The Creative Collective, with MiaSylvia + Anthology Vintage Hire

After the exceptional response to this weekend’s #StandUpForWedings campaign, launched by the What About Weddings team on Saturday morning, it seems wonderfully fitting to be sharing an editorial that truly celebrates the talent to be found within our British wedding industry.

I love the concept of revealing the people and the processes behind the business names and that’s exactly what this shoot set out to do; turn inwards to the suppliers, and showcase the love and dedication behind the brands themselves. Ethical and sustainable textile designer, Mia Sylvia, shares more…

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“Welcome to our concept, ‘The Creative Collective’ – a celebration of industry suppliers, the ‘best in business’ and the ‘behind the scenes’ of what truly makes the wedding industry a fantastic place to work within.”“The concept was coordinated by Amy from Anthology Vintage Hire (pictured right below) and designed/styled by myself, Mia, from Mia Sylvia (pictured left below).”

“I wanted to showcase the talent and individuals involved within a styled shoot/event/wedding and the tenacity of the human spirit. Being able to work alongside each other, support one another and celebrate the fantastic and creative humans behind each brand has been pivotal and so nourishing, especially given the time and restrictions we’re living through right now as wedding suppliers”

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“To birth our visions into reality, we knew that our venue had to be Upthorpewood, Set on the Suffolk/Norfolk border amid the breathtaking countryside, Upthorpoewood provides the ultimate woodland wedding setting, with the added bonus of being part of a handful of licensed woodland wedding venues in England, approved for civil ceremonies for up to 110 people where you can legally get married in their beautiful, intimate woodland.”

“The photographer on our editorial, Kelsie Lowe, creates candid, relaxed and romantic images that are emotive with their deep hues, adventurous frames and just make you feel at home.”

“We created an intimate dining experience at Upthorpewood by creating a horseshoe table set up with additional benches that are all hand made from reclaimed wood at Anthology Vintage Hire.”

“Velvet cushions adorn the benches to create a cosy vibe alongside wooden fold our chairs and table décor such as vintage brass candle sticks.”

“The barn also features a MiaSylvia Backdrop and fabrics that adorn the tablescapes. Pops of yellow amidst the warm tones compliment the rustic wood of the barn and reclaimed furniture hand made from Anthology Vintage Hire.”

“The MiaSylvia fabrics featured range from the table covers, napkins, backdrops and fabric instillations. The Fabrics are all hand-dyed in the MiaSylvia studio using only natural dyes on organic fabrics or regenerated textiles using ingredients such as plants, flowers, food waste and scrap metals to create the soft hues in the fibres.”

“Textiles and the Fabric Instillations you see MiaSylvia create add so much romanticism and texture to a space and can be created to suit your styles and colour pallets.”

“Ceramics have been hand-made by Ronaldo from ‘Motions of Clay’. Ronaldo, from the Chanel 4 Show ‘The Great Pottery Throw down’ hand-made the serving plates, bowls, mugs and vases that the flowers are styled within.”

“Down to the details within the floristry frogs, Ronaldo designed and created these for the tablescapes. Celebrating the beautiful and intentional delicacy that goes into ceramics.”

“The floristry designers, sister duo Rose and Alice from ‘The Native Florist’ specialise in organic and self-grown florals that benefit our environment. They created architectural and cute puffy clouds for the barn and styled ‘old man’s beard’ for the table runners instead of the usual fabric runners you’re used to seeing.”

“Something that had been in Rose’s mind for a while, we wanted to open this space for the designers to be able to have creative freedom within their mediums and celebrate the ideas they’ve wanted to dare to create.”

“Phoebe, is from My Kitchen Your Place, a bespoke catering company offering Mediterranean inspired food for weddings, sourcing from independent local producers wherever possible. My Kitchen Your Place specialises in feasting platters and unique wood fired menus – it is based in Lavenham Suffolk, but covers all of the South East.”

“Phoebe curated some delicious plates which are equally as aesthetically pleasing from top quality ingredients. Phoebe supplied a selection of small plates including crevettes with Nduja, chilli, lemon and garlic butter.  And grilled plums with amoretti cream, crumbled biscotti and toasted almonds.” 

“Cutlery and plates have been supplied by CMA Hire. CMA are based in Palgrave, central East Anglia on the Norfolk / Suffolk boarder. CMA supplied their lens glasses (both wine and tumbler), heavy antique finished gold cutlery, 10” pasta plates which are absolutely ideal for larger dishes and generally creating a wow factor with minimal elegance and a 12” base plate to set off the crockery and create depth in the table design.”

“Tea and coffee sets (with the sweetest and classy espresso mugs) are also seen paired for the outdoor ceremony to add a touch of home comforts to the venue.”

“Outside for the ceremony space, I wanted to curate something so intimate and also covid-friendly for the new micro weddings we’re seeing blossom this year and are a reality to be planned for 2021 bookings.”

“The outside ceremony space is actually reflection of what myself (Mia) have planned for my own wedding (when he asks, haha!) so it’s something I hold really close to my heart and am bravely sharing my visions and concept with the world!”

“The ceremony aisle is lined with dramatic and tall dried foliage’s and the front rows consist of wooden benches alongside with Anthology Vintage Hire wicker baskets and vintage metal tins filled with woven and warm blankets for guests.”

“Instead of the aisle being dressed with rows and rows of seating, I designed a space that is filled with mismatched vintage tables and chairs so that families, couples and singletons can relax at a table, with a glass of wine or a hot drink (served with CMA Hire) to enjoy the ceremony with a super relaxed vibe.”

“It also is a nice nod to people being able to sit and dine in their own ‘social bubbles’.”

“Being a big believer in not following traditions and the ‘norms’ in your special day, I wanted this space to reflect myself and my dream wedding set up. I just love the thought of having my nearest and dearest sat at tables, socialising in tabled groups and really relaxing into the venue for the intimate ceremony that will unfold before them. My inspiration comes from alfresco dining in a Parisian setting.”

“A brand new, never been seen before, signature MiaSylvia Flower+Fiber Wall has been installed for the ceremony space on a reclaimed wood board from Anthology vintage hire. It’s a design I’ve been storing in my creative mind so this will be the first time ever it’s been released/seen beyond the creative collective day together. I hope you enjoy seeing the newest MiaSylvia Flower+Fiber Wall and look to have a bespoke instillation created for your events.”

“After our day setting up, stretching our creative muscles and designing the day, we had personal portraits taken by Kelsie Low in front of a MiaSylvia Backdrop, styled with The Native Florist Floral Cloud and vases/flower frogs hand made by ceramicist Motions of Clay.”

“Each supplier Hire (that was able to be there!) sat on the reclaimed wooden benches made by Anthology Vintage and had their portraits taken as I wanted to continue the celebration of how awesome they all are, being able give the creatives the space to step in front of the camera so that we can see the people behind the brands and have a personal connection to their creative souls.”