Category Archives: Venue Styling

Lego Loving: Lego Themed Wedding

Calling all Lego geeks! Why is Lego so flipping fantastic, and perfectly acceptable to still play with as an adult? Ahem… *moves lego bricks away*. Lego has certainly stood the test of time and those little yellow men seem to be springing up all over the show, there’s no escape! Are they taking over the world?

I recently watched a video put together by Sugru showing how little Lego hands are a perfect fit for tidying cables away, not just a pretty yellow face hey! Anyway, as Handmade and Hitched was whirring around in my head this got me wondering if anyone had tried out a Lego themed wedding. Yep, you betcha, there’s a lot of Lego loving in the world. Here are some images taken from real weddings to inspire Lego heads everywhere… Oh and here’s the Sugru video, just because I think this is super cool…

First image (top of the page) and bottom two images courtesy of Ian Photography. All other images courtesy of Gemma Clarke Photography.

If you’re wondering where to start looking then Etsy is full of amazing Lego accessories – search for lego earrings, cufflinks, favours and more.

Lego did have their own Minifigure Wedding Favour Set. Sadly this is now a retired product but you can still pick it up around the web by searching on sites such as Amazon and ebay. If you want to go one better and have bespoke minifigures made to look just like the two of you then try www.minifigs.me. I haven’t used this website personally so I can’t guaranty the quality of the products, but it’s definitely worth checking out for yourselves.

Lots of Lego Wedding Love

Michelle
xxx

P.S. If you’ve had your own Lego themed wedding or you’re planning one then I’d love to hear about it. Drop me a comment in the box below.

Marquee Wedding Design Tips by Rio Lounge

Handmade and Hitched

Today I have this lovely post put together for you by Cheryl from Rio Lounge Boutique and Furniture Hire. And although Cheryl talks about summer weddings (it’s never too early to start planning for next year!) I think a lot of these ideas will be fabulous in the mild winter that we’re lucky to be having too! Failing that you could rope in some patio heaters to keep your guests toasty, while still achieving that outdoorsy vibe. So here are some of Cheryl’s suggestions for a Marquee wedding…

Design Tips for Marquee Weddings

Planning a summer wedding? If so, you may be among the many couples who choose to hire a wedding marquee for the day. Getting married in a marquee gives you complete freedom of choice in terms of your décor – it’s a totally blank canvas where you can create exactly the look you want for your big day. The white backdrop of a wedding marquee will perfectly complement every style of furnishing and decoration so there’s no need to make your choices based on the character of the surroundings as with some indoor venues – you can literally have anything you want!

If you want something really distinctive, you can hire special coloured or patterned marquee linings which can totally transform the feel of the space. Alternatively, you can very effectively add accents to a white wedding marquee with splashes of your favourite colour or by picking out hues from your floral arrangements. Twisting fabrics around the poles of the marquee and draping them from the ceiling can create a great impact, and you can pick up the same tones in your table runners to pull the look together. Alternatively, in place of fabrics you can achieve a soft and natural effect by decorating some poles with real or artificial foliage, into which you could also twine some pretty fairy lights which create a beautiful and romantic atmosphere for the evening.

The beauty of a wedding marquee is that it also allows you to set out your furniture in just about any configuration you desire. For example, sectioning off separate areas away from the formal dining for guests to chat and enjoy a drink before or after the meal gives them a welcome alternative to going back to their tables. You could even go the whole hog and include a fully functioning bar. If you’re holding your evening party in the wedding marquee you will of course also need an area for dancing, so think about creating your own opulent ballroom with ornate chandeliers and mirrors. You can hire furniture and accessories to create your desired atmosphere from companies such as Rio Lounge or JMT Indisplay.

You’ll put a lot of thought and effort into getting the interior of your wedding marquee just right, but don’t let that lead you to overlook the exterior. If it’s a warm and sunny day your guests will want to make the most of outside spaces too, so it’s a nice idea to include a chill-out area on the grass or deck where they can take a breather from the party when they need to. You can bring your colour theme outside in the form of scatter cushions on sofas and table decorations; or for a quintessential British summer vibe, deck chairs with their coloured stripes are a great choice. Don’t forget that in order to allow your guests to continue to enjoy the outdoors after the sun goes down, you’ll also need to hire patio heaters and lighting, and lanterns are simply ideal for outdoors.

Talk to your furniture hire company or marquee supplier who will be pleased to make suggestions if you’re in need of any further inspiration.

If you’re interested in hiring decor for your fabulous marquee wedding then do check out the Rio Lounge website. www.riolounge.co.uk.

Image credits: Rio Lounge

Michelle xxx

Unusual Containers for Wedding Flowers

Handmade and Hitched

Let boring floral displays become a thing of the past and consider decorating your wedding venue with flowers in these alternative containers.

Marcin Floryan, CC BY-SA 2.0

It can be incredibly easy and cheap to create unusual wedding flower displays. Just think outside of the box with a little inspiration from this blog post.

You can easily make unusual containers from upcycled old junk. If you’re prepared to get your hands dirty by having a nosey down at the local skip (sounds glamorous – but you’d be surprised what you can find), or scouring second-hand stores, you can find all kinds of hidden treasure for your flower displays. Old bicycles look fantastic painted in bright or pastel tones and you can place your flowers in the baskets or wind them around the structure of the bike. Similarly, fill old broken or disused musical instruments with flowers to create an unusual and eye-catching piece at your venue. Prop open the top of an old piano and fill it with stunning blooms and foliage spilling over the edges and down to the floor. Fill the openings of old guitars or ukuleles with trailing flowers and hang or prop them up around your venue. These ideas would work great with a musical themed wedding.

Crowbot, CC BY-SA 2.0, Modified.

Old tin cans are another cheap and quirky looking option. When you’ve munched your way through several tins of baked beans, paint them in pretty pastel colours or cover them in pattered paper. Just make sure that any sharp edges are covered or filed down, you don’t want any disasters on your big day! You can also use pretty vintage tins which may have had previous lives as biscuit barrels, tea, or sweet containers. Let your imagination run wild.

Images courtesy of Annabella Charles via Wedding Chicks

Milk bottles, test tubes, and jars make lovely and unusual plain glass containers. I LOVE the flower display below, captured by www.thewhiterabbitstudios.com. This is a very soft and romantic display but could easily be adapted for a wacky science theme, for all you boffins out there.

Image courtesy of White Rabbit Studios

Going vintage tea party stylee? This is still a popular choice and an easy one to create by displaying cuttings of fresh flowers in tea cups and teapots for a cute and romantic touch. This is something I am toying with doing in the kitchen / dining area of my new home – I’ll be sure to post up some pictures if I go down this route.

Unusual Floral Containers, Image by Handmade & Hitched.

Watering cans, jugs and stylish looking buckets are great for an outdoorsy rustic affair. If your wellies and old walking boots haven’t seen daylight for the last five years, then now’s the time to let them shine. They haven’t seen much mud on the outside so fill them with mud on the inside and get planting! You can even put them on display in your garden after the event as a lovely reminder. Awwww.

Image via Enthused Monkey

The list is endless, once you get your creative juices flowing you will realise that there are so many things you can do that really cost next to nothing. I hope some of the ideas here have provided you with inspiration for your own wedding flowers. If you’ve created your own unusual floral displays at your wedding or made use of alternative types of containers then do get in touch and let me know. I love nothing more than hearing from real couples. Catch me for a natter on Twitter or Facebook or simply write me a comment in the box below, I will always reply.

Lots of handmade and creative love

Michelle xxx

A Pistachio Wedding Affair

Handmade and Hitched

I can’t say I’ve noticed that many pistachio themed weddings. Maybe I’m just walking around with my eyes closed or I haven’t been to enough weddings but I do think it’s a fresh and unusual colour choice. Not quite the obvious, and gives off a cool and quirky summer vibe. For those of you who aren’t convinced, I’ve put together the perfect pistachio mood board…

Image credits, clockwise from top left; Pistachio green earrings by Joojoland on Etsy, Macaron cake by Anges de Sucre, Bow ties by Xoelle on Etsy, Pistachio pudding shots by Jelly Shot Test Kitchen, Pakerson italian handmade leather lace up shoes on Forzieri, Heart stickers by Kawaiigoodies on Etsy, Bouquet via Martha Stewart Weddings, Personalised wedding card by Door 77 on Etsy, Pistachio themed table setting via Lisa Rice Photography, Teacup and saucer by Peter’s of Kensington, Engagement ring by Torkkeli Jewellery on Etsy, Dupioni dress via Loverly.

I have to say I absolutely LOVE the pistachio mens shoes. With all your groomsmen wearing them they would certainly add something a little bit different to your wedding photos. Ask your photographer to catch a fancy shot of their shoes while they’re stood in a row. These shoes can even be customised with names printed on the insoles, now that’s pretty groovy.

If you’re tempted by the pistachio pudding shots and fancy giving them a go then follow the link to the Jelly Shot Test Kitchen above for the recipe. They’d make a great summer pudding after a BBQ on a hot summers evening. There are tons of other weird and wonderful jelly recipes on there. Let me know if you try them out, just be careful you don’t slip and add too much vodka to the recipe!

The dress teamed up with the earrings would look super cute for your bridesmaids and would be one they wear time and time again rather than gathering dust at the back of the wardrobe. I’m actually thinking of getting this dress for a friend’s wedding in August. I’ll take some snaps and let you know what it’s like if I make a purchase. It’s also available full length if you don’t fancy flashing your legs or if you want to mix things up a with bridesmaids wearing slightly different styles.

I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s pistachio wedding theme. If you’re going for this colour drop me a comment in the box below, i’d love to hear your ideas.

Lots of pistachio wedding love

Michelle xxx

How to Use Etsy Treasuries to Style Your Wedding

Handmade and Hitched

Image Credits: Cufflinks from Block Party Press, Firefly Lantern Wand by Bragging Bags, both on Etsy

There are tons of ways to create beautiful style boards to inspire your wedding day. Right now i’m working on a post to give you some ideas about the variety of tools available. You’d be surprised how many you haven’t even heard of! Pinterest seems to be one of the most popular ways for couples to bring their wedding vision to life, but it isn’t the only tool available, and might not be suitable for all of your needs.

If you’re big on ‘handmade’ shopping (you know I am!) and you have an Etsy account, you can create your own lists and style boards as you shop. How amazing – shopping and designing all in one place! Etsy allows you to create what are called ‘treasuries’ containing any 16 items that you love from their website. You can choose a theme to follow making your Etsy treasury very similar to a style board. Images are also clickable taking you directly to the shop. This is a great way of keeping your ideas together, and a reference to go back to once your wedding is styled and you’re ready to make that all important purchase.

Playing around on Etsy last night, I put together this woodland themed wedding treasury. Here’s a screenshot to show what it looks like on the site…

You can see if the items work together to tie in with your colours and theme, and how much everything is going to cost at just a glance. Brilliant work! It’s just a shame that you’re limited to 16 items, but to be honest most style boards may start to feel messy and overcrowded if you add much more than this.

If you want to explore my woodland themed wedding board on the Etsy website then click here. For more information about creating your own Etsy treasury follow this helpful link – How to Create a Treasury. You will need to sign up to the site before you can get started, but it’s very quick and easy. Etsy also select some of the most beautiful treasuries to display on their front page. You never know, you might even end up being the star of the show!

Here are some of those stunning woodland trinkets close up. I created this collage with Google’s Picasa and will be showing you how simple it is to create your own collages in a future post. All the links to the products are displayed below, so if you see something you like click on the image credits to be taken through to the store. There’s some pretty fabulous finds here…

Image Credits: Ring pillow by Which Goose, Rustic Bride and Groom cake topper by Which Goose, Buttonholes by Lie to Fiore, Forest Fern Necklace by Ruby Robin Boutique, ‘We do’ Cake Topper by Melys Weddings, Gold Leaf Hair Combs (image of bride and groom) by Red Truck Designs, Burlap Birds wedding Cake Topper by Cotton Bird Designs, Spring Leaf Crown by Curtain Road, Burlap Table Numbers by Montana Snow, Gold Feather Hair Clip by Dreams by the Sea, Wedding Invitation by Ever After Papery, Clutch Bag by Red Ruby Rose, Burlap Hair Bow by Twinkle Mingle, all via Etsy

Lots of handmade love

Michelle xxx