So, weddings have gone away for a while, it doesn’t mean we can’t plan for another day.   I firmly believe that the ‘new normal’ in whatever form that takes, is up to us as wedding suppliers to create with our existing couples and with those newly engaged who are looking for a bit of direction. If you have the right creative people at your planning table, virtually or by phone, I truly think we can make a micro wedding a thing of splendour.

Cara Zagni Photography at Swanton Morley House & Gardens

Number Cuts:

We have gone through the dash of hundreds of guests to 30, the audacity – how awful was that the first time we heard it? Then we had 15, that felt like our civil liberties were being slashed to the core, but that wasn’t all – oh no – down to 6!!!  Six! Who has 6 people at their wedding?  Those who wed in September / October 2020 (naming the beast for posterity), that’s who!

Currently we are at 15 guests which feels almost luxurious!  Who’s read ‘A Squash & A Squeeze’… Does it ring any bells…?

whataboutweddings.com

Flowers:

First up – Let’s take flowers first of all, an impactful piece of the spliced day, all eyes on the bride and bouquet, buttonholes for the boys and decorative arrangements for the church, later to be used in the wedding breakfast décor. Should you be in the position to have a budget already to go there are already massive savings when it come to that precious budget. I use the word guardedly as it is precious, slimming down your invite list will give you back some numbers to play around with.

You now CAN have a sweep or swag of flowers that give impact, colour and fragrance, whereas before it might have been a less abundant affair.

Catering:

Paying for catering for less folks, also has a win. You can splash some of that budget on better wine, a superb starter or have something that you Chef can create that previous was ‘off the menu’ with the old budget.

Valentine Studio at Voewood

CAKE!

Who mentioned that? Me – I would adore my cake to be one of the guests to your newly pimped up ‘do’.

Co-ordinating with your florist I prime each bloom, ensuring it is hygienic and food safe (not necessarily edible unless that is what you have asked for). Each design is organic and happens on the day, I’m inspired by texture, form and colour. I love the final reveal of the florists selection and finding the perfect placement for each stem or frond.

Our cakes have their own portrait, perfect for quietly acknowledging a dietary preference such as gluten free, vegan, etc. These come gratis with my wedding cakes and are a perfect keepsake long after the crumbs are gone.

Tatum Reid Photography at Holkham Hall

We also layer blooms, petals and greenery underneath the cake stand to create an ‘ambience’ (I can’t say that without thinking of Micky Flannigan, look it up).  I like to think it creates a ‘space’ for the cake, hopefully a making a little buzz that folks want to come and get involved in.  Roll up, roll up, come and see the pretty cake!

Kelsie Lowe Photography at Voewood

Less, But More

Talking of less folks, that’s less stationery but more zhuzhed up, gold, imprinting, embossing, extra ribbon, the full suite of stationery that with the old budget had to be carefully thought out – ‘do we use our own RSVP?’ ‘Do we really need x, y and z?’ Now you can afford all of the things that make a stationery suite super amped up. Aren’t the ones who are invited lucky!? I love a posh wedding invite – and to be one of the chosen few. Not that this diminishes any of your kith or kin who couldn’t make the cut, it’s just the world we find ourselves living in.

Cara Zagni Photography at Swanton Morley House & Gardens

Cara Zagni Photography at Swanton Morley House & Gardens

There are sadder elements of this, please don’t think I’m all for dumping the rellies in order to get a banging wedding – it does mean that you have to revisit the wedding invite list and see who really counts, who you really need to be there. We have a thing in the house with the boys to help them understand what is important with want and need. (when choosing between food/snacks, how to spend etc) You do the things you need first, then allow for the want, it applies here too. You might want to have everyone and their kids but current times and restrictions mean it just isn’t possible. 

Hautbois Hall,
Rob Dodsworth Photography

To quote one happy bride to be recently “I’m secretly happy that we need to lighten the list as we’ll have to think about who we really want and that will make it more special”. From the mouths of A Real-Life Actual Bride, peoples.

Current times are extraordinary, we can embrace these days and accept the challenge which make us best we can be, and to have those around us to make it so. Celebrate what you have and make it as magnificent as it can be!

To talk about your wedding plans, please make first contact to cakes@bunsoffun.co.uk.

I can’t wait to hear from you!

Emma

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‘The inspiration sunny styled shoot at the eclectic Voewood came from the verdant and exuberant Spring Fling. Our beauty team consisted of Lisa Frost on lots of plaits and tumble-down hair, Sarah Patterson MUA wowing us with sunset eyes and Laura from The Beauty Hobo on cabochon mustard nails.

Our florist Sharon at Flower30 created a uniquely wearable bouquet studded with a selection of rose buds, succulents and live blooms and a matching buttonhole for the groom. Tables were trimmed with blue velvet, honeysuckle, mint, air plants, anthurium, apple twigs and candles.

Sam Wood laid blue printed palm menus for each place setting, as well as a suite of stationery for the couple. Table settings by Chalk and China styled with authentic aged crockery mixed with glass and gin bottles.

Our 2-tier lemon meringue wedding cake referenced the eclectic vibe throughout Voewoods arts and crafts venue and the aperture in the cake referenced stone-holes found on the nearby beaches of North Norfolk. The textured cake was framed with palm fronds, scabious, celosia, roses, grapes and greenery from Flower 30.

Aperture Cake

International jewellery designer Monica Vinader adorned the bride and maids with silver and gold bracelets, 30s jewelled hairpiece by Melissa Morgan Designs. All images captured timelessly by Janie Richardson from Big Phat Photos

Featured in Your East Anglian Wedding Magazine Feb/Mar 2019

Supplier Love

Venue: voewood.com

Photo: bigphatphotos.co.uk

Flowers: flower3o.co.uk

Cake & Concept: bunsoffun.co.uk

Makeup: sarahpmua.co.uk

Nails: thebeautyhobo.co.uk

Stationery: samjwood.co.uk

Dresses: camillabrides.co.uk & willowandpearl.co.uk

Jewellry: monicavinader.co.uk

Hairpiece: melissamorgandesigns.etsy.com/uk/shop/MelissaMorganDesigns

Hire: chalkandchina.com

Models: IG: @chloejadepeek, @barneyholmesmusic

x Emma

E: bunsoffun@hotmail.co.uk

M: 07932 874576

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A Styled Wedding Shoot in the Woods – September 2018

When Sharon from Flower30 Styling asked me to come on board with a shoot idea she had and it involved a really loose and relaxed styling I was immediately hooked.  Lots of weddings I go to are highly polished or have been Pinterest-styled to the n-th degree.  Refreshingly here we found ourselves in deepest North Norfolk in a wooden shack on a brook, built by husband and wife Team Winterbourn, as a bolt hole at the end of a very hedoninstically verdant garden.

Our cake was luscious lemon with lemon meringue buttercream and lemon-curd, dressed with edible flowers by Nurtured in Norfolk as well as few home foraged beauties from our cutting garden. We had a white gold chocolate wave with split figs and freshly picked blackberries.

In the shack lay an array of foraged foods for a lovers picnic,  freshly baked bread, roasted vegetables, crumbled feta, micro herbs, roasted chillies, peppers, forest mushrooms, pine nuts and savoury seeds and  glossy red toffee apples with aromatic rosemary sticks.

Behind the lens we had multi-talented Janie from Big Phat Photos and her own brand Valentine Studio which caters for reportage demi-nudes, empowering the female frame.

Styling and greenery, every bloom and fruit were tended by Sharon.  Our model Cathy Wilson wore Mia Sylvia, hair by  Chloe Winslade and makeup by Stephanie Alexandra.

I helped on lighting once the cake and foraged picnic were setup – although I’m not sure Janie thought I was actually very helpful based on the evidence we see.

Supplier credits

Flowers and concept: Flower 30

Cake and food: Buns of Fun

Photography: Big Phat Photos

Dress and textiles: Mia Sylvia

MUA: Stephanie Alexandra MUA

Hair: Chloe Winslade

Cabin created by Toby Winterbourn.com

Model: Cathy Wilson

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When Nathan asked me to create a cake for the styled shoot he had planned at Chaucer Barn, (being their recommended cake maker) I was thrilled as a seagull nicking chips! He sent a couple of inspirational pictures to get the creative flow going on and a few sketches later we were shooting. Our brief was Rustic-Boho and Your East Anglian Wedding magazine have featured it in their June/July ’18 issue. In brief we had a stellar crew of suppliers all of which are available through the links provided.

Our 4 tier stack comprised a pure vanilla bean tier, lemon meringue, cafe creme and hazel-nut praline and a salted caramel. Decorated with raspberries,blueberries, split passion-fruit, white chocolate, food safe covered rustica and white broom.

Thanks to Jenna and fabulous gardening team at Chaucer Barn we had the whole place to ourselves and this is the result.

Venue: Chaucer Barn

Photographer: Nathan Neeve Photography

Florist: Bridget’s Flowers

Stationery: Sam Wood Stationery

Props: The Little Lending Co &  Banqueting Hire

Model: Grace Appleby

Hair: Hair Design by Lisa

Make up: Annalise Durrant

Cake by Buns of Fun Bakery

To book with Buns of Fun Bakery for 2019/2020 contact us today.

The post Wedding Season S1: Ep3 Styled Shoot Chaucer Barn appeared first on EDIBLE ART BY BUNS OF FUN BAKERY.

Nestled in the Norfolk broads Hautbois Hall is a stunning Tudor Manor house dating from 1555. This was my first visit here and I return in 2019 and beyond (yes, already booking into SS2019/20)

While Emily & Tom were getting spliced and I was dressing the cake for the after party. Our 3 tier wedding cake comprised a Chocolate Guinness Cake with cream cheese frosting, caramel cake,  salted caramel frosting and home made Cornish salted dulce du leche, along with our all time favourite lemon meringue and scratch cooked lemon-curd. Finally, decorated and completed with chocolate sails, Aunties blooms and our hand drawn, bespoke personalised sketch as a standard.  Once E &T were spliced it was time for the wedding cake to get sliced.

I love it when a family member gets involved in something for our couples wedding day. If Aunt Fanny is a dab hand at flowers and knows her daffs from her dandelions I’m all up for it, I’ll work with whatever I’m given.  Luckily Emilys Aunt was the bee’s knees at scooping some fantastic colours and textures for Emily & Toms wedding cake blooms.

(N.B: We have a raft of contacts for very talented florists to hand if it’s all going to get too much for Aunt Fan’ and her kitchen scissors.)

Venue: Hautbois Hall

Photographer: Rob Dodsworth

Flowers: Emilys aunt (Disclosure: Aunt Fanny is not her real name..)

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We have had the massive priviledge of working with some absolutely stonking suppliers throughout ‘The Season’. The Season is generally thought to be May – September but let me tell you now… there is no end or beginning. Those in the industry are tirelessy busy providing goodies for Real Weddings and Styled Shoot Weddings all year round. I will get round to these in subsequent posts in this series.

Wedding Season – Episode One.  Holkham Hall Wedding:- there are lots of venues in Norfolk because this one has a special place in my heart. For me, rather importantly for the Gingerbread masterpieces  which are part of the annual seasonal ventures that Lady Leicester and team tirelessly produce. Google ‘Holkham Gingerbread’ and see the last 6 years worth..

We are booked by our lovely wedding clients to create something magical for them on their wedding day. The following posts are all real weddings with real photographers, florists and venues who I work with regularly and deeply admire their artistic work.

This particular wedding at Holkham was a lot more concise in it’s execution as we adhered to some serious tailored planning.  We can occasionally be tamed from the wild abandon we usually inhabit in our wedding cake styling.

Venue: Holkham Hall

Photographer: Douglas Fry

Flowers: Constance Rose (styled by me if the pro-florists see any bloopers)

Cake: 4 tier featuring amongst others a gluten free and vegan lemon cake, with home made lemon curd and lemon ‘buttercream’, a double height rich fruit cake with all the trimmings and bespoke keepsake sketch – standard with all our wedding cakes.

Insta image on my IG @bunsoffunemma

Beautiful bride and groom, my favourite ‘cutting the cake’ with a ceremonial sword!

I simply can’t get enough of David Austin roses, they are absolute perfection and very popular with a lot of clients hosting all styles of vwedding, some how I just I can’t tire of their beauty!

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