A 1970’s Ossie Clark Dress for a Colourful and Modern Wedding

Hello you gorgeous things! How the flipping heck is it November tomorrow!? Autumn is just whizzing right by in a haze of toast, crunchy, jewel-toned leaves and snuggly duvet days but I’m not complaining – the time when I can loudly tell anyone who’ll listen that ”I’m getting married this year!”‘ fast approaches. Oh 17th June, hurry up please! I’ll stop getting carried away for a moment to ask what your Halloween plans are? Anyone raiding their mum’s wardrobe for vintage jewels to be given a whole new lease of (spooky) life? I so love that my mum and I are the same size (and shoe size, which she hates because I just trash shoes) and she generously loans me beautiful items that I’d never buy myself. My mum has the best taste.

Today’s gorgeous bride also has a mama with a sublime wardrobe – the lovely Jo wore her mum’s wedding dress to marry her husband Rob on 23rd July this year; a stunning Ossie Clark number bought in the 1970s. Jo and Rob work together at Membership Engagement Services, our lovely bride is the office manager and Rob is a project manager. They combined their love of literature and music for a colourful day of summer celebrations at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff.

“The biggest inspiration was the venue really, so we kept our decorations modern and perhaps a bit quirky. I love craft, patterns and bright colours. My wedding dress was my mum’s dress; an Ossie Clark dress bought in the 1970’s when my parents got married. I didn’t expect it to look good on me to be honest, because my mum and I have always had different figures and she looked so amazing in her wedding photos, but the minute I tried it on we both knew it was the one. I felt so elegant in it.”

Photography by Elaine Williams

I’ve fallen head over heels for the vintage loveliness of Jo’s gorgeous gown. The flowing, wide crepe sleeves, the elegant neckline, the softly gathered fabric at the waist and shoulders…it’s just totally dreamy and it looks like it was 100% made for our bride. And it’s just beyond lovely that this beautiful vintage creation was given a second lease of life, especially given its extremely poignant family history.

“We chose the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff as our venue. Rob grew up in Abertillery in South Wales and we always enjoy visiting family and friends in the area. The college was also the perfect combination of our interests – Rob is an actor and singer and my degree was in history of art and architecture so the beautiful building definitely appealed.”

Jo and her best girls hopped in a local cab to reach their fabulously alternative wedding venue, a particularly fitting embodiment of Rob’s musical prowess and Jo’s love for art and architecture.

The colourful contrast of orange and blue in Jo’s bouquet is so striking and these beautiful brights were mirrored by the bridesmaids in their Debenhams dresses and sweet wrist corsages.

Did you see the gorgeous Scottish wedding we featured just a few days ago where the bridesmaids also rocked this lovely alternative to traditional bouquets?

“Lucy at Flowers I Do did the flowers. She has such amazing artistic flair that we knew we’d get something really unique and beautiful and she did not disappoint. My sister made my beautiful earrings and necklace for me; I bought the chalcedony beads from Kernowkraft. My sister also did my make-up and Kat at Dollface Cardiff did my hair.”

Jo’s sweet dad walked her to the stage to join her nearly husband, resplendent in his suit from Hawkes, the pop of colour from his tie and buttonhole perfectly complementing Jo’s bright blooms and their assorted trailing ribbons.

She was accompanied on this most special walk by a beautifully personal piece of music played by her talented friend, Sam.

“One of our friends from The Buzztones transposed one of my favourite pieces of music ‘When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful’ by Fats Waller and played it on the piano as I walked in.”

“We met at work in 2009 and got together the following year. Nearly five years later, on Rob’s 30^th birthday, he proposed to me in Trafalgar Square which has always been a special spot for us as it’s the place where Rob first told me that he loved me.”

“We chose from the vow option in the registrar booklet. We decided against writing our own vows because although we have heard some beautiful ones at friends’ weddings, we agreed that we would rather keep those words between us and have a more traditional set of vows – at least as much as this was possible in a civil ceremony.”

Jo and Rob exchanged rings from Wedding Rings Direct; simple, traditional bands which were also a bit of a bargain. The couple were able to book an appointment at the company’s Brighton showroom and were talked through their options by the jeweller who made their rings.

“We had the reading ‘The Orange,’ a poem by Wendy Cope during our ceremony, which I chose because it summarises how I feel about Rob – he makes every part of my life happier and more beautiful: ‘I love you, I’m glad I exist’. Rob chose Shakespeare’s Sonnet number 8 because it refers to music and to love. Music was the thread that ran through the whole of our wedding and is a real passion of Rob’s and one of the things and we both love. Shakespeare also seemed very appropriate in the surroundings.”

The newlyweds emerged triumphantly from their venue into bright sunshine, showered in vibrant confetti and love on all sides. This gorgeous moment has been captured so wonderfully by photographer Elaine Williams. Jo and Rob took a little time after their ceremony for some just married portraits, strolling between the surrounding trees and basking in the dappled light.

“Elaine was fantastic from our first conversation on Skype (very understanding of our living in London but getting married in Cardiff) right through to looking at her ridiculously beautiful photographs of our wedding after a really quick editing period.”

“I wore shoes from Dune, which I bought in Selfridges in the Trafford Centre in Manchester, and wired flowers in my hair from Flowers I Do in Penarth, Cardiff. I find most perfumes a bit overpowering so I only ever wear my everyday perfume, which is Stella McCartney.”

Jo and Rob had the expert help of Naomi at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in organising their day, supported by Allyson of the college’s in-house catering team.

“I designed all of the stationery myself. The name cards doubled as favours – I made everyone bookmarks using patterned washi tape. I also made a diary for a teenage guest and several activity books for the little ones. We asked people to take the book centrepieces off our hands at the end of the day too.”

“I wrapped books in poster paper that I bought from charity shops as centrepieces along with orange origami lilies that I made. The books were because I love reading and the table names were Manic Street Preachers song titles because they are Rob’s favourite band.”

“There were also paper pinwheels in different shades of blue and blue and orange ribbons in addition to some fairy lights with shades made out of more orange origami lilies.”

The couple’s lucky guests were entertained by The Buzztones, an a cappella group that Rob is part of, as well as by DJ Niquid and the couple’s friends Rob and Steph. What a talented wedding party!

“We chose ‘For Once in My Life’ by Stevie Wonder for our first dance as we have both always loved the song, although Rob was more familiar with the swing version. We had been to see Stevie Wonder a couple years ago and had an amazing time and our whole vibe for the start of the evening music was 60s soul, which we love and is so good to dance to.”

“My favourite part of the day was all of the music; I was just blown away by how talented all of our friends were and it made the day that extra bit special having them involved. When I asked Rob he said that he loved how much everyone threw themselves into the dancing so I think we’re on the same page.”

I just love the summer light streaming in through those huge windows, picking up the the colourful accents of orange and blue. Jo and Rob’s sweet wedding cake also highlighted this happy colour scheme.

“Our cake was from Marks & Spencer. We wanted something of nice quality, but fairly simple as we were using it for our dessert and needed everyone to enjoy it. I would have ordered the cake earlier; I thought it needed a much shorter turnaround and had to call up M&S and ask for a faster delivery (thank goodness they came through!). Everything else was fine though, thanks to a very detailed spreadsheet.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Don’t worry about what’s trendy or making everything 100% perfect – pack it with your and your husband’s personalities and you’ll naturally love it, as will everyone who loves you.”

Such such wise words from our lovely bride! Thank you so much to Jo, Rob and of course Elaine Williams Photography for sharing this gorgeous day with us all – what a lovely way to start the week.

Be sure to check out our fabulous archives if you’re looking for a 70s style gown or if you’re thinking about wearing a vintage beauty – they’re just full of incredible inspiration.

Love, Em x