Wedding Inspirations - Floral Crowns

Floral crowns are becoming a huge trend for weddings - worn by Brides, Bridesmaids and flowers girls either as a statement piece or something more delicate. Reminiscent of the 1970's and also Boho looks, and Claire Pettibone's wedding dress collections' saw models wearing floral crowns - what better influence?! We love floral crowns - they seem to evoke a beautiful, whimsical vibe with a vintage edge. We have put together some inspirations for both looks - a more statement piece with larger blooms and then smaller, more intricate crowns as both jewellery or real flowers - take your 'pick'...

Credits { from left to right }

Top row / Unknown via Pinterest / Just For You / James Frost

Second row / Unknown via Pinterest / Sarah Gawler / Sarah Christensen Photo

Third row / Garden of Whimsy / Elizabeth Messina / Justin Demutiis Photography

Bottom row / Twigs & Honey / via Pinterest / via Tumblr

See more of our Wedding Inspirations { here }

Bachelor Party Inspirations - Mad Men

As you may know, we now include ideas and inspirations for Grooms too - James is of course the mastermind behind this and we are very excited to share with you our ideas for bachelor parties, Groomsmen gifts, what to wear and more!

Today we are delighted to share with you our Mad Men inspired bachelor party concept - complete with cocktails, clothing and retro influences...

> Retro cocktails such as the Mint Julep - served in retro glasses of course

> Fedora hats, pocket handkerchiefs, slick hair styles and stylish retro geek-chic glasses

> Retro recipes of the day { Trudy's Rib Eye in the pan inspired from an episode of the show }
> A masculine colour palette of darker colours - deep greys, rich browns, navy blue...

Credits { from left to right }
Top row / Unknown via Pinterest / Cooking Channel Tv / Jezebel
Middle row / Burberry / n.b. / Banana Republic
Bottom row / Banana Republic / Joe Scalo / Cooking Channel Tv

See more of our Groom related inspirations { here }

Branding & Graphic Design Tips - Good Design Vs Bad Design

To the left is a design by ourselves and it was part of one of our design concepts and mood boards. Opposite is an example of the dreaded DIY design. If all our mood boards looked like this we wouldn't have any readers, fans or clients! We wouldn't inspire anyone and we definitely would not sell ourselves.

Ask yourself -

Which would attract you more? { Will your company lose out to competitors with better design }
Which would you rather read? { Can you attract more clients with better design }
Which would you trust more? { Will a client hire you if your look unprofessional }
Which would you hire? { Will you lose clients because your brand looks messy }

Professional design and photography can sell you, your company and brand. Unprofessional design can do the opposite, damaging your brand and lose you sales. Here we showed drastic differences between DIY design and hiring a Graphic Designer. It is the same wording but look at the sheer difference that can be achieved by using a professional designer and professional images!

The lesson today is to never underestimate the value of great graphic design!

You can see more of our Graphic Design & Branding Tips { here }

Bridal Shower Inspirations - Industrial Chic - Get the Look

Our latest ideas for a perfectly stylish Bridal Shower resulted in our inspiration board with an industrial chic concept. This has been really popular already! { See it here } We have found some perfect looks for the party for both the bride-to-be and also her guests - we always think it's nice to get people involved with your event style by wearing something which compliments it. It also looks superb on the photographs!

The Bride-to-be's outfit is this stunning silk maxi dress from Ted Baker, embellished with oversized (huge) silver sequins. Here are the rest of our ideas for what to wear to our industrial chic bridal shower and below you'll also find the mood board for the party too...

> Keeping looks modern and sophisticated.

> The new Jimmy Choo Anouk heels in black suede and silver degrade are perfect for this party!
> Mixing cool greys and blues with rich black and navy.

Credits { from left to right }

Top row / Ted Baker / Michael Kors / Karen Millen / Coast /

Middle row / Ann Demeulemeester  / Dorothy Perkins / Topshop /

Bottom row / Oasis / Nicholas Kirkwood / Jimmy Choo /

You can see the full post, credits and ideas for styling your event like this by visiting { here }

See more of our Bridal Shower ideas { here }

Bridal Shower Inspirations - Industrial Chic

We are excited to show you our latest mood board and inspirations with our Industrial chic bridal shower concept! It has a cool colour palette of greys, blues and metallics, an urban vibe mixed with chic details, metal mixed with sequins and even some macarons...

> Cool blue macarons dusted with hints of metallics such as silver, gold, bronze and copper

> Using materials such as enamel, metal and wood in a distressed condition to add that industrial edge

> Metal initials and lights to create features within the party decor
> Use or make pieces of concrete to stand / display things on for centerpieces & desserts
> Sequins in metallic colours such as silver, copper, bronze and gold

Don't miss our follow up feature about what to wear to this industrial chic bridal shower!

Credits { from left to right }

Top row / via Pinterest / Shades of Light / via Pinterest
Middle row / Whitewall Photography / The Letter Room / LA Sweets /
Bottom row / via Lover.ly / Studio Impressions Photography / Vintage Marquee Lights /

To see more of our Bridal Shower Inspirations go { here }

Branding & Graphic Design Tips - Dress Your Brand

We loved that Kat Williams of the renowned Rock n Roll Bride blog writes about the importance of your brand image as part of The Green Room section of her blog. It is definitely worth a read! Whether your brand is a your blog, you are a wedding photographer, event designer or own a boutique - you need your brand image to attract clients and also keep them. We will be discussing essential tips for branding and graphic design over the next few months here on Itty Bitty & Bijou.

We, like Kat, recommend hiring a Graphic Designer to complete any design work you need for your company. Graphic Designers of course know how to create a stunning brand image for yourself using images and fantastic fonts which will look beautiful, attractive and professional. As much fun as it may
be to play with it yourself, you are missing out on the value that a Graphic Designer will bring to your company.

You would dress your best when meeting your clients wouldn't you? Do the same for your brand.

For information & a price list of our own Graphic Design & Branding services email us at ittybittybijou{at}googlemail{dot}com 

You will soon be able to find a selection of our Graphic Design
& Branding items and services available within our Etsy shop too!

Party Inspirations - A Neon Pink Party

For today's party ideas we created the concept 'Neon Pink Party' which could easily be applied to Bridal Showers, Baby Showers, Birthday Parties, Garden Parties or even just a gathering with the girls! From neon pink dipped roses and pink macarons with a dusting of glittery gold, to your guests attire with
hints of pink too. Get your neon on!

> White roses with a hit of neon by spraying them at the tip

> Pink Macarons with gold stripes
> Fabric garlands with the full colour palette in and of course neon pink
> Hints of gold glitter from the macarons to decor items and what to wear
> Get guests to join in with the theme by wearing either a hint of pink of perhaps more!

Credits { from left to right }

Top row / Graeme Sharkey for Ruby Mae Designs / via Annie Girl / / Travis Hodges for Gypsy Luster
Middle row / Miss Renaissance / via The Brides Cafe / via Rock'n'Roll Bride
Bottom row / via Rock'n'Roll Bride / via Pinterest / Style Life Home /