HANDMADE IN... East Anglia

Usinglocal businesses when planning your wedding not only benefits you but also the planet. From stationery to jewellery, here’s a handful of companies from across the region you need to know about…

Clare Warren Calligraphy

Clare warren says… I create bespoke stationery and signage for your wedding day in unique, handwritten calligraphy. After a rewarding career managing the visual team of a well-known department store, I found real joy in learning and perfecting the art of calligraphy. I started Clare Warren Calligraphy in 2019, and it’s grown into a full-time business. I’m at my happiest with a pen in my hand and a vision in my head, and I’ve been so lucky to help so many couples with such an intimate part of their most memorable day.

What’s your most popular product for weddings? Beauty is in the details, and my most popular product is by far the smallest: place cards. These tiny finishing touches don’t just tell your guests where to sit, they show them how important they are with their own name lovingly written by hand on premium quality card. Most of them make their way home with the guests as an extra keepsake, and when they’re matched with a stunning table plan, they can really bring your décor together.

Why is it important to choose local suppliers? Small businesses are the heart of a community, and what is a wedding without heart? I talk to every one of my couples to make sure that I understand exactly what they’re looking for, and offer experience and guidance to help them achieve their dream look. Stationery and styling can be confusing and going local is the best way to get what you want instead of just something from a shelf.

I’ve supplied stationery for weddings in Beverly Hills, Australia and even further afield, but I’m most proud of the work I’ve done here in Norfolk. Having worked closely with many of the local wedding

Amelia Brennan

Amelia says… Amelia Brennan offers beautifully crafted, traditional pageboy and flower girl outfits. The designs are timeless and can be passed down through the generations.

What’s your most popular product for weddings? Our most popular outfits are our linen pageboy outfits and dot cotton dresses with matching linen sashes (pictured far right, also available in blue). They offer couples a classical look at a fraction of the price of other designers.

venues, and collaborated with a lot of other suppliers, I know how much care, passion and skill has gone into every aspect of those events. We communicate, we problem-solve, and we’re often on hand to help out with any last-minute fixes for unpredictable changes.

What do you love most about weddings? Every wedding is different, and everybody has their own idea of what makes it beautiful. One of the best things about what I do is that every order is unique, and as long as the couple are happy then I’m ecstatic. It’s even better if my work makes them cry a little bit… just a little bit.

Clare Warren, Clare Warren Calligraphy www.clarewarrencalligraphy.co.uk

Why is it important to choose local suppliers? We are solely based online but choosing local suppliers helps small businesses in our local area.

What do you love most about weddings? Being from Norfolk, I love a country wedding, allowing the flowers and natural beauty of our incredible countryside to create the most wonderful backdrop.

Amelia Brennan, www.ameliabrennan.co.uk

Catherine Downes

Catherine says… Based in West Norfolk, I’ve been designing and making bespoke giftware in silver, copper or pewter for 22 years. I do a lot of work to commission and make quite a wide range of products from pieces for the home to jewellery.

What’s your most popular product for weddings? My most popular product for a wedding gift would probably be the flower holders which, like all of the pieces that I make, can be commissioned in either silver, copper or pewter or a combination of metals. I always think a freshly cut single flower has so much meaning, so it’s always lovely to have something nice to display it in. Bowls and spoons also make a nice gift. I’ve also made pieces that can have elements added at a later date to mark anniversaries or maybe the arrival of a new family member!

Why is it important to choose local suppliers? In a faceless world of mass production, it’s so nice to have the connection of working with a maker to have a handcrafted piece that can be cherished for years to come, and even passed on to future generations. There’s also an inevitable environmental benefit which is always a good thing.

Elizabeth Fitzgerald Carter

Elizabeth says… A professional marine and river landscape artist, I offer original oil or acrylic paintings as wedding gifts either specially commissioned or selected direct from the studio. Liquid light flows and dances through paintings of the East Anglian coastline and waterways; these are works of art to visually sink into and treasure for a lifetime. My work has appeared previously in Homes & Gardens Online, World of Interiors as well as local publications like KL Magazine and North Norfolk Living magazine.

What’s your most popular product for weddings? I am most often commissioned to paint coastal images or favourite walks.

Why is it important to choose local suppliers? As well as supporting the local economy, a locally made product is often a reflection of the area the happy couple have a real connection to. Equally they or their guest can be assured of an interested and in person tailored service.

My customers want a painting that engages their senses in memory or a feeling of wellbeing generated by a particular landscape or combination of colour and composition. In the case of a commissioned work, this is enhanced a hundred-fold as the painting is special and unique to them, and is a timeless addition to their home. It is not unusual for close family members or friends to get together to chose a painting based on somewhere which has special significance to the happy couple.

What do you love most about weddings what you do? An instance of the last bit above happened to me a few years ago, when I was asked to paint a river view as a gift from the best man to the groom. It was a place where local children had played, teenagers had messed about and where the groom proposed to his bride. A few weeks after the wedding I had a phone call from the bride and groom so moved they were in floods of tears it meant that much. They are in the military and the painting travels with them wherever they are posted.

Elizabeth Fitzgerald Carter,

What do you love most about what you do? I love all aspects of my working life. My inspiration comes from the vibrant energy and movement that comes from my love of music. I also find inspiration in the natural world and I love texture in pieces, it seems to bring them to life. As each piece is individually handmade, I’m fortunate that I can cater for most styles from the very minimalist to the more detailed. I love the variety of my work and can’t imagine doing anything else.

Catherine Downes, Silversmith, www.catherinedownes.co.uk

OLIVE & IVY WEDDING STATIONERY

Emily says… Olive & Ivy began as a favour to my best friend, designing and creating their invitations and wedding stationery. It gave me such joy to be a part of such a happy occasion I knew I wanted to be able to do the same for other people.

We offer bespoke, quality wedding stationery from save the dates to on-the-day items.

What’s your most popular product for weddings? Our most popular product of late has been our concertina invitation, rather than three different pieces of card it’s an all-in-one design which has been a real hit.

Why is it important to choose local suppliers? By choosing local suppliers you receive that personal service you wouldn’t necessarily receive with the auto-generated stationery giants.

What do you love most about what you do? Having done a lot of watercolour designs (which I love creating) it’s refreshing when someone chooses the more modern design that focuses on typeface and colour. I’m working on one at the moment which uses natural earthy colours and elegant fonts, giving a stunning finished look.

Emma King, Olive & Ivy Wedding Stationery www.olive-and-ivy.co.uk

Anne Reeder Milliner

Anne says… I offer bespoke and ready to wear hats, fascinators, tiaras and other headpieces for brides, bridesmaids, mothers-of-the-bride and -groom and wedding guests. Working from my studio in Ipswich, customers can try on headwear in different styles to see what will suit their face and body shape, personality, outfit, the season and the occasion before I design and make something just for them.

After a long career in the NHS, I retrained as a milliner at Kensington and Chelsea College, Janie Ashford School of Millinery and attended many millinery master classes.

I also offer hen parties where everyone can make their own fascinator or hat for the wedding while enjoying afternoon tea and a glass or two of bubbles.

What is the most popular product you offer for weddings? My most popular products are bespoke hats and headpieces for mothers-of-thebride and -groom. Some ladies like a big hat for their special occassion, while others, who don’t really like wearing hats, prefer something small and unassuming.

Why is it important that couples choose local suppliers? When it comes to headwear, choosing a local supplier means you can get advice from your milliner about what will suit you best and make sure that no one else at the wedding has anything the same. You can have fittings to make sure your hat is perfect for you and try it on with your outfit.

Anne Reeder, Anne Reeder Milliner www.annereedermillinery.co.uk

Bake A Shoe

Rachel & Angelo say… Bake a Shoe is a start-up fashion brand creating realistic cake-themed heels, handbags and accessories. Items are ‘hand-iced’ to order with faux frosting and fruit for a sweet statement that is sure to impress. Using a mixture of felt, vegan leather, foam and polymer paste, a tasty-looking statement piece is meticulously handmade in three to four weeks.

What’s your most popular product for weddings? Bake a Shoe’s newest range of handmade wedge cake handbags are each ‘hand-iced’ to order with faux frosting, fruit and sprinkles ‒ perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth and eye for glamour. Each bag is around 26cm wide, 15cm tall and 13cm deep at its widest point ‒enough to fit a large iPhone, keys and make-up! Currently available in Victoria Sponge and Rainbow Sprinkles designs, but can be made into any requested cake ‘flavour’ by designers on the Bake a Shoe team in five to six weeks.

Rachel & Angelo, designers and creators at Bake a Shoe