It should be no surprise to long term readers that I'm rather a fan of designer David Fielden, and his always elegant silhouettes designed for the modern, more fashion led bride. The dress you see in this particular real wedding feature is called 'Wallis', having been inspired by the fashions worn by Wallis Simpson back in the 1930s and I love it – so incredibly demure.
Abigail chose to wear the Wallis gown for her wedding to Jon on 27 July last year at the Bluebell Railway – a beautiful heritage railway in West Sussex that dates back to the 1930s – a perfect backdrop to compliment Abigail's vintage inspired wedding dress.
"Neither Jon or I are religious, but we both thought it was important that our wedding day involved our family and reflected our personality and values – we also knew we wanted to do something different for our wedding and treat our closest family and friends to a fabulous day out. Jon and I celebrated our first anniversary at the Bluebell Railway and both commented on what an amazing place it would be to get married so when Jon popped the question we both knew what we wanted to do. I love history and Jon loves engineering so it blended our passions perfectly!"
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Wookie Photography
"Our ceremony took place in the waiting room of the Bluebell Railway, with drinks on the platform afterwards. We then boarded the Wealdon Rambler steam train with our guests for a journey through the countryside and afternoon tea.
I think our love for all things art deco had quite an influence on the day! From the dress to the venues and the stationery that we had designed by Letterbox Ink as old train tickets – there was a strong 1930s theme throughout!"
"It’s so hard to pick one moment, but Jon and I both agree that it felt so special when I entered through the door and saw each other for the first time that day. A thunderstorm was on its way and I think this added to the intensity of the atmosphere in the room – it really did feel very emotional! It was also so nice to finally say hello to all our guests afterwards and have them shower us with confetti!"
"I wore the Wallis Simpson gown by David Fielden, which I purchased from Leonie Claire Bridal in Brighton. I fell in love with the dress as soon as I saw a picture of it – it was perfect for the look and feel of our wedding. It was simple, chic and oozed 1930s glamour, without being over the top. I searched high and low for a sample or second hand version and finally found a sample on sale at Leonie Claire, just five minutes down the road from my house!
The owner let me try it on before the shop opened one morning on my way to work. I knew I didn’t need to try on any other dress but Leonie convinced me to think on it for 24 hours whilst she held it for this time. I don’t think she was surprised when I called in later that day to pay for it!"
Abigail's shoes were a pair of original vintage heels that she purchased from Ebay.
"We hired a vintage red bus from Brighton & Hove Coaches to transport our guests from Brighton to the railway and then back to the reception. Jon wanted to hire a car for me, I was reluctant at the extra cost at first, but to be honest this was one of the highlights of the day. When the 1948 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith drove up outside our house I finally forgot all the stresses of getting ready and felt like a proper bride. My dad is a huge vintage car fan and so he really enjoyed the journey too. The ride to the reception later also gave Jon and I a much appreciated half an hour together alone."
That beautiful 1920's flapper style headpiece by the way is from LHG Designs.
"I walked down the aisle with my dad, but I didn’t want him to officially give me away – I find that an old fashioned and outdated custom. My bridesmaid and page boys walked before us, the boys held our rings in Lego ring boxes which they had made for us.
As I walked down the aisle, the song 'L-O-V-E' by Nat King Cole was playing. It’s just a lovely feel-good song and the lyrics said everything we wanted to say. We signed the register to ‘Closer to the Aisle’ by the Five Satins and our exit music was ‘The Air that I Breathe’ by The Hollies.
We asked both sets of parents to choose a reading and read it to us during our ceremony. A sense of family and belonging is important to both of us and we thought this was a lovely way for our parents to contribute to our wedding ceremony. Jon’s mum and dad read ‘A Tapestry of Love’ and my mum penned her own version of ‘The Night Mail’, which had been tailored to feature our family members, and our wedding venue, and the journey we’d take on the train. My nephews even joined in with a flag and a whistle!"
"I was honoured to be able to accept Jon’s Grandma’s wedding ring, and we bought Jon’s palladium band from Gold Arts in Brighton."
"Jon’s mum did our flowers for us, with the help of her friend Carol. We went for country-style flowers that were in season, I wanted a very organic, hand tied look to mine and Maisy’s bouquet in soft pinks, creams and purples."
"We opted for plain creams with lots of green foliage in the waiting room. There was no point trying to compete with the vintage paraphernalia around the station! Ruth also filled vintage tea cups with small poesies for the tables on the train."
"We met Frank and Amy of Wookie Photography at a vintage wedding fair. We loved their portfolio and could really see how their reportage style would work well with our wedding. A few months before the big day they took us on an engagement shoot. Not only did this make us feel a lot more comfortable about being in front of the camera, but it also gave us a chance to make friends with Frank and Amy.
Your photographer is going to be with you throughout one of the most emotional and personal days of your life. You need to be able to relax and trust them. Frank and Amy were amazing, half the time I didn’t even notice they were there but when I look back at our photos I feel like I can relive all the emotions of the day again through their art work."
"Jon’s mum did our flowers for us, with the help of her friend Carol. We went for country-style flowers that were in season, I wanted a very organic, hand tied look to mine and Maisy’s bouquet in soft pinks, creams and purples. We opted for plain creams with lots of green foliage in the waiting room. There was no point trying to compete with the vintage paraphernalia around the station! Ruth also filled vintage tea cups with small poesies for the tables on the train."
"Jon had his suit made for him at Hugo Morris in Brighton. This included choosing his own orange and purple lining and having his initials embroidered on his shirt cuffs! He wore shoes by Kurt Geiger and his tie was from Marks and Spencer. He also wore original art deco cufflinks which I gave to him as a gift"
"Our cream tea on the Bluebell Railway was served by the railway’s in house catering staff. Our reception was at the Coach House Restaurant in Brighton who worked with us to create the most amazing buffet menu which they carried round to our guests on trays throughout the evening. We didn’t want a sit down meal, and we didn’t want a stagnant buffet – this way people could continue to socialise and eat and we kept the party going! Our guests loved the food, and still talk about the homemade mini curries served in popadom trays!"
"Our reception was held at the Coach House Restaurant in Brighton, who supplied flowers for the reception, taking inspiration from the orange and purple lining in Jon’s suit! The Coach House is also a naturally warm and inviting venue with lanterns in the courtyard and candles and flowers on the tables, so it didn’t need much.
We just added a little 1930s glamour with ostrich feathers and silk flower garlands from the ceiling. I also tied vintage books together with ribbon as table centre pieces, and we placed photos of our grandparents and our parents on their wedding day around the restaurant."
"We booked a gramophone DJ called The Wind Ups who played music from the 20s’ to the 50s as our guests arrived. This was followed by a local jazz band called Harry’s Tricks who also play similar music. Jon’s friend lent us his homemade juke box from which we played cheesy tracks for the last hour of the night."
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
“I am very independent and don’t like a lot of fuss so I thought that I would be fine getting dressed by myself. However as circumstance had it, my sister ended up staying with the bridal party as her daughter (my bridesmaid) threw up minutes before she was supposed to leave to catch the bus taking the guests to the venue! I was actually so glad that she did as I was getting really anxious because we were running late.
My bra strap then broke and Kate calmly safety pinned it back together and got me in my dress with minimum stress. My advice would be to make sure there is at least one female adult with you when you get ready!"
"I was an avid daily reader of Love My Dress – I think the brides featured had similar ideas and wants for their wedding day as I did. I borrowed a few ideas from Love My Dress for décor inspiration, and used it to list photographers I liked, but I think I just really enjoyed reading about other people’s weddings as a build up to our big day.
I would visit Love My Dress every morning at my desk before work as nothing puts you in a better mood then a wedding! I am still reading the blog now for that very reason!"
What a lovely, lovely day! Congratulations Abigail and Jon and thanks too to Wookie Photography whose website we recommend you visit if you love these photographs.
David Fielden fans, take a look here for more brides wearing Mr Fielden's divine designs on our real bride readers.
Love Annabel
Photographer – Wookie Photography
Venue – Bluebell Railway (West Sussex) + The Coach House Restaurant (Brighton)
Brides Dress – Wallis Simpson by David Fielden via Leonie Claire Bridal in Brighton
Veil/Headpiece – LHG Designs
Brides' shoes – original 1940s shoes via Ebay
Bride's accessories – Wedding Jewelry Design (bracelet) + original 1930s clutch via Etsy
Groom's Attire – Hugo Morris suit + Kurt Geiger shoes + original art-deco cufflinks
Bridesmaids + Flowergirls + Pageboys – Monsoon
Flowers – Family + The Coach House Restaurant
Transport – Brighton & Hove Coaches + Royalton Cars
Entertainment – The Wind Ups + Harry’s Tricks
Rings – Family heirloom (Abigail) + Gold Arts (Jon)
Stationery – Letterbox Ink
Makeup Artist – Marvellous Make-up
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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.
