Hello Monday people! The weekend may be over (sob) but it’s the start of another wonderful week of weddings here at Love My Dress. Heather and Ben’s big day was a stylish city affair with deco and modernist influences, and a subtle copper and forest green colour scheme. On 8 November last year, after a mere 5 months of ‘pinning and planning’, the couple wed at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, with the reception held in the Oak Suite of the Leopold Hotel. Super-talented Jon Dennis of S6 Photography was there to capture the whole day.
“We wanted our big day to be wintery, but not Christmassy – we decided on forest green and copper as our ‘scheme’, though we maintain to this day that we didn’t really have one! After choosing my dress, I knew a 1920s look was on the cards, so kept that in mind with some of the styling.
The Crucible Theatre has lots of cool modernist angles, so we went for quite a sharp, architectural feel with lots of our wedding buys – from the cake and flowers, to the card box and the bridesmaid dresses. We’re not the soft and fluffy types – no flag bunting to be seen!”
Photography Copyright (c) 2015, S6 Photography
Sheffield was centre-stage on this big day.
“We wanted a ‘proper’ Sheffield wedding! With this in mind, we were keen on keeping it city centre based – The Crucible Theatre is an iconic building (and we always loved the hypnotic carpet) with a great vista. We had a look at the Leopold Hotel and loved the Oak Suite – it contrasted really nicely with the concrete and angles of our ceremony venue – certainly a wedding of two halves, and our guests only had a short three-minute walk between the two. Perfect.”
The theatrical element of the day was picked up in the fabulous stationery.
“I designed our wedding stationery, with some help from our amazing friend and pattern designer Sara – when she sent through our custom pattern, made from holiday snaps and using the colour palette, a visual for the day really started coming together.”
The bridesmaids wore fabulous forest green gowns by Biba at House of Fraser, and the flower girls donned fairy-esque Monsoon dresses, in gold. The colours tied in beautifully with the pretty rose and heather bouquets.
“The wonderful Glenda Bream was our florist, and has known me since the age of three! I think she instinctively knew the style we’d want to go for.
I wanted the bouquets to be fragrant, so asked for rosemary. My mum was keen to add white heather and it did look gorgeous, but the stand-out additions for me were the David Austin Juliet roses and the gorgeous Honesty, which brings so many memories of picking the seed heads apart as a child.”
…beautiful Rachel Simpson heels, of course. And how I adore Claire Pettibone gowns. Heather chose the intricately embroidered Kristene gown, from The White Room bridal boutique in Sheffield…
“I had no idea what to wear – only that I wanted to feel comfortable and look glamorous! The first dress the ladies at The White Room showed me was Kristene. It was so comfortable, and with the low back option had such glamour! I loved how it moved, and how light and unstructured it felt. I knew we wanted a big party, and that this dress would suit the feeling we were going for.”
The couple decorated The Leopold Hotel with copper candle holders from H&M, giant moss letters from Notonthehighstreet and a Pantone-inspired table plan.
“Starting with the Pantone theme was great, as I was able to buy a box of postcards and write our orders of service on the reverse – people could take them home as a souvenir, and they brightened up the ceremony room!”
And aren’t the photos wonderful?
“Jon Dennis of S6 Photography totally made our day. We managed to nab one of his last weekend dates of the year, and we’re so pleased we did! He really captured some beautiful moments, and some less refined ones which sum up the party perfectly… Highly recommended – a total star.”
Heather kept her jewellery choice to a minimum, with just these beautiful 50s tiered earrings twinkling behind her hair.
“I always wear Chanel’s Chance for special occasions – this was no exception. Using the matching body lotion made sure the scent really lasted.”
Heather wore Kristene with a chapel length, single tier veil in champagne by HM Veils, and lovely ivory heels by Rachel Simpson, also via The White Room.
The groom’s bespoke suit was cut in splendid blue tweed with red flecks, made by Ted Williams Tailor, teamed with tie and shoes from Reiss, shirt by Next and initialled tie clips from Hibiscus Days.
The couple had two best men, and Heather’s brother walked her down the aisle.
“We lost my father to cancer ten years ago, so it has long been the plan to ask David – my little brother – to walk me down the aisle. He was amazing – excited, funny and solid as a rock. Even if he did manage to get my veil in a tangle, he really knocked it out of the park with his speech! Proud just doesn’t cover it.”
“My mum read Union by Robert Fulghum, which had the room in tears. It really sums up how our relationship has evolved, and was super relaxed for such a romantic piece.
Ben’s sister closed the show in style, reading Cinderella by Roald Dahl. It was read beautifully – funny and typically dark, but still romantic. Everyone had a huge grin on their face! He is our favourite childhood author.”
Following the ceremony, the couple headed off for these stunning portraits with their photographer and Georgia – an mint green original 1950’s Chevrolet!
Ben and Heather’s wedding cake is so striking, and really fits with the modernist vibe.
“Claire Kemp studied architecture for years before going into cake making – and this really shows in her glorious creations. Her ‘Fan’ design struck some stunning deco notes, and really suited our modernist aesthetic. Some guests didn’t realise it was the cake until we went to cut it, thinking it was a small (and rather random!) sculpture sat on a table in the corner!”
The evening started with Ben serenading Heather with ‘Let’s Get It On’, by Marvin Gaye. Obviously a very talented groom!
“After being serenaded by Ben, the band kicked in and played two amazing, rock and roll sets. So much singing, dancing and twisting ensued! I never thought my wedding would end in a five-person pile up to Zorba the Greek. But it did, and it was fabulous!”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Do it your way. It’s your day, so make sure you’re comfortable with everything and don’t be afraid to tickle tradition here and there – although we went ahead with them, being announced into the room and cutting the cake were two parts of the day we umm-ed and ahh-ed about – we just ended up doing them ‘our way’.
When things feel like they’re going a bit wrong (this will happen!), just remember why you’re doing it – to celebrate being with each other for the rest of your lives. Then it all seems worth it.”
As a born and bred city girl, this was wedding after my own heart. Thank you to Heather and Ben for showing us how to do a city wedding in style, and big congratulations to both of you! Thanks as well to Jon Dennis of Sheffield based S6 Photography for sharing these uber-cool images with us. Love Heather’s dress? You can see more Claire Pettibone brides here.
Love Louisa xx
Photographer – Jon Dennis of S6 Photography
Venue – Sheffield Crucible Theatre + The Oak Suite of the Leopold Hotel
Wedding Dress – Claire Pettibone from The White Room
Veil – HM Veils via The White Room
Shoes – Rachel Simpson via The White Room
Accessories – 50s tiered earrings by Etsy
Bride’s Scent/perfume – Chanel’s Chance
Groom – suit by Ted Williams Tailor, tie and shoes from Reiss, shirt by Next and initialled tie clips from Hibiscus Days
Bridesmaids – Biba at House of Fraser, jewellery by Hibiscus Days
Flowergirls – Monsoon
Florist – Glenda Bream
Cake – Claire Kemp
Transport – Yorkshire Classic American Wedding Cars
Rings – Bride’s engagement ring by PA Jewellery; wedding bands by Green + Benz
Catering – The Leopold Hotel
Stationery – Bride, with assistance from Sara Boccaccini-Meadows, printed by Printed.com and Moo.com
Hair Stylist – Bride’s sister-in-law
Décor – copper candle holders from H&M, giant moss letters from Notonthehighstreet
Where was your confetti from? I love it! And that is a truly stunning cake. Oh my.
How wonderful! The Crucible Theatre is an inspired choice for a wedding ceremony venue. The photos are fabulous.. this is a highly creative couple. Very pleased to see Sheffield too on Love My Dress!