Since our original launch in 2004 we have undergone 2 logo changes and a number of websites. We have seen the industry change rapidly both in terms of bridal trends but also the way wedding businesses operate. It’s hard to believe that back in 2004 not many wedding businesses even had websites, social media was unheard of and branding? Well see the definition below and you’ll have an idea!
Brand. 1. n. Piece of burning or smouldering wood, torch, (literary); sword (poet.); iron stamp used red-hot to leave an indelible mark, mark left by it, stigma, trade-mark, particular kind of goods (all of the best bb.). 2. v.t. Stamp (mark, object, skin), with b., impress indelibly (is branded on my memory)
It can be challenging balancing the many aspects of the UKAWP within one website, after all we get couples marrying visiting our brides page and using our directory. We have wedding planners and suppliers looking at the membership, workshop and events pages. And finally we have those wishing to launch as wedding planners browse our training page. So, we have to keep a balance of “wedding” and “corporate”.
One aspect of “branding” that has become imperative for many businesses is “colour pychology” and Fiona from The Brand Stylist explains it so well. If you read this article it gives you an insight into which colours one would use depending on your personality. Frankly we think we fit rather neatly into autumn and a touch of winter considering how passionate we are about knowledge, campaigning and community.
Our logo and signature colour scheme of blue hues has remained consistent throughout the years of business. Recently we made technical changes to our website to make it more user friendly and tweaked the text. The next step was to have some recognisable brand images to take us through the next few years. We felt it was time to reflect the new era of weddings through some brighter, fresher images. Although this wasn’t a total re-brand we wanted to create uniformity across all of the images we use within our marketing. The images needed to be inspirational for couples visiting our website, but aspirational for those working within the wedding industry
Instead of using current trends within the images we instead concentrated on using our palette of soft blue, white and touches of brown to create timeless, romantic images to reflect the longevity of the UKAWP and many of our members.
The revamp photo-shoot was styled by UKAWP member and trained stylist Alexandra Merri of Bijou Bride.
Other wedding suppliers involved, included photographer Simon Carr, Jades Flowers, hair and makeup by Dawn Taylor Beauty, wedding venue Houchins, stationery by Emily and Jo, tableware and glassware by Helene Millot, linen by 88 events and gowns by Katya Katya Shehurina.
Of the brief, Alexandra Merri from Bijou Bride said: “It was very important that every image we captured on this shoot would become synonymous with the UKAWP, creating a modern look that would have longevity within the industry. Inspirational to brides and aspirational to upcoming planners.
“As a starting point I took the UKAWP brand colours and developed style boards for Bernadette and Sandy. These boards highlighted how we could use the signature blue, white and brown to create something soft and pretty, modern but still timelessly elegant. Blue would be the dominant colour throughout, set against fresh crisp whites with accents of luxurious rich gold as a fresh take on brown.”
Alexandra went on to explain how the day was run: “During the shoot we focused on multiple detail shots and you’ll notice the subtle touches of blue throughout from the wedding dress - a beautiful take on ‘Something Blue’ by designer Katya Katya Shehurina - to the magnificent floral arrangements by Jades Flowers.
I was keen to highlight as many aspects of the wedding planning process as possible from stationery to cake, menus to planners themselves (in this case Sandy and Bernadette) setting up on the day or just reassuring a nervous bride.”
Our huge thanks to all suppliers that contributed to this shoot and especially Simon Carr for taking a hundreds of photos on the day under the direction of a lot of women!
