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SHOPPING & FASHION
NON-NAFF NUPTIALS? Engaged? But also scunnered by frilly, over-styled, over-priced weddings? Laura Ennor shares some low budget, outdoorsy and interactive ideas
F or the blissfully engaged but not blinded by love, avoiding the traditional frillfest wedding is, thankfully, getting easier. The internet contains endless blogs and image-sharing sites full of inspiration, so instead of throwing in your lot with an established venue and its caterers, you can choose a pick’n’mix of diverse and innovative suppliers to help you do the big day your way.
But one thing hasn’t changed: a worrying lack of actual numbers to be found on the websites of many wedding-related businesses points to an expectation that we’ll pay whatever it costs to make our big day special. Blogs gush about making your wedding ‘reflect who you are’ – but what if who you are is someone who balks at the thought of spending three-figure sums on flowers? (If you’re one of those people, perhaps consider using potted flowering plants instead – which can double as favours at the end of the night.)
Inventive and non-wasteful approaches are something that Susie Young, half of ‘unconventional’ wedding planners Knot & Pop, is a big fan of. She also reckons a lot of couples, caught up in planning that one big day, forget about that one big day, forget about
giving themselves plenty of lasting mementos. ‘I love things that are interactive,’ she says, ‘or feel like a bit of an installation’ – things like the heart- shaped photo board that she designed for one couple’s guests to stick Polaroids to throughout the day – resulting in a wall-hanging that was a bit more lively than the average guestbook. With a background in event planning for big fashion brands, London-based, Glasgow-born Susie and partner started Knot & Pop in 2012 with a view to ‘mixing the pretty and the practical’. The pair have an eye for niggly practicalities – so even if you don’t have the cash for ‘full wedding management’, you can buy anything from an hour of consultancy time upwards, and just run some contracts and timings by them. They’ve also got an ‘enormous black book’ of contacts, so can help find that last piece of the jigsaw, be it a suitably raucous ceilidh band or someone to record your big day in novella form (really – see their blog, knotandpop.com/wedding- words for proof.)
As a designer and owner of Glasgow’s Stitchery studio, it was a given that Cassandra Belanger would make make her own wedding dress (a classy but relaxed numb number, in gorgeous Timorous Beasties moth- printe printed fabric), but it’s something she reckons many of us of us could do, with a bit of help: ‘if you’re new to sew to sewing, give yourself six months to a year to get some some skills under your belt, and if you don’t have the co the confidence on your own, find someone who can help help or register on a course.’ But there’s plenty you can d can do with far less expertise: Cassandra made table runne runners, napkins and bunting for her own wedding, which which pretty much just involve sewing rectangles and t and triangles, but make a venue look ‘styled’ at low cost. cost. Similarly, you could laser-cut invites and place settin settings at open-access facilities, or replicate the trend trendy-but-expensive photobooth phenomenon with a cam a camera, a frame and a prop box. Abo Above all, remember this sage advice from Knot & Pop’s Pop’s blog: ‘the basic ingredients for an incredible wedd wedding day are love, friendships, food, music and DAN to that. DANCING YOUR FACE OFF’. We’ll toast to that.
SHOPPING & FASHION
TIPS FOR THROWING A WEDDING YOUR WAY
❤ Ravensheugh Log Cabin is an excellent clifftop venue for rough and ready beachside charm, just outside Edinburgh. logcabinravensheugh.co.uk
❤ ‘Eco-chic romantique’ luxe wooden caravans for weddings and honeymoons in the Borders. roulotteretreat.com ❤ Fancy a piss-up in a brewery? West Brewery, in Glasgow’s Templeton Building, may be the perfect place for an ultra-classy one. westbeer.com
❤ Tulliebole Castle, near Perth, is Susie (see left) from Knot & Pop’s favourite castle for weddings. tullibolecastle.com
❤ Get married on the actual Local Hero beach, Camusdarach, just below Mallaig. camusdarach campsiteandbeach.co.uk ❤ Pyrus create wild, seasonal bouquets, an. foraged in East Lothian. pyrusflowers.co.uk
❤ Glasgow’s budget- - friendly Dragonfly Dress Design - Vintage does altered- vintage and bespoke designs. dragonflydressdesign.co.uk ❤ Naomi Kwant is Cassandra (see left) from the Stitchery’s pick of Glasgow-based dress designers. naomikwant. blogspot.co.uk
❤ The Stitchery does intro dressma dressmaking courses, private tu tuition and monthly dr drop-ins for those co considering DIY options. th the stitcherystudio.com
❤ ❤ MAKlab offers low- c cost laser cutting and a advice on DIY textiles and stationery in the
west. Hacklab provides shared facilities for laser cutting and printing in the east. maklab. co.uk; edinburghhacklab.com ❤ For everything else, try the Glasgow Wedding Collective; a one-stop shop for indie suppliers. theglasgowwedding collective.co.uk
(Laura Ennor)
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