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Hummingbird Hens (Hen Party Workshops!)

If you’re a vintage craft loving girl looking for something unique and more ‘you’ for your hen do, and not loving the idea of being dragged around town with an ‘L’ plate, we have the perfect Hen Party for you!

Felt making!

Why not get creative and make something gorgeous while spending a great day with friends & family on our vintage inspired craft workshop days. You’ll get a complementary glass of bubbly and lunch is just £10 each (including a delicious afternoon tea and cake!)

 ..or why not bring a picnic!

Emma has been running vintage craft workshops at her studio in Nottingham and has now come together with Hummingbird to offer these wonderful ‘vintage crafty’ hen parties for you and your friends.

Creative sewing…

The parties are from 10am to 4pm and Emma will inspire you with lots of ideas, guidance and all the equipment you need to create a gorgeous masterpiece!

Embellished & embroidered vessels

How about something for your wedding such as a memory book? Or learn a new skill with your hens and have something beautiful to take home to remember the day!

Free machine embroidery

Emma has lots of courses to choose from; memory and keepsake books, creative sewing, free machine embroidery, embellished & embroidered vessels and (her favourite) felt making!

Keepsake books

For more information and to a get a sneaky peek at Emma’s course guide, visit emmalearoyddesign.co.uk or contact Emma at emmalearoyddesign@hotmail.co.uk or on 07970 121955.

Enjoy!

Hey Judes Christening Invites!

I just couldn’t help it, I just had to share these wonderful, unique invites with you.

We get asked to do so many different ideas for invitations so when we were approached to create a Christening Invite with a bespoke quote we just adored the idea as soon as we saw it!

‘So let it out and let it in, Hey Jude, begin’

(The Beatles, 1968)

For of course, Baby Jude! How lucky is he and he’s got a pretty amazing name too!

Hot off the press, the invites arrived in the studio today & we immediately knew we just had to give you a’ sneak peek’ at these wonderfully unique invitations.

So here’s the thing – whatever your idea and how ever mad it may seem, there’s nothing more personal & individual than creating your own ideas. So if you have a quote that means something special why not let us create Personalised Wedding invitations, Christening, Birth announcement or Anniversary cards just for you.

Just get in touch and we can make it happen!

The Wedding Diary: A Garden Party Theme

As soon as we’d decided to hold our wedding reception at home we knew we wanted a garden party theme for the day. This started with our invitations & was carried through the day from our choice of a marquee to all the vintage crockery I had been madly collecting.

Here’s a few tips for creating a real garden party themed wedding:

- Jam jars! I used jam jars as vases for the table flowers. My Mum & her friends were collecting them in the months before the wedding & it was such an easy way to bring a  garden feel to the tables. By doing it ourselves we saved a fortune! Each jar was then tied with a raffia bow. With every table having different jars and flowers they all looked so pretty & individual.

- Country flowers. Getting married in September limited the choice of flowers I could use a little but I still tried to pick flowers with a country garden feel to them.

- Tea cups! I love vintage crockery & using it for our wedding was a perfect excuse to invest in just a few more beautiful vintage tea cups & tea plates. Everybody got one in their place setting which (aside from being useful when it came for tea time!) really made the celebration feel like one big afternoon tea party.

- Vintage Cake Stands! Lots of them in old glass and china for our table of delectable & scrumptious delights. We wanted to create the look of an old fashioned tea table stacked with pastel coloured Macaroons, Chocolate Profiter rolls, Ginger snaps, cup cakes & mini Creme Brulle.

- Luggage tags. Instead of place cards I used manilla luggage tags with names calligraphied in white – these were tied around the napkins & finished with a stalk of lavender. This had the added affect of making the marquee smell absolutely beautiful too.

- Vintage table cloths. I just adore old, hand embroidered table linen and so I just had to use some  for the Top Table, the Wedding Cake table & the Memory Tree. These with the vintage china were such a simple and subtle way of adding a little colour.

- Sweetie jars. We wanted to make sure the children had lots of fun too – so we had  jars filled with old fashioned sweets, Love Hearts, Parma Violets, Sherbet lollies, Cola Bottles & mini sticks of striped candy. Each jar had a little luggage tag to label them. I must say though I kept seeing ‘adults’ taking a sneaky handful & tucking in too!

- Mini old fashioned tent! Another idea we just had to have was a little old fishing tent for the kids. We filled it with pic-nic blankets and added little chairs and it was the perfect den to keep them entertained.

- Kids Table. Having been to so many weddings when my heart would go out to all the little ones who just didn’t want to be stuck in a high chair or on a table full of adults and to all the adults who just wanted to get on and enjoy the day I came up with the idea of a ‘Mini Table’. So with an old school table and some little chairs we set up a complete table just for them. They also had their own lunch – a goody pic-nic bag!

All of the photographs in this post were taken by the very talented Gill Taylor. You can contact her via her website.

 

The Wedding Diary: Hints & Tips

Whilst I’m getting all my wedding photographs sorted with Gill I thought I’d write a few blog posts about the whirlwind that was the last few days before my wedding.

The last days of wedding preparation were so much fun (but so busy!) so I thought it’d be lovely to take time out to explain a little about what we did, what we made & how we created our wedding,  & to pass on some hints & tips to those of you who might be planning your own special days!

Stay tuned for posts about Orders of Service, table names & plans, & how I achieved my garden party theme!

This beautiful photograph was taken by the very talented Gill Taylor. You can contact her via her website.

Wording Your Wedding Invitations

Wording your wedding invitations can be a tricky business!

Regardless of  whether you want formal, informal, parents hosting, Bride and Groom hosting, both families hosting or you want to say something totally unique – we are hear to help you! We can advise you on the best layouts and make sure you have all the correct details so your guests know exactly where to be and when!

Here are a few tips of what information to include on your wedding invites and how to make them look beautiful!

Firstly CHOOSE A FONT. We  have a beautiful selection of fonts for you to choose from (if there is a specific font you have in mind then we’ll do our best to find it!) Then decide if you want a TRADITIONAL (centred) or CONTEMPORARY (aligned to the right) layout.

Script fonts work beautifully or for a more contemporary font choose one of our modern sans serif style fonts. Mixing a contemporary, formal font with names added in a script font looks particularly stunning!

When sending us your wording remember to include:

For Day Invitations:

- Who the invitations are coming from.

- Name of Bride (including middle names if desired)

- Name of Groom (including middle names and surname)

- Location of wedding

- Date of wedding

- Time of wedding

- Location of reception

- RSVP return date, name & address

- Any special dietary requirements

For Evening Invitations:

- Who the invitations are coming from.

- Name of Bride (including middle names if desired)

- Name of Groom (including middle names and surname)

- Date of wedding

- Location of reception

- Time of reception

- RSVP return date, name & address

For Formal, Parents hosting – Day Invitation wording:





R.S.V.P. cards can be sent separately (this encourages a quick and easy response from your guests) or you can include this information on the opposite side of the invitation. Remember to include a space for guests to include any special dietary if you are providing food for your guests. If you are sending RSVP cards separately you can always include a lovely, personal quote on the opposite side of your invitation.








For Formal, Bride & Groom Hosting – Evening Invitation wording, RSVP information  included:




If you want to have a very informal invitation then just email us your wording and we can work our magic on it! Make sure it reflects you as a couple & your personalities – don’t feel you have to have a formal invitation if it is not what you really want!


Another little tip is how to politely let your guests know that their children are not invited! This is always a delicate matter, as you don’t want to offend your guests – so here are a few suggestions:


    

  • To allow all our guest to relax and enjoy themselves we have chosen for our wedding day to be for adults only. We look forward to sharing time with your family in the future.
    • 

  • We would like to invite all the children of our friends, unfortunately it is only possible for us to accommodate the children of close family
    • 



For any other help in wording your other stationery items e.g. Orders of Service, Menu, Information Sheets etc. please click HERE or contact us at info@hummingbirdcards.co.uk


 




 


	

   	       
		

						
Kate Moss Gets Married!

				


So, last weekend saw Kate Moss fnally tie the knot with The Kills frontman Jamie Hince, they had a festival style wedding in a small village in Gloucestershire. Here is a little glimps of the controversial Galliano dress and the BEAUTIFUL veil!!! With a guest list full of famous names…we are sure that would have been one amazing party!!






(images taken from stylefrizz.com)


	

   	       
		

						
Picture My Dress

				


Inspired by vintage fashion photography, Picture My Dress was created by fashion designer Lindsey Napp to offer bespoke fashion illustrations as a beautiful way to capture  the memories of those special occasions, be it your wedding day or  another special day in your life.


Each illustration is completely original. Working from photographs provided by you, Lindsey will recreate your dress in a hand drawn illustration, which will be presented in a high quality double mount (choose from either framed or unframed). A perfect wedding or anniversary gift! All portraits are hand-drawn using graphic markers, ink and designers gouache.


Illustrations from Picture My Dress can be purchased online here www.picturemydress.com


	

   	       
		

						
We Have Been Nominated….

				
We are thrilled to announce we have been nominated again for


BEST STATIONERY category in THE PERFECT WEDDING AWARDS 2011


We have been shortlisted from 37 Stationers within the industry and made it down to the last five (hoorah!!) and you can now vote for us online here. 


You will also be entered into the draw to win a relaxing stay for two at Titanic Spa, the UK’s forst Eco-Spa. Good luck !


VOTE NOW 


These awards really mean alot to us as they are voted by yourselves our customers, and the magazine readers, so we really do appreciate you taking the time to complete the questionnaire and submit your answers. It should only take a few minutes…..Thank You x







Also don’t forget to go online HERE and enter our competition, run in conjuction with the amazing ANNA TYLER CAKES to win £1000 worth of Stationery and biscuit favours!


	

   	       
		

						
Guest Blogger – Melanie from Cranberry Weddings

				


It is a pleasure to have the lovely Melanie from Cranberry Blue Weddings as our guest blogger today! This is a new feature we are starting so if any other wedding lovelies have a topic they would like to blog about just let us know at info@hummingbirdcards.co.uk 


Melanie is here to give some fantastic tips about finding the perfect venue. Melanie creates seamless and stunning wedding and events, she is based in Islington, London. 


Finding your perfect wedding venue




The Royal Naval College, Greenwich


If you are about to embark on looking for the perfect venue for your wedding, you may well have already read some hints and tips about how to go about this…or maybe not.  Before you launch into what I think is one of the most exciting parts of planning a wedding, have a quick read about some important points you may not have considered:


 


    

  • Try to decide on your guest list numbers early on as this will be one of the main drivers behind choosing your perfect venue.  If you plan to have a large wedding and dream of a country house then you may need to consider having a marquee on the lawn to accommodate the numbers for example (always check this is an option).
    • 



 


    

  • It is a good idea to have a ‘must have’ list and then a ‘would like to invite list’ so you have some flexibility.  For example, if you find a venue that you fall in love with but is too expensive then reducing the numbers can dramatically lower the cost overall and make it affordable. 
    • 





Eynsham Hall, Oxfordshire


    

  • Once you have your budget outlined, think about the time of year you would like to get married.  You may wish to consider an ‘off peak’ month, such as November to February, a weekday or even a Sunday as the cost will be considerably lower (giving you more money to spend on other things!)  In addition to this, a lot of suppliers will offer reduced rates at these times which will help to keep your budget down.
    • 



 


    

  • What overall feel would you like for your big day?  Are you looking for a formal or more casual affair? The type of venue will invariably dictate certain elements, for example a marquee reception in a rural location will evoke more of a relaxed feeling, whereas a city wedding in a boutique hotel is likely to be more formal.
    • 



Marquee from Best Intent Marquees




    

  • With the current trend for couples to have their wedding celebration over a weekend or even several days, it can be great to have your guests staying on-site.  If this is important to you then does the venue have facilities for this or are their hotels nearby, also are their any activities readily available such as a spa, golf or river boat trip?
    • 



 


    

  • You need to consider the size of the room, style, colour scheme and furnishings as whatever look you would like to create needs to work with the interior.  For example if there is a deep red carpet and curtains then keep in mind you will need to choose a colour scheme that works with this, otherwise it can be very costly to completely transform the room.
    • 



 


    

  • Always ask if the venue only allows their recommended suppliers and check the fine details to ensure everything is covered and there are no additional charges such as service charges, crockery hire and is VAT included?
    • 



 


There are a great number of other factors to consider when looking for your wedding venue but hopefully you have found these ones helpful…happy hunting!


 




RSA House, London


 


Melanie @ Cranberry Blue Weddings & Events


www.cranberryblueweddings.co.uk


enquiries@cranberryblueweddings.co.uk


07974 157885


Follow on Facebook at: http://on.fb.me/dNHVOd


 


	

   	       
		

						
NEW WEBSITE

				
Well…as you know after much hard work, long days and nights and endless cups of coffee to keep us awake, our NEW WEBSITE is now live!!




We hope you love it and find it easier to navigate, we have added a GALLERY section so you can view all our collections in different colourways and styles. We will be adding to these so will keep you constantly updated with all the new colours and trends coming through.




We have also added our Colour Inspiration boards which we hope will inspire you too!


We would love to know what you think of the new site so please feel free to leave a comment or email us at info@hummingbirdcards.co.uk


 




Also anyone placing a stationery order in the month of May will receive a FREE packet of our beautiful laser-cut bunting


which is now available to buy online also!!