An Interview with The Stars Inside

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Hello my loves.  I’m sending out lots of hugs to you all for taking valuable time out from planning your own weddings to catching up with my mini adventures and stories as a bridal wear designer in London.

I can honestly say, with hand on heart, that keeping track of the ongoing requests for information has been quite a challenge and certainly requires a whole army of support just to retain my sanity and focus.  For those of you who may be new to my background and story, please take a moment to catch up  HERE and HERE and HERE.

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Most recently though, following months of planning, I was delighted to finally catch up with the lovely Valentina from The Stars Inside.  A highly creative bespoke & elopement wedding planning and design service for ‘free spirited’ couples who want more than just an average wedding.  Valentina herself has had an extraordinary year having received awards for her work and voted  ‘Best Wedding Planner’ by June Bug Weddings  .  Speaking as a great admirer of Valentina’s work, she genuinely is a hard working, passionate and authentic individual – in a non pushy-kind-of-way – devoted entirely to fulfilling the needs of her clients, in much the same way that I approach my work.  So, when Val asked me if I would mind sharing my story and providing a few key tips for helping brides to ‘unlock’ and discover their personal style, I simply jumped at the chance .

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Behind The Scenes with a Bridal Wear Designer London

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Our stunning stunning feature OUT NOW @amberandmuse_hochzeitsguide Do take a moment to show them some love and, check out the full feature… you will be totally totally blown AWAY!!! . So now, I think the time is right to finally reveal what is going to be happening next on this page and rolled out across the web in the next week. This user name will change…Why? You can read the full story in my blog over the weekend – I promise to keep you updated ? And Id like to introduce CYNTHIA GRAFTON-HOLT COUTURE . A fresh "NEW TALENT" unafraid to usher in a more competitive, dynamic, and diverse bridal fashion for those brides looking to stand out from the Chantilly-clad pack. . No matter what your personal style may be, I am not afraid to challenge the conventions, create new twists on old classics, whilst maintaining a elegant, contemporary and timeless aesthetics. BRIDALS NEW GUARD CREATIVE DIRECTION, PLANNING & STYLING @teastyle_weddings BRIDAL GOWNS & BOUDOIR GOWN @ouimadam1 FLOWER DESIGN @bloominghaus STATIONERY @teastyle_weddings CAKES @botanicocakes HAIR @joelizabethweddings MAKE UP @lawsonmakeup BRIDAL JEWELLERY @hermioneharbutt ENGAGEMENT RING @lilyarkwrightuk BOUDOIR LINGERIE @fleurofengland BRIDAL SHOES @freyarose GROOMS ATTIRE @mossbros FURNITURE AND TABLEWARE @classiccrockery VENUE @1011cht MODELS @ishikasharma @tomking1989 @carrielauren @ouimoncoeur_weddings @oui_weddings @brides @junebugweddings @thelane @wedding_style @martha_weddings @bridelux @fineartweddingshow #huffpostido #weddingchicks #bridalmusings #smpweddings #loveintentionally #weddingseason #loveauthentic #stylemepretty

A post shared by Cynthia Grafton-Holt Couture (@cynthiagraftonholt) on Jul 10, 2020 at 11:52am PDT

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Well, to begin with, sharing ‘my story’ was not half as easy as I thought it would be.  There was so many points to consider.  So much has happened this year alone that I struggled with where to start.  Do readers really want to know more about my journey as a bridal wear designer?  I honestly take so much of that in my stride that everything feels just so ordinary to me.  Although, when asked about the topic of bridal couture, there is really such a wealth of information that I could talk for days on any topic?  So much so that by the time I had finished my first draft, it was around 2000 words too many, that in the end, I had to edit and re-edit much of the text to avoid overwhelm.

This is perhaps something that I really need to master when writing for the others.  I often always feel as though if someone asks me a question about my bridal couture background,  then they must genuinely want an answer that provides more than a scant overview that can easily be found elsewhere.

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SHINING A LIGHT ON THE  BEHIND-THE-SCENES ASPECT OF MY WORK,

“I work a 12 hour day most days of the week.  I try to take Mondays off but this has rarely happened much this year at all.  Working in the studio  is definitely where I am most comfortable developing ideas and working out the best construction methods for each order.  Every dress is created one-at-a-time and is entirely exclusive meaning there is no prepackaged pattern or design. With hindsight, it seems easy to suggest that brides do their homework before commissioning a bridal dress designer, as many will not even appreciate that not all bespoke dress designers provide the same services or have equal levels of skills. “Someone who has been making dresses for a few years will not have the necessary knowledge and skills to address a multitude of problems that can occur throughout the design process; and that ‘peace of mind’ is essential to the overall customer experience.”

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A final thought that I’d love to share here is to encourage brides not to assume that, just because a dress is made by an independent designer, that it will be any less beautiful or well-made compared to a very expensive designer gown. I’ve actually made dresses for many big-name brands in my time, and so am very confident creating some truly exquisite gowns – just without the designer price tag!

For further information about The Stars Inside or to contact Valentina, do take a moment to visit her website  or Instagram