An Elegant and Backless Aire Barcelona Gown for a Simple And Relaxed White Barn Wedding

Fiona and Matt Curradine Wedding 0438

Happy Tuesday lovelies! I do hope your weeks are off to a jolly good start and you’re ready for another beaut of a wedding? Today’s bride and groom kept it simple but traditional for their special day, keeping friends and family at the heart of it. There’s also a super gorgeous wedding dress in there so let’s introduce you shall we?

Toy designer Fiona and design manager Matt tied the knot on 2nd September 2017 at the picturesque Curradine Barns in Shrawley, Worcestershire.  Fiona looked radiant in a sleeveless, full-skirted Aire Barcelona gown bought from Coco Mio Bridal in Cardiff.

“I chose the dress based on the reaction from my panel of judges; my mum, Matt’s mum and Matt’s sister. And the bow – I love a bow! I also liked the simplicity of the dress as sometimes, being petite, it’s hard to pull off too much frill and fuss. It was actually the first dress I tried on. I also opted for a 1/4 inch satin cathedral-length standard tulle single tier veil to wear with the dress, also bought from Coco Mio Bridal.”

Images by Lisa Carpenter

Aire Barcelona wedding dress

On hand to capture all of the magic of the day was West Midlands-based photographer Lisa Carpenter.

“As soon as we met Lisa we knew we had made the right decision. She was so lovely and instantly put us at ease (especially Matt who hates having his photo taken). On the day our friends described Lisa like one of the guests! She had two cameras on her belt like Lara Croft and was so inconspicuous. Lisa’s photos captured everyone’s personalities so well and our album is the perfect snapshot of the day, featuring all of the little details.”“We moved to Worcester four years ago. My family lives on the Wirral, Matt’s in the Peak District and we have lots of family and friends dotted all around the country, so we felt Worcester was a great central location for everyone, and it’s very slightly warmer than up north!”

“For our day we wanted something simple that didn’t detract from the reasons why we were getting married. The venue had a lovely relaxed and friendly feel to it, which is exactly what we were looking for. We opted for a traditional white wedding with lots of greenery too.”

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“We had So Coco Rouge do our hair and make up on the morning of the wedding and they were amazing – I can’t recommend them enough! Absolutely lovely ladies who couldn’t have done enough for us and our hair and make up stayed perfectly in position the whole day. They also have a salon in Liverpool where you and the girls can go and have your hair and make up done for a night out – great for hen do’s!”

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The brides equally simple yet beautiful grey suede pointed toe heels were from Reiss and her delicate hair accessories from Not On The High Street.

“I also wore a pair of earrings from John Lewis. I didn’t wear anything else apart from a little broach attached to my bouquet that my nan had given to me when I was a child. It really reminds me of her.”

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The morning of the wedding saw the bride getting ready at home with her mum and five bridesmaids who all looked gorgeous in full-length blue dresses from Phase Eight.

“They all bought their own shoes to go with the dress so they just chose ones that would that would work with it. I didn’t want them to have to buy ones they didn’t want to wear again!”

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“Jane Edmonds at Long Barn Flowers did our wedding flowers. We loved the simplicity of all the greenery but thought it needed a spot of colour so added the splash of coral yellow into the bouquets. I sent June mood boards and photoshopped bouquets to help! Jane had us round for tea and biscuits to discuss our ideas. Matt’s mums friend, Sue Llovatt from Bright & Beautiful created the beautiful wreaths above the top table.”

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Greeting Fiona at the end of the aisle was groom Matt wearing a two-piece blue suit from a tailors based in Cirencester and a cotton handkerchief from Matt’s mum sewn into a square as the pocket square.

The brides dad accompanied her down the aisle to the Liverpool Philharmonic orchestra version of Divenire by Ludovico Einaudi and the couple chose a reading called Tall & Short by Big Bird and Little Bird from Sesame Street adapted to the couple themselves; “We thought this reading was a bit of fun as Matt is 6ft5 and I’m 5ft2! It highlights our daily struggles…”

 

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The couple chose their rings from local jewellers Anja Potze in Worcester then, with the church being only next door to the venue, the pair were able to forgo transport and make the most of the gorgeous weather by walking down the lane to their reception following the ceremony.

“My mum made the beautiful bunting that filled the courtyard at the reception venue. I made a photoboard of funny photographs of the guests to show them where to sit and for the table decor, again we kept it simple by using green wreaths with lanterns in the middle, filled with candles. We made the plan of action board to inform every one of when they’d be fed next! I know when I go to a wedding, I always like to know!”

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“We loved the green wreaths that were packed with rosemary and eucalyptus so they also smelt great too! Being a northern girl at heart, I’m extremely careful when it comes to money and hate to waste, so most of the things we bought for the day were intended to be recycled and used in our new home together. For example, the jars that held candles are now used in our kitchen to store the rice and pasta, frames used on the day now house our wedding photos, and the bay trees we used outside of the church are now positioned outside of our front door!”

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After meeting at work, the couple first became good friends before they took the plunge and made it official. Matt then proposed whilst on holiday in Rome in 2016 and they were married 1 year and 5 months later.

“We met at a toy company in Wolverhampton. We had both applied for the same job! Matt eventually got the job and I came (a very close) second. In the end they decided to employ us both. We worked together for 3 years and became good friends…then finally got together.”

“Matt moved to a company in Worcester then not long after, I also moved to a company nearby and we moved in together. Matt proposed in Rome in April 2016. We’d not long bought a house so we juggled knocking down walls and dress shopping!”

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“For our wedding stationery, we utilised our day jobs and made our own! I like small things so I made the booklets business card sized with mini envelopes so the girls could fit them into their handbags on the day! My lovely graphic designer bridesmaid also runs a design company called Off Grid so gave me a little helping hand too.”

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Galloping Gourmet catered the wedding and the 2-tier semi-naked wedding cake was created by Fiona’s auntie Al’s friend, Lorraine Krimou.

“Lorraine made the amazing cake with just 2 weeks notice! We didn’t want to spend a fortune on a cake so Matt was going to take on the task. Bearing in mind I’d never seen him bake a cake the whole time I’d known him…Mum thought she would prepare for the worst! Although Matt turned out to be a great baker, there’s a lot that goes into a wedding cake and we’re glad that Auntie Al’s friend made this amazing cake for us!”

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After the wedding breakfast was devoured and speeches made, the evening’s entertainment came in the form of The Mac Brothers, a band made up of Fiona’s brother, and his ‘brother from another mother’.

“They are THE BEST BAND EVER! They also featured on The Voice in 2015. They surprised us with a cover of the first dance song, Grow Old With Me by Tom Odell after telling us ‘they didn’t know that one’! My brothers other band Hotstepper also joined later in the evening, so it was very special and I was one proud sister!”

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“On reflection, my very favourite part of the wedding day was walking to the church in our trainers and then walking down the aisle. That’s terrible…I should say the vows! I was terrified about walking down the aisle but it was such an amazing feeling, seeing all the smiling faces of all the people you care about was just so wonderful!”

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Words Of Wedded Wisdom

“My maid of honour told me to be more bridezilla on the wedding day! So I asked for some pizza to be delivered to our honeymoon suite for later on on the wedding night! That was great advice.”

“When we got engaged, we agreed that we wanted to have a really simple wedding.”

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“We didn’t want to spend money for the sake of it. For some reason I found wedding planning really stressful and at times I didn’t enjoy it. My advice would be to not stress and instead enjoy the planning and spending time together. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where your wedding is or how much you spend on it, it’s the people who make the day, and you will have the best day of your life!”

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A big thank you to Lisa Carpenter for these blooming beautiful shots! And a special thanks also to the bride and groom for sharing their most magical day with us.

Until next time…

Much love,

Holly x

Credits & Thanks

Holly Grocott

Holly Grocott View all Holly's articles

Holly loves nothing more than getting her fill of beautifully styled weddings and couple's individual stories. After living in London for 6 years, she's now moved back North and settled in the leafy suburbs of South Manchester with her husband and much-loved pet pooch. You'll mostly find her reading in a corner, writing or creating a moodboard (or five).

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