Bead Barmy

An upsurge in interest in all things sparkly and pretty signifies that the wedding season is upon us.

Customised nuptials are big news as brides to be don their creative hats.

Over the coming weeks I’ll be following Vicky Turner as she decorates and enhances various items of her attire. I will also be searching out some useful and fun websites, doling out some top tips and handy hints to help all you crafty and beady brides on your way to the big day. I also guarantee plenty of interest for those of you still waiting for Mr or Mrs Right  and for those of us who just love a good wedding!

Organised Bride

Organised bride Vicky and husband to be, Barry!

Organising a wedding doesn’t have to be a logistical nightmare. With all the planning, many people seem to forget along the way the reason why they are marrying in the first place. My philosophy is basically, do it for yourselves! Wear what you like – it’s your day. If your favourite outfit is jeans and t-shirt then do it! Don’t worry about what the guests will think. Invite the people that are there for you and won’t care if you turn up in a bin bag as long as you are happy. If your budget only stretches to a few sandwiches and a Victoria sponge so be it.

Remember that it’s the people that make it, not the enormous cake, the handcrafted seating cards or the exquisite shoes to die for – although all this is nice! Keep in mind that you want to be looking back on this day as one of the happiest of your life, not an exhausting trauma you had to get through that you’re still paying for in ten years time.

Having said all that, a little bit of organisation goes a long way. For the outfits, even if you are going for the bin bags, colour co-ordination is a good idea. If you intend to wear a black refuse sack, make sure his is the same. It always looks better in the photos!

Vicky has chosen black, white and hot pink with accents of silver, pearl white and dragonflies

Organised bride, Victoria Turner has very kindly agreed for me to follow her progress to the big day. She has chosen to have a black tie event as her theme. Colours will be black, white and hot pink. Accents will be silver, pearl white and dragonflies. This sounds like a lovely mix of the traditional with a splash of contemporary colour and unusual design features. Vicky will be marrying Barry on 24th July 2010. So it’s not that long to go for all the beading and sewing she has in front of her! Luckily the venue is sorted. The couple will be tying the knot at Coombes Barn in Steyning, West Sussex.

Designer Bride

Vicky has started customising her bridal veil. She told us how she came round to the idea of designing her own and how she sourced her materials.

I originally purchased a bridal veil from a UK specialist veil makers online. It was one of those sites where you could ‘design your own’. Fun I thought and half the price of a high street bridal boutique. Still costly though! It arrived and I would say I was a little disappointed with the quality of tulle used but it was very pretty and sparkly. When trying it on with my dress it was just too short. Having it made bespoke meant I couldn’t return it so I thought I’d just sell it as it still had the tags on and was unworn.

I then went searching for a style I preferred. After trawling the internet and bridal shops with no joy I thought it can’t be that hard to make one exactly to my spec! I found a free pattern and headed to Fabric Land. I purchased 2 metres of the finest bridal white tulle almost 3 metres wide at £2.99 per metre. Then I got a large comb from Boots to attach the veil to, costing £2.50.

I decided on a fully gathered veil. This meant I could have the length around the front the same as the back rather than shorter at the front then sloping down round the back. I wanted to have it cover my arms as a modesty thing during the ceremony! Just one layer was needed as the tulle width made it very full and I didn’t want to wear it over my face.

Bead Yourself

So with the fabric sourced and bought, I was interested to learn how Vicky was going to turn it into a fabulous veil! She then went on to tell us her technique:

I lay the fabric out on a large dress maker’s board and trimmed the fabric all round to make the raw edges perfect and straight. I have a rotary cutter, which is perfect for the job. I then folded the fabric in half width ways and took a huge mixing bowl, turned it upside down and placed on the bottom edge and cut round it to create  curved/softened bottom corners. I pressed a small top hem then sewed a running stitch along the crease each way to create a drawstring leaving lots of thread each end. It was then very simple to pull each end and it gathered up evenly and enough to fit the comb.

Bead creative

Vicky rises to the challenge, decorating her veil with pearls and silver and clear rocailles

Even when you take the home made route it can still be a costly affair. Make time to shop around as prices can vary wildly. From my own experience, I found that anything tagged with the word ‘bridal’ or ‘wedding’ always added to the price. Very often the same item can be found without the big day tag at a fraction of the cost. Vicky told us how she managed to avoid spending a fortune and, at the same time, create something truly unique.

Decorating was my next challenge. I found some beautiful trimmings online that are beaded and very intricate. These were so expensive, £30ish per metre. So I thought I could string my own with a little patience. I chose some tiny clear, white pearls and silver rocailles and bugle beads enough for 5 metres and already had a reel of fishing nylon. The hardest part was which order to thread the beads to get a nice design! I then spent a good 4 hours over the course of 3 evenings carefully holding the nylon about an inch from the end and picking up the seeds with this and with a quick flick upwards they flowed down the reel until all were used.

Bead work in progress

Vicky’s first attempt. This was later undone in favour of a lighter ribbon

So far so good then. Vicky met a minor glitch when decorating the comb. She covered the comb and attached it to the veil, but was not happy with the result. With infinite patience and determination, she took it all apart. She bought a narrower ribbon and plans to start again. I’ll be popping back in on Vicky in a week or two to find out how the work is progressing. She has rumoured that a Girls World will be taking part in the making of the veil. Anybody remember those? It took me right back to my childhood in the seventies. If anyone owns one, I’d love to see a photo.

Coming next time

Next time I’ll be telling you about my own bespoke wedding. It’ll be full of ideas, tips and photos of my big day.

Posted by: JoBlogsIt