Afternoon lovelies :-)

Today i have the total pleasure of getting to know and introducing you to one of WWW’s newest sponsors, the brilliant Ivory Tuesday. Ivory Tuesday is owned by Melanie who designs the most gorgeous bridal hair accessories, which i know you guys will adore as much as i do.

{w} Hi Melanie, could you firstly tell {www} readers a little bit about you?

My name is Melanie, I’m married to my Wedding Photographer husband – John (three year anniversary this month) and have a 22 month old son, Oscar and a cheeky, blonde Labradoodle called Lola-Boggins. I have worked in the ‘Wedding business’ for 4 years now, firstly assisting my husband in his Photography business while I was still working as a Counsellor and after making my own jewellery for my own Wedding and having a child I decided to quit my job and start up ivorytuesday.com.

{w} What do you love/dislike about your job?

I adore the creative side of it as I find it very relaxing. I’ve always been a ‘creator, doing crafts and drawing/painting all my life (my friends in school called me ‘Blue Peter’ because of the things I made.

{w} How did you get into accessory design and into the wedding industry?

I have worked in the ‘Wedding industry’ for four years now, firstly assisting my husband in his Wedding Photography/Videography business while I was still working as a Counsellor.

What started off my business idea to create Vintage Bridal Headwear stemmed from a few things really; When organising my own wedding I found that I could not get jewellery that looked authentically 1950’s-enough for my theme so after some research on where to buy freshwater pearls I decided to make my own (and also the majority of my decorations, floral arrangements, stationary, bridal bouquet, buttonholes – I kid you not – I could go on). In addition to this having our first child made me realise that I wanted to be more flexible with my working hours so I decided to quit my job and use my newly acquired skills to start up ivorytuesday.com and that’s exactly what I did!

{w} What do you aim to achieve for your clients?

I like my customers to feel that their headpiece matches their personal style and that of their wedding day and outfit. I also wish them to be as comfortable as physically possible (it’s a long day for a bride). I strive to create the same individuality and ‘specialness’ that a bride gets from their wedding gown but in a neater package!

{w} What style is your work?

I’m more often than not vintage inspired which is great as it’s still pretty-much in-vogue at the moment. I use original vintage jewellery finds to make one-off headpieces as well as the designs I can reproduce. I’m also a fan of anything a little bit different and I can be inspired by anything from a flower to a film I’ve watched. I recently made a mini Steampunk-type ‘Victoriana’ top hat for a friend’s wedding. It was two-tone purple with mini yellow roses so I’d say I’m not the easiest to categorise!

{w} Could you tell us some information about your pricing?

Ivory Tuesday prices start from around £20 for a comb and go up to £260 for a more elaborate headband. My bespoke prices are generally more as they require more research and more work and sometimes I may need to source materials that I do not stock.

{w} Do you have any advice for brides on choosing their hair accessory?

When choosing a hair accessory there are a few points to note; firstly how you are wearing your hair – if you are not sure whether your chosen head wear goes with an up-do for example then ask the designer. The neckline of your dress also needs to be considered – high necklines and halternecks can result in things looking a little ‘cluttered’ if you are wearing your hair down with a large hair accessory, similarly the amount and style of jewellery should be considered, if you are wearing a heavily detailed headband it is likely that adding a necklace and earrings will look ‘too much’ – choose one or the other. If you have an heirloom piece of jewellery that maybe isn’t quite ‘your thing’ you can always opt to go for a bespoke design and have it incorporated into the design of headpiece. Lastly; the style of your dress is the most important element in choosing your head wear. If I have a bride who has a really simple dress design I encourage them to ‘go for it’ with their head wear and make a statement. I would also encourage brides to think about comfort – it’s no use buying a lavish headband to wear all day when you would normally find them uncomfortable.

{w} How can we get in touch with you?

Ivorytuesday.com is the website, if you have any bespoke queries feel free to call on 07733407330 to discuss your ideas.

Thanks so much to Melanie for sharing her beautiful pieces with us today, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you :-) Do check out her amazing site for more examples of her designs XOXO Lou

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