A Helicopter Pilot, Vintage Inspired Beautifully Sunny Spring Time Wedding At Lusty Beg Island

Morning all, given the glorious weather we're experiencing here in the UK right now, I'm sharing a beautiful sunshiney wedding that took place on 5th April this year, when Jamie and Rebecca tied the knot at Lusty Beg Island, Boa Island, Co.Fermanagh, Northern Ireland.

"I think the most important factor for us was that the day was relaxed and casual for our guests and us.  We wanted the focus to be on our ceremony and our families and friends coming together to celebrate in a beautiful setting." 

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Gillian Higgins

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"The venue was actually one of the most difficult things of the whole process; it took us quite a while to figure it out!  We both love the water and the outdoors, however I think living on a beach in Cornwall at the time may have set our expectations a little high!  Every venue we looked at either didn’t tick all of the boxes or didn’t feel personal enough for us.

We eventually looked into Jamie’s original and traditional idea of having it at the brides’ home place, which is Northern Ireland.  As soon as we found a suitable venue, we were delighted; it finally felt right for both of us.  (We would figure out the logistics of planning it from afar later)   I live next to the beautiful Lough Erne Lakes in County Fermanagh, so it was very fitting that we have the wedding on a tiny little island on the edge of the Lough. Lusty Beg Island."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"It was a story that very nearly didn’t happen. After being in the same, small town of Falmouth for the past four years, socialising in the same circles, and on occasion being in the same building as each other, its funny to think we had never bumped into each other.  Jamie had been working out of the country for six months and I had been enjoying the summer after graduating from University.  A few friends and I decided to have one last summer in Cornwall and each bought old caravans that we temporarily lived in at a quaint field just out of town.

Neither of us were on the look out for a relationship, and had both been convinced by our friends to go out for the evening. Without a car I walked the few miles into town to meet my friend Mia, and Jamie was just about to call it a day when he was persuaded to stay for a little longer by his friend Mark or 'Shiney' as he’s know.

Shiney is the life and soul of most parties and when Mia and I walked in the door to Rum Bar he immediately said hi.  Before we knew it Jamie and I had been introduced and that, as they say was that.  Jamie maintains that he knew it was going to be, as soon as he saw me.  We pretty much spent all our time together and a year later we were still inseparable.  Jamie had again been working abroad for 3 months and unknown to me had been hatching plans to propose.  He had sourced my vintage engagement ring from the USA, had booked a holiday to Barcelona and had plans to pop the question in a lovely hotel called Casa Fuster, at the top of Las Ramblas."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"We had a wonderful time in Barcelona, but the ring hadn’t arrived and as lovely as it was, we were both a bit overwhelmed with the grand nature of the hotel, and felt it wasn’t truly us.  While we were away, Jamie’s parents were busy arranging for special Fed Ex delivery of the ring, and when we stopped in on our way home from the airport, Jamie picked up the ring from his Dad and we headed home.  On arriving home we sat in bed with a glass of our favourite Rioja and Jamie said that he just knew he had to ask, that the moment just felt right.  He got me out of bed, and in our pyjamas he got down on one knee, told me he loved me and asked me to marry him, I said yes and looking back, it was the perfect engagement for us.

We were engaged for about 6 months before Jamie left for work abroad yet again, and on his return were married a month later. We remain very thankful to Mia and Shiney, and for Fed Ex for NOT delivering the ring in time.

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"Our florist was St. Mellion Flowers.  The flowers were very exciting to pick since I’d never done anything like that before.  (I think I’d even like to do a night class in flower arranging!) Tracey my florist was so helpful.  After showing her lots of photos from my Pinterest boardand telling her the theme of the wedding she was able to steer me in the direction of some suitable flowers.  (I didn’t know the names of any at the time)  My main objective was to have ‘wild’ spring flowers that looked as if they had been freshly picked.

I wanted to keep the colours fresh and simple – mainly greens, whites, with a hint of blue, peach and of course the wee daisy which reminded me of my childhood.  My favourite is the Dark Eyed White Anemone because I think the bold modern looking flower gave a sharp contrast to the rest of the detail and texture within the bouquets.  Unfortunately the beautiful peach Ranuculus flowers were not available, so these were replaced with large peach roses, which also worked well.  We have a large eucalyptus tree in our garden that my late father planted, so it was very important that I had the Baby Eucalyptus foliage throughout the bouquets."    

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"The dress evolved from a vintage 1980’s Scott McClintock wedding dress that I bought on Etsy.  The design incorporated a mixture of eras, style and lace, which really appealed to me- but it was the neckline and detail around the arms that made me fall in love with it.  However, the bottom of the dress was very un-flatteirng and the base material was very cheap, so I was a bit stuck.  I didn’t visit any bridal shops, because in my mind I had already found ‘the dress’.

Endless researching online and not seeing anything remotely similar pushed me in the direction of getting one made.  I choose a local designer who remade the bodice in the exact style and created a completely new skirt.  I wanted original parts of the vintage dress (scalloping on the arms and the lace around the neckline), so these were incorporated into the new design."

"I decided not to wear a veil because I though the whole look may have been too much, given that the dress was quite traditional by itself."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"I wanted the cake to be very simple and the focus to be on the cake display rather than one giant extravagant cake.  My Sister-In-Law Danielle owns a cake business called Devon Cupcake & Cakesand makes the most wonderful cakes, so after chatting through some ideas and showing her a moodboard I’d made, she took creative control.

She came up trumps and made us two beautiful, classic cakes and 90 cupcakes for the guests. She blended the colour scheme of the flowers into the cakes and they looked amazing and tasted even better."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"I sourced pretty much all of the décor from a variety of charity shops, car-boot sales and antique shops around Cornwall and Devon.  I loved this process, although extremely time consuming, it was so rewarding seeing it all come together.  I picked up a lot of individual pieces that are personal to us, e.g. vintage napkins with Scottish thistle hand embroidered in the corner.  We moved to Scotland straight after the wedding so this was a nice hint to our future together.

 Other sourced items included vintage glass bottles, old book collection, lace, lace napkins, a silver teapot and a retro suitcase.  On my hen party I was given a lucky horseshoe, which I displayed at the top table during our ceremony.  I want to hang it in our new house when we move."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"My sister (Chief bridesmaid) unfortunately had the trickiest time finding a dress that suited her and matched the tones and embellishments of the other bridesmaid dresses.  This resulted in her and my mum taking apart two different dresses and creating a new one!  I think they did an amazing job; it’s the one with the silver band in the middle."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"We decided early on to have a civil ceremony to be held at the same venue, Lusty beg Island.  There are certain things that have to be said to one another for legal reasons, but you are given the option to add in your own vows.  I did a lot of research into different vows and even tailored a few in my own way.  However, our registrar was very good at her job- she was extremely helpful making suggestions and tailoring a ceremony that suited us as a couple. We really liked the ideas and words that she came up with so we went with those. 

Extract from Wedding Vows; ’I call upon these persons, here present, to witness that I, take you, to be my lawful wedded husband.  To laugh with you in joy; to comfort you in sorrow; to grow with you in love; to cherish and respect you; as long as we both shall live.’

 Without a doubt, our favourite part of the day was the actual ceremony.  Jamie and I were both so nervous and emotional leading up to my entrance.  There is nothing more meaningful and powerful than the feeling of standing hand in hand saying our vows to one another.  I will never forget that moment."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"Jamie’s a helicopter pilot, but it isn’t just a job for him – it’s a lifelong hobby and passion. We worked together to figure out how to incorporate it into the wedding without it being too ‘themed’.  Jamie quickly found some Corgi vintage airplane models that he liked, so we decided to create the centrepieces around these and name the tables after them.  (ok maybe it was a bit themed!)  I wanted a vintage inspired wedding with a focus on spring flowers and lots of details in the design and decorations.

It was important for me to do as much of the designing and decorating myself so that our wedding was unique.  It was obvious that I wanted lots of vintage touches throughout, but I never wanted to focus on a specific decade or style.  I love Art Deco, but I didn’t want 1920’s theme.  I took inspirations from a variety of styles and eras and mashed it all together, making it our own.

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"Our photographer was  Gillian Higgins.  Gillian and her husband Tim were simply brilliant. They made a wonderful addition to our day in so many ways. I had came across Gillians website and I immediately fell in love with her work.  Due to Jamie working away we weren’t able to attend our Engagement shoot, but I was confident that she would capture our day perfectly, which is exactly what they both did.  Gillian's correspondence before and after the day has been both heart-warming and uplifting, from sending us tea and choccies during the build up, and the beautiful box that accompanies the engraved key stick when you receive your photographs.

Tim captured Jamie’s preparations on Lusty Beg Island during the morning, and Gillian captured mine. They gelled seamlessly into both sides of our family, captured all the special moments of our day smoothly and rather than the photos being a chore, it was one of the highlights of the day.  Being featured on Gillians blog is something that is now just as special as our photos, which as expected are perfect. We can’t recommend these guys highly enough, we feel privileged to have had them as guests for our day and salute them both. These guys are a wonderful couple with a wonderful business and they will remain a very special part of our day."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"Jamie had been training towards his Seaplane rating with Steve Powell from Lakeland Seaplane Tours (The Amphibious Flying Club) down at St Angel Airport, Enniskillen.  We struck gold with the weather and Jamie flew the Maule Seaplane to Lusty Beg Island under Steve’s supervision with his two best men in the back.  Everyone was inside when they arrived so with one flypast and then a set up on final approach to run in to the jetty at Lusty Beg, it made for a great spectacle for the guests.

I arrived a little after in a mint green Jaguar with my Bridesmaids arriving in Jamie’s dads car.  Jamie felt guilty that he took the limelight, but with all the guests inside when I arrived, it seemed a little pointless for me to have a big entrance.  It was fun enough going over on the little ferry to the island!   Jamie had decorated it with flags and a Perry Buoy with my name on it, which was a lovely surprise." 

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

You can see Jamie’s Seaplane video here!

Gillian higgins photography_0016

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"I also did several hours of research on readings,  but I couldn’t find anything suitable!  This was crazy because I though it would be easy to find a lovely verse or poem.  I narrowed it down to a few, but they still didn’t feel right or personal to us.  I didn’t want to have readings for the sake of it and most of them were far too soppy or cheesy for us, so we decided to have a ‘Welcome Reading’ instead.  A big portion of the congregation travelled across the water to attend and there were a few people who sadly couldn’t make it.  It was lovely to acknowledge this at the start of the ceremony and bring the focus on friends and family."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

"Jamie's ring was from Smooch .  We saw this company at a local wedding fair – the couple we saw were great and when they came to our house to display their ring selection it was an easy choice for Jamie.  My wedding ring was from Orospot on Etsy, and my engagement ring was by Fay Cullen

My engagement ring is 1920’s Art Deco and quite unique, so I wanted something that would complement it well.  I found a ring that had a very similar carving detail on Etsy.  After some excellent customer service and advice on sizing conversions, we ordered my second ring from America." 

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

 

 

 

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"I came across Love My Dress quite early on and it was an invaluable source of inspiration.  I haven’t come across another site that has such clear and organised navigation.  Searching for a particular era/style etc is genius!  It definitively saves time when your looking for something in particular, so thank-you.  I loved looking through wedding blogs and there’s nothing better to get you inspired and motivated.

We moved house straight after the wedding because Jamie was being transferred from Cornwall to Scotland for work.  We didn’t plan for the timings of everything to coincide, but at the time we didn’t mind putting our honeymoon on hold.  Our Wedding day was amazing, but as many people told us – you don’t actually get much one on one time with each other.  The few weeks leading up to it is usually pretty stressful for anyone, no matter how much you prepare and plan, so you will need time relax with one another.  My best advice would be that no matter what other stuff you have going on after the wedding, either work commitments, a house move or if money is tight – try to plan something, no matter how big or small.

 I may have given myself too much to do and put a lot of pressure on myself in addition to Jamie working away for a few months, but it wouldn’t be our wedding if we did it any differently.  I learnt so much and got so much satisfaction when it all came together, that it was all worth every second of planning and DIY-ing."

Lusty Beg Island Wedding

What a gorgeous, happy, smiley, beautiful day, than you so much Jamie and Rebecca for sharing your story with us, and to Gillian Higgins too for asking us to feature these beautiful images.

Have a beautiful day everyone,

With much love,

Annabel

Heart

Photographer - Gillian Higgins
Venue + Catering - Lusty Beg Island 
Dress Designer – Bespoke/made to measure/local designer
Brides' shoes - Rachel Simpson ‘Ginger’
Brides Hair Accessories – Vintage crystal bridal hair comb from Etsy ‘BrideShop'
Groom - Calvin Klein suit + tie by Paul Smith + Watch by Breitling + Shoes by Barkers
Bridesmaids dresses - Miss Selfridge + Lipsy + ASOS + Debenhams Miss Selfridge
Flowers - St Mellion Flowers
Cake - Devon Cupcake & Cakes 
Transport - Seaplane
Entertainment - Next Level Entertainment
Makeup Artist  - Advanced Beauty
Hair Stylist - Eden Hair Studio
Stationery - Rebecca Fleming

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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