Flowers

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Vashti Cassinelli Flower Couture

November 24, 2010 in Styled Photo Shoots by Kat | 8 comments

Flower Couture is the perfect way to describe these awesome creations by Bristol based florist Vashti Cassinelli. The brainchild of the super creative lady, who has previously launched the successful Belle & Fifi Flowers, her couture range really pushes the boundaries of what can be created with blooms!

“I guess my ‘flower couture’ business came about from my desire to push floristry to the limits and test my own creativity and skills,” Vashti told me. ”I love flowers and love placing them into new contexts. As I have a strong love of fashion, flower couture seemed a fun and exciting venture. The response so far has been amazing. I am still dedicated to sourcing as ethically as possible with both businesses. This has always been important to me.”

“The Chelsea Flower Show sponsors this year commissioned me to design and make a dress out of English roses and lavender to promote Gold medal winner, Roger Plait’s garden. Since then I have been taking commissions for one off bespoke pieces for weddings and parties. Of course the flowers do not last; but for me that is all part of their beauty! My work is cinderella-esque and ephemeral. My designs are like pieces of wearable art, designed to last for the duration of an event before their beauty fades. I am quite a romantic!”

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Tags: Bristol, Flowers, Vendors

Emma & Matt’s Detail-Perfect BBQ Wedding

November 3, 2010 in British Brides, Wedding by Kat | 10 comments

It’s the little details that excite me, details like all that attention and love put into Emma & Matt’s Rock n Roll Wedding. The couple, who found their photographer Caro Hutchings through a feature on Rock n Roll Bride, got married St Mary’s Church in Yorkshire. After the ceremony, the whole party boarded a vintage double decker bus which took them to the reception, held at The Blue Lion, East Witton.

“We got married a year to the day of our engagement,” the bride told me. ”We’re both known for being nerdy, creative and a tiny bit clothes obsessed so we were never going to have a typical wedding. When it came to thinking of a “theme” we came to the conclusion that it wasn’t going to have to be whatever we and everyone else wants! We also wanted a day that showed everybody just how much we love each other. We haven’t been together as long as a lot of couples, but from the day we “accidentally” got together on a work night out, we’ve both known its for good. Our guests have seen us grow up, enjoy life, but ever single person there agreed that neither of us have been so happy as we are together.”

“Rock n Roll Bride was a HUUUUUGE inspiration for the day – it made us realise that we could have everything we wanted without upsetting our parents, who were secretly longing for a traditional wedding day. Nobody had to compromise on anything, the day was so laid back, so cool, so us.”

The reception consisted of a casual BBQ and an awesome band playing into the night! ”The BBQ meant that the guests could roam around and take in the beautiful surroundings at The Blue Lion,” Emma continued. We’re both very impatient (not to mention greedy!) so it was an inspired choice! Music is so important to both of us, so finding The Moobs was a stroke of extreme Rock n Roll luck – The dance floor was packed for every single dance. The coolest thing about the wedding for both of us was that we spent it with the people we love, the rehearsal the night before consisted of the, people we couldn’t live without. People we couldn’t live without and a great deal of tears!”

The cupcakes were made by the Mother of the bride, the flowers were all arranged by the Mother of the groom and the bridesmaids were all asked to find and style their own outfits, making the whole day a really group effort. The marquee decor was created by the bride, the Mother of the bride, the maid of honour and the Mother of the groom. “We spend the year leading up to the wedding going in every charity shop we knew, to source tons of broken and mismatched tea sets. These were filled with candles and sweeties and joined on the tables by birdcages and various other bits of kitsch. As it got dark, the roof was lit up like a night sky and the trees outside were twinkling with fairy lights” Emma reminisced.

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Tags: British, Cupcakes, DIY, england, Fairy Lights, Flowers, UK, Vivienne Westwood

Sophie & Barney’s Silly & Fun, Vintage & Rock n Roll North London Wedding

October 29, 2010 in British Brides, Wedding by Kat | 36 comments

I sneak peeked Sophie & Barney’s wedding on Twitter and Facebook as soon as their photographer Lisa Devlin emailed me to ask if I wanted to blog them – hello!? Look at these two…Like she even had to ask!!

The best bit though? Sophie & Barney found Lisa via Rock n Roll Bride – I love love love featuring the weddings of bona fide Rock n Roll Bride readers! Oh I can hardly contain my excitement over this one…

“We did everything we wanted do and didn’t care if anyone else thought it was right,” the couple explained. ”We put together all of our loves and didn’t worry about a colour scheme or any thing particularly weddingy, we love autumn and Halloween and London and glamour and silliness and fur and penguin books and skulls so we chucked them all in. Is that Rock n Roll??!”

Simple answer – yes!

Sophie looked every bit the Rock n Roll princess in a genuine vintage dress which she bought from My Sugarland in North London. “It was the first and only dress I tried on,” said Sophie “and its beyond special having been a museum piece and nearly 100 years old! It was covered in mould and little rips, I owe Zoe at My Sugarland a massive thank you because she helped my Dad see beyond the grubbiness of it and talked him into buying it for me! She also passed me on to the wonderfully stern but kind Jacqueline Byrne who used to be a seamstress for the Queen no less (!) who tidied the dress up perfectly, even recovering all the buttons on the sleeves.” With her perfect dress, Sophie wore a custom made headdress from Lilly Lewis which she customized with a brooch belonging to her Mother. She also also wore her Mother’s silver fox fur jacket which was a gift from her Dad on the day she was born!

On the morning of the wedding, Barney surprised his bride with a Vivienne Westwood handbag as a wedding present (my kind of guy - Gareth take note!) Sophie told me she almost walked down the aisle with her flowers in it but her Mother said no! hehe (ps best photo ever! Reminds me of some photos Lisa took of me when we met up…)

Sophie dressed her bridesmaids in different high street and vintage dresses to keep in with the laid back vibe. Vintage touches were added with their accessories, including an amazing 20′s pearl collar necklace and brooches from different decades collected by the bride ever since she got engaged. She also collected antique lace and made hairbands for them all.

The couple saved money by decorating the venue themselves. The collected 115 old penguin books from charity shops and Sophie’s Mum covered them. A lot of work but totally worth the effort – they look fantastic dotted around the venue don’t they? Before the wedding both Barney & Sophie went down to a local market and bought pumpkins and pomegranates to decorate the venue with. Everyone they know had also been collecting glass jars for the humbugs that we covered with black lace and put on the table. They also screen-printed the cameos to put on the back of the chairs. Originally Sophie had planned to not have any flowers at all, but at the last minute she feel in love with some “mouldy looking bruised roses” and her Mum bought them for her and made them into her bouquet. The finishing touch to the decor really is the incredible ‘Til Death Do Us Part’ cake by Brighton based Choccywoccydodah. Magnifique!

Music was a big part of this couple’s day with a number of entertainers lined up for the evening reception, “It was started by the wonderful Ellen playing tunes from the 30′s-60′s. Honky Sausage, a fantastic Ska and Swing covers band that do the most original sausage based meat raffle in the world! Next came the Fantastic Ryan Knowles with some dancey beats, followed by the effervescent Miss Sami Fitz who closed the party with some absolute classic party tunes!” the couple explained.

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Tags: British, Cake, Centrepieces, DIY, Flowers, London, Music, Skulls, UK, Vintage, Vivienne Westwood

Julie & Chris Sweet ‘n Simple Philadelphia Wedding

October 15, 2010 in Wedding by Kat | 5 comments

Julie & Chris got married on a hot and sunny rooftop in Philadelphia city centre. They handed their guests colourful parasols to keep them cool which they got from their local Chinatown. Following their intimate ceremony they hired out the second floor of their favourite restaurant Noble which they decorated with DIY flower arrangements, sweet treats and vintage style postcards.

The bride wore Dolce & Gabbana and the Groom looks dapper in DKNY. “In general, we wanted to keep the wedding simple and memorable,” Julie explained. ”Great food, plentiful booze, and our closest friends there to bear witness. We had thirty guests total.”

“We hired a fantastic guitar player to perform our favorite songs at the ceremony–I walked down the aisle to “I Summon You” by Spoon and afterward it was a great mix of White Stripes, Vampire Weekend, and Arcade Fire as we enjoyed a champagne toast. We had our friend and brother-in-law Richard ordained to perform the ceremony–he was fantastic. I decided against bridesmaids, but had my sisters read poems by Ogden Nash throughout the ceremony. The groom’s father held our rings.”

“The next morning, we attached our “Just Married” sign to our car and headed off to Lake Placid NY for a quick honeymoon. We had a beautiful time.”

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Tags: DIY, Flowers, parasols, Philadelphia, Short dress

Veronika & Bryan’s Thrifty & DIY, Philly Wedding

October 1, 2010 in Wedding by Kat | 8 comments

You guys seem to never get sick of a fabulously creative DIY wedding and neither do I. That’s why I can’t help but keep featuring them! You know what though? Veronika & Bryan’s Philadelphia wedding may be one of my favourites yet. SO MUCH thought and ideas went into this day, and doesn’t it show?

“Almost everything for the wedding was DIY,” the bride began. ”All of the paper goods (menus, favor tags, drink dispenser tags, program fans, guest book table instructions, sparkler wrappers) were all designed and printed in my home. Bryan made all of the drink concentrates (grapefruit-mint and blackberry) and peach iced tea. With the help of two friends, I cut, ironed, sewed and Goccoed 100 napkins. The 250 cocktail napkins were also Goccoed with the same heart that we used on the dinner napkins. I collected vintage frames to use for the table numbers, and using chalkboard paint, made the backs into chalkboards. The bridesmaids hair flowers were made by a friend, as was my garter. Bryan constructed the entire bar (and I sewed the bunting!) and arch that we stood under during the ceremony.”

“We also made the photo booth backdrop, and used our own cameras, lighting equipment, and computers. We made the cake-stands out of milk glass plates and candle holders, as well as wood plaques and branches. With the help of my mother and grandmother and friend, I collected over 300 doilies and sewed them together to make the runners. They were starched and ironed a couple of days before the wedding. All of the jars for the flowers, the typewriter, milk glass and birdcages, were found by me through Craigslist, flea-markets, and countless hours of searching thrift stores. I also found the various tables that we used for cupcakes and the ceremony at thrift stores and flea markets, antiquing them to better fit the feel of the wedding.”

“The lights for the reception were hung by my stepfather, Bryan, and the groomsmen. Another groomsmen, a recording engineer, did all of the sound and djing for the wedding. Another friend made us our wedding website. One of my best friends is an extremely talented graphic designer, and helped us out a ton – with the programs, the menus, and the design for the pint-glass favors, especially. We were very, very lucky to have such a supportive (and talented!) group of friends and family to help us execute so many projects. It would not have happened without them. It was a crazy year (and particularly crazy 2 weeks leading up to the wedding), but it felt very special to see all of the hard work that everyone had put into the wedding”