Black & white mood board

Inspired by one of my brides (whose upcoming wedding is epic let me tell you), this board is all about the black and white lovin' with a slightly dark undertone...

from top left:
Helt Enkelt, notonthehighstreet.com, Lacklusterco on Etsy

Crystal Clear Imagery via Style Me Pretty

BHLDN

What does a wedding planner actually do? Part 7

Goes out and meets suppliers...

After my recent break up of sorts with Twitter I decided to start making contact with people and actually meet up with them instead of just have Twitter conversations with them. And since they're all wedding folk of some kind I thought I might as well do a little blog post on them afterwards.

My first official 'not-just-tweeting-but-meeting' was with Rachel from I Do Films.

  photo by Shell de Mar

We met at the blustery outdoor cafe of the Ritzy cinema in Brixton where we gossiped, (but of course) and shared wedding related tales. Rachel creates super 8 films for weddings and events and explains really well on her website exactly what a super 8 wedding film is for those of you who are unsure, which I have to admit, until relatively recently, I was. Appalling I know.

I love how sociable working as a wedding planner can be. Yes okay you work alone primarily but I've met some lovely people that have definitely become friends since setting up my business. And it's especially useful when you're busy and need a break. You can justify meeting a supplier for coffee as 'work'!

Anyway, here's a snippet of Rachel's latest project using a technique called lens whacking. Shot on DSLR this technique helps give digital images a more retro feel.


Lens whacking test clips experiment at latest wedding from Rachel Knights of I Do Films on Vimeo.

Cool eh? Check out Rachel's site for more.

And be sure to come back soon for my next installment of not just tweeting but meeting!

The only hand cream worth having

This hand cream from L'Occintane is the dog's you-know-whats and is a must for anyone who suffers from dry, sore hands.

It is rich without being greasy and smells AMAZING.

And it's perfect for brides as it comes in a little handbag sized 30ml tube so you can whip it out in time to have super smooth hands for the ring/holding bouquet/general hand close up shot.

L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

Original 1950s wedding dresses

Be warned, when you check out this Etsy shop, you are going to want to buy everything in it. Timeless Vixen  is based in Beverly Hills (but ships internationally), and 'offers the best in femme fetale fashion from the 1870s to 1970s'. I'll say.

I discovered these affordable, unique vintage wedding dresses through Katie Antoniou on Twitter, (of London Plinth). Thank you Twitter. Despite my grumblings about you of late, you do sometimes deliver a gem.

I know when I get married, I'm going to want to wear a unique dress. And vintage is a pretty good way to do that.

The 1950s style is grabbing me lately, maybe because it promises to give hips to those not naturally blessed with them so these dresses stood out in particular.

There's some pretty gorgeous 1930s dresses available too for those after something a little more slinky.

1950s vintage lace dress

1950s vintage bow dress

1950s vintage lace and yellow taffeta wedding dress

Timeless Vixen

And with prices starting at $325 they don't even have the hefty price tag you get with some vintage items.

What do you think? It's a good style this 1950s prom dress, flattering for lots of body shapes don't you think?

We Plan, You Play... wedding playlists you need to hear!

A certain Ms London Bride and I have been working on creating wedding playlists for you wedding planning folk recently, and if you haven't seen our blog We Plan, You Play I'd like to draw your attention to it!

Every month we feature 25 songs to help you curate your wedding soundtrack. Although I've got to be honest, it's also an excuse for us to listen to 90s tracks (relive our youth/show our age) and dance around my living room.

From The Everly Brothers to MGMT and Darlene Love to Blackstreet there's enough musical variety to appeal to everyone from granny to your too cool for school cousin.

We set We Plan,You Play because we felt there's an awful lot of advice and inspiration for the style and design side of wedding planning but not so much for the other aspects of planning like the music. But it is as if not more important in some ways for creating atmosphere and ensuring everyone has a jolly good time.

What about you? What were the musical highlights of your big day? And if you're getting married soon or at some point in time what tunes will you be playing to get everybody shaking their thang a la dance floor??

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.

Pretty in blue

Kind of smitten with these bridesmaids and their sassy little dresses and rainbow shoes. A nice twist on matchy matchy bridesmaid thang and I cannot get enough of that blue.

 Joanna Brown Photography

Nothing beats brights for getting my attention (as my Pinterest board will attest). 

Be sure to check out the entire wedding in all it's quirky English garden glory over at photographer Joanna's blog.