Easy going January - Our month in pictures

Having eased myself into the first few weeks of the New Year I had time to step back think review and plan the future for Sarah Foy Couture. Lots of fun projects ahead including new collections of my new accessories line and a new dress line. I loved working on the blog in 2017 and want to give brides to be more and more. So watch this space as I start answering all those questions about your dress.

Dreaming and planning my next collaboration with Butterfly Photography.

Here is a collection of pictures that sum up January 2018 in the studio

  1. Instagram love from @elishaclarkephotography of our bride Sarah's grey simmer dress
  2. Our stunning bride @aislingmkeenan still dreaming of her wedding dress
  3. Pattern work begins on our new projects 
  4. Finishing touches to our summer 2018 brides begin
  5. Excitement as new fabrics start arriving in the studio
  6. Teaming up with the ladies in One Fab Day to give away a custom made accessory for a luck bride
  7. Colour hits the studio - 2018 brides rocking strong colour gowns
  8. Dramatic custom made cape for our December bride 

Smock Alley

What better way to spend a November Monday morning in Dublin then in the beautiful Smock Alley Theatre. This was the scene for a day long creative shoot with the best of the best wedding suppliers in Ireland last week.

Starting nice and early at EF Studios for hair and makeup transformation. Super talented early birds Emma Farrell and a Michelle O’Halloran whipped model Katelyn into shape for the day ahead. But the star of the show was Sean Emma's beau!

Frog Prince Events supplied the beautiful flowers and table wear. 

Paul from Moat Hill Photography capturing every bit of light through those spectacular stain glass windows of Smock Alleys Banquet Room.

Jen and Jay from Cupcakes and Counting helping us out as well as delivering the stunning wedding cake 

Karen from The Parlour Press designed the most beautiful wedding stationary to add the finishing touch to our bridal shoot 

Want to check out more behind the scenes from the day here are The Dream Teams instagram handles  

Wedding Gowns @sfoycouture. 

photography @moathillphotography

Forals and events @frogprinceevents

Venue @smockalleytheatre

Hair @moh_hairdesign

Make up @efcstudios

cake @cupcakesandcounting

stationary @parlourpressweddings

model @primamodels @katelyncass

 

More to come next week on what we where photographing on this shoot- exciting news!

Bridal Muse

Today I am sharing a very special Bridal Muse. My beautiful sister Karen, who a year ago married her soul mate. 

All of the pictures today are from the amazing Moat Hill Photography

There is no doubt that designing a dress for a bride is a big responsibility. So when your sister asks you to create her gown, you know you have to design something very special. When I design for my brides I believe that a dress should reflect their personality and style. Lucky for me I have known Karen for quiet some time! So today she is sharing her experiences and advice for your wedding day.

What is your best memory of your wedding day? 

I loved the entire day, I would do it again tomorrow and not change a thing about the day. Having travelled home to Ireland for our wedding I really enjoyed the wedding morning with my family and bridesmaids. I went for an early refreshing beach walk first thing with my sister and baby niece before the preparation began. It was so lovely and unforgettable.

My best memory is probably the ceremony, myself and Brian couldn’t stop smiling and giggling with each other. We had done a rehearsal the afternoon before to banish nerves which meant we got to enjoy the readings and music that we had personally chosen. It was our parish, our town where we both grew up and our people. It was just lovely pledging our love to each other surrounded by our favorite people from home and abroad on our turf.

What is your advice to a bride to be? 

Don’t let the planning take over your life in the run up, take time to have fun and don’t lose sight of why you are getting married and that it is about your future together and not the actual wedding day! We really wanted our day to reflect us as a couple but we also had a cut off point and decided if it’s not done by this date ….. it’s not important and not getting done. I would advise others to do the same as this meant we really enjoyed the days leading up to the wedding with the people we loved.

The biggest piece of advice I can give and that was given to me was to make time for you and your new hubby. The way we planned the day meant that we went for photographs (just the two of us) before we travelled to the venue for the official family ones. This gave us two hours together directly after we said “I Do” and it was amazing. We had so many laughs and moments of silliness before celebrating the night away with everyone else. On reflection, it helped that we loved our photographers and official driver (my favorite brother in law) which meant we just had the banter and soaked it all up.

Last piece of advice is to make sure you gel with the suppliers you book and that they get you and what you want. It’s so important, I’m sure it would have a massive impact on your day as you spend a lot of time with your photographers, your hair stylist and make up artist etc– trust your instinct on this.

What was your biggest worry about getting your dress made?

That I’d give my sister a nervous breakdown because I’m so indecisive, married with the fact that I don’t live in the same country as her.  Despite having grown up literally surrounded by Sarah Foy wedding dresses, I never really thought about what my own would look like. Luckily Sarah was paying attention over the years and had a better idea. She travelled over to me (any excuse for a get together) to try on assorted styles in the UK and we designed it from there. I was very lucky as I had 100% faith in her.

What part of the process of having your dress made was most fun for you?

Probably, when we sourced the most amazing pink guipure lace. We had a vision of this almost impossible fabric, something very subtly but delicate and to be honest we didn’t think we would find it…Sarah rose to the challenge and sourced the most amazing fabric exceeding my expectations and we both fell in love with it. From there she took all the elements of different dresses I loved and made them work together. I ABSOLUTLEY loved it and still do! I felt so comfortable, happy and special in the dress that my sister had designed and handmade just for me, it’s an indescribable feeling. At the end of the evening it suddenly dawned on me that I’d have to take it off and never wear it again, it was such a devastating moment but luckily I had another fabulous Sarah Foy dress for the following day….I am one lucky sister.

Thank you Karen for sharing your memories of the day. It was certainly a day I will always remember. It is an honour to be your sister and personal designer!

The Dream Team

Photographer - www.mhphoto.ie

Venue - www.rathsallagh.com

Hair - www.michelleohalloran.com

Make up - Helen Henry 0876167607

Dress - www.sarahfoycouture.com

 

 

 

Holiday Inspiration

It was a week of daydreaming of my holidays and catching up on work. The blue skies and warm weather becoming a distant memory. Looking through my pictures I may have been a little obsessed with Portuguese tiles.

We are back on Monday with a very personal Bridal Muse and a dress that I love deeply

Behind the Scenes

On a January evening three weeks ago I sat down on my couch utterly exhausted. My phone beeped -  an email from Aisling at Butterfly photography with just one picture from the day. Breathtaking, it had been a busy day but it was all worth it for that one amazing image.

Butterfly Photography

Today we give you a behind the scenes look at our latest photoshoot.

Inspiration for the day started back in November last year. A meet up with Stacey from Making Faces Gorey got us all excited to collaborate again. How did we collect our ideas? I love Pinterest so that's always a good starting point for me - check out our Pinterest board.

I wanted warmth, tranquility. I choose soft tulle in warm gold, heavy silk crepes in creamy tones and finally luxurious silk velvet in pale pink. From there I draped and played with the fabric till a dress was formed.

The day began early with fires burning at Murphy's Barn to keep Prima model Natalia warm while Catriona from Headrush.ie and Stacey from Making Faces Gorey worked their magic.

Event stylist and florist Sharon from Frog Prince Events was let loose on the Barn. Spending hours transforming the venue into the most beautiful wedding scene. While also whipping up our bouquet and floral crown .....one amazingly talented lady

It's was our photographer Aisling's idea to take a trip to the beautiful Raven Nature Reserve and Curracloe beach. Teamed with the amazing weather and Butterfly photography's talent these images where dreamy perfection.

To finish of our wedding scene. The super talented Jen from Cupcakes and Counting supplied us with her stunning three tier cake. Which got the styling treatment with Sharon at Frog Prince Events. With wedding stationary from Wedding Fusions.

So much fun working with all of these super talented artists. When let loose to imagine and create their magical touch shines through. Check their work out below

Venue - Murphy's Barn

Model - Prima Model Natalia

Hair - Cathriona at Headrush

Make up - Stacey at Making Faces Gorey

Photographer - Aisling and Dan from Butterfly photography

Event Stylist - Frog Prince Events

Cake - Cupcakes and Counting

Stationary - Lula at Wedding Fusions

 

 

 

My Inspiration - V&A

While in London in December for a friends tropical themed birthday party - yes you are reading that correctly. I managed to sneak off for an hour to take a trip to the Victor and Albert Museum. They never fail to have a exhibition that I want and have to see.

I found the Undressed. Brief History of Underwear and was intrigued

Now before I found my calling as a wedding designer I had worked as a lingerie designer for a company based in Dublin, so this was of particularly interest to me.

Beautiful silk and lace detailing . They showed how underwear had evolved through the ages and how modern lives and fashion changed how underwear was designed.

There was for me two stand out pieces that made the exhibition.

The modern day evening wear that was inspired by underwear. As a big fan of Elie Saab, to see his lilac creation up close was fantastic and humbling, the hand work detail amazing. Layers of silk and lace carefully placed to create the most beautiful silhouette . So inspiring to see

Elie Saab

Secondly the video piece - The "Babydoll" slip by Carina Gilson. This video showed the process of making a silk slip. Still even to me a designer that works to create in cloth daily I found this mesmerising. They used a method called cut away that I had seen done before many years ago in lingerie .

So how does this help me to design dresses . Well there is something very inspiring to see how fashion has evolved, moved with the times and needs of its world. It is quiet amazing to think I am part of that. Will my daughter look back at what I am creating today and think how much we have moved, changed, evolved?

What inspires you? What motivates you and excites you? We would love to hear more in our comments below.

Creatives At Work

Hair stylist Lorraine Browne

On a busy Saturday morning for Lorraine I popped up to her private studio in Clontarf to talk all about weddings - one wedding lover to another.

I have been lucky enough to collaborate with Lorraine on inspirational shoots over the years and have seen first hand her magical touch. However, I was looking forward to hearing a little more about what inspires her and how she became wedding obsessed.

How did you find your calling ?

I’ve been looking after Brides for years and years….. too many too mention. Lorraine Browne Hair Stylist all started way back when my parents had a wedding car business. My job was to hoover the car's on a Saturday morning and then to dress in my sailor jacket and spruce up my mullet haircut (it was the 80’s) and to be a little helper on the day…Hold umbrellas, open doors, pop champagne.

Whilst in high school I was a Saturday girl in a large salon group in my home town of Cheshire. Being a junior to a session stylist in the salon I went as an assistant on weddings, shoots and shows, I just loved it. I have been a Salon stylist, Salon Manager, Trainer for Wella - Proctor and Gamble and session stylist for shoots, shows and films. But I have always kept up my bridal work, it is my passion.

I have a great job that feeds my addiction to beautiful gowns, venues, food and the soppy romance I couldn’t be better suited to what I do …..I’m obsessed with Weddings.

Who is your Bride?

I don't have a particular type of bride. I'm very adaptable which is what I like about being a bridal hair stylist. One day I could be working on a vintage up style using techniques that I have been trained in for years and the next I'll be looking after a boho bride where the look is finished by your eye and personal style.

When do you feel most creative?

Inspirational photo shoots are a great way for me to get creative. I enjoy creating the story behind the look and finding great venues and locations. Teaming up with other wedding suppliers, we pool our talents to create something special

But for my brides it's different. I love seeing the whole look together and I think that's the same for the bride. The wedding morning is the only time the hair, make up, gown and accessories are all seen together for the first time and that inspires me.

How do you feel meeting a new bride to be?

Most of my Brides I have already met before they got engaged, they are usually a bridesmaid or a family member/friend of one of my previous brides.

I usually build up all the details I need via emails and Pinterest boards before the trial so when we meet in real life we already know each other very well. I'm a bit of a romantic and really love hearing how couples meet.

Whats the best questions a bride could ask me?

Communication is very important when a bride is choosing her hair stylist. Firstly, it has to be someone they feel comfortable with. That they can say what they like and more important what they don't like. Hair and make up is so personal sometimes you just don't know until you see it, so a trial is essential. I do a 90min/2hour trial, it is important to me that my bride can see a few options. I love when a bride has a family heirloom, veil or brooch that they would like to incorporate into their hairstyle. Those finishing touches are what I'm all about

A bride should also ask if her hair stylist is fully insured. That they are well experienced, so check any reviews and follow their work on social media.

What a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning. The super talented Lorraine while chatting away to me, she managed to wrestle my crazy locks into a beautiful hair style - that is serious multitasking and serious talent. A big thank you to Lorraine for taking time out to share a little insight to her business.

if you have a hair or wedding inspiration questions for me or Lorraine comment below we love to get your feedback

 

Website www.lorrainebrownehair.com

Email lorrainehair@gmail.com

Phone +353 872438814

twitter @lorraine_hair

facebook lorrainebrownehair

instagram browne_lorraine

 

Bridal Muse Julie

When I began last year to plan 2017's blog I really wanted to do something a little different.  I reached out to my 2016 brides to ask them what they took away from their wedding day? What could they advice our readers? And from this evolved Bridal Muse , where a collection of brides tell us how they created their wedding day.

Fast forward to January and I am introducing you to our first Bridal Muse Julie. You need only glance at her stunning wedding pictures to see what a beautiful, amazing day she had, beaming from head to toe. Julie has very kindly shared her memories and knowledge here today. So grab a cuppa and let her day inspire you. 

What is your best memory of your wedding day? 

It is hard to pick a favourite part but the ceremony was incredibly special. The vows, music & poetry coming to life was amazing and each one was very personal to us.

Is there a moment that stands out for you? 

A moment that stands out is walking up the aisle and seeing Tim a little emotional when he saw me in my dress for the first time. You imagine how those moments might feel but when they are happening, in front of all of your nearest and dearest, it is something you can't really put into words. It is probably all of those cliches people talk about - and I'm trying not to be too cliched!

What is your advice to a bride to be? 

My advice is to go with your gut. Everyone's experience is so different - just go with what feels is the right decision for the two of you. Your family & friends might have very different ideas/expectations of what they think is the right venue/dress/band/flowers/guests budget. Whether you go for a full traditional affair or something really intimate, just try to remember it is about the two of you making that commitment to each other.

Our wedding was the day before St. Patrick's day so that really helped shape the day in terms of little touches and decisions we made about colours/invites/entertainment etc. We also had the experience of attending dozens of previous weddings so we had a very clear idea of what what we had in mind for ours. The support we had from our families and friends was unbelievable - I will be forever grateful to some of them for the help they gave in whatever big/small way they were able to.

What was your biggest worry about getting your dress made?

Again, through previous experience (my sister had her dress made with Sarah) I had a good idea about the process involved. That being said though, it is slightly daunting not knowing what it will look like as a finished product! Sarah made me feel at ease from our first meeting and goes through all the questions you might have about getting it made and what you have in mind. It was very much a collaboration of what I had in my head and what she was able to do with her magic needle and thread!

What part of the process of having your dress made was most fun for you?

I did do my research and had tried on a few dresses and looked up a good few designers by the time I contacted Sarah. I just couldn't find what I was looking for; that didn't cost a ridiculous amount of money and that I felt really comfortable in. They were my my main priorities for the dress - I put all of the ideas of the dream dress I had in my head and sent Sarah pictures and worked with her on what colours, fabrics etc. that suited the look I had in mind. Looking through samples can be a bit overwhelming but I was very much guided by her for this part and went with her professional opinion on what she thought would work best for some of those decisions. It was a really fun, creative process that I can genuinely say, was a pleasure from start to finish.

Thank you to the beautiful Julie for taking time to be our Bridal Muse and sharing your day with us.

www.markgriffinphoto.com

www.deborahleonardmakeup.com

Lorraine Edwards Hair 0834491687

 

www.bellinghamestate.ie

www.bellinghamcastle.ie

I would love to hear what you think of our new series and what tips you may want to share. Comment below, I always want to hear more.

  

My job is to bring dresses to life. Julie, like a lot of my brides have a clear idea of what they want for their wedding dress. We just help to fill in the gaps and create something unique for them. You are welcome to email me if you need a dress brought to life.