Do You Have to Invite Plus Ones to Your Wedding?

Kat

January 27, 2012

I'm going start out by being 100% honest with you. I don't really know the answer to this question. However after a discussion with Roo last week, I feel it might be a topic some of you are struggling with. Therefore I thought I'd use today's wedding planning advice post as a forum for us to get in a discussion on the matter - I want to know your ideas and opinions on the subject please! Although I'm sure you could Google this question and come up with the 'proper etiquette' answer, I think it's much more relevant these days to figure out what's right for you and your wedding. However I do think you should consider a few things before you make your decision...

The Benefits of Personal Projects: A Guest Post By Anna Hardy

Kat

January 27, 2012

I really enjoyed my professional work in 2011 but committing to a personal project was undoubtedly the best thing I did for my photography and myself last year. It constantly surprised and helped me in so many ways, and the very first (and being truthful, the only!) successful resolution I made as 2012 arrived was to start a brand new one. Towards the end of 2010, after a crazy year of throwing myself headlong into setting up the business and taking on as much photography work as I could, I’d become increasingly worried that my photography was becoming stale and uninspired, in a weary creative rut, and I’d almost completely stopped shooting for pleasure since doing photography professionally full time, which really bothered me. If I’m being completely honest it had started to feel like photography, my long-time love, was becoming too much hard work and too few rewards. At the start of 2011 I noticed that a number of other photographers were starting 365 projects (a photo a day for a whole year) and so following their good example, I unashamedly jumped on the bandwagon and began my own personal 365 project, hoping I could rediscover the old passion and have a bit of fun along the way. It did both and a whole lot more, and was one of the best decisions I have made for a long time.

An Owl & The Pussycat Themed Wedding: Kerryn & Joel

Kat

January 27, 2012

"The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea. In a beautiful pea green boat, They took some honey, and plenty of money, Wrapped up in a five pound note..." With The Owl and the Pussycat as inspiration, it would be hard for Kerryn & Joel to go far wrong when planning their cute and quirky wedding. Although the wedding wasn't really 'themed' to match the poem, its message resonated throughout their planning and on the wedding day itself. They used it on their wedding invitations and Kerryn read the poem as part of her speech. "The Owl and The Pussycat popped up because around the time that we got engaged, I read The Owl and The Pussycat to my 3 year old niece, Amy," Kerryn told me. "At the last page there was a lovely illustration of the owl dancing with the pussycat in mid air..."

Thursday Treats – 26th January 2012: I’m Going Back on the (Photography) Farm

Kat

January 26, 2012

It feels like the world is spinning at an extra super duper fast speed for me right now. My mind is filled with so many upcoming projects, ideas and top-secret-things-I'm-not-allowed-to-tell-anyone-about-but-if-I-don't-soon-I-might-burst-burst-BURST! And breathe...

A Music & Literature Themed Wedding: Claire & Scott

Kat

January 26, 2012

Claire & Scott chose an old movie theatre in as the setting for their ceremony, The Lantern Theatre, Sheffield. Although they hadn't even thought about marrying in a theatre, after seeing one in Whitby they loved the idea. "We’d originally planned to marry in Whitby, as it’s a special to place to us both," Claire told me. "Whilst looking at venues there, we were shown a theatre hidden away at the back of the sea front community centre. We hadn’t thought about marrying in a theatre, but we both fell in love with the idea. In the end, we decided that we’d rather marry closer to home in Sheffield, but the idea of marrying in a theatre stayed with us. After an afternoon on Google, Scott emailed every theatre within a fifty-mile radius of us to ask if they did weddings. The Lantern Theatre was one of the few that replied and it turned out to be barely a mile from our house. When we arrived we fell in love with the place. It’s an old 84-seat Victorian theatre with anaglyph wallpaper and red velvet seats. The staff there were so flexible and open to all our ideas. They even bought a mirrorball so that I could walk down the aisle in spiralling light. They served cocktails in teapots, put together a lighting and music programme so that the ceremony ran without a hitch and Keith – the volunteer who ran the bar – even dressed up in a dapper waistcoat and tie."

How about a Tattooed Wedding Dress?

Kat

January 26, 2012

How about a tattooed dress to match your own ink? When wedding dress designer Jo of The Couture Company first told me about her idea to design a tattoo themed wedding dress I was excited. Super excited. I've certainly never seen anything like it before! Whether you're a tattooed goddess and you want your dress to reflect your own ink, or you're not quite brave enough to go under the needle but you love the idea of being a tattooed bride, these dresses are just perfect for you. Designer Jo says, "I have always tried to design gowns that are different and unusual - using unusual colours, doing a traditional victorian bustle gown in fuschia pink, or a big meringue dress but in black. I love the idea of a bride having something totally unique and bespoke to them."

A Rainbow Rockabilly Wedding: Jennifer & Jon

Kat

January 25, 2012

If you're a long-time reader of this 'lil wedding blog of mine, you'll be well aware that I'm a huge fan of the rainbow wedding trend. I even modeled in an 'Over the Rainbow' themed shoot last October. So you can imagine my glee when Jennifer & Jon's wedding landed on my desk. The couple wanted a huge party, and with 200 guests and only a $10,000 budget they were determined to not spent a fortune to do so. "We honestly would never have been able to pull of any wedding without our friends and family," Jennifer told me. "It was truly a DIY wedding with everyone helping out days beforehand by shoveling, raking and baking in the hot sun to make my friend's ranch into a kick ass outdoor wedding venue. Caitlin & Michael Burns, owners of Rebar Ranch were gracious enough to make our vision come true (or turn our lack of vision into something amazing!)"

A Budget-Friendly DIY Wedding with the World’s Cutest Wedding Video: Melissa & Robbie

Kat

January 25, 2012

The Inspirations: Mark Niemierko

Kat

January 25, 2012

How can I possibly even begin to describe Mark Niemierko? Well, he's a high-end wedding planner based in London and a force to be reckoned with! But more than that he's one hell of a character, and one I'm honoured to call a friend. We met a few years ago when he invited me for drinks at The Charlotte Hotel (read: a fancy hotel that I couldn't afford to even step foot in) and I was super nervous. I wondered why the hell he wanted to meet me. After all, from the outside we appeared to be very different people and to have very different tastes and ideas about what made a great wedding. However let me tell you, I was wrong...it's not only nonconformists like me that get judged by the way they look! Mark and I got on like a house of fire from the moment we met and I can, in all honestly, say he's rated high in my internal list of favourite people. Despite his recognition and reputation, Mark is actually quite a private person. You won't find him spilling his guts on Twitter or wanting to tell people every idiosyncrasy of his life or his business. In actual fact, I haven't seen that many interviews or articles about him online that really peel back those designer suit layers and get right inside his head. Which is why, dear Green-Roomers, I'm utterly thrilled to be the one to share his secrets right here! If you dont learn a thing or two about running your own sucessful business from Mr Niemierko then I dont know where you will. It doesnt matter what kind of weddings or which market you want to attract; Mark is a genius marketeer, and the perfect representation of his brand.

A Shabby Chic Wedding with Vintage Touches: Hannah & Andy

Kat

January 25, 2012

Cash Wedding Registries with Deposit a Gift

Kat

January 24, 2012

Earlier this month I went to lunch with one of my best and oldest friends, Katie. We've known each other for years, ever since we started skipping Sunday School together! Anyway, this lunch was extra special (and it wasn't just because we went to Wagamamas) because she told me she was getting married...in March! Yes in under 3 months time! Anyway one of the first things we got talking about (after the dress of course) was the wedding gift registry. She told me they'd decided to go for the cash registry option and wanted to know if I thought it was 'tacky' to ask for money over gifts. They already live together, but they want to have the honeymoon of their lives. So, instead of asking for toasters, dinnerwear and cushions, they're asking people to contribute as much as they feel comfortable with towards their dream trip. They've added small things from as little as £5.50 for a favourite cocktail, all the way to a few hundred pounds for flights. I thought it was a great idea! Who needs another throw cushion anyway!?

A Neo-Victorian, Steampunk Wedding: Jasmine & George

Kat

January 24, 2012

"We are both crafty, artistic and creative," the pink haired bride told me. "We wanted a mix of romantic gothic, neo-Victorian, vintage and steampunk for our wedding. We really wanted to make it our own and original with still trying to keep a little tradition for our families. We decided we just wanted hints of each. That's why we decided to DIY as much as we could." After an 11 year relationship, Jasmine & George were married in The Greenhouse at The Foundry, NY by groom's cousin, John Russo. "We got our wedding rings from Gemvara," Jasmine continued. "My ring has black and white diamonds and his had black diamonds added to it. The inscription says 'True Love Waits' after a Radiohead song because we waited 11 years before we got married."

Dealing with Rejection & Why it’s the Best Thing That Will Ever Happen to You

Kat

January 24, 2012

So you come up with a brilliant and inventive idea for your business. You're excited and can't wait to get started. You also start telling people about your plans too, because well, you're excited... But then someone screws up their face and tells you they don't like your idea and that it's probably not going to work. What do you do? A) Decide they're probably right, have a little secret cry and drop the idea all together. B) Convince yourself that this person is clearly and idiot an carry on regardless. C) Listen to what they say, ask them questions as to why they think the idea is rubbish and make changes based on what they've said. D) Change your idea completely and come up with something new. While none of the options are necessarily wrong, today I want us to think about and discuss how we deal with rejection, or people saying 'no' to us, and in turn what we can learn from it in order to grow our businesses. There are a couple of things to think about when someone says no to you or tries to dissuade you from an idea. Do you value their opinion?

A Laid-Back & Family-Central South African Wedding: Daniel & Annette

Kat

January 24, 2012

The beautiful South African wedding of Daniel & Annette was sent over to me by their wedding photographer Bruce of Flyinghorse Photography. Not only do I love the relaxed vibe of this day, but Annette's short powder blue dress is just perfect! The wedding was held at Hillhouse, Dargle and was a huge family occasion, with everybody pitching in to help. "Daniel and I had so much fun planning the wedding, we got a kick out of every little detail and it was our special little project," Annette wrote. "We didn’t want to spend a fortune on the wedding so we decided to do most things ourselves, with a lot of help from our friends and family. We are both not at all into big white weddings we basically just wanted to do the legal/official bit and then have a big party with all our friends and family. Ideally this would’ve involved something like going to Las Vegas with a bunch of friends. However it quickly became pretty clear that the most important people to us won’t be able to join us on such a crazy adventure, and we couldn’t do it without them so we started to look for something a bit closer to home."

An Eco-Vintage Backyard Wedding: Shannon & Nick

Kat

January 23, 2012

Shannon & Nick were married in Shannon's parent's back garden, a lovely idea that made their wedding really personal and intimate. "I was inspired by the 1950s, nature and the country," Shannon told me. "I was looking for a way to bridge the gap between vintage elegance and the modern eco-friendly way of life. Every chance I could I made things reusable, recyclable and DIY. I also tried to pick vendors that were eco-friendly. I didn't set out to do things differently I just chose to do what I wanted to do and didn't let others reservations side track me."

An Indie Hipster Wedding: Will & Keri

Kat

January 23, 2012

Will & Keri's Richmond, VA wedding was simple but effortlessly cool. The ceremony was held at Maymont Park, with the reception that followed at The Boathouse Restaurant at Rocketts Landing. "We really didn't want to over do it on the decorations since both venues we're so beautiful on their own," Keri told me. "We found a lot of things on Etsy, and the rest we made ourselves. The heart on the tree at our ceremony was a grey chalkboard heart purchased from Urban Outfitters, we painted our initials on it with white paint and tied it to the tree with rope. After the ceremony we took it around the city taking pictures at our favorite spots in Richmond. We decided for the ceremony to just add small bundles of dried lavender to the chairs, it was really beautiful and simple. We also had a little table set up with hot apple cider for the guests after the I Do's."

Being a Professional Wedding Photographer is Easy

Kat

January 23, 2012

My buddy Tattybojangles tweeted this last week and I just had to add an extra Green Room post today to share it to. Who says being a professional wedding photographer is hard? They obviously haven't seen these!*

A Bohemian Hoedown Wedding: Reenie & Edwin

Kat

January 23, 2012

As soon as I saw bride Reenie in that incredible floppy hat I knew I had to feature her wedding. I love seeing brides that make really unique styling choices and I don't know about you but I can remember ever seeing a bride in a hat like this before. With her fabulous head wear she wore a 1970s style dress, which was the very first thing she bought, from Nataya for just $199! The October wedding was held at Hampton Hall Farm, Jefferson City, TN and their laid back hippy vibe makes me wish I was there. I love how homely and cosy it all looks and that the whole family got involved. The photos of them all having a pre-ceremony sing-along on the porch are just the best!

A Sunday Kind of Love: Partying at The Dorchester with Hot Male Models, The British Wedding Glitterati & Martha Stewart Magazine

Kat

January 22, 2012

This is how stupid my life is right now. Can someone please tell me how I got here and what planet I'm living on? Last week I hung out at The Dorchester...at a party hosted by wedding planner Mark Niemierko...for Darcy Miller, editor of Martha Stewart magazine...Oh and there were male models dressed as soldiers...not to mention the fact that I got to meet/chat to/be in the same room as to David Fielden, Charlotte Castigliano, Stephanie Allin, Sassi Holdford, Ritva Westenius, Suzanne Neville, Stewart Parvin, Phillipa Lepley, Elizabeth Emanuel, Bruce Oldfield and Johanna Heir. Name dropping? Moi? In fact I have nothing else coherent to say about it really except...HOW THE EFF DID I GET INVITED?!

DIY Tutorial: Twine Ball Light Garland

Kat

January 21, 2012

This simple and cute tutorial to make your own twine ball light garland is right up my street. Thank you to Michelle Kelly of Pocketful of Dreams for putting it together for us! Over to you Michelle... I've seen twine balls used for all sorts of purposes, from chandeliers to pretty table decor, so I thought I'd have a go at making a light garland using this idea. I wanted something that would create a really pretty lighting effect, but I also wanted the string to have quite a strong and vibrant colour.