Once settled at the hotel, Beckie and I swiftly opened a bottle of champagne to start off the evening whilst getting glammed up. On arrival at the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Arts we joined the long queue to get in, where we were given our name badges and a super goody bag. Please look at the LMD blog to see the list of suppliers who provided these goodies, along with the list of everyone who helped to make this such a stunning event.

With a glass of bubbly in our hands (the start of a long night of quaffing champagne…!) we started to mingle amongst the guests. It was such a brilliant way to meet all the people from the industry who I had heard about or seen on Twitter, to finally be able to put faces to names. First I talked with Jon from Jon Keith Diamonds and his lovely wife, who was looking radiant in pregnancy. Beckie and I then consumed the yummy canapes with Andri from Always Andri Wedding Design, after which at the bar we bumped into Dominic and Helen, the creative duo from Cutture. I popped outside for some fresh air after the breath-taking show by Vicky Butterfly, where I was introduced to wedding dress designer Sassy Holford.

There were so many other lovely people I met in queues for the bar, queues for the ‘ladies’ and literally when bumping into them. I finally managed to track down the lovely Annabel from Love My Dress and I was able to congratulate her for organising such a fantastic event. People had come from far and wide to be here this night which is proof of her popularity and success as one of the top wedding bloggers out there today. Well done Annabel and thank you!

First Class!

Getting ready for the party!

Beckie from Temple Gregory by the Millennium Bridge

Always Andri and the lovely lady handing out the goody bags!

Waiting in line

Only one glass of champagne left...that'll be mine then!

AVA Event Styling

more lovely styling by  AVA Event Styling

Sweets by The Boutique Baking Company

Burlesque by Vicky Butterfly

Burlesque by Vicky Butterfly

Beckie and me enjoying the party...and the champagne!

Photos by Snaparazzi

The Millennium Bridge lit up at night

The event was to raise money for breast cancer so I offered to photograph the event for Erika. It was a great evening of networking and learning new skills! There were 4 ladies who gave very interesting talks. We learnt how to walk in high heels, how to understand our love relationships better (!), we learnt about cosmetic proceedures for the aging woman, and we even had an introduction to Tantra. The most enterntaining part of the event was being given a short lesson in the art of Burlesque by a true burlesque legend, Jo King. She had us all out of our seats, wiggling our hips and striking seductive poses! It was a lot of fun, which you will see from the photos below….

Jo King - Burlesque Legend!

Goodies on offer during the evening, and Erika's Laboutins! Wish they were on offer too!

Nicole de Carle lingerie and Jo King

Erika Unbehaun introducing the evening and Michele teaching us how to walk in high heels!

Learning sexy (!) Burlesque moves

Learning a bit of Tantra

Erika Unbehaun from Flutterfly Events

Checking out the sexy lingerie and a lucky winner of one of the raffle prizes

Outside Earls Court exhibition centre

The small lake showcasing a house boat (on the right!)

After a cup of coffee and a croissant, we were taken over to an area where three buildings had been set up or actually built. Two of the buildings were replicas from the set of TV program Coronation Street: The Rovers Return pub and Ken and Deirdre Barlow’s home! Now, I don’t watch Coronation Street but my Granny used to so it holds some very fond childhood memories, and I was a bit star struck when I met Ken Barlow!

Outside the Rover's Return

Ken Barlow being papped!

On the 'set' of Coronation Street

Inside Ken and Deirdre's home

A second house had been built, yes built, inside the exhibition hall – in 4 days! This was the ‘Prince’s House’, funded and built by The Prince’s Foundation. This house is HRH The Prince of Wales’s answer to eco-living – a traditionally built low carbon home made from natural materials. It was a stunning home and the interior styling was breathtakingly beautiful. I want my home to look like this.

'Prince's House' built by The Prince's Foundation

The Kitchen and a great little chair

The living room

The bedrooms

The gorgeous main bedroom

I also visited a company called 3M‘s stand, who were exhibiting their damage-free hanging solutions. Their picture hanging strips mean that you don’t have to bang nails into your walls, they simply act like velcro and pull off the wall, without damaging the paint. It is an ingenious solution to hanging pictures without making a mess of your walls. I found this particulary exciting because I am having a stand at The In Wedding Show in April and I have been told that I can’t bang nails into the walls to hang my pictures. As my pictures are what I’m all about, I was getting rather anxious as to how I would show them off. Now I have the perfect solution!

And finally…

A photobooth in a black cab - very clever!

This December, tucked away in an East London nook, an all day Christmas Festival presents a vintage alternative to festive shopping and entertainment – offering refuge from the misery of Oxford Street and fizzless Christmas parties.

From 1.00pm on Sunday December 12th, the regal Queen of Hoxton pub will play host to an unconventional festive extravaganza with a bursting line-up that includes carols, cabaret and Christmas karaoke. All based in a location lined with vintage market stalls, selling treats, trinkets, and vintage treasures.

Each stall will offer something different, as an alternative present for friends and loved ones. The day will be filled with on-spot raffles including bottles of champagne and festival tickets. Adding a traditional sparkle to the Festival, vintage hair and make-up teams will be on hand to make guests up into a style from their favourite decade (40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s). Just in time for the evening’s shenanigans.

Tickets allow guests entry from 1.00pm through to the end of the night, to enjoy a party lined with mulled wine and mince pies.

Tickets cost just £6 and each ticket sold will be donated to St Mungo’s to buy a homeless Londoner a hot Christmas dinner on December 25th.

To buy a ticket, visit Event Brite. Posted on behalf of Love London Vintage

Love Vintage London Christmas Festival

And in a shoe!

The Modern Bride Show took place on the weekend of the 5th, 6th and 7th November. The reason it has taken until today to write my blog is because I am still recovering from it!

Leading up to the show took many hours of planning, coordinating, image selection and printing. It all came together wonderfully and I am so pleased with how the show went. We talked to many wonderful brides-to-be and made lots of new friends with other suppliers in the wedding industry.

Nothing went wrong, apart from having a minor heart attack when I was told, on the set up morning, that the sofa was still in Macclesfield, in the North of England!! Prop house Granger Hertzog were fabulous at taking control of the situation and getting it to me by the afternoon.

I would like to thank Rebel Rebel for their amazing flower arrangements. They followed my brief brilliantly and came up with extremely creative designs. I’ve never seen a flower arrangement in a handbag, have you? Thank you to Pippa Jameson for her brilliant interior design ideas and to my friend Rich Ryan for his invaluable support on the set up day – I couldn’t have hung those pictures with out him!

Many thanks also go to Melissa for assisting me for the 3 days, Glyphics for the signage, Max Wade for the framing, BHS for the loan of the chandelier and Ikea for the loan of the tables. But biggest thank you of all goes to my Dad for ferrying me there and back everyday, driving the van, putting up with my ‘occasional’ stress-head, and for being my own personal chef and making sure I ate well all weekend. I was very impressed, he actually managed to cook more than just eggs!

Pearl Pictures' stand

Me looking slightly nervous on day 1! One of the beautiful flower arrangements

Flowers in a handbag - so clever

And in a shoe!

...a few more

I would also like to mention one of my fellow suppliers at the event who really stood out from the rest. Her name is Kate from Lucky Dips and Little People. Kate is full of wonderful ideas on how to present your place names at the wedding. She listens to your themes and personal interests and suggests ways that fit in with the decor of your wedding day. She really does have some fantastic and clever ideas. Look out for her when she launches her website soon.

Pearl Pictures' table, displaying all our gorgeous products!

Isabella Weddings at reception and our table decorations

Novel ideas for place settings by 'Lucky Dips and Little People'

The venue by the Solent, Southampton

Although the company is based in the US, you can use this site anywhere in the world to communicate to your guests about your upcoming nuptials – which is particularly handy if you have relatives in another country or are getting hitched abroad. Create a free website and get replies to RSVPs, make announcements, blog about what’s going on, share photos and pick up inspiration from their Ideas and Trends section (definitely worth a look even if you don’t need help planning your wedding!)

Check out these screen examples of a website made by Cordelia who has used it to plan her two ceremonies – one in Germany where she is from, and one in England, where she and her fiance live.

Wedding Events section to let your guests know what’s going on and when

Guestbook so that your guests can leave comments

RSVP section for your guests to reply

We thought this was wonderful alternative to the traditional thank you card. You could print an 8 page newspaper and send to all your guests!

As posted in a blog by a recent groom - www.crackunit.com