Miriam and Daire's Casares wedding

I felt *ever so special* when Miriam told me that she'd flown over from Malaga to visit my showroom! This lucky lady lives in the Moorish influenced, white-washed, village of Casares with Daire. A big thanks to Clíodhna (who's wedding I featured previously) for recommending me to her friend :-) Here is Miriam with some memories from her wedding - this girl knows how to tell a story -

"Daire and I are living in Casares, a gorgeous village in Spain, so deciding where to get married was a no brainer! The reality of getting married started to set in a few days before the wedding, when people started to arrive. My sister Eithne was flying from Sydney, my sister Eimear from London, my brother Ciaran from Vancouver and of course a host of people from Ireland.

The morning of the big day the first thing we did was have a dip in the pool, it was so nice and relaxing! Ciaran then prepared a big fry up so we enjoyed  breakfast on the terrace before Kathryn arrived to start on the hair and make up. My dad ran down to the church to open it for the florist and also picked up our beautiful bouquets."

"I am somebody who is so clueless when it comes to hair, makeup etc that I am very grateful I had such good advisors. The hunt for my dress involved a lot of people and trips from Madrid to Malaga to Seville. For hair I had no idea where to start. Luckily my sister in law Clíodhna advised me to meet Aisling before deciding on what to do.

I knew I was going to have a veil and that I didn't want a tiara but that was as far as I'd got. I was actually quite nervous going to meet Aisling as I always feel a little bit helpless but she soon put me at my ease. Once I tried out the hair wires I think I knew straight away that that was what I wanted, but as with dress (which I'd tried on the first day of looking) I felt I had to go through some long drawn out process before making a decision. My hairstylist loved it too and managed to work it in very well (in my opinion!). I also took, for me, the big step of having my ears pierced and could show off the Rangoli pearl earrings on the day too."

"There were a lot of people coming and going. A bottle of champagne was opened. Anna Gazda, the photographer, arrived. She just got on with it, I hadn’t even met her before, but I knew I didn’t really have to tell her what to do. I had some downtime in the hammock while my sisters had their hair and make-up done.

Time flew.  Final make-up, dress on, veil on, then we walked out on the balcony to take a few photos. I think I saw my reflection in the balcony window and thought ‘Oh my God, this is really happening'. Then everybody was leaving and it was just my dad, my sisters and the photographer."

"I’d had this idea from the beginning that I wanted to walk down to the church with my sisters, but it wasn’t really practical. Then literally  a month before the wedding a new path was opened.  It was already 3pm but from the top of the hill I could see that there were still people arriving so we took our time going down.

Then we were off down the aisle. Now that was a blur!
Everything was lovely (I know I’m biased). I’d spent such a lot of time trying to plan the music and it was the part that probably gave me the most stress, but was worth it. We were lucky to have so many talented friends and relatives. My friend Eadaoin was playing piano. Cliodhna was singing some of the songs through the mass and my new sister in law Niamh sang the songs through the signing of the register. The string quartet had been organised by our Spanish teacher and her daughter was playing with them.

We'd organised some drinks in the centre of the village. We were pulled left, right and centre for photos. Then it was time for us to go off and get some more official ones. I had to have some at a beach so we stopped off and I got to dip my feet in the water too!  By the time we got to Benahavis, where we were having the reception, it was getting a little bit darker, but we got some fantastic pictures in the park."

"When we arrived the cocktail was in full swing accompanied by some Spanish classical guitar. Then in for the meal, which was as good as I’d remembered from the tasting....and a lot! I was as clueless about decoration but in the end I came up with a few ideas. seaside (shells and stones), cycling (figurines and tour de france markers, bicycle bookends and the cake topper) and books (yup, actual books, preferably older ones and quotes from the authors our tables were named after), our favours were just poems and arty postcards. Oh and lindt spruengli. Our favourites! So a mishmash, from a stylistic point of view it probably looked a mess, but I loved it.

When the band started everybody was up dancing. They played some Irish songs too, which I wasn’t expecting, so that was an added bonus. We had them DJ afterwards as well, though for the last hour or so my sisters were pretty much dictating the music! The DJ had to finish at 4pm, after that my Dad started a bit of a singsong, I’m not sure how long that lasted, we left shortly before 5pm. A long, exhausting but amazing day!"

Miriam, that was a rollicking story - I loved reading every detail of it. That early morning swim sounds amazing and I went Googling 'Lindt Spruengli' - are these what you mean?! Thanks so much to yourself and Daire for letting me share your photos and story. I'll let you know when I'll be over to visit...wink.

Miriam wore my Rangoli Diamond hairwire and matching drop earrings in her newly pierced ears!

Credits:
Photography by Anna Gazda from Limelight Photography.
Hair styled by Kathryn Parr

Caroline and Peter's Vintage Circus Wedding

I'm back after the wedding of 'my' year! It was the Vintage Circus themed celebration of my good friend Caroline (Dirty Fabulous) and her dashing beau Peter. Caroline has spent the last six months planning and creating every last glittering detail! This day was a true reflection of Caroline's life-long love of all things quirky and vintage.

The day was photographed by Shane from Aspect Photography and we are all dying to see his photos! In the meantime though, I thought I'd share a handful of mobile phone pictures that myself and my friends captured on the day.

Clockwise from top left - The Bugle Babes sang in strong harmonies, the magician and the bearded lady, three glamorous Quinn wives and moi with cherry hair and sequins!

So where to begin? Firstly, some words to sum up the extravagant attire;  top hats and braces, ruffles, corsets and flaming red hair. How about bearded ladies, trapeze artistes and spandex donning strong men? There was all of this and much, much more. There was also heaps of love in the room and this meant lots of eye-wiping. The first surprise was a duet from Neil Hannon and Cathy Davey. It made a very special pre-wedding first dance!

 Clockwise from top left - Neil Hannon an Cathy Davy sing a duet, (later in the evening) Peter and his family sing a 'Take That' song, the wedding ceremony, 'The Cheese Course' - Caroline and Peter perform 'Islands in the stream' by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

After this, was a change of clothes for Caroline and Peter and an elaborate stage make-over. During the ceremony, Peter sang a beautiful unaccompanied song for Caroline. Afterwards, while we all took a moment to beam at each other, there was a thunderous noise as The Dublin Allstars Marching Band started filing through the room, horns and drums blasting. The carnival atmosphere was in full swing!

The evening continued with a tasty vegetarian buffet from the crew at Cornacopia restaurant. Then lots more drinking and dancing and catching up with people I haven't seen in a while. Music was a key element of the day and the Quinn family are all talented musicians. The most unexpected moment was seeing Peter and his family jump up on stage to perform a 'Take That' song. Below is just a tiny selection of the creative costumes on show - strong men, lion tamers, ring masters, fortune tellers. trapeze artists, clowns, mime artists and bearded ladies!

I know some of these images are not great quality but I wanted to share them with you because they tell the story of the day. This year two of my best friends got married and it's been a brilliant party summer. I hope you enjoyed having a peek at Caroline's wedding? I know you'll be bowled over when you see Shane's official pics!

Congratulations Peter and Caroline - your day was amazing. See you when you get back from your honeymoon. A big thanks also to thank Sandra Crosbie for styling my hair and doing my make-up!

Venue: Dublin Food Co-op, Newmarket Square

Performers:

The Bugle babes

The Dublin Allstars Marching Band

Neil Hannon and Cathy Davey
Photo credits: Paula Nolan, Ayelet Lalor, Tara Nelson and myself.

Being yourself

Sometimes I see photos of a bride and I'm struck by how she just looks 'so herself' on her wedding day. I may have never met her but something of her individual style shines through.

 

This bride has this x factor. Of course she is stunning but that's not what I mean. I can imagine her wearing converse trainers and jeans and looking just as amazingly individual. When I'm chatting with clients, this is something that is really important to me. I want you to look and feel like a {more glamorous} version of your real, everyday self! Does that make sense? Sometimes people have a vision of what a bride 'should' look like but really it should be about what makes you feel really good and happy! That certainly doesn't mean that you can't be super-glam though :-)

Both Erin and Parker had a connection and love with the roaring twenties and so they chose a Great Gatsby theme for their wedding. Below is their 'first look' - how cool is that?!

These guys are just living this day to the hilt and enjoying a happy dance after their ceremony. It's the moments like this that you remember forever, especially when you have a great photographer on hand. But really, it's about being in the moment and just fully enjoying the party.

When asked for their advice for couple's planning their wedding, they proffered this great wisdom;

"Have a super Mother-of-the-Bride and a lot of amazing friends and family! :) We're so thankful we hit jackpot on this. Also keep in mind: people are more important than things."

I came across this poster on Pinterest recently and it sums this idea up so nicely don't you think?

Do you guys have any thoughts on this subject? How are you finding (or did you find) choosing your wedding fashion? I'd love to hear from you!

This amazing wedding was featured on Green Wedding Shoes - have a look at part one and part two. The wedding was photographed by Hugh Forte.


Image credits:
Erin and Parker's wedding by Hugh Forte
"Collect moments not things" poster, via Pinterest, (no credit)

'Cascade' crochet headpiece

Monday is officially my day off but I sometimes check my in-box for any urgent messages. And yesterday morning there was a gem in wait for me! It's hard to explain how much I love seeing photos from client's weddings. I get to hear lots of gorgeous details about a wedding but I'm not involved on the day like photographers or hairstylists. So, it's great to see how everything comes together afterwards!

Thanks to Marie Hickey who styled Claire's hair recently. She was kind enough to send on these photos she took on the morning. I hope with Claire's permission to share some of her official wedding photos and stories with you soon.

Hair style by Marie Hickey

This is a new Rangoli design which illustrates my love of decorating the head in a delicate and natural way. As I said to Marie, this accessory involves a creative collaboration between myself and the hairstylist.  This piece can be worn in a number of different ways but I think it looks beautiful in this asymmetric side plait. The crochet strands are woven through the hair and cascade down the back of the head. The design features tiny Swarovski crystals and hundreds of seed beads.

 Rangoli crochet strand headpiece with Swarovski crystal

Of all my hair accesory designs, the beaded hairwires and crochet wraps are my favourite. I think of hair-styling as a form of sculpture and I love seeing how my designs are integrated into the style.

I want you girls to know that the hairstyle pictures you show me, inspire me to create new designs :-) So if you have a hairstyle in mind and are unsure how to accessorise it, I'm here to help you!

Check out some of Marie's real bride photos on her website, Bridal Hair by Marie. You might also like to read about some of my recent commissions or see some of my hairwire designs. And get in touch if you'd like to arrange to visit my Dublin studio!

a thousand words - James Moes

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.

Today we're off to Seattle to meet James Moes, whose work I so admire. James trained in fine art and graphic design before settling on Photography. In his words, "While comfortably sitting on the fringes of the wedding industry, James is proud to be a photographer of love & marriage; beauty & dreams; curiosity & stillness."

This portrait of Todd & Claire and their dogs deserves a long gaze. Below James tells us why he loves this image.

Nothing clever. Nothing cute. But everything in its right place. The bride and groom and their beloved dogs, at the entrance to a cave nearby the family cabin (where the celebrations took place), with light softly coming in from the west. A perfectly restful first family portrait.

The longer I shoot weddings, the more I appreciate a classic portrait. One that even hearkens back to early large format photographic portraits where the subjects would have to stand still for a slow shutter speed.

Yes, I still I treasure the in-between moments, the surprises, the subtle exchanges, some good lens flare, and a thrilling dance party. And yes, I still will take some more experimental portraits (as I did with Todd & Claire on their wedding day: in a canoe on the lake, with fireworks & the resulting smoke) … but the image I keep coming back to is this. A classic wedding portrait. No shame in that.

James, this image reminds me of an old oil painting, which reveals its layers of emotion and detail the longer you look at it. It is both tranquil and animated at the same time. I love it. Thanks for being a part of this series.

For more information, visit James' website. I'm deliberately not linking to the full wedding as I like how this image stands alone. You'll find the full album on the website though!

This is part of a series which is archived on the blog. Please leave your comments below - I'd love to hear them.

Rangoli bride, Ruth.

An email in my in-box that made my day! Ruth - thanks for getting in touch to share some photos of your wedding. Your kind words mean a lot.

Ruth was looking for a headpiece with an antique, pearly feel. No sparkly rhinestones here! I combined some pale gold and silver beading with cream Swarovski pearls. The design was based on a vine form with beaded leaves. I love how soft the piece looks against the delicate lace. You look gorgeous Ruth.

You can see more photos of Rangoli brides on my Facebook page and website.
 
Ruth's photos were taken by Michael Crean.

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!

{Click image for a larger version}

"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

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.

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...

 {click  image for larger version}

"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.

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.

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

Rangoli lace headpiece

Sometimes it's hard to say goodbye! This bespoke headpiece was collected yesterday and is going to a lovely happy owner...(You may have read my previous post about this inspiring commission.)

I loved working on this piece with *Lena. She had very specific ideas about the look and feel of the piece as well as the shape. Her gorgeous lace dress will be worn with a long sleeved bolero. Pearl was to be the main component of the design. I had to create a flat design which replicated the delicacy of lace. Lena had an image of a rhinestone comb that she liked the shape of. We were able to use this as a starting point and template.

For this design, I printed the image of the comb that Lena had brought so we could look at this shape on her head. This probably sounds mad but it gave us both an excellent idea of how the form would look! Above, you can see how I have pinned on some small beaded shapes on top of the paper.

Once we were both happy with the scale and shape of the piece, I began working on detailed sketches of the intricate form. I then created many individual beaded elements which were finely woven together as the piece was being constructed.

Once I begin constructing the design, I work directly in three dimensions and I leave the sketches aside. This design took many hours to make but was a fascinating new direction for me in terms of assembling a piece from a number of smaller forms.

I'm really looking forward to sharing this wedding with you in a couple of months. Lena is so happy with the piece, especially as she had such a clear idea in her head of how she wanted the piece to look like.

You can read about some of my other commissions on the blog. All feedback is really welcome so leave me a comment or chat with me on my facebook page!

* For anonymity reasons, Lena is not her real name!

Siobhan and Eoin's wedding

I'm so excited to share this wedding with you! When I first met Siobhan, she told me about a special piece of jewellery that had belonged to her Nana. (You can read my earlier post about this). In fact this pearl necklace was an engagement gift from her grandfather and was worn on her wedding day. The necklace had got damaged over the years; the three strands were reduced to two and Siobhan loved the idea of somehow converting it into a bracelet and wearing it on her wedding day.

"...Being able to wear my Nanny's pearls feels like they'll be there in spirit and they'll never be forgotten, and means so, so much to me. I am so grateful to Aisling for making this a reality, when you strip away all the pomp and fluff from a wedding it's the people, present on the day and those we'll never forget, that really count."

Above you can see a picture of Siobhan's grandparents on their honeymoon along with some sketches and photos of the beautiful peach pearls in their treasured box. We decided to use the largest of the pearls and to make a feature of the striking rhinestone clasp as the centre piece. I also included a row of cream pearls, spaced with tiny rhinestone elements as a contrasting element to the design. It's been amazing for me to be involved in this project and to see these pearls being worn again on such a special occasion.

To complement Siobhan's delicate lace gown, she chose to wear a 'Diamond' design hairwire. I used soft gold beading in this piece along with some cream and peach pearls. I love how the pearl hairwire sits in her soft hairstyle. And to complete the look, I made a simple double pearl drop with tiny rhinestone setting. There is a single one of Nana's pearls in there too! Here's a few words from Siobhan -

"We have such wonderful memories from our wedding day, start to finish. Everything ran so smoothly, even down to the weather! The beautiful singing by the amazingly talented Naoise Stuart-Kelly, gorgeous flowers and our wonderful priest helped create a relaxed and special atmosphere in the church that continued throughout the day. Niall our photographer did and excellent job of capturing the atmosphere and the little touches we had wanted to include in our special day. Little touches, such as and in particular, the fabulous jewellery made for me by Aisling, re-modelled from my grandmother's own wedding pearls. It meant so much to me and my family that they were able to be restored.

Aisling did such a wonderful job. She was really creative with ideas on how we could redesign and update them. I'm delighted to say I've been wearing them regularly ever since after years of leaving them lying neglected in their box. Our reception in Ballyseede Castle surpassed our expectations, the setting was beautiful yet intimate, the food was delicious and the staff could not have been any more helpful or professional. It's easy to say we had our perfect day.

Thank you so much Aisling for all your help. It really was a pleasure to work with you, you took such care and interest in my project and created something really special and beautiful for me."

 

Doesn't Siobhan look gorgeous?! I'm sure you'll agree that they make a very stylish couple.

Siobhan - it was an absolute pleasure to be asked to design your accessories; in particular, your bracelet. I think your Nana would be so proud and delighted to know that you are continuing to get lots of wear out of it, while keeping her memory alive.

Thanks to both of yourself and Eoin for sharing these images and telling us the story of your wedding.

Credits
Photography - Niall McGann
Church singing and music - Naoise Stuart-Kelly at EncoreOccasions

Flowers -  Eleanor's Florist  

Reception - Ballyseede Castle