Decoration Archives - The Budget Bride Company

An amazing DIY Candy Buffet for your wedding in four easy steps

11/11/2014/in Budget Wedding Inspiration, Decoration, Wedding DIY, Wedding Planning /by laura

Having a beautifully laid out candy buffet at your wedding is a popular idea at the moment for adding a fun touch to your wedding reception. Both adults and kids relish the chance to grab a sugar rush and it’s a lovely talking point for your guests.

There are lots of fab companies who can bring in a ready-made candy cart or candy buffet ready for your guests to devour, but if your budget cannot stretch to this, or you simply want to give it a go yourself, here is a guide to pulling together your own DIY Candy Buffet for your wedding!

♥ Decide on the overall look and feel that you would like to present for your candy buffet. For all colour palettes and themed weddings, I would recommend starting with a trestle or round table (ask your venue for where will be best to set this up) and dressing it in a one colour lace or cotton table cloth. As you are going to be filling the table with a lot of things, it’s a good idea to keep the base as quite simple, so you don’t end up with a garish look!

Then think about your colour palette or theme. For vintage weddings, add flower print bunting around the front of the table and piles of classic books bound with ribbon or twine to present your sweets on top of! To pull a colour theme into your candy buffet, use pom-poms to decorate the front of the table and ribbon around your candy jars. For a natural themed or barn wedding, use lots of burlap and gingham to add a boho feel.

Vintage Lace Candy Bar Kit: £9.99

♥ Have a think about the kind of sweets you want to serve. Do you have a favourite that you would like to take pride of place? Or are you happy to provide a wide variety for your guests to choose from? Draw up a list of up to 10 options that you can focus on – you might want to include: sherbert flying saucers, cola bottles, rhubarb and custards, red rope licqorice, jelly babies, jelly beans, chocolate rasiens, chocolate buttons, humbugs and dolly mixture. You can order online from websites such as Sweets n Candy, Handy Candy and aquarterof.co.uk.

♥ How would you like to present your sweeties? Different sized jars are a great idea for keeping the look neat and pretty, but you could also use bowls such as these novelty heart shaped ones! Remember to get some sweetie scoops for each of the bowls or jars, so that your guests don’t have to use their fingers!

♥ What kind of portions would you like your guests to have? Based on the amount of sweets that you have purchased, you should have an idea of how much each guest will be able to take. Bearing this in mind, have a look for cones or containers that each guest can use to fill with their portion of sweets from the Candy Buffet.

Have fun creating your candy buffet! Send us an Instagram or Twitter picture of yours using the hashtag #budgetcandybuffet!

Laura x

Top and Bottom Photo Credits: The Wedding of my dreams via photopin

Ten thoughtful ways to make your wedding unique

02/09/2014/in Budget Wedding Inspiration, Budget Wedding Planning, Decoration, Wedding DIY /by laura

Having a wedding day that truly reflects how unique your relationship is, is a wonderful thing. By adding any of these ten thoughtful ways to make your wedding unique, you can really celebrate your love and maybe share a thing or two with your guests that they didn’t know about you and your beau before!

1. Name each of your wedding breakfast tables after an element of your relationship. How about the name of the restaurant or pub where you had your first date, the name of the country where you spent your favourite holiday together, or the name of the road where you had your first home together. Add a little note on the reverse of the table name to give your guests the story!

2. Have an instrumental version of your favourite song to walk down the aisle to – it will add a unique slant to your big entrance and will be more meaningful to you than the venues stock classical pieces.

3. Make home-made favours for your guests to take home with them. Cookies, home-made booze in miniature bottles or mini pots of jam make cute, inexpensive and thoughtful favours which guests will really appreciate.

4. Frame a selection of cute childhood photographs of you and your beau and display on your gift table or near one of the bars, so that your guests can enjoy them during your evening reception.

5. Wear an unusual wedding dress – how about a prom style or traditional dress in your favourite colour? My number one celebrity wedding dress of all time is definitely Gwen Stefani’s.

6. Choose an unusual venue for your wedding – how about an outdoors tipi wedding or getting married on a boat?

7. Use a personalised stamp on everything from your wedding invitations through to name place cards and thank you letters after the big day. These are an inexpensive way to create a unique feel for your wedding.

8. Loving social media? Make up a hashtag for your day and let all of your guests know about it, so that they can join in on the fun during the day!

9. Whatever your feelings are about cake toppers, this can be a really fun way to individualise your wedding and celebrate you and your beau! If you have a family pet, include them in the topper, or incorporate you hobbies into the finished topper look. It’s fun and a lovely talking point for your guests.

10. Custom made drinks labels look great at your reception and really help pull your theme together. Include thoughtful details like you and your beau’s names and the date and place of the wedding.

Having an individual wedding is all about celebrating what is unique to you and your love. Make your wedding memorable to your guests with lots of little touches that will leave both them and you with amazing memories of your day 🙂

What are you going to be doing to make your day unique? Let us know over on Facebook!

Laura x

Photo Credits: Keith Bloomfield via photopin

Five Cheap Wedding Favour Ideas to fit into your Wedding Budget

15/05/2014/in Budget Bride Boutique, Decoration, Wedding Favours /by laura

I know, I know, we all hate the term ‘cheap’ when it comes to planning our wedding days, but sometimes, with certain elements of your wedding the bottom line is that you just need something cheap but lovely. Cheap wedding favour ideas are top of the list when it comes to saving money on those ‘smaller’ things on your wedding planning list that actually all really add up.

I have touched on this before in my Top Ten Budget Wedding Favours post that you can catch up on here and I thought it would be a nice time for an update.

I have selected these lovely cheap wedding favour ideas from our Budget Bride Boutique Online Store, so head over and have a browse if the options below are close, but not close enough to what you’re after - we have hundreds of ideas for you to choose from 🙂

Cheap Wedding Favour Ideas Number 1 – Wedding Favours under£0.50p each

Mini Orchid Candles

These little white candles are really delicate and pretty and will make a lovely cheap wedding favour idea. They come in packages of 28 and start from £0.30p each.

Cheap Wedding Favour Ideas Number 2 – Favours under £0.60p each

Cream coloured miniature flower bouquets

These tiny tied bouquets will look gorgeous displayed for your guests at the dinner table. Simple and rustic, they would work well as a Barn Cheap Wedding Favour idea to tie in with your outdoorsy theme. They come in packs of 12 and are £58p per miniature tied bouquet.

Cheap Wedding Favour Ideas Number 3 – Favours under £1

Horse Shoe Charm

These lovely little good luck charm cheap wedding favour ideas come with a little loop so that you can thread them onto ribbon or string to give to your guests as a cute thank you. These come in packs of 12 and start from £0.50p per lucky horse shoe.

Cheap Wedding Favour Idea Number 4 – Favours under £1.50 each

Seed Paper Love Birds Personalised Favour Cards

I really love these environmentally friendly seed favour cards. They are cute enough to double up as place settings if you wish and you can personalise the text and colour to make sure it fits your wedding perfectly. These start from £1.12 each.

Cheap Wedding Favour Ideas Number 5 – Wedding Fvaours under £2

Campfire Mini Candle

I just couldn’t resist sharing this little campfire candle favour with you! This would be completely perfect if you are having a barn wedding or if you are an outdoorsy kind of couple. These come in packages of 6 with each campfire candle starting from £1.92.

I think its great that there is so much choice available at the moment for cheap wedding favours that you can still have fun with and feel proud to give to your guests but whilst keeping your budget on track. We have hundreds more creative cheap favour ideas over on the Boutique pages here so have a browse and get inspired!

How many guests will you be buying favours for? Join the conversation over on the Facebook page!

Laura xx

Hollywood Glamour Styled Wedding Shoot

27/03/2014/in Budget Beautiful Wedding Suppliers, Budget Wedding Inspiration, Budget Wedding Planning, Decoration, Styled Photo Shoot, Wedding Style /by laura

I love the softness of the styling in this gorgeous Hollywood Glamour Styled Wedding Shoot co-ordinated by Olivia from Host Event Management Wedding Planners. As one of our trusted Budget Bride Company Wedding Suppliers, we were absolutely delighted when we heard from the news from Olivia that she had received the award of Best Wedding Planner at The Bristol & Somerset Wedding Awards 2014! And looking at the lush detail in this shoot, I’m sure you can see why she was the obvious choice to win the award.

So grab yourself a nice cup of tea and enjoy the gorgeous images from this Hollywood Glamour styled shoot – I hope it gives you some lovely ideas for your own wedding day 🙂 

Hollywood Glamour Themed Wedding Photoshoot

And for behind the scenes footage of the shoot and the venue, check out this video: http://vimeo.com/87210825

Many thanks to all of the Wedding Suppliers involved:

Style concept: Love Me Love My Wedding

Event Planning: Host Event Management

Venue: Prior Park College

Photography: McAvoy Wedding Photography

Model: Georgia McAuliffe

Gowns: Pearl Bridal Boutique

Veils: Dream Veils

Hair styling: Lauren Sims

Make up: Jessica Mills

Bouquets: Catherine Gray

Floral centrepieces: Tin can Floral

Stationery: Lizzy May

Cake: Bake My Cake

Sequin Table Linen: Pudding Bridge

Glass charger plates: LA Styling

Tableware & props: Essential Wedding Hire

Organza linen: Special Occasion Linen

Are you going to be having a theme for your wedding day? Join the discussion over on Facebook!
Thanks for sharing your Hollywood Glamour Wedding Shoot with us today Olivia, and congratulations on your well-deserved award 🙂 You can find out more about Olivia's amazing wedding planning services here.

Laura xx

Budget Bride Boutique: Your one stop budget wedding shop!

20/02/2014/in Budget Bride Boutique, Budget Wedding Dress Ideas, Decoration, Wedding DIY, Wedding Style /by laura

I’m absolutely over the moon today to introduce you to our latest offering to make your life as a Bride to Be that little bit easier – The Budget Bride Boutique! Those of you with super keen eyes will have noticed the new menu option at the top of the site and icon on the right of this page stating that The Budget Bride Boutique is now open!

We have scoured the internet high and low to bring you some of the best priced, most gorgeously detailed and bang on trend products and outfits for your Wedding. We have split the Wedding Shop into six categories for super easy browsing. We have Wedding Accessories, Budget Wedding Dresses , a Bridesmaid Department, Favours, Gifts and Decorations, Personalised Wedding Items and we’ve even got a department just for The Boys!

We have also added a handy search bar at the top of each department, so if you’re looking for a Purple Bridesmaids Dress or a Personalised Wedding Sign, just type it into the search bar to see the results sorted to your exact requirements 😀

All of the products and garments which we have in the Boutique have been specially picked for Brides who are watching their Budget, but who still want great quality and a brilliant array of products to choose from all in one place. Whatever your colour or style theme, we will have something to suit you and your bank account. From personalised rubber stamps and wedding invitations to high fiving cake toppers, we’ve got pretty much every wedding base covered!

Every product is super clearly priced and you can easily find out more information and place your order with just a couple of clicks. We’ve even arranged for a little array of similar items that you might like, to appear under each product you choose to help inspire you with other wedding items that could compliment or be another great option for you.

I hope that you love our new Budget Bride Boutique and that you are able to find everything that you are looking for for your wedding day! Any suggestions or comments? Just let us know in the Comments Box below, or over on our Facebook page.

Here’s to getting your wedding sorted on budget!

Laura xo

Photographer Credit for image at top of page: Photography by Danielle Mobbs

Castle Wedding Inspiration – Mood Board Monday

10/02/2014/in Decoration, Mood Boards - Colour Inspiration, Mood Boards - Styles and Themes, Wedding Venues /by laura

As part of our free Wedding Venue Finding Service, we do get a lot of requests from Brides to Be for us to find them a gorgeous Castle Wedding Venue for them to hold their celebrations at. And we can totally understand why! The drama of a Castle Wedding makes the perfect setting; secret rooms for kids to explore, your wedding breakfast in a banqueting hall, the list goes on…

Budget Bride Company on Pinterest

So today, our Mood Board Inspiration is all about Castle Weddings, we’re into the Cinderella look with plenty of candles for extra ambience! Head over to our Pinterest page now to check it out...

Have you decided on your wedding venue yet? Let us know in the Comments Box below, or join us over on Facebook!

Laura xo

Rustic Farm Wedding Inspiration – Mood Board Monday

27/01/2014/in Decoration, Mood Boards - Styles and Themes, Wedding Style /by laura

I have always loved the idea of a Rustic Farm Wedding – there is something about the relaxed atmosphere that just begs for you to kick off your heels, let your hair down and have a good time! And there’s also that oh so tempting opportunity for you to sneak off with your beau behind some of those hay bales… 😉

Rustic Wedding Mood Board on Budget Bride Company Pinterest

Todays Wedding Mood Board Inspiration is all about Rustic Farm Weddings and we’ve pulled together some lovely images for you to have a look through. It’s all about the hessian, twinkling lights and cowboy boots this week 🙂

Have you started putting together a Wedding Mood Board yet? Let us know how you’re getting on in the Comments Box below!

Laura xo

Sumptuous on Saturday – Wedding Styling with Through The Looking Glass Events

25/01/2014/in Budget Beautiful Wedding Suppliers, Decoration, Wedding Style /by laura

Today we’re having a chat with one of my favourite Wedding Styling Companies – Through The Looking Glass Events 🙂 This energetic and massively inspiring company offer Wedding Venue Styling amongst a myriad of other services including wedding cakes, photo booth styling and product hire. Kelly and Melody, who run the company, really do relish a challenge and will be over the moon to bring all of your ideas and dreams together, wherever your venue may be!

Kelly tells us a bit more about the ladies behind Through The Looking Glass…

What is your favourite thing about working with brides to be?
Their ideas and excitement, it rubs off on you and inspires you in your work. Every bride has a different vision and this is what makes our job so brilliant - every day throws something new at us! This is the most important day of a couple’s life and for them to pick you to be a part of it is a complete honour. We are seeing a lot more grooms getting involved with the wedding styling as well which is lovely!

What inspires you in your work?
Anything and everything! From the places that we visit to the couples themselves - they set the initial steps for us to draw on our creativity. We like to stay on top of current trends as well, so lots of market research across the globe helps us keep in check of what’s popular and also gives us ideas to build on our wedding styling.

What has been your favourite wedding that you have worked on?
Can I say all of them?! All for different reasons, we have been so lucky to have worked with lots of different themes and wonderful couples.
One of the weddings we styled last year was split over two days; they had an intimate wedding reception at their home with just close family and friends, which was all vintage crockery, lace and romantic signs and then the next day they had a big reception at Corkers Champagne Bar in Northampton with 120 people, which had a navy and diamond theme. A chance for the bride to wear her dress twice and go for two different themes!
Another couple who got married last year at The Three Lakes restaurant in Ware, had clear ideas of the wedding theme they wanted to go for but allowed us to utilise all of the venues’ wonderful spaces to make lots of great photo opportunities! There were colourful lanterns, lots of bunting, vintage fabric, and one of our photo booth stylings which was a big hit.
We have also hosted a gangster themed wedding along with a very bold Alice in Wonderland theme tea party and even a surprise wedding! Anything and everything goes!
We spend a lot of time with our couples planning and creating their day for them, you need to build a relationship to understand their vision and we are lucky to have made many wonderful friends from that planning period.

Do you have any wedding styling trend predictions for 2014?
Vintage is still very big this year with lots of lace, soft pinks, neutrals, lace, birdcages and hay bales! For colours we will be seeing lots of navy, mint green, soft pinks, neutrals and royal blue. People are also incorporating a personal interest within their theme such as super heroes, comic books and animals amongst other things. We have some wonderful weddings to style this year!

What would be your top tip to share with any brides to be?
Treasure the build up to the big day; sometimes life can be so busy and stressful that we forget to enjoy the little things in life and the planning and build up to your special day should be treasured as it goes way too quickly!
Along with hiring our products we also offer a set-up service to take that pressure off the couple. This is something we would recommend to all couples. We offer a bridal consultation to discuss all your needs and then we are on hand to the build up to the big day to make sure everything runs smoothly.

When you're not busy working at Through the Looking Glass Events what is your favourite pass time?
Both melody and I have children, so time spent being mum is very important to both of us. Melody enjoys horse riding, baking and exercise, and when I get the chance I am a big fan of musical theatre and I enjoy gracing the stage for a song or two!

Brilliant getting to know you better Kelly!

Through The Looking Glass Events are based in Northamptonshire but are happy to travel to take care of your wedding styling 🙂 

Laura xo

Photographers & suppliers featured in this post:
Daring to Dream Photography
Welcome photography
The Memory Box Photos
Flowers by Charlotte Davies
Fun Dubbin Occasions
Barton Hall
Love From Samyukta
Three Lakes Restaurant
GB Styling
Doll Face Beauty
Vickers Men's Wear
Grendon Lakes
Draycote Hotel