It is a Sunday afternoon and you are at a loose end – perhaps thinking that you should be seeing to those endless wedding preparation lists, or organizing yourself for the week ahead, but not quite feeling the enthusiasm for the task.

Give yourself permission to have a break and do something you love for an hour. Put on your most comfortable clothes, snuggle under a blanket and read a book that you have been saving for just such an occasion, or even pick up an old favourite from the shelf and start re-reading it.

Make a pot of tea using real tea leaves from that special tin of tea you have in the cupboard. Such a change from the ‘tea bag’ tea. Add a piece of shortbread or a Tim Tam to really indulge yourself.

Arrange some flowers you have bought from the florist, or leaves and berries from the garden. Select a beautiful vase with the arrangement in mind – pottery for branches and berries, glass for softer flowers, even an old teapot or bowl for daisies or succulents. Enjoy the process of picking, arranging and re-arranging to create the ‘picture’ you are envisaging. Set your masterpiece where you can gaze on it and enjoy its colours and shapes.

Perhaps now you will feel rejuvenated for the wedding tasks ahead!

Tea photo from Martha Stewart Weddings, Flower photo from Small Stump found via {frolic}

Many people dread the onset of the cooler months as dreary and depressing. For us here at Bridal Survival, it is a time of taking a deep breath after the heat and activity of summer, of enjoying ‘inside’ time and appreciating the different beauty that autumn and winter can bring.

Autumns Alchemy Photograph by Irene Suchocki

We enjoy our Saturday morning get together with coffee and cake all the more when it is cool. Shopping involves looking for cool weather foods – quinces, apples and pears and not buying the imported grapes and exotic fruits. It means baking more, and slow cooking meats and chickens – filling the house with wonderful aromas.

But best of all, we love to walk in autumn and winter. We grab our special ‘someones’ and amble off looking over the fences as we wander past, at other peoples’ gardens. With our drought, some are looking shriveled, others still boast magnificent trees with coloured leaves, or the bare branches against the bluest of skies. The leaves on the ground smell musty with occasional dampness, the nights are sometimes misty, and the crispness of the air is invigorating. It doesn’t matter if it is a still day or night, or raining and windy, each walk brings with it a new delight to fill the senses.

In the city it is sometimes harder to find a sight, sound or smell to fill the soul. In the country areas, the wonders of nature are all around you – dew on the grass, carpets of leaves, frosty air, sounds in the clear night air. Come to think of it – it’s the same in the city – you just have to be more open to the wonders that may be more hidden. So grab your loved one and head for the hills (or just around the corner) – and see what you can discover!

Martha Stewart Mini Easter Baskets

A time for getting together with family and friends and sharing Hot Cross Buns on Friday and chocolate eggs on Sunday.

Lay in a supply of your favourite buns to eat hot, dripping with butter and a cup of hot chocolate, with your best friend and pretend it’s diet food!

Make the most of our autumn weather and on Sunday set an ‘Easter table’ outside – a white cloth embellished with green and yellow ribbons – the colours of Easter. Add baskets to hold the eggs you have hidden and your friends search for, in the garden. If you are really keen invite your friends around for an Easter egg painting spree – using hard boiled or blown eggs and food dyes for dipping them or simply water colour paints and some cheap brushes to test your artistic skills!

Koko Black Mini Bunnies

There could be one large basket or individual smaller ones into which the eggs are piled along with rabbits and little chicks – all symbols of Easter. Over time, you might like to continue this tradition, with hand painted wooden eggs and other special bits and pieces which you could tuck away to only re-emerge at this time of the year.
For lunch after all that activity, serve a lamb dish and a special dessert, finishing  with the chocolate Easter eggs –  you’ll vow you will never eat that much chocolate again – until next time………

Please note: Bridal Survival will be closed from the 10th of April and will reopen on the 13th of April. All new orders recieved during this time will be dispatched from the 13th of April.

Water seems a strange thing to write about in a blog about weddings. But at Bridal Survival, we try to think a little differently.
Water can hydrate us, soothe the soul, relax us and invigorate us. How many of us carry bottles of water around to quench or thirst? A soothing bath at the end of a stressful day can calm the spirit.
A walk on the beach inhaling the salty spray and listening to the crashing waves is invigorating.  A swim in the ocean or a pool lined with large rocks adds an element of fun and playfulness. A picnic with your loved one by a waterfall listening to the water falling to a pool below, a fountain splashing softly in a garden setting, the sound of rain soaking the parched earth.
Goldfish swimming in fish bowls, the sounds of ice clinking in a glass, homemade lemonade, sorbets – all ways in which water may play a part in your wedding.
We suggest you seek your own special ‘water place’ to soothe your souls during your wedding preparations and beyond.

When your wedding preparations are starting to get you down and people are intruding on your serenity, why not consider an indoor picnic with your fiancé.

Beautiful bamboo board by Dandi

On the morning of your picnic, go to your local market and buy cheeses, smoked salmon, bread or biscuits, grapes, figs, quince paste, strawberries, chocolate – anything that you consider special and delicious. Add sparkling wine or other favourite drink and perhaps some juice as well.

Grab a picnic rug and spread it out on the living room floor. Choose basketware or wooden boards,  to put your food on. For a touch of luxury add your most special wine glasses and napkins.
Now all you have to do is grab your fiancé, close the door on the world outside and take some time out to enjoy the food, remind each other of your hopes and dreams, and relax together. Refuel your soul and you will be able to face tomorrow with renewed energy!

P.S A little bird tells me that this is good to do when you have babies and find it more difficult to go out!!