Birdie cake topper...practise #2

So a couple of blog's ago I showed off the fab cake toppers I liked of 2 little birds - however the price was astronomical! Aint no way I'm paying that for 2 little stuffed fabric birds...so I decided to have a bash at making my own.

In the previous blog all I really did was find a bird template and have a whirl at stitching them together by hand. Well - obviously hand stitching leaves the fabric a little 'loose' so I dug out my mums vintage 1980's Toyota Sewing machine, dusted and oiled it and to my amazement apart from that the light bulb had blown it seemed to work fine (Good solid Toyota engineering!)

So...I gave the sewing machine a whirl for a basic outline of a bird...

Then I went all out and did a little bride birdie :) needs work still but I generally pleased with the shape - and realised if I'm making my own I can tie in the button design ideas I'm using on the bouquet's - I debated having buttons as eyes but it looked a little creepy and very much like 'Coraline' :) 

Kindness

Just a quick note to say that I'm overwhelmed by how generous people are in and around wedding organisation. A fabulous friend has offered to make the wedding cake for us as a wedding present, and another has offered to help alter the wedding dress. Also huge Thank You to my mummy and daddy who gave us some money to put towards the wedding which we used to put down the deposit on the venue. People are so generous.

Also my creative little sister who made this for us <3

Cake Toppers...practise 1

Ok so I bought a wedding magazine, I know HUGE mistake, everywhere says don't buy them because they set an unrealistic standard with lots of money to be spent. It is true.

However, I did find these adorable little cake toppers...

cute right? so I found them for sale on this fab website called www.notonthehighstreet.com
Link for the lovely birds... http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/thecottonpotter/product/personalised-fabric-bird-wedding-cake-toppers

If you clicked that link above then I'm sure you will have made a small audible gasp at the price...£140!!!!! Yes I appreciate they are hand made but the are 2 small fabric birds...they wanna be made of solid silver for that price.

So I endeavour to make some myself which are similar (not identical) So first to hone my needle skills I decided to make a rough outline of a fabric bird to see if I could get a general shape.

((before you comment on this shoddy work it was just a 'shape' practise - I loosly hand stitched together just to get an idea and I made if from felt (which is quite stretchy) will need to try some in various fabrics to see what works.

Bird shape template

Cut me out some shapes

Add some wings

 

Stitch together

After much tugging and pulling a little hollow right-way-round bird shell

Bit o'stuffing to plump it out

General bird shape

 

Beak needs to be pointier but you get the idea!

Another wedding fair

I'm going to a few wedding fairs to meet suppliers/view venues and generally bet ideas and be inspired...so I am not planning to over-blog about EVERY wedding fair i attend. However I wanted to pat a few picks of me, my mum and dad and Sister (also bridesmaid) Katy at the wedding fair in Hardwick Hall which is our chosen venue :) - oddly I didn't actuall take any pictures in the room we've chosen ?!?

Bouquet update

So I bought myself a glue gun and rattle together my final mock up of bride bouquet, 2 bridesmaids bouquets and 3 buttonholes. After this I will fiddle no more and will make these finals to perfection a little closer to the date :) here are photos of my final mock ups...let me know what you think! 

Brides bouquet close up

Brides bouquet side on

Two bridesmaid bouquets

Close up of a buttonhole

All of them side-by-side

Save The Date

So we have officially picked a date and a venue.

The winning date is Friday 29th August 2014...
...and the winning venue is Hardwick Hall Sedgefield.

Today I confirmed the date with the registrar and put down the deposit on the venue. The date is set.

We are NOT having the traditional 3 course wedding breakfast, but instead are having a 'High Tea' or 'Tea Party' - which was one of our original ideas when we were considering what we wanted...we preferred the informality and 'fun' aspect of a tea party...and its food that we would enjoy much more.

Now, some people consider talking money as vulgar and inappropriate...phooey to this...I have spent hours scouring wedding sites/blogs/brochures trying to work out what a 'reasonable' price is or the 'true cost' of things. So, if you need an idea, here is a breakdown of the quote they gave me...

Venue hire for ceremony - Complimentary (as having on a Friday)
Venue hire for reception day/evening - £500
Afternoon Tea - £13.95pp (approx. 45 guests = £627.75)
Drinks Package - £13.95pp (approx. 45 guests = £627.75) ((optional and we may not take))
Evening Buffet - £11.95pp (approx. 60 guests = £717)
DJ - £205

Included Complimentary:

-Red carpet at the entrance of your chosen function suite, weather

permitting. In the case of inclement weather, umbrellas are supplied.
-The use of a cake stand and silver cutting knife.
-The choice of either ivory or white linen table cloths and napkins.
-Personalised table plan.
- The guidance of our specialist Wedding Coordinator.
- The services of our Banqueting Manager as Toastmaster.
- Free car parking.
- The use of hotel grounds for all your important photographs.
- A complimentary one-night stay for Bride and Groom in a Premier Bedroom with full English
breakfast before you depart.
- Special accommodation rates for guests wishing to stay over on the night of your wedding.

Total = £2677.50

Yes this is a of of money, however most 3 course wedding breakfasts start at £30pp which would instantly more than double the daytime food bill...and some venues quoted as high as £115pp for the meal alone!!!

Also having looked into taking out wedding insurance (highly recommended in case any of the companies you put deposits down on go bust or any damage it items etc.) most of the smallest insurance packages cover for £10,000 worth of wedding cover with most insurers averaging a £20,000 pay out limit. Using this as a bench mark comparison, our quote is comparably small, in a lovely venue and with a reception afternoon tea which is what we wanted over a 3 course meal.

Most of the big venues offer packages starting at around £3000, with very little choices in the menu and not including room hire for the ceremony - a couple of venue's offered 'off season' weddings starting at £2500 but again with restricted dates and menu choices. With the quote we have been given we have chosen the place we liked and the food we want and got a date during summer but still managed to keep the cost (relatively) low - certainly when you compare it with equivalent venues with beautiful grounds. Although to us it is a lot of money I am still really happy with the quote we got and what is included in it.

So obviously this is not the only cost...we also have to pay the registrar £70 to declare our intent to marry followed by £390 for the registrar to marry on an approved premises.

Its all these little extras here and there that will sharp add up.

The haters are just hateful

So after an overload of venue searches and quotes and now with a couple of wedding fairs under my belt my head is truly spinning. I'm going to indulge my emotions here a little and use this blog as a bit of a pause and moan moment.

So having put thought into food, guest lists, venues etc. you want people to be a little more...I dunno...appreciative maybe? I know it's our wedding, our venue, our date etc but a lot of those things are catered for the guests as much as the marrying couple. In this it is the small comments that kill me...i feel like making a 'black list' of people who don't get invited on the principal of what they say and how they say it...if you don't want to come then fine, it'll save us money on feeding you...but don't turn up just to moan about how pointless you find the symbol of marriage.

I found myself today crying a little, my feelings were really hurt from what different people have said to me at different points over the last few days. These comments genuinely hurt my feelings...of course I wait until I'm safe in the solidarity of my car before I let my emotions get the better of me. 

From the idea that getting married is one expensive piece of paper...to the worry that we're picking the most expensive venue without doing our research and being irresponsible in our choices, to the fact that people don't want to be there for some cheesy disco. I have had what feels like a barrage of these comments in the last week from friends, relatives and work colleagues. All of these things seemingly said without regard for the feelings of anyone who actually wants to get married, or the small number of people who seem to be looking forward to the wedding. 

There are always some guests who you invite out of courtesy. I truly believe that this courtesy can be revoked if you do not show respect for my feelings. I am not paying £39.85 for just you to be at my wedding when you don't want to be there (£13.95pp to eat at the reception £13.95pp to drink and £11.95pp) that is almost a days wage for me to let one person at my wedding eat, drink and be merry...I am not giving away my hard earned money to those who don't want it or deserve it.

This brings me onto another option. Don't invite the extras. Have a small wedding with very immediate family only. No riff raff. 

At the moment I honestly don't know how to move this planning forward.