{images of wedding dress available at Green Union, courtesy of the Green Union Blog}

We are very excited to be part of the Green Union wedding directory, particularly as they have given us a rating of 9/10 for our green credentials!

http://www.greenunion.co.uk/weddings/8170stationery_invitations/index.html

A fantastic website packed full of great green suppliers and tips, Green Union also has an informative blog and their own eco chic boutique selling everything from candles to wedding dresses. Keep up to date with their blog here:

http://www.greenunion.co.uk/blog/index.html

Make and Do!

On the subject of DIY we love the fact that most of our green brides do have that desire to be creative and get stuck in. Not for you the 'off the peg' wedding or keeping up with the Jones'!

We see some great projects when looking for inspiration and we will be sharing these with you along the way. To begin with we have found some great workshops, both locally, and in the capital, where you can learn valuable new skills to make your wedding your own!

{images courtesy of The Make Lounge}

http://www.themakelounge.com/ The Make Lounge, London N1, hosts fantastic crafting workshops on a one-off basis, making it easy to pop along and pick up fab new skills on anything and everything- think frilly knickers, cupcakes and everything in between!

They take private parties and have already hosted many hen parties, why not get your girls together and make your table centres, favours or fascinators?

To find out more about future workshops or booking a hen party contact:

create@themakelounge.com or tel: 020 7609 0275

Closer to home for us is the lovely Landbaby at the Bluecoat, Liverpool. This beautiful craft shop is set in the courtyard of the Bluecoat Arts Centre and not only sells some stunning handmade goods from a wide range of local designers, but Claire also runs some fantastic workshops, from making your own corsage to making wax paper flowers- as Amanda mentioned in the last post, these would be a great alternative to cut flowers! A gallery of past workshop work and info on upcoming workshops can be found on their facebook group page (apologies for the huge link):

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Landbaby-at-the-Bluecoat/89408539268?ref=nf

{images courtesy of Landbaby at The Bluecoat on Facebook}

For a great opportunity to take a look at local craft designers' work and demonstrations, Leaf Tea Shop & Bar are hosting 'Make Sundays' in Liverpool on three Sundays this Spring, again details can be found on their facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=324850372152&ref=mf, we look forward to seeing you there!

A Quintessential Garden Wedding!

As the warmer seasons of spring and summer now approach it’s no surprise that we decided to create a style board all about the quintessential garden wedding. It is definitely a favourite here at greenleaf press!

The rustic dining table and quirky ‘pucker up’ images set a blissfully cheerful scene... full of the handmade and personal collaged to create something truly romantic and charming. For us there could be nothing better than the thought of an intimate soiree with pretty decorations, great food, good tunes, and your very closest family and friends to help whirl your special day into a night of dancing under the ambient light of lanterns and a starry sky (Lantern image from www.cocokelley.blogspot.com ).

The principal colours of this scheme are plum, cherry, and a blush pink, with a saffron and cinnamon accent. But we think it is always nice to have an additional colour surprise and so have added the sage and mint making it a wonderfully refreshing palette.
As this is your special day why not make a very unique statement and have a wedding logo or monograph designed as a personal signature to be applied to your stationery, favours and mementoes. Most design or stationers will offer this as a bespoke service, we certainly do... just ask!

On the subject of stationery ... we chose ‘Jardin-birds’ in cherry and plum, from our ‘Jardin Collection’, printed on a beautifully tactile straw paper this is a simple but bold and versatile design. We just love it placed alongside the birdie print confetti bags and bird nest place tags (Img’s again courtesy of the fabulous wedding blog www.stylemepretty.com ) and add the wonderfully scrumptious birdie cake and vintage china from www.utterlysexycafe.co.uk and the whole décor scheme is becomes very site specific.

Handmade paper flower arrangements will easily compliment or be a great alternative to real flowers. These delicate and sophisticated designs are made from old newspaper and wallpaper, you can find the tutorial at www.yvestown.com/ . Crochet knit, sew, felt, sculpt your own buttonholes or hair accessories and don’t stop there for DIY projects... simply search ‘Google’ and discover a vast selection of free tutorials and inspiration to make your day one of a kind.