There's snow business like the wedding business...

Photo by Foley Photography

Despite the flurry of snowfall last weekend, the aptly named "White Memoirs Vintage Wedding Fair" went ahead at Stockport Town Hall on Sunday, proving that not even forces of nature can stop browsing brides and their love of all things vintage!

Organised by Rachael from The Social Butterfly Events, the fair was the first of its kind to be held at the historic town hall. Joanne and the Vintage Twee stall managed to make it to this local affair in spite of the mountain of snow on her doorstep- and didn't have to resort to tobaganning down the hill she lives on either!

Photo by Foley Photography

 It was great to see and chat to so many individual brides all with some fantastic ideas for their upcoming summer weddings. And Joanne got lots of positive feedback on the new Vintage Garden Range which had it's first public outing at the fair. Comprising of a new display and the recent additions to the Vintage Twee collection, you'd be forgiven for thinking you'd just stumbled upon a welcoming afternoon tea party. And with Joanne dressed in a stunning (but hardly thermal) 1950's style dress from Vivien of Holloway and beautiful red peep toe shoes, the Vintage Twee stand really stood out. Also with its debut appearance on the stall was the hand crafted Vintage Twee bunting, cleverly made by the newest member of the team, Yvonne. Assisting Joanne, Yvonne looked beautiful in a floral print dress and cute red cardigan, making sure the Vintage Twee brand resonated throughout the day.

Photo by Foley Photography

There were some fabulous stall holders there, all delivering high quality products and services. Favourites of Vintage Twee included Perfect Days Vintage who offer a fantastic range of vintage china and prop hire, Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe, specialists in bespoke bridal accessories and The Vintage Beauty Parlour where glamorous owner Bethany Jane Davis was kept busy doing demonstrations of her perfectly styled vintage hair do's and classy make up.

Trying not to eat any of the scrumptious array of cakes and scones on their display, Joanne and Yvonne concentrated on showcasing the new bridal rosettes, delicately made from vintage music sheets and perfect for special members of the bridal party as well as talking to brides about how Vintage Twee can custom make items to co-ordinate with colour schemes and themes.

Photo by Foley Photograhy

It was a busy day had by all and by the time the last bride-to-be shuffled out in the cold early evening air, all the stall holders agreed it had been a great day and for Joanne, it was lovely to be part of a fair local to where she grew up. Special thanks go to Amedea and Scott from Foley Photography who were exhibiting too and were kind enough to take the photos of the Vintage Twee stall and items that you see on the blog.

Time to stock up on hot chocolate and homemade cakes ready to do it all again on Sunday 19th Feb at the  the St Georges Hotel in Harrogate for the Vintage Wedding Fair - see you there!

To quote Joanne "it's always summer in Twee Land!"

Car Booty = Vintage Beauty

Never has the saying “One woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure” been more appropriate than this weekend! Joanne decided to check out the local car boot sales of the North West to see if she could find anything more than redundant audio cassettes and broken kids toys- and she did well! Aided by Daddy Twee who is renowned for spotting a bargain, the two set off on a mission to find hidden treasures in need of a little tender loving care.

First to be snapped up was a stunning Brass Letter Rack  for the unbelievable price of £1.00. Ornate and decorative, after a bit of elbow grease and patience it now looks as if it’s been standing proudly on the mantelpiece of a stately home instead of spending the last 20 years lying in somebodies cellar! Perfect for displaying Vintage Twee Bridesmaid postcards, it will be making an appearance at a craft fair very soon…

Following the bargain trail, Joanne picked up a beautiful Vintage Sadler China Sugar Bowl which quite conveniently was a vintage dusky pink colour with gold gilded edges- perfect Vintage Twee colours! Dated 1922 on the underside, it will be a welcome addition to the props Joanne has collected for the Vintage Twee photoshoots. And priced at 10p… who could resist?!

Also to be used for photoshoots was an amazing early 20th cenutry vintage butterdish which we’re sure you’ll agree is absolutely stunning. Unfortunately it had one corner missing which usually would put most people off… but not Joanne! She added this delightful dish to her growing collection for a mere £1.00 and will be sure to photograph it from an angle which definitely shows off its best side!

Plenty of vintage pieces of jewellery were discovered which will become features on Vintage Twee Table Plans and Wedding Guestbooks, as well as a whole host of vintage music sheets dating back to 1919. These will be transformed in to the trademark Vintage Twee Paper Rose Place Settings and romantic Rose Cones , ensuring these long lost music sheets get to live again. Accompanied by the purchase of a selection of lace doilies at a rock-bottom price of 50p each, it proved to an extremely successful shopping trip for under £10!

The only item of the day that so far has yet to be fully restored to its original glory is a cream, lace and pearl 1920’s handbag that sadly, is proving to be a challenge. It’s deeply stained with rust and tea (understandable after being over 90 years old) but for an absolute snip at 50p Joanne found herself drawn to it for more than just the price tag. If anyone has any ideas on how this could be re-invented please get in touch!

Help us restore this antique gem!

Be sure to check out the Vintage Twee website to see all the fabulous products that will be created using both inspiration and materials from purchases this weekend. And as Joanne is hoping to hit another barrage of car boot sales over the next few bank holidays there may well be more treasures still uncovered that will shortly be making their very own Vintage Twee debut ..

Cupcakes and lovely-Ness!!

When you think of the Wirral, it probably doesn’t automatically conjure up images of idyllic flowered gardens, beautiful landscaping and lush lily ponds. However the award winning Botanical Ness Gardens defies anyone to not fall in love with this romantic and awe inspiring venue, proving that the perfect place to hold your wedding lies just around the corner..

Vintage Twee was recently invited to exhibit our items at the latest wedding fair alongside Roses Tea Rooms, a company whose original and top class wedding and tea party catering has earned them new premises on site at the lovely Ness Gardens. Starting the day with breath-taking views over the River Dee to the Welsh Mountains, Joanne got stuck in helping decorate the gorgeous Roses Tea Rooms cupcakes with Vintage Twee’s infamous Party Picks, ready to showcase to the public. From all accounts it was hard to resist the frosted treats with lemon, chocolate fudge and the more unusual but delicious beetroot and ginger varieties! All handmade by their extremely talented chef Raf, there was even homemade marshmallows and honeycomb…diet? What diet? Roses use all locally sourced ingredients and everything is made on site, fresh on the day of your wedding/event. Take a look at their mouth-watering website and you won’t fail to be impressed with the range of treats available.

Vintage Twee has been working with the lovely Roses Tea Rooms right from the very beginning, when they gave a “new starter” in the business (us!) the opportunity to be displayed at the events they catered for. An amazing working relationship has now bloomed and it was great to get the chance to work in person alongside Amy and Christina who were representing Roses at the fair. Good laughs were had by all and after consuming way too much sugar for a Sunday afternoon, Joanne and the girls crammed in to a photo booth on the stand next door for the obligatory photo! Provided by Cetra Studios, the booth can be hired out to capture your party guests in true photo-finish style with memories to keep for all!

Vintage Twee would just like to thank all the people involved including Jen, the wedding co-ordinator at Ness Gardens, as well as Amy and Christina from Roses Tea Rooms for making Joanne feel so welcome! A great day out mixed with delicious food, interesting people and gorgeous surroundings- hoping to book our space for next time already!!

Joanne, Amy Christina and Jen striking a pose!!