A Wonderful Winter Wedding

I truly love this time of year, when there is that sharp crisp to the air in the mornings and evenings.  It just makes me want to light a log fire, pop on a cashmere snuggly scarf and have a hot toddy (well, I will wait until the evenings for that of course!).  There is just something innately cosy and therefore romantic about the winter months approaching.  Therefore, I cannot think of a better time to get married!  Gone are the rigid templates of a spring and summer soiree, so now the wedding season spans all year round and I couldn’t think of anything better.

A winter wedding exposures countless alternatives that are overlooked when planning a traditional spring or summer wedding.  You can really put your individual stamp on proceedings.  Think roaring fires and greeting drinks of mulled spiced wine and midnight snacks of ‘hot chocolate shots ‘ and comfort food.  There is definitely something to be said about planning your wedding for these colder months.  

Visualise sparkling fairy lights, fur and ice with contrasting candle light.  So luxurious.  I just love ice scattered twigs as centre pieces too, very dramatic. 

This fairy light canopy looks so warm and enticing for your guests.

Tapered candle light adds an air of old school grandeur and occasion and also looks warm and inviting to boot. 

Why not embrace the idea of a wonderful winter wedding?

Wedding Table Settings For The Wedding Guide

I write a monthly blog post for The Wedding Guide and July's addition is all about creating fabulous and above all, individual table settings.  I hope you like it...

....................................................................................................................................

Everyone wants a spectacular wedding day, full of beauty and elegance, and here at Butterfly Lane we think it’s so important to inject your individuality in to your special day.  The finishing touches and design details are statements that can truly express your personality and should not be overlooked. 

A Fairy Tale Wedding

Table settings are one of many ways to add style, glamour and elegance in to your wedding day.  The wedding breakfast is a focal point of the reception and a place where you and your guests will be sat for many a happy hour toasting you and your partner, so you better make it as fabulous as possible…no pressure at all!

Today I am going to be talking about centre pieces.  A fabulous centre piece really showcases the style of your wedding, especially as it is paramount to your colour theme.  Here are some images that are really fuelling my inspiration at the moment. 

The long tables on these images are elegantly set for socialising.  The dramatic flower arrangements are tall enough not only to make a fantastic first impression but also enables guests to easily converse.   Add in lots of sparkling glassware and hey presto a wedding breakfast to die for! 

Elegant Sparkling Glass with Tall Vases

Sparkling Glassware - Divine!

Hydrangeas are the flower du jour for me, and this exquisite centre piece adds an understated elegance to a very plain and simple table design.  Just gorgeous!

Dramatic Hydrangea Centre Piece

A vintage tea party theme is forever popular with brides-to-be and the pretty flower displays in this image adds a whimsical and romantic feel to the table.  Finish off by filling vintage style teacups and saucers with fresh blooms to sit next to each guest, divine!  Who needs favours…

Vintage Tea Party Anyone?

For an understated and oh so chic look, multiple arrangements look just fabulous on a table.  Keep the bouquets low and stumpy, to give a gorgeous and extravagant look to a table.   Intersperse long, tapered candles for added elegance.   

Multiple Flower Arrangements Look Just Stunning

I hope I have inspired you to create a stand out table setting for your wedding day.   If you require any help for your wedding day styling please contact me for further information on  nikkiwright@butterflylane.co.uk

Wimbledon Whites

Wimbledon fortnight is here again and we are all hoping that the sun will shine on the most prestigious of the year's championships.  

A rainy, yet oh so stylish tennis court

We are big tennis fans in my family, my brother is a tennis coach and we have been playing (well, on and off on my part) for years.  There is something very special about Wimbledon, it is all so terribly British, full of lots of pomp and ceremony!  But let's embrace the occasion, don our finest whites and devour strawberries and cream, and definitely get the Pimms flowing (any excuse).  Here is the perfect table setting for a Wimbledon party...

Tennis Tea Party

In honour of the Wimbledon Championships here are Butterfly Lane's top picks of 'all white' interiors.  

Luxe White Bedroom

White Dining Room

White Bathroom

White Table Setting

White Nursery

White Entrance Hall

Good luck to all the competitors this year...maybe Murray might just do it!  And to all us spectators, enjoy the strawberries and cream!  

Subscribe to Butterfly Lane by entering your email address below.  You will receive an email immediately for you to verify your email address, click on the link and hey presto, interior design inspiration directly in to your inbox! 

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Wedding Bells

Wedding season is upon us and in full swing here at Butterfly Lane HQ.  I have already attended one swanky countryside affair and have two more in the coming months - hats at the ready!  I can honestly say that I love a wedding, a day long (or sometimes weekend long) celebration of love and hope (please don't be sick!).  Some find them cheesy, some find them a waste of money, but I find them truly magical.  I've attended the big, the small and the truly intimate of weddings, ranging from countryside fabulousness, a vintage tea party theme, a service on the edge of Lake Como (breathtaking), a city wedding and one in stunning parkland.  I truly believe that it's the little touches that stay with you, the token gestures and the small details of design.

  

Here at Butterfly Lane we would like to give all you brides and grooms to be some inspiration for your big day.  The choices you make for your wedding day are so important, they will be 


documented for life in photograph after photograph and should be something you look back on with pride and nostalgia.  No pressure!  It is so important to me that when I look back on my wedding photo's in 30 years time, they still look classic, timeless, with not a hint of a possibility of an embarrassing question arising 'what on earth did you wear on your head?'!  

I always imagined my wedding being at my parents home, channeling the film Father of the Bride, and definitely including the swans!  But the venue is only the start of the preparation.   Are you a city, country or eloping married-couple-to-be?  Spring, summer, autumn or winter?  Pimms v's a hot toddy, roaring open fires v's air conditioning...and I haven't even mentioned 'the' dress!  

However, how you dress the venue, the room and the tables on your wedding day will really showcase your individuality.  In true Butterfly Lane style I love lashings of cream, white, pearl and ivory on a wedding day, it's just so classic, timeless and elegant, everything that a wedding should be in my opinion.       

Here are some inspirational images, from table settings to flowers, that will hopefully inspire you for your special day.  

The Butterfly Lane online boutique will be launching in the coming weeks and we have a dedicated wedding section.  Whether you are a guest who requires a special gift (we have lots of amazing options), or a couple who would like to use our exclusive, luxurious and bespoke Gift List Registry (more on that soon), or if you require gorgeous things to style your special day with, elegant vases, jugs, candles holders, ceramic or glass, Butterfly Lane is here to help!  We are so excited to be launching our wedding boutique, I know that you'll just love it and be totally inspired, I know that we are!  

Love is in the air...X 

For all enquiries regarding the Butterfly Lane Wedding Boutique please email us on giftlist@butterflylane.co.uk.  

All images are from our Pinterest Gallery.  

Please sign up for Butterfly Lane interior design inspiration directly in to your inbox.  Simply enter your email address below, and remember to verify it! 

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Table Style: Elegant Ideas for Decorating a Table

Table settings were once a formal affair, today entertaining is a far more relaxed and we have happily abandoned all of that pomp and circumstance.  Here at Butterfly Lane we believe that setting a table for a lunch with friends or a dinner party shouldn’t be an after thought or a chore, creating a decorative tabletop is super easy, satisfying and most of all fun.  The simplest of schemes will have a transforming affect on any occasion and Butterfly Lane would like to give you some simple design ideas to inspire you, whether you’re having a cocktail party, an al fresco supper, an intimate dinner party or a Sunday brunch with family, we are here to help.  Setting a table is so easy to achieve without buying a cupboard full of new dinnerware, successful table dressing is not about silverware and crystal (although that does sound fabulous!), it’s about making the most of what you have and purchasing a few special accessories to treasure that you can use time and time again.  So you don’t need the family-heirloom china or silver spoons to recreate these table settings, fresh flowers, twinkling candle light, and quirky decorative touches are all that’s needed.  Whether it’s a week night supper or a sophisticated cocktail party, these simple, pretty and imaginative table settings will bring a dash of originality to any occasion.  Here are our top tips for a successful tabletop, and remember, it’s all in the detail! 

Al Fresco Supper

Butterfly Lane has everything you need to put the finishing touches on a perfect summer party.  Enjoy a carefree celebration in the sunshine with a selection of fun tableware and garden accessories. I love to use fresh flower arrangements outside, and this ridiculously elegant patioware will be available to buy at Butterfly Lane very soon.  We are so excited about our discovery, from jugs, cake stands, champagne glasses, salad bowls and cutlery it looks like your finest sparkling crystal but is in fact plastic and patio proof.  It looks just stunning and to be put on our waiting list please email info@butterflylane.co.uk.  Prices start from £10.00.

Sophisticated Cocktail Party

Whether your guests prefer it shaken or stirred here are some inspiring images to throw a swarve and sophisticated cocktail party at home.  Think sparkling martini glasses, champagne saucers and elegant accessories.  All you’ll need to do is master the cocktail recipes…

Intimate Dinner Party

A Dinner Party is about delicious food in perfect surroundings.  Invest in gorgeous serving platters, bowls and plates so your guests can serve themselves leaving you time to play the part of the perfect host!

Sunday Brunch


We just love the idea of bringing the outdoors inside using garden planters as centre pieces. Inspired.

Tea Party

Bring out your best china, the Tea Party is having a revival!  So for you tea party enthusiasts or anyone looking for a fresh approach to this beloved tradition, look no further.  Whether you are planning a summer tea party in the garden or a cosy gathering in front of the roaring fire, Afternoon Tea is a treat any time of the year. Just make sure that your finger sandwiches, scones and Darjeeling tea are served with the most delicate and pretty china around.

Children’s Party

Children’s parties are all about colour and fun and with these stylish table settings adults will be suitably impressed as well as your little ones…

......................................................................................................................................


With Gracious Style...


For a more special affair we cannot recommend crisp table linen highly enough (in the obligatory Butterfly Lane cream or white of course!), it will not only hide a multiple of sins on your battered dining table, but will add an air of decadence to the occasion.  The range from Gracious Style is truly exquisite and as fashion constantly changes there is something luxurious and timeless about using a tablecloth.  Why not use something plain and simple for a classic look or damask and embroidered for a decorative edge.  The simple finish a tablecloth gives allows for bolder design choices on the tabletop, with punchy floral arrangements and lashings of twinkling glass and candle light. 

Our friends at Gracious Style have a special treat for the Butterfly Lane readers, simply enter BUTTERFLYLN10 in to the voucher code on their website to receive 10% off all their gorgeous products *.  Thank you Gracious Style and enjoy everyone!

I hope that Butterfly Lane has inspired you to create some amazing and creative table settings.  Let us know how you get on…X


* The Gracious Style offer is not valid on sale or clearance items. Offer valid through 11:59 pm EST, May 31, 2012. Not valid on previous orders, orders with trade discounts, or when combined with any other promotional offers.


All images from the Butterfly Lane Pinterest page, Gracious Style and Google

P.S.  The Butterfly Lane online homeware boutique will be launching soon, for updates and to receive our blogs directly in to your inbox please pop your email address in to the box below.  You will receive an email from us to validate your request, simply click on the link and hey presto, design inspiration direct in to your inbox! 

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner