Love My Dress Wedding Blog - A UK Wedding Blog

Reader Vote Required ~ Love Illustrated 'Save The Date' Competition + 25% Discount For ALL Entrants...

Hi Everyone, I need your help!  Two weeks ago, I ran a competition with the fabulous Love Illustrated, where together, we invited readers to submit details of what illustration they would have designed by Love Illustrated to go on their own, bespoke, save the date cards.  The response we had to the competition has been phenomenal but finally, fiiiiinally, we have managed to get ourselves to a shortlist of four entries and over the next few days my lovelies, I would like you to help us choose a winner :) 

I'm going to hand over to Sian from Love Illustrated to talk you through, and once you've had a chance to read, simply leave a comment at the end stating which of the finalists below you think should win, and why :) And ladies - if you entered this competition originally, you'll be receiving an email soon with details of how you can claim a 25% discount off your order!

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"I genuinely can't tell you how much we loved reading all the entries to the Love My Dress competition! The entries included mention of camels, derelict chapels, the Beatles, sailfish & unicorns, restored
Victorian baths, comic superheroes, half the congregation in headphones, Elvis - the list goes on and on!"

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - All Illustrations Copyright (c) 2012, Love Illustrated

When we received our list of entries, we knew we were in trouble. It took another week and three more cuts to get it down to where it is now, and even then we had to plead with Annabel to let us sneak in an extra finalist. That's why we'd be more than pleased to offer all the unsuccessful finalist a 25% on any commissioned work rather than the original 10% we offered.

We will be contacting a select number of entrants whose ideas for invite we absolutely loved with a personalised quote - unfortunately this won't be everyone, as we couldn't possibly draw every invite by
the end of the wedding season! - but we're so thrilled that out of all the entries we got, every single person's idea was an unique and individual representation of their weddings and themselves!

So, for the finalists - and in no particular order, they are...

Charoltte Sissons
"For our reception we are having tipis in a field, our illustration would hopefully reflect our love of the countryside and the vintage/fun filled mini festival/country fete style day we have planned! Haybales, teacups, coconut shy, cows, lanterns, bunting, tractors, and a whole lotta fun, laughter and love!"

We loved Charlotte's rural mini-festival theme, and although teacups and bunting are pretty widespread throughout the wedding invite world, we think the fact she's also thrown some cows, a tractor and a coconut shy into the mix is fab. This sounds like a wedding with a lot of fun and energy, and it would make a great illustration.

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Hannah Jeffrey
"I love the idea of a tree with lots of little things from our lives in the branches (musical instruments, books, some running shoes...) - like a 'family' tree, as we're 'branching' out to start our own family
tree. We're also trying to have a green wedding and it's all about local, seasonal and recycled - so we're definitely into tree hugging too!"

We thought this idea was an amazingly strong visual image and really personal too - the imagery around creating your own family tree is truly lovely. We try to be as green as possible when printing invites
to, so this aspect of the invite also very much appealed to us.

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Elizabeth Oldham
"It would be me and my groom in our wedding attire and massive walking boots standing in the middle of the Patagonian wilderness, with a little tent in the far distance, rain lashing pretty much horizontally but still with manic grins on our faces.  It would be this because I spent 10 months of last year 9000 miles away from my lovely, patient boyfriend living in Chile and then Brazil. He spent all the money he had coming out to Chile to see me - the first time to propose (on Christmas Eve, which is like Christmas day in Chile) and the second time to accompany me on my long-dreamt-of trip to Torres del Paine national park and spend a week freezing his little tush off and carrying massive backpacks during all-day treks from campsite to campsite. That time together really showed just how much he would (literally) go to the ends of the earth for me and so Patagonia and Chile became the symbol of these important moments (and will hopefully figure in our future too!)."

We love the romantic story behind this entry (Ends of the earth? *Sigh*), but we also love the idea of a bridal couple in hiking boots in the middle of nowhere, wet though but still having a fantastic time! It tell a great story about the couple's history, and call us old-fashioned romantics, but that's something we love to be able to draw.

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Ruth Casey
"We are going for a 1920/30s speak easy style wedding.We would feature the 1936 Rolls Royce that we are hiring and myself in a white vintage dress with tea roses and my other half in a smart tuxedo.We would like the reception building in the background as this was built during this time and was the inspiration for the theme.We thought up the idea of a couple of Film stars of the era waving out of windows as our tables are named after stars like Greta Garbo and Fred Astaire. We love the idea of celebrating with signature cocktails, we have chosen our favourite cocktail, sidecars from the same era which could feature somewhere in the invitation.Our guests are completely unaware of our 1920/30s style and this would be a lovely way to surprise them with a unique, illustrated wedding invite personal to us."

Ruth has clearly put so much thought into the whole look of her wedding, tying the 1920/30s style together with not only the usual candidates of venue, transport and dress, but the fabulous idea of
using movie stars in the windows of the hotel, which we love. It's also fantastic that she wants to spring the idea of the vintage wedding on the guests by sending them such a bespoke, detailed image -
imagine their surprise on opening the invite!

**Readers**  To help us pick a winner, please leave a comment below stating which finalise you would like to win and a little note why.  And Charlotte, Hannah, Elizabetha and Ruth - GOOD LUCK!!! 

Also be sure to pop along over to the Love Illustrated website for further inspiration for your bespoke save the dates and wedding stationery...

Bridal Inspiration Board #33 ~ Relaxed, 1920s, Outdoor Summer Celebration...

Morning beautiful people :) I'm in London town this morning attending Temperley London for an exclusive bloggers preview of the new bridal wear collection for 2012 {hello! ... die with excitement!}, following which, I'll be spending time with the lovely girls over at Fur Coat No Knickers.  My mission is to return armed full of inspiration and gorgeous imagery to share with you all, thanks to photographers Kirsten Mavric and Eliza Claire.  But right now, it's inspiration board time! This week, the delightful Michelle Kelly of Pocketful of Dreams shares her visions of a relaxed, 1920's inspired wedding day celebration...

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This weeks inspiration is a slight throwback to the 1920's jazz age, influenced by The Great Gatsby. Rather than go for decadent, booze-filled and raucous twenties inspiration, I have chosen a much softer daytime style, perfectly suited to an outdoor picnic wedding.

 

Image credits: 1. Kiss the Groom 2. Wedding Come True 3. Manolo Brides 4. Vogue 5. Style Me Pretty 6. Design Sponge 7. Bridal Snob  8. Bijou and Boheme 9. Style Me Pretty 

I'm thinking long lazy summer days with rows of picnic benches setup in the gardens of a beautiful home,  chandeliers and twinkly lights hanging from the trees and guests playing croquet on the lawn. Cucumber sandwiches washed down with long island iced tea, and a jazz trio gently playing in the distance.

With a soft and pretty palette of peaches and creams, mixed with fawn and delicate leafy greens...

For the bridal look I have chosen The Charlie a Johanna Johnson bridal gown, encrusted with ivory and vintage steel seed beads and sequins, the Charlie is lined in heavy ‘Steel’ silk satin. Accompanied by the Phoebe feathered headpiece by Silver Sixpence in her Shoe which I would add a birdcage veil to and the Fleur ivory feather bridal fan by Britten.

For the maids why not go for a variety of mismatched flapper style dresses all in delicate peach and blush shades, first is the nude embellished vest dress now £30 from Miss Selfridge, next we have the nude chiffon flapper dress £40 by ASOS salon and finally a True Decadence Embellished Flapper Dress £59.99 from House of Fraser.

Michelle x

Further inspiration for you to explore:  bridal inspiration boards, Great Gatsby, 1920s, inspiration shoots, peach, pink and green...

Unique Wedding Styling Idea ~ Couture Illustrated Drink Stirs/Swizzlesticks, Inspired By The 1950s...

I just had to blog about these fabulous little idea that came to my attention recently.  Take a look a these gorgeous and chic little swizzle stick drink stirs, inspired by cocktail paraphernalia of the 1950's.  Wouldn't they look the cutest at your wedding reception? ...and a great idea for 'doubling up as wedding favours' too!

These divine little creations are the work of artist Astrid Mueller, who specialises in creating couture,  tailor-made illustrations for brides...

"I always strive to find new and unique ways of how to incorporate a couture illustration into a wedding celebration. I love creating not just stationery, but special design and keepsake items for my brides..."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Andrea & Marcus

"I'm inspired by so many things and there are so many wonderful glamorous production methods out there. In this particular case I fell for working with acrylic: I've always been smitten with the transparent media (I happen to have a collection of transparent acrylic and glass rings) and I love to make my illustrations come to life with intricate laserwork.

As you may have guessed from my designs I'm also passionate about vintage design eras, so the swizzle sticks (which were big in the 1950's, as I believe) came to me one day, as a total love-to-do idea!"

"This swizzle stick you see in these images was an item I created as a gift to my friend and wedding photographer Andrea Langer from Andrea and Marcus.

I love the idea of creating tailor-made illustrated acrylic keepsakes particularly for brides though, because they can incorporate them into their celebrations in multiple ways.."

Ideas for using a swizzle stick:-

♥  conversation starter, then neat guest favor and take-home item

♥  use as decor piece, ie, pop one inside a martini glass as adesign element

♥  as a fun wedding favour

If you are interested in having your own bespoke drink stirs/swizzle sticks created for your wedding day, please contact Astrid Mueller via her website.   Prices are available upon request as everything is tailor-made.

To find out more about Astrid Mueller designs, visit Astrid's website and blog.  You can also follow Astrid and her new designs on Facebook and Twitter.

Much love all,

Annabel

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A Pretty Pastel Colour Vintage Inspired Wedding in Wales...

Happy lunch time folks ;) Did you see 'One Born Every Minute' last night? What wonderfully heart-warming stuff, I am still smiling about it today - best episode ever.  And congratulations are in order today too for Lucy Ledger who gave birth to a little baby boy yesterday! Well done Lucy! I'm looking forward to hearing more about your gorgeous new bundle of love.

This wedding is brought to you by possibly the sweetest couple in wedding land - Charis and Owen of o&c Photography, who were lucky enough to photograph the wedding of Carys & Michael on 4th August.

The couple chose the Coed-y-Mwstwr Hotel in Coychurch, Bridgend as their venue, and Carys wore the sensational 50’s inspired 'Bardot' wedding dress by Stephanie Allin, purchased from ‘White Bride’ in Narberth, Pembrokeshire...

"I adore the elegance of the 1950's, and Bardot was the first and only dress that I tried on. I immediately knew it was the one for me.

I loved the 50’s tea length to it and the sage green belt with the tea stained rose attached. It was so different, like nothing I had seen before..."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012 o&c Photography

 

"As soon as we met Claire from The Bee Orchid we knew we had exactly the same taste in so many things. Not only did she create stunning flowers, she also shared lots of hints and tips with regards to styling the whole day, above and beyond her duty! She was super fun to work with throughout the whole process and her passion for all things vintage was amazing.

I love David Austin roses for their ‘blousy’, large blooms and old fashioned look, which was in-keeping with the vintage style of the day. I also especially loved the pearls draping from the centrepiece candelabras, I felt it really added to the 50’s look..."

Modern Photographic ~ Modern Documentary Wedding Photograohy With A Vintage Edge...

 

**For any couple who book a photography package with Modern Photographic that includes a storybook, they will receive TWO FREE parents albums, worth £300**

 

Hello lovelies :) Have you seen this morning's glorious and cinematic wedding already?

Right now, I'd like to introduce you to another one of my wonderful sponsors, whose support and love makes Love My Dress possible. Say hello to super successful entrepreneur and wedding and lifestyle photographer Julia, who runs Modern Photographic.

I have a lot of love for Julia - she's not only a talented photographer but Mummy to a super gorgeous little girl, Mia...

"I'm Julia - creator of modern photographic -  photographer of wonderful weddings, mum to the super cute Mia (yes I am biased) as well as Art editor at WEDDING magazine. 

 I'm based in Essex but will shoot pretty much anywhere, just drop me a line and tell me all about your big day.  I now also always shoot with two photographers, Ill always be there, and bring along another fantastic photographer..."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Modern Photographic

How did you get into wedding photography?
I started over six years ago in wedding photography but Ive loved photography from an early age, and at 18 gained an Alevel in film photography. This love carried on into the world of fashion and Ive spent most of my career art directing for amazing magazines.

I started creating beautiful wedding imagery when friends started getting married and I realised, at that time, the choice was limited for really creative wedding photography. I then left the world of fashion and joined WEDDING magazine and my love of weddings has stayed the same ever since...

What do you love most about working with couples on their wedding day?
I'm very lucky, my couples are amazing, they share their big day with me- from the details in the planning to spending so much time with me on the day itself. I love becoming part of their day and capturing it all, then afterwards they get to live it all over again. After everything else is forgotten the photographs will always be there.

 

How would you describe your signature style?
Modern documentary with a bit of styling, and a slight vintage edge - if that suits your day...

A Cinematic Celebration at Pinewood Studios for an Audrey Inspired Bride...

 

"You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar, when I met you..."

 

....that much is true.  She was you know. And he said so during his speech at the reception. It went down a storm of course, sending fits of giggles rising joyously into the luxurious sparkly chandeliers that hung majestically over the dining area.  The groom had looked a little nervous up to now, I was nervous for him - having to give a speech to 150 odd guests. I needn't have been. He was just fine.

My presence as  both a guest {how lucky?!} and 'photographer's assistant' at this wedding, was the result of a call-out I put to professional photographers back in August, when I asked if it would be possible to shadow them at a wedding, just to see what it was like and to help me understanding the role of a wedding photographer. The lovely Eliza Claire replied, as did a fair few others {thank you all}, and before I knew it, I was preparing to attend the nuptials of the darling 'Love Audrey' - a long-term and loyal visitor to Love My Dress...

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Eliza Claire

Love Audrey is of course not the brides real name!  I can't help but call her that though in homage to her delightful little blog, where for the past two years, she has been documenting life as a Mother to her two beautiful children, daughter Izzy, 7, and son Jesse, 2 - where she has shared her latest baking achievements in the kitchen, talked of her love of all things glamorous {always glamorous}, and up to now, mused about being Carl's Fiance.

Franky {her real name is Frances}, does have a touch of the Audrey about her though wouldn't you agree? That petite, gamine, adorable sort of quality?  There is a certain aura that she carries about her person, a warm glow that leaves a little impression of loveliness wherever she goes.  It's true; ask her husband, friends, family or anyone who knows her, they'll tell you.

And so it was on a gorgeous and sunny {if not freezing cold!} Saturday afternoon on 14 January, that Franky elevated her status from Fiance to Wife in the most touching of wedding ceremonies at Heatherden Hall, Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, a venue chosen as for it's resonance with the couple's shared love of the cinema. 

I cried.  And rather a lot too.  But so did pretty much everyone else there...

"Carl and I met almost 10 years ago when we worked in a cocktail bar and restaurant in West London. He was a chef, I was a waitress. We got together at Carl’s 23rd birthday party and celebrated our 8 year anniversary the day before the wedding.  We were mainly guided by our mutual love of film and my passion for vintage glamour - we are both great cinephiles, Carl himself is a filmmaker and I have a passion for classic Hollywood films and vintage cinema in general.

I don’t religiously dress in vintage, but I’m always inspired by the style of the past and the women I idolise such as Audrey Hepburn and Ginger Rogers. I tried to apply the same approach to our wedding day. It wasn’t ever meant to be historically accurate or representative of one particular era, just a reflection of the things we enjoy, love and admire..."

Now I have to say my loves, the one thing that blew me away was the Bride's coat.  A coat I tell you! What a genius idea or a winter bride...

"My coat was designed and made for me buy Joanne Fleming. Prior to meeting Jo, I had tried a few shrugs and even entertained the idea of my Mum knitting me something but nothing seemed to look right with the dress. I really wanted to channel some Old Hollywood glamour and wear something that made me feel more like the movie stars I idolise from the 1930s than a bride. I saw some of Jo’s designs featured on Love My Dress and quickly arranged a meeting with her at her beautiful studio in Brighton.

I went armed with a few images of 1930s day coats and, after a quick consultation, she roughly sketched out the most beautiful design. I chose some gorgeous silk velvet to compliment the ostrich feathers and the coat was lined in pale pink/peach silk..."

Doesn't the word 'coat' suddently seem a rather nadequate way of describing the fine feathery, crushed velvet, just-perfectly-nipped-in-at-the-waist number above?

Franky wore the exquisite ‘Lace’ heels, by Jimmy Choo...

"I first saw these featured on Love My Dress. I had a lovely shopping trip to buy them in London with one of my bridesmaids!"

 

"We had originally hoped to get married in an old cinema, but we couldn’t find anywhere suitable. My Mum stumbled across Heatherden Hall by chance when she met some people that had recently married there. We fell in love with the place the minute we walked in, not only because of the sense of film history attached to it, but because it really is a beautiful venue in its own right.

We adored the stunning ballroom filled with twinkling chandeliers and the gardens that managed to look wonderful even in the middle of January..."

Franky's bridesmaids dresses were from Monsoon - though her Sister's shorter dress {far left} was from Coast.  Izzy, Franky's Daughter who was a flowergirl on the day, also wore a dress from Monsoon...

 

"I adore baking and decided very early on in the planning process that I I would prefer a buffet of homemade cakes to a more traditional wedding cake. My Mum and I collected cake stands from charity shops and markets and also bought a beautiful vintage lace table cloth. We hired a few additional plates and stands from Idyllic Days {who also provided the candelabras we used on the tables}.  

The cake buffet was a lot of work, and I found the day before quite stressful, especially when we realised we didn’t have a cake box big enough to transport the largest cake. My Mum had to give up her hatbox so we could get it to the venue! It was all worth it though when I walked in and saw it all laid out on the table. Our guests all thought it was such a lovely touch and the cupcakes disappeared very quickly!"

"All of our ‘on the day’ stationery {including the menus described above and the A4 signs used with our cocktails and cake buffet} was designed and made by Elle is for Love. I have a weakness for beautiful paper goods and stationery in general and I adored what she came up with for us. Elle’s customer service was always impeccable, even when I was being awkward about the ‘Who’s Who’ and kept changing the information!"

 

"Jenna from Lucky Sixpence Events provided invaluable help on the day itself and in the last few weeks leading up to the wedding. I would highly recommend her to other brides, she removed so much stress from the final stages of planning and did an amazing job of setting up all the details we had spent weeks agonising over. I

believe it took her two hours to hand tie each of our guest’s place names to their napkins with bakers twine. Now that’s dedication!"

How to Create Rustic Bunting {Burlap, Lace & Tweed} ~ A DIY Tutorial & **Reader Giveaway**...

Hello there guys n gals.  I've got another beautiful DIY craft project to share with you today, courtesy of regular Love My Dress contributor, Michelle Kelly of Pocketful of Dreams.  Did you see this lovely rustic table plan DIY tutorial Michelle shared last week?  Michelle is an experienced designer, planner and stylist of creative weddings and events, based in the North West of England. Through her company  Pocketful of Dreams, she creates events that are stylish, quirky and tasteful with a twist of personality and a whole heap of fun.  I'm incredibly lucky to be working with such passionate and talented people in filling these pages with pretty.

Now, today Michelle is going to guide you through how to create rustic bunting, using burlap, lace and tweed.  Because I know my readers love a spot of rustic chic and DIY :) 

Michelle and I also thought it would be nice to give away the bunting that  you see in these photographs, made by Michelle's own fair hands, to a Love My Dress reader. Simply leave a lovely comment at the end of this feature saying why you'd like to win, and perhaps sharing a little bit about your wedding day plans, and we'll pick at winner at random on Friday.

Huge thanks too, to Photographer Katy Lunsford for her as always wonderful photography, that accompanies this tutorial.  Over to you Michelle... 

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Katy Lunsford

Hello everyone,

To match the rustic table-plan which recently featured as a DIY tutorial on Love My Dress, I have also created a rustic-inspired bunting, made from burlap, tweed and lace.

I really do love the english country feel of this bunting, which looks simply divine hanging from those trees, gently flapping away in the breeze, as the sunlight dances across the delicate lace. Of course that's all down to the wonderful photography skills of North West Wedding Photographer Katy Lunsford, who came out to play with me as we created our mini rustic DIY shoot.

And this one folks is such an easy one to make...

You will need...

1. Burlap / hessian fabric ~ You can find this for sale on Etsy or here Ebay, mine cost £1.95 for one metre
2. Tweed fabric ~ I picked up an old tweed jacket from the charity shop for £2 to make this bunting
3. Lace ~ Again these were a charity shop find, old lace doilies that I chopped in half. I picked up 8 for £4
4. Pinking Shears
5. Pins
6. Sewing Machine
7. Triangle template cut from card 

Step 1. First of all print out this bunting template to a piece of card or paper. Card will be easier to draw around.

Step 2.  Using a pencil draw (on the wrong side of the fabric) and cut out a number of triangles from both the burlap and tweed fabrics. If you are using round doilies, cut them in half. Using pinking sheers stops the fabrics from fraying too much, so you don;t need to bother stitching the edges of each triangle, which would just take forever. We like our DIY projects quick and easy...

Step 3. Cut a long strip of hessian fabric to make your top trim. Lay all your triangles and lace pieces in a random order onto the trim, then begin folding it over and securing in place with pins...

Step 4. Now run a stitch along the trim with your sewing machine and remove the pins...

Step 5. To attach the bunting I also sewed a length of twine rope to each end.

To add to the rustic ambience your bunting would look fabulous attached to trees, a rustic fence or having it running along hedges.

I hope you have found this helpful and would love to hear from readers who are planning on giving it a go.

Michelle x

 

♥  The PDF guide with the full how-to create rustic bunting.
♥  Triangle bunting template to cut from card

Don't forget to leave a comment below with a chance of winning the very bunting you see on these pages - currently folded up neatly awaiting it's new home.  All we ask is that your comment states why you'd like to win the bunting and shares a little bit about your wedding day plans.

You can see more DIY and 'how-to' guides here on Love My Dress.  And you can find Michelle via Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and the Pocketful of Dreams Wedding Blog

Rock n' Roll Meets 60's French Chic ~ A Jetset Honeymoon Inspiration Shoot...

"It's the late 1960's and this upper class beauty brings her newlywed English rockstar husband for a weekend of love and joy at the family castle.  We can call them Estelle and John. It's actually the early morning after the wedding and as they arrive in the sunset, still dressed up, the butler is setting up and waiting to greet them.

They have no duties to see to, no responsibility - a whole day in the nightgown, loads of sweets and poems.. and a candle-lit dinner served in the meadow on the hill.

This will be their honeymoon.... "

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Alicia Swedenborg

Oh sweet Lord! where do I even start with this one?!? 

I've had a relationship with Swedish creative Madelin Downey for sometime now, and have featured her gorgeous inspirational work several times on Love My Dress already.  Madeline has teamed up with Maria Ahlin to work on a new creative outlet called Vintage Honeymoon, and this photoshoot is one of their latest projects. And isn't it exquisite?  I mean, really; the movement in that dress, those gold sparkly shoes, the cute little doggy and the whole rock n roll meets 60's chic, relaxed vibe of it all.

Maria is responsible for the creation of all the jewllery and accessories in this shoot by the way.  I also adore the silver, gold and pale blue hues...

Our colour palette involved lavander dusty blue, creme and silver..."

Madelin contacted me recently to ask if I would like to features this photoshoot.  Oh how I love it when that happens - gorgeous photographs and an amazing team behind them, who want the culmination of their shared cretaive talents to be showed cased on Love My Dress.  Wait a minute, did that really happen there?   I sometimes don't feel worthy, such is the gorgeousness of these images...

"We made this photoshoot with the vision of something French, classy and rock n' roll - think the 60's, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, sportscars and decadence, a candle light dinner with a butler and a french bulldog..."

The styling and photography is heavenly but I love the way the creative team came up with a love story/honeymoon concept to contextualise things.  It is delight too, to feature once more the work of talented Swedish Photographer, Alicia Swedenborg...