About

English Wedding was born in November 2009 to showcase all that is wonderful about English weddings. The site is full of inspiration and advice for brides in the UK and for anglophile brides overseas. Written from inside the UK wedding industry, English Wedding also focuses on the brightest and best new talents in all aspects of wedding design, with a special focus on real weddings by the UK’s finest wedding photographers.

The alternative wedding professional

I’ve worked as a calligrapher specialising in weddings for years. I love my work and I enjoy offering a wedding service that’s still quite unusual for brides to have. There are around twenty professional calligraphers in the UK who focus on wedding commissions.

I do all my marketing online, and for free. I don’t pay to advertise, and I work hard to get my business noticed. It works. I’m busy all year round, and every day in my diary is devoted to a single customer. I write invitations and envelopes, table plans and poems. Every single day is unique.

My favourite calligraphy work is edgy and different. I’m currently working on a new couture wedding stationery collection which will appear on my calligraphy blog.  I listen to 6 Music, Frank Turner, Pulp and Placebo while I work.

The industry blog with attitude

English wedding isn’t just about romance and roses, it’s about the coolest cutting edge wedding design. In the UK we have an acute understanding of fashion, our own blazing sense of style and rebellion.

When I think of English Wedding I imagine a blog that shows the world what UK weddings have to offer. It’s about stately homes and Shakespeare, the queen and the Sex Pistols. We have our quaint traditions and eccentricities, from pretty cupcakes and  tea in vintage china to the festival season and drinking until we all fall over.

As an ex-professional Marketeer (the capital M is because I love the title, it puts me in mind of Biggles goggles) I am constantly amazed by the brands which lead the wedding industry. And I’m not talking about the old classics who’ve been around forever. The wedding industry is a creative force and the smallest businesses have the biggest visions.

I admire the leading designers in the English wedding industry, those who are pushing boundaries, trying new things with everything from out-there tiara design to original, bespoke wedding stationery. The photographers who market their services with real passion and excellence.

I can’t stand the old face of the UK wedding industry though. The bakers who’ll hike the price of a cake by 300% for a wedding, the high street print shops peddling dull wedding invitations, and the photographers who don’t bother editing their work.

There are practices within the UK wedding industry which make my toes curl. Directories who charge a fortune for a teeny listing on a website. Venues who charge suppliers to be on a “recommended” list. Note to any of the above: don’t call me. I’ll put it on the blog!

The face behind English Wedding

I’m Claire, I’m in my thirties, and I live with my boyfriend, his kids and my cat in Cheshire. I grew up in the Lake District with my mum & dad, my sister and two tortoises. I’ve had a lucky life.

I began calligraphy as a hobby at 14 and my fascination for words, letters and writing stuck with me through school and university. I specialised in foreign languages, got told off for writing my homework in my best friend’s handwriting (I just wanted to try it), and got my degree in French, Italian and Marketing. I lived in France and Italy for a little while. I worked as a Marketing Specialist for a blue chip company and took voluntary redundancy to start my own business. I’ve never looked back.

I love indie music and the new wave of folk that’s becoming massive in the UK. I have four tattoos. I’m as happy making things with a hammer and power drill as I am with pen and scissors. If I could wear fancy dress every day I would. When I eat too much cheese I have dreams about hundreds of rabbits and kittens I have to carry to safety. I love sunshine, heavy rain, lightning and blizzards.

I read whenever I can, and I enjoy adventure books with myths and magic. British folklore fascinates me and I’d like to believe in fairies. I love nature and walk everywhere because I don’t think I’d get away with my rollerblades any more. The best UK festival is Beautiful Days and the best films in the world are Stardust and Trainspotting.