One of my favourite things to work with when I am creating bridal jewellery is pearls. Always a favourite with blushing brides, pearls create a traditional feel to jewellery but can also be modernised with the use of Swarovski crystals or by combining them with a bit of colour. There are a number of different pearls on the market with the most favoured being freshwater pearls.

Traditionally, pearls are taken from saltwater mollusks and many people see these pearls as better quality than freshwater pearls but this is not necessarily the case. Freshwater pearls, taken from mussells that live in ponds, lakes and rivers can be a variety of shapes and natural colours and this makes them particularly popular and gives me as a designer a lot of choice when creating pieces.

Freshwater pearls are created when freshwater mollusks are nucleated. This is done by creating a small incision in the mantle tissue of a young mussel and then inserting a square piece of mantle tissue from a donor mussel. The mussel is then returned to its freshwater environment where the mollusk will coat the donor tissue with a substance called nacre. Overtime, this will develop into a pearl which although irregular in shape can be as high quality as a natural pearl as the solid nacre is durable, resists chipping and degeneration.

Although they usually come in a number of shapes such as drop, button, oval and baroque they can also be round. The mussel can be bead- nucleated by adding a spherical bead inside the mussel to encourage growth. The round freshwater pearls are the most expensive, although I prefer to use the irregular shaped pearls as it makes each necklace or bracelet that bit more unique.

My preferred colour of pearl are the more traditional white and cream which also seem to be the most popular with today’s brides. However if you do want something slightly different, that is still natural, this can be created. By adding small amounts of metal to the freshwater environment the colour of the pearl can change to produce peach, silver and other subtle colourings.

If you have any comments on this subject feel free to leave comments.

Last weekend was the first wedding fayre of the year for Lalou Designs at the Floral Pavillion in New Brighton. Organised by the Association of Professional Wedding Services, it was lovely to meet up with all the brides to be and talk to them about their upcoming wedding days. Hopefully I will hear from them again in the future.

Well its has been a few days since the Royal Wedding and people are still talking about it with great excitement and interest. It has been the major British event of the year and one that won't be forgotten any time soon. Around the country people were having street parties, BBQ's and garden parties. Myself, I simply watched it with a couple of friends and some Fondant Fancies (I thought these were perfect for the occasion as well as yummy!) but enjoyed it just as much.

Very excited to see Kate's wedding dress, one of my favourite parts of the day was the first glimpse of the now Duchess of Cambridge in her wedding car. At this angle all you could see was the beautiful lace on the top of the dress but as she walked up to the abbey the full effect of the dress could be seen and she looked gorgeous. Something Prince William agreed with as he said 'You look beautiful' at the alter. Kate's dress had a very traditional feel to it and really suited her shape. Designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, the dress had a lace applique bodice, skirt and train. The lace featured a rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock, and was hand-made by the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace. Lace has been an upcoming trend this season in the bridal market and I am sure that after the Royal Wedding, Kate will cement lace as a big season trend.

In my last blog I spoke about what jewellery Kate might opt for on her wedding day and this was another part and most important part of the outfit I was excited to see. Kate decided to stay with her usual look of having her hair down and to accent this she wore an amazing diamond Halo tiara by Cartier that was lent to her by the Queen, a present she received herself on her 18th birthday. To compliment this she wore a pair of platinum and diamond earrings that were given to her by her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton. Custom made and designed by Robinson Pelham to match the Queens tiara, the earrings took the form of stylised oak leaves with a pear-shaped diamond drops and pave-set diamond acorns, inspired by the Middleton coat of arms. Her wedding ring was a band made of rare Welsh Gold following and 88 year tradition of the British monarchy to use a royal wedding ring made of rare Welsh gold. The jewellery that Kate wore on the day was understated but looked absolutely amazing. It had the perfect combination of an heirloom piece with a modern twist.

In the next few months I am sure we will see some beautiful jewellery and dresses inspired by the Royal Family's newest addition. I wish Prince William and Kate the best luck in the world and hope they have a long and happy life together.

With the Royal Wedding just two weeks away, there has been more and more speculation about what the bride to be, Kate Middleton might be wearing. Here at Lalou Designs we have looked into a few of this years Spring/Summer trends to see what Prince William's future princess might be wearing on the big day.

Hair Accessories  - The major bridal hair trend for the season is the glamourous 'up-do' and hairbands and combs are perfect for this look.The traditional tiara has been replaced by hairbands and fascinators and many brides are wearing side tiaras and diamante hair jewellery. Now we all know, from those engagement pictures, that Kate Middleton has gorgeous, long hair and it has been suggested by her official stylist that she is wearing it down for the wedding rather than an 'up-do'. If Kate does decide to have her hair down   then she may opt for a side tiara or a piece of 'hair jewellery' which would be right on trend for the vintage look this Spring/Summer.

Vintage Brooches - Up until now there has been a lot of talk about what designer is creating Kate Middleton's dress and what style she will be wearing for the wedding. One of the big trends for this season is the use of vintage brooches on your wedding dress and with Kate marrying into royalty I am sure   she would have some gorgeous antique brooches to choose from. Brooches can be pinned at the waistline or at the edge of pleats of fabric. You can make a feature of them on the straps of your dress or in the middle of a bow at the back. If you do not have an antique brooch you can still create the vintage feel even if the brooch isn't vintage itself.

Jewellery - One big trend for 2011 is custom bridal jewellery giving brides a really choice of what they want to wear on their wedding day. With bridal gowns moving towards more clean lines and simple elegance,brides are picking coloured crystals to add something extra to their look. Wedding jewellery is becoming more of a statement with brides going for large earrings, collar necklaces and long necklaces that can be layered up. For the last few years pearls have been the main look for wedding jewellery but this year sees gemstones becoming more popular including smoky and rose quartz. I suspect that Kate Middelton will choose something more traditional for her wedding but whatever it is I am sure it will soon become a trend with other brides.

I am sure that whatever Kate chooses to wear she will look stunning. I look forward to blogging about it after the big day!  

On Saturday, my sister and I travelled down south to Cirencester to celebrate the wedding of my friend Megan to her fiance Alan Corker. They had chosen the gorgeous Cripps Barn near Bibury as their venue which was the perfect setting for a Cotswolds wedding. Thankfully, considering it is March, the sun was shining and even though it was a little chilly (thankfully I brought my shawl with me!) it was a glorious day for a wedding.

I had heard a lot about Megan's wedding dress before the wedding, she had to travel to Warrington to get it, but it was worth the drive. She looked very elegant and classy in a long white dress with a lace top, soft tulle skirt and white beaded embellishment at the empire line. She added a soft pink cardigan just to keep her warm and it really suited her. The lace on her dress meant that she didnt need to wear a necklace and instead she worn some statement diamante earrings and a diamante bracelet accented with a flower her boss had given to her from the hairpiece she had worn at her own wedding (her something borrowed!).

Every wedding or special occasion gives me the opportunity to wear a piece of my own jewellery and this was no exception. I wore a lovely silver dress from Oasis and to compliment this I wore the Catherine Bridal Bracelet   which matched perfectly.

One of my other good friends, Felicity, was Megan's only bridesmaid and wore a gorgeous aubergine dress from Monsoon. The top of the dress was pintucked which made a feature of the top of the dress with the bottom made of several layers of chiffon. The colour choice complimented the flowers at the venue and with Felicity's long dark hair it was another perfect choice.

The whole day was a great success, filled with family and friends and I wish them all the best for a long and happy future together.

It's Competition time! Now with the Christmas period over and Valentine's Day around the corner most of you brides to be are probably getting stuck into your wedding plans.

As a treat for all you brides to be I am launching a new competition! I am giving away a necklace and earrings set of your choice from the Lalou design range. All you have to do is tell me why you think you should win?

Email me your entry to laura@laloudesigns.com and don't forget to follow me on twitter @laloudesigns and the best one will win. The closing date is the 14th February, Valentine's day. Get emailing and good luck!

Last weekend, Saturday 27th June, I went to the Grange in Thornton Hough to celebrate the wedding of my two good friends, Lee and Laura Cross. The sun was shining, something we had hoped for all week and the setting was lovely. I wore a black and ivory dress from Oasis and a black and white fascinator that I created especially for the wedding.

Sat in the gorgeous 'Polo Room' we all waited patiently for the Bride, a little longer than the Groom, Lee, had expected. It turned out that the Bride's car had broken down! I'm sure Lee would say it was definately worth the wait though.

As she walked down the aisle, everybody took a first look at the highly anticipated dress. Laura wore a white strapless dress embellished with beading and a long flowing train followed her. In her hair she wore a tiara decorated with flowers and pearls and to complete her look she wore a Charlotte Bridal Necklace. She looked stunning and the simplicity of the necklace added to her elegant look.

Her three bridesmaids, Andrea, Anna and Nicola all wore Royal blue strapless dresses which were accessorised with Lalou Design Swarovski Pearl Cluster Necklaces, a present to them from the Bride and Groom. The light blue of the pearls complimented the dresses perfectly and all the bridesmaids came to thank me during the day for their surprise gifts. I am pleased that they liked them so much!

After the ceremony we all enjoyed a Star Wars themed wedding breakfast. I was sat on the 'Hoth' table although secretly I wanted to be in 'Tatooine'! Each table was set with 'Lucky in Love' cards which held a lottery ticket, although I did not become a millionaire that day :( and each table had a set of Star Wars top trump cards which provided much entertainment between courses.

Next came the speeches, one from Laura's Dad and one each from Lee's best men. As expected all the speeches provided a lot of laughs and a big insight for me about Lee and Laura's antics as youngsters! I'm sure I will be asking them about some of this after their honeymoon. (Thanks for the mention in the speech Lee! He thanked me for making the jewellery)

Once the speeches were over, we all headed over to Heswall Hall for the reception. Lee and Laura had decided to have a covers band for the reception, Duke, who were brilliant and sang some great songs that had everybody up on the dancefloor! There was definately some crazy dancing going on that night!

Overall, I had an amazing day and it seemed that everybody else did too. I wish Lee and Laura the best for the future and hope they have a long and happy life together.

Hello! I am Laura Hatchard, a jewellery and accessories designer and the creator of Laloudesigns.com. I love creating unique accessories and love it even more when others enjoy and wear my designs.

Here at the Lalou blog spot you will hear all about my inspirations, as well as discovering all the places Lalou designs has visited, exhibited or been worn.

I hope you enjoy the website and keep an eye out for future blog posts.

Lots of Love, Laura (Lalou) x x