http://www.laloudesigns.com en-gb laloudesigns.com 2012-2-21T00:00:00Z laloudesigns.com http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#113002 Lalou Designs will be attending the County Brides wedding fayre at Leasowe Castle on Sunday March 11th. The fayre is on from 12pm 4pm and we hope that you can come and see the beautiful range of jewellery we have for brides bridesmaids and the mother of the bride. 2012-2-21 21:06:20 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#110825 I would say that I am a fairly traditional person and I love the idea of people incorporating old traditions into their wedding day. One of my favourite has to be the bride wearing a Bridal Garter underneath her dress. While many other traditions has fallen by the wayside the bridal garter seems to have stood the test of time and is something that I hope brides continue to wear in the future.The bridal garter is one of the oldest wedding traditions. Centuries ago it was believed that owning a piece of the brides wedding gown would bring good luck. At the end of the wedding ceremony people would try to grab a piece of the brides dress causing the dress to be torn and ruined. To avoid this a Bridal Garter was worn which could be thrown to guests with the lucky guest ensured good fortune. At times the male guests would become rowdy and try to remove the garter themselves so it became tradition for the groom to remove the garter himself and throw it to eligible bachelors in order to prote... 2012-1-21 12:21:33 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#110450 When I am not using freshwater pearls in my jewellery designs I love to use Swarovski pearls. Although these may be a simulation of a natural pearl they are perfect imitations and ideal if you are wanting to recreate the look of a perfectly round cultured pearl which can be extremely expensive. Swarovski pearls provide the best alternative to an Akoya or Mikimoto pearls at the fraction of the cost.Created with a crystal core Swarovski pearls have a flawless lustrious finish due to their unique coating. The finish of the crystal pearls almost has a glow about it which is created using the first production method in the world to combine the quality of a perfect crystal core with the exquisite beauty of a pearl coating according to Swarovski.Although these pearls are imitations I love to use them in my designs as they still have the qualities of natural pearls and in some cases may be even better. In the way that natural pearls feel cold to touch and warm up to your skin Swarovski pearls ... 2012-1-15 18:56:56 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#109783 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 mu... 2012-1-5 20:01:49 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#97335 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. 2011-6-29 19:41:52 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#93059 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 wont be forgotten any time soon. Around the country people were having street parties BBQs 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 Kates 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. Kates dress had a very traditional feel to it and really suited her shape. Designed by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQu... 2011-5-3 19:59:19 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#91920 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 SpringSummer trends to see what Prince Williams future princess might be wearing on the big day. Hair Accessories The major bridal hair trend for the season is the glamourous updo 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 updo. 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 SpringSummer. Vintage Brooches Up until now there has... 2011-4-17 11:52:01 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#89768 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 Megans 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 h... 2011-3-21 19:57:50 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#85266 Its Competition time Now with the Christmas period over and Valentines 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 lauralaloudesigns.com and dont forget to follow me on twitter laloudesigns and the best one will win. The closing date is the 14th February Valentines day. Get emailing and good luck 2011-1-23 15:01:45 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#44220 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 Brides car had broken down Im 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 Andr... 2009-7-1 22:15:34 http://www.laloudesigns.com/page6.htm#44207 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 2009-7-1 20:48:29