It only takes a glimpse of blue skies and watery sunshine to raise spirits in the Magic Dust office! That and the first shoots of spring bulbs appearing in our window boxes and we couldn't be happier or more inspired.

If you're looking for ideas for a Spring wedding, and want to keep things simple, stylish and multi-purpose, here's a thought...

Use Spring plants, like the tete-a-tete pictured here (you have the perfect excuse to order one from John Lewis to see exactly what I mean!), as table decorations and bring a bit of sunshine into your reception even if the weather isn't playing ball.

You could make this idea even more personal by being ultra-organised and planting up your own bulbs in an eclectic mix of pots, vintage cups and saucers or enamel jugs perhaps, in the September/October prior to your Spring wedding. Might sound overly ambitious but, put aside one weekend, gather some friends, have a planting party and then let the hardy little bulbs look after themselves for the next few months!

Not only do these make beautiful table centrepieces but you can invite special guests to take them home as a gift. We worked at a wedding last summer where one person at every table had a 'golden ticket' at their place setting which invited them to take home the centrepiece as a thank you - such a lovely idea and so simple to do.

And this isn't only an idea for Spring weddings - miniature roses, herb planters and African violets would work equally well at different times of the year, adding a personal touch and a simple, stylish look to your beautifully planned wedding celebration!

Until next time,

Labels: decoration, florist, style, tips

In this week's wedding tip video, we give advice on choosing wedding flowers - budgeting, keeping them in pristine condition through the day, and ways of making sure the beauty of the flowers isn't just confined to the day of your celebration.



Until next time, happy planning!

Labels: florist, style, tips, wedding-tip-video

TIP 2

Always use seasonal flowers wherever possible to keep costs down. Or, don't use flowers at all, especially if you're getting married between Christmas and New Year when the flower markets are closed. Instead think candles, fairy lights and winter greenery - simple and visually stunning.

Until tomorrow's tip,

Labels: budget, decoration, florist, style, tips, venue

TIP 3

A small gesture can mean the world to people - we've seen close friends honoured with special buttonholes that mark them out from 'normal' guests and always evoke a positive response, as well as a few tears of joy!

You don't have to ask everyone to be your bridesmaid but you can make those closest to you feel very special with a little bit of thought, and without spending lots of money.

Until tomorrow's tip,

Labels: florist, press, style, tips

I have a reminder in my diary for the middle of May each year and it says, "Find some peonies". In my mind, this 'appointment' marks the start of fabulous flower season and so I have a vase of beautiful white and pale peach peonies taking pride of place on my desk this week. They may only be in season for a few weeks every year, but peonies do seem to have a special place in the hearts of many wedding floral designer, and prospective brides.

How beautiful is this bridal bouquet of white peonies (source: www.marthastewart.com)? I have this image displayed in my office because it literally makes me smile every time I see it...

I thought I'd share a few tips with you today about the questions you should ask when you're 'interviewing' florists for your wedding day. Experience has taught us that taking a little bit of control and responsibility, as well as building a rapport with your florist from the very first conversation really does mean you'll enjoy a more positive experience.

Here are my top five questions for florists...

1) Are you available on our wedding date and how many other weddings will you be providing flowers for on that day?

It's good to establish a florist's availability as soon as possible so as not to waste their time, or yours. Equally importantly, finding out how much work they're prepared to take on for a single day will enable you to make a judgement about how important your wedding is going to be to them - and how flexible they are going to be able to be with any last minute changes to your order and delivery details.

2) Can you provide what we need within our budget?

Use the expertise of the florists you're talking to, after all, they will know a lot more about flower combinations, volumes of blooms needed and the viability of your ideas, than you will! It's important to establish that the things you want are achievable within your budget and, if not, what alternatives you could consider.

3) Who will be delivering, and setting up, the flowers on our wedding day?

Find out if the florist sends a qualified floral designer out with their orders or if local couriers are used. This will enable you to decide if you're going to need to look at additional help on your wedding day as couriers are employed to literally deliver the order and leave, whilst a floral designer will spend time ensuring your flowers are set up as previously discussed.

4) Have you worked at our ceremony/reception venue before and, if not, would you be prepared to visit with us?

Florists who are familiar with your venue(s) are worth their weight in gold, as are those who are happy to meet you at the venue(s) to discuss your requirements. Money can be saved, arrangements can be dual-purpose and nothing will come as a surprise if you're working with someone who knows, and has provided flowers for, your venue(s) before.

5) Please could you put us in touch with some couples you have recently worked with?

As with every other wedding supplier, a good florist will happily put you in touch with couples whose weddings they have recently worked on. It's important that you follow up and contact them in order to get an objective description of the service they enjoyed from the florist(s) you're considering. Whilst it's highly unlikely that they'll put you in touch with unhappy clients, it's still extremely useful to get an idea of what working with individual florists is really like.

And remember, floral arrangements don't have to be flowers to be stunning. One of my favourite images is of these voile-covered bay trees, lining the entrance to the wedding ceremony (source: "The Best of Martha Stewart Living", Potter). Absolutely stunning and totally achievable as many florists now hire out bay trees and lengths of voile and ribbon can be bought inexpensively and transform these trees into a magical scene. You could even add battery-operated white fairy lights for extra sparkle!

If you would like to talk to me about how we can kick-start your wedding plans and help you enjoy the planning of your wedding, please get in touch. We'll happily chat to you, with no obligations, about our services and if we leave you feeling confident and capable of planning the day of your dreams (not anyone else's), that is our reward!

Until next week,

Labels: florist, style, supplier, tips

Hasn't the sunshine been just fabulous this week? I like to think that it was ordered especially for my birthday but that's just me!

There's something really special about this time of year, the appearance of thousands of daffodils on the roadside, lambs in the fields and, if you're anything like me, an almost uncontrollable desire to get out my flip flops and freeze my feet off at the first sight of a blue sky.

So, flowers have definitely been on my mind and I wanted to tell you about an unusual combination I've come across that really works. The simplicity and softness of spring flowers like hyacinth and tulips in pinks and lilacs teamed with something stronger like thistles, in a complementary shade of purple, looks spectacular and a little bit different (the ones shown on the right are from InterFlora). It's perfect for table centrepieces and especially so if you're trying to incorporate a nod to your Scottish heritage - that's how we've used it for a client this week.

One of my favourite sources of inspiration is the fabulous Amanda's Vintage Glam Weddings blog and this week she has given all you handy brides a real treat.

Four beautiful flower patterns to download and use as you see fit for your weddings - invitations, place name cards, orders of service, table plan. There are endless ways in which you can incorporate them, either yourself or with the help of a designer. I hope you like them.

Here's to a sunny weekend, particularly for Lisa & Jonathan - have a wonderful day and don't worry about a thing (that's our job!).

ps - you can get regular wedding planning advice from magicdust's regular newsletter, simply click here to subscribe (and don't worry, we don't give your details to anyone else - we'll only use them to send you the newsletter)

Labels: florist, style, tips

This week has literally flown by - must have been all those lovely sunny, but cold, days putting a spring in my step!

I managed to find time this week to meet up with a few suppliers. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that we don't have 'preferred suppliers' who incentivise us to recommend them (where's the integrity in that?).

What we do have are suppliers that we prefer! When we work with suppliers who are great, we won't hesitate to recommend them to other people; if we hear people we trust raving about suppliers, we'll make sure you hear about them too and, when we are approached by suppliers we use our judgement and can spot a like-minded business man or woman at 20 paces!

Finding like-minded suppliers who have the couple getting married at the heart of their business really does make my day. It gives me faith in the good side of the wedding industry and inspires me to continue to challenge it to always put you, the people who keep us in business, first.

Check out these 3...

Kate Everall Photography The first line on the home page of Kate's website says, "I just love taking photographs" and that speaks volumes. Check out the gallery of her wedding section and see if you can get through it without welling up at the emotion she has captured in every shot (I know I couldn't!). Mix all this with the fact that Kate is a lovely, friendly person who really wants the couples she works with to enjoy their day rather than spend majority of it posing for photos that will never see the light of day, and you've got a photographer in a million. She's based in Milton Keynes but will travel so do get in touch and tell her I said hi!

Elsie Florence vintage china hire When I spoke to Sara this week (she's the brains behind Elsie Florence) she was working in France, her car had just broken down, she had a husband and children in tow as she multi-tasked her way through half-term and she was still smiling and upbeat! Her vintage china is beautiful, she has enough to cater for a sit-down wedding breakfast for 150 people and she tends to hire it out within Somerset, Devon, Wiltshire and Dorset. That said, she works closely with a trusted courier, and so is happy to arrange transport to venues further afield. For an English country garden feel or a shabby-chic stately home, this is just the sort of personal touch that we love! It makes me want to get married all over again.

Robbie Honey floral design Robbie Honey is a genius. His creations regularly feature in bridal magazines and on TV and his passion for his craft is inspiring. But what I really love about this company is that they don't take themselves too seriously and they make it easy for people to sample their services. Check out the 'About Us' section of their website and particularly Violet, the dachshund, their company mascot! And then, unfortunately only if you live or work in London but it does mean your flowers are fresh, order one of their bouquets and marvel at all the flowers and the lack of greenery - the stuff that some, less fabulous, florists use to 'pad out' mediocre bouquets!

I'll have more fabulous suppliers for you next week but if you'd like to talk to me about organising a 'Girls Night In' wedding planning session, check if we're free on your wedding date for 'On The Day' wedding co-ordination or just need an answer to a question that's keeping you awake at night, please get in touch!

Until next week,

ps - you can get regular wedding planning advice from magicdust's regular newsletter, simply click here to subscribe (and don't worry, we don't give your details to anyone else - we'll only use them to send you the newsletter)

Labels: caterer, florist, photographer, supplier

Labels: florist, supplier, tips