Indian Sapphire - new Rangoli headpieces

So what's happening in the Rangoli studio at the moment?! Apart from looking forward to my Easter hols, I'm designing a range of headpieces that are inspired by the moody shades of blue sapphire.

I'm always pinning pictures of delicate dresses on my wall and they inspire me to create accessories. The image below shows two very different dresses. Words that describe them in my mind are floatiness, fluid lines and delicacy. There is certainly drama in there too.

I can be totally free when I design collections like this. My customer is imaginary and she has given me free reign to design fantastical creations for her!

I love antique sapphire shades combined with silver or rhinestone and often bring them into my bridal designs. I'll keep you posted on these pieces - I'm hoping to do a photo-shoot with them soon.

Enjoy the long weekend and I'll see you when I get back! If you'd like to see some of my recent bespoke commissions, you can look through my blog archives. And if you're thinking of including a hint of blue in your accessories, I'd love to hear your ideas!

Rangoli bridesmaids brooches

Todays post is about favourite colour palettes and bridesmaids dress brooches! Yurishan asked me to design brooches for her three bridesmaids. Their dreamy dresses combine dusty pink and toffee colours - one of my favourite colour combos as anyone who has seen my Rangoli stationery and branding will know!

 Rangoli stationery

It took me no time to pick out a combination of golden topaz and dusty pink crystals, creamy pearls, rhinestone and bronze seed beads. I love how the silver-lined scalloped edging sets them off perfectly.

The girl's dresses are being made at the moment so I hope to share some photos at a later stage. (I have lots of interesting commissions on the go at the moment and want to share them with you as I make them! I'll then link the wedding features back to the relevant posts.)

I think brooches are a unique way to accessorise your bridesmaids dresses - I'd love to hear what creative ideas you have in mind for your lovely ladies!

Check out my other bespoke commissions or see some Rangoli brides on my Facebook page.

Ring-a-ding-ding...

I have an exciting post coming up next week. It's about a lovely bespoke comb that I designed for someone who wasn't able to visit my showroom.

Not everyone who chooses to wear Rangoli accessories for their wedding is able to meet me in person - whether they are living in Galway or New Zealand! I wanted to show the process of how I design such a bespoke piece. These commissions are really interesting for me and I like to involve the client in every part of the design process.

I'm really happy with the finished design - I just have to wait until the Rangoli package has been delivered and opened before posting part two!


You can read more about my bespoke commissions in my blog archive.

Image credit - JL Designs

New Rangoli Combs

I'm excited to showcase two new Rangoli combs - here are some words to describe them...high glamour, sparkle and 'so wearable' after your wedding day! These pieces of hair jewellery are inspired by 1920's to 1940's design. I'm even including a pic of the Chrysler building in New York - a classic piece of Art Deco architecture.

The comb on the left is called Rhinestone Vine and features delicate crystal encrusted leaves and beaded vine. The second design is the Deco Swirl, reminiscent of 1920's Art Deco fabulousness. I think it would go perfectly with Jenny Packham's Sorrento dress below.

I love, love, love working with pearls for their lustre and antique quality and have combined some into these designs. However, some dresses just demand that extra sparkle that only rhinestone can provide! I'm already thinking of some occasions to wear these myself! Keep an eye on my website for new designs and remember that I have lots more designs in my showroom.

Which do you prefer - Sparkles or pearls or a bit of both?!

Dress image found via Google images
Chrysler image via New York Posters

A very special cup of tea!

I'm delighted to share this special wedding with you. Fiona and Colm were married a week ago. Fiona rang me a couple of days before the wedding as she was still looking for something special for her hair. I didn't get to meet her in person but she had seen my Silver Lace comb on my website and thought it would be perfect for her bespoke vintage style dress.

This wedding is so stylish, yet completely laid back. Fiona and Colm invited their guests to the Shelbourne Hotel for afternoon tea after their ceremony, instead of the more traditional evening meal. This truly personal celebration was photographed by Christina Brosnan, who captured the emotions beautifully. Fiona and Colm - I wish you every happiness together and many more pots of tea :-)

You can read more about the wedding on Cristina's blog - as well as seeing some of the other engagements and weddings that Christina has photographed.


Read about more of my recent commissions or keep up to date with Rangoli on Facebook and Twitter.

Credits:
Photography by Christina Brosnan
Make-up by Aoife Callaghan
Hair styled by Susan Peggs

Rangoli Bridesmaid commission

Here's a recent commission that I loved working on. The wedding is not until the spring so it's nice to have images of floaty chiffon dresses to keep my mind off the chillyness!

The brief for this commission was for something soft and romantic. The client loved my hairwire styles and also wanted something with a side feature. I came up with the idea of incorporating a fine velvet ribbon to create a 'Jane Austin' inspired headpiece. I then sourced a selection of Swarovski crystals in lilac and opal pinks.

This piece ties at the back of the head. It also doubles up as a necklace or bracelet - probably one of my most versatile pieces! The beautiful dress is by J Crew - check out their website for the full collection.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this commission - check my archives for more Rangoli commissions and Rangoli wedding features or visit my website to view my collections.

The Worldwide Rangoli Competition!

Hi to all my readers around the globe! I looked at the profiles of my Rangoli Facebook followers and discovered an amazing cross-section of locations including Ireland, The United Kingdom, Turkey, India, Australia, countries in North and South America, Poland, Italy, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Ukraine, Lithuania, The Netherlands and Malaysia. Wow thanks for your company - let me know if you have a location to add to my list!

It's a really nice feeling to think that I'm connecting with such a diverse audience :-)

So to celebrate the global love, I'm launching a competition which is open to anyone worldwide.

The prize is for bespoke Rangoli Jewellery or Hair Accessories to the value of €300. The prize also includes postage to your destination.

This competition is SO SIMPLE to enter -

1. Firstly, sign up for my Rangoli Jewellery Facebook page
2. Then leave a comment below or on the event page on Facebook describing Rangoli Jewellery in ONE WORD. Use whatever language you like!

The competition closes on Thursday 23rd December and I will announce the winner before Christmas.

Good luck to you all - can't wait to read your entry words!
Aisling

1930's Hollywood Glamour Headpiece

Today I'm sharing a headpiece that I recently made for a client. I love the vintage feel of this rhinestone hairband. It was designed to go with a gorgeous 1930's Hollywood glamour dress and the hairstyle will be a bob with finger-wave curls. Super, super-glam don't you agree? I hope to share some photos of Rebecca's wedding soon.

Rebecca wanted a vintage style decorative headpiece to complement the rhinestone embellishment on her gown. This versatile piece can be worn again with so many different outfits. Wishing Rebecca all the best for her upcoming wedding!

Read more about my recent commissions or follow me on Facebook!

The hairstyle photo above was found via Style-Hair-Magazine.

The Bridal Lounge

The Bridal Lounge - Wedding Planning and Inspiration Video, Dublin, Ireland from Deirdre Hynes on Vimeo.
I'm really excited to share this video about The Bridal Lounge. I enjoy working and collaborating with other creative people and I've recently got to know Aoife and Deirdre who co-own this innovative new business. As well as being super enthusiastic and loving what they do - they have many talents ranging from make-up artistry, event planning and floristry and both have a wealth of knowledge of the wedding Industry in Ireland. So what do you get when you put all of this into a creative melting pot? The Bridal Lounge of course!

I've had the pleasure of working with Aoife and Deirdre for a wonderful shoot in Killruddery Estate. In fact Deirdre and her husband, (seen above), were the models for this glamorous engagement session. See more images in my previous blog post.

Aoife and Deirdre I wish you continued success with your business!

Make sure to visit their website and blog for more information.

Video by Trakax
Photo by Stephanie Fay

Bespoke Rangoli headpiece

I thought I'd share some pictures of a recent Rangoli commission. I like the colour combinations - quite moody yet understated. There's lots of slate blues, greys and burgundy around at the moment.


I picked out the Cristal Reiss dress below and think it would work well with this headpiece. And a perhaps some opaque burgundy tights by Jonathan Aston...

The shoes I will leave up to you! Suggestions on a postcard please...I'm thinking patent leather!

Check out some of my other commissions too for ideas and inspiration.

Rangoli Brides

One of the most popular sections of my website is my 'Rangoli Brides' album where clients share pictures from their weddings. People love to see 'real' people over models and it's fun to check out the gorgeous dresses too. It's also a great place to get inspiration for hairstyles!

Thanks again to everyone who shares their images with me. You can now view a album of recent Rangoli brides on my Facebook page.

- Make sure to check out the make-up, hairstylist and photographer credits if you are on the look-out for any of these services.

Rangoli competition winner

At last I can share the finished headpiece design that I made for Teresa, the winner of one of my recent Rangoli competitions. If you haven't read my previous posts, I can tell you that Teresa's winning entry inspired me with images of a gorgeous outfit that she wanted me to design a bespoke headpiece for.

After our first meeting, we had both decided the form that the headpiece would take. Teresa loved the idea of a small brooch-style detail on a narrow Alice-band. She liked how the hair-band had a function and held her hair in place when it was down.

Once the size of the side feature was chosen and the beading colours selected, it was time for me to start having fun. Really...this is my *job* and I get to do what I love every day :-)

Here are some initial sketches I did that show the flowing lines of the dress...

as well as scale and design of the headpiece...

...and the rhinestone shoe decoration

Often when I am designing, I get carried away and start experimenting with different beaded shapes and forms until I feel like I have achieved the perfect balance. Teresa had given me free reign to design a headpiece based on the forms and colours she had chosen.


So here is the finished headpiece. It is dramatic yet understated, bold and black with plenty of rhinestone sparkle. It's a 'going to the theatre' or 'going for coffee' type of headpiece! And I love how Teresa immediately thought of wearing it going out that evening with friends rather than waiting for those 'special' occasions that are coming up.

I absolutely love the hair piece you designed for me, thank you so much. I can't wait to wear it loads!

Thanks again
Teresa

You're welcome Teresa - I thoroughly enjoyed designing this piece for you and I hope you get lots of enjoyment from wearing it.

A dress with a story

Well, while we're on the thread of all things vintage, I thought I'd share a beautiful story, a beautiful dress and a beautiful bride with you.

Mel is not one of my clients but I read about her wedding on Rock My Wedding. Although I design for all dress styles and personalities, I do love an element of vintage glamour. Maybe it reminds me of the feeling I get when I look at my parents and grand-parents wedding albums!

Mel wanted something a bit different for her wedding gown and decided she would visit The Vintage Wedding Dress Company in London. This shop sources beautiful vintage gowns from the Victorian era right up to the early 70's. I think the one she picked is really beautiful!

Here are a few words from Mel about choosing her dream dress -

My engagement ring is vintage and after looking at a few contemporary dresses online, I decided that they just weren't for me. I didn't like the idea that no matter how beautiful my dress was, another girl could be getting married up the road wearing the exact same thing.

What a beautiful wedding - you can read more about it on RMW. For Irish brides looking for a beautiful vintage dress, have a look at Dirty Fabulous. This shop hopes to re-open in September so keep an eye on the their website and blog for details. Trust me, this shop carries the most beautiful vintage dresses for weddings any other special occasions. Some of my clients have also bought their bridesmaids dresses here too. Read my other articles about Dirty Fabulous -

The images above were taken by Touch Photography

Stephanie Fay - Romantic engagement shoot

Recently an amazing opportunity presented itself to have the chance to work with Arizona photographer Stephanie Fay. Stephanie was due to visit Ireland with her husband and in-laws and always loves to shoot a couple when she visits different countries. She put the word out via WeddingsOnline.ie that she was looking for a cool loved-up couple to photograph!

The lucky couple Deirdre and John, got to spend an afternoon with Stephanie in Killruddery Estate in Wicklow. Deirdre happens to be a talented florist - check out her beautiful floral arrangements, and is also one of the partners in The Bridal Lounge. Make-up artist Aoife Callaghan who worked on this shoot, runs this exciting new venture with her. (I should probably explain here that a couple of our 'real' engaged couples were unavailable for the date chosen and Deirdre saved the day for us - not that we had to twist her arm)!

You won't need to read my gushing descriptions to appreciate how amazing these pictures are. Both Deirdre and her husband John, (who are only recently married), confided that they almost love these images more than their wedding photos! I think this explains the charm of an engagement shoot. It allows you to be photographed in a really relaxed setting whilst getting to know your photographer. Secondly it's about having lots and lots of fun and being super-romantic with your partner. It's up to you to put your own stamp on the style for this day - choosing lots of props and and gorgeous outfits to wear...

Aoife and Deirdre styled this engagement shoot and I loved hearing all of their ideas. The four of us enjoyed working together and Stephanie's enthusiasm inspired us too. Below Deirdre wears my 'Secret garden' cuff bracelet which is made from fine crochet.

For some reason, engagement shoots have not really caught on in Ireland yet. This shoot is certainly an inspiration. Here are a few words from Stephanie -

During this photo shoot, we wanted to convey to all our blog readers around the world just how beautiful and memorable engagements can be. As photographers, it helps us get to know the client on a more personal level. In turn, as a client, you walk away with even more images of you and your fiancé to keep forever. Why not enhance your engagement shoot with props and outfits to bring together a more creative photoshoot? Every girl wants to feel beautiful and an engagement shoot is the perfect excuse!

Think about your personality and possible props that might enhance your engagement shoot to be specific to you and your fiancé. No matter where you live, you can always find a special place to have your engagement session. Because this shoot was at the beautiful Killruddery Estate, we felt it was appropriate to have a more sophisticated look. The outfits, the shoes, and the props all seemed to fit with the location. Think about where you want your shoot and what you want it to look like, and convey that to your planner or photographer to pull together your dream engagement session.

Both of Deirdre's outfits and shoes were hired from Covet, an Irish company who hire clothes and accessories from leading world designers. I will give details of both dresses soon.

Here Deirdre is seen wearing my 'Secret Garden' headband, featuring a variety of Swarovski crystals and semi-precious stones. These headpieces are made to order and can be customised in a number of ways.

I love the soft romantic feel to this entire shoot. The floaty feminine dresses are perfect too! Below, Deirdre wears a Rangoli crochet bracelet with freshwater pearl and blue topaz drops.

This montage shows some of the beautiful props sourced by Deirdre including vintage books, champagne glasses and a rug which was a wedding gift for Deirdre's parents!

The colour palette is so gorgeous here with the greenery making the colours pop.

And finally - the perfect end to a lovely afternoon with Stephanie! To see more of this shoot visit Stephanie's blog or take a look at her website.

A big thank you to Stephanie from Deirdre, Aoife and myself - we hope you'll return again some day!

Credits:
Photography - Stephanie Fay
Couple - Deirdre and John
Jewellery and headpiece - Rangoli
Makeup - Aoife Callaghan
Hair - Lorraine Browne
Dresses and shoes - Covet (The Borrowers Boudoir)
Flowers- Deirdre Hynes at Ruby & Bloom

Shot on location in Killruddery Estate, Wicklow.

Meeting Teresa - my second competition winner

Anyone following my blog or Rangoli Facebook page will know that I recently sponsored two competitions to win a bespoke headpiece. You have already met Esme who I am designing a bridal headpiece for. Now it is time to meet Teresa. Teresa is one of my past clients and I am delighted to be designing a headpiece for her to wear with one of her favourite dresses.

Above is a lovely photo from Teresa and Gary's wedding day. Teresa wore spiral Rangoli hairpins and a matching drop pendant.
Teresa visited my studio on Saturday with her husband Gary. I got to see her gorgeous dress and sparkly Luciano Padovan peep toe shoes. Those shoes really are pretty :-)

We chatted about what ideas Teresa had for a headpiece. We discussed the type of events that she has planned to wear the outfit - both a Christening and a 40th wedding anniversary. Teresa had an idea for a fine hairband which would have an additional benefit of keeping her hair in place. She liked the idea of a feature piece to the side.

I shared my thoughts about her dress - that it is elegant and beautifully simple. The fabric is very flowy and yet the dress has definite lines to it. There is no embellishment. I suggested leaving pink out of the piece and working with silver, rhinestone and introducing some black. By coordinating the headpiece and shoes, you allow the dress to stand out as the main element.

So we tried on lots of narrow band variations from beaded hairwires to rhinestone alice-bands. I showed Teresa how any number of design forms could be attached to the side of this style. With a petite face, she wants a neat and under-stated piece. This has been the case with both of my winners and really emphasises how the Rangoli style is about an under-stated glamour!

Watch this space to see the type of ideas that I come up with for Teresa in the coming weeks. This is a project I can't wait to get started on.

Photo credit:
Wedding photo by Lesley Smith