Blue Wedding Shoes and a Tea Length Dress for a Charming Spring Wedding

Good morning you lot, we have a a completely delightful wedding to inspire you with on this fine Thursday morning –  a navy blue, Spring time affair with delicate floral blooms, a glorious Justin Alexander lace trimmed tea dress, (a very well known backdrop) and prepare to be a little envious of the most beautiful double string of vintage pearls and sapphire with a totally adorable story.

Secondary school sweethearts Allana, a teacher and Lee, a finance manager, were married on 5th April 2014, a sunny day in the picturesque Yorkshire village of Esholt. Followed by stylish celebrations with pretty vintage decor at The Great Victoria. A day filled with family, friends, tributes, love and meaning, a real reflection of the couple and their love.

Photography by  Maryanne Scott

“I knew I wanted blue shoes, but couldn’t go too high. I eventually found my plain navy suede heels from Kurt Geiger and decorated them with a pair of ivory bow clips from Chulet Designs on Etsy”

“The day was very much planned to fit in with my style, a little bit vintage and classic. My mum had imagined my wedding since I was a baby and always planned it to be a navy blue colour scheme, and I loved sticking to that theme.”

“I wanted lots of lace, and this ran through the dresses, cake, church decorations and reception details. I always wanted a spring wedding so hoped to fit the flowers and decorations around that.”

“Our photographer was Maryanne Scott, and she was by far one of the best decisions we made for our wedding day. She was amazing from start to finish. We wanted a more relaxed, natural style and didn’t want to spend the day taking lots of posed shots.

We met Maryanne for an initial meeting at Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds, and straight away she began taking photos and putting us at ease (she sent us these photos on disk, along with a later engagement shoot which was included in her price). Her photo’s are full of natural light and for most of the day we honestly didn’t know she was there, and yet she took so many beautiful shots, everyone looks so happy.”

“Lee’s three piece blue suit was from Burtons. He accessorised with Ted Baker shoes and belt, and the groomsmen all had navy polka dot pocket squares and socks from Next.”

“Lee and I have been together since school, I was 16 when we met so I guess you could say I had been planning our big day for a while! We became engaged after ten years of being together. Lee proposed on Christmas eve, just the two of us at home. It was perfect. We didn’t want to wait around, but at the same time wanted enough time to plan our wedding how we wanted it without any stress, so we booked it for the beginning of the Easter holidays just over a year later.”

“Our wedding car was a 7 seat Beauford from Exclusive Wedding Cars”

“I always imagined myself in a tea length dress, but the first few shops I went to tried to steer me towards more traditional lengths. I didn’t quite feel right in any of these, and I was hoping to source a vintage dress in more of a 50’s style. It wasn’t until my bridesmaids spotted the Justin Alexander tea dress at a wedding fair that I got excited about a real dress. I eventually found it at Abigail’s Bridal Boutiquein Leeds and they couldn’t have done more, they were possibly even more excited than me for me to try the dress on!

I fell in love immediately, and even though I had been dead against a strapless dress, I loved the higher neckline and amazing detailing around the waist. The colour was also perfect for my fairer skin. I just couldn’t wait to get twirling in it!”

“My Dad passed away when I was younger, and I always insisted that my brother Damo would be the one to walk me down the aisle! He was such a perfect ‘father of the bride’, he kept me laughing all the way to the church, and his speech was amazing! Something which could have been quite emotional; not having my Dad there with me on my wedding day, instead became something so special and I will always love my brother for making that moment a happy one.

We walked down the aisle to ‘God only Knows’ by the Beach Boys.”

“We had two readings at our ceremony. My gorgeous friend Harriet flew all the way from Australia to be there for our day, and she read our church reading Song of Solomon 2.10-13: 8.6,7 beautifully. Lee’s cousin Ellie read Dr Seuss’ Wedding Vows which was so much fun.”

“We chose St Pauls Church, Esholt as it is in such a beautiful setting in Esholt Village (where they used to film Emmerdale). We really wanted a small intimate church, and after seeing my gorgeous Maid of Honour Rebecca marry there a year earlier we knew it was the perfect place. The village itself is so pretty, and guests all met at the old Woolpack pub before the ceremony, which was a great start to the festivities.”

“I had spotted a veil on Pinterest with a bow but it didn’t seem to exist anywhere in reality. In the end it was recommended that I contact Margaret Roberts who will make a veil from any description/picture. She could do exactly what I wanted and was so easy to work with, and I absolutely adored it, I didn’t want to take it off!”

“I find it hard to pick a perfect part, but after the wedding when Lee and I were wandering around Esholt village having our photos taken was lovely, as it was just us (apart from when the horse decided to come and say hello to us!).

There was also an amazing moment during Lee’s speech, where he had everyone in stitches (quiet accidentally) and the photos of that moment are just brilliant! I literally couldn’t stop smiling the whole day, and having our friends and family there with us was so special, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Our flowers were supplied by Claire at The Flower Room and they were beautiful. I wanted quite natural arrangements, using in season flowers. The Bridesmaids had plain ivory bouquets, and I had a mix of ivory and blues. The table flowers were all different and a mix of ivory and blue, and around the room we put fresh daffodils in milk bottles. My dad was a milkman so this was a little nod to him at the Reception.”

Allana wore the most exquisite vintage necklace, a gift from her mum.

“My necklace was a double chain of vintage pearls and sapphire, which my mum had bought years and years earlier from an antique market and kept hidden away for my wedding day. It was the perfect ‘something old’.

My teardrop earrings where given to me as a wedding gift from Lee on the morning of the wedding; I’d just finished getting ready and they made me cry.  Thankfully then I was also given a ‘Despicable Me’ minion balloon which had me laughing and saved my makeup!”

 “We had our reception at The Great Victoria in Bradford.  I was unsure about having a city hotel, but the Great Victoria is a real hidden gem. It was built in the 19th Century and has been decorated beautifully with lots of grand fireplaces and chandeliers.”

“We ordered our customised invitation design and menus from Ladybug Pixels on Etsy and Lee’s Uncle printed them all for us as he owns a printing business. Lee’s cousin Ellie hand drew us a map we sent to guests, it even featured a miniature version of Lee’s dogs! I made our table plan myself using an old mirror.

My mum made so much of the little details at our wedding, including our confetti and favours. She made each guest a gingerbread groom/bride (a little nod to Lee’s and my hair colour!) and also sourced little plantable wildflower hearts for each table. I genuinely couldn’t have done the day without her, she took my style and all the things I loved and crafted them into so many beautiful things. Everything felt so personal and that was down to her.”

“All the details for the centrepieces were found by myself and my mum, they were either little pieces I already owned, borrowed from family members or found in charity shops and vintage sales. Each table had a different glass or china vase, a mixture of lace doilies and teacup candles made by my mum. We also had antique candlesticks and glasses on the top table, and glass bowls full of Cadbury’s mini eggs as it was Easter time.”

“Our hair was done by the amazing Natalie Whelan at Style Me Lovely Bridal Hairdressing, she has done a few weddings I have been a part of, and took my vague request for a vintage style up-do and created something so beautiful but simple. She makes it look so easy! My bridesmaids all opted for a curled half up style, decorated with blue bows we’d made using craft ribbon.” 

“Our cake was made by Netty’s Cakes and matched my dress with edible ivory lace. We had super cute cake toppers made to match our outfits by Love on Top.

If I could do anything differently it would be to cut our cake! We ran out of time between the day and evening reception so sadly we didn’t get chance to do it on the day.”

“I knew I didn’t want traditional long dresses, so I scoured the net for a shorter style which would fit nicely with my tea length dress. In the end I found the girls dresses on ASOS and they were a bargain. My mum added the blue vintage lace along the sweetheart neckline to make it more church appropriate. My bridesmaids chose their shoes individually; I didn’t want to restrict anyone’s style as all my girls are different. They all went for traditional ivory in the end.”

“We chose a band called Jonny Ross Music for our evening reception and they were beyond amazing. They did two sets of covers, a real mix music from Motown, to swing, to Pharell Williams. They were so much fun, full of energy and had the whole room up dancing! I will never forget having to hold onto my dress while everyone rocked out to the Killers at the end! Jonny was fantastic from start to finish and I couldn’t recommend them more!”

“Our first dance was Michael Buble ‘Crazy in Love’, a little cheesy, but we love it. We used to dance around in our kitchen to it when we first got engaged so it was a perfect choice, plus it was upbeat enough for Lee to twirl me around in my dress!”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Enjoy every part of your day and just take the time to be part of it all. It’s so easy to get concerned about all the details and worry about getting it all ‘right’, but honestly on the day it won’t matter. We had a Polaroid camera guest book, but sadly on the day the camera wouldn’t work; it was a shame but it really didn’t matter in the end, we took the camera on honeymoon and got some great pictures there instead! Everyone kept insisting I was ‘too calm’ in the run up to the wedding, but honestly I was just happy to be ‘married’, rather than worrying about the ‘wedding’.

Try and make the little details about you, there are so many ‘wedding’ style things you will be encouraged to have, but in the end it’s the bits that reflect you that people will remember. I didn’t originally want chair covers, but had to due to the chairs at the venue, but no-one mentions those. The things they mention are the family photographs we decorated the venue with, or the beautiful ring pillow my mum made. It’s the personal bits which matter most in the end.

Also, I loved using Love My Dress for inspiration and just seeing the different types of wedding styles out there. I also used Pinterest a lot for sourcing different ideas, and Etsy for lots of little details.”

Such a beautiful wedding full of love and personal touches. Thank you so much to Allana and Lee for telling us all about your celebrations and for the fabulous words of wedded wisdom, huge congratulations to the both of you. Many thanks also to their wonderful wedding photographer Maryanne Scott for sharing these utterly delightful images.

Are you considering having the traditional something blue on your wedding day? We’d love to hear about your ideas.

Love and vintage pearls,

Rebecca x

 

Photographer –  Maryanne Scott
Ceremony – St Pauls Church, Esholt
Venue – The Great Victoria
Bride’s Dress – Justin Alexander from Abigail’s Bridal Boutique
Bride’s Veil – Margaret Roberts
Bride’s Shoes – Kurt Geiger
Bride’s Shoe clips – Chulet Designs on Etsy
Perfume – Victor and Rolf ‘Flower Bomb’
Bridesmaid’s Dresses – ASOS
Bridesmaid’s Necklaces – Etsy
Flower Girl’s Dress – TK Maxx
Hair –  Style Me Lovely Bridal Hairdressing
Make Up – Jennifer Catherine
Groom’s Suit – Burtons
Grooms Shoes  + Belt – Ted Baker
Groomsmen’s Pocket Squares + Socks – Next
Florist – The Flower Room
Transport – Exclusive Wedding Cars
Stationery – Ladybug Pixels on Etsy
Cake – Netty’s Cakes
Cake Topper – Love on Top
Entertainment – Jonny Ross Music