The Hitched List #1: Save the dates & wedding invites

Welcome to my new series of curated posts, The Hitched List, an outlet for the million and one ideas my mind is currently storing for our future, quite probably 2013, wedding.

If you're a new reader and weren't around when this happened nearly a year ago, let me summarise. Ed and I have known each other for four years and we've been together for just over 3. We started out as housemates and ended up engaged last August, with him proposing in York on my Birthday. Since then I've been stockpiling ideas, saving hundreds of online bookmarks from wedding blogs and generally getting a little excited. Most of all though, I've been getting overwhelmed by everything out there. The Hitched List is going to be a space for me to show you my favourite ideas for each element of the wedding and will allow me a nice little archive to look back on pre- and post-wedding.

Although this list won't be in any sort of order (my head can be all over the place with this sort of stuff!), it seemed logical to start with the Save the Dates and invitations.

Save the Date cards are a bit of an American invention, but I quite like the idea of letting people know up to a year in advance. There are a couple of bonuses for the guests: cheaper accommodation/train fares/flights if booked early (especially advantageous if the venue is away from where both bride and groom are originally from), more notice to take time off work etc. The main problem with a Save the Date is it's another cost to add to a very long list of costs. That's why I love the idea of a reusable rubber stamp, like the one below from Etsy. Personalised with your details it could be used on a simple postcard and they are pretty cheap. My idea would be to print them on to some beautiful vintage paper or floral wallpaper and cut to size.

From On Your Mark Stamps

Invites need a little more thought and can be sent a couple of months before the day itself. There are so many amazing and talented designers out there that I definitely want to have something custom made for us.

Dear So and So is run by a designer called Alex who makes beautiful hand-illustrated invite sets. I'm in love with every single set and I think this might be exactly what we are looking for. They all seem really personal and really individual to lots of the invites on the market, even ones from so-called boutique companies.
The invite sets can be made to include table layouts and place names, so that you can have some consistency throughout the wedding. I love the bunting set!

I also found this amazing Etsy seller called Color Quarry who creates hand printed letterpress designs for all sorts of occasions. The one below is a birth announcement, but imagine it as a wedding invite. Incredibly detailed and beautiful.


There are so many options to choose from out there, it has left me feeling like I want to send a different invite to each of our guests. Now that would be a challenge. What are your thoughts? Something more classic, or are these quirky offerings something you'd consider?

P.s. Everything that will feature in The Hitched List will be chosen by me because I want it for my wedding and therefore is not sponsored. Just though you'd like to know!

P.p.s I'm off on holiday to St Ives in Cornwall for a week tomorrow morning at 7am (7 hour drive! Gah!) so will be back next Saturday. I have a scheduled post lined up, but in the mean time have a great week everyone!

Picture Theatre Thursday: The Fall

All screencaps taken from the amazing Fishstick Theatre

The Fall is a little known film with a huge colour palette and one of my all time favourite films. Essentially a fairy tale, it's grounded in a time of morphine addiction and silent film stars, with a beautiful little actress named Catinca Untaru and a very handsome leading man named Lee Pace.

In an sepia-toned hospital outside 1920's Los Angeles, a film stuntman makes a slow recovery after a misjudged leap. By chance, he meets a small girl with a broken arm, a fellow patient. Consumed by boredom, she visits him daily and whilst she sits at his bedside, he tells her a tale of fantastical adventure. The story, shown through her wonderful imagination, involves five varied heroes seeking revenge on an evil governor named Odious and their journey to find and kill him.

If I told you that a film only affects me if it makes me cry, would you think any less of me? I've been thinking about it recently, of all the films I have loved, the ones that made me cry are the ones I remember, that have stayed with me. The Fall is one of those loved ones, but it's also incredibly beautiful to look at. The colours are so vivid contrasted with the bleakness of the hospital and the situations of the main characters, which eventually merge with the characters in the adventure, are heartbreaking and lonely.

If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it. Although, I have a feeling it's one of those films that won't be for everyone. The fantasy element is on par with that of The Labyrinth and it's directed by Tarsem, who also directed an out-there film with J-Lo called The Cell. If you do get the chance to see it, please do, and report back to me pronto!

A mini-plea: vote for me!

Image credit: Shepard Fairey

If you read my last post about the Style Passport competition, then you'll know I've entered a little contest to win a lovely Anya Hindmarch purse.

The voting has just gone live and I would be so grateful for thirty seconds of your time, you don't have to enter any of your details so it couldn't be simpler!

You can read my amazing, totally vote-worthy (ha!) entry here and the link to vote for me is here.

Big love in advance chapettes!

Don't forget your passport!

Style Passport recently invited me to take part in a competition they are having to promote their current accessories range. The task? Pick my favourite piece, write about how I'd wear it and let readers of the SP blog vote to decide who gets to win their chosen item.

I decided to go for a classic black embossed Anya Hindmarch wallet and instead of 'how I'd wear it', here's my fantasy take on the bloggers favourite, 'What's in my bag' post:

Black leather embossed wallet: Anya Hindmarch at Style Passport
Diary: Smythson
Market bag: Anya Hindmarch
Paul & Joe Lipstick in Dame
Rocking Horse keyring: See by Chloe
Camera: Leica
Notebook: Laduree

The competition entries will soon be up on the SP blog and I'll link to it from here when it goes live. I've never taken part in one of these vote-type competitions, but I'd love to own such a beautiful piece so your vote would be very appreciated if you think I deserve to win!

Holiday Inventory

I've started compliling my holiday wardrobe this week, with a couple of sneaky seasonal sale purchases online, but I must say, I am struggling. When I prep for going on holiday, I always have this fantasy of wearing a perfect outfit everyday, something that will look classic in the photos and the provision of which would allow me an extended period of holiday hysteria. It has something to do with being in a different country, so far away from my usual drab self and my same-old, same-old wardrobe choices. For two weeks, I can be bright and shiny and new.

The likelihood of me organising and packing at least 14 premeditated sets of clothing, however, with extra shoes and accessories, is approximately zero percent. Factor in the warning I've been issued about the size of my suitcase (as in, 'please remember there are also 3 other people who need space in the car to breath') and this daydream of mine is looking less and less likely.

With this the situation, surely a suitcase of seven standout outfits is feasible? So far, in my excitable mind's eye, this is what the first two to look like. Espadrilles, check. Denim pinnafore, check. Jade-green wedges and an imperial yellow shift dress? Already added to my pre-holiday birthday list, thank you very much.

T-shirt: Topshop

Pinnafore: Topshop

Earrings: Miss Selfridge

Bag: Topshop

Espadrilles: Le Temps des Cerises at Spartoo

Yellow imperial print dress: Topshop
Jade green wedges: ASOS
Oriental clutch: ASOS

On finding treasure

If you're a long-time reader, you'll already know I turn into a gruesome fiend when it comes to a rifle in a charity shop bargain bin. The only thing that makes me happier than finding some obscure, ugly or rare piece of tat is finding something which is not what it seems. Something which has a secret, something hidden.

One silent treasure presented itself to me in the lowly plastic £1 SUPER SALE! bucket at my local Marie Stopes. It was one of those days, after work, where I just wanted to buy something. Anything would have done, but I spied a few frames for one pound each and decided frames were at least a practical object to buy in my moment of reckless second-hand abandon.

When I got home I inspected the empty frame more closely. I liked it tarnished, but I was curious. I proceeded to cover it in toothpaste and scrub vigorously with an old toothbrush (works wonders by the way).
As you can see, if you aren't too distracted by my dirty window panes, it came up gleaming. See below for some before/after pictures.


And then I got another little surprise...




After washing away the dirt, I spotted a neat little row of hallmarks on one side (see main pic above top). I did a little digging online and discovered (using handy little guide jpegs like the ones above) that it is a silver Hasset & Harper Ltd frame from 1921. It probably isn't worth much, but such a lovely little surprise to find on a Thursday afternoon. It now sits proudly on my shelves housing a picture of my Nana.

Another frame and a pair of wonderfully gaudy Versace sunglasses also ended up in my bag that day, £1 and £3.50 respectively. The frame, with a water-coloured mount and a photo of a woman reading is a very curious thing indeed, the only clue being a possible name Tine Stuurman and two words that look Greek or cyrillic written in ink on the back. I like it immensely though. Not treasure, but nearly.

Instagram Fan

L-R: Ed and an eagle owl, bobby the donkey, lady playing ditties outside Liverpool Street station, pygmy goat, sleepy Ed, leopard legs, walk to work past the British Museum, black lace, Primrose Hill at sunset, Ellen smoking.

I have a new favourite iPhone app: Instagram. People have been raving about this for months, but I'm a bit slow on the old 'wagon as usual. It's a little bit genius and highly addictive. I'll probably do a little post like this every week, as a mini-photo diary. I love not having to lug my SLR everywhere with me and yet can still catch random moments on digi-film. My name on Instagram is ellietweeter so come and follow me if you have the app!

Saturday Treats

Strawberry tea. Marshmallows. Pastel Eggs. Galettes

Because I fancied sharing what random food oddities I bought today. Do you ever do that? Wander aimlessly around the supermarket placing whichever things catch your eye into your basket? That's what I did this morning. Not much of a meal I'll admit, but it made a nice afternoon treat after an early morning screening of Harry Potter. I sobbed like a child and this went some way to cheering me up!

Project Take 10: Stolen Thunder

Stolen Thunder, if you don't know already, make beautiful wooden jewellery in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The motifs are vintage and childhood-inspired: Russian dolls, owls, bunnies and deer are just a few examples.

They have been lovely enough to donate 10 of their handmade heart necklaces to the Take 10 project for us to have a play with and style up and I chose the Floozy slogan, because I'm a total floozy Suzy and all that.

With a Dorothy Perkins lace dress, ASOS crochet collar and thrifted sandals, this is actually what I wore for my Zoo date last week. No one particularly 'styles' a necklace when they put one on, it's usually the other way round- you wear jewellery to style an outfit. I often think about what I'm wearing and choose a piece of jewellery to suit, so for this outfit this uncluttered, simple necklace was perfect to accompany the flouncy lace and crochet frills.

I love what the other girls have done, MJ attached it to a bracelet and Susie made it into a bag charm! Genius. Take a look at all the others here:

1. MJ from Dreaming Spires
2. Sherin from HiFashion
3. Paula from Pink Bow
4. Me!
5. Jen from A Little Bird Told Me
6. Harriet from Where is Harriet?
7. Sabine from Psynopsis
8. Susie from Take Out in Couture
9. Sarah from We Shop Therefore We Are
10. Vicki from Magpie Girl

Pssst! Their kindness also extends to everyone reading as they've offered 15% off all orders with the code TAKETEN entered at checkout.