Sunday 13 November 2011

Award Excitement!!

Its been a busy few weeks at Starstruck HQ - The brand new Renaissance Collection is just weeks away from being released, and we already have a fantastic bridal boutique on board!  Aliya Rose in Fife will be stocking several pieces from the collection which owners, Liz and Kirsty, feel will perfectly compliment their 2012 range of bridal dresses.

We hope to be supplying other bridal boutiques in the near future and our trade brochures have litererally just gone to print!

We have also been working very hard on a range of snowflake themed pieces, which have been now been completed.  The "Let it Snow..." collection currently consists of a snowflake side tiara, a snowflake necklace and a snowflake bracelet, with plans to add a smaller side tiara and a snowflake comb in the very near future.




So having reached Friday afternoon after a week of non-stop work, I was looking forward to relaxing that evening with a glass of wine or two.  Instead of winding down though, the excitement and adrenaline kicked in when I found out that Starstruck Designs has been shortlisted as Best Bridal Accessories in East Midlands, in the 2012 Bridal Industry Awards!!  Cue much jumping around, squeals of excitement and more than 2 glass of wine!

We are absolutely overwhelmed at the support we have had from our 2010/11 brides, and thank you SO MUCH to every single one of you that voted for us.  What makes these awards so different to the many other industry awards, is that these are voted for ONLY by brides who have actually used each supplier.

The winner from each region will be announced at the end of November so watch this space to see how we get on!

Monday 26 September 2011

Behind the scenes with Starstruck (and a Chicken...?)

On Saturday, Starstruck Designs embarked on its first ever location photo shoot, which turned out to be incredibly good fun, very hard work, and from the preliminary shots i've seen, extremely successful!  I really wanted to be able to showcase my work "in situ", and so enlisted in the help of an incredibly talented team of professionals to create a portfolio of images which I simply cannot wait to show you!  However, whilst I wait (im)patiently for them to arrive on my desk, I thought i'd share a "day in the life of" account with you...

The day dawned with the beautiful sunshine that I had been praying for all week, and I packed up the car and headed to the venue, Stoke Hall, which turned out to be the most beautiful, intimate wedding venue in Notts and Lincs that I have ever seen.  Owners, Diane and Brian, were so patient and welcoming throughout the whole day, despite us tramping through their home for almost seven hours! However, the very first person to greet me as I arrived was a very sociable chicken who seemed to think she was part of the family, and that access to the Hall was her right.


She became quite a fixture throughout the day, I think at some point all of us had a go at trying to chase her out of the house as she found her way inside again and again!

After a quick tour of Stoke Hall, we chose the Orangery as our base due to the fantastic natural lighting, and started setting up hair and make-up equipment, and laying out all the accessories into sets ready for the quick changes that were to come!  Model, Jess, soon arrived with her mum Julie, who was incredibly helpful when it came to helping with accessories changes, and keeping track of what had and hadn't been photographed!

The very talented Karen Kemp, Lincoln based hairdresser who created 2 fantastic looks on our models, here expertly coiffing Nikki's hair:



And equally as talented was our Lincoln based make up artist, Helen Mitchell who created the most beautiful looks on both models, here finishing off Jess's make-up:


Whilst our models were being "beautified" (like they needed it....gorgeous ladies!), Lincolnshire wedding photographer, Richard King and his rather lovely wife, Elizabeth were scoping out the venue for perfect locations to shoot.  The cherry on the cake when booking Richard, is that Elizabeth just so happens to be a highly sought after wedding planner! She brought a real perfectionist attitude to the shoot and I really do consider myself exceptionally lucky to have had not just one, but two fabulous professionals taking care of the photography.

Both Karen and Helen stayed with us all day to ensure that hair and make-up remained absolutely perfect throughout. So with hair and make-up finished, and dresses on, we started shooting...



Moving from one beautiful room to another, stopping briefly in the stunning hallway to take advantage of the impressive staircase:


And I had to include this photo as it makes me smile so much - Spot the model hiding out of shot!


Both models, Jess and Nikki, worked really hard as we moved from room to room, and swapped one set of accessories for another.  Photographer, Richard, knew exactly which parts of the rooms to use to create the best effects, and to make the most of the natural light that streamed in through the huge windows.  He also shows enormous patience with me as I nipped in and out of shots adjusting a tiara here and a necklace there!


Then, as the day got later, and the sunlight softened we headed out into the Secret Garden.  An exquisite walled garden, hidden entirely from view until you are standing in it.  Flowers of every conceivable colour, in every size and shape you could imagine, just everywhere.  And in the very center, a beautiful little fountain - the sound of the gently trickling water was the only noise to be heard.  I could have spent hours sat out there drinking in the colours and the peacefulness, however there was simply too much to be done, and I only managed to snap a few photos, but they give you a glimpse of the beauty:


I've already had a sneaky preview of some of the professional photos taken by Richard and they are absolutely stunning.  He managed to take photos of over 20 headpieces, and about 15 necklaces, with matching bracelets and earrings, on models, close up of each piece on models, and then individual product shots on both white and black backgrounds.  He worked tirelessly throughout the day and I think he would have carried on a lot longer had Elizabeth not kept him in check!

All in all, the day was absolutely brilliant and I couldn't have asked for a more professional team to have worked with.  I would highly recommend every single person within their role, with absolute confidence that they will not disappoint!  There was so much more to the day, but I fear I may have gone on too long already!  Watch this space for some of the professional shots soon!


Huge thanks to everyone involved in the shoot:

Venue:  Stoke Hall

Photography:  Richard King     Facebook Page

Hair:  Karen Kemp   Facebook Page

Make-up:  Helen Mitchell    Facebook Page

Models:  Jess and Nikki

Accessories:  Starstruck Designs     Facebook Page

And a little thank you to Elizabeth for all her help too:  Elizabeth King

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Waiting for the weekend!

This Saturday Starstruck Designs will be involved in its first ever professional commercial photoshoot.  Nervous?  Me?  I was thinking a photo of an ostrich with its head in the sand would be appropriate, or maybe a photo of a headless chicken.  This one covered all bases.


The incredible venue is Stoke Hall, and I feel utterly privileged to have a fantastic team on board.  Two gorgeous models, Nikki and Jess, hairstylist Karen Kemp, make-up artist Helen Mitchell and as luck would have it, the Lincoln based photographer, Richard King, will be accompanied by his Wedding Planner wife, Elizabeth.  With such a wealth of experience between us, what could possibly go wrong!?!

There are plenty of new tiara and headband designs to be unveiled, as well as some gorgeous jewellery, both old and new.  Watch this space for pics from the shoot, and I can't wait to blog about the experience - once I have recovered!!

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Accessorising High Street Dresses - Coast

So, the second of my series of "Blinging up your bargains"....

This week i've found an utterly gorgeous dress from Coast Stores (www.coast-stores.com). Again, a High Street favourite of mine, Coast corsets have been rather a staple in my wardrobe for some time now.

This is their Mimosa Bridal dress, and it is simply beautiful, with the most amazing floral lace, accented with matching lace appliques. Combined with a nipped in waist, and slim silhouette, you really can't go wrong.



I love it when a dress dares to be different, and the way the appliqued flowers extend over the neckline, really appeals.  And of course the shape of the flowers are a perfect match for the Aster headband, complete with its tiny "something blue" crystal.  With such gorgeous detailing on the dress, and hair accessories, I think its best to keep any further jewellery quite simple.  A delicate bangle, such as the Eternity Bridal Bracelet, and perhaps a really simple pair of bridal earrings such as these:

And what about shoes?  Well, after a little bit of help, I have found these beauties Clara by Benjamin Adams - just the right amount of lace, and a gorgeous peep toe.



However, if you fancy something a little bit more on the unusual side,  then these ivory lace over duck egg blue peep toes, by Oscar De La Renta, are simply gorgeous.  I must admit that I am coveting them...in a BIG way....!



Feel free to leave us a comment below, and follow our blog to receive notification of our next post, which will be looking at accessories suitable for another high street wedding dress!

High street wedding dress:  Coast (www.coast-stores.com)

Bridal Shoes:  Benjamin Adams (www.paradoxlondon.com

Bridal Jewellery and Headband:  Starstruck Designs (www.starstruck-designs.co.uk)

Monday 25 April 2011

Accessorising High Street Dresses - Monsoon

Or, as I like to think of it: Blinging up your Bargains!

As more and more high street shops are adding bridal collections to their repertoire, I thought it might be an idea to look at how to accessorise them. So i've spent some time (far too much time actually!) researching, and over the coming weeks will bring you what I consider to be four of the best high street bridal dresses along with some suggestions of jewellery and hair accessories to complement.

The first shop that sprang to mind was Monsoon (www.monsoon.co.uk). I love Monsoon dresses, and have owned a few myself over the years. This is my favourite from their current bridal collection: The Valley Mesh Dress, priced at £225.


I love the vintage feel that this dress has, and the detailing on the shoulders is just gorgeous. Team it with a side headband that has an equally vintage feel to it, such as "Selene" from our Goddess collection, and a pair of bridal earrings that combine sumptious pearls and crystals for a softly sparkling effect.

I haven't included a necklace as i'm not really sure the dress needs one, there is already so much detail around the neckline. However if pushed, I would suggest going with either a pendant or a Y shaped necklace, something that will drop beautifully into that deep V-neckline. The Vintage Glamour bridal necklace below is a good example:


I spent a long time researching shoes for this dress, and actually couldn't find what I was looking for.  I wanted something with heavy pearl and diamante beading to echo that shoulder detail, but nothing seemed quite right.  So in the end i've gone with these gorgeous peep toes, called "Crush" from Pink by Paradox.



Feel free to leave us a comment below, and follow our blog to receive notification of our next post, which will be looking at accessories suitable for another high street wedding dress!

High street wedding dress:  Monsoon (www.monsoon.co.uk)

Bridal Shoes:  Pink by Paradox (www.paradoxlondon.com

Bridal Jewellery and Headband:  Starstruck Designs (www.starstruck-designs.co.uk)

Monday 18 April 2011

Glitter, Grace and Glamour...

....And that's only 3 of the newest necklaces to be added to the Starstruck Collection!

Its been a busy few weeks here, which inevitibly results in the unveiling of new pieces that have been created especially for brides. Its takes me a while to get the photos "just right", and then a bit longer to add everything to the website, but i've finally finished updating the necklaces page with our most recent designs.

Introducing Glitter, and Grace - The perfect balance between sparkle and pearl:


Pearl and diamante ball bridal necklace Pearl and diamante rondelle bridal necklace


We've seen a lot of sweetheart and 'V' necklines on bridal dresses recently, and have designed three gorgeous Y style necklaces in response. Vintage Glamour and Enchanted combine pearls and diamante, whereas the Wildheart necklace has its fair share of crystals, creating an incredibly sparkly, yet beautifully soft effect.


Pearl and diamante Y drop bridal necklacePearl and diamante rondelle Y drop bridal necklace Pearl and crystal Y drop Wildheart bridal necklace


And then we have these two little beauties - Purity and Clarity. Both are illusion necklaces, so the crystals and pearls look like they are floating. Purity was created for a bride who was looking for the elegance of pearls, whilst still keeping an element of sparkle. Clarity was based on the same design, but this time the wearer was a bridesmaid wearing a gorgeous dusky rose dress.



Pearl and diamante rondelle illusion bridal necklace Pearl and crystal illusion bridal necklace


There are more, but you'll need to check out the website for the rest of our gorgeous new bridal jewellery. And keep an eye on the blog, for updates to our bracelets collection!

Tuesday 12 April 2011

Happy Anniversary!

So last week was my Wedding Anniversary! The 6th of April marked the day that my gorgeous husband and I had been married for 9 years. I still can't believe its been that long - 9 years!?! Where the heck does time go? For some reason, this year I really did spend a lot of time thinking back to our wedding day, remembering every aspect of it: getting ready in the morning, the drive in the car with my Dad (He was so nervous the driver had to do his tie up!), arriving at Boringdon Hall and the feeling of being in a dream as I got out of the car! The build up of excitement and nerves as I stood outside the room we were to get married in, and could hear the start of MY entrance music (Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" - lol!)



Then I walked into the room and developed the weirdest tunnel vision. I'd planned to smile graciously at all our guests as I glided down the aisle, and instead, all I could see, all I could focus on was my Husband To Be. It was almost like someone had blurred everything either side of me and there was only him. I think I almost ran down that aisle. To the man that I loved, that I wanted to marry, that I was about to MARRY!!!



It really was the most wonderful day - the weather was gorgeous, really sunny and not a cloud in the sky, although it was really windy, but that just meant some fab photos of me veil streaming out behind me! I've always loved this photo, which was taken by my Sister in Law - it always makes me think of a perfume advert:



It was so lovely to spend a whole day with our friends and family, celebrating our marriage. So much hard work goes into planning a wedding, but I can promise you it is absolutely worth it on the day to see it all come together. Having said that, I must admit that there were several things that went wrong on the day which should have been a disaster, but just weren't! I really couldn't care less that the music in the ceremony was a bit messed up, that the venue forgot to play our chosen CD's during the wedding breakfast, or that the DJ turned out to be a cheese-tastic School Disco kinda chappie who offended my mum almost to the point of tears (!!!). None of it mattered. I was married!! Nothing else seemed very important any more!

And here we are, 9 years later. Lots of wonderful times behind us, and a fair few tough ones as well. With our 2 beautiful children who we both adore, and who drive us up the wall at times!




Tuesday 11 January 2011

Purple and Yellow Colour Scheme


Before I start, I have to just share an alternative title to this post. Mr Starstuck seems to think that I used "fancy names" for the colours on my last inspiration post, and wanted to know why I was using "normal ones" this time!! So in an attempt to keep him happy, I did toy with the idea of using the title "Cadbury and Canary"...for about half a second!

Sooo....post number 2 on colour schemes, and this one focuses on purple and yellow. My best friend got married just over a year ago and chose purple as her colour. She incorporated several shades of purple and lilac, which worked beautifully together, but right at the very beginning of her planning she toyed with the idea of using sunflowers with the purple. Ever since then i've had a bit of a "thing" about purple and yellow together, it just seems like such a vibrant, uplifting and fun combination.

So here is my take on the colour scheme - I hope you like!


Purple and yellow wedding cake Flower girl dress by Dessy Viva vintage wedding invitation by Ananya Cards
Purple and yellow lilly comb by Starstruck Designs Dessy Bridesmaid dress Purple peep toe stilettos by Christian Louboutin
Purple and yellow bouquet Purple and yellow wedding invitation by Millie and Me Purple and yellow flower pins by Starstruck Designs


If you click on any of the images above you will be taken to the website of the company that offers the product shown.

Top row, L-R: Purple glossy wedding cake from WeddingsCakesPictures Blog. Flower girls dress by Dessy. Viva vintage wedding invitation, £4 each by Ananya Cards

Middle row, L-R: Mini Lilly Bridal Headband by Starstruck Designs. Bridesmaid dress in Vintage Ombre by Dessy. Purple peep toe stilettos by Christian Louboutin. (note: i'm not sure if these are still available, but loved them too much not to include them!).

Bottom row, L-R: Purple and yellow bouquet by Posies by Pippa . Purple and yellow wedding invitation by Millie and Me.
Purple and yellow flower hairpins by Starstruck Designs.

I've loved putting this post together, and can't wait to get stuck into the next one! Combinations that have been suggested are black and white, navy and pink, navy, silver and light blue, sage green and dusky pink, hot pink and purple. If you'd like to see anything else, leave me a comment below.

If you are a wedding supplier, and you have any product or venue images that you would like to be included in a future blog post, please leave me a comment or email me details!

Tuesday 4 January 2011

Teal and Fuchsia Colour Scheme


I'm often asked to make pieces for brides (usually for their bridesmaids!) in wonderful colours. There are some that get asked for over and over again, and others that are really unusual combinations, but that look absolutely amazing when they are put together with the right shades. However, if there is one thing i've learnt over the years, its that most of the time, its very difficult for brides to visualise how something is going to look, without actually seeing a "draft" first.

So I thought it might be useful to put together some inspiration boards for various colour schemes, just to give an overall idea of how some colours look together. Hopefully I can make this a regular feature of the blog, and to kickstart things, i'm starting with teal and fuchsia. Teal is often a very difficult colour to match, and I often find myself suggesting that brides work with various tones, rather than spending much sweat, blood and tears finding an exact match. Here you can see how several shades of teals and pinks work really well together.


Tiffany Blue Favours Teal and Fuchsia tie by Austin Reed Teal and Fuchsia Crystal Bouquet by Starstruck Designs
Dessy dress Fuchsia bouquet with teal ribbon Teal and fuchsia table plan
Teal earrings by Starstruck Designs Teal and pink cake Dessy Dress


If you click on any of the images above you will be taken to the website of the company that offers the product shown. The crystal bouquet and teal bridal earrings are both available in other colours as well, so do get in touch if you like the style!

So with any luck you'll find this is a regular feature of my blog - and if you have a particular colour scheme that you would like to see featured, please leave us a comment below and we'll hopefully fit you in!
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