Monday, October 29, 2012

Butterlfy inspiration board

Hi everyone!

I guess some of you noticed my absence of last week. The reason is that I was visiting a friend of mine that is living for a few months in Vienna. The trip was quite an inspiration, specially because I had the chance to visit the Schmetterlings haus or in english, the House of the Butterflies. I was never in such a place and I felt completely thrown into a fairytale. Later on, when I came back, I discovered that it is actually possible to celebrate weddings inside. I cannot imagine a better place for romantics that doesn't want to renounce to the charm of a city. The feeling inside is amazing, not just by the beauty of the decoration but the magical sensation of being surrounded by huge butterflies that sometimes stop over your shoulder. 
For all of them, here you have a small board inspired by the Vienna butterflies. Perfect for a spring wedding.

1. Interior of the Schmetterlings Haus of Vienna.
4. Seen in pinterest
5. Seen in www.oncewed.com



Thursday, October 18, 2012

Geek Weddings, forbidden to be boring!

Who knows me well, was surely wondering how is possible that I took so long to upload something like this. Yes, I confess myself a geek lover, or how we say in Spain, a friki!
I ADORE everything that is under the word geek. Why? Because is a explosion of creativeness where there is no limits for the imagination and no disgusting faces. Personalization on it's maximum. 
The wedding should reflect the personality and tastes of the couple. Adding funny details from the hobbies and passions of the couple is the easiest way to make your wedding unique and absolutely yours. Themed weddings are an even more drastic way to pay honor to that passion that united you both together. A movie themed wedding, computer games, superheroes, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars... Whatever can be the inspiration for your wedding theme. Once you get that, the ideas will come as a waterfall. 
If you were on a geek wedding, for sure it was an experience that you will not forget. 
Here you have some of the infinite geek ideas that I have found in the web. I will not tell you what it is. Let's see how much you know about the geek world. Can you identify everything?
From here I encourage every slovene to explore their own geekness and forget about the usual "what will the people think". It's YOUR WEDDING. You have to think in what you want. And I know that a lot of you would melt having some friki details in their wedding. Yes, you. I know you are there, reading this and getting red chicks. Be brave! Be geek! Be friki!


1. seen in www.techiekids.info
2. seen in www.prestonbaily.com
3. seen in www.thegoodness.com
4. seen in www.girlhack.com
5. seen in www.tumblr.com
6. seen in www.spritesticht.com
7. seen in www.geektyrant.com
8. seen in www.soggekchic.com
9. awesome hand painted ties from Maya Pixelskaya
10. seen in www.ourgeekywedding.blogspot.com
11. seen in www.etsy.com
12. seen in www.etsy.com



Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Wine inspiration for your wedding

I need to start apologizing for my absence. The cold came to Slovenia, and with it came also the flu, so I have been a bit ill lately. Anyway, I am back now.

Slovenia is a place of great wines, specially the white ones. I must confess that, being a daughter of a wine maker, I started loving wine when I came to Slovenia and I tried the delicious Rumeni Muskat.
This week, the idea of reusing wine bottles came to my mind and, as I was trying to put it together, it grew up into much more than I anticipated.
If you love wine then in Slovenia you have a lot of beautiful wineries where you can host your wedding. A cheaper and even more romantic option is, if you have wine yards at home, organice your wedding at home, in your own garden.
Here you have some venues for a wine inspired wedding, and some ideas to full fill it.













1. seen in www.blog.celebration.co.za
2. seen in www.frillyfabulous.com
3. seen in www.designsponge.com
4. seen in www.ohcrafts.net
5. seen in www.etsy.com
6. seen in www.linenlaceandlove.com
7. seen in www.bronzebudgetbride.com
8. seen in www.thepinkbook.com
9. seen in www.examiner.com
10. seen in www.thearaed.com
11. seen in www.yakimamagazine.com
12. seen in www.decordots.com
13. seen in www. libbyjamesblog.com
14. seen in www.etsy.com
15. seen in www.howtoreusecreatively.com
16. seen in www.savegoodness.com
17. seen in www.eventsbysocialgraces.com
18. seen in www.thingsfestive.blogspot.com
19. seen in www.butterpluscream.blogspot.com
20. seen in www.libbyjames.blog.com

Enjoy!






Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Autumn sales in wedding dresses

As I mentioned two days ago, usually all of the bridal boutiques in Slovenia have big sales two times per year. As soon as I remembered, I went to check their websites and I saw that two of my favorite boutiques are having the autumn sales right now.
I like this boutiques because they are the only ones in Slovenia having dresses of three of the best spanish brands. 
Porocna zvezda, in Bled, is the only slovene boutique working with the brand Pronovias. They have autumn sales until the 31st of October. It's a great chance to get a Pronovias dress that costs new between 1500 to 2000 euros for just 290 Euros!! They have also new models of Pronovias, Manuel Mota and San Patrick, as well as Oreasposa, Demetrios or Enzoani. This are some of the ones that are available on sale.

Mambo 

Faisan

Mod-art, in Domžale, is having dresses of Rosa Clará and La Sposa, besides of another brands where you may also find what you want. The sales period ends on 13th of October, so you have just a few more days!!
Here are some of the dresses you may find.
La Sposa, Dado

Rosa Clará, Caracola

La Sposa, Label

Rosa Clará, Luz

La Sposa, Sofía

The same day, 13th of October, is also the dead line in Krinolina (Ljubljana), Poročni Kotiček (Ljubljana) and Salon Grazia (Ljubljana and Celje). 
I specially recommend Poročni Kotiček for the quality of the brands that they work with and their proffesional and warm attitude to the client. Here some of their models.
 Cymbelline Paris, Elisha

Colet Bride, Cora

Colet Bride, Carolina

Cymbelline Paris, Flambeau


If you don't want to rush it, Naj Nevesta has the sales prolonged until the 31st of December. Also in Ljubljana.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Marmalade Jars favors

Using marmalade jars as wedding favors for our guests was one of the ideas that I have already mentioned yesterday in the 12 Tips for Saving in your wedding.
Last weekend I dedicated some of my free time to one of my hobbies: cooking. This time I was experimenting with new flavors for marmalades and I must tell you that the result was great.
Today I decided to turn some of my marmalades into an inspiration sample of a wedding favor that you can make yourself at home, with anything else than a piece of fabric that you like, some tread, thick paper and a white pencil (better if is pastel). This one I made having in mind the tastes of my sister in law, who will get married next year. I have used burlap to cover my jars. In slovene is called "juta" and you can find it in Svet Metraze. It's one of my favorite looking fabrics for wedding crafts but it is quite tricky to use. It smells and it falls apart quite easy, but the result looks even more natural when is not perfect. Is a good choice for eco or rustic weddings, and it combines very good with colors like white, red, green or black.
Below the photo, I wrote down the recipes of the marmalades that I have tried. I will try to write down the ingredients in slovene, so I apologize for my horrible declinations in advance. I hope it will be enough to understand. I encourage you to try it yourself. Your guest will be very surprised!



Apple + pumpkin marmalade 
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Ingredients for 10 jars
- 3 kilos of apples. I have used the golden variety.
- 1,5 kilo of pumpkin
- 1 kilo of sugar. I have used Wiener Zucker for Marmalades, so I avoided to add any lemon, as it is already prepared. If you use normal sugar, just add the juice of 1 or 2 lemons.
- 1 leave vainilla
- 1 stick of cinammon

Sestavine za 10 posod
- 3 kile jabolke
- 1,5 buča
- 1 kilo sladkor. Jaz sem dala Wiener Zucker za marmelado, ker ima še limonega kislina. Če dajte normalno sladkor, daj tudi 1-2 limone. 
- 1 vanilija stanja
- 1 cimet palico

Preparation
Peel off the apples (and remove the hearths) and pumpkin and cut them in dices. If it takes you long, you can cover the apples with water to avoid the oxidation. Add the sugar and put on fire. Leave it on medium fire until starts melting. When the apples are soft you can smash everything with a fork and add the vainilla and cinammom.
I used a very low quantity of sugar in comparison as most of the marmalades, because the golden apples and the pumpkins are very sweet. The taste was just perfect, but if you want to conserve your marmalades for longer time, perhaps you should add more sugar. Most of people adds one kilo of sugar per kilo of fruit. I think it's a bit too much.
Sterilize your glass jars. For that, you can put them into a pot covered with water and boil them for 20-30 minutes. Another way is to wash them carefully with hot water and put them facedown in the oven on 140º for 10 minutes or until dry.
When the marmalade is ready (I left it on medium fire around 2 hours), distribute it on the jars when is still hot, leaving around 1 cm free in the top. Close the jars firmly and put them all together over a wooden surface. If you don't have a wooden surface, make sure that the surface where you are putting them is not very cold. Cover them immediately with a folded blanket, so that there is a lot of layers over. What you want to achieve is that the heat inside is conserved, so the jars are cooling down very slow. Leave them like this for a day, until they are completely cold.

Apple + aloe vera marmalade
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Ingredients for 6 jars
- 2 kilos of apples. I have used the golden variety.
- 300 grs. of aloe vera in dices (you can find it in Le Clerck)
- 1 lemon
- 1 kilo of sugar

Sestavine za 6 posod
- 2 kila jabolka. Sem dala "zlata jabolka"
- 300 gr. aloe vera (lahko najdete v Le Clerku)
- 1 limona
- 1 kilo sladkor

Preparation
Peel of the apples and remove the hearths. Put the peels and hearths into a small pot with 100 cl of water and boil them for 5 minutes. Add the final liquid to the cut apples. Add the sugar, the lemon without the skin and white part and the aloe vera and put it on fire. Leave it on medium fire until everything is melted into a fine and creamy marmalade. You can also use the mixer to make it smoother. I left it around 2 hours on the fire.
For canning it, you can read the procedure on the first recipe.


Banana marmalade
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Ingredients for 6 jars
- 2 kilos of bananas
- juice of 2 lemons
- juice of 2 oranges
- 800 grs - 1 kilo of sugar
- 1 stick of cinnamon

Sestavine za 6 jars
- 2 kila banana
- sok iz 2 limona
- sok iz 2 pomaranča
- od 800 gr. do 1 kilo sladkor
- 1 cimet palico

Preparation.
Peel off the bananas and cut them into slices. Put them into a big pot and cover them quickly with the juice of the 2 lemons and 2 oranges. Cover it with the sugar and add the cinnamon stick. Leave it for 3 hours.
After that time, put it on fire and cook it for 2 hours until melted. Use the mixer if it's necessary.
You can read the procedure for canning on the first recipe.


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I hope you enjoy the recipes. Uživajte!

Monday, October 8, 2012

12 Tips for saving in your wedding

The final bill of our wedding can be an authentic head ache. When you hear how much some weddings costed, you think, how is this possible? Well, once you start planning and summing up all little details, you see the big number. I come from Spain, a country where the wedding is possibly the major event celebration (after the football's league final hehe) and of course, we want the whole town to be there (a 200 guest's wedding is the average), the most expensive food (5 dishes of sea fruit, fish, meat...) and no bride will marry without a Pronovias brand new dress (lets say it was cheap, so 1500 euros).
But right now, even in Spain things are pretty tight with money and everyone tries to save as much money as they can. I assume slovenes are not different in this, so ¿How to do it? Here are some tips to administrate your available money.

1. Settle a budget. This is a must do with your fiancee. Of course, the final bill is not going to match 100% on your number, but this will be a reference that you must have in mind all the time. If at the end of the wedding, you stayed under it, you will feel so proud! =)

2. Settle your priorities. There are some details that are more important than others. You must talk with your fiancee and establish what is more important for you both to be made professionally, so here will be probably were the biggest numbers will be.

3. Reduce your guest's list. It is understandable that you would love to have everyone with you sharing your day but, does it really mean so much to you to have that girl from high school that you did not see for 3 years? Divide your guest's list in 3 blocks: those who you cannot imagine your wedding without them; those that would be great to have but if they are not there it won't be the end of the world; and those who you are inviting forced by the circumstances (usually job or parent's request). Try to have all of your final guests just from the first two groups, and if you have to add someone from the third group, try to have just two or three. It will just make you feel uncomfortable.

4. To get marry in a palace or a 5 stars hotel... it won't be just very expensive, but will also give a feeling of "richness" to your guests that may not be what you want to achieve. They will probably feel uncomfortable being on an environment where everything looks expensive. Find a place where they will feel at home, free to jump and be themselves without fearing that if they break something they will have to pay their annual salary.

5. We use to worry about our guests loving our wedding. The first and perhaps more important step for this to happen is to have good food, but good food does not mean literary expensive food. "Good food" means that your guest will not have to go to McDonalds after your wedding because they are starving. Run away from the "design dishes". They look pretty, but they are very expensive and probably 90% of your guests will count the minutes to leave your wedding to come home and eat a "dunajski zrezek".   In Slovenia you can find great "gostilnas" with menus for weddins since 25 Euros per person. Or, why not a picnic wedding? 

6. Wedding photography is worth paying. As I told on the number 2, is all about priorities, and in my opinion, this should be one of the top in the list. The photos will stay forever, and there won't be a second chance to make them better. So in this point, I do recommend to get a good photographer. Spend a bit of time looking at works from different people. Do not hire the first one you see, although is your cousin, because you may regret later. In Slovenia there are awesome wedding photographers that I am wishing to show you.

7. Make your own invitations, menus, thank cards, favors... Today we have everything on our hands. If you are a creative person, with a little bit of imagination and some crafty materials you can make something much more original. If the creativeness is not your cup of tea but you still want to make it pretty, ask for prices to some wedding designers (I don't have to mention myself ;) ) For example, you don't need to print one menu for every guest. Get a chalkboard and write down the menu at the entrance of the restaurant, or print one per table and frame it. It will be cheaper, more ecologic, original and it will also look very elegant. For the favors or little details for the guests to take home, what about some homemade sweet? If you or some of your relatives is good at the kitchen, the guest will be enchanted if they get a home made marmalade in stead of the classic white almonds. That way you will get rid of those tons of glass jars that you accumulated at home.

8. The dress. Ah... the wedding dress... how much the women suffer to find the perfect gown... We give too much importance to this. Is it really worth it to pay 2000 euros for a dress that you will wear one day? From all of my married friends that they did pay more than 1000 euros, I concluded with a big "NO". Most of them are now trying to sell her dress to get back a bit of money and a lot of space on their closet. One option is to rent the dress. It can look expensive to pay 400 euros for renting the dress, but the price includes the adaptation to your own body, clean and ironing, and you don't need to worry about the space in the closet. If your nostalgia is still stronger than the logic, it is possible to find dresses for less than 400 euros. In Slovenia there is sales of dresses that were already rented several times two times per year. Check the websites of the boutiques often, to be updated with their last news. You can also find beautiful white dresses (or another color) in shops that they are not ment to be. Another romantic option, if your mother or your grandmother still have their wedding gown treasured at the bottom of the atic, and you have the luck that if fits you, is to have that honor. You can also modify it a bit to update it on your taste. It will be the cheapest option, and you will for sure provoke a lot of tears of happiness with it.

9. The groom's gown. Sometimes, the groom's suit can be even more pricey than the bride's. But why? There is a lot of shops with good suits for 200-300 euros. In Slovenia, Mura is definetly a reference of quality, and I have seen fantastic suits for 200 euros. Another option, for more alternative and original grooms, are the vintage suits. Why not some beige pants, a white shirt and a funny bow tie?

10. Use the season flowers. They will be way cheaper. If you really like one specific flower, beware of it's time of blooming, so you try to match the wedding around it. Have your bouquet hand made by your mother or best mate. She will be very excited to do it, it will have a special meaning for you that day, and it will be way cheaper.

11. Ask for help. Use your people. It's possible that your ant has a flower shop, your fiancee's parents have a bakery... In details that are not in your priority quality list, you can try to get "family discounts".

12. Agree with your relatives to cover expenses. They will be probably wondering what to give you as a present. If your budget is really tight and you have confident with them, ask directly to give you a part of your expenses as a present. For example, all the cousins could cover you the photographers, etc.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

New and free BU! Wedding Planner

Hi everyone!

Last days I have been working on something that I believe it can be very useful for all of you. Planning a wedding is not an easy task, as there are many details that we must have in account. For that reason, it is necessary to have a good organization, that ensures that we do not forget any important detail, or that avoids that we go crazy with the arrangements.

I decided to help you with this issue, so at the section "Free downloads" you can find our free Wedding planner page, to help you in your organization. (pdf file)

I have designed this wedding planner based on a 12 months organization. However, there is a lot of people that does not have that much time to organize their weddings. In the next day, I will try to give some hints for those couples that have just a couple of months to prepare their special day. So, keep checking us out!

As a remembering, we will be very pleased to receive your selected wedding photos to post on our blog.
Have a nice thursday!

Monday, October 1, 2012

Fall Wedding inspiration board

Hey romantics!
October is finally here and as I promised, the first post comes to Bouquets up! I just came from my honeymoon (I am sure I will talk about it some day), and I was the whole week thinking of what would it be my first post in the blog. Finally I decided to start with an inspiration board for a fall wedding, as it goes good with the season.
I believe that everyone imagines their wedding in the middle of the summer, with nice weather where they can show the shoulders without freezing out. Although I had my wedding at the end of may, more and more I like the idea of a wedding out of the warm months. And the truth is that I cannot decide if I like better a winter wedding, or a fall wedding. The nostalgic feeling of autumn it's so romantic... it's a time of great food and the afternoon sun over a park full of red, yellow and brown colors makes a idilic scenario for the best wedding photography. So I put together some photos that could inspire you if you decide to go for a fall wedding. Below, you can find the information about every photography. Enjoy it!

1. Marron glacé, a delicacy of the fall season, it's a tasty alternative to the traditional sweets.

2. A very colorful bouquet, perfect for a autumn wedding, seen in www.blog.sheffield.edu 

3. Wine glasses, candles and some season elements, are a perfect idea for the table decoration. Seen in www.thehouseofkatherineleigh.com

4. Why not a short dress? This model of the house Mori Lee is perfect for a chic fall wedding and a playful, funny and different bride. Seen in Poročni salon Penelopa (Murska Sobota)

5. If you die for cakes, you surely will not want to renounce to the wedding cake. Well, you still can make it different! This cake was design by us and made by the masters of Pohorska Kavarna, in Maribor. Every book has a specific title representing one of the steps of the relationship. A wedding cake does not have to be just a wedding cake ;)

6. What about a bit of color in your shoes? Seen in www.ruffled.com

7. Another of our Bouquets up! design, the Wedding Post invitation. You cannot have anything more personal than this: custom news, information about the wedding, maps of the location, and why not? some puzzles and funnies!

8. What a simple way of helping your guests to fill you with rice? Get a bunch of old music sheets and roll them into a cone. Seen in www.vintagetwee.com

9. If you want to scape from the traditional, forget about the wedding cake and get in the trend of the cupcakes. A very visual alternative, much cleaner that allows you to indulge your guests with different flavors and, if you have some guest with some food allergy, you can always have a request on your bakery. Seen in www.bride.net

10. One of my favorite wedding locations in slovenia without a doubt, Mesni Park in Maribor (City Park) is the perfect location in autumn, when the color of the trees and even the floor changes completely. It is possible to organize also the ceremonies at the park, so have it in account! Photography from www.arborist.si

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A warm welcome

My dear readers,

I am so excited to see you coming to my humble blog for the first time! Please, be very welcome to my virtual house. This is a place to talk about a very special moment in the life of many people: a wedding.
With this blog I am not pretending just to share with you my own creations and designs, but also to make what is in my hands to find the best inspirations to help you make your day perfect for you and your couple, which at the end is what counts. As I am living in Slovenia and it is in this country where I believe my help is needed the most, I will try to find the best solutions for those who are getting married in such a beautiful land, but for that I will search for ideas and inspiration out of Slovenia. On the other hand, I also hope that our visitors from all around the world find here a nice place to get inspired for their own projects. And please! You are very welcome to share them with us! =)


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Bouquets up will start being active from October. Countdown starts!