Monday, 5th October 2009
On the 24 October 2009 Suzie Rice, Style Coach and Make up Artist, is running a portrait day session where you can have your make-up professionally applied, enhancing your natural beauty and then I will capture the look in a series of stylish and contemporary portraits, giving you memories to keep forever.
Portrait Day
Using the best products on the market from Bobbi Brown, Mac, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Christian Dior, Dermalogica and more, Suzie will apply your make up in a relaxed atmosphere. Take advantage of this great opportunity to have your make-up professionally applied, enhancing your natural beauty and receive some beautiful images.
Once your make up has been applied, I will take some contemporary, relaxed portriats to capture the moment and will put you at ease to capture you beautifully.
After the portrait day, you will receive a CD of your images to do whatever you like with them, the possibilities are endless!
Its a great way to boost your confidence and the perfect idea for family Christmas gifts. You may want to indulge yourself and come alone, bring a friend, or you’re welcome to bring along children, partners for the portraits.
Venue: TBC
Time: Session time to be arranged after booking
Date: Saturday 24 October 2009
Price: Exclusively discounted – £25 booking/makeover fee
CD of images – Amazing price of just £150 - Exclusively discounted to you
(Normal price of CD £195 plus £45 booking/makeover fee)
Saving of £65.00
For secure on-line booking click here
As a style coach and make up artist, Suzie runs a number of one to one services from selecting your wardrobe and applying your make up, to how to select the perfect wedding dress, hair and make up. Take a look at her website.
Monday, 5th October 2009
In this weeks interview post we are talking to Sharon from Get ahead hats in Thaxted.
Sharon has this beautiful barn conversion where she runs her branch of Get Ahead Hats from. With 100′s of hats in stock and a stunning dressing room so you can try on your complete outfit with lots of different hats, it’s a very special place to complete very special outfits. I spent a fantastic morning with Sharon in her showroom, looking at all the stunning hats and hearing all about what makes them so special.
What makes Get Ahead Hats so special?
All our hats are designer hats and many are exclusive to Get Ahead Hats. Made in the UK they are exceptional quality, and often couture, so you can be assured of something truly special.
Get Ahead Hats was started 22 years ago. There are branches throughout the UK, all in beautiful country locations, where you can be assured of a warm welcome and comfort whilst you select your special hat.
What is important to you at Get Ahead Hats?
Helping clients find the perfect hat to compliment and set off their outfit, whilst ensuring it’s an enjoyable experience.
Can you make bespoke designs?
Many of our hats are already exclusive to Get Ahead Hats, and alterations can be made to some hats in stock.
Can I hire a hat or do I have to buy it?
All our hats are for hire or sale.
Where can I see some of your hats?
You can visit the showroom or visit the website for a taster. Between all the showrooms in the UK there are 1000′s of hats to chose from, and we can get hats from each other usually within 24 hours.
You will also be able to visit us at the Blake Hall Wedding fayre on 11 Oct 09, where we will have a selection of hats on show for you to try.
How much do you hats cost?
Buying hats and fascinators start at £40 upto £500 for some couture hats.
Hiring hats and fascinators costs range from £20 – £90, with the average cost being £40
Can I bring my outfit to try on with your hats?
Yes, PLEASE do! It’s hard to find the perfect hat without your outfit, so we actively encourage all our customers to bring all of their outfit, including shoes, handbags and other acessories if they already have them. If you are looking for some accesories for your outfit we also stock a range of handbags, pashminas and jewellery.
How soon before the wedding do I need to think about hiring my hat?
If you are getting married around the time of Royal Ascot, you need to plan ahead and reserve your hat sometime in advance, but otherwise once you have your outfit, come and have a look as the earlier you come, the more choice you have, but I can always fit ‘last minute’ ladies in too.
How can I get in touch with Get Ahead Hats?
Get Ahead Hats
Goodards Farm
Thaxted
Great Dunmow
CM6 2RF
01371 832025
Email: Sharon.gill@getaheadhats.co.uk
Website: www.getaheadhats.co.uk
Do you deliver?
Our clients normally collect hire hats on thursday and Fridays, returning them on Mondays, however we are flexible. Clients who purchase their hats take them with them.
How often do you get new stock in?
Our winter stock starts arriving in September, with next spring and summer range arriving in March/April.
Friday, 2nd October 2009
A couple of weeks ago I posted a glimpse at Maja and Toby’s wedding pictures from their wedding in Gdansk, which included more pictures of the stunning city than their wedding. Now that the bride and groom are back from Honeymoon and have seen their pictures, here is a full post from their day.
Polish weddings have many other traditions that you don’t see at English weddings so I have included some of those to give you an insight into the customs and fun of a polish wedding.
We started the day at Maja’s mum’s house where we captured her stunning dress and some details, which I can’t resist posting.
The beautiful bride, ready to blow the socks off her groom!
A hint of England came to the day with the wedding car. A fantastic old London black cab. It’s tradition in Poland that the best man and bridesmaids travel with the bride and groom and so it needed to be able to carry them all.
This is the beautiful church. The only day we had any rain whilst in Gdansk, was on the morning of the wedding day, but a Polish guest told me that this was great news as it meant that if their were tears from the sky, there would be no tears from the bride and it would be a happy marriage.
The surprisingly cool calm and collected groom, not one for having his picture taken, Toby completely relaxed into on the day and I love this shot,
It started to rain slightly so to keep the boys dry before the bride arrived we used one of a pair of arches in front of the church.
No wedding is complete without some bling. In Poland their wear their wedding rings on the right hand, not left, however as they are living in England Maja and Toby have decided to wear theirs on the left hand.
The 3, yes that says 3, registers that need to be signed in Poland to legalise the marriage are signed on the main alter in the church.
When the bride and groom come out of the church, instead of throwing confetti, they throw small coins at the bride and groom to bring them prosperity. The bride and groom then have to pick them up!! (If you happen to be an uninitiated photographer and are busily snapping away you can find yourself getting hit on the head with small coins!!)
The receiving line is then held outside the church, not at the reception. During the receiving line the guests give flowers and gifts the bride and groom and it’s the job of the best man and bridesmaids to collect all of them.
When the couple arrive at the reception, everyone is gathered inside, and the first people to greet the newly married couple are the parents who offer them bread to eat. After some discussion in broken Polish/English, my understanding is that this isn’t just restricted to weddings. In Poland any quests to your home are always welcomed with bread by the head of the house.
After the bread, all the guests gather around the couple in a circle and toast the couple, once the toast is finished the bride and groom must finish their drink and throw the glasses over their heads to smash them. This is to ensure that no one else can drink from the glass and wish them bad luck. (The bride and groom are handed a dustpan and brush to clean it up, to instill good house keeping skills into them, a very rough translation!)
After the first couple of courses for dinner (there is food all night!!!!) it’s time for the first dance, this starts off with everyone dancing around the bride and groom in a circle and then the couple pick out the parents and bring them into the circle to dance with them.
Of course there was lots of vodka, it’s drunk either neat or with a small amount of water, adding anything else is considered – english!
The cake comes out at about 11pm, the room goes black without warning and then a firework display errupts from the cake as it’s wheeled in. Unlike our wedding cakes these are more like gateaux’s with each tier being a different flavour and the ‘icing’ is actually cream based.
There is plenty of energetic dancing and games played throughout the evening.
Instead of throwing her bouqet the bride throws her veil. Blind folded she stands in the middle of a circle of single girls who dance around her while the music plays. When the music stops she throws the veil. Who ever catches it is destined to be the next bride and re-enforce this she then wears teh veil for the rest of the evening.
To find out who she might marry, the groom is also blinded folded and the single men dance around him. When the music stops he throws his cravat, the man catching it must then wear it and have a first dance with the girl wearing the veil.
And then the most chaotic game of the night. To ensure future wealth for the bride and groom and dancing competition is run, where guests pay to dance with the bride and goom. There is a hat for the bride and one for the groom and guests pay as much or as little as they like. Once their money is in the hat, they must take their dance. This results in much hilarity as each person tries to move in to take their dance with the bride or groom. The last person to be dancing with them wins a prize and the then money in each hat is added up to see which member of the couple won too. Maja won on money, Toby had more dances.
For those eagle eyes out there you will see that there is a mix of english and polish money in the hat, as a mixed wedding what ever currency you had to hand could go in the hat.
The party goes on well into the next day, in fact we finally called it a day at 4am!! Having started shooting at midday this was the longest, most energetic wedding I have ever shot.
Maja and Toby, thank you for letting me capture your day. I had an amazing time and loved every exhausting minute of it! x
