UNIQUE WEDDINGS INSPIRATIoN STYLE LoVE
Photography: We Heart Pictures
weDDinG AnD liFesTYle MAGAZine
ISSUE 002
AUTUMN/WINTER 2014
FOllOw Us On sOciAl MeDiA
BlOGlOVin
mr-mrs-unique-wedding-blog
mrandmrsuniquecouk
MrandMrsUnique
GMAil
mrandmrsunique
Erica Willoughby Smith
mrandmrsunique
Mr & Mrs UniqUe Mr & Mrs Unique celebrates the unusual, the quirky, the interesting and above all the unique aspects to weddings that so many couples seek these days; offering a colourful array of some of the very best UK wedding suppliers; a blend of the extraordinary, talented, crazy & downright amazing! Not only do we cherry pick the very best unique, eclectic and creative wedding services, our business
has grown considerably to include a successful directory, a resourceful wedding and lifestyle blog, visual and inspirational online bi-annual magazine, supplier workshops and Tie The Knot- The Unique & Eclectic Wedding Carnival. We aim to feature only the most unique services from the best suppliers across the UK. Businesses that are committed to the highest quality of products and service, integrity and value; ones that can demonstrate that their uniqueness is in keeping with the Mr & Mrs Unique seal of approval.
ADVerTisinG & sUBMissiOns If you are interested in joining Mr & Mrs Unique and have a service that would be of interest to couples that look for something a bit different and outside the box, please email us info@mrandmrsunique.co.uk or follow our guidelines here
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Message from The Editor
Photo: Jessica Withey Photography
Erica Willoughby-Smith Founder and creative director of Mr & Mrs Unique directory, blog, magazine and co-organiser of Tie The Knot Wedding Carnival Hello! Welcome to our second edition of our online magazine. Since our first edition launched 6 months ago we’ve been working hard to bring you some colourful, inspirational and unique ideas for your wedding day. I wanted to personally say a massive thank you to all of our suppliers and followers for all their love and support over the past few months. Our Mr & Mrs Unique wedding blog came Highly Commended at the recent Wedding Blog Awards, which was held at The Savoy Hotel. A really unexpected, but really welcomed award!! Woohoo!
A special thank you to Katerina from Rhubka Design, the lady behind the design at Mr & Mrs Unique. This Autumn/Winter we bring you tons of real weddings, photo shoots, DIY projects, delicious food and drink ideas, colour and style inspiration, plus advice and guidance from the people in the know; our lovely suppliers! So sit back and enjoy all the pretties Erica Xx If you have any suggestions or comments please get in touch info@mrandmrsunique.co.uk
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Photography: Babb Photo
Mr & Mrs Unique - Wedding Directory, Blog & Online Magazine
www.mrandmrsunique.co.uk Visit the Directory Visit the Blog
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Mr & Mrs Unique Wedding Directory cherry picks the very best unique, eclectic and creative wedding services across the UK. Ideal if you’re looking for inspiration or suppliers in your area for your big day.
www.mrandmrsuniqueweddingblog.co.uk For wedding inspiration and a behind the scenes look at what our suppliers get up to.
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cOnTenTs A Jolly Good wedding ..................... 6 Nat from Jolly Good Wedding
Daisy & Jon Yurt wedding .......... 80 Hooes Yurt
Moroccan nights ............................20 Curious Fair Bridal Shoot
DiY Floral wreath .......................... 88 The Basement Florist
celebration Goodies ......................32 Top Decoration ideas
Kids at weddings ............................92 Wedding in a Teacup
Beautiful Autumn/ winter Blooms .................................35 Stephanie Rose
DiY Arrow Place setting ..............94 Bespoke Bride 94
Day of the Dead wed ....................38 We Heart Pictures cardamon & Orange cake recipe ..................................... 50 SK Cakes Alice in wonderland .......................52 Bridal Shoot - Jessica Withey Photography
Doily’s Mini Bar ............................... 97 Doily Days 97 Tunnel Boho Beach........................98 Bridal Shoot - Mr & Mrs Unique The joy of Flowers........................106 Wild Bunch
Metallic cakes .................................66 Mr & Mrs Unique cake designers
laid Back luxury ......................... 110 if you go down to the woods today............................. 116 Styled shoot Wedding Yurts
Day of the Dead ..............................68 Bridal Shoot Mr & Mrs Unique
competition winners .................. 116 Francesca Secolonovo
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A Jolly Good Wedding‌ Photography by Sarah Lauren Photography Words by Nat from Jolly Good Wedding
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So what happens when you’re a wedding planner/stylist and you have to turn your hand to create your own dream wedding?! Nat from Jolly Good Wedding tells us about her big day and shares some of her favourite moments... Our wedding was a vision of everything we both love... a fusion of English country living with Indian and Moroccan styling. Our food was Lebanese/Moroccan cuisine, which is our favourite food. We want a relaxed buffet style, where guests can get involved and visualise a food market you would find in Morocco. In a sentence... Chagford meets India! The speaking point had to be the Fattoush served in guttering – something we found at The Eden Project in Cornwall. One of my guilty pleasures is Macaroons and that was a must for me – I even screamed when they brought them out!
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The wedding was planned/styled by my talented husband and myself. Though I felt the pressure was on some of our suppliers and in hindsight would have done some things differently BUT wouldn’t change the day. As a wedding planner, I didn’t particularly want anyone else planning or styling our big day! The most enjoyable part of my job is watching couples visions coming to life and I wanted full control over that - Our vision was eclectic and it worked!
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We’re very fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the world and in true British style it rained on the morning of the wedding and even thundered the night before, but there is one thing you can’t control and that’s the weather! Be prepared for all elements thankfully the weather cleared for all the right moments. Though our amazing photographer couldn’t have been happier to see a rainbow as it was a rather cool photo opportunity!
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PHoToGRAPHER Sarah Lauren Photography FLoRIST Laura Hingston Flowers TENT Beautiful Tent Company CATERER Antonia’s Kitchen MACARoNS Frandie Macaron FURNITURE/GHoST CHAIRS Virginias Vintage Hire & Inspire Hire MY DRESS Phase Eight BRIDESMAIDS Monsoon GRooM Taylor made tweed suit WEDDING INVITE Wedding Tea Towels WEDDING CAKE Made by my auntie/ Flowers from our garden DJ Hybrd Entertainment
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Moroccan Nights Bridal Shoot Photography: Jessica Withey Photography Art Direction: Curious Fair for Mr & Mrs Unique
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Co-oRDINATIoN & STYLING Curious Fair
BESPoKE DRESSES Ears & Whiskers
PHoToGRAPHY Jessica Withey Photography
VINTAGE DRESS Charlie Brear
CATERING Mimosa
INTERIoR ACCESSoRIES oka
VENUE Brixton East
BESPoKE TATTooS The Aviary
FLoWERS Frieda & Sophia Floral Design
FEATHER ANKLETS Curious Fair
HAIR Lovehair & Co
MoDELS Emily Smith & Alfie Margetts
MAKEUP The Beauty Aisle
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CURIoUS FAIR: The idea for a Moroccan shoot came from a meeting via wedding hour with the delicious Mimosa catering. Their food & cafes are inspired by Moroccan cuisine, featuring rich tagines & Moroccan style sharing platters. We wanted to create a styled wedding shoot with a twist, displaying an intimate family feast rather than a structured formal meal. We decided to stick with neutral tones for the styling focusing on reclaimed wood, eclectic silverware, glass vessels, concrete vases & blue and white ceramics.
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We chose to design a muted backdrop to set off the vibrancy of the rich colour flowers & Moroccan dishes. We were thrilled when Frieda & Sophia came on board to create the bold & unique floral design. The location was Brixton East, a 19th century converted furniture warehouse. Its original wooden floors and quirky details were the perfect backdrop for this intimate shoot.
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FRIEDA & SoPHIA: The Moroccan theme for the photo shoot 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.
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CURIoUS FAIR: The focus of the shoot was the Moroccan feast, which we displayed on a long reclaimed wood table. We created varied heights with upturned antique wooden boxes & a variety of traditional Moroccan bowls. We wanted to create an eclectic mix of traditional and contemporary Moroccan inspired styling. We mixed antique finds with current pieces from OKA interiors collection & Mimosa’s own decorative plates and bowls. We created bespoke concrete vessels, which we finished with silver leaf, reflecting the textures of Moroccan street life in a contemporary way. Mimosa put together its signature rich & vibrant sharing platters and tagines, perfect for a relaxed affair. To carry on the relaxed vibe, we styled a Moroccan tea table surrounded by scatter cushions & displaying Mimosa’s colourful Meringues topped with edible flowers. We used an unusual glass teapot from Oka to hold another of Frieda & Sophia’s floral creations as a playful take on the traditional ‘Moroccan tea’.
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THE BEAUTY AISLE: For the first look I took inspiration from the deep blue ceramics of Morroco by using a bold navy coloured eyeshadow. I gently sprinkled gold glitter over our model, Emily’s eyelids and let it drop onto the cheeks. I matched the lip colour to the delicious figs and dark pink colours of the flowers used in the shoot.
For the final look I went all-out with the glitter! Completely covering the eyelids with a sparkly metallic sheen whilst using terracotta coloured lipstick to keep the look soft and beautiful.
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celeBrATiOn GOODies Top Decoration Ideas
Balloons: Bubblegum Balloons
Pi単atas: Scene-Setter
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Colourful Confetti: Wedding in a Teacup
Tassels: Bubblegum Balloons
Large letters: Scene-Setter
Confetti pop: Curious Fair
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Beautiful Autumn/Winter Blooms Photography by Sharon Cooper Photography Words and flowers by Stephanie Rose
Flowers used in the chandelier, bouquet and mannequin were beautiful Zinnias, Dahlia, Hypericum, Berries, Amaranthus and spray roses. We used rich, vibrant colours as plums, fuchsia, soft pinks through to burnt orange and highlighted with sunshine yellows Zinnias are a summer flower and Dahlia is predominantly an autumn flower. The rest you can get all year round. So this Autumn/ Winter feel free to experiment with shapes and be bold with colour!
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Day of the Dead Wed Photography and words by We Heart Pictures
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Kirsty & Steve’s Day of the Dead Wedding was something out of this world. No cliches, no copycats, most certainly not an ordinary couple or wedding.
make the day special for everyone involved was really inspirational.
Since our first meeting when we sat down and chatted about their plans and ideas we were blown away by their originality and vision of the day. We had never shot a wedding like this before and we were thrilled to be the ones selected to document it. They had a lot of work ahead but we knew they were going to pull it off. Their organisation skills and determination to
The big day was phenomenal, incredible, beautiful and we can only say that we are super happy to be in some way part of their journey. We loved that they went all out to celebrate their love the way THEY wanted, not letting themselves be guided or influenced by venues and planners. The fact that everything in their wedding, the decorations, the settings etc was created by
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Kirsty + Steve and their team of super helper friends making everything even lovelier and special! We enjoyed documented this day, like we do with all our couples, spending the day creating a beautiful story of one of the best day on their lives. It’s an honour for us and something we get very excited about. Here is to more unique, kick arse couples + Mexican mayhem.
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PHoToGRAPHY We Heart Pictures VENUE Hoxton Hall BRIDE’S DRESS Candy Anthony BRIDE’S HEADPIECE Luna on the Moon BRIDE’S SHoES Vivienne Westwood GRooM’S ATTIRE Topman (customised) GRooM’S BoWTIE DIY BRIDESMAID’S DRESSES Various BRIDESMAID’S HEADPIECES Luna on the Moon FLoWERS Jules Marshall & Becky Houghton STATIoNERY Lauren McIvor CATERING Well Kneaded BAND Marjorie Belles BAND #2 Ryan Brown and Tamara o’Callaghan FACE PAINTERS Eye Dare You
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BESPOKE WEDDING DRESSES AND HAIR ACCESSORIES
KATE EDMONDSON BRIDAL COUTURE ALL PIECES HANDMADE AT OUR WEST LONDON STUDIO BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
www.kateedmondsonbridal.co.uk e: info@kateedmondsonbridal.co.uk t: 07870918776
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Wedding S t a t ione r y & Pape r P r e t t ies www. r usse t andg r ay.co.uk
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Cardamon & Orange Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Words by Susie from SK Cakes
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INgREDIENTS 250 grams Unsalted Butter 250 grams Caster Sugar 5 Medium Eggs 250 grams Self Raising Flour 2 tsp ground Cardamon Zest of 2 oranges
FOR THE SUgAR SYRUP: 100 grams of caster sugar 100ml water 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste FOR THE BUTTERCREAM: 250 grams of Unsalted Butter 500 grams of Icing Sugar 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste 1 tbsp Milk
Pre heat oven to 160 degrees Line and butter 3 6� cake tins. Cream together the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Place two spoons of the flour in the mixture to stop it curdling, then gradually add the eggs a little at a time, waiting for it to be fully incorporated before adding more. If it looks like it is curdling don’t panic just add a little more flour. When the eggs are fully incorporated add the self raising flour, cardamon and orange, mix lightly until fully incorporated. Divide the mixture equally between all three cake pans and bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the cakes are golden brown, starting to pull away front he sides and spring back to touch. Whilst the cake are baking add together the ingredients for the sugar syrup and bring to the boil, turn off once all the sugar has been dissolved. When you take the cakes out of the oven brush with the sugar syrup, leave for 10 minutes to cool, then place on a cooling rack. Make the buttercream whilst you are waiting for the cakes to cool. Cream the butter and icing sugar together until light and then add the vanilla paste and milk, beat again until it is all fully mixed together. When the cakes have cooled cut them down until they are level, brush the sponges again with the sugar syrup and then stack them together with the icing in-between. To decorate with gold sequins you need to buttercream the outside of the cake then press multi coloured edible confetti (that you can purchase at most supermarkets) onto the outside of the cake. Then spray paint the outside of the cake with edible lustre dust. Decorate with a ribbon or with edible flowers.
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ALICE IN WONDERLAND Bridal Shoot
Photos by Jessica Withey Photography
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PHoToGRAPHY: Jessica Withey Photography DRESS: Ears and Whiskers BRIDAL HEADPIECE: With Love from Bobbin STATIoNERY: Something Kinda Cute DARK RABBIT MASK: Curious Fair VIDEoGRAPHY: Mrs Mashup STYLING: My Vintage Flower FLoWERS: Amanda French Flowers FURNITURE AND PRoPS: Wye Valley Reclamation MAKEUP olly Thompson MoDELS: Jordan & Lucy
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Metallic Floral Cake by Delicieux Cakes Photo: Dale Weeks Photography
Metallic Cakes
Top tips from Mr & Mrs Unique cake designers
gold & Black Tiered Cake by SK Cakes
Metallic Sugared Almond Cake by Frenchmade
gold Hand-Painted Floral Cake by Nevie-Pie Cakes Photo by Binky Nixon Photography
gold Skull Tattoo Cake by Tattooed Bakers
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Day of the Dead Mr & Mrs Unique Bridal Shoot Photography: We Heart Pictures Art direction & co-ordination: Erica from Mr & Mrs Unique
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PHoToGRAPHY We Heart Pictures ART DIRECTIoN, STYLING & Co-oRDINATIoN: Erica from Mr & Mrs Unique
MAKE UP: The Beauty Ailse
MARQUEES, PRoPS AND LoCATIoN: Arabian Tents
HAIR: Simply Beautiful Wedding Hair JEWELLERY: Polly Wales Fine Jewellery
DRESSES: Wilden Bride Minna Embroidered
MExICAN TExTILES (table linen, bag, bed throw, lampshades, cushions): Montes & Clark
LACE SoCKS: Wilden Bride FLoWERS: The Basement Florist
MoDEL: Sophie from Lenis Models
CAKE & CUPCAKES: Nevie-Pie Cakes STATIoNERY: Russet & Gray
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Daisy & Jon Hooes Yurt Wedding Photos by Lucy Turnbull Photography Words by Amy from Hooes Yurts
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My husband and I run the yurt hire company Hooe’s Yurts which was lucky for my little sister Daisy as she got married to Jon this year, so we set up a yurt palace for them as a wedding present!
samosas. They found their places in the snug ceremony yurt and the space filled with laughter and a few tears as Rev Mark Aitken lead a wonderful heartfelt marriage service.
We linked three big yurts together in mums garden, a beautiful spot on the wooden banks of the river tamar. Daisy is a brilliant interior decorator and went all out for a colourful Indian theme. Our yurts have stunning Indian wall hangings so Daisy continued this theme in the yurts, outside and even in the home made compost loos.
Daisy look totally stunning in a Laura de Sagazan dresses and gold wellies. While the storm blew we were grateful to be warm and dry in the yurts with their wood burning stoves – it just shows a wedding can be fabulous whatever the weather. The champagne and cocktails flowed while speeches were made and Indian delicacies were nibbled.
Everywhere glowed with colour, fluttered with flags and twinkled with lights – absolutely stunning and ready for a serious party. While us girls got ready on a stormy afternoon the revellers arrived and were greeted with warming cups of chai and hot
In joyful mood all 130 guests moved into the huge cathedral like dining yurt to feast on an Indian thali. With bellies full and spirits high the dancing began in earnest lead by the crazy Carny Villains who whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
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The late night party continued in a sparkly red bar yurt and a dressing up box and photo booth lead to some very funny late night photos. After such an epic day and night you’d think no one would surface until lunch the next day but Jon had other ideas. A Bride vs groom football match was followed by a huge hog roast, and then sadly to the good byes and a honeymoon in Mauritius for Daisy and Jon.
YURT VENUE www.hooesyurts.co.uk
CATERINg www.thethalicafe.co.uk
PHOTOgRAPHER www.lucyturnbull.co.uk
PHOTO BOOTH www.edwardhaynes.co.uk
BELL TENTS www.fireflycamping.co.uk
BAND www.thecarnyvillains.bandcamp.com
DRESS www.lauredesagazan.fr
HAIR www.beehivebrides.co.uk
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DIY Floral Wreath
Words & Flowers by The Basement Florist Photos by Sharon Cooper Photography
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How to create a wild yet delicate decoration, suitable for hanging anywhere for any special occasion, or just as a treat! Gentle blues, pleasing to the eye, along with airy ferns to add a wild informal touch to the overall look of the wreath.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED sharp scissors, heavy duty wire, fine gauge wire, string, floral material, fancy ribbons. INGREDIENTS Blue Scabious, Flowering mint, dusty miller, fern, blue Limonium Using a heavy duty wire, create a heart shape. Then wind another piece if wire around the heart to strengthen the structure. Reshape as desired. Tie a piece of string to the frame at this point to make it easier later on to secure a ribbon! Prepare the decorative material: make small bunches of Limonium and bind together using fine wire. Trim the berries and foliage and Scabious into small pieces. Wire the succulent florets by inserting medium wires into the small section of stem at the base of the floret and using florist tape cover the wire, creating a fake stem.
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Begin to attach the flowers and foliage using fine wire, overlapping the material to cover the previous piece and thus hide the wires. Continue all the way round the heart shape, or until you are happy with the overall look. Add a decorative ribbon to the heart and hang up inside or outside for a pretty decoration! Voila!
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KIDS AT WEDDINGS Words by Hester from Wedding in a Teacup At Wedding in a Teacup we’re strong believers in doing your day your way; and if that means you’d prefer a day without children then you should go ahead and ask for just that. However, we do think that including babies and kids in the nuptial celebrations – especially if your wedding is a gorgeous big daytime event – can bring a lovely emotionality... And the sight of little ones dressed up and raring to go can outshine the most expensive wedding decorations! Kids love to dress up. Flower girls blossom; page boys strut. For the rest of the younger guests, tell parents that Formality is out and Fantasy is in and see what fabulous outfits turn up! A trunk of dressing up clothes is an exciting possibility for the reception (and comes in handy if you’re also planning a photo-booth!). get friends and family to donate; pirates, princesses, super heroes and fairies never fail. Our colour-in pirate hats, princess crowns, super-hero capes and fairy wings will all add to the magical sense of theatre, and they have one other brilliant use, too.... ...they’ll keep the kids quiet during the speeches! Supply crayons and you’ll have children so absorbed they may not
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even notice the best man’s doubtful jokes; wrap the two up as a treat place marker. Children love to find a goody bag at their seat, maybe with sweets and a game inside. It makes them feel specially invited, not just tolerated, and that way they’re more likely to behave beautifully! Practicalities: a kids’ menu is a good idea, and also some organization to keeping the little ones entertained. If it’s a big family wedding, and the cousins all know each other – you’re sorted. Same goes if you’re a big group of friends plus offspring who meet up regularly. Have a separate kids’ table and bribe the oldest ones to be in charge – they’ll all have a ball. If it’s summer and you have a nice stretch of ground outside, ask responsible older kids to run a treasure hunt or organise giant garden games. Award prizes – inexpensive but brightly wrapped. Creative older kids could apply face paints or extremely cool temporary tattoos! Above all, don’t feel over-responsible (that’s the parents’ job) and don’t worry. Your wedding will be a beautiful, magical spectacle that any child will be thrilled to be part of. And there’s always the bliss of the dessert table and the dance floor...
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GUEST ARTICLE BY EMILY & JESS FRoM BESPoKE BRIDE
DIY Arrow Place Setting Described as a ‘Kickass blog that helps brides avoid a cliché ridden, cookie cutter wedding”, Bespoke Bride was lovingly founded by two fiercely individual girls, Emily Pettiford & Jessica Turley. Launched in 2011, as a personal way to journal quirky and creative wedding photography, decor & DIY’s, Emily & Jessica focused on creating a blog that would inspire couples to design a wedding that was creative, crafty & full of character. These arrow place settings are not only easy but super cheap! All you’ll need to create them is: BBQ Skewers Craft feathers Coloured or plain twine Craft paint or nail varnish glue Plain Card Step 1: gather your feathers together and pop them in place at the end of your BBQ skewer.
Step 7: Draw your pattern using a fine liner onto one of the triangles. Step 8: Using your glue secure the skewer in place and then glue around the edge of the triangle ready to place your other triangle on top. Step 9: Place your decorated triangle onto the glue and leave to dry. Step 10: Cut a geometric shape out of the card or use a scrap piece and write your guest’s name on it then glue to the end of your arrow! Step 11: You’re done!
Step 2: Using your twine start to wrap it around the skewer until the feathers are secured in place and then tuck the twine underneath itself to secure. Step 3: Time to get creative with your paint or nail varnish! Create whatever pattern you like running down the skewer. Step 4: Cut a square piece of card (an average size of 8cm by 8cm) Step 5: Fold the card in half diagonally so you create an outline of two triangles. Step 6: Cut along the folded line and trim your triangles as needed.
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You can catch Emily & Jess and more of their fabulous wedding DIY projects over on www.bespoke-bride.com
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Doily’s Mini Bar
Words by Helen from Doily Days Doily Days publish a free wedding magazine which is distributed throughout Sussex and neighbouring counties. over the past five years Doily Days have been involved with vintage styling at weddings and for photo shoots – from vintage tableware and flowers, to a full retro living room ‘set’ complete with drinks cabinet and old fashioned Hoover. The retro lounge doubled as a chillout area and a fun backdrop for photos.
When Helen stumbled upon a 1950s ‘boat’ cocktail bar, in an antique shop that was closing down, the fate of The Doily Diner changed and now plans are afoot to launch a full mobile bar service complete with fridges, a back bar, service area and occasional seating. All styled around the kitsch boat bar. Think Babycham, cocktail cherries, umbrellas and pineapple ice buckets! Staff look the part in quirky tabards, eclectic headpieces and saucy pink lipstick...
Doily Days latest project was ‘The Doily Diner’, a set that was styled by Editor, Helen Ruff and features in the latest issue of the wedding magazine. The set was designed to look like an old fashioned greasy spoon cafe complete with ketchup on the tables, mismatch furniture, flying ducks on the walls and an old record player.
Hire the set and staff to serve your own drinks or Doily Days will provide a fully stocked cash bar. They can even organise welcome drinks for your reception, bubbly for your speeches... or how about a kitsch cocktail hour? www.doilydays.co.uk email: helen@doilydays.co.uk
Photos by www.velvetstorm.co.uk
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Tunnels Boho Beach Bridal Shoot Photographer: Babb Photo Art Direction & Styling: Erica from Mr & Mrs Unique
We recently had a new venue join our directory, Tunnel Beaches in Devon and I knew immediately that I wanted to create a photo shoot there. The modern building of glass and wood nestles in the dark stone cliffs overlooking the beach, which is filled with rock pools and large rocks. It provided a stunning backdrop and a dark contrast against all the wedding pretties! It also has four hand carved tunnels linking various parts of the beach together- perfect for a photo opportunity!
The abstract art element of the shoot basically came about after talking to Natasha from Nevie-Pie Cakes. She was really keen to create an abstract art cake and I thought it would be perfect design against the rugged Devon coastline. The stationery designed by Hollyhock Lane also followed this theme. Once the idea of the shoot started to develop I dropped Laura from Babb Photo an email asking for her to come on board, as I’m a massive fan of her work. I knew she would totally get my ideas and the alternative feel to the shoot.
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I really didn’t want a floaty white number for the wedding dress so Charlotte from Wilden Bride provided three dresses for the shoot; a blush gold dress, a white sheer kimono style dress which was decorated with lace dollies and my favourite, a short dress made from a vintage tablecloth! These matched perfectly with the fresh, beautiful blooms created by Rock n Rosie.
sponge, these guys really push the boundaries of what’s possible with sponge and icing! In one cove on the beach we displayed an alter which was created by Curious Fair and in another corner we set up a table styled by Blue Fizz Events, which included the cakes, flowers and stationery.
Our gorgeous models for the shoot were Eddie and Richard from the Tattooed Bakers, also new suppliers featured on Mr & Mrs Unique. I was keen to use a real couple in the shoot as I wanted the photos to look believable. Not only were these guys awesome to work with, they are masters at changing 2D art into 3D cake sculptures. From edible portraits to a life size unicorn cake filled with rainbow
Tunnels Beaches was an amazing place to spend the day and I really enjoyed creating a shoot to showcase what all the suppliers do best! A massive thank you to Tunnels Beaches for having us and being so accommodating. It not every day you go to work and have a whole beach to yourself! It is an amazing location for a wedding, with its private beach, fire pit and sunsets-gutted I’m already married!
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PHoToGRAPHER: Babb Photo
FLoWERS: Rock n Rosie
ART DIRECTIoN & STYLING: Erica from Mr & Mrs Unique
MEN’S CLoTHES: Trousers, Blazers, Vans: Planet Clothing
VENUE: Tunnels Beaches MoDELS/CUPCAKES: Tattooed Bakers DRESSES: Wilden Bride CAKE: Nevie- Pie Cakes STATIoNERY: Hollyhock Lane Stationery ALTER/MASK: Curious Fair
TEE’S, BRoGUES, BRACES, HAT: Jolly Brown Vintage TABLE STYLING: Blue Fizz Events TABLE & CHAIRS: Virginia Vintage Hire MAKE UP: Claire Bowring Make Up Artist HAIR: Michelle McLeish
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The Joy of Flowers Layers of autumn in my cut flower garden Words By Tamara from Wild Bunch Photos by Jessica Withey Photography Working with flowers from the garden through the autumn months is rich with beautiful and natural contrasts in both colour and texture. Perhaps it is because there is often less abundance in the autumn garden – well my autumn garden, and so less to pick from: what you pick is more considered. There is a purity and clarity in the singular nature of the autumnal flower, grass, berry or foliage in the flower paddock at the front of our house, you are picking for that special moment in colour or texture, and not for a quick fix of flowers en masse as you may find in the summer garden. It feels to me that if summer gives license to pick for beauty, romance and delicacy in the floral
abundance of roses, sweet peas and gentle annuals. Then autumn gives the license to roam and spend time in the receding light, heading further afield beyond the flower paddock, up the hill behind the house into woodlands on the farm where there is a peace, and colour is found in the shadows of the trees like copper beach and low shrubs, where various viburnums are a favourite for arrangements. One of the joys of growing your own cut flowers is the optimism of knowing you can always do better, and grow more or better next year. But this year the growing season has been kind, and the range of autumn colours and textures available for those special autumn brides are just beautiful.
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I think I would typically associate the rose with summer, but as an experiment this year, I grew about one hundred in a ‘Spanish style’ poly-tunnel - or just a large poly-tunnel covered to the mid point of the frames. And I have been able to pick and pick throughout the summer and now well into autumn. As the cold weather is creeping up, the roses are continuing to bloom in their beauty, and are the most beautiful and soft partner with some of my other autumn favourites like, sweet barley or fountain grass – soft and feathery musky pink to yellow, achellia summer pastels – which fade with the season to soft bleached apricots, oranges, pale pinky blushes and creamy white, and of course steadfast and alluring silver foliage in a variety of shades and textures, like santolina, stachys, dusty miller, lavenders and Mediterranean oak leaf. All beautiful and floaty to work with - they feel slightly faded and so it’s a treat to work with some contrast in the stronger and purer colours of berries or seed heads from snow berries and elderflower berries with echinacea and rudbeckia’s. And of course the alluring beauty of our fading autumn light, and the flowers we grow through Autumn wouldn’t be complete without the dahlia,
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warm and orange or pretty and pale – Sylvia, Wizard of Oz, Offshore Dream and Café au lait, through to the breathtaking depth in Karma Choc and hints of coral in Peaches and Maldiva, just a few of my favourites, and which I love to use with another unforgettable Autumn beauty. All papery and floaty is cosmos, and beautiful in small delicate posies or larger slightly wilder bouquets. My daughter thinks these are like little fairies, they can be sugary pale pink, with double and folded petals, or creamy velvet white and all with the happy like a daisy yellow centre, and which of course are also loved by bees. So for all who love flowers, and are planning a most special moment full of magical memories: textures - grass with a rose, colours – orange with pink, sensibility - soft with hard, you can’t go wrong with an array of beautiful garden grown Autumn flowers.
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Laid Back Luxury…Bohemian Vibe Art Direction & Words by Lizzie from Wedding Yurts I just love my job – I travel the country with my husband, leading a nomadic wedding life, setting up our beautiful handmade yurts for weddings right across the UK. But the part of my job that really gets my creative soul singing is styling. I adore taking the genuinely blank canvas that the yurts provide and bringing them to life with flowers, props, details and more. So, after the rush of summer, I wanted to spend some time styling and shooting and, because I have a yurt at the bottom of my garden in Bristol, I’ve always got the perfect backdrop!
This shoot, the first in a series to promote our new styling services, really captures what Wedding Yurts is all about – it’s laid back, it’s luxurious, it’s got a glamorous, bohemian vibe and it’s full of joy – from the big features to those tiny touches. I love it. I always start work on any styling project by creating inspiration boards and this shoot was no exception. I knew I wanted to create a really relaxed vibe with autumnal styling cues and plenty of cocktails! The inspiration board is essential – it allows you to look at all the areas you want to cover and then you can explore each element in more detail
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and create individual boards for your tables, your flowers etc. The boards are also great to share with people who are involved with you day and, most importantly, they keep you on theme! I also love them because to me, inspiration boards are just a really lovely way to document your creative journey. A big part of what made this shoot so special was that it gave me the opportunity to connect with lots of like-minded creative in Bristol and the brilliant team that gathered in my garden was something special. I can’t wait to work with them again soon. Clare from The Wedding Club supplied the most beautiful gowns for the shoot. We were lucky enough to have dresses by Alice
Temperley, Emma Hunt and Jenny Packham and, as my girlfriends had offered to model for me, we were all thrilled by the dresses Clare selected. Lily, the fabulous florist, created four stunning flower garlands to hang from the centre of the yurt, full of seasonal flowers and the most incredibly decadent roses. The flowers were just amazing and fitted my design brief perfectly and those that decorated my original 1970s peacock chair (found on eBay and one of my best so far!) were a perfect finishing touch. We’re well known for our signature cocktails at Wedding Yurts and for this shoot, we created The Roseberry. Made with rose liqueur, raspberry gin and lashings of champagne, it’s
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pretty and wonderfully drinkable! Finished of with pink pepper berries, it really couldn’t have When I’m styling our yurts for clients, I am in my element. I love working with our clients and not just because our styling services always starts with an initial meeting over tea and cake! I love it because brides and grooms get the wedding they want without any stress or hassles on the day (because I’m always there to set everything up perfectly). Our complete
styling service includes a site visit, inspiration boards for decoration of the yurts and venues, sourcing of all the props and suppliers as well as the installation of all the decorative details on the wedding day itself. With this shoot, I wanted to create a truly relaxed and happy vibe because those elements are always the ones that I include in every wedding I work on, whatever style they may be.
YURT www.weddingyurts.co.uk
HAIR STYLIST Sally James, Me Me Hair Salon
ART DIRECTIoN & STYLING/PRoPS Lizzie Jones, Wedding Yurts
MAKEUP ARTIST Annabel, By Annabella,
PHoToGRAPHER Virginia Allwood,Le Shop UK
DRESSES The Wedding Club
FLoRIST Lily Barton, Lily Violet May
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Disco Renaissance Art Direction & Words by Lizzie from Wedding Yurts
As juxtapositions go, there can be nothing more brilliantly attention-grabbing than the sight of a disco themed wonderland hidden away in a woodland glade. And for this shoot, that’s exactly what was created.
“It feels right to celebrate disco in the autumn,” says the shoot’s stylist, Lizzie. “It’s a time of contrasts, the weather is a mix of all the seasons and the darker nights draw us towards the sparkling glamour of disco.”
Just the word disco makes you smile because if the disco era was about anything, it was about fun. Everything was bigger than bolder than ever before and personality and sexuality took centre stage. There was nothing restrained about disco, everything was exaggerated and golds, furs and glitters were de rigueur on the dancefloor.
The Underwood Centre at Arnos Vale was turned into the most eye-catching outdoor disco and inside the accompanying yurt, Lizzie styled a stripped back yet super luxurious den for decadent revelers to escape to.
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“Inside the yurt, I wanted to create a contrast to the rustic woodland setting – clean, white,
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indulgent and opulent. I wanted to build a world that you wouldn’t normally find hidden in the woods.” To bring disco to life, the white leather day bed was covered with furs and sequined cushions. glass decanters sparkled beneath dazzling mirrorballs and huge buckets of champagne were accessorised with lush green leaves and ferns. This was a seriously luxe look. “Outside in the woods, we hung masses of shimmering glitterballs from the amazing timber structure of The Underwood Centre,” says Lizzie. “The super colourful light-up dancefloor popped colour into the woods and the glitter sparkled and looked all the more amazing for being surrounded by a canopy of dark green leaves.”
The shoot follows a story of an illicit, exclusive party – glammed up girls wandering in the woods, looking for the disco hideaway, find the secret sign of glitter on a tree. When they find the coolest of clubs, they hit the dancefloor. Sequins and glitter flash beneath the mirrorball ceiling before they retire to the yurt to lounge on a luxurious daybed, enjoying lemon meringue martini cocktails. “I am beyond thrilled with everything about this shoot,” says Lizzie. “I adore the decadence and who doesn’t love glitter and sparkle? The suppliers involved were all amazing and absolutely understood the brief and fell in love with disco as much as I did. The setting couldn’t have been more perfect and the yurts showed, once again, how wonderfully flexible they are – a true blank canvas for any theme.”
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PHoToGRAPHER Noel Deassington
MAKE UP Maddy Griffiths, In Your Dreams
YURT www.weddingyurts.co.uk
FLoWERS Lily Barton, Lily Violet May
ART DIRECTIoN & STYLING/PRoPS Lizzie Jones, Wedding Yurts
VENUE Arnos Vale, The Underwood Centre www.arnosvale.org.uk
ART DIRECTIoN & Co-oRDINATIoN Erica, Mr & Mrs Unique DRESSES & SHoES Katie Pearson, Miss Selfridges
HAIR Noel Halligan, Sean Hanna
LIGHT UP DANCE FLooR www.dancefloordiscotastique.co.uk
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HENLOW BRIDGE LAKES...
HENLOW BRIDGE LAKES & RIVERSIDE Bedfordshire A unique outdoor venue with plenty of options to tailor make your special day. Stunning countryside. Onsite camping options. Onsite facilities. Firepits.
Web: www.henlowbridgelakes.co.uk Tel: 01462 812645
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Francesca Secolonovo Photography
Competition Winners Photos by Francesca Secolonovo Photography
Lorna & Chris Huge congratulations to Lorna and Chris who recently won Francesca Secolonovo’s wedding photography competition, which we featured on Mr & Mrs Unique Wedding Blog! Lorna and Chris had a relaxed family affair wedding at The guildhall in Poole, followed by a reception at Branksome Dene hall, Bournemouth. They celebrated on the beach, tucked into a delicious BBQ buffet and finished the day with tons of dancing! Perfect!
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THE BEST OF THE PAST the thrill of the present www.iscoydpark.com
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