A little treat for a Saturday lovely people, for that moment when you’re taking a rest in between hanging up the tinsel and polishing off the baubels. Helen and Chris tied the knot on 11th May, 2013 at Oakwell Hall in Birstall, West Yorkshire and was a lovely relaxed day, full of vintage inspiration and pretty pastel shades. Lovely bride Helen wore an original 50’s vintage dress from Abigails Vintage and photographer Craig Goode from Silver & Light.
“Once we had booked the venue we soon realised that a vintage theme would work really well with the barn. I wanted to keep the colours really simple, with lots of white, hints of pink, green and grey.
From there on we we worked other vintage details in and around the venue – things like the ice cream van were a stroke of luck – he just happened to be there on the day, much to our guests delight!”
Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Silver & Light
“Chris and I met in 1999 on Valentine’s day on a night out and the rest is history! We went travelling for 18 months shortly afterwards and had the most amazing time travelling the world together! We’d been together for nine years when we got engaged in New York just before Christmas.
After several failed attempts at popping the question he finally asked me in a yellow New York cab on our way back from a lovely night in Greenwich village!”
“We had our ceremony in Birstall Hall, followed by our reception in the barn at Oakwell Hall. It’s set in beautiful gardens and a huge country park. It’s somewhere we go most weekends to walk round the grounds, so it seemed the perfect choice!
We also liked the fact that basically you could do whatever you liked with the venue, sourcing our own catering company, bar, entertainment and decorate the barn exactly how we wanted.”
“My dress was from Abigails Vintage. I knew I wanted a vintage dress, preferably lace and definitely something I could dance and have fun in! I knew as soon as I put this dress on that I loved it! Abigail did an amazing job transforming it from a full length dress into a shorter style and made the whole experience really specia., I shall miss my visits to her beautiful house!”
“We had a vintage typewriter for people to write us messages, everyone loved it so much they forgot to write in the official guest book! We decorated the barn with festoon lighting, bunting, papel picado and lots of paper fans and honeycomb balls.
My friends lent me lots of beautiful bits and pieces, including birdcages which I filled with lavender, vintage suitcases and cameras and lots of beautiful glass vases, which our florist filled with the most gorgeous flower arrangements. We used wooden table runners on each table which we put the vases on as well as little tea light holders which I wrapped with lace and added little tags to.”
Helen wore a pair of gold sparkling Jimmy Choo shoes (swiftly adds to Christmas list…..)
“The bridesmaids wore lovely 1950’s style swing dresses in mocha with cream polka dots from Lady V London, accessorised with cream petticoats for maximum swing factor!”
“We decided to make a donation to cancer research and include little pin badges on a card for all our guests, so many of our guests have lost loved ones or been touched in some way by cancer that it seemed an appropriate way to thank our guests.”
“Our flowers were done by Maxine at West End Florists in Wakefield. I showed Maxine some images of the sort of thing I was after and she understood the look I was after straight away, the bouquets were cream,pink and yellow roses which she wrapped with vintage lace I’d bought on ebay.
The table flowers were in cut glass vases, some borrowed and some bought, from various charity shops and vintage fairs!”
“Sarah and her team at Cherry on Top did a fab job helping us dress the tables and providing some wonderful food. We had some amazing nibbles before a hot buffet and then little cake stands of mini desserts with berries and cream which were delicious! In the evening we had platters of cheese, pickles, crusty bread and olives.
Sarah’s attention to detail was brilliant, even making sure the childrens packed lunch meals were served in little brown paper bags with ribbons to match the rest of our décor.
Our wine was from Food & Wine. ”
“We opted for a three tier chocolate cake from Marks & Spencer dressed with fresh flowers and a cake topper I made myself. We wanted something simple and knew everyone would enjoy a chocolate cake – unfortunately we were having so much fun we forgot to cut it until the very end of the evening!”
“Our photographer was Craig at Silver & Light – he was so fantastic, we couldn’thave been more pleased! Not only with the photographs themselves (which were awesome and really captured all the special moments), but with how lovely Craig was on the day, he made us feel so comfortable and so many of our guests commented what a lovely guy he was! His style is really relaxed and I feel like it comes across in the photos. What a fun and amazing day we had.”
“I had a lovely sparkly pair of Jimmy Choo’s, probably the only pair I’ll ever own, and felt very special in them! Plus an equally sparkly (but much cheaper!) pair of flats from Next – essential once the dancing began!”
“My very talented friend, Emma Isaacs, made me a beautiful head piece from vintage brooches, pearls and buttons. She’s available to commission via her email [email protected].”
“We hired a string quartet to play at the ceremony and drinks reception, and then a fantastic band called ‘The One Step’ for the evening. They exceeded all expectations and had everyone up dancing from the very first song right through ‘til the end!”
“My dad gave me away – we walked down the aisle to the sound of a string quartet playing a version of ‘Ten Storey Love Song’ by the Stone Roses, and walked out to ‘God Only Knows’ by the Beach Boys.”
“We chose At last by Etta James, partly because we love it and also a little bit tongue in cheek as we’ve been together for so long!”
“Some of my favourite moments include getting ready with my bridesmaids and driving to the venue in Beryl! From walking into the Hall and seeing all the people that we love, to the amazing speeches, fabulous food and one hell of a dance off – it was all amazing. I only wish we could go back and do it all again!”
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
“I think I would say try to get as much done before the day so you can just sit back and enjoy every moment! All the little things you’ve been stressing about leading up to your wedding won’t matter at all on the day, the important thing is that you’re surrounded by all your favourite people in the world and that you’re marrying the one you love….nobody will notice or care if you didn’t get the right colour ribbon for the favours!
Don’t be swayed by what you think you should do, go with what feels right and is a reflection of you both. You very rarely get the opportunity to have all the people you love the most together in one room…so make the most of it! The day will go by so quickly so try to take a few moments to just look around and remember what a wonderful day you’re both having!”
Photographer – Silver & Light
Venue – Oakwell Hall in Birstall, West Yorkshire
Dress – Abigails Vintage
Veil/Headpiece – Emma Isaacs
Brides’ shoes – Jimmy Choo
Groom’s Attire – A 3 piece navy suit from Ted Baker
Bridesmaids – Lady V London + cream t-bar flats from Asos
Flowers – West End Florists
Cake – Marks & Spencer
Transport – VW Campervan via Old School Camper Hire
Entertainment – Warble Entertainment
Catering – Cherry on Top
Hair Stylist – Laura from Aura in Cleckheaton
Makeup Artist – Skaii Blue (no website)
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.
