The DuGuay-Hesson wedding: a Mad Hatter's tea party 18th August 2012

Mary and Ant chose an Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter's tea party theme for their wedding. I was invited to both be a bridesmaid and help out making their vision come to life. 

In order to bring this theme to life we used a whimsical combination of playing cards and buttons bringing together the purple and merlot colour palate.

Mary wanted her keepsake bouquet to echo the folding and gathering on the bodice of her bridal gown. I added crystal hearts, buttons and Queen playing cards in a nod of whimsy. I tucked in a pocket watch as a finishing touch. 

The buttonholes were made using playing cards and buttons; Ant's flower was made using Kings, the father's were Aces and the grooms men were the Jacks. 

 

The mother's had corsages made from satin flowers with contrasting buttons.

  Each bridesmaid had a fascinator to match their dress and a contrasting bouquet and satin flowers and buttons and a pomander for the beautiful flower girl.

 

   

Each of the bridesmaids and flower girl wore cultured pearl graduated necklaces and earrings in a stunning shade of purple. I love the contrasting colours in the bridal party and think the purple and merlot worked fantastically together.

          

  

Mary's birdcage veil was made to complement her bouquet and centred with a stunning sapphire pendant to bring out the blue of her eyes. 

This was matched to her pendant and bracelet adding a flash of colour and her something blue.

An added challenge was to add a flavour of the Mad Hatter to Mary and Ant's elegant tea party reception.

The seating plan was made using pages from Alice in Wonderland, playing cards, satin flowers, ribbon and buttons.

      

Each table was named after a character from the book and the centrepieces were giant teapots made using pages from the chapter of the book about that character. The red and white roses and paintbrushes added a feel of "painting the roses red".

I loved being part of a wedding that gave me opportunity to be creative in so many different ways around such a fun theme. It was a wonderful day and I am so pleased to have been part of it.

      

Photographs courtesy of David Wadley Photography 

Posy of Plumes photo shoot...

The very talented Patrick Candlish-Stuart kindly agreed to photograph some of my pieces;

For more of Patrick's work check out his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patrick-Candlish-Stuart/334042889996564?ref=ts or visit his exhibition Changement at The Banana Store London.

Fabulous Fascinators...

I have been having great fun making fascinators to match special outfits for two lovely ladies.

This red sinamay and veiling fascinator was designed to match a very special pair of boots and to add a subtle highlight to the outfit. 

   

Felicity needed a fascinator to wear with her stunning yellow, black and white dress for her Father's wedding. I love the spiral effect in sinamay with a chic veil combined in a stunning and unique look.

For Joss, Jen & M

Three very dear ladies (and I) celebrated turning 30 recently and I wanted to give them something special that we could all use to commemorate the passing of time. 

To this end I made us each a black pearl jewellery set with a cameo pendant designed so it can be removed and worn separately.

The cameo is of The Three Graces as I felt this was a fitting tribute to the joy, charm and beauty of these wonderful women and the last decade of friendship.

 

A special gift for Mandy

I am blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law and I wanted to make a special gift for her. 

Following her wedding, Mandy dried the roses from her bouquet and displayed them in a vase. Unfortunately they did not survive her active dog playing fetch in the living room. 

While sorting out my photo albums I came across a photo of her bouquet and decided to try making a heirloom homage to her bouquet as a gift.

Her bridal bouquet was made from Velvet Roses with Baby's Breath and Bear Grass interspersed with crystals and ribbon. 

 

My version used burgundy velvet for the roses, wired pearls for the Baby's Breath, peacock feathers instead of Bear Grass and wired chandelier crystals with ribbon.

I am very pleased with this bouquet and think the idea of recreating heirloom versions of bridal bouquets would make a lovely and unusual anniversary present. 

                   

Deep purple satin flowers

 

I have been experimenting with different mediums and techniques for two special brides getting married next year.

I love the shape and texture of these fabric flowers.

 While they would work well in any colour, this deep purple is particularly striking. It will be fun to see how they work in a facinator, on shoe clips and as part of a bouquet...

...watch this space!

Fabric Flowers

In preparation for a number of weddings next year I decided to play with different fabrics and techniques to make flowers. Thanks to a large collection of silk, lace, satin and brocade scraps I was able to make a variety of styles and shapes.

The Webb-Brown Wedding (September 2011)

Vikki knew exactly what she wanted for her tiara and, unable to find it, asked me to make one for her.

She wanted her tiara to showcase the intricate detailing on the bodice of her stunning dress.

 I used rice and potato freshwater pearls and crystals to make this floral design which looked lovely on such a beautiful bride.

The Hunneyball-Prince Wedding (August 2011)

This was a very special wedding as I like to take credit for initiating the courtship of the bride and groom.

The very talented bride, Emma, made her stunning bouquet using heirloom brooches and wanted something equally unique for the bridesmaids.

The colour scheme of merlot and forest green challenged me to find a medium that would lend itself to such vibrant colours.

 

The bridesmaids bouquets were made using individually sewn ribbon roses centred with crystal pins.

The Hyde-Lomanovskis Wedding (August 2011)

       

               

Claire chose a beautiful purple as the accent colour for her feather bouquets and buttonholes.

I used various tones in the flower girl bouquets and buttonholes ranging from lilac to deep purple.

The bridal bouquet was made using white goose feather flowers centred with pearls and crystals with lavender biot feathers providing subtle flecks of colour.