Saturday 22 September 2012

Simply fabulous! NEW range for Spring 2013!

Simply Bows and Chair Covers have designed a new range for Spring 2013 that is an alternative to the Shabby Chic Collections that we saw in 2011/2012 and have created a range that is more elegant with opulence.  

Ruffle layered Chair Caps as seen above  have been created to tie in with the 1920’s style wedding dresses that appeared in New York Bridal Fashion Week. 

 
Beading and Crystals are to be big next year also and to compliment we will be launching Satin Bands to accessorise chair covers with crystal embellishments with Napkins ties to match.  

Organza Bows will still be in demand as there are many brides who love the traditional look, and to support this we will have a new range of vibrant colour's available in the spring....

Watch this space for more information and fabulous photos! :)

Thursday 20 September 2012

Simply Bows Real Life Bride: Lucy and her beautiful Wynyard Hall wedding

What are your first names?

Michael and Lucy (Summersgill)

Where and when did you get engaged?

July 7th 2010 in Altea, Spain. We went out for a lovely meal, there was a fantastic atmosphere in the town as Spain had just won their place in the World Cup final. When we got back to the villa, Mike walked me to the balcony, which had been decorated with lanterns and flickering candles. There was chilled champagne and chocolates waiting for me - the whole thing was completely unexpected!


What was your wedding date?

Saturday 19th May 2012.

Where did you get married?

Wynyard Hall.

                                                        
Why did you choose your venue?

My parents live at Wynyard, making Wynyard Hall the perfect location. No other venue was even considered! Mike knew that Wynyard Hall was the only place for us so when he proposed in Spain he not only presented me with a fabulous ring (from Green & Benz in Manchester), he also gave me an invitation to our wedding! He had asked for my Dad's blessing and together they secured a date at Wynyard. Victoria Kelley, one of the wedding co-ordinators at the hall, was fantastic and I would have been lost without her!

Did you have a “theme”?

Antarctica! Our table plan showed the route we took on our recent Polar Circle Quest. We named our 18 tables after the wildlife we saw and the various landing sites we visited in Antarctica. We used our own photographs on each of the tables.



What was your wedding colour scheme?

Sapphire - a month after we got engaged, I went to Dublin with my sister and spotted a pair of sapphire Manolo Blahniks... that was the colour scheme decided!


Why did you choose Simply Bows and Chair Covers and what were they like to work with?

An old friend from school (Lucinda Thompson) used to work for Simply Bows and Chair Covers and I bumped into her at a Wynyard Wedding Fayre. She mentioned that she worked closely with Adam Prest (who did our amazing flowers) and I was keen to have high-quality suppliers working together who actually knew each other. By the time our wedding came around she was no longer working for Simply Bows and Lesley Nockels had taken over. Lesley was fab - she met with me a couple of times; once at the hall itself and once at my parents' home to ensure everything was spot on. The Conservatory Room looked stunning on the day! We went for a mixture of blue organza and satin bows with silver brooches for the Wedding Breakfast and white organza bows on the pew ends in the chapel.



What sort of dress did you choose and where from?

I wore a Blue by Enzoani gown called Calistoga and I bought it from Dreamcatcher Bridal in Kirkham where Mike's sister bought her wedding dress back in 2006. It's an A-line gown with a 'fan' neckline and large details below the bust, on the hip and on the lower back. The ladies at Dremcatcher were fantastic and knew exactly what would work. When they picked my dress out, I didn't think it looked particularly special on the hanger but I decided to give it a go because it was clear that they really knew what they were talking about. As soon as I put the dress on I felt fantastic and when I walked out of the changing area it was great to see that everyone liked it as much as I did.


What did your bridesmaids wear?

My four bridesmaids wore floor-length, sapphire, satin Dessy dresses and they looked gorgeous. Two of them went for strapless and the other two went for a scoop neck. It took a little while to sort out as they are all different in height, shape and hair colour... but we got there!



Who was your photographer?

Rob Jones and Brian Holden of Holden and Jones photography. We couldn't have picked better photographers. They were so professional and they were friendly, putting us both at ease. A pre-wedding shoot was included in our package which meant we were able to get to know them beforehand and talk through everything in detail. Having two photographers meant that we could have photographs of both of us in the morning, which was really important to me. We are so happy with our photographs - Rob and Brian really captured the moment... without me even realising that they were in the room half the time!


What “special touches” did you add to your day?

We had a photobooth provided by Picture Blast, casino tables, a big screen showing the Champions League, the Aaron Bayley Band and fireworks through 21st Century Fireworks.  We had fantastic entertainment and a great crowd. The two really came together and created an incredible atmosphere, our guests really threw themselves into the day and embraced everything that was going on. This was so important to us because we always wanted our wedding to be about having fun and spending time with all of our friends and family.


What was your favourite part of the day?

Without a doubt, the London Community Gospel Choir singing O Happy Day and the vicar getting the whole congregation swaying and clapping! This was an emotional point in the day and made the ceremony so unique and personal to us. The choir sang 6 songs in total, all of which we chose. Their voices were unbelievable.

Where did you go on honeymoon?

Nowhere! I went back in to work on the Monday because I'm a (dedicated!) primary school teacher and it was term-time.

What would be your top tip for another bride to be?
It sounds like a cliche, but the day is ultimately about you and your husband-to-be celebrating your relationship, so it is bound to be a big day for the two of you. It's also a big day for your friends and family, so there can be a lot of (sometimes conflicting) ideas and opinions thrown into the melting pot. It can be difficult to consider everyone's view and ultimately you just have to go with whatever the two of you feel is right. Again, it is a cliche, but it was genuinely the best day of our lives... so we must have managed to get everything right in the end!


Tuesday 18 September 2012

Simply Bows Real Life Bride: The lovely Karen who married at The Garden at Eden


What are your first names? 
Karen & Anthony

Where and when did you get engaged?  
After taking me for a romantic meal on our one year anniversary, Anthony took me for a walk around Talkin Tarn Lake, a place we had visited on our first date and he proposed by the lake side, April 11th 2008.

What was your wedding date?  
 4th August 2012

Where did you get married? 
The Anvil Hall, Gretna Green then we had our reception at The Garden at Eden at Eden Golf Club.

Why did you choose your venue? 
We viewed a lot of venues for our ceremony, and we were both looking for somewhere with a romantic cosy feel, the Anvil hall is incredibly beautiful inside and the candlelit ceremony was exactly what we both wanted.

Did you have a “theme”?   
Our theme was Vintage.

What was your wedding colour scheme? 
Pale pink and chocolate brown with a touch of soft gold

Why did you choose Simply Bows and Chair Covers and what were they like to work with? 

We looked into many companies, and after speaking with Kristy via Facebook I knew she was the one I wanted to work with to create my perfect day.  Kristy was amazing; she was always in contact and very helpful when we met up, suggesting lots of ideas and genuinely interested in us as a couple and our special day.  I could tell Kristy loved doing the job she did, and this made us sure that our room décor would be perfect as she wouldn’t settle for anything less!!!

What sort of dress did you choose and where from? 
 I wore an ivory, sweetheart neckline dress by Sincerity bridal, with added delicate lace capped sleeves, bought from the wedding warehouse, Carlisle.


What did your bridesmaids wear? 
My three bridesmaids, Claire, Lauren and Kerri all wore knee length chocolate brown, halter neck dresses from Monsoon.  Our flower girl wore an ivory lace dress also from monsoon.

Who was your photographer? 
Tommy Beattie- thanks Tom for sharing the photos you can see on this blog today :)

What “special touches” did you add to your day?  
We tried to create a really personal feel to our wedding, choosing to do as much of the décor as we could ourselves.  We created a vintage suitcase table plan and vintage suitcase for our wedding cards to be posted.   

We also set up a vintage seating area in the marquee for our guests to relax, which had tea cups, candles, flowers, and we had a special area dedicated to our family with vintage frames containing photographs from our parents and grandparents wedding days, this was incredibly important and special to tony and myself as we both have such wonderful close family relationships.  

 Our table numbers were photographs we had taken of our dogs Alfie & Max, in various locations with numbers!  These were really good fun and really gave our tables a personal touch, which our guests all loved going around the room to investigate!  We had a cocktail bar for our evening reception which we created our own signature cocktails for and we had a photo booth from klickphotobooth which was fantastic fun and has provided us with 100s of images to giggle at since!   

We also had a sweet station, which we did ourselves, we bought vintage glassware and filled the vases with pink and brown sweeties, which our guests enjoyed throughout the evening, we also hung pink & brown pom poms from the ceiling of the marquee above our sweeties!  This looked fantastic and really added a splash of colour!

What was your favourite part of the day? 
  I honestly couldn’t choose one part of the day, everything was so perfect and really truly was the best day of our lives.  We can’t thank everyone who was part of our day enough, and especially Kristy at Simply Bows and Chair Covers as her chair covers and table runners were just stunning and really added the ‘wow’ to our marquee reception!!

Where did you go on honeymoon?  
 We enjoyed a surprise minimoon to Yorkshire just after our wedding, which was a gift from my parents and we are going on our honeymoon to Mexico in December, thanks to all our incredibly generous wedding guests, THANK YOU ALL!!!


 What would be your top tip for another bride to be?  
Personally, my top tip would be to work alongside and include your husband to be as much as possible!! As stressful as wedding planning can be its really rewarding to create a day personal to you as a couple, and we really enjoyed putting our own individuality into our day.  It was hard work but 100% worth it, and our guests all definitely agreed!! Good luck guys and have the day of your dreams!

Monday 10 September 2012

Simply Supplier Focus: Divine Stationary for Vivi Paperie

What is company name?

Vivi Paperie

What is your line of business? 

Wedding & Event Stationery



                                                        How and why the company begin? 
After many years of making stationery for friends and the frustration of not progressing in my previous career after having my son, I took the big decision to start my own business based upon my love of all things paper. I felt that stationery market in Aberdeen had become stagnant and was crying out for a fresh and creative approach to stationery design, difference being something I pride myself on.


 Are you married?
Yes, to my wonderful husband Murray for 5 years and counting.


 Why do brides come to you? 
I like to think they appreciate the creative style that my invitations have along with the fact that I create something unique for every couple I work with. The perfect way to match the tone for their own special day.



What is your favourite design and why? 

Oh that’s a hard question as it changes all the time. I have to say my current favourite is the Greta, it just oozes sophistication – I’m so in love with die-cut shapes just now, a huge trend about to follow on here from the USA.





What is the most popular item you supply and why? 
My most popular invitation design this year is probably based on something between the “Freya” and the “Berry Ornate”, it’s quite split down the middle, couples are either looking for a simple and contemporary statement, such as the script fonts of the Freya, or they like the do-it-all pocketfold invitation like the “Berry Ornate” with the motif square on the front in their own design and colours. As an official “Envelopments” supplier and designer I have a huge range of pocketfold colours and patterns at my fingertips.



                                           Where do you get your inspiration from? 
II’m hugely influenced by American stationery trends and their obsessive love of weddings, especially contemporary letterpress. As a design graduate I’m aware how important good research and trend forecasting is, and I take that into consideration with all my work. I also love the current vintage trend and it’s definitely here to stay for the time being.





What is in store for you for the rest of 2012 and into 2013?

I'm busy, busy, busy, my first year in business has got off to flying start, more than I could’ve imagined, it looks like it is set to continue as I’m now pretty fully booked for the rest of the year.








<!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Who would be your dream client, and what sort of design would you envisage for them? 
I’d love to design Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s wedding invitations, something effortlessly chic with handmade French lace and beautiful scripted fonts, dreamy and vintage in classical black and ivory.





<!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->What would be your top tips for brides when searching for a supplier in your industry? 

My top tip is: don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. Many stationery designs that are viewed on websites or in brochures can be adapted to suit your own wedding theme at no extra cost – bespoke doesn’t have to be hugely expensive.








<!--[if !supportLists]--> <!--[endif]-->Where are you based and where can you supply? 
I’m based in Balmedie in Aberdeen but can cover all over Scotland and further afield as I don’t necessarily have to meet clients face to face.





<!--[if !supportLists]-->How can I get in touch to discuss my requirements or place an order? 

By email or phone is best to perhaps arrange a consultation or discuss your requirements. My email is lianne@vivipaperie.co.uk and mobile 07812 200 730.







<!--[if !supportLists]-->Why do you like to work with Simply Bows and Chair Covers? 
Claire who runs the Aberdeen office is such a friendly and helpful person to be associated with, I’m very grateful we met at our first wedding exhibition back in January as she’s been an excellent business contact to have and to recommend.