Fun with colour

Colour plays a integral part in any wedding. Lots of thought goes into choosing a palette of colours that reflects your personal style. There are so many ways to bring colour into your day, from flowers and shoes to food and decorations.



I chose the two images above of Sandra's wedding. Sandra's bouquet was really unusual, combining fruits, ivy and roses. I often use a colour palette generator when I want to have fun with colour.

All you have to do is choose an image that has a range of colours that you love. Then you simply submit the picture to the generator and it will do the rest. Might be handy for the initial stages of planning!

Sandra wears a Rangoli beaded hairwire, pearl studs and a double strand pearl bracelet.

See my hairwire and bracelet catalogue on my Rangoli website.

Photos by Peter Nash Photography

Something blue...{and red}

Time for a little bit of French love and what could be more French than a blue Eiffel Tower or blue and red stripy airmail envelopes...

How about blue and red shoes by Christian Louboutin the French king of shoe couture?




Yes, the man renowned for his sexy red-soled shoes has designed several pairs of gorgeous blue shoes with his signature rouge soles. I love this combination - the traditional element of 'something blue' combined with an un-expected dramatic splash of red.

As a child, Louboutin would regularly sneak out of school, from the age of twelve, to watch the showgirls at Paris nightclubs, because he was fascinated by their costumes. He cites this as his main inspiration for becoming a shoe designer.
Here's a quote from his Wikipedia page -

"The showgirls influenced me a lot. If you like high heels, it's really the ultimate high heel - it's all about the legs, how they carry themselves, the embellishment of the body. They are the ultimate icons."

And finally, surely the Queen of couture shoes - the wonderful Vivienne Westwood. These are her Lady Dragon Heart plastic shoes from her Summer 2009 collection. Lady Dragon heart - it's all in the name really isn't it?


For more info visit the Christian Louboutin website or Vivienne Westwood website.
You might also like to Read my previous article about Christian's 'Love' shoe.

Rangoli Album

I was looking through my photos of client's weddings and came across this great photo of Sandra and Declan on their wedding day. Sandra was such a delight to work with and together we came up with this fine crochet hair-wrap which was tied with long organza ribbons.

Alternatively this piece can also be worn across the forehead and tied at the back of head, with the ribbons hanging down through the hair. I also made Sandra's earrings and pearl pendant.

A big shout to you both - I hope you're enjoying married life!

Photo by Thomas Mc Grath

Autumn shades

Autumn...my favourite season! I just love the colour bursts from saffron yellow to russet reds and everything in between. I like crunching through piles of fallen leaves and wrapping stripy scarves around my neck.

So when I came across this wedding by Benjamin Blood, it captured everything that I love about this time of year... You might remember my previous article about one of Ben's engagement shoots which was really quirky and fun.


And all this Autumn talk has got me thinking of blackberry picking and piping hot crumbly tarts! I found this image on The Good Mood Food Blog - an award-winning food blog by an Irish guy called Donal Skehan.

~ Bring on the seasonal kaleidoscope of colours! ~

Sonya and Graham's wedding

There's so much to love about Sonya and Graham's wedding. Where do I start....

Well how about Sonya's beautiful lace dress which is called Karin and was designed by Margaret from The Bridal Outlet in Baldoyle? It's just gorgeous and even though I don't know Sonya well, I would say it suits her perfectly! Sonya mentioned how impressed she was with the service and range of gowns that she saw in this dress shop.

The first thing I loved when I met Sonya was her hairstyle! And I especially loved the fact that she didn't feel the need to grow it longer for her wedding day. It's so chic and elegant. Even though we tried on lots of different hair accessories, I had immediately thought that this scalloped pearl comb would be perfect to complement both her hairstyle and dress. It is a dainty piece that still has lots of impact in Sonya's dark hair. It is inspired by lace patterns.

Above, we see Sonya with her flower girl. What a pretty bouquet - the shades remind me of Sweet Pea. Flowers were a strong element of this wedding. The beautiful floral arch makes a perfect backdrop for this photo. See Cliodhna's simpler and equally stunning floral arch in my recent feature on her wedding.


Here are a few words from Sonya -

''I just wanted to say a big thank you to Aisling in Rangoli Jewellery. I had previously heard of her work through a number of friends and colleagues who had got married over the recent years. I purchased my head piece and bracelet from Rangoli. Aisling is so easy to work with. It was a pleasure to visit her studio where she showed my sister and I various pieces she had made and allowed me to try them on. I showed her a swatch of my fabric from the dress and she made me exactly what I wanted. I will definitely be recommending Rangoli to as many people as possible as Aisling made the process very easy and affordable. I hope to buy some more products from her in the future.''

Above is the crochet and beaded bracelet that I designed for Sonya with pearl drops. The textile nature of the bracelet worked really well with the lace fabric of her gown.

It's great to see a couple really having fun with their photographer. Bye bye to those static serious poses :-) I love the black and white image below with Sonya's romantic cathedral length veil and new hubbie leading the way!

Below is one of my favourite shots as it is so relaxed. Lovely moments turned into ever-lasting memories!

And finally, a touch of movie-star glamour as the newly weds are greeted by their guests. They look like they're enjoying the moment!

A big huge thanks as always to Sonya and Graham for sharing your images. Thanks for your kind words Sonya. I'm sure my readers will join me in wishing you a very happy life together!

Photographs by Bernard Carolan at Mark Griffin Photo.

Another sneak peak!

Girls, I can't wait to share another beautiful wedding with you! This image gives you a flavour of how stylish and romantic the wedding is. I will be posting a selection of photos from Sonya's wedding album next week.

Photograph by Bernard Carolan at Mark Griffin Photo.

Cliodhna and Robert's Wedding

I know you're going to lurrrve this romantic Galway wedding. It's full of pretty details and happy emotions! Congratulations Cliodhna and Robert.

Cliodhna loves flowers, especially roses, which were a strong theme for her wedding. I just love the simplicity of these white hydrangeas which were tied with ribbons to the pew ends. And how about the flower arch at the church door which was decorated with wild roses? So pretty :-)

Here is Cliodhna and her sister Fainche. Cliodhna's dress is called 'Tea Rose' which is another reason why she fell in love with it! The dress is a blush pink colour with a lace overlay. Fainche's bridesmaid dress is from Dirty Fabulous and complements her sister's gown perfectly.

Above is a close-up of the beaded rose comb that I designed to go with the dress. Below you can see the matching double strand pearl bracelet with rhinestone detail as well as details of both girls combs.


And finally, here are the happy couple looking very happy indeed. You just can't beat that 'just married' smile :-)

Here's another pic of Cliodhna and her sister....

and finally...a quiet moment together! As always, I want to thank this couple for allowing me to share these pictures with you. I really enjoyed working with Cliodhna to design special accessories for her wedding. You can read more about the design process in my previous post.

Photography by Angelo Mercone.

A little peek...

I'm dying to show you some of Cliodhna and Robert's wedding photos...
Here is a quick peek! You can read more about Cliodhna's jewellery and hair accessories in my previous article below.

Photo by Angelo Mercone.

Bespoke accessories for bride and bridesmaid

This is the story of a lovely commission I worked on recently. It's interesting and fun to design pieces to complement particular colours and dress styles. For Cliodhna, I had the opportunity to design a bespoke comb for both herself as well as her sister Fainche who was her bridesmaid.

Cliodhna's dress was a beautiful colour - so hard to describe...somewhere between antique blush pink but with a hint of grey blue. I love colours that can be described with lots of adjectives :-)

Anyway, this dress is beautiful as you can see and has an overlay of antique style lace. Cliodna described her personal style as well as her favourite style icon, Grace Kelly. We looked at pictures of her half-up hairstyle. We then tried on a variety of combs and soon found one that had the perfect shape but simply had too much sparkle on it. I came up with a design that incorporated a beaded vintage rose made from dusky pink seed beads. The overall appearance was soft and romantic with pearls as the key feature... Here is Cliodna to share some of her thoughts and inspirations with you!

"I really wanted a dress that had a vintage look with antique lace. This dress was the very first one I tried on with Aoife in Ophelia Bridal in Drogheda. I instantly loved both the lace and the colour of the dress, which Aoife described as ‘Tea Rose’. The fact that the dress was Tea Rose, that I’m a huge fan of roses of any type and that Aoife said not one other bride had bought the dress in this colour – I was sold immediately! I liked the idea of wearing a dress that was a little bit different in colour, plus Aoife also made me a beautiful bolero in matching lace.

What to wear in my hair was the next challenge, as I knew I definitely didn’t want to wear a veil. Then a friend recommended Rangoli as Aisling had made pieces for both her and her bridesmaids.

The first meeting with Aisling was great. Visiting her studio is like going into a sweet shop – I so enjoyed trying on different types of combs and hair pieces. Once we decided on a particular comb, my biggest issue was with ‘bling’ - I didn’t want a comb with any sparkle at all! I just wanted something that was vintage, simple and feminine that would complement my dress. Aisling was brilliant, she studied the lace on my dress and came up with lots of different ideas on what I could have on the comb. I really enjoyed being part of this process and having some input into the design. I think the finished comb is beautiful and complements the dress perfectly. It was also very comfortable to wear – which really is an important factor for any bride!


Aisling also made a bespoke pearl bracelet and earrings for me. They are beautiful and worked really well with the comb and dress, but I love the fact that they are personal to me and that I can wear them again and again.

Aisling also made a stunning yet subtle little comb for my sister’s hair that matches her vintage 1950’s prom dress (from Dirty Fabulous) perfectly.

I would (and have already) recommended Rangoli to any bride or bridesmaids. It was a truly lovely experience in the lead up to the wedding with no fuss or hassle at all and beautiful, special finished products. Thanks Aisling".

Cliodna's sister Fainche was her only bridesmaid which made choosing her dress much more fun. And what better place to shop for a vintage dress in Dublin than 'Dirty Fabulous'. Caroline and Kathy, (who are also friends of mine), and have the most dreamy array of original 1930's to 1950's dresses and separates.

I designed this comb for Fainche, picking out olive crystal, sparkling rhinestone and creamy pearls to complement the fabric of the dress. I love the round vintage shape!

Look out for my second post on Cliodhna's wedding where I will share some of her gorgeous wedding photos with you.