ireLandʼs
bridal
tiPs+ tricks
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+INSIDER EXPERT ADVICE
it’s in the detail
aCCessories, Cakes invites, Lingerie fLoWers + More
Venue DeCISIon
froM trendy bar to CoUntry estate, We Look at the options
MoDeRn roMance
£3.50/€4.50 SUMMER 2015 – ISSUE 7
WeddiNGS
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Summer locks
Clare Afshar of Vintage Rocks tells us what she is loving for summer bridal hair trends. ‘It’s all about colour, textures and embellishments! Subtle peachy blondes, violet creams tones or summer scorched sun kissed ends. Add sculpted waves or blended braids and don’t forget fresh flowers!’ Vintage Rocks, 028 9064 3809, vintagerockshairparlour.com
new collection launch Deborah K Design specialises in beautifully handcrafted and unique bridal headpieces and jewellery for the Bride, Bridesmaids and Mother of the bride. This is an exciting year for Deborah, as she is launching a brand new bridal collection. The new collections will include stunning Gatsby inspired headpieces, intricate lace hairband and hair wires of delicately entwined Swarovski crystals and pearls. All of Deborah’s creations
are designed using only the finest in Sterling Silver, Swarovski Crystals and Pearls, Freshwater Pearls and Semi-Precious Stones all in a range of colours and designs to suit any look. The above image is from the launch of the new collection, including a beautiful dress from Petticoat Lane and flowers from Rosehip & Berry Floral. From more information: 028 9062 7704, deborahkdesign.co.uk
the london look
Lovely Little looks
Kate Halfpenny is an award winning celebrity stylist and costume designer, who in 2005 launched her namesake bridal and couture collection Halfpenny London. Kate’s stunning bridal designs are now available in Ireland, stocked exclusively by The White Gallery Boutique, 07565 221331, thewhitegalleryboutique.co.uk
Children’s style and cuteness Daisy bando, £8, accessorize
Sunglasses, £2.99, H & M
Pirouette dress, £45, Monsoon
Straw hat, £3.99, H & M
Lace socks, pack of 2, £4.99, Zara
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Ladybird ballerina shoes, £10, littlewoods.com
Ruffled bag, £10, Marks & Spencer
Mother of hats Wedding hats from Grainne Maher millinery. Silver sinamay headpiece trimmed with lace and Swarovski bead cluster with double quill. grainnemaher.com
favour flavour
Pick up this personalised teaspoon as a lovely keepsake favour for your wedding guests and friends. Beautifully engraved with your name and wedding date, £20.50, thecutlerycommission.com
new bridal showroom Debbie Bailie-Collins is the creative director and head designer at Gibson Bespoke. After working within the high fashion industry for almost 15 years, she felt it a natural progression to move into creative design and her love of all things bridal shone through. Gibson Bespoke have just opened their new four storey premises in the heart of
the beautiful Georgian city, Armagh. With designs exclusive to their boutique and the only fully bespoke dress and accessory service within Ireland, its the perfect place to go for a unique style. Visiting their elegant showroom is by appointment only. To arrange an appointment call 0754 9484 093, gibsonbespoke.co.uk
rainbow maids
diary date bridal fairs rock!
Summer is the best season to explore non traditional bridesmaid dresses. Bright colourful shades and pretty floral prints create fresh and vibrant looks. L-R: Rose floral dress, £70, asos.com; Notch bandeau floral mini sress, £60, asos.com; Myleene Klass floral dress £74, Littlewoods.com
cosy rosy Save the date, ladies for the wonderful Frock around the Clock bridal fair. This lovely homegrown event celebrates vintage and handmade bridal looks and style. Showcasing over 50 wedding exhibitors, each specialising in their own unique, creative and on-trend products and service. This stylish event is a feast for the eyes and a great way to kick start conversations and connections with vendors. So, get your maids together and make a day of it! Sunday 17th May , Malone House Belfast, frockaroundtheclock.com
This painted petal robe is a perfect fit for the morning of your wedding or a gift for your bridesmaid. The robe looks and feels beautiful, so you’ll feel like a Hollywood star while having your make up and hair done, £44, bhldn.com inspire-weddings.com | 7
invites
paper themes the arrival of an invite is first flutter of excitement for your guests. Beautiful textures, hand drawn designs and modern font choices creates a fresh, artistic look and feel
Vintage pocket book invitation, Ciara Patrick Designs
Stylish and chic gold confetti invitation, The White Letter
Modern watercolour suite, Paper Bark
Elegant spring fern suite, Bill & Coo
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season
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Image mariannewilsonphotography.com
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Style in technicolour 9 1 Guestbook, £33, MDB Weddings 2 Watercolour invitation, Cokko Designs 3 Watercolour Table Numbers, £17, Lemon Wedding 4 Canape flags (24), £3, hamptonblue.co.uk 5 Icelollies image by mariannewilsonphotography. com 6 Floral clutch, £55, David and Chiyo 7 Floral wooden pegs (10), £4, hamptonblue.co.uk 8 Cake, Sweet Bakery and Cakery, photo by wellingtonphotographer.net 9 Floral print sandal, £29.99, Debenhams 10 Floral dress, £55, Jessica Wright, House of Frazer 11 Sunglasses, Police Eyewear
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Butterflies & Bicycles J EN & J U L IAN
Jen and Julian knew from the start that they didn’t want a cookie cutter wedding venue. After visiting a few well know wedding venues they we were both turned off by the conveyor belt of weddings they churned out. ‘Bellurgan Park is minutes from my childhood home,’ says Jen. ‘It’s a beautiful Edwardian house set in acres of natural forest and parkland. They don’t normally host weddings, but we were lucky to have connections.’ The theme of the wedding was inspired by vintage bicycles and butterflies. This might seem like an odd combination but Julian and Jen both are keen cyclists, and Jen always loved the prettiness of butterflies wings. From a tandem bike image on their save the date cards, to Jen’s dress with butterfly beading, the wedding theme was woven throughout the day effortlessly. ‘We roped in friends and colleagues to help fold hundreds of origami butterflies, says Jen. ‘We used them to decorate the venue and add colour and a little whimsy to the proceedings - hundreds of butterflies were folded by anyone willing to learn how!’ Other small, personal touches were added too. Julian
loves Lego, so he spent time finding a lego person to suit each guest. ‘I think he found it hard to let them go on the day after he spent so long creating them all but our guests loved them,’ says Jen. ‘Our bride and groom live in our sitting room now.’ They used a scarf from their travels in India for the hand fasting ceremony, while the table names were all countries we visited together. ‘Julian made table name cards with photos of us in each country and some facts about wedding traditions of that country.’ Their wedding wine was from France, Jen’s Dad drove it all home. ‘He had to use the wedding invitation at customs as proof that it was all for personal use!’ Looking back Jen and Julian have this advice to share with any future wedding planners; before you start planning anything sit down together, over dinner and maybe a bottle of wine, and decide what you want out of your wedding. ‘Everyone has their own idea of what a wedding should be’ says Jen. ‘But the only opinion that really matters is your own. As long as you are happy then the people who love you will be happy too.’
p h o t o gr a p hy C hr i s C o p e l a n d
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All dresses from Laure de Sagazan, Duex Mille Quinze Collection. Now available in Northern Ireland, at The White Gallery lauredesagazan.fr
centre stage
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Table runners, or cloths are a great way to create stylish table features. For maximum table impact explore; table and overhead floral arrangements, single candlesticks, table numbers and material choices
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1 lauraivanova.com; 2 erichmcvey.com; 3 photosbyheart.com; 4,7 nataliewatsonphotography.com; 5 heatherhawkinsphoto.com; 6 lydiajane.com; 8 rebeccayale.com; 9 elishevagolani.com; 10 katelynjames.com
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final thought
The DIY Bride a behind the scenes conversation about creating that dream homemade wedding day
DIY Bride extraordinaire PATRICIA ULTRARAN What ‘look’ did you set out to achieve? The venue was beautiful, surrounded by plants and trees and of course the pretty lake with ducks in it. Therefore, we went for the natural and rustic look. Since the walls were made of rock and there were some lovely pops of red, we decided to use dark green and white so it was rustic but still very elegant and clean. How was the experience of gathering your resources? We had 16 months, so we had plenty of time to find what we wanted. We asked some friends and family to keep their pretty jam jars. We were able to use a combination of things from Ireland and Spain. I don’t think we ever went to a shop with the intention of buying things for the wedding, instead, we just picked up things as we went along. How did friends and family pitch in? My mum made hundreds of little knitted hearts so we could hang them from the chairs and around the venue. Alex’s mum made two lovely cakes for us. We are both teachers and one of our students made the loveliest little favour bags to put tissues in them. My best friends created two hand drawn posters, which allowed guests to sign and write messages for us. The venue let us set up the evening before, which was perfect. Friends and family helped us set up too, which was lots of fun.
How was the planning process? We never really sat down and planned everything to the last detail. We had a general idea and were open to include any elements we liked along the way. We knew we wanted to keep the rustic feel of the barns and the whole venue and we wanted to bring part of the nature that was outside and put it on our tables and windowsills. Fun memory or highlight from your DIY doings? The night before the wedding I was staying at a friend’s house with all my family (from Spain). And seeing my mum, my cousins, uncle and auntie and my granny, all of them working like an assembly line, putting the thread through bunting they had previously made back in Spain, while sitting in a kitchen, speaking Spanish (most of them can’t speak English) was pretty surreal. It was really nice having everybody there working towards our special day. Top tip for the next DIY bride or groom? Delegate! Let everyone help out. If you know someone who is good at making cakes, just ask them. They will probably be super excited and honoured that you asked them. And use magazines and Pinterest for inspiration but remember, it’s your wedding day and it has to be yours. Enjoy it! You will miss it. I’m waiting for a friend to get married so I can get in wedding planning mode again!
Photography Creative Flux
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Venue Riverdale Barn