12 days of christmas: 4 colly birds

Please let me know if you’ve also lived your whole life until now thinking that it was ‘4 calling birds’ instead of ‘4 colly birds!’ For the fourth day of Christmas the true love actually gave four black birds to his lover. Who knew?! Apparently this is some mix up between the way that English used to be spoken in the 16th and 17th centuries and the way it is spoken now. In England a coal mine is often referred to as a colliery, or colly, thus the name for black birds.

A rustic black and white winter wedding is stark, yes, but strangely romantic. Top it off with a Guinness beer cake, black hair ribbons, and stylish bistro lights for an utterly unique wedding palette.

View all 12 Days of Christmas here!

photo credits: black balloon, black heart ring < available on Etsy, winter barn, black hair ribbon < via The Glitter Guide, cafe lights < from Stylishly Lived, Guinness beer cake < via Design Sponge.