wedding inspiration Archives - The White Emporium

Using pink in your wedding styling…

27th February 2018 by Gemma Leave a Comment

Now I am not a pink girl, I don’t own anything pink and won’t really wear anything pink. But I am currently totally head over heels in love with the colour! This maybe because it is one of the key colours of 2018 and my Instagram feed is filled with it but I just can’t help screen shotting away at all the pink loveliness that is put before me. So this post is going to be on the image heavy side, a real visual delight for this grey Tuesday and a little delve into pink wedding inspiration.

So I thought I would share some of my favourite images with you. When I talk about the pink I am in love with I don’t mean the solid blocks of colour from yester-year I mean the tonal layers, with a

depth and variety that is all mixed together for a feeling that is quite fresh!

Of course flowers and foliage play a huge part in building this vision, and as a styling trend it is one that needs to be accessed as a bigger picture to really create dramatic effect.

Lets start with the florals –

I love a dramatic bouquet and these beauties do not disappoint, I love their effortless, wild style and the depth of texture colour built into them.

Spring Brights – Image found on lamusadelasflores Instagram feed

Textural – Image found on Nicamille Instagram Feed

Floral Pink Loveliness -Image found on Half Penny London Instagram Feed

Move over millennial pink there is a new shade taking over 2018 and it’s all about the peaches, with the Beast from the East blowing a chill and making this feel like a very long winter, the brightness and vibrancy in these tones has got all the spring vibes going. The perfect fresh breath for pink wedding inspiration.

Peachy Floral Dreams – Image from Bride and Tonic Blog

All the pink tones – Image found on Carmela Weddings Instagram Feed

Styling –

We can’t leave out aisle style, I love a good ceremony backdrop and with key textures such as chiffon and velvet dominating the fabric world I can’t think of a more perfect frame to stand in front of than this beautiful setup –

Backdrop love – Image found on Pink by Peach Instagram Feed

I love the grass and dried flower mixes filling my Instagram feed, the delicate feathered floral textures are a fresh way to add a little drama to your tablescape and styling. If you love all things pink then Charlotte Nichols Weddings is a great feed to check out on Instagram.

Delicate and Feathery – Image found on Charlotte Nichols Wedding Instagram Feed

Wedding photography and styled shoots are making a shift towards a slightly harder hitting, dramatic editorial style. With more punchy shots, risque poses and bolder styling choices. There is still a lot of translatable wedding inspiration to be found in these images, I mean how amazing would a setup like the below be on top of a fire place at the bottom of your aisle. I love the mix of the height from the twigs, the contrast in feathery textures and the use of candles.

Get dramatic – Image found on Rose and Bud Perth Instagram Feed

One of key trend directions for 2018 has been the mixing of soft subtle colours with, darker, moodier tones, perfect for low lying displays and a stylists dream as we get to be creative adding into vases and candle sticks. You will be certainly be seeing more of this in some of my weddings coming up this year. Find out about the brass vessels we have available to hire here.

Mix it up – Image found on Nouba Blog

Its not all about the dusky tones, the desert pinks and the peaches, the below shoot as featured on BLoved Blog is a perfect example of a fresh use of Millennial pink, are those chairs not amazing!

Go Bold – Image from BLoved Blog

Fashion –

Bridal fashion doesn’t go untouched, the new Bridesmaids collaboration between Woburn Bridal and Sharon BowenDryden soon to launch at Most Curious Wedding Fair is packed full of soft pink separates perfect for statement making maids!

New kids on the block – Bridesmaid collaboration between Woburn Bridal and Sharon BowenDryden

Flower crowns aren’t going anywhere and the crown designed by The Flower Story as featured in the ‘Bold Woman’ shoot we styled is still one of my favourites. I love the mix of peachy tones and the height!

Image from the Bold Woman styled shoot we worked on. Image by Brightside Photography

Inspiration –

Need a little inspiration, the interior world is full of pink and I love the effortless desert pink hues contrasting against the earthy textures of the wood and pampas grasses in this image below. Inspiration for styling your wedding decor doesn’t just have to come from the traditional wedding blogs, look to interiors, fashion and design blogs for something a little less ordinary.

Desert Pink Tones – Image found on Coco Kelly Blog

Below is the hit list for everything you need to find more pink wedding inspiration. Image sources are listed in the order they appear on the blog.

Lamusadelasflores

Nica Mille

Half Penny London Instagram

Bride and Tonic Blog

Carmela Weddings Instagram

Pink By Peach Instagram

Charlotte Nichols Weddings

Rose and Bud Instagram

Nouba Blog

Bloved Blog

WoburnXBowenDryden

Brightside Photography

Coco Kelley Blog

I hope you have found this little feed of pink wedding inspiration useful and it has your creative pulses raring to go!

Love

Gemma

The White Emporium xxx

Wedding Floral Inspiration 2018

12th January 2018 by Gemma Leave a Comment

Now this is just a very little snippet for some of the floral inspiration in 2018. I love flowers and incorporating them into my styling, both working with trained florists and having a dabble myself, in recent years my tastes have swayed to the wild, natural and untamed. A firm advocator of the home grown I love foraging and the rise of flower farm small holdings. Now flower terminology is not my forte, I can create a stunning display but please don’t ask me to remember flower names, so any florists amongst you reading this blog please don’t call me out on the inaccuracies and just cringe quietly into your cup of tea.

I have also noticed a movement against the word trend, now I believe that weddings should be personal and unique and represent the couple behind them and this is the ethos I use behind all weddings. However trends do exist, trust me after 8 years of being a fashion designer even an anti trend is a trend! So incorporate the elements you want to, in ways you want to, don’t feel pressured into following certain movements just take these ‘trends’ as inspiration and build your wedding your way.

Grasses and Seeds –

This has to be one of my favourite floral movements coming through in floral inspiration 2018, pretty much because its so versatile. Pampas grasses have taken the wedding industry by storm and it’s about time they got some positive press after the whole 70’s swinger innuendos. Fill large glass vessels with tall grasses and exploding seed heads of all shapes and sizes including bamboos and cotton, vintage bottles (which we have loads of Vintage Bottle Hire )look so delicate and light when filled with grass stems and I love the contrast against the cold hard texture of concrete. This is great for the scandi movement and the air of simplicity we see floating across from Europe. Create beautiful airy tablescapes with striking china layered upon crumpled linen table runners.

A mix of grasses both fresh and dried. Image found on Silk and Willow Instagram Page.

Pampas Chandelier by http://marylennox.de/

Full of seed and bud goodness. From one of my favourite floral designers… Soil and Stem

Simplicity is beautiful, Image Source Unknown

Moody Mixes –

Probably the complete opposite of the above trend, here comes the dark and dramatic. Use bold floral choices and unusual flower combos, mix rich hues with soft undertones, orchids with roses, pale pinks with dark mauves and highs with lows. This is a kind of everything goes trend, as long as there is an underlying dark tone running through the florals then this is your chance to be bold and dramatic. Perfect for intense back drops and floral installations.

Bouquet by Floraeforay http://floraeforay.co.uk/

Look at that height! Image found on The Bridal Theory

Mix colours and unusual flower combos. Image found on Rose and Bud Insta page.

Delicate –

Pairing it all back to the simplistic vibes, the need for neutrals and airiness is running through a lot of home décor trends at the moment. Plants such as honesty have been popping up all over Instagram and the emergence of dried flowers and grasses have been filling my screen shots folder. Think about dried flower boquets, head pieces, backdrops and place settings. I love the depth of texture created when using dried foliage, perfect for layering over rustic tables and fabric runners. What’s not to love, especially when we have hundreds of various rustic and unique bottles waiting to be filled with something beautiful!

Dried Bouquet Image found on https://www.fairmavenfloral.ca/

Image Source Unknown for this beautiful dainty bloom.

Another from one of my favourite Instagram feeds… Silk and Willow.

One of my favourite plants! Image found on The Lane Wedding Inspiration

The amazing thing about social media, is the whole wealth of inspiration out there, I have more screen shots on my phone than photos, so don’t be afraid to step outside of the ‘norm’ when looking at floral inspiration 2018. There’s going to be so much beauty gracing our screens this year!

My next blog post will be looking at some key colours coming through this year.

Have a lovely weekend.

Gemma xxx

The White Emporium

Image Links top to bottom –

Silk and Willow Instagram

Mary Lennox

Soil and Stem Instagram

Florae Foray

The Bridal Theory

Rose and Bud Instagram

Fair Maven Floral

The Lane Wedding Inspiration

Top Three Styling Trends 2018 –

18th November 2017 by Gemma Leave a Comment

In the first of a series of blog posts I will be looking at some of the key styling trends of 2018, with details soon to be hitting the new wedding scene, don’t worry the good old brass candle stick isn’t going anywhere, but it does have some new friends to sit with.

Like all trends they are influenced by social movements and whats happening in the world of interior design, refined by wedding creatives in styled shoots they then find themselves as key parts of your day.

Transparent –

This year we have seen the introduction of Perspex as stationary material for the use of everything from table plans to place names. This now goes one step further with ghost chairs and Perspex tables making their way across the Atlantic from the dreamy outdoor weddings of California. Admittedly a ghost chair isn’t for everyone and I would always pick a chair to suit the venue, they do however add an amazing level of light and freshness to your wedding décor. Not quite sold on the Perspex then glass will be in abundance, next year I look forward to writing table numbers on glass photo frames and filling large glass distillers with an array of grasses and greenery.

Ghost Chairs

Transparent Plinths perfect for filling and stacking.

Perspex plate layering – whats not to love!

Backdrops –

Nothing makes for a blog submitting wedding more than a dramatic backdrop. Whether that be at the bottom of your aisle or behind the top table. Stylists and florists are getting more and more creative in their designing and the results are all about adding that wow factor. A lot of it is about building on textures and this is where a stylist and florist working together can really come into their own. Key materials include of course Perspex and glass, but also softening chiffon and wire frames, really think about depth of framing yourselves with adding in plinths and details on the floor, such as candles and Perisan rugs. Shapes of backdrops are changing as well, crescents and circles are key shapes for floral designs and chiffon and fabrics are suspended in the air as if they are floating. A simple archway turns into a grid and the flowers just get more dramatic.

Chiffon Drapes Appear To Float

Circle is the new square!

Grids are perfect for building layers of floral displays on.

Grazing Table –

2017 was the year of the doughnut 2018 will be the year of the grazing table and the rise of the savouries! (Yes finally!) A cheese board has never looked so good when it its styled with an array of meats, antipasti, chutneys and breads. This isn’t going to be just for the rustic lovers either, think about adding Perspex (oh gosh I said it again) stands and marble trays to create light displays or go full on with wooden crates, slate tiles and wooden serving boards.

Grazing Table – Yum!

Grazing Table With A Light and Fresh Feel

Grazing Table Of Dreams

For more inspiration and styling trends 2018 head over to my Instagram feed and Pinterest boards ( The White Emporium Pinterest ) where I pin away to my hearts content. Why not head over to our hire page to see what decor would be perfect for styling trends 2018… Hire Page

Next week I will be looking a little more at floral trends.

Love

Gemma xxx

5 Top Tips for Planning Your Magical Christmas Wedding

15th December 2016 by Gemma Leave a Comment

Happy Thursday! I am delighted to have below the first ever guest post from the lovely Jo Cowan and Claire Chapman. They run Belle Bridal in London and are here to guide you through all things Festive wedding! Enjoy ….

With long nights, clear frosty mornings and cuddling in front of an open fire, Christmas is one of the most romantic times of year. When planning a wedding, there’s no better time to choose if you love accessorising and making your wedding fit to burst with little touches that bring out the magic of the day.

You’re almost so spoiled for choice for winter wedding ideas that it can be difficult to nail down some ideas — but fear not! Here are five important things to keep in mind while you organise your special day that can give it that gorgeous winter twist.

1. Play Around With Your Lighting

The long nights of winter mean one thing: fairy lights and fires. When the Christmas lights go up, the world instantly seems brighter and the winter blues are chased away. Experiment with lights draped in different patterns around your wedding venue. If you have a wedding space with an outdoor area, you can make use of the trees and bushes to drape lights through. You could even spell out your names in the lights, or make love hearts.

Image Found on Rock My Wedding. Photo by Amy Fanton

For a more intimate feeling, you can really make use of candles to your advantage. Not only are they inexpensive, but the flickering light will create a warm glow that’s flattering for all ages. Just make sure that you try your makeup out in candlelight before your big day, to check that the tones work. If you accessorise with jewellery, try and choose jewellery that catches the light, to better reflect the flickering candles and create a truly romantic atmosphere.

Image Source Unknown

Embrace the Whimsical in Your Table Settings

If you’re crafty, you can really go all out with creating your own whimsical table decorations for your wedding. Instead of name cards, why not make gingerbread biscuits with names on them? Or how about collecting baubles for each guest with a name card tag attached? Not only are they seasonal, but they’re create memories of the day for your guests to take home.

Image from White Woods Wedding

You can also theme the food and drink to reflect a wintery feel. Have mugs of hot chocolate ready and waiting on the tables for your guests to warm up with, and instead of a punch bowl, how about some mulled wine? Decorate the middle of the table with fake snow and candy canes and the tables will look beautifully festive.

Image found on Want That Wedding

Hunt Through Wedding Dress Sales in London

Christmas is off-season for weddings, so take advantage of this and browse through the wedding dress sales in London or your nearest big city, to see what you can find. Wedding dress sample sales in London are great ways to find something spectacular that you possibly wouldn’t be able to afford at other times of the year.

When choosing your dress for a Christmas wedding, don’t just think of it as just a dress, but part of the entire outfit. You can accessorise with gloves, faux fur shawls, stockings and other layers that will both keep you warm and add to your outfit’s overall look. When you’re visiting wedding dress shops in London, you can hunt through vintage jewellery shops, looking for oversize pieces that will reflect the candlelight.

Image found on Closer

For a Christmas wedding dress, look at styles like ball gowns or lace-covered wedding dresses. While spring and summer are seasons where less is more, in the winter, you can be more excessive with your dress and style. Choosing a dress that’s more covered up is also an excellent way to keep warm, as well as being a beautiful option when done right.

Be Bold in Your Colour Choices

Winter is the time for dark, rich colours like emerald green, dark teal, burgundy red, royal purple, silvers and golds. If you’re choosing fabrics, then pick satins, velvets, or something similarly heavy will bring warmth into the room. You can match the colours in your table settings, your flowers and your wedding party outfits.

Image found on I Found You Wedding

Colours aren’t only important to make the room more interesting, but they can also change the mood of your guests. Depending on what atmosphere you’re trying to create, aside from the dark, rich colours bringing warmth and opulence into the room, choose colours that you want to reflect the tone of the day.

Image found on Old Parish Rooms

Don’t Be Afraid of Accessorising

An important tip from wedding dress fitters is to take the accessories and shoes you’re planning on wearing with you when you’re fitted. So when you go to the wedding dress shops in London, make sure you take some of the accessories you plan on wearing with you. Especially for a winter wedding when you’re free to accessorise so heavily, the shoes, jewellery and layers you’re planning on wearing can make or break your decision about a particular dress.

It doesn’t have to be just jewellery, either. If you plan to have your hair up, you can even accessorise with natural red berries or pine cones, or sprigs of holly, as a small bit of colour in your outfit. You could even go bigger and make yourself a flower crown. You’re sure to look beautiful and to carry the feeling of Christmas with you as you walk down the aisle.

Image found on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings

Christmas isn’t a time to hold back when you’re planning your wedding. If you’ve chosen a date during winter, go all out in decorating and accessorising. Your guests are sure to remember the magic of the day for many years to come.

Image found on The Lake House Sunshine Coast

Author Bio: Jo Cowan and Claire Chapman have been running their wedding dress company in North London for over six years. Belle Bridal is a family-run business which aims to deliver the highest standard of service. They specialise in sample dresses, so you can get a designer gown at a fraction of the price.

A Little Close Up Part 1- Hand Drawn Maps

10th June 2016 by Gemma Leave a Comment

For well over a year The White a Emporium has been creating hand drawn maps for couples all around the country. It is an area of our work that we have never really shouted about. So as the first in a 3-part close up look at The White Emporium we will be telling you all you need to know about our little maps.

It all started back in 2014 when I drew a tiny little map on the info page of our wedding invites. One of our guests saw it and loved it and asked me to draw one for them. Then a friend of a friend saw theirs and another map was commissioned, the rest as they say is history.

My Own Little Wedding Map, Where It All Began!

I have created maps of London to Italy and drawn airplanes to unicorns. As long as I can have access to photos (Google maps is a dream) I can attempt to draw anything.

Each little element of the map is hand drawn, you can include your houses, where you went on your first date, your favourite pub etc, most common is for couples to add on the hotels guests have been recommended to stay at and of course the wedding venues.

Every Element In The Map Is Hand Drawn

A Map Of A Location In Italy

So why buy a hand drawn map when printing from Google is so easy? Well every map is completely unique, no 2 are ever the same. It is another great way to inject your personality by adding in places that mean something to you and selecting the area to be drawn. The maps aren’t accurate to scale but they still make a great little tool to stop your guests getting lost. Finally once you are happy with the artwork the map is yours to keep, I hold no printing restrictions so it can be re-produced however you like as many times as you like. They are great to keep in your memory box and I have known couples to frame them, or enlarge them and use them as a print for guests to sign.

Another One Of Our Little Maps

Here’s the important bit (well for me anyway) the maps currently cost £40 (until 1st September 16) for the finished JPEG and they take at least 2 weeks to draw. I would need to know the final size you require, all the places you would like to be included and your names and wedding date. So not to much info! When you are entirely happy with the artwork you get a high resolution JPEG which is yours to print however you would like.

The Most Ambitious Map To Date, Commissioned by The Bohemian Dreams Wedding Festival

Then if you loved your map why not add on a timeline of your day to go into your order of services! These are at a barginacious £20 until Sept 1st 2016!

Add In The Timings For The Day With A Hand Drawn TimeLine

For more information or to book your map drop a message to thewhiteemporium@outlook.com

Get those fingers typing and hopefully hear from you soon!

Love Gemma x

The White Emporium

Take one milk churn…

25th January 2016 by Gemma 2 Comments

Take one simple milk churn and pack it full of flowers and the look is truly schmazzzzziiinnngggg! Please can I get married again!

I love the height you can get from these arrangements and how they can be filled with the brightest of colours, creating real breath taking displays. Surely a flower arrangers dream!

This is a short but sweet post, there is no point in my crazy ramblings the photos are going to do all the talking!

Image from 29gallery.co.uk

Image from amydwyerflorist.com

Image from rockmy wedding.com

Image from passionforflowers.net

Image from onefabday.com

For more inspiration follow me on Pinterest – https://uk.pinterest.com/whiteemporium/ I can promise a lot of milk churn and general relaxed rustic love!

Love Gemma xxx

The White Emporium

A Beautiful White Affair

15th January 2016 by Gemma Leave a Comment

One of my favourite things about my job is getting to work with some super talented suppliers on styled shoots. Today I am going to share with a beauty of a gem, perfect for cheering up this very cold day. Back in May 2014 we created an effortlessly beautiful look which took full advantage of the lush green backdrop. The first look saw our bride and groom embrace under a natural arbor complimented with a love quote plaque and candles (frequent followers will know I have a candle obsession). The bride had a stunning relaxed bun up-do decorated with flowers. Her dress was trimmed with beads and featured a small train, perfect for the relaxed feel.

Our couple dined at a table brimming with eucalyptus and brass candlesticks, gip filled the mini glass vases and rustic Mr and Mrs hand painted signs hung from the chairs.

With the beautiful setting it would have been rude not to take advantage of the outdoors so we created a picnic, which has to be the ultimate in relaxed wedding dining.

White was our non-colour of choice, it really pops against the green and the beautiful relaxed hand tied bouquet was to die for!

The second look saw the bride in a short lace and loose waved hair, the groom looked dapper in shirt and braces. 2016 is all about signage and our Mr and Mrs signs and chalk boards provide amazing photo props.

I love the intimate feel of this shoot and how in love the couple look. When I style shoots I love to help create the relaxed vibe that was over whelming on this gorgeous day.

I hope you love it as much as I do.

Here is the full list of suppliers, they are all amazing –

Photography: www.summerlilystudio.com

https://www.nikkismoments.com/

https://www.sungblue.com/

https://www.loveandlifestudio.co.uk/

Hair: www.updosbynatasha.co.uk

Make Up: www.facebook.com/makeupbymackenziekate

Styling little old Me!: www.thewhiteemporium.co.uk

Flowers: Wood View Floral Designs – lesleymutz@hotmail.co.uk

Cake: www.icakeyou.co.uk

Stationery: www.karleegould.co.uk/

Accessories: www.somethingnewsomethingblue.co.uk

Happy Weekend

Gem xxx

The White Emporium

Life in Pink…

8th January 2016 by Gemma Leave a Comment

Happy Friday all! I hope you have all settled back well into the routine!

As I have been browsing the numerous blogs, Pinterest and Instagram this week I have been falling in love with the soft muted tones of pale pink! Now I am not a pink girl, I don’t own a single pink item of clothing and there is no pink in my house, but I think this effortless palette is to die for!

Display soft pink peonies in glass decanters and vintage bottles (I am obsessed) and mix with pastel candles and candle sticks for a beautiful tablescape. Flower crowns are the toast of the 2016 wedding season and I love the idea of a delicate heather crown, simple and understated, it is a shame you can’t wear one to work.

This soft pink works amazing when teamed with muted pastel colours, gold hints and bunches of greenery for a real modern vibe. Why not jazz up a naked cake with hundreds and thousands. Amazing!

If you are in need of some colour inspiration I suggest heading over to www.loveprintstudio.blogspot.co.uk you can get lost for hours trawling their beautiful mood boards.

Images from various sources

Whoever said pale pink was a dull palette?

Have a lovely weekend all!

Gem xxx

The White Emporium

What’s going to Rock 2016!

27th December 2015 by Gemma Leave a Comment

So as everyone sits in a mince pie induced coma in their brand new Christmas pj’s here’s a little evening reading to keep you entertained. Scarily 2016 is only a few more sleeps away so what better way to welcome the new year than to highlight a few of the key wedding trends for the upcoming season.

1 – First on our list are oversized bouquets – filled full of luscious greenery, statement blooms and tied with strands of ribbons, hand tied bouquets got a whole lot more jaw dropping. Straight from the styled photoshoots these bouquets pair perfectly with a vintage inspired dress guaranteed to help make an impact and add that additional wow factor to your photos.

Oversized Bouquets – Images from various sources

2 – Next up its time to start thinking out of the box for your welcome drinks, get crafty and reflect your personality with decadent cocktails, get creative with White Russians and Porn Star Martinis (my absolute new found favourite, the passion fruit counts as one of your 5 a day right?). Adorn with herbs, fruits and berries, rim glasses with sugar or glitter and pour into vintage glasses or modern copper highballs. Display on trays filled with flowers, surrounded by candles for a breath taking welcome drinks tablescape. Can’t decide on one cocktail why not allow guests to mix up their own, what better way to get your guests stuck into your day.

Decadent Cocktails – Photos from various sources.

3 – 2016 is the year of the doughnut, personally I’m not a fan unless filled with jam but I love the idea! Ditch the traditional wedding cake and serve guests mountains of mini doughnuts instead. A new take on the favour provide each guest with their own little box of batter Krispy Crème style! Alternatively get a bit retro and fill paper cones full of mini doughnuts as an alternative to canapés.

Doughnuts – Photos from various sources

4 – It may be the penultimate but it’s my favourite – breath taking lighting (don’t pack away your Christmas lights just yet). String barns full of festoon lights, fill rooms full of candles and string fairy lights from tree’s. Less definitely is not more where lights are concerned in 2016 . I love the idea of festoon strung back drops and dance floors canopied with lanterns and fairy lights and that hanging light topped table scape is to die for!

Lighting

5 – Is a look at one of the new colour palettes for the season and it’ time to get a little dark and moody. Greys, midnight navys and indigos provide a moody breath-taking base with which to contrast golds and coppers against.

Dark Palettes, photos from various sources.

Drop us an email for ways we can help you incorporate the above trends.

Happy New Year to you all and I will see you in 2016!

Love Gem xxx

The White Emporium

Copper Crazy

21st December 2015 by Gemma Leave a Comment

I have found myself with a spare few minutes! Crazy I know! So here is a short but sweet blog!

I have realised I have gone a little copper crazy in the images I have been liking and pinning so thought I should put them to good use and show you lovely lot what I have been drooling over.

I don’t think there is currently such a thing as too much copper!

Have a look at the below mood board and judge for yourself, I especially love the use of copper pots and candlesticks as table centers

Hope this provides a little bright inspiration into this dull and wet day!

Love Gem

The White Emporium xxx