made a button bouquet!

After being sooo inspired by THIS button bouquet I saw at a wedding and seeing all THESE beautiful bouquets made by the same lovely lady I decided to have a go at making my own button bouquet.  My mum had a stash of buttons that she was keen to be used up and I had a pile of wire left over from the table settings at my wedding, so I though why not give it a go (according to Google analytics they are a rising trend!!).  I looked up a tutorial for how to make a stem then just went from there really, I made 50 in the end and then stopped.  So for about the past two months I have had 50  of these stems lying about the house and finally this week I bundled them all together and finished off the bouquet with some pretty lace and tulle netting.  What do you think, not bad for a first attempt even if I do say so myself.  Which is why I have put it for sale here, and here and here.  Who knows, if it sells I might even make another one!
What do you think?

Funky Country Barn Wedding

On Sunday we attended a beautiful wedding in the fantastic countryside near Cheltenham.  The wedding had a couple of lose themes, one was the 1950's which was reflected in the bride and bridesmaids dresses, another was The Beatles which inspired the music, table names and seating plan, and finally the colours of bright buttons and lolly pops in the centre pieces, boutonnière and bouquets.  That sounds like an odd mix but it all hung together really well and made for a stunning display of colour, it reflected their personalities perfectly.  The weather was perfect and views over the fields surrounding the venue were stunning.  You know how much I love being in nature and the countryside so I enjoyed a wonderfully peaceful moment when I had to leave the ceremony and feed Orren, sitting on a bench looking out over rolling hills and bounding spring lambs.  The peace and quiet was bliss and I didn't mind missing the vows when I knew I was satisfying the needs of my precious baby.
Having a baby with us at an event like this was a new experience for us both and had it's new challenges.  Not only did I miss the vows, but also the speeches!  Generally he was quiet and slept through the meal which was good, but I was so tired by 8.00 that we left at 8.30 to come home.
So anyway here are some photos from the big day:

Love the 1950s style dress,

Fabulous and eco friendly alternative to flowers, a button bouquet,

Fantastic shoes from Irregular Choice,

Managed to snap this sneaky pic of one of the bridesmaids, how fab is her dress? perfect 1950s retro.  Two of the bridesmaids had dresses like this, the other two had the kind that stick out.  In the background is a game we played called "Aunt Sally" which involved lobbing a wooden club at a dolls head...don't ask (it's a Cornish thing apparently)!

The beautiful venue; converted barns complete with old beams and beautiful exposed brickwork,

View while breastfeeding Orren,

Floral bunting which was strung up throughout the venue, after the ceremony the registry became the evening reception room and a appliquéd "just married" banner was added,

Button heart decorations which were dotted around the venue, on door handles and nails in the beams,

Loved this original idea for a seating plan, at the top were The Beatles album covers, each cover represented a table with a corresponding cover, underneath each cover image were photos of the people sat at that table,

Fun centre pieces, a bucket filled with sand the decorated with buttons and lolly pops,

Love the colours,

Orren's favour and place names with buttons,

A really original choice for the dinner, rather than silver service or a help yourself buffet each table had a "chef" who received an apron with their name on it, and carved up the meat for everyone on their table,

Cup cake wedding cake,  very tasty raspberry and lemon cupcakes with jam/curd in the middle, yummy!

A gorgeous leaping lamb, spring is here!

All in all a great but tiring day, I am now enjoying eating my lolly pop favour! Have you been to any weddings recently?  What were they like?