WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF NORWICH EXHIBITOR LOU LOU LOVES

Welcome to the world of Norwich exhibitor LouLouLoves - a vintage themed wedding hire and styling service, with a range of styles from authentic period style vintage to festival fun to boho, retro or rustic. The Norfolk based company have crockery, glassware, apple crates, milk churns, light up letters, chalkboards, bicycles, candle sticks, ladders and much more! 

Sounds good right? So let's find out a little more from the lady behind the business, Lou Lou herself.

How does a day at LouLouLoves pan out?

After waking early and taking my children in to school I pop home to walk Bella the crazy Labrador and Vinnie our terribly cute Jug (Jack Russel cross pug) over the fields of rural Norfolk.   During the week I can be found at auctions, car boot sales and jumbles rummaging around in boxes to find unusual treasures to add to my hire collection.    My lovely mum, Lynda has a keen eye and comes along to the auctions too. She prepares the flask of tea and we set out in my lovely VW van I've brought for the business.  I do love my job!

What is inspiring you right now?

Style related I'm really interested in the mix up of the modern geometric with vintage retro style.  I just adore those  bold patterns and I'm currently working on some wedding styling that will combine the two.  Im also LOVING copper. Im about to head down to my local plumbing centre to buy some pipes to make a back drop stand, it may even be ready for the Norwich show!

Personally, over the last year I've been interested in plus size fashion and body positivity. Ive started to follow some bloggers such as Plus Size and Proud written by my bestest friend Sarah Doyle.   This community of bloggers and the plus size fashion events I've been to have certainly helped me feel more confident in my own skin.  At 42 I feel a little cheated that I've wasted so many years worrying about my size, but I finally feel that I'm beginning to love my curves!  Icons such as Tess Halliday have inspired me to step out of my comfort zone and try new styles that id previously never thought of.

Rock n Roll bride is my favourite wedding magazine.  It’s just full of alternative wedding style and body positivity! I was lucky enough to supply a wedding last year that has just been featured in issue 6! Totally amazing!

How would you describe a typical LouLouLoves wedding or bride?

A Lou Lou Loves wedding usually starts with a good old chat over a cup of tea at my stock room (served in our beautiful china of course) . We look over pins, images and scrap books together and  then have a rummage around to see what  items I have to suit the theme.   My stock room is more like a junk shop/antique shop than a polished show room!   

Some customers know exactly what they would like, while others need a little help or inspiration.  Ive found its easy for customers to get a little lost and overwhelmed with so many ideas on Pinterest and they can even lose  touch with original ideas they had to make their wedding individual and personal to them. I try to help by showing customer around and if they show interest in a certain item I can give them ideas on how it can be used. 

For example, I have a pretty cut glass cruet set meant to be used for table condiments.   One bride really loved this and she came up with the idea herself of using it to hold different flavoured syrups for a her prosecco bar!  This makes each wedding I hire to or style individual to each customer so there’s never really a normal Lou Lou Loves wedding! 

Some of my popular items have been my large  extra-large welded steel light up LOVE letters with fairground bulbs, china hire for afternoon tea or dinner, milk churns, pallet table plan, apple crates, polaroid camera guest book, Centre pieces made up of three tier cake stands or my tea cup candelabras, stacks of books with brass or glass candle sticks, hand made wedding signs  and our Garden games package.

COME AND MEET LOU LOU AT MOST CURIOUS NORWICH THIS SUNDAY 20TH MARCH, BUY ADVANCE TICKETS HERE.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF NORWICH EXHIBITORS: Benjamin Mathers Photography

Benjamin Mathers Photography is a business of two halves, half creative, documentary photography and half a travelling photo booth www.thetravellingbooth.co.uk. And at MOST CURIOUS Benjamin is offering two different special deals too!

First up £50 off the regular price of the booth and a free leather guest book for all bookings made at the fair.

And with Benjamin Mathers Photography he is offering a 20% discount on albums for people he met at the fair if they book by the end of March. That's a potential saving of £70 on medium albums and £120 on the top notch, leather bound, Giclee printed, fine art albums. Pretty good guys, get involved!

And in the mean time, we asked Benjamin what's making him tick right now, and how he creates such a soft, natural style...read on...

What is a typical Benjamin Mathers day?

This one's tricky, there is no typical day as such, every day is pretty different, which I love. I have three kids, one boy at school, one boy at nursery and one girl still nursing! So together they seem to take up a lot of time in the morning. When I get home after the morning rush I have a coffee, check my emails and catch up with admin and all that boring stuff. If it's the summer and we have loads of editing to do we then crack on with that. My wife, Eve, does most of the editing so we can share the childcare. Eve is the Creative Director, she's a fabric artist and has a great eye for design, it's great having her perspective on the work and adding her creative input. Some days we're designing albums, other days we're getting work ready for print or wrapping things up to send off. Some days I'm out meeting clients or tinkering with our photobooth.

And then the best days I'm checking over gear, cleaning lenses and sensors, formatting memory cards, getting dressed up and heading out the door. These are by far the most tiring days, it's amazing just how much energy is spent photographing a wedding. Being 'on it' for 10 hours or so, capturing every moment and hardly sitting down once! I normally don't get home until 10pm or 11pm depending on times and locations, then I get my days work uploaded and backed up then sit down and have a beer or glass of wine... (I always feel a bit jealous seeing everyone having a drink and partying, I secretly just want to join in, I love a good party!) Then I go to bed and hopefully, if I don't have another wedding on the next day, I have a good old fashioned family day where I don't think about doing any work once, ideally going to the beach and getting in the sea, or having a long walk in the woods and definitely having a roast dinner!

What's been inspiring you right now?

I've never been a massive one for following trends, at least not mainstream trends. I guess with three kids and two businesses I don't get much time for searching blogs and pinterest, shops and magazines. When I'm not sitting at a computer I like to be doing stuff, being outside and making things. In fact I think it's important as a photographer not to be spending too much time looking at other peoples photos and weddings. I mean obviously I do from time to time but I'm not obsessive about it. I get a general idea about what I want to do and go from there, trying to put my own experience and view of the world into it.

Every year I do this I feel as though I'm coming more into my own. At first it was simply about seeing other people's styles and seeing how I could emulate it, but there comes a point where you need to go off on your own. So what inspires me? The world. Seriously, seeing the seasons change, being outside in wild places, walking down streets and appreciating aesthetics that are perhaps not classically beautiful but which I think look cool. This year I want to shoot a lot wider, I want my portraits to be even more 'environmental', I don't mean green but rather I want people to be placed in there surroundings, that's what I find interesting, my job is not to create scenes but rather to frame them. I have a new lens which I'm very excited about using. I've always been a prime only kinda guy but I was so interested in seeing the new Sigma 24-35mm f2 zoom (which is pretty fast – good in low light and creates nice out of focus blurry interest...) I had to give it a try. I've got a couple of engagement shoots coming up and I'm going to use this lots, getting closer to the subject and getting more in the shot.

Who is the ideal Benjamin Mathers couple?

I LOVE my wedding couples! They are all great! I tend to find that people choose me to photograph their weddings because they like my style and want something more natural and unobtrusive. We're almost always working from the same hymn sheet, so to speak.

My number one ideal quality in a couple is love. I mean obviously, but if a couple feel comfortable together then they're easy to photograph. Often I get couples or individuals saying 'we hate having our photo taken', but then when we come to the couple shots, or engagement shot, or whatever, it goes amazingly well because the two people are so in love that they feel and look completely comfortable together. Then my job is easy – I photograph them. This is as simple as it gets.

Secondly it's really important that we get along, I mean I get on with everyone basically but we need to have a similar vision. If you're looking for high fashion / OK Magazine type stuff then I'm probably not for you. If you're into aesthetics, clean images, nature, reality then I could be your man.

My ideal wedding? Well something interesting and unique I guess, but then aren't all weddings these days? I love the way weddings have become a creative outlet for people, it's not all top hats and tails any more. And that's what I love about my job, seeing what people create to celebrate their love for each other and then capturing it forever on film (or silicon as the case may be...)

Get your tickets to MOST CURIOUS NORWICH, SUNDAY 20th MARCH HERE  

bridalNEXT! 2016 - The Rock n Roll Bride Award

Established in 2012, bridalNEXT! is an initiative set up by Most Curious to support and promote fresh, fashion-led, new and innovative talent in the bridal industry. Not only launching them into the spotlight, we are also bringing them straight to the creative, stylish and cool loving brides and grooms.

AND A SELECT FEW WILL BE RECEIVING THE 2016 ROCK ‘N ROLL BRIDE AWARD! (here's VELVET JOHNSTONE receiving her award for winning the BRIDAL WEAR Category last year).

To propel our bridalNEXT!ers firmly into the spotlight, there will be a special Rock 'n Roll Bride Award, given for possessing big-time innovation and directional qualities, chosen by the candy hair coloured, expressive wedding queen herself Kat Williams, founder of the internationally famous and respected Rock 'n Roll Bride blog and magazine. There are two categories, BRIDAL WEAR and SERVICES, and a winner and runner up in each.

Who is she gonna chose?

BRIDAL WEAR

DANA DALLAL BRIDAL

Dana has held a range of positions within some of the top London design houses before setting up her own label. Faced with preparing for her own wedding, she was initially shocked to find how few modern, directional dress options there were for brides who love fashion. And thus, DANA DALLAL BRIDAL was born, just this year.

JUNO

JUNO FROCKS are branching out into bridal, which is good news if you like a corseted, couture or theatrical or tailored kind of vibe, as these guys earned their stripes as costume makers for period dramas on TV and movies. They also specialise in LBGT bridal (and groomal) type wear, with a little historical/steam punk thrown in! 

FIONA McALEAR

Having trained as a jeweller & silversmith for over seven years, FIONA MCCLEAR has developed her own signature, illustrative style, working exclusively with precious metals.  She loves origami and paper-cut puppetry and these influence her delicate style. 

EAST LONDON BRIDAL

Founder Natascha Chambers made her own dream wedding dress (picture attached), with materials costing £34! So based on that, she believes that  'Bridal' doesn't have to mean ' crazy expensive, and we try and help our brides find more economical ways of making their dreams come true (cheaper fabrics, and adjusting the designs to reduce labour time and therefore cost). Plus a t-shirt range with slogans like #bridesquad and #bridezilla!

TUGTIES

TUGTIES is a new, hackney-based brand specialising in playfully designed handmade bow ties. TUGTIES is specifically popular among grooms who want to bring an alternative touch to their special day,’ says founder Tugcan Dokmen.

MIDDO SHOES

Hand painted, custom wedding shoes by artist Alex. Completely bespoke to the couple - from Dinosaurs to roses, you choose!

AYESHA REDMOND SMITH

Ayesha Redmond-Smith is a jewellery and accessories designer, who works predominantly in textiles. Ayesha designs vintage and vintage inspired pieces, combining vintage fabrics and lace with more contemporary fabrics.

Ayesha's inspiration comes from period styling and the majority of her work is inspired  by the pleating in Edwardian Ruff Collars. Her bridal accessories include necklaces, cuffs, sashes, headpieces and more.

SERVICES

VERVAIN

A new and wild force of creativity on the wedding florist scene, India of VERVAIN also grows her own flowers where possible too.

THE PORTRAIT MACHINE

Visual artist and illustrator Amy travels around in her pop up booth, powering the machine of portraits!

MIMOLO

A completely intricate, illustrative attitude to cakes from MIMOLO, who also creates paper goods for weddings too.

BOBBIN AND BOW

Polish Karolina of BOBBIN and BOW has breathed new life into the traditional Pajaki decorations of her grandmothers' generation to create a truly new and exciting idea on wedding decor design.

 

PINGLE PIE

Founded by Kim and her partner Rob PINGLE PIE, combined their backgrounds in stationery design, fine art and graphic design to create painterly and pretty hand crafted stationery, prints and gifts. 

MONTI BY MONTI

Unique handmade glass homeware, terrariums and planters and geometric glasswear. MONTI by Monti are makers of a new type of wedding centre piece and  a fresh approach to including greenery in your decor.

UBYME 

Maria Framis of UBYME is a young architect from Barcelona living and working in London. The fan of home decoration, packaging and handmade products, now turns her design eye to a new breed of decorations.

HACKNEY YOLK

From head chef in a Hackney Cafe, YOLK, has a truly bespoke attitude to her cakes, tailored to each couple, with taste and ingredients equally important as beautiful style.

SASSY LA MODE

SASSY ALA MODE are a super styling sister duo from Central Florida who are based both there and London, bringing that fresh, poppy, slick vibe we know the US does so well in wedding worlds.

CHLOE GRAYSON / FOX AND OWL

A brand new company, FOX AND OWL'S approach towards photography is that of storytellers, blending into the background in order to capture your day as naturally as possible in their signature, contemporary and considered style. And with an elegant, modern, simplistic approach to their design, Fox & Owl aim to deliver stationary that is a celebration of your identities and personalities as well as a reflection of your big day.

SINCERELY MAY

A fashion designer for 8 years, SINCERELY MAY has worked for some of the top brands and companies within the UK & Australia, where she developed her love of design and colour. After getting married in May 2012 and designing all of the stationery and decor for the big day, her wedding was featured in 'You & Your Wedding' magazine and she's since been asked me to design the stationery for their wedding & hen parties for friends, which has lead to Sincerely May.

BLOSSOM AND CRUMB

BLOSSOM AND CRUMB make cakes for happy days.  The wedding cakes, dessert tables and sweet treats are designed in close consultation with clients by Megan in South East London. They use the best available ingredients to make great tasting flavours which range from classic to cutting edge alongside creating a unique centrepiece for the big day.

WAGTAIL PRODUCTIONS

Ayla of WAGTAIL PRODUCTIONS has always been obsessed with taking photographs, even as a child. This love of photography and documenting her life evolved into a love of videography and you will see a huge range of styles in her films. Take a look at their show reel and you will see super 8mm vintage looks, reportage, stop motion animation, split screen fun, and classic cinema. They easily adapt to the vibes of the individual couple and the atmosphere of the day. With a background in TV, music videos and big feature films, they demonstrate their understanding of story telling and camera language in each individual film. Like this little vid. 

My favourite wedding photo by LEE GARLAND PHOTOGRAPHY

With just a few days to go before our London show we want to share a very special photograph with you chosen by our London sponsor, Lee Garland Photography.

We asked Lee to pick his most favourite wedding photograph and tell us why he loves it.

Lee has sent us a couple sharing a sweet, touching moment and some very simple and beautiful words to explain why it is special to him.

Lee says:

“This shot was from Alison and Ian’s wedding day at the Battersea Arts Centre. It wasn’t long afterwards that the building was gutted by fire. 

You really never know what the future holds. Do what you feel in your heart is right, enjoy every moment, hold one another close. 

“In short measures, life may perfect be”, Ben Johnson.

I’m really looking forward to Most Curious, and to meeting all the industry folk and wonderful couples brought together by such a unique show. I’ll be there, with my photography and my vintagebooth.me and I can’t wait.”


We can't wait to see Lee's stand this weekend, apparently he's been sawing away at copper and wood so sounds like he has big plans!! 

If you haven't got your tickets already peeps, now is the TIME! Even if you think you don't like wedding fairs, Most Curious is the one that will most definitely change your mind!

We hope to see you there! 

Most Curious Team