Bespoke Headpieces and Accessories for the Timeless Bride
An Interview with Sarah Cammish of Elsa Rose Boutique
“I could feel how sentimental these pieces were – it’s funny but they have a different weight about them, as if they actually hold on to their history.”
I’m so excited to share with you my first guest interview blog post to inspire brides-to-be with the wedding of their dreams.
If you’re recently engaged and want a wedding that’s timeless and uniquely you rather than based on quickly-fading trends then you’re in the right place.
Together, we can obsess about the details that tell your love story in the most beautiful and thoughtful way.
It’s an honour to introduce to you Sarah Cammish from Elsa Rose Boutique, a girl after my own heart who values sentiment and timelessness which is reflected in the beautifully bespoke hairpieces and accessories she creates for brides.
I met Sarah at a wedding open day at the Bishop’s Palace in Wells just before the first lockdown and was stunned into silence at her beautiful display of headpieces and jewellery - I recall doing a lot of open-mouthed staring, oohing and aahing!
Not only is Sarah a unique talent, but she’s an incredibly kind, generous and all-round lovely person. It turns out we’ve been on a similar creative journey and I’ve been admiring her elegant creations on Instagram ever since.
I’ve been really lucky to have my calligraphy featured in some styled wedding shoots that Sarah has made the hairpieces for which is a dream for me.
Sarah really is a shining example of someone who has mastered her craft and is truly authentic with a passion, something that I’m so happy to celebrate with this post.
I hope you enjoy this interview and that it inspires you to personalise your own wedding with some thoughtful touches.
Lets begin!
Can you tell us about what you make and who you make it for?
I design delicate headpieces, vintage brooch bouquets, intricate necklaces and earrings for brides who love sentimental details and are looking for a personalised experience. I also offer workshops to help brides make their own headpiece or brooch bouquet!
I was a DIY bride myself and I wished that there had been something like that to help me refine some of the DIY details I made.
To me, your hairpieces have a dream-like and organic quality. How would you describe your style?
I describe my style as understated elegance. Most of the pieces I make are delicate and timeless with a touch of whimsy, mostly because my brides provide a piece of jewellery they’d like to include from lost loved ones or have sentimental reasons for the choices they make.
For example, one of my brides featured forget-me-nots in her wedding as they reminded her of her late grandpa, so I created little blue flowers for her headpiece as a reminder of him. I love using touches of colour and am always open to a creative challenge!
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I get really inspired by nature, and whenever I’m in a rut creatively, I find that a walk in the woods or along the beach really helps to bring my ideas in to focus.
I’m also inspired by the women I work with; their stories and personalities live in the pieces I create for them, and they inspire other pieces long after too! Many of the pieces in my shop have been named after the person that inspired them.
How did you get started with Elsa Rose Boutique?
I came to a point in my life where I was at a crossroads and, rather than sticking with my well-paid and secure teaching job, I chose to leave and do something that made me happy. I loved teaching, but it was wearing me down and I felt completely lost. I’d made a lot of the decorations for our wedding, including my brooch bouquet, the centrepieces, our cake toppers and the bridesmaids’ hair accessories.
With no other option after deciding to leave my job, my husband asked me what would make me happy. My reply was: “Make pretty things for people’s weddings!”
I was really naive when I started Elsa Rose; I had no business knowledge and genuinely thought that if I made things and put them out there, people would come to me!
I started out selling gifts at craft markets and offering as much as I could for weddings, until I realised it wasn’t possible to do it all and my business made no sense.
I narrowed down my offerings and my most popular product was my cake toppers but, after a lot of consideration, I decided in 2018 that I needed to refocus and rebrand to align myself with what really made me happy.
I love making headpieces and it’s a treat to make a brooch bouquet too. I love the creative challenge, playing with colour and shapes and incorporating details that I think will make my brides smile when they see them.
Elsa Rose Boutique is named after my nan, who was a real character. I remember always feeling loved when I was with her. She had a jewellery box full of trinkets that I used to admire and try on and she never left her flat without her nails painted.
I want my brides to feel looked after when they come to me, safe to make decisions about what they want without judgement and feel like they matter. Being the centre of attention is nerve-wrecking for many of us and I believe these little things make a world of difference to your confidence in the run up to your wedding
Can you tell us about a piece you’ve made that sticks in your memory?
There have been so many memorable ones! One of my earliest pieces was a brooch bouquet, for which my bride, Katie, provided a box of jewellery.
She had this beautiful large watch with a cracked face that had been her grandfather’s when he was in the RAF, strings of pearls from both her grandmothers and pins and brooches from each of her grandparents.
I could feel how sentimental these pieces were – it’s funny but they have a different weight about them, as if they actually hold on to their history.
I placed the watch at the centre, set to the time of Katie and Bob’s wedding, and draped the pearls around it to frame it. It fit perfectly with their Gatsby theme and Katie was over the moon when she saw it.
After her wedding day, she told me she felt like her grandparents were with her as she walked down the aisle.
This filled my heart so much. Having lost my nan whilst I was living abroad, I appreciated how much it meant to Katie to feel that her grandparents were with her on her wedding day.
What do you love most about what you do?
I love the whole design process, from chatting to brides about their ideas, to drawing out rough sketches and mocking up details, to turning what they had in mind into something real, and even better than they’d imagined.
I love involving them and taking them on the journey with me, so they can see their idea blossom. It’s a really lovely feeling when they get to see their accessory for the first time and I always feel so grateful that I could play a small part in such a special occasion.
I love the sound of your workshops and home kits for creative brides. Can you tell us more about them?
I started offering hair vine workshops a few years ago as I shied away from making my own headpiece when I got married because I didn’t think I had the skills.
I was finding that more people were looking for help to make brooch bouquets too, so I started offering one-to-one courses to help brides do that too.
With lockdown in 2020 keeping us indoors, I decided to start offering my workshops one-to-one on Zoom and they’ve been quite popular!
They’re also great for hair stylists who are looking to offer bridal accessories too, so it’s been great meeting other suppliers in the industry and being able to support each other.
I read on your website that you give your brides an inbox treat on their wedding day. Can you tell us more about that?
Back when I was making cake toppers, I realised that what I did was more than just supply a product. There was a story that went along with my work, which showed the decisions I made during the process and how that related to the couple I was working with.
When I started to focus on accessories, I wanted to provide a similar experience. So many of my brides include sentimental pieces of jewellery in their accessories or have sentimental reasons for making the choices that they do, and I wanted that to be celebrated in some way.
I stumbled across an app called Steller, a visual storytelling app, which enabled me to upload photos, videos and text of accessories being made. Each bride gets her own story like this, plus a feature on my blog too, so she’s a real star in my eyes!
When my brides invest in a bespoke piece, I want to provide as much value as I possibly can. They inspire the designs, so I want them to join me on the journey of everything coming together. It’s like a missing piece of the puzzle that adds that little bit more meaning to their accessory.
Out of curiosity - can you tell us about your own wedding story?
Pete and I knew that we didn’t want what my mum calls a “Vanilla Wedding” – a one-size fits all approach which we sadly encountered at many venues – you know the ones: “we only cater for 80 daytime guests on that package, any less and we’ll have to downgrade you.” It was frustrating as we only wanted 50 guests for the day – our nearest and dearest – and a few more for the evening.
Both being teachers, we decided on October half term as we both love the autumn and Pete had his heart set on a banquet for the wedding breakfast. “Like a Mezze platter,” he said to me, “Where people keep getting served food and everyone leaves happy.”
We’d been to a friend’s traditional Indian wedding a few years earlier and we had both felt so looked after and spoiled as guests, with so much amazing food, that we felt inspired to offer a similar experience.
When we were looking at venues, we came across Clevedon Hall. Sitting down with the wedding coordinator, who reassured us that they didn’t do packages and that we could have whatever we wanted, Pete talked about his banquet idea. She looked at him and said, “So, like Mezze platters or tapas? I think our chef would love to create that for you!”
That is one of the earliest things that inspired what I do – her intuitive knowledge and the way she listened to us has definitely inspired the way I work with my clients.
Our day was full of our personalities and little touches we’d made, which made it really special for us.
You’re wedding sounds so special, but is there anything you would’ve done differently?
I wouldn’t stress so much! I would have made sure that Pete and I had quiet moments together where we could just sit and have a drink away from all the excitement.
I know that if we were to do it all again now, things would be very different – I would wear a different dress and I would hire you to do my stationery, Charlotte! And probably hire someone to dress the venue, so I had one less thing to worry about, but I think that’s natural after finding so many suppliers when you’ve worked in this industry for a while!
I think the warmth and love we had on our wedding day would be the same though.
I would hire a videographer to capture the speeches – it’s one of my regrets as my dad is getting older that I can’t remember his wedding speech, and Pete said so many beautiful things but didn’t write anything down, so I can only remember being in fits of laughter followed by tears as I realised the underlying meaning to what he was saying to me – subtle messages about how he would always support me having spent months suffering in my job and making the decision to leave.
That would be my recommendation to any couple actually, if you can do it, hire a videographer as these are moments you’ll want to hold on to forever.
Where can brides-to-be find you?
My website is elsaroseboutique.com, where brides can view some of my bespoke work, get advice about accessories for their hair type or chosen wedding hairstyle, purchase accessories from my shop or book an appointment for a free accessory consultation.
I’m also on Instagram daily @elsaroseboutique and Pinterest @elsarosebtq.
All my contact details are on my website, along with a calendar to book appointments at a time that suits them, or my inbox is open on Instagram for anyone who wants to say hello and ask any questions!
Thank you Sarah for taking the time to answer all my questions - you went above and beyond for which I’m so honoured.
I hope you enjoyed reading Sarah’s interview as much as I did. I’ve always been charmed by her beautiful creations and now I’m even more in love!
If you loved this interview then please save it to Pinterest so you can find it again and others can too.
Thank you so much,
Charlotte
