Most Curious Love Stories

Hello there, and a very Happy New Year from the Most Curious team! Most Curious is much more than a wedding fair. It is a grass roots brand, conceived as a small, single day 60 stand town hall event at the end of 2010 to open weddings up to be style-savvy and creative and a perfectly curated extension of the good design loving and fashion admiring lives we try to live on the daily.

It grew its own legs, its own momentum, people connected with its ethos and drove it forward to be the 220 supplier-strong, two location event it is today that sees almost 3000 people in attendance over the London and Norwich shows. This evolution has not come without hard graft of course, a battle cry of women supporting women, with six babies being born between it’s various team members since the inception, darker times of ‘I just can’t do it anymore’ and ‘is this what a nervous break down feels like?’ ponderings, breaking through to the other side, a capturing of a zeitgeist, feeling like its really is starting to fulfill its potential, endless love from people that make it tick, the exhibitors, the wide-eyed brides who skip through the doors, and now six solid girl boss bad asses spearheading the effervescent 2018 shows.

It’s been a rollercoaster for sure, as anyone who runs their own business can relate to. So we thought, as well as officially inviting you to this March’s events, we’d take a moment, look around and get a little snapshot from brides and 2018 exhibitors who have found a Most Curious connection, how for them it has been more than a wedding show, a community, a place of camaraderie, friendship and inspiration in the sometimes lonely world of indie business, a love story that has made magical things happen for them beyond the bookings.

By the way, Advance tickets for the Most Curious event are available to purchase online. Most Curious is also running a special Love My Dress discount for 10% off all tickets and products on the website for one week only. Use code ‘LOVECURIOUS’.

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I attended the Most Curious show in March 2016 with my bridesmaids and was totally and utterly inspired – I loved it so much. I took so much away from that day from cake design ideas to prop hire contacts to gorgeous photography book creators contact details. Being around so many creative, chilled, smiley women was just the best.

Now that I’ve set up my own catering company, inspired by my own water meadow wedding that was influenced by the boho luxe weddings down under, one of my first goals was to make sure I exhibited at the MCWF in 2018.

It’s just the perfect environment, the perfect potential clients, and I’ll be surrounded with friends and contacts I’ve made through my own wedding and GRAPE & Fig – many of whom are sponsors of the show.

Love My Dress blogged our wedding, Penny at the Little Lending Company helped me style my wedding, and has given me such amazing advice and support going into this industry and Festival Brides interviewed me on Grape & Fig only a couple months back.

When exhibiting next year I think I’ll feel that I have come full circle. A member of the public one year, an exhibitor two years later… with lots of good stuff in the middle. A goosebump moment I think.

Toria x

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Most Curious is the only wedding show I have exhibited at and winning Bridal Next in my first year at the show was a huge deal for me – partly it meant a lot to have my work recognised but also it gave my relatively new business an immediate boost which was amazing. I have met so many of the couples whose cakes I have gone to make at Most Curious but the other wonderful thing for me has been meeting so many other wonderful exhibitors.

I wouldn’t have got through my first year without my fantastic neighbour Amy from The Portrait Machine who looked after an unprepared newbie by bringing me sandwiches and charging my phone! And it’s always a treat to chat about the ups and downs of cake life with the amazing gang of cake makers who exhibit there. I have made connections with the major bridal titles through the show, which is invaluable and I love seeing what you guys bring to the table each year.

Megan Collins x

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Flanked by my Mum, my Maid of Honour, my two besties and one of their lovely mums, our little girl gang set towards Brick Lane to join the queue of equally excited looking ladies and a few bewildered looking men. Once inside, our VIP badges from Oh Squirrel proudly in place, we started going up and down the aisles meeting the loveliest people you could ever want to meet. I think that’s the thing that stood out for me about MC – everyone’s just so flipping lovely!

We tried samples and had our photos taken, took cards and overloaded our brains with ideas and inspiration. The day was amazing and I couldn’t wait to come home and tell Maxwell all about it and write it all up on my blog and include ideas in my wedding scrapbook (yes I am that geeky). I think that attending MC helped click something into place, I left feeling utterly inspired, not only for our own wedding day, but also by all the inspiring business there, who were all so lovely and creative and I mean, what a lovely exciting and fun way to make a living. A seed had been planted…

Fast forward one year and I returned with Kelly, who had now also joined the ‘engaged gang’ and asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. July came, and Maxwell and I were wed in Brighton in what was the best day EVER! Everything came together and looked amazing and we just had so much fun. After that, the hard bit began – in the 3 months post wedding Maxwell and I set about turning our dream into a reality. Working towards the MC deadline for applications, I built our website and Lo & Behold Bespoke was officially launched on the 1 November 2017.

We waited anxiously to hear if we had been accepted and when I got that email saying yes we were just thrilled. For us it felt like coming full circle. We are SO EXCITED to be part of the class of 2018 and I cannot wait to be a part of other people’s wedding journey, to be able to inspire and excite people and make them feel like I did when I attended.

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I came across A Most Curious Fair in 2014 at the Hackney Downs location, during my first full year of photographing weddings. I loved the more informal layout, less corporate feel, and the relaxed vibe of the show, but there wasn’t room for me to exhibit. This year, I’m in and I’m a show sponsor.

Weddings are a very personal occasion. We spend a long time choosing our guests, venue, décor and music to reflect our personalities and what brings the best out of us. For me choosing a fair to exhibit at is the same and I can’t wait to be exhibiting my photography in March surrounded by a great group of likeminded souls. Roll on March 2018!

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The truth is the support and belief in both me and my work from Becky and Cat over the years has been out of this world and is weaved into so much of what I do. It has given me the strength and inspiration to keep at it and as the team grows so does the love. Most Curious launched me into the wedding industry with a bang. After designing my own wedding dress (along with 2 other wedding dresses for friends of friends) in November of 2013, I realised that I loved creating bridal wear, but not your average bridal, cool stuff – jumpsuit gowns, lace applique neoprene, reflective prints, miles of tulle… I realised that a lot of my work was already suitable for this cool bride I’d imagined so I put together my own Velvet Johnstone bridal edit.

But where would I find her? Where do I find this cool bride I’d possibly even just made up? Hmm….

In March 2014 I discovered a ridiculously cool image on Facebook – a bride in a leather jacket, dark and moody styling, relaxed floral crown, advertising the wedding show for the savvy couple A MOST CURIOUS WEDDING FAIR! I clicked excitedly on the link – I needed to be there! Damn. Applications are closed, of course they are, it’s only 2 weeks away! I’ll apply anyway, there’s bound to be another one soon…
Then I received the best email ever from Cat, saying she loved my work and would get back to me. The goddess of floor plans discovered a little corner by the catwalk that could potentially squeeze in a rail! I met so many amazing suppliers and brides and I was overwhelmed at how welcoming and friendly everyone was. Meeting Kat, Rock and Roll Bride and Sophie, Crown & Glory that year was a dream. Chatting on the stand, we planned to collaborate on the upcoming look book for their new collection and I was very honoured to make a glass beaded tee and organza skirt for Kat to wear in the shoot.

It was from here, my first show, that the support from the team started and the love story began. I couldn’t wait for the next show and winning Bridal Next there in 2015 was one of my greatest achievements. Having set my goal while at the 2014 show that I would win next year, I held this vision close to my heart and was blown away when my dream manifested in real life (we have photo evidence of all 4 winners, very dazzled by our achievements!)

Most Curious is pivotal in my year, I centre collection launches and projects around the show. I’ve met many of my beautiful brides either on the stand or via Most Curious channels and have been introduced to major industry players and press, which has led to many friendships, collaborations and features. Now each year when I get to the Old Truman Brewery there is such a sense of coming home, giant squeezes from Cat, familiar faces, excitement of what’s to come and a real feeling of belonging which I’m happy to say continues throughout the year with the follow up and support from the girls.

I love the creativity and vision of the team. I feel MC has been super influential in helping brides connect to themselves and break free from the traditional wedding mould, inspiring unique weddings with brides and grooms stamping their own dreams and personalities all over them. That’s exactly what I’m about, and I feel beyond grateful to be a part of this, dare I say, movement! Each year gets better, while staying totally true to concept – seeking out and supporting incredible suppliers, opening their hearts to thousands of loved up couples, keeping it cool yet not in the least bit intimidating. This year will be extra special as my husband joins the Most Curious family launching Pictogramme his new wedding music consultancy service. It’s safe to say I love it!

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Eleanor Lacey

 – A Most Curious bride

In March 2016 we popped along just as we had started planning and met Dana Dallal who would eventually make my bespoke gown and Ann-Marie Faulkner whose beautiful work finally convinced me a veil was the perfect final touch. In March 2017 we came back again, because we’d enjoyed the day so much last time, and met Jane Bowler whose headpieces I couldn’t resist so ended up added in as an ‘outfit change’!

So you could say Most Curious and its exhibitors dressed me! But not only that, the show also inspired so much of our day’s vibe and feel. Love My Dress blogged the beautiful day here.

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I have a special connection with the show as back in 2016 I attended as a bride to be and ended up finding my videographer (Wagtail Productions), cake maker (Cakes by Yolk), veil (Ann-Marie Faulkner), my make-up artists and hair (Portraits Bridal) and on top of that also saw my photographer who I’d already booked (Ed Godden). They are all fantastic suppliers who were absolutely amazing on the day. They were true creatives, which made everything feel so special and non-generic on the day.

It was the humanist ceremony for my own wedding that inspired me to train as a humanist celebrant so it feels pretty amazing to be coming back to the show two years on and standing next to the suppliers who made my own day so fantastic. It’s super cool that EYI Love will also be joining the fair this time (they did our stationery and this will be the first time I meet them in person). I’m so excited to be part of such a talented and creative bunch on the supply side this year.

My own wedding appeared on Love My Dress here.

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Most Curious was our first wedding fair in UK, a fresh start for us because we felt we’d really made it in France, and we wanted a new challenge! Londoners are the best clients for us, as they’re really open minded and always enthusiastic, so it’s a real pleasure. At last year’s fair we also met the staff of French Made Cakes.

We had a really great time and now they often come to our Shoreditch shop at 10 Cheshire Street to organise tastings with couples, as it’s such a fab central location. We even put a big cake with some bowties in the window shop!

Clemence

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I first exhibited with back in 2015. This was my first solo bridal collection and I didn’t really know what reception it would receive – if any! I remember applying thinking “oh well, I’ve got nothing to lose!” but I received a reply back from Becky really quickly offering me a space and she was so positive about the collection, it was really heart warming.

At the show itself I met so many wonderful brides and got a lot of press attention. The fair was really different to how I expected a wedding fair to be and I sort of felt instantly at home! I ended up winning a Bridal Next award, which was amazing. Also, the camaraderie amongst the other designers is incredible. Everyone is so supportive and there really is no bitchiness, just general admiration of each other’s work. I’ve made some real friends from most curious (I’m actually writing this en route to meet Cheryl of Velvet Johnstone for a drink who I met that year!)

I’ve exhibited at every show since and couldn’t imagine not being there. A large majority of my orders come from this one show.

The Bridal Next winners from the 2015 show ended up working on a campaign shoot for the 2016 show together and that’s when I really became friends with the shows founder Becky. We’ve ended up working on loads more shoots together including one for Saatchi and Saatchi, which nearly broke us!

In 2016 Becky asked me if I waned to join the team and become one of the show’s producers. I wasn’t sure at first as I was very pregnant at the time so didn’t know if I would be able to do it. However, when my son was born I ended up with quite bad post-natal depression and felt a bit lost. Both Becky and Cat were so supportive and said I could do as little or as much work as I could handle, so I decided to join the team and I’m so happy I did. It honestly pulled me out of depression and I will be eternally grateful to Most Curious for that.

I’m so excited for the show next year, it’s going to be even bigger and the styling plans I’m getting from Becky are insane!

Ann Marie x

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Advance tickets for the Most Curious event are available to purchase online. Most Curious is also running a special Love My Dress discount for 10% off all tickets and products on the website for one week only. Use code ‘LOVECURIOUS’.

The Most Curious events take place in London and Norwich as follows:-

LONDON SHOW
2-4th MARCH 2018
The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QR

NORWICH SHOW
25th MARCH 2018
The Fire Pit Camp, The Firs, Wendling, Nr Dereham, Norfolk, NR19 2LT

Becky Hoh-Hale

Becky Hoh-Hale View all Becky's articles

Becky Hoh-Hale is the founder of Most Curious Wedding Fair and when she's not doing that is writing about cool design and interiors. She enjoys being half Malaysian Chinese, house plants, good coffee and is waiting patiently for the next season of Stranger Things.

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