A Travel Inspired Marquee Wedding in Wales…

It's all about delicate lace, old fashioned loveliness and inspiration taken from world travels this afternoon with the wedding of Love My Dress reader, Sophie. 

Sophie and Joe tied the knot on 28 May with a ceremony at Cosheston Church just around the corner from Sophie's parents farm, followed by a reception at Trefloyne Manor in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales.  I love the nature of this wedding, and the decor and details at the reception which were inspired by the couple's experiences in travelling and their love for old and pre-used items with a history, such as that beautiful Singer sewing machine below – a prop used for the greetings cards table at the reception.

"We are both from Pembrokeshire and got together in Sixth Form in Tenby. The venue, Trefloyne Manor, ticked all our boxes – in Tenby, on a golf course (to indulge Joe's hobby), gorgeous rural setting, very almost see the sea, great food, lovely rooms, the list goes on. The bonus part was that it's run by a school friend, Sarah Knight, and Joe's friend Pip heads up the kitchen, so we knew we were in very safe hands.They all worked so hard to give us the relaxed, enjoyable day we wanted – they did a superb job."

We are lucky that our sister-in-law, Cath Graham runs a wedding design company called Make It Pretty. She was on hand with help and advice – and those all important finishing touches for the marquee…."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Coypright (c) 2011, S6 Photography

Vintage map table plan

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"I'm very lucky as one of my bridesmaids – Joe's sister Becky – is a very talented hairdresser. I managed to burn my forehead on straighteners 2 days before the wedding, but Becky did a superb job styling my fringe over the mark! She worked hard, and got me and all the bridesmaids coiffured by 11 o'clock!"

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"The dress was Juliet by Mia Mia by the Alan Hannah label.  Although we live in Cardiff, I bought the dress from White Brides in Narberth, Pembrokeshire. Sally is fabulous; knowledgeable and absolutely lovely, and her enthusiasm added so much to the process of dress shopping.

It was a cliché moment – but an exciting one! After almost settling on a lace dress,  I spotted it on a hanger and was curious to see what it would look like on. It was a deal-breaker for the lace dress! The lace bolero Sally teamed with it was the clincher, as I wanted a vintage-esque touch to go with our theme.

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"I wore a pearl necklace that one of my best friend's mums had bought me when I was bridesmaid for her. Joe gave me a Debenhams voucher to get make-up and accessories, so I got some little pearl studs too. My Auntie Wendy lent me my (now grown-up!) cousin Jamie's blue nappy pin to wear inside the dress as my 'something blue…"

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Mia Mia Wedding Dress by Alan Hannah

"My parents organised an absolutely beautiful, vintage Rolls Royce as the bridal car, through a local company called Vincent James Cars. Our sister-in-law, Cath organised an awesome campervan through a friend for the bridesmaids, and decked it out with our vintage theme…"

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"My Bridesmaids were my sister Anna, and Joe's twin sisters Becky and Rachel. My maid-of-honour was my best friend Sarah (who was amazing after having given birth just 3 weeks before!).  They all wore champagne tiered dresses from John Lewis. We ditched the existing sash and added one of plum ribbon to complement the men's lilac ties. It worked really well and they all looked absolutely gorgeous. They also wore ivory peeptoe slingbacks with a bow (from Brantano!).

 The bouquets, button holes, corsages, hair flowers and the Church display were done by local florist Lucy Harvey, who turned out to be my 3rd cousin! Lucy is just starting up floristry on her own, after working at the family shop in Pembroke. She is very talented and did an AMAZING job, we had so many compliments about the flowers. I did the table flowers with the help of one of my best friends Kate, the day before…"

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"My Dad walked me up the aisle, and gave me away. We had a funny moment when Dad made me try my shoes on before the wedding, to check I wasn't going to be taller than him!

Joe and I have been together since school – 12 years, so getting married was clearly the next step for us. We went to North Wales for my birthday last year, and Joe proposed on the top of Mount Snowdon which was a really special moment…"

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"After trying on some 'same old' suits at hire shops, Joe found some wool silk grey morning suits at Slaters. They were brand new for this season, and looked pretty sharp!"

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Joe (and all the guys) wore a lilac herringbone tie from TM Lewin. While everyone else wore black shoes, Joe wore brown ones from John Lewis…"

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"My veil was my 'something borrowed' – one of my best friends Abi kindly lent me her full-length Sassi Holford veil, so it felt doubly special to wear. I hadn't expected to want a veil, but it was a great addition and made me feel like a proper bride!  I was treated to some Kurt Geiger, champagne heels by Mum and Dad. I managed to keep them on until about 9, after which the flip flops came out to dance!"

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You just have to adore the decor and styling of this wedding…

"Joe owns and runs a Graphic Design company – this meant that we were able to design all of our stationery ourselves. We decided to do seed packets for favours, and Joe made some gorgeous old/new labels with our very own brand, using vintage images of flowers. As we made them ourselves, there was enough for everyone to have one, not just the ladies!"

Wedding favour seed packets

Wedding Favour Seed Packets

"We love old, pretty, interesting things with history and a story to tell. We had spent lots of time hunting out an assortment of china plates, pretty cake stands, lace table cloths and all sorts from car boot sales the summer before, and the vintage theme just spiralled from there.

While Joe used vintage flowers and birds for our stationery, we decided to incorporate travel as another theme, inspired by our favourite year when we spent 12 months travelling together. Joe designed a large vintage map for the table plan, with travel ephemera and luggage tags for the names. We framed old maps of all the countries we visited, and added a decorated luggage tag for the table names. As mentioned, we love photos, so we spent time with our families going through albums. We scanned in loads of images, and Joe added a vintage style frame to each image before printing. We strung these all around the marquee as an alternative to bunting, and they made a great talking point!" 

Vintage map table plan

Vintage map table plan

"The fruit cake tier was made with much love by my Mum, and tasted wonderful. (I have secreted away a piece in the freezer for Christmas!). A local lady made a chocolate tier for the top, and iced them both. We had lovely vanilla and nutella cupcakes (and mini ones for little people) from another local supplier, and I bought lace style cupcake wrappers to put them in…"

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Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"Although we were DIYing on our house until March, we still managed to get everything we wanted to done in time. I think the trick was a steady pace, with help from family and friends, which meant there were only a few panicky moments along the way. Everyone kept telling us the day would fly by, and to make sure you try to absorb it all. I'm not sure this is possible, but it is definitely something you should try to do because they're absolutely right!"

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Awww, Laura and Joe!! Congratulations guys on a super sweet wedding day 😉

 Thank you Jon from S6 Photography for sharing these lovely photographs…

 "We love photos, so we always knew that we wanted someone a little bit different to capture our day. We spotted Jon on Love My Dress (thank you!) and were smitten with his eye for capturing the moment in a beautiful, natural way.

On the day, Jon offered a brilliantly professional yet personal service, making us feel at ease, taking the formal shots quickly and setting up some fun ones that I can't wait to see! He's a great guy and we highly recommend him."

Wonderful feedback for one of my sponsors 🙂

Do we have any other weddings in Wales coming up?

Much love all,

Annabel

Photographer – S6 Photography
Venue – Trefloyne Manor in Tenb
Brides dress – Mia Mia by the Alan Hannah label
Groom – Slaters
Bridesmaids – John Lewis.
Flowers – Friend/local florist
Cake – Real Cupcakes
Transport – Vincent James Cars
Venue Styling & Decor – Make It Pretty

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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