mind for your wedding day?

Colette & Barry's Butterfly Love Order of Service

We didn’t specifically have a theme to the wedding. I am quite a girly girl, and love butterflies and kept an eye out for butterfly styled wedding accessories/stationery. I spotted the Ivy Ellen stationery in a wedding magazine and from that, decided to stick to pretty purples/pinks and butterflies.

My bridesmaids dresses were magenta coloured, and the butterfly love theme fitted in perfectly. This then directed our choices regarding the boy’s colour scheme for their outfits – we went for grey and purple kilts to reflect the silvers and pinky/purples in our invitations. Also our cake had the vintage and pretty look too. I think overall it was a subtle pretty butterfly theme.

Who were your top 3 wedding suppliers that helped make your day special?

Image courtesy of Premier Photography

It is actually really difficult to decide our top three suppliers – as I cannot rate all of our suppliers highly enough, from our venue at Lochgreen Hotel to my wedding dress shop, Etiquette Bridal Boutique. However I have somehow managed to narrow it down to the following;

1) I was very pleased with our photographer Scott from Premier Photography. He met us before the wedding and explained exactly what he would be doing on the day, which was reassuring to know what you are paying for. He got to know the style of photos Barry and I were looking for, and we felt very comfortable trusting him with the big task of capturing our day! On the day, he came armed with safety pins, tissues etc all tucked in his suit jacket, a totally prepared professional, as he knew from experience the small snags and tears that happen right before the wedding! All of our guests commented on how professional he acted on the day. To top that off, his work is excellent and we are thrilled with the final album.

2) We are also delighted with our videographer, Cherry Tree Films. They produce excellent, natural wedding videos, which is exactly what we wanted. We weren’t sure we wanted a videographer until we saw their work. On the day they worked completely in the background, and we barely noticed they were even there. They have got brilliant footage of the bridal and groom parties getting ready before the wedding through to the first dance. The attention to detail is also part of why they are so good, with footage of wedding rings, our flowers getting set up as well as the obvious wedding shots.

3) Finally I was very impressed with Corrine Smith Design who made my tiara and bridesmaid hair pieces. Corrine runs a small wedding accessory boutique in Kilmarnock, and her work is beautiful and she hand makes everything to order. The service she delivered was exceptional, and I had so many comments on my lovely side tiara. My bridesmaids were also delighted to have a hand made custom hair piece to wear on the day too. I would recommend her services to any bride.

What top tip would you give to brides whilst planning their wedding/on their wedding day?

My top tip for planning to other brides would be to keep as organised as possible. The last 3 months were hectic, and I would have liked to have been a bit more ahead of schedule. I had been completely ahead of plan, but then the 3/4 months to the wedding mark crept up and I suddenly found I had so much to do, which I could have been more organised for. I would definitely organise wedding stationery as far in advance as possible. I did it 12 weeks in advance, and was lucky enough that Ivy Ellen can deliver in 3 weeks, therefore allowing me to send out my invites 8 weeks before the wedding. You forget how long it can take to agree invite wording with your fiance, and then approve the proofs etc.

Colette & Barry's Butterfly Table Plan

My on the day tip would be to enjoy yourself! I literally had the best day ever, and all my guests commented on how happy I was. I had 1 or 2 glasses of champagne all day, and didn’t need anything else as I was so excited and delighted to be enjoying the day I had been planning for 18 months. Therefore just relax and have fun – its your party!

Were you happy with your wedding stationery?

For any brides considering using Ivy Ellen, I have nothing but praise for them. Lewis was a great help throughout the whole process, and was brilliant when I decided only 6 weeks before my wedding that I wanted to also order a table plan and order of service! This was not a problem for them, and my table plan was absolutely stunning – even the hotel staff commented on how pretty it was. The stationery was produced to a fantastic quality and I am planning on framing the spare invites with our names on it as a keep sake.

Get the look: view our Butterfly Love Wedding Stationery

Yvonne and Oli got married at Newick Park in East Sussex in April 2011 and chose our flagship Vintage Floral wedding stationery to compliment a beautiful spring wedding. Yvonne shares her top wedding tips with us below:

Did you have a look or theme in mind for your wedding day?

We loved the fact we were getting married in the Spring mostly because of the beautiful flowers that exist at this time of year. We wanted Spring flowers and wild flowers to be the main theme.

Who were your top 3 wedding suppliers that helped make your day special?

1) Our lovely photographer, Trina of ‘T Wright Photography’ in Brighton was an absolute gem and she did such a brilliant job not only on the more formal shots but the relaxed shots as well which really captured our day. Trina was recommended to us and we will be recommending her to everyone as she is a truly talented photographer. It is important to feel comfortable with your photographer as they will be there during the ‘getting ready’ and the couples shots and you need to be relaxed. Trina put us both at ease and was an absolute pleasure to be around- we honestly couldn’t have wished for a better photographer. www.twrightphotography.co.uk

2) Without question our venue made our day perfect. We got married at Newick Park, Near Lewes which is a stunning country house surrounded by countryside. We hired the venue exclusively which meant we had 16 bedrooms for our friends and family to stay- it really felt like our own house! We couldn’t fault anything and the food, service and ambience were second to none. Having the venue help with so much of the organising meant we could really relax and enjoy our day. www.newickpark.co.uk/

Image courtesy of T Wright Photography

3) Our band the ‘Saviours of Soul’ were fantastic! They played soul, disco and modern tunes and the dance floor was never empty! Our evening was such a fun and memorable time and they were just brilliant. They played our first dance which made it even more special. They can DJ in between sets so we saved on the cost of providing a DJ as they could do everything which also made the music flow effortlessly. www.savioursofsoul.info

What top tip would you give to brides whilst planning their wedding/on their wedding day?

Relax, go with the flow and enjoy the day- don’t worry about minor problems- people won’t notice!

Were you happy with your wedding stationery?

Vintage Floral Wedding Invitation

We loved the fact that Ivy Ellen were local to us and when we saw the gorgeous Vintage Floral design- our theme had begun! The design and quality were excellent and as soon as the sample landed on the doormat, the order was submitted! We ordered invitations, evening invitations and our order of service in the same design. A big attraction was the ‘DIY’ option which was great fun and a great cost saver as well. The ‘DIY’ stationary comes with everything you need including glue and double sided tape- nothing is forgotten! There is an easy to follow tutorial on the website which really helped get us started. We had so many lovely comments about our stationary and even 6 weeks after our wedding people still have our invitations up as they look so good! Living close by we could collect our stationary and got to meet the lovely team. Lewis was our main contact and was a great help throughout and when i needed to order some last minute extra’s it was dealt with promptly which i was so grateful of!

Get the Look: View our Vintage Floral Wedding Invitations

Kirsty & Simon tied the knot in December 2010 on a snow covered winter wedding day. They chose our Snow Kissed wedding invitations in Dark Blue to set the tone to their winter  wonderland. Kirsty shares her wedding day tips recommendations with us below:

Did you have a look or theme in mind for your wedding day?

We were aiming for a frosty, sparkly look. We used a lot of royal and ice blue colours, not traditional Christmas colours of red, gold and green. Because of the weather, the snow-kissed, icy look was met in more ways than one!

Were there any wedding suppliers that stood out as making your day special?

Everyone who helped us and who we booked gave us outstanding service, which really helped make our day perfect. We got married at Rowhill Grange Hotel in Wilmington, Kent. The packages were ideal and we really were able to tailor-make everything that we wanted – including the menu. The service was really unobtrusive and the setting and grounds were idyllic. They were so helpful and accommodating, particularly on the Saturday when  the blizzards were hitting. We were panicking and our guest’s were descending on the venue on mass!

Also worth mentioning are Nigel Barrett Photography. They are really friendly and down to earth photographers (we didn’t want anyone big-headed or bossy). They they were very accommodating and well… the photos speak for themselves. Les Watts, who did our wedding video, was just the same. Dan Brown of KT Entertainment, who is Rowhill’s resident DJ, did a marvellous job of keeping everyone entertained in the evening. We have been to weddings before where the dance floor is rarely filled. On our day, Dan managed to keep the dance floor filled all night. We really did have the most perfect day.

Image courtesy of Nigel Barrett Photography

What top tip would you give to brides whilst planning their wedding & on their wedding day?

My top tip on planning your wedding is to have the wedding that you and your future husband want. Lots of people will have thier own ideas of to what might be nice or what type of wedding to have. Remember it is your special day.

My top tip for a bride on their wedding day is to make sure you take time out every now and again during the day and take everything in. The day passes so quickly, so closely saviour that moments to give you memories to last a lifetime.

Were you happy with your Wedding Invitations?

We cannot thank you enough for our wedding invitations, they are truly amazing!!! Thank you also for making the process so personal to Simon and I, you have kept us up to speed by email and phone, and made the whole process so exciting. I almost burst when they arrived. We cannot rate Ivy Ellen highly enough. Absolutely brilliant.

We would recommend you without a seconds hesitation.

Get the look: view our snow kissed wedding invitations.