Miscellaneous Monday: Paint your Wedding in Watercolours

When we heard about this new wedding service, we just had to share it with you! Imagine capturing your dream day as a beautiful piece of art that will rest as a reminder of your love-filled day. Now, we’re not talking photos – although these are extremely important, of course – but a live artist, who uses brushes and watercolours to capture the scene.

CharlotteAtkinson is an award winning published artist and illustrator, who was listed in the'Top Ten Best selling British Artists '2004 by the Fine Art Trade Guild. Winner of several awards, she has captivated the imagination of international art markets for over a decade.  

Portrait of a wedding

Using her lifelong passion for figure drawing and painting skills, which she has perfected in Italy, Charlotte is now offering Live Wedding Paintings – a full day experience that is totally unique and can act as a great ice-breaker for guests to chat over, as your painting is created at your reception.

Her wedding services include event painting at the wedding venue, portrait of the bride and groom, as well as wedding dress and bouquet illustration. Armed with her easel, paints and brushes, she is happy to blend in the background and work alongside the photographer or videographer. In addition, her artistic talent provides unique entertainment for your guests, as they can watch the painting progress throughout the day.

                

“One of the wonderful things about having a painting created live is that I can include anything memorable about the day in any order as I see it - usually this includes the venue in some way, the happy couple together with a few guests, the cake and the colour scheme,” explains Charlotte.

“To give you some inspiration I have previously painted from balconies, inside marquees and sometimes outside to include the venue as the background.”

Want to find out the difference between her Watercolours or Acrylics and learn more about her unique wedding service? Why not take a look at her portfolio at http://www.watercolourweddings.com/

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more tips and advice on all your wedding needs! 

DETAILS

Charlotte Atkinson
W: http://www.watercolourweddings.com

E: atkinsonart@icloud.com
T: 07943 377711

twitter @Atkinsonart

Miscellaneous Monday: It’s festival fever!

For our Miscellaneous Monday this week, we’re looking at ways to celebrate your wedding day outdoors, whatever the weather. 

Festival wedding venue: Outdoor celebration

If you’d like to have a relaxed, laid back feel for your wedding day, then why not consider a festival theme? With summer music festivals and local fetes all across the West Country at this time of year, there are plenty of local suppliers that can help with everything you need. With a few simple touches, you can transform your parents’ garden into a wedding-worthy venue. Weather permitting, you could be making your way down the aisle on a carpet of daisies, with guests sitting on hay bales, and say ‘I do’ under a beautiful floral arch. And if you're embracing the festival theme fully, then invite your guests for a wedding picnic under the blue sky - do ask them to bring wellies and a brolly, just in case!   

To get you started, we’ve put together a Festival Theme board on Pinterest, which you can share with your bridesmaids and maybe inspire you to create your own. We'd love to hear your thoughts in a comment below or drop us a message on Twitter!

Follow West Weddings's board Festival wedding theme on Pinterest.

Festival wedding details: Wild flowers   

From bouquets to center pieces, think mismatched wild flowers in different shapes and shades that look like they’ve just been picked from a meadow. Take inspiration from Kate Moss and go for a natural look – think soft dresses, loose curls, floral garlands and bare feet!  

Festival wedding music: Live band

There’s no better way to create a festival atmosphere for your wedding than with a live music performance. Choose a band whose style you both love and agree on a playlist that will get everyone on the dance floor. Add some festival flags, fairy lights and glow sticks, and your guests will feel like they’re at Glastonbury! 

Fashion Friday: Modern Wedding Fascinators

We love wedding traditions, and one of our favourite British ones is the fascinator. As with many traditions, however, as they age they can tend to get a bit stale. Many modern brides and wedding guests are ditching the fascinator altogether - but we don't think this time-honored tradition should die!

To do our part to save the fascinator, we've put together a collection of some of our favourite modern wedding fascinators (and close cousins), for brides and wedding guests alike. Happy Fashion Friday!

While these cover a range of styles and tastes, they all share some common elements: unexpectedness in design, simplicity, and a tasteful amount of volume. These all allow you to partake in the fascinator tradition without making national news. Jewelled hair pins or clips are also a great way to add a little something extra to your hairstyle if you don't feel daring enough to sport a full fascinator.

What do you think? Would these fascinators convince you to get with tradition? Or do you still plan to avoid them? Let us know by leaving a comment, or via Twitter (@WestWeddingsMag). If you have some of your own to share, build your own pinboard on Pinterest or Polyvore and share them with us. We would love to feature it on the blog!

Fashion Friday: Modern Wedding Fascinators by westweddings featuring a feather headband

Miscellaneous Monday: Happy St Patrick's Day!

Happy St Patrick's Day! Today we are taking full advantage of the excuse to make today's Miscellaneous Monday all about the colour green and taking inspiration from the Irish! Without further ado...

Favourite nail colour: Mint Candy Apple by Essie
As with everything Irish, we love getting the chance to celebrate one of our favourite nail polish colours. Mint Candy Apple is a gorgeous pale blue-green that's just green enough to tip its hat to St Patrick's Day, but not enough to be cringe-worthy. Whether you're a bride, a wedding guest, or just on the lookout for a great new nail colour, we highly recommend this one. (Sold at Boots & Superdrug for £7.99).

Favourite Irish inspiration: Our St Patty's Day Pinterest board
To be honest, we couldn't narrow down our favourite source of inspiration, so we compiled it all into one Pinterest board! Click on the board to see all the bits of inspiration we're loving this week - from tiny paper shamrocks, to pastel green decor, to birds nest bouquets and more!

Follow West Weddings's board St Patrick's Day on Pinterest.

Favourite fashion trend: green bridesmaids dresses
As with most colour trends, it isn't always easy to incorporate green into the fashion of your wedding. You may feel limited in colour scope as a bride, and you may shy away from bold colours such as green for your bridesmaids. But we're here to convince you otherwise. We love these two examples of green bridesmaids dresses (both light and dark - especially dark!). They're classy, understated, and yet a truly gorgeous colour that will help along the colour theme of your wedding.

Miscellaneous Monday: Pride and Prejudice, Tattoos and more

Today we’re sharing some of our favourite wedding inspiration from across the web.

Favourite Proposal: Pride & Prejudice themed wedding proposal

Last week the website bleaty.com shared the photo-by-photo story of an amazing Pride and Prejudice themed proposal story. This groom-to-be really went all out when it came to proposing to his girlfriend – complete with costumes, re-enactment from the book, and more. Bonus points: he got her family involved. See the whole story here: http://bleaty.com/pride-and-prejudice-marriage-proposal/

Source: bleaty.com

Favourite wedding theme: A tattoo-inspired wedding

The popularity of tattoos seems to be growing, and they are a really unique way to express who you are and even preserve cherished memories. What better memory to cherish than your wedding day? Last week Buzzfeed broke down ’13 Ideas For a Tattoo-Inspired Wedding’ and we thought the ideas were fab. Highlights include working tattoos into your cake/cupcake décor, using ink as an alternative to wedding bands, and tattooing your shoes (yes, you heard right!).

Favourite innovation: Online wedding magazine/book

Today while perusing some online editions of West Weddings, we stumbled across this gem. A couple named Amanda and Daniel had published their wedding book on issuu.com (click the link to see the published book). It stood out from traditional photo albums in that it incorporated some truly gorgeous graphic design – making it a cross between a scrapbook and a photo album. Not only are the photos beautiful, but they’re presented so well and I’m sure Amanda and Daniel will be proud to keep their book as a keepsake for many years. The bonus for them with publishing it online is that it’s easily shareable with family and friends. A winner all around!

Fashion Friday: Silver is the new gold

This week for Fashion Friday we've chosen a lovely 'dark violet' bodycon dress (£36 at John Lewis) and accessorised the heck out of it with silver bling. Our favourite aspect of this ensemble is the way the shine of the silver accessories set off the warmth of the violet. Better still, this ensemble is not only perfect for a December-February wedding, but it would also make a great party outfit for Christmas or New Years.

What do you think? We'd love to hear from you via Twitter (@WestWeddings) or on Polyvore (see our profile here). If you'd like the chance to have an ensemble of your own featured on West Weddings, we'd love to know. Just share it with us through Polyvore or email us at westweddingsbristol[at]gmail.com.

Silver is the new gold by westweddings featuring a galaxy nail polish

Miscellaneous Mondays: 50's, and red and Bristol - oh my!

Through bleary eyes, poking my head over a hot mug of coffee, I (Editor Kate) haven’t quite decided if I’m ready for Monday (and it’s already past noon). That said, here it is, and what better way to take a tentative step into the week than by sharing some of my wedding-inspired finds from across the internet? This week I’m loving 50’s-inspired a-line dresses, deep red nail polish, and a shout-out to Bristol’s own The Paintworks on Rock’n’Roll Bride!

Favourite wedding dress: A-line gown

My favourite aspect of this gown is its timeless simplicity. It’s elegant, flattering to most figures, and puts the focus squarely where it ought to be: on the bride. If you’re local to the Bristol and Bath area, you’re in luck, as this one was supplied for our Autumn 2013 photoshoot by local Bath dress shop Solitaire Brides.

Favourite accessory: Deep red nail polish

I saw this featured on a recent photoshoot over at Rock My Wedding, and fell in love with the colour. Many brides (myself included) find it a bit daunting to consider wearing a bold colour on their nails for the wedding day (even if they typically wear stand-out colours day-to-day). But this fabulous photoshoot should give you the courage to make a statement! I love nail polish for its ability to be the perfect accessory: bold without being overwhelming.

(c) Rebekah J Murray

Favourite local venue: The Paintworks (as featured on Rock’n’Roll Bride)

Clearly this was a week for being inspired by fellow blogs, because I stumbled across this Bristol shout-out over at Rock’n’Roll Bride and knew I’d have to feature it here. Abbie and Daniel had their wedding at Bristol’s own The Paintworks, and the photos are simply lovely. For the less-than-traditional wedding, The Paintworks is a fantastic venue – truly ‘rock’n’roll’.

(c) Marshal Gray

The Wedding Guest: Autumn inspiration for the fashionable guest

Here at West Weddings, despite our passion for bridal fashion we don't want to overlook wedding guests! As a matter of fact, most of us will only get married once - but will be guests at a multitude of weddings. While I personally enjoy picking out exactly the right outfit for a wedding, I often find it daunting to know exactly what outfit to choose and how to make the most of the wardrobe I already have - particularly as the seasons change.

To inspire your creativity, here are a few looks we've put together that may help you get into the Autumnal mood as you prepare for your next wedding as a guest. Feel free to create your own style boards to share with us over at westweddings.polyvore.com.

Autumn wedding outfits by westweddings featuring forever 21 shoes

Elastic waist dress
fashionunion.com

Special occasion dress
£66 - modcloth.com

Michael kors top
theoutnet.com

Forever New tapered trousers
£29 - forevernew.com.au

Peep toe pumps
£23 - stylishplus.com

Charlotte Olympia red pumps
£620 - mytheresa.com

Forever 21 shoes
£19 - forever21.com

Michael Kors leather bracelet
£115 - fashion.ebay.com

Bangle bracelet
£8.85 - shopruche.com

Stella Dot cuff bracelet
£50 - stelladot.com

Michael kors jewelry
£35 - couture.zappos.com

John Lewis accessory
johnlewis.com

Flowers Summer Stories 12X12 Paper by Teresa Collins
£0.47 - twopeasinabucket.com

My Minds Eye-Love Me-Paper-Love
£0.56 - franticstamper.com

Victoria Grant Black Felt Strummer Fascinator
avenue32.com

Feeling Fresh Faced: A Dr Hauschka facial experience at Harvey Nichols

Last week West Weddings was invited to the Dr Hauschka counter at Harvey Nichols, Cabot Circus in Bristol to try a facial. Since we at WW Towers love researching local beauty experiences (it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it), we were chuffed to be asked by this cult skincare brand and sent editor Helen down there to check it out.

I’ve been a bit stressed recently, and my skin was definitely reflecting this, so the offer to try a Dr Hauschka facial came at just the right time.  I’ve always heard good things about this brand, which uses only natural ingredients and no nasties such as parabens and PEGs in its body and facial care range, so I was excited to see what it could do for my poor, tired skin to make it look better for the hen weekend I had coming up.

The counter manager at Dr Hauschka Bristol is Alex, who made me feel right at ease. The treatment room in Harvey Nichols is a lovely, relaxing space, very quiet and peaceful, and, with its very comfortable treatment couch, a great place to spend half an hour after a busy morning at work!

Alex started off by asking me a few questions about my skin type and skincare regime, and tailored the facial accordingly. She took off my make up with cleanser and then applied a gently warmed flannel to my face and neck, delicately scented with lemon water, which smelled delicious and was very refreshing. There is also a lavender version, but she warned me that it might put me to sleep at this time of day!

A cream-based face mask was then applied and left on my face for five minutes, during which Alex massaged my hands with Dr Hausckha hand cream. At this stage I was gently drifting off, and could quite happily have had a snooze!

 

The final step of the facial was an application of the legendary Rose Day Cream, beloved by Anne Hathaway and other women across the world. I was offered the normal one or the lighter version, so I opted for the former. I think this was perhaps a little too rich for me, though, as it took a long time to sink in, but that was only a minor point in what was an altogether lovely experience. Alex also thoughtfully noticed that my lips were quite cracked and so gave them a good slathering of lip balm!

The facial lasted about half an hour and I left feeling revitalised, rejuvenated and oh so relaxed. Alex was very knowledgeable about the different products and how to tailor them to my skin type, and on leaving, gave me some shower gel samples, perfect timing for my weekend away.

I would highly recommend a Dr Hauschka facial as a great pre-wedding treatment and a good chance to try out its products on your skin. While you’re at the counter, do also check out the brand’s great range of plant-based make up, which includes bases, mascaras and lip colours.

The Dr Hauschka counter in Harvey Nichols, Bristol is offering 30 minute facials for £25, redeemable against any purchase. Call 0117 916 8865 or email contactbristol@harveynichols.com to book.

West Weddings was the guest of Dr Hauschka. We always strive to give an honest opinion on products and experiences, however, and if we don’t like them then we would say so!

Get a head start on Autumn wedding plans at Berwick Lodge

As we enter August, despite the lovely heat, we’re reminded that Autumn is around the corner, and with it arrives the gorgeous cosy prospect of Autumnal weddings. If you are planning a wedding in the Autumn, where better to begin investigating than at the ‘Autumn Leaves’ Wedding Open Afternoon at Berwick Lodge?

Berwick Lodge is opening their doors for an afternoon celebrating the arrival of Autumn on Sunday, the 29^th of September, from 3-7pm. Come along to meet wedding suppliers and to chat to the staff at Berwick about your wedding plans.

On the agenda for the afternoon:

• Tours of Berwick Lodge
• Short talks and tips on wedding makeup and hairstyles
• Tutorials on how to design your very own wedding dress
• Opportunities to try on wedding dresses
• A ‘taste of afternoon tea’ experience
• The chance to find inspiration for your hen party
• A cosy log fire to sit by in the crisp air
• Competition entries to win a stay in a deluxe suite

Lisa, from Lisa Keating Bridal, who has more than 27 years of experience designing and making wedding gowns, will be sharing brief 15-minute talks about bespoke wedding gowns (and how to design your very own dream gown). Lisa will also be showcasing her collection of Bridal-wear and Corsetry that will be available to try on during the event.

Makeup artist Vicki Waghorn, whose eight year career has seen her become a well-loved staple in the region’s wedding industry, will be presenting regular demonstrations and tips on wedding hair and makeup. She will also be available to offer advice on all aspects of your wedding beauty (on a one-to-one or group basis).

Other wedding suppliers include styling by The Little Wedding Helper, photography by Frances Taylor, cakes by Anna Tyler, vintage wedding cars by Triggols, bespoke stationery by Lizzy May, flowers by Daisy Lane Floral, pianist Matthew O’Connor, vocalists Lyrica and Bust A Groove, chair covers and ceremony room dressing by Ambience, and vintage style wedding craft by Gift Frippery.

To RSVP to this event, please contact Jo at: jo@berwicklodge.co.uk or 0117 958 1590

A West Country Engagement

Today we're sharing engagement photos from bride-to-be and fellow wedding blogger Stephanie Large. 

These photos were taken at Stephanie and her fiance's engagement party at Lydiard Park in Swindon, Wiltshire. The photos were taken by local photographer Chloe Lee.

Sam and Stephanie met more than five years ago, sparked by an internet date that became rather serious! They now live in Devizes, Wiltshire, having Alfie and Tilly (the canine two) over for sleepovers at the weekend.

On May the 4th Sam proposed to Stephanie over afternoon tea, where the ring was hidden under the tea cup. (Stephanie blogged the whole story here: http://aweddingdream.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/welcome-story.html?m=1)

They're now busy planning their October 2014 wedding, which will be in Florida on Disney property - making Stephanie's dreams come true!

P.S. Stephanie got in touch with us asking if we take submissions. The answer - as you can see - is a hearty yes! If you have wedding or engagement photos to share - let us know! We love a good photo.