Pink, Gold and Sequins for a Glamorous 1920’s Inspired Garden Wedding

Happy Monday ladies! Oh do I have a treat in store for you today! I’ve been chomping at the bit to share the stunning celebration of Chris, a camera operator, and Holly, an assistant at a primary school who is training to become a teacher.

Chris and Holly met at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, where they both did foundation diplomas in art and design before going on to their specialist degrees. Common interests and a shared sense of humour drew them together, and after Chris’ father became ill, it was all the more special to share the joy of their engagement with him. The couple wed on 14th February this year in glamorous 1920s style, influenced by The Great Gatsby.

“I have been in love with the 1920s since I can remember; the glamorous drop waists with beading and sequins, the flapper dresses, the era of gangsters and moonshine with illegal underground clubs. I know I have a romanticised image in my head about this time but I knew our family and friends would love an excuse to dress up.”

Photography by Steve Fuller

 

“As a family we have been known for our dressing up parties at halloween and birthdays! As it was February, I wanted the groomsman to wear three-piece wool suits and a golden look for the bridesmaids. I am not a traditionalist and didn’t want want or think a white wedding dress would suit me, so why not be different and have something that reflects you?”

“We became engaged when Chris’ dad, Peter became ill, because we wanted him to know we would be together forever and were always going to make a serious commitment. Chris purchased an art deco ring in the summer and as we had been together for eight years, we thought we had waited long enough and wanted our wedding to be sooner rather than later. We booked a venue and realised we had five months to plan and execute our wedding.”

Holly’s hair and make-up was taken care of by artist, Georgina Heron and she wore Angel Muse by Thierry Mugler perfume, forgoing a necklace to allow the beautiful embellishment of her dress to sing. A pair of earrings bought for her by her mum for Christmas were a simple and stylish finishing touch.

“Georgina Heron was professional and adaptable and nothing was ever an issue. It is great to have a calming influence with you when you are getting ready, and knowing that she had years of experience having done many weddings put me at ease instantly. I was on the hunt for an appropriate hair accessory to go with the theme of 1920s Gatsby – I wanted something quite glitzy and something that would complement my silver embellished belt. I came across my head piece on eBay, it was hand crafted, originally from Etsy from abroad.”

Now it’s safe to say I’m besotted with Holly’s incredible gown and totally astounded that our talented bride designed and made her ensemble together with her equally talented mum.”

“A gold leather pair of Kurt Geiger heels complemented Holly’s shimmering ensemble and linked seamlessly with her ‘Golden Girl’ bridesmaids. Their delicate leafy design echoes the intricate lace of her blush-hued dress perfectly.

“My mum made my dress but we designed it together; I went to London College of Fashion to do my degree and my mum was a fashion designer. I was inspired by Paolo Sebastian’s creations, in particular this dress and this one, but as it’s an Australian designer and there were no stockists in London, we decided to set about and design and make my dress ourselves.”

“We visited a local bridal warehouse in order to hunt for the perfect fabric and accessories. I brought my mum and mother-in-law with me and we unanimously chose the same fabric, French lace that had been sent to India to be beaded, but the fabric had a life of its own, with a leaf design that stood out and had quite an ethereal look. It was the perfect fabric as it was the colour I had imagined and was already embellished.”

“My silver embellished belt was separate and also came from the warehouse, it was made in Italy and can be detached from the dress so I can wear it again.”

Holly’s beautiful Golden Girls wore an array of shimmering high street beauties, making one of the most stunning bridesmaids squads I’ve ever seen. Our bride knew she wanted her best girls to feel beautiful and comfortable, so chose them unique individual ensembles to fit their styles and personalities.

“I gave all bridesmaids free reign to accessorise themselves as they were all wearing different ensembles. As part of their present we purchased beaded leather bags to match their outfits and each bridesmaid had a feather fan (burlesque style) as I wasn’t having flowers – our venue was already set in a garden and we wanted our wedding to be glitzy and to be a little fun!”

“Our venue was The Gardens in Yalding near Maidstone. We would often visit the picturesque village for pub lunches and go to Tea Pot Island with family. Also my husband’s family spent a lot of time in Yalding, particularly his parents when they were growing up spending holidays down there, so we felt that we already had a connection to the place.”

“It was my mother-in-law, Sharon, who actually came across the venue whilst trawling the internet. It was in fact the first venue we went to see and were sold on having it there, a perfect blank canvas.”

“The flower girls wore shoes and dresses from Monsoon with gold glitter tights. I also made them angel wings and purchased fairy wands from Not on the High Street. Each bridesmaid was different because my friends and family are all very different in personality and body shape.”

“I truly believe everyone should feel gorgeous and I wanted them to feel a million dollars walking down the aisle. I think they appreciated being thought of and knew they would have a dress they could wear again should they have another glitzy occasion. And why not? Otherwise I think it’s money wasted.”

Holly’s dad accompanied her down the aisle to Ellie Goulding’s How long will I love you. He wore a blue suit, matching the page boy who rocked a three-piece suit with braces. Chris looked equally dapper in a suit from Moss Bros, which he paired with brown leather Hudson brogues.

“Each of the groomsmen were given pocket watches as a present to go with their suits and all were very different. I sourced all of the bow ties and pocket squares from eBay and colour co-ordinated them. My gran on my father’s side passed away a few years prior to us getting married, but had met my husband when she had fallen ill.”

“I inherited her costume jewellery being her only granddaughter, and decided to use her numerous brooches to make feather pins for the groomsmen to go with the theme of our wedding, and to create cohesion with the bridesmaids and flower girls. It also meant that a part of my gran could be there. All the feathers were sourced from eBay and made by me.”

Our lovebirds had two readings during their ceremony, asking their family to choose passages that they felt were appropriate. Holly particularly loved the following piece entitled Blessing of the Hands.

These are the hands of your best friend, young and strong and full of love for you, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other today, tomorrow, and forever.
These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as together you build your future.
These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch, will comfort you like no other.
These are the hands that will hold you when fear or grief fills your mind.
These are the hands that will countless times wipe the tears from your eyes; tears of sorrow, and tears of joy.
These are the hands that will tenderly hold your children.
These are the hands that will help you to hold your family as one.
These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it.
And lastly, these are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours, still giving you the same unspoken tenderness with just a touch.

“My ring was from New York and art deco in style, so it was difficult to find a wedding band that matched. We went into Chisholm Hunter, the Bromley branch, and they were wonderful; very personable and offered a wonderful service so we were able to get both our wedding rings from them and what we wanted never seemed too much.”

Chris and Holly’s intimate outdoor ceremony was captured both on camera and on film, luckily two of Chris’ fellow camera operator friends were happy to be called upon as the couple tied the knot.

Steve Fuller has done an incredible job of capturing the myriad of shimmering details of the day, and the wonderful moments between loved ones and guests.

“Steve Fuller was our photographer. One of our friends had Steve as their wedding photographer and couldn’t speak more highly of him, when I saw the photos from their wedding I was sold in an instant. They are very real and not posed at all, he was able to capture those precious moments between family and friends as well as those looks loved ones have when they are caught up in the moment.”

“Steve was absolutely lovely and put us at ease. My husband and I are not the most easy with being photographed but we barely even noticed him, he drifted into the background and was never overtly present so you were able to be yourself. Even though Steve specialises in non-posed photography, he still captures those family photos as requested and we had a small list at the ready to speed up the process.”

Our lovely bride sourced all the table decorations herself and with the help of the couples’ friend, Sophie Robinson, dressed the wedding venue, both getting covered in glitter in the process! Holly and Chris used a template from Vistaprint to create the wedding stationery, which they further painstakingly personalised with glitter and gems.

“I brought a gold framed mirror which was given to us as a present by a family member, on which I wrote the ‘Events of the Day’ and we brought along our telescope so our guests could wish upon a star. We also had a memory table named the ‘story of us’ – we have been together 9 years in October.”

“I have been collecting photographs, tickets, passes and cards from over the years and made numerous scrap books and thought it would be lovely for friends and family to see us through the ages. It was also a reminder of those that we have lost, but are still with us always in our thoughts every day.”

Sequinned table cloths fitted with the glamorous Gatsby style and the newlyweds laid on a sweetie table stocked with their favourite treats. Glittering Christmas garlands and spreads decorated the pagoda area, beautified once again by the couple’s talented art director friend, Sophie.

“Wendy Jenkins, my maid of honour, made a one off cake for us. It was a chandelier cake, giving the illusion that it was hanging upside down. It looked like a moon and the night sky, with my husband and I dancing on the stars. I made the cake topper myself and the cake matched our invitations, which read ‘love you to the moon and back.'”

“Part of the package deal with The Gardens was the food, it was beautiful and they were happy to accommodate any special requirements, which made our lives easier. The DJ was also arranged as part of the package and Pete was wonderful. I had made several requests before the wedding, including having him play a recorded version of our first dance sung by Chris’ cousin Millie Andrews; it made our moment all the more special.”

Chris and Holly also booked a live band to alternate with the DJ who they found via a website recommend by a friend, The Morris Agency. The band were easy to communicate with, quick to respond and come highly recommend by our bride.

“My favourite moment was our surprise fireworks! It was something I have always dreamed of having, I love fireworks night, New Year’s celebrations and the feeling of lighting up the night sky just appeals to my child-like imagination.”

“Now they were an expense, however the company we used were amazing. They were quick to respond and kept in touch. Everyone was supplied with sparklers and gathered to enjoy the evening cuddled up in their fur coats or the blankets we supplied in a basket outside. We even had our initials in a Catherine wheel! It was well worth the money and only lasted ten minutes, but is something me and my husband will never forget.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“I had so many ideas of what I would like my guests to do and things I wanted to take away from our wedding, but don’t have too many things otherwise they’ll never get round to doing everything. Things like guest books, typing out messages, making wishes, photo booths – I would say just pick two ideas and run with them.”

“Also I know budgets are tight when planning a wedding but I couldn’t stress enough that if you have friends and family with certain skills, utilise them. They are more than happy to help and feel like they are part of your big day, whether they are good at making cakes, photography, dressing a room – all of these things can help with your overall expenditure. We tried to pay for as much as we could as we went along rather than paying for everything in the last months prior to the wedding, that way it wouldn’t seem like such a shock to the system.”

“I have been told this by many brides and close friends but it’s important to take time out to enjoy the day and actually spend some time together. It is manic and your day is jam packed with everyone wanting to celebrate with you, but it is YOUR DAY! Soak in every experience and if there is a hiccup (because there’s always something) take a deep breathe, no one else knows your wedding plan and no one will notice.”

I can’t tell you how happy all this sparkling beauty has made me, what  a way to brighten up a Monday! All that remains is for me to say a huge thank you to Chris, Holly and Steve Fuller Photography for sharing this simply stunning day with us all.

With love,

Em x