Trends from the Royal Wedding

Yesterday I was awestruck as I watched two people, so obviously in love, vow to love and honour each other. As Kate walked the long aisle of Westminster Abbey in a dress designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, she was breathtakingly beautiful.  The delicate lace sleeves, the tiny buttons running down her back, the three metre long train, the fitted bodice, the unfussy veil and the Queens intricate diamond tiara.  Her sister, Pippa, looked stunning in her cowl necked Sarah Burton dress in white, perhaps an unusual choice for a bridesmaid, but just worked perfectly with the beauty of the day.

image source -  BBC News

The aisles of Westminster Abbey were lined with trees and the scent of Jasmine and Lily of the Valley filled the air.  Again the beautiful simplicity was perfect.  Of course the granduer of the carriages as the happy couple and their immediate family travelled back to Buckingham Palace added that pomp we expect from a Royal wedding and the enormous wedding cake ensured the many guests received a slice.  But even the cake was delicate in the piped details.  For me it was the understated beauty of the details that made the whole wedding absolutlely stunning. Eveything seemed to seamlessly fit together and made me smile, cry and cover me in goosebumps!

The Royal Wedding will play a huge role in promoting the British Wedding industry and will dictate trends for many months to come.  So here are my thoughts on what we can expect to see over the coming months and even years.

Couture Lace Cake from Peggy Porschen

Lace - This is already a very popular choice and will be used throughout themes, whether in stationery or the way a cake is iced to the dress itself. 

image scource - Pinterest

English Garden Flowers - Pretty bouquets of pretty handcut flowers, jamjars filled with Lily of the Valley, delicate blooms handtied and adorning aisles or tables, the essence of relaxed English flowers.

image source - Top Topiary

Trees - Now I am not convinced about this idea and I am sure florists the length and breadth of the country are now in fear of trying to manovere huge trees to  venues! Yet the smaller option may continue to prove popular with small potted bay trees decorated with tiny lights and strings of pearls and lace would add opulance to many themes.

image source - Style Me Pretty

Bridesmaids in White - This seemed an unusual choice as white is the colour reserved for the bride, but we have to agree Pippas dress was simply beautiful. I think there will be a a rise in this choice of colour for bridesmaids but am sure that with colour blocking still trending for the summer we do not have to worry about neutral weddings taking centre stage in theme choices.

image source - Pinterest

Grace Kelly & Vintage Style Icons - There have been numerous mentions that Kates style was reminiscent of the beautiful Grace Kelly.  I adore the glamour and beauty of vintage style icons and think the look of Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn and many other beautiful ladies from the past will be instrumnetal in styling for the bride.

image source - Pinterest

Green - For the dinner dance hosted by Prince Charles, Pippa Middleton stepped out in a stunning Temperley London gown in the most amazing shade of green imaginable.  Green is my favourite colour, in all it's hues so of course I now want this dress! I am sure this colour will prove popular amongst bridesmaids over the coming months.

image source Zoe Clark Cakes

Cakes - I loved the way Foina Cairns had constructed such an enormous wedding cake.  With a solid tiered base to then build the main five tiers the cake was intricately iced with a floral and garland pattern, adorned with leaf trim of icing and sprigs of Lily of the Valley sat prettily in the curves of the tiers.  I think cakes will be decorated with more intricate piping and perhaps designers will play with the construction of the tiers.  I also believe there will be an increase in the demand for a second, non-traditional cake.  William's chocolate Mcvities cake was in the words of Roald Dahl 'splendiforous'.  I am sure there are now many grooms planning their own cake and why not? You can never have too much cake!

image source - Daily Mail

Classic Cars - Hooray for British classic cars, Wills looked at ease whisking Kate away from the manic day as he drove his dads Aston Martin Volante.  My husband and I are huge fans of classic cars, from VW Campers to E type Jags, to bug eyed Sprites and my all time favourite, the Citreon DS.  Grooms will be booking classic hire cars to drive themselves to the ceremony and will then swiftly whisk their new bride away for a quick spin. 

So will you be taking inspiration from The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge in your wedding planning?

Enjoy the weekend

The Royal Wedding

With just two hours until the ceremony I am sure both Wills and Kate are feeling excited, nervous and amazingly happy.  I would like to wish them  every happiness in their life as a married couple and may today be full of laughter and love.

I hope you will join me on Twitter and raise a glass to the bride and groom.

Cheers!

Inspired By The Royal Wedding

There are only 26 hours now until Wills & Kate say 'I do' and Royal Wedding hype has certainly swept the length and breadth of the British Isles, never mind the rest of the world.  For many designers this occasion has proved inspiring and we are yet to see the actual ceremony.  Over the past few weeks I have seen some gorgeous Royal Wedding inspired creations from many suppliers in the UK wedding industry and have decided to share with you a small selection.

This stunning one off tiara from Flo & Percy is inspired by the Strathmore Rose tiara given to the Queen Mother by her father, the Earl of Strathmore.

Fantastic regal cookies from Inspired Celebration favourites Biscuiteers.

Inspired by Kates' engagement ring stationery designer Sophie, of Cards By Sophie created a new collection, Windsor.

Poppy Sparkles chose to use the red and blue seen in the Union Jack for their Royal Wedding collection. 

I am sure Milly & Pip are hoping the newlyweds will use this to keep the tea warm on Saturday morning!

Even the meerkats from Niftyknits want some Royal Wedding fame!

We mustn't forget some special guests from Over The Rainbow

I know there are many more and I  would for you to add links to your own Royal Wedding inspired designs in the comments.

Thanks

Royal Wedding Memorabilia

In amongst the guessing of who is designing Kate's dress, which tiara she will wear,  there are hoards of memorabilia being brought to remember the occassion.  I am sure my mum still has the mugs she brought for my sister and I back in 1981 when Prince Charles married Lady Diana and I know I still have the special commemerative coin from this occasion.  But what posseses us to rush out and buy something that has little style just to mark the Royal Wedding. Thankfully we have moved on in the style stakes and are blessed with fabulous indie designers who have produced new products especially for the Royal Wedding.  Here are my selections of memorabilia from UK designer makers that I would buy!

I love the graphics of this print from Taylors Type

This is very clever.

from Bear Graphics

Very witty!

From Sweet William Designs

from More Than Words

from Little Singing Bird

from Yield Ink

from The Little Knit Kit Company

from The Contemporary Home

from Giddy Kipper

from Storeyshop

The Loveliest Links

Happy Easter to all of you, I hope the Easter bunny has been good to you!  My children have already filled their baskets with treats and loved the fact that we can now have a proper hunt as we have a much bigger garden after moving house last Autumn.  Sunday on Inspired Celebration is about sharing some of the links I have loved in the past week.  As the Royal Wedding is less than a week away I thought todays links should have a regal feel to them.

Of course I must start with the official Royal Wedding website.  Here you can keep up to date with everything happening in the lead up to and during this special day. 

Image from Fiona Cairns

For beautiful cakes you must take a look at Fiona Cairns website, the official Royal Wedding cake designer.

I just love this wreath from Finnsparations.

Fantastic cupcake toppers from Hunkydory Home

And this kissing corgi's towel from Quietly Eccentric made me smile!!

Finally for some fab printables for your Royal Wedding party be sure to visit -

Birds Party

Design Editor

And I've heard there will be some great free printables available on Hostess With The Mostess later today.

There will be lots more Royal Wedding fun and frivolity here over the next few days, so I hope to see you here to raise a pinky and sip a lovely cup of tea!

Enjoy your Easter weekend.

Royal Wedding Party Printables

I am starting to get excited about the Royal Wedding now and am loving that it's not just the British enjoying the hype.  I was contacted last week by Catherine at Design Editor for some British sayings like 'Cheers'.  A few days later Catherine contacted me again to show me why she had been asking!  And here is the reason why, a set of fantastic printables that are perfect for any Royal Wedding party, wherever you are in the world.

So to download these printables for free, head on over to Design Editor.

Royal Wedding Printables

Enjoy your celebrations and be sure to send me some photos!

Royal Wedding - Street Party

Union Jack Bunting from Zig Zag Bunting

I can still remember the huge street party when I was six and Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer.  All the chidlren were in fancy dress costumes for a big fancy dress competition and I proudly wore a tie dyed dress from Nigeria that my Dad had brought back from his most recent trip and I sported a bowl of fruit on my head.  There were long trestle tables covered in red, white and blue crepe paper piled high with food and everyone was in high spirits.  Looking back it was day of a great community coming together to celebrate an important day. 

Serve homemade lemonade

Image courtesy of Bridal Daze

So what will we all be doing on Friday 29 April to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton?  I am hoping that such an occassion makes us join together and create memories of an amazing celebration, just as I still remember 29 July 1981.  However community spirit has wavered in our society since the Eighties and perhaps planning a street party is  the last thing on our minds.  But it should be important, what better excuse to get together to eat, drink, dance and celebrate in these difficult economic times than to celebrate a new era in the Royal family. 

Union Jack cupcakes are a must.

Cupcake Flags from Francesca & Florence

So rollout the bunting, grab the trestle tables from the village hall, bake sausage rolls and fairy cakes, book the ice cream van and start making your childrens dressing up costumes.  Go and knock on your neighbours doors,get everyone involved.  This party may be just what you need to rebuild that community spirit.

Betty is available for bookings from Vintage Scoops

Remember to send me your photos of your Street Parties so I can share them here on Inspired Celebration.

Street Party Invite from Cute Maps

Enjoy your street parties!

If I Was Kate

Today I am thrilled to introduce you to Lou, of Met My Match wedding blog, who is busy planning her own DIY wedding.

We are all incredibly pleased and excited to hear that Wills has popped the question, particularly us brides-to-be and wedding pros. We haven’t had a Royal Engagement for some time now so this is just what the UK and our gossip mag culture needs. I shall be marrying my Prince next June, or should that be frog?!? Either way, we can’t wait to walk down the aisle in our brand new togs after (what will be) a two year engagement.

I suspect that one of the joys of being a Royal is a large disposable income; there will be none of that saving malarkey for the blue blooded couple! We’ve been squirreling pennies away for some time now and our little budget has actually helped to shape the style and theme of our big day. We’ve gone all DIY and opted for a village hall affair with a retro twist. I love our theme but I have to admit that if I had a budget like Kate’s, our big day would certainly be very different…my guest list would triple for one! If I had more money I wouldn’t have to demote anyone to the evening list and I’d ensure that everyone was able to bring their plus one.

Everybody loves a grand wedding venue and I’m not different. If I had reliable regal connections I would have loved to have said my vows in the RAF Church, St Clement Danes, on the Strand in London. Imagine how fantastic it would be to emerge from this imposing church perfectly positioned in the middle of the road for all of London to see, plus it would allow me to stay true to my days in the Air Training Corps.

I’d have a fleet of vintage Routemaster buses transport all of the guests and an army of vintage black London taxi cabs take the entire wedding party to a reception at The Imperial War Museum in London, where their Large Exhibits Gallery can cater for up to 400 people

from Cotton Bunting

I’d enlist an “Oooooooh Britannia” theme (rather like “Cool Britannia, but with more flair and retro styling), complete with masses of Union Jack bunting and lots of red and blue bridesmaids dressed in matching Dessy ensembles; style number 6553 in flame red and sapphire blue would be perfect, simple and chic.

And then there’s me… I would drape myself in a super posh frock by Johanna Hehir, her Giovanna dress with a blue sash would be fantastic (and if I had a whopping sapphire like Kate, the colour detail would compliment it nicely). Caroline Costigliano is another fantastic designer who is perfect for big budget brides. Her Legacy dress and Beautiful are both superb.

With regards to the big day gems where else could you go other than to the Queen’s jeweller, Mappin and Webb?!? Their collection of solitaire diamonds is simply stunning.

Beautiful blooms by Robbie Honey in shades of red, white and blue would be on the agenda, as would gorgeous letter press invitations from Hello Lucky. I just love their London collection.

The cake would have to be by the uber talented Peggy Porschen, I love her Rose Explosion, but I would tweak it to match the red, white and blue theme.

After a fish and chip supper I’d like to get everybody dancing around the imposing V2 bombs and gigantic tanks, something that I’m sure Main Events could do as the organisers of Jitterbug parties, or perhaps the Blitz Party patrons would be keen to do a private event.

As a budget bride I have shied away from the concept of favours but if I were able to be flash with the cash I’d buy all of my girlie guests “Keep Calm and Carry On Shopping” mugs and “Keep Calm and Carry On” mugs for the chaps, as well as “When in Doubt Brew Up” mugs for the younger guests [

To top the evening off I’d have to forgo fireworks and enlist the Red Arrows for a smoke filled fly over before the summer night drew to a close… Ahhhhhhh a girl can dream!


Wow these are truly fabulous choices, carrying a patriotic theme but with style and fun. Thank you Lou.

If I was Kate.....

Royal Wedding fever has hit after the Royal family announced Prince William's engagement to Kate Middleton earlier this week.  I can only imagine the planning involved for such a major event but thankfully Kate will have alot of support in planning her wedding. However I am sure her parents company Party Pieces will not be supplying paper plates for the wedding of the decade. But who will Kate choose to design her dress, style the event and make the cake?  Whilst we wait with baited breath for these important decisions to be made I thought we would have some fun here at Inspired Celebration and ask wedding professionals and vendors what and who they would choose to make their day fabulous if they were Kate or William.

To get the ball rolling here are my choices and of course they are British.

Image courtesy of Halfpenny London first featured in my article for Try Handmade

I would have Kate Halfpenny, of Halfpenny London, design a beautiful gown for my wedding day.

A vintage styled headband from Chez Bec

And at least two cakes from Little Venice Cake Company

Bunting and union jacks.....

(images courtesy of Giddy Kipper & The Cotton Bunting Company)

As for entertainment I would have to choose Jamie Cullum

So who or what would you choose? If you are a wedding professional, wedding vendor or bride to be and would like to pretend you are Kate please get in touch!

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