Our Wedding - The Venue - Decor

This post has been a few months in the making, and something I've been wanting to share with you all for a while now but figured I would wait until the new wedding season was upon us, so that any bride-to-be's getting married this year could use our wedding for inspiration (if they so wished).

Over the next few Wednesdays I'm planning on sharing with you the finer details behind our big day, how we saved those all important pennies (and where I suggest spending them) and all the beautiful photos from our perfect day! 

So lets start at the beginning.. Our venue was somewhere we pretty much knew we were going to get married before we even started thinking about getting engaged.

Sam's Uncle had gotten married there a few years prior and we just absolutely loved the feel of their day, the relaxed vibe of the barn with soft fairy lights and lots of natural rustic decor was so up our street and that meant we visited them again ourselves in the winter time of 2016.

We popped along to a wedding open day they were holding and quickly remembered just how much we loved it in the first place, we quickly placed our deposit and booked our date for 28th June 2018 at The Plough Barn in Leigh, Kent.

We chose our wedding day to be on a Thursday, this was mainly down to our budget and one way we saved a large chunk of our money, from switching from a weekend to a weekday we saved a significant amount, which meant we could use this money elsewhere, this is definitely something I would recommend if you are wanting to save those £'s.

Initially we had worried this would put people off of attending our day but every single person we invited attended, and we figured along the way, anyone who wanted to be there would try to make it, however one tip would be to give your guests plenty of notice so they can book any holiday off work in time!

We also gave ourselves one full year and 6 months to save for our day and to ensure we could manageably save enough each month to have things the way we wanted them.

Personally for us this time frame worked best as we lead very normal lives with average salaries and having a slightly longer time frame just gave us peace of mind, so if you're in no rush then theres no harm in booking your date slightly further in the future.

The next 18 months I lived vicariously through other wedding blogs, watched every YouTube video on others wedding planning processes and, of course, had a Pinterest board for every wedding item you could imagine.

In my head I had envisioned very early on, a very simple decor theme of white with subtle hints of greenery and gold.

The barn itself did a lot of the talking so I wanted to keep it very understated, we opted for a round head table so we could face everyone we loved the most and then longer rectangular tables for the guests so they could converse easily.

I knew I wanted the Chiavari chairs the moment I saw them on a Pinterest photo and luckily the venue worked with a supplier that stocked the exact colour I had envisioned, we had to pay a little extra for them, but I totally think they were worth the spend and finished off the look beautifully.

The table decor was something I had fussed about in my head for months and months and on the day before the wedding we had to totally re-arrange our original plans due to my lovely friend and florist being stuck in another country, meaning we had to last minute pick up a few floral table runners from Ginger Ray rather than the eucalyptus garlands I had originally planned! 

They weren't totally what I had in my mind but on the day they looked lovely and I was so pleased with how it had turned out considering we had such a short turn around on them, we finished them off by weaving a selection of Fenomen pillar Ikea candles & mercury glass votives from The Range in between the garlands which gave such a lovely finish and soft lighting. 

The place names we purchased from a website called VM Bespoke, whichI originally found via Instagram, they do amazing laser cut wooden pieces in lots of different font styles, we opted for the 'script' font, in natural wood as this made them slightly cheaper when ordering and then we sprayed them with a gold spray paint which I picked up at our local DIY store for around £10.

The rosemary was a little touch I'd seen on Pinterest, which was kindly picked from my sister-in-laws rosemary bush at her home and I thought it finished off the look just perfectly, it also meant we didn't waste any money on something that essentially would've been thrown away at the end of the day! 

We added a few paper lanterns in amongst the fairy lights above the tables, we bought them in different sizes to scatter around, which added a softness to the wooden barn beams, these were again really in-exspensive, & we purchased most of them in bulk on Amazon.

Our table plan was made very last minute, this was one of the DIY jobs that I couldn't quite get my head around exactly how I wanted it to be, initially the plan was to purchase a giant mirror or frame and have the names hand calligraphy written onto the glass, however sourcing a large mirror on a budget wasn't as easy as I thought & in the end I ended up picking up some garden trellis and painting it white, adding one of the Ginger Ray garlands to the top and making the table plan cards out of a template on PicMonkey.

I used the Botanical Wedding on their template section and then added the names of the guests for the tables, this I then printed onto some lovely watercolour card which made it look as if the greenery had been hand painted & attached these onto the trellis using little gold clips.

 I was so happy with how it turned out and we've kept all the individual table cards in our wedding memory box at home! 

 Mr & Mrs Letters,  Wedding Cards Postbox,  Katie Loxton Guestbook.

All the little crafty DIY aspects of the wedding were so much fun to make, and it gave me such enjoyment each evening to sit and craft, seeing all the projects I'd worked on over the months before the wedding on the day was amazing and knowing I could keep them all once it was over with made it even better. 

When we visited the open wedding day at The Plough they had an incredible photo booth vendor and it made us totally fall in love with the idea of having somewhere guests could take group photos, silly photos or just photos they could simply pop on Instagram, however when it came down to budget we had simply spent too much elsewhere and thats where the DIY came into play again, the little props we picked up from Ginger Ray and also The Range, I made the little wooden 'Oh Snap' sign from an MDF board which we stained with a wood varnish and then using a white paint pen, I simply hand wrote what I wanted it to say.

 The frame was one I found in a charity shop for £5, painted with the same white paint as I used for the table plan and then we found the gold clip fairy lights in our local Home Sense, we glued them onto the back of the frame and weaved them so that our guests could hang the polaroids we provided. 

This was one of my favourite ideas as we have all the little polaroids in a box in our living room and I love going through them occasionally, I think I will find a frame large enough to have them all on display one day in our house so our guests can see them when they come over too! 

The eucalyptus garland made a lovely backdrop for the outdoor area of the barn, the rings were simple wreath rings that I cut down to individual circles and the faux eucalyptus I picked up again, from Home Sense, I attached it with some green florist wire and then used fishing line to attach them all together, it took a few hours and was really simple to make. 

So thats everything for my first Wedding post, I have LOVED reliving our day and cannot wait to share the rest of it with you all, do let me know if there is anything specific you would like to see over here too! 

Mrs S x 

A Whole New Chapter..

Friday 25th January 2008

Where it all began, the day that changed my life.

The moment I met you a wave of something new completely overcame me, a zest for something I had never known before, a whole new world was about to become me.

17 years of age, so young and naive, yet so sure of what I was heading into, from those very early days I knew this was the right person for me, my person. 

Friday 3rd August 2018

The day that changed our lives forever.

A whirlwind of years have now passed and we are about to embark on a whole new journey, the journey to a new person, our new person. 

I sit here with a lump in my throat writing those words, and I'm sure when I read this back in years to come that lump will be replaced with tears thinking of these early days, currently you are, most likely, sleeping soundly tucked away safely in my tummy, you are around 6.5 inches long, roughly the size of a banana and weigh around 10 ounces.

You are 'baby' right now but in 5 days time we will know if you are a boy or girl, so many people have asked me "what are you hoping for" and I never thought I'd be one of those women who says they don't care, but when you become a Mum (eek), you really don't care, you know you will love those ten little toes and that tiny button nose regardless of what gender you become to be! 

We are at the half way point on our track to you and let me tell you, its been a tiring road so far.

You've tested my pateince more times then once with the typical first trimester symptoms, which have continued well past the point of the norm, all I can say is you are definitely my child when it comes to pushing the boundaries and take after your Daddy when it comes to the constant need for filling your belly.

Little wriggles started about 3 weeks ago, initially what felt like being stroked with a feather developed into more substantial movements and now I can feel you moving around much stronger than before.

I cannot wait for your Daddy to finally feel those hands and toes like I have done for a while now and knowing you can hear our voices is so exciting, even though we are pretty crazy behind closed doors, you are the one who gets to know our wild side when we're cooking dinner in the evenings or snuggling on the sofa, just us 3! 

We have started collecting some things for you and for your nursery too, the place you will call your own when you are here in our world, however you have some competition on your hands to fight off your little fur baby sister who has claimed your room as her own.

You have so much to learn and see, parents, grandparents, great grandparents, who are all so excited to meet you, and we have so much to learn in the run up to meeting you too.

It still doesn't quite feel like this is really happening to us, we have wanted you for so long, soon we will have you here and this post will feel like a distant memory, but for now know how much we love you and how much we will continue to love you so - Mum & Dad x

Current Home Decor Lust List

 L I V I N G  R O O M

If you couldn't tell from these overly pastel heavy images that I'm currently digging blush pink and eucalyptus green then I'm telling you right now.. I'm obsessed, throw in a few gold elements and you've pretty much got my dream home decor in a nutshell! 

The blush velvet cushion from Tom Dixon is just so beautiful to pair with our grey chaise in our living room & with the Oliver Bonas lamp they're just the match to go with some lovely little copper side tables too, that I've had my eye on, this whole little set up just goes so perfectly together in my head, I could just imagine myself chilling here in the evenings with the cats, Samuel & a cup of tea.. 

Also just how beautiful is this Perch and Parrow mirror, I spotted it on Suzie's blog and have been obsessed ever since.

The Ivy - Chelsea Garden, London

 Famously known for filling the bellies of some very well known names, it has been on my list to visit for many years, so I finally booked a visit to The Ivy, Chelsea Garden!

Upon arrival we were greeted by a lovely lady who showed us to our table, I personally love the idea of being greeted at the door and shown to your designated table, its touches like this that make you feel as if they go the extra mile for your visit. 

Myself and Sarah both perused the menus, some beautiful treats were laid out before our eyes and I truly found it hard to choose what to go for, ever the cake connoisseur, I of course settled on the 'Ivy, Afternoon Tea".

Priced at £19.75, I thought this was absolutely incredible, especially for the area in which the restaurant is situated, and in comparison to other places I have eaten at, however it is only served between 3-5pm so do bear that in mind if you are planning a trip there and have a time frame! 

Served upon perfectly quaint silverware, the afternoon tea offers some delectable little savouries, namely the truffled chicken brioche, which was absolutely incredible and I could have devoured many of these, the smoked salmon, cream and chive on rye bread was also heavenly, however a very strong flavour so 100% pack some breath mints in your handbag that day ;) 

Onto the sweet treats, the warm fruited scones were literally pure heaven, they came with fresh strawberries, cornish clotted cream and strawberry preserve, you could tell they were freshly baked with each person ordering, as they were still warm when I finally got around to eating them.

Among the scones we were served a fresh raspberry cheesecake, a chocolate and salted caramel mousse, also heavenly and incredibly lightweight (these would be dangerous if placed in my fridge as you almost feel as if you are eating delicate chocolate air.. calorific, delicate chocolate air mind).

Lastly, a creme brûlée doughnut, again very lightweight and easy on the lips! 

Served with a selection of teas, infusions and coffees you are spoilt for choice, however a downfall is that you only had one choice of hot drink with the food, a shame as I felt like I could've sampled many different flavours and admittedly I have never come across this within other restaurants serving afternoon tea, namely the Sanderson, here you can choose from an array of teas and are unlimited to your hearts tea drinking content.

That being said, The Ivy Afternoon Blend was absolutely delicious, I would've just preferred slightly a little more.

Upon writing this review I felt impelled to explain something, the food at The Ivy is absolutely beautiful, you cannot possibly fault it, and if I was writing a review solely on the food I would rate it highly.

However, my recollection of the visit was left with a sour taste, the restaurant service is incredibly slow and poor, I felt as if the tables were overbooked and the staff over worked. 

It seemingly has a very relaxed vibe as you walk through the doors and this is very quickly diminished by the wait time to finally be served from your tables, don't get me wrong the staff weren't in anyway rude, just inattentive.

For the food alone, this place is definitely worth a try, just bare in mind if you are there for a relaxed casual dining setting then this will be perfect for you as the ambience is very relaxed, however if you are there for a lunch meeting, or to simply dine and leave then you may be there for a little longer than you bargained for!

I would definitely reconsider visiting again, however this time I think I would order a meal from the dining selection of the menu as I did find myself eyeing up many of the other tables around me, the steaks looked absolutely divine so I may give it one more shot in the future, however for now I would be happy to try out somewhere slightly different in London for more afternoon tea style lunches, than The Ivy. 

Frankie xo

Let's Go Through My Wedding Pinterest Boards!

                                  

      

                              

Going through my Pinterest wedding boards has been something i've been wanting to do for a while now,  and seeing as it is under a year until our big day, I thought now would be the best time to start sharing some wedding content with you over on here on this little corner of the big www.

To say I'm obsessed with wedding decor would be a huge understatement, blush tones are for sure creeping their way into the mix of beautiful clean crisp whites and greenery of foliage!

Im also loving adding subtle gold tones, especially in dining accessories, I just feel like it adds a really expensive element to the decor without being over the top or too tacky (I hope)!

              

        

Pinning wedding dresses with literally the first thing I did as soon as we got engaged, it's funny, if you go through the board from the beginning of our engagement and scroll to the top you can see the transitions of dress styles that I thought I would've gone for and pretty much everything I pinned is completely different to the style of dress i've actually ended up with! 

I absolutely adore the top dress in this post, the most beautiful Sarah Seven 2 Piece, the embellished crop top with the soft A-line bridal skirt is just the absolute dream, but unfortunately my world consists of far too many slices of cake and Starbucks frappe's so crop was definitely not the way forward in this girls world, therefore I started to broaden my outlook on styles and absolutely obsessed over more floaty feminine styles, tulle and lace are just perfect wedding dreaminess and this is something I will forever miss trying on.. gone are the days of swishing around bridal boutiques swooning over dresses, however I am very excited for the day I get to wear my chosen dress, can you tell? 

      

      

Flowers are a hard one, theres just so many styles to choose from & you have to then co-ordinate that with your wedding decor, dress, bridesmaid dress etc etc the list is literally endless and getting it right is what I've been trying to perfect over the last few months & I'm feeling like I'm potentially failing on this one right now, I really love the idea of tying the blush tones into the boquets using soft roses, peonies, carnations & mixing them with white tones and keeping everything minimal and delicate!

Another idea I've toyed around with is all white flowers which I just think looks so crisp and fresh, with just a little greenery on show from the stems, however I think its about time I bit the bullet and made an appointment with a florist to discuss my options rather than swooning over pinterest photos all day. 

        

... And finally, Bridesmaid dresses, how beautiful are the sequin gold dresses, I would absolutely love to have gone with something like this, but I feel like they don't sit right with the look of our day, however,  I still love them & looking through Pinterest my eye literally constantly gravitates to blush tones.

I love the look of blush with the soft white bridal tones and feel like everything will tie so perfectly together with this shade, however it is a pretty popular colouring right now and I'm always someone who likes to stray from the norm so this whole palette could change drastically overnight ahh! 

I really hope you enjoyed having a little look through my Wedding Day Pinterest boards, it feels so nice to share with you all some of the details of what our day might look like & if anyone else is currently planning their big day, leave me a comment so we can chat everything weddings as I feel like Sam may get sick of me before the day arrives haha! 

There is also a video version of this blog post up on my YouTube channel if you would like to see some more content like this..

Frankie x 

       

       

What its like to live with hypochondria..

So its been a long tough few months and I feel like right now is the time I should share whats been happening in my life.. 

Around the beginning of the year I started to develop some scary symptoms, sharp stabbing brain pains, constant nausea, loss of feeling in my arms & legs (completely terrifying) & feeling like I was so run down I could barely function.. fast forward to many doctors visits later and a diagnosis of chronic sinusitis, I thought a simple dose of antibiotics would clear it up and i'd be on my merry way, how wrong I was! 

Its been a long journey, with so many varying symptoms in the last five months that I have started to believe this simply couldn't be sinusitis, everyday seems like a battle as to how i'm going to feel that day & what the world could possibly throw at me, alongside this it has totally flared up my health anxiety and as a consequence has also flared my 'hypochondria' tendencies up along with it.

For those of you who are unsure what Hypochondria is, the definition is: abnormal chronic anxiety about ones health, to put it bluntly, it basically means my abnormally overactive brain constantly believes I have something seriously life threateningly wrong with me.

The reason why I wanted to discuss this on my blog today was because of the constant taboo that comes with hypochondria, i've had so many people laugh at me calling me a hypochondriac over the years & the fact its flared its ugly head once again, has made me want to step up and take control over peoples misconceptions of this, quite frankly, shit mental disease.

Anxiety is hard enough in itself, chronic anxiety is something else, imagine your entire days being filled with dread of what your mind might conjure up next, living day to day via Google frantically trying to find out what is wrong with you (this very thing could be how you ended up on this post) and believing you need to dial 111 at any given moment & imagine this being all completely made up by your overactive mind.

I want to give anyone out there reading this who may feel debilitated by this, hope, hope that there is a light at the end of a dark grey tunnel of cloudy judgement, hope that you will get through this bad patch of uncertainty, and finally hope that you will believe one day there is nothing wrong with you other than an over functioning mental state & that it will go away, I promise you will feel better with time! 

I also want to dedicate this post to those out there who have mocked hypochondria before and accept that sometimes the mental capabilities of your own brain aren't those of others and to be patient, kind and supportive, a little really goes a long way & we will thank you more than you can imagine! 

Frankie x

mask sundays

 

Mask Sundays is something that i've been doing for the past few weeks without even intending too, every weekend I go to my beauty stash and pull out the latest addition to my collection and slather it all over my face until I'm contempt that you can no longer see any actual part of my real face!

This week was a treat from the Lush Kitchen, the Oatifix fresh face mask, first things first, it smells absolutely delicious, you genuinely feel like you could pick this up and scrape it out as your sunday breakfast (post hangover?) and feel pretty damn happy with how good it tastes!
In all seriousness though DO NOT EAT IT!

Oatifix contains all the fresh goodness you would expect from Lush and is packed full of amazing skincare benefits including illipe butter which reduces redness, a HUGE problem I suffer with so this is straight up my street. along with bananas, crushed almonds and of course oats, these all combined allow you to have super soft and nourished skin.

The ingredients are also great if you are a dry skin sufferer i.e: myself, As many of you may know if you've read my blog or watched my YouTube videos for a while now, I suffer from really dry/flaky & dehydrated skin, something that I battle with on a daily basis and this was the main reason I picked up Oatifix & I can confirm it really does nourish and replump my lack lustre face, however I would say be very careful with how much you exfoliate this off after use as it did make my face a little sore as the almonds can be quite abrasive, especially if you suffer from sensitive/dry skin.

The actual feel of my face after using this was soft and supple, you could really see and feel the difference in my skin, after the initial soreness of over exfoliating this off had calmed down, you could really see and feel that the mask had done its work, my skin was much brighter and significantly soothed and less aggravated, makeup went on so much easier and lasted longer throughout the day too!

I would definitely recommend trying Oatifix out if you have similar skin to mine or if you are just looking for a great weekly mask that can be doubled up as an exfoliator too & the best part of it is the price, at £6.75 it is such an affordable product that its so worth heading to your local lush for!

Frankie xo