Hi everyone :) I hope this finds you well this fine, Friday lunchtime. I am sat in a kitchen in Pimlico right now in a room beautifully lit by late Autumnal sun. I'm away from home and missing my family madly, but plotting lots of Christmas adventures whilst I have time to just sit and be. Christmas! I never usually get into the spirit of it until quite late but the boy has been playing Chrimbo carols on those Sky channels that repat the same old tunes year in year out and I can't get enough of it. The Christmas tree is most definitley going up early in our house this year. Anyway, I digress...
There will be just one blog post today my loves, it's one epic wedding and deserves as much love as possible from you all, for it celebrates all that is wonderfully London, and vintage - two of my favourite things. Rich & Josie got married on 17 September at Islington Town Hall followed by reception at The Peasant, Clerkenwell and these gorgeous photographs were taken by Photographer Caro Hutchings - whose own wedding you simply have to go and take a peek at {the veil, oh the veil...}.
Josie's wedding dress was from the Vintage Wedding Dress Company's 'Decades collection' - an exquisite 1940s silk replication dress, with lace sleeve and slash detail added...
"I love the Vintage Wedding Dress Company's website and showroom. I loved the weight of the fabric, the silhouette and delicate sleeve of my dress. Being a massive vintage fan and in the industry-(ex Miss Selfridge fashion buyer) I always assumed I would wear vintage and went to all the fairs but none of the vintage dresses were correct for my figure.
Charlie's {owner of the company} modern version of vintage silhouettes and shapes was spot on. Her staff are knowledgeable and brilliantly helpful."
Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2011, Caro Hutchings
"My bag was a beautiful beaded silver deco gem which was a bargain at £7!"
"My Bridesmaids wore ASOS dresses that cost only £50 - I didn't want them to wear anything they could never wear again. They also wore some tiny pins from Glitzy Secrets..."
"My shoes were from BHS! They were a bargain at £30. BHS have a fabulous range or shoes and not to be mocked!"
"Scarlet and Violet, our Florists, were recommended to me. I loved their shop which is a dream. Love their range of antique and vintage jars and vases. They also did Kate Moss’s wedding I later discovered! Wanted rustic, casual but pretty and that’s what they do..."
"Kate Taylor, my hair & makeup artist was fantastically patient with me as I tried MANY hair styles! I knew I wanted something retro-ish to suit the dress/venues but not look too themed. We had such a laugh, gossiping and chatting again I loved her being around and would recommend her highly...."
"I wore a gorgeous Glitzy Secrets hair comb and bracelet...."
"Islington Town Hall is a gorgeous beautiful venue and we live nearby. For our reception, we wanted a pub with great food, casual, lively and room for party later! Room upstairs has a lovely bistro style décor, is really cosy and intimate. Great atmosphere/vibe."
"My Father Wilf gave me away. Rich and I found it so difficult to agree on what music I should walk down the aisle to, so we both settled on going classic. During the signing of registry we had an string version of Arcade Fire-Tunnels. Ramones-Baby I love you back down the aisle..."
"We hired a lovely old Routemaster for guests from town hall to Canonbury Square nearby, where we had some lovely outdoor shots. After this Rich & I disappeared back to St Pancras Renaissance for some pics with Caro-lovely to get some together in the hotel and also station...."
"When it came to decor, milk bottles and pom poms were the order of the day. I sourced pom poms from the US as much cheaper than UK. Aunty Jude saved all her milk bottles and jam jars. I loved decorating these and was tea staining doilies from Etsy for weeks! Loved planning all the tiny details!"
"My Sister made our cake - I Wanted her to feel involved and she loves cooking so - I was very proud of her!"
"Friends dj’d and Rich my husband did a quick set too. Being massive fans and both djs, music was the most important thing to us. Rich works in the industry and music was how we met. We compiled playlists and then our friends chose songs from these- every song meant a lot to us and people danced all evening, bacon butties in hand!"
Words of Wedded Wisdom...
"Enjoy every minute. I felt so much pressure from all the gorgeous DIY weddings on blogs that I felt a tremendous pressure for mine to be like that. DIY is fab for some but not everyone has the time! Ultimately your friends and family aren’t expecting it to be a photoshoot and the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy your day!
We danced to The Ronettes, Be My baby. I love 60s girl groups and Ronnie Spector’s voice is sensational, it is the perfect pop song..."
Huge thanks to Photographer Caro Hutchings for sharing these beautiful photographs today...
"I loved the photographs that Caro Hutchings did for a friends wedding. I cant recommend her enough, she was lovely to have around, you need someone you can get on with as they are with you all day. Everyone loved her and adores the photos which are perfectly our style.
She got all the shots we wanted but in such an understated way, never boisterous or overpowering. She never sat still, was always looking for interesting angles, lights and caught some fantastic moments that we never saw. Caro is utterly professional and a real find!"
Ladies, I'd love to hear from those of you embracing the vintage style in all it's glory for your weddings. Are any of you going for a 1940's style dress like Josie did, or are any of you having a dress from The Vintage Wedding Dress Company."
You can see more beautiful 1940s inspired bridal fashion on Love My Dress here.
Much love all,
Annabel xXx
♥
Photographer - Caro Hutchings
Venue - Islington Town Hall + The Peasant, Clerkenwell
Brides dress - The 'Decades Collection', by The Vintage Wedding Dress Company
Brides shoes - BHS
Brides accessories - Comb + bracelet by Glitzy Secrets
Groom - Topman
Bridesmaids - ASOS
Florist - Scarlet and Violet
Cake - The Bride's Sister
Catering - The Peasant
Entertainment - Bride, Groom + Friends DJ'd
Hair + Makeup Artist - Kate Taylor
