Say hello to our first ever guest blogger, Shelly Mantovani from Toast Photography. Shelly is the perfect person to interview our new Customer of the Month – because she took the photographs at her wedding! And it was Shelly’s photographs that helped Julia catch our eye… Over to you, Shelly.
Hey hey hey! I’m Shelly from Toast Photography and I shoot people…. mostly with a
camera. I’m passionate about weddings and especially the kooky, alternative kind. It’s not
unusual for my kind of bride to be sporting a little bit of brilliance such as Tatty Devine – not to mention the bridesmaids too. After all, not everyone wants a sparkly tiara for their wedding. One of my recent clients, Julia, fell in love with the Tatty Devine Bunting Necklace and wore it with her first wedding dress (she wore two dresses! Yes two!).
I met Julia through Twitter (isn’t technology brilliant?). She was asking a question about what flowers would be blooming around the time her wedding was planned, and I answered (I have a degree in garden design). I asked her to model for me for a shoot, which she looked amazing in – and then she asked me to shoot her wedding. I couldn’t have been more pleased. Most of my brides tend to be on the quirkier, interesting side (one of them declared I earned brownie points because I recognized one of her Tatty Devine pieces when we met!). Julia was a proper rock n roll bride. She doesn’t do things by halves and she’s got her own sense of style. She was just a joy to work with. My brides rock big style!
Julia, when and how did you discover Tatty Devine?
Through my best friend (and bridesmaid) Rosie – she sent me a link to two necklaces for my wedding.
What are your favourite Tatty Devine pieces?
I really love the moustache line!
What do you do when you’re not getting married?
I work in the fashion industry as a garment technologist. I really enjoy the role and the environment I work in. So much so that I have a tape measure tattoo on my upper arm and will soon be the owner of a pair of fabric scissors on my forearm… sewing machine to follow.
Which piece of Tatty Devine did you wear for your wedding?
I wore the red, white and blue Bunting Necklace. I chose this piece as I had a really loose colour theme of red white and blue based around my shoes! It is also a running joke between my family and friends that I have become pretty obsessed with bunting! Now that the wedding is over (sad face) my new craft is bespoke bunting, but I also have been happily sewing men’s ties.
And your bridesmaid wore Tatty Devine too?
Yes, she wore the Seagull Necklace and looked stunning.
Are there any other brands or styles you’re a fan of?
I am a big fan of vintage style jewelry so no particular brand, but for clothing I adore Asos (having worked there before my move to the north) and also I love Irregular Choice shoes.
How would you describe your style?
Quirky, vintage loving, an eclectic style of old vs. new.
How would you describe your wedding style?
Rockabilly DIY.
Tell us about making accessories for the wedding. Did you make all the buttonholes, etc?
One of my other bridesmaids made all the buttonholes for the wedding party, using scraps of fabric I had sourced and that were left over from the bunting and the pinwheels that we used on the tables as centre pieces instead of flowers.
My sister made my bracelets, her own jewellery for the day and the other statement necklace I was wearing.
Rosie also finished by heirloom bouquet for me – I had already wired and chosen the brooches but she had the flair to bring them all together for me.
Can you tell us the stories behind your wedding dresses?
My main dress, my mother made me – it was based on a vintage prom dress, with cute heart ribbon at the lining. The gown I changed into was paid for through monies that my Twitter followers raised for me. There’s a rather intriguing tale of love and loss for a dress that I saw on eBay! I was looking for a dress to wear for my friend’s hen do and spied this gorgeous La Sposa dress. The bidding was somewhere around £70. For a dress that I know cost the first bride in the region of £2000 this seemed such a bargain! I ummed and ahhed on Twitter, and finally caved in and started to bid. I kept losing out to higher bids and went to bed defeated. In the morning I saw that the dress didn’t sell to anyone as it didn’t meet its reserve. So once again I went back to Twitter and it was suggested that I email the seller to see if she would sell to me privately. It seemed like she was happy to sell the dress for £300, which was about £200 more than I had readily available. I tweeted that I had lost out on my dress and went back searching, happy in the knowledge that I was going to the wedding fair with my mother and sister at the start of March. Anyway, the next day I had a direct message on Twitter asking if I would be happy if my Twitter followers came together with a few quid each, to raise the money I needed to buy the dress! Of course I said, as long as no one would be put out, that would be a lovely idea! Anyway, a few weeks went by, and one day, when I was down in London doing customer fittings, I had a text message saying “I have £300 burning a hole in my pocket…” and the dress was mine.
How did you find it working with me?
We had a great time with you, Shelly. You’re such a fun and visionary photographer to work with. We had our engagement photoshoot with you earlier in the year, so we both knew that you were going to be amazing on the day. I felt you did us proud and the photos are such beautiful memories of our special day.
Anything else you wanna add?
I am just so thankful to my friends and family who helped us with the decorating, sewing and everything in the run up to the wedding! It was everything I could have ever wanted! I can’t wait to do my Rock the Frock shoot with Shelly wearing the same headdress I wore for my hand fasting ceremony with my husband at Glasto 2010.
Thank you Shelly for taking on guest blogging duties – you did us proud! And thank you so much to Julia for allowing us to share photographs from your big day. We’ll be sending you both some jewellery to say thank you.
If you’d like to be our Customer of the Month, here’s how to get noticed: tag Tatty Devine any time you post a photo of you wearing your jewellery on Facebook. Or mention @tattydevine when you post photos of you wearing your jewellery on Twitter.
