Releasing sky lanterns is a tradition which originated in China almost two thousand years ago, first used as a means of communication.  Over time this tradition has evolved into way of celebration, at festivals and ceremonies.

Light a Lantern can supply your very own Sky Lanterns for your Wedding or Special Occasion.  They are made of non-flammable bio-degradeable paper and are safer than fireworks.  They can rise to heights of over 1,000 feet and travel for miles.  The result is one of the most magical and breathtaking sights you, your friends, family and guests will ever see.

What a fabulous idea for your Celebration.

I had a wonderful time in Suffolk with my family last weekend, in addition to the surprise of stumbling across Jimmy’s Farm.  On the Sunday we met up at Shotley Gate marina and enjoyed a traditional roast lunch in the Shipwreck.  We all dined at a long table which was dressed in white and was decorated with sparkling table confetti.

The Shipwreck’s surroundings is very interesting as it is situated adjacent to HMS Ganges, a Naval training base that unfortunately is no longer used but it thankfully houses a “listed” Mast so there is hope that one day the base will be rejuvinated.  The outlook from the Shipwreck is outstanding, as you can view both the large cargo ships that dock at Felixstowe but also the many ferries and cruiseliners that stop at Harwich.

I’ve included photos of both Chelmondiston church, where I was confirmed as a teenager and where my grandparents on my father’s side are buried and also Shotley church, which is where I attended Sunday school as a child and my grandparents on my mother’s side are buried.  My father spent a lot of time at Shotley church, helping to maintain it through the storms each winter.  He left my sister and I a little piece of history there too, so I always visit there when I’m down.

As part of my weekend to Suffolk we stumbled across a sign to Jimmy’s Farm, wondering if it was the Jimmy’s Farm off the TV.  It was.  We managed to spend a couple of hours there, visiting the range of:

• piglets
• cows
• ferrets
• chickens
• butterflies
• goats
• guinea pigs

I had a great time.  If you’re wondering what the connection is with Weddings or Special Occasions, well I found a traditional wooden barn at the back of the farm which had been decorated for a 40th Birthday Party from the night before.  A wonderful idea for those wishing a country barn dance.

I recently extended my business advertising, using Customer Street, which is an internet marketing package.  I now have a secondary website that browsers can view before they proceed to Sarah’s Creative Occasions’ main website.

The benefits of using Customer Street means that your company will be found on three of the UK’s largest online business directories:

• SmileLocal
• UFindUs
• MoreUK

Every day Customer Street’s established business directories and portals provide results for over half a million searches.

I introduced Perfect Match Designs some time ago on my News Blog, but I wanted to share an update with you as Christine has recently given her business a new look, including her Website so please do check it out as I love it, especially the colour scheme.

Perfect Match Designs’ most popular range is titled “Perfect Match Signature Designs” which is a traditional card with a printed insert.  There are hundreds of colours to pick from and they can be finished with Swarovski crystals or a hand tied bow of luxurious satin ribbon.

I’m heading off to my roots this weekend and travelling down to Suffolk to spend some time with my dad’s side of the family (the Everetts).  We are not so much celebrating an occasion, but it’s more of a farewell and goodluck to one of my cousins who is in the Navy and is shortly leaving for a period away from home.

I enjoy visiting home as it reminds me of my father, who sadly passed away when I was 17 years-old.  He was a well connected man back home and spent loads of time doing things for the community, and that’s in addition to his own business which often needed him to make repairs to the local churches.

On Sunday we have a lunch arranged at a venue adjacent to a marina, and we will all be catching up together, recollecting some old stories and having a bit of a laugh.  I can’t wait.  I’ll post some photos on my return.

I recently came in contact with Angela, who established Angelic Invites in Spring 2006 designing contemporary Wedding and Special Occasion stationery.

She has just launched a new design collection for 2009, including a unique Oriental Flourish range using either Japanese printed papers in ebony and gold, or single stemmed roses and thistles.

Her collection titled ”A Little Sparkle” uses ribbon threaded with letters and are set-off with crystals.

The “Heavenly Heart” designs are maded of sumptuous satin padded hearts complimented with swarovski gems.

Angela kindly sent me a selection of samples.  They are delicate and very pretty, and can be adapted to suit a colour scheme of your choice and customised in a variety of card types and sizes.

If you are interested in any of Angela’s designs, please do not hesitate to contact me to benefit from the discount she is offering me and my Clients. 

Scotland’s Exclusive Wedding Event will be taking place in less than 2 weeks time, on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st August at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.

Features of the event include:

• Stunning theatre style catwalk shows
• Host to the largest collection of live entertainment
• Hair and beauty demonstrations
• Display of unique designs never seen before!

Although I won’t be exhibiting, I will be there to network and meet a selection of new suppliers.

I thought it would be interesting to give you a little insight to how we created our display at this year’s Ayr Flower Show.  It’s taken almost 3 months to design, engage suppliers and pull together our Wedding and Special Occasion Planner exhibition.

My inspiration for our display actually came from an article in a wedding flowers magazine that had an image of a bride under a very contemporary minimalist arch of flowers and butterflies.  I fell in love with it and new that I wanted to incorporate something similar into my design, so immediately contacted one of my florists.

We then shopped around for staging materials, as I had a number of lovely items such as invitations, favours and keepsakes that I wanted to display.  The local stationery supplier suggested I should actually set-up a table setting within my display as she could provide me with a sample stationery set including a Wedding Invitation, Order of Service, Menu, Thankyou  and Place Card.

And finally we had to select a colour scheme to ensure we had a co-ordinated and striking display.  You will see from previous stories on our News Blog that I actually engaged family, friends and visitors to my Website, for their preferred choice of 3 colour scheme contenders.  There was an overiding winner, which was to use my business colours of sky blue and chocolate brown.

On the Thursday before the Show opened, we arrived just before 8am to await for the arrival of our background structure which was professionally erected in a couple of hours.  We were actually the first on-site in the Home and Garden Marquee, as eager as ever, not even the coffee stalls were open!  With the help of my florist to decorate the rose arch and my husband to carry all my boxes and materials from our cars, I had the display finished by late afternoon.

Back home that evening I then finalised the decoration to the last of my Gift Bags, and printed the remainder of my business materials.  The next morning we were up bright and early, and on-site by 8am to make the final preparations before the Show opened to the Patrons at 9am.  My florist had already been to add the single blooms of blue hydrangea to the rose arch, which needed to be added last to maintain their freshness over the 3-day Show.  My balloon supplier arrived to craft our 2 balloon decorations for the exhibit, which perfected the display and that was us, we were ready for the waiting public.

Following the success of our exhibition at the Ayr Flower Show last weekend, Sarah’s Creative Occasions will be featured in this week’s Ayrshire Post, which is on sale today.