Purple and Pronovias for a Colourful, Chic and Fun London Wedding

We are *so* happy to be here this morning!!  We'll be updating you with further information soon, but we apologise from our hearts that Love My Dress® was inaccessible for most of yesterday and we are so grateful for your emails, tweets and Facebook messages of support. This was due to a 'Denial of Service' attack on our platform, Typepad – an incident that had impact on all Typepad blogs all over the world.  It's something Typepad are still working to resolve, so we're keeping all our fingers and toes crossed that we can continue to bring you beautiful wedding inspiration today.

This morning's chic, city summer wedding, sent in by photographer David at Modern Vintage Weddings, makes up for the downtime of yesterday.  Actor turned producer Sarah married her beau Dan, an Advertising Creative, on 31st August last year, with a ceremony at Islington Town Hall, followed by a reception at St John’s Gate, Farringdon.

“We were inspired by the ever-popular vintage style.  We had been living in Paris in the year before the wedding and bought a number of decorative pieces from brocante markets in the city, such as the old French novels that held the menus.  We were also drawn to the country style weddings for flower inspiration.  We settled on a fairly relaxed and colourful array of flowers and eclectic range of vases and vessels. Both venues were architecturally beautiful so we didn’t want to overpower or crowd them with too much detail. The focus for us was to bring colour.”

Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Modern Vintage Weddings

“Dan and I met when we were 19 and at university, a mere 11 years ago! Dan was very cheeky and I spurned his advances.  Then one day we went out for a casual drink, which turned into hours and hours of conversation and laughter. From that moment, we were inseparable and have been best friends ever since.

We got engaged in New York City, on The Highline, a formerly abandoned railway line that is now a park. The trip was a Christmas present from Dan and it came as a complete surprise to me when he proposed. We were engaged for just over a year, mainly so that we could have a summer wedding.” 

“Our ceremony took place at Islington Town Hall. We wanted a London wedding as we see it as our home now. The big swaying point was the building itself. The Council Chamber is the most beautiful room – in the round, so very theatrical. We also live nearby and have seen so many married couples emerging onto the steps.

Our receptions as held at St John’s Gate, Farringdon. It has such amazing character, was not too far from the Town Hall and has a very quaint herb garden. Outdoor space was high up on our list of priorities.  Our catering team had an Events manager, Katie, who worked closely with us in the months before the wedding and followed our set-up plans for the actual day to precision."

"Dan is an Advertising Creative, so designed all the save the dates magnets, invites, order of service and menus."

"The best part of the day was the ceremony. We’d become so occupied with planning every other aspect of the day that it came as a surprise that the most magical part was the ceremony.  For us, it had the perfect combination of laughter, sincerity and a real intimacy."

“My dress was ‘Distel’ by Pronovias and bought from Silk Brides in Lichfield, which is located near my family home.  It was the first boutique that my sister Anna and I had visited.  I must have tried on around 8 dresses and Distel was the last one.  I loved the lace detail and the neckline. The dress had five layers of fabric with differing textures that you could subtly see through the top layer.

I couldn’t get over how incredibly light it was and so comfortable to wear. After wearing it for half an hour, I didn’t want to take it off and my sister confirmed my thought – it looks like you’ve found the one!”

"Clare at Love Blooms responded to my initial enquiry promptly, answering my many questions and compiling a ‘mood board’ based on the ideas and inspiration I had talked about. It was incredibly comprehensive. You can tell how much she loves her work."

"My birdcage veil was ordered online at Etsy and my feather headpiece with vintage brooch detail was custom made by Donna Crain.  My dress had a high neckline so I didn't wear a necklace or any earrings. Instead I wore an Australian Opal bracelet (with hints of pink/purple to match the bridesmaids dresses) and my bouquet also had a vintage brooch, both items had belonged to my Mum.

My make-up artist was Gemma Sutton – it was great having her around in the morning, such a friendly face. She did a wonderful job with both make-up and hair for my sister and myself.  She was able to advise how it would look in the photos too (as she’s also a photographer)."

"My bridesmaids dresses were from Coast in the sale.  It was an absolute mission to track them down from different stores and sale outlets all over the UK!”

When it came to styling their venue, the couple used lots of lavender and white lavender, tea lights, burlap.

“Our photographer was David at Modern Vintage Weddings. David is the most intuitive photographer and all round wonderful guy. We had two meetings with David before the day and very quickly became comfortable in his company.  We had complete trust that he would capture our day perfectly. And he did.”

"I walked down the aisle with my Dad, to the sound of Pachelbel’s Canon in D (string version). During the signing of the register we had Louis Armstrong’s' La Vie en Rose' and Billie Holiday’s 'Easy Living'. We walked out to' It Must Be Love' by Madness.

We wrote our own vows for the exchanging of rings. We agreed on the style (nothing too formal or flowery) then wrote them separately. A couple of weeks before the wedding we read them to each other – we were glad we did as we cried so much, and I barely managed to get past the first word ‘Dan’.'

We have special permission to share the couple's vows with you – and they are wonderful. 

Dan's Vows to Sarah;

'Sarah.
When I first met you I did not know that I was incomplete.
You have been my best friend for so many years now and I promise that no matter what I will love, support and cherish you.
You are the most beautiful person I have ever met. Your elegance is clear to see but it is in your heart where your beauty truly lies. Without your support I really couldn’t say where I would be right now.
I promise to build a life with you. Together we will face both triumph and disaster. I will always do everything I can to make you happy and be honest with you every day.
Thank you Sarah. I love you.'

Sarah’s vows to Dan;

'You are the centre of my world. In the last ten years we’ve shared so many amazing moments. You’ve also had the courage and strength, for both of us, to get us through the hardest of times.
You really don’t realise what an amazing person you are and that’s why I love you so much – your optimism, openness, kind heart, sincerity, humour and gentleness.
I’m so proud of you and of our relationship.
I promise to never take you for granted and to have the courage and strength to help you be all that you want to be.
Thank you Dan. I love you.'

"Our theatre friend Harry read Shakespeare’s Sonnet 115 and my Auntie Jenny read a modern poem she found for us called ‘I will be Here’ by Steven Curtis Chapman.

We took a long time to pick our readings, as we wanted them to have real significance to us and our relationship over the 11 years.  We also agreed we wanted a classic and a modern reading."

Sarah and Dan chose to make a donation to St Giles Hospice in memory of Sarah’s mum, rather than have traditional wedding favours.

"Our catering was provided by Company of Cooks – the food was incredible. We had the most decadent food tasting at The Royal Opera House and trying to settle on the menu was one of the hardest yet most enjoyable of wedding jobs!"

"Between us, we sourced a huge frame from a market for £3, sanded it down, bought some old material and created our table plan."

The couple's first dance was to Billie Holiday’s 'Crazy He Calls Me'.

'It was our Parisian theme tune. We have it on vinyl and listened to it over and over on many quiet nights trying to save money for the wedding.'

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"In terms of preparation, make the most of the initial excitement and energy that you have. Collect as much inspiration and source as many photographers, florists, bands etc. in the early stages. This will make it so much easier when everyday life stops you from having as much time as you’d wish to plan the wedding.  Make lists, lots of lists! Even if you never intend to make your way through them, it’s therapeutic to get the many thoughts out of your head and on paper. 

I found this stopped me stressing and made everything seem a little more achievable. Also, have an allotted time for all your ‘wedmin’ – if you’re dealing with wedding things late into the evening, you’ll never get to sleep."

On the day : it’s true that it goes unbelievably quickly and I’ve wished many times since to be able to re-live it all.  Try not to worry and enjoy spending the day with family and friends who love you and will not judge you! If like me, you like to be in control, then make sure you do spreadsheets for each company involved on the day. Our photographer had a running order, our catering events manager had a detailed map and description of how I wanted the reception rooms. It may seem a bit extreme but if it stops you worrying on the day and allows you to enjoy yourself, then it’s 100% worth it.

I spent a huge amount of time on the internet using Pinterest and wedding blogs like Love My Dress®.  I was absolutely obsessed with looking through everyone’s wedding days and taking inspiration!

Finally, I'm not saying that it was without improvement, but it was a perfect day to us. We were so happy on the day and that’s what we’ll remember.  We wouldn’t want to change that wonderful feeling for anything."

I just adore that final sentiment. Makes me feel so emotional!  If you fancy a video glimpse of Sarah and Dan's beautiful day, you can take a peek at this Youtube film created by Irene Kyme at Dolce Vita Films (be warned those of you sat in an office doing some 'discreet' wedding planning – the music is a little loud!).  Sarah says, 'Initially, we didn’t think we were particularly fussed about having a videographer, it was mainly for our Grandparents who couldn’t make the wedding, but we’ve watched the footage so much already!'

Brides, are you wearing a Pronovias gown?  You can see more beautiful work from David at Modern Vintage Weddings here on Love My Dress.

So much love everyone,

Annabel

             

Photographer – Modern Vintage Weddings
Venue  – Islington Town Hall + St John’s Gate, Farringdon
Wedding Dress – Distel by Pronovias via Silk Brides in Lichfield
Veil – Etsy + feather headpiece by Donna Crain
Shoes – Office rose coloured sling-back kitten heels
Groom – Ben Sherman suit
Bridesmaids – Coast
Page Boy – Next
Florist – Love Blooms
Bus – Routemaster via Traditional Travel
Entertainment – OJ’s Soul Band
Rings – Bijouterie Orphée, Paris
Catering Company – Company of Cooks
Stationery – The groom
Hair Stylist and Makeup Artist – Gemma Sutton

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