Is It Different?... (And My Own Thank You!)

They say that marriage is just a piece of paper and that it doesn't change your relationship. 

Technically this is true, but it doesn't account for all the amazing feelings that getting married and having a wedding day conjures up and leaves with you long after the party is over.

Since becoming man and wife, Mr K and I both agree that we feel so much more together than before. 

Now, we have been 'together' for about 8 years, so it's not like we rushed into marriage before we knew what we were signing up for, yet we both have this feeling that we are now well and truly a couple in every sense of the word. We are no longer separate entities from two different families who live together, we have started our own family: Mr & Mrs K. We are a team, and it doesn't matter what anyone else says ever again because we have each other as our own best friends and personal cheerleaders! We are Husband and Wife! I don't care what anyone says about this - the first time you get to introduce your 'Husband' to someone, or be referred to as "my Wife" it is such an awesome feeling, and I challenge anyone to tell me it's just the same as saying boyfriend/girlfriend, partner, or other half... 

It is not.

This is going to sound strange, but after our wedding I felt there was more love in our house - in our relationship. That's not to say I somehow magically unlocked a previously untapped and undiscovered Source Of Love once we said "I do". 

The extra love came from our friends and family who were such a big part of our wedding day. 

Aside from the fact that our loved ones helped to handcraft and build our wedding* they injected the day with so much happiness, good will, best wishes, hugs, kisses and smiley faces that I still feel the love that radiated around the garden on our wedding day and I carry it with me now even nearly 2 months later. I hope I remember the feeling of being awash with so much love forever!

To all those who say that a wedding is just a party for that legal formality, Marriage - which is just a piece of paper; I say - No it isn't. A wedding is an opportunity for everyone you love and who loves you to show how much they care for you by being there and showering you with all their best hopes and wishes for your future together. Yes, these things are invisible, but they are far from intangible - I felt full of love and happiness on my wedding day and I know it wasn't just my own good feelings I was carrying around with me, and still have with me today.

So, for everyone who was there on the 11th August whose help we couldn't have done without, and for all those who couldn't be there but were thinking of us, Thank you!

*Our friends and family literally built/made our wedding. There was baking of scones and cakes, making of jam and pavlovas, flower-planting, pompom-folding/fluffing/hanging, mustache-making, bunting-sewing, photobooth-prop-designing, flag-stamping, bow-tying, hay bale-moving, sign-writing, pit-digging, post-hammering, flower-picking, hessian-wrapping, tent-decorating, place-setting, candle-lighting. . . . the list goes one, but you get the idea! 

A Lovely Thankyou!

It's always nice to get mail, and when it's in the form of delightful praise from a bride I can't help but get all fuzzy inside. In fact this one almost had me in tears!! Just had to share....


Dear Natalie,

I will send a proper thank you note but I wanted to write before we leave on honeymoon to say thank you so much for all you did on Saturday.

I was so delighted with my hair and make up - when you arrived I was feeling so stressed and tired after a few sleepless nights but you transformed me into a princess for the day. I have to admit I had not been 100% sure about having my hair and make up done professionally but my Kate's (her sister-in-law and a previous bridal client of mine) recommendation convinced me to go for it and I couldn't be more pleased that I did. It really took the pressure off when I was feeling anxious before the ceremony to have someone take the reins while I sat back and took a moment to be quiet and reflect on what was to come.

You were such a lovely, relaxing person to have around and your calming influence was felt not only by me, but also my mum and the bridesmaids (who absolutely loved their hair). By the time I arrived at the ceremony, I felt so beautiful and confident which I am sure helped me relax and enjoy the day from that point onwards.

Thank you for all the little extras you did for us too - from helping mum with her hair, pinning on dad's button hole, putting on my veil, fixing my last minute spot issue (sorry again for asking you do to that!), fastening my bracelet and giving the bridesmaids a spray of make up fixer. It didn't go unnoticed and we all appreciated it so much.

Best of luck with planning the final aspects of your own big day. I hope you have better luck with the weather than we did but I have to say it didn't matter a jot in the end and our wedding couldn't have been more perfect - sun or no sun.

Best wishes, Helena

Aaaawwwwwwww, is'nt that sweet?! 
I love my brides! 

x

Here's a sneak peak of Helena's wedding pics.... more to come soon on my website!...

Bridal Shoot with Gillian Million Wedding Accessories

A couple of weeks ago I spent a lovely morning with Gillian from Gillian Million Wedding Accessories and Barney from Timeless Pictures for a photoshoot show-casing some of the gorgeous bridesmaid and flower girl accessories that Gillian has in her shop.
She is a very talented lady, hand-making everything herself in the little workshop in her shop on Teddington High St. It is certainly well worth a visit for any bride-to-be who might be looking for hair accessories, jewelry, veils, and many other beautiful sparkly things!
Our models were some very lovely young ladies who I'm sure loved every minute of dressing up in the gorgeous dresses from Little Bevan, and fresh flower head pieces and bouquets from Rosaberg Flowers. The head pieces for our bride in this shoot were also Gillians handiwork.
Here are some of my favourites...

My Bride: Blogged!

    

One of my lovely Summer Brides has had her carefully hand-crafted, DIY, vintage-inspired wedding featured on the lovely wedding blog The Ebury Collection.
See the story and beautiful images here: Sophia & James' Chic Vintage Wedding

Sophia looked stunning in her Sassi Holford dress, as did her bridesmaids in their dresses from Coast. I did hair and makeup for Sophia and her 3 bridesmaids, here are some of the images that she sent me...

                          

Hot Vintage Bridesmaid Dress, or 'What should I wear to my trial?'

I had a hair and makeup trial with one of my lovely Winter Brides the other day and although she loved the look, she was having a hard time feeling 'bridal' in her work dress and slippers. 
In order to get into the feel of being 'The Bride' and get to grips with the vintage-inspired hair and glowing makeup we had settled on, I suggested she get changed into something with a similar colour or neck line to her wedding dress. 


Lo and behold, it turned out she had her sister's bridesmaid dress at the house and so she swiftly got changed.
Well all I can say is WOW what a difference that outfit change made!


I've always advised wearing something with a similar neckline to your wedding dress for your trial.  Seeing that extra bit of neck, shoulder and decolletage can really make a difference to how you look, and how you feel about your wedding hair and makeup, especially when the alternative is jeans and a t-shirt!


I just had to write this, not only because it was a great example of how what you wear can really influence how you feel at your trial, but also because the bridesmaids dress in question was absolutely fabulous! 


This picture does not do it justice, but it is gorgeous - very vintage looking with beautiful detailing on the shoulder straps and a lovely golden champagne colour. You wouldn't guess where it's from either - John Lewis! Details below if you would like to track it down to have a closer look, which I'd strongly advise if you're going for a vintage theme to your day.  Dress by John Lewis: Uma Satin Back Crepe Dress

Unique Bridal Shoot... Images

Yay!

So, I've got the pictures back from the shoot with Unique Dress, Hearts N Crowns!
These are my favourites!...

Bridal Shoot, The Grange at St. Pauls

Happy New Year!

Well, it's been a good while since my last post, but after an amazing Christmas and New Year holiday, which included getting engaged to my darling man, I have lots and lots to write about!

I was lucky enough to get some lovely goodies in my stocking (!) and some of them I just have to rave about!

But first I wanted to share some images from the last bridal shoot I did in December, with photographer the lovely Mortiz Leonard, at amazing location - The Grange Hotel which is directly in front of St. Pauls. I think you'll agree the location made for some beautiful pictures :)

New Bride Pics!

Thanks to Carolyn who sent me some lovely pictures from her wedding, which was held at the Caledonia Club in Belgravia in July.

Her dress was vintage inspired and she decided to go for a vintage look for her hair and makeup to compliment the dress. 

I created 40's style waves at the front and sides of her hair and swept them back into a low off-centre bun, which was decorated with vintage inspired hair accessories. For her makeup we continued the 40's theme with a small wing-flick at the outer corner of her eyes, and a lovely deep red on the lip finished a look that is very popular at the moment. As you can see she looked lovely!

 "I just want to thank you for your patience with our wedding. And I know that I was a bit of a mess during our trial and was frustrated by the hair. However, I received more compliments on my hair style than anything else at the wedding! Seriously! It was beautiful. Thank you so much."  Carolyn.