Bridal Soup’s very own Steve Gerrard has put together a little slideshow of some of his fave photos from last year.

There are plenty of wedding images but Steve also shoots a lot of bands so it’s a broad mix.

Sit back and enjoy…

My Fave Photos of 2009 from Steve Gerrard on Vimeo.

As a new member of the Bridal Soup team I wanted my first blog to make a statement and boy oh boy did I find just the thing!  Oh So Boudoir recently got in contact to let us know about their new luxury boutique boudoir shoots and I think it’s safe to say….we’d all LOVE to have some gorgeous shots of ourselves looking beautiful and down right sexy!

Oh So Boudoir have teamed up with the Radisson Blu Hotel and Crowne Plaza in Birmingham to offer us ladies boudoir shoots in a stylised, luxurious, boutique setting with the option to really pamper yourself.  Not only do you get your own photo shoot with a professional hair and makeover, you can also have lunch or dinner in the hotel or pop over to the mailbox for some retail therapy!

Jo says ‘I think our images have a softer, more sensual, feminine feel to them than a lot of boudoir that’s out there at the moment and the stylised hotel settings adds greatly to the finished effect, boosting the air of glamour surrounding the experience. All images are professionally airbrushed to make our ladies look even more fabulous.

Clients are all offered a free consultation as part of their Boudoir experience, where we offer styling advice and suggest outfits for the day, we discuss any body hang ups (we’ve all got them - right) and reassure clients that we have poses that will flatter every different body shapes.’

They have a range of packages including overnight stays for that extra treat and girlfriend packages designed for two people, each getting their own private shoot.

Of course boudoir isn’t just for the brides to be, girlfriends can get in on the action too with their hen weekend packages. This is available for up to 10 ladies, each getting a professional makeover, 30 minute boudoir shoot with full posing direction and a professionally retouched image in a presentation folder, along with 2 nights accommodation in the Radisson or Crowne Plaza.

The images can be used as a unique and personal gift for your groom on the morning of your wedding (he will LOVE them), a valentines or birthday gift or simply just for yourself!

If you would like to get in contact then you can visit their website www.ohsoboudoir.com

Thanks Oh So Boudoir!  So when can you fit me in?

Wedding photographer Steve Gerrard shares with us the most over-used, and sometimes cringeworthy, Best Man jokes doing the rounds in the UK.

We advise keeping it personal to the groom and avoiding searching the internet for speech ideas.

A Best Man’s speech is certainly a nerve-wracking occasion. I don’t envy anyone who has to do it. I did it once, for my brother. I hated it! (sorry Paul)

We’ve seen many Best Man speeches. There have been fantastic ones. There have been painfully awful ones. And then there’s the one we dread most…. The Googled Best Man Speech!

Googling “Best Man speech” brings up plenty of sites with lists of jokes, some good, some completely unfunny. The problem is we hear the same jokes again and again. So, in the interests of wedding photographers’ sanity, I’ll list the Top 12 most over-used, and not even very good, Best Man jokes in the UK. If you’re going to be someone’s Best Man some time soon, we implore you to avoid them. Although some might have found this blog through Google and use all ten in their speech!

1. “Fornication!” (Then make an awkward face, squint and look at the paper again) “Oh, I’m sorry… For an occasion such as this…”

2. I’ve known John a long time and am considered a bit of a father figure to him. I have watched him crawl around on his knees, drink from a bottle and I’ve cleaned up after him… but enough about the stag do…

3. I must admit to feeling a little nervous. In fact it’s not the first time today I’ve stood up from a warm seat with a piece of paper in my hand.

4. I did feel a little nervous at first but John’s assured me, if i do a good job, I can be best man at his next wedding.

5. It’s been an emotional day, even the cake is in tiers.

6. John, she’s a lovely girl and deserves a good husband. Thank God you married her before she found one.

7. Now it gives me great pleasure to ask you all to raise your glasses for some very important people, without whom today would not be the same. Would you please raise your glasses to toast.. The bar staff.

8. It’s my job to give the groom the most uncomfortable few minutes of his life. The bride’s most uncomfortable few minutes will come later tonight when they get back to their room.

9. Marriage is a 3 ring circus: The engagement ring, the wedding ring and finally the suffering.

10. A man said his credit card was stolen but he decided not to report it because the thief was spending less than his wife did.

11. I’ve been told to keep my speech to the same amount of time it takes for John to make love. (Pause for a moment, and sit down).

12. Being asked to be the Best Man is like being asked to sleep with the Queen. It’s a great honour but nobody wants to do it.

Want to add any others to our list? Leave us a comment…

The no-nonsense guide to stationery for the modern wedding and civil partnership

Suzanne from Prettywild Stationery lets us in on the secrets for great wedding stationery. Bridal Soup love her modern and contemporary style, so have a read and check out her stuff.

Save the dates

Following trends in the US, these have gained in popularity in recent years. Sent a year in advance, save the date cards are particularly useful to prepare guests if the Big Day falls at a peak holiday time, is weekday celebration that will require guests to book time from work or if the destination involves a significant journey and possible overnight accommodation for most guests. I recommend sending them to daytime guests only. Encourage the recipient to keep it handy by sending a fridge magnet style or a tie-on tag.

Invitations

I like to think of the invitation as the “ambassador” of the event. Not only will it inform the guests of the details but it should whet the appetite for the day you have planned, reflecting its tone and formality. They can provide the perfect link for a theme or colour scheme.

We advise sending them around 3-4 months before the wedding date. Traditional etiquette deemed it 6 weeks but realistically it will depend when your venue needs to know the final catering numbers by. Set an “RSVP by. . .” date or some guests may not reply till the last minute or not at all! Ensure you give one to each of the bridal party too – they are wonderful keepsakes.

We get many queries from couples who worry about choosing the correct wording style but like most stationery designers we will happily suggest suitable text to suit your circumstances. Traditionally weddings were hosted and financed by the parents of the Bride but modern weddings and partnerships often have different dynamics to consider - couples paying for the wedding themselves or joint contributions from both families, hosting from extended families – we can cater for all circumstances.

The fun part…

Long gone are the days when wedding stationery suppliers were restricted to a few dusty albums depicting hearts, rings and horseshoes – there is now a huge and gorgeous wealth of pattern and design to choose from. When researching stationery websites bear in mind that many individual designers and companies will happily adapt their styles to suit, particularly in colour, for example: we will print match to fabric swatches if requested and change embellishments. So don’t worry if you do not see the exact design at first look – tweaks can be made, we positively encourage customisation!

Often we are approached to create bespoke concepts for a celebration with an individual theme – a recent example was a wonderful Alice in Wonderland styled wedding we were commissioned to design for, resulting in a whimsical booklet invitation complete with intricate keyhole and silver-plated key detailing. We are currently working on a stationery suit portraying otters for a Scottish Loch venue!

Bear in mind when picking a format that it is relevant to the amount of information you need to send. If your guests require overnight accommodation or the venue is in an unfamiliar location consider providing your guests with a little information cards with the invitation - portfolio or booklet style is ideal. RSVP cards can be included too. Don’t forget to factor postage costs – anything thicker than 5mm will incur a large letter stamp.

Welcome to our celebration…

On the day stationery is a great way to continue a theme and bring together a whole look of a room. Colours from flowers or motifs can be picked out in details on place cards and menus.

An extravagant table plan can be both a talking point and a lovely keepsake. Think about ways the stationery can work for you and create interesting formats. An order of service booklet can be an opportunity to print a dedication to loved ones, thank the bridal party or provide a timetable of the day. Table numbers can double up with menus. Place names can be made as tags, to be tied to chairs and glasses. Perhaps use a wishing tree centrepiece – encourage your guests to write a special message on their tags to tie to the foliage and retrieved later for an album of memories.

http://www.prettywild.co.uk/

Wedding Venue: Lyveden New Bield near Oundle  http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-lyvedennewbield

Photographer – Crash Taylor http://www.crashtaylor.com

Catering: We had a hog roast and BBQ from Trendall in Oundle

Jeweller: Monsoon/Accessorise - I wanted vintage but couldn’t find anything I liked!

Wedding Cake: A metre high summer fruit pavlova made by Katie at Couture Cakes - www.couturecakes.co.uk

Hair: and make-up by my good friend Sarah Jane Green of Teresa Fairminer Associates www.teresafairminer.com

Reception Venue: Lyveden New Bield - we hired a marquee from the Posh Tent Company www.theposhtentcompany.co.uk

Wedding Dress: Was made for me by Rachel Lamb because I couldn’t find anything I liked ready made - www.rachellambdesign.co.uk

Florist: My friend Simone Pickering of Miss Pickering of Stamford - because she does the best vintage country flowers in the world

Transportation: A morris minor convertible driven by my dad - we needed a self drive wedding car because we both get terribly car sick! http://www.selfdriveclassics.co.uk/index.html

We asked the couple to answer a few questions so you can get an insight into their day and why it was so special, and maybe pick up a few tips along the way

1. What Rebecca loves most about Tim…

His hugs and his reassuring logic which brings me back down to earth.

2. What Tim loves most about Rebecca…

Everything.

3. How did the proposal happen?

After eight years of waiting I was completely stunned when Tim took me to my favourite restaurant for my birthday and proposed. I was rendered momentarily speechless - which for those who know me would never have seemed possible.

4. How did you choose the wedding venue?

I’ve always wanted to get married outside, somewhere beautiful that has some history. I searched on the internet for stately homes and country hotels with nice gardens but nothing was right. Then I tried the National Trust website and came across Lyveden. We went to see it on a cold rainy day and loved it even though it was dark and wet. It has a fantastic atmosphere and loads of great backdrops. We knew it would be great for photos and it was something different - the perfect setting for our humanist outdoor ceremony.

5. The best moment of the day…

Other than the I dos - the best moment was everyone shouting for more when the DJ played the last song. No one would leave the dance floor - that’s when I knew everyone had had a great time and they didn’t want our wedding to end. We had one more track - Thriller - to end the night.

6. The story of the dress…

I knew I wanted lace - but it needed to be very English looking lace not French or Spanish like most of the ones in the shops. I knew I didn’t want strapless, that I wanted a v-neckline, a nipped in waist and an a-line skirt with a bit of a train. I tried on dress after dress and none of them were right - they were too French, too big, too sparkly, too Flamenco and just not me. When I tried on a sample dress in Rachel’s showroom in the fabric my dress was made from I knew it was perfect - and unlike other wedding dress designers who can be really snotty about changing their “design” she was happy to make me anything and sketched the perfect picture from my description. Having a dress made is nerve-wracking because you see how much work goes into it without knowing if you’re definitely going to like it in the end - but I loved my dress.

7. How did you choose your photographer?

A friend had seen Crash Taylor’s website and once I’d seen it we got in touch asap to book him up fast. We loved his dramatic images which we knew would suit our venue and we loved the idea of the engagement shoot too.

8. What personal touches did you include in your wedding?

Lots - I wanted our wedding to be about us and not just a generic wedding. Our humanist ceremony included our childhood stories, details of how we met and readings by close friends. We wrote our own vows - which were really special. My mum, sister and I made pretty much everything for the wedding from the bunting, tablecloths and pillows to the homemade cakes and scones. Tim hand stamped all of our place cards and we created a gallery of old picture frames filled with black and white pictures of us growing up and with all our friends and family. Each of our out of town guests got a goody bag when they arrived at their hotel full of nibbles, sweets and bottles of water to make them feel at home. I also kept a blog of the planning process and we had a wedding website which got our guests involved from the outset - http://becomingmrsjones.blogspot.com/ and http://www.beckandtim.com

9. What happened that wasn’t planned?

I’m a bit of a control freak so things ran pretty smoothly. Some of the candles didn’t get lit but I was having such a great time that I didn’t care. Our guests drank our welcome drinks dry in 30 minutes - so I’d definitely get more booze in from the start if I did it again! Oh and one of our ushers locked his car keys in his boot along with the video cameras for the wedding - which was a shame, but it was great fodder for the grooms speech.

10. Where did you choose for the honeymoon?

We went to Cape Town, on Safari and then to Zanzibar and it was amazing.

11. What advice would you give couples planning their own weddings?

Have a marquee wedding - they have a beautiful atmosphere that’s relaxed and intimate at the same time. Get great food, lots to drink and music that everyone will love. Make sure your bar is in the same room as the dancing - so many people came up to me to say that they’d never seen so many men on the dance floor and that was because we made it hard for them to escape the music. We chose to get married at 4pm rather than lunch time - it meant the day was shorter, but it also meant that our guests didn’t have the dead time between the ceremony and the evening reception for just hanging around - it worked really well. Enjoy yourself - it can be hard to let go when you’ve been planning something for months/years (29 in my case!) - and I was a nervous wreck before I walked up the aisle - but from then on it was brilliant. A few bits didn’t get done but no one but me (and mum) really knew about it so no one noticed. People are there to see you happily married - so smile and enjoy yourselves.

Thank you to Rebecca and Tim for sharing their wonderful day with Bridal Soup, and thank you to Crash Taylor for the brilliant images.

http://www.crashtaylor.com/

Bridal Soup are big fans of what we like to call ‘Rock the Frock’. It’s a great way to get creative and do something a bit different with the dress of you dreams!

Wedding and portrait photographer Andrew Dobell tells us about one of his recent Trash the Dress shoots and the results, as we’re sure you’ll agree, are fantastic!

It goes by many names but the idea is the same, a photo shoot in your wedding dress, before or after your wedding.

Known most commonly as ‘Trash the Dress’ shoots - although that’s a bit of a  misnomer as the idea isn’t necessarily to ruin the dress- these shoots have been around for a while, their origins varying depending on who you talk to.

The shoot came about from wanting to do something a little more edgy and off the wall really, and knowing of an abandoned building not too far from me, I just had to put together a shoot. The girl in the dress is Diane, one of the makeup artists I work with who expressed an interest in doing a shoot with me. I have done other Trash the Dress shoots with couples which have also produced some great, creative results.

I believe it’s important to continually push your photography and try new things which can then be used for clients. I’m not sure how many couples would like to wander round a derelict building in their wedding gear, but hopefully the photos speak for themselves.

You can be as wild or as tame as you like, you’ve invested a lot of time, money and emotion in your dress so why not get your money’s worth!

Check out other Trash the Dress shoots from Andrew at his website www.andrewdobell.com

Photographs by Andrew Dobell Photography

Helen Carter is one of our favourite wedding planners and runs Helen Carter Weddings, a wedding planning company based in Essex that provides bespoke planning across the South East. She provides a wide range of services, ranging from full wedding planning through to wedding day management. Helen has some great insider hints and tips on what to look for in a wedding planner and gives you some great advice!

In today’s busy world, hiring a wedding planner is no longer seen as a luxury but more of a necessity. However, despite their increasing popularity there remains a great deal of mystery surrounding their work.

In essence, a wedding planner exists to take the strain out of planning a wedding. Organising such an important occasion should be fun and exciting, but it naturally also takes up a great deal of time and can be very stressful. Juggling a career, family and social life, whilst trying to prepare for the biggest day of your life is no mean feat.

This is where the benefits of a wedding planner really come to the fore. They do all of the time-consuming research for you, as well as look after your budget and take care of queries and paperwork, meaning you actually have time to enjoy your engagement!

A wedding planner is also a valuable source of advice and reassurance. Not only do they know how to word invitations or who to sit where at the top table, but they fully understand the pressure, anxiety and emotion that accompany this special event. They also have trusted relationships with venues and suppliers, meaning you can be confident your suppliers are thoroughly vetted professionals who work to the highest standards.

So what are the key things to look for if you’re thinking about hiring a wedding planner?

1. Firstly, find out who is available in your area. The UK Alliance of Wedding Planners is an excellent source of information and provides details of professional planners across the UK

2. Visit the websites of local planners and find out how they work and the services they offer

3. Make a list of those that you are interested in and contact them directly. Most planners offer a complimentary consultation, so arrange to meet them and use it as an opportunity to find out more about them and their business

4. Ask them questions about their work. How long have they been in business and how many weddings have they planned? Do they have a portfolio for you to view? Also make sure that they have public liability insurance.

5. During the consultation does the planner seem approachable and knowledgeable? Do they understand what you want and offer ideas on how it may be achieved?

6. It’s incredibly important that you get along with your planner, so do you actually like them?! They may be brilliant at their job, but if your personalities clash you could be in for a bumpy ride instead of enjoying a seamless partnership

7. Find out how they charge for their services – this is very important, as fees will vary from planner to planner. Make sure you are aware of any additional charges, such as travel expenses, that may add to the overall cost

8. Once you have made your decision, make sure you sign a contract. Always read the terms and conditions carefully before signing, and query anything you are unsure about

Be sure to stop by Helen’s website - www.helencarterweddings.co.uk

Photos - Anna Lewis (top image) and Steve Gerrard Photography

Getting married abroad had never entered my head until we started to search for our dream wedding venue in the UK. I’m not saying that there aren’t some amazing places here, but for the type of wedding we wanted and for the cash that we had to spend our options were limited.

I’ve never been one of those people that has dreamt about getting married form an early age, it just kind of happened! So when it came to planning the “big day” I didn’t really know where to start! The only thing that was not up for negotiation was that I wanted all our family and close friends to spend more than one day celebrating our marriage in a place that we had exclusive use of, this was where the search began.

We had a few day trips out to the Lake District and many more hours were spent sending for brochures and googling on websites, but the one thing that became apparent from the searching was that you can have what I wanted in the UK but with it came a massive price tag.

Then one day my sister in law, Kristie and I were googling venues and she found it. Chateau Rigaud in France. I seriously thought she’d had too much wine, but then I looked at it and started to get very excited. We booked flights that very night and flew out a couple of weeks later to have a look. I instantly fell in love with it and booked without my fiance even seeing it!!

Planning a wedding abroad is not without its difficult points as you’re here and “it’s” in another country! It did help that the owners of the Chateau were an English couple so there were no language barriers to overcome.

Choosing my photographer, which I think is THE most important aspect of any wedding, was not difficult. Not only is Brett Harkness one of the country’s most renowned and well heeled wedding photographers, he’s also my Brother!!! Brett and Kristie have an amazing way with people, making strangers feel like they’ve known them for ever. We didn’t have that barrier to overcome, but my now husband Michael hates having his photo taken and I was amazed at how relaxed he looked.

Brett and Kristie inadvertently became our wedding planners, and between us we put together the most amazing, relaxed and fun wedding ever.

We flew out to France 4 days before, there was 20 of us staying at the Chateau and the other guests, 50 in total, stayed close by in other Chateaus and hotels. Most guests came out for the weekend, but our close family and friends enjoyed a week at Chateau Rigaud. Getting stuff out there was a challenge. We had some things, like the sky lanterns, confetti, candle bags etc posted out direct from source. Other things we had to carry and had to pay a little baggage excess on the way.

We went for a rustic relaxed yet formal approach to the planning. The dress code for the day was “posh frock and suits” but I threw in a black and white with a splash of colour idea to add that wow factor. Everyone stuck to it and they all looked amazing.

My dress was not really understated as you would probably imagine for a French wedding. It had a medium sized train with lots of Tulle and lace, with a fair bit of bling on the bodice! It was never something I would have picked myself, Kristie told me to just try it and see, and bingo! I strongly recommend letting someone else choose a few dresses for you to try it’s amazing what happens! Getting the dress to France was easy, I bought a box from the “empty box company” on line which came with tissue for packing. I wore pink wedges as my splash of colour and Michael had a pink button hole.

At first I thought that keeping the colour theme neutral was the best idea and then after advice from the experts - AKA Brett and Kristie, I decided to go for pink and green. I had beautiful shocking pink and lime green hydrangeas with lots of pink and green accessories to match. The flowers have their own tale to tell!!! When we got to the florist in France the hydrangeas that she had bought were baby pink and totally not what I wanted. As there was none available at the local market we had to improvise and spent 2 hours driving round the hedge rows of the local village cutting them from the bushes!! The end result was amazing and it was well worth the effort, with the added humor factor!

The day before the wedding was the putting it all together day. With Kristie running round with a clipboard giving out wedding morning jobs to everyone, tying on ribbons, making confetti cones, icing the cupcakes, folding napkins and putting the lids on the honey pots that my Mum bought me as the favors, which were sourced from my mums friend in France. We made all the paper stuff ourselves, like the menus, door hangers, seating plans, orders of service and the table names, it does save a fair bit if cash and you can spend this on other things.

It was a really fun day which ended with the boys cooking fresh cuts of meat over a vine fired BBQ, washed down with several bottles of vino.

On the morning of the wedding I was the most relaxed that I have ever been in my whole life, this is the best bit of advice I can give to any bride to be, the more relaxed you are the more you enjoy it. At this point if it’s going to go wrong it will do and there’s nothing you can do about it. Even when I put my dress on and discovered that it had had to be peeled of a resin stained wardrobe door half an hour before leaving a brown stain on the skirt, I just thought well what can I do about it and it was hardly noticeable!!

I took my hairdresser out with me so she did my hair, but I did my own make up. I never truly felt like me when anyone else did my make up for me, so I had a few lessons at the Bobbi Brown counter and did my own and I was really happy with it.

I wanted to make my wedding morning gift to Michael something personal, so I made him a scrap book of our 10 years together. I crammed it full of pictures and messages and it was quite an emotional journey making it, he loved it and we took it out to the wedding party and they all loved it too. Michael bought me a 2 charms for my Troll bracelet, they were the hand of friendship and a pair of kissing french snails!! Rather apt I thought.

When the guest arrived we had a cellist playing in the garden, although she was a little late. They were served with pink coloured champagne and asked to tie a wish to a tree for me and Michael.

The ceremony was a dream, the lawn was decked with white chairs with buckets of pink and green hydrangeas on the edges of them. My brothers gave me away and we walked own the aisle to the sound of the cellist. Our ceremony was sweet and simple, we wrote it ourselves and wanted it to mirror how we felt about each other. We included a sand unity within the ceremony, using sand that we had collected from our travels around the world. We each had a bottle of sand and poured it into the same container, this represents unity and being together forever like the sand. We also had two empty chairs at the front of the congregation in memory of Mikes Dad and my Grandad. We placed an order of service on each chair with a pink long stemmed rose and a candle, which Mike and I lit during the ceremony. We felt this was an understated way to remember two very special people in our lives who would have loved every minute of our special day.

After the ceremony we had champagne on the lawn where we got the chance to greet all our guests for the first time. After the toast we then went through to the other side of the chateau, which looks out over the meadow and vineyards, to amazing array of cananpes including oysters and prawns, seabass and gaspatcho. We spent a couple of hours here while Brett and Kristie captured the atmophere of the day, listening to the band playing. The wedding breakfast was held in the barn which had been prepared earlier in the day. We had all the same flowers for the table centres, our tables were named after our favourite places in the world, each with a picture that we had taken ourselves. We had pink uplighters in the barn casting a pink glow up the whitewashed walls and they were the best idea ever. The room was also lit with over a hundred candles which added an amazing fairy tale feeling. We also made little happiness kits to go with the honey pots, these are a bit of fun and contain 6 little things that you need throughout life like a marble for when you lose your own!!!! Dinner was amazing with monkfish, duck, french cheese and a chocolate trio with 3 delicious french wines to go with it all. On the pudding plates we put little fortune sticks from a great web site called Cox and Cox. While everyone was eating their pudding Brett and Kris took us off to a little derelict church that was two minutes away from the chateau. We stopped for pictures in a vineyard on the way, this was an amazing hour spent away from the wedding just us and them in rural France with a camera. The outcome was some of the most amazing pictures I have ever seen and I still to this day can’t believe that I am am in them!! When we got back the guests were just finishing dessert and has the speeches had been completed before we left for the photos, then the party started!!

The live band were the best idea ever, they cost a little bit more but if music is important to you them it is well worth the extra expense. They were there for the whole day, with breaks in between and then did the DJ until 2am aswell!! We had our first dance to Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol and then everyone hit the floor. We cut the cake and instead of giving it out for people to take we made a little sign that said “please eat after 10pm”. At 11pm we lit sky lanterns. We got enough for everyone to have one each and it was an amazing and emotional part of the night, everyone loved it. Mike and I just lay on the grass and watched the lanterns float away into the night, its a much better option than fireworks. We also had a table and chairs outside with a selection of cigars for everyone to enjoy, even the non smokers amongst us joined in!! We then opened a bar in the chateau where all the drinks were paid for and partied until dawn!

Our week long wedding was an inexplicable experience, one that did not cost the earth, that was put together by people with great imaginations and lots of patience. It totally exceeded even my wildest dreams and was something that will stay with not only me and my family but with all our guests for the rest of our lives.

All photography by Brett Harkness

Wedding stationery comes in so many styles these days, from simple and elegant to funky and colourful. We love both, as long as they’re done with style. We came across Twenty-Seven recently and were instantly won over by their classy yet contemporary designs. So we invited Twenty-Seven’s Emma to give us her thoughts on what brides should be considering when it comes to all things stationery…

1. How did you get started and why specialize in wedding stationery?
I started out as an art director and worked in advertising. I loved the job but knew it was not forever. I was typically asked to help with a couple of friends wedding stationery and it really did all start from there. I had so many ideas and got so much enjoyment out of creating beautiful stationery, I decided to see where it would go. I never imagined at that time Twenty-Seven would become so popular and win awards!

2. Why Twenty-Seven?
I chose the name Twenty-Seven because I wanted to steer away from the obvious wedding type names that were so often used. It was my age when I set up the business and also turned out to be the age when I got engaged too.

3. How do most of your clients find you?
We are really lucky to get a lot of work through recommendation but many brides find us by searching online. We are often featured in top bridal magazines which helps too.

4. How far in advance should people be planning their wedding stationery?
We get asked that all the time! You can never order too soon, there is nothing worse than turning brides away because it is too late to fit them in.

Save the dates are often sent out up to (and sometimes over) a year in advance. It makes a lot of sense if you are worried family/friends might book a holiday that weekend.

As for invitations, etc – I would recommend at least 6 months before the wedding.

5. In what ways have your designs evolved over the years?
The very early Twenty-Seven designs were all very different and this was to get a clear idea of what brides expected from us. We now offer a range of beautiful, classic, simple, elegant stationery.

6. What types of products do you offer?
Our full range includes : save the dates, wedding invitations, evening invitations, reply cards, order of service/order of the day, menus, place cards, table names/numbers, table plans, guest books and thank you cards.

8. How do you work with the client to make sure you create the ideal stationery for their big day?
It is important to be as friendly and helpful as possible. Some orders are really straight forward but we love a challenge. If someone gets in touch and is not sure exactly what they are looking for, we try and help out to make their life as easy as possible, giving them one less thing to worry about.

Wedding photographer Marianne Taylor sent us this beautiful London wedding. Check out more of Marianne’s superb images on her website.

Stephanie and Rob got married at The Andaz Hotel in London. From the street you would never guess what a huge and gorgeous place it is. There are cool shapes everywhere, and the spaces flow between the old and the new in a dizzying manner.

The ceremony took place in the Fenchurch room and it really was a gorgeous setting, with rose pedals and candle light creating a romantic atmosphere. After the ceremony, there was a champagne reception at the Gallery, which is a stunning modern space with an enormous glass roof and that funky circular atrium.

It’s a bit of a shock to the system to move through the different areas of the Andaz, it’s like jumping back and forth through time. The space for the evening party was something pretty special. The hotel boasts a century old Masonic Temple, now thought to be grandest in England, with Grade II listed marble and mahogany.

When the hotel was sold for refurbishment it was so run-down the previous owners had never discovered the temple, as it was boarded behind a fake wall. Some believe Jack the Ripper was a Mason and would have attended this temple as it was closest to his hunting ground. As gorgeous as the Temple is, it does make for a tricky place to take pictures in, with walls made out of dark marble, no windows, no artificial light sources, just candles. I could hardly see anything through the viewfinder! My assistant did an awesome job running around with an off camera flash, without her I don’t think there would be any pictures to show.

Photography by Marianne Taylor