Bead Barmy

Hayley serves up some good old fashioned treats

Hayley left her job as a nursery nurse in May 2010 to concentrate fully on Vintage Scoops and has already achieved a high accolade. She recently won a competition run by national magazine Country Homes & Interiors. The prize was £6000 to help launch or grow a country business and free business advice by business specialists Business Smiths. Look out for a full feature on Hayley and Betty in the Country Homes & Interiors September 2010 issue. We certainly hope that Betty and Hayley scoop up many more awards on their travels.

Little Miss Wedding - the one stop blog for all things Wedding!

Jay Rowden's fabulous work has been featured in Vogue and many other high fashion magazines

If you’re searching for inspiration for your big day, Little Miss Wedding is a must visit site. The focus is on unique ideas, with advice on pretty much all you need to know. Best of all there is an array of gorgeous pictures of real life weddings. Little Miss Wedding herself, otherwise known as Emmie, told me how her one stop site began. Emmie launched Little Miss Wedding after she realised that, when she was planning her wedding (other than the mainstream ones) there weren’t any UK focused online wedding sites. Now, of course, there are many, but Little Miss Wedding helped to start the ball rolling! Currently, Emmie’s site is a solo project and a part time hobby, as this busy lady runs 2 digital companies in London and has a little baby girl. She’s hoping that, one day, she’ll be able to spend some more time on it and that there are lots of ideas but its finding the time to implement them. There are plans for a supplier directory, various partnerships and a host of things in the pipeline. In the very near future she wants to pretty up the site a bit. In the beginning she didn’t want to spend too much money on the design because she didn’t know if it was just a fad (she’s had quite a few apparently!)  However, a year on and she’s still loving blogging and hopes that Little Miss Wedding is here to stay!

A couple of gorgeous examples of Lucy Davenport's photography. We also love the added touch on the shoes!

When asked if she had any favourite, featured weddings. She said that she’s loved lots of the weddings and the way that are some of them are really relaxed – like Ellie and Bebbs’s wedding. They held their reception in a pub garden in Hampshire. The photos are by Jay Rowden whose fabulous work has been featured in Vogue and many other high fashion magazines. She also told me that she loves the photos by Lucy Davenport from a Spring wedding she featured. I have to agree they are stunning. After looking at all these marvellous pictures, I asked Emmie what kind of wedding she had and what advice she would give other brides to be. Here are her wise words.

We had quite a traditional church wedding, in Winter, but after the church it was just a really relaxed and fun time. We love partying, so we had about 200 friends and a brilliant evening. The food was amazing and the wine flowing. Loads of my friends and family were involved – name places, flowers, photography, singing, gospel choir etc. and that is what made it really special for us. It was a fantastic day, full of family and friends and lots of love! I would say, enjoy the planning, try not to get stressed out. The most important thing about a wedding is getting married to the one that you love and having all your friends and family there for support – its an amazing feeling to have everyone there for you. 

My Tiara Shop - A tale of she who dares wins!

Two of Erica's beautiful birdcage designs

Some of the best ideas can occur by accident and that’s just what happened to Erica back in August 1996. Although she had no prior experience, Erica boldly offered to make a tiara for her cousin when she couldn’t afford one she’d seen in a Manchester bridal shop. As she and her sister were both bridesmaids, Erica suggested making their tiaras too. The final result was a dazzling array of handmade crystal and pearl cluster tiaras. The only problem was they were really heavy and didn’t stay on their heads! A relative came to the rescue by threading elastic through the headband to secure them. The day was a success, but by the end of the night when they took off the tiaras they all had headaches and indentations in their heads. Erica has come a long way since that first baptism of fire into the world of tiara making. Her creations are now even more beautiful than her first attempt and promise not to give the wearer even an ounce of pain!

More fabulous designs - including Erica's personal fave, her Aroma leather tiara (left)

Erica’s inspiration can come from any direction. Her own curiosity and experimentation with materials and shapes ensures a constant flow of innovative designs. Her formal training in textiles shows through in much of her work. Much of it includes leather, which is an unusual medium but she uses it in a sympathetic way that makes her tiaras exude elegance. Erica’s personal favourite, her Aroma Leather tiara, illustrates this perfectly. Intricate beading and metalwork detail with a mystical undertone are also keynotes in her work. Customers are also very welcome to give input and Erica has had some wild and wonderful requests from her bridal ladies! Erica works from a home studio in her garden, which ensures low overheads, which means competitive prices. The unique creations from My Tiara Shop are worth every penny. 

Eiledon – Heavenly accessories from a blissed out beader

Something blue to store those essential tissues and lipstick in

Although not strictly bridal, we couldn’t resist showing you our favourite item from Eiledon. Every bride needs something blue and this gorgeous little beaded evening bag fits the bill perfectly. Besides, where else do you put those essential tissues and lipstick?

As so often happens with cottage industries, Jacqueline’s business began with impressed family and friends asking about the handmade items she was wearing. Then a lady, who had seen one of her beaded bags, knocked on her door and asked if Jacqueline could make one for a cruise she was going on. This made her realise that people weren’t just being polite and really did want the things she was making. Jacqueline had always loved knitting and started looking at alternatives to wool, such as wire, adding beads to enhance the design. She has used this technique to create a range of brooches that are now her biggest seller. She also told me that of all her work, her wedding accessories hold a special place. As it is potentially one of the most important days in somebody’s life, when someone chooses a piece from Eiledon, she is proud to play some part in such a special day.

A charming corsage made by Jacqueline

Jacqueline told me that, in-between being a busy mother to two, she still manages to devote a lot of her time to running Eiledon. It’s not yet a full time concern, but it’s getting there! As her children grow she is hoping her business will too. As interest in her website expands so does the company. Jacqueline now has jewellery for sale in several shops and also holds jewellery parties. She is continually looking for new inspiration and adding new pieces to the site. Finally, I had to know where the unusual name came from. Jacqueline explained that Eiledon, suggested by her husband, is a Gaelic type of heavenly place, which is where she is when she is creating!

Vintage Magpie – Something old, something new, something stunning, just for you!

A beautiful bouquet adorned with shells made with love in Brighton

Much deliberation can go into a Wedding bouquet. Will your chosen colour clash with your Mother-In-Law’s outfit? Will the flowers survive the day? You’d like lilies but they’re traditionally for funerals and so on. It’s a lot of worry for something that’s only going to last a day or so. Vintage Magpie solves all these problems and gives you something worth getting stressed about – a bouquet that could become a family heirloom for generations of Brides to be.

Emma Davies is the creator of these grandiose keepsakes. She uses vintage jewellery, crystals and buttons making a bouquet full of character that will last forever. Emma invites you to donate items of sentimental value for her to incorporate into your bouquet. Family memento’s which may be broken, items you’d like to, but are unable to wear on the day, old, favourite jewellery – you’d be surprised what Emma can utilise! She has even re-used a Grand Mother’s wedding dress, which she remade into gorgeous vintage, fabric roses.

A bouquet is for life at Vintage Magpie

The true beauty of these marvellous works of art is their imperfections. The tell-tale signs of age and the history behind them gives them a glorious faded glamour. Even though my wedding was several years ago, I wish I had known about Emma’s gorgeous creations back then. I could (and did) spend ages on this site. The designs are so beautiful to look at and each piece has a different ‘vibe’. Vintage Magpie also sells gift vouchers so if you’re looking for a really unusual wedding gift it’s well worth a look. Emma also has her own blog where you can read the stories behind her creations and also see some real life wedding pics.

Rock ‘n Roll Bride - your big day the rock and roll way!

Kat Williams - the Queen of cool nuptuals

I couldn’t finish this post without mentioning Rock ‘n Roll Bride. I shouldn’t have favourites really but if I had to choose one wedding site, this would be it. Kat Williams aka the Rock ‘n Roll Bride shows you oodles of weddings with attitude without a meringue frock in sight! I won’t say much more as the next instalment of Wedding Belles will be a full length interview with the Queen of cool nuptuals herself. This fab photo of her was taken by Eliza Claire. If you can’t wait for the next instalment take a look at more of her pics from this great photo shoot in Whitstable. For more on Kat, watch this space!