A very sweet friend of mine kindly let me into a little secret last week. 

Her friend is emigrating to Dubai shortly and was having a huge sale of her vintage furniture, crockery, glassware, linen and more, all in aid of Muscular Dystrophy. 

There is nothing better than the feeling of buying something lovely and doing a good deed! For less than the price of a takeaway on a Saturday night, I bought a mini collection in itself. 

I could have bought it all. All 10 plus glass cake stands, all the delicate serving plates and the hand embroidered table cloths. But the actual sale wasn't for a day, so it was only right to leave some pieces behind, for the sale goers on Saturday morning! 

Within 10 minutes I had snapped up a beautiful French pastel tea set for £3, a silver cake stand and silver three tier folding stand, a couple of china serving plates and 3 etched glass plates for £1 each, a blue and white embroidered tablecloth, 2 vintage aprons for 50p each, a blue footed glass bowl for £1 and a French green glass cake stand. 

I hope the sale went brilliantly on Saturday and they raised lots of money! 

Did you bag any bargains this weekend? We spent the most glorious weekend in Southbourne with my in laws. A picture perfect seaside adventure. They are moving to the area at the beginning of September from Surrey and we talked about all the furniture they won't be taking with them. New little project for me over the summer - painting their traditional cast iron patio furniture set pastel colours! I'll post some pictures from the weekend later this week, but this was one of my favourites. 

Doesn't the sunshine just make life feel nicer!  

I am so lucky to feature this week, one of my absolute favourite wedding bloggers!

Sonia the genius behind Want That Wedding very kindly agreed to let me share her incredible 1930's inspired wedding in Surrey, to help support The Wedding Wishing Well.

If you are new to these Wonderful Wedding Wednesday posts then let me explain. 

Every Wednesday I post about a wonderful wedding or wedding related feature. All to help raise awareness and hopefully much needed funds, for an incredible charity based in Taunton, close to where I live in Weston super Mare. 

The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation helps fund and organise special wedding days for terminally ill people and I hope that by featuring some of my friends, fellow bloggers and wonderful wedding suppliers, I can encourage my readers to help them in a very small, very valued way. 

All I ask is that if you enjoyed the post, donate just £1 to The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation.  Every penny and pound counts when it comes to weddings, so make it your good deed of the day! Donate HERE.

You can read about Sonia and Chris' love story here. 

Now let me show you their amazing wedding! Their day was captured by the talented Sergerius Bruce.

Sonia says "From the moment Chris and I laid eyes on Botleys Mansion in Ottershaw, Surrey we were enamoured… around the curving driveway loomed the most beautiful 18th century palladian mansion… We mounted the steps and entered through the impressive doorway into the grand reception room and felt like we had stepped straight into a Jane Austin novel. We fell in love. As we moved from room to room our breath was taken away with the grandiose surroundings and the impressive crystal chandeliers hanging from every ceiling.  I tried to hide my feelings after quite a few let downs but Chris looked like the proverbial cat who’d got the cream… this was it, the search was over… we’d found our venue"

Sonia fell in love with a Jenny Packham dress, whilst researching art deco inspired vintage dresses. Sonia accessorised with a Jenny Packham Acacia II headpiece, her earrings were delicate art deco style drops in thin rectangles and were chosen to compliment her art deco style emerald cut engagement ring.  

Jamie Aston suggested ragged tulips for Sonia's bouquet surrounded by ostrich feathers. A gorgeous piece of crystal embellished material held the bouquet together. Purple anemone were chosen for the bridesmaids flowers and they matched Chris’ button hole to the bridal bouquet.

Sonia describes the minutes before she entered the ceremony room, "Due to last minute prep I arrived 15 minutes late for the ceremony!! I was so nervous, my heart felt like it was going to pop and my throat was so dry I had to ask for water twice. My dad was incredibly emotional which still brings tears to my eyes and my bridesmaids felt even more nervous than me!"

Sonia explained the ceremony room as "so beautiful it needed little decoration, we hung simple bouquets from the chairs that framed the aisle.  At the front of the room was the most magnificent bloom of flowers. Jamie arranged hydrangeas, stocks and roses all in a beautiful translucent black vase."

It was so lovely to read that there wasn't a dry eye in the house when they said their vows. 

Their beautiful cake was a labour of love and Sonia retells the story, "Our beautiful art deco wedding cake was created and designed by Pat & Chas Castle.  Pat said the wedding cake was the most difficult she’s ever created! Serious concentration was required for the intricate detailing and a steady hand. It was totally worth it though Pat, the cake looked incredibly elegant. The cake topper was picked to compliment the understated design and is called Circle of Love. "

Sonia and Chris' first dance was to You Are The Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne – a song which holds a special place in their hearts. When they first started dating Chris recorded a compilation CD featuring this song and Sonia immediately fell in love with Ray’s incredibly soulful voice.  The words of this song resonate with the emotions of their relationship and what they mean to each other.

Thank you so much Sonia, for letting me share your wonderful wedding and for inspiring thousands upon thousands of others. In the words of Sonia.... keep wanting! 

There are lots of ways to be involved, please take a minute to check out the fundraising page on The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation website. You can also like them on Facebook and follow on Twitter too for the latest news.

You can follow Sonia on Twitter and Facebook and I strongly encourage you to follow her inspirational Pinterest boards. If I ever renew my vows this is where I shall be heading!

You can catch up on previous Wonderful Wedding Wednesday posts here, here, here and here. 

Next week I have a truly stunning bride to share with you, an old school friend whose photographs looked so much fun!

Happy Wednesday everyone. For those of you who don't know, every week I feature a wedding related post to support the incredible work of The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation.  

I have wonderful friends old and new, who have gladly shared their wedding photos to help inspire you all to donate £1 to help a couple who have applied to The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation for their help. 

The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation organises and funds weddings for terminally ill people - you can see some of the weddings they have lovingly coordinated here.   

This week I would like to introduce you to White Lace and Promises a local Weston super Mare bridal boutique and party company. One of Weston's premier wedding suppliers who have recently launched an in store and online party accessories range, My Lobster. 

 The White Lace and Promises team of Pinterest loving ladies have shared their top 10 tips for choosing your dream wedding dress. 

1. Allow plenty of time! It is not a myth when shops tell you that dresses can take months to arrive – they are made to order, so allow at least 6 months so you have time to order the dress you set your heart on! Designers have differing lead times and if you are working to very tight time scales that can mean missing our on some dresses completely! That way you also have time for any alterations.
2. Book an appointment! We like to give our brides our full attention and we can only ensure that, if you pre-book and we can make sure the kettle is boiled! But don’t book in at more than 2 or 3 shops, other wise ‘Bridal Blindness’ can take over, when you have just seen to many dresses and making a final choice can become a chore rather than an exciting milestone in your wedding planning.
3. Getting a second opinion from a family member or trusted friend is vital – but beware of bringing your whole bridal party to your appointment! The conflicting opinions can cloud your own judgement and on the day it is you wearing the dress and all your guests will see you as the beautiful bride you are (plus its nice to surprise your guests with your dress choice)!
4. This is a hard one – but try not to set your heart on a dress you have seen online – it may look very different in ‘real-life’
5. Try on at least 2-3 different styles of dress, for example you may love ‘fish tail’ style gowns from looking online, but it maybe that a full skirt looks simply amazing on you! You may decide lace is your must have material but make sure you try a satin gown for example to compare! Remember dresses look very different on the hanger!
6. Remember to listen to the advice your bridal consultant offers you – they know what they are talking about when it comes to body shape/changing shape etc. Ask questions if you have any – they should have a fountain of knowledge or know where to find out!
7. Think about where and when you are getting married – venue and weather can have a huge impact on the style of dress you go for.
8. Beware of buying online – many online companies use authentic images from designers but the dresses they send out are not what you would find from a reputable stockist. Often cheaply made and very poor imitations of the real thing, you can only be sure by buying from a shop who are stockist for that designer.
9. You are very lucky if your dress doesn’t need any alterations so make sure you find a competent seamstress who you are confident can work on your dress correctly. Most bridal shops will have or recommend a seamstress who works regularly on their dresses.
10. If budget is tight remember the ‘sale rails’ here at White Lace and Promises we have a fantastic selection of dresses which we can offer at an ‘off the rail’ price. Also there maybe dresses available in sample gown sales as well.

I oohed and aahed at their party range (snapped up a Ferris Wheel cupcake holder for Sammy's Circus Party) and adored all the little details you could add to your magical day. The My Lobster team's favourite items are the  monochrome range of wedding accessories and the candy buffet supplies. Pop in store if you can - there are so many sweet bits for all sorts of events.

Like all wonderful weddings, the special days The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation organises and funds, run into the thousands, so every penny or pound counts. Don't come back to this later, just click and donate your £1, it can be your good deed of the day! 

Click HERE to donate.

There are lots of ways to be involved, please take a minute to check out the fundraising page on The Wedding Wishing Well Foundation website. You can also like them on Facebook and follow on Twitter too for the latest news. 

I am super excited for next week as we will be heading back to the 1930's for an inspired wedding blogger's wedding!