“I’ve been working in the wedding industry myself for almost 10 years now—I’ve seen the lack of representation—the wedding industry is very white. I’ve found it a difficult space to navigate as I am not white.” It’s for this reason that Lexie chose to join the inaugural Most Curious Coalition, established this year, 2022, ahead of the Most Curious Wedding March 4th-6th. “These are all the ingredients for a good meal and I’m ready to serve that meal. Made total sense for me to be involved in this,” Lexie says of the call to join the diverse group of advisors, sent out by Most Curious founder, Becky Hoh-Hale. “I love Becky, who doesn’t love Becky? She’s not performative—she genuinely wants to be as inclusive as possible. It was a no-brainer when she asked.”

Lexie is ready for significant, substantial change in the world of weddings and society at large as well. “I know things will change,” she says, cool and confident. And why shouldn’t she be? With Lexie at the helm of the UK’s first Queer-oriented weddings service, it will happen.

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“To be able to love you have to be a bit vulnerable—you have to put a bit of you at risk…to have a great wedding you are showing yourself—your vulnerability—you have to put a bit of you out there and show yourself. For me weddings was another way to travel,” he says. Each wedding is a destination for Richard, full of individuals he wants to capture at their most sincere emotions to tell their most authentic story. “We see people at their most vulnerable—physically, emotionally—the private conversations, the private moments between the couples. It’s the human element that I love—embracing the chaos and the elements and the weather.” His advice for all those about to be photographed on their wedding day: don’t carry so much tension in your jaw if you can help it! This isn’t a photoshoot, this is your wedding day. Celebrate the camera capturing your moments of authenticity, rather than striving to project what you think you ought to look or be like on the day.

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“I’m not sure people appreciate that they’re stepping into a whole other world that they didn’t…know exists. I can’t think of any other type of business where you can literally decide to work with a whole group of people that you just ADORE. Recommending other suppliers is the BIGGEST joy,” Ashleigh tells me. “I know people focus on the stress, but it’s such a wonderful experience. People see it as a project, but I wish more people knew how lovely a journey it can be.” She’s also wary about how to invite pandemic couples back into their wedding day; many are fatigued and feel that the experience is tarnished. She wants her couples to feel special again. During lockdown, Pink Palms kept couples connected to their weddings through an online community forged from the delayed hopes of their own clients, as well as other couples who needed somewhere to turn. Though this service has recently come to an end, Pink Palms’s commitment to the wedding community at large is ongoing.

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“Go on Kirstie! You go first—you always go first,” Katie encourages her business partner and longtime friend. They are Kirstie (she always goes first, watch their Dragon’s Den episode!) and Katie (who will have the first and last word of our interview), a pair of jewelers who first met on their related course. I spend a fascinating hour with this pair, the duo behind The Workbench London, established in 2014, who recently saw “the craftiest Dragon,” Sarah, invest in their one of a kind, at home ring carving kit business. Watching them work together to share their vision for their business, as well as listening to their individual passions, is a joy and a marvel. They share with me how they spent their lockdown literally witnessing trends emerge from within ring molds sent back to be professionally cast, designed at home by individuals looking to let a little light and creativity into their “new normal.” Smiley-face rings brightened Katie and Kirstie’s dark days. People used the kits at home to mark occasions that would have otherwise gone uncelebrated, to recall a time of struggle, or personal change, or in remembrance of people they lost to Covid. “We had the girl who made the ring to remember her dad with the ladybird engraving,” Kirstie prompts Katie, and I watch that memory alight behind their eyes as one. “You can probably see how invested we are in the ringmakers. We learn the stories and people aren’t just clients.”

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Kuit Flowers is taken from his last name, Kuit, but like every good name there’s a story that suits this enterprise perfectly. It’s a Dutch surname, carried by his Polish relatives all the way to Australia where the twenty-seven year old mastermind was born and raised. “I embraced my culture and embraced my last name and it means life—“ he tells me, going on to break down the etymology of the word, which originally indicated the process of giving life, of a child being born. “And I thought why not support myself?” he asks. The name feels fortuitous, but when he shares his mother’s maiden name, which translates as laurels from the Italian, his life path into the botanical arts feels like more than fortune or a bit of magic, it feels fated, meant to be. If you put both names together its meaning could be read as “tree of life.” His enthusiasm peaks as he shares that during lockdown he fully explored his ancestral past; he was, “—figuring out who I come from, where I come from, to know who I am today so I can continue that tradition.”

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“I’m really fussy on wedding fairs that I attend. I would only go to ones where I would hope the type of couples I enjoy working with go to,” she tells me, sharing her feeling that while many wedding fairs don’t intentionally seek out or promote a standard couple, it’s through the language and branding of their fairs that those same people will be drawn, seemingly justifying and incentivizing the continuation of that familiar identity of “skinny, able-bodied, cis-het couples.” Sophie trusts that at Most Curious she won’t find something different as a tokenized gesture, she’ll simply meet all the people who have been underserved by that cycle and will be able to continue her work of celebrating a wide range of couples and their diverse narratives.

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“I cry at every single wedding—the emotion gets to me; that’s how invested I am in the whole day. It’s amazing to see people’s reactions, to see people lose themselves on the day—it’s one of the things I talk about with my couples—besides confetti—it’s the one opportunity to look back on the day and see how everyone loves and supports you,” she tells me, hopeful that more wedding parties, large and small, will continue to get comfortable with feeling it all, whether the confetti is flying, or it’s a solemn moment—feel it all, she urges. “It’s easy in the grand scheme of things to forget you have these people who love you. And it’s such a wonderful thing to witness—I’ve stood in those shoes, I’ve waited for the music to kick in. One little thing will change in someones face—,” and then we’re both goners, thinking of being surrounded by those we love and recalling together our grandparents who attend those special moments in our lives in memory only. Wishing she could have had her granddad at her wedding, she makes a point of capturing moments with grandparents. It’s one of the most important reasons to invest with the right photographer—to find the person who will capture the little moments you’ll come to reflect on in the years to come. Photos of our loved ones continue to take on meaning and significance as our families grow, change and experience inevitable losses. “People tell you about your own wedding day through photography,” says Lisa, “[the photos] become part of a bigger and ever-growing story.”

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“Don’t quote me directly, it’ll be rubbish,” Craig promises me. “I am Craig—and that’s all I know. I am a wedding photographer—that’s it.”

I’m tempted to publish those words and be done—I think they say a lot about the Essex-based, London wedding photographer and married father of three. He’s straight-forward: what you see is what you get, an experienced photographer who prefers to be the one behind the camera, not talking into it.

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Melinda Grant is bringing it to the Most Curious runway! Our hair and makeup artist for the A Most Curious Wedding Fair fashion show, Melinda has been a makeup artist for five years, but during the pandemic she branched into bridal and launched Melinda Bridal, her wedding makeup business.

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The name Rewritten comes directly from the experiences of the designers back when they were themselves brides. “The reason the brand started is because Fran and Katie used to work together at a different brand; they couldn’t find bridesmaids dresses they wanted at the time. They decided to “rewrite” the rules about bridesmaids and what they should wear and who they are,” Ella tells me with a grin. The founders have since watched their brand grow—particularly in the last year! The focus at Rewritten is very much on growth—they’ve launched a bridal line named after famous singers—I thought the names Stevie and Joni seemed familiar! Fran, the primary designer, has created this collection to be as sustainable as the line of bridesmaids dresses that will soon see a color expansion—the colour is one that reflects all the growth pushing Rewritten into the sustainable future. Some may think pink, but Rewritten is thinking green! “That’s a trend that will be here to stay,” Ella says of incorporating shades of green into your wedding as a go-to.

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“…I hope [the Coalition] diversifies the show—not just from the sense of it being a safe space when you get there, but that you want to go there—because it’s been very white and cis and those are the kind of people who feel they’re accepted anywhere because they are. Black couples might feel [Most Curious] won’t have anything for them,” Olivia states. Our Owambe is hoping to bridge that divide, not just at the Most Curious Wedding Fair this March, 4th-6th at the Truman Brewery in London, but in the wider weddings world, a place where the barriers go to be broken down. That being said, from where Olivia is sitting, those barriers were brought down for only a few—now Our Owambe and other black suppliers are emerging and infusing the weddings world with a new perspective on what it means to be intentionally inclusive.

“We will introduce everyone, not just black couples, but to all couples at Most Curious to the talent of Black wedding suppliers,” Olivia promises.

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Photobooths: you’ve posed for one, you’ve posed for them all, right?

At least that was my initial prejudice when I met up with Charlotte (she would prefer you call her Charlie—everyone who knows her does!) to discuss her business, The Proper Booth. Though I was excited to meet Charlie, I was sure I understood her business; instead, I spent an hour learning more about the future of the photobooth experience and the unique origins of The Proper Booth, a British company begun in the Caribbean! It’s The Proper Booth’s first appearance at A Most Curious Wedding Fair, but according to Charlie, they’re finally ready to see and be seen: “It was always something on our vision board, but you can’t commit to something like Most Curious before knowing 100% who you are and who you want to work with.” After some deep soul-searching mid-pandemic, Charlie knows exactly what The Proper Booth is and what the team is in the room to do: change the game.

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It’s the first step into the wide world of weddings for founder, owner and designer, Hannah Davis, of London-based jewellery brand, Wolf & Moon and we view it as a privilege to walk them down our aisle. Begun in 2009, Wolf & Moon has that London look, ready for it-girls to don the vivid, unique broaches, floral necklaces and fruity drop earrings they’re best known for. Hannah designs for all souls who align with her values, describing her ideal client as someone who is “—creative, colourful and love[s] to stand out from the crowd. They also care about sustainability and prefer to shop small wherever possible.” Now, with incredible pieces such as the Celestial available for those pulling together their wedding look, Hannah is ready to dress her first bride, or bridegroom!

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Tash and Marthe were in Burrito Amor in Tulum, “They’re really well-known for being THE burrito hotspot and there’s a real mixture of people in there. We were sitting at a table and we’re a little bit higher and we can look down on a table of a family—quite a young family—mum, dad, two children—a baby and maybe like a six year old. They’re not English; they’re speaking Spanish. At some point we’re kissing and the daughter sees us. She says something to her mum and her mum sort of looks and—and like in that moment, you know, Queer-fear kicks in and you’re like oh god, have we overstepped the boundary?”

I murmur my understanding: it’s a common fear, but Tash has assured me this story has a happy ending.

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“You have to say it quickly, or else it sounds like you’re saying something too sentimental,” Robin explains to me. It’s luvdupfilms, not Loved. Up. Films. I bet you can hear his born-and-raised South London accent right now, can’t you? Loved Up Films specializes in love—not the sticky-sweet stuff, but the soulful, loud, and celebratory moments of truly loved-up couples. “We create colourful wedding films—emphasis on joy and fun and celebration,” Robin tells me from his crammed editing office—built by his father-in-law and now temporarily serving as overflow while an extension is added to his kitchen.

“When I was getting married the films were morose and saccharine—I wanted a film that celebrated the day, not to mourn it. I wanted to celebrate it!”

Robin began Loved Up Films in 2016, before he was married, before he had kids. Now a married father, Robin cites his family, along with music, colour, joy and celebration as his main inspirations in life and business. “It’s hard to place myself,” he says. “I’m a man, working in what I’ve found is a fairly common female industry—an ethnic guy, a brown guy with a beard, but having white couples book me. And I kind of love that. I look at that like a celebration of being a Londoner—like we all get along and if you find someone you like, you book ‘em.”

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Aisha’s one of the lucky few who was able to use the pandemic to her advantage; her 20 month old lockdown baby is in the next room. She would have been on maternity leave during lockdown; I get the impression that she was planning to take the time to reassess even before the pandemic forced a reshuffle of priorities, leading to a shift that produced her greatest works yet—her first child and My Coulor Is Gold.

I’ve been curious about her company’s name since I first heard it—and aren’t you? The story’s a good one, hold tight! Though initially unnamed, Aisha’s prop company was a long-seeded idea. With experience in high-pressure environments working for clients such as the BRIT Awards and Grammys, creating celebrity-fueled afterparties, as well as several high-end, luxury weddings in beautiful locals, like Tuscany, she knew that someday she’d like to have a production company of her own, but done in a more sustainable, forward-thinking way than she had previously witnessed. “Throughout the years I’ve done some really cool, big events and seen first-hand how we can spend ridiculous amounts of money producing the most amazing things, used for three hours and then chucked in the bin—horrifying to watch them go into the crusher.” She tells me how her friends and family would only see her work through photographs, the actual products of her production already relinquished to the trash compactor before she could glory in their construction. These were the same people who encouraged her baby steps towards her own prop hire company. Then came the actual baby and a big leap: she would not return to work, instead she would pursue an events career under her own name. But first, she had to figure out what that name would be!

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“Our forte is empathy and relating to people—we want to cater to the individual and design for everyone. Some of our rings are genderless; I would love to learn more about a nonbinary aesthetic. Something doesn’t sit right by assigning jewelry by a gender-binary—we want to be a service to erase those fine lines.” Devoted to Most Curious’s ethos of inclusivity, Geraldine plans to continue taking consistent steps to make sure everyone understands that her designs are meant for all. “We are trying to present the jewelry with a hint of home, but not in a way that excludes—it’s universal, [someone of] a different heritage can read something else in our jewellrey.”

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Kathryn will work with any couple, but finds that those who seek her services are often looking to attain inclusivity and accessibility through their bespoke wedding ceremony. “I’m good at making people feel really celebrated,” she says with a wide, happy smile. “My role is to work with the couple up to the wedding day—to get to know each other. To learn their story; to learn how it feels to be them.” She covers the whole of the UK, but she’s primarily booked in England. “But I’m happy to travel,” she says with a little shoulder-shimmy.

She began pursuing her career as a celebrant a few years ago, initially thinking she might like to be a registrar. “Registrars work super hard, but they don’t get the chance to make that human connection,” she says, a note of regret in her voice. Then some friends had a wedding and at that wedding there was a celebrant! “No standard civil or religious ceremony could have supported their mix of cultures and communities,” she tells me with admiration. “What inspires me now is people and humans—and that’s why I identify as a humanist and not an atheist. I believe in lots of stuff.”

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From taking a temporary position as a caretaker in the local school while his hairdresser wife waited to get clients safely back in her chair, he worried most about weddings—when the world righted itself, if it ever could, would weddings be a thing of the past? A celebration reserved for happier days suddenly past? “Will I have to give up something I really love doing? I have to think about paying bills.” The change from 2020 to 2021 was remarkable—from famine to feast so to speak—but the days were endless. Janhoi details a week of his life, criss-crossing the country, sometimes over night, to attend every one of his promised couples’ weddings, even those whose new dates fell side by side, but miles apart.

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