If you are planning a wedding for next autumn, than this one is for you. Get pinning girls!!

The shoot took place at the stunning Georgian manor house which is home to Hannah from Unforgettable Vintage Bridal Gowns.  The top floor houses their studio where you can lose an afternoon in this treasure trove, trying on their vintage and antique gowns, dresses and jewelery.  Its not just for brides, they have a huge selection of frocks for parties and “just because you can’t live without them dresses…”

Lucy Stendall was our photographer, she is awesome, gorgeous, funny and just generally brilliant.  She specialises in “taking photographs of good old fashioned sweet love.”

We were a bit excited that Sanni Sorma came from Paris to work her magic with hair and makeup.  She also does the best make up tutorials on YouTube and is a fountain of knowledge for girly glamour.

The cakes were made by Daisy Cupcakes and were divine.

We wanted a seasonal, rustic and shoot and  the warm  colour palette worked so well against the orchard and the garden.  Rich Edwardian china, paired with vintage crystal and silver added glamour to the tables and sat perfectly with the simple flower arragements where we used berries, greenery and crabapples picked from the garden that morning – roses added to the relaxed, easy styling.

I stole some oak chairs from the dining room, added some old mirrors and masses of romantic  lace.

The dresses were to die for, just beautiful.

What can I say about our model, Ayo – a star is born. 

Watch this space for another shoot with the same girls – we had such a great weekend and I hope you find some inspiration from our photographs.  Who knows, maybe one day there will be a couple who hires all of us to work on their wedding together!

Astra from Timeless Couture has a close friend, Robyn, who has recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer.  She is only in her mid 20′s.   One of the charities who has been very supportive and helpful to Robyn is The Mercedes Curnow Foundation who promote awareness of the early detection of cervical cancer in young women and funding private screening & hpv tests. They are fighting to lower the age of cervical screening in England from 25-20.  This is something Robyn feels passionately about.

To show support and love for Robyn, Astra decided to organise an event that would involve her family and friends and to hopefully raise funds for The Mercedes Cunrow Foundation.  Corset design is a love of Astra’s and her exquisite, bespoke pieces combine vintage inspired details and modern contempoary shapes.  She partners Rachel at Timeless Couture and together they create beautiful bespoke wedding dresses, two of which you can see in the main photograph above .  Robyn was one of the models in our photoshoot with Timeless Couture earlier in the year, see the gorgeous girl on the telephone above…so it seemed perfect to combine a corset photoshoot with afternoon tea at a special venue.

It was a ladies only day (for obvious reasons!, as Astra put it “no smelly boys”) and all the guests had the opportunity to be involved in the photoshoot.

This idea grew into producing a corset calendar which would be sold to raise further funds.

Stancliffe Hall in Darley Dale offered us the use of their venue, completely free of charge, which was an incredibly generous gesture.  It is an outstandingly beautiful privately owned Hall, set in over 50 acres of stunning parkland in the heart of the Peak District. 

The photography and styling for the shoot was left in the hands of Emma from Ms Honey Boudoir, who also owns Emma Cleveley Photography.  She donated her time, talent, sexy props & experience for the day. 

Tineke kindly supplied all the flowers for the day and there were lots of raffle prizes donated by local businesses.

Darby & Joan provided the afternoon tea for the ladies and we donated two days to set up the venue and supplied our vintage china.

Some of the ladies were hesitant about stripping off and posing, but before Emma knew it there was a queue of ladies desperate to be transformed into a sexy siren for a couple of hours.  It was credit to Emma’s skill and easy going presence that made the shoot such a success, guiding the girls through poses to flatter their figures and enhanced their best bits.  Hopefully we can share some of these photographs with you soon.

Another charity who had been tremendously supportive of Robyn was MacMillan Cancer Support.  Most people are familiar with the amazing work they do on a daily basis, providing practical, medical and financial support and push for better cancer care.  A spokesperson from the charity attended to talk about their role in helping cancer patients and their families.  Some of the funds raised on the day were donated to MacMillan.

Pimms, afternoon tea, a room full of great ladies having a well earned sunny Sunday afternoon to themselves, a beautiful venue, pants and bras flying around everywhere, laughs and tears and raising money for two amazing charities. 

A good day.

Photography on the day – Emma Cleveley Photography, Ms Honey

Photograph of Robyn – Yvonne Lishman Photography

Main image – Emma Case Photography

We styled a photoshoot along with Susie from Vintage Chic Wedding Fair at The Botanical Gardens last week and were more than a little in love with the amazing dressed supplied by Luxe Bridal.  We are desperate to see the images, so whilst Liezl Croft works her magic on the photographs, we can post a link to her blog which has a few images from the day – Botanical Garden Shoot 

We have met so many mutually supportive, friendly and talented wedding suppliers over recent months, none more so than Becky Butterworth of Butterworth Photography.  She interviewed me for their blog, and you can click here to have a read.  Interview with me. 

A spreadsheet beckons…can’t put it off any longer. x

Vintage Chic hold wedding fairs across the Midlands and their next extravaganza is on Sunday 22nd April at The Centenial Centre, Edgbaston, Birmingham.

I am a huge fan of this company, vintage with a modern twist is how they describe their events and they bring together the  finest selection of vintage and chic suppliers.  You don’t have to be dreaming of a vintage styled wedding to visit, any bride will find some gorgeous inspiration from the florists, stationers, photographers, cake makers & hire companies.  If you are a stylish bride, bridesmaid or mother of the bride (or groom) then you are sure to find something unique and special here. 

If you are a veteran of the standard wedding fairs and think you have seen it all before, then I can promise that you will be blown away by a Vintage Chic Wedding Fair.  I took my husband along to the first one I attended (as a visitor) and even he loved it!  And that is praise indeed.  Darby & Joan will be exhibiting there in April and I cannot wait.  I hope to see some of you there.

We have three tickets to give away for their fair in Edgbaston…all you have to do enter is pop by our Facebook page, “like” our page and email us your name, our email address is karen@darbyandjoanvintage.co.uk.  We will choose a name at random on 2nd April, so you will have plenty of time to receive your tickets.

All images provided by Theresa Furey Photography http://theresafureyphotography.co.uk/

Food Fairies is a Derbyshire catering company with a passion for delicious food.  What I love about them is whilst they have an seemingly endless menu to choose from, they encourage their clients’ to share their own ideas & so offer a bespoke menu too.

They pride themselves on using locally sourced ingredients where possible, &, all their dishes, whether sweet or savoury, are homemade.

Food Fairies & Darby & Joan…

Whether your event is a buffet, a wedding breakfast, a formal dinner or you are hosting a drinks party & would like some deliecious canapes providing - I cannot recommend them enough.  We have been fortunate to work with them at several events recently & want to shout from the rooftops about them!  They cover Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire & beyond.

From cupcakes to layer cakes, platters of cheeses & cold cuts to trays of lasagne & huge bowls of salads, crostini smothered in tapanade & fresh tomatoes to mini beef wellingtons – I promise you will be spoilt for choice & will be thrilled with the personal service they offer.  x

foodfairies@hotmail.co.uk

Darby & Joan caught up with wedding suppliers we regularly work alongside, met some inspirational new companies & people & spent the day talking to brides to be & their families about their impending weddings.  Lydia & Abbi from Save the Date really know how to put an event together; catwalk shows, interactive displays, live music, outdoor entertainment, fabulous catering – all housed at The Roundhouse, one of the most impressive buildings in the county. 

We were showcasing our vintage china & vintage accessories together with promoting our Afternoon Tea Party events (we had a cake trolley filled with cupcakes, scones, rocky road & chocolate dipped strawberries..not much left at the end of the day!)  

We were so so excited about the event, fingers & everything else crossed that we  are able to work with some of the brides we met on their wedding or help with their hen parties.  (We have already had one provisional booking from the day, which is amazing, that is my kind of bride!!)

The shoot was a lot of fun & gave us all lots of opportunity to indulge our love of beautiful table settings – I’m sure you will agree that the photographs are gorgeous.

I hope the dresses, table settings, hair, flowers & styling gives you some inspiration if you are thinking of incoporating some vintage loveliness into your wedding day.  You don’t have to embrace the whole theme wholeheartedly – small, well thought out touches can turn an event into something really special & will give your guests something a little bit different to enjoy & remember.

Some of you will be previous customers, some will be brides to be hoping to spot some treasure for their garden party wedding, some will be brides (or grooms) who have already booked Darby & Joan for your weddings & some of you lovely ladies will be searching for something different to arrange for their best friend’s hen party.

Whoever you are, we hope you enjoy the website & find some classic, vintage glamour ideas for your event.

As this is our first blog post,we would like to thank a group of people, family, friends & new business contacts, all of whom have helped us to put this together; David at Square Chilli for the technical know-how & his patience; Martin at Katapult for his understanding of what we wanted & getting it so right; Neil at Katapult for his much appreciated time & advice; so many girlfriends who have listened patiently for hours & hours of conversations about vintage china, weddings, fairs, for having gorgeous ideas & spending so much of their precious spare time helping us - you know who you all are ladies.  Most importantly, the biggest kiss for Steve.