We’re here live at the final stretch of the 2012 The Wedding Co. Show and it’s packed with great exhibitors and couples looking for ideas and inspiration. Today we have interviewed a few more exhibitors for those of you who cannot make it to the Show, or if you have but haven’t gotten a chance to speak with everyone.
So without further ado, here they are.
Palettera Custom Correspondences
First of all, I’d like to introduce Deb from Palettera. Deb is no stranger to the wedding scene; her work has been showcased in many luxurious weddings over the past few years. Her custom designs are top-notch; one look and you can truly appreciate the amount of craftsmanship that goes into each product, and they are hand made. She is so good, in fact, that even our business cards are designed by her!
We asked her what were some of the trends she sees her brides asking for these days. Deb said many of her brides now lean more towards box invitations and letterpress. Often, some higher end clients will just let them run with whatever they like structurally.
We noticed that Palettera has many invitations printed on various types of non-traditional material. Where does she get the inspirations from? Deb said most of her creativity comes from the real world; from fashion, design, interior design, and places. Wherever she is, she tries to think of an invitation based on that particular place. Frequently, it ends up being a spark for future actual invitations. The materials she works with now have evolved from being strictly paper. These days, she works with lucite, wood, cloth, chiffon, etc. She likes to think outside the box while retaining that aura of classiness and elegance, and that’s how her company earns the name Maker of Iconic Stationery.
Finally, we asked her what material was hard to handle yet she really likes. She said lucite was a very expensive material that she enjoys working with. The work that goes into it is enormous; they have to polish the plastic and glue it together, which is a very tricky process. But since her company does everything in-house, her team always enjoys the challenge and they are always very proud of the outcome.
Here are some more images from their booth:
Next we have Sandra from Ice Culture. Ice Culture is a company which specializes in ice sculptures, which you may frequently see at weddings or other social events. Ice Culture has been in the business for over 25 years and has been involved in many different types of projects, big and small. One of their most elaborate creations involved creating a massive ice bridge over a skating rink at the Rockerfeller Plaza, which was fully functional and people could walk over it. They’ve also created over 21 ice lounges around the world, from Dubai to South Africa to Thailand to Greece.
I had a chance to speak with Sandra at Ice Culture and got to ask a few questions for couples interested in having ice sculptures at their wedding.
My first question was about themes; I was interested in knowing if certain themes come up in ice sculptures at weddings. Sandra said no, many couples who meet with them already have something specific in mind, and because ice is such a customizable material, they can practically build anything. Of course, clients come in with an idea and maybe a sketch, and Ice Sculpture takes that to the next level and draw exactly what is going to be built. They also have over 300 themes to choose from, so if you come in with no idea what you want, you can always choose from a menu of designs that’s already available. There are many instances, however where couples have a monogram and want to incorporate it into their sculpture. For sculptures they haven’t made before, they will always make a mock version beforehand to ensure they know exactly how long it would last.
Next I asked her what couples should keep in mind when booking an ice sculpture. For example, how long does the sculpture last, and what happens to the ice as it’s melting? Sandra explained that depending on the conditions where the sculpture is sitting, you can pretty much expect it to last around six to 10 hours. Couples do not have to worry about anything else at all. The professionals at Ice Culture will go to the venue beforehand and install the ice sculpture and create custom drainage systems underneath the sculpture for the water to set.
Finally, I asked if there were situations where it would not be possible to have ice sculptures. Sandra said that actually, ice is very durable in many conditions. However, she would not recommend the sculpture be in direct contact with sunlight or warm wind. Those two elements are the most damaging. And of course, don’t put it in a sauna!
Karyn is the owner of Lilliput Hats. She has quite an interesting story on her website of how she got started. She enrolled in a tap dancing class and they said the class was full, but the millinery class was still taking students. And the rest was history.
I wanted to get a gauge as to the recent spotlight millinery has been getting over the past few years. Especially after the Royal Wedding. Karyn said that for milliners, the Royal Wedding was an extravaganza. It’s so satisfying to see respected reporters such as Peter Mansbridge use the word “fascinator”; you know there’ s a serious trend coming. It’s been growing amongst younger brides to have headpieces and fascinators incorporated into their wedding attire these days; it gives off some of the old Hollywood glamor. She also said the bird-cage net around the front of the eyes as well as peacock feathers have been very popular these days.
Karyn gets business from both off the shelf pieces she makes as well as inquiries on custom projects. I asked her which piece was most memorable and elaborate for her. She said there was once there was a very trendy bride who had a wedding dress that wasn’t a traditional wedding dress; it was gray and designed by one of her most favorite designers – Jeremy Laing. The piece she created to complement the dress was a huge abstract silver veil and netting, like a big silver cloud on top of her head.
We have had the pleasure of Nicole’s booth right beside ours at the Show. Over the course of the event, we got to know her and her business a little better. Nicole is very passionate about what she does. She believes that a wedding is the happiest day in a person’s life, and she would love to be a part of that special moment.
We asked her what brides should look for in a makeup artist. She said that in order to find the right makeup artist, you first have to like their work and also clicks with you and has proper chairside manners. This person is going to be someone that will be around your friends and family all day.
Her tip? She suggests not to go with trends. When Nicole does makeup she would design a look for the bride based on the wedding theme, the dress, and the bride’s own style.
David Dunkley owns and runs KC Hats, a millinery boutique off Bathurst Street south of Dupont. Later this year, he will be rebranding his company to Bespoke Millinery. David explained that he is a milliner rather than a hat maker, and he hopes his new company name can reflect that. In addition to the custom designed headpieces David offers men’s cufflinks as well as custom bow ties now.
The past season had been extremely busy due to the Royal Wedding, and he’s currently gearing up for a busier season than last year. He’s very excited, as headpieces has always been a soft trend and now is becoming popular culture.
One tip David gives to brides looking for a hairpiece is to let the piece complement you and not you to the piece. You have to be comfortable wearing it. The best way to wear it is just tucked a little behind the ear.
David’s great at what he does. In fact, Carmen wore one of his creations at our wedding in Florence. Here is what it looked like:
Photo by: JW Photography
Alright, that’s it for the interviews, hope you found them informative!
Elton
