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!"

A tribute blog to 2 special ladies...

They say that you're lucky if you can recall your earliest memory.. and even if you think you have, how do you know for sure it's your first? Here at Vintage Twee, the one thing owner Joanne and I both remember as clear as day are the trips we used to make to our Great Aunt Ediths house in Yorkshire every month. The inspiration behind the creation of Vintage Twee which is now a firm favourite on the bridal circuit, our wonderful Great Aunt was born on this very day in 1919, making her an amazing 93 years old today. We used to be fascinated by her antique tea trolley, two little girls daintily arranging the vintage china cups and plates, sneakily stealing some of the delicious buttercream from her homemade butterfly cakes, getting ready to serve to anyone who'd let us! Those magical Sundays went by in a blur of good old fashioned hostessing and weren't complete without the delicate sugar bowl, quaint milk jug and lots and lots of floral patterns!
We're lucky to have some inspirational women in our family and Great Aunt Edith is definitely one of them. Persuing her passion to be a nurse, she sacrificed her maternal instincts and focused on helping those who needed it. In the 1940's she'd progressed to becoming a matron and successfully ran wards for 40 fantastic years. She was strict mind you and took no nonense off wayward young nurses hoping for an easy life! In fact, one of her favourite stories to tell is how when she was in charge of the Burns Unit, a little 5 year old boy told her in secret that whenever she was away from the ward, the nurses would help themselves to her best rose design teacups and enjoy lengthy tea breaks! Sure she didn't let them get away with that too lightly... 

Great Auntie Edith- doesn't look 93!

In between being an inspiring matron, the eldest girl of 4 sisters AND a wonderful tea party host, she loved to bake, garden and spend time with her family.  Today, she still lives in Yorkshire but unfortunately suffers from dementia and her previously accurate memory now is somewhat jaded. Randomly she recalls things from 50 years ago as clear as day, living in her own world and believing that all her deceased sisters are still alive. It will be a sad day when we lose this family treasure but until then, we wish her a very happy birthday and a huge thank you for some wonderful childhood memories that led to one little girl finding a passion and turning it in to a successful and enjoyable busines . 

A final note in honour of another charismatic and driven woman in our family, our dearly loved and much missed Grandma, Phyllis. Friday 3rd Feb would have been her 78th birthday and knowing her she wouldn't have stopped for a minute to sit down and rest! She sadly passed away 3 years ago but will always be remembered as a woman who showed us what you can acheive with a lot of hard work, a desire to succeed and a cheeky smile. A business owner until she was too ill to do so, she was a trooper who did what she loved and loved what she did. Rest in Peace, Grandma and happy birthday xxxx

Still popular after 93 years!