Thursday 12 March 2015

Meryl & Andrew's beautiful wedding at The House Meadow

Today we delve into the memory box of Meryl and Andrew's wedding on 6th September 2014 at the lovely House Meadow in Biddenden.

This couple were very laid back at their consultation and left a lot of the design and colours to us - just how we like it!


How did you meet and how long were you together before you got engaged?
We met on a drunken night out that led to many more drunken nights and finally dinner!  We were together 7 years before he popped the question!

Where did you propose and how was it done?
A Parisian park in the pouring rain....attempting not to drop the ring while I negotiated an umbrella and a picnic basket the size of a suitcase.  Luckily she said yes....there's no way I could have eaten all that cheese by myself!






What's your best tip in planning a wedding?
Chill out!  It's a day to enjoy - not stress about.  Remember it's just a big party for you, your friends and family.

Do you have your most memorable part of the day?
The dance off....won of course by the Groom and his gang....(he wishes!) and I did get really excited when I saw my bouquet for the first time!




When you chose your style/colour for the day, what persuaded you?
We had a pretty good idea of what we wanted...(the perks of being together for 7 years)...but Pinterest was a great way to fine tune these themes and to share our ideas with our suppliers.



For your first dance, what was song was played and why?
Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered.  We wanted something fun and upbeat to get the party started!

What are your plans for your future together?
World Ping Pong doubles champions....and more drunken nights!

Thank you for Meryl & Andrew for sharing this with us - beautiful wedding at a beautiful venue.

© Andrew Leo Photography



Tuesday 24 February 2015

The lovely Amy & Nick - became husband and wife on 14th August 2014 at Preston Court

We won't forget meeting Amy & Nick in Cafe Nero in Tenterden for their first consultation.  We chatted for ages and laughed lots!  A lovely couple to work with and as you'll see from the pictures, it was a lovely wedding.
So without further 'a-do' I'll hand you over to Amy....



How did you meet and how long were you together before you got engaged?
Nick and I met through mysinglefriend.com, our first date was in Shoreditch, London.  Nick moved down to Essex from York and decided to stay (smiley face!)

We have been together for four years and eight months before getting married.




Where was the proposal and how was it done?
Nick proposed to me on Laguna beach, California.  He made me close my eyes whilst we were messing around drawing pictures in the sand.  When I opened my eyes, he had written 'will you?' and put the ring in it's box there.  

What's your best tip in planning a wedding?
Delegate as much as possible, don't even worry about the smallest of details because it's likely no one will notice but you, but they will notice a stressed out bride!

Do you have your most memorable part of the day?
There were so many favourite moments it's hard to pick, they include:
The ceremony and seeing everyone smiling as I walked in.
Enjoying the carousels with all of our guests
Going to sit down for our wedding breakfast where a child had carefully placed two whoopee cushions from our joke stand!
Trying to cut the cake and it nearly toppling over as the icing was so hard (tasted great though!)
Having a dance off with all of our guests to a song by fun 'we are young' at the end of the night.







When you chose your style/colour for the day, what persuaded you?
I was quite led by the colour of the organs in the barn at Preston court so chose pale pink and whites.







For your first dance, what song was played and why?
McFly 'This is Love' because we felt it summed up how we feel and was also a bit of fun!



What are your plans for your future together?
To have a lot more holidays - we have been to Mauritius for our honeymoon and are hoping for a trip to Las Vegas soon!

The beautiful photos are taken by the very talented Kerry Ann Duffy .  And now a real treat for you, lovely readers.....Amy & Nick were lucky to have Keith & Andy from Ignite Films to create their wedding film.  I've asked Amy if it's okay to include this and thankfully she said yes.  Frida and I watched it and ended up dabbing our eyes - who can't love to watch the going's on with all the emotion rolled into a beautifully edited film.  Get your tissues at the ready ;)


Thursday 29 January 2015

Welcome to our shop!

On the 17th November 2015, we collected the keys to our new shop.


It filled us with excitement and at times a sudden thought of 'God!  What have we done!'  
We decided the best way to make sure we got everything done on time was to announce the open day there and then.....Thursday 27th November 2014 would be our drinks and nibbles party to celebrate.  Word was out there, leaflets printed and invites out - there was no turning back, the shop had to be ready on time.

In the days leading up to the opening we took a trip to London, a journey to Ikea and a mission to Margate to raid the lovely RG Scott Furniture Mart Margate.  If you've never been - you must go.  We managed to get all of our tables and our cash desk for under £400 in total, along with some skulls, mirror, old metal buckets and a tea trolley!

We cleaned, we scrubbed, we sanded, we painted, we paid men to paint, we paid men to lay new flooring, we paid more men to fit a sink and another lovely electrician to put in new lighting.  We had delivery of stock from Belgium and Denmark which we excitedly opened like it was Christmas morning.  The whole process really was like DIY SOS - we still had the ceiling upstairs being painted  the morning of the open day!

So our lovely readers with a lot of help from a lot of people we transferred the shop from this....



To this....



Now a look inside.....



Our pottery and glassware are imported from Belgium and Denmark and complement our style perfectly.  They are also very reasonable in price - even if we do say so ourselves!




We have a comfy area upstairs, which is ideal for us to meet our brides and grooms to be.  We also find that for some clients that need to order funeral flowers they prefer a quieter area to discuss their requirements away from the other customers.


So if you haven't been in already, please pop in and see us: 5 The Fairings, Tenterden, TN30 6QX.  You may see Frida, Sophia or both and if you're really lucky you'll get to meet Kipper too.




Thursday 22 January 2015

Photoshoots of 2014

As well as many weddings in 2014, we were lucky to be asked to be involved in a number of photoshoots.  These are always great fun to be involved in, as it gives us the chance to take on a brief but add a little bit of Frida and a little bit of Sophia!

Story of My Dress - March 2014
In March we were contacted by the lovely Cara-Lee Whyte, founder of Story of My Dress with an invitation to be involved in a photoshoot at Belt Craft Studios, a stunning photography and film location which was formerly a textile factory.

The brief:

"So basically there will be 2 looks that are quite relaxed, bohemian, think garden wedding using 60's/70's dresses, maybe more pastel tones.  Then 2 looks that are dressed up, glamorous, sparkly and elegant, using the claret and more punchy colours alongside the metallics."

"I am thinking, claret, pink and nude as the colour tones, and somehow blending vintage/alternative in a modern way.  I thought vintage element other than the dresses could be cascading bouquet, bringing back the large ones from the 1920's."

Wow we thought - how can we turn this one down......

The claret bouquet we designed thinking of garden, trailing, 1920's large!  We used lots of different foliages adding loads of texture in this one along with beautiful peonies which were stunning.
The second bouquet was more a soft subtle mix of pastels but again going against the grain of normal domed bouquets and creating a more interesting shape that can be either used holding down, to the side or straight infront of you.  We were able to use a big mix of flowers in this one, peonies, poppies, camomile, cala lilies, delphinium and muscari.

So two bouquets, two headpieces and two necklaces later.....here is a collection of photos from the finished photoshoot, captured beautifully by the very talented Alex Tenters Photography.


















I've included this one because he looks hot!




Moroccan Nights - September 2014
The next photoshoot was with Curious Fair.  We were contacted in September to work on a different type of shoot, using more unusual materials.

"It's slightly different from any other shoot we've been involved in as the caterers are creating a proper Moroccan feast along with a Morrocan tea table. The idea is to create a cool, secret elopement shoot. We want the flowers to be inspired by Morocco but in a creative way. Our initial thoughts are succulents growing from objects, floral arrangements in glass teapots, cacti & succulents. We also love artichoke vases or something that's a bit unusual & creative.

The venue is an old factory in Brixton which look like a large wooden attic.  We want it to be quirky but in a natural bohemian way."

The Moroccan theme for the photoshoot was an opportunity for us to use some interesting materials and textures, lots of succulents, cacti, artichoke and unusual foliages.  To add a pop of colour we used some blousy blooms of garden roses and dahlias mixed with tropical textured heads of Celosia, Pincushion Protea and Venus Protea.

The two bouquets we produced were very different from one another.  One was a large tied bouquet, bright and colourful with mainly flowers and using artichoke and haworthia for interesting textures.  The other was all about texture, a wired teardrop design with different succulents and foliages with a dash of colour brought in with hot pink celosia, white snowberries and yellow craspedia.

The table decor was a subtle look to compliment the vibrancy of the food with succulents and cacti at different heights with a little dash of colour, adding an interesting look to the opulent table design.
























Photographer: Jess Withey - Jess Withey Photography -
Designer/Stylist/Art Direction: Natalie & Guy - Curious Fair
Caterer: Jan - Mimosa
Model: Emily Smith
Make Up Artist: Ellie - The Beauty Aisle
Hair: Jo - Loves Hair
Dresses - Sophie - Ears & Whiskers
Soft Furnishings & Decor - Oka
Bespoke Furniture: Guy - Gas & Air
Coordinator/Art Direction/Promotion: Erica - Mr & Mrs Unique

Paris de Nuit - December 2014
Our last photoshoot of 2014 was in Paris!  We didn't get to go unfortunately as it was just after we'd taken on the shop, but it looked such an amazing trip and with such a lovely collection of suppliers.  The very talented Rebecca Douglas produced the brief called Paris de Nuit:

"A night time bridal shoot in Paris full of creative use of light capturing the romance and glow of the city in the winter with 1940s-esque, cinematic/Film Noir influences 


Nighttime in Paris, 1940s-esque, cinematic/Film Noir influences, romance, light, dark, silhouette, sparkle, glimmer, candle light, artistic, creative, elegant, nostalgia"

Frida and I have worked with Rebecca on numerous occasions and love her work.  We wanted to portray romance and softness in the flowers, producing an oversized trailing bouquet with a palette that ran through from deep purple to very pale pinks with a dash of metallic.  

















Photography & Co-ordination : Rebecca Douglas Photography assisted by Lucy Rose 
Hair & Make Up: Victoria Farr Make Up and Hair Artist 

Dresses & Accessories: Karen Whybro – Rock The Frock Bridal Boutique 
Dress Designer: Julie Coxon – Julie Lou
Headpiece: Jodi McFayden – McFayden Millinery  
Suiting: Stuart – Chester Cordite 
LocationAncien atelier d’artiste du XIXe 

Models: Kate Frances Lawton and Sam Yates

We hope you enjoyed looking through these photos - next time on the blog a post dedicated to the shop......