Good morning readers. I’m writing this from my sister in law’s study, as we’re staying with them for a couple of days. It’s bright and cold here in Lincoln and the late sun is warming the stone of the cathedral, which sits at the top of ‘steep hill’ (and it is!) It’s such a lovely city- highly recommended for a visit. We spent this morning strolling through the medieval streets of the old part of the city, and more than a little time peering into the little boutiques and vintage shops which line the cobbled streets. A glittering twenties style headpiece caught my eye, and made me think of this fabulous wedding we are featuring today- a rustic, yet glamour filled day, with two beautiful wedding dresses for the lucky bride, and a wonderful colour palate.
Laura and Rob married at the especially pretty Kingston Country Courtyard, Dorset in the last days of August 2014, with a 1920’s, Gatsby inspired day with some stunning style choices.
“You could say our wedding was something along the lines of ‘if Gatsby threw a rustic barn party and Tim Walker styled it’. Maybe not completely perceived on the day but these were our tastes coming together – the 1920’s elements, country barn touches and some quirky features such as the backdrop to the ceremony which consisted of vintage windows from an old manor house amongst the lighting and decorations. There was no firm plan to have a 1920’s theme, but I love embellishment and Art Deco style so this influenced lots of decisions.”
Film Production Copyright (c) 2015, Yay Films
“Rob and I met in Upper School when we were 14. We dated at 15 for six months then stayed friends until getting back together at 19! The wedding was centred on the last ten years we’ve known each other, ups and downs, with table names relevant to phases in our relationship such as ‘friend zone’! Rob proposed in December 2012 under the Christmas tree in the first house we’d bought together, which was perfect, and a complete surprise!”
Photography Copyright (c) 2015, Mister Phill
“We were engaged for 20 months before the wedding, which we found was the perfect length of time to enjoy wedding planning without rushing. Rob’s cousin Lauren created us a film of ‘our story’ that we had playing at the wedding for guests to watch”
Laura made the brave decision to have her wedding dress made, from just a few sketches and initial ideas- such a lovely idea, and the finished thing is just beautiful! I adore the low lacy back, and the pretty floaty sleeves- so elegant, but unusual too.
“I designed the wedding dress, as far as my designing ability goes, with rough sketches and pulling together of different ideas. Then hard working Kimberley Stone, a friend of ours, created it (with the help of hand sewing from the Mother of the Bride)! For me it is still incredible to think Kimberley managed to create exactly what I had dreamed of only from my bad sketches and vague suggestions. After completing the dress whilst studying in the final year of her fashion degree, I couldn’t be more grateful. The best thing about Kimberley is that she catered to my needs and ideas, not her own, so I imagine she could do the same with anyone’s dream dress.
I fell in love with a number of elements of a few wedding dresses I’d seen online. Detailed lace backs, delicate sleeves, fishtail shape and a hint of colour. I didn’t see the value in paying a lot of money for a dress that wasn’t the dream dress I had pictured in my head, so we made it a reality! I loved the excitement of creating the dress and how it evolved. It was important for me to create the exact colour I had pictured, not too grey, not too blue, and I was so pleased with the end result.”
“Rob’s Nannie has always created the family wedding cakes. We certainly set her a challenge, new methods and techniques she hadn’t used before but she took them all on. We went for an Art Deco design to mirror the style of the wedding party, with dark blue the main feature colour. I painted a cake topper so it would really look like us.”
Lucky Laura had a second dress for the evening reception- initially bought ‘just in case’, but which allowed her to make a full costume change for the post meal celebrations.
“In the evening I wore a Tadashi Shoji dress I originally saw featured on Love My Dress! A complete bargain. I bought it initially just in case the dress we were making didn’t come together due to money and time constraints. At the time it was the last one on the website in my size and was meant to be! Although my wedding dress was perfect, putting on the evening dress for last few hours meant I could totally relax and party!”
As well as their film of their story so far, Laura and Rob also chose to have both a photographer and videographer to capture every moment of their big day. Wedding photographer Mister Phill has a wonderful distinctive style, and Rob and Laura were thrilled with their images.
“We cannot recommend Mister Phill highly enough! We requested him as a photographer before even setting a date or picking a venue as we were so impressed by his wedding photography. However, we couldn’t have predicted he would become such an integral part of the day, with guests still mentioning in awe how he was always in the right place at the right time. His photography style captures the personality and essence of the day and the character of all our lovely guests. His blog post about our wedding was so personal and heart-warming.
Bee and Mark at Yay Films did our wedding film. They were a pleasure to be around on the day and we really appreciate the time and commitment into making us three beautiful wedding films. My favourite is the longest film where they seem to have captured a moment with almost every guest, however the highlight film is also perfect in summing up the overall feel of the day.”
“My shoes were from Russell & Bromley and I had pretty flats from Zara for evening dancing. Looking in Russell & Bromley was actually Rob’s idea, as my original glitter shoes ended up catching on the underneath of the dress and I needed another pair last minute.”
“Sarah, one of my bridesmaids, created my plaited hairstyle. After lots of browsing on Pinterest and following tutorials I couldn’t have been happier with all of our hairstyles. Someone even commented they weren’t used to seeing backs of heads that looked so pretty.”
I don’t know about her ‘blue’, but Laura’s ‘something old’, ‘something new’ and ‘something borrowed’ all made up her lovely accessories…
“My bracelet was borrowed from my lovely bridesmaid Kayleigh. As my something old I wore my Grandma’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring that had inspired Rob whilst designing my engagement ring. My something new was a lovely pair of earrings that went perfectly with the sapphire theme! Another item bought in January sales.”
Laura had six beautiful bridesmaids, and every single one of the ladies looked wonderful in Adrianna Papell dresses, ordered from Bloomingdales.
“The bridesmaids dresses were very much an extravagant buy but they all looked so beautiful and hopefully they’ll get to wear them again. Once I had found a dress I knew would suit all six bridesmaids, who were all very different, I knew we had to get them! The bridesmaids all wore their own neutral coloured shoes. I thought it was important for them to be comfy!”
he lucky bridesmaids were the recipients of some truly gorgeous vintage gifts for them to wear and use on the day, I love this idea.
“I had collected some original 1920’s gifts for the bridesmaids over the last couple of years, mainly from Etsy and also Perfectly Vintage UK (which doesn’t seem to exist anymore). They each had a beaded 1920’s clutch bag, which were all unique and so beautiful. Additionally they also had a piece of jewellery each such as a 1920’s glass bead necklace, pearl bracelets etc. Their earrings were all new but mostly in a vintage style. An essential item turned out to be the vintage monogrammed hankies I’d given them!
The bridesmaids all had a hair accessory each I had given them on the day as part of their gifts, they varied but were all purchased from Vintage Styler. Fresh flowers were also pinned into the plaited hairstyles, again mixing the vintage glamour hairpins with something more rustic. I think they all did an amazing job of styling each other’s hair.”
To compliment her two dresses, Laura had a headdress for each, and both are just gorgeous!
“I wore a Lily Bella birdcage veil with feather hairpiece that I loved. I wore the veil with a feather and pearl hairpiece during the day with the addition of a red rose to match my lipstick and Rob’s buttonhole. In the evening I wore a Jenny Packham headband I managed to get in the January sales and after being not sure about it, I’m so glad I had the nerve to wear it.”
Rob began his day with a sophisticated and traditional wet shave at his chosen barber, and continued this sophistication throughout the day. He looked more than bit refined in his carefully chosen outfit, and certainly stood out from the crowd with his dashing accessorising.
“The suit was a style Rob had envisioned for a long time, very classic. When it appeared on ASOS at such an affordable price we thought there was no harm in ordering them to see what we thought. Needless to say we were very happy with them and having a Mother of the Bride so adept with a sewing machine this meant they could be altered to give the boys a tailored fit.
The slim fit shirt and braces were from Moss Bros, white bowtie from Mrs Bowtie. Rob’s shoes were from Loake, he got lots of comments on them on the day. I think they’re a bit like marmite, loved or hated! I think they looked perfect with the two-tone matching his white bowtie and setting him apart from the groomsmen.”
“All of the groomsmen had the same ASOS suit as Rob with slim fit shirts and bowties/braces from Moss Bros. The Bridesmen also wore a tux from ASOS but in grey. They all wore black brogues from Dune leaving Rob to stand out in his two-tone brogues!”
Don’t you just love how many smiles there are throughout the ceremony? Just count them! Laura walked down the aisle to a song which makes her smile- always lovely to try and keep any tears at bay!
“I walked down the aisle to ‘Only you’ by Delilah; a happy love song! We wanted to create a causal relaxed atmosphere and this seemed perfect.
We both wrote personal vows, which were very hard to say through tears on the day but I’m so glad we did! That was our moment to commit to our marriage and adding a personal touch seemed like a natural choice.”
“We chose our wedding rings from Franses in Bournemouth (where Rob had the engagement ring designed and made) a very friendly family run jewellers who helped us chose from so many beautiful designs. I eventually went for a wedding band with diamonds as it enhanced the blue of my sapphire engagement ring alongside it. Rob originally thought he wanted something a bit different but realised after trying a few on that a traditional platinum band was for him.”
“Our flower girl Ruby looked lovely in a dress from Next and the material and neutral shade worked well with the bridesmaid dresses. I managed to find a hairband that matched in Sainsbury’s, and extra fresh flowers were added to it on the day.”
The stunning floral arrangements were created by Rob’s Auntie Debra, who used to be a florist. The curtain of lilies especially is particularly stunning, don’t you think? I’ve never seen anything like it before and have serious respect for the amount of work she put into it all.
“We chatted with her about the style we were looking for, the berry colours combined with neutrals with plenty of texture. We are very thankful for the time and effort she put in, especially creating the curtain of lilies in the window. We certainly didn’t make it simple for her and with such a large wedding party she was working hard until just before the ceremony! We didn’t choose the exact flowers to be used; we left that to the expert to suggest what was best at that time of year. We couldn’t have asked for a more incredible outcome.”
“Our venue was chosen as a complete blank canvas we could add our personal touches to whilst also being large enough to host a large family wedding. The great thing about the venue is with their relaxed attitude they welcomed individuality rather than inhibiting it. Also it had the added bonus of having on site accommodation, which made for a lovely breakfast the next day with many of our guests.”
The couple put an enormous amount of time and effort into making their vision for the day into a reality, and embraced the fun of DIY wholeheartedly!
“Rob designed and printed stationery with some of my doodles included such as the invites and the cards used on the tables. Nothing else was really ‘stationery’. Rob made half a wooden door that I painted the order of the day onto, the guestbook was two pieces of Oak and the table plan was a vintage style crate Rob made with luggage tags that I painted names onto. I really like the fact these are things we can keep out on show, the order of the day is sat in our garden looking pretty with the roses and we plan to display our Oak guestbook when we move into a bigger house!”
In fact, all of the wedding party (and their husbands) got involved…
“My bridesmaid’s husband found 100 vintage jars on a demolition site that we were able to have. Thank you to Kayleigh for cleaning them all! We personalised them with glass pens and paints, ribbons, twine and buttons for each guest to be used as a place card. They were filled with flowers and given to the guests to take with them. It took hours but it was worth it! It’s lovely getting photos of how they are being recycled now, as vases or penny saving jars.”
“Lots of the decorations were from BHLDN, I found it hard to resist a lot of their beautiful items. But there were some sneaky art deco style glassware items I picked up from Dunelm Mill. The sequin tablecloths were from a supplier on Etsy and were a more expensive addition. We liked the mix of textures -real flowers, paper flowers/decorations and fabric decorations, sequins, wood and glass. Thank you to all the helpers who created paper and fabric flowers!
I also on impulse bought a broken 1920’s chandelier on Etsy (not my most logical purchase), I used the crystals to hang from the lights in the barn. The old wooden windows we added into the barn were from a chance meeting of a lady at a birthday party who was willing to lend them to us for the wedding.”
“Lighting seemed very expensive when looking at professional companies so we bought fairy lights reduced after Christmas and used them wrapped around trellis to add extra lighting to the band area and around the mezzanine. We also ordered festoon lights from Lights4fun and I had fun creating cotton ball lights incorporating our colours on Cable and Cotton. It just seemed more logical to spend less money and on lighting we could use again or sell on.”
Keen to keep the feel of the day relaxed, the couple chose food which reflected this perfectly. Catering was arranged by Discerning Taste, through the venue.
“They were very relaxed and keen to provide us with a unique package tailored to our preferences and budget. It’s so unusual to talk to a wedding catering company that is looking to save you money rather than make you spend more! No set menus or requirements of drinks packages etc. They do travel and cater at other venues. We chose a barbeque style meal which meant guests could choose what they wanted to eat as we thought it was the best way to keep everyone happy! The ice cream cones afterwards also went down very well, with chocolate orange being the favourite!”
“‘Lifening’ by Snow Patrol was our first dance. The song perfectly sums up Rob’s outlook on life, with lyrics such as ‘be a father like my dad’ ‘this is all I’ve ever wanted in life’. It was an easy choice.”
Laura has some lovely words about her favourite part of the day.
“It’s very difficult to choose a favourite part of the day, obviously the ceremony and saying our personal vows to each other was the most emotional and poignant part of the day. However I would also say there was a moment in the evening when we were celebrating with all of our loved ones that was incredibly special. That moment when it sinks in that you’ve married your best friend, love of your life and everyone surrounding you is there to share in your happiness and support you. It’s very overwhelming and makes you feel very grateful for all you have.
There are absolutely no regrets. We spent a lot of time preparing for the day but in general we were relaxed when it came to it. There were no set plans on how the decorations would go up until we got to the venue the day before, no set plans on how the girls would walk down the aisle etc. or how the day would pan out apart from the required set times we had to decide. This allowed there to be as little pressure as possible and the day evolved perfectly”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“My first tip would be to find bargains in the planning phase; dreams can become reality if you use opportunities such as January sales to buy good quality items for less. Secondly, relax and remember what the day is all about. Easier said than done but somehow for a usually nervous person I was very relaxed and managed to really enjoy every moment and take it all in! People tell you it will go past in a flash and you won’t remember the day but we both really do remember all the details.
I think that’s only possible because we were able to relax and enjoy every second. If you’re worrying about the details instead of thinking about what the day and marriage actually mean to you then I don’t think you’ll manage to appreciate it all.”
Very wise words there Laura, thank you. I agree- make sure you enjoy every moment of your day. As always, a huge thanks to Mister Phill photography, for the use of these wonderful images, and of course to Laura and Rob, for sharing their day with us. Congratulations from us all.
Are any of you lucky enough to be wearing two dresses on your wedding day? I’m very envious if so…
Much love,
Shona x
Suppliers
Photographer – Mister Phill
Film – Yay Films
Venue – Kingston Country Courtyard
Wedding dress – Kimberley Stone (day) + Tadashi Shoji (evening)
Birdcage Veil – Lily Bella
Headpiece (evening) – Jenny Packham
Shoes – Russell & Bromley (day), Zara (evening)
Accessories – Borrowed from friends + family
Bride’s perfume – Paco Rabanne Black XS
Groom’s suit –ASOS adapted by Rob’s Mum
Groom’s accessories – Moss Bros + Mrs Bowtie + Loake shoes
Bridesmaids – Adrianna Papell, bought from Bloomingdales
Bridesmaids accessories – Vintage Styler, Etsy and Perfectly Vintage UK (no website)
Flowergirls –Next (dress) Sainsbury’s (hairband)
Groomsmen/ Bridemen – Suit, ASOS, brogues, Dune
Florist – Rob’s Aunt
Cake – Rob’s Grandmother
Rings – Franses in Bournemouth
Catering – Discerning Taste
Stationery – Designed by Rob and Laura
Hair stylist – Laura’s bridesmaid Kayleigh
Lighting – Lights4fun + Cable and Cotton
Décor – BHLDN, Dunelm Mill + Etsy
Shona Raffle-EdwardsView all Shona's articles
Shona is a wedding admiring bookworm with a love of the countryside, flowers and all things organisational who is currently based in sunny Yorkshire with her husband and beloved cat
great photos, love the reception details!
Thanks for your comment Voyteck!
The dresses (especially the back of the Bride’s dress) is lovely and the flowers are very elegant. This looks like it would have been a lovely, laid-back and cosy wedding to be a guest at. As always, great work from Mister Phill!
Thank you for your lovely comment Emma 🙂 x
Beautiful photos
Wow ! Luv these, groom preps in particular. A real energy about them.