Readers' Wedding: Laura and Dan

I haven't posted a reader's wedding for a while, but I couldn't resist this utterly beautiful one, especially as Laura hired out my own collection of vintage china (one of my first clients!). Textile designers Laura and Dan designed their own tablecloths and napkins, screen-printing them in their studio in Dalston, East London.

The creative couple decked out Ratsbury Barns in Kent with personal and original details, such as handmade paper-cut bunting, family photos strung up with pegs, wild flowers by Cafe des Fleurs and giant wooden initials. Laura's lace dress had a vintage feel but was actually by Australian designer Collette Dinnigan, and I love the vintage bridesmaid dresses too. The results are beautifully shot by photographers Tom & Lindsey Fallon.

Vintage and Handmade Fair

My favourite stand at the small but perfectly formed Vintage and Handmade Fair in Chipping Sodbury in the Cotswolds. Donna Flower is a brilliant collector of beautiful vintage fabrics for grown-ups and kids and her stand was so pretty -

Indian Summer

An al fresco breakfast at the Towpath cafe on London's Regent's Canal - a hole in the wall that has become a real gem for loyal regulars, cyclists and passers-by.  

An Alpine retreat

Just returned from a blissful holiday in the Alps, a perfect combination of fresh air, french food and mountain walks. We celebrated Milo’s six month birthday in possibly the most inaccessible restaurant I’ve ever been to - perched atop a mountain peak. The safest route involves clambering up a hillside to reach this little oasis of rustic charm - a wooden chalet and sunny terrace with views across the valley, plus traditional homecooking from the region (local ‘black’ tomato salad, creamy gratins, sausages and dumplings - not for the calorie-conscious).

Inside, La Ferme des Vonezins is like Hansel and Gretel’s house with cosy miniature dining rooms decorated with french antiques, pots and pans hanging from the ceiling, hand-painted pottery in wooden dressers and huge hams smoking in the chimney, and there are also two beautiful guest rooms. Outside, ingredients are grown in a cottage garden, and goats scamper about the place (and hide in baskets). It’s a little eccentric bit of paradise. 

Vintage in Bath

We took Milo (sporting his retro Cuba dungarees all the way from Havana) to visit his friend Bertie in beautiful Bath and took the opportunity to see the Fashion Museum's vintage wedding dress exhibition (while the boys and their Dads listened to cricket in the park).

There was plenty to love at the exhibition (on until January 2012) - from elaborate 19th Century gowns and demure 40s dresses to frothy 80s meringues and minimalist 90s pieces - it was just a shame they were all accessorised with some rather distracting 'contemporary' paper head dresses! My favourite was not actually a wedding dress, but a 17th Century robe made entirely from real silver thread - divine.