Summer is Coming and so are our Weddings!

We have had a gloriously sunny day here today which makes me think of summer and we are very excited about our up and coming weddings.

We did have our first wedding last weekend and have since had a lovely email from our bride, who BTW did a fabulous dance up the aisle!

Here is what Heather Jean sent us before she left for her honeymoon which I understand is going to last at least a year and she is planning lots of lovely weekends away!

Dear Laura

Thank you for everything, our decorations looked amazing, you and your girls did a fantastic job and please also thank Loraine for our beautiful, stunning wedding flowers, I am still looking at them as I type this and they are drying out ready for the album.

Big Hugs Heather Jean and Christian

With summer around the corner in mind, check out this gorgeous photo shoot on Style me Pretty by Heather Ham using the very popular and summery colour combo of hot pinks and turquoises with of course all the wonderful details that I so rave about and toil over ;)

It is well worth heading over to see the entire shoot which comprised of a photo booth, drinks station, cake table and entrance table, in fact I do wonder at times where the endless list at weddings will stop, luckily we seem to have one but can never resist a candy or cocktail bar, it is a decorating heaven for me!

Also talking of photo booths, we are of course trying to drag Spain into the 21st century of weddings and doing rather well to be honest but you must watch this space as we shortly announce a very exciting new product here on the Coast, which is of course a photo booth with props :)

I cannot wait to get in it with my false moustache ;)! It is cool, easily set up, fabulous photos and photographer so cannot go wrong, I cannot wait!

In fact I can feel a prop shop coming on! Photo booth sign to start with followed closely by strange feather boas, silly hats and dare to think what else will follow!

We will post more news about this shortly!

Signs, signs, everywhere a sign...



wedding signs by elleDESIGNS

One of my favorite things to do for clients is  package called, "Crafty Package." This is taking their theme or colors, or the one i design for them, to the next level of adorable-ness. Making it look like that cute, D.I.Y. wedding for the bride that doesnt have time or... the crafty gene. Customized drink stirrers, cupcake flags, labels, monograms, and ESPECIALLY signs!!!! Unless the client wants super-formal, you can guarantee there will be signs on everything at an event i do for them.

wedding signs by elleDESIGNS

    The pink & white stripe signs were for my own wedding and I was able to re-use them for following events.  There are alot of options. You can buy wood from Michaels or a craft store that is already shaped and sanded. For example, the round signs and arrows in the above picture. Some of the signs i used were old pieces I found. they were warped, had nail holes, some were decaying and ready to be thrown out. A little bit of cleaning & paint and ta da....it turns out like the one to the right. The warped, seperated wood gives it a rustic feel which really fit the wedding.

     Painting them is an option, but if the wedding is a little more formal and serious, i cut out letters with my cricut expression and use them.  For example, the dancing shoes in

wedding signs by elleDESIGNS

the beginning of the post ini the top pic and this pic of "dancing shoes" to the left. Both of these wedding colors were pink, but this one is a little more elegant.

Formal, semi-formal, or an informal wedding or a casual picnic, signs really give a wedding, event, or a party personaility and I think they are a must, must, must!



wedding signs by elleDESIGNS



POSH GRAFFITI Letters and Hearts at Reviva

Image courtesy of Jeremy Standley

Reviva are delighted to now stock POSH Graffiti by Emma Readnett Bayley.

Spell out your romance with these stylish white Love Letters, hang them up at your wedding or place a message on your cake table and then take them home and proudly display your love for each other on your walls!

The beautifully boxed sets of LOVE and MR & MRS would make an ideal wedding or anniversary present and there are some cute hearts ready to hang at your wedding or home.

If you have a special word or initials you would like to order as a gift or for your home, pop into see us or call 618 021 172 or email us your order laura@reviva-weddings.com.

Please do note if you have a special order you must allow time for delivery to the shop.

Dreamy and Romantic Shades of Purples

Sunday mornings are never complete without some relaxing inspiration hunting and this morning is no exception as I travelled over to Wedding Chicks to find this dreamy, romantic table setting.

Lilac goes hand in hand with romance and is such a pretty, gentle colour. The soft purples, dreamy mauves and crisp whites makes me think of spring and garden weddings.

There are so many gorgeous flowers to use from the fabulous large hydrangea heads to the divine smell of lilac, mixed with cool water roses, fluffy white peonies and freesias, a glorious array of flowers.

I love all the details on this photo shoot from the cake pops to the simple cut glass votives with a cool water rose popped into each one and those deserts look heavenly!

Happy Spring!

The trees have buds, the birds are singing and its officially Spring!

A yummy celebration is in order! How about some cupcakes like these I did for "It's a bug's life" themed birthday! Would also make such a cute themed summer baby shower.

little bug cupcakes. cupcakes & cuteness by elleDESIGNS

Lingerie Shower Invitations

Perhaps my favorite invitation I have designed to date. Its fun, flirty, and super girly. The Maid of Honor loved it so much she placed another order asking to change the date on the leg to the bachelorette party date and send her the image. They got it made into shirts for the bachelorette party! That made me so happy that she liked it so much I sent it to her for free.

Fun, Sexy, Lingerie Shower Invitations by elleDESIGNS

Forget the cupcakes and Macaroons! Here come the Jellies!

I have always loved the simplicity of jelly and have been an avid fan of this gorgeous wobbly stuff since I was tiny so you can imagine my delight when I read about Bombas and Parr and I love the quirky jellies created by these culinary whizzkids.

They are bringing the light hearted touch of kids nostalgia to the grown up world and these jelly towers made with these gorgeously coloured jellies in all shapes and sizes are just such a new and fun idea.

These jellies are served in mind boggling flavours such as lemonade, strawberry and raspberry and blackcurrant and berries, how refreshing for a hot summer wedding served with some ice-cream. More exotic flavours include Prosecco and Gold, Glow in the Dark, Flaming and Striped Clementine, I wish I had known about these when we were creating our fire and ice party last year, they would have been the WOW factor for the night!

I do think we are going to see some very creative ideas this year as retro jellies join balloons in making a comeback to weddings!

I have no doubt all the hotels and caterers here are now beginning to dread my next foodie idea blogposts, sorry guys! :)

Macarons or Cupcakes?!

Wedding world is in turmoil as the once humble but gorgeous Macaron is overshadowing our favourite cupcake!

Sex and the City started the cupcake boom but Gossip Girl has fetishized the humble macaroon, with Starbucks recently carrying a limited edition of macarons, it seems the little french confections are everywhere!

And how delightful they are too with these gorgeous sorbet colours presented in delightful boxes. They are certainly becoming a popular choice for weddings this year, although I have yet to see them at one of our weddings but working on this one and need to find a supplier here in Spain that makes them, as they will make a wonderful addition to a candy desert table.

My 'thing' though is the packaging as always, to have these macarons presented in to die for gorgeous boxes tied with some fabulous ribbons and I would be in heaven if presented with one of these at a wedding!

Whilst I blog away you must visit some sites I found today, Bobette & Belle and La Duree, well worth heading over to take a look

New Minister of Ceremonies here on the Costa Del Sol

Paul contacted us last year, as he was planning his retirement here on the Costa Del Sol, and wanted to keep busy once he had packed up his osteopath and physiotherapist businesses in Manchester and Scotland.

Paul has been a lay preacher since he was 14 years old and in that time has conducted hundreds of services including speaking at conferences, conducting wedding ceremonies and baby naming services, in fact any ceremony you need conducted is beautifully done by Paul.

I personally have met Paul now on a number of occasions and could think of no nicer person to host a ceremony and we are now recommending him for our wedding ceremonies.

If you would like to know more about Paul and the service he offers, then please do contact us or email Paul on i_paul_gill@hotmail.com, he will tailor make your ceremony to be exactly what you desire and the one thing he promises is that it will be warm, friendly and very personal to you. He will even wear a kilt!

Kiss Me I'm Irish!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

to all you Irish and 'the Irish for the Day' folks!



St. Patty's Day Strawberry Lime Cupcakes with handmade wrappers & flags.  Cupcakes & Cuteness by elleDesigns



Be Safe & Happy St. Patty's!!

Reviva are having an Interview on TRE Radio

Last week, I have to confess, I dipped my toe in the water of talking live on the Radio!

I had absolutely no idea what I was in for but was volunteered by Charlotte to appear on the women's talk hour, a bit like loose women I suppose. So having received a phone call from the wonderful presenter Hannah Murray, off I drove, on a very wet afternoon, to the studios in San Pedro really not knowing what I was in for!

I had been told I was to be part of a chat show for an hour with two other women talking about general subjects that were in the news that week.

What fun I had, once I had worked out how to eat carrot cake, adjust the microphone and speak at all the same time :) I suppose us women call this multi tasking but it was not hard work at all.

Having completed my first round I was thrilled and have since been told I was a natural, all lies of course, I have been invited back to TRE next week to talk about a subject close to my heart and I can imagine you are all guessing what this is!

Wedding world of course, I will be chatting to the lovely Hannah about how I started up Reviva, our journey, wedding world in general and I also hope to start to promote the Butterfly Ball that we are sponsoring here on the 11th June at the Puente Romano hotel for the Rhys Daniels Trust.

We have decorated this event for the past 3 years and this is now a charity very close to my heart that I will continue to support.

It is of course born out of a tragedy suffered by parents, that I cannot even begin to comprehend, that has resulted in doing good as they raise money to provide people, with very ill children, accommodation in rent free homes near the hospitals so that they can move in and lead as normal as lives as possible whilst their children are being treated, quite often far away from home, in London or one of the major cities.

The Daniel Rhys Trust buy properties and adapt them into comfortable rent free homes to support and house families going through traumatic times and take away that stress allowing them to concentrate on their terribly sick children.

There are so many heart stopping stories that I could not even begin to describe them, they, to be honest, reduce me to tears, and I am very adamant that this is such a worthwhile charity that I will continue to support them and do the best I can to make the Butterfly Ball a success here in Marbella.

The Butterfly Ball is now in it's 11th year and is supported by many celebrities such as Max Clifford and the event consists of a golfing tournament and the Ball.

I have some very spooky stories that surround this charity, last year I had Patti, the organiser, in our shop discussing the details of the event and a butterfly flew into the shop, fluttered around us and we were left silent, Patti then told me many other stories about this happening when she was organising the Butterfly events, it made me shiver actually.

We have never had a butterfly in our shop before or since!?

We have the unenviable task of creating 400 goody bags for this event, but having started early we are actually doing very well:)

If anyone would like to sponsor us with a charity prize or something for our goody bags then please do get in touch, the sooner the better as you will be featured in the publicity and the literature for this event which attracts many hi profile clients from Marbella, London and beyond.

I will be on the radio next week on TRE at 2pm on the 23rd March so please do tune in to hear me talk about wedding world and our latest campaign for the Butterfly Ball.

If you would like to sponsor us with a charity prize or fill our goody bags then please do email me at laura@reviva-weddings.com

Little Cards for Little Birthdays

These were not for any clients, these cards were my lovely niece, Isabella & handsome little nephew Tristan.

elleDESIGNS. Mermaid & Turtle birthday cards

New Jenny Packham 2011 Collection

We just fell onto Wedding Chicks to find the latest Spring and Summer Jenny Packham collection for 2011.

This feminine collection is based on my prediction of ballet, swans and feathers becoming big for 2011 and 2012 weddings. Think of the Swan Lake and you have the new trend for weddings (Leona I told you so!)

I love this floatiness of these dresses, ideal for hot destination weddings, with all the gorgeous detailing and the hair accessory is just divine.

I have worked with Loraine now for nearly two years on our weddings, Loraine is the most creative florist with such a style, but is (and she will vouch for this) not a sales person or any good at marketing.

I nearly fell off my chair when we were chatting one day and she casually mentioned she had created the flowers for Jenny Packham's wedding here in Spain?!

If we had done this whilst she was with me I would have been singing this from the rooftops!

Loraine created a white orchid theme for Jenny Packhams wedding, unfortunately we do not have photos as it is a photographer that does not send them to us which is such a shame as we would love to share these with you.

Classical Violinist Naiara Castillejo

Naiara is one of my lovely friends I met a long time ago when I first started my company and we have remained firm friends ever since, she is a truly inspirational and passionate person who loves her work and lives life to the full.

Naiara is the most amazing violinist and performs all over the world at classical concerts and we are honoured to have her here, based in Malaga, to offer her stunning musical talent for weddings with her beautiful violin playing that just brings out the goosebumps every time.

You cannot help but feel the excitement and emotion as Naiara starts to play at a wedding ceremony, it is music that relaxes and eases the tension as the big day starts, it is truly amazing and one of my favourites everytime for a wedding with this divine romantic music drifting through the church or ceremony area.

Naiara has her music company based here in Malaga called Festibodas offering a range of classical music options for your wedding and it is well worth taking a trip over to hear her music. Naiara also speaks perfect English so if you are looking for something truly beautiful for your ceremony do get in touch it will be worth it just to hear her play.

Designing New Wedding Office Spaces for Women

I am currently designing a new wedding office space :)

Not for me, but for a good friend of mine, Heather at Fiestasol. I am hugely excited about this new venture that Heather has created and more will be revealed over the next few months as we lead up to the opening of Heather and Alex's new venture.

It probably sounds strange that one wedding planning company is designing another wedding planning company's office space, but as we all work together in wedding world, good friendships are formed, despite what people might like to think that we all run head to head we don't!! (Well some choose to but that is their choice!)

We work together all the time, I run a very design led wedding planning company that tends to specialise in the high end weddings and event and floral decoration and Heather runs a very successful catering and food led wedding planning company that excels in villa weddings.

We often book each other to fill in the gaps, we all work together with the same highly professional tried and tested suppliers and are like a little family. We swops notes, exchange wedding world gossip, chat about being working mums, and we do truly believe that it is better to work like this as we have forged a very strong network of lovely suppliers and can of course offer a very high standard of service for weddings and events between us and support each other.

It is interesting researching a very girly design led working space and ideas for Heather and I was fascinated to find out that Lynne Franks has created the BHive business club for women, offering beautifully designed feminine office spaces for Britain's brightest business women who want somewhere creative and inspirational to work in and bring clients too.

Forget the dark woods and libraries with leather chairs, we are going white, crystals, flowers, fabulous fabrics, cushions and comfortable bright working and meeting spaces.

Today I created our first mood board for this concept of creating a wedding led office space, to work in, to see clients in and to hold food tasting and decoration presentations in.

There will be much more research and planning as I help Heather put together her dream so of course we will keep you updated on progress and will inform you as soon as Heather announces her opening or any more news on this very exciting project.

Wedding World will be very much on the map in Marbella by the summer!

Copycats!

Maybe I should be flattered that someone loves my blog so much they feel compelled to copy it, not just a few features but literally word for word, photo for photo.

I adore my work, it is not work to me, it is a lifestyle and a passion for design and decoration particularly related to weddings, styling and events.

I love to share my finds, inspirations and ideas with you from all the hugely talented people around the globe plus our own weddings, so it is rather sad when I get someone that feels they can literally copy my blog.

You can see my copycat here on http://www.bestweddingideas.onsugar.com/

I have just requested this is taken down though so perhaps this link might not work though hopefully soon!

Anycase I thought I would just share this lovely photo with you as well to inspire you for the day from the hugely talented Selina Lake ;)

Sugar, doot doot doot doot, do do....

I was discussing with Hanna's Mom about the birthday party for her daughter she wanted me to plan and make a cake & desserts for. I asked if she had any type of decor or cake ideas in mind. She told me for 75 people and then turned me over to my biggest client ever...little 5 year old Hanna.

     "I love sugar. Yes i do. I like Cake and Ice Cream with cherries on top, a donut is nice too. I can only eat them on Sundays, but my party is on a Sunday, so that is "A" ok. I the colors

of watermelons too. But I do not like watermelon. I like Coconut."

And that was all i needed....



by elleDESIGNS5 year old Birthday Party. 4 tier Dessert Cake.



 by elleDESIGNS5 year old Birthday Party. 4 tier Dessert Cake.



Bridal Shower Invitations. Sugar Buffet!

At your wedding, please let me give you advice and never ever have a "dessert reception." I say the following all the time, but this is the first party you and your hubby-to-be are going to host, make it good, impressive, lovely! Guests are coming to your beautiful wedding, giving you gifts (well hopefully), treat them like adults...not 5 year olds on a sugar rampage. Dessert bars? GREAT, but not an enitre evening devoted to sweets!

HOWEVER, Bridal Shower, Bachelorette Shower, Maid of Honor Shower, Engagment Parties....let their be sugar! I just finished these for a client for a Sugary Sweet Bridal Shower. It is an afternoon of tea and pastries. She deserves a great shower. She has asked that in lieu of gifts, the money to be donated to the ASPCA (big YAYE from me!!) and to breast cancer research. Sprinkles to her!

by elleDESIGNS. OH, SUGAR SUGAR Bridal Shower Invitation. contact for more info.



 

Camping Inspiration for a Wedding?!

I just love Twitter it is throwing up so many fabulous websites and links, it is a bit like picking up a magazine and reading so many creative articles by so many talented people, that otherwise would go missed!

This one caught my eye tonight, A Camping Inspiration for a Wedding?!

Posted on Love and Lavender's site, I had to go and check this one out as I could not think of anything worse than camping and did wonder what on earth would make someone want to do this theme for a wedding! However I was pleasantly surprised and fell in love with the lace tent and lanterns, the rustic candy bar and all the other glorious details which you must go and check out.

Perhaps my view on camping could possibly be changed and it is not all about damp sleeping bags, being attacked by cows in a field and waking up to one with it's head sticking in through the tent door, plus 100 plus mossie bites?!

It would still take a lot to sell this to me though and I do recall a few years ago my sister was invited to a hippy style hen night that involved sleeping outside in posh tents and she elected to pay extra for a bedroom inside the house with central heating and carpets ;)