A 1930’s Gown and Celtic Handfasting for an Intimate Wedding Held at Home

When Annabel sent this file of photos and the accompanying questionnaire over to me she added a little note to me saying ‘….this is an absolute darling of a wedding – you’ll love it!’.  I simply can’t think of any better way of describing it than that as she was right, and I have fallen head over heels for this most beautiful, special, intimate day.

Meet Alastair and Berenice who married at their Glasgow home (hooray for the flexible Scottish system which allows this) on the 3rd of April 2016, after twenty five years together.  I just adore these pictures- there’s something film-like about the way photographers Gail and David from Rooftop Mosaic have captured the day and something so utterly romantic about saying your vows in your own home, don’t you think?

“Our venue was our flat in the West End of Glasgow.  We wanted something intimate and for it to be in a place that was special to us and close to our hearts – our home!  We also wanted a totally intimate, relaxed, stress free day celebrating with close friends and family. We wanted it to keep it simple and meaningful.”

Today’s atmospheric and emotive images are the work of Rooftop Mosaic photography, who we are incredibly proud to be able to recommend through our hand-picked wedding directory, Little Book For Brides.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I can well believe it when the images are this good.  They capture such depth of feeling and such precious fleeting moments.

“We cannot recommend Gail and David of Rooftop Mosaic enough.  I had thought we would just let guests take photos as I didn’t want the stress and pressure of having my photographs taken professionally.  I have been to weddings where it seems such a huge chunk of the day is given over to taking lots of photographs that you don’t see your guests.  I am so glad that we did have professional photos taken though, as Gail and David were so quick, light and unobtrusive and didn’t make me feel at all self conscious.  They caught the essence of the day beautifully and took so many photographs that caught the intimate moments perfectly forever.  The day goes by so fast and you are floating on air so it is lovely to have an amazing permanent record of the day.”Berenice looked like she had just stepped out of the pages of a 1930’s bridal magazine in her original thirties gown, period headdress veil and with her hair and makeup in period style.  Absolutely stunning.

“I bought my dress eighteen years before I got married. In fact I had three vintage dresses to choose from – a 1960’s column dress, a 1950’s dress and the silk damask and silk velvet 1930’s gown I chose to wear on the day. I bought it from Circa on Ruthven Lane in Glasgow. It was love at first sight and I just knew it was the dress I wanted to get married in!”

“It lay in the back of my wardrobe for a long time and I changed shape in those eighteen years (having twins along the way) so I needed to have it altered. Luckily there was enough material in the train to add side panels to accommodate my new shape”

“A wonderful lady called Agneta, at The Zip Yard, Great Western Road did an incredible job altering my dress and my friend Marta restored it to its former glory by mending the bits that were threadbare, hand washing it several times until it was the most amazing creamy silk that shone and pinning the collar to restore the tiny pleats.”

“She gave the dress a complete overhaul and it looked so fantastic on the day.”

Berenice’s veil was another creation hand-stitched by her friend Marta, worn with a fresh flower arrangement in classic 1930s style.

Berenice’s shoes were very modern gold Converse sneakers borrowed from friend Emma.

For her scent she chose Botanical Essence Eau de Parfum No 1 by Liz Earle and to complete her look, she added a gold and amethyst brooch (a family heirloom, being originally made for Alastair’s great grandmother) to her ensemble.

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Hair in the classic 1930’s curls and make up to match was the work of Charly and Chloe of Pin Ups Vintage Hair and Makeup.

We adore how the photographers have captured this ‘first look‘…

Alastair looked terribly smart in a tweed jacket and green tie, worn with his father’s kilt in blue and green tartan.

He accessorised with a wrist watch which was worn by his grandfather whilst a fighter pilot with the Royal Flying Corps during WW1.  What wonderful family links.

“My friend Marta (who is Glasgow’s answer to Martha Stewart) did the flowers. We went to the flower market in Blochairn at 6am to chose the flowers we wanted and she made them into the most amazing floral arrangements to decorate the room, my bouquet, for my headdress, for the buttonholes etc.  She did the most fantastic job bringing my dreams to reality on the day.”

 

Berenice walked down the aisle to ‘Jig Runrig’, played by son Alex and the couple chose a Humanist ceremony to allow them to tell the story of their relationship in their own words and create their own vows.  They spoke the words in front of their beautiful picture window in their home.

“We chose to have a Celtic traditional handfasting as part of our ceremony. Al’s aunt Lesley in Australia embroidered thistles and a Celtic heart pattern on cream silk for one of the ties and we had a length of tartan for the other.”

For readings, two friends read ‘Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven’, by W B Yeats and ‘The Amber Spyglass’ (His Dark Materials), by Philip Pullman.

I will love you forever; whatever happens. Till I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I’ll drift about forever, all my atoms, till I find you again… I’ll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we’ll cling together so tight that nothing and no one’ll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you…We’ll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… And when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won’t just be able to take one, they’ll have to take two, one you and one of me.

“We chose these pieces because they better express the complex nature, strength and vulnerability of being in love, of loving someone and wanting to commit to them than anything we could write.”

As you might expect of such a wonderfully intimate celebration, many elements of the day were the work of family and friends, which brings such a special feel to proceedings.

As well as Berenice’s friend Marta, who made the veil, mended the dress and sorted the flowers, Al’s sister Kate made the beautiful three-tier cake, rings were by the couple’s silversmith friend Natalie and brother in laws Chris and Donald did the honours with the catering and bar.

For decor the couple chose white, silver and gold decorations.  Friends made origami cranes and tissue pompoms and Berenice bought white bunting and waffle decorations from Home Bargains and Paperchase.  To dine, guests used vintage crockery and cutlery and everyone drank from iconic vintage Babycham glasses, collected by Berenice.

“It was a delightful, stress free day and the thing that is most memorable was all the love you could feel in the room.  Our love for each other and our friends and family’s love for us (and all the meaningful ways they contributed to our lives and our day) made it incredibly special.”

” Al and I have been together for twenty-five years so we have done all the for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health bit and we have brought two wonderful human beings into the world. We have been there for each other all this time and this was our way of saying that we still want to be with each other for the rest of our lives.”

Berenice and Alastair’s sons Alex and Ivo provided the music with Alex playing piano and Ivo cello for Pachabel’s Canon and then Vivaldi’s Cello Sonata.  Other friends played piano and sang a Burns song and everyone also sang Happy Birthday to the best man Robert, whose own day of celebration coincided with that of the newlyweds.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Do things your way and don’t be pressurised into doing things you don’t want to do.”

I was so pleased to read that while planning Berenice was a Love My Dress reader and found that the features were inspiring and provided an alternative way of doing things that expressed the individuality of the couple.  ‘Your day, your way’ has never rung more true.

Thank you to Berenice and Alastair for sharing their beautiful day with us today and of course to the incredibly talented Rooftop Mosaic for these stunning photographs.  Has Berenice’s beautiful vintage gown inspired you?  Take a look at these other brides in similarly glamorous 1930s style…

Much love,

Shona x