Dreaming of a whimsical vintage, relaxed country or industrial inspired wedding? Crab Apple Vintage love to help bring your unique vision to life. They have a warehouse full of decorative goodies available for hire, such as vintage vases and cocktail glasses, quaint tea settings, lawn games and serving ware. Plus, they also hire event furniture. We’re talking bars and serveries, chairs and tables, a range of lighting, and so much more. You can even hire Martina and her team! Offering complete styling, setup and pack down, and venue meet-and-measure packages.
MW: Tell us a little bit about yourself
Martina: Martina Long – Owner and Stylist – Crab Apple Hire and Style – I love working with people, creating beautiful spaces and of course spending time at home with my family and two kids
MW: How did you get started as a stylist?
Martina: I have had a shop (Crab Apple Vintage) for some time now selling a range of Chalk Paint, furniture, homewares and running workshops etc and also worked as a website developer for 15 years. When it came time to create my own wedding I couldn’t find anything that I liked that worked with what I wanted: rustic, country/industrial, a little vintage so we decided to expand the shop into the hire sphere and it all just went from their.
MW: What colours and colour palette combinations do you love for next 12 months?
Martina: I’m still loving calming colours such as blush pink, a periwinkle-esque blue’s and greens. Mix these with soft and creamy whites and you can create the most dreamy and romantic feel. I adore working with soft natural colours and fabrics.
MW: What are your favourite new styling trends for 2017?
Martina: Hand made bonbonnieres – I love it when the bride and groom (or usually the bride and her mum) that the time to hand made gorgeous little gifts to thanks their friends and family for attending their big day – and they make beautiful styling props!
Greenery – I love the use of foliage and greenery to add texture and life to all kinds of areas in a wedding, from creating height with ceiling drapery or scattered greenery on desert tables and signage, I think it really help link an often man made structure such as a marque etc to the environment it is in. If you can’t celebrate under the stairs in your natural surroundings it’s amazing to be able to bring some of that in!
MW: What are your five favourite styling elements to work with right now and why?
Martina:
- Linen – runners, drapes, table clothes, I adore the softness of linen at weddings.
- Greenery – freshly foraged from surrounding areas so it is always native to the area
- Chalk Paint – we sell Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in our shop and I use it on everything painted as I LOVE it’s soft velvety matt finish on our pieces for weddings and events
- Vintage Cutlery – beautifully polished vintage cutlery is a gorgeous finishing touch to formally seated weddings
- Lighting – I love working with lighting in all forms for weddings, they can create such beautiful little areas and bring such warm to a room. Whether it be fairy lights, festoon lights, Edison pendants, floor lamps or desk lamps, I love it all
MW: What are your top 3 tips for brides wanting to create unique wedding style?
Martina: Really think about what you love, look around your house and look at the way you style it. Try to really bring those things out in your wedding design as they are a true representation of who you are and what you love.
MW: If you were designing your own wedding, how would you style it?
Martina: I would incorporate lots of different areas for people to relax and interact in, casual areas, a bar, a major dance floor! All outdoors under the stars with gorgeous soft lighting and flowing fabrics. I would want people to be able to easily move between areas and interact with each other while feeling chilled, warm and comfortable.
