Under The Spotlight – Dee Dee Bridal

Kat

June 29, 2011

Dee Dee Bridal offer bespoke and ready to wear bridal headdresses. They pride themselves on their carefully hand crafted pieces and use materials such as embroidered lace, beading, feathers and vintage finds to create totally individual pieces. "Each item is lovingly handmade with vintage or vintage inspired materials sourced from all over the world" owner Stacey explains. "Mixing magpie finds with lace and feathers, I create unique accessories for the special day and we are more than happy to work with the bride to create something unique to them."

Shane & Lisa’s Budget, DIY and One-Hell-Of-a-Rock-n-Roll-Party Wedding

Kat

June 29, 2011

With a budget of less that $6000, Shane & Lisa had to be very creative and clever when it came to planning their wedding. Luckily they had a lot of support from their friends & family and they really got into the DIY! "Everything about the day was beautiful but what really made it sparkle was all our friends and family", Lisa told me. "I am so very thankful for them. My family and friends had all mostly come from out of state and immediately started in on making the cake, helping with food prep and cooking, cleaning, decorating, grilling, and cleaning up (they kicked me out of kitchen during reception because apparently the bride is not allowed to load her dishwasher in her wedding dress.)"

Anthony & Collette’s Laid Back & Timeless Wedding

Kat

June 29, 2011

Anthony & Collette were married at South Farm in Hertfordshire. They wanted their day to be laid back and timeless, so a matchy-matchy or strong theme really wasn't for them. "We took our inspiration from a few different sources," the bride told me. "We wanted it to be quite understated but not boring. We didn't so obviously want to have a things match or have a recognisable theme. We did, however, want everything to complement each other. Kind of like how my wedding ring and engagement ring contrasted but complemented each other - a traditional white diamond engagement ring with a black diamond 'eternity' wedding ring. One of our favourite photos of the day is of the flower girls. It shows them in their sparkly' trainers - it sums up how we wanted our day... relaxed but quirky."

Under the Spotlight – weddingfavors.org

Kat

June 28, 2011

Wedding favors are often one thing that's overlooked or left to the last minute when you plan your wedding. However the addition of some cute little gifts for your guests to take away can really add to the over all theme of your big day. I often get emails from readers asking where to look for unusual and personalised wedding favors, and for those of you on a budget cheap wedding favor ideas. So I'm pleased to be able to share my favourite wedding favor ideas from Weddingfavors.org with you today.

Joli & Gary’s Amazing Backyard Wedding

Kat

June 28, 2011

Joli & Gary eloped in San Francisco. They had planned to have a big wedding party afterwards with their friends and family at a biker bar in Palm Springs, but then Joli got pregnant and everything changed. So 7 months pregant, the couple had a kick ass celebration in the backyard of their Los Angeles home. They described their party as a celebration of "Love, Freedom, Wild, Raw, Family, FUN, Village, Community!" and that's exactly what it was.

Kristin & Brian’s Black & White & 1940’s Themed Wedding

Kat

June 28, 2011

"We got engaged in prison. Well...that's what my Mom likes to say - we got engaged on Alcatraz!" newlywed Kristin told me. "We both have a fascination with prison documentaries and we ADORE San Francisco. So, Brian took me to Alcatraz and surprised me with a ring. If you walk to the back of the prison by the water, you get the MOST gorgeous view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. This is where he asked me to marry him." Kristin & Brian's unconventional but beautiful engagement was perfectly reflected in their glamorous wedding on Friday 13th May. "Our inspiration was a combination of vintage, old Hollywood glam, and a bit of Rock n Roll! I wanted to be in black and white," continued the bride. An all-white dress was never an option for me."

How to…Pose in Your Wedding Photographs – What to Do (& What Not to Do)

Kat

David McNeil

June 27, 2011

Looking naturally beautiful on your wedding day is something that's often referred to by some as a bit of a given. "On your wedding day you'll be so glowingly happy that you will look as stunning and radiant in the photographs as you did when they were taken" they say...and they're right...right!? Well yes and no. I'm sure you're all with me in some degree on this one, that there are certain areas of your body that you're never going to be happy about. No matter how often your fiancé says you're beautiful and no matter how blissfully happy you are on your wedding day, when you look at a photograph of yourself your eyes are always first drawn to your arms/nose/chin/stomach . Let's be honest with ourselves here and say that we're all worried about how we're going to look in our wedding photographs aren't we? Looking at yourself in a photo can be seriously HARD if you have a hold ups about how you look...and actually even if you don't. There isn't a person in the world who hasn't taken a bad photograph, but we're all just praying that the happiest day of our lives will be reflected as such in the photographs that will remain on our parent's mantles forever aren't we?

A Sunday Kind of Love – Ulorin Vex

Kat

June 26, 2011

This photo shoot made me very happy this week. New girl crush alert! I've been thinking about pink eyebrows for a while...maybe I'll actually give it a go after seeing these. Thoughts?

Gay Marriage Legalised in New York

Kat

June 25, 2011

I just woke up to this wonderful news and I couldn't let this day pass without a quick WOOHOO! to all the LGBT friends of the blog! I look forward to seeing and featuring many more fabulous same sex wedding from here on in. Go New York!

Recent Press – June 2011

Kat

June 25, 2011

Here's where you might have spied my mug over the last 30 days. As always, thanks for all the support from the fabulous British (oh and Australian woohoo) press this month!

A Short Black Wedding Dress – Sarah & Adam’s My Chemical Romance

Kat

June 24, 2011

I'll be honest, I've been looking forward to seeing Sarah & Adam's wedding for an absolute age. You see, I saw Sarah's incredible black wedding dress many times before the event, when I popped into see my girls at Fur Coat No Knickers in London. Laura & Emma showed the dress to me and told me I'd love the bride that has bought it - that she was cute and tattooed and wearing a black veil to match...and oh boy we're they right! So without further ado... "I would describe our wedding theme as American vintage," Sarah

Lauren & Tim’s Vegan & Eco-Conscious Wedding

Kat

June 24, 2011

It was important to Lauren & Tim to make their wedding as vegan as possible. This is how they live their lives so they wanted this reflected in the biggest day of their lives.

Post It Notes – 24th June 2011: Budgeting & Finding Inspiration

Kat

June 24, 2011

Thursday Treats – 23rd June & A Little Reminder

Kat

June 23, 2011

First up a little reminder and some good news! The Rock n Roll planning notebooks and wallplanners are still available to buy through the fabulous notonthehighstreet.com. We originally planned to limited the ordering until the end of June, however the response has been so phenomenal that Sugalily and I have decided to extend ordering time indefinitely. Great news if you don't get paid until the end of next week...or if you friend has just got engaged and you're on the lookout for a unique gift (hint hint.) The wedding planning notebooks and 2012 wallplanners will be available to order from notonthehighstreet.com for the foreseeable future. Hurrah! The notebook costs just £7.50 and the wallplanner will only sent you back £20 - and both come with free delivery to anywhere in the UK (although we can ship worldwide.)

Juliana & Tony’s Tim Burton Inspired Wedding

Kat

June 23, 2011

Juliana & Tony's wedding was inspired by their favourite Tim Burton movies. "We wanted to pack a big punch in a small and intimate way," they told me. "We constantly reminded ourselves to keep it simple, not to sweat the small stuff, and to enjoy the day." "Even though the date was set for October, we didn't want our wedding to be considered or overpowered by a Halloween theme," they continued. "The main focus would always be about us as the couple. It was a bit of a challenge finding a wedding theme that worked for us and that was appropriate. We started with the color scheme of black, red, and white. After the colors we started looking at decorations that would work with the venue's ambiance. We were inspired by a visit to Disneyland’s Holiday decorated Haunted Mansion. After looking more at the work (art and films) of Tim Burton it was decided that we wouldn't limit ourselves to just one of his movies but try to select something from all of them. The purpose wasn't to be creepy and eerie but to help describe us (like many of his characters) as off-center."

Alice in Weddingland Got Married! – A Little Teaser

Kat

June 23, 2011

Alice & Graham were married on Tuesday in sunny Brighton. The imtimate wedding had only 30 guests and I was one of the lucky few to be invited to join in the celebrations. We ate ice creams, drank champagne and Pimms and wore silly glasses on the beach...

Loretta & Andy’s Backyard BBQ Wedding

Kat

June 22, 2011

"I would describe our wedding as a bit country barn ho-down, a bit backyard BBQ and a sprinkling of vintage," newlywed Loretta. "We've always been a bit Rock n Roll. We met over a shared love of music and spent the first three years of our relationship going to gigs together. Our first date after our son was born was going to see Midlake at the Prince of Wales. Andy's other true love is his Martin guitar. Our inspiration came from drives through the country, we always stop when we find a great old ramshackle barn and take photos. Some of our favourite gigs have been in places like Meeniyan at the old Town Hall. It's in places like these that bucket loads of inspiration can be found. You mix pretty fabrics and detailing with rusty old sheds and and fields of grass and hay and it's a match made in heaven."

Nick & Nikki’s Sweet Philadelphia Wedding

Kat

June 22, 2011

I don't have much information on Nick & Nikki's sweet Philadelphia wedding, but I felt the gorgeous images by Love Me Do Photography spoke a thousand words. A lovely way to easy into blogging this morning. Enjoy...

Under The Spotlight – Special Events Painter, Arlissa Vaughn

Kat

June 21, 2011

Artist Arlissa Vaughn specialises in wedding day paintings, something you might not have considered (or even heard of) until now, but something that can certainly add a new dimention to how you document your wedding day. This unique idea usually sees Arlissa attending the wedding and painting live - which can also add an extra element of entertainment to the day. She explains, "Wedding paintings are seen as a bit of a novelty, and some have suggested it is a new trend in wedding services. However, if you look into art history, it's easy to find that actually marriage paintings aren't anything new and have long been a tradition of documenting the joining of a couple. Some were painted on-site then finished in the studio, while others were painted before or after the wedding. Some examples from history include Jan van Eyck's painting commonly referred to as The Arnolfini Wedding, 1434 A.D, Marc Chagall's Wedding Candles, 1945, and Vladimir Makovsky's Goodbye Papa, 1894, among others."

Oysters, Beach Huts & Paddling in the Sea – Abby & Julian’s Beautiful Whitstable Beach Wedding

Kat

June 21, 2011

Ahh the great British seaside! While we can't rival (what seems like) the rest of the world in the sunshine stakes, our beach resorts certainly do have some beautiful British charm don't they? I've visited Whitstable a number of times (it's where we shot the mad hatter bride shoot!), and I have to say, photographer Joanna Brown's capture of this wonderful town is pretty much perfect. What a lucky couple Abby & Julian are to have had her as their wedding photographer! After Julian proposed on Whitstable beach in September, the seaside town seemed like the perfect place to get married too. The couple were wed at The Beacon House on the seafront. "We both really wanted to get married, but to be honest neither of us were particularly fussed about a fancy wedding, and once I'd had a look at a couple of wedding magazines I started having mini-palpitations at the horror and the cost of it all," Abby told me. " I do love a wedding, but I hate being centre of attention myself and the whole coordinated, packaged nightmare of it was enough to bring me out in a sweat. We did visit a few beautiful venues, but knew they were just not us, and the final straw was visiting a perfectly manicured courtyard garden venue which had installed a permanent marquee 'facility' complete with carpet tiles AND bow back seat covers (my two pet hates), glowing colour change pillars 'to fit your colour scheme' and multi-function twinkling 'star canopy'. They were so proud of it and it just epitomised everything I hate and DID NOT WANT at our wedding. Finding the world of wedding blogs was a revelation and really just gave me the confidence to do what we wanted all along."