With the lovely team at Wedding Ideas magazine celebrating their amazing 100th issue, we thought what better time to introduce you to the winner of the recent competition that we ran with Wedding Ideas magazine, Allison Parkes! By answering a simple question, Allison’s entry was included in the draw to win a wedding gown of her choice, and after lots of rummaging around (with the HUNDREDS of entries we received) Allison’s entry was picked out of the hat by Madeline herself!
On the 1st April, a very excited Allison was told the fantastic news! Allison and her fiance, Barry Norris, are getting married on 25th May 2011 at Kilworth House in Leicestershire – and winning her wedding gown just over a year before the wedding was perfect timing! “When I first got the call to say I had won it was April Fool’s Day and I thought it was a really mean joke someone was playing on me. I was at work and started jumping around and crying on the phone and my colleagues didn’t know what was going on. Poor Natalie must have though I was a bit unhinged. I decided to make my appointment early so I could pick from Natalie’s 2011 collection as they were just the most stunning collection of dresses I had seen.”
Allison made her appointment to visit our Farnborough boutique with her very close friend, Eva Xydia (who took the images in the boutique shown in this post – thanks Eva!), and her mum, Maria – co-incidentally on the same day that we were shooting our 2012 Collection at the local Aviator Hotel (working with a fantastic team with images by the ever-lovely Jonathan Ryan – check out the amazing Behind-the-Scenes video) so she was looked after by Natalie’s mum, Gwyn (also known affectionately as ‘Grandma’ to many in the wedding business!).
Allison continues her story: “I came to the Farnborough boutique with my very close friend Eva who I could trust for a totally honest and balanced opinion. She always has my best interests at heart and she is a designer so I know she would have a good eye for what would suit me. Of course I brought my mum along too because I knew it would be important to her to be there and that instinctively she would help me find “the one”.”
“When we arrived Natalie’s mum looked after us and she was so fun to spend the day with. I was very grateful for her experience in the business and she really supported me through the whole process of trying on dresses and working out what veil and tiara would work with which dress. Her advice on accessorizing was invaluable! I must have tried on 10 dresses- I was surprised with the breadth of choice in the 2011 range. From slinky and sexy to full and commanding. The fabrics were all amazing quality and I felt like royalty with such luxurious silks shwooshing around my ankles! We got it down to three dresses we loved and found it hard to pick between the three…they were all totally different but all amazing. I did indeed find “the one” however and I am super excited about coming for my next fitting.”
Allison tried on lots of gorgeous gowns, and has chosen ‘the’ gown for her big day. Obviously we won’t tell you what gown she’s wearing, but rest assured, she looks utterly gorgeous and will WOW everyone! Natalie also invited Allison, Maria and Eva to the shoot at the Aviator Hotel and was delighted to meet all three ladies during a break in the shoot!
Allison has been featured in a previous issue of Wedding Ideas magazine, and we’re looking forward to seeing the images from the wedding in due course in a future issue of Wedding Ideas magazine! We’ll leave it up to Allison herself to sum up being a Wedding Ideas winner with Madeline Isaac-James: “I only hope Barry is as blown away by the dress as I was. It’s not what I imagined I would go for but when I finally got it on (it was a bit of a squeeze fitting in to the sample size) I had a little cry and I knew it had to be the dress I wore down the aisle. I cannot thank Natalie Gladman, her charming mum, and all at Madeline Isaac-James (and Wedding Ideas magazine) enough for running their wonderful competition. I feel so privileged to be spending the happiest day of my life in one of Natalie’s beautiful creations. Her talents are un boundless and I would urge any bride to be to call Madeline Isaac-James and make an appointment. The service is exceptional, the boutique comfortable, clean and spacious, and the designs all feature clean lines to suit any shape you happen to be. Thank you Natalie- you have made my wedding!!!!”
Whilst enjoying vintage champagne and canapes in the beautiful low-beamed Bentley Room of The Haycock, we had the pleasure of meeting family, friends, brides (and grooms) to-be, local business owners and well-wishers, along with fellow designers Annabel Jenkins and Sanyukta Shrestha whose collections are also available at Vow. During the champagne reception, organised groups made their way over to the Gallery to see the results of Lisa and Dave’s hard work. We made our way over the old flagstones in the courtyard with a canapy of trees over our heads and flowers planted all around, towards the Gallery. Wow. Wow. and WOW!
We love all weddings at Madeline Isaac-James, and the wedding of Zara Phillips and Mike Tindall (dubbed by some as the ‘Scottish Royal Wedding’ was no exception! We loved the gorgeous ivory silk faille and silk duchess satin gown designed by Zara’s grandmother’s couturier, Stewart Parvin.
lent to Zara by her mother the Princess Royal, but there are so many beautiful hair accessories available from companies such as 
It’s that time of year again and we are delighted to announce that the Madeline Isaac-James annual sale will be held on Saturday 13th August 2011 – with up to 75% off selected ex-sample gowns, as well as amazing bargains on designer shoes and accessories!
With a who’s who list of some of the most well-respected names in bridal, the UK’s newest bridal trade show, The Essential Collection taking place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire from Sunday 17th July to Tuesday 19th July 2011 is set to become a key show in the bridal trade calendar. Located at the home of The Royal Agricultural Society of England, Stoneleigh Park is a wonderful 800 acre site with up to 30,000 parking spaces and is less than 100 miles from most of the UK’s major cities, surrounded by beautiful English countryside. Madeline Isaac-James are delighted to be showing our new 2012 gown and accessory collections at this fantastic venue. For visitors and exhibitors alike, there is also a Pimms tent and a BBQ at the end of each day, and a Summer Party for both exhibitors and visitors.
picked for the 21st century’s first royal bride. Designed exclusively for Kate – or the Duchess of Cambridge as she is now known, the gown with its beautiful Chantilly lace bodice over ivory and white silk gazar with long sleeves cost many thousands of pounds and is destined to become a style icon and a treasured heirloom, with similarities being drawn between this iconic gown and the wedding gown worn by Grace Kelly. Rumours are that it may be auctioned for charity, but images of it will be around forever.
Madeline Isaac-James’ 2012 Collection has been completed after months of sample production based on Natalie’s designs from earlier in the year. Natalie was spot on with her prediction for the royal wedding gown (if you recall, she predicted in November 2010 that Kate would wear a dress that had a lace bodice, sleeves, V-neckline, full skirt and train, box pleats, and would wear a veil and a royal tiara!), and her 2012 Collection looks to be spot on in terms of styling that will exemplify Kate’s understated, elegant and demure look. The Katharina dress from the soon-to-be launched 2012 collection at Madeline Isaac James sums up the beauty of the day (shown here in the Farnborough boutique shop window on the Royal Wedding Day). Made in silk satin and finished with silk organza, the dress embodies romance and love, and, like Kate’s, it is designed to complement the bride’s femininity on her special day, and will undoubtedly be a timeless class for brides wishing to emulate Kate’s style. Watch out for more gowns from the 2012 Collection which are fit for a queen - including the ‘Monaco’ gown (inspired by Grace Kelly’s wedding gown after Natalie’s visit to the Grace Kelly exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum last summer) which bears a spooky resemblence to Kate’s wedding gown!
Whilst I could wax lyrical about Avington Park, the team on this shoot were instrumental in ensuring this was not only a good shoot, but a GREAT shoot. The wonderfully talented (and funny) Carey Sheffield from Carey Sheffield Photography (
In just a few days we’ll be at the Wedding Ideas Awards, celebrating the achievements of the wedding industry and congratulating the winners of various categories as voted by the readers of Wedding Ideas magazine! This year, the awards will be held at The Brewery in London on Friday 14th January and we’re really looking forward to a fabulous awards ceremony and of course celebrating afterwards! 
Brides and Beauty (
Giddy Kipper (
