THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone for yesterday!  The amazing exhibitors who made the day so wonderful, my fabulous helpers, Sue, Katie & Sharron, and the incredibly generous Jan & Nabila who volunteered via the Alzheimer's Society, the Clifton Pavilion staff and, of course, all the lovely couples and brides-to-be who visited us!

I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did - I have to say, seeing all those stunning stands makes me just want to get married all over again (to my husband, of course!)

Thanks to you, we raised £540.40 for the Alzheimer's Society, so thank you SO much for that too!

I'm in the process of contacting raffle winners at the moment  If you get a text or email from me do let me know how you'd like me to get your prize to you.  I'll be posting the list of winners once I've contacted everyone.

Photos from the day will be posted up here soon but, in the meantime, if you want a glimpse (or reminder) of yesterday, take a look at these two blogs:

Wedding Blog Designer and Tin Can Floral

BRISTOL VINTAGE CROCKERY & PROP HIRE

Without blowing our own trumpet we thought we ought to tell you a little bit about ourselves!  

Bristol Vintage was started by Ali & Katie nearly six years ago and in that time we've supplied crockery and afternoon tea services for scores of weddings, hen parties, baby showers and anniversary parties.

We adore all things vintage, particularly beautiful china, cutlery & props and we lovingly collect every piece ourselves.

Katie now runs her own company The Dandy Cabin while Ali has Bristol Vintage, but they still meet regularly over tea & cake to sort out the worlds' woes and plan their next adventure!

These days Bristol Vintage can supply afternoon tea crockery for up to 320 people, dinner crockery for up to 180 and lots of gorgeous props, like Mabel, Rose & Albert, our vintage bikes; vintage gramophones & records, cameras, books, our vintage sledge, picnic baskets, vintage throws - and can source other vintage items you might need.

Ali also sells one-off pieces of vintage ephemera and kitchenalia at one of our favourite places, Cox & Baloney's Vintage Boutique, where you can have a great cup of tea & cake on vintage china whilst shopping for all things vintage!

We really hope you'll love the fair - we do and we love meeting you and helping you with your wedding!

The Bristol Vintage Raffle!

Roll up, roll up for the Bristol Vintage raffle tomorrow. Your £1 entry fee to the Fair gets you 1 raffle ticket and you can buy as many tickets as you like. Here's a little taster of some of the truly wonderful prizes up for  grabs...

How about a Sunday overnight stay in one of Hotel du Vin's suites with breakfast for two?

Or £150 off any wedding package (in addition to the Fair discount) from Documentary Image.

How about a bespoke shirt from Brown in Town…

… or a bunch of flowers from Ruby and the Wolf.

There's a selection of Lido spa products, plus a gift voucher for a half day spa, a bottle of champagne and a Wild Year calendar from Babes in the Woods, a heart ring in silver from Clifton Rocks, a small boxed cake from Chocolate Delores, a silk flower corsage from Jacqueline Mulvaney and an engagement photo shoot from Jo Hansford Photography!

More? Ok… there's a framed Wild West print from Marie Man Photography and £100 off a full day package, there's a box of cupcakes from Bake My Cake, a selection of vintage haberdashery, lace and buttons from Clifton Hill Costume & Textiles, 10% off any Fishee Designs Photo Booth package (if booked before the end of April) and this Pheasant Feather Clip with vintage jewellery from Gemma Sangwine.

There's a large ivory, red or purple heart umbrella (big enough for two) from Lily & Louie, a pair of glamorous vintage-inspired earrings from Bridezillas, a jar of sweets from Sweet & Pretty, prop hire worth £75 from The Little Wedding Helper, 'Save the Date' Postcards designed by Lizzy-May and 25% off a Wedding Guest Book, invites or Photo Album from Your Unique Scrapbook.

Also up for grabs is a £25 voucher for Miss Jones Lingerie, a pair of Starlight earrings (worth £23) from Hermione Harbutt, a lace garter from LK Bespoke Bridal, a £50 Etsy voucher from Find Your Perfect Venue, a night's bed & breakfast stay in a stunning guest room at The Battleaxes, an A4 black & white line drawing of a married couple after their wedding by Rose Popay and 10% discount on a Heavenly Vintage dress.

There's a free overlay or tablecloth hire from Pudding Bridge, a discount voucher from Lilygrace Originals, a knicker making kit from Flo-Jo Boutique, bracelet or earrings from Jessica Charleston, a pair of handmade bridal knickers from Pearl Bespoke Dressmakers, a family day pass from our wonderful hosts Clifton Pavilion, 10% off when you book The Wilde Bunch and a 3-tier cake stand from Bristol Vintage plus a one hour massage from sister company Pure Bliss Massage!

  

All proceeds from the raffle go to The Alzheimer's Society and we're delighted that our sponsors Pretty Nostalgic are donating £12 for every subscription sold on the day.

So as not to disrupt the laid-back atmosphere of the day, Ali will be drawing the raffle silently at 2.30pm, listing the winners as she goes along. She'll make an announcement when the draw is complete so you'll be able to see if you're one of the lucky winners and take your prize away with you (or we'll email or call you to let you know the good news!) Make sure we have your details down correctly at the front desk!

LK Bespoke Bridal

Bristol Vintage is thrilled that LK Bespoke Bridal will be at our Fair this Sunday.

Lisa Keating designs and makes bespoke bridal wear and handmade corsets.

Her corsets are one-off works of art...

  

…and are created to be worn and seen as outer garments.

They'll enhance your natural shape, provide an elegant posture and can even reduce your waistline by 7 inches!

Lisa bases each individual corset on historical patterns, but adapts them for a more comfortable modern fit.

While each bespoke item is of an incredibly high standard, they can be made in as little as a few days and are surprisingly affordable.

  

So whether you're looking for a classic, elegant, theatrical or vintage look, check out Lisa's website or follow her on Twitter. Do come and meet her this Sunday at our Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair. She'll have some gorgeous corsets for you to see.

Bristol Vintage and the Alzheimer’s Society

There's something a little different about this years' Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair…

This year we're fundraising for a very important cause.

Bristol Vintage's own Ali Cook tells us a bit more: 

'This year I have decided to run a prize raffle and my exhibitors, the Zoo and some other great local companies have all very generously donated prizes for the event.

The reason is that I wanted to support a charity very close to my heart – the Alzheimer’s Society.  They’re a fantastic organisation, which works hard to help people suffering from dementia through fundraising, volunteers and research on the cause, cure, care and prevention of this disease.  Three of the team working at the Fair this year are volunteers for the Society.

My Gran suffered from dementia at the end of her life and sadly, my wonderful Mum was similarly diagnosed two years ago.  As a family, we are living through learning to adapt to Mum’s changing perception and the loss of some of her precious memories and, therefore, a little bit of herself.  It’s hard, particularly for her and my Dad, but we’ve got some fantastic support from nurses, doctors and local support groups and the Alzheimer’s Society is an invaluable resource for information and support to help us cope.

I love organising the fair and hope it’s a fabulous day for all those of you who visit and who exhibit and thank you all for helping me support this really great cause by attending or donating prizes.'

Ali x

Rachael Sweet, Community Fundraiser for Alzheimer's Society said:

'We're delighted that Ali has chosen to support us at the Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair. There are over 7,000 people living with dementia in Bristol and South Gloucestershire and our vital work in the community could not continue without donations from local fundraisers such as Ali. Money raised from events such as this enables us to help people live well with dementia today while researching a cure for tomorrow.'

Find out more about how you can fundraise for the society here, follow their great work on Facebook and Twitter and come and visit our Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair on March 16th. You'll be supporting a brilliant cause and did we mention there's some great prizes on offer? 

Pearl Bespoke Dressmakers

Bristol Vintage is thrilled to introduce you to Pearl Bespoke Dressmakers.

Pearl Bespoke design and make dresses for special occasions.

Whether it's a wedding dress or a bridesmaid's dress you're after…

…whether you're looking for a red carpet style, something more theatrical or a vintage reproduction, Pearl Bespoke will design and make it for you.

You can find out more by popping into Pearl's new bijou shop on Bristol's St Nicholas Street or check out her website, Facebook page and Twitter. Do make sure you come and meet her in person this Sunday at our Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair - she'll have some beautiful dresses for you to admire and will be on hand to answer your dress design questions.

(Thanks to Bang-Tidy Photography for Photos 1 & 3)

Marie Man Photography

Bristol Vintage is delighted to welcome back Marie Man.

As an experienced photojournalist, Marie Man documents your day in a natural, friendly and relaxed way that will retell your story beautifully for years to come. 

With her fashion photography background you have the option to get as creative as you like...

...and you'll be free to enjoy your day, soak up the atmosphere and spend time with friends and family, safe in the knowledge that it's all being recorded for you and for the generations to come.

All of Marie's packages include a pre-wedding shoot. Her full day packages start at £1,400 and she's happy to travel anywhere.

In her own words: "I'm delighted to be part of the Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair as it's great to be able to exhibit in my home town and I love the effort that Ali puts into the Fair every year. All the better that we can support a great cause this year too. I'm looking forward to it so much!"

Find out more on Marie's website, blog and Facebook page, but do make sure you come along to our Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair this Sunday (March 16th). Marie will be on hand to show you her work and chat about your upcoming wedding!

Brown in Town, Tailors and Atelier

Bristol Vintage is thrilled to introduce you to Brown in Town.

The Founder of Brown in Town Tailors and Atelier is the incredibly stylish David Minns.

Known as Bristol’s local tailor, David has been meeting the sartorial needs of the sartorially discerning for over 5 years in the West Country.

David provides a personal bespoke tailoring service from Hotel Du Vin's old cigar humidor, to gents with a discerning eye…

... grooms looking for something individual…

...and those for whom a suit is their modus operandi and who understand first impressions last.

You can contact David on 0117 3180 608 or 07864 087288 and connect with him on his blog, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn but come and meet him this Sunday (March 16th) at our Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair. David (along with Douglas) will be kitted-out by way of example and inspiration and David will be on hand to answer your questions.  Form an orderly queue! 

John P Crooner

Bristol Vintage would like to tell you about John P Crooner.

John P is a singer who specialises in weddings.

Whether it's for your drinks reception or your evening entertainment, John P sings classic standards, big band and swing.

His influences include Sinatra, Buble, Matt Monro, Dean Martin and Bobby Darin (to name a few) and he's always open to requests.

John P's skill is building a wonderful connection with the audience, singing a little something for everyone. His singing is sophisticated, but with a party feel.

Find out more on John P's Facebook page or follow him on Twitter, but make sure you come and hear him sing live at our Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair on March 16th.