First off – Happy New Year!!! We hope you all had Christmases as lovely as we did, didn’t it fly by! So now here we are – a new year, tonnes of resolutions and so many ideas and so much inspiration to share with you all we’re pretty much going to burst! 2012 is going to bring plenty of lovely surprises and developments that we’re all very excited about too… but more about that later! For the moment, we have some gorgeous monochrome ideas for you today – all inspired by one of our favourite flowers that’s in season right now – The Anemone! It’s the simplest yet most perfect flower to create softness in a black and white theme, the gentle flower gives a feminine edge to the masculinity of this colour combination and it’s also perfect for either an uber-modern or super-girlie, vintage style event – talk about versatile! Enjoy, enjoy and looking forward to a wonderful 2012 with you all! Aoife & Deirdre x

First up a beautiful ‘Like Water for Elephants’ inspired shoot by Green Wedding Shoes shot by Marilyn Nakazato. We love the vintage vibe of the bouquet with a mix of white lilac and blousy ivory roses, not to mention the brides fab hair and strong lip and general 1920′s fabulousness!

Delicious Design – Flowers aren’t just for bouquets and table-centers. The simplicity of the anemone makes it perfect (either fresh or sugar-crafted) to include on a graphic black and white cake. Super, super easy to do yourself even – just find beautiful black and white ribbon and add a couple of flowers for instant design perfection! (Images L-R : Peggy Porschen, Instyle Weddings 2008, TheKnot, CakesforWedding.)

Wild and Loose – The word Anemone comes from the Greek word for wind, as the ancient Greeks named the flower ‘Wind Flower’ because they thought the flowers bloomed as a result of the wind blowing on them! So what better format for an Anemone bouquet than these gorgeous windswept, natural shapes. It’s almost as if they were scooped up from a meadow (albeit a very stylish meadow!) (Images – 1&2 Kate Holt at Flowerwild, 3&4 – Krista Jon Couture Florals Via GreenWeddingShoes)

Again – a headturning head piece – super stylish, modern and simple, we love it! From SiboDesigns via Etsy.

Team black and white floral centerpieces with sleek black glassware and accessories for a modern alternative for your event. Images from Brides.com.

Black and white has always been one of the classic combinations for an elegant wedding invitation, but here are two with a twist that incorporate the anemone – graphic and simple but so effective! (L-R : MewPaperArts at Etsy, Robin Ott at Minted.com)

And finally, some beautiful details in this amazing inspiration shoot styled by Canvas&Canopy Events and featured on RuffledBlog.

Ideas, Inspiration and Information from The Bridal Lounge

Well the time has come… we’re hanging up the keyboards, getting the mulled wine on, the carols are playing and it’s time to say farewell for this year and to wish you all the merriest, happiest and most wonderful of Christmases!!! Thank you to all our lovely Brides and Grooms – we’ve loved working with you all, and thank you to everyone who checks in each week to see what we’re up to on the blog. We’ll be back in the New Year with lots of ideas, inspiration and information to make all your wedding dreams come true – but in the meantime…. HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!! Love Aoife & Deirdre xxx

Happy Monday… hope you all had lovely weekends? We had a little bake-a-thon that Delia would have been proud of yesterday, and as we were shaping our little Gingerbread men and women into the prettiest edible wonders, we thought wouldn’t these be lovely to include in a winter wedding!! The possibilities are endless, but we love the idea of using them as decorations on Christmas trees – you could even make one for each guest with their name and table number on them and turn the whole tree into a festive seating plan!! Or how about mini Bride and Groom gingerbread people cake-toppers? Or one of our favourites… candy-cane place cards…. just pop one on each persons napkin, and they can nibble on them through the speeches, or take them home as a memento! So easy to make – we used the lovely Rachel Allen’s recipe (below), and cutters are available pretty much in every supermarket or cake shop at the minute!! So happy baking, and more importantly… happy eating!! Aoife & Deirdre xxx

Ingredients : (makes 40)

300g butter

125g caster sugar

125g soft dark brown sugar

225g golden syrup or treacle

725g plain flour

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

3 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon
For the icing for the gingerbread boys and girls:

175g (6oz) icing sugar

1-2 tbsp boiling water
You will need a piping bag and nozzles.

How To :

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), Gas mark 4. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter together with the sugars and golden syrup or treacle.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl.

Add the melted butter and sugar and mix together.

Knead the mixture for a few seconds until it comes together, adding a teaspoon or so of water if necessary, but without allowing it to get too wet.

Flatten the dough slightly into a round about 2cm (3/4in) thick, wrap with cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

To make the gingerbread boys and girls, remove the dough from the fridge, dust the work surface with flour and roll all of the dough out to about 5mm (1/4in thick).

Cut out the girl and boy shapes using boy/girl cutters, transfer onto the baking trays and cook in the oven for 12 minutes, until they are slightly firm, a little darker at the edges and slightly drier on top.

Allow the shapes to firm up for a few minutes, then place them on a wire rack to cool. When they have cooled, they can be iced, if you wish.

To make the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and add the water. Beat until the icing comes together, adding a little more water if necessary. (Be careful not to add too much or the icing will be too runny.) Using a small palette knife or the back of a spoon dipped into boiling water (to make the icing easier to spread), spread the icing over the gingerbread boys and girls.

If you wish to pipe on details, such as faces and hair, spoon the icing into a small piping bag with just the smallest corner cut off.

While the icing is still slightly ‘unset’ on the biscuits, arrange the silver balls or whatever decorations you are using, then set aside for the icing to set.

Images : 1. www.wilton.com, 2.www.helloisitea.blogspot.com, 3. www.weddingaccessories.net

Ideas, inspiration and information from The Bridal Lounge

Hello, hello! Sorry we’ve been a little quiet this week – it’s been a busy, busy few days here at the Bridal Lounge meeting with lovely 2012 Brides… Lots of ladies home for the Christmas holidays – ooh it’s nearly here!! We’re going to try to make it up to you with one of the prettiest, sparkliest, twinkliest Christmas wedding shoots we have ever seen! It’s a sugary, glittery wonder full of inspiration and ideas by the lovely ‘Sitting in a Tree Events’ via one of our favourite blogs 100LayerCake. Prepare to be dazzled!! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy Aoife & Deirdre xx

Ideas, Inspiration and Information by The Bridal Lounge

Happy Friday! Some Wintry Wonderfulness for you all this December day… just to get you in the mood for the festivities ahead! These gorgeous scenes and shots come courtesy of Jenny Haas (stylist and photographer extraordinaire) and Ashley Krogman Designs, who’s styling is just delicious!! We spotted it on the every lovely Green Wedding Shoes early last year, and have been waiting for the perfect moment to blog it!… So ok, there’s no snow on the ground, and outdoor weddings will probably never really catch on (bless the lovely model in this shoot… we’re assuming she’s frozen!!) But there are so many beautiful ideas in this shoot that we would love to incorporate into any of our Winter weddings – the colour palette, the frosted fir branches, pine cones, the music sheet chargers – we’re in complete snowy, sparkly love with it all!! So, wrap up warm and be inspired!…. Aoife & Deirdre x

Ideas, Inspiration and Information from The Bridal Lounge

When Niall Tyrrell and Donald Brennan of the Internationally renowned Irish Couture house ‘Tyrrell and Brennan’ got in touch with us to let us know they are having a very special, and very rare sale at their beautiful showrooms on Lower Pembroke Street, we had to share with you all. Their pieces are exquisite and have graced the great and the good and the stylish on red carpets across the globe. We think their Made To Measure Couture service, is absolutely perfect for Mothers of the Bride who want to feel and look amazing on their daughter’s big day.

This very rare sale is on now until Sunday the 18th of December, with amazing discounts up to 85% and appointments are necessary – so book now on 6788332 or email info@tyrrellandbrennan.com to book.

Let’s just call it an early Christmas present ;0) Enjoy!! Aoife & Deirdre x

Ideas, Information and Inspiration from The Bridal Lounge

… let it snow, let it snow….! Well apparently it sprinkled some snowy dust in certain parts of the country last night – we didn’t see any where we are, but the reports definitely has us convinced that Christmas is really just around the corner!! So we found the perfect Snowy Monday DIY for you all…. SNOWGLOBES!! These absolute stunners are from Anthropologies 2009 Winter Catalogue where they filled their globes with mini-vintage Santas, antique jewellery and other lovelinesses. Fortunately for us we found a super easy DIY project by Well-Worn, to guide us through making our own! We think they would be fantastic decorations for winter weddings : Fill the jars with you and your fiancé / finacéé’s initials, or charms that mean something to you, or use large jars and put your table numbers in them!! Lots of festively fabulous ideas! Now back to work – and here’s the How-to… Enjoy, Aoife & Deirdre xx

You Will Need :

- A jar of your choice – with a lid

- Figurines or jewellery ( or whatever you want to be inside your globe )

- Anti-rust sealant for items that are metal or liable to rust

- Clear-drying epoxy

- Distilled water

- Dash of glycerine

- Large white or silver glitter – NB: the smaller type floats at the top

Steps :

1. Use clear-drying epoxy to adhere your piece to the inside of the lid. Let dry per instructions.

2. After the epoxy dries completely, fill your jar with distilled or boiled water (cooled to room temperature!)

3. Add just a dash of glycerine so the ‘snow’ falls slowly.

4. Add as much glitter as you like. If you don’t like the look of glitter, you can usually find faux snow at craft and haberdashery stores.

5. Screw your lid on tightly and enjoy your snow globe!!

Thanks to Nicole from Well-Worn for the project!! All photos from www.anthropologie.com

Happy December 1st!!!! It’s finally here, the month of loveliness, festive cheer and presents by the tree… Hurrah! And today we have a fabulous present for you all… We’ve been looking forward to the arrival of the beautiful new blog by one of our favourite paper virtuosos Pamela Farrell of Farrell&Chase and Lindsay Moynagh. FlyawayBride promises to bring us inspirational wonderfulness for Brides and Grooms looking to take their celebrations abroad, and some beautiful home-grown ideas too! If their first shoot is anything to go by, we are in for lots and lots of treats – Pamela and Lindsay joined forces with lots of our other favourite suppliers to create a stunning vintage travel inspired shoot on board the M.V Cill Airne… prepare to be blown away! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy and best of luck to the lovely ladies of FlyawayBride! Aoife & Deirdre xx

Photos by Christina Brosnan of BrosnanPhotographic!

Hello All, cutest, simplest (but messiest) rope lettering DIY for you all today from the talented and lovely duo over at Wednesday Custom Design. A gorgeous and very economical alternative to paper signs for rustic or country-style weddings! Here’s the ‘How-To’…

When you have everything you need – lay down a sheet of wax paper big enough to capture your wording. Then pick the word you want to create and write it out on the wax paper to create a template to follow with your sticky rope! Next, mix together your cornstarch and glue with warm water. Make sure it’s smooth and not clumpy!

Now cover your rope in glue making sure it’s fully covered!! (this is the messy bit…) Then write your word (following your template) and make sure to push down hard where the rope overlaps itself. You can add extra glue to the join points to make it more secure. See, soo easy!! Just let it dry on a flat surface overnight – or for around 12 hours.

All done, your beautiful, rustic signage is ready to go!

Thanks to the lovely Wednesday Custom Design for this fab idea! We reckon it would be a fantastic way to create a Christmas (yes we mentioned it) garland to hang across an mantlepiece or up a staircase and decorate!!…. so many uses, so little time ;0)
Enjoy, Aoife & Deirdre xx

Ideas, Inspiration and Information from The Bridal Lounge

Happy Friday! Today we have the coolest wedding video, shot in Stop-Motion by Sophia and Simon from ‘Bayly&Moore’ - a supercool, super talented photo / video duo from New Zealand!! Marina and Andy’s Melbourne wedding was held in the traditional local town hall in the gorgeous neighbourhood of Fitzroy. Lots and lots of fun elements like an indoor swing inside and new moustaches for the boys from the local barbers! We’re loving the Stop-Motion process used, it’s a very cool, very different take on the traditional wedding video. Enjoy, Aoife & Dee xx

Marina + Andy’s Wedding in Stop-Motion | Melbourne, Australia / NYC from Bayly & Moore on Vimeo.