What can I say but a huge sorry for my absence from the blog for the last four weeks.

August was such a busy month for Tigerlily with three fabulous client weddings and two wedding events including one hosted by Tigerlily, I had little time for anything else.

However to make it up to you all, take a peek at a few of my favorite images from Emma & Paul’s lovely wedding captured by the super talented Polly Alexandre.

Keep watching as more fab images to follow.

I will be giving you lots of fun updates in the next week about current happenings at Tigerlily and our new addition to the brand; ‘Love Scarlet’.

Images

Alexandre Weddings

Tigerlily loves to champion clients who add individual touches to their weddings and with the rise of the “chiconomy trend” there is no better time for clients to get out there and learn new skills to add the wow factor to their wedding.

I have been fortunate to have worked and trained with the super talented Marianne Jonhson from Sweetpea Floral Design and attended one of her hand-tied bouquets masterclass workshops early this year.

For those of you wanting to be creative you will totally love the workshop, they are relaxed, informative and loads of fun and allow you to unleash your creative side.

I came away with lots of new skills and loved Marianne’s fresh and innovated approach to floral design.

So if you are thinking of making your own flowers for your wedding, Marianne is running a series of workshops in Angel Islington at the Candid Arts Gallery on Sunday the 16th August and Sunday the 6th of September.

The hand-tied bouquet masterclass or dinner party master class costs £65 this includes, all flowers equipment, refreshments and delicious cupcakes from the infamous Primrose Bakery.

To book your place on this workshop go to the Sweetpea Floral Design Website

Enjoy!

As a planner you are always planning for every eventuality at weddings; my emergency case is packed with ingenious ideas from entertaining little ones to adding finishing wedding design touches.

I am always working with clients to equip those guests who have children with entertainment for the ceremony, so they can all enjoy this time.

One of my recent brides had lots of  under twos at her wedding – where sitting still and being quite only happens when they are asleep!

With this in mind we hatched a plan; finger puppets – easy and cheap to make, lots of colour and we can create a few different designs to hold their interest during the ceremony.

Felted finger puppets are really popular and there are many designs to choose from such as animals or Disney characters depending how crafty you are feeling.

Also there are many websites like Free Kids Crafts that have great templates that you can use.

 Tools and Materials

1. Felt in assorted colours
2. Scissors
3. Craft glue
4. Finger puppet template
5. Needle and thread/ yarn
6. Embellishments, wiggly eyes, sequins, feathers, wool and so on

 Technique

1. Print out the template
2. Place template on top of felt and trace around the outline on 2 pieces of felt for a front and back of the puppet
3. Carefully cut around outline to get your finger puppet outline shapes
4. Stitch around the edges of the felt, leaving the straight end, in which you insert your finger, open. Turn felt inside out
5. Depending on your design and ages of children you can glue or sew on your embellishments to finish your finger puppet design

For another great set of templates and “how to” fact sheet go to Jo Ann Stores.

If you want to cheat and buy a finger puppet craft kit go to the Early Learning Centre their ranges start from £3.50.

Happy crafting!

Last summer I had the pleasure of working with Kimberley Gray on a clients wedding, It is lovely to share with my blog readers a little more about the actual people behind the business’s  that Tigerlily work with.

Kimberley is based in Hampstead and works as a full time wedding photograper, her website is fantastic and really showcases her diverse portfolio and style.

Kimberley has a very unobtrusive style on the day and really captures the excitement and emotion of each wedding.

Enjoy!

Tell me about the background of ktb wedding photography?

I had worked at Christies Auction House, a Chelsea art gallery and as a professional photographer of antiques, art and interiors for the book, The London Antiques Guide as well as several international magazines before becoming a wedding photographer. 

I loved how a powerful photograph, be it a small detail or a sweeping scene, could convey the style, the essence and story of something much larger. 

With this in mind, I photographed two of my friends’ weddings as a present for them, and their response was unequivocal- “Kimberly, you have to become a wedding photographer!”

Where do you take your inspiration from?

I actually take inspiration from all sorts of images in contemporary life.  I love beautiful cinematography, and foreign films, particularly Chinese. The way Chinese cinematographers frame scenes and convey relationships through images is simple, beautiful and effective.  If I see something that inspires me, I will take a note and try to use the idea at my next wedding. 

Having said that, I also take image ideas from more mainstream films and television, such as Slumdog Millionaire, Ugly Betty, the Sopranos and Life on Mars which all are very creative with perspective and story-telling. 

What is your favorite wedding photograph from your collection?

I hate having to decide on favourites, but in theory from each wedding, my favourite photograph is one which captures the love and happiness between the couple or between them and their family. 

What is unique about your photography?

I have a very natural style and approach.  I believe that the bride and groom need to feel like they are being photographed by a friend with whom they are having great fun and can help them laugh and be themselves.  I think this natural approach and sense of fun comes across in the happiness of my photographs.

What packages and services do you offer?

I am always happy to create a bespoke package for couples, but my most popular package is 8 hours of photography with a storybook album and a disk of edited and high resolution photographs to share with friends and family.

Tell us your funniest, scariest, most bizarre, most touching story from a photo shoot to date!

I actually photographed a pagan wedding in Camden Town in my first year.  The couple were very lovely and eccentric, and so we did their creative photographs in King’s Cross.  Everyone wore medieval costume, and seeing the five groomsmen walking down St Pancras Way with capes flapping in the wind is a memory that will always stick with me!

I also photographed a wedding on a cliff on the Arran Islands in Western Ireland.  The sun came out briefly during their ceremony, so it looks idyllic in the photographs, but everything except that 10 minutes was “extreme Celtic wedding photography” – gale force winds, horizontal rain and furious, crashing waves.  I felt like I had been in battle when I arrived back at the hotel that evening.

What is the one lasting impression you want to leave in your photos?

That’s very easy – love and happiness!

In March this year I had a phone call from a groom-to-be who discussed his and his fiancee’s wedding plans and how they needed a planner to support the final stages of their wedding planning.

The phone call went on for half an hour; we had such a lovely conversation and I totally got their wedding vision.

So two ceremonies, two wedding breakfasts, and one house conversion into a Hindu ceremonal area  in 24 hours – I hear your mind racing with “Oh My! What a challenge…”

Camela and Duncan were fabulous clients to work with and were totally relaxed, what more can I say – the perfect clients, the perfect job.

The beautiful bride in traditional dress, make up and Henna for her Hindu ceremony.

The clients had their lounge transformed for the Hindu ceremony, which was beautiful and very touching as it was conducted by her God-parents.

The happy couple, after the ceremony had received blessings from the priest, their family and elders, the guests then celebrated with a  fabulous feast.

The happy couple

The bride and groom and their guests then moved to The Petersham Hotel, where they enjoyed a champagne reception on the terrace overlooking the Thames – the weather was glorious.

The bride and groom then changed for the civil ceremony, Camela carried a beautiful hand-tied bouquet of arum lilies with bear grass, tied with a cream ribbon.

The  guests then moved to the river room for the civil ceremony, and were greeted by the sounds of a harpist and flautist with beautiful streaming sunlight through the room’s many bay windows.

The civil ceremony was equally beautiful and filled with the couple’s fun personalities.

The team at  The Petersham were lovely to work with very attentive, professional and hard working, delivering champagne, canapes and a fabulous buffet during the evening celebrations, ensuring all guests were wonderfully catered for throughout.

These fabulous images were captured by the super talented Hannah MacGregor from Funky Wedding Photographers; a total pleasure and pro to work with.

The celebrations went on late into the night and the singing waiters made an appearance to the astonishment of all of the guests as they had been mingling and serving with myself and the event staff unannounced at The Petersham.

Congratulations Camela & Duncan!

Photo Credits: Funky photographers

A little piece of eye candy from a recent Tigerlily Wedding for you all.

I will be  blogging tomorrow with lots of images and details about this lovely client wedding.

Photo credits: Funky Photographers

The latest edition of Martha Stewart Weddings Magazine has hit the magazine shelves in the UK.

I love the feature on pop up weddings and back yard weddings, this catchy tag originates from pop up bars that have been very fashionable in London over the last year.

The clever peeps at Martha Stewart have also updated the DIY section on the website, it has lots of creative ideas for wedding design, so make sure you take a peek.

This week I caught up with the lovely Dora Huen, Boutique Director for Angelica Bridal.

Angelica Bridal is London’s latest designer bridal boutique which opened on the 18th June helping put Islington on the map for weddings with an array of wedding professionals now in the area.

I have attached a few images from the grand opening which was fantastic and had many luminaries from the industry supporting the boutique launch; Miranda Eason, Editor for Cosmo bride, Peta Hunt, Fashion Director for You & Your Wedding and Thea Darricotte, Executive Retail Editor for Condé Nast Brides.

As a planner working with fellow wedding professionals within the industry I always find it interesting to discuss how they starting working within the sector and their inspiration.

Dora said “As a bride, I found searching for my wedding dress a limiting experience, I picked up a copy of American Brides Magazine and saw an advertisement for Pricilla of Boston and I knew instantly this was the style of dress I wanted and I fell in love with their designs.

“You can imagine my disappointment when I realised that you could not purchase any of the designs in the UK and only in the US.

“I have always loved weddings and have lots of experience in business and consultancy and loved the idea of setting up my own boutique.

“I started researching the market and studied running a wedding retail business. I also worked alongside one of the most experienced professionals in the wedding retail sector who acted as my mentor.

“On February the 2^nd I awoke to find London completely covered under a blanket of snow – everything was so calm and still and after all my training and investment in to developing my skills and experience I finally decided to open Angelica Bridal!”

Dora has lovingly converted a prime retail space in Islington’s trendy Camden Passage. Her boutique is contemporary and minimalist but with underling luxury offering brides a unique wedding shopping experience.

All the wedding gowns have been hand picked by Dora and costs range from £750 to £3000.  Dora explained that she spent hours choosing the range for the boutique to ensure there was something perfect for all brides.

I have been lucky enough to have a good nosey around all the dresses and I must admit it made me want to get married all over again – my favourite gown was Fiesole.

For more information on Angelica Bridal and their fabulous wedding gown range please visit The Angelica Bridal Website or contact the boutique on 0207 226 7823 to book a consultation.

Back in early April this year I started outlining a DIY bridal workshop for Tigerlily brides to make their own wedding favors. Whilst I was planning the initial concepts I came across  The Make Lounge  a fabulous company offering contemporary craft workshops in Islington. Of course you can imagine my glee as I had found the perfect venue, I contacted Jennifer Pirtle the owner and got a meeting in the diary for me to discuss my ideas and to define the concept and projects that we would be able to offer working in a partnership project.

I am pleased to announce the first DIY bride workshop will be on the 20th September in association with The Make Lounge, I will be posting further information in regards to the project outlines and how you can book a place for this workshop.

I am so exitcited to be working with Jennifer on this exicting project, it is going to be so much fun.

However in the interim for those brides that do not have time to attend these workshops I will be running a series of blogs for DIY brides with “how to projects” so you can still add your own personal touches to your wedding.

Photo Credits: The Make Lounge