Guest Post – A Thoroughly Vintage Wedding

Today’s guest blog is by Betty Bee whose blog covers all aspects of vintage living. Betty contact me via twitter and I instantly knew I had to share this wedding with you. I absolutely adore Bobby-Lou’s dress… and her hair!! A perfect way to inject colour and fun into such a special day.

When Bobby-Lou Hulmes started planning her wedding to fiancé Adrian she knew she wanted everything from the hen party to her wedding dress to have a 1950’s flavour. Having only become engaged on New Years Eve 2011 and with the big day set for April of the same year time wasn’t on her side but with a little ingenuity, a strong vision and creative flair she created the wedding of her dreams.

Bobby-Lou has always had a fascination for the looks of bygone eras as she explains “when I was a little girl my dad had a picture book of 1940s screen sirens and I loved them-they were covered in cellophane and I would carefully unwrap them. I was particularly drawn to the film noir pictures and have been attracted to that element of old school glamour ever since.”

For her wedding dress Bobby-Lou knew she wanted something inspired by film stars of a bygone era and was initially thinking of a wiggle dress or fishtail design but finally opted for a swing dress  “ I wanted to be able to move on my wedding day and having booked the historic Bolton Town hall for my service knew I would be negotiating many large staircases and steps and wanted to avoid any trip factor.”

Determined that she wasn’t going to fall into the trap of spending thousands on her wedding Bobby-Lou set herself a modest budget for the entire event, convinced that with a little research and imagination she could have a stylish unique wedding, which wouldn’t break the bank.

Searching online she found a perfect wedding dress at Whirling Turban. Exquisite in its simplicity and made of unbleached cotton with a pearl sheen when it arrived it fitted like a glove, nipping in her already tiny waist and emphasising her delicate collar bones and great legs. Ten denier Nude stockings with black seams and a pair of dainty ballet flats completed the look.

For her accessories her fiancé Adrian brought her pearl earrings, which her mum complimented with a gift of a pearl necklace. A Birdcage veil sourced from eBay was the perfect finishing touch adding that all-important film noir element.

Having booked Lilly Von Pink from The Vintage Pamper Box to perform hair and make up duties on the day. Bobby-Lou wore a classic Hollywood make up with three shades of brown eye shadow accentuating the almond shape of her eyes, creamy white skin and of course those all-important pillar box red lips.

For the all important wedding day hair she decided on a soft Veronica Lake inspired hairstyle. Lilly set Bobby-Lou’s hair using heated rollers with old fashioned setting lotion to create gentle cascades around her face.

Bobby-Lou’s stylish and beautiful approach continued with her choice of flowers. Classic Grand Prix roses for the bride, and a posy of pink and cream for the bridesmaid. The Groom wore a dark blue pinstripe suit and navy shirt and tie reflecting traditional union jack colours. The sun shone, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

And what did groom Adrian think of Bobby-Lou as she walked down the aisle to the stains of a ukulele playing somewhere over the rainbow “stunning” was his verdict and we couldn’t agree more.

Betty Bee x

The finer details:

Bride & Groom – Bobby-Lou and Adrian Hulme

Photographer – Nick Beedles Betty Bee Photography

Location – Bolton Town Hall

Wedding Dress – Whirling Turban

Make Up Artist – Lilly Von Pink from the Vintage Pamper Box

For more vintage inspiration check out Betty Bee Bee’s daily blog postings at the Tales From Betty Bee Towers blog. Thank you Betty! I would also like to send a huge congratulations to the new Mr & Mrs Hulme, your wedding is beautiful and you make such a sweet couple!

Laura x

Introducing… Belle and the Bunting

I am excited to introduce to you Belle and the Bunting, a vintage inpired bunting hire company started earlier this year by the lovely Kerry. Based in the beautiful Somerset countryside, Belle and the Bunting offer handmade decorations for your wedding day or any other celebration, whatever your chosen colour scheme or style…

I have had the idea to set up a bunting hire company for some time now but as I have two small children I have not had the opportunity to do anything about it until now. Funny too, as bunting seems to be on the rise (in fact, a tongue in cheek article just last week said that bunting is replacing the cupcake, although not literally)!

I make all of the bunting myself, not only using tried and tested designers such as Cath Kidston and Laura Ashley but also designers such as Tanya Whelan. I love her designs, a real homage to 1950s florals, very pretty and just the kind of new ‘vintage’ I am aiming for. The flags are bigger and I provide up to 150 metres per design so there is plenty to decorate a small venue as well as a large marquee. My next design consists only of genuine vintage fabrics, cottons, linen, lace; anything I can lay my hands on.

I’m sure everyone who has an idea finds that it completely takes over their lives, and it’s been exactly the same for me! Even when I am having conversations I find my mind wandering back to bunting, fabrics I can use, how I’m going to make it, who should I be thinking of contacting next!!

I am new to the wedding world and I am learning so much. I imagined it would all be about the sourcing materials, the making and sewing but it’s so much more. I hadn’t realised just how much I missed working, doing something useful (hopefully) and meeting people. The social networking of this new little venture is also something I hadn’t anticipated on. I’ve made some great contacts, and I’m finding a whole load of like-minded people out there. The only thing is, because I’m getting so involved with the whole wedding market (I think this is where my product sits best), I’m getting quite jealous of all of you brides-to-be!

The actual product is made by myself at my home workshop. I try and use only the best products, there really is no substitute for quality and I think my customers appreciate that. There are a handful of companies who already hire bunting but I try to set myself aside by offering designs that have a contemporary vintage feel. I know that sounds like nonsense, but I really feel as though there is a bit of a movement which pays it dues to all things vintage whilst being new and fresh.

I absolutely love what I do and I hope this shows. I do it all myself and I’m not ashamed about letting people know. I also love that what I produce plays a part (albeit a very small one) in days that will be remembered forever.

You really can see that Kerry takes pride in what she does. I just love it when someone holds such a passion for what they do, it makes using their products so much more enjoyable!

For more information about Belle and the Bunting you can visit her website here. You can also keep up to date with all of the Belle and the Bunting news on facebook here.

Laura x

 

Apparently Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Thanks to Phoebe Miller I have a new love in my life, Pinterest. As I am in up all night mode ready for more night shifts during the week I thought I’d pass some time by browsing through my new found ‘even more addictive than twitter’ website. I came across this photograph. Now, judging by the caption on the photo and by the fact that I found it in someone’s ‘funny’ section I’m guessing that a lot of people might potentially find the girls in this photo very odd looking. I however, think they’re fabulous and fun! I guess the world would be a very boring place if we were all the same…

Laura x

A feast for the eyes – Introducing… I am Nat

When we first started looking for our wedding stationery we always knew that we wanted something a bit different to the norm and we definitely found it. In fact, this has been the part of the wedding that my fiance Tom has had the most input in, he was very excited about finding the right invitations to reflect our personalities and the colour scheme and feel of our wedding was decided on by our beautiful invitations. There are so many amazing possibilities when it comes to your stationery. Whether you go for DIY, letterpress, digitally printed, or handmade, whatever you choose gives your guests that first impression of your wedding.

To brighten up what is has turned out to be quite a dull day outside I would love to introduce to you the adorable and extremely talented I am Nat who, in her very modest words, makes ‘stuff look pretty.’ I discovered Natalie’s via the medium that is Twitter and have since been a follower of her stunning work. So charming and original, I love it!

 

I always find it a bit difficult to put a label on my style because I’ve had it described to me in so many ways, from retro and quirky to pretty and enchanting.

A lot of my inspiration comes from hours of internet browsing through blogs, image sites and so on, although more recently I have discovered the importance of stepping away from the screen and getting out into the world…going to gigs or on mini adventures – it all oozes inspiration. My main influence though has got to be the couples I work with, they all have such amazing ideas and it is so satisfying to bring their ideas to life.

 

 

 

The best thing about what I do? I get to wake up and design everyday, it’s my dream job and I’m doing it. I make more than wedding stationery, I am actually currently working on the designs for the promotional material for a chain of nightclubs. If it’s design related, I want to do it.

 

 

 

Lately, as well as wedding stationery, I’ve been designing greetings cards, business stationery and also stationery for the likes of parties and even funerals, ooh and I’ve also been doing the branding for a few businesses, which will be up on my site soon!

 

I’ll let you into a bit of an exclusive too – I am in the process of setting up a Not on the High Street shop

 

Such cuteness right there! Thank you to Natalie and a huge ‘GOOD LUCK’ with your Not on the High Street venture. One of my favourite stationers on a one stop shop for all other things wedding, what more could a girl wish for?

 

Photographs by James Melia Photography

 

Laura x

Superb Stationery by Crafty Pagan

Whilst browing through Etsy for some wonderfully unique wedding inspiration I stumbled across the fabulous Crafty Pagan, a handmade stationery company based near Lincoln. Immediately I was drawn to their beautifully original stationery designs and taking a closer look they had just what I was looking for - some very cute Alice in Wonderland inspired ‘Drink Me’ labels for our reception drinks. I just had to have them so I contacted Rowena, the leader of the Crafty Pagan pack, and made an order there and then. I fell in love with our ‘Drink Me’  labels as soon as they arrived, with their vintage look and rich plum ribbon they match our wedding invitations and other stationery perfectly!

With their great products and service, I am very pleased to present to you Crafty Pagan and their adorable designs. You can find the Crafty Pagan Etsy shop entrance here. Whether it’s a twee vintage look that you are going for, a Halloween theme, Alice in Wonderland or something that simply reflects you as a soon to be married couple then Crafty Pagan will certainly offer you something perfectly suited to your needs. Here is what owner, Rowena, shared with me about her business…

I’ve always been very creative and once I had my little boy I began working for some stamp companies designing cards etc for them. My blog where I showcase this work can be found here. I began amounting a lot of work and eventually opened up an etsy shop. Most of my first sales were my luxury cards which I do still sell here as and when they are made for design team showcase projects.

 

Things then branched out as I took my love of Alice in Wonderland and began making items for Wonderland themed weddings…after a time my husband began working full time with me on our etsy shop and it is wonderful to be able to do it together! It’s also super hard work and we usually work 60 hours week at the very least.

A selection of my favourite pieces from Crafty Pagan’s unusual Alice in Wonderland range

 

 

 

My inspiration comes from all sorts of places, the world around us, history, nature, fashion and customers. Some of my favourite designs came into being from a request from a customer! We absolutely love working with customers all over the world, and indeed most of our customers are in the US, despite us being in the UK but I think we have now shipped just about everywhere! 

Just a selection of my favourite pieces of the Crafty Pagan stationery ranges. All are handmade to order and colours and ribbons are able to be tailored to your wedding’s colour scheme. I absolutely adore them!

Laura x