wedding brooch bouquet

 

This summer past was all about weddings for me - either attending them, photographing them or making things for them. And so here are some pictures of a brooch bouquet I made for a friend from my hometown who got married in very the same chapel that Danny and I did.

 

She gave me some brooches to include that had belonged to her mother and mother-in-law and some pendants that were hers from childhood including a celtic cross and a hurley stick. A really sweet touch was to put photos from the two parent's weddings into a little locket hanging from the handle of the bouquet. I think I'll steal that idea for again.

 

 

I also made the beaded headpiece you can see here which had three strands in front and three at the back. Again this was Jane's idea and she gave me the brooches to incorporate, but it's something I'd love to try again and was surprisingly easy to make, especially considering the exorbitant prices they charge for these things in bridal shops.

 

The only problem with working in the wedding industry though is that it always makes me wish I could get married all over again!

 

 

Black Box Bazaar this Sunday.

picture from http://www.irishcomicnews.com/

The Black Market in Belfast has been reborn as the Black Box Bazaar and it's on this Sunday 11th September at, surprise surprise the Black Box.There will be a range of stalls selling crafts, vintage, records, food and all manner of loveliness

And I've just snatched up a last-minute table at it! From me you can expect book trees, record bowls, cake stands, and I expect lots of mulled wine to be involved.

Do say you'll come.

Quirky wedding fair

Yesterday I took part in the Quirky Wedding Fair that took place in the Crescent Arts Centre in Belfast. Four of us squeezed our things onto one table - my sister in law Lucy and 'The Lulu Lounge' - her brow and lash salon, Fiona who has a foot parlour in the same place and our friend Gavin who is a make up artist.

I brought down some of my cake stands and the brooch and origami bouquets. It was a really fun day and I had a great time chatting to all the brides to be. Who knows whether I'll get any business out of it, but we had a great time either way.

Below are Fiona and Gavin behind our rather makeshift table display.

Origami bouquets cost £40 and brooch bouquets start at £150. Leave a comment or email me at maevep22@hotmail.com if you'd like to discuss possible commissions.

For sale at the Lulu Lounge

Here are some of my wares for sale in a cabinet at the Lulu Lounge salon at the Fountain Centre in Belfast. For sale: vintage cake stands, brooch bouquets, personalised photo globes, silhouette portraits and record bowls. Call in or contact me for more information about any items.

Quirky weddings

There was a quirky wedding fair on yesterday in Belfast which involved people walking around various venues offering wedding services. I hung out at my sister in law's salon 'The Lulu Lounge' and her best friend is about to open a new foot salon there, complete with those little fish which nibble on your feet, I can't wait to try it out.

My mother in law made some amazing fairy cakes (we're sick of the cupcake obsession) and I had a few cake stands and my vintage brooch bouquet on display. It was really good fun, mostly because we spent most of the day eating and drinking the cava and nibbles set out for visitors.

Brooch bouquets made to order priced £100 - £300

Origami/button/butterfly bouquets available from £35

Wedding bouquet with vintage brooches

I got married last July and in the run up to it I was slightly hooked on the amazing website http://www.offbeatbride.com/ where I came across this freaking amazing vintage brooch bouquet pictured above, made by Studio del Fiore. Unfortunately their prices were a little beyond my price range (by about £800). So I decided to try and make my own.

I set about gathering brooches - from my grandmothers collections, from charity shops and from very generous friends and family. The problem then was how to go about making it. Various instructions I found online didn't work out for me but after some trial and error and much gnashing of teeth I settled on using a polystyrene ball with a fine wire mesh over it, onto which I wired the brooches. It took quite a lot of time and effort but I loved what I ended up with and I'd like to think it will be an heirloom of the future to pass on to my daughters for their wedding days.

These are the three bouquets my sisters and I carried. Helen and I made the origami flower one that she is holding on the left and Maria's butterfly bouquet was made very simply with butterflies ordered online from a florists supply company. Leave a comment if you'd like a tutorial for either. And I am willing to take orders to make a unique brooch bouquet for your wedding - and I promise to charge significantly less than £800!

last image by our awesome photograher, Ronan O'Donnell.