Edwardian Lace and Pretty Flowers in Her Hair ~ A Charming English Country Garden Wedding

Someone, somewhere said that the weddings you shoot at the beginning of your wedding photography career define the the type of client you end up shooting for the rest of your career.  Well, Mark Tattersall must have shot some pretty cool, gorgeous, creative brides at the very start of his wedding photography career, because, each time I feature a wedding of his, they are flippin' drop dead gorgeous! See here, here, here and here for example!

The bride in these gorgeous images is Lucy – she runs design company called Lucy Says I Do.  Lucy married her beau Paul on 25th August this year with a ceremony at Oakham Castle, followed by a glorious garden party wedding in Paul's parents garden, and these photographs so exquisitely capture the joy, colour, celebration and love that was so evidently in abundance on their beautiful wedding day. This wedding fills my heart to it's very brim.

"The inspiration for our wedding was pretty simple really, it was
the celebration of love, life, family and friends. Having already been
together for ten years, we are very lucky that our families and friends
get on really well together, so the wedding was about celebrating the
time spent with those that help make you the person you want to be…
"

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Mark Tattersall

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"Paul’s parents were kind enough to let us use their garden for our
reception, in Whissendine, Rutland. We hired a traditional style
marquee, and his parents were also kind enough to give us free reign
over what happened to their garden in the year leading up to the
wedding. This included fencing off some of their field, to let it grow
out into a wild meadow! It was lovely that we got to celebrate such an
important occasion at the home Paul has grown up in since he was little.
The setting of the garden is beautiful, surrounded by huge trees, with a
view of the village windmill."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"I love flowers and wanted them to feature heavily throughout the
day. In terms of the cut flowers, I didn’t want anything too structured,
I wanted blousy but delicate, punctuated with intricate details and
touches of wildness. I had planned on doing all the flowers myself but
after a reality check from my mum I realised that I just didn’t have
enough time if I wanted to be able to enjoy the day. We ordered all our
cut flowers through Pollen
in Oakham and Liz the owner was really helpful with my unusual
requests.

Liz made all the bouquets and buttonholes and my bridesmaids
and I arranged all the other cut flowers ourselves.  Some of my
favourite elements of the bouquets and table flowers were the
blackberries and Astrantia."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"I always knew I wanted to wear flowers in my hair, and have
lots of braids. I have such a lot of hair that it was a good way of
containing it, whilst still looking pretty! I commissioned a floral
headpiece from
Pollen in Oakham and chose flowers similar to those in my bouquet.

My sister did my make-up, after a disastrous make-up trial at one
of the big brands! My bridesmaids, my mum and I had our hair done at Crème in Oakham. They were fantastic!"

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"I booked a number of wedding dress appointments when I first started looking for my dress, but once I visited Jane Bourvis's
incredible atelier, I knew I had found what I was looking for. Jane is
an extremely talented Artist, and a really lovely lady, and her atelier
is not your average dress shop. It is a treasure trove of beautiful
delicate pieces: hanging Edwardian lace, Victorian wax flower head
pieces, antique ballerina tutus, it is amazing.

After lingering over one
very beautiful piece of oyster Edwardian lace that was not quite a
dress yet, Jane pinned the lace to my shape and I fell in love with it. I
hadn’t planned on wearing a veil, but when Jane showed me one of her
delicate lace veils, the details and intricacy won me over. Over the
next few months I went back to see Jane and she made a number of
adjustments and additions, until it was perfect.
"

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"My sister (one of my lovely bridesmaids) and I designed
the bridesmaids’ dresses together. We wanted the dresses to be
feminine, summery, and I wanted the girls to feel really special wearing
them. We designed a shape to suit everyone, chose special fabric to fit
the shape and style of the dress, then we drew the print, opting for a
wild English country garden feel to match the venue. We then got the
fabric printed and with the help of some fabulous tailors, had the
dresses made.

The ladies at Finiks are two of the loveliest people I’ve
ever met and they are incredible talented tailors. I was thrilled with
the results – completely original and so very personal. We even used the
print from the bridesmaids’ dresses on the wedding stationery, paper
flags and signs."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"I run a design company called ‘Lucy Says I Do
that specialises in customised paper goods and design, so I had a lot
of fun designing bits and pieces for our wedding. Paul and I designed
our invitations together and I loved how they turned out. Full of
personal elements, they were like a little story of us.

With help from
our wonderful family and friends we made all of the wedding paper goods;
save the dates, invites, confetti bags, menus, signs, paper flags,
tissue garlands, table numbers, guest note cards, table plan, cake
flags, napkins, labels and thank you cards."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"The two bridesmaids with long hair, had updo’s with little flowers
and berries (spray roses, astrantia, blackberries and wax flowers)
pinned into their hair. The flowers were put together by Liz from Pollen.
  The two bridesmaids with shorter do’s wore little gold botanical clips that I found on Etsy."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"We found a lovely fitted blue suit in Reiss that Paul and the ushers wore. The suits were tailored to fit and looked really smart."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"So that our guests got to appreciate the flowers as well as get a
bit creative, we set up a ‘make your own buttonhole table’ outside our
ceremony, with fresh flowers, foliage, ribbons and pins. It was great to
see what everyone came up with, people really played with the idea,
wearing them in their hair, and on their wrists, and it was lovely that
everyone got to appreciate the flowers."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"As our guests arrived at the reception they were offered
prosecco or elderflower cordial (which Paul had made earlier in the
year). I wanted people to have a bit of fun with the prosecco so we made
what became known as the ‘pimp your prosecco table’, we had Chambord
and St Germain that could be added to prosecco, as well as peach juice,
blackberries, fresh mint and rosemary. This was a big hit!


We sourced all of our own alcohol and even had a cheeky tribute
to my roots with an award winning white wine from New Hall Wines, an
Essex vineyard. It was so good that our guests kept coming up to us and
saying they couldn’t believe it was from Essex! Paul and I also
collected sloes from his parent’s garden, the autumn before the wedding,
and we made loads of sloe vodka."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"We both love cake, and the idea of choosing just one was too hard!
We also loved the idea of getting our guests involved in our wedding, so
we asked our guests to bring a speciality cake of theirs. We had some
amazing cakes!

We set up a table in the marquee with lots of cake stands
donated by guests, and some we made from old candlesticks and plates,
as well as special wooden ones that were made by my granddad especially
for the wedding, they were really beautiful!  The cakes went down a
storm with our guests, and there was nothing but crumbs left by the end
of the evening!"

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"As soon as I saw the images from Charlie of the Natural Wedding Company’s wedding, I knew Mark Tattersall
was who I wanted to take our wedding photographs. I loved the way he
captured colours, expressions and the light, and I thought his photos
really encapsulated the essence of the English countryside, which was a
big part of our wedding.
Mark was fantastic, he is such a lovely man,
friendly, gentle and unassuming, and I am so happy with our photographs!

Paul and I are both big nature lovers and having seen some
stunning outdoor wedding photography, I was inspired to make the most of
the glorious natural surroundings and get some portrait shots that
captured our personalities. Paul and I drove around the area a few days
before the wedding and found a couple of our favourite spots, which we
then visited with Mark Tattersall after the ceremony. I love the photos
that
Mark took during this time, they are some of my favourite from the
day. I will admit that we had to hide in the car for 10 minutes before
getting these pictures as it poured with rain, but it was lovely to have
some quiet time with Paul!"

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding


Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"As part of the wedding invitations we gave our guests a little
hand-drawn map of Rutland, the area where the wedding was being held and
where Paul had grown up, as a keepsake with which to remember the
celebration."

26a

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"My seahorse necklace is from Bex Rox, and my earrings were from Alex Monroe (a wedding present from my sister)."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"We got married in Oakham Castle
– a beautiful Norman (non-turreted) castle, 10 minutes from Pauls
parent’s house. The Castle has so much character and is full of a
variety of huge horseshoes. We wanted a civil ceremony and this place
had a real sense of occasion.
 
I run a design company
that specialises in event stationery, décor and design, so I was in my
element designing all the details of our wedding.  Paul and I wanted the
day to be very personal, and we put a great deal of thought into it, to
ensure it was a true representation of us. The whole process was a
complete labour of love, from the planning stages, to the preparations
the week before, to the weekend itself.

The run up to the wedding was
just as important as the day itself, spending time with the people we
love."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"I bought the ribbons for the bouquets and buttonhole table from Temptation Alley, an amazing hidden gem for ribbons and trimmings on Portobello Road. 
We also decorated the area outside of the marquee with a multitude of
plants and flowers, many of which we grew from seedlings specifically
for the wedding. We wanted to create the feeling of a wild flower market
(inspired by Petersham Nurseries), and tried to choose plants that
would be at their best at the time of the wedding including: lavender,
rosemary, sweet peas, dahlias, nasturtiums, cosmos and lots of
strawberry plants which survived amazing well and had perfectly ripe
fruit in time for the wedding day. We also used the herbs to decorate
the place settings. In order to bring a bit of extra colour to the
displays, Paul collected used cooking oil drums from the local Chinese
restaurant that we used to plant things up in

This collection is even
more impressive when you know that he carried the tins home from work on
his pushbike! Although at times during the year the rain tried to kill a
lot of the flowers, they were worth all the effort as they looked
fantastic on the day, and we are able to keep them after the wedding,
our garden looks amazing now!"

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"We met at university in Sheffield in 2002 and have been together
ever since. We got engaged whilst travelling in May 2011. We were
staying on the outermost Atoll of the Belizean reef on the day of the
full moon, and the sea was as still as I have ever seen it. Looking out
to the horizon you couldn’t tell where the earth stopped and the sky
began. Paul proposed on a tiny sand bar as the sun set, it was
wonderful. (We then had to kayak back to where we were staying in the
dark- scary but fun!). 
We were engaged for 15 months before the wedding."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"My wonderful mum gave me away! She also did an amazing speech at
the reception! I loved the ceremony, and walking in and seeing all our
favourite people, was such a wonderful feeling.  The whole ceremony was a
very emotional experience, but a fantastic one!
  As we walked down the aisle our friend Will played a ukulele instrumental of ‘somewhere over the rainbow’."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"We wanted to write our own vows, but I didn’t know if I’d be
able to say much (I didn’t know if I’d be able to talk without crying!)
So Paul and I sat down together and wrote a very short but sweet vow
that we said to each other.
 
We spent a long time looking for readings, as we wanted to find
words that felt personal and pertinent to us. We eventually chose 3
readings: Reading 1: Excerpt from the Velveteen Rabbit by Margery
Williams, Reading 2: Love Listen by Ann Gray, Reading 3: Excerpt from
the Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman.

We felt the words from this poem
and these excerpts embodied how we felt about each other and why we were
getting married.  We printed the words from our readings in our program
so that everyone could read them." 

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"During the signing of the register our friends who are part of a professional wedding band (Groovestone)
did an incredible acapella version of Emile Sande’s, ‘Next to Me’, as
well as an interactive version of Temper Trap’s ‘Sweet Disposition’ and
they got everyone singing along. It was great to have some singing at a
civil ceremony!

As we left the Castle Ben Howard’s ‘Old Pine’ was
played. As with our readings, all of our song choices took a lot of
time. We chose the songs based on the lyrics and what they meant to us.
"

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"We provided some outdoor entertainment for guests with a number
of vintage games, inspired by a country fete theme. We had a coconut
shy, hoop-la, and a ping pong game. The coconut shy went down
particularly well!
We had a DJ throughout the reception. 

One of my funniest memories of the day is seeing people using our
photobooth. We set it up ourselves, fashioning a backdrop from some
bright material, making a sign, collecting fancy dress and various props
and setting the camera up on a tripod that linked to a big screen, so
people could see the photos once they were taken. It is interesting how
you see your guests true personalities when they are put in front of a
photobooth! Everyone loved it and it was fantastic entertainment. There
was even a human pyramid at one point!
"

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"We draped the marquee walls with handmade paper flags, designed
using the English country garden elements from the bridesmaids’ dress
print.  We decorated the roof of the marquee with bright paper garlands
(which we made with the help of our family and friends), handmade silver
birch hanging wreaths decorated with fairy lights and gypsophila, and
colourful ribbon tassles.

On arriving at the reception, our guests were guided to the
marquee along a path through the wildflower meadow, which was festooned
with ribbons.  
I love vintage crockery and I think it adds
great colour and pattern to a table. I looked at a lot of different
companies before hiring, and eventually went with
Pretty Vintage
– Lucy’s stock is beautiful. We hired all our crockery, champagne
saucers as well as 3 beautiful drinks dispensers, which we used for soft
drinks."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"I am constantly trawling Etsy and Ebay for beautiful bits and bobs.
This ‘bad’ habit came in very handy in the run up to our wedding. I
sourced all sorts of ephemera for our reception tables. One of my
favourite finds were the vintage perpetual calendars that we had on each
table. We wanted the calendars to be a reminder and a celebration of
the time we spend together. Instead of a guestbook, I designed little
guest notecards, and a short quiz that we put into vintage tin recipe
boxes on each table.

A few years earlier Paul’s dad had dug up some
antique bottles in their garden which had lovely designs on them, and we
made moulds of these and hand poured bees wax candles for each table.
We also used some of the old bottles as vases."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding 

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"We are both big foodies, so the catering was really important to
us. Instead of canapés we opted for rustic platters of bread, cheese and
cured meats as people arrived at the reception, and these went down a
storm. The bread was made with flour from the village windmill, and the
cheese was sourced locally and served with homemade chutneys and honey
from the village bees. During the sit-down meal, we really wanted
everyone to feel relaxed, as though they were having a special meal with
friends/family, rather than feel like they were at a formal occasion,
and so we were very keen on serving the food family style."

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

"Our first dance was to an edited version of the Mumford and Sons
song ‘Sigh no more’. Neither of liked the idea of being the centre of
attention for too long, so as soon as the chorus kicked in everyone
stormed the dancefloor which was great!
"

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"Make your day a representation of you, not anyone else! Enjoy
it, and get your friends and family involved. I have brilliant memories
of garland making and the days leading up to the wedding and setting up
everything.
  Even though Paul and I had spent hours over
details and planning, when it came to the day itself, I just couldn’t
wait to spend time with all my favourite people and celebrate together.
After all, when else do you get all the people you love in one place?
Our wedding day was the wettest of 2012, but it didn’t matter, in fact
it made it even more memorable!

My advice would be to make the most of
the inspiration out there, from blogs, pinterest and magazines, but then
use that inspiration to make your day as personal as possible. Our
wedding really was a true representation of Paul and I, like a
celebration of the story of who we are, what we love and the time that
we spend with the important people in our lives, and I loved every
minute of it!

"I don’t know if I could pick a favourite part of the day. I have
some incredible memories: from getting ready, walking into the ceremony
and seeing Paul and all the people we love together, everyone singing to
Temper Trap in the castle, quiet time with Paul having photos amongst
the trees, the hilarious and moving speeches, the dancing, the human
pyramid oh and the water slide action on the Sunday to name but a few!
"

Edwardian lace Jane Bourvis wedding dress, castle wedding

Some weddings really honestly do leave me kind of speechless, but you know what, it is preciely this kind of exquisite affair, so beautifully photographed and shared with such passion and excitement by the bride, that makes Love My Dress what it is. I would love for you to leave a lovely comment below wishing Lucy and Paul well, take a moment too, to visit Lucy's beautiful 'Lucy Says I Do' design site, it's sooo pretty!

I'm off to dream about flowers in my hair.

Much love,

Annabel

Heart

 

Photographer – Mark Tattersall
Venue – Oakham Castle + the groom's parents garden
Event Décor + Stationery - Lucy Says I Do
Brides Dress + Veil – Jane Bourvis
Brides Shoes – Jones the Bootmaker
Bride's accessories – Seahorse necklace from Bex Rox + earrings were from Alex Monroe
Grooms Suit – Reiss
Bridesmaids dresses – designed by the bride + tailoring by Finiks
Bridemaids shoes – Moda in Pelle (The Chloe-Jane shoe in Blue)

Flowergirl – dress designed by the bride and her Mum
Florist – Pollen
Cake Designer – guests baked their own
Entertainment – Groovestone
Crockery - Pretty Vintage
Catering Company – Quality Fare
Hair Stylist – Crème in Oakham

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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