A genuinely interesting wedding: Eve and George

I’m really excited, genuinely thrilled and just a little bit nervous to feature our first ‘genuinely interesting’ real wedding on Pocketful today.



On the basis that none of us have all the answers, and that even the most creative and original weddings steal a few (okay, loads of) ideas here and there, I thought that showcasing a couple who’ve done it ‘their way’ might inspire the rest of us to get the creative juices flowing. What I love most about this wedding is that this couple have done away with lots of traditions, done something pretty different, but still created a really beautiful, moving celebration. Isn’t this just gorgeous....?

 

The Red Squirrel campsite in Glencoe - beautiful

This is the Red Squirrel campsite, up in Glen Coe in the Scottish Highlands. Isn’t it gorgeous? This isn’t luxury ‘glamping’ - this is proper, back-to-nature camping, complete with swimming hole, fishing and campfires. As both the bride and groom love the outdoors, it was a perfect fit for their personalities. With the  mountains in the background, and the shade of the trees reaching over the pathway, it looks and feels almost cathedral-like. This is one of Scotland's most beautiful and impressive locations - why wouldn't you get married here?!



The happy couple, accompanied by the lovely Beau



One of the loveliest things about a relaxed outdoor wedding is that you can invite everyone that’s important to you – human and otherwise! This is Eve and George with Beau: a Very Important Pooch. I can’t think of anything nicer than having your pets along with you on your wedding day, and it creates a lovely informal atmosphere too. I love the idea of opening up your wedding to your guests 'as they are' - kids, pets and all. And how beautiful do they both (all) look?!

I really like the way that Eve and George held onto the traditions that were meaningful to them (big white dress, bouquet and buttonholes), whilst losing the ones that didn't feel like they ‘fit’ (church, sit down meal, walls and a roof...)

One of my favourite things about this wedding is that every single time Eve mentions her wedding dress to me, a HUGE uncontrollable grin breaks out across her face. Seriously, she LOVES this dress. And anything that makes you that happy was seriously worth the investment.

The groom’s uncle is a multi-faith minister, and was able to design a personalised service that fit with the couple’s beliefs. The ceremony was held on the banks of Loch Leven, and included the couple planting an oak tree to together symbolise their commitment (this is so beautiful it actually makes me want to cry). And I love the idea of going back to visit 'your' tree years down the line.


Games after the ceremony

One of the loveliest and most important elements of the day is that no-one was there who wasn’t known and loved by the couple. This means no caterer flapping about timings for the meal when your hilarious best man's speech pushes everything behind schedule, no Master of Ceremonies pushing guests from one part of the day to the next, and no band checking their watches to make sure they don’t over-stay their allotted ‘slot’. What they had instead was a collection of their closest friends and family, who – as a rather talented bunch – provided the food, the entertainment, the music and (most importantly) the atmosphere. The guests feasted on BBQ, played games and sat around a campfire sharing stories and making music. This shot of the games after the ceremony perfectly captures the sense of fun and festival atmosphere of the day.

Altogether, one of the most relaxed, genuine, unpretentious weddings I’ve ever heard of. SO flattered to be allowed to include this here.  



Planting an oak tree together after the ceremony



Wow. Well – that’s our first Pocketful wedding – may there be many more! Do get in touch if you’d like your wedding to be included, I'd love to hear all about it.

...and a silver sixpence in your shoe

There's something a little bit magical about today's blog. I just love coming across crafts-people who are so skilled, but also so creative and imaginative, that it makes you marvel that such a thing can even exist (and also wonder, now that they so clearly do exist, why everyone in the world hasn't rushed out to buy one).

Look - this is what I mean....

These are old coins - out of circulation and non-collectable - that would otherwise be melted down for their (tiny) 'base' value, or worse, simply thrown away. At Lucky Sixpence, however, amazing craftsmen carve, saw and drill incredibly detailed designs into the coin to create these stunning jewellery and pendants. I literally can't stop staring at how intricate they are, and how far removed they are from the original - rather tired looking - coins.  

As they say: 'we take the old and discarded and transform them into wearable, sparkling, original pieces of jewellery, guaranteed to get you noticed'. You can't argue with that, can you?

And, for the ultimate wedding gift - check this out - a proper, genuine lucky silver sixpence, carved with all the luck of the Irish for the big day.

Or how about a '2p tree', to symbolise the lifelong nature of your commitment?

Irish silver sixpence

2p tree

Or - and I love this one - how about these two lovebirds, cleverly carved from an old English penny

Original, incredibly beautiful, ethically sound and - above all - genuinely interesting. If you want to see more, Lucky Sixpence is linked with the (fabulously named) Hairy Growler - sometimes I think all you need to do to get on Pocketful is to have a brilliant name. They make all kinds of handmade, upcycled / recycled jewellery (including some surprisingly beautiful things made out of Victorian cutlery). They're based in Cambridge, but have a couple of stockists in England and Scotland, and are currently thrilling the revellers at Glastonbury with their little pieces of magic. Very good stuff indeed.

Cake with a conscience

It’s nice, isn’t it, to look at all the beautiful things around us and be happy that they’re doing good things for the world. Flowers are far more beautiful if their production’s helped our lovely British bumblebees, food all the more delicious if it’s brilliantly cooked by young people who would otherwise have struggled to find a job, and fashion all the more fun when we know that the people who’ve created it are paid a decent wage and work in fair conditions.

Social enterprises are businesses specifically established to do good. They’re often set up by charities, and work to ethical principles such as caring for the environment, employing staff who’ve had difficult starts in life, or investing in fair-trade, organic and ethically-rooted projects. Good things.

That’s all well and good, mind, but let’s face it – we still want beautiful, tasty and special. Just ‘good’ isn’t always ‘good enough’, on its own. 

Today I was sent details of Birmingham-based ‘Miss Macaroon’ (I’m a sucker for cute names), whose social enterprise looks gorgeous, is easily high-end enough for even the fanciest wedding, and – icing on the passionfruit-flavoured cake – provides employment and training opportunities for young care leavers, ex-offenders and individuals not in education, employment or training. What’s not to love?!

Macaroons make yummy favours or fun canapes, and also look really fancy piled up into a wedding cake-type sculpture.  Best of all, though, is the warm and cosy feeling from supporting such a fabulously ethical enterprise – the perfect reason for a second helping!

I’m definitely keen to feature more of these fantastic social enterprises over the next few weeks and months. I’m now on the hunt to learn about other socially conscious enterprises (as always, if you know of anyone fabulous – send them over) – I'm anticipating a lovely warm, ethical wedding glow coming my way.

When I grow up, I want to be a cake designer

Heaven, for me, comes in an wedge-shaped slice of something sweet, especially perfect when served up around tea-time on a sunny summer afternoon. Despite - or perhaps because of - my love of all things cake-like (as a self-appointed cupcake queen, there'll always be a very special place in my heart of a piece of Victoria sponge), I think mould-breaking cake-design is one of the most fun parts of wedding planning. There’s so much scope for creativity, and personalisation, and genuinely interesting ideas. It also seems to be an area where even the most traditional couples feel able to let go a little, and do something a bit different.

There are millions of cake designers out there, many of whom are extremely talented, and a few who've managed to transform the previously humble art of baking into an internationally renowned art form (with a price tag to match). However, there's also loads of artisan, quirky and experimental organisations operating at a much smaller scale, doing things a bit differently and – so it seems to me – just having FUN with the whole idea. If cake's not your thing, or if you want to minimise cake-cutting time to maximise dancefloor time, or if you just fancy an ogle at what else is out there - here are a few slices of inspiration....

Fudge Kitchen's Sculptures

I ran into Fudge Kitchen a while ago at an (otherwise completely hideous) wedding fair, and their yummy samples literally saved me from wedding-tat-induced insanity. They make all their fudge themselves - the old fashioned way, on big marble tables - in stores in Bath, Cambridge, Edinburgh, York, and a handful of other places (good for taking visitors - the fudge making's fun to watch and you often get free tasters!).

I love the fudge slices stacked up like this into a 'wedding sculpture' (check out their Facebook page, by the way, for a cer-azy giraffe-shaped fudge sculpture). They've got trillions of flavours, so you can pick your favourites (or colour-coordinate them to match the rest of your wedding goodies, if you're the organised type). Personally, I'm thinking Lemon Meringue mixed with Double Trouble Chocolate, and maybe just a hint of Mocha yChoca Swirl. Mmmm. Also - they're handily individually-portioned already, so guests can just dive in. Pretty, no?

The following needs no introduction. In fact, there are no words...

Jellymongers. Crikey.


Yes, that's right, it's a wedding cake buffet made of jelly, courtesy of  Jellymongers. Genius. Now be warned, these babies are pricey, especially when you consider what goes into them, and how much said ingredients cost in a supermarket. However, they are undeniably, incredibly amazing, and not something you'd forget in a hurry. I bet somewhere sells cake moulds that would do the trick nicely - then your DIY-wedding genius would definitely go down in history. If anyone's tried that - please send me pictures! 

Champagne White Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake
Mmmmm...

I was actually delighted to discover the English Cheesecake Company, established with the aim of 'bringing tears of joy to the face of anyone with even half a sweet tooth' - now that's the kind of ambition I'm after! They make seriously yummy-looking cheesecakes - the champagne white chocolate truffle flavour over there on the left 'comprises of our indulgent rich and creamy white chocolate truffle cheesecake delicately infused with Marc Du Champagne, all sitting on a crunchy digestive biscuit base and elegantly topped with loads of white chocolate shavings'. Anyone else suddenly starving? They also do all kinds of chocolatey / fruity / strawberry shortcake / profiterole / cookies n cream - type options... be warned - you WILL want one of these!


Coco&Me - So cute!

More pudding yummery comes from Coco&Me, a small (Saturday-only) chocolates and cakes stall at Broadway Market in Hackney, East London. She bakes the cutest biscuits, tarts, and all kinds of goodies. It'd be so lovely to involve an amazing crafts-person like this in your wedding, especially when her products are just so pretty! How sweet are these fruit tarts? You could stack 'em up on a cake stand, or use them as the centrepiece of a pudding buffet table.

Guests: Serious Brownie Points

Speaking of which - this stunning 'cake' of mini fruit tarts (from Budget Wedding Planner's blog) was apparently made by asking each guest to bring along a tart with them, which were all piled up and decorated on the day. A bit of a gamble maybe (depends on your guest-list, I suppose!) but this one worked out seriously well... kudos and brownie points to these guests, I think!

Wilson's Butcher's Pork Pie Cake

In terms of imagination and creativity, I think Wilson’s butchers, based in Leeds (and apparently 'England's best independent butcher') definitely come top of the wedding cake tree. These fabulous pork pie wedding cakes are admittedly not for everyone, but not something you’d forget in a hurry either! They can even bake your names - made of little pastry letters - into the top pie. I love the cherry tomato and parsley 'decorations'! These look seriously substantial, and would make a brilliant midnight snack to keep guests partying on into the night!

This is absolutely inspired, more than a little bit crazy – and makes me very happy to be British!



Martha Stewart

Ford Farm Cheese Wedding Cake

 
I haven't been able to find a British supplier who offers the goats-cheese stack pictured on Martha Stewart's site, but I bet your local cheesemonger (someone like I J Mellis) would easily be able to do it if you asked really nicely. In fact, you could do it yourself really simply too - purchase cheese, stack on cake stand, tuck in flowers, et voila! Cheesy heaven.

And finally; two completely crazy options - that still look completely delicious and really - surprisingly - beautiful! The Rice Krispy cake (yes, a whole, giant cake made out of Snaps, Crackles and Pops) is actually really stunning, and how sweet are the doughnuts?! Both pretty DIY-able too, if you're that way inclined.

Left: Giant Rice Krispy Cake from The Knot. Right: Doughnut Stack from Martha Stewart



Right, that's it - time to head off for some Nigella-style midnight snacking! Hope that's sparked a few ideas - I'd love to hear of any other quirky cake-alternatives you've come across.

In defence of (real) flowers

Before I begin, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who's taken the time to contact me about Pocketful - and especially for all the words of encouragement, suggestions of fabulous suppliers, and 'I know exactly what you mean' - type thoughts. It's so nice to know there are others out there searching for a more personal, meaningful day, and I'm so excited about finding and celebrating some of the suppliers who can help us do just that.

Wriggly Posy

Now, onto the good stuff. Firstly - I love flowers. Plants of all kinds in fact, and especially those that smell luscious, look stunning and / or do great things in the kitchen. And at the moment, the abundance of spring and the promise of summer (despite the rain) makes me realise that British flowers aren't just good enough; they're absolutely amongst the best in the world. In direct contrast to imported, impersonal, overpriced bouquets, as sold by too many wedding florists, British flowers offer seasonal, fresh, casual elegance. Fortunately then, there's loads of beautiful suppliers specialising in home-grown, local and sustainable flowers, and also those creating such amazing alternatives to flowers, you may even be tempted away from them altogether. This is what weddings should be made of....

Wriggly dried posy

Herefordshire-based Wriggly Wigglers is exactly what I wanted this blog to be about - seasonal, sensibly-priced, British produce, supplied by people who love what they do (and are extremely good at it), and who get rave reviews from brides who've used them. And yet - as they're not wedding specialists (they actually started out selling - of all things - wormeries for garden composting, and now do all kinds of useful gardening products and gifts), get missed by much of the wedding industry.

If you want to simplify the whole thing. If flower miles are important to you. If you want British Flowers and foliage, then wedding flowers the Wiggly Way may just be for you. In fact, if you want to look as if you have just gathered up some garden flowers on the way to your big day then Wiggly Flowers are definitely for you - Wriggly's website

Wriggly wheat sheaf

As well lovely natural-looking bridal and bridesmaids' bouquets, I especially liked the dried flower posy, and wheat sheaves. They'd be so perfect for an Autumn wedding, when British flowers aren't always at their best, and remind me of long countryside walks ending in front of a roaring fire at a country pub.

What I love about Wriggly is that they're disarmingly honest about what they do - and don't do. They recognise that they're not for everyone, and are happy to offer specialised products for people in tune with their ethos. In doing so, they're able to offer something properly interesting to the lucky couples who choose them. May they prosper for ever.

Very Green, and very Gorgeous

I first discovered Green and Gorgeous, a lovely little company run by Rachel and Jo - two gardener / event-designer friends - in Country Homes magazine (I know, sorry). They stuck in my head to such an extent that they were one of the first on my list of organisations who fitted Pocketful's ethos. Begun from a desire to 'put the romance back into flowers' by growing proper, English kitchen garden-style flowers, free from airmiles, pesticides and other nasties, they supply wonderful, informal posies and arrangements to the lucky people of Oxfordshire.

They don't travel far (to keep the flowers fresh), but offer a refreshingly flexible wedding service, including courses where you can learn to arrange the flowers yourself, a 'buckets and bouquets' service where they provide the flowers for  you to sort and arrange, and a rental service for all kinds of vases, china, cake stands and other bits and bobs. Lucky Oxfordshire, I say.

On that note, I recently discovered Pathhead Nursery, up in Fife, Scotland (no website, but speak to the lovely Phylis on 01333 310 407). They must be one of the most relaxed and friendly plant nurseries ever, offering a venue decoration service where, for a (very reasonable) set fee, they load up their van with plants, herbs, ivy and all kinds of seasonal greens, trundle on over to your venue, and set it all up. Then the day after your wedding, they come back and take it all away again. In contrast to the waste associated with lots of weddings, they're sensibly ethical, quite astonishingly low maintenance, and really very good at what they do.

HairBowsWonderWorld, via Etsy

In the spirit of reducing the waste from weddings, I do love the idea of finding a more permanent alternative to fresh flowers. Dried flowers are one alternative, but Etsy - in particular - is showcasing some really creative non-floral bouquets and boutonniere.

HairBowsWonderWorld, via Etsy

 Manchester-based Etsy seller HairBowsWonderWorld has an incredibly varied range of bouquets, made from vintage broaches, feather, ribbons, lace and all kinds of pretty bits and pieces. The fab thing about Etsy, too, is that the sellers are usually able to customise their stock to suit you, so if you've got a very specific colour scheme in mind, or if you particularly wanted to incorporate your granny's collection of vintage jewellery - say, there's almost certainly someone out there on Etsy who specialises in exactly that. You can sort sellers and search results by location, too, if you want to deal with someone local.

 Feather & Leather Boutonniere

Finally, for now, these feather and leather boutonnieres (ah, 'boutonniere'. Used to be called buttonholes, until they got so damn pricey) by Kent-based Atelier Rousseau. These caught my eye, partly for their creative use of materials, but also because they've got a nice masculine look and feel - perfect for the groom and ushers. It's nice to see non-wedding textures and fabrics used so effectively, especially when Atelier Rousseau make an effort to source materials locally, and use vintage and end-of-roll materials too - good stuff.

Phew, a long one today, but it's nice to have so many wonderful local suppliers to share! Please keep in touch with all your thoughts, ideas and inspiration.

If not white, then what?

A genuine, real life conversation:

“No, of course you don’t need to wear white. Ivory is lovely. Or – I know – what about a very pale cream?”



Candy Anthony's gorgeousness

Now, let's just hold on a second for a moment of sanity. We're all grown-ups (presumably, or that's a whole other conversation), with very different colourings, figures and - most importantly - personalities. What if the traditional 'long white dress' doesn't particularly flatter your colouring, or doesn't really work for your sunny beach / muddy British / summer tea-party style wedding? What if it just doesn't feel like 'you'? Or what if (moment of honesty required here) you're just feeling a tiny bit rebelious? What if you can tick all of these boxes and more, but still want a genuinely fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime dress? Well, there's a few options out there, but they do take some hunting down. I'll get the ball rolling, but I'd love to also be able to share your experiences to help expand the list of non-white wedding wonders....

First up, London-based Candy Anthony designs fun fifties and sixties-inspired collections with loads of cute knee-length options. Their designs often incorporate a splash of a really vibrant colour in the underskirt, or as a belt or accessory - perfect for a cheeky pop of colour, and fabulous-looking on the dancefloor. 


Lindsay Flemming's 'Loretta'



There's also a couple of really hot red dresses in their collection, as well as summery canary-yellow and pastel pink options that are pretty Grease-tastic!



Lindsay Flemming is a Scottish designer (based in Lanarkshire) creating some really amazing Celtic and twenties-style dresses that are genuinely unusual. I have to admit that Loretta dress is a bit of a favourite of mine – I’m not sure I’d be brave enough for it, but for pure film-star glamour... wow. An art-deco venue, a collection of your most glamorous guests, and this dress would be at its attention-grabbing best. I’m sold.

And whist Vera Wang’s spring 2011 collection doesn't really fit Pocketful's ethos (too multi-national, not British) it does sum up a lot of what I want in a dress – memorable, elegant, amazingly luxurious-looking. The gorgeous dove grey and summery pale peach are particularly lovely, I think.



Vera Wang's 'Felicity', Spring 2011

Vera Wang's 'Flora', Spring 2011

 

For the less flamboyant (or more budget-conscious) bride, there must be fabulous options out there. What about navy, or scarlet, or that emerald-green colour that makes just about everyone look like a filmstar? There’s no shortage of inspiration from the red carpet, but these just don’t seem to be filtering down to wedding or high street stores (except occasionally in the form of ‘bridesmaid’ dresses, which somehow just doesn't sound quite fabulous enough to me).



Dina El-Bar's gold silk gown

 

Dina El-Bar's Sophia dress



Handily crossing the divide between 'can't-afford-designer' and 'don't-want-high-street' is Girl Meets Dress (online, but British), and other dress-rental companies, who can loan you some seriously fabulous dresses for a fraction of the 'new' cost. Now, there seems to be some sort of crazy taboo about renting or hiring wedding dresses, which I think is madness. You'll wear it once, it'll be in perfect condition, it's cheap as chips (comparatively speaking - I know wedding planning has a nasty habit of changing perspectives about how much it's reasonable to charge for perfectly ordinary things) and - this is key - no-one will know it's not yours. Although frankly, I'd be tempted to tell everyone, and soak up the praise for my thriftiness and creativity. 

Perhaps most fabulously, Girl Meets Dress caters for all kinds of evening occasions - wedding dresses are a tiny portion of their selection, but there's a vast range of incredible dresses that are definitely glamorous enough for a wedding. I'd never heard of Dina El-Bar until I started checking out Girl Meets Dress, but now I'm seriously hooked (I have a feeling this blog is not going to be good for my finances).


More yummy Candy Anthony



I love the old-school glamour and properly luxurious design, and incredibly, these beautiful dresses come in at under £100 for a two-night hire, and only a tiny bit more for a whole week. That just seems like amazingly good value to me. And this is just a tiny glimpse of what's available - I could have picked any of about 50 dresses to feature here. It's well worth a look.

I’d really love to hear from anyone who’s had success in finding a fantastic supplier or designer of non-white wedding (or wedding-y) dresses – especially in 'mainstream' boutique or high street stores. It'd be great to showcase anyone who's providing really great options to fill what - to me - seems like a glaring gap in the market. Please share your stories!

Tasty Vintage, 'Daisy Dress'

Tasty Vintage, 'Bubble Dress'



Footnote: I'd already begun drafting this post when an old friend got in touch to share her great experience of Tasty Vintage (fab name!) - a Lincoln-based  boutique showcasing a stunning range of vintage bridal (and other) dresses. I've fallen completely in love with the detail on this 1960's 'daisy dress' - the high neckline and bracelet sleeves are just so stylish (and yes, I know it's white, but it's so pretty!)

This 1950's 'bubble dress' is also completely stunning - I think it would be absolutely perfect for an informal spring garden wedding. Harriet, from Tasty Vintage, is obviously just so passionate about collecting and sharing beautiful pieces - it's so nice to see a business developed from someone's passion, rather than just as a money-making scheme. May wonderful things happen to this little gem.

A blog (and a blogger) is born

This blog begins life as a search for genuinely interesting wedding ideas. Weddings can and should be many things – beautiful, ethical, personal – but when I first began reading wedding magazines and going to see venues, I often felt that I was being sold a (very expensive) version of someone else’s day. Sure, I can choose the colour scheme, and I can choose from as many as two or three different menu options, but I felt the essence of the day was already mapped out – there’s just a ‘way it’s done’. And that’s fine, and lovely, but not always my thing. Anyone else ever feel like that? 



Non-white wedding shoes?
When they're this good - definately!



Thing is, I know that there are fabulous, unique and beautiful local producers and craftspeople out there – I come across them all the time. It’s just that whenever I look at ‘bridal’ magazines (or go to fairs, or read books or whatever), all too often I feel I’m being sold someone else’s idea of what a wedding ‘should’ look like. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want just any wedding, however pretty  – I want my wedding – with the same sort of suppliers I love in my everyday ‘real life’ – not a creation of some sort of special ‘wedding me’. 

Slowly, as I’ve looked around, talked to people, and gradually realised (big revelation, this one), that you don’t need to be a ‘wedding supplier’ to supply a wedding, I’ve become more and more inspired – and increasingly excited. Surely, if we love something, someone or indeed  - somewhere – then that’s what we should choose to have around us on our wedding day? That doesn’t seem too crazy an idea to me...



So sweet! From a lovely post
at londoncyclechic.blogspot.com



  So, here we are. What I’m hoping to do with this blog – and only time will tell if it works out as I envisage it at this baby stage – is to celebrate some of the best of our home-grown talent (Edinburgh, Scotland, the UK – who knows?!), and to be inspired to use their ideas to add to the pool of what constitutes ‘wedding material’. Rather less grandly - to source genuinely interesting wedding ideas, and create a space where it’s okay to do things a bit differently, in a way that’s a bit more personal and a bit less ‘bridal’. And to share a few ‘gems’ as and when I come across them, when friends point me in the direction of something a little bit special, and when something makes me a just little bit giddy with excitement.  

The journey begins...