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...