Stunning Henna

I am extremely excited to feature Lata from Lali Creations on our blog today! Her work is so incredible and I simply had to present her work to the SWB readers. I asked Lata a few questions so we could get to know the henna artist behind the henna.

Tell us about yourself

My name is Lata, I live in lovely London. From as far back as I can remember I have always loved art! Always drawing and painting on anything I can get my hands on.

I studied design at university and have been lucky enough to have worked in some of the best leading fashion companies as a Creative Artworker within the Creative team.

How did you get started?

I have been doing henna from a very young age. I would always be the first one to pick up a henna cone at a family wedding and start doodling random patterns on guest’s hands. Professionally, I have been applying henna for a couple of years now.

I have studied with two leading henna artists in that time and really enjoy apply henna! I find very therapeutic.

My wedding stationery collection came about when I got asked to design a friends wedding invite. It went down really well and now I get asked to do more and more! I think with my design background it made sense to start applying my henna designs to wedding stationery to create unique contemporary invites for the modern Asian bride, or anyone looking for a classic wedding invite with an ethnic twist.

What is the best part of your job?

I love meeting new people, and beautifying brides with henna! Henna is relaxing for the bride during the build up to the wedding day, and I find it just as relaxing applying it!

The creative aspect of both the henna and wedding stationery will always be my passion. All my wedding stationery is handcrafted by myself and I really enjoy using my hands and crafting.

It makes me so happy when it comes to handing over stationery that I have spent so long creating to the bride and groom and seeing their faces when they see their names on something so unique.

What are your goals for the future regarding your henna and wedding stationery?

My main aim at the moment is to create more henna inspired wedding stationery and build up my skills as a henna artist.

I believe henna is a skill that can be taught to those patient enough and willing to put in the time to practice. One of my biggest goals for the future is to help women (or men) who can’t afford to pay for the expensive courses learn this beautiful art form so that they can go on jobs and help look after their families. This idea came about from my latest trip to Marrakech and they have this already going there. A lovely little place called the Henna Café, they raise money by applying henna on tourists and then give back to the local community by providing them with food and also educating the women.

Some day soon, I also hope to own my own little shop where I can too apply henna and sell all my products. Who knows what the future has in store for me!

View Lata’s website on:- http://lalicreations.co.uk or find her on twitter and facebook!

Van Rensburg Films

Van Rensburg Films was started in 2008 by Stefan and Nadine van Rensburg. They have always had a passion for filming and could not think of anything better than capturing the joy and emotion of wedding days. They believe that no style is ideal and use a mixture of cinematic and documentary styles. Scroll down below to watch their videos!

This allows freedom of creativity without compromise to the real day feel of the footage. Music, pace, expert cuts and fades are key. Special effects are often overused and can be a cheap cover up that will age badly over time.

Van Rensburg Films offer one basic package that will cover a wedding day perfectly with some optional added extras. They always have two videographers and three or four cameras during the ceremony and speeches to be enable filming from various angles, which makes the edit far more interesting. Due to licensing restrictions, they choose the song for the wedding trailer. The couple supply a selection of songs for the highlights edit.

“Nothing compares to the buzz we feel at the end of a great wedding day and the reactions of thrilled couples watching their film. “

Location

Stefan and Nadine are based in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. They love discovering new places and have filmed as far as Suffolk, London and Cape Town!

The Future

“We continually strive to stay ahead with the latest equipment and software. This will always be the case as we endeavour to offer our couples the best service that we can. We’ve often been asked for advice by budding wedding videographers so we may look at offering tutoring in the future.”

To find out more please view their website on:- http://www.vanrensburgfilms.com/

Twitter:- @VRWeddingFilms

Facebook:- https://www.facebook.com/vrweddingfilms

Flash Mob Proposal

Arsh brought his Flash Mob Proposal to my attention and I simply had to showcase it on the blog. I love the thought and detail that went into this proposal - the dance routine that contained a choreographed dance with an addition of Bhangra Read about his story of making it all happen… Scroll down for the video!

Continue reading →

Starting up a magazine

We know Lorraine from twitter and are more than happy to share her story of how she started up her own wedding magazine! We hope this inspires other people out there who are thinking about starting up their own magazine too. Please feel free to share your comments below too!

“Originally both myself & my husband were from around the Nottingham area, although Mark moved to Desborough, Northamptonshire with his parents while he was still at school. We didn’t meet until 2004, then two years later I moved in with Mark, from my home in Nottingham to live in Rothwell.

We got married in 2008 at the Benefield Wheatsheaf in Upper Benefield, near Oundle and later that year had our first child, a daughter who is now 4 and attends West Lodge Day Nursery in Desborough, but will be starting school in September 2013 at Rushton Primary School.

Last year (2012) in May, we had a second child, a little boy who is just starting nursery, also at West Lodge, on two mornings a week.

Before having a family I worked full-time for a small computer software company in Nottingham for nearly 15 years, which I then left after taking Maternity Leave after the birth of my daughter. I then tried a few temporary part-time jobs since, as I wanted to put my daughter first and I then found a permanent part-time job at Kettering General Hospital as a Health Care Assistant on one of the wards for just over a year, before having our second baby, and then I decided not to go back after my 12 months Maternity Leave.

I’ve set up this magazine as my new ‘work from home’ job, so I can fit my work around my family, instead of trying to fit my family around my work! The idea really came from when we got married 5 years ago and how we struggled to find local suppliers or information on products and services in our area, especially as I didn’t know Northamptonshire very well at the time – and I did all our wedding organising myself!

The aim of my new magazine is to bring local suppliers to local couples. The magazine is free for anyone to pick up and take away and is distributed via several wedding suppliers across the county. There are articles and write-ups on products & businesses across Northamptonshire and also some information on other suppliers in the UK that can supply products online. Wedding suppliers then pay to advertise in my magazine & that then pays to get it published and distributed.

I am currently distributing the magazine myself and I am really enjoying visiting and talking to all sort of people in the wedding industry. I would really like to take it further and create more magazines for more counties and I plan to start with Leicestershire next, as living in Rothwell, Northamptonshire I am not far from the county border and I visit Market Harborough regularly, so it just seemed like the best county to take on next. I also plan to have an online directory that covers all counties across the UK, so people getting married can locate suppliers in their county easily.

I am always on the lookout for ideas for articles for my magazine and welcome any comments or suggestions. I’m also very active on Facebook & Twitter and have my own Blog. I’ve also just set up a forum to go alongside my magazine & website – so very busy keeping it all up-to-date. All that and still looking after my 2 young children. I sometimes end up replying to emails and writing magazine articles late at night as that’s when I get my free time!”

Website:- http://www.localweddingconnections.co.uk/home/northamptonshire/

Facebook:- https://www.facebook.com/LocalWeddingConnections

Twitter:- https://twitter.com/LocalWedConnect

Congenial Diamonds

We are absolutely loving diamonds here at the Secret Wedding Blog, so we are glad to bring you a feature about Congenial Diamonds and what they have to say about finding the perfect ring to popular metal types and tips for people clueless about rings! Find out what they had to say below…

How Congenial Diamonds began

The roots of Congenial Diamonds trace back to Antwerp, the diamond capital of Europe. We are a UK-based family-run business that pride ourselves of three solid generations in the diamond manufacturing industry. It is this heritage and intimate knowledge of this precious stone that gave rise to a passion for diamond jewellery.

We have an established independent jewellery boutique in the centre of Guildford in Surrey and we have more recently expanded our business nationwide by launching Congenial Diamonds online.

Being different…

Diamond jewellery is not only our business; it is our PASSION and this is clearly reflected in our stunning designs, in the quality of our products and the great attention to detail we put in our customer service.

We have over 10 years’ experience in designing and manufacturing jewellery. This expertise is readily available to all of our customers to assist them with finding the perfect jewellery piece for their special occasion.

Our jewellery is designed and manufactured in-house, in our UK workshop. Our prices are very competitive and offer excellent value for money. We are able to do this because we buy directly from diamond wholesalers, eliminating the traditional layers of diamond dealers and associated costs of High Street jewellers.

In addition, our products come with:
· GIA/IGI/EGL certified diamonds.
· Luxurious and elegantly designed jewellery packaging.
· Free delivery.
· A 30-day no quibble returns policy.

Helping customers find the perfect engagement ring

During the years, we have assisted thousands of men/couples to choose the perfect engagement ring. We understand that this is one of the most important jewellery purchase that the customer will ever make and we are happy to provide our expert advice.

As a first step, we have put together a short 4-step guide together with some tips to help with the choosing.

Furthermore, our online presence is carefully designed to facilitate the search for the perfect engagement ring. Each of our designs can be tailored to meet individual requirements by selecting the details of the diamond (carat, colour and clarity) as well as the metal.

For further assistance, our friendly staff can be reached on 0845 548 9858 or via email.

The most popular types of rings

The most popular engagement ring is the 4-claw Round Brilliant Solitaire, due to its simplicity and timeless elegance.

The Round Brilliant Cut diamond is classic, versatile and with more fire and brilliance than any of the other diamond shapes, making it by far the most popular diamond shape, and hence also the most expensive. The 4-claw setting is minimal and uncomplicated, bringing the most out of this precious stone. Moreover, the 4 claw is one of the safest settings.

The most popular type of metal for rings

The most popular type of metal for rings is 950 Platinum. It is the heaviest of the precious metals and the most valuable due to its rarity. It is popular because it keeps its white colour with time and wear.

Our ring collection comes in White Gold, Yellow Gold, 950 Palladium and 950 Platinum. For more details on the different metal types read here.

Tips for choosing the perfect ring

Choosing the perfect ring is an exciting experience but can be overwhelming at times due to the vast choice of designs available.

Our top tip is to understand the basics about diamonds and the precious metals; there is a lot of information available that can help with making the right choice.

Ring designs vary greatly in style, ranging from classic to contemporary. For this reason, our second tip is to find out the style and taste of the person who will be wearing the ring.

It’s important to remember that the purchase of a ring is an emotional purchase. So our final tip is to let your instincts and gut feeling guide you with your purchase.

From our experience around 40% of our customers have already been proposed to at the time they choose their engagement ring.

Congenial Diamonds Price Ranges

Our diamond engagement rings start from £570 for a solitaire diamond ring of 0.25ct. The price of each design will change automatically in real time with changes made to the diamond specifications and metal type. This way, the customer is always in control.

Our plain wedding rings start from £100. The prices change automatically when any of the ring details (e.g. ring width, metal) are changed.

Our basic diamond earrings start from £390, whereas the price of our diamond pendants start from £462.

Our customers can easily buy our jewellery online at www.congenialdiamonds.co.uk.

We also have premises in Guildford, Surrey where customers can make an appointment to come and discuss their requirements with us.

Tips for the people clueless about rings

Choosing a ring comes down to individual taste. For this reason it is advisable to find out the style and taste of the person who will be wearing the ring prior to commencing the search for the perfect ring.

Based on our experience with men/couples, we have put a handy guide with some tips here. Our staff are very happy to answer any additional questions via email or on 0845 548 9858.

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