ALTERNATIVE COLOURFUL OUTDOOR WEDDING AT THE KEEPER AND THE DELL.

Posted on November 4, 2015 by thelittlelendingco

Sometimes you find the perfect customers. Little Lenders you just go ‘YES’ with! And let me tell you, Kiera and Aiden could not have been more on my wave length. They were one of those couples that just got what I am trying to do in my little world of weddings. They made me realise it’s totally what I’m meant to be doing. For that reason alone, this wedding will forever be one of my absolute faves.

I’m going to hand over to Kiera to tell you more about her wedding planning journey…

What did you love and hate about wedding planning?
Aiden and I were never going to get married so the wedding planning thing was all a huge deal for us! My absolute favourite part was realising that we could literally do ANYTHING we wanted with our day and we add in our quirky style throughout. It was our complete mission to make a wedding that was not at all traditional or formal and that all our guests would leave saying wow that was so original, so relaxed and so ‘Kiera and Aiden!’
The thing I absolutely HATED about wedding planning is that all of a sudden EVERYONE has got an opinion and everyone seemed to demand to be part of the process. Aiden and I fought so hard to make it all about us and spent so much time explaining to people that no we didn’t want any horse shoes as gifts or formal photographs or a cake cutting or a frigging horse and carriage!!! Luckily, we have super supportive parents and best friends that get us completely and they allowed us to just do our thing! * plus we found awesome likeminded suppliers like Penny that helped us confirm it really was our vision and no one else’s!

Where did you find your wedding inspiration?
What I loved is the amount of content online that can provide alternative wedding inspiration! Pinterest was a huge part of our planning process and we went to events such as ‘A Most Curious Wedding Fair’. We also took loads of inspiration from wedding blogs such as ‘Rock My Wedding’. I loved keeping an eye on the Facebook and Instagram pages of our suppliers and our venue as they often posted the most amazing ideas. ‘The Keeper and the Dell’ often posts awesome ideas on their Facebook page as does Penny! ‘The Rose Shed’ has a fab floristry Instagram account, ‘Festival Brides’ is great for alternative, dreamy weddings! Most of the time, I would just Google ‘alternative weddings, boho weddings, festival style weddings etc.! I didn’t really buy wedding magazines as I found that the majority were full of the traditional fluffy wedding stuff that we just weren’t looking for! I did, however, treat myself to the 6 monthly ‘Elle’ wedding supplement #starsineyes!

How would you describe your wedding décor style? And how did you achieve it?
We definitely went for a festival/woodland/bohemian style wedding with a bit of vintage thrown in for good measure ☺ Constant trawling of wedding blogs where couples had done a similar thing before helped us to achieve it. But most of all, we just followed our individual style. I am so incredibly lucky that Aiden and I have completely the same taste in anything décor and he wanted to be every bit a part of the planning as me- it was totally about us as a couple and putting in details and quirks that got everyone saying ‘that’s so Aiden and Kiera!’ We also took some of our own décor from home to decorate the venue too!

What advice would you give to Little Lenders still to tie the knot?
Do it YOUR WAY! Don’t care about tradition, or what others say you are supposed to do! It’s your day- do what the hell you want! Anything is possible! We even had a temporary tattoo and glitter station!!

The Suppliers : ….and any that we’re just amazing that Little Lenders should be using!
Rose Florist– Lisa at Rose Florist is absolutely INCREDIBLE! She listened and got everything we said about what we wanted- I couldn’t have asked for more… my floral crown was literally to die for- I never expected something so vibrant and beautiful! She is so hardworking and professional (plus she is my cousin!!!)
Pandora’s Kitchen– these guys are the most talented, kind, hardworking and professional caterers EVER! Plus their food is just incredible!
Dust with Cocoa– Debbie (formerly of Pandora’s Kitchen) did our wedding cake and I was bowled over when I saw it- it was absolutely beautiful and tasted delicious!
Argent & Sable- made a bespoke fairground ‘I do’ sign for our day and they also rent out the most incredible signs!
Bill’s Ices– Norfolk vintage looking ice-cream van- super friendly, reasonable prices and delicious!
Meringue Girls– a trip to Hackney was so worth it for their delicious sweet stuff!
Macaroons and More– amazing!
Lavender & Jude– my dress was everything.

Thanks so much to Kiera for her really honest comments and fab recommendations. I think you’ll all agree that these pair just ooze cool and happiness. Wish you guys the best married life ahead.

Huge thankyou for these incredible photos from Jordanna Marston Photography. So Rad!

Penny @ The Little Lending Co. X

DIY DREAM CATCHER.

Posted on October 15, 2014 by thelittlelendingco

I’m sure you’ve never sat and thought about turning an old bike wheel into a beautifully simple ceremony dream catcher back drop right? Well this may make you think on…

A DIY dreamy post for the boho bridal babes who are looking for something a little different for their back drops as they make those all important vows.

BEFORE:

£7.00 to hire.

YOU WILL NEED:
Our Bike wheel
White thin cotton tape/binding – Approx 2 meters
A mix of white cotton lace tapes and pompoms
Scissors
White feathers
Gold Spray paint
Cotton or glue gun

1) Start by knotting off the end of the tape into the centre. Weave and wind in a circular pattern around the bike spokes. The more tape the more intricate this can be. (Beware of extra long strings as it does take a while to feed through each spoke. Tie off at the end onto a string. You could easily add more vertical strings that also knot onto the strings going around in a circle if you wanted.

2) Line up some features onto some newspaper. Take a piece of card and cover the ends. Spray gold spray paint onto the tips and allow to dry. Peel the feathers off the paper.

3) Add some tails of mixed laces and pom poms loosely tied on. Tuck the feathers under the string joins and secure with either hot glue or a little white cotton. You could plait strings or add feathers onto the tails to finish too. Could it be more simple?

You could use this with yours and your fiancees names tied on to make more personal, turn into a boho table plan with names on cardboard cut feathers or as a photo back drop for guests strung in the trees.

You can hire the bike wheel for just £7.00 and can drop us a line here.

Fancy DIYing this? Do show us your results,
The Little Lending Co. x

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US.

Posted on August 12, 2014 by thelittlelendingco

I can’t quite believe it’s been a year since starting this Little adventure. I almost don’t recognise it from 12 months ago. Today feels good, I mean really good. Its still just so exciting to think I have created this from scratch.

This post may get a little soppy and gushy but there are just a few people that have been there to help me along the way I must mention.

I’ve made some pretty awesome supplier wedding friends already, Tatum Reid Photography has been so encouraging of my little vision of offering something more alternative to the local wedding scene. Donna at The Country Garden Florist I just gel with and we seem to be on the same page with our collaborations, Darena of DS Photography has taken some beautiful images in our styled shoots, Emma at Buns of Fun and Laura of Betty’s beauty, Charlotte of Lotties Florigami, Georgina Suzanne MUA have all been just lovely to work with…I could go on and on.
It’s been a total pleasure to find such passionate and supportive women in this industry who just want to create and inspire like me. So here is a little quote for you ladies, ‘It’s more amazing what we can accomplish when we’re in it together.’ Don’t you think?

There are a few beautiful venues too that have sent a few little lenders our way and this has not gone un-noticed, The Red Barn, Godwick Great Barn and Narborough Hall Gardens. So thankyou.

To the blogs that have featured us, thank you so much for sharing our work – Festival Brides with our Woodland Picnic shoot and The Green Party dessert table shoot, B.Loved shared our work on Rustic Glamour and A Modern Fairytale, Whimsical Wonderland Weddings our To the Manor Born shoot and Coco Wedding Venues our Beautiful Boudoir shoot giving us a ‘Loved by Coco’ post which made my heart burst with pride to think our little company is loved by industry pros. It has given me so much confidence in my styling and concepts to see my ideas shared has given my some of the biggest smiles in this last year knowing lots of excited brides-to-be will have seen them and will want to re-create it for their own days.

It’s not been a walk in the park, I’ve made mistakes and sometimes it’s blooming hard going but when I start to doubt myself I know I have my husband right there at my side picking me up and carrying me emotionally though this brilliant journey of running my own company. My two lovely lots of parents also have to be mentioned because there is so much behind the scenes stuff they’re doing day in day out. (Don’t worry I’m not blabbing just yet!)

Then of course there are you guys, our blog readers, our Facebook followers, fellow Instagrammers, Pinners and Tweeters. Everyone comment is read and so gratefully received. And lastly our Little Lenders themselves who have made this first year pretty incredible…we’ve already delivered to over 50 weddings in the last year and have lots more to come this summer! So thank you, we have loved being a part of your days with our little lends.

We’ve got a whole lot more planned for this next year and I just can’t wait to get stuck in…after I devour this cake that is.

So finally, Follow your dreams – I am just a girl who decided to give it a go and here I am doing something I adore everyday.
Penny @ The Little Lending Co. x