The World of Lucile

For those of you looking for inspiration in finding lingerie either for your Wedding day or honeymoon you must have a peek at Lucile and Co.  A truly British luxury brand who offer a unique style that I just adore.

With an interesting heritage, Lucile and Co are inspired by Lady Duff Gordon (whose designs are still available to view in the fashion collections at the V&A museum) and her revolutionary and stunning lingerie designs of the early 20^th Century.

Their prices however do make their garments a real one off purchase... and definitely something for a very special occasion.

For those of you who really want to treat yourselves Lucile also offer a private bespoke service.

The Hat Club

A congregation adorned with a sea of enormous hats is in my opinion exactly how a Wedding should be!

As amazing headpiece creations can be seriously expensive, and if you are like me and have minimal storage, I find it makes a lot more sense to hire rather than buy. It also stops me from the temptation of "oh I'll just wear the same one again and again!"

I have recently found The Hat Club, in London... and wow, what a find... it is an Aladdin's cave of fantastic millinery creations, all there for you to hire!

Run by three friends who have a serious passion for hats they have created a fantastic collection that offers quality and originality, and I think they are great value too (priced from just £50).

So, I am sorry if you are not based close enough to London but for those of you who are I definitely recommend a visit.

 For further details see: The Hat Club

Bridesmaid Dressing Gowns

Looking for the perfect gift for your Bridesmaids? I love these dressing gowns from Good Morning Beautiful.

Priced at £54 each (£60 for a long dressing gown) they are available from Good Morning Beautiful and they also have a Wedding 10% Discount when you buy four or more gowns.

A Perfect Wedding Favour - Branche D'Olive

These gorgeous, natural and organic bagged soaps make fantastic favours for your Wedding guests. Available in a variety of colours and scents to work with your colour scheme. My favourite is the lavender.

Priced from £2.75 and available from Branche d'Olive.

Getting Ready for Fleur's Wedding - Mirror Table Plans

A while ago, on the BdF blog,  I wrote about my love of table plans written onto mirrors. Now, with the wedding of Fleur De Force fast approaching, this is exactly what we have decided to do for Fleur's Wedding reception table plan. Just to jog your memory, this is the look we are aiming for...

With this style in mind, we found some amazing (huge!) mirrors from Out There Interiors to fit perfectly with Fleur's theme and decor for the day.

I'm off to start practicing my calligraphy, fingers crossed it all goes to plan! You will be able to seethe finished result on our Bride De Force Channel once the Wedding Day video is up.

Silver ornate mirrors are priced from £215 each and available from Out There Interiors.

It's all in the Detail - Personalised Confetti

The personal details that you put into your Wedding really make the day special, which is why I love these simple personalised confetti hearts.  They are perfect for flower girls petals, confetti, as table decor, scattered around centre pieces, can be put into the envelopes of invitations or sprinkled in favours to add that extra touch.

 Priced at £12.40 for 500 they are available from Etsy.

The Cake Pop Revolution

What is there not to love about a beautiful mini cake on a stick?!  The cake pop revolution is in full swing and why not? The delicious little morsels are just perfect for Weddings and parties.

Until today, when I was educated by a good friend of mine, I hadn't realised that you can buy 'Cake Pop making machines'. 

Not only do they make cake pop making look so simple "make the cake mix, spoon in the mixture and hey presto... cake pops made in just 4 minutes" they are so reasonable. Priced from just £18 on Amazon.

What a bargain I thought, so i've put it on my Birthday wish list. Fingers crossed... and the decorating fun can begin.

Extraordinary Africa - Honeymoon Perfection

Now, honeymoons are not something we have covered on Bride De Force before but when I heard about Extraordinary Africa, a company who organise luxury tailor-made honeymoons to Africa personalised to your every requirement, I just couldn't resist a mention. If only I had known about them when I was planning my honeymoon myself!

Tongabezi photo at Livingstone Island Zambia

Not only does Alex from Extraordinary Africa take all of the stress of planning off your shoulders you also don't need to worry that you may have booked a dud as it is all tried and tested.  Alex has some amazing anecdotal stories of trips that she has planned in the past, I particularly like this one... "My favourite proposal trip was one I planned quite recently - we arranged for the couple to hire an entire hot air balloon for themselves. As they were coming down to land, we had the whole staff of the safari lodge lined up with a huge sheet, on which they’d written “Will you marry me?” Needless to say, the lucky girl said yes!"

Governors Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya

However using Extraordinary Africa is not cheap, with the typical African honeymoon starting at around £3,500 per person for two weeks, so I asked Alex to put together some points of advice for those planning their honeymoons themselves and here are her top five tips.

Bush dinner at Elephant Pepper Masai Mara Kenya 

1.       Don’t try to rush it! One of the biggest pitfalls I find is exhausted brides thinking that they want to rush right off on honeymoon after the wedding. Often though, it’s much nicer to spend the day after saying a leisurely goodbye, and fly off that evening or the following morning. Some people even take a mini-moon for a few days right after the wedding and then go on honeymoon a few months later. This can often work well if your dream honeymoon destination doesn’t have ideal weather at the time you’re getting married.

Echo Beach Hotel, Zanzibar

2.       Think about building a few days R & R in at the start. Activity and relaxation honeymoons are really popular (99% of the honeymoons I do have some combination of safari and chilling out afterwards) and a lot of people think they want to jump right into the action and relax afterwards. But the stress of a wedding plus a long flight doesn’t always leave you bursting with energy. Sometimes it’s better to split the relaxation portion of your trip and relax at the start (at somewhere like Tongabezi - in the photo above) and at the end.

Kaya Mawa, Lake Malawi, Malawi

3.       Go bespoke. Most people don’t do an off the peg wedding, and it’s equally easy to personalise a honeymoon so it’s just right for the two of you. Tailor-made honeymoons are easy to arrange and should mean you get exactly what you want. Look for an advisor who’s actually been to the country (or countries) you want to go to, and can make it perfect, just for you! If you’ve always dreamed of a dawn hot air balloon flight, dinner under the stars, or snuggling up with your beloved in a luxury treehouse, this is the time to do it! Best of all, a tailor made honeymoon shouldn’t cost any more than a package of the same standard.

Elephant Pepper Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya

4.       Be realistic about what you enjoy.  It’s really, really important to be honest with yourselves about what you’d love. Don’t hold out for a boutique hotel if you really love having 4 or 5 restaurants to pick from in your hotel. Equally, I do a lot of safaris- if you love the romance of sleeping under canvas or in the open air- great, but if you’ll find yourselves lying awake all night petrified by the noises, a lodge might be better suited. This is your honeymoon- so it's important to make sure you have fun!

Ibo Island Lodge, Quirimbas, Mozambique

5.       Consider a honeymoon gift list.  Lots of people already have everything they need to start a house together. In fact, there are a few couples who might have a little too much stuff- perhaps the odd dodgy bit of a furniture or a guitar that might get “lost” next time you move. So, it’s worth looking at having a honeymoon gift list, where your friends and family can contribute towards giving you an extra special time. 

Joys Camp, Shaba National Park, Kenya

Right... I'm off to try and convince my husband that a second honeymoon is a good idea!