Louise of Lush Occasions has been with us since the early days here at the barns and her fine styling has been adorning our cermeony room and Eland Barn now for some months to the delight of visiting couples. As a mainstay at the barns it is fitting she should be our first Supplier Showcase!
Who are you and how did Lush Occasions come to be?
Hello! I’m Louise and I am the founder and creative director at Lush Occasions. I am half Spanish and have a wonderful big family in England and in Spain. Family to me is the most precious thing in my life. I am married to Darren and have 3 children, Tom, Ryan and Naomi who are all grown up now though still living at home. The perfectionist in me and creativity comes from my gorgeous Mum, this beautiful Spanish lady who was brought up in a little village called Confrides up in the mountains on mainland Spain. Mama learned the skill of embroidery and lace work as a child in this stunning traditional Spanish village. Every stitch has to be just perfect and even now everything she does has to be just so Perfecto! I am so grateful that she has instilled this trait in me.
I love coffee and cake, coffee and walnut has to be my favourite and in my spare time I love entertaining, spending time with my family and friends enjoying tapas and a glass of Sangria. 80’s music is my favourite, to me the best decade with so many great bands such as Queen, Madonna, Duran Duran, Human League, too many to mention!
I have one brother and two sisters, one of which is my twin sister, yes that’s right, there are 2 of us! ‘Double trouble’, we were referred to often as children, I have no idea why as we were little angels, well that is how I remember it! Haha!
I started my working career in Travel and during the 15 years I worked in the industry this is where I gained organisational skills, thrived on huge responsibility and learned the importance of customer service. In 2007 I decided to follow my dream in creating the perfect settings for couples getting married and that’s when Lush Occasions was born.
What makes you different to other stylists in the area?
Working with the wonderful wedding team at Hanbury Barn, they soon noticed the perfectionist in me, the rapport I had with their couples and the wonderful comments and reputation I have. The way I treat every wedding as if it is my own, everything has to be just perfect. The owners and wedding team at Hanbury Barn also give the best customer service and strive for perfection. The grounds and barns are always immaculate. Creating new concepts and ideas to inspire my couples at these beautiful barns feeds the creative need in me. It is so lovely to now be approached to see if I am available on a wedding date before they confirm with their venue and some couples booking certain venues because I style there is a huge compliment.
I am constantly following trends and bringing them to life in my styling, from rustic chic to romantic elegance, I don’t just offer one concept and I love a challenge! Setting the perfect ambience for all of my client’s and injecting a little of their personality into their styling is my goal. I have a wonderful network of seasoned wedding suppliers who I recommend to my clients and it is always wonderful when the ‘Dream Team’ work together. Attention to detail and quality of my props and styling products I think makes me different, I’m always tweaking everything until it looks just right. I’m very proud of my team who I have trained to ensure every wedding is flawless. We love working with our couples at the barns and always meet to show how their guest tables will look with all of their choices to ensure every one of our couples will be blown away on their special day.
What services do you offer?
I am a stylist but not a dry hire company, so it is a full styling service that I offer at Hanbury Barns. From linen hire, table ware, chair styling, table styling, props, backdrops for your ceremony, top table, cake table and first dance and hanging decorations such as lanterns, hops and dried florals. We work closely with a number of florists if fresh florals are what you would like. We aim to make the already beautiful barns even more stunning for your special day.
From the first consultation where I listen to your ideas and dreams, colour themes, look at your Pinterest Boards and get to know your story is where I start to put together your bespoke style. It is good to understand your budget, this is important so I don’t come up with a concept which is too expensive or not lavish enough. For couples who really don’t know where to start, working with the fabulous wedding team at the barns, I have put together our Sage Package and Olive Package. These are specifically designed for the barns, which you can book as they are or tweak if there are elements that you don’t require or add to them extra products we offer.
Once you are happy with the proposal and quote for your styling is when we get you booked into our diary and confirm your booking. I always meet with every couple at these beautiful barns to discuss where your props will be displayed, and style a table as it will be set with everything we are providing. This ensures that you are 100% happy and instills confidence in you that I will make your dream wedding a reality and in turn gives me the confidence that you will love it on your special day. This is so important to me.
Along our styling journey together you might see new concepts and ideas that I am offering which you prefer to that you have booked with us. I will try and be as flexible and accommodating as I can and will of course tweak your booking along the way. I happily give advice and guidance from our initial consultation to your wedding day. I love being in touch with my couples and seeing what other suppliers you have booked and enjoy being involved in the excitement.
Favourite memories to date.
Favourite wedding memory….
I and my team styled a stunning barn wedding where our bride wanted me to sort her dress out as she stood at the top of the aisle before she walked down the aisle. She had such confidence in that I would send her down with her train, trailing behind so perfectly. Such a wonderful moment, watching her walk down on her Dad’s arm and taking in our gorgeous decorations, her great taste and wonderful atmosphere. This is something I rarely see as my work is always done before the wedding party arrive but I couldn’t refuse this request and as this couple had lots of communication with me and a few meetings along our styling journey that we felt we were friends by the time the wedding was here. We still keep in touch from time to time.
I can’t wait to style the weddings we have coming up at the barns as I know there are some really beautiful themes and lovely couples we are working with.
Favourite personal memory….
As well as the obvious birth of my children, my favourite personal memory has to be last New Year’s Eve. We were celebrating our 50th birthday in Singapore in a beautiful restaurant by the marina, taking in the atmosphere, watching the incredible fireworks and light display whilst enjoying a wonderful meal and bottle of champagne. The life of a stylist is so busy so to experience this with my beautiful twin sister and our hubbyies was so fantastic and something I shall never forget.
What are your top 3 tips for a successful wedding day?
Don’t give yourself anything to do on the morning of your wedding, you need to relax and enjoy the day so leave the setting up in our capable hands and those of the amazing wedding team at Hanbury Barn.
Book reputable suppliers so you have total confidence in everyone playing a part in your day. Hanbury Barns and their team of handpicked recommended suppliers will ensure your day runs smoothly and is everything you dreamed of and more.
Floor length table linen really makes a huge difference to the room scape. Seeing exposed table legs is a real bugbear of mine. If your caterer can’t provide floor length table linen please let me know and I will be able to arrange this for you.
