Credits:   Directed & Styled by Susan Brierly Bush • Photographed by Frank Veronsky • Hair & Makeup by Depasquale The Spa

At the beginning of the year I was asked by the very talented stylist Susan Brierly Bush, if I would recreate my Trick or Treat bouquet for a photo shoot.

I was tickled pink to see the result, what a gorgeous photo and styling.  The entire set of pics is really stunning and inspiring.  Titled a Bride for All Seasons.  You can view the entire feature here.

New Jersey Brides

At the beginning of March we exhibited at the super cool Most Curious Wedding Fair, held at the Truman Brewery in the hub of Brick Lane, London.

Billed as   “…the Wedding Fair for the style savvy couple”  

We were there for a bustling two days filled with such inspirational talent and creativity.

One of the highlights was watching our bouquets in the fashion shows styled by Katherine McNeal.

“Most Curious carefully handpicks its merry gang of exhibitors who range from the very coolest of the established brands to up and coming makers working from their bedrooms, kitchens, studios and raw imaginations.”

And we met some truly amazing suppliers that we highly recommend  …….

PINGLE PIE

For couples planning a stylish and offbeat wedding, Kim’s hand painted designs are lovingly created using a mixture of traditional and modern mediums.

The fully personalisable wedding stationery at Pingle Pie will be the perfect accompaniment to your personality filled day.

VIRGINIA THE WOLF

Virginia the Wolf makes bespoke jewellery and fine art pieces from ethically sourced animal bones and skulls. Our ethos is to reunite art and science through elegant design and an inspiration for the beauty of nature. Each piece is distinctly unique, as we believe our customers are too, but the true allure lies in the grace of immortalising these creatures into wearable treasures and ornate furnishings to cherish forever.

Honeybomb Vintage Wedding Boutique

Honeybomb Vintage Wedding Boutique presents a unique caboodle of glamorous, sexy, kooky and classic genuine vintage wedding dresses, which have been hand selected and imported from all over the world. These gorgeous gowns are lovingly cleaned, restored, primped and primed ready for you to rock on your wedding day! Book a private appointment at our cosy and quirky boutique in the heart of Chester city centre and have some fun trying on the vintage dresses of your dreams!

CROWN AND GLORY
Trend led, fashion forward hair accessories handmade by Sophie and her team in Cornwall! Think blooming florals, glitter encrusted silliness and beyond, including a range of alternative bridal hair accessories created in collaboration with queen of alt weddings, Kat Williams of Rock n Roll Bride. As loved by Grazia, Company, Teen Vogue, a whole host of celebrity fans…we could go on, but no-one likes a bragger!

DORIS LOVES
Doris Loves offer a whole range of delights, from a Temporary Tattoo Station to spectacular battery powered light-up letters. With over 70 letters in stock we can spell just about anything! Our new luxury range of LOVE letters offer something truly unique. This range has more lights, new fonts and now COLOUR – ‘RED & WHITE’, ‘GREY & YELLOW’ and ‘imitation GOLD LEAF’. With plenty more ideas in the pipeline!

COMEUPPANCE
Comeuppance creates lovingly handmade paper decorations. Bespoke and made to order they add an individual and personal touch to any celebration. Everything can be altered to personal preferences creating something special and truly unique.

Super Cute Macaroons

LITTLE BEAR CAKERY
Little Bear Cakery is an award winning East London cake business run by pastry chef Clare. Incorporating her love of the 3 fs… feathers, flora and fauna, Clare loves experimenting with different materials and textures as well as drawing inspiration from fashion, wedding and lifestyle trends

Boxless Booths
Think outside the box for your wedding with Boxless Booths. A pop-up “photo booth” without walls, we transform any space into a studio with your own photographer, studio lighting and equipment, and bespoke props and backdrops to make each “booth” unique to you. Our goal is to create a fun and interactive way for you and your guests to capture your special day. Unlimited prints make great party favours too.

OH MY HONEY

Oh My Honey creates fabulous fifties style frocks that are handmade in the studios in Brighton. Specialising in bridalwear, designer Louise O’Mahony can make bridesmaids dresses in fabrics and colours of your choice to go with your wedding theme, and has a range of beautiful and quirky wedding dresses that can be altered to your particular tastes. Vintage inspired designs, made with modern figures and trends in mind.

Mad’moizelle BeeBee
French wedding planner, Mad’moizelle BeeBee is specialised in tailor-made events that are nothing like the run-of-the-mill weddings in France and is not afraid of ponytastic, glitter-studded weddings! With Mad’moizelle BeeBee’s guidance, hints and tips, organising the most beautiful day of your life in France is a breeze! Why not let us take the weight off your shoulders and help with planning your big day in France?

I could go on… for a full list of exhibitors look here

A most Curious Wedding Fair

Photo Credits:

Pingle Pie, Katherine McNeal, I heart Van time, La Cabine de Margaux, Roberta Matis

A beautiful venue, fab suppliers and lovely brides to be.

I received a fab email from the lovely Claire at Belly Button Boo  Stationers & Event Stylists.  The brief should I choose to accept it, was to create a bouquet for their styled table at The Wedding House of Wallingford, that incorporated pastel brights and candy stripes.

The table aimed to be bright, colourful and full of the joys of a summer wedding celebration.  Inspired by their latest bootique stationery collection ‘Hitched and Stitched’.

The range draws inspiration from the recent sewing bee trend with a vintage edge.  We’ve mixed up bright colours, clashing patterns and lashings of fabric, and teamed them with haberdashery straight from your grandma’s sewing basket!

A lucky window arose in my schedule, so it was my pleasure to accept the mission and the ‘Hitched & Stitched’ bouquet & matching button hole was born!

Claire sent me through these pics courtesy of SLR-Photography.    I just love the cake from The Glorious Bakeshop covered in tiny iced buttons!  I think the styling is gorgeous, but you can view for yourself, as the display will be on show at The Wedding House Wallingford until September!

I worked with gorgeous bride to be Ella and fab photographer Martin Plant  of Alter Ego Portraits, to create a wedding planning shoot with some good old Gatsby Ritz!

The story behind the shoot is really gorgeous and can be read in The English Wedding Blog here.  It’s a real heart wrencher though – so be warned!

Martin captured some stunning pics, I just love the dramatic and theatrical use of lighting.

How romantic are these shots with the Pettibone dress, very Downtown Abbey darling!

What another very fun filled day, being a runner & assisting with styling, another part of my job that I truly love.  Thanks Ella & all the best!

I know it sounds cliched, but when I think about it, my love for buttons started as a young child, when I would play for hours with my grandma’s button box.   She had a set of traditional balance scales and I would weigh them out to imaginary shop customers.   (Oh those were the good old ancient days (according to my children) long, long ago, before  the invent of X-boxes and Ipod’s).

I remember being fascinated by the shiny buttons, which were from my granddad’s old WW2 uniform.  I loved the sense of history behind them and all the different colours, shapes and styles.    I was also completely fascinated with my mother’s jewellery box and charm bracelet.  Not only was it brimming with sparkles and bling, but was packed full of charms that all had a sentimental story to tell.

So I guess looking back the button love has always been embedded in my psyche.

Originally from Reading, I studied art and art history at A level, graduated from Derby Uni with a BA Hons in Visual Cultures and then fell into a career in project Management, for a medical communications company based in Oxford.   I met my husband, started a family and moved to rural northamptonshire in 2000.

Knowing my love for arts & crafts, my friend and fellow creative, Anna (Above & below) asked me to help make the table decorations for her wedding in June 2012, which were all made from buttons and beads.  It was great to see everyones reaction to them at the wedding.  In fact most of the tableware made it’s way into pockets and handbags, as memento’s.  They really created a buzz, with guests and friends asking if they could have a bunch made!  I became hooked on buttoning thereafter and decided to set up my own business making button bouquets.

So I have never looked back!  All thanks to Anna!  I love returning to my creative roots and being part of so many big days!   I get to work with fantastic suppliers and brides from all over the country.  Every day I receive such amazing ideas from my brides to be, from Batman to vintage inspired bouquets.I am a massive fan of Audrey Hepburn and all things that are handmade, vintage and retro.  I’m passionate about up-cycling, giving jewellery and buttons a new creative lease of life.

I thoroughly love my job and feel lucky that I have now discovered what it is I wanted to do when I grew up!  Mrs Anna Malin – you are the best! xx