Crystal, Brooch & Jewellery Heirloom Wedding Bouquets + £200 Discount for Love My Dress Readers…

 

** Details on the £200 discount available during July are available at the end of this feature**

 

I received an email the other day from a Bride to be who did not want flowers at her wedding.  It was her personal choice to use something she could keep, and she was asking for my advice with regards to flower alternatives.  One perfect alternative to the traditional floral wedding bouquet is the sparkling, jewelled heirloom bouquet.  I'm going to be featuring two of the best designers of this type of wedding bouquet on Love My Dress in the next couple of weeks, starting today with this feature on 'Vintage Magpie', who has been creating unique, handmade, vintage heirloom bouquets since 2006, using vintage jewellery, buttons, crystals, silks and ribbons.

Emma Bakker is the founder and creative talent behind Vintage Magpie.  This isn't Emma's first mention or indeed appearance on Love My Dress either – Emma's own wedding featured on this very wedding blog back in March this year.  And yes of course, she made her own beautiful bouquet, that's her below with her wonderful Dutch Husband 🙂

"I started as a florist in 2001 and my brides kept asking for more and more sparkle in their flower bouquets.  I thought why not make a bouquet of just Sparkle?

And so, I made a prototype and spent six months by the sea with my trusty Scottie Dog, working out a unique way of creating an heirloom quality product.

I have never looked back…"

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Coypright (c) 2010, Rosie Parsons

"I am based in Hungerford, Berkshire. Me and my wonderful Dutch husband have a florist shop, which showcases my work alongside scrummy florals …but I have a tiny home studio where I create a big mess along with gorgeous bouquets…"

I release a collection of 3-5 bouquet every 2-3 months on my Etsy store – these are ‘ready to walk’ bouquets and offer an easy to buy option to my brides. I also take bespoke orders. This is where a bride can have a bouquet designed especially for her day.

Combining family pieces, mothers wedding dresses, broken pearl necklaces, anything with a special meaning into her bouquet. These take around 4-6 months to complete. I only take on a limited number a year, or my Wonderful Dutchman and family would never see me!" 

 

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography provided by kind courtesy of   Vintage Magpie

"When it comes to working with Brides, I love their ideas, their excitement, and the trust they have in me and my product. I have many brides who are happy to give me a few pieces of information then they tell me to run with it – this is music to any creative persons ears – this is when my best work is made.

I send emails with the photos attached and I sit nervously until I get a reply from my bride. In six years I have had only three Brides ask I make small changes to their bouquet – that makes me very proud!"

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2011, Kirsten Mavric

See the full, gorgeous 1920's Boardwalk Empire inspired photoshoot below here…

"My inspiration comes from Fashion, nature, art, colour, flowers and my Brides. I try and create my pieces to be timeless, to always have a classic elegance. Having floristry experience helps hugely – your eye has been trained to see form, colour and style. This is a skill which constantly needs to be worked and honed to make the bouquets work. I will rework bouquets maybe 4-5 times until I’m happy with them.

I remember watching a documentary about Chanel’s skilled workers. The TV crew visited the lady who made the braiding on Chanel suits – she had had three apprentices, none of whom could pick up the skill she had.  She was 80 years old and still working because no one else could do it – she WAS Chanel suits, without her they wouldn’t be the same.  That inspires me – skill is my passion,  I have turned it into my job and I adore it…"

"My signature style is the Sparkling Hand-tied bouquet.  I started with traditional shower bouquets for the National Wedding Show {where I launched Vintage Magpie}. I was worried there wasn’t enough diversity in the collection, so created a quick hand tied shape – it stole the show, everyone loved it, and it is now a firm favourite with my Brides, especially if they are having a destination wedding as they are so great to pack into your luggage…"

"I believe that my bouquets are the most original on the market, and I pride myself on my workmanship. I use 80% or more vintage items in my bouquets the only new things in them, are the wire, some millinery flowers, some ribbon (vintage ribbon is getting so hard to find) and the pins I used to bind the bouquets. I have an aversion to glue and never use it!"

Reader Offer…

Emma is very generously offering all Love My Dress readers £200 off any bespoke heirloom bouquet order placed in July 2011 {normal price £600}. This is a fabulous opportunity to get the bouquet of your dreams created just for you – a chance to have a precious family heirloom created that you can pss on to your children. 

For full details, please email Emma directly on [email protected].

I'd love to hear from you Brides who are considering a crystal/jewellery bouquet – leave a comment below – have you any special pieces of jewellery you are saving to be worked into the bouquet?

Remember to take a look at the Vintage Magpie Etsy store, and Emma's wedding ladies and gents 🙂

Much love all,

Annabel xXx

♥