A Ra-Ra Skirt Wedding Dress for an 80’s Loving Bride…

Morning All! 🙂 And how was your weekend?  I have been SO busy this weekend editing blog posts, managing submissions and trying to find time to scour the internet to bring you more fabulousness than ever before :)  If you use the drop menus to the top left of the page, you will see I have listed a category for each decade, and one that I haven't added much content to yet, is the 1980's.  Not until today that is, because this is the wedding of Robin & Giselle, who tied the knot on 4 September with a ceremony at 1 Spring Terrace in Richmond, followed by an afternoon reception on board the Queen Elizabeth boat, boarding at Kew Pier, also in Richmond.  1980's style!

Or at last, Giselle's wonderful and quirky original wedding dress was anyway 🙂

I loved this wedding from the moment I saw it ~ Bride Giselle's dress is a 1980's party dress replica.  Do the 80's fall into the category 'vintage' when it comes to fashion? I'm not sure, but I do know this Bride looks fabulous in her whimsical wedding dress and matching shoes – truly a girl who knows her own style and was determined to stick to it and have fun on her big day…and I love that!

"I knew exactly what I wanted to wear, which was actually quite tough. I wanted an exact relica of the coolest 80s party dress I own. Strapless sweetheart neckline, ruched bodice, assymetric drop waist, big bow on the front hip, huge full ra-ra skirt. I love the 80s and couldn't imagine getting married in anything else.  

 My mother-in-law had a spare traditional cream wedding dress that hadn't been worn kicking around in her house (don't ask why!). I tried it on just to see what it would feel like, half expecting to change my mind and go down the traditional route. However, it just made me realise that it simply wasn't me. White/cream don't do much for my complexion and I wanted something to complement my red hair... 

 Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2010, Matt Tyler

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...


I told my closest friends what I was looking for and one of them pointed my in the directions of one of their friends, Claire Tapper, who is a costume designer and dressmaker and has worked part time making costumes for performances at the Royal Opera House, etc.

PERFECT!

I took her the dress I wanted a replica of, along with lots of luscious yellow silk, and she created the dress for me! And she even put a pocket under the first tier of ra-ra skirt for me to put my phone a bank card and my vows in!

I have never felt so fantastic in a dress… EVER!"

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"I wore leather court shoes from Office dyed to match the dress silk. Silk shoe bows were lovingly handcrafted by the groom (musn't let that fashion degree go to waste!). Shoes were dyed by Barbara at Barbaran – they did a fantastic job matching the colour and turned them around really fast so that they arrived in time for the day."

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'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

Bare Minimum…

"I don't wear make up on a daily basis and keep my hair in a simple 80s 'box bob', so I wanted to just have some false lashes, foundation (to look better in the photographs) and some blusher. I was very conscious that I didn't want to get an overhaul and end up looking like a different person. I think there's nothing more worrying for a groom than seeing his bride walking down the aisle with a spray tan, having lost two stone, wearing four times as much make up than ususal and with an over-styled barnet!"

Fair point Giselle and very true!!

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

"I also wore some magpie earring from Tatty Devine – I'm secretly a superstitious person so felt that two magpies for joy was a sweet touch."

"I borrowed a blue enamel pin that said 'honor' on it from my two BFFs and pinned it to my garter. On my wrist I wore a charm bracelet given to me on my 18th birthday by an auntie – it took me 10 years, but I finally collected enough charms from car boot sales and antiques markets to make it suitably jangly."

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler... 'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

Bonny Bow in Yellow…

"The dressmaker very kindly made a hair bow, seeing as I wear them most days. I was trying to decide what I ight wear, if anything, on my head when she kindly pointed out that I wear a bow in my hair every time she saw me and this might be option. This was her idea and was a really nice way of me looking like myself on the day."

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

A Cincuecento Moment…

"We hired a white cinquecento (Fiat 500) car for the day. The driver Mark was fantastically calming and friendly. We wanted something a little bit different and that fitted in with our love of all things retro." 

One memory that will last with me forever is the one of driving from the reception to the hotel in Soho as it was getting dark. We went past numerous sights of central London, all with their lights on. My favourite part was when an Italian ice cream van driver beeped his horn at us (Fiat 500s are very popular in Italy) and followed us down the road with his 'ice cream' music on."

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

A Handmade Suit for A Fashion Graduate Groom…

"Robin had his suit handmade while on a business trip in Bangkok and fitted like a glove. It's made of a brown wool mix with a slight blue check running through it. WIth his suit he wore some brown Church's brogues (www.church-footwear.com), a white shirt and a burgundy and yellow dickie bow (from eBay)."

The groom also wore browny/green braces (bought by the bride in Tie Rack just under a decade a go), some Paul Smith socks and a pocket square made from the dress fabric. He also had a brown top hat but decided not to wear it in the end – so Giselle tells me it's going in the fancy dress box at home!

"There weren't any offical groomsmen, but Robin's closest guy friends and brother (also the best man) all wore braces with their suits."

Nice to meet another newlywed with a Fashion Designer Husband – mine is too! :) 

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

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GIselle's bouquet of simple white stocks was from Wild at Heart, based in Liberty's, London…

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

Just Like Heaven…

"I walked down the aisle to a string arrangement of 'Just Like Heaven by The Cure', performed/arranged by the Vitamin String Quartet. It was the perfect way to have something that sounds traditional and also a favourite 80s song!  We signed the book and walked out to Buddy Holly's True Love Ways, inspired by the Buddy Holly record that my Grandmother gave to my mother on the day she was born." 

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

Both bride and groom have white gold russian wedding rings – the groom has three thick band and the bride has six thinner bands…  

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler... SFW-0086'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

FAbulous! I LOVE this shot!

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

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'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

"We wanted a relaxed day that would accommodate all of our friends and family. We also didn't want anything too formal and stuffy, so settled on an afternoon tea/street party style reception. You know, the kind where everyone gets together in one place, – young and old, people from all over – to have a good old fashioned knees up!

 The ceremony was for nuclear family with two close friends of the couple as witnesses."

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

My mum bought me a lovely vintage lace jacket from a shop in Bedfordshire. It was slightly too long (as there was a huge bow on the hip of the dress) so the groom shortened it by running it through the sewing machine."

"

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

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"Sticking with the afternoon tea/street party inspiration we kitted the boat out with the following decorations:

…white bunting, some with the words 'cake' and 'drinks' hand appliqued (by the bride) near the weding cake and on the bar
…paper flowers hand made by the bride from vintage maps and atlases
…'just married' paperchains from Cox and Cox {see below}
…large wooden letters (R&G) that we covered with a map
…wedding favour badges in antique silver dishes (see below)
…wedding favour jams served on vintage cake plates/stands
…heart-shaped lollipops in a large glass jar ( aimed at children, but enjoyed equally by adults!)…

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

"We also had some wedding favours:

…miniature pots of strawberry and champagne jam
…badges with the design of our wedding invite on them
…badges that said "I went to Robin & Giselle's wedding and all I got was this lousy badge"

hehehe!

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

"Robin wanted to have a gramophone DJ so on the day we had the wonderful Guy Bellingham, a truly eccentric and fun gentleman that plays old shellacs from the 1930s–50s on two gramophones. He travelled all the way from Bristol for our reception and even has an assistant to help him wind them up so his arms don’t get tired!

He was suggested to us by DJ78, also a gramophone DJ (based on London)."

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

Cake Collapse!

"Not being fans of fruit cake, we opted for carrot cake. We worked with Lorna Betts of cakes2catering.com to design it. We went for a four tier carrot cake with handmade miniature paper bunting (made by the bride) and a beautiful fabric cake topper of two birds wearing matching outfits to the bride and groom's (bought from ebay). 

Sadly, on the day, the cake toppled over while some friends were decoration the boat. They salvaged it all and laid it all out on the table and made it look wonderful. To be honest, if a cake toppling over is the most eventful thing to happen or 'go worng' I think we got off extremely lightly!"  

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler... 'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

"We didn't have a first dance because the gramophone music would have required us to have learned how to jive! Instead, we enjoyed a first dance on our honeymoon to True by Spandau Ballet on a balcony overlooking a beautiful Sicilian piazza. Much less embarrassing in the long run!"

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"Have fun, plan that day that you both want and, erm… have some more fun!"

"We decided very early on that our wedding was a celebration of us wanting to share our lives together, so what better inspiration to take than from the things we both like."

'Vintage' 1980s Mellow Yellow Wedding Dress... - Photography by Matt Tyler...

Huge thanks to Robin and Giselle and of course a special thank you to Kent Wedding Photographer Matt Tyler

"We wanted to have a documentary feel to our wedding photos, nothing too obstrusive and staged. Matt Tyler really did exceed all of our expectations, and we're indebted to him for capturing the magical day that we had."

 Much love,

Annabel :) 

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

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