A Beaded 1920’s Style Gown and Bridesmaids in Velvet for a Winter Barn Wedding

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I’ve said it so many times, but if you’re planning a wedding, don’t discount the colder months- the romance of fairylights, the cosiness of a warm room full of family and friends- these things all more than make up for the lack of light and sun in my opinion.  I’ll admit I am slightly biased, as today’s bride and groom chose almost the same date as my own wedding five years ago,  but I stand by it!

Meet Katherine and Phil who married on the 4th November 2017 at The Oak Barn in Hittisleigh, Devon, surrounded by their family and friends.  The couple got engaged in Bournemouth in January the same year, when Phil got down on one knee on the beach.

“We weren’t planning on looking as far south as The Oak Barn, but we knew straight away that this venue was for us.  The spaces were beautiful, spacious and cosy all at the same time.  It had the large grand main hall that Phil was looking for, with an amazing mezzanine, but also a warm homely feel. There was enough accommodation on site for us and a few close friends and family and plenty of other accommodation nearby for the other guests and we could stay for the whole weekend to spend quality time with everyone both before and after the big day.”

Images by Luna Weddings

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Katherine wore a beautiful beaded gown by Ellis Bridal which she purchased from Brides of Southampton, worn with a light and flowing veil, from Tiffany’s in Southampton.

“I loved the elegance of my dress and the nod to the 1920s. The beading was stunning and I loved the little cap sleeves.  It was the only dress which I tried on and felt like me and the only one that made my mum cry.  The ladies in the shop were great and even replaced the little belt on the dress with a velvet ribbon so that I tied in with the rest of our wedding party in their velvet loveliness.”On her feet Katherine wore red velvet shoes from Joe Brown, while for scent she chose Boss Orange, a scent she associates with Phil.

“My dress was covered in delicate beads and pearls so I wanted to pick that up in my accessories.  I wore a silver and pearl drop necklace that mum bought me for my birthday from Silver UK, as well as a silver bracelet which had a charm holding a lock of my Grandma’s hair and my Nan’s engagement ring on my right hand.  It was nice to have something that belonged to both of them so close to me when they weren’t there themselves.”

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The used velvet and jewel colours to guide their style for the day.

“Phil found a burgundy velvet jacket that he loved and wanted to wear, and it all stemmed from there.  The best man, groomsman and bridesmaids all wore velvet and even my parents joined in.”

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Phil purchased his burgundy velvet suit jacket from Moss Bros and paired it with tuxedo trousers from Debenhams, a velvet paisley bow tie from Moss Bros and stylish red and black shoes from Jeffery West.

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“We met Helen from Isca Flora on a recommendation from our venue.  Helen was great – she knew just what we were after and worked hard to incorporate all of our ideas, including using matching velvet ribbons to wrap around my bouquet. “

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“She did some lovely buttonholes for our family, decorated lanterns for the bridesmaids to carry down the aisle and some amazing displays in milk churns outside one of the barns.”

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The bridesmaids all wore pearl headbands, as well as pearl bracelets Katherine made them as thank you gifts.  Each one had a little silver leaf charm with their initial on it and a book charm which opened to reveal a tiny handwritten thank you note- just adorable.

“I had three bridesmaids, my little sister and two of my best friends.  We wanted to continue the velvet theme started by Phil’s jacket and I found some gorgeous multiway dresses from Valdenise on Etsy in a fantastic dark green velvet. They were just perfect.”

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“My dad walked me down the aisle. We were both adamant that he wasn’t “giving me away” but it was very emotional having him with me.  We walked  to the Glasgow Love Theme from ‘Love Actually’.  Its mine and Phil’s favourite film and I just love piano music.  In hindsight, I wish I had asked my mum to walk down the aisle with us as well.  It would have been a lovely moment.”

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Phil and Katherine wrote their own vows, which made their guests laugh and showed their personalities perfectly.  They also had two readings: ‘Wedding Poem’ (Anon) read by Phil’s goddaughter, and  ‘Always Love Each Other’ by Larry S Chengges, read by friend Becky.  Katherine’s sister also wrote a humorous song which she played on her guitar as a third ‘reading’.

“My favourite part of the day was the ceremony.  I was expecting to be a bag of nerves but I was calm and just so happy the whole way through. Walking into the ceremony room and seeing all the smiling faces of the people we love was so special and something I will never forget.”

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Today’s beautiful pictures come to us courtesy of Anna and Mike of Luna Weddings.

“I first saw Anna and Mike’s work on a blog when looking at wedding venues.  I followed them on Instagram and was hooked!  Their photographs are stunning and I knew right away I wanted them to be our wedding photographers.  Anna is great on social media and her personality really shines through.  Phil and I both liked that, as we thought it was so important that we got on well with everyone who was going to be at our wedding.”

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We met up for a pre-wedding shoot in Devon which allowed us to get to know them both a bit better.  I thought I was going to feel really awkward, but they easily chatted to us throughout and we felt very natural with them just snapping away.  I can’t recommend Luna Weddings enough.”

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Katherine and Phil also decided to have their wedding filmed, choosing Mark Lenik of Lenik Wedding Cinematography for the job.

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“Hosts Katharine and John (who live on the site in the farmhouse) were just incredible.  Immediately friendly and welcoming, they bent over backwards to do everything they could to make our day perfect.”

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For decor the main barn boasted a canopy of fairy lights hired from Party Lights and florist Isca Flora made hanging creations which hung from the bottom of the beams.

Katherine and Phil also decorated with little copper pots full of succulents, wood place names made by Phil’s father and tealight logs to create a natural with coppery sparkle theme.

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Cakes were made by Phil and Katherine’s mums and Katherine’s sister and Katherine also ordered cupcakes from The Cupcakery in Barnstaple, which is owned by a friend.  The result looked absolutely delicious.

“Our caterers were Milkshed Catering.  Katie was a delight from the initial email and we visited their home in East Devon for our tasting.  We were blown away, the food was just stunning!  Phil and I both love Italy and Italian food so we wanted to make that a part of our day.”

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The Italian theme continued into the evening food with Two Birds Kitchen and their horsebox wood-fired pizza oven, which fed guests to repletion.

“Our friend, Paul Baker, is a DJ and played a great selection of songs just after our first dance (to ‘How Long Will I love you’ by Ellie Goulding) which really got people up on the dance floor and made for some great photos.  We also had beer-and-prosecco-pong and a Selfie Station with silly props to keep people entertained while Paul was setting up. Later in the evening we also did a sparkler run.”

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Words of Wedded Wisdom

  1. Learn to delegate.
  2. Give yourself and your bridal party enough time in the morning.  I didn’t get as much time as I would have liked with my mum so make sure you plan all that in.
  3. Have someone who knows the timeline of your day and is willing to nudge, ferry and shout at everyone to make sure they know what’s happening, when and where.
  4. Don’t worry about filling the whole day.  People will happily entertain themselves and we bought things to fill potential gaps in the day that were never used.
  5. Take it in your stride, don’t worry about the little things, and just have the best time.

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So many thanks to Katherine and Phil for sharing their beautiful day with us today.  Does Katherine’s 1920’s look inspire you?  Take a peek here for more weddings with a 1920’s feel, or here for more beautiful barn weddings.

Much love,

Shona x

Credits & Thanks

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

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