A Hollywood ending...

With everything in the wedding industry being saturated in all things vintage, when I was approached to work on a different era it was so refreshing! Enter the Hollywood bride Niki....

Niki,  had a clear vision as a bride of what she wanted from the start, her Hollywood Glamour dream was lit by candlelight and accented with crystals. She wanted to take her wedding back in time, to the nostalgic era of the Hollywood icons of old, such as Marylyn Monroe. She started by sending inspirational pictures of how she would like the end result to be, and describing her more personal idea’s. She settled on our bespoke service, and we embarked on designing the wedding she had dreamed of.

Working with a bride like Niki is a real change of pace, she knew exactly what she wanted, and only needed a little direction from me. She had each area of the venue mapped out in her mind, and had plans for everything. My job was to source & clearly define everything we needed for the final designs, and of course make sure logistically it was all possible.

The ceremony area was in an open plan area of the venue,  so we constructed a tall white draped area to enclose the ceremony, giving her privacy from prying public eyes. We kept everything in black and white, from the love seat they were married under hung with black & clear crystals, to the pedestals covered in candles. 

The entrance to the reception was to be a red carpet affair, with giant gold statues and a personalised clapper board. This was to lead through to the drinks area, complete with brand new white chesterfield chill out area, away from the main room to relax in, completing this Hollywood VIP vibe. Niki wanted to reveal her main reception room to the guests in style, so we specially made some huge Hollywood screen style red curtains, at the given moment, they were to be opened with a flourish revealing the main room.

Niki had envisioned romance, so we were sparing on the fairy lights, and professional lighting solutions, and went for pure candle light. The result would be a truly romantic setting, with Art Deco inspired drapes and back drops to complete the look.

After dinner there was to be a second reveal, we decided to construct a separating white voil archway down the centre of the room, giving the illusion of an intimate soirée. Once dinner was finished we were to draw back the archway revealing a starlit room, complete with old school Hollywood photo scene and black and white dance floor.   

Niki’s finished wedding had developed and grown since our first meeting, the end result was truly a Hollywood romance.  Each area of her day was designed with thoughtfulness and care, to insure each reveal to the new section was seamless and stylised. I was so happy for Niki and her groom Anton, they embodied their chosen theme on the day and looked like Vintage Hollywood stars. They walked the red carpet like pro’s and partied the night away, so much so that I think even Frank Sinatra would have been impressed!

A Fairy Tale Wedding

A while back we started a competition to give away a themed wedding to promote what we do. We really wanted to help a bride who had a truly unique idea for her wedding come true. After reading hundreds of entries, stretching from Disney ideas through to race car themes, I fell completely head over heels for Maria's idea, she wrote to me about a magical enchanted forest dream she wanted for her wedding, and I knew this was absolutely the wedding I wanted to take on.

Below is an excerpt from her entry......

“I'd love an enchanted forest theme.  Lots of greenery by way of trees or bushes.  Twinkly lights for stars, discreet animals peeking out (butterflies, birds, squirrels (not real!) lots of flowers on the tables, birdcages and lanterns hanging from branches of the trees, maybe some toadstools and mushrooms to sit on for funky pictures, grass table tops perhaps or maybe on just one table with some flowers made of sweets growing out of the grass...... it works in my mind I'm just not great at explaining it! (Or I'm a bit crazy!)”

Challenge accepted, and so the design began!

After speaking with Maria she explained she had written this while recovering from surgery, and was a little surprised at what she had written. I sensed a sudden wave of uncertainty from this bride at taking on a fully themed wedding, what would her friends think, would people think it was funny instead of beautiful, would it be too “much”!

It was then I explained to Maria that I would only take this on if I thought I would be able to create something that would take her breath away, in every magical and beautiful way. And luckily for me, she put her worries behind her and we both threw ourselves into the design. Now I just needed to deliver a fairytale ....

I wanted to incorporate everything Maria had mentioned in her original plan, but slightly tone it down for her. I wanted to create an elegant decor with lots of traditional white, and gently bring in touches of forest as if it was bewitched and just creeping in to peak at the wedding.

Maria and Dan were amazing throughout this process, and gave a wonderful amount of trust and faith to me to create this for them. So slowly the plan came together....

Maria wanted to give her guests an element of falling down the rabbit hole, or walking into Narnia, so we set up a huge wardrobe door for the guests to step through into Maria & Dan’s wonderland.

They then walked through an enchanted garden complete with wishing well, into the main reception room which had officially turned into a forest. The centre pieces touched the ceiling, and tiny feathered birds & butterflies looked down on the guests. Handmade sugar flowers surrounded the base which guests were encouraged to snack on!

Real moss was added upon the tables to really give that textured forest feel, and spirals of tall birch stretched high, draped with glints of crystal. With the chairs each having their own dress, and ivy wrapped around to complete the look, it really came together. The top table was crowned by a stunning pink blossom tree while the dance floor was framed by two enchanted tress complete with toadstools!

For some added fun I created a really loud and out there photo room, complete with dressing up box for everyone to enjoy in the evening. This went down extremely well, and everyone got into the spirit of it.

I was so nervous before Maria arrived, I think this was the most nervous I have been in years! However when Maria and Dan stepped through the wardrobe and saw everything for the first time I was delighted at their reaction. Maria said instantly “it looks like the inside of my head!” I think one of the strangest and yet most delightful comments I have ever had from one of my brides!

And the rest as they say is history, the couple went on to enjoy a wonderful day, and they lived happily ever after! 

Supporting cast....

We would like to offer special thanks to,
Rick Lehmann for the amazing photo's, at  www.theotherday.co.uk