Love My Dress UK Wedding Blog

Sunflowers and a 1960's Inspired Sweet and Simple Shift Wedding Dress

Happy Tuesday afternoon my loves.  This is the second wedding of today - and because yesterday was a little quieter than usual, it won't be the last either.

Pip and Lawrence tied the knot on 3rd August 2012 at Villa Farm in Wigginton, York, using tipis supplied by Papa Kata.  I love the laid back vibe of this wedding day celebration. I also love that Pip chose to show off those pins of hers by wearing a short, 60's inspired shift dress, a design by Linda Davey over at No. 9 Bridal Couture...

"I am very small (under 5 foot) and did not feel in any way comfortable in a ‘big’ dress, so was at a loss as to what to do. Linda from No. 9 Bridal Couture was making my mum’s dress and she gave me some great advice on other bridal shops and designers to try – in the end I wanted something unique so went back to Linda. She helped me get to the crux of what I really wanted, which was a simple 60's shift shape in some amazing fabric."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2012, James Melia

"We wanted somewhere that would provide a relaxed atmosphere and a blank canvas so we could really make the event our own. Corrina and James at Villa Farm were outstanding. Nothing was too much trouble, they and their team ensured everything ran like clockwork and all the elements of the wedding came together perfectly. They even provided decking on the grass areas in case it rained.

We also wanted something very relaxed (high fashion or sophistication isn’t really for us) and individual. We loved the Papa Kata tipis after finding them online and liked them as an alternative to a marquee. We both love music festivals, so a slight festival, country fayre theme started to emerge.  Lawrence’s cousin Luke Wijsveld created our invites and design theme using a take on the London Underground symbol and typography (in homage to our time in London), Lawrence loves TinTin so we named our tables after the books and had book covers as our table nameplace holders."

"Lawrence wanted something really special for our big day and got an amazingly tailored suit from RoodDuke in a striking bright blue fabric. The quality of the suit is amazing for the price and time taken to produce the suit."

"Neither of us are massively into flowers at all so we had no idea what we were looking for. We wanted something slightly wild and natural looking, with something nice and bright. We met with Sarah of Leafy Couture who immediately ‘got’ what we were looking for and helped to find something we liked. We went with yellow crespidia, chamomile and tiny daisies in the end. The men’s crespidia buttonholes looked great. I was gutted to have to throw my bouquet!"

"We used bunting, bird cages, lanterns and sweetie jars sourced from eBay to decorate the venue.  We also used large sunflowers, white jugs and paper mache letters from Country Baskets..."

"Our cake was a three tier chocolate cake with berries and chocolate ganache. We were keen on having a chocolate cake as a lot of people don’t like fruit cake (although we both do) and this one was stunning and looked amazing. It was huge and we still have slabs of it in our freezer."

"Our photographer James Melia was recommended to us by Linda Davey. She knew that we were looking for a relaxed affair and some great natural shots and recommended James immediately. We hunted him down at a wedding fayre the next day. After looking at one of his portfolios we knew James was the perfect person to capture our day. We liked the way that his shots were natural but beautiful. We are absolutely thrilled with the amazing job James did for us.

Neither of us like having our photo taken but James made us and everyone else feel at ease. The images we have are stunning and tell the story of the day perfectly, beautifully and naturally and are exactly how we want to remember the day forever. What’s more, everyone commented on what a great bloke James was. We sent out a selection of snaps to each guest with our thank you cards and all the guests loved them. Our engagement shoot was fantastic too.  He also sends us some great tunes via Spotify :)"

A Remarkable Bride, An Exceptional Wedding...

 

"Live for the moment, and help others do the same..."

 

I have been blogging for over two years now, and in that time, I have seen many, many thousands of wedding photographs.  All of the images I receive touch me in some way, even if many of them don't make it on to the blog.  None of the images however have moved me in a way quite like the photographs you see on this page today...

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Photography Copyright (c) 2011, James Melia

Once in a while, something comes in to your life that makes you stop in your tracks and reconsider everything.

On the face of it, Victoria and Fynn look like any other newlywed couple; happy, in love, ecstatic to be surrounded by family and friends on the most celebrated day of their lives.  And all of this is true, in complete and absolute abundance.

But these photographs also conceal another truth, a truth that will certainly be more difficult to bear for some...

Victoria suffers from Adrenal-cortical carcinoma - or 'ACC'.  

ACC is a rare and dangerous form of cancer.  It affects just one in around 1.7 to 2 million people per year.

Victoria's cancer is terminal...

 

"I wake very early and take both our dog, Toast, and my mum’s dog Lolly out down the track in the fields behind the house. It’s just light, cold and crisp. The dogs run and play as they have many times before but today is not like any day before or after; the essence is nothing other than beautifully peaceful.

Today I am marrying the love of my life..."

 

"Me: the five year old kid in dungarees halfway up a tree.  Me; the twelve year old girl who wears boots to kick the annoying boys in the playground.  Me; the awkward teenager with black hair and an eating disorder and the girl whose most significant bond by her early twenties has been with a traumatised yellow Labrador dog.  This is who, through happy serendipity, found her soul mate and is going to walk down the aisle today..."

"Who’d have thought?

Life certainly has its intricate ways of changing things and sometimes we can’t see why things happen to us, but I would like to embrace the belief that all the pain and heartache I had to endure in the last year has led me here to this quiet beautiful moment; utterly priceless in its serenity...."

I will admit now, that the task of preparing this feature to share with my readers made me nervous. I was anxious about offending Victoria with my words.  Anxious about not using words that expressed, with enough sensitivity, the admiration and complete respect I have for this remarkable, beautiful and exceptionally brave lady...

I wrote this piece in the presence of my parents and husband - with whom I had a conversation about how cancer has not directly affected me, and yet how I felt deeply, deeply moved by Victoria and Fynn's story. Of course, I felt sadness and pain for this extraordinary lady, and yet reading about Victoria's experiences via her personal blog, Poppies and Epiphanies, and her and Fynn's Imagine It website, I was filled with pride, positivity and an amazing sense of strength.

Today, I would like to ask you to join me in celebrating the wonderful, beautiful and triumphant wedding of Victoria and Fynn, that took place on 12 November at Etton in Cambridgeshire.  Victoria and Fynn's wedding was photographed by the amazing new talent that is James Melia...

Dressmaking Blogs...

Afternoon everyone :)  So today I'm feeling in the mood for a little DIY - this morning I featured a Bride who collected separate pieces of fabric over the years and used them to make her own wedding dress? How clever and so inspiring!

I live with a designer/dressmaker and am surrounded by dressmaking tools and materials upstairs that one day, I would love to get to know how to use properly. Wouldn't it be lovely to step out in a lovely Summer frock that you had actually made yourself? A few of my friends make their own clothes and I'm always so enviable.

Today, Love My Dress reader Brianna Davis contributes a guest post where she shares her top 15 dressmaking blogs.  Use this list as a resource to help you find inspiration for dressmaking in general or to gather information to share with your own dressmaker - be this for your wedding dress, a special occasion dress or simply your first foray into creating a dress yourself of having one made for you.

Over to you Brianna...

♥   ♥   ♥

There’s nothing like whipping up your very own dress. It gives a whole new spin to the age old question,"Who are you wearing?”.

For those who are just starting to hone their dressmaking skills, these blogs serve as a great starting point to teach you all about the art of measurements and how to choose fabric that will make your designs come to life.

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - Image Source, Sense & Sensibility Patterns Blog

1. Patchwork Underground This quirky blog is packed with patterns, but we love it because it talks about different threads and fabrics. Things like these are essential for the knowledgeable dressmaker.

2. Adventures in Dressmaking This blogger is all about retro and vintage-inspired dressmaking. If you’re looking for classic sheath dresses, this is the blog for you. These simple patterns are ideal for those who are just starting their own adventures in dressmaking.

3. A Dress a Day This blog focuses on vintage dress patterns. If you’re thinking that means an array of shift dresses, think again! Remember all of the fabulous dresses worn by Lucille Ball? You can get the same look from the dress patterns at this site.

4. Fashion Era – Fashion Dressmaking Learn the history of dressmaking from this fashion site. It goes into dressmaking patterns from the ‘50s and why certain silhouettes and fabrics were so popular.

5. Vintage Sewing Starting out with vintage dressmaking patterns is the way to go because the styles are usually simple and sleek. This means you don’t end up wasting fabric on guesswork. This site shows you the art of tailoring and offers some info on millinery too.

Dresses at No. 9 Launch 1950's Inspired Spring/Summer Wedding Dress Collection...

Top o' the morning to you! :)

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm a huge supporter of the indendent designer.  I have featured several on Love My Dress here and today, I'm so delighted to be sharing some exciting news with you from another - one of my favourites actually, Linda Davey from 'Dresses At No. 9'.

With headquarters on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, Dresses At No. 9 offers brides-to-be an affordable bespoke or made to measure wedding gown.  Having previously worked for Pronuptia De Paris, Linda has over 15 years in the wedding industry, and certainly knows how to create a beautiful wedding dress.  And today, she is bringing old-fashioned style glamour to us from West Yorkshire, with her elegant, stylish and vintage inspired Spring/Summer collection of wedding dresses.

By attentively listening to brides-to-be, Dresses At No. 9's creator, Linda Davey, has spent the last few years offering free advice through Facebook, blogging and answering dilemmas in bridal forums alongside her growing bespoke bridal wear business.  Her experience in so doing and what she has learned from Brides in the process, has helped lead to the creation of this new collection. 

Linda tells us more...

“I wanted to create an individual look for many brides-to-be who are forced to choose certain styles currently available in the wedding gown market.

During the 1950’s influences including film, television and music created a new market when teenagers became an emerging fashion voice. 1950s glamour had suddenly arrived. The era can be remembered for two fashion silhouettes; the full skirt and the pencil slim. Both styles placed great emphasis on the narrowness of the waist, and I have taken this as her inspiration for my new 2011 Spring/Summer Vintage Collection..."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog - PHotography Copyright (c) 2011, Rob Booker