Joanne (the twirling bride) marries Mark!

How cool is this image? I saw this photo on Dave Mc Clelland's Facebook page and commented on it... that was before I discovered that this was Joanne; one of my lovely brides. I raced over to Dave's blog to read his epic description of the day. It's quite a feat to create words that are as good as the images. This guy can tell a story in more than one way.

OK girls, how many of you would like to have a twirly whirly pic of you in your dress? I think this should be the new standard. We need a 360° of our dress surely?

So, spinning for our pleasure today is Joanne! As her photographer Dave says "If I had to sum up Joanne in one word it would be Happy". Joanne, I had so much fun when you visited my studio with your friend AnnMarie (who is also seen twirling below!) And I'm thrilled that you're here to tell us about your brilliant wedding day. Congratulations to yourself and Mark.

"Mark proposed to me the night we moved into our new house as I was sitting on the couch watching Coronation Street! Not many people might think that's romantic but for me it was the perfect proposal as it was just the two of us, I would have been mortified with a big public proposal in a restaurant so he knows me well!

When the wedding planning started, we didn't have to take too long choosing a venue as we had been to Killashee House in Naas for a friend's wedding a few years ago and loved everything about it. The hotel also has a gorgeous civil ceremony room so everything worked out great with our plans!"

"I first called to Aisling about six months before the wedding with my bridesmaid AnneMarie. I was a bit apprehensive as I'm completely clueless when it comes to things like hairpieces and I wasn't even 100% sure of the hairstyle I wanted! There was no need to worry though as within 10 minutes of being in Aisling's beautiful studio, she had my hair styled in the shape I was thinking (I wasn't much help as all I said was a "side bun type thing"!) and loads of different haircomb options.

We chose a gorgeous pearl and rhinestone haircomb which I ended up wearing with a birdcage veil, it was great as I could take the veil off later in the night and still had the haircomb to wear. Aisling also made a lovely pearl bracelet for me which I know I'll wear many times in the future!"

"My favourite moment of the day was our "first look" where I met Mark in the bridal suite before the ceremony. It was quite emotional seeing each other all dressed up and there were a couple of tears! This was a nice chance for a few minutes together before all the madness and I think if I had to give any piece of advice to brides and grooms it would be to make sure you have some moments alone throughout the day to remember why you're both there!"

"Our wedding day turned out to be quite a relaxed and really fun day. We both stayed in the hotel the night before with some of our friends and family so we didn't have to get up early or travel anywhere that morning. We were getting ready in two separate rooms and my morning really was stress-free with hair and makeup by Sinead at The Hair Mob and Claire Noonan, no need to worry with those two in charge!"

"Our photographer David McClelland was so easy to have around and we have amazing photos to look back on that captured our day so well. We met when I was bridesmaid for AnneMarie a couple of years ago and loved his informal reportage style. As our ceremony wasn't until 3.30pm there was plenty of time for getting ready and lots of friends and family calling to the room for a glass of bubbly!"

"The whole day was a blur of emotion, laughter, fun and dancing. It's crazy because it's the only day that nearly everyone you know will be in one room so it's quite overwhelming that they're all there for you!"

Joanne, thanks for telling us all about your day. If it was a quarter as good as your photos, it must have been an epic day! I highly recommend that you all now visit David Mc Clelland's blog to see loads more fantastic photos and hear his side of the story.

Thanks to each and every one of you who share memories of your day with me and my readers. You can read more Rangoli bride stories here on the blog.

Credits:
Photography: David Mc Clelland
Jewellery and headpiece: Aisling from Rangoli
Hair: Sinead Gaffney with The Hair Mob
Makeup: Claire Noonan
Cremony and Reception Venue: Killashee House Hotel

Baring all for love!

Last weekend, I went to the Hugh Lane Gallery and fell in love with the Harry Clarke stained glass windows again. This time, I took the time to read up on the poem that inspired them... I wasn't expecting it to be so risqué!

 

The Eve of Saint Agnes was written by John keats on 1819. The poem is inspired by an ancient tradition where young maidens would fast and go to bed early on 20th January and hope to dream of their future husbands. In the poem, Madeleine had been forbidden by her father, Lord Maurice, to marry Porphyro who was a sworn family enemy.

"Keats based his poem on the superstition that a girl could see her future husband in a dream if she performed certain rites on the eve of St. Agnes; that is she would go to bed without any supper, undress herself so that she was completely naked and lie on her bed with her hands under the pillow and looking up to the heavens and not to look behind. Then the proposed husband would appear in her dream, kiss her, and feast with her." via Wikipedia.

Brave Porphyro makes his way to the castle and with the help of a maid, is led to Madeleines's room. After spying her preparing for bed, he prepares a feast of rare delicasies! When she wakes up, he declares his undying love for her and promises her a life together over the southern moors. They escape the castle past the party revelers. I suspect there were a few grisly deaths along the way but the girl gets the guy which is the main thing!

The poem describes how there were 'a thousand guests' at the castle party. There was a marine theme to the costumes and many are decorated with peacock feathers, sea shells and pearls. There are even some seaweed-like head dresses. Harry Clarke loved to go to the Aran Islands. He was inspired by nature and loved to sketch jellyfish, shellfish and seaweed as well as butterflies, dragonflies and flowers.

There's a magical feeling when you stand in this small, darkened room and see how the colours light up the space. It's a similar magic to all the dressing up we do for weddings! Decorating our heads and bodies with sumptuous fabrics and jewels. I love being part of that magic too.

Out of the box

I like to think of my jewels as precious, but not so precious that they are worn once and wrapped (however lovingly) in a box. I firmly believe that life is for living and savings should be for holidays or pensions!

Every time someone buys a piece for me, I quiz them on how they are going to wear it again. And I often get a similar reaction; 'Oh, I didn't think about it like that.' All I do is ask them to visualise the jewellery or headpiece with a completely different outfit. Generally, it won't be a floor length formal gown. My designs tend to look really good with simple, well cut dresses. Save the decorative details for your accessories.

I didn't have to give this advice to Cliodhna though; she loves to dress up on a daily basis and only owns a single pair of jeans. So impressive! She got in touch though, to tell me that she'd prefer to have her wedding comb on a hairband.

She was going to a wedding and had chosen a divine creation from Dirty Fabulous. The lace dress combined a blush/apricot with taupe underlay and bow. 'V' fabulous as my sister would say!

So here is the 'new' headpiece which Cliodhna loves; she tells me she'll be wearing it every weekend. That's what I like to hear.

You can read about Cliodhna's wedding as well as the bridesmaids hairpin I designed for her sister.

Do you plan to wear your bridal accessories again or have I got you thinking if you're already married? Leave me a comment below or on my Facebook page. I'd love to hear from you.

Rangoli bride Norah

I fall head over heels with hairstyles as much as wedding dresses - they are the starting point for all of my designs. So, when Norah showed me this one, I was so inspired and couldn't wait to play hairdresser with my big can of Elnett hairspray!

Norah visited my studio with her Mum and wanted something really delicate to dress her hair. We had lots of fun trying on different designs. This combination seemed to suit the hairstyle perfectly; a curved rhinestone comb and a scattering of 'Wildflower' hairpins.

"Thank you so much again - myself and Mum just had the best experience going into your studio. I knew exactly what I wanted in my head and you listened and showed us exactly what I was looking for. The slides were perfect!" Norah

Norah - you look stunning and I really appreciate you sharing your photos and for saying such lovely things about me. I'm so glad you enjoyed your experience. That makes me happy too!

Norah wore my 'Wildflower' pearl hairpins and a limited edition rhinestone comb. View my portfolio of designs or have a look at some recent bespoke designs

Photo credit:
Photography by Michael Crean Photography

An Irish themed bridal shoot

I've been dying to share some photos from a recent shoot I did with The Wedding Crew. The theme celebrated The Gathering; so we all dug deep to come up with our own take on what is to be Irish. I wanted to capture that ethereal Irish beauty and soft understated elegance.

Days like this allow me to meet other creative designers and I always come away buzzing with ideas. And I like being able to recommend these talented people to you.

This was my favourite photo from the day. January, (what a beautiful name) captures everything for me that reflects Irish beauty; porcelain skin, delicate features and a mane of gorgeous auburn hair. I designed this new piece especially for this shoot - it combines multi strands of gold crochet dotted with pearl and blue topaz drops. The headpiece continues in a single strand which is woven into the back of the hair. Lorraine Browne created all of the pretty hairstyles.

January and Jordan braved the extreme cold, to model in the sheerest of outfits. We had to wrap them in blankets in between shots!

Sarah Foy designed the dresses. I particularly loved this peach, chiffon-layered design with the tiniest hand-stitched beading trims. January wears a matching gold crochet bracelet with pearl drops. Jordan is the perfect foil in his 'Pennys' attire!

The second headpiece I designed is the 'Gold Lace' headwrap. It can be worn as a wide hairband, or across the forehead as you see here. I'm a big fan of transparent fabrics and this headpiece allows you to see either the skin or hair through the lattice design.

I had already met Claire from The Informal florist and her business name sums up my favourite kind of flowers - ones that look like they've just been plucked from nature and lovingly 'bunched' together! Although in reality, there is much more to it than that, I know. Claire's blog is filled with wild posies and stories about her love of flowers.

And finally, two fairly new businesses that are offering something different - Little Birds Bake made a whole dessert table filled with sweet bites. The coconut cupcakes were a new flavour sensation for me. Dusty Boy Designs are a stationery company run by make-up artist Kate Rose Crean and her husband Justin. Their designs combine vintage and contemporary elements with lots of fun lettering.

The trio that make up The Wedding Crew were busily working away behind the scenes to co-ordinate and capture all of the story. Lorraine Browne styled all the hair, Naomh Kirwan did the make-up and Paul Kelly was the photographer. Thanks for asking me to be involved in this project - it was a fun day working with all of you!

Here's the low-down on all these great businesses - lots of talent for you to choose from;

    The Wedding Crew

    Photographer: Paul Kelly | Studio3
    Photographers Assistant: Feena Kavanagh
    Location: Boyne Hill House

    Hair: Lorraine Browne
    Make Up: Naomh Kirwan
    Bridal Gowns:  Sarah Foy

    Jewellery: Rangoli
    Flowers: The Informal Florist
    Cakes: little birds bake
    Stationery: Dusty Boy Designs
    Models: January and Jordan from Morgan the Agency

Why I love designing for you

Have you ever tried on a dress and loved parts of it but hated the shape or the colour or the scratchy fabric? Thanks for sharing some of your dress-choosing stories with me! Sometimes it's just as important to know what we don't like!

Yesterday I saw this Peter Langner dress over on Wedding Inspirassi. I looked at his collection on my mobile and I found myself zooming in to see the details. And then being sorry that I had zoomed in! Because there were elements of this dress that I loved; the illusion neckline with the delicate embroidery and the dainty striped belt... but I didn't like the fussy bodice or the shape of the skirt.

It got me thinking about how I would love this dress if it had a plainer fabric and a narrower skirt. And then I realised that this is exactly how I work with my customers;

When I first meet each of you, I know nothing about your personal style. And when I talk about your style, I just mean knowing what makes you feel good. I'll get you to tell me your ideas, even if they seem vague to you. And then it's time to try on lots of different styles. Maybe things that you would never have considered trying on yourself; bigger or much smaller, muted or twinkling with rhinestones! I want to know what you like about each piece as well as what you don't. Have you ever considered not wearing a certain item of jewellery at all? Sometimes I need to grab my sketchbook so I can show you an idea that's in my head.

The best part of having a design made for you is that you are involved in the process. And the reason I don't sell my designs to shops is because I want to meet the people who will wear my designs. It's definitely a two-way creative experience. I get some of my best ideas from conversations in my studio!

I've shared some of my recent commissions here on the blog and have lots more examples in my showroom and in my head! If you have an idea in mind, let's get chatting.

Designing a silent bracelet

Yesterday there was a surprise in my in-box. When you lovely people get in touch to thank me and share photos, it means the world to me. Thanks Deirdre!

Deirdre made me laugh non-stop every time we met! She had absolutely no time for people telling her what she should or shouldn't do or wear for her wedding. She had some quirky must-haves (and have-nots). She wanted a 'silent' dress and was appalled by the thoughts of ones which make swishing sounds when she walked (more on this later!) and she wanted to wear a big statement bracelet, despite what everyone else thought.

I like how this girl thinks! Deirdre had a dream bracelet in her mind and had trawled the internet for it. She had spied January Jones wearing a wide pearl cuff and had even managed to source the designer's name. But her hunt for this elusive bracelet was in vain.

So, Deirdre got in touch to see if I could design something similar for her. I was on for the challenge. I started experimenting with techniques to create a solid pearl cuff. This style of piece is very different to my signature style but I loved the simplicity of the pure pearls.

The design of this piece took a long time to crack but I thoroughly enjoyed the process. Deirdre was involved at all stages, from initial sketches right through to her finished piece. At first I was going to add moving pearl drops to the crochet structure but Deirdre was fearful that the moving pearls would make a sound :-) More laughter...

The finished cuff was almost 6cm wide at it widest point. Every space was woven with hundreds of different sized pearls. The photo on the left shows the crochet framework that held it all together. The pearls gave an amazing bubbly, organic texture.

"I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you for my beautiful cuff, I absolutely loved it on the day and got a million compliments about it!

What a gorgeous picture - Deirdre's dress was designed by Kathy De Stafford. You can't see the bottom of the dress here but it was a beautiful soft tulle.

Thanks for trusting me to make your bracelet Deirdre and for being so much fun to work with!

For more inspiration you can check out my latest commissions or give me a call to chat about your own ideas.

Image credit:
Photo of Deirdre: Icon Photography