A Backless Wedding Dress and Flapper Style Headpiece for a 1920s Inspired Bride...

"There have been a few break ups, heart breaks and bumps in the road which have certainly made for an interesting journey, but we were perfect for each other...
...it just took a while to realise it!"

Good morning beautiful people :) Have you slept well? Did you get a chance to read the latest life and love post from Franky yesterday? This morning's wedding was sent in by Blackbox Photography and I just love it! Doesn't bride Jude look fantastic in her backless dress and headpiece?

Philip & Jude tied the knot on 3rd August in their local church in the village of Moira, followed by a reception at Ballydugan Mill in Downpatrick...

"The 1920’s were a big inspiration for the day but I didn’t worry about everything being exactly right, we didn’t want it to be a theme rather than just an inspiration. It was really important to us that the day represented who we are as a couple and was all about us becoming one in the presence of God and our friends and family."

Jude wore an exquisite backless gown by Olivia Couture from Petticoat Lane in Hillsborough...

"I found it quite hard to find a dress- I knew exactly what I wanted but nothing out there seemed to match the picture in my head, and so many assistants looked at me, and around their shop, in despair when I said what I wanted was “NOT strapless, NOT pouffy and NO sparkles!!” So when I eventually saw a dress that seemed as close as I’d get to perfect, I decided to go for it.

Thankfully my mum persuaded me to try one last dress shop, so we made an appointment with Petticoat Lane. I spotted the crocheted lace and before the dress was lifted off the rail and I had any idea of what it actually looked like, I announced to the shop that this was the one! And it was!! It was literally my perfect dress, I loved the heavy, crocheted cream lace, the simple shape and how much I felt like me in it"

"My lovely girls, Ali & Jay wore Dessy bridesmaid’s dresses, style 2830 in clover. We wanted dresses that were simple, classy and comfy, and these fitted the bill perfectly! They also both wore gold heels, one pair from Oasis and the other from Monsoon, also bought on Ebay!"

"Originally I’d wanted to wear a birdcage veil but I spotted a gorgeous vintage headpiece from a designer advertised on your blog, and from then I knew I had to have a headband!I found Ali McGall online and sent her a few photos of flapper style headbands; she was amazing and understood the look I was going for completely.

A few weeks later I had an appointment to see her and talk about ideas and when I arrived she had my headpiece mocked up and ready for me!! The feather was a 1950’s brooch that she’d sourced and I am completely in love with it!! I’d always had the art deco/ 1920’s inspiration in mind for the wedding but seeing the headpiece made me positive that was the inspiration we’d go for."

"I wore an original 1920’s cuff which by bridesmaid Ali had hiding in her treasure chest of amazing jewellery, and she added a few sparkles to it so it would tie in with my headband, but that could be removed without damaging the amazing masterpiece underneath!

I also wore a pair of Art Deco style earrings that matched my engagement ring, and cost £5 on Ebay!"

"The cake was Philip’s baby- he had it ordered the day we got engaged! His friend’s mum Julie Snoddy who owns the Sheelin Tea Shop always made an amazing chocolate cake that Philip has been obsessed with for years, so as soon as he popped the question the cake had to be ordered!! It was a huge galaxy chocolate cake covered in flake, and for desserts the guests had mini versions, which went down very well!"

"Our florist was Penelope Flowers. It had been tough to find a florist who understood what I wanted and ‘got it’- just from looking at the kind of flowers Penny had in the shop I knew she was perfect!

She completely appreciated the kind of look I wanted, wasn’t shocked that I didn’t want roses and didn’t laugh when I explained I wanted to look like I just happened to walk through a meadow on my way to the church and pick every cream and green flower in sight!! I love the huge bouquets that bride’s had in the 20’s and wanted something like that but that I could carry by my side without having to thinking about it."

"Our flower girl Grace, wore a gorgeous floaty Monsoon dress and shoes. She also carried a little crocheted bunny called Sage, rather than flowers, that my friend’s very talented mum Green Rabbit designs on Etsy made for her. The girl’s art-deco style earrings were again custom made by AliFaye. The woman’s a genius!"

"I got my shoes from an independent shoe shop that was closing down for £40- I doubted them once or twice (they reminded me of a pair my Nana had and I couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not!!) but I loved them on the day and have gotten great wear out of them since!"

"Our wedding photographers were Blackbox Photography - we really couldn’t recommend them highly enough, they are such a lovely couple and make you feel at ease right away, you forget you’re in front of their lens, which is great if your hubby isn’t a fan of having his photo taken like mine! We just loved Lou & Louie’s photos, and it ended up that they photographed my Matron of Honour’s wedding last year too (You featured their wedding on the blog too, it was fab!! ☺"

A Backless Wedding Dress and Flapper Style Headpiece for a 1920s Inspired Bride...

"My dad gave me away. I loved having that time before the ceremony in the car together and one of my favourite moments of the day is standing at the top of the aisle with my two favourite men; my dad holding one hand and Philip the other!

I walked down the aisle to Etta James, At Last. I’ve always loved her voice, and the words were quite meaningful for us, they definitely summarised our history!"

"Our cars were 1950’s Roll’s Royce’s from Bygone Days Wedding Cars; although they weren’t quite the right era, they still provided some Hollywood glamour!"

"Philip and the boys wore a fitted grey suit with black trim from Burtons. He wanted something modern and sharp- he looked so handsome!!"

"We wanted to place the biggest emphasis of the day on the actual wedding service, and as Christians, having it in our own church was really important to us."

"Philip and I had gone to the same church from a young age, and went to the same grammar school, but we never spoke and had a mutual indifference towards each other for years! We had a lot of mutual friends and both ended up going on a group holiday when we were 18, where we got talking and realised we had a lot in common! Cue an impressive first date where we had dinner at the VERY fancy Merchant Hotel in Belfast, and the rest is history (well, almost!)?".

"Our reception was at the beautiful Ballydugan Mill, Downpatrick, a beautiful 6 storey restored flour mill. A few of my family members had gotten married or had their receptions there and I’ve always loved it; the second we visited it we knew it was perfect for us- the first and only venue we ever looked at!"

"The Mill is so lovely we didn’t need much to decorate it, I’d just collected mercury glass jars and vases and used them as table centrepieces and on windowsills along with candles and old family books tied with lace."

Words of Wedded Wisdom...

"DON’T STRESS! After all the build up, the day is gone in the blink of an eye, and all the little things you are positive have to be perfect will just blend in to the background. I PROMISE you won’t notice, or care, that the best man’s top button is undone, the champagne is flat or that the guests have to wait an extra ten minutes for your arrival! Remember what the day’s about and enjoy every second, but in the run up, keep it in perspective. Its one day (awesome as it might be!), and what comes after is so much more amazing, if not decidedly less glamorous!

Also, I spent A LOT of time before the wedding on Love My Dress, not just looking for ideas but generally ohh-ing and ahh-ing at all the beautiful brides! I got a lot of ideas, inspiration and advice from reading your blog and was quite sad that I’d probably not find it as interesting once our own wedding was over - but Love My Dress is still bookmarked on my computer and I’m still daydreaming now that I’m a wife as much as I was before!! ☺ "

Oh Jude, how I adore your style!! Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful day with our readers today, such a treat, and huge, huge thanks to the fabulous photographers that are Blackbox Photography - you can see much more from those guys on Love My Dress right here.

Also check out our 1920’s and 'green' colour category too.

That dress! Who loves it as much as I.....?

With so much love,

Annabel