The Alternative Wedding Event

I spent a relaxing afternoon at the Guinness Store House on Sunday. This intimate fair had the feel of an auction house, with people ambling around and discovering lots of hidden treasures. I loved the Hayworth stand of vintage gowns as well as Oxfam Bridal with a selection of stunning once-worn gowns. Cake-a-Licious made the love heart cake!

It was also an opportunity to meet lots of bridal bloggers - We know each other quite well 'virtually' so it was great to put a face to each person. Let me introduce you to them...

Lisa from Bride & Joy - a 'real' bride to be who writes a really informative and fun blog about planning a wedding...and counting down to her own November wedding!

Caoimhe from Tinkerbelle Bride - recently married but thankfully still blogging.

Marie from Finer Details - designer of gorgeous stationery for all occasions.

Blaithin, a multi-talented blogger, event planner and author!

Annie from Aislinn Events - an American wedding and event planner living in Kerry.

Naoise, Sue and Mags from One Fab Day - inspirational wedding blog offering lots of advice on sourcing unique elements for your wedding.

And finally photographer Lisa O'Dwyer who took the lovely images in the montage above.

Great to meet you all! Readers - check out all of these great Irish blogs for tons of inspiration.

Top image by Hazel Coonagh
Montage images by Lisa O'Dwyer

Dreamy colour inspiration

Today I bring you soft muted colours to alter your mood - colour therapy for a misty, grey Irish day. There are hints of Spring in these palettes though!

These two images were found on the Colour Collective Blog. This is an amazing resource for colour inspiration. You might remember my previous post about creating your own palettes using your favourite pics. Use the online palette generator - you'll have lots of fun!

Rangoli interview on Fly Away Bride

It seems that even when I take Mondays off work, something exciting happens!

Pamela from Fly Away Bride invited me to be a sponsor for her site. You probably already know Pamela's gorgeous stationery designs. Her company Farrell & Chase also won Stationery designer of the year at the recent Weddings Online Awards.

Pamela...designer as well as a bride to be, planning her wedding in Italy...are you still with me?! Armed with all those design skills, along with her own knowledge of planning a wedding abroad, had the great idea to create a blog to help others plan their destination wedding. See some of her contemporary 'Save the date' cards below.

I'm so happy to be a sponsor for this great blog and know that Pamela will inspire lots of people with her enthusiasm and keen eye for stylish bridal design.

Read my interview with Pamela on the Fly Away Bride blog today!

The Alternative Wedding Event

When Linda and Andrea from One of a Kind Weddings got in touch to tell me about this event, I was immediately intrigued. Wedding fairs can be so bland ... dazed couples zigg-zagging along thronged aisles of supplier stands. How can you even remember who you spoke to when you get home and collapse on the couch?!

The word alternative conjures up lots of ideas like 'non-traditional' or 'wacky' but this event is very much about encouraging couples to express their own personal style on their wedding day.

One of a Kind Weddings is Ireland’s only eco-chic wedding planning company. Between them, Andrea and Linda have experience in event planning and environmental consultancy. They set up their company to offer something different to couples. Here's a few words from Linda -

“On the day we are going to have a whole host of Ireland's best alternative suppliers from vintage bridal, decor and china to fantastic cakes and even a gospel choir. You can grab a pint of the black stuff at the home of Guinness while you watch a vintage bridal show and learn how to create your unique wedding. It’s the wedding event everyone has been waiting for, whether your gay or straight, catholic or no faith.”

I'm especially looking forward to meeting the girls from Pearl and Godiva who rent out gorgeous vintage china for all occasions, as well as new friends Aga and Noel from White Tea Photography, not to mention a few new tweeting buddies!

The Alternative Wedding Event takes place on Sunday 27th February at The Guinness Store House from 12pm to 6pm. Tickets @ €7 available online or €10 at the door.

Hope to see some of you there!

Pearl and Godiva images by Aspect Photography.

Cupcakes and Jewels and my 'lil sister!

Do you know that I have a sister who runs a cupcake business called CupCakeMe and makes the most delicious cakes for every sweet occasion? I'm so proud that she has launched such a successful business in just over a year. Sometimes redundancy can lead to the most amazing life changes ;-)

We collaborated with photographer Christina Brosnan for a photo-shoot that combined her sweet art with some of my sparkling jewels. We had so much fun coming up with ideas and themes.

A big thanks to Lisa from Bride and Joy for featuring us on her blog today! Lisa is a real bride documenting her personal wedding journey - her blog is full of useful advice for anyone planning a wedding. Hop over to her blog and check out the post and be sure to leave us some comments!

See more of Tara's cakes on CupCakeMe and Christina's photography on her website.

New Rangoli Combs

I'm excited to showcase two new Rangoli combs - here are some words to describe them...high glamour, sparkle and 'so wearable' after your wedding day! These pieces of hair jewellery are inspired by 1920's to 1940's design. I'm even including a pic of the Chrysler building in New York - a classic piece of Art Deco architecture.

The comb on the left is called Rhinestone Vine and features delicate crystal encrusted leaves and beaded vine. The second design is the Deco Swirl, reminiscent of 1920's Art Deco fabulousness. I think it would go perfectly with Jenny Packham's Sorrento dress below.

I love, love, love working with pearls for their lustre and antique quality and have combined some into these designs. However, some dresses just demand that extra sparkle that only rhinestone can provide! I'm already thinking of some occasions to wear these myself! Keep an eye on my website for new designs and remember that I have lots more designs in my showroom.

Which do you prefer - Sparkles or pearls or a bit of both?!

Dress image found via Google images
Chrysler image via New York Posters

Rangoli Brides Album

The Rangoli Brides Album on my website is my favourite part of my website. Seeing these images makes me realise how lucky I am to have a job that is so rewarding and fun! And I know that this section of the site is really popular with my readers and clients too. It's great to be able to see what my designs look like on different people. It's also a great inspiration source for dresses, hairstyles, make-up and flowers :-)

Have a look at the album to see Sonya, Cliodhna and Tara's weddings as well as the others in the set. You might also like to read about some of my recent commissions on the blog.

A big huge 'Thank You' to all for sharing your photos as well as your generous testimonials.

Rangoli guest post

I'm honoured to have been asked to write a guest post on an Indian Bridal Blog called The Unreal Bride. I got to know Kismet through a Twitter conversation - we got chatting about my Indian business name and the rest is history!

Head over to The Unreal Bride and read about the story of how I set up my jewellery business in 1998!

And Kismet has promised to get me a job as a Bollywood designer :-)

Engagement Photography

Engagement photography is a relatively new concept in Ireland although it's becoming really popular with couples who are looking for relaxed loved-up photos of themselves in the lead-up to their wedding. Engagement photos allow you to get to know your photographer so you'll be more relaxed having your pics taken on your wedding day - plus you get a cool set of fun photos which are more likely to get framed and make it onto your wall!

I came across this image of Britt and Chris by Studio B Photography and it really made me smile - it captures one of the most important parts of any relationship - hanging out together, goofing around and making each other laugh! This fun loving couple wanted an engagement session that reflected their personalities and love for each other and I think these emotions are captured beautifully. Rebecca is based in Atlanta - you can see the full post on her blog.

The second image of Aoife and Thady is by White Tea Photography - an Irish and Polish photography duo, with an individual and relaxed style. This engagement session took place in the Phoenix Park and you can almost feel the wind blowing through their hair as they roll along on their tandem bike. See more of this carefree shoot on Noel and Aga's website. (Make sure to try some of Aga's apple cake if you visit their studio).

And Finally, Christina Brosnan is an American photgrapher, living in Ireland and married to an Irish guy! Her fresh style is certainly influencing trends here and winning her lots of admirers! Christina will be photographing the wedding of Claire and Aidan in Ireland next year. They are currently living in London so Christina travelled over to shoot their romantic picnic-styled session. The full feature is on Christina's blog - I can't wait to see the wedding...

...maybe I could do a follow-up post featuring all three weddings. Now there's an idea :-)