Eco luxe wedding dresses by MINNA

Are you a cool-ass boho chick searching for her dream dress?! Well, we have the designer for you - Minna Bridal!

Minna is a long time fave of Most Curious and we are delighted to welcome her back to our London 2016 show!

Her bespoke and award-winning bridal collection is the perfect choice for ethically aware, stylish brides. Vintage-inspired and custom made from sustainable, vegan-friendly fabrics, Minna is stocked around the world and has been featured in magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Red, Women’s Wear Daily and Easy Living.

And if short, affordable dresses are more your style then you just have to check out Minna's new sister label, the seriously gorgeous Indiebride collection.

Indiebride is a cool, vintage-inspired and alternative range to traditonal dresses, all made with love in London from the highest quality fabrics and craftsmanship.

Welcome, Minna! Please talk us through a typical day in your life

I am very lucky that I live in Dorset.  My lovely staff, studio manager Maria and Miia run the business, meeting clients and organising the manufacturing, running a team of staff and interns. 

Every day is different but typically, our day revolves around meeting brides and sewing dresses. We are busy year round and love creating beautiful pieces.

I focus on social media, sales, marketing and customer enquiries which keeps me busy between my children's school hours. 

Every day I also try to do a long bike ride, walk my dogs or ride my horse. I am also studying to become a pilates teacher and starting a 3 year degree this year in Naturopathic medicine. I am also a qualified personal trainer so from February onwards I am teaching HIIT and functional fitness classes here in Dorset.

Who or what is inspiring you right now?

We have never been into bridal trends. I would rather stay faithful to our customers as at the end of the day, we know what they are looking for and why they come to us.

For our new collection, which is out this month, we have sourced some lovely new lace fabrics and are using more and more organic silk, which has a UK Soil Association Certification. 

We sourced some lovely lace from France that we use for our Suki and Sierra veils. I am so in love with that lace and keep thinking creative ways to use it.

Olivia Dress with Suki Veil

Dress by Indiebride with Suki Veil

And how would you describe a Minna bride?

We have two very different brides walking in, hence why we decided to start Indiebride. 

A Minna bride is typically looking for a maxi length dress with a bohemian edge. They tend to want to put their personal twist into our designs and are inclined to go for a more bespoke style.

The Indiebride customer is just looking for a pretty dress to wear on their big day. 

They are also more price conscious and do not typically read bridal magazines, or visit bridal shops.  They are also happy to order online without coming down. 

Both types of customers are so easy to work with, are very environmentally conscious and typically getting married within 6 months or less. We rarely see any bridezillas. We love our customers!





Most Curious are delighted to have Minna join us for our London show at the Old Truman Brewery so get your tickets now and don't miss out on Minna's beautiful bridal and Indiebride collections!

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Your wedding story by PAOLA DE PAOLA PHOTOGRAPHY

Paola De Paola, is a London wedding and same-sex photographer, and a Most Curious favourite! With her Italian passion, creativity and many years of experience, she is a natural and talented artist.

After Paola's degree in Fine Art, she worked as a professional photographer for music magazines and record companies. She consequently moved to work for Getty Images as a high end digital retoucher, more precisely for Contour Celebrities by Getty images. During this time Paola was able to build a very deep understanding of the photographic industry and is a true professional.

Paola loves eclectic, vibrant, unique people and takes the time to understand and listen to her couples. Her creativity, professionalism, friendly and caring nature will help you relax and enjoy the most magical (and possibly nerve wracking!) day of your life, safe in the knowledge that she will beautifully capture your wedding story as it unfolds.

Paola, please talk us through a typical day in your life

Oh gosh, where to start?

I'm not good at talking about myself or in fact about my family. Why? Despite having a family with children, 5 to be precise, people cannot believe that I can also be a working professional, a photographer in fact.

I get a bit fed up with the stereotype, and this is why working as a photographer is helping me to be who I want, the way I want.

So, back to the typical day, I guess the to-do list is never ending with family responsibilities and work commitments.  The first thing is to clear the mess, tidy up the house, because after 9am it is my office.

I really can't work when there is too much mess. Then I will physically write, with a pen on a piece of paper, my to-do list for the day. It makes me feel better to cross out the points as I go down the list.

I will usually meet clients and wedding suppliers in London as I find the city very exciting.

Who or what is inspiring you right now?

I love people and their stories, so generally I get very excited to hear how someone pulls through hard times to create something amazing and positive.

I can think of many people that are inspiring me for different reasons. I will mention some of them.

Erin, from Way Out Wedding, a truly amazing woman that despite a challenging family life is always genuinely lovely and helpful. 

Kat, from Kat Forsyth Photography for demonstrating an incredible strength and positivity when going through a difficult illness. 

Federica, from Federica Bruno Couture for her enthusiasm and distinctive creativity.  

Zita, from Zita Elze Flowers for her eclectic knowledge and unique style. Her shop in Kew Gardens is the place I visit when I feel down and uninspired.

They are many more people that inspire me, the list it is incredibly long, so I would only mention a couple more. One has to be my friend Louise from Gingham Hearts a catering and event organiser able to cook for 300 people in a very tiny kitchen. Always happy to help others.

Lauren from Frenchmade for her creativity, for her strength and willpower.

Describe a Paola De Paola couple.

My brand is contemporary but fun, alternative but stylish. My ideal couples are creative and happy in their skin, quite free spirits.

They will be looking for something unusual and very unique, handmade rather than machined. They appreciate the value of personal touch, look after the environment and respect others.

I particularly love to work with LGBT couples for their bold, nonconformity spirit.

Most Curious are SO happy to be welcoming Paola back to our London show at the Old Truman Brewery, get your tickets now and come & get curious with this incredibly lovely and talented photographer!

Paola De Paola Photography

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Eclectic wedding collection by OXX JEWELLERY

An Alleweireldt, founder of Oxx Jewellery and graduate of the Royal College of Art, is one of Most Curious's most inventive jewellery exhibitors.

An has a number of wonderfully unique jewellery collections available in her online shop, many inspired by everyday items such as records, lollipops and ice cream sticks, in addition to offering bespoke commissions - ideal for Most Curious couples!

We especially love her 'Cats' collection with cute rings and pendants - a purr-fect (sorry...) gift for feline loving bridesmaids and, of course, Oxx's stunning Wedding & Engagement Collection with eclectic wedding bands and engagement rings.

And you just have to check out Oxx's Cufflinks collection, there is something for every single one of your design-led grooms. We are seriously loving the vinyl record cufflinks!

Hi An, we would love to hear what a typical day is like for you.

None of my days are similar and that's exactly why I love my job.

I look at my emails first thing in the morning and continue to do so during the day as I like to respond to clients requests as soon as I can. 

Contrary to everyone's beliefs I do not make jewellery every day, as there is a lot more to my job than making. I often meet people in Central London to discuss their requirements.

I like picking a nice quiet cafe or hotel bar as it's a good excuse for me to visit these lovely places London has to offer. I get inspired by London's architecture & exhibitions and often take advantage of my time there to visit these places.

Once my head is full I need time to digest and I love having my own quiet space where I can think and make. I don't sketch very often but play with materials to design, or I use 3d modelling programs.

I'm a product designer as  well as a jewellery designer and I'm used to working this way, its a lot quicker and more accurate than sketches!

Once I'm in making mode, my days tend to be very long and lonely. It is something I love and need to do to get the results I want. Over the time of my 13 years in business, my friends have become to understand this, so I'm very lucky!

Who or what is inspiring you right now? 

I work with very simple shapes and materials. Less is more but the attention is on the detail. As Eames said so well 'the details are not the details, they make the product!'. 

I love incorporating daily materials into precious metals to make a finished product. This takes time and a lot of trial and error, but I love doing the research. 

I have a few new wedding pieces in mind, something that I have been thinking about for a while. Christmas and New Year came first though, now is the time to materialize those and I'm very excited to start!

Describe an Oxx bride

My bride is often very creative herself. She loves well made simple and elegant designs, which are unusual yet timeless.

Sometimes she likes adding her own ideas to the work, which makes the finished product unique and extra special.

You can meet An and see the amazing Oxx jewellery collection at our 2016 London show at the Old Truman Brewery so get your tickets now!

Oxx Jewellery
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Simply romantic photography by HEARTS ON FIRE

We are very fortunate at Most Curious to know some of the most awesome photographers in the wedding industry. 

Today we bring you one of our all time faves, Karolina AKA Hearts on Fire. Polish born Karolina is based in East London and her personal take on modern wedding  photography is completely spot on, focusing on the real people and their romance.

Check out our blog today and see what we mean! We bet you fall a little bit in love with her too.

Talk us through a typical day in your life

I like to get up in the morning between 7am and 8am and as I mostly work from home, I’m lucky enough to be able to organise the day as I like. I always drink a black coffee in the morning and read online news but, occasionally, I skip the news and go to a nearby café and walk around the marshes.

Creating lists helps me with my day-to-day work schedule. There is always so much to do and I‘m not always able to cross out the whole list at the end of the day. I try, though.

I dedicate a few hours each day to editing photographs and I listen to the podcast ‘This American Life’ at the same time. The rest of my time goes on meeting customers, administration and also reading books and watching films.

I recently took an MA in visual anthropology and I like to work on developing a couple of my own photography and film projects. Around lunchtime I mostly go for a run or a squash session with my boyfriend or, sometimes, I just go for a long walk and shop for food. 

I tend to stop working on the computer around 6.30pm and go to cook and listen to Radio 4. I love preparing food and I’m very happy when I can do it for friends. I cook vegetarian and try to be seasonally conscious. My new favourite is celeriac pate and plums, which I can eat all day long. I love them.  

In the evening I try to read as much as possible. I’m reading Ignacy Karpowicz at the moment – he is a Polish writer and his books are very smart and witty, such a good read. I can’t stop reading him and I don’t want to finish, either.

Who or what is inspiring you right now? 

For recent inspiration for my wedding photography, I really like the work of Fergus Padel, who had one of his photographs shown at the National Portrait Gallery in London. 

I like the simplicity of the moments he decides to photograph and the way he uses light. 

My idea of wedding photography, which I’ve developed over a few years of doing it, is to not only capture the key points of the day but to put lots of attention on the moments before and after, the in-between romance and happiness, the settings, details, atmosphere and smells.

My aim is to create simple, well-composed images that look effortless.

Describe a Hearts on Fire bride

Hearts on Fire brides (and grooms) are fun-loving, kind and laid-back people. 

We are all individuals and come from various backgrounds and do diverse things in life, so I think it’s all about being able to click at the first meeting. 

Once the feeling of mutual understanding and laughter is reached, the rest is a piece of cake. Couples trust me to do a good job and I feel comfortable and welcome to be part of their special day.

You can meet the lovely Karolina at our 2016 London show at the Old Truman Brewery so get your tickets now!

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