With Christmas just round the corner, it's easy to get bogged down in the shopping, the wrapping, the work do's and squeezing in as many cheesy Christmas films as you can (thank you Netflix!) Before you know it, it's Christmas eve and apart from a box of crackers you grabbed on your last trip to the supermarket, the table has long been forgotten! This is a real shame if you ask me, because wether you're hosting a intimate dinner party for 2, or have got the whole family round, the coming together to share food is one of the biggest parts of the day and that calls for a beautifully dressed table. Don't panic though... be inventive and dig out some old crockery and get creative... To give you some inspiration (and because I love pretty things) I started playing about with some different looks for your festive tables... And the good part is, as I've stayed well clear of all things red/green/gold/glittery these looks can easily be used of other events from having hosting a dinner party at home, to supper clubs, restaurant styling and even wedding table scapes. To make things easy, I'll show one look at a time and break down each look, giving you a few details and ideas of how to recreate it at home... So here goes... Look 1: All White on the Night So for this look, I stayed clear of colour almost completely, using a very limited palette a calm and classy finish has been achieved. I first created a centrepiece using mismatched clear glass candlesticks and decanters which I filled with long white candles from ikea! (great cheap multi packs) I also used a length of lace fabric to add some texture and softness. Use a mix of wine/water glasses and create a focal point using layered plates.I have used some of our vintage fabric napkins but this would look equally chic with plain linen napkins or even paper ones... Create sweet little place cards using card and a metallic pen and curling the edges round. Look 2: Pretty In Pink For this look I used a popular colour combo of blush pink and green. The focal point of this is a marble and rose gold edged chopping board which I've topped with a mix of green glass and natural stoneware bottles. These have been filled with greenery, nothing fancy, i think these were left over from a bouquet I received a while ago and this proves you don't need to splash out on expensive blooms, we all know this time of year is expensive enough as it is! Again I have layered a mix of plates to make it look a little grander and have added some warmth using brass goblets and cutlery. One simple candle adds more warmth and a length of blush lace creates a soft background. Create pretty place settings using vintage napkins (you can pick these up in charity shops very cheaply and it's lovely to give them a new lease of life) For the place cards, I've just used simple Kraft labels which I've added a strip of crochet lace to and poked a pretty green sprig through to tie in with the greenery. This vintage mismatched look could easily be changed using your own crockery and things found around your home! Look 3: Natural Textures For this look I took inspiration from these amazing textured balls we found in ikea but you could create a very similar look using fir cones and twigs so no need to go our spending lots of money. To add some height some balls were displayed in a cake stand bowl and I also used some on the plates. Further texture was added with these lovely woven place mats. Plain white napkins tied with a grey velvet ribbon added some luxury and handwritten place cards were displayed in our saltshaker holders! I then used some of our vintage glasses and some white candles and clear glass candlesticks in the background. I adore this look and to me it it perfect for a winter table or a woodland themed wedding or event. It feels luxe but also natural and simple! Look 4: Nordic Blue & Brass For this look I let centre stage be dominated by some vintage nordic inspired textiles and warming brass accents. Always check out the textile baskets at car boot sales and in charity shops and you will find some lovely table cloths and napkins like these ones. I kept the rest of the decor simple for this look, a couple of brass vases with dried flowers in one corner and a stunning vintage double decanter holder in pride of place! I made these sweet place settings using vintage lace cards and my old 1930's typewriter and you could easily recreate something similar at home. A dried flower helps add some texture and detail. The mix of warming brass and cool clear cut glass will always be a favourite for me and it works perfectly with the tablecloth if you ask me! Look 5: Retro Mustard I had fun with colour on this one!! Mustard is one of my fave colours and it works beautifully well with vintage brown bottles. This look also proves that you don't need to splash out on masses of flowers to create a pretty look! These grasses and balls were saved from a recent shoot I worked on and if looked after can be used time and time again. The glass dome can be filled with anything you like but I chose these wonderful brass elephants from our wedding and the rest of the table was styled with layered plates (vintage 60's mustard ones and modern grey ones from Ikea) Vintage amber accented glasses and colourful retro printed fabric napkins, I used an old curtain for the table cloth and for the place settings I used a hand-drawn card clipped onto the stem of a pretty yellow flower. Have fun with your decor, this proves lots of colour can still be classy and stylish! Look 6: Garden Green This look may make you green with envy... but panic not, it's easy to recreate. Green single stem bud vases were purchased from Wilkenson for a couple of pounds each and they match perfectly with these long tapered candles from Tiger (2 for £1) A large hurricane vase and pillar candle adds a glowing centre piece and the whole table is bought together with these stunning vintage plates again recused from a Charity Shop. Sweet simple place settings keep things elegant and a combo of different height/style glasses makes for a fun quirky look. This gorgeous embroidered table number could easily be adapted to say anything and pops of colour come into play from more dried flowers and sprigs. Sometimes keeping to a simple and using a limited number of complimentary colours means things can easily come together and look 'put together'. Look 7: Winter Warmer This look is another one of my faves, it's just so warm and scrumptious!! The dark wood just adds to the richness of the table and the focal piece is reminiscent of Beauty and The Beast if you ask me! Lots of brass has been used with various tones of pink, claret and burgundy. The centre piece all works up from a beautiful old brass tray, topped with vintage books and a glass dome. Scattered with dried roses. This is something that is so easy to make at home, simply let your roses dry out in the vase and then snip off the stems once they are fully dried... I love the way these napkins have been knotted and lying on top of more layered plates they look pretty fancy if you ask me! A simple kraft paper tag and hand stamped name makes for a simple but effective place setting. The Luxe feel is added to by a mix of long tapered and short pillar candles... a mix of styles works well here because the whole table has a vintage feel! Top Tips
So there you have it.... I hope you've enjoyed these 7 different looks and you're feeling all inspired about decorating your table at home now.... Don't panic about going out and spending lots of money... here's a few tips to get you one your way and use what you have at home/can get for free/cheaply. *Don't worry about purchasing expensive blooms, dry out any bouquets you may have round the house at the mo and get outside... Take trimmings from the garden or nearby woodland/open spaces . Even bare twigs can look beautiful! *Candles make everything lovelier... there's nothing like the flickering light of a candle, If you don't have any candlesticks check out your local charity shops or improvise with vases, bottles, glasses you've already got at home. Soak off labels from bottles to instantly get a collection. *Look around your home and see what you can use to add some detail/interest... Old books, vases, trays, place mats, material, quirky ornaments etc... all these can be used to make your table scape look unique. You can even borrow items from your tree to add to your table! *Layer up different sizes plates to make things look fancier (a lot cheaper then buying charger plates too!) *Play around with a mix of glassware, different sizes, styles and height. You can always pick up pretty old crockery at charity shops and if you can't get a full set don't worry keep to a limited colour palette like blue & white for example. Get creative with your napkins... Even a paper napkin can look fancier if folded in a unique way or if it's been tied together with a bit of ribbon/lace. *Make place cards... no matter how small your dinner party may be, this little detail transforms a normal meal into something a little more exciting. *Have fun and be creative... at the end of the day... you've made an effort and your guests will appreciate it! If any of you are inspired and want to share your table settings, I'd love to see what you create! Also feel free to ask any questions!
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Following on from working together at The Wonderous Wedding Fair in November, we were thrilled when our local fave coffee shop asked us to design and install their festive window! Our first official Lo & Behold Job... How exciting! We were keen to get going and immediately started thinking of ideas that would be unique, festive and suit Southsea Coffee Co's minimal, natural ethos but also showcase our individual style and vision. We booked in a meeting with the lovely Nia from Luvshifting who creates, maintains and installs the Living wall at the Southsea venue... Sat in the snug one November afternoon over steaming mugs and jackfruit rolls we discussed ideas and how our two styles could compliment each other. Nia explained her vision for the winter wall, a mix of twigs and hessian with pops of burnt orange, deep scarlet and fuchsia orchids! Sounds good huh?!? We popped down to see Nia's installation once it was in and loved the natural organic feel. We wanted to compliment this feel and decided on a winter woodland feel with lots of natural materials and pops of colour. Following the massive trend for pampus grasses (which we love) we focused on using these to add a soft, snowy/feathery light feel... We decided the best was to show these off would be to suspend these from the ceiling between the three window bulbs. With some help from Nia we created a woodland effect in the front window with a focal point on one side and tapering this out to nothing by the front door. Bare twigs and branches were used to add height and more pampas grasses were used amongst potted orchids to carry the colour across from the wall to the window, We added more colour and a bit of festive charm by suspending hand blown hollow glass baubles from the ceiling too and filling these with real orchids. Finally we added some twinkly fair lights because nothing says Christmas like fairy lights... I loved the mix of the masculine twigs with the soft feminine grasses and the the muted colour palette really helps ensure that the orchids popped out! Maxwell was great and it was lovely to work together creating something beautiful! It was also fun for us to work with pink as it's not a colour we often use but in small doses, and especially when they look this pretty... I think I could be a convert! This was the last shot we took before we left for the evening and I love it... it's the right about of festive without being overly themed or glittery and I'm please to say it seems you guys are loving it too! Southsea Coffe Co shared a photo from @Jonathanpink on their instagram feed and at time of this post, with over 400 likes its the most popular post ever! How exciting!! I hope Jonathan doesn't mind but we had to share his photo too!
We hope you like what we created and if you are interested in hiring Lo & Behold to style something for you, please get in touch! We'd love to hear your ideas and help you create something amazing! Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh...... we are so excited about this.... We can now confirm that we have been selected (along with so many other amazing suppliers to show at the 2018 MOST CURIOUS!!!! For those not in the know Most Curious Wedding Fair is the wedding show for the style-savvy couples! MOST CURIOUS 2018 will take place from Friday 2nd March to Sunday 4th March 2018 at The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL. The shows promises to bring together a total of over 200 of the coolest UK wedding suppliers in an explosion of creativity this Spring. The event will be inspired by a 60s power to the people, Peace, Love and Understanding styling theme. To celebrate, the ever-innovative team has launched a line of limited edition merchandise pieces as well as a BLACK FRIDAY discount code BFCURIOUS, applicable to all show tickets and the new products. (Discount codes lasts until 12pm on Tuesday 28th November) So with all this excitement in mind we thought it was a great time to share with you tour involvement and encourage you all to buy your tickets this weekend so you can take advantage of the discount! We will be designing a whole new stand for the event and would love to see lots of you there! As a bride-to-be I attended twice and it was the best fair I went to and one I would recommend again and again to anyone wanting something a little different! On a personal note we are honoured to have been selected and it marks a super special transition for us from planning our own wedding to be able to help others. The level of professionalism and talent at the show is incredible and to be placed on a level playing field with so many brands we admire and aspire to be like we are beyond thrilled! So let's talk about some merch! The hand printed pieces are the fruits of a super special 2018 collaboration with groovy/retro hand drawn font loving designer Spoonful of Sugar in the form of a limited run of tees, totes and mugs. MARRIAGE MATERIAL TOTE, £7 | MARRIAGE MATERIAL T-SHIRT, £17.00 | MARRIAGE MATERIAL MUG Click on the links above and use your Black Friday doscount code of BFCURIOUS. Don't forget you can also use this code for ticket sales, including VIP and launch party tickets. Please click here to see options. Follow Most Curious on Instagram to stay in the loop and click here to Find Out More.
Official Most curious Images by the amazing Esther Belle Epoque. Well we did it, our first official event as Lo & Behold Bespoke. On Sunday we took part in the second ever Wonderous Wedding Fair in Southsea organised by Doily Days and The Vintage Parade. It was fantastic to not only throw ourselves into the world of wedding fairs but also to meet so many lovely couples and local suppliers! The positive feedback we got was just lovely and the weekend was a great launch to our business!! We were asked by the lovely folk over at Ginger & Peach if we'd style the pop up feast they were organising, of course we jumped at the chance. Not only to style our first official event (for a company we adore) but also to return to The Wonderous Wedding Fair (I went last year as a bride-to-be) as a supplier. I chatted to Helen and Alex who were organising the event and once we got the go ahead we started planning our ideas for the styling. I wanted the styling to reflect Ginger & Peach and their ethos. I wanted the table decor to be very laid back, rustic, raw, but also sumptuous and beautiful. I started a board on pinterest and quite early decided I wanted to somehow feature ginger and peaches... the rest of the ideas flowed from there. The end vision was a mix of soft natural pampas grass runners, rustic stoneware and brown bottle vases full of wild mixed grasses. These were complimented by ginger essential oil scented candles and real peaches which were nestled amongst the grasses and kept like treasures in tiny glass domes.. We were so happy with how it turned out and luckily G&P & The WWF gals loved it too! We also teamed up with the lovely Sam from Stuff who saved us from a maroon and gold chair nightmare. Sam provided the pop up feast with the most gorgeous rustic wooden benches which complimented the design so much!! Any way... here's some pics of what we created!! Obviously everything is available to hire so if you're interested in a similar look for your wedding or event, get in touch, we'd love to help! Please excuse the 80's-esq carpet.... we did our best to disguise the walls but the carpet was beyond our reach! In addition to styling the Pop Up Feast we also had two other spaces. We had two sides of a pillar which we transformed into a bohemian dream (think touches of green, crocheted cream, pampas grasses peacock chairs a plenty!) We also helped Alex & Helen disguise a 2metre square bit of the brightest blue wall your ever did see with a Persian inspired photobooth, back drop set up! It was really fun to separate out our stock and see how versatile it is. Whilst all three sections reflected L&BB, each was unique and individual. Of course you can't have a wedding fair without a whole host of other suppliers and Alex & Helen pulled together an eclectic mix of local suppliers... It was so lovely meeting so many other wedding businesses. It was great to see who's out there locally and swap details and ideas with other like minded folk! I didn't get a huge chance to explore but I managed to snap a few pics from the other stalls... a full list of suppliers can be found here. So there you have it!! First event done. Whoop!!! Hover over the photo for details and click on to be taken to their website/social media pages.
Well hello friends… Now our wedding has happened and life as husband and wife is settling into a beautiful calm place, I have been able to start paying some attention to our new focus point… With Lo & Behold we wanted to do everything right, not to rush or settle for anything less then perfection, so one of the first things I wanted to do was create a visual that we both adored, that showcased the thought, love and attention we applied to everything we made for our wedding and would continue to apply to all things Lo & Behold. I turned to a gift (that actually was a thank you for helping out with another wedding) for inspiration. The Language of Flowers – A Miscellany by Mandy Kirkby is a beautiful book that features 50 flowers and foliage and tells their story, their meaning, what they mean culturally. “Flowers do speak a language, clear and intelligible. Observe them, reader, love them, linger over them and ask your own heart if they do not speak affection, benevolence and piety.” I spent hours pouring over the pages making a list of the flowers whose meaning spoke to me; Honeysuckle for devotion, Bouvardia for enthusiasm, Myrtle for love and Hollyhock for ambition etc Once I had a list to work from the sketching began, using the internet, real blooms and my wedding flowers for reference these simple sketches then got a lick of colour. I dug out my old watercolour box from my childhood and brought the blooms to life. Then it was a day at the computer, scanning them all in and using photoshop to bring everything together to create a visual representation of what Lo & Behold Bespoke will be. I hope this visual showcases my ability, my inspired colour palette and the skills that I have to offer others. I hope you like it?! I’ll do a full list of the flowers and their meanings below… x Chrysanthemum | Truth ✣ Daisy | innocence ✣ Hyacinth | Beauty
Lilac | First emotions of Love ✣ Lilly of the Valley | Return of happiness Myrtle | Love ✣ Passion Flower | Faith ✣ Poppy | Fantastic Extravagance Rose (peach) | Modesty ✣ Coreopsis | Always cheerful ✣ Hollyhock | Ambition Polyanthus | Confidence ✣ Honeysuckle | Devotion ✣ Bouvardia | Enthusiam Baby’s Breath | Everlasting Love ✣ Sage | Good Health, Long Life Stephanotis | Happiness in Marriage ✣ Lupin | Imagination ✣ Angelica | Inspiration Freesia | Lasting Friendship ✣ Fennel | Strength I wondered what to do for my first post, it's quite a milestone moment isn't it?! As mentioned in my 'About' page the idea for Lo & Behold came about because I'm currently planning my own wedding with my gorgeous Fiancé Maxwell.
I have LOVED every element of our wedding planning experience.. highs and lows... I've loved it so much that when we're done, I want to carry on... I would adore to be able to help other brides-to-be feel the same level of excitement that I have.... I will, over time, share with you what I've been making and crafting, what I'm lusting over and my experience as a very DIY bride... For this first post though I would like to share with you some of our amazing pre-wedding pics!! The first thing we booked after our engagement was our photographer. Photography is SO important to me, so it had to be right. I love taking photos and being behind the lens, being in front though is an uncomfortable experience for me and one I'm not so used to. So we booked the awesome Hayley Savage. Hayley has photographed two of my best friends weddings and I know and trust Hayley... When Hayley offered us an engagement shoot we jumped at the chance. You can read about my feelings over on Lo Tales but I thought it would be fun to share with you some of the AMAZING pics Hayley took! I won't share them all in one go but will break them down... So first up was our Beach shoot. I found this amazing merlot coloured dress on ASOS, and with Maxwell in his Tweet best we headed to the beach on a very fresh November afternoon.... (warning - there are lots!) I hope you like.... |