I am a bit Game of Thrones obsessed at the moment. The Song of Ice and Fire as the original literary version is known is situated in a vastly complex world of interconnected tribes, majestic houses & ancient families that run amok across fantastic lands that are oddly familiar yet wildly fantastic. The various clans, tribes, families are represented graphically, colourfully and accurately by sigils. Sigils, from lions to fish to flowers, illustrate the industry & characteristics of the regions & the philosophy of the people. Krakens for aggressive coastal dwellers and flayed men for depraved torturers. You get the picture…
If Ripley were in Westeros what would it take as its sigil? A Bush yellow square? A Michelin star? An Eric Clapton effigy? Most likely it would take a bicycle to mark the Olympic bike route and the subsequent pilgrimage that lots of MAMILS (yep, the middle aged men in lycra) make to the village centre to lounge outside Nest. Sometimes the chairs have felt the taut glutes of Team Sky and pelotons of be-muscled pros. Other times the artfully distressed metal strains under a psychedelic collective of portly pedal pushers. Either way you love them or, as Senior Bush, you get irrationally irritated by the Tour de Surrey.
Rarely do the bike/frock worlds collide…
Enter Cat Gaskell. Cat is one of the tiniest yet mightiest brides I have ever met. Shortly after her first visit to the shop I started following her on Twitter and noticed that her & Guy Collier, her wedding photographer talked naught of weddings but all of hill climbs, kms, times and bloody expensive push bikes. In fact it would be fair to say that Cat was one of the least bridey brides I have ever come across but perhaps one where I felt the impact an importance of my role, and that of Miss Bush the most.
When you are presented with the most lithe and athletic bride EVER to dress you would think it was really easy. When that bride is most comfortable in mud spattered sportswear the choice becomes more difficult. Volume, corsetry, restriction – all off the table. There is but one choice for easy glamour, Jenny Packham. For the rest of us that would have to find/buy a pair of trainers and haven’t owned a bike since a Raleigh Shopper Jenny Packham dresses seem like hard work. For Cat it was soft, comfortable and effortless glamorous.
Horrifyingly (for a bridal shop owner) and fabulously for Cat, the Jenny Packham Rose could be hitched up and tucked into her cycling shorts for a burst of Rollapaluza. Basically it’s karaoke for the fit.
Cat had chosen many of Miss Bush’s favourite suppliers before her first dress appointment. Gate Street Barn was booked, ditto Guy Collier. Kalm Kitchen were in the running for caterer. My suggestions of Bloomingayles, Carolanne Armstrong & Sharon Roberts for hair were immediately accepted.
Cat, a Ripley convert and not just for Miss Bush & cycling, but for Drakes, The Anchor, Nest & Broadway Barns featured the village for her day. Choosing to stay and get ready at Broadway Barns I was able to sneak into the bridal prep on the wedding morning, something I never get to do. I welled up. I was properly MOB glassy eyed seeing Cat beautiful, the surroundings so calm and stylish and Team Bush & Ripley at work. I had the immense privilege of helping her into the car with her Dad, seeing his absolute pride and waving her off in a teary-eyed, very un-Bush manner!
I also got to see Cat the next day as she and her husband Josh dropped into the Chapel after breakfast with their friends in the village. Josh was so lovely; so effusive in his thanks, on an adrenalin high about ‘the best day ever and his beautiful wife. Cat was equally excited and for me delivered one of the most memorable comments ever. When she walked in to Gate Street and saw what Gayle ( Bloomin’gayles) had created she was blown away with the gorgeousness of the styling. Cat’s words – “I thought you recommended these people because they were your friends, but they are genius.”
For a bride who is happiest muddy and cycling the minutiae of wedding styling wasn’t that big a deal. Taking recommendations for the ‘geniuses’ I know was the easiest option. Seeing and feeling the excitement of the preparations, the immediate buzz of the morning after was a rare treat for me. Thank you Cat for letting me crash your wedding morning. In ‘the trade’ it is easy to detach yourself from the emotional significance and impact of one’s work. In the cork-popping, hair spray filled giddiness of the bedroom followed by the hesitant calm as the bride sets off you realise you just witnessed a major life event. Like birth but for the squeamish.
Thank you Cat for reminding me that the names I give my brides aren’t just my friends, they became so after many creative and life changing projects and events. Thank you for helping me illustrate that Ripley is about more than a jumble of coffee shops and a wedding dress shop. Thanks for showing brides that you don’t have to be a ‘Zilla to have a perfect wedding. Instruct pro-genius suppliers and walk away leaving yourself more than enough hours to circuit Box Hill more times than is absolutely necessary.
It was an absolute pleasure to help Cat and I wanted my first blog post in ages to revisit her wedding day photos and focus on and all that it meant to me. It is especially significant as her visits spanned the transition from the old location to the new, shop to Chapel, past to present. Ripley & Miss Bush have always been intrinsically linked but thanks to Mindi (Broadway Barns) Steve (Drakes), Deborah (Nest) the experience of coming to Ripley and the just gets better for our brides.
Perhaps Ripley’s emblem should be a Cat on a bicycle in a yellow jersey… 😉
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Suppliers
The Dress – Jenny Packham at Miss Bush
Wedding Photography – Guy Collier Photography
Venue – Gate Street Barn, Surrey
Floral Design – Bloomingayles
Make Up – Carolanne Armstrong
Hair Styling – Sharon Roberts Hair
Catering – Kalm Kitchen
Emma Meek, MD of Miss Bush
Miss Bush is Surrey’s leading designer bridal shop
