A while back I was chuffed to bits to be part of the Vintage Bride Designer Sale which was held in central London. The event was held at the gorgeous wedding venue One Marylebone and it was such a great day! Fantastic wedding vendors and lots of excited brides to be… the sun shone through the big windows and all the suppliers stands looked totally gorgeous! Best of all it was my first time ‘out there’ as a wedding blogger, meeting and greeting you lovely brides to be… As the venues ‘official stylist’ I was a tad nervous to tell the truth, but I needn’t have been, there was a real camaraderie in the air {hmmm… was that down to all the yummy cocktails??} and it was just like hanging out with my mates ‘talking weddings’, bliss…
No worries if you didn’t get the chance to pop down, it was such a huuuuge success they’re going to hold another one!! Why not take a look at what went down at this lovely wedding event and I’ll keep you posted on when the next one is due :)
{Image credits: Kat Hill Fotographie © 2012}
The first ever “Vintage Bride Designer Sale” was held at One Marylebone on Sunday 25 March and what a fabulous, fun day it was, bringing together the very cream of the wedding industry’s luxurious and vintage inspired suppliers, all complimenting one another beautifully. It was a wonderful bridal one stop shop with a difference, where brides could meet the designers in person, utilising their expertise to help them complete their wedding day outfits, and take advantage of all the amazing discounts on offer whilst sipping a cocktail or indulging in a spa treatment. This was the ultimate luxury bride’s day out… on a budget!
Organised by Sabina Ali from Sabina Motasem Bride, Kelly Spence, Victoria Holt from Fred & Ginger and Kat Hill and One Marylebone in just two weeks, the inaugural Vintage Bride Designer Sale saw 300 brides attend over the day. Half of all the brides arrived in the first hour and were warmly welcomed with a luxury goody bag filled with delights from AVEDA, OPInail polish and amazing discount vouchers from exhibitors before heading straight for the bargain wedding dresses on offer.
These beautiful photos were taken by the super talented Kat Hill, who was on hand to offer photography advice to the brides as well. There was also expertise from wedding planner Boutique Wedding, floristry from Wild About, lighting and production from Bespoke Events, one of the World’s premier event and management companies, and advice from Sonia Collett from one of the UK’s favourite bridal blogs, Want That Wedding.
First stop, the wedding day outfit, at the ‘Boutique’. There were understated, elegant pieces from Sabina Motasem Bride, including samples from the very first collection on sale from just £200 and 20% off all dresses from the main collection. The Bridal Path, based in Sawbridgeworth had sample dresses from Amanda Wakeley, Stuart Parvin and Anita Masserelli and to complete the bargains Melanie Potro‘s beautifully cut beaded dresses started from £300. Brides accessorised their dresses with discounted stunning silk veils, hair accessories and jewellery from Kelly Spence while enjoying stunning vintage hair trials and make up from Elle au Naturel. They were treated to 20% off beautiful bridal lingerie from Fred & Ginger (one of the world’s top 30 lingerie brands) and could then complete their look with stunning mother of pearl heeled shoes from Freya Rose and exquisite beaded hats from Edwina Ibbotson who had discount vouchers in the goody bags.
It didn’t stop there! Many of the brides decided to celebrate a successful day’s bridal shopping relaxing in ‘The Haven’, a pop-up bar nestled in the sumptuous surroundings of One Marylebone. They nibbled on a delicious lemon drizzle cupcake from Charlotte White at Restoration Cake, sipped on a bespoke complimentary cocktail of their choice from Kate O’Neill at Cocktail Stars, whilst listening to the heavenly harp and vocal stylings Sounds Serene. At one point the awe inspiring master calligrapher Paul Antonio, who wrote beautiful name badges for all the exhibitors, treated us to his beautiful operatic voice. What an unexpected treat!
Next stop… ‘The Boudoir’, a place the whole bridal party to enjoy, where they found outfits for other weddings and events from sample cocktail and day dresses at Sabina Motasem and Kate Tailyour, then treated themselves to express lash extensions from Shereen Scott from The Lash Makeover (Everinessence) who was kept busy all day, whilst mum indulged in a massage from Urban Retreat or a ground breaking OPI gelcolour manicure which miraculously dried within seconds at Chi Yu Spa.
And the men? They were not forgotten! The fiancés (and also many of the exhibitor’s husbands too!) were found at the Haven bar, enjoying the complimentary drams and whiskey sours from expert Mark Thompson at Dramatic Whisky who was also running a fun whiskey Hoopla game. One husband to be commented it was the best Whiskey Sour he had ever tasted – nice to keep the fiancés happy!
All in all… a pretty fun, fabulous, relaxing, luxury bride’s day out. This first event was a huge success and we are planning lots of amazing things for the next one and committed to bringing you more bridal luxury at amazing prices and the very best in bridal beauty. Watch this space for exciting details of the next event and email us on [email protected] for more information.
Here’s what some of the brides said about the day:
“With a month to go until my wedding, I visited the Vintage Wedding Show with my mum. I picked up some last minute bits that I needed…luxurious wedding nightwear from Fred and Ginger, a lovely veil from Kelly Spence and a spare pair of shoes from Freya Rose. All this whilst mum enjoyed a massage and free cocktails in lovely surroundings. The Vintage Bride Designer Sale was definitely worth the visit.” Maria Charalambous
“As a lover of all things vintage, I was excited to attend the Vintage Bride Designer Sale that was recommended to me by my maid of honor. I was greeted by a warm smile and eye catching floral display. I also received a goody bag which was filled with lush products from Aveda and lots of information about suppliers in attendance. I felt like a mini VIP! We went straight to the bar area, where we chatted with a mobile drinks supplier and were offered a free cocktail! I could have sat there for ages. I especially enjoyed the red velvet cupcakes I sampled from Restoration Cakes. It was subtle and classy and what I loved the most was how all the suppliers were professional and complimented each other. Another great element of the event was being able to sample veils, dresses and even get a makeover, be it your lashes, hair or face! I was able to try on a birdcage veil, which after spending months trying to decide on a veil, finally confirmed that this style would suit my dress and overall theme. I was totally fascinated by the Scribe who delicately wrote my name in traditional calligraphy. I’ve never seen Elizabeth written in such a breathtaking way and I will be framing the memento! From there I had a chance to have a lash makeover, which again helped me finalise my choice of individual lashes for my big day. So while tucking into yet another red velvet cupcake before heading off home to Surrey, I took a few minutes to reflect on the day. Attending the event with my 6 month old daughter and feeling relaxed, happy and well tended to, is definite a testament to how well the event was organised. I loved the simplicity of it, which to me describes vintage….elegant simplicity.” Elizabeth Ottoo
“The fair was wonderful and One Marylebone is a fantastic location. What was nice was that the fair didn’t feel like a big wedding show, it felt more personal and lots of the bridal wear and accessories had a bit of a vintage feel to them, which I love! The best bit about the fair for me was finding my dress by Sabina Motasem and a Chantilly lace jacket from Bridal path, which I think has a bit of 1930’s glamour about it and I can’t wait to wear it on my wedding day!” Rosie Tate
What an absolutely awesome day! Well done to everyone involved ~ it was sooo lovely to meet you and hope to see you soon.
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Lovely images of the day!
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