Tag Archives: wedding blog

MISS JO BLACK’S TATTOOED TALES – ONE MONTH UNTIL THE BIG DAY

Oh my word! It’s so exciting!! After only hearing snippets of Jo’s antics since her last post in August, her next post is here with all the bits leading up to her and Leigh’s big day.. Which is just this month!! I’ll hand straight over shall I?

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Since the last time I posted we have arranged SO many things and the weeks have flown by with barely a second to spare a moment to ourselves! We booked our band, The Hammervilles who perform rocked up versions of classic songs everyone knows which should keep the mood boosted… we have arranged some performers including fire breathers, burlesque, contortionists and a drag act as well as the incredible poet and comedy performer “Muriel Lavender” who is going to act as out circus ringmaster for the entertainment portion of the evening!

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The biggest hiccup so far has been the caterer we booked. As well as being utterly useless at responding to messages and calls, After he saw our venue he declared that the terrace was ‘unsafe’ to serve food from and demanded his garish blue and white marquees be set up either side of the entrance to the venue. I couldn’t have that! The main reason we chose Cleeve House was for its beauty and the main approach down the drive has massive impact! As it turned out he just wanted maximum exposure for his business… so we sacked him. Or rather Leigh took great pleasure in sacking him!

Shortly after that we met with a chef called Peter Vaughn who had minor celebrity success with his own TV show a few years ago, he was so enthusiastic about creating a theatrical meal for our wedding by making posh kebabs and exciting finger foods people would enjoy experiencing as much as they would eating… he proposed dry ice and a theatrical presentation as well as the clincher for me… A CHEESE GROTTO TO FINISH! SOLD! As just over twice the price my incredible parents offered to help out and chip in for two thirds of the cost which meant we could afford to have Peter!

Around the same time, we also needed to get our official invites sent out, which I had been hand making for weeks… My computer had lost all its data and I lost our address list so we had to re-contact everyone and ask for addresses again! A bit of a ball ache but it came together easily.

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A close friend of mine was getting married on Halloween and she had asked me to be a bridesmaid so it has been really useful to see her approach to everything and how organised she has been throughout this process. She had found an app called Appy Couple and had used it to provide all the guests with info such as times, where to stay and how to find the venues. I had a look and it was amazing, I could create a personalised website for people to visit using our unique wedding code and find all the info they needed on there! I put info on hotels, travel, on our registry, the guest list, a bit of info on the days events and loads of useful things for guests to help things go smoothly!

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MISS JO BLACK’S TATTOOED TALES – THE VENUE

So it’s been a while since we heard from Marry Me Ink’s blogging bride Jo.. She’s been uber busy at tattoo conventions (See her Instagram feed for it all!) and just general wedding planning. This edition is all about the venue!! (And oh my, it’s a good one!)

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It has been a while… For which I am sorry! Life kind of ran away with me and I struggled to find a moment to collect and organise my thoughts. Once I had organised my thoughts, my Macbook decided to spectacularly end it’s own life and I lost all of my (somewhat chaotic) ramblings for the second instalment of ‘Blogging Bride’.

However, I am here now. And I have some new stories to share with you.

Thinking back to when I wrote the first instalment and reading back over what I wrote, it seems aeons ago that I began this journey from single gal to bride to be.

I suppose it seems obvious to say that planning a wedding can seem an incredibly daunting task when absolutely nothing has been arranged yet. So I started with the most basic task of deciding where and when we would tie the knot. Knowing full well that neither of us worship the sun, in fact I am about as pale as they come, we decided that a winter wedding would not only provide the cosy warmth of a Christmas party in the country, but more importantly would almost halve the cost of our venue!

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We looked at Orchardleigh House near Frome, but to be honest it was a little grandiose for our needs and we wanted somewhere we could feel intimate with our guests.  A friend suggested that we visit Cleeve House, built in 1857 and just a stones throw from my parents home in Devizes, in the middle of beautiful countryside with rolling hills and gorgeous views it sounded perfect. 

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Leigh and myself drove over to meet my Mum at Cleeve House and instantly we fell in love with it. It was like looking at the fairytale castle of a gothic princess from the outside. Inside a fire roared in a gigantic fireplace in the ‘great hall’ and that cosy Christmas feeling was almost overwhelming. I think we took all of 3 seconds to decide and confirm.

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Marry Me Ink’s 2nd Blogiversary!

That’s right. Marry Me Ink is TWO today! Yeaaaaaa!

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Thank you SO, SO much for your continuous support and love for tattooed brides – Marry Me Ink wouldn’t be here without you! In celebration, today I’m going to share with you some of my favourite points from the past year! 

OCTOBER 2012

Technicolour-Alternative-Wedding_TinoPip-Photography-046A ColourFUN, Dinotastic Wedding – Ren & Tim. Copyright Tino & Pip Photography

NOVEMBER 2012

In November of last year, a fabulous magazine about embracing the female tattoo culture was launched – Things & Ink. I had the privilege of taking part a photo shoot with photographer Laura Babb and editor Alice to show that tattoos can look gorgeous against your wedding dress! 

2013-10-01_0001Things & Ink – Embracing Female Tattoo Culture. Copyright Babb Photo

In November, there was also a launch of wedding dresses from Oh My Honey. which was super exciting!

Rach-Friday-post-6-600x399Exclusive: Oh My Honey Week. Copyright Babb Photo

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The Rockabilly Vintage Bride: James & Emma

Today I get to introduce to you Emma & James whose wedding was filled with vintage rockabilly coolness, red and black, amazing stationery from Elle Is For Love and one fabulous cake from Crumb!! Photography from the wonderful N.Cadman Photography.

Emma & James were wed at Glemham Hall where the grounds were stunning for the couple’s photographs.

“James and I met through a mutual friend, Jan. James plays guitar in a rock band called Brigade. I was going to see a band called Adien and Brigade we’re supporting them. It was Jan’s birthday and he wanted to see Brigade so we went together.

James caught my eye rocking out on the side of the stage at the Concorde 2 in Brighton!

I asked Jan who the “nutty good looking ginger” was! Jan explained that it was James he was friends with and they both went to the same school back in Suffolk. Jan introduced me to James after the gig. We had some drinks together (and quite a few Jager’s!). We added each other on FB and chatted pretty much every day. I went to see them at a few more gigs and the flirting began! A few months after first meeting, Brigade were playing at Download 2008 festival. Me & my friend had already got day tickets for the same day Brigade were playing. We meet up with them after their set and the rest is history as they say!

James proposed on Christmas day 2010. We set the date for May 12th 2012 not long after that so around 18 months we were engaged.”

“Originally I wanted a halter-neck 50’s tea length swing dress but when I tried them on they just didn’t feel right. Me and one of my bridesmaids Continue reading