From dream weddings to destinations, flowers, stationery and lots of inspirations to plan the day of your dreams, this was the show to find them all!
The National Wedding Show geared up for its biggest and most successful season yet and featured over 250 of the best wedding specialists, together with thousands of beautiful dresses.
This not-to-be-missed ‘National Wedding Show’ event is an essential day out for every bride and groom across the county, starting in London, Olympia, (21st-23rd February), Birmingham on (28th February – 2nd March) and finishing at Manchester (15th-16th March 2014).
Visiting the Birmingham venue, Photoshoot was given a warm welcome from Good Results PR Company and a great deal of help explaining the day’s events to our team. As we are a behind-the-scenes magazine, we wanted to get as much action as possible, and we had interviews with the manager from Good Results PR, Fran Lee, the catwalk stylist, dressers, models and makeup artists backstage. We also spoke to many others at the show, including 2 Media students from Birmingham and South City (Athena/VIP Productions) Gemma and Enya (interviews in next issue of PHOTOSHOOT Weddings).
The catwalk show was exciting, different, and had some great themes, not to mention incredible dresses and menswear by some of the biggest names in the wedding industry. It was visually quite beautiful.
Scene 1: The Book of Love: Ivory & Co, Young’s Hire, Exquisite Tiaras and Jewellery and Footwear, by Paradox (London)
Scene 2: The Golden Age: Georgina Scott Bridal, Courtyard Bridal Boutique, Slaters Menswear and Formal Hire, and Jon Richard Ltd
Scene 3: Wish you Were Here: Justin Alexander at Bella Sposa Bridal Boutique and Paradox
Scene 4: City Bride: Timeless, Moss Bros, Dr Martins, Peter Posh and Paradox
Kirsty (Bride) and Simone (Chief bridesmaid) thought the show was really good and the catwalk gave them some good ideas. They liked some of the designs; especially the more sleek styled dresses; not being into lace too much. They would definitely go to another show, as Kirsty is getting married next year, so lots of time to look around.
Grace, Kirsty and Susie from Solihull. These ladies came to the Wedding Fair to get some ideas for Kirsty, who is getting married next year. They found some things they had not thought of before, such as the photo booths, which they absolutely loved and thought were really good fun for a wedding. On the beauty side, it was definitely the minerals. After all having makeovers, these products were a definite winner with these ladies.
Another highlight of the show was the Inspirational Sessions with ‘Big Day Top 10 Tips’, showing wedding trends from florists and cakes, to honeymoon hotspots and wedding dresses. We watched Cinta Miller, a celebrity hairdresser, giving her ‘Top 10 Hair Tips’ and Bare Minerals (Top Ten Makeup Tips), who also worked with all the catwalk models. We all thought the ‘LOVE’ sign – supplied by (www.glowlovelights.com) was great.
After the catwalks, we spent the rest of the day walking around the show and chatting to the people on the exhibitor stands as well as some of the general public.
Lusty Beg Island (www.lustybegisland.com) – Venue and Hotels
Lusty Peg is a Gaelic name, meaning ‘small and fertile’, which is what this little place is. The island had a monastic settlement on it about 1,000 years ago and it is where the last GA conference was held. Lusty Peg is now in private ownership and is let out as a venue for weddings, as well as being a hotel, with seating for 200 for sit down meals. They came to the Wedding Fair to appeal to 1st and 2nd generation Irish, who have moved from Ireland but would like to have the wedding of their dreams, in this wonderful and historic setting.
Memories of Vintage (www.memoriesofvintage.co.uk) – Party Decoration
Dawn Taylor is from Lincolnshire and has been in business for 3 years. She grew up with her Grandma and the entire vintage ‘thing’ around and is herself a real traditional girl. With her Grandma’s lovely items inherited, Dawn began to collect more ‘vintage’ and used all of her own props and crockery when she got married herself. The business grew from there. Now she has some wonderful pieces and does all manner of jobs from setting out 500 places at the Queens Jubilee to dressing the entrance of the NEC show and setting up the vintage tea room at Wedding Fair. This stall was a feast of loveliness for anyone interested in traditional and vintage.
Sunburst Photobooth (www.sunburstevents.com) – Photobooth
Arran Mitchell, from Sunburst Events, comes from Leicestershire and runs this great business. He says that his company specialises in people, and looks a great deal of fun. It is a professional media company supplying photo and video for all types of events, weddings included. We had our pictures taken in their booth…a black cab, and laughed a great deal. A brilliantly entertaining idea for any wedding to incorporate.
Rachel Simpson Wedding Shoes (www.rachelsimpsonshoes.co.uk) – Shoes
Rachel’s shoes are a unique mix of vintage styling and beautiful materials, with a reputation for comfort to match their distinct look. This company was launched in 2008 at the Wedding Fair when it was held at Earl’s Court and Rachel has exhibited at every fair since then. Her shoes are made in Spain from gorgeous leather and suede and are designed to be worn on the big day itself, and also afterwards. Although Birmingham based, Rachel sells her beautiful shoes nationwide and also worldwide over the internet.
Perched Bird Stationery (www.perchedbird.com) – Stationery
Kara has exhibited a couple of times at the fair before and said she would do so again. This fabulous and unique stationary is designed, hand drawn, or hand painted by Kara herself and it is very different. She also produces banners and even tea towels, a new addition to the stock. Although she creates some magnificent wedding stationary, her collection includes items for all occasions.
The Red Cake Company (RCC) (www.theredcakecompany.co.uk) – Cakes
Pamela based in Worcestershire, The Red Cake Company is based in Worcestershire and has been going since 2009. It is run by award winning cake designers Pam and Norma. The incredible cakes on the stall were just a small sample of the kinds of wonderful, quality cakes that Red Cake Company supply and create. Pam said that this is the 3rd year they have had a stall at the Wedding Fair and it has been very successful for them.
Revival Live Productions (www.revivalliveproductions.com) – Music & Entertainment
Francesca Bridalwear (www.francescabridalwear.co.uk)
Essie (www.essie.com)
Slaters (www.slaters.co.uk)
Debenhams Gift Service (www.debenhamsweddings.com)
The Artisan Dried Flower Co. (www.artisandreidflowers.co.uk)
Elite Cake Designs (www.elitecakedesigns.co.uk)
Rina Roberts Bridal Wear (www.rinarobertsbridalwear.co.uk)
The Distractions band (www.thedistratctionsband.co.uk)
The Great British Wedding (www.thgbwedding.com)
The whole show was a great experience. The organisation of it was good and the stands were set up well and not squashed together. It was a comfortable atmosphere and pleasant to walk around. We were there on the Friday, which was not going to be the busiest day of the show, but it was still well attended. Everyone we spoke to was having a great time and would most definitely go to another show in the future.
A great inspirational day out!
Keep posted for Autumn show dates: http://www.nationalweddingshow.co.uk/
