Royal wedding with all the trimmings!

My husband Lee and I with our Union Jack chopping board!

It’s been almost a week since we all proudly hung our Union Jack bunting from the rooftops and toasted the Royal newlyweds as they started their journey in to married life. In lieu of any street parties in our area, Vintage Twee and family decided to host a little themed bash all of our own!

The day began in full swing at the hands of Mother Twee who decorated the front room with kitsch paper chains and newspaper photo’s of Wills and Kate. My husband and I, escaping London and it’s thousands of tourists, were pleasantly surprised to see that we could still be in the thick of it whilst safely 200 miles away from the bustling capital! Joined by the lovely Nia from Gallery6Studios, Joanne, Mum, my husband Lee and I, sat down to watch the most anticipated ceremony of this century.  I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous when I saw Kate step out of the car in her beautiful vintage inspired gown looking every inch the lacy princess. In fact, feeling like I had the rare opportunity to show my solidarity for other brides, I revived my own 7 month old veil and proudly perched it on my head for the entire ceremony! I was stopped short by my fellow revellers of wearing my actual wedding dress….

As anyone worth their salt knows, a natural part of any celebration is definitely the food served after. And Mother Twee didn’t let us down with  a Royal Buffett to be proud of! Complete with all the British favourites including HP sauce, cheese and pineapple cubes, home-made cupcakes (thank you Nia!) plus jelly and ice cream, the 5 of us really did indulge in the process of carrying your food around on a Union Jack paper plate. Joanne of course was on hand to provide the table decoration, whipping up some patriotic party picks which  no one wanted to throw away afterwards! Working carefully around all the Vintage Twee orders ready to be shipped out the following day, we enjoyed every mouthful of our British banquet and more than one or two top buttons were guiltily undone!

Take a look at our pictures which make me want to do it all over again! Prince Harry will be receiving a strictly worded letter urging him to pop the question very soon …

Vintage Twee themed party picks ruled the buffett!

Cupcakes and lovely-Ness!!

When you think of the Wirral, it probably doesn’t automatically conjure up images of idyllic flowered gardens, beautiful landscaping and lush lily ponds. However the award winning Botanical Ness Gardens defies anyone to not fall in love with this romantic and awe inspiring venue, proving that the perfect place to hold your wedding lies just around the corner..

Vintage Twee was recently invited to exhibit our items at the latest wedding fair alongside Roses Tea Rooms, a company whose original and top class wedding and tea party catering has earned them new premises on site at the lovely Ness Gardens. Starting the day with breath-taking views over the River Dee to the Welsh Mountains, Joanne got stuck in helping decorate the gorgeous Roses Tea Rooms cupcakes with Vintage Twee’s infamous Party Picks, ready to showcase to the public. From all accounts it was hard to resist the frosted treats with lemon, chocolate fudge and the more unusual but delicious beetroot and ginger varieties! All handmade by their extremely talented chef Raf, there was even homemade marshmallows and honeycomb…diet? What diet? Roses use all locally sourced ingredients and everything is made on site, fresh on the day of your wedding/event. Take a look at their mouth-watering website and you won’t fail to be impressed with the range of treats available.

Vintage Twee has been working with the lovely Roses Tea Rooms right from the very beginning, when they gave a “new starter” in the business (us!) the opportunity to be displayed at the events they catered for. An amazing working relationship has now bloomed and it was great to get the chance to work in person alongside Amy and Christina who were representing Roses at the fair. Good laughs were had by all and after consuming way too much sugar for a Sunday afternoon, Joanne and the girls crammed in to a photo booth on the stand next door for the obligatory photo! Provided by Cetra Studios, the booth can be hired out to capture your party guests in true photo-finish style with memories to keep for all!

Vintage Twee would just like to thank all the people involved including Jen, the wedding co-ordinator at Ness Gardens, as well as Amy and Christina from Roses Tea Rooms for making Joanne feel so welcome! A great day out mixed with delicious food, interesting people and gorgeous surroundings- hoping to book our space for next time already!!

Joanne, Amy Christina and Jen striking a pose!!

Sweet sensation for St Valentine

Ladies, it’s that time of year again when we succumb to the demands of commercialisation, renounce our feminist ways and resort to peeking behind the curtain as the postman arrives on Feb 14th just to see if he has anything in a red envelope. Yes, St Valentine’s day is once again upon us and try as we might, we just can’t help but gush over the deep red roses in shops and secretly hope our partners don’t take us seriously when we say “don’t get me anything…”

Vintage Twee decided to join in with the romance, after all, what better time of year to have an excuse to tell someone you love them in a unique and special way? Especially if it involves cupcakes…

Take a look at the new and specially designed best selling party picks, guaranteed to whet the appetite of your loved one or your wedding guests! Hand crafted in love themed colours since as ivory and pink or ivory and red, they have cute captions to include, “Love is Sweet”, “I Do” and “Eat Me”. Should you have a particular message for a particular person they can of course be custom made to suit!! So if you fancy spelling out your love in cupcakes (but without scrawling on the cakes with your less than professional icing bag), secure your bags of party picks today!

Now talking of all things sweet, coming soon are the new Sweetie Jar labels which are currently just available as custom orders. Ideal for popular candy tables and sweetie jar favours, they are the perfect accomplishment to your sweet treats and can be embellished with tea roses or pearl hearts to add the vintage touch. Email joanne@vintagetwee.com with your desired sweet labels to match whats in your jars!

Come and see for yourself the latest additions to the Vintage Twee collection at the following fairs this weekend! Meet Joanne and the beautiful creations that are taking the table décor world by storm!

Vintage and Craft Fair
Warrington Indoor Market
Saturday 12th February 10-4pm


Vintage Valentine Event
The Old School Rooms, Haworth, Yorkshire
Sunday 13th February 2011 10-4pm

Dracula Spectacular...

It’s never too early to start thinking of good reasons to have a party.. and with the outdoor season almost over, thoughts have turned to the spookiest excuse to have a get together! All Hallows Eve is only 8 weeks away and Vintage Twee have today launched the limited edition Halloween Party Picks. Inspired by all things vintage and gothic, the picks can be used to decorate and entertain your party food. Pop them in devilishly decadent cakes, gather them in ghoulish savouries or add a cherry on the end and drop them in to glasses of pumpkin punch!

As pictured, popular choices are the “Devour Me” and “Bite Me” picks, each on a red background with a black bow. Displayed here on Victorian lace, inherited from a very generous Vintage Twee supplier, they add a touch of glamour and boudoir to your party. Choose your own words and colours and be as dramatic as you like! Tailor them to guests names or keep it traditional with as many spooky references as you can think of!

At just £3.00 for a pack of 8, they are the perfect way to get your guests talking! And with the new found craze for the “Twilight” saga, theme your party to something vampire-ish and find yourself inundated with RSVP’s!

Contact Joanne for your custom made orders and remember, all good things must come to an end..! (just not a sticky one..)

"I Do" love a cupcake...

Firstly, we’d like to apologise for the lack of blogs over the last ten days! Things really have been incredibly busy and despite wanting to write up every single event the days keep ticking by in a blur of tea, cakes, weddings and parties! Ok, that doesn’t sound so awful…

Although Joanne has been crafting away dispatching orders to lovely brides across the world, she has still found the time to design a fantastically simple and effective take on the popular Party Pick! A great idea for brides looking for something to make the guests smile, the original Party Pick has been altered to show how versatile and fun they can be. Pictured are the “I Do” Cupcake Sticks, ideal for popping in to your cakes and other sweet treats. We can imagine how stunning they would look if you were having individual cupcakes for your wedding cake and are something the guests can remove and take home to remember your special day. Of course, as with the majority of Vintage Twee’s products, they can be customised to match your colour theme and have the wording of your choice. So whether your wedding is classic vintage buttercream and dusky pink or modern, bright fuchsia and turquoise, the Cupcake Sticks can be made to complement your colour scheme perfectly. Adding the cute embellishments just finishes them beautifully and will ensure the transformation of your cake stand, buffet or tables!

Priced at just £3.00 for a pack of 8, what are you waiting for?! Check them out in more detail on Vintage Twee’s Etsy shop http://www.vintagetwee.etsy.com/ and don't forget to message Joanne if you have any requests!! joanne@vintagetwee.com

Remember the 1940's with Meltham..

If you love all things nostalgic and beautiful just like us Vintage Twee girls, then you can’t afford to miss the fantastic “Meltham Memories” 1940’s event this weekend, Sat 17th and Sun 18th July at Meltham, Huddersfield. Situated in the historical county of Yorkshire, this incredible event will have you blinking back 70 years in a heartbeat. Think vintage vehicles, parades, performers, dancing and a huge sense of community spirit. This year they also have a vintage fair in the Town Hall, selling all manner of hats, shoes, uniforms and jewellery. And guess what….? In the Vintage Tea Room you’ll find Joanne, displaying and selling the latest and greatest products from Vintage Twee! This includes our current top selling item, the cute and unique Party Picks! From 10am-4pm, come along and we’ll raise a mug to the live music from up and coming star Natasha Harper, daughter of the famous Paul Harper. If some reason none of the above convinced you to swing by, then how about getting your hair and make up done vintage style? Bethany Davies will be on hand to give you that 40’s starlet look and in case you want to remember it forever, there will be a professional photographer present so you can get your portrait done!

Picture courtesy of Haworth Vintage Fairs
http://www.haworthvintagefairs.co.uk/

Almost time to go, but if you haven’t yet ordered your copy of Vintage Life.. don’t delay! We received our copies yesterday, turned straight to page 44 and there we are! The column looks great, big thank you to Vintage Life Magazine for the opportunity.