Thursday Treats: 13th September 2012 – Cakes, Exhibitions & Farms

Kat

September 13, 2012

Oh yes, that's me... in a rainbow. Isn't that Lisa Devlin so ridiculously clever?! So this week was a fun one! On Monday Gareth & I were invited to attend a cupcake decorating class hosted by Restoration Cake. It was seriously awesome, not least of all because it was a tattoo themed class! Gareth put the whole class to shame with his amazing skillz (no joke!) I'm gonna share some more about this over the weekend so pop back on Sunday if you have a penchant for fondant!

A Backyard Beach Wedding Planned in Three Weeks: Nellie & Matt

Kat

September 13, 2012

Nellie & Matt planned their Whistable wedding in just three short weeks. They wanted something small, something personal and something relaxed. They found the amazing Beacon House, right on the beach, for their ceremony and were able to use the back garden of the bride's brother's holiday cottage for the reception. "Serendipity and our amazingly supportive family and friends brought our wedding together in just 3 weeks," the bride began. "Matt and I had been engaged for 3 years, neither of us are planners but we had a clear idea of the kind of wedding we wanted, a relaxed, seaside celebration centred around our close friends, family, good food and drink. But every option we explored in Cambridge and Brighton, our two home cities, in one way or another tied us into expensive packages, so we put off the wedding and skipped to the baby."

A Quirky Irish & Brazilian Wedding: Andrea & Paulo

Kat

September 12, 2012

The Irish wedding of Andrea & Paulo was held at Belfast City Hall. After the intimate ceremony the couple hosted a low key reception at Made in Belfast, a quirky restaurant in the Cathedral Quarter. The couple had just £6,000 to spend but managed to make the most of their budget by making unconventional choices.

Adventure & Thinking Small

Kat

September 12, 2012

In 2001, and with no real experience, Alastair Humphreys decided he would cycle around the world. He set off from his Yorkshire home on an epic journey that took him four years to complete. He cycled 46,000 miles, through 60 countries and 5 continents. Now, whilst reading that you might think "jeez that's no small adventure!", and you'd be right, the idea behind this article and the video below is an explanation of the importance of adventure, any adventure, no matter how big or how small. In this TEDx talk he speaks about his experiences, and why he feels starting small is much more important when trying to make changes.

An Angry Birds Inspired Wedding Shoot

Kat

September 12, 2012

Angry Birds. It might not strike you as an obvious wedding theme but this shoot goes to prove that inspiration can be found everywhere! "We've been working on this idea since last Fall", wrote photographer Brent of Live View Studios. " Our idea was for a wedding shoot inspired by the popular Angry Birds game, but to be done in a very classy, non-cartoony way. We wanted to bring our brand of very rustic, organic and indie vibes into it." "To our surprise, and considering how popular the game is, we hadn't seen anyone else doing this idea" he continued. "So basically we wanted to be first! When the idea came to us initially, we looked around and found a few groom's cakes & details based on the game but nothing that incorporated it in as an overall wedding theme or shoot. We decided to use elements creatively instead of basing it only on the characters. Keeping the elements of stone & brick, glass, wood & feathers, and the primary color palette in mind, we set out to design a rustic couture wedding with slingshot pens, tumbled concrete structures, a gold crown & golden eggs and a treasure chest for notes written by guests."

Pink Hair, A Pink Dress & A Zombie Wedding Cake: Denna & Travis

Kat

September 11, 2012

Pink. We all know I'm a bit partial to it. So it's hardly surprising that I couldn't resist sharing Denna & Travis' wedding. Pink hair AND a pink wedding dress? OH YES PLEASE. Oh and they had a zombie wedding cake. I die.

A Sophisticated & Sexy Wedding in The Philippines: Francis & Mayone

Kat

September 11, 2012

It's unusual for me to blog engagement sessions, but when I saw Francis & Mayone's (potentially NSFW!) I really could not resist. After sharing that, I hoped that their wedding might be as awesome (and that they'd send it to me too) and oh boy did they deliver! Glamorous and elegant, personal but spectacular, sexy but sophisticated, these guys sure know how the pull off a wedding in style!

A DIY Maryland Wedding: Natalie & Brynn

Kat

September 10, 2012

"Our family and friends MADE this wedding happen," explained Natalie when I asked her about her wedding. "Brynn & I didn't want to have a wedding designer, but I think my mother now holds that title. She spent the eight months of our engagement collecting wine glasses and silverware from thrift stores. Her and my aunt accumulated all the décor and oversaw virtually every design detail. My grandmother sewed all of the napkins and a family friend arranged the flowers for the centerpieces. My father created and made the cocktails and roasted coffee beans for the wedding favors (Brynn’s mother sewed the favor bags). My super-talented friend, the visual manager of an Anthropologie in DC, built the ceremony backdrop & platform and made all the signs. We asked a family friend to bartend. My best friend’s father and my cousins hung all the lights for the reception. One of my friends recently started an event-planning business and she handled all of the insane day-of coordination. Our friend is in a band and graciously offered to DJ the entire wedding." The couple were married in Maryland in July. With a laid back approach, and as much help as their friends & family could muster, they planned the wedding of their dreams with little to no stress. "Our inspiration for the ceremony was a combination of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lord of The Rings", she continued. "Obviously having the ceremony in a forest was a must. I envisioned my bridesmaids looking like little wood nymphs or fairies. They all picked out a white dress of their choosing and everyone looked smashing. We wanted our reception to be like a party Jay Gatsby would throw. There were lights strung everywhere, non-stop music, endless drinks, and next-level dance moves. Brynn's brother and best man even secretly got a limo to take us away."

A Backyard Rainbow Wedding: Jason & Gwen

Kat

I Love that Glove

September 9, 2012

Honestly? I struggled with what to write about today. Usually on a Sunday I'll post something non-wedding related that's caught my eye or I'll share something exciting that I've done in the week. But I shared my Photography Farm retreat escapades in this week's Thursday Treats and since then I've basically been chained to my computer replying to the squillions of emails that came in whilst I was away and writing as many blog posts as physically possible. I also spent rather a lot of time on the phone to Cosmopolitan Magazine. NO BIG DEAL (more on this soon!) And then this wedding pinged into my inbox and it all became clear.

A Private Hiking Wedding: Jordan & Michael

Kat

September 8, 2012

Jordan & Michael wanted a wedding that truely reflected them and the things they love, so they grabbed their children and were married in private on top of a mountain in Canada. "Our inspiration was definitely nature and our love of hiking", explained the bride. "We chose Gros Morne National Park in the beautiful province of Newfoundland and Labrador known for its mountainous terrain and unbelievable views. This in our minds made the perfect backdrop for our quiet intimate ceremony. We knew that hiking boots were a must so why not include them on our special day? We kept our attire simple and clean and focused on more important details like the photography and the food!"

A Homemade Glaswegian Wedding: Eileen & Peter

Kat

September 7, 2012

Eileen & Peter were married at Glasgow University Union. They had a tiny budget, but with the help of wedding blogs sharing affordable and DIY options, they were able to plan the wedding of their dreams. "We really just wanted to have a fun wedding that meant something to us personally rather than just doing things because you are supposed to", explained Eileen. "I was really inspired by blogs like Rock n Roll Bride that showed how you can have a wedding anyway you want. We had to explain our decisions a bit more than most to some people who didn't get it but I knew it would all come together in the end. Things like not having a religious ceremony. This upset our families to begin with but they later realised that they had pestered us for so long to get married that any way we wanted was fine just as long as we did it! So we had a small intimate ceremony filled with songs and poetry we love and lovely romantic things we had said about each other. Then we just wanted to have a big fun party to celebrate with all our extended friends and family. We didn't set out to be 'Rock n Roll' but we definitely ended up that way. Ha ha!"

A Simple French Wedding with Homemade Touches: Virginie & Julien

Kat

September 7, 2012

This beautiful wedding was sent over the channel to me by French newlyweds Virginie & Julien. They were married at Church of Saint Joseph des Fins in Annecy. After cocktails at the adjoining church hall, their simple reception was held in a restaurant, La Ferme des Ollieres, in Les Ollieres. The bride handmade her outfit including her dress and headpiece and she wore shoes from H&M. "I own a ready-to-wear clothing line but I plan on making a bridal collection because I had so much fun making my own dress!" she explained. "I bought my shoes for 7€ (about £5) from the high street two days before the wedding! I was planning to wear off-white shoes but I found this pair much cuter."

Thursday Treats Lite: 6th September 2012

Kat

September 6, 2012

Oh hello September how glorious you've been so far! Anyone that follows me on twitter or instagram will know that this week I've been living it up at the Photography Farm retreat. Basically, everyone who comes on the Farm always wants to come back, so Lisa & I thought, hell, let's just hire it for a week and hang out! So we did. And it was fabulous.

A Tiny Homespun Wedding with a Wedding Cake Made of Steel: Taylor & James

Kat

September 6, 2012

Taylor & James kept things small... tiny in fact. They were married at home, the bride's father officiated, and their only guests were their immediate family - 6 adults in total, with one extra, Taylor's sister, who watched the ceremony over Skype.

A Rainbow Wedding inspired by their Living Room: Ruth & Alex

Kat

September 5, 2012

I think green is a totally underrated bridal colour. We see brides in white, red, even black, quite often, but rarely in green - and doesn't Ruth show us how wrong this is? She looks incredible! "I remember looking at photos of my Gran in her wedding dress from 1960 which was blue with a pink petticoat and telling myself that I was going to wear my favourite colour when I got married too", Ruth began, "and so the green dress was born. My something old was my Gran's actual pink underskirt from her wedding dress." "Finding a green dress was hard work though. At first I tried on bridesmaid dresses but I never really felt myself or special enough. I was also being pushed into trying on white dresses by everyone but I didn't recognise myself. I'm a total tomboy at heart and the concept of being feminine for the day felt alien to me. I still don’t understand the concept of feeling like a princess on your wedding day. The most important thing was to feel like me. I found Vivien of Holloway online after looking at the adverts on Rock n Roll Bride. After three trips trying on various Vivien of Holloway dresses, I ended up ordering from a limited run of only 4 (!) plain green circle dresses. I love the fact that I can and will be able to wear my dress again and that I'm only one of 4 people to have bought it!"

Collaborations that Work & Building a Strong Team

Kat

September 5, 2012

I was asked recently by a new blogger how I went about making my industry connections and friends. Like, how did I approach people and ask if they'd like to work together or collaborate on various projects and shoots without coming across as a bit of a weirdo? So I'm telling you what I told her... If it would be weird in real life...

A Crazy Cool Bali Wedding: Myles & Barbara

Kat

September 5, 2012

What is it was all the exotic weddings I'm getting submitted recently? I think the universe must be telling me I deserve a long, sunny holiday! Well when Myles & Barbara's Bali wedding landed in my inbox I just about spat out my cuppa with the anticipation of blogging it. Have you ever seen a wedding party so a) cool, b) expressive, & c) hilarious? No, me nigher. I couldn't wait to hear more... "Myles proposed whilst sitting on the toilet, pants around his ankle. In Elfish," explained Barbara. "It really was very romantic... I promise you. We just wanted our wedding to be a big party, fun and happy with a little bit of looseness mixed in."

An Old School Rock n Roll Wedding at The Ace Hotel, Palm Springs: Tasha & Curtis

Kat

September 4, 2012

Ahh Palm Springs you are on my travel wish list for sure, and seeing weddings like Tasha & Curtis' makes me yearn for your palm trees even more. The wedding was held at the achingly cool Ace Hotel in June. "I'd describe our wedding theme as 1970s Rock n Roll", explained the bride. "Curtis is much more traditional than I am (shockingly - he has long hair and tattoos covering most of his body!) so we wanted to find a way to use the traditional ceremony but make it feel really personal and our own. We had our parents walk in at the front of the wedding party, then all of our 'Allies', as we called them, came in separately (no boy/girl pairs - they each stand alone in awesomeness) and then we came in together.

The Inspirations: There will Always be People who don’t Like Peaches

Kat

September 4, 2012

Oh Dita you are so wise. There will always be someone, somewhere who doesn't agree with you or like what you do. But you know what? Screw 'em! The best lesson I've learnt through running my business is that I can't please everybody so I'm not going to waste my time trying.

A Glamorous Wedding with a Gothic Twist: Shep & Sarah

Kat

September 4, 2012

Shep & Sarah were married at Ettington Park Hotel, an elegant 4-star venue just outside Stratford Upon Avon. With its tranquil location and beautiful architecture it proved to be the perfect place for their glamorous wedding. The exterior of the hotel was actually used as the setting for the 1963 film The Haunting.