Meet the wedding fairy godmothers

Weddings and families go hand in hand and for sisters Corinne Hayden and Nikki Mason they have made weddings their business. Champagne and Lace provides wedding styling and inspiration for couples on their big day. “We see a lot of DIY brides who don’t how to do certain things who come to us,” explains Nikki. “We get a mix of people who hire things from us, who hire our things and we style it, or they have the items and we style them for them.” “Some people think they can do it all but come to realise it is too much,” adds Corinne. “Ideally we like people to get in touch with us a couple of months before so we can look at the venue and go through everything. “But we have had people come to us with weeks to spare but we are happy to help brides in need.” When it comes to trends both admit that the vintage theme is still popular with many DIY brides wanting that style of wedding. “The ladders are really popular,” says Corinne. “People decorate them with things or we have seen people use them as a wedding plan, where they cut out the names on labels and hang them up on there. It looked really lovely and was such a good idea. “We do chair covers and have some lovely lace ones, plus two-foot ‘love’ and ‘Mr and Mrs’ signs, people love them for their first dance.” But they are also seeing more and more people step away from traditional themes and styles. “People are choosing things that represent them as couples,” says Nikki, who also owns cake business Nic’s Slice of Heaven. “I did a cake once covered with hundreds and thousands and their theme was colour pop, so there was loads of bright colours everywhere it was great.” Champagne and Lace, based in Bognor Regis, was launched in March, 2016. “Everyone loves a wedding,” smiles Corinne. “People love going to them and having one. People are just really enthusiastic so it is lovely to be involved with someone’s big day. “I had always been involved with weddings as Nikki has a cake-making business so I have helped her in the past but we both decided we could do it as we would give advice to friends and stuff.” Nikki has been married for four years and Corinne has been married for two. “We both had really good experiences when we were planning our weddings,” says Corinne. “But we both see things now and think ‘oh I wish I could do it all over again’.” “Both our husbands were not impressed when we mentioned that to them,” laughs Nikki. While many people would not relish working with their sister, Corinne and Nikki feel being family actually makes everything easier. “It means we can be honest with one another and not worry about upsetting each other,” explains Corinne. “I think it means we can work with one another really well as we know how each works. “Also it helps that we love working with each other.” The pair have done weddings in West Sussex and Brighton, but as they grow they want to expand into other areas of Sussex. When it comes to bridezillas both admit the key is not to get stressed, which is where they can help taking the stress away. So what advice would they give to couples planning their wedding? “I always say to our brides and my friends when they are getting married that it is your day so please yourselves,” advises Corinne. “Don’t think about other people.” “People worry so much about what other people will think but at the end of the day it is your wedding and you are spending loads of money so please yourself.” And thanks to these sisters you can have the wedding you always wished for. For details on Champagne and Lace visit, champagneandlaceweddings.co.uk This first appeared in the February edition of etc Magazine.