Introducing the Something Borrowed Boutique {who love to spread vintage chic love}

Tori and Carly have been friends for nearly 20 years, meeting on the first day of secondary school and making a beeline for each other! Recently they founded The Something Borrowed Boutique and we’re thrilled that they are exhibiting with us on April 14th 2013 at The Malmaison Hotel in Birmingham.

So how did this gorgeous business start out?  We asked the girls Tori and Carly ….

Tori: Knowing each other such a long time means we know each other inside out. Carly was my Chief Bridesmaid and I’m so glad she was there in the morning when we were getting ready. She may not realise, but there was a point when the tears were close – I couldn’t put my earrings in! But she came upstairs at just the right time and sorted it. It may sound small (and make me seem like a nut-case) but its one of the special memories that I have from my wedding day. Plus she made sure I was dressed up as ‘Oops i did it again Britney’ rather than ‘Bald Britney’ on my hen party x 

Carly:Tori keeps my head screwed on! I want everything to happen now whilst Tori makes sure that I take account of all the ‘boring’ bits, accounts etc! We are great friends with a determination to make weddings beautiful and common trait. 

 

The Story:

We both got married  last year and when planning we found it hard to design a day that looked as good as the magazines. We both wanted people to discover quirky, funny, pretty things throughout the day, rather than feel that they could be at absolutely anyone’s wedding. 

We set about designing our own things and whilst busily planning our own big days, decided we would also turn it into a business helping other people. 

Its so rewarding knowing how much our friends and family want to help us move our venture forward. Carly’s dad is a welder by trade and helped us design our amazing trees which we then set about buying tons of crystals for! 

A good friend helped us with our photo booth design, turning our idea into a reality. People have such fun with this at weddings and it stops your big day being to ‘stuffy’ and traditional. We cringe at gawdy weddings – the most modest of venues can be transformed with the right decoration. ALL weddings should look beautiful. 

We have lots more plans over the coming months – a vintage bike as a prop or to serve treats! 

Eric is our vintage car, a Rover 1963. Carly’s grandad had left it in an old lock up when he passed away. Some 12 years later we rescued and restored it. He has imperfections but is a true beauty.  

We just want to spread the love!! 

 

Come and see The Something Borrowed Boutique on 14th April 2013 at The Malmaison Hotel Birmingham. Purchase your tickets here.

 

Emily’s Best {confectionery & china hire}

The trend towards offering sweets at weddings is a long tradition and one that has evolved in recent years. Many weddings now feature a sweet buffet for guests but Emily’s Best takes this to a whole new level…..A complete sweet shop!

Emilys Best have exhibited with us a number of times now and their sweet shop is always very popular. Just imagine having your very own traditional sweet shop at your wedding! Their portable traditional sweet shop hosts a huge variety including all the bygone favourites. Gobstopper anyone?!

In addition to the wonderful sweet shop, Emilys Best also offers a wide range of vintage accessories for hire too with some examples on their website www.emilysbest.co.uk

We caught up with Ruth and asked her how she came up with the idea.Ruth said…

“The business originally grew out of our own wedding. When we couldn’t find what we wanted to make our day unique to us we set about making it ourselves; collecting all the vintage china, decorations and props and sourcing lovely sweetie jars to fill with goodies for our guests. Afterwards people kept asking us if they could borrow the china, one thing led to another and Emily’s Best China was launched in 2010. Then one happy day my husband Toby and I were sitting in our garden chatting about everything and nothing, and I told him that my favourite job I’d ever had before starting Emily’s Best was when I was 15 and worked in a sweet shop. A couple of days later Toby presented me with the initial drawings for his new idea – a pop-up sweet shop! I was so excited. He spent the next two months building it for me in his spare time; it was a real labour of love. We didn’t have a workshop at the time, so it was constructed in our dining room! We launched Emily’s Best Confectionery in Autumn 2011 and I was delighted to discover that people loved it as much as I did. It’s proved a real hit with our lovely brides and grooms, as well as being booked to appear at places as diverse as National Trust Coughton Court, Shakespear’es Globe theatre and for the BBC. We’ve been very busy and loved every minute of it, and it looks like we’ll be busy for a while yet as this year we’re building a second shop and developing some new lines of sweetie favours and gifts by post. “

We’re thrilled that Emily’s Best are joining us yet again at The Malmaison on 14th April in Birmingham. Come and meet Ruth and her team and enjoy some good old fashioned rhubarb and custard!

Photography (apart from last image) courtsey ofAnn Katherin Koch Photography

Save The Date {Vintage Chic Wedding Fair Spring 2013}

Welcome to 2013 and to those of you who are newly engaged- huge congratulations from us at Vintage Chic Wedding Fair!!

Christmas and New Year is a traditional time for couples to announce their engagement. It’s such an exciting time of the year and a special time to share this wonderful news with friends and family.

It’s always interesting to hear how people become engaged and these days some go to extraordinary lengths to make it unique and memorable and oh so romantic.

After the announcement, comes the big P word. PLANNING. Where to start?  Where to find the ideas, inspiration and themes and the expertise to put them in place.

The internet is a great place to start your wedding planning  and there are some amazing Bridal magazines too. However, wedding fairs are a place to experience things. All of your ideas take on a different dimension once you can see them, touch them and feel them. We’ve used these terms before but in all fairness they’re still valid.

We truely believe that planning a wedding is a momentous and happy time in a couple’s journey towards being married but we appreciate that the planning part can be a tad overwhelming at times.

Our aim is to bring together a selection of suppliers who define vintage with a modern twist. So what does that mean exactly? In a nut shell our fairs are for Brides who are looking to incorporate details of a certain vintage era into their wedding day theme. For a few years now, vintage weddings have become more and more popular but that doesn’t mean to say that they are all the same. Each vintage era be it 1930′s – 1970′s all comes under the vintage umbrella. Yet a ’30′s wedding and ’70′s wedding couldn’t be more different for obvious reasons!

Our next fair on 14th April is at a new venue and we are so excited to be hosting our Spring fair at the stunning Malmaison Hotel in Birmingham. Situated at the iconic Mailbox, The Malmaison has a touch of vintage inspired glamour about it.

The venue actually holds some wonderful personal memories for us as we stayed there as a group of hens for Cathy, the founder of Vintage Chic Wedding Fair’s hen night in Birmingham back in 2007. I can still remember the hangover which was made a little easier waking up in such a comfortable and stylish  bedroom.

So, what can you expect to see? With a pinch of glamour and a large dose of style, our exhibitors are handpicked to provide Brides with varied, high quality vintage inspired suppliers. This is a great opportunity to see their work and meet the people behind it as part of your important wedding planning and preparations.

Simon Partridge our signature entertainer will again be doing what he does best by singing some fabulous swing jazz which really does create the best atmosphere.

We’ll be bringing you some more information about the event and the exhibitors soon and in the meantime, save the date in your diary! xx

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Oscars Bar

Perhaps one of the most important thing to consider when organising your wedding. The bar of course! Meet Oscar’s Mobile Bar Hire which is a unique concept created by Matt and Claire who exhibited with us last weekend.

The concept behind Oscars was simple….having paid large amounts of money for bar hire at his own wedding (and then paying extortionate prices), Matt was sure that others would have been in the same frustrating situation and having managed several pubs for the last couple of years – he was keen to take his expertise in the field to come up with a simple solution for those couples in a similar conundrum about their big day. Claire loves a challenge and has always wanted to convert an old dilapidated caravan back into something special…..so the two ideas seemed to fall nicely together. What a project!!

At Vintage Chic we love to find exhibitors with a modern take on vintage and Oscars Bar fits that brief. It’s also clear to see that Matt and Claire are dedicated to providing outstanding customer service. They’re able to to this through not only their passion for their business but their experience and knowledge of the hospitality industry.

‘We found ‘Oscar’ back in July this year…and he needed a lot of love to bring him back to life. Oscar’s is a 1988 Cotswold Windrush 112 caravan – and at the time was nothing but a shell. It took two long months of hard work and lots of creative vision to bring Oscar back to life….but he made his debut this year at the Leamington Food and Drink Festival where we successfully managed a full pub quality bar service to a captive audience of nearly 20,000 punters over the 2 days.‘ Said Matt.

Oscars retro mobile bar has the ability to serve up to 4 draught lagers, 3 cask ales, full back bar service, speciality wines, bottled beers and premium ciders – all with a ‘pub quality’ cooling and distribution system.

‘Here at Oscars we want to make the ability to have pub quality beverage distribution for any event as simple as possible (if not slightly quirky). Our ‘je ne sais quoi’ is Oscar the caravan and we really feel that the concept of our full pub quality bar housed inside a lovingly converted retro caravan adds that little bit of fun and individuality that we find works really well.

We are able to provide the answer to any beverage requirements one might have for their special day…whether that be with our fabulous converted caravan bar ‘Oscar’ or if space is limited (or our British weather doesn’t hold out as usual) we can also offer our free standing internal bar sections which can be custom built and designed to suit individual needs. We provide the expertise, equipment, your choice of drinks/brands, all glass hire and all staff.

We are also able to customise our service to suit any theme and ideas that couples might have for their big day including champagne/pimms drink receptions, speciality beers or favourite spirits. If they’ve got an idea in mind, we encourage them to just ask…we’ll work to make it happen.’

And with any booking, we make sure we sort all the appropriate licensing (already included in our hire fee) to take away any hassle…so couples and their guests can concentrate on enjoying a great day!’

So Oscars retro Bar has it all covered leaving you to get on and celebrate your wedding day.

See this link for a special offer available for a limited time!  http://www.oscarsbar.co.uk/specialoffer.htm

www.oscarsbar.co.uk

Lisa and Lee {photographed by Gemma Williams}

This wedding we’re about to show you is absolute Vintage Chic and the beautiful images were taken by Gemma Williams Photography.

It was a hard task to choose which images to show you as they are all just stunning and over flowing with inspiration.

Bride Lisa and Groom Lee  were married on 14th July this year at Hereford Town Hall followed by a reception at Lisa’s Stepdads’ home in a fantastic yurt.

Lee popped the question on the third anniversary of them being together and was a total surprise to Lisa who had no idea! Awwwww

Their wedding includes so many vintage chic features such as a 50′s inspired dress, birdcage veil, icecream tricycle and a convertible VW Beetle.

Take a look at these  images captured by talented Gemma Williams and see for yourself. You’ll be swooning like us. Promise!

Congratulations to Lee and Lisa. We wish you a lifetime of happiness together xx

Supplier List

• Cheltenham Yurt Hire: www.cheltenhamyurthire.co.uk
• Vivien of Holloway dress: www.vivienofholloway.com
• Pleasance and Harper jewellers: www.pleasanceandharper.co.uk
• Gemma Williams Photography: www.gemmawilliamsphotography.co.uk
• Herefordshire Premiere Hog Roast Company: www.herefordshirespremierhogroastcompany.co.uk
•  NSA Event Bars: www.eventbars.co.uk
• Saxtys Wines: www.saxtyswines.co.uk
• 5 Fish Entertainment: www.5-fish.co.uk
• Allstar Toilet Hire: www.allstartoilethire.co.uk
•  Bird Cage Veil: https://www.facebook.com/pages/MAZINGAZINGA-Fascinators-Accessories-Costumes-Bespoke/379611196513
• Hampton Hire (tables chairs etc): www.hamptonhire.com
• Icecream Tricycle: www.turnerstraditional.co.uk
• Convertible VW Beetle:  www.lovebusweddings

Magnetic Save The Dates….. Brilliant Idea!

Looking for something different for your save the dates? Over on Facebook recently we came across some magnetic ones and thought these were a fantastic idea. Cute, quirky and unique too. Founder of this brilliant business idea is Jessica who we spoke to recently.

 

 

“Since making save the date magnets for my own wedding and being featured on ‘The Natural Wedding Company’ blog, I have started making save the date magnets for other brides and grooms forthcoming weddings.  The magnets are a great way for guests to stick on their fridge, a great alternative way of having a save the date, as paper just gets lost so easily. My products have been featured on various blogs, I am a recommended supplier of ‘The Natural Wedding Company’ and also picked to be sold on a boutique wedding website called www.rubyanddiva.com. “

“The design/theme of the magnets can be adapted to any wedding colours or themes with bespoke designs also available. Current designs  include:

• ‘Rose Floral’
• ‘Sunflower Floral’
• ‘Birdcage’
• ‘Autumn Leaves’
• ‘Seashell Beach’
• ‘Pretty Bow’
• ‘Aviation Birdcage’ – Launching on my Etsy store 6th October

How can you order save the date magnets?

Either contact Jessica directly handmade.savethedate@gmail.com or visit her Etsy shop www.etsy.com/shop/WeddingSavetheDates.

You can also keep up to date with these gorgeous magnets on www.facebook.com/handmadesavethedates or following Jessica on twitter @WedSavetheDate

 

 

 

 

The Wedding Parlour

We are always overwhelmed at the amount of talent that lies within the wedding industry. More than ever before are people realising their talents and starting small businesses to fulfill the growing need for unique and quality wedding accessories.

One of our new exhibitors The Wedding Parlour is exactly that. Founder and designer Shirley has been successfully designing and making accessories for a long time but a few years ago, spurred by her daughter getting married and not being able to find anything she liked, she created a vintage inspired headpiece to compliment her Daughters dress.

So many people loved it that the idea to create The Wedding Parlour was born!

Shirley is inspired by a variety of different sources and she spends alot of time finding the right fabric, beads and lace. Everything she makes is hand produced with love, with inspiration influenced by Hollywood glamour and art deco styling.

Shirley has a brand new collection to showcase at our next fair and we cannot wait to see her creations! here are some previous designs for an idea of the type of stunning designs you can expect from The Wedding Parlour.

Get Knotted {Vintage Bridal Bouquets}

Our up and coming fair has attracted some amazing new exhibitors and we’re thrilled to introduce you to Lindsay of Get Knotted Vintage bridal Bouquets.

Vintage inspired bouquets, lovingly created with different upcycled materials such as buttons, necklaces and pearls have surged in popularity recently. Brides love the fact that they can keep them after the big day and that they can incorporate family heirlooms making them a one of a kind keepsake.

We’re looking forward to seeing Lindsays beautiful creations in the flesh next month and caught up with her briefly to describe her work.

‘I have been a wedding planner for the last 10 years based in the Scottish Borders, where I also offer freelance floristry services. Recently my love of vintage bridal bouquets has led to my creating more and more of them, and they need new homes!

Each element of my bouquets is hand-wired with vintage and/or vintage-inspired pieces, including up-cycled brooches, necklaces, lace, pearls, diamonte, feathers and more. Whilst the construction of each is similar and they follow one of several loose ‘templates’, each individual bouquet is truly unique. Unlike a traditional, fresh flower bouquet, these really do last forever and can become a wonderful heirloom piece.

So, if you are looking for an unusual alternative to a fresh flower bouquet, or you suffer from hayfever or you are getting married abroad and want to pop your bouquet on in your suitcase, take a look at the selection on offer in my shops www.notonthehighstreet.com/vintagebridalbouquets and www.etsy.com/shop/VintageBridalBouquet (no ‘s’)

I absolutely love what I do and am so happy to be part of Vintage Chic Wedding Fair.’

We’re really pleased to have Get Knotted on board our next event who will compliment our growing list of vintage inspired exhibitors. x

Vintage is all around us

There are some who say that vintage is on the way out. Over done. Falling out of fashion. It’s true to say that vintage inspiration has become more popular over the last 5 years and not just in the wedding industry. It’s filtered into our day to do lives in so many ways with marketeers even getting in on the vintage vibe (just take a look at all the ads on the TV and on packaging)

The term vintage it seems is applied to just about anything pre 1990 and is a broad term for inspiration that covers so many decades and eras.

You don’t have to look very far though to realise that vintage is all around us. It’s not a new fad of fashion at all as it’s always been here – and always will be.

One of the eras we love the best is the 20′s. Art deco and all that jazz. Soft curves and lines with distinctive typography that just oooozes glamour and sophistication. Just this week I was walking my little girl to school and noticed so much art deco around so I quickly captured it to make the point that vintage has always been in fashion.

Viva forever Vintage. We love you ♥

 

 

Say Hello to Buttercream & Dreams

We’re thrilled to introduce you to Buttercream & Dreams which is a new cake exhibitor who’ll be showcasing their beautiful cakes and styling services at our next fair October 21st.

A pre requisite for all our Vintage Chic exhibitors is passion and flair which Buttercream & Dreams has plenty of.

We caught up with Charlotte, founder of Buttercream & Dreams who told us :

‘As a little girl I loved nothing more than helping my mother stir the cake mixture and waiting eagerly by the Rayburn for that yummy piece of heaven. And so a lifelong passion for all things cake began. I have always baked and my afternoon teas have become a firm family favourite.  Although initially only a hobby I spent hours admiring decorated cakes and viewed them as a work of art. My real passion for decorating began when I purchased Peggy Porschens cake books. I was in awe and loved the colours and intricate flowers on her creations.  I spent time practising myself and then undertook a Sugarcraft course to further develop these skills. I loved it immensely and spent hours practicing roses and piping. I love watching and learning new techniques and am member of the Wychavon Sugarcraft Guild. I have so much fun cake baking and seeing a finished piece gives me so much pleasure.

 

Whilst cakes were my great passion, I spent 8 years working within the creative industry at one of the world’s largest advertising agencies. I was lucky enough to work on some fantastic brands and projects and I drew so much inspiration and motivation from the creative teams that I was lucky enough to work with.  One of my favourite things was organising events and photoshoots where I had the opportunity to work with some fantastic people and have developed a great list of contacts.

When I set up Buttercream and Dreams I wanted to combine my skills and the things I love so cakes and weddings were the perfect combination. I love nothing more than helping people come up with ideas and styling and seeing it all come together for that magical day. My favourite so far was a fantastic 50’s inspired village fete wedding that we organised last year. It was immense amounts of fun and I got so carried away with ideas with tombolas, bunting and wildflower. I even had my husband up late the night before the wedding constructing me a ‘splat the rat’ game! We had a cake baking competition and were overwhelmed with entries from all the guests which made for a fantastic alternative dessert table.

I have a love of all things vintage and pretty and have an ever growing collection of vintage tea cups and cake stands. I just can’t resist them! I take so much inspiration from their delicate patterns and pretty colours and love to use these within my designs. I often find myself making flowers for cakes based on a pretty cake plate or basing an event around a pretty tea cup. Add to that my collection of pretty table cloths, fabrics and prints and I have a never ending supply of ideas. I just don’t have enough time in the day to bake all the cakes I would love to make!

Above all I love helping transform people’s dreams in to a reality. Whether that be a pretty cake or a whole event. I just love it!’

Based in Worcestershire, Buttercream & Dreams not only create beautiful handcrafted vintage cakes but also provide an event organising service to help you style and theme your vintage chic wedding day.

You can meet Charlotte at our fair on 21st October 2012 at The Centennial Centre Birmingham and in the meantime why not stop by her website www.buttercreamanddreams.com