Love My Dress UK Wedding Blog

Assassynation ~ Alternative, Fun Wedding Photography and a Generous Reader Offer

Our new sponsor Assassynation is no stranger to the virtual pages of Love My Dress. We've featured countless weddings shot by this talented photographer. In fact, I'm such a fan of Sassy's work, I even recommended her to my recently engaged, and incredibly stylish, friend Kat. I can't wait to see those photos, that's for sure!

Sassy is a friendly soul so I'll let her do most of the talking...

All Photography on this page Copyright (c) 2013, Assassynation

'Hey there, I’m Sassy from Assassynation. I am a little travelling picture taker. I specialise in weddings. I don’t do weddings because what I really want to photograph doesn’t pay the bills. I am not waiting to get into another genre. Nope, I shoot weddings because I totally and utterly love them.' 

'I am based in the deepest, darkest Cotswolds. Well actually not really the deepest, darkest Cotswolds but on the borders of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. Not that I am here that often! I travel anywhere in the world and last year I was lucky enough to shoot weddings in Monte Carlo, Miami and Verona as well as weddings throughout the UK.'

 

'I started out wanting to help my lovely best friend Vikki get a website going in 2009. This led me to take some photos for the site which renewed a passion for art. I then (quite quickly) started shooting weddings and haven’t stopped since.'

'Weddings are the one day in your life where (usually) all the most important people in both of the couples lives get together in one place to celebrate. Weddings are full of happiness, love and (the ones that I tend to shoot) fun. I love hearing all the planning details from my excited couples and I LOVE when I turn up on the day and am received like a member of the family. I love that feeling when I leave a wedding on a high and I love the fact that every wedding I shoot reminds me of how beautiful life actually is (not like the gloomy news).'

'My couples inspire me, I have been lucky enough to photograph some really amazing and totally unique weddings and they inspire me to make sure that their wedding photography is as unique and creative as they are.'

'I'd describe my signature style as fun and colourful with strong composition. I always want to show how much fun the day was. I love the dancing shots in the evening when everyone lets their hair down. I love colour so I always want to keep the colours in and for the couple shots particularly I am always looking for an image that draws people in with the composition as much as the subject.'

Sassy's prices start at £1360 plus reasonable travel costs (when the distance is more than 50 miles each way) for 7 hours coverage. This includes the edited high resolution images on disc in both glorious colour and arty black and white.

If you've fallen in love with the beautiful photographs in this feature you might be interested to know that Sassy is offering Love My Dress readers getting married this year a £250 discount. Alternatively, if you've a little longer to wait for your big day, you'll receive £150 off any booking made before the end of 2013.

You can browse more of Sassy's work on her website, but don’t forget to take a peek at her facebook page as that’s where she posts her most recent work first. She's nice and friendly on twitter too.

Remember to click here to find out how you can save a good chunk of your wedding budget by booking Sassy for your wedding photography.

Much love,

Franky

Tweed, Antlers and Charity Shop Finds ~ An Eco-Friendly, English Countryside Inspired Wedding

Hey there Tuesday, how are you? Please be kind to everyone I know today, and let all those visiting Love My Dress to seek inspiration have a lovely day.  And good morning Harriet and Tom - you are both looking wonderful today. I am so happy that I get to share your adorable wedding photographs with our readers.

Harriet and Tom's wedding took place on Friday 12th April 2013 at St. Botolphs Church in Newbold-on-Avon, Warwickshire, followed by a reception at Rothley Court in Leicestershire.  Photographer Richard Skins submitted these images on behalf of the couple but especially Harriet, who by all accounts spent many an hour perusing these pages herself when she was planning her wedding...

"Love My Dress was my main (daily!) source of inspiration. I love it, and I'm still going to reading until all my friends are married (and beyond, no doubt!). I love the constant stream of ideas and inspiration from real weddings, but also the story of a bride and groom.

Tom and I met almost seven years ago when I began a job at our local cinema whilst studying my A-levels. It took several months for us both to realise we could be more than just friends.  He popped the question a couple of months after my graduation in 2011."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Richard Skins

"I knew Tom had found an engagement ring for me when I was still at university, but the proposal was a surprise. We were taking photographs of the sun going down on a beach in Corfu.

I love vintage fashion and antiques, objects with a story. I knew from the start I would want to source many of the elements second-hand, and from Britain to keep our carbon-footprint low.  There was no particular era I stuck to, I took inspiration from all corners!"

"The relationship between me and my 'potential' wedding dress was ever-developing, turning corners and on occasion, in complete despair. When I began to try different styles at the start of my engagement, I thought I was in my element and I would know exactly what I would want, and when it would feel 'right'.  Whilst it was a wonderful experience, there was never a magical moment for me. The price-tags held me back, and the contrast of opinions from my family and friends left me in confusion.

With about a year to go until the wedding I came to the decision to purchase a second-hand dress and adapt it to my own design. To begin with my ambitions were huge, but time-management was never my forte, so I abandoned my original plans."

"To my delight I came across a second-hand ex-sample Jenny Packham Berlin dress on Preloved, just a couple of months before the wedding. The dress oozes 1930s glamour, with the rich ivory colour, Art Deco belt embellishment and silk chiffon panels to the skirt. So with all the faith in the world the dress would arrive in one piece and fit me(!), I bought it. When I put the dress on there were still no fireworks, but I felt like me.

I was comfortable, whilst also feeling like I was wearing a proper fancy dress! I made a couple of adjustments to the bodice, with the addition of delicate chiffon and lace (from Macculloch Wallis and Truro Fabrics in the style of Jenny Packham's Aspen).  The dress was, dare I say it, perfect."

"We chose a country-casual style for Tom and the men, to fit with the British countryside theme. The tweed jackets were bought from a variety of different sources; Ebay, charity shops and a car-boot sale. They wore brick and burgundy colour chinos from BHS, and ivory shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt. 

Tom also wore Loakes Woodstock brogues."

"I made the bow-ties from an awesome linen toile by Lewis & Wood. It features illustrations by British artist, Andrew Davidson, of English country life.  And I want to decorate my house with it! I also made the buttonholes from a whole variety of different feathers; pheasant, partridge, turkey and grouse, with wire and linen ribbon."

"My main focus for my choice of florist was environmental impact. I didn't want flowers flown from thousands of miles away. I got in contact with Rachel of Catkin Flowers and she could not have been lovelier.

I chose to arrange the table decorations myself and Rachel made the bouquets, from beautiful ranunculus, tulips, and grape hyacinths all grown in the Lincolnshire countryside.

It was a proper team effort; me, Tom, his best-men and my bridesmaids, got to work on arranging the flowers in pots, bottles and jugs Tom and I bought throughout the year from charity shops and car-boot sales. It was scary, but worth it!"

"I wore a blonde faux-fur stole from ASOS - a last minute purchase for the chilly Spring weather of 2013!"

"My bridesmaids each wore an individual dress hand-made by Eleanor and the team at Dig for Victory.  This company is a real inspiration to me and fit with my eco-conscience.

Eleanor and Holly use vintage dress patterns to create beautiful clothes from vintage and end-of-roll fabrics. Each dress was made-to-measure for each of my maids from different floral cottons, and Eleanor was absolutely brilliant in helping me choose the fabrics to co-ordinate together. 

The girls shoes were from New Look."

"Our main inspiration for the wedding was Tom's surname, Hart, the stag. This was a natural choice as we both love the British country and wildlife. And of course, the change of my name was of real significance to me, so what better way to celebrate this! 

Along with the eclectic collection of bottles and jars for the flower arrangements, we also bought a range of antlers, from a local deer park, to decorate the tables. Tom and I made the cake-stands from second-hand crystal dessert bowls and candlesticks, with vintage floral plates. We also made several metres of floral bunting from Sanderson linen and cotton samples I bought for 50p at a car-boot sale!"

"Tom and my dad were in charge of the car choice and organisation and ended up hiring from Great Escape Cars. They chose a 1970 Jaguar E-type, and all the boys were in love."

"The church our ceremony was held in is just across from where Tom and I went on our first date six years ago, a picnic in the woods in the Spring sunshine."

We chose Rothley Court, a manor estate in Leicestershire, as the reception location. We fell in love with the quaint charm of the manor and the grand atmosphere of the chapel which connects to it, built almost a thousand years ago."

"Our photographer was Richard Skins. I was won over by the style of Richard's work and the way he uses natural light to create romantic but genuine photographs with heart. Once we booked Richard I learnt he takes photos for a company I used to work for, and one of my absolute favourite brands, a huge coincidence!

I also have a lot of respect for any man who can deal with a flat full of semi-naked women running around trying to find a mascara. But Richard was a star, calm and in control, whilst also seeming to disappear between the guests snapping away. It was a total pleasure to have Richard at our wedding."

How To Create Fancy Wedding Envelopes & Envelope Liners + 15% Off Berinmade

One of the features we receive a lot of thanks for are our DIY features.  Our readers love to be able to try their hand at some wedding day craft and DIY, so last year, we teamed up with expert DIY'er Erin Hung of the award winning Berinmade, to bring you a series of bitesize DIY tutorials - things that even the most creatively challenged brides could enjoy having a go at. We want our tutorials to be fun and provide you with something to enjoy at the weekends or during time with your favourite girl (or boy!) friends.   Today, Erin is here to tell us all about the humble envelope and how it can bring more than a little touch of pretty to your wedding day.

Before I hand you over, I need to tell you that Erin is currently offering 15% off across all items in her DIY section, and 15% off across all items in the 'ready to go' and 'semi-custom' section. Go take a look here for further details and get saving yourself some wedding-day pennies.

Over to you lovely Erin!

When it comes to invitation design, envelopes are one of the thing that gets people most frustrated. I get it.  You spend ages and ages matching the paper samples to your flowers, bridesmaids dresses, and the printed results really take your breath away.

And then comes the envelopes, which can sometimes feel like a bit of an expensive anti-climax.

Envelope liners are often pricey, and hiring a professional calligrapher (though they are worth every penny) can be an outlay that a lot of us simply cannot afford in time and budget.

But do not fret! There are simply and budget-friendly ways to dress your envelopes like a pro. Here are some budget beautiful ways, so that right when your invitations go through the letter box, your guests will know that something very important is coming along the way.

Tip 1: Liners, liners, liners

Liners are my one of my many obsessions to do with paper because they hold such an unexpected magic touch in the hands of your recipients. They can often be expensive to produce with a stationer (often involving a die-cut process depending on your envelope shape) but with the right tools and templates, you can create something at home that looks really polished, and even in different colours and patterns to mix it up.

1. Envelope Liner template
2. Patterned paper (or just a coloured paper from a shop)
3. Glue stick
4. Scissors
5. Envelopes
6. Stamp (optional)
7. Pencil

Step 1

Prepare your template by cutting out the shape of the liner via the dotted line. Depending on the size of your envelopes, you can typically make x4 RSVP envelope liners, or x2 invitation envelope liners out of an A3 sheet.

If you are making a ton of these, it’s a good idea to trace the shape out on a thicker card, as you’ll be handling this a lot and need it to be more durable and sturdy to use.

Step 2

Start producing your liners either with scissors (or guillotine if you have one).

Step 3

Slot in the liners one by one. Use a little bit of glue, or glue stick to secure the liner just below the sticky part of your envelopes. Finally, fold downwards to make a crease.

Tip 2: Stamp, stamp, stamp

To dress the outside of the envelopes elegantly,  a little stamp for your envelope flap will do the trick! Whilst a personalised monogram stamp (like above) or a return address stamp is a really fun and neat way to do it, if your budget just doesn’t allow, try and find a fun motif that matches the theme of your wedding. A lot of shops like Paperchase will stock off-the-shelf stamps. You can even try to find stock alphabet stamps to make your initials!

If you are super ambitious—and this is not for the faint-hearted—you can also look into embossing  powders and heat guns, though that might be another story for another post!

Tip 3: Addressing Your Envelopes

This part is sometimes daunting but it doesn’t need to be. There are some amazing examples on Pinterest and on blogs with perfectly addressed envelopes, but I always try to remind people that it’s not a competition. Sometimes an addressed envelope in your personal hand-writing can be so heart-warming. With the right organised methods, you can systematically work the calligraphy on your envelopes like a pro in no time!

Step 1

Prepare your work area by making a cut-out template. Here’s what you’ll need:

1. Your envelopes ready to be addressed.
2. A sheet of template card at least 2 times larger than your envelopes
3. Scissors
4 & 5. Pens
6. Ruler

Step 2

Get organised and take measurements. Mark out the area needed for your postage stamp, then figure out the area you want to write within. This is important to help you manage space!

The area that we’ll need for my RSVP envelope is 4 x 2.5 inches.

Step 3

Cut out the rectangle of your “work area” where your calligraphy will go. Align the void area with your envelope, and crease your template card, so that each envelope will sit right at the crease.

NB. The stamp is there to mark the area, but don’t stick them down until you have addressed it, in case you waste a stamp if you make a mistake!

Once you have figured out the alignment, trim off the edges of your template to the exact width of your envelope to make sure that your work area is always consistent.

Divide your work area horizontally into 3 to 4 lines, marking the side of the working area with a pencil. Now work across the template area, here are some final tips:

Always scan the entire line of the address first to make sure you can guage the spacing, to make sure you don’t run out of space on the line!
If there is a space at the end, and you have not centered your address, put in some fun swirls to fill out the spaces.
Have fun with it! Write like you would normally, and really allow your personality to show through.
Allow an extra of 20-30% envelope wastage if you are using a calligraphy ink pen (for ink spills and general accidents).
Take breaks in between to regain your concentration span—spread them out over a few days or weekends!
Be creative with your ink colours. White, and metallics on dark envelopes work well, and if it matches the overall tone of your invitation suite, can be really sophisticated.

 

Patterned Papers are available to purchase at our DIY section on the BerinMade website, and we are offering 15% off this whole month of May! A range of our floral and graphic patterns are available to purchase, with an option to customise colours. Simply enter "OMGDIY15" at checkout.*  Don't forget you can also save 15% across all items in the 'ready to go' and 'semi-custom' sections too. Go take a look here for further details and get saving yourself some pennies.

Click here to down load a PDF version of this tutorial.  

So, who fancies having a go at lining their own envelopes and creating some paper pretty? We'd love to hear from you!  You can see many more DIY and 'How To' features on Love My Dress here.

Erin
Berinmade
www.berinmade.com

 

Berinmade is an award winning UK based wedding stationery and paper goods designer, who ships her beautiful products worldwide.  Please visit www.berinmade.com for further information.  You can also follow Berinmade on Facebook and Twitter.

Terms and Conditions in relation to the 15% Discount at Berinmade for Love My Dress Readers:
This offer expires 1st June 2013 and regular lead times apply. The offer cannot be used in conjunction with other promotional codes.

A 1940s Glamour Inspired Wedding With Hints Of Peach Pretty...

Hello hello! Thank you for dropping by this morning to soak in some beautiful bridal inspiration. Hopefully, you'll be well rested after the weekend and got a chance to catch up with my trip in to London last week to attend the first ever Etsy UK Weddings event - it was superb and I'm so full of inspiration having met so many brilliant and talented suppliers last Friday afternoon. It was a pleasure to have been asked to be a part of this event and so much fun participating in a panel presentation where Etsy designers had the opportunity to ask questions about working with bloggers, blogging and social media. Much much fun and I'm already looking r to the next event that Etsy are planning.

Let's get right on down to it this week then, because I know you're primarily here for the wedding day inspiration - so without further ado, I'm delighted to tell you that these happy and joyful photographs you see here today are of newlyweds Sasha and Jack, who tied the knot on 30th March 2013 in Lincolnshire. These photographs were submitted by their photographer Lissa Alexandra. I love how they capture the couple's laid back personalities and fondness of vintage glamour...

"We’re both history geeks and love 1940s style and wanted to capture something of an elegant glamour in the wedding. So with that, we came to the theme of: Downton Abbey meets Upstairs Downstairs, with a sprinkle of literary influences and a splash of 80's peach! 

I’m a natural planner so relished every moment of the wedding planning process!"

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Lissa Alexandra Photography

"We met in York where we’d both gone to university. I was out for a friends birthday in Revolution, we met over a misunderstanding over Jack being described as gay and the rest is history! Three and a half years later, we spent New Years Eve in London with my family. We went to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland at the top of the ferris wheel, Jack got down on one knee. It was so romantic and followed by copious amounts of champagne and celebrations.

Jack didn’t want a long engagement but I knew we’d need time to plan everything so we decided on March of the following year – giving us just over a year to plan."

"Having met in York, lived in Leeds and moving to Lincolnshire, we decided to marry in Lincolnshire as I wanted to marry from my parents house.   Our wedding ceremony took place at St Botolph’s Church in Quarrington – our parish church is at the bottom of my parents street, so there was no question that we’d be married there.

Our reception took place at The White Hart Hotel in the Bailgate of Lincoln – we chose the hotel as the Bailgate in Lincoln captures a little of the feel of York where we met, but was close enough to the church. We also needed somewhere for our guests to stay as most were out of towners. The White Hart captured a little of the vintage glamour that we wanted and they do the best cocktails in Lincolnshire!"

"My mum and I spent ages looking for a florist as they were all so expensive and a lot of them didn’t like the idea of us wanting to do some of the flowers together with my sisters. We found Rebecca from Floraldeco online and we were able to buy flowers for the reception from her and arrange them ourselves. My bouquet was amazing so I was really happy with that."

"My dress was from J Dezire Bridal Boutique.  There aren’t a huge number of bridal shops in Lincolnshire and I avoided the whole dress shopping bit for quite a while! It took me ten months to buy a dress, but this was mostly because I was just didn’t go shopping! I did a little browsing with friends during the summer holidays and didn’t see a great deal.

I experienced a lot of the same disappointment brides feel when shops aren’t great with you, so was quite put off. My mum and I finally picked a day, booked three appointments and went for it. It turns out, my dress was in shop two and was dress three – so pretty easy in the end! The shop had this adorable university student shop assistant and she just made you feel great – it goes such a long way to making you feel good in a dress!"

"I thought I’d go for quite a big dress and inevitably, what I looked good in was just not that! The shop owner pulled my dress out and said she thought it would suit me. It was really simple with a lace top bodice, a deep waistband and a pleated skirt with a tulle overlay. It was very intricate but still understated. I loved how it brought my waist in and the pleated skirt was so unusual. Sometimes when you know, you just know!

The bolero was quite the saga though – the shop was adding a tulle halterneck to give my a little more support so I could wear a bra but I decided I’d need bolero too. Everyone ooh’d and aah’d over one in the shop so I brought it, despite not being sure. In the end I brought three, the final one arriving five days before the wedding! I’m really glad I stuck with the hunt as I knew I wanted a back-buttoning style and it totally transformed the dress.

I always knew I wanted a veil and Jack said he’d like me to wear a traditional veil. The amazing Chapel length, lace edged, two tier veil from Joyce Jackson was traditional and fabulous – far more dramatic than I intended! I ended up keeping it on all the way up to the first dance! Well you only get to wear a veil one!" 

"I knew exactly what I wanted my girls in: something soft, long and peachy. As I knew what I wanted, they were one of the first things we found. Googling for many hours led to finding these perfect little numbers. As it was March I thought they might need a little cover up and found these perfect little shrugs in Coast. They turned out to be an absolute life saver!"

"The cake was one area we decided not to splash out on as the cake often goes unnoticed and uneaten. We came across Marks and Spencers wedding cakes and were really impressed by the reviews – they are all glowing! We brought a plain 3 tier assorted cake and then some amazing sugar pasted anemone and hydrangeas flowers from a cake supplier. I spent the day before the wedding pasting the 100 hydrangea flowers onto the middle tier and making the anemone topper.

I changed the ribbon to match our theme and it turned out fantastically. I think I may have discovered a new talent for cake decoration!"

"Jack is super particular about his clothes and the way they fit, so it was never going to be a quick job finding suits. We went into countless shops looking for hire suits and kept being given catalogues. We found this really frustrating as so much emphasis is put on the brides outfit and the poor groom was expected to pick an outfit from a picture without trying it on!

Just as we were losing the will to live, we went to an appointment at Slaters in Leeds. Finally we had someone listen to Jacks fussing about fit and style. The shop assistant (Matt I think!) was amazing and even fitted me for a top hat for the photos (top idea!!) – which would have been perfect had we not lost the hat!"

"The Yorkshire Heritage Bus Company are amazing suppliers!! They’d worked with Lissa and Kayti before so it seemed like they were part of the day too and so accommodating – they left Yorkshire at ridiculous o’clock to make sure they didn’t get stuck in any Easter traffic.

"The Yorkshire Heritage Bus Company were so easy to work with and I couldn’t recommend them enough. As everyone got on the bus to come to the church, Jack said it made everyone come together and by the time they arrived the party had already started. On the way back we had old fashioned glass coke bottles with red striped straws, red striped popcorn bags and snack packs of Oreos.

We didn’t want anyone to be hungry so I think we just kept everyone topped up on the bus. The line of traffic on the way to Lincoln was further than the eye could see so I’m not sure everyone in Lincolnshire appreciated the bus – but I think they might have been our best spend of the day."

"Words cannot describe how amazing our photographer Lissa Alexandra was!! We now have the most amazing photos that truly capture the feel and spirit of our day – I honestly don’t know how she does it! We meet Lissa at a wedding fayre in Harrogate and her stall stood out a mile! She was so enthusiastic and genuinely seemed so interested in our day. When we had a full meeting with her, I think we both just knew it had to be her – when we left Jack just turned around and said “yeah, done”. So that was it really! On the day, she worked so hard and most importantly so discreetly. Our day was in no way dictated by the photos – we barely even noticed her!"

"Lissa truly was a photo taking ninja! Everyone commented on how quickly the group photos were taken – we were literally outside the church for 15 minutes! Jack particularly liked seeing all our the morning pictures and how calm I was before getting to the church!  Going round to the cathedral during the cocktail reception was really lovely – I would recommend all couples to take the time to do some of those photos as we truly love ours – but get a photographer like Lissa, she did it all so quickly! 

 We both think Lissa Alexandra is absolutely amazing and could not possibly recommend her enough! She will work her bottom off for you, all with a smile on her face! Just make sure you tell her to go home at night as I think she would have just kept going if we hadn’t! A true professional and wedding enthusiast!"