Photography: Devlin Photos
I’m not a blabber mouth or in anyway malicious about it, but I’m not really the best girl to call up if you have a piece of seriously juicy gossip that can’t go any further. I literally can’t keep those kinds of things myself…! So as you can imagine, it’s been really bloody difficult to keep this latest project a secret from you all. I have been literally bursting to tell you what I’ve been up to.
But – hurrah! – the time is nearly here to let the cat completely out of the bag. On Monday morning I’ll be sharing what I’ve been plotting, planning and designing (!!) as well as letting you know how you can get your mitts on them. The photo above will probably give you a big stinking clue though. OMG I’m soooo excited to finally show you. EEEEK!
Weddings & Weddingy Things
♥ Totally obsessed with the wedding day portraits of Emma from A Beautiful Mess
♥ Let them eat donuts… yes please!
♥ Railroad museum wedding
♥ Adorable summer camp wedding
♥ Colourful glitter unicorn wedding (& part two) – WHAAAT!?! THIS WEDDING WINS EVERYTHING.
Photography: Kelly Braman Photography
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Rob and Diana chose the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs to host their wedding back in March. Their day was simple and elegant but with an added dash of sparkle! “Our wedding had a desert chic theme!” wrote the bride. “The otherworldly modern feel of the natural desert offset by a palette of mixed metallics. We did a lot of DIY. I had a serious staff of dedicated friends – we crafted every weekend for four months! I even flew my future mother-in-law out from New York to help – she had great handwriting for all the personalized gift bags from her days teaching kindergarten. Don’t be afraid if you don’t know exactly what its going to look like when you are done, if you can dream it do it!”
“We made everything very personal – from integrating graphic design from my mom to having our friends help design the altar and flowers and do the DJing. Let’s just say any wedding that requires a roll of chicken wire, eight cans of spray paint, a mosh pit, and my father-in-law dropping it to Wu Tang Clan is not the norm. It was what we know of the music scene we grew up in: community, loyalty, and never taking ourselves too seriously.”
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It’s not something we ever want to think about, but the likelihood is that everything won’t go perfectly to plan on your wedding day. A couple of weeks ago I actually asked via my Facebook page if anyone had anything go wrong and I was blown away by the response. I even had people emailing me separately to tell me their stories of woe! While I was at first a little nervous that all those comments would be scaring the bejebus out of you brides-to-be, I think it is important to realise that while things may not always go to plan, it will all be OK in the end. Whatever happens your wedding will still be awesome. Pinky swear.
Some of these hiccups will be minor, others could be quite major, but instead of trying to second-guess the future and stressing yourself out about it, here are five tips on how to handle anything that might go a little pear shaped.
1. Accept that things might go wrong… and be OK with it
If I learnt anything from reading all those Facebook comments it was that more often than not something does goes wrong. Accepting that fact and being OK with it is ultimately going to be a lot less stressful than worrying about something you can’t control the whole time. Realise that for most people (well, maybe except Bridezillas but I haven’t got any of those reading my blog do I?!) it’s the little hiccups actually end up making for a great story after the wedding.
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Maud and Robert’s wedding was full on Rock n Roll. This Dutch couple went for a classic combo of red and white with a few touches of orange. Most of their guests even showed up wearing same colours! “For over a year I browsed Rock n Roll Bride for inspiration and was SO inspired by the lovely 50s and vintage and pin-up weddings”, Maud explained. “All our friends and family expected something different for our wedding. They just knew it wouldn’t be traditional or ‘ordinary’. A typical Dutch wedding means a strapless long dress, a humongous sports car, doves, natural make up, a huge white cake… I don’t like any of that, I never have. I like things to be a lot more vibrant and colourful! It’s just us. It’s who we are. In ‘real life’ my husband also rocks the pompadour hairstyle (even to work as a financial analyst!) and I wear pencil skirts and red lipstick every day. Our wedding showed exactly who we are.”
“I made pretty much everything from scratch as I am a graphic designer”, she continued. “I designed the cupcake toppings, the invitations, the save the date cards and the little welcome cards on the tables. We had a animation with our pictures that I put together. I made sure everything was in the same style. Even the favours (printed guitar picks on little cards) were homemade.”
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When it comes to valuing your worth, something which I am a fierce advocate of, it’s not just cold hard cash that can be the deciding factor. While the thought of working for free might initially seem like something that no-one in their right mind would want to do, on the contrary, doing some pro bono work can actually be a really good investment in your business. If you chose your projects and collaborations wisely and correctly use that work as part of a larger campaign or as a stepping stone to something else, it can be a hugely beneficial exercise.
For experience
The very best way to get paid work is to show potential clients that do you do the kind of work that they want. If you’re approached by a company to do something but they don’t have a budget to pay you, ask yourself, will the experience or portfolio content you’re going to get out of this make it worth your while?
Don’t just sit around waiting for these offers to come your way though. It’s up to you to make sure you have the right body of work to show your clients. If you don’t then it’s time to get proactive. If you’re a wedding photographer wanting to shoot alternative weddings but all your current clients are at the traditional end of the market, a great way to do this might be to offer discounts or host a free wedding photography contest that targets the exact market you want to attract. If you’re a designer it’s easier – simply take some time to design some items that will be appreciated by the clients that you want to work with. Just because you’re not getting paid to design something doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing it in your own time!
For exposure
I get a lot of companies wanting to work with me but who only offer exposure in exchange – i.e they’ll mention me in their newsletter, link to me on facebook or write about me on their blog. While it’s very flattering to be asked and all press is good press, I have to consider whether this exposure is going to be a fair exchange for the time and effort I need to put into the project.
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Lauren and Mike’s South African wedding was held on a farm. The day had a rustic and whimsical vibe, but overall they just wanted everyone to have fun. “We wanted to keep the wedding simple, but with attention to detail”, the bride explained. “We wanted everything to be personal, especially the ceremony.
“We originally wanted an outdoor ceremony, beneath a chandelier decorated tree, beside the brook but the weather had other ideas! The day before was a glorious day, but alas I woke up at 6am to the sound of rain, a howling wind and a freezing cold bedroom! Our wedding had to be moved inside at the last minute because the weather continued to trick us throughout the morning.”
“Not everything went as planned on the day but I wouldn’t change a thing about it,” she concluded. “It was perfect.”
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It’s not everyday you get to see a wedding on a steam train so I’m super excited to share Sarah and Gareth’s fun wedding with you today. “Our wedding was randomly retro, vaguely vintage and a bit of a mish-mash adventure!” began the bride. “I grew up going on steam trains as a treat as my Grandpa was a big fan! So I was straight on the blower to The Great Central Railway as soon as we got engaged. We were lucky enough to be able to hire a fancypants Pullman rake, which is a bit ‘Orient Express’ – my Grandpa would be proud!”
“Some of the boys were especially pleased as they got to have a go at driving. Apparently, we helped fulfil some boyhood dreams! Gareth always wanted a barn and a rockin’ band to party on down with and nowhere touched Donington Park Farmhouse for its rustic, fairy-lit charm. So, we decided what the heck, let’s do both and get everyone on a Routemaster to keep the party going in-between! It. Was. Mega!”
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I don’t mean to brag but when it comes to The Blogcademy, London is where it’s at! Not only did we do two sold out classes when we were here in January, but due to overwhelming demand for a weekday workshop this time round (I’m looking at you wedding industry peeps and freelancers who couldn’t get the weekend off) we’ve decided to add another class when we’re in town in September!
Our weekend class in September is now sold out (yey!) and so if you couldn’t join us for those frivolities, this one’s for you. Our additional class will kick off at 10am on Thursday September 5th, and go until around 6pm on Friday September 6th.
“There’s a lot of noise & nonsense out there about how to become a ‘professional blogger.’ The Blogcademy headmistresses bring it back down to the beautiful basics: Killer content. Artful packaging. Consistent posting. Personality & charm.
If you’re a baby blogger, consider this workshop your official initiation. If you’re a seasoned pro, think of it as your finishing school.
Gala, Shauna & Kat walk their talk — and blog their walk. A weekend well spent? No question, for me. Get thee to The Blogcademy!” — Alexandra Franzen (attended Minneapolis in June 2013)
Just like our weekend class, it will be held at the sublime Curtain Road Studios in Shoreditch. Here’s what you can expect from our time together. You can also read our course overview for all the specific topics we cover.
“The Blogcademy is fucking life-changing. I sold half of my wardrobe (no joke) in order to attend and I’d sell the other half and show up in nothing but my undies and black eyeliner ten times over: these women are legit. Their energy is through the roof. Their knowledge is powerful. Their commitment is palpable. And they will give you the necessary kick in the ass you need to own your identity, no matter how scary that might be. Between the sparkles, sea of hair colors, and resounding tribal spirit, I kept waiting for Jessie J to burst through the window on a Tarzan rope belting out ‘Just be true to who you are’. (I wouldn’t put it past these three. I believe them capable of anything). But all in all, whether you have to walk 500 miles, subsist on Ramen noodles for a month, or fly on a broomstick to get there…GO. Stop thinking about it. GO. I kid not when I say it will alter the course of your professional career and, by extension, your life.” — Madelin Adena Smith (attended in New York, June 2013)
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Arran and Heidi had two weddings. The first, a non-traditional and very ‘them’ wedding in Shoreditch complete with a bowling alley reception party, and the second a more traditional celebration for their families.
“The most significant thing was probably the fact that we ended up having two weddings”, explained Heidi. “Whilst Arran and I are not particularly traditional and didn’t have any particular desires to have a big white wedding, my parents had other ideas. I come from a large middle eastern family and there was a lot of pressure for us to have a traditional wedding – white dress, country house, the works…”
“In the end (and after a huge amount of negotiation) we were able to compromise and ended up having two celebrations. The first at Marylebone Town Hall and Shoreditch House, which was attended just by friends and immediate family. And the second in a country house hotel in Windsor where we approximated a traditional blessing (I am a staunch feminist so several of the more misogynistic traditional bits needed to be taken out) followed by another big party for the extended family. Whilst having two weddings was a lot more work, it did mean that we were able to stick to our guns and have exactly the wedding we wanted (the Shoreditch House one) without having to compromise and include things that weren’t right for us.”
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Photography: Vincent Sandoval
Oh hello there friend, how the devil are you? As usual I’ve been a busy bee this week. Apart from the obvious admin and writing that comes with this lil job of mine, I’ve been furiously putting very nearly final touches to two big projects that I’ve been working on for the past 6 months or so.
The first is issue 3 of the print magazine which is due out in August. It’s been SUCH a mammoth project as unlike the previous two issues it is filled with 100% brand new and exclusive content. I call it a magazine but it’s basically been like writing a damn book! There’s new real weddings, unseen DIY tutorials and a bunch of advice articles I’ve penned just for the mag. I’ve also organised two massive photo shoots for it. The first was an editorial shoot with proper models and some proper gorgeous wedding inspiration which I’m not afraid to tell you I’m super duper proud of. I can’t wait for you guys to see it!
The second was the cover shoot. With all the content now being previously unseen I figured I should also come up with a brand new cover shoot concept to tie it all together. Those of you that follow me on Instagram might have seen a couple. of. hints as to what it’s going to look like already…and yes, that gold dress was just as glorious in real life (thank you Fur Coat No Knickers!)
The second project is a collaboration that I’m also super excited about. I don’t think I want to tell you exactly what it is yet (such a tease!) but it involved sparkly pretty things that you’ll be able to buy.
Oh and in other news (phew!) I had an article published by Cosmopolitan Magazine featuring my top 10 weddings. Did your favourite make the list?
EXCITING TIMES AHOY!
♥ Six steps to making your content contagious (this is really, really brilliant by the way!)
♥ How to stay productive while flying
♥ More people are doing marketing badly than any other profession I can imagine
♥ How to deal with controversy
“A good controversy demands that we draw a line in the sand and dare others to cross it. If you’ve got a topic so heartfelt and genuine that you just have to share it – do it. One post that’s near and dear to you will be worth more to your readers than ten “safe” posts.”
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Neil and Joanne were married in the picturesque Henley-on-Thames in May. They spent just £7,500 on the wedding, managing to keep costs low by avoiding traditional wedding ‘stuff’ as much as possible! The bride bought her Monsoon Bridal dress for £45 from eBay and did her own hair and make up. The venues were also pretty affordable. The ceremony took place at Henley town hall and the reception at Hambleden Village Hall. The groom’s mother made the cake, they designed and printed their own stationery and they drove their own car.
“Our wedding was colourful and handmade”, explained Joanne. “I run an etsy shop myself so I love doing DIY projects. We didn’t want to tie ourselves to a small palette of colours and wanted it to feel like a riot of colour – hopefully we achieved that! We wanted to make the day fun, to have a relaxed atmosphere with good food, good drink and lots of dancing. For us it wasn’t about the ‘wedding stuff’ (let’s face it, wedding’s aren’t really that romantic), it was about celebrating our marriage with our fantastic friends and family and everyone having a great time.”
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Photography: Devlin Photos
(Damn, so gorgeous! I’ll be blogging the full shoot soon)
I’ve spent most of this week working in my underwear… one of the many perks of working from home! I hate when people moan that it’s too hot, yes we’re all sweaty and gross but it sure as hell beats the soggy or chilly alternative. Bring on the sunshine I say!
I’ve really been been getting into the Summer spirit and hunting for the perfect swimwear for my holiday in Greece next month (6 weeks and counting!) Those of you that follow me on Twitter will know that I’ve been stressing myself out slightly with worrying about the whole ‘being half naked in public’ thing, but after a pep talk with the self-love maestro, I thought “screw it” and bought the brightest tankini I could find! Life’s too short to be worrying about wobbly bits and I now plan to be having too much fun to care!
I hope you’ve had a great week and you’ve managed to slip out of the office to catch a few rays. If not, why not slap on some factor 50 (I won’t wear anything less these days, I’m so pale I burn in about 5 minutes flat!), lay in the garden and browse through these little nuggets of sunshine?
Weddings & Weddingy Things
♥ Love these village hall wedding ideas
♥ Totally beautiful Star Wars cake
♥ Rustic Virginia wedding
♥ 9 clichés of a ‘cool’ person’s wedding (funny!)
♥ Love these gorgeous and unusual engagement rings by Catbird NYC
♥ Woodsy glamping wedding inspo
Photography: Sarah Tamagni Photography
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Rachel and Steven wanted a relaxed vibe for their Glaswegian wedding. This red-headed couple held their celebration at Pollokshields Burgh Hall and used dried wheat, carthamus and rhodantha throughout to give the space an organic and natural look. “We didn’t have a theme, we just wanted everyone to relax and have a great day, and for the place to be natural, light and beautiful”, Rachel began. “The hall is gorgeous on its own anyway so I chose items, colours, flowers accordingly and everything came together amazingly. My bridesmaids and I carried wheat bouquets and we used a lot of charity shop finds. My girls also chose their own dresses. I just wanted them to wear a dress that made them feel amazing.”
“The Kitchen Window caterers were absolutely perfect and totally got what we were after”, she continued. “We had sharing antipasti platters to start with and then a buffet style main with chorizo stew and chicken stroganoff, it all tasted amazing, was really laid back and everyone loved it! They were a major part of the wedding and kept the whole day in order. We could not have managed it without them!”
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Looking for the right wedding photographer to capture your big day can often feel like a full time job. There are so many styles, prices and packages around that it can often feel like you’re lost in a sea of jargon, pound signs and confusion. But, if at the top of that very long list of yours you’ve written something along the lines of ‘quirky, cool, fashion-led photography’, then I may well have just found the photographers for you. Praise the Lord!
Jacob & Pauline are a couple originally from Czech Republic who now live in London (that’s them looking all cute at the top of this post!) Having two lead photographers (not a primary and their assistant) on a wedding is great as they will both be delivering really top notch imagery. Both Jacob and Pauline have their own shooting styles, but together they mesh beautifully. Pauline is awesome with bridal preparations and details whilst Jacob’s forte the wide open shots and capturing those special moments as they happen.
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Nree and Adrian were married on a Friday afternoon in February. Their farm venue set the tone and theme for the day, which they accessorised with homemade yellow details. “Our wedding was summery, relaxed, vintage and handmade”, wrote the bride. “Our main objective was to keep the cost down! So styling and hand making everything was a top priority (also something that I LOVED doing). We wanted to be super relaxed and for our guest feeling relaxed on our special day, so having the wedding at Gum Gully was perfect. The sun was shining, the birds were signing and all we could smell was that sweet country air.”
“In terms of styling we wanted a handmade and vintage feel so we used things like fabric bunting, lace table clothes, jam jars for drinking glasses and old pickle bottles for vases. We enjoyed using materials such as hessian and twine to decorate almost everything in sight! We also got to play with animals all morning on the farm, feeding little baby goats, deer, chickens and cows. How much more relaxing does it get!?”
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Dear Kat, How do you deal with those moments/ days/ weeks when all you want to do is give up? In the past month, so much stuff has happened that it’s been incredibly stressful and at times totally overwhelming. Some of it has been to do with my business. I won’t go into details but it’s had to involve lawyers. I’m actually really loving what I’m learning about the law, but the emotional side of things, and having to construct my own case, has been pretty stressful.
I don’t think I’ve ever been so close to giving it all up. I’ve been in tears almost every day at some point this past month. But then I think about how much I love my job and my customers, how hard I’ve worked at my business and the amazing reputation I’ve gradually and very carefully built up and that keeps me hanging in there for another day.
Apologies for the long ramble I just really want to ask how you would go about coping with all this stuff coming at you from every angle imaginable. I’m sure if I feel this way, other people must feel this way too.
Many people will tell you that situations such as yours are sent to test us but I call bullshit on that one. I don’t believe for one second that some divine influence is trying to see if we’re up to scratch, I think that things like this are just part and parcel of running your own business. Whether it’s a challenge related specifically to your business, or it’s something in your personal life that’s making it harder to concentrate on work, tough things happen to everyone.
People telling us to “stay positive” or “keep the faith” just feel like empty words. It won’t always be smooth sailing, sunbeams, rainbows and a truckload of orders; there will be times like this when it feels like the whole world is out to get you and it would just be easier to pack it all in. No matter how strong we are, unforeseen circumstances can leave us feeling lost, scared and vulnerable. It’s important to remember that you are not helpless though, far from it.
Firstly, dear emailer, you need to realise that the whole world is not out to get you. When we’re going through a testing time it’s very easy to get into a spiral of imagining the worst and dramatising the situation. Yes, this is rubbish but it doesn’t bear any reflection on everything you’ve achieved before. You have customers who love and appreciate what you do and a network of industry connections that you have worked hard to build up. They’re not going anywhere and everything you’ve ever built is not going to come crashing down overnight.
It’s also very easy at times like this to throw our hands in the air and exclaim “It’s all over! This is the end of the road, I can’t cope any more!” But you know what (tough love time coming…!) pull yourself together. You can do this. You are a strong, confident and capable woman who’s launched and made a success of running her own business. Many have tried and failed before you, you’re already a step ahead. Don’t you forget that.
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I find it so interesting to see how different the same venue can look depending on the wedding. I’ve featured a wedding at the amazing Victoria Baths in Manchester before, but apart from the obvious similarities (like the big empty swimming pool!) it could be a totally different venue. Lynsey and Greg added lots of greenery and overgrown foliage to the mix, creating a completely different vibe from the cute, quirky and colourful wedding I’ve shared from here before.
“Our wedding was a secret garden meets Alice in Wonderland, indoor garden party wedding”, began the bride. “We wanted faded glamour, swimming pools and mirror balls! We did everything our way including ending the night by going to a kebab house in full wedding attire (including bouquet!) Nothing felt like a compromise, it was everything we wanted, we made every decision and it was totally ours.”
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When you’re visiting a new city and the first thing your hosts do is invite you to hang out on their pontoon on Lake Minnetonka, you kinda know you’re in for a bit of an adventure. I had no preconceptions about Minneapolis before I visited it last month, well actually less than none – I knew absolutely nothing about this mid-western city. I had a rough idea of where it was in the country (after checking a map) but that was pretty much it. I was oblivious to it’s lively hip hop scene, it’s lake culture and all the deep friend delicacies that are served in almost every restaurant (deep fried pickles and cheese curds are both much more delicious than they sound and cream cheese wontons are definitely oh so wrong but oh so right…)
So you might wonder why, knowing so little about a city, did we choose it as a destination for a workshop. Well, we decided early on that if were were going to be travelling so much we might as well use it as a handy excuse to visit some places we’ve never been before. Gala, who is a hip hop fiend, made a brilliant case for Minneapolis and Shauna’s husband who was born here also convinced us that we’d love it. He was right. Our class also just happened to fall on Pride weekend which made our evenings out after class about a hundred times more entertaining!
The workshop was held at Public Functionary, a brand new art gallery space. We were lucky that they’d just wrapped one of their first art exhibits before we arrived, which meant the walls were still decorated with black and gold paintwork and deep burgundy velvet.
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Lynne and Danielle were married in a marquee on Hengest Farm in Surrey. The wedding took place in May but as we all know, the British weather is anything but predicable and they had hailstones! Although they had to make some last minute changes, it didn’t put too much of a dampener on the day, they still threw an almighty party and had the best time ever.
“Our wedding was cheap, cheerful and full of love with a bit of red, white and blue thrown in”, began Danielle. “A few things didn’t go to plan like the van for setting up was cancelled the morning of, we discovered the marquee was broken with 14 hours to go, there was a hailstorm and my father-in-law ended up in hospital after being bitten by a dog. Oh, and torrential rain for an outside ceremony meant a last minute plan change. But it was all worth it. I had a genuine heart-in-mouth moment of when seeing Lynne the first time and seeing everybody we love in one place and having a ruddy good laugh was amazing!”
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Without a doubt, one of the most amazing and satisfying things about running The Blogcademy is meeting so many enthusiastic babes marching to the beat of their own drum and wanting to tell the world about it! Before starting this journey I couldn’t have ever imagined just how life-altering this event would be for so many of the girls who attend and just how strong the bonds they form during that weekend really are.
Our first ever class was in New York, so when we were back there this month we knew we had had to organise a reunion! We picked The Smith in the East Village based on it’s killer cocktail menu and the fact that it had a black and white photo booth in the basement (and a peep hole that plays naughty movies on the other side, but that’s something we didn’t know about until we got there!)
It was so exciting to see those that could make it again and to learn just how far they’ve all come since we all nervously met back in the latter part of 2012. We all keep in touch via our graduates forum but it’s only when chatting to them all in real life that you can really appreciate the leaps and bounds that their blogs and businesses have made. Some of them are now full-time bloggers and others have been able to cut back on other work to focus on their businesses. Most of them have made a bunch of positive changes since we last met and every single one of them is still passionate and fired up about what they do. It was also amazing to hear that after spending the weekend together at the workshop so many of them have regularly meet up and to continue to help and support each other.
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