Morning guys - just want to check you brides to be saw this latest competition yesterday to win or design your own beautiful headpiece up to the value or £250?
Isn't the weather glorious right now? Well, at least it is where I am down in the big smoke, where I'm working until Thursday morning {with the most amazing team, in the most awesome {hardly ever use that word!} amazing of places for the most fabulous reason - sorry to tease, I will share all soon I promise}. It seemed fitting therefore to share a wedding day full of sunshine and smiles with you this morning, and I couldn't think of a more perfect occasion than the wedding of Simon and Marie, who tired the knot on 21st May last year with a relaxed ceremony and reception all held in Simon's Mum's back garden. I adore the dreamy pastel hues in these images - which were all captured on camera by the wonderful Eliza Claire.
Simon and Marie, whose engagement shoot featured on Love My Dress last year, are the owners of The Shop at Number 57, an online store full of vintage and vintage inspired home decor, which clearly influenced the styling of their wedding day...
"We wanted a wedding that reflected us and that most importantly was fun! A vintage style fete seemed perfect with ice cream, petanque, sack racing, picnic blankets and fish and chips!
We knew we couldn’t rely on the British weather (although we need not have worried) so we decked out the inside of the marquee like a garden party. Fake turf, bunting, faux flowers and real flowers in vintage trophies..."
Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Eliza Claire
"In terms of decor, we used wallpaper by Louise Body which we will be stocking in our online store The Shop at Number 57, Mr & Mrs and table numbers were designed by Simon and stitched by mum (will be sold as Cross Stitch kits in our online shop), 62metres of bunting made by mum & I, napkins made by mum and I and place mats written by Simon & I - designed and printed by poor Simon!"
"We also used fake turf, old bicycle that belonged to my Grandad, old chairs, china, trophies, a typewriter, pendant lights, old hampers and vintage suitcases, jall vintage finds that will soon form part of our company 'Vintage Hire @ Number 57'..."
Marie wore the Flora dress by Enzoani, part of the Benjamin Roberts collection...
"We only arrived back from Sydney at the beginning of December and I started to worry because everywhere kept telling me 6 months was only just long enough to get a frock! I decided to just go into one store so it didn't get too confusing.
I tried on six dresses and this one made me cry both times I tried it on so I decided it must be the one! I t wasn't at all what I would have imagined I'd go for! I imagined something simple and slinky but I love getting dressed up and often pop on a frock (i'm always over dressed!) so some I tried on just didn't feel special enough. I loved the lace detail and the way it felt floaty but without being huge! I also loved the sweetheart neckline but didn't want a strapless dress so added the halterneck..."
"My old assistant Liz is hugely talented and set up her own cake company, The Little Cake Parlour, a couple of years ago. I asked her if she would so the cakes for us. We knew that we wanted three separate cakes in different colours and to some how include flowers. I sent Liz an email with examples of the sots of things we liked.
Un-beknown to me, she didn’t actually receive it but came back to me with fab ideas that were exactly what we were after. And suggested we use tea cups on the cakes - She clearly knows me too well!
"Mum did the flowers in the teacups and Simon made the little flags. The cakes looked fab and tasted delicious too!"
"Simon's Mum is lucky to live in private parkland of an old manor house on the edge of the river Orwell. Near Ipswich in Suffolk. It’s somewhere that we love and is such a beautiful setting.
Because we wanted to do everything ourselves logistically it was far easier to do it in the back garden and have everything to hand! We also wanted to be able to have Dudley, (our 6 month mini sausage pup) at the reception...."
"Simon's suit was from. The H&M patel ties wore by Simon and his groomsmen were from Ebay and the faux flowers were from Primark. The flip-flops were from Office and the hankies were made by mum in the Liberty print fabric..."
"I did the bouquets, Trophies and jam jars for the church and gave mum the tricky task of the larger arrangements for the church and the flowers for the cakes!I wanted in season flowers in bright colours with a "just picked from the garden feel".
I love peonies and ranunculas so they were a must. Sweet Peas really remind me of my Grandparents who used to grow them in their allotment and would always bring us lovely fragrant posies..."
"Our rings were from Rust. I follow designer Artemis' blog and love her designs. In my manic pre-wedding state I managed to forget to order Simon’s ring until only a few weeks before the wedding so it wasn’t made in time (whoops!) so he has a stand in from Topman!"
"As we were married, we left the ceremony to "You are my Sunshine" played on the organ! It’s become our wedding theme tune because it featured on our wedding website..."
"We did choose Blue Eyes by Timmy Curran as our first dance, because when Simon proposed, I made a video of the little cottage we were staying in and Simon set it to that track. However when we arrived at the reception the DJ informed us he couldn't find it poor Simon tried to get it for him but we had Mac - PC issues so at the last minute we went for The Beach Boys Wouldn't It be Nice!"
Words of Wedded Wisdom...
"It’s really easy to get swept along with the whole 'wedding thing', but at times it’s important to take a step back and remember that what’s really important isn’t the dress; the décor or the flowers it’s about you as a couple. Don’t get stressed and worried about the silly things - all that is important is saying “I do!"
For Simon and I doing it all our selves (with a lot of help from our fabulous families) was really important. To be honest we are both perfectionist and if we had had anyone else to do we would have sat there on the day thinking "that's not how I'd of done it".
It was a lot to take on but the week leading up to the wedding was at times stressful, tiring for everyone else (I’m used to shoots so I was in the zone”) but mostly was fun and a really amazing experience to have my family and friends all working together to get everything ready..."
"To sit there on the day and look at all our friends enjoying themselves was so satisfying. It felt really amazing and kinda symbolic of what marriage is all about (Can you hear Simon chuckling at this point?!).
To realise just what we can achieve together and how that is far greater than what we could ever achieve alone..."
Gorgeous wedding - and one to Pinterest away my friends! ;)
Huge thanks as usual to the wonderful wedding photographer Eliza Claire for sharing these images. You can see many more beautiful weddings by Eliza Claire on Love My Dress here, and don't forget you can view Simon and Marie's engagement shoot here.
What is your favourite aspect of this wedding? I am not sure I know where to start in answering my own question!? The cakes, the dreamy colours in these photographs, sunshine, ice-cream, the flowers..... etc etc etc.
And the dog! ;)
Much love all,
Annabel
Photographer - Eliza Claire
Venue - The groom's Mum's garden
Brides dress - Benjamin Roberts Enzoani, Flora
Brides Shoes - Kurt Geiger
Brides Hair Accessories - Accessorize and H&M
Bridesmaids Dresses - Made especially n a Liberty print fabric
Flower Girl – dress by Monsoon, Sash as Main dress (made by my mum)
Page Boy – Shirt and trousers from H&M, Bow Tie as Main dress (made by my mum)
Grooms Suit - H&M + Ebay + Office Flipflops
Catering Company - http://fishandchipcatering.co.uk/
Entertainment - DJ 78 + cheesy disco full of 80’s pop in the evening
Cars/Transport - Simon's 1966 Austin Healy Sprite + split screen VW camper hired from Vanilla Splits
Florist - The bride and her Mum
Cake - The Little Cake Parlour
