Good morning wonderful readers, I do so hope you are well and that you have a rewarding week ahead. As usual, I’m kicking off the week with a wonderful real wedding – this time, courtesy of photographer Mister Phill. This is the wedding of Fashion under-graduate Adriana and John, who tied the knot on 13 July last year at Oakley Hall, in Basingstoke, Hampshire.
This wedding is so lovely – so personal to the couple, who are both a little obsessed with Ancient Egypt, travel and the 1920s, and so they chose to be inspired by their love of these things in styling their wedding day.
“We both wanted to do a 1920's Egyptian travel theme; John and I are big fans of adventure films like Indiana Jones and The Mummy. We are also both into history and ancient Egypt. Another reason for the travel theme is that I am Canadian and John is British, so for the first two and a half years of our relationship we were apart across the ocean and we wanted to celebrate the union of that."
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Mister Phill
“In the first 48 hours of my meeting John we hit it off right away. Most people who meet take weeks to get to know each other but we covered a lot of ground and we had a lot in common and a lot to share as well. When he left it didn't hit me for two weeks that he was one of the best guys I have ever met and I really missed him. We didn't stop thinking about each other and in the first week of April we decided to not see other people and give us a shot. The rest is history.
In July of 2009 he bought me a ticket to go visit him in Britain and we have been flying back and forth every 4-6 months until he moved to Toronto in 2011.”
“I worked with Toronto based dress designer Catherine Langlois in designing my own dress. I really wanted a custom dress because nothing fits quite like custom made clothing and I knew I could pick every detail. I brought Catherine a sketch and she made it exactly how I envisaged it. Catherine's work is beautiful and she added her own personal touch and great skill. I was also very honoured as well because she was inspired by my dress and made one with some similarities for her collection and called it Adrianna!
I didn’t buy a veil, but my headdress was also made by Catherine Langlois."
"I wanted a vintage inspired dress that looked like it was from the 1920’s but still modern in finish. The 20's silhouette can be very unforgiving, especially on curvy women like myself, so I opted for a structured dress underneath but which looked as if it were bias cut. It highlighted my curves and the V neck gave me some sexy cleavage.
Catherine and I worked on the finer details along the way, and chose the depth of the neckline and the type of sleeves. I knew I wanted it to be asymmetrical at the bottom and to look almost torn and organic. The lace and the cut of the neckline are my two favorite things about the dress. I also adored the very soft silk. After our wedding, my dress went through two dry-cleanings and now it looks like new!”
"We chose the 1920's a little bit before the whole 1920's craze started because of the Great Gatsby. Luckily however, because the trend had caught on by the time I came to planning the wedding, I was able to find some items I may not have found before, such as 1920's headbands and beaded bags. I discovered my jewellery and my vintage bag on Etsy. It took me a while to find everything, but it was so worth it!
My jewellery was made by Only Handmade Jewellery on Etsy and the bag is an original vintage find from Haute Blooded on Etsy. It's made with white seed beads with silver trim and rhinestones on the top opening and made in France exclusively for I. Magnin & Co. The story of this company can be found here. It came with an original purchase ticket that had the date 1916 on it!"
“I loved our 1920s Art Deco style cake-topper which was from Jolie En Rose Vintage on Etsy."
“Our cake was made by Bespoke Bakery, and we wanted to have a one tier cake, mostly because we didn’t want to go all out on a cake for only 50 guests or so. The map design which was all John's idea. The cake is a map of the world in gold done on chocolate background and an Indiana Jones red dotted line from Toronto to London for the many trips we made. It even had ocean ripples on top! Lesley did an amazing job. The flower topping was also Buds Florists.
I was worried about the cake being too small but I just loved it. It was so hot in the tent that the butter was melting before our eyes. I was worried the cake wouldn’t survive! We had to bring it out half way through the day! It was absolutely delicious, my favorite chocolate sponge raspberry jam and white chocolate ganache centre.”
“My hair and makeup artist was the wonderful Issidora of Nina’s Hair Parlour. She is a MIRACLE WORKER. She is so professional and upbeat and wonderful. I searched high and low for someone to do proper vintage hair and many salons had no clue. So I knew I had to get someone who specialised. I did not want to have to even think about anything going wrong with the hair, that would have been just one more thing to think about. She did my hair and make up.
The trial run was so much fun and she came to John's mum's place from London. The fact they travel to the location is also so helpful. We went all out in the 1920's style. Nothing safe here. I am glad to say I could pull the hair off! It was light and stayed in place through the next day even. She REALLY knows vintage hair design and surpassed my expectations. After the trial on the day of the wedding she did the hair in half the time!"
Readers – I have to second the above. Issidora is the first lady I call when I need my hair or make-up doing professionally – she is out of this world! I actually discovered her via this post on Love My Dress and have worked with her several times now. She did my hair and make-up for this recent shoot and she is just the most talented hair and makeup artist (a rare combination) in the world who has truly mastered the art of vintage techniques. She is also full of fascinating information. I'd recommend Issidora and Nina’s Hair Parlour in an instant.
"We hired Buds Florists, who went above and beyond. I love local small businesses they really go all out in terms of effort and design. Annie was the florist and I think also the owner and she was great. I wasn’t too specific on the bouquet flowers but I wanted them white and looking very natural and uncluttered. She got it just right and picked the perfect flowers for one of the most stunning trailing bouquets I've ever seen. Really effortless and not overworked. Her centrepieces were also very natural and light and didn’t distract from the statues.
My bridesmaids dresses were custom made by a dressmaker called Cheri's Custom Dresses in Toronto."
"The colours we used throughout the day were entirely inspired by ancient Egypt Alabaster and gold with some blue here and there. The typewriter was given to us by John's mother partner Anna, and it was perfect for showing the sitting chart. The books we picked up at Rare Books store with the topic of Middle Eastern travel and ancient Egypt."
“The wedding favours were the figs. We’re so glad we didn’t go with chocolates because they would have melted! Figs are one of the most decadent foods you can get and were an important source of food for ancient Egyptians and continue to be great today.
The figs each had a luggage tag on them with the person’s name in gold.”
"The hat was an authentic Indiana Jones replica which I bought John for his birthday.”
"Our photographer was Phill Allen, who is one of the best photographers we have ever met. He is more like a life coach who happens to take photographs. He made the day fantastic. We chose him because he tells a story, and weddings are about stories and the couples' relationships. I cannot stress how much he made the day better. His images were so full of life and colour and he offered us some great life advice along the way. He was pretty much invisible the whole time give or take the obvious photo opp moment.
We saw him in action at John's uncle's wedding and we could have no one else after that. He really got us as a couple.”
"I designed all of the stationery and was so proud of it. I really enjoyed designing them and getting them printed myself which saved a lot of money too. Also I knew exactly what kind of look I wanted. I wanted it to be very personal and period appropriate."
“We chose Oakley Hall, in Basingstoke, Hampshire as our wedding venue as it is where John’s family live. The location we originally wanted was Highclere Castle because of its history with Lord Carnarvon, but it would have been very large for such a small party and also it was closed for the Downton Abbey filming.
When we first arrived at Oakley Hall it was just the type of setting we wanted as it came with an already built tent which is very 20's Gatsby party and had the grandeur of an estate which fit the era."
“I bought my shoes at a local shop called Originals on Queen Street in Toronto. The nude colour and the cut of the shoe was perfect as it still had that turn of the century look and a solid heel. It is all leather so it was very comfortable. I also liked the texture it has on the outside and the silk ribbon which I matched to the dress.”
“John’s suit was bespoke from Trend Tailors in Downtown Toronto, where I work. I even worked on it myself for the finishing details. It has the date of our wedding embroidered into the skirt of the Jacket lining as well as his name near the breast pocket which is standard. John loves this suit which fits him so well. He found this place himself before I started working there. I was so impressed I had to apply. I always wanted to learn tailoring, handwork and couture design so it was the perfect place. John is the reason I found out about it. It features purple detailing on the cuff buttons and back vents and purple lining.”
“My Dad gave me away, and I walked down the aisle to Bolero by Ravel. It came out in 1928, originally written for a ballet and quickly became one of the most classic songs. It is so elegant and reminded me of the Star Wars Imperial March."
“John and I are both atheists and we chose a humanist wedding, which everyone loved! Even the people that were religious said they were surprised and taken back by how personal, emotional and genuine the ceremony was. Some even said they would consider it themselves if they were to get married again.
We wrote our own vows. We were inspired by other people's vows in part and by how we wanted our relationship to start. The most important part of the vows were how we were always going to let each other be who we are, that we will support one another, and challenge each others' opinions and perceptions so we both grow from it and enrich each other's lives."
"During the ceremony, we had two readings – one from Captain Corelli's Mandolin called Love Is A Temporary Madness and the second was The Art of a Good Marriage by Wilfred Arlan Peterson.”
“The centerpieces we wanted to be Egyptian artifacts because 'we just came from a dig' and happened to have a wedding! I really love them all and they were VERY hard to find and collect. They all came from a Californian store online and we were worried they would look really cheesy but the work on them was perfect. Most of them had to do with the King Tut exhibit but some, like Menkaure (Mycerinus) and his queen, are very special to us because that is how we feel about each other, and apparently they had a very good union as well.”
I love this beautiful tribute to Adriana and John's respective grandfathers. How thoughtful and beautiful to remember them both this way on their wedding day.
"The most important part of the décor, which wasn't décor, was the table with the picture of John's grandfather and my grandfather. John's grandfather, Geoff, passed away just months before in May and it was very hard on everyone as they were very close. My grandfather died in 1997 and I wished he was there for the wedding. My grandmother (mother's side) was there however which was nice. We had lotus ceramic candles at each table including that one with tea lights in them as Lotus was a big 1920s symbol used everywhere, especially in Ancient Egypt as it was considered to be an aphrodisiac.
“The décor was all provided by us and Oakley Hall arranged the chairs and the plates etc. The centrepieces, flowers and the table with typewriter and books provided the main décor.
We also included a screen with a film reel from the 1920’s as cinema was big then! We had this play on repeat throughout the night."
"When it came to our first dance, we compiled a playlist of 1920's music and more modern Electro Swing which is a totally great genre. We got a lot of compliments on it!"
“My favorite part of the day was the ceremony as it felt like even though there were people watching us, we were all by ourselves somehow. Also because it was what the union is all about, and promises we made to each other."
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
“One of things we forgot to do was include a return of address or a place for guests to put their names. When we got the RSVPs back we didn't always know who they were from. Don't do that, gets confusing! Make an Excel sheet of ALL of your guests and their preferences. John made this super great Excel sheet with all the info for each guest. We didn't make one for addresses however, which we should have done. It would have saved a lot of time. As mentioned before.
Rehearse the speeches! This is very important! I had a very short speech in Romanian for all the Romanian people who attended and my grandmother who did not speak English, but the groom's speech is a very important part of reception. Don't forget to breathe, there will ALWAYS be something that goes wrong no matter how much you plan and fuss. Also the bride sets the tone of the whole wedding. I found myself being asked every single question that needed answering. Where does this go? How many of these should we have? What do you want do with object X? Poor John almost didn't get consulted at all!"
"There are many things I would have done differently, we ran into some difficulties with the technology, and some of the songs I picked were not as good quality, oops 😛 but no one really noticed that much. Also I should have spent more time with John on the seating arrangements as some of the speakers were too close to some tables and some got rearranged last minute so our families were more separated than we wished.
Delegate as much as possible, don't do it all yourself if you don't have to or if you don't have a wedding planner like I didn't. Remember that whatever you think is going wrong is not, the guests are just happy to have drinks, be fed , have good company and be there for your special event. I thought they may have noticed every little thing that I thought went wrong, but they did not thankfully.
Finally, We chose to keep our respective surnames. We partly did it for paperwork purposes as John's permanent resident papers were still under way and changing names legally wouldn't have made sense. He's got his permanent residence now!”
What a lovely day – thank you so so much Adriana and John for so kindly sharing your wedding experience with us all, I've so enjoyed reading about you day and enjoying your lovely 1920s inspired photographs.
Huge thanks to the lovely Mister Phill for allowing his work to be shared on Love My Dress.
Are any of you reading this now planning on incorporating some 1920s style in to your wedding day? I recommend you take a look through my book for ideas and suggestions if so!
Love Annabel
Photographer – Mister Phill
Venue + Catering – Oakley Hall, in Basingstoke, Hampshire
Wedding Dress – Designed by the bride, made by Catherine Langlois
Veil/Headpiece – Catherine Langlois
Brides' shoes - riginals on Queen Street in Toronto
Bride's accessories – Only Handmade Jewellery on Etsy
Grooms Suit – Custom tweed suit via Trend Tailors
Bridesmaids – Cheri’s Custom Dresses (Toronto) + Accessorize headpieces
Florist – Buds Florists
Cake – Bespoke Bakery
Cake Topper – Jolie En Rose Vintage via Etsy
Rings – Maison Birks (Canada) Peoples Jewellers
Garter – LeAnge Bridal on Etsy
Stationery – Designed by the bride
Hair and make-up Artist – Issidora, via Nina’s Hair Parlour
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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.
