The lovely people of Lush Spa Liverpool put an advert out for people to blog about the wedding fayre being hosted at The Hard Day's Night Hotel in Liverpool so here I am! I attended the event and snapped a few photos of the various stalls and met a whole host of lovely people doing so!
First I walked in and was greeted by really friendly staff who directed me into the room where
Lush Spa Liverpool had their stall and I was treated to a hand massage (a sample of the comforter spa treatment) off Emily Challenor whilst being talked through the lovely treatments that the spa now has to offer after opening in Liverpool. For those of you who don't know I worked as a christmas temp at
the Lush in Chester in 2011 and ever since my love for the company has been ever-growing (although I have always loved the company from being a kid and walking past the 'pretty smelling shop). The other lovely lady on the stall was Sarina Van Ruth - both ladies were very passionate about what they were offering and it was ace!
Dresses
Suprisingly there was only one dress-maker at the fayre, but all I can say is wow,
Brides by Natalie really had an amazing showcase! Their non facebook page (i.e. normal website) can be found
here. Despite these dresses being white, they were still gorgeous, some more traditional and then some more modern, with more ideas with regards to veils etc.
Cakes
After my arm had a thorough massage (leaving it smelling and feeling lovely) I spoke to
Cake Creations by Ruth Davies (non-facebook website can be found
here) about the stunning and intricate cakes she had brought to the fayre. I was amazed at just what could be done by icing and belgian chocolate and the cake itself tasted great, I highly reccommend buying homemade as opposed to mass-produced! You just can't fault the attention to detail. Also, by the sounds of it, the shop is situated in a lovely place, with lots of indipendant businesses on the road so it would be a great place to go to support the local community and buy off local people.
Also making cakes were
The Cake Shop Liverpool Ltd who are based near Liverpool Central station. I have walked past this shop on many occasions and been amazed by the unusal designs in the window. They do all sorts of cakes, not just weddings and they have a wide variety of flavours including (but not limited to): Cookies and cream, lemon, carrot cake, apple blossom which can be incorporated into the wedding cake, as well as cupcakes (and these days people have a cupcake wedding cake). They are very modern in their approach and appreciate that people don't have to have fuit cake anymore. Definately one to check out if you are in Liverpool, for all occasions, not just weddings.
Last but not least in the cake section was
The Chocolate Cellar and you guessed from the name that they specialise in chocolate cake. And it was so soft and moist! They layer it with ganache (which is chocolate and cream for those who aren't baking inclined) and then decorate the outside with various chocolate. It's not just plain, milk, white or whatever, there is strawberry, coffee and all sorts. They also do a unique take on cupcakes (with the case being chocolate as well) and macaroons which looked too good to eat!
Wedding favours/table decorations
Also at the fayre was
Chollybabies Candy Buffet who also have a website
here. They provide sweets and homemade cakes, and a whole host of other amazing noms for weddings, hen nights, to add something unique to a wedding or event. They could also colour co-ordinate with your wedding or event's theme! They had some yummy samples of heart shaped chocolates with glitter but my fabourite was the toffee apples, which were apples covered in toffee and then chocolate. They had a lovely texture to them (none of that breaking your teeth or sticking your hair too solid toffee) and you could really taste the quality of the apple as well!
Florists!
Onto the
Dutch Flower Shop next who had even done bouquets for the royal family. I particularly liked their cupcake shaped flower arrangement which I thought would make a quirky alternative for centre pieces. They also had really cute flower girl acsessories like wands and wire baskets. They also had orchids - which are a beautiful flower, which looked too perfect to be real!
Another flower company!
Fishlocks Florist, Liverpool (non facebook website can be found
here). Their display was very elegant, in creams and beige colours (which doesn't usually appeal to me, I am a big fan of purple and the bolder the better) but there was lovely candleabras.
Add a little Sparkle were at the fayre also, and their stall was again quite traditional looking but they did have a HUGE flower cocktail glass, which could be used as a table centrepiece and I thought it was really nice, it caught my eye and it was something different. It reminded me of Dita Von Teese's burlesque routine with the olive sponge, so it would definately add something unique to the wedding. I also asked about the colour scheme, as in, if they cater to the alternative people (so, think black roses and purple tulips) and anything is possible! Gotta love a versatile company! They also do chair decorating and other event services.
Hair & Make up
The only hair stylist at the event was
Michelle Halewood - Devant hair and make up and she was lovely. When I walked in she was doing the hair of two stunning models (and did an amazing job as well) and she was really friendly and chatty. She seemed very versatile, and could work with thick hair, dyed hair, extensions and what-not!
Make up was being offered by
Makeup By Amy Helen who were using a really good selection of make up. I was speaking to the ladies about catering for the paler as well as darker skinned ladies and they use
Illamasqua as well as other brands like MAC for a variety of foundation shades, as well as a huge variety of eye and lip colours. They have a special package where they stay until 7pm to do touch ups for the bride and up to 10 guests, which I think was a really nice touch as well. The ladies on the stall knew what they were doing, were professional and really friendly.
Rings
The next company is quite an unusual one.
The Perfect Ring Company (non facebook page can be found
here) designs custom rings, and I mean "custom". Whatever stone, whatever band, whatever metal you want and not just that but you can have it engraved, not just with names but designs, however intricate or simple or unusual (they even said yes to my skull and rose theme!). The gentlemen running the stand were really friendly, got some compliments on my rings (again if you know me you know I wear two huge silver things - one with amethyst). The prices were pretty decent as well, a lot less than I was expecting. And to add to it all, they can pay you home visits to decide on shape, fit and everything, so you don't event have to trawl the streets to find a ring (one which someone else could buy as well). A really good company, and the leaflet they handed out had a lovely gift voucher on the back!
Photographers
At the event, there were 2 specialised wedding photographers, the first I spoke to was
Nicole Photography who are a husband and wife partnership. Their albums were lovely and they gave me some great advice about wedding photography (if I ever were to branch into it). The images looked really pristine!
The second was
Raw Photography Ltd (none facebook page can be seen
here), who specialise in the more quirky weddings, like vintage and whatnot. Again a duo, charging £2300 this year (2013) for a wedding package. I do however like their sailor shots and their shots at the
Hard Days Night Hotel.
Other stands
The Wedding Lounge (non-facebook page can be found
here) seemed to be a one stop shop for all things bridal. They did table decorations, photography, table plans and even a creche for children, which I thought was a good idea. They also had a vintage sweet cart. Basically a lot of things catered for!
ICatcha was another really unique stand, they did centre pieces for tables but then they also do... archways? Door dressings? Basically these really pretty twig and fairylight creations with lamps and beads, ranging from LED white light to more vintage and cherryblossom. I thought they were really pretty and would work well in photo shoots as well as weddings.
Revents also provide various entertainment for weddings like singers. Can cater to various needs! Really friendly!
Unforgettable memories films make films of the big day. Not as an alternative to a photographer but to compliment the day. Videos capture things which pictures can't!
Other wonderul things about the day!
For one, the hotel (
The Hard Days Night Hotel, Liverpool). It is an amazing retro, Beatles inspired hotel. Clues in the name, right? Really luxurious, clean and has lots of character. It is also in a great location, really near the docks and Matthew Street in Liverpool.
Also, the canapes. Really high quality and tasty! The people walking round with them are lovely as well!
It was my first wedding fayre, and it has put me in the mood for more. They have such a nice atmosphere as it is people who are in love planning the best day of their life.
