Chalk hearts and paper love

Afternoon my dears, taking a little break for preparing for Saturday's wedding (please no rain) to bring you photos of a mini shoot I did recently.

Gaelle, aka oh la la weddings and I first worked together on a make up shoot and since then we can't stop planning collaborative projects.

This shoot features the lovely Rachel and Damien, a super sweet couple who recently got married in Australia.

We wanted to show how something as simple as coloured bits of paper cut up as confetti can be a fun prop for a love or engagement shoot.

You could even re-use the confetti on your wedding day if you felt like it.

 

How cute are they?!

And it's always interesting as a wedding planner to see how a photographer works. Gaelle is mighty talented and creative and I'm looking forward to working with her lots more!

You can see another shoot I recently styled here.

70s inspired shoot

Not so long ago on a blustery Sunday afternoon myself and Jemma from Pearl Pictures, (and her sweet assistant Grace) got together to do a mini love shoot featuring me and my boy.

You don't have to be engaged to have yourself a little love shoot (as I myself am not)! And lots of good photographers now offer themselves and their camera for an afternoon of happy snapping, so it's a perfect idea if you maybe didn't get the wedding pics you wanted. Or perhaps you're already married and fancy some up to date photos taken by a pro.

And you can style them any way you want which is why I've focused on the props in this shoot. I've been having a seventies moment of late so brought along some of my most suitable props for the occasion.

The weather was TERRIBLE. It was so windy I felt like I was about to take off which didn't make it easy to look happy and relaxed. A good lesson though, that you can't control the weather ;)

Think in general I prefer the behind-the-scenes-styling to the in-front-of-lens-posing. Props, as they say, to Jemma for handling such challenging weather and models!

 Pearl Pictures

I do styling for engagement shoots for my couples too and am looking forward in particular to one of my 2012 couples. I think they're going to have some interesting ideas!

What about you? If you were going to do a love/engagement shoot how would you want to style it?

Inky indigo

from top left:
indigo dress image from bluepoolroad
cameo from Iris Schwarz on etsy
blue bottles from Savoir Weddings props
extract of indigo plant applied to paper
indigo and mint image from jed root
made up eyes from pinterest


I've always been interested in colour but since becoming a wedding planner and stylist I've looked at the concept of colour and colours in general in a whole new way.

I've always liked blues and greens best. As testified by my teal obsession. Recently it's the deep, evocative, inky indigo that's making me swoon.

You can see some of my other mood boards here.

What do you think of indigo?

Photobooth props from Little Retreats

Who doesn't love a good photo booth at a wedding eh?

Little Retreats over at Etsy has got some pretty wonderful props and I urge you to check it out pronto. It's the work of Brooke Meyenberg who also has a sweet blog Jackaroo Love.

Here's a selection of some of my faves...













What do you think? I like the zebra mask best I think.

Pretties to start the week with...

the couple

Not much I don't adore about this couple and their gorgeous budget DIY wedding as seen on Ruffled.

How sweet is the bride's plaited hair and lovely lace wedding dress?




the ring

Stylish, unique and ethical engagement rings by New York based ken + dana design.

You have to check out their site, there are some real beauties on there. Found via live it out photography.




the shoe

Loving this killer wedding shoe seen over at Style Me Pretty. The wedding is full of super gorgeousness.




the star bunting

Always on the look out for new and fresh wedding decor ideas and rather liking this star bunting/ garland. Found over at stylist Mindy Gayer's blog




the prop

Ampersand from an engagement shoot found over at Emmaline Bride. I've been thinking about getting an ampersand tattooed on my ankle but have yet to find the perfect font.



See more Monday Medley's here and here's to a splendid Monday folks :)

You bring peace to my heart...

Not everybody's cup of tea but certainly a day for some gratuitous heart action. Whatever you get up to this evening, have a good one.

from top left...
DIY heart luminaries via Creature Comforts
Bridesmaid hearts via Green Wedding Shoes
I Heart You origami bouquet via My Bohemian Summer
Red velvet heart cake, source unknown
Origami heart garland via Oh My!

See other Monday Medley's here.

A prop to rival moustaches...

Not possible I hear you cry. Well, I don't know, I'm quite a fan of these big pink lips. Perfect for a good old photobooth session methinks.... and a Friday evening.



You can get these here (no UK delivery I'm afraid peeps).

♥ Romantic English Country Garden wedding ♥

Back in May I got a phone call from a groom-to-be in Germany wanting some help planning his wedding for August. This was new on several fronts, it was surprising in a good way to get an enquiry from a groom and I'd never worked with a couple getting married in the UK but living abroad. Factor in a scarily short amount of time and I knew planning this wedding was going to be a challenge! Which it was, but in a brilliant way. The couple, Nina and Patrick were pretty much a wedding planner's dream - they were up for being creative and were realistic about what their budget could afford.

My favourite part of planning their wedding was the styling. When I first met N&P (as they came to be known) they told me they wanted a classic English country garden wedding with some vintage touches. I had lots of perfect props for them to use, in fact all (except for the awesome vintage lampshades) the props you see in the photos came from me!

The venue was Bramble Park, Nina's aunt's huge old house that used to be a B&B. We put a marquee up in the garden that comfortably held the 50 guests and was pretty useful during the short sharp bursts of rain that occurred sporadically.

The photos were shot by the insanely fabulous Lisa Devlin Photography. I think she captured the essence of the wedding perfectly. I've already expressed my love for Lisa on my blog, I adore her style.

The gorgeous blooms came from Pollen Nation. Alison was amazing and got me loads of extra flowers. As the style was 'shabby chic' me and my awesome little helper flexed our creative muscles to become florists and put flowers in random mismatched bottles. The hydrangeas were favourites all round I think.

Style and design wise we had a little help from Grace and Tailor. Louisa sourced me some gorgeous cream lace as table runners and of course the lampshades which were a good feature for photos and looked really cute hung up in the marquee.

And the best part of the whole experience for me? Definitely being told afterwards by the couple that it was exactly the day they wanted and had totally exceeded their expectations. That made me feel good!









They stopped off for some shots in a glorious poppy field.



The classic 'ring' shot.









An old shed in the grounds of the venue...





Taken inside the house itself. Which incidentally was beyond incredible.



It was good to have a marquee which windows that opened up when the weather was good. And of course could be shut again just as easily.









This is a vintage clock I bought from across the pond on Etsy.





You got to love black tea cups. These were actually the cheapest I have, I got a whole set for £5 at a car boot sale. Bargain eh?



Love love love this shot...





For the main meal, a BBQ we set each place with mismatched vintage napkins. There was no formal seating plan, although there was a top table and guests just helped themselves to food and sat where they liked. I think this added to the intimate relaxed atmosphere.









The guy in the blue is the groom's dad, he was in a band called Fat Mattress back in the day. Check this out, it's pretty cool!



The cat, that got under my feet all day.



All in all a pretty perfect DIY, wedding at home. ♥