One day to go...

Well, what a few weeks it's been! We've been busy bees trying to plug the boot fayre, with an article in the Argus, an appearance on BBC Sussex and a mention on Juice and super duper wedding blog 'Rock and Roll Bride'. We've also had an army of helpers handing out flyers. We're hoping that word is getting around so there will be lots of lovely people coming along to the Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre - tomorrow!!!!
It's crept up really quick... I'm currently baking cakes, which I must say I'm fairly new at ( Emily is much better than me) but I'm getting quite in to the swing of it.... I just hope there will be enough to go around.
We've got some fab bargains to be had tomorrow, from brand spanking new dresses to beautiful vintage numbers at knock down prices. We've had a lot of support from White Mischief Bridal in Henfield who've given us some beautiful jewellery to sell on their behalf, and we've also been given some stunning vintage wedding gowns courtesy of Hope and Harlequin Vintage. The fayre will be small, but perfectly formed and we have had lots of interest from various people who can't make tomorrow's event, which has given us confidence to possibly put on another - possibly larger - event in the Autumn, so watch this space.
We are vvvvvvv excited, so we look forward to seeing you tomorrow at Friends Meeting House, Ship Street Brighton from 12 midday.

Frantic About Frances

Just wanted to let you all know about another gorgeous lingerie creator who will be showing some of her work at the Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre.

Frantic About Frances is a lingerie brand designed to make every woman unleash her inner pin-up girl. Pretty panties, beautiful bralets, retro-style suspender belts and cute garters are the main specialities of the brand. Each item is lovingly handmade in Brighton by its creator, Jenny Mearns. Jenny has a background in fashion styling, visual merchandising and lingerie. She is a graduate of the Arts Institute at Bournemouth, where she studied BA Costume for the Screen and Stage. So, whether you want to embrace your inner Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth or Audrey Hepburn, you can be sure to find something to tickle your fancy at Frantic About Frances.

 

Check out the website, the lingerie is stunning and I wish I had found it before my wedding! I'm pretty sure i'll end up treating myself to something anyway!

Here's a little blog about a new florist who'll be displaying at the Brighton Bridal Bootfayre...Jo Osbourne...

 

My main purpose is to offer fairly priced bouquets, table decorations, buttonholes etc... and the way to do this is work with seasonal flowers, as this is when they are at their cheapest. For example, you can see I've used daffodils, Narcissi, Anenomes and Tulips- all spring flowers.

I would also encourage the use of some more of the cheaper traditional flowers such as Carnations, Chrysanthemums and Freesias. These are seen as "Old Lady" amongst young people, but I can offer something different using my creativity. If Carnations are good enough for Carrie Bradshaw, they're good enough for us!

For table decorations I would use second hand containers, sourcing them from charity shops and second hand shops. I'm interested in the idea of using interesting glass ware, cups and saucers, tea pots and interesting containers to display flowers.

 

Jo will be displaying a range of flowers she can provide - come down to the Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre and take a look!

A village fete wedding....

As Emily blogged about some of the bits she'll be selling at the Bridal Boot Fayre, I thought I would too! My wedding was only a couple of weeks ago so I'm still in excited mode... My husband James and I decided to hold our wedding at a small village hall in Duncton in West Sussex. We thought it would be a cheaper option, but we didn't quite anticipate how much work it would take to turn a plain old hall into a magical wedding wonderland.... but with an army of helpers we transformed the hall and grounds in to my dream venue - full of personal touches.

I'll be selling a number of items from the wedding, including the paper lanterns which we suspended from the ceiling, some of the metres of bunting which my mother-law-law made with her own fair hands, table name holders, tea light holders, jam jars and much much more! 

My Wedding - bits and pieces for sale

Hi! My name is Emily, and here's a piccy of me and my lovely tall husband at our wedding 7 months ago.

Having spent the weekend at Charlies' beautiful village fete wedding and seeing all the gorgeous bits and pieces that she had acquired for it, I decided to blog about my own wedding and show you some of the things that I will be selling at the Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre. 

My wedding was a vintage affair and took place in Hangleton Manor in Brighton. My husband Andy and I knew as soon as we walked in, that this was the place we wanted to get married. It is the oldest building in Brighton & Hove, except for the Pavillion, and is a really stunning place. It also allowed me to fulfil my dream of getting married in a pub!!

The whole style of my wedding was built around some Laura Ashley paper that I had picked up in the sales. I have some of this left over and will be selling it at the Boot Fayre.

I had visualised a vintage wedding and Hangleton Manor suited this theme extremely well. My dress was from Fur Coat No Knickers, a brilliant shop full of vintage dresses and accessories. The girls there were ace and really made me feel comfortable. They also provided an all round service. They found me shoes, jewellery and made me a gorgeous head piece to match my dress from the excess material - it was originally a size 16! This sort of service really suited me as it was almost like having a personal stylist for my wedding and it also took the stress out of finding all the individual pieces I needed for my wedding day. Unfortunately my dress is the one thing I wont be selling, as I have fallen completely in love with it - and if i can ever fit in it again I think it is definitely something I will wear in the future.

The next thing was table centrepieces. I'd seen on the Ruffled blog, a wedding where old vintage bottles, filled with flowers, were used for the centrepieces and that was perfect to complete my vintage look for the day. Andy and I spent most weekends leading up to the wedding at car boot sales, scouring for vintage bottles to use. This was a lot of fun - but also very time consuming having to go to lots of different car boot sales and flea markets. Some of these vintage bottles will be on my stand at the Boot Fayre for any of you lovely lot to buy!

As Hangleton Manor's interior is already vintage looking, there wasnt a lot that I had to do in terms of decoration for the hall. I loved the ornaments and accessories already in there, it really is a beautiful place. 

Now I have some photos of my tables and some touches from my wedding, some of these bits are for sale at the Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre. 

If you have anything you want to sell from your wedding, please book a table at the Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre. Pleas feel free to bring your wedding photos so you can show others how you used your bits and pieces and maybe give them inspiration on how to style their wedding. 

To book a table please email BrightonBridalBootFayre@hotmail.co.uk

Our story.....

Hi! Welcome to our first ever blog – we’re pretty new to this malarkey, but we hope you enjoy reading about how the Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre came about...

Emily and I are two close friends who, for the last year and a half, have been in total wedding mode. Emily got engaged in September 2009 and I got engaged in November of the same year so we’ve pretty much planned our weddings side by side. Our other halves are best mates (and best men for each other) so when we get together, we often compare notes, horror stories or wind each other up with excitement!

Emily got married in October last year in the most beautiful vintage ceremony. It was so quirky and personal – but one of the things which Andy and Em really wanted to achieve was an incredible day for a fraction of the average cost of a wedding. And boy did they do it! Take a look at some of their photos courtesy of the beautiful Emma Case. http://emmacasephotography.blogspot.com/2010/10/emily-andy.html

My wedding is just 4 weeks away and although, at times, I’ve got swept up in the moment (and felt tempted to blow the budget) I keep remembering that it’s just one day (granted it is THE most important day of my life)….. but it doesn’t have to cost the earth.

Emily and I went to a pretty rubbish wedding fair during our planning and we were totally under-whelmed by what was on offer. The best bit was getting a glass of bubbly on arrival and a free cup cake!

We’re both quite good bargain hunters, and we love to pick up things from charity shops, collect accessories and decorations and trawl forums looking for little bits and bobs that might come in handy for our big days. We’re not afraid of buying things second hand – and we realised there are a lot of brides out there who feel the same. At the end of the day most things that have been bought for a wedding are only really going to be used once, and generally tend to be in pretty good nick!

So, one day we had a brain wave…. why can’t there be a place – a bit like a cross between a wedding fair, a car boot sale and a table top sale - that’s just cram packed with wedding stuff? We thought there must be loads of brides out there who’re looking to flog some of their gear and re-coup some of the cash they’ve spent on their big day. We also know there are loads of people who - especially in the current climate – really can’t justify spending thousands of pounds on their wedding. And often it’s the little things which add up!

And so…. the Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre was born!

We’d love to see you on Saturday 25^th June 2011 at Friends Meeting House, in the Lanes in Brighton.

Give us a shout if you wanna book a table, we look forward to hearing from you J

Brightonbridalbootfayre@hotmail.co.uk

Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre

If the thought of spending thousands on your wedding frightens the pants of you, then come along to the Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre – you could pick up a beautiful bridal bargain. Wedding dresses, Bridesmaid dresses, Shoes, Decorations, Accessories, Stationary items, Jewellery, Games and more! 

If you have recently got married and are puzzled by what to do with the mountains of stuff you bought for your big day – then why not sell your bits and bobs at Brighton Bridal Boot Fayre? It’s the first of its kind and is perfect for brides- to- be who are looking for a pre–loved bargain.

Anything wedding related is welcome. We will even have an area for trying on dresses!

To sell your wedding items, tables are £5 each – or £3 per person to share a table. (Tables are quite large so unless you have lots of stuff we recommend you only book half a table)

Entry: £2

The Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AF

Saturday 25th June 2011, 12 noon – 4 pm


Lashings of tea and coffee and yummy homemade cakes will also be available.
Tables must be booked in advance - if you wish to book please contact Charlie or Emily: BrightonBridalBootFayre@hotmail.co.uk