IN THE ZONE Our wedding reception will be in our venue’s marquee. It’s such a vast space to fill and we’re worried about it feeling a bit sparse. How can we overcome this? I love decorating marquees as you really can make them your own and get creative. With any venue of this type you can bring it to life with hired props or call in the professionals to help decorate and set up for you. I recommend zoning your marquee, here are a few ideas: Entrance décor. Set the tone and line the entrance with milk churns, shepherds crooks and floral jars. Add a welcome sign and order-of-the-day too. Gift display. Create an area where guests can leave their cards and gifts. Think lanterns, suitcases, wooden crates and a personalised guest book. Ceiling décor. We suggest hanging hoops, foliage or floral ladders, fairylight installations, paper lanterns or folded material draping. Seating area. Loved ones will appreciate this! Think vintage rattan chairs and add rugs, cushions, lanterns, and some blankets displayed on a ladder or in apple crates. Cake display. Add décor and styling to the items you have already – your big-day bake offers the perfect opportunity. Why not add some shutters, arch or draping behind? Lynne Panes, www.rusticrentals.co.uk GREEN FINGERS We’re trying to make our big day as sustainable as possible. How can we extend this ethos to our wedding rings? Your wedding ring is a symbol of love and commitment to your partner: an ethos that can reach beyond your relationship to the natural world and the communities responsible for sourcing the raw materials. There are so many ways of making your wedding rings beautiful through and through. For example, our stock rings are made using recycled silver, gold or platinum and we make bespoke items using Fairtrade gold or refashion your own family gold into a new piece. Gemstones too can be ethical and sustainable. We use fully-traceable Fairtrade sapphires and precious gemstones. Our engagement rings are set with alluvial Ocean Diamonds, found on the ocean floor by expert divers, then cut by artisan cutters. These beautiful stones are sustainable with provenance. Our white gold items aren’t rhodium plated, as the plating process involves toxic chemicals and we strive to have minimal environmental impact from our workshop practices. This means that the white gold items we produce will remain the same colour without needing expensive re-plating, instead we clean and polish all our pieces free of charge to keep them looking stunning. Christina Oswin, www.christinaoswin.co.uk www.caitlinandjones.co.uk LET IT SNOW How can we give our wedding day stationery a wintry twist? You can add that romantic, wintry twist by using white on white, perhaps with a hint of sparkle for that frosty feel. Keep it all white or add subtle greens such as grey spruce, eucalyptus, sage or cineraria if you wish, or even icy blues or pastels such as pale lilac can bring a subtle hint of colour. Unless a traditional Christmas feel is what you want, I’d suggest avoiding reds, greens and tartans. An alternative would be a rustic, fireside feel, which can be achieved by using cinnamon sticks, twigs and pine cones, perhaps with hint of metallics and colours such as deep reds, burnt orange and dark spruce on Kraft or corrugated Kraft card. Favours for each style can come from mini crackers or gift boxes decorated according to your chosen theme with place cards slotted into pine cones, sprayed or painted white, tipped with snow, or left natural. Gaynor Page, https://topikki.co.uk 69 EXPERT ADVICE
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0NTE=