Unusual table centrepieces

For me, inspiration is not just about looking at jewellery and hair accessory trends.  I am immersed in the prettiness of weddings and get to see amazing details and ideas that reflect the personalities of couples getting married.

 {image via DustJacketAttic}

Lately I'm noticing much more natural flower displays And I am always collecting pics that inspire me. One of my favourite resources is Pinterest. If you haven't signed up, go do it immediately! Be prepared to be addicted though :-) This site allows you to create a virtual scrapbook of ideas and follow other creative pinners.

 {image via HeyLook - see the diy tutorial}

This centre-piece looks like it was plucked from the forest! Just shows that you don't necessarily need lots of flowers - greenery is so striking when you just add a small blast of colour. It might surprise you to know that this floral sculpture could be the starting point for a beaded hair vine! I'm a nature girl at heart.

 {image via TheLoviestDay}

Posies are so pretty too. How simple is this one with the surprise of a couple of red roses? I'm really into asymmetric designs at the moment and think this bouquet is quirky and so delicate at the same time.

You can follow Rangoli on Pinterest. I have lots of albums there including one on Yummy Hairstyles. Let me know if you sign up!

Map of a woman's heart - 1800's

I found this beautiful drawing of a map of a woman's heart from the 1800's. It tells us a lot about how women were perceived at this time. You'll need to enlarge it to see the detail. I love the huge 'Love of Dress' section which seems to be intersected by the 'Sea of Wealth'. How apt!

The article was found on the wonderful Brain Pickings blog.

I'd like to see a 21C version of this map. What would you add to the modern version?

a thousand words - Lisa O'Dwyer

Great photographs tell a story by capturing a moment in time. In this series, I am asking some of my favourite wedding photographers to describe one of their cherished photographs. My inspiration is the book Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers On Their Art. This book features a number of iconic photographers who share some personal reflections about one of their photographs. Although I don't yet own a copy of the book, the idea captured my imagination and is the inspiration for a new series of guest blog posts with photographers.

This month, we're chatting with Lisa from Lisa O'Dwyer Photography. Lisa is originally from Pennsylvania, has travelled and lived all around the world and now lives in Ireland with her husband and children. Here is one of her favourite bridal images that she took at a recent wedding.

"The reason I like this photo is because I think it captures the couple's personalities and the relationship they have together perfectly. They are a fun people and I like how the groom is teasing the bride by tickling her and then going to play at chomping down on her cheek. I like how they interact with each other and play together. I can't recreate this pose and lighting for another couple. I feel that this photo is unique to the couple that has been captured.

The sun was low in the sky and so we got the lovely backlit "California" style lighting. I LOVE to get this kind of lighting in portraits. It's simply magical and worth waiting for.

The way I approach creating the couple's portraits is to find some great light and background, then to let them interact naturally with each other while I snap away. If they start to get stiff or awkward at getting their photo taken, I joke around and generally embarrass myself to get a laugh. I find that being a Yank is to my advantage because people like to laugh at my accent and the weird stuff I come up with. I direct them a bit because I find people generally need this for me to get artistic portraits. I've found that when I have had my own picture taken, I've needed the direction too. I want the photographer to have an artistic vision of what they want and to help me get into that vision by giving me some direction.

For the photographs I create, I want them to look artistically composed, but natural, with a couple who feels beautiful and looks like they're having fun and enjoying this moment in their lives. Time passes by so quickly and it's so important to document our lives with artistic photography that is natural and emotive. I think it's the exact opposite of studio-based photography which is contrived, artificially lighted, and stylised."

This is a beautiful image Lisa. Thanks for telling us more about how you interact with your subjects too - Now I want to see a video of you in action!

Make sure to check out Lisa's website and blog to see her varied portfolio and read about the other featured photographers in the series.

Following the Silk Road

I am just back from an amazing holiday in Central Asia - three weeks soaking up the ancient culture of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan was part of the old Silk Road which extended from China to Turkey. Everything from silks, gold, iron, glass, fur, spices, tea, porcelain, lacquerware and mirrors were transported by camels across a variety of mountainous and desert terrains during the Middle Ages.

Uzbekistan is mostly desert with cities and settlements built along river courses and oases. Cities such as Samarkand, Khiva and Bokhara have 1,000 year old mud-brick buildings that are decorated with beautiful blue ceramic tiles. I took the photo above at sunset, overlooking the city of Khiva. I was sitting against a mud-brick wall that was radiating out the heat from the day's sun! This gorgeous desert town is full of palaces, medrassas, minarets and endless windy streets to explore.

The photos below were taken in one of blue-tiled palaces. The walls are covered in a patchwork of indigo and turquoise patterns. These elaborate courtyards are open to the sky and built on a huge scale. Pattern heaven for me!

Everywhere we went, we saw weddings. Entire wedding parties would walk around the towns, stopping to have photos taken. I was that really persistent and annoying tourist who chased around after them asking if I could take their photo! The wedding below was my favourite for the setting as well as the bridal fashions... all of brides I saw wore very elaborate white dresses, encrusted with rhinestones, along with lots of jewellery. The fingerless gloves were linked to the middle finger with a loop, (I'm sure they have a name).

Unfortunately I don't speak Uzbek or Tajik and only have about three short Russian phrases, (one of them being 'Do you speak English?), but a smile goes a long way.

I love this photo with it's crazy mix of cultural influences - Mum in her traditional garb, the bride in her Western style wedding dress and the bridesmaids in funky short red dresses. It looks a bit like a stage set with the 1,000 year old brick minuret in the background. (It's worth clicking to see the larger version).

Here is a pretty Muslim bridesmaid from another wedding. She's covered from head to toe and still manages to look totally glamorous!

And one of my favourite images - a girl from Samarkand, dressed in black and white with that amazing ruffled headpiece.

Desert cities have an amazing feel at sunset when all the pinky brown tones merge with the changing colour of the sky. This was one of those moments in time.

And finally, my new prized pocession; a blue, (artic fox but more likely beaver) fur hat. Bring on those crisp winter days! I hope you enjoyed reading about my holiday. It feels like time to start planning the next adventure.