a thousand words - Brosnan Photographic

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 back in Ireland, chatting with Christina Brosnan. Christina is originally from Chicago but now lives in Ireland with her Irish husband. I love her feminine style and eye for beautiful details. I was excited to see Christina's chosen image. The suspense was worth the wait - what a spontaneous moment!

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"I chose this image of one of my recent couples because it's a very organic moment. Often my best images happen when a couple is very relaxed in front of the camera. When I told Eimear and Cathal to go in for a kiss, Eimear grabbed Cathal without realising they were hidden behind the bouquet. But it created for a perfect little moment and a great photo. I feel as if they're having a sneaky little kiss. The way they're leaning shows they weren't afraid to really go for it!

I approach every wedding with the same technique. I keep a couple interacting to help produce those natural moments. I prefer to see movement than stiff posed statues. For me the time I spend with a couple is my favourite part of the wedding day. My style is more about capturing the intimacy between a couple than putting them against a pretty landscape. All you need is a little bit of good daylight and a fabulous couple and you can create magic!"

Thanks for chatting with us Christina and adding another dimension to this treasured image - For all existing and new fans, check out Christina's portfolio on her blog and website.

This photographer interview is part of a series which you can read in full. Come on; tell me about the photographer you have chosen or admire!

Fiona and Dan's Shelbourne Hotel wedding

Welcome back everyone - did you have a great Christmas? It's the start of a whole new exciting new year for all of us! I've been saving Fiona and Dan's wedding as the first post of 2012 - this stylish fairytale will warm your hearts and tingle your toes.

First of all, I'd like to say that it's not that often that I get to meet both parents of my clients and it was really touching to see how involved Fiona's parents were in her wedding preparations. Being their only daughter... and only child made this a very special day for the family. 

Fiona brought along lots of images to show me. We chatted for ages about all the ideas she wanted to bring together. This style board helped us both to come up with suggestions on how to accessorise her look. After trying on lots of different designs, we decided on the perfect hair accessories;  a gold rhinestone vine comb and finest pearl and rhinestone bracelet. I love her elegant look! And I really had fun designing a headpiece and necklace for Fiona's Mum as well as brooch style combs and bracelets for the bridesmaids. Here's Fiona to tell us all about how she planned her day!

"Dan and I had been together for ten years and engaged for two years when we finally decided to set the date! We had been playing with the idea of going abroad but never really found the right location. We were walking through St Stephen's Green in Dublin City on New Year's Day 2010 and realised that the perfect location was right under our nose. My Parents and Grandparents had both been married in The University Church and our first formal date had been my Debs Ball in The Shelbourne Hotel, a decade earlier. We wanted something intimate and classy so the St Stephen's Suite in The Shelbourne Hotel was perfect"

"When it came to choosing my dress, I knew I wanted something that would fit in with the Art Deco elegance of The Shelbourne. When I tried it on I knew. It had a beautiful lace train with a gold thread, pearl and rhinestone detail. It also had a champagne satin ribbon around the waist with a vintage brooch attached to it. It was perfect! The bridesmaid dresses were a simple champagne colour with a stunning ruching detail, flattering all the bridesmaids. The boys would be in Black Tuxedos.

My dress had so much detail that I didn't like the idea of wearing a tiara as it would have taken away from it so when I came across an article on Rangoli Jewellery on Weddings Online, I fell in love. I loved the idea of having custom made to compliment my dress and the hair combs were such a beautiful traditional idea."

"I called Aisling to make an appointment and as soon I spoke to her, I knew that she understood what I was looking for. On the morning of my appointment, it was lashing rain and my Mum and I were soaked when we arrived at The Design Studio. Aisling was so pleasant and welcoming and instantly made us feel at ease.

Aisling showed us some of her hair accessories and it was really like we were in heaven, they were all so pretty, I wanted them all! I showed Aisling pictures of my dress, described the theme of the wedding and a sample of the detail on the train and slowly, before my eyes, my hair comb came to life, along with a very delicate pearl bracelet to compliment it."

"Aisling also helped me to design beautiful hair brooches and pearl bracelets for my three Bridesmaids, even getting the detail of the girl's wrist sizes. When my Mum, Helen, saw Aisling's designs she was so impressed that she made an appointment for herself! My Mum is not really a hat person and was dreading having to wear one so she fell in love with the coloured jewel wire hair combs. My Mum was feeling very nervous about her outfit and Aisling really helped her to feel at ease and offered her excellent advice. She also designed a stunning neck piece to flatter the neckline of the dress she would be wearing.

When we went in to collect the pieces, we were so excited! Aisling had understood exactly what we needed, they were perfect! I kept the jewellery a secret right up until the morning of the wedding and the girls were thrilled when they opened the boxes. In keeping with the vintage theme of the day, my hair was styled up in an elaborate bun. My antique style veil sat over the bun and my hairstylist placed my  comb to the right side, so it would be visible when we were saying our vows at the altar."

Bridesmaids pearl hair comb

"The church mass was beautiful and personal. As there was only forty guests, everyone was involved and we were able to walk through the church to shake all the guests hands at The Sign of Peace. After the service, we had some stunning shots taken arong St Stephen's Green and Grafton Street by Brosnan Photography. Our Rangoli jewellery sparkled in the late Autumn sunlight in our beautiful city.

"The reception was lovely. We had fabulous food and were entertained in style by The Swing Singer and Shane Black, the illusionist. Our magical day was topped off by meeting The Former President of The United States of America, Mr Bill Clinton!"

"It was truly a day to remember and I look forward to hopefully one day, giving my Rangoli comb to my daughter to wear at her wedding. I would recommend Rangoli Jewellery to anyone who is looking for something special and unique for their Wedding Day.
Thank You Aisling!"

Thanks to you too Fiona - I am glad that you were so happy with your Rangoli jewels. I'll be patiently waiting for that photo of your daughter wearing your comb :-)

A big thanks also to Christina Brosan who photographed Fiona and Dan's wedding.

Check out some more Rangoli wedding reports on the blog - definitely my favourite posts - how about you?

Supplier details -
Photography: Brosnan Photographic
Venue: The Shelbourne Hotel, Dublin.
Dress: Nicolini Rosetta at Berketex
Jewellery and hair accessories: Rangoli Jewellery
Suits: Black Tie
Hair & Makeup: James & Sarah at Ebano Salon, Balinteer
Flowers: The Frog Prince
Cars: Terry Flanagan at Gold Cars

a thousand words - Belathée Photography

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, let's welcome Annabel and Dorothée from Belathée Photography who are based in New York and Seattle and also work internationally. Take it away girls...

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"As you'll probably hear from many photographers, it's really hard to pick just a few of your absolute favorites... there is usually a connection to most of the photographs we take, they are like little flashes in our memory.

This photograph of our bride Nicky however just has something a little bit more magic about it and we can't even really put it in words. In a studio it's much easier to control the perfect lighting and composition, when photographing a fluid event like a wedding however, those factors are not in our control and we just rely on our experience and intuition to capture the perfect moment.

A hotel lobby isn't always the most magical place for shooting but in this case the chandelier and room lighting worked out in our favor and allowed for this moment to be captured.

On her way to a little ceremony in Gramercy Park (in NYC) a guest spotted Nicky and called for her attention, allowing for that candid moment of her turning back around.

The concierge and the leaving guest make it obvious that she is in a public setting although it's hard to believe at first. We love that, otherwise it would seem " too perfect".

Even 30 seconds later her reality was a completely different one but for this split second she was in the " 1000 words setting" we are so grateful for.

We hope you enjoy this photograph as much as we do.

Annabel and Dorothée"

I'm a big fan of Belathée and love their fine art photography. Check out their website and blog for more gorgeous imagery. You can also read about other featured photographers in the 'thousand words' series.

The 1947 wedding of Tineke, my Mother-in-law.

A few weeks ago, I was looking at a jewellery tool that I have used every day since I set up my business in 1998. It was given to me by Tineke, my Dutch Mother-in-law who was also a jeweller. It got me thinking about memories and how objects and photos can tell a story.

Tineke is one of the most inspiring women I know, apart from my own wonderful Mum. At the age of eighty six, she has boundless energy for life, even though her limbs are physically slowing her down a bit now! I thought you might like to hear some stories about her life in Amsterdam, both during and after the Second World War, before she moved to Ireland in 1956 with her husband Cor. I'm glad she did, or I would never have met my husband Ben!


I am going to write two posts - this one is about Tineke and Cor's wedding. The second will be about how they both previously met in Art College - Tineke studying jewellery and Cor, commercial art or Graphic Design.

Tineke, thanks for taking the time to chat about your wedding day! Can I ask you first about what it was like living in Holland in 1947?

Amsterdam Street scene, 1947, courtesy Chiesavecchia Collection via Flickr

"Amsterdam in 1947 was very much working on getting the city in good shape. After the war there was much rebuilding to undertake; for five years nothing had been built and bombed places needed to be repaired. In Amsterdam there was not as much damage as in Rotterdam, where the Germans bombed the centre of the city to rubble."

WWII Ration card, Netherlands, 1944

"In 1947 we had still coupons on certain things especially for clothing and bedlinen, blankets etc. For our wedding we got special coupons for those things, such as the material for the wedding outfit."

Detail of wedding invitation designed by Cor

I have always loved your wedding outfit - tell us about it?

"Yes, it was in three pieces. The blouse was parachute silk but thinking about it, it must have been the first nylon. We didn't know in the war about nylon. You had a sort of silk that wasn't real but it was not a nylon - it was something in between. And after the Arnhem raid, somehow my sister-in-law got hold of a piece of what we thought was white silk. My mother-in-law had a piece of black velvet and on the coupons I got two metres of another heavier fabric to make the skirt in blue. That was a colour that I loved and then at the bottom there was a band that looked like fine embroidery. Somehow somebody had a piece of that. It was an idea of a farewell to my maiden name Margadant, which is originally a Swiss name. [The bodice] was velvet and was even lined with something black... and no, I don't think it came to Ireland."

Cor and Tineke on their wedding day, July 1947

I asked Tineke about how the wedding was planned in those days. She laughed and said that they were so eager to get married that they were married within a month of registering their intent. They went to the marriage registrar on 24th June 1947 and asked what was the next available date.

"...and they said, the 30th July is free, early in the morning, or 8th August - [and we said] 'No, no, no, we want July, What time? They said it was half past nine in the morning and we said OK. We didn't think any further. We came home to my mother-in-law, and she said 'What?!, half past nine in the morning? [for a] wedding? How do I get ready, how do I do this and that?' She was up in arms about it! 'Stupid you, why did you pick so early?' We were so eager to get married that we didn't think about it. She accepted it then - that was the time we were going to get married!"

Wedding dinner at Cor's parent's house

The wedding party consisted of a gathering at her husband's parents' house. Only a few close family and relatives were invited for a meal and celebration. There were no official speeches or dancing, "...everyone just chatting away".

"The next morning, [there was] a ring on the bell and Cor's father came and he had the little booklet you get when you get married, [in Holland]. We were planning to go to Paris and he said 'you might need it, you know, if people ask you; you look so young'".

Proof of being married?! So the rings weren't enough?

"No, probably not, he didn't think about it. And the rings, you give them to each other when you get engaged... When you are engaged, you wear it on your left hand and when you get married you wear it on your right hand.

I made the rings; I had to go around the family to get gold because shortly after the war you couldn't just go into a shop to buy gold - it was impossible to buy a strip. I got a ring from my step-mother and Cor's mother had a gold ring that she gave and I think a few other people gave something but I had enough then for the two rings. We got them inscribed; the engagement date - my twenty-first birthday and the name [of the other person] and then when we got married, the wedding date as well."

So you went to Paris on your honeymoon?

"Yes! We didn't get up so early as we had planned. We put on our rather heavy rucksacks and went by tram to the spot were all hitch-hiking started. Because transport was still so primitive and expensive, so many young people wanted to travel in Europe. During the war we could not leave Holland. We were amazed that the long bridges over the Rhine and Meuse were still lying in broken pieces in the river, but parts connected with Bailey bridges.

In Paris we had to go to the youth hostel, because, we had no money for a hotel. We took the Metro for the first time and with the help of the map we found where we had to go, Metro to Porte d'Orleans and a long walk to Ville de Malakoff, where we found the youth hostel. We met many people from other countries, even Americans. This was so nice in the evenings.

We took the Metro back into the city and went to all the city landmarks over the next few days. A fantastic view was when we went to Palais de Chaillot and entered the plaza between the two arms of the Palace and you see the Seine, Eiffel Tower and in the distance d'Ecole de Militaire. All on such a large scale, you realize you are in a world city. Another place we liked very much was Montmartre, high on the hill the Sacre Coeur and the Place du Tertre, where many artists were painting or drawing the tourists, not just making sketches, but the sitters had to pose. We saw the Louvre, but didn't go in at that time, [we] left it for the many times we went back.

After ten days we went to friends in Le Havre. We passed the town of Rouen and were so sad to see it in ruins. The cathedral and other ancient building were very badly damaged. Of course it had been damaged during the Allied landings in 1944 and so was Le Havre. Even in the landscape you could see war damage. From Paris we headed North via Luxembourg and the Ardennes and then home to Amsterdam. Paris was all we expected and more!"

A recent photo of Tineke taken by her daughter Emma

Tineke, it's been so interesting listening to your stories and looking at your photographs - thanks for sharing them with me and my readers.

Keep an eye out for my second post about Tineke's time in Art college studying jewellery design - young designers in love, listening to illegal American jazz and studying the subversive social ideas of the Bauhaus movement!

Behind the scenes at the Rangoli Showroom

Today Rangoli Jewellery et moi are featured on the brilliant 'White Tea' Photography website. Noel and Aga are photographers with a really fresh style and making big waves in Ireland! I recently featured one of their wedding photo-booth films.

They decided they'd like to photograph designers in the wedding industry in their place of work - a kind of behind the scenes photo essay! In their words "The-inner-workings-of-wedding-suppliers-photo-journalistic-interview series".Love it :-)

I spent an afternoon with Aga and Noel with a strong coffee to calm the nerves. I have to say it was lots of fun and I'd like to thank them for the eclectic mix of images they took. It's funny seeing my studio through someone else's eyes too.

Read the full article on the White tea website & leave me a comment - I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Tim and Amy "A wedding in reverse"

Tim and Amy // A Wedding in Reverse from V E L A R E on Vimeo.

This short wedding film is just beautiful. It's just three minutes and seventeen seconds long but it captures the most unique moments and emotions. It's filmed in reverse and in slow motion. When I heard that Wes Anderson was an inspiration for this piece, it made complete sense. The Darjeeling Ltd is one of my favourite movies, with it's quirky yet dreamy slow motion scenes. Slowing things down makes you notice all the precious expressions and emotions of this beautiful wedding.

The film is the work of Velare Imaginarium - Steve and Tim bring their photography and cinematography skills together to amazing effect. Below Tim Twinem talks about his inspiration for this film.

"When Tim and Amy approached me about shooting their wedding, I was so pumped! I’ve known Tim since middle school, and was honored to be a part of their special day. Something that really was on my mind leading up to their wedding is that for a couple who’s lives are based around art (Tim is in a great band, CHURCHILL, and Amy is a fantastic artist), a normal “wedding highlight video” wasn’t going to cut it. The more time I spent searching the internet for wedding films that were doing something different, the more I came up short. So I started to put my brain power attempting to come up with something that would fit their personality, and not fit the norm. I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan, and his films have turned me into a sucker for great slow motion (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, just to name a few, all with fantastic slow motion sequences). So I decided to shoot their whole wedding at 60fps (slow motion). I think there’s powerful story telling when you pair great slow motion with great music. Then, setting my sights at something I wasn’t sure was a good idea or not, but at least was something I hadn’t seen, was doing the entire thing in reverse. Being newly married myself, I like the idea of always coming back to the love you had on your wedding day and thought doing the video in reverse would be a great way to visualize that idea. Thanks again Tim and Amy for giving me a little creative freedom to explore something new!!"

Steve and Tim - your films have such a peaceful, meditative feel to them - I think I'm going to be a lifelong fan! Thanks to Marie from Finer Details for tweeting this earlier!

See more wonderful films by Velare on Vimeo.

You might also enjoy my previous posts -

• "I do" an animated stop-frame short film by Manasi Kashyap
• Photo-booth animation by White Tea Photography

Sometimes when it rains, it pours!

Here's a post about letting go! I came across these photos by Irish photographer David Mc Clelland and they really made me smile. So much so, that I wanted to share them with you.

It made me realise how important having a sense of humour is on your wedding day...when things don't go *exactly* as you planned them! No matter what month you choose to get married in Ireland, there is no guarantee that the sun will shine. So, make the most of your day of celebration and have fun, regardless of any mini or major blips.

Congratulations to John and Amy were married in Ballmagarvey Village, (on a very rainy day!) Outdoor shots just weren't an option so Dave got creative with a colourful bookshelf, along with some carefully selected books, to create some fun group shots, (click on the images so you can read the book titles.) I bet they won't even remember the weather when they look back on their album!

This is just a sneak preview as Dave hasn't finished editing the wedding. You can see Dave's post on his blog or have a look at his website for more information.

Susan and John's wedding

Susan and John were married in February 2011. Their wedding was in Ratheniska, followed by a reception at Killashee House Hotel, Co. Kildare.

Susan wanted a delicate hair accessory to complement her gorgeous lace gown. She really liked my Rangoli Hairwire styles and together we chose a beaded flower design which picked up on her lace detailing. Susan chose not to wear a veil and wanted something simple yet elegant to dress her hairstyle.

"Aisling, I got lots of compliments about the hair wire on the day and I loved it - it worked out perfectly in the end with the way the hair was done and I even think those that were against me not having a veil were happy enough in the end also!!!!

Thanks again for all your patience with me.

Susan"

Susan was lucky to have Mary Brown as her photographer. I think you'll agree that she captured lots of beautiful and relaxed emotions. Visit Mary's website or see more photos of the wedding on her Facebook page.

Congratulations Susan and John - You look amazing! Thanks so much for allowing me to share your photos on the blog.

Have a look at some of my other bespoke commissions on the blog, or get in touch if you'd like to arrange to visit my showroom.

Come on summer...

The sun is really trying hard to make an appearance in the last couple of weeks. If only we could *rely* on the weather here, we'd all be so much more adventurous in our wedding venue choices! We might even forward plan a picnic or two...



These images really captured my imagination. I adore the sixties outdoor wedding setting with mis-matched lounge couches. Hats would be a definite requirement along with legs crossed at a 45 degree angle. Please someone invite me to this wedding. Or how about the lavish velvet curtain back-drop at this circus-inspired celebration? It's nice to bring the inside out, don't you think? See the full wedding feature here which was photographed by Gabriel Ryan.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas on outdoor celebrations!

Image credits
Top image via Enchanted Weddings. Original source PutAWittyHeadlineHere.
Circus wedding via Green Wedding Shoes. Photography by Gabriel Ryan Photographers.

Cupcakes and Jewels and my 'lil sister!

Do you know that I have a sister who runs a cupcake business called CupCakeMe and makes the most delicious cakes for every sweet occasion? I'm so proud that she has launched such a successful business in just over a year. Sometimes redundancy can lead to the most amazing life changes ;-)

We collaborated with photographer Christina Brosnan for a photo-shoot that combined her sweet art with some of my sparkling jewels. We had so much fun coming up with ideas and themes.

A big thanks to Lisa from Bride and Joy for featuring us on her blog today! Lisa is a real bride documenting her personal wedding journey - her blog is full of useful advice for anyone planning a wedding. Hop over to her blog and check out the post and be sure to leave us some comments!

See more of Tara's cakes on CupCakeMe and Christina's photography on her website.

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

Sandra Crosbie - Freelance hairstylist

Hi everyone - I promised I would share some dazzling wedding photos with you and here they are. I think you'll agree that the bride, Claire Durkin looks stunning. I think Claire is on honeymoon at the moment so I'm hoping that she will contribute to this article when she returns!

The bridal party were lucky to have Sandra Crosbie to style their locks. Here's the story, I first met Sandra in 2002 when she styled my hair for my own wedding and in the intervening years we've become great friends! Over the last eight years, I've had to opportunity to collaborate with her on various projects and I'm truly inspired by her skills...and humour! Sandra is an Ossie who's married to an Irish guy and she has thirty years experience in styling and colouring hair. When I hear feedback from clients after their weddings or hair trials, Sandra is always complemented on how she makes everyone 'feel' on the day - she's a true professional in every sense of the word.

Claire had a theme of old Hollywood glamour for her wedding and Sandra certainly worked her magic by creating stunning individual looks for Claire and her two bridesmaids, seen below. I think it's lovely for bridesmaids to have their own unique look.

Read my other feature on Sandra or visit her website for more information.

I hope you enjoyed this hairstyle feature. I'll be sharing some of my 2011 commissions with you soon!

Make-up was by Alibhe Lynch
Phototography by Kurt Vinion

Colour therapy for a grey day

It's so grey and wet outside today. As I sat in a coffee shop earlier, looking out the window, I realised that I love that heavy foreboding grey sky. The shade of grey that makes all other colours just pop alongside it.

Here's an image that I came across recently by the amazing Rodney Smith. What a dream-like scene and what magical and striking colours. I want to see what happens when this woman floats into the water but it's up to my imagination to visualise it! I suppose that what makes this image so engaging.

This blog is also about things that inspire me to design and colour is something that makes my heart sing, especially on a grey November day like today. And there's definitely some wedding colour palette inspiration in there too...

Short-haired brides

I've been so looking forward to posting this feature and have enjoyed researching this topic...no end. However you wouldn't believe how difficult it is to find images of real brides who have short hair! I contacted over ten Irish and International photographers and most said that they had never photographed a short-haired bride. What is going on?

Anyway, never mind - I managed to collect some gorgeous real-bride images to share with you. I've also included a few 'faking it' longer styles as well as some celeb versions.

So let me introduce you to some super-stylish brides...

First of all I'm going to start with Paige who I featured in my opening post. Paige is American and we've chatted away by email and I've found out a bit more about her personal style and thoughts on hairstyles!

"I would just say that short hair is what makes me feel like me. I feel that short hair fits my personality the best. I've always liked to be a little different and not so "cookie-cutter", and I feel short hair gives me that uniqueness. It makes me feel cute, quirky, stylish, and different. When I did have long hair, I was never that good at doing it. With short hair, it's so easy to look good all the time, and that makes me feel consistently better about myself.

When I couldn't find any pictures of short-haired women at weddings, it was frustrating because I knew I wanted short hair for my wedding, but I didn't know how to go the extra step and make it befitting for a wedding do -- elegant and more than just my everyday short hairdo. However, not being able to find pictures of short-haired brides did support my thought that it would make me stand out and be original!"

This photograph is courtesy of Rhonda Steed and you can view more from this wedding in my Flickr album.

Next, let me introduce you to Esther who is my first Irish representative! The wedding was photographed by Claire Wilson from Gingerpixel Photography. I love Esther's natural look.

"Like a lot of others, I was really frustrated by the lack of images of short-haired brides in magazines, etc. Offbeatbride was a great resource, though, because they show a more diverse range of looks, and it was really nice to see some brides who looked a bit more like me! In the end I decided I didn't want to try for a fancy style, as it would just be another thing to stress about on the day, so as you can see I kept it very basic. My flower hairclip cost a couple of Eur in Boots -- it was the only nice decoration I could find that would actually stay in my hair!"

Sonya is another Irish bride and I designed her Rangoli vintage lace comb. You can read about the wedding in my previous post. There are lots of Rangoli accessory options for short hair from hairwires to combs to individual hairpins. Photo courtesy of Bernard Carolan at Mark Griffin Photo.

Next up are Australians Nicole and Glenn. I just love the striking details of this wedding. Nicole's hairstyle is so sharp yet totally feminine. And how about the Japanese Obi that she wore as a belt? She also made her paper flower bouquet. The photos are courtesy of Ross Pulford photography.


Gia Canali is a photographer who I featured a number of times so I was delighted when she was able to share a wedding with me for this article. I've chosen to include a couple of black and white images of Sharlyn and Jim as they are so striking. Yes, it's a relaxed barn wedding affair but how glamorous are this couple?


Tim and Andrea make such a cute couple and I'm including three images as they capture such lovely emotions. Again, this short hairstyle is just so pretty and the French netting hair accessory sets it off perfectly. The photos were taken by Abby Rose Photo.



Katie makes quite a statement with this dramatic headpiece and soft curly bob. This wedding was found via StyleMePretty. The photo is by Daria Bishop Photography.

And yet one more gorgeous image - this time it's the wedding of Astrid and Kyle. This photo could have been taken in the 50's and has such a sense of style. Photo by Alex Rubin

So now time for some inspiration ideas. Love these two styles - very sexy and super-elegant. Images found via WeHeartIt and Aveda.

And here's one of those 'faking it' short-long hairstyles...it's all in the illusion. That's why you need a good hairdresser!

And finally a little dose of celeb style with Eva and Katie showing us that short hair can be shiny, classy and chic. I really hope you've enjoyed reading this post - I'd love to hear your feedback and please share this link with all friends or colleagues that have lovely short locks :-)

You can also view my complete album of inspiration photos - I will be adding to this on an on-going basis. I also love long styles so you can read about my other hairstyle articles, featuring 'half-up' hairstyles and soft up-styles.

In addition to the photographer credits above, I'd like to thank Offbeatbride who were a great source for many of these photos. (Thanks for the link Gia).

Follow Rangoli on Facebook for all the latest tips, advice and inspiration...and keep your suggestions coming for articles you would like me to research :-)