Morning lovely people and welcome to the week. We hope you all had a good weekend.
To kick off another week of amazing wedding content on Festival Brides, we have an incredible, and we mean INCREDIBLE, competition to share with you all. Drum roll please…
Wedding hair and makeup artist Off Duty Weddings, in collaboration with some truly fabulous wedding suppliers (we see you Sammy Taylor and Tilly Thomas Lux), have launched a competition called Lockdown Love where one lucky couple, along with 13 of their favourite people, can win a Micro-Wedding! Yes you read that right – you can win an entire wedding, organised and planned for you by the suppliers involved. All you need to do is sit back, relax and look forward to what will be an epic wedding – taking place on the 19th December 2020.
With so much sadness in the world, this competition couldn’t come soon enough. We know that so many of you have been forced to change/postpone your wedding plans due to the pandemic and that some have even had to cancel altogether due to financial pressure. If you feel that the wedding planning experience has been ripped from you then enter this competition. It is open to absolutely everyone whose plans have been affected by Covid-19, and is there to spread some much needed positivity and hope for the wedding industry and our couples.
Keri of Off Duty Weddings shares with us her reasons behind launching Lockdown Love, all the amazing suppliers involved and the details of how to enter.
Good luck lovely people!
Lockdown Love…
When the shock announcement was made by Boris with the decision to reduce weddings down to just 15 guests, it was news that hit the wedding industry hard.
Within minutes my social media was flooded with heart breaking posts from wedding suppliers – some uncertain of the future of their businesses.
And then there was our couples. Many of which have taken multiple knocks throughout the year, choosing to reschedule to early 2021 when we all hoped things would be returning to “normal”.
Then there was the “take it on the chin” couples…the ones who had come to some level of acceptance that they would go ahead with a limited guest list of 30…to now have the shock news that this is no longer possible.
And the hardest part? The uncertainty of when it will all end.
It got me thinking that if these are the weddings of the future then how do we inspire our couples? Sure we have all worked tirelessly to put out some amazing content over the last year to keep inspiring our couples and keep our creative minds ticking, but what are we actively DOING to be the change in our own industry?
It’s time for us, as industry professionals and influencers, to accept what is, step up and lead the way.
So I started to plan an elopement styled shoot and this is when the light-bulb moment came. How many times have couples produced inspiration pictures from our shoots when discussing ideas for their wedding? How many times have we as suppliers been on set and said “I wish I did this” or “I’d love a wedding like this”. So what is stopping us? If we are restricted by law to micro weddings then go BIG in other ways.
Top Class Creatives…
Bex The Celebrant
I have hand-selected a team of top class creatives, who not only produce amazing work but are also some of my most trusted colleagues and have also grown to be good friends.
On Saturday 19th December we will be creating and styling a luxurious winter wedding setting at Oak Tree Barn, a beautiful rustic old stable barn with modern industrial elements and set in the heart of Kent.
Oak Tree Barns
A personalised blessing ceremony will be conducted by celebrant Rebecca of Bex The Celebrant in a chic ceremony setting styled by Olivia from The Collect Co in front of up to 13 of the chosen couple’s guests. Guests will be serenaded by Jordan Hemingway’s warm vocals and acoustic guitar.
The Collect Co.
To follow will be a wedding grazing picnic catered by Grazing Social in a cosy dining area styled again by The Collect Co. Dressed with luxurious tableware and glassware from A Touch of Vintage, naturally dyed textiles by Mia Sylvia, sustainable handmade stationery by Luna and Sol and featuring floral design by Xyris Botanicals.
Grazing Social 
A Touch of Vintage 
Mia Sylvia 
Luna & Sol Stationery 
Xyris Botanicals
Guests will be treated to a cake from award winning contemporary cake designer – Chelsea Buns Cake Design.
Our lucky bride will receive a free hair and makeup trial by myself – Off Duty Wedding Hair and Makeup and will be styled on the day at the venue.
She will be able to select on loan a hand-crafted piece of her choosing from Tilly Thomas Lux.
A bouquet of home grown dried seasonal flowers and foliage and matching boutonniere will be provided by Xyris Botanicals who creates floral eco friendly masterpieces.
Chelsea Buns Cake Design 
Off Duty Wedding Hair & Makeup Artist 
Tilly Thomas Lux
The elopement will all be captured by romance obsessed Sammy Taylor Photography. A favourite with couples and featured on Festival Brides, she creates jaw-dropping photos and has a sharp eye for detail. Sammy is also super sweet and personable with the ability to make anyone feel comfortable. She will be working alongside videographer Dale Rook who will be capturing every detail on cinematic film. Dale is highly passionate about his work and that passion feeds through into his highly emotive films which are sure to be cherished by our winning couple forever. Like Sammy, Dale’s laid back energy will make anyone feel at ease.
Sammy Taylor Photography 
Off Duty Wedding Hair & Markup | Sammy Taylor Photography 
Dale Rooks Film
To top off an amazing giveaway, our couple will be treated at a later date to a half day vineyard tour, wine tasting and lunch experience courtesy of Visit England’s award winners Vine and Country Tours.
So what do our winning couple need to do?
All you need to do is turn up in your wedding finest with your chosen 13 guests and get ready to live out the elopement of your dreams!! The team will be fully responsible for all of the styling decisions so you can just relax and look forward to what will be an incredible wedding day – trust us, you are in very good hands.
To be in a chance of winning this incredible giveaway, and for full details of how to enter, please head over to @_lockdown_love.
Last entry is on the 15th November 2020 with the winner being announced on the 16th November 2020.
Please note the ceremony will be a personal blessing so will not be legally binding. The legal ceremony can either be held before or after your elopement, depending on what suits you both best. For more details, please head over to Lockdown Love Instagram Page and checkout their stories.
Open to UK residents only.
Lockdown Love Line Up…
Competition Page: Lockdown Love; Organiser & HMUA: Off Duty Wedding HMUA; Venue: Oak Tree Barn Weddings; Photographer: Sammy Taylor Wedding Photography; Videographer: Dale Rook Films; Celebrant: Bex The Celebrant; Venue Styling & Furniture: The Collect Co; Florist: Xyris Botanicals; Tableware & Glassware: A Touch of Vintage UK; Hair Accessories: Tilly Thomas Lux; Fabrics & Textiles: Mia Sylvia; Grazing Platters: Grazing Social; Stationery & Logo Design: Luna and Sol Design; Cake: CB Cakery; Vineyard Tour: Vine and Country Tours; Music: Jordan Hemingway Music
