Time for another Bridal blog! This week, our lovely winter bride, Louise Hynes, is talking about some amazing wedding suppliers she has managed to scoop up for her big day….
I always think that being a wedding supplier has to be a very rewarding job. What could be better than knowing that people want you to be a part of their special day because of the loveliness you create? The first person I booked for my wedding was a wedding supplier whose work I had admired in magazines and blogs. I knew her style was for me and knew that Carrie from Best of Buds florist in Tralee was the florist I had to have for my wedding day. I love that she not only makes amazing flower arrangements but adds that extra sparkle with her lanterns, props and of course her brooch bouquets. I am currently liaising with her on my bouquet which is a mixture of brooches and handcrafted flowers. I asked Carrie if I could include something I saw on pintrest to make it a bit different and straight away she had what I needed. I love that we clicked from the beginning and share similar tastes. I am very excited about what she is creating on the aisle. I recently met her and again was blown away by her ideas for the day. She will definitely add the sparkle on the day.
My bouquet is being made to match my headpiece which was made by another favourite designer of mine Yvonne Crotty from Bonzie Designs or Bonzie as I like to call her. I first spotted Bonzie’s work when I saw her statement necklaces for Folkster and I instantly fell in love. I was so excited to see that she created the most beautiful and romantic headpieces. I brought my dress down to her beautiful shop and gallery in Waterford city so she could make something to match my dress. I really have never seen anything like her shop. My mum and I were blown away by everything in it. She has the most amazing floor I have even seen which she did herself by getting lots of vintage postcards printed. She is so creative and so lovely to work with. The headpiece she has created for me is romantic, bold and will definitely create an impact on the day. She is delighted that I am wearing it and it makes me excited that she is excited. She knows Carrie too and liaised with her about my headpiece so that it can be made to compliment my bouquet. She also made a fabulous hat for my mum to match her outfit. My mum will be dressed from head to toe by Irish designers which I am very proud of. It is important to me that I include work of the very talented suppliers and independent designers that we have here in Ireland on our special day.
There were wedding suppliers who I knew about before I started planning my wedding and then there were those who I luckily found while spending hours lost on Etsy. I have always been a fan of Etsy and for a bride to be it is a real inspiration. While looking in the vintage invitations section with my hubby to be we came across the most beautiful art deco 1920’s style wedding invitations. They were exactly what we were looking for. A woman in America called Diana Weir from Invited Design created them and was a pleasure to liaise with. We put our own Christmas spin on them and were both so excited when they arrived and opened them together. Holding your wedding invitations definitely makes it more real. We were both so excited to send them out and get people’s reactions.
I have never had so much nice feedback from people about something before. Everyone commented that they are so different, so lovely and totally us. I also got my table numbers off Etsy from a wonderful woman in Kilkenny ‘Dalia’s Woodland’ and the cake topper from a woman in America is currently on it ways to me but that is a surprise for the groom. I have also picked up paper lanterns from a truly lovely place online called ‘Wedding in a teacup’. Their lanterns are amazing and will add a little extra to the wedding photos. I had to get permission to use them in the grounds of our hotel as it is situated in the middle of a national park.
When choosing wedding suppliers I wanted to use small businesses as much as possible. I also wanted to use suppliers that reflected our personalities and I think of off the people we have chosen do just that. My advice for future brides to be is that if you find a supplier whose work excites you and who you instantly bond with then you are off to a good start! Plus don’t get carried away as I have done on occasion, pick a theme and stick to it! Our theme changed from ‘Game of Thrones’ (actually that was just a dream of my Fiancé’s) to a slightly vintage rustic Christmas wedding! I was at a local Christmas market recently and came across a business called ‘Snow Business’ that supplies glittery snow so now I am off to order it for our tables. Our hotel won’t know what has hit them when they see me unloading lots of boxes from the car!
