Special Things ...

Stuart and I insisted on a 'no wedding list' gift policy for our wedding ... we've both been married before, own a home together and to be honest, there are only so many toasters a couple need!  We wanted our wedding day to simply be a day for our families to share and enjoy, so were completely unprepared for the lovely cards and gifts we received.  Several family members spent many hours labouring over hand made gifts, so I'd like to share those here with you today ...

For me, the surprises began as I was dressing on the morning of my wedding day.  My daughter popped into my bedroom to present me with a beautiful silver and amber bracelet, created in our Autumn wedding colours.  Such a precious gesture from my very precious daughter.  I wore it to take my vows and will treasure it always.

Later that day, we were further overwhelmed by the warmth and generosity of our families and needless to say, many special tears and hugs were shared ...

My lovely niece Kerri, who travelled all the way from Hampshire to share our day, has recently been teaching herself to knit and she completely bowled us over by knitting 'Mr & Mrs' Bear' and presenting them to us in a beautiful 'Special Things' box!

This fabulous contemporary 'From this day forward' freestyle embroidery sampler, was created by my son's talented girlfriend, who has been learning how to master a sewing machine for the first time this year.  Such a thoughtful gift, thank you so much Hannah ... my son is a very lucky boy! This now takes pride of place on our dining room wall.

And unbeknownst to me, my sister Lynda had been busy embroidering by hand for many months, to create this amazing traditional wedding sampler in celebration of our special day.  It's absolutely stunning and now hangs proudly in our living room.

Not only is Lyn an amazing embroiderer, she also makes her own cards and gift tags ... there really is no end to her talents!!!!

Lyn has been passing on her talents to my mother, inspiring Mum to make her very first  hand made card in honour of our wedding (on the left) ... my youngest sister Laura also made us a very pretty card (on the right) and we were delighted to receive a hand made card from Simon's mum too!  It seems card making is very popular and I must admit, I'm dying to try it myself now!!!

Several of my nieces were eager to join in the card-making creativity and they too created gorgeous wedding cards for us!

We are so grateful to our nearest and dearest for sharing their time, creativity and above all, their love with us.  

We feel very lucky indeed to have such a wonderful family xxx