SAVE THE DATE - BRISTOL VINTAGE WEDDING FAIR 2017!

I am really excited to be announcing the launch of the 2017 Bristol Vintage Wedding Fair for so many reasons!

As Zoe is now the owner of Bristol Vintage I'm really lucky to have the opportunity to organise one more fair whilst she is discovering all the wonders of the crockery world.  

But even more exciting is that this year, I am organising the fair in partnership with Kirsten Butler, aka The Little Wedding Helper.  Kirsten is an award winning wedding stylist and we've been friends and collaborators since the very early days of Bristol Vintage.  She'll be tweeting, face booking, pinning, instagramming and generally shouting out about our fabulous exhibitors over the next few weeks and I'm really enjoying working with her on my final fair.

The wonderful Moomie Swan has, yet again, come up with the amazing artwork for this year's fair.  We're holding the fair in January this year, and we gave Moomie the briefest of briefs yet she came up with this wintry-themed poster which knocked our socks off!  How much more romantic can you get?

As always, the fair will be held in the stunning Clifton Pavilion, Bristol Zoo Gardens, over two floors with the best hand-picked exhibitors we can find. There's everything from original vintage and vintage-inspired dresses and accessories, one-off millinery designs, stunning photography, beautiful flowers, delicious cakes as well as fabulous entertainment and pretty much everything you can possibly think of for a vintage style wedding.

Over the next few weeks we'll be showcasing our gorgeous exhibitors on the blog so watch out for our shout-outs on the Bristol Vintage and Little Wedding Helper social media.  All the Bristol Vintage media links can be found on this page, but below are Kirsten's links. We hope you'll be as excited as we are - and look forward to seeing you in January for our best fair yet!

Little Wedding Helper

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HOTEL DU VIN WEDDING SHOOT

On a rainy October day last year a wonderful group of creative people joined us to collaborate on a photoshoot at one of our favourite Bristol Venues - Hotel du Vin, and I can happily report we had so much fun, resulting in these stunning photos from Matt & Joe of Always You Photography

Hyder Syed & Charlotte Felski with flowers from The Pink Peony 

A few months before, myself and Siobhan Thomas, joint owner of Queenie the Cocktail Caravan were wondering how we could promote our photo wall for weddings and parties and we came up with the idea of a photoshoot.  We started talking to some of our wonderful friends  about working together to showcase our talents and approached Helen at Hotel du Vin, Bristol and all was set!

Charlotte Felski models bridal wear from Lisa Keating Bridal with flowers from The Pink Peony

If you regularly read this blog, you'll know I'm a massive fan of Lisa Keating Bridal, an independent designer whose work is handcrafted and made to measure to couture standards.  Lisa's beautiful work is featured here and it was lovely to have her with us on the day to dress the bride - she's great fun and passionate about everything she does and her attention to detail and styling is superb.

Hair accessory from Vintage Button Bridal Designs

Accessories were loaned by Clare Lloyd of Vintage Button Bridal Designs.  Clare is an absolute delight to work with and loves what she does.  It was such a treat for me to visit her workshop in Frome.  I literally cannot walk past Clare's work without feeling like a kid in a sweet shop and found it so hard to choose accessories for the shoot that Clare really kindly indulged me, letting me take a whole box full!

Make up by Rashida Foy

Our friend Rashida Foy is a great make-up artist - able to create beautiful subtle bridal make-up, as she did for this shoot - as well as amazing creative work on alternative shoots.  We love her flexibility and her laid back attitude

Hyder Syed modelling a waistcoat by Mark Keating

We were so lucky to have two really incredible models for the day.  Hyder Sayed came from London for the shoot and was so professional, gave loads of input and was such an all round good guy.  Tall, dark & handsome, he was the perfect foil to Bristol based Charlotte Felski, our beautiful pale-skinned natural red-head!  Both have lots of modelling experience and we felt really spoilt to have them as part of the team!

Charlotte Felski models Lisa Keating Bridal design

Charlotte's hair by Bonominihair

Charlotte's stunning hair was styled by Bonominihair, a brilliant salon in Clifton who have a great reputation and a very loyal clientele.  

Flowers by The Pink Peony

The flowers are the creation of Laura Connelly from The Pink Peony.  Laura's lovely to work with and has the most wonderful eye for colour and shape.  Her designs literally brought everything to life, drawing the eye and completing every picture. 

Hair accessory by Vintage Button Bridal Designs

Vintage wear - Bristol Vintage

We hadn't worked with Matt & Joe before, but they made the day so easy.  We had a shot list which they ran with and made their own - covering everything and more with so little fuss.  I'm thrilled with the pics of my vintage crockery & props and it was great fun working with them.

Props - Bristol vintage

Cake - Chocolate Delores Cakes

A wedding shoot wouldn't be complete without cake and WHAT cake! Chocolate Delores is queen of the chocolate wedding cake and her creations always bring a  real magic to any shoot.  She also TOTALLY spoilt us by bringing some of her hand made chocolates for us to share and her work seriously is not only some of the most beautiful but also the most delicious!

Charlotte & Hyder model the photo wall & props 

Beautiful bridal shoes from The White Collection Bridal Boutique

Hyder models suit and accessories by Mens Hire.  Working gramophone - Bristol Vintage

Mens Hire, Bristol, loaned us Hyder's vintage-style groom's wear.  They did a brilliant job as we had to work from measurements alone - and he looked great!

We have to thank Hotel du Vin for letting us use their fabulous venue for the day.  Hotel du Vin has been my favourite Bristol Hotel since it first opened over 16 years ago and it was the first place I thought of.  It has a wonderful, relaxed feel and the staff are so professional yet somehow manage to be friendly and laid-back - we didn't really want to leave!

Bristol Vintage's 'Mabel' modelling The Pink Peony's flowers!

Props from Bristol Vintage

Chocolate Delores Seashell cake with Bristol Vintage props

Chocolate Delores white chocolate cake

Thanks are also due to Sarah Daly - our styling assistant.  Sarah has been working in the wedding industry for the last year learning her trade as a Wedding Planner.

Also thank you to Catherine, Lisa Keating's gorgeous daughter, who also helped us on the day!

Thanks to everyone who was involved  - we LOVED the day and the results and we'd love to do it all over again!!!

If you're interested in booking the photo wall & chaise, do email (ali@bristolvintage.co.uk) or call on 07791 898650.

Supplier list:
Venue: Hotel Du Vin, Bristol
Photography - Always You Photography
Bridal Wear - Lisa Keating Bridal
Bride's Shoes - The White Collection Bridal
Grooms Outfit - Mens Hire Bristol
Accessories - Vintage Button Bridal Designs
MUA - Rashida Foy
Hair - Bonomini Hair
Cakes - Chocolate Delores Cakes
Flowers - The Pink Peony
Photo Wall - Queen the Cocktail Caravan & Bristol Vintage
Crockery & Props - Bristol Vintage
Photo Shoot Assistant - Sarah Daly 

RUTH GARNER - THIS YEAR'S OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER

We're incredibly lucky this year to have the wonderful Ruth Garner acting as our official photographer.  With her informal, yet professional style of photography, Ruth has a reputation for her acute attention to detail and relaxed approach to wedding and portrait photography, creating candid and natural reportage shots of your day.

Ruth Garner realised she loved being behind the lens at age eight, when she got her first camera! After completing a BA Hons degree at the University of Plymouth in 2003, Ruth went on to launch her photography business and since then has witnessed over 50 weddings, photographed tens of newborns and shot photographic assignments through the UK and all over the world.

With her informal, yet professional style of photography, Ruth has a reputation for her fantastic service and a love of her clients.  Every client is special to her and, as she says "I believe that your wedding day will pass you by in such a flash that you should only be concerned with having a good time.  As such you can leave the worry of your photos to me, safe in the knowledge that I've got my eye on everything."

You'll see Ruth in action around the venue, so do feel free to chat to her about her work - and watch this space for her photos of the day!

Ruth Garner Photography
Email: mail@ruthgarnerphotography.com
Tel: 07779 008245
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JO HANSFORD PHOTOGRAPHY - BEAUTIFUL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY AND MUCH MORE!

We're so pleased that Jo Hansford Photography are able to join us again for this year's fair.  Jo & her husband Nic have such a lovely, relaxed style and their stunning pictures speak for themselves.  Not only do they take amazing wedding photographs, but they are also have a way with animals as you'll see from the links below.  In fact Jo took the most wonderful photos of my dogs, which I really cherish.  Over to Jo to tell you a bit about them and their work (and thanks to Jo for her lovely words about the Fair!)

"We were over the moon when Ali and the Bristol Vintage team asked us to exhibit at the upcoming show this March. For us, this show has always encompassed everything a wedding fair should be, from its collection of inspirational, quality suppliers, to its beautiful location on the edge of Clifton village, and its fantastic atmosphere and organisation, all brought together in the capable hands of Ali Cook and co.

Our style encompasses natural, informal photography, with an element of more classical imagery and direction from us, to ensure we capture the best from any location and couple. Nic & I have been working together since 2004, capturing over 350 weddings from all over the UK as well as Italy and Spain. We combine our two styles to offer our couples an amazing blend of images as a memory of their wedding day. My first love has always been natural light, creating soft and beautiful images, Nic adds in a more technical element with a passion for lighting and dramatic shots. As a duo, we are always keen to get to know our couples, their style and taste, as much as possible, to make each wedding capture as unique and personal as possible.

In the last few years, we have  been busy introducing a new element into our work, capturing our "four legged friends", horses and dogs. In our relatively short time working in this field, we have been commissioned by the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art in Jerez de la Frontera (www.realescuela.org), have captured the British eventing legends Mary and Emily King jumping furniture on their horses (!), and travelled to the Isle of Skye to photograph the "Homecoming" event with HRH Princess Anne, celebrating and promoting the rare breed the Skye Terrier.

If you have any other "family" - horses, dogs, cats, sheep, rabbits....pigs....you would like included in your wedding photoshoot, we both love doing something new and different!

You can look through our wedding, equine and canine work on our site here:

http://www.johansfordphotography.com/portfolio/weddings/weddings/

http://www.johansfordphotography.com/portfolio/equine/equine/"

Jo Hansford Photography
Email: jo@johansfordphotography.com
Tel: 0117 953 5801
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