Back after a month's break! x

Dear Lovely readers,

I am back after a month's break from blogging..  The past month has been incredibly busy (and still continues to be), but I'm back with some new posts to share with you all.

In mid August, Mr and and I took a weeks trip to the south of France- our first holiday since our honeymoon to Bali last year.  It was great to have a break away from our busy London life and take a moment to catch our breath..

I'll be sharing a few of my french photos in future posts but I couldn't wait to share the highlight of our trip with you!

In a similar way to the Buckingham Palace exhibition of our own Royal wedding, the Principality of Monaco was displaying the dress and suit of Princess Charlene and Prince Albert at the Institut Oceanographique.  The Armani gown was very beautiful, but I must say that I don't think it has a patch on our own Catherine's although very well displayed.  Here's some of the shots I took:

I do love the details on Prince Albert's suit- beautiful medals.. but I was surprised that his shoes were a cream colour compared to his suit which was a paler Ivory.

I can't wait to visit our own version at Buckingham Palace soon to compare..

and I'll be sharing more of my French adventure soon. x

we heart birthday pancakes! Happy Birthday Mum! x

Happy Birthday Mum! x

My mother is in Florida and I just know how she'll be celebrating her big birthday- with a stack of blueberry pancakes and some parasailing (yes, no joke!).

So Happy Birthday from across the pond Mum! Hope you enjoy the day!

top photo found on cakies

above photo found on ladulcivida

we heart Lassco 3 Pigeons. x

a few weeks ago I finally made it to Lassco 3 Pigeons, the reclamation group's Oxfordshire branch at Milton Common.

I have been wanting to go for ages and I just had to share my trip with you! the very lovely manager was kind enough to let me take a few (ok, a lot of) shots whilst I was trecking around their site. it was a beautiful sunny afternoon and I think I could happily live in their grounds amongst the outbuildings stacked with reclaimed doors peeling with a hundred years worth of paint...
I do love a wander around a reclamation yard although they always have a slightly spooky, forgotten air about them- perfect for a Halloween party- but ever so slightly disturbing... (is that just me?)

..and Milton Common really does have a reason to be even spookier than most:
I think this might well have been the tree that John Price hung from back in 1785... rather grim...

...but dispite it's rather gruesome history, Lassco had some fantastic finds.

I am again quite gutted that I didn't make it here whilst I was we were doing up our flat a few year back. These concrete tiles below (spanish?) would have been perfect for us. In fact, if no one beats me to it, I might just have to head back and buy them.
curios of all types filled the Lassco site's main building- it was literally filled to the rafters. And in amongst the doors, taxidermy, parisian statues, railway sleepers and marble busts there's a little tea room serving the most delicious of fruit cake (I urge you to try this if you ever visit- actually one of the best I've had in a long time!) which just gives you yet another reason, if you needed one, to divert off the M40 for a few minutes (hours)...
the most pristinely kept set of magazine journals I've ever seen. I think there must have been about 100 of them:

this intricate parquet flooring was one of my favourite finds. Isn't this just stunning? It looked as though it has been badly infested at one time but that didn't detract from how stunning it was. I need a house to put this in. Plus a good dose of woodworming treatment just to be on the safe side...
and my other favourite find was this garden table. I really, really had to control myself to stop buying it. When I got home and showed Mr A, he said 'why didn't you buy it?' and (apart from I'm not supposed to be buying anything at the moment- holiday coming up shortly!!) I actually don't know what stopped me. I do love a bit of weather-beaten rust AND I do need a desk. aybe I'll be heading back shortly for a rusty table and cement tiles.

Lassco 3 Pigeons

London Road

Milton Common

Oxfordshire, OX9 2JN

01844 277188

open monday-saturday 10am-5-pm

we heart a lingerie sample sale. x

If you're looking for some bedroom lingerie or underwear for your wedding night..
Rigby and Peller's latest sample sale started yesterday and continues today and tomorrow:

Thursday 10am-8pm
Friday 10am-7pm
at
20thCentury Theatre
291 Westbourne Grove, W11 2QA

Hurry- gorgeous smalls at up to 95% off! x

one year on... x

one year on...


time has just flown by and I can't believe it's a year ago today that Mr A and I exchanged vows! we had such an amazing day and we have great memories... here's to the next 50years!

love. x

inspired: cake toppers. x

it's been a bit of a revelationduring my blog searches to find so many creative and imaginative cake topper ideas out there. long gone are the days of the tacky plastic bride and groom figurines (thank goodness) and in their place, brides have personalised their centrepieces with a wide range of gorgeous ideas.

I do love when wedding parties incorporate their floral themes with food decoration, but for our wedding, I really wanted to have a personal keepsake from our day.

I had seen these wooden characters (unpainted) on Etsy (ours were from Goose Grease) and as James didn't know anything about my dress, I painted our mini-me's in our wedding outfits. In fact, James saw both me and my wooden doll for the first time in the green dress at the same moment! I have our dolls sat in our living room as a happy reminder of that moment!

I did have another set of toppers which I had been saving since I was 15...

On holiday with my parents, I came across these Mexican day-of-the-dead skeletons and have had them carefully wrapped in tissue paper since! I didn't think they were totally appropriate (slightly morbid) for our day, but they're making an appearance now in the run up to our first anniversary!

but I do love the unusual ideas out there right now.

here's some gorgeous ideas I have come across recently:

above photo found on 100layercake

there have been so many 'birdy' themed weddings out there over the past few years. I like that the above is a little different in style and the below is using the theme but executing it in a slightly more original idea. So pretty!

above photo found on 100layercake

magic mushrooms?!:

above photo found on 100layercake

royal couple for the day:

above photo found on 100layercake

I do love the use of the mini bunting below to spell out a phrase or even the couple's names- so sweet!

above photo from 100layercake

we heart summer sample sales! x

if you don't have any plans for this or the next few sunny weekends,

here's some sample sales which might tempt you indoors for a bit:

BROWNS BRIDAL

this sunday, 11am

expect the usual queues at BROWNS so get there early

if you want to bag a designer gown at up to 70% off!

12 Hinde Street, W1U 3BE

DAVID FIELDEN

saturday 9th july, 10am-6pm

gorgeous and often unusual wedding and evening gowns from the talented David Fielden

241 Fulham Road, SW3 6HY

MATTHEW WILLIAMSON

friday 22nd July, 8am-7pm

huge discounts from the massively talented Matthew Williamson at the music room venue!

The Music Room, 26 South Molton Lane, W1K 5AB

we heart... a bit more time for blogging! x

To my lovely readers,

I do apologuise profusely for being a lax blogger of late. As you may have gathered, my workload has kept me from writing and posting on Inspired Winter.. (boring I know).. but I have managed to find a little time to do some fun bits and pieces! Here's a diary of my recent June activities and more posts to follow shortly:

Wednesday 15th June- Last week I was thrilled to be invited to a pre-screening of the new movie Bridesmaids hosted by Charley from London Bride at the Soho Hotel. It was such a fun evening! The always gorgeous Chloe of Caught The Light Photography was kind enough to introduce me to Kat from RocknRollBride, Emma Case of Emma Case Photography and it was fabulous to finally meet our hostess-with-the-mostest Charley! Nice to put faces to names!

I was also excited to also see Helena from A Diary Of Lovely who is just the nicest person! We gabbed away until the opening credits and laughed all the way through the film together- I completely love her!

I have to be honest, depite the publicity and great reviews the film has been getting from the US, I wasn't expecting much. And I was so wrong. The evening properly had me in stitches! I could hear the girls in the back row (including Chloe..!) snorting with laughter and everyone agreed it was worth recommending to girls and guys alike. I won't bore you with a full on review, but I would urge you all to go see it!

Saturday 18th June- Last weekend I made it to salvage yeard heaven, Lassco at Milton Common, where I wandered the site for a good few hours taking photos, eating fruitcase (seriously yummy) and indulging in a few sneaky purchases.. but more of this to come in a new post soon.. keep your eyes peeled!

Tuesday 21st June- I spent the evening in total awe at the Red Magazine networking event as I listened to Deputy Editor Saskia Graville interview a panel of 3 inspiring British business women, Sam Baker (author and Editor-In-Chief at Red), Sarah Walters (stylepassport.com) and Lorraine Pascal (author, television cook and baker extraordinaire). The panel were posed questions sent in my audience members about starting their own businesses and provided tips for ways to go it alone. I will be keeping an eye out for future events (the panel changes each time) and would urge others to do the same!

Over the next two weeks I have an unexpected fortnight of musical indulgence kicking off with Glee Live on Sunday (yes, yes, I know... what a gleek...), then the AMAZING Foo Fighters at Milton Keynes (I really, REALLY heart Dave Grohl. No joke. I love him) and then picnicing with Jamie Cullum at Kew, which is quite lazy as it's opposite our house.. Pretty eclectic I think you'll agree?! And for completely different reasons, I know that I'm going to enjoy each and every one. But mostly the Foo Fighters because, you know, I kind of rather love Dave. Did I mention that..?

Which makes me wonder... What with Glasto kicking off this weekend too, if I had an unlimited budget, who would I have had to play at our wedding, or for that matter, my (big) birthday coming up in October? Our wedding band was totally brilliant, but in an ideal world, what would I have danced away to all night? Maybe rock music (and hitting on the front man at your wedding) isn't quite appropriate for some ears at a wedding, but who would YOU have to play? And did anyone actually hire a 'fantasy' band for an event you've been to? I'd love to hear all about it! Please do let me know!

Thank you to everyone for your support following me and Inspired Winter blog. I promise to be back in no time at all with new (and inspiring) posts.

Love you all!

photo from poppytalk.blogspot.com

inspired: the most beautiful Ibizan Wedding. x

On a cold grey day in the British Isles, I have the most utterly beautiful wedding to share with you, and it's sure to brighten up your weekend...

I have been dying to post this wedding for ages as it's one very close to my heart.

Nearly two years ago, Darren and Carol married in front of 35 of their closest friends and family at the picturesque Puig de Missa in San Eulalia, Ibiza. The day was gorgeous in every aspect- the sun shone down, Carol was radiant and Darren looked completely besotted with his gorgeous bride.
I am so blessed to have been a part of this very special day- I was honoured when Carol asked me to design and create her bridal gown and spend time with them both to help style the groom and other parts of the wedding.

The very cool couple spend a lot of time on the White Isle so it seemed an appropriate backdrop for their nuptials and, in hiring boutique hotel Can Domo near to San Eulalia, Carol and Darren made a great choice. Looking out over the Ibizan countryside and olive groves, the traditional Spanish finca was the perfect romantic setting, rustic and unpretentious... It really was the most gorgeous of days.

Ibizan photographer Gypsy Westwood captured the mood and beauty of the day perfectly. She did a great job... but of course it helps if you have such a good-looking bride and groom to shoot!

the dress!... and the chicest Sergio Rossi snakeskin sandals.

yours truly in a silk Halston kaftan

Carol and Darren's favourite photo

on the way to the ceremony we stopped to tie paper hearts to the trees lining Can Domo's long driveway

Carol's choices of dress (ahem..!), accessories, venues and photographer all complimented the Ibizan surroundings to create the most perfectly chilled and beautiful Balearic wedding. It couldn't have been better... this is what destination weddings should aspire to (in my opinion)...

Love you both. x

all photography Gypsy Westwood

venue Can Domo, Cala Llonga

bride's dress Philippa Winter (contact InspiredWinter)

bride's shoes Sergio Rossi

groom's suit Richard James

groom's shoes Cos

invitations & stationary James Akerman Design (contact InspiredWinter)