With all RMW discussion topics we want you to know that’s exactly what it is – a discussion, there are no right or wrong answers, you are free to disagree or agree with the points made in this post and answer yes or indeed a whole bunch of No’s to our questions, all we ask is that you join in – it’s the taking part that matters.

Inspired.

We all rely on inspiration, from what clothes to wear, what colour to paint the fence to what we are going to have for dinner – it’s not about painstakingly recreating one single idea you’ve seen, it’s about taking in lots and lots of different ideas from all over the place and then using that knowledge, that research to create something new.

How many pop groups or bands are there around today who wouldn’t list The Beatles as an inspiration? But that doesn’t mean that every other song in the charts is called Hey Jude.

Sometimes spotting an imitation is easy, no more so than in the world of fake designer goods.

It would be hard for the maker of bag A to stand up and announce that although they were inspired by the design created by the maker of bag B (bag B maker more commonly known as Louis Vuitton) it was in no way an imitation. This is a black and white case, the Louis Vuitton bag is a protected design and so the clear imitation infringes copyright and the maker of Bag A can be held accountable. Job Done.

But, what about when the design, idea or concept in question is not being recreated verbatim. It quickly becomes a very grey area… Is it imitation or inspiration?

Have a look at this music video that OK GO Created (And starred in) for their song “Here It Goes Again”. It’s a great music video, and if you have never seen it before it truly is worth 3 minutes of your life.

Now have a look at this advert for Berocca, which made an appearance some years later.

Is this imitation or inspiration?

What I will say is this – it absolutely makes my blood boil to see a genius idea stolen. But realistically what can the OK GO Chaps say apart from:

“Oi, Berocca people… Those dance moves that you’re busting on those treadmills…
We did that ages ago…. you…. you goons…”

At the end of the day, I don’t think you can claim ownership over the concept of essentially mis-using gym equipment whilst listening to rock music. And unfortunately that means you just have to stand by and watch someone else nick your idea.

Or Do You?

Recently I read an interesting article about a company who make London Souvenirs successfully suing a company who make tea, because they used an image on their packaging that was claimed to be too similar in terms of subject, composition and style to the image used on the one of London Souvenirs.

Personally I think both companies should be disciplined for committing the most heinous photoshop crime of spot colour effect, but that aside this makes for a very interesting ruling… and one that the guys at OK GO! would be interested to read.

Even though the subjects themselves – Parliament, Westminster Bridge, The River Thames and a London bus, are not copyrightable by the photographer, it was the composition and the representation of these subjects that was deemed to have been an imitation of the original artists intellectual creation.

A Grey Area.

In any creative industry, issues of intellectual creation are always going to occur. Sometimes it can be hard to tell where the intellectual creation lies. Last year jewellery maker Stevie Koerner confronted Urban Outfitters over a new line they introduced that featuring charms in the shape of US States with a heart cut out.

It is a compelling case, not least because we have here a tiny independent jeweller going up against a massive corporation like Urban Outfitters (and we all know that everyone loves an underdog…)

Urban Outfitters response (which you can read here) adds further intrigue – according to them there were many jewellers making similar pieces for years prior to Urban Outfitters and Stevie Koerners designs. If this is true it’s a classic case of folk getting swept away in the drama of a scandal before bothering to actually learn the facts.

What is interesting though is that Urban Outfitters are not denying that their design is a “borrowed” concept – but because everyone is ripping everyone else off then it’s ok to jump on the band wagon?

Is this inspiration or imitation?

It’s a problem that seems to be on the rise in the wedding industry, I have heard time and time again of photographers who have had their marketing materials, websites and literature recreated by others almost word for word. I also heard of a stationery designer who, rather than creating their own ranges, decided to recreate a few ranges from stationery designer x, a few from stationery designer y, and a few from stationery designer z.

Do these people not expect to get caught out?

Do they just not care?

At Rock My Wedding we are all about giving inspiration and of course there is loads of stuff out there that inspires us to do what we do. But we strive to create original ideas, to create original content and to constantly innovate in order to stand out from the crowd. After all, why would anyone want to visit our blog if we are not offering anything different to anyone else?

We are really proud of some of the ideas and concepts we have brought to the RMW community, like our Rock My Wedding Real Brides, themed weeks and more recently our regular series Ask the Experts, which has gone down a storm. We realised that our connections in wedding-ville could allow us to enable our readers to seek advice from some of the best suppliers and designers in the industry at the touch of a button, so after some careful planning and making sure something similar wasn’t available on W-day blogs elsewhere Ask The Experts was born.

Like everyone else we put a lot of hard work into what we do and you’d like to think that those who work in a creative field are exactly that – creative, otherwise… what’s the point?

So then folks, what are your thoughts on Inspiration vs Imitation?

Does this topic appear regularly in your chosen profession/field?

Have you ever been in a situation where you have percieved your own work/design to be imitated, yet others don’t share your view/think it is merely inspiration?

And finally ….Do you think that it’s just a fact of life and we should just get over it and get on with it?

Your thoughts as always would be appreciated.

Let me take this opportunity to assure you that we have a lot of new idea’s up our polka dotted sleeves and next week we’ll be telling you a whole lot more about it all, 2012 is shaping up to be a very inspiring year indeed.

Adam.

Honestly, that’s what it actually says in the dictionary.

We have worked with some pretty cool people this week, some of the best in the industry. We have even teamed up with massive retro photography giants lomography.com.

As well as having a huge online community with over 3 million members they also make and sell analogue cameras – they are new cameras, that shoot film, based on iconic designs from the 50s and 60s. RETRO-TASTIC. Lomography have kindly given us a whole hoard of their books and camera’s to give away to you lucky bunch EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. THIS. WEEK.

All you have to do is leave a comment on one of our posts this week (including this one) to stand a chance of winning either a Lomography film camera or Lomography London notebook. A winner will be picked from every post, so make sure you get commenting folks.

Rock My Love.

Rock My Wedding is also spreading a little love over at lomography.com. Three lucky couples will win a photoshoot styled by RMW and shot by some of our favourite photographers, who will all be using lomography cameras and equipment. All you have to do to enter is submit your best Lomographic shots that reflect the phrase ‘Rock My Love’ so if you are already down with the super cool lomography movement then head over to the Rock My Wedding Lomography Rumble after 1pm today (the link won’t work before then) for more details on how to enter.

Lomography Style.

The wonderfully colourful and dream-like iconic square shots that you produce with a Lomography camera are becoming so popular and desirable now that some wedding photographers have started carrying them around in their standard kit bags. I’ve not yet seen a wedding entirely shot on these retro creations yet, but it is becoming increasingly popular to have a few lomographic shots thrown into the mix.

Below is a selection of images from Joanna Brown. She shoots on digital and takes a selection of images with her Diana F+. First of all then 4 images from 4 weddings, shot digitally.

And now, the same 4 weddings, but this time the 4 images are shot on a Diana F+ Lomography film camera.

Now you can’t get much more retro than that! I love the soft focus, the red light bleed and colour cast. With Lomography you never quite know what you are going to get until you get that film developed. I love the element of surprise. I think the balloons image is my personal favourite – the effect of the film, colour and focus combined with the balloons themselves give the image a perfect 70′s retro feel.

And there we have it, an introduction to Retro Week on Rock My Wedding and a good dose of wedding pretty thrown in for good measure!

If you are feeling the lomography wedding love you can view a few more wedding related images over on lomography.com by clicking here. These were competition winners of a previous Lomography Rumble… so you can check out the standards before entering the Rock My Wedding Lomography Rumble too!

Pop back for another retro dose of W-day candy this afternoon.

Adam.

…Oh yes indeedy.
Theme weeks are back on RMW.

Make sure you join us, we have retro giveaways EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

The Weekly Round up.

On Monday we went Down Under.
On Tuesday We served up a dose of Winter Bling and asked What is love in our Coulson Macloeod giveaway.
On Wednesdday we dreamed in pretty and then we dreamed about Stationery.
On Thursday we went back to the 60′s and caught up with real bride Celine.
On Friday we asked if Size Matters and What’s New For You?.

Another super duper week then, yes?

Well, just wait until next week – it’ll blow your retro socks off.

Adam.

*Ahem* confessions over – let’s talk design…

Two of the most popular emerging design trends in recent years have undoubtedly been typography and illustration. The evidence is all around us – in the media, in our glossy magazines and even lining the streets upon which we walk.

The Not So Olden Days.

A few years ago if a designer had presented a concept for a new billboard campaign that solely relied on a few well chosen fonts with no images at all, they’d be laughed out of the boardroom with a P45 wedged up inside their little beanie hat (all designers wore a little beanie around this time – outdoors, indoors and regardless of season). Likewise, if asked to create some loosely hand drawn imagery for a new brand or product launch, said designer would scratch at head through beanie hat and wonder why you hadn’t gone to talk to an illustrator instead.

Of course the art of typography and indeed the art of illustration are not new ideas – they are art forms from a bygone era, a time of letraset, letterpress and pens, ink and paints – a time long before MacBooks and Adobe Photoshop. But, just like with fashion, trends cycle and what was old becomes new and today’s designer has to be au fait with all of these disciplines to stay on trend, and the wedding stationery business is no exception.

Let’s have a look at how these two very different trends are starting to have a real impact on your W-day design.

1. Typographic Design.

Typography is very much an art from. Font choice, letter spacing, line spacing, colour and placement are key to a successful design and these subtle skills of judgement are not to be sniffed at. If you don’t get it just right, quite frankly it can look rubbish…

copyright Yield Ink.

And this movie inspired typographic design above from Yield Ink is anything but rubbish! The spacing, stripped back colour scheme and the way the various fonts interact all appear effortless – a sure sign of the craftsmanship required to produce a design as clean as this. Yield Ink utilise traditional crafts and even have a vintage letterpress on which they produce much of their work. Snazzy.

copyright RSVP Candy.

In the example above the emphasis of the work is firmly placed upon the text. They say that a picture paints a thousand words, but it’s a shame to miss out if the thousand words are all as pretty as these ones by RSVP Candy.

A real stand out wedding of 2011 for me was the marriage of Ruth and Rob. Both designers at Raw Design Studio, they branded their wedding to perfection. Typography became a theme that ran through the whole event. They even created a little R&R logo. Very sweet, very creative and absolutely bang on trend.

View the whole wedding, shot by Shaw and Shaw, by clicking HERE.

Next up, combining text with a single repeated heart shape in various colours and patterns gave the invitations below, designed by Rose Mountague, a country garden bunting-esque appeal that totally nailed the brief.

In this beautifully decorated wedding that we featured back in August 2011 you can see how typography suits a back garden rustic affair just as much as it does a cool contemporary wedding.

View the whole wedding, shot by Dominique Bader, by clicking HERE.

2. Illustrative Design.

The other design-trend-of-the-moment can be as basic or as intricate as your imagination (or perhaps your designers imagination) will allow.

The great thing with illustration is that we can all have a go at it, and with modern printing and production facilities it may well be the case that, if you posses at least one creative bone in your body, you may well be able to knock up some wedding stationery that is actually pretty good, and of course very, very personal to you. Try it – you might surprise yourself!

View the whole wedding, shot by navyblur, by clicking HERE.

Bryony and Jamie created an illustration that they reproduced throughout their extensive range of home made wedding stationery. Just like Ruth and Rob, they created themselves a little wedding brand. With the right choice of materials, knowing your limits and by playing to your strengths, your home made branding can look absolutely spot on.

We recently shared with you the wedding of Caro and Simon – and they received such a response to their umbrella themed hand finished wedding stationery, that Caro and an illustrator friend, who designed and created the items have decided to start offering the service to others – if you would like more information then you can drop the girls an email at foldedpaperdesigns@yahoo.com.

View the whole wedding, shot by Debs Iveljar, by clicking HERE.

I also love the design below, in a similar vein of illustration – almost a call back to the simple and innocent quality of a school exercise book doodle. This is from another RMW real wedding and the design is by Kate Blake.

View the whole wedding, shot by Joanna Brown Photography, by clicking HERE.

Right, I have one last thing to show you today, and if you are digging the free style, simple and fun illustrative vibe we are on, you are going to LOVE this.

The Little Peach is a brand spanking new wedding stationery designer, specialising in screen-printing. I took to these designs like a designer to a beanie hat – because having done a bit of screen-printing in my time (I went to art college don’t you know ) I truly do understand the time and skill that goes into creating each of these magnificent prints. They are all original little works of art.

copyright The Little Peach.

I love the simple colour schemes, the interesting materials, the witty and fun illustrations and the attention to detail. Everything, and I mean everything is hand finished. I am officially in stationery heaven .

It is easy to think that your wedding stationery starts and stops with save the dates and invitations but that is not necessarily the case. If you wish, you can incorporate a design that touches every single aspect of your wedding day.

I guess this leads me nicely onto a few final thoughts…

How important to you is your wedding stationery? It’s hard coming from a design background for me not to place it RIGHT UP THERE (above the dress maybe…?) I would be interested to hear where it sits with you peeps who are currently in the throws of W-day planning.

And who is thinking about making their own stationery?

Of course I have only shared the tiny body of work that I am currently pouring over, there are loads of styles, designs and great stationers out there, so please share anything you’ve seen that you like. That’s what it’s all about folks.

Adam.

(And no this isn’t just another excuse to buy new outfits*….)

Last week Adam attended the Reverie on-line magazine launch at Browns Brown (if you haven’t seen this gorgeous glossy yet then you need too folks) and I was invited by Mark Niemierko to the Dorchester for an afternoon with Darcey Miller, Martha Stewart Wedding Magazines’ Editor, to celebrate the best of British in the industry.

I’ve never been to the Dorchester before and I have always been a huge fan of Martha Stewart both as a super successful business woman and of course in particular, her contribution to the evolution of W-day styling and design so nothing was going stop me attending… not even the fact that I had woken up that morning with a face like Simba the Lion King due to an allergic reaction to…. fabric softener.

(Don’t ask)

Floral displays by Rob Van Helden, a selection of stunning gowns and Darcy Miller with David Fielden.

The Dorchester is fancy. Very fancy indeed. As I walked through the door hair firmly windswept and stuck to my lipgloss (why does it do that?!) I immediately felt under-dressed, so should have put a swanky dress on…. Epic fail number one.

Posh frock or not the decor was beautiful, the penthouse suite (yes I know, for a minute there I felt all a bit Julia Roberts and the bathroom was actually bigger than the blue banana…) was filled with an abundance of tulips, roses and general floral greatness courtesy of Rob Van Helden.

The loveliest cake courtesy of Peggy Porschen.

And then there were the designers, David Fielden, Philippa Lepley, Caroline Castigliano and Sassi Holford were all there enjoying afternoon tea and admiring the bespoke Peggy Porchen cake…. yes I was completely star struck (probably stood there grinning manically like a loon)… but they were all really lovely and keen to discuss the increasing popularity of W-day blogging in the UK.

Clockwise from top left, Stephanie balls and Tory Louth from Peggy Porschen with Sassi Holford, Mark Niemierko and Phillipa Lepley, Darcy Miller and a handsome waiter model, a selection of UK Blog Queens, Madeleine Macey and Petrina Nystrom from Temperley London and Harriet Walker from Mustard Catering, Ian Carmichael and Samantha Moore from Browns Bride.

As aesthetically pleasing as the surroundings were nothing was quite as easy on the eye as the waiters. Like actual Disney Prince Charmings but in REAL LIFE. Turns out Mark Niemierko employed some male models to serve the canapés…. Never has a crostini looked so pretty.

And without a doubt epic fail number two was when Mark introduced me to his friend and Hairdresser Ian Carmichael, so awestruck was I by his amazing do (seriously, you have never seen shine and swishiness like it) I didn’t even say Hello, I just came out with some rambling along the lines of OhMyGodDoYouUsePurpleShampooToGetYourHairSoAshyBlonde ?!.

I later found out he is the Queen’s hairdresser.

Yes the actual Queen. Her Majesty has recently given Mr Carmichael a royal warrant due to his 15 years of service….

And I asked him if he used… purple shampoo.

Excellent work O’Shea.

Here’s a highlights video of the event so you can see even more of the fancy – and just how awesome Mr Carmichael’s barnet actually was.

All photography courtesy of Jeremy Enness.

You can see more pictures and details over on Rock N Roll Bride, Anna And The Ring and OMG I’m Getting Married.

Big Feeling All A Bit “I Helped Him Carry A Watermelon?!” Love

Charlotte xxx

P.S Adam is loving the fact Mark Niemerkio is doing the whole double breasted jacket thing, makes him feel like he knows what he’s talking about in the fashion stakes.

* This is clearly a lie.

Now I’m all for sticking to what you know (tailored jackets, leg lengthening jeans, cute dolly dress with black tights..) but recently I’ve been opening my wardrobe to find that the sea of black, mid-grey, marl-grey and um….charcoal-grey is a little bit….dull. I seem to be reaching for my peach jumper all the time, or the hot pink cardigan I bought in the French Connection sale about two years ago…

Yup. It seems this wife is definitely in need of some colour in her life.

Unfortunately I don’t have the budget (or the shopping time) to go purchase a dozen or so rainbow items so I went on ASOS, picked up a couple of accessories and figured I could wear them with lots of pieces from my existing wardrobe… particularly all that grey.

And my colour choices?

Yellow because it makes me happy and a pale sky blue… because it’s just so pretty.

* Cross Body Bag in yellow £30 and blue patent shoes £50 both at ASOS.

Obviously I won’t be wearing them both at the same time… although I guess you could.

Dirty Hair

I don’t mean as in the great unwashed… or slutty* even, I mean as in that kind of matt-textured messed up just-got-out-of-bed hair that I keep seeing on the catwalk and want for myself.

Well I think I’ve found the products to make it happen, has taken a wee bit of practice but I swear (and this is coming from someone who doesn’t “do” hair) once you get the hang of it you’ll be (ahem) dirty in a jiffy.

* Redken Powder Grip at HQ Hair and Undressing Creme from Space NK

On towel dried hair I apply the undressing creme from root to tip, I use a blob about the size of a 10p piece, I also comb it though with my tangle teaser to get an even spread.

I then tip my head upside down and “rough” blow dry i.e. in any old haphazard way. Once dry I shake out some powder into my palm and distribute evenly, paying particular attention to the roots…don’t forget some in the ends though – it gives that whole beachy bohemian look.

Image credit BHLDN

This kind of textured hair is really great for those of you that fancy an easy breezy up-do, the folks at John Frieda sent me this video which is ace – honestly, take a butchers and let me know what you think, it’s an achievable style that I think would look immense on maids with some kind of delicate hair band action going on.

Fancy Face

I tend to have an everyday make-up look (do most people?) but recently I’ve been getting out some of the many many items I can’t stop myself from buying and actually using them.

And when the BHLDN (the wedding arm of Anthropologie) update email dropped into my inbox (if you don’t already subscribe people you must you MUST) it was cosmetics a go-go with all of their lovely fresh-faced ideas.

The How-to can all be found on the BHLDN website, BHLDN also have great W-day hair-do inspiration too…. The Elfin is my favourite.

Music Pin-UP

I’m no music guru, and God forbid I would ever try and write a trying-to-be-Q-magazine review for you, but I have become a bit obsessed/intrigued by the apparent enigma that is Lana Del-Rey.

Is she really called Lizzy Grant? Is her Dad a multi-millionaire or did she in fact live in a trailer park?

Has she had her lips done….?

Who cares. I think she’s beautiful, and I love her voice – reminds me of Fleetwood Macs Stevie Nicks. The song Video Games is available now and her album “Born To Die” is released on 30th January on iTunes…. I have mine on pre-order.

So you gorgeous lot, any new purchases you want to share?

Anything you might be treating yourself to this weekend….?

I am trying my hardest to stay away from Zara, I’m like a kid in a sweet shop as soon as I step through the door.

Big Experimentation Love

Charlotte xxx

* Could be slightly slutty if worn with smoky eyes and whatnot….

It is undeniable that the last few years have seen Mr Groom grow from a nervous looking chap who’s only weapon was a number for the nearest formal wear hire on speed dial, to a much more confident character who’s paying more attention to his look, learning the importance of accessorising and even appreciating how he ‘fits’ style-wise within the overall theme of a contemporary wedding.

Now, the comment about the local formal wear hire company may be a bit unfair and I appreciate that actually the majority of couples still choose to hire suits… The good news is that the game is changing here too. Mr Groom can now expect more choice, more style and more individuality from his local formal hire company. If it’s worth its salt, said hire company should be able to kit you out with the exact look you want to rock on W-day. Goodbye and good riddance to the days when your only option was the colour of your cravat.

I’m going to take you through four strong and individual looks for Mr Groom, some are well established and some are still emerging, but Mr Groom has been dabbling with them all, and the proof is contained within these very polka dotted pages…

Look 01: James Bond.

This look is very much on the way up methinks – you can go the whole hog with full tux, shiny black dicky bow and if you really want to stand out a good trick is to dress your groomsmen down a bit or put them in a lighter colour. Just because you’re in a tux it doesn’t mean that everyone else has to match your level of formality.

View the full wedding, photographed by M & J Photogrpahy.

The ‘James Bond’ Is a very versatile look and one that you can easily dress down if you want to lose a bit of the formality, below is a tux from Reiss dressed up with a bowtie and dressed down with a bootlace tie – it’s interesting how one small accessory can totally change the feel of the suit.

You could dress this look down even further if you mixed a tux jacket with a contrasting coloured, less formal trouser. Allsaints have started selling tux style blazers that would help you accomplish this look – I’ve yet to see it creep in to groom fashion, but I have a feeling it’s on the way.

And if a tux is too much for you but you want to go ultra smart, a gloss suit with colour pop shirt and metallic bowtie might be a good option, as seen in the ensemble above by Pose London. Again this could really put you in the spotlight if you deliberately contrast with your groomsmen.

Look 2: English Garden.

This has been a very popular look for 2011 and I don’t see it going anywhere soon. It’s a really english preppy look that embraces geek chic and some adventurous colour combinations. Here, anything goes – ditch the suit in favour of a blazer and colour contrast slacks. Go for a knitted or heavily textured tie or dicky bow and essential for this look is a classic pair of brown or ox-blood brogues.

View the full wedding, photographed by Shoot Photography.

The great thing with this look is that you can get it straight off the highstreet (as I am about to prove) and the additional bonus is that you’ll be able to regularly re-wear all of this kit time and time again, making it great value.

Now, personally I can’t fully commit to the liberal colour scheme of the English Garden look, so I have put together a slightly more subdued version.

I would love to see this Allsaints linen jacket (currently under half price by the way) matched with this funky ASOS white shirt. Get preppy geek by adding an Allsaints bowtie and set it off with a simple pair of Chinos from Topman.

Footwear is a crucial part of the English Garden look and I’ve gone for these beautifully detailed paul smith brogues. At £265.00 they are an extravagance, and of course you can get a decent set of brogues for much less than this – but when I saw them I sort of fell in love a bit so they’re staying.

Total price, including the extravagant footwear is £425.00. Throw in say another fiver for a pair of socks and some pants off the market (Calvin Klone anyone?) and you have a WHOLE OUTFIT for a wedding-dress-busting £430.00.

And if I was truly able to commit to a daring colour scheme I would perhaps suggest getting the brogues in blue… If you do, you’ll look sharp and save yourself £20.00

Look 3: Uber Rustic.

Another very popular look this year, it’s casual and it is TWEEDY folks.

Yep, I’m telling you to get some tweed in your life, we want rustic loosely woven fabrics, we want floral shirting and knitted ties and we most definitely want re-enforced fabric elbow patches. Most important of all are the accessories – braces are back big time and for a little bit of rock star glamour, why not throw on a pair of shades (maybe not for the ceremony though eh?)

View the full wedding, photographed by Dominique Bader.

And if you want to see tweed done as well as it can be then you should check out Holland Esquire, I am seriously considering purchasing this little tweedy number… the multi-coloured buttons are to die for (did I just say that?) Oh well, it’s true.

Look 4: Quirky Classic.

This is an emerging look and one that I think we are going to see more and more of this year because it is both highly accessible and highly adaptable. It’s a slightly more formal look than the last two – but the possibilities for tailoring and tweaking it are almost endless.

The Quirky Classic look relies on a classic two or three piece suit as a base, then it’s all about what you decide to add or takeaway. Maybe lose the Jacket and go for the shirt and waistcoat look or maybe add a hat to give your classic suit a retro and informal twist?

View the full wedding, photographed by Brett Symes.

It’s the accessories that will really make this look your own. I’m loving the pocket watch thing that that I have been spotting recently – it’s a very formal accessory but when mixed with an open shirt and scarf suddenly its not formal but it certainly isn’t casual either, it’s a smart look that sits somewhere in the middle. It’s Quirky Classic and it’s ACE, that’s what it is!

View the full wedding, photographed by Asassynation.

Your quirk maybe something as simple as a fun patterned tie, obviously we love polka dots at RMW so when I caught site of this classic suit combined with a quirky polka dot tie I literally had to catch my breath.

View the full wedding, photographed by My Big Day Photos.

I bang on about Reiss a lot, I promise I don’t work for them or anything like that, but they are doing the classic look with utter, utter class at the moment, check out this grey two piece with optional waistcoat – it’s just the perfect balance of classic elegant tailoring with a modern slim cut. I am also very much admiring the quirky classic, suit, shirt, tie and stripy handkerchief combo from POSE London. Both provide the perfect basis on which to build your Quirky Classic look.

So four distinct looks, and I have to say if I had to pick one, I’d be Quirky Classic at the moment – and it’s my hot tip for 2012. In fact, if I don’t see more of this look I’m going to be one seriously disappointed blogger.

I will leave you now with one last thought – this year we were supposed to be seeing double breasted suits slip back into the mainstream (particularly after the Moss/Hince wedding) and I must admit, I was rather hoping they were never going to arrive. I just can’t see myself lusting after the double-breasted look…

That was until I caught a few images in the New York Times Style Magazine report the other day that anticipates the double breasted suits imminent arrival.

View the full article here.

I must admit, I think my mind is already changing… and I almost hate to admit that!

What do you people think – It looks like they are firmly on their way from the catwalk to the high street, but is it time for double-breasted suits to re-enter the wedding arena?

Adam.

Who am I trying to kid? Today I’m talking about male skincare and cosmetics!

From hydrating to cleansing and moisturising, I’m even going to touch on makeup for men (shock, horror).

Rockstars Probably Do It.

I’m 33 years old next year. I remember when I was a young lad it was ace at the start of a new year as you could say “next year I will be…” and you could add two numbers onto your age (because you hadn’t had this years birthday yet) to make yourself seem extra old. It’s not so good to do that now. In fact it’s scary.

Even though I’m 33 next year (currently 31 thank you very much) I still get spots regularly… I have been waiting for ooh about 14 years now for clear skin – but it has never arrived. My skin is better now than it ever has been, but I rarely get a day when I don’t have a few visible skin issues, be it a big ole spot, a few red blemishes or some other dermatological nightmare. I don’t think I have had a single day of 100% clear skin since I was about 15 years old. FACT.

So, you’re probably thinking I’m not the best person to offer up my knowledge of male grooming – Don’t listen to spotty Crohill’s skin advice – look at his face for god’s sake! Well, I’m not offering up miracle cures, quite the opposite if anything. What I am suggesting is a routine and a few tricks that work for me and minimise the appearance of bad skin and also keep some of the more serious outbreaks at bay. As I said my skin is better now than it has been since I can remember, so I must be doing a few things right.

First thing is – it’s ok to use products! as the title to this section suggests – Rockstars probably do, and they’re doing alright… that’s how I reassure myself anyway.

The Products.

Moisturiser.
Having listened to a some of our real brides having a chin wag on facebook I learnt that a few of their H2B’s skin would benefit from being in better general condition, particularly in these winter months.

I’ve used a few moisturisers in my time and generally I hate them, I don’t like the feeling of having a layer of slippy grease sat on top of my face – it’s bad enough when I have to use suncream on holiday – why subject yourself to this on a daily basis? Persistence has paid off though and I have found a moisturiser that seems to do the job. I use Jean Paul Gaultier Energising Face Care. It feels bearable during application and literally in 10 seconds it’s like it’s not there at all. It is quite expensive at over £25.00 a time but I have also used L’Oreal Hydra-Energetic lotion which is a fraction of the price, still pretty good and can often be found in “2 for 1″ type deals in supermarkets. If it is on “2 for 1″ I wouldn’t really bother with any of their other male focussed products – just double up on the face cream.

Also my hands get really bad in the winter months – although this last mild winter has saved me a fortune in hand cream, usually by mid November my hands are so dry that a walk to the shops can result in bleeding knuckles – that Nutragena Hand Cream stuff usually sorts ‘em out.

Cleansing.
Exfoliation is key in keeping your pores clear – the girls know this – and just look at their lovely soft skin. The trouble is – it’s really boring. I hate those scratchy exfoliation pastes and face washes you get, they take so long to rinse off. Maybe I’m lazy but if its not a quick process I’m inclined to skip it… and then ultimately my skin suffers.

What I have found to be good are the slightly abrasive cleansing wipes you can get now. A good mannish scrub with these seems to do the trick pretty well, then I use Clinique scruffing lotion (which is actual sold as a pre-shave prep) for after I’ve given my face a scub and cleared out those pores. You can get a scruffing lotion to suit your skin type which is a bonus, and also its got quite a blokey name so you can keep it on the window sill in the bathroom and not be ashamed of it.

Vinny Jones don’t use cleanser… he bloody well uses scruffing location, Alright? (said in best cockney gangster voice). Anyway, the combination of scrubby wipe thing followed by scruffing lotion makes my skin feel really clean and clear. End of.

Concealing.
There is an opinion that men should be “men”… but does that mean we have to walk around with a spot on our face? Everyone is ok with men using hair products to enhance our appearance, so what about a bit of make up? What’s the difference? The question is then – to conceal or not to conceal?

Personally I do, on occasion… Not every day but I will consider it, particularly if there is any danger of a camera being in the room. I think if you’ve got a full blown MAHOOSIVE spot on your face somewhere, just live with it – trying to conceal that bad boy is only going to lead to trouble. However, say you’ve got some inflamed skin, maybe a spot is on the way – it’s gone a bit angry but the skin hasn’t actually broken yet. It’s at this point where a little dab of concealer can reduce the red effect dramatically, and boost your confidence at the same time. Most concealers have ingredients in them to fight off the spot too, so if caught early it may never even arrive.

If you do apply concealer – check yourself in a brightly lit room, or a bathroom mirror. If you look alright close up in bright lighting you’ll be fine – no ones going to catch you wearing make up in public, which let’s face it has to be the only reason for not wearing concealer. Unless you are a particular fan the bright red angry skin look. You can get Clinique Anti Blemish Concealer from mankind for £11.50 and it will last forever! Or if you are feeling flush you can go for Jean Paul Gautier Monsieur Concealer which comes in at around £18.00.

Secret Weapon.
Probably the cheapest thing on the block… brought to us seemingly from the same marketing team that branded “Lard” back in 1973, we have sudocrem. Forget the packaging, forget that it advertises that it’s for bed sores and nappy rash… dab a bit on an area of bad skin, be it a dry patch or a spot and leave on for as long as you can. This is particularly tricky if the blob of sudocrem is in your peripheral vision, but seriously if you prevail you’ll discover that this stuff is good. You can pick it up anywhere for little more than a quid. Bargain.

Of course the ideas I present here are simply what seems to work for me, I’m not even using some of these products for their correct purpose (especially not the lard) but hopefully you might feel like going out and trying a few for yourself.

You Get What You Pay For?

A high price tag of course does not necessarily mean quality and won’t intrinsically lead to success. The key is to try a range of products and find which works best for you, from a success point of view and as a routine. There is no point having products that work if the application takes 20 minutes out of your day meaning you skip the routine half the time because you’re running late.

I have my own tale about a high price not leading to success… A few years back I paid a massive amount of money for a sk:n consultation and subsequent arsenal of lotions and potions they suggested that I needed. Although I would never say blankly “IT DOESN’T WORK” sk:n didn’t work for me. I remember I was given a hydrochloric acid face wash that was designed to burn off dead skin cells… (scary) In fact what it did do was make my hands feel all slippy and smooth after a few weeks of applying it every day in the shower – it was as if the cream was slowly removing my finger prints or something…

I did actually consider doing a bank robbery, it would have been the perfect crime with no prints left and I needed a sharp influx of cash from somewhere if I was going to be able to afford another shopping trip to sk:n… In the ended I decided to stay inside the law and instead changed my routine for a more wallet friendly (and fingerprint friendly) option.

Well, that’s about it folks – hopefully there might be some useful bits of info here, and maybe a few products for H2B to try. And just for the sake of starting a nice Friday afternoon debate – Girls, what is your opinion of a man who conceals? Are you all for it, do you see it as part of modern mans routine, you know – scrub face, brush the old toothy pegs, put clean pants on, splash a bit of aftershave about, mess up hair… conceal the spots?…

…or is that one step too far?

And of course, also please share any wonder potions that you may know of too.

Adam.

Sometimes team RMW get an idea for a post and we really aren’t sure how it will be received by you lot, and sure sometimes it’s a surprise for us when we get it wrong, and occasionally it’s a surprise too when we get it right… a good surprise.

Anyway, the upshot is – maybe we’ll share more of our little behind the scenes design decisions with you gorgeous lot in the future… if for no other reason than we found it really blooming helpful and easy when we came to make our decision…. Because you guys had already made it for us!

There was big love for design 2 (the champagne flutes) but you wanted the three flutes from variation B done in the style of variation A. Also, a lot of people wanted the font from design 3… your reason above anything else was that combination would be the one that reflected RMW the best. Well, how could we argue with that?

So there it is – a design by committee. I’m pretty pleased with it and I’m now looking forward to the Real Bride Hen Do more than ever. Yup, I’m going – I think I might be the only boy there but hey ho what can you do eh? Duty calls and all that

It promises to be a fantastic party – an all day event of pampering, craft workshops, dresses, jewellery and décor – all fuelled by some serious chin wagging and fizz quaffing… but I have already said too much!

The Real Bride Hen Do is taking place next weekend so all will be revealed in good time.

Personally, I can’t wait to get my nails done.

Adam.

In terms of your wedding I mean the little personal often inexpensive details rather than the fancy schmancey grand gestures. And in terms of every day life I mean exactly the same, the what-might-initially-be-perceived-as-something-small event that has a significant emotional effect or promotes the desire for change.

I didn’t know what I wanted for Christmas, lots of frivolous items (obviously) but when Mr O’Shea asked what I really wanted I just didn’t have an answer. But what I had been moaning on about for a good few months was my increasingly allergic skin and subsequent redness and reactions resulting in a few broken thread veins across my cheeks. Now I know this is nothing particularly awful/unusual to suffer from (so please excuse potential perceived vain-ness) but it had been bothering me none the less, especially as it seemed to be getting increasingly worse.

I had mentioned some time in the Autumn how when I had the time or could justify the treat more than any posh pair of shoes or designer handbag I would love to go and see a specialist in all things face. All these skincare products and lovely make-up items are all very well but they are not going to work to their optimum potential if you have an underlying issue that simply won’t go away with merely a slathering of cream.

I had read about Dr Frances Prenna Jones after reading an article in Elle magazine, apparently she is one of THE people to go to if your mug is mis-behaving itself and I spent some time telling James how maybe one day I would love the opportunity to have a consultation with someone like that.

And that was all I said.

Then come the 25th December as well as some gorgeous stocking fillers I opened this card…..

Yup. Turns out Mr O’Shea had somehow found DR Fix on-line, read all about her and booked an appointment for me for February, I was consumed with gratitude.

In the grand scheme of things your husband essentially booking you an appointment with a dermatologist may not be seen as very romantic (!) but it was one of the nicest gifts I have ever received, as they say – it’s the small things that count. And although it’s not like I don’t already know, it’s things like that that highlight just how suited we are and how much I look forward to the rest of our future together.

In a similar vein and in light of a new year and new beginnings I was chatting to Roz from Hepburn Collection the other day (one half of an immense hair styling duo for anyone that doesn’t already know) and she was saying how she had just read a particularly thought-provoking piece on-line entitled A Letter On My Doorstep -Portraits Are More Than Just Paper that she literally couldn’t stop thinking about, and after reading it myself neither could I.

In the RMW Teams resolutions piece I somehow managed to leave out a really important goal I have for 2012 – and that’s to take more pictures. Lots and LOTS of pictures. Considering I am a girl with five cameras (yes five) I don’t do a whole lot of capturing moments. This piece reminded me to make sure I keep my promises – even the ones I make to myself.

Oh and for no particular reason at all (apart from that fact that I don’t know who could resist the line “Maybe you’re my snowflake” – someone NEEDS to use these lyrics in their Big Day)…here is a section of a track entitled “Wake Me Up” by Ed Sheeran that just makes me smile (you can download the whole thing from iTunes) – turn it up LOUD folks.

Wake Me Up (90 Sec) by Ed Sheeran

So it’s Friday… Hooray! it’s been a fantastic week on the blog (does a little dance and blows kisses to you all) and apart from saying a huge Thank-you for all of your support, comments and general great-ness I wondered if you would be keen to discuss any of the following…

What has been your most thoughtful gift ever?

Anything you have read/seen recently that has really made you take a step back and really really think?

And maybe there are even some of you that are considering giving back this year in a similar vein to RMW’s Vix is with her volunteering to help the elderly..?

Here’s to an amazing January lovelies.

Big Sometimes Small Things Are Pretty Ruddy Huge Love

Charlotte xxx