Hello lovely readers, Franky here. I'm thrilled to be bringing you my first real wedding feature for Love My Dress today, and what a wedding I've got for you!
When I first flicked though these images by Dominique and Liam, the talented brother and sister duo behind York Place Studios, I instantly fell in love with the natural elements the bride and groom had incorporated into their day. I adore the way their personality and passions shine through in all the handmade details too...
Love My Dress Wedding Blog, Photography Copyright (c) 2012, York Place Studios
Oh, and there's a pony called Minty, a horse so beautiful, just looking at pictures of him has reignited my childhood daydream of owning my own pony!
Dave & Steph became Mr and Mrs Bates on 21st April 2012 at All Saints Church, Hunmanby...
'We should have married in July the previous year, but seven days before the wedding my dad was rushed into hospital and needed a lifesaving operation; this led to the postponement of the wedding... we couldn’t have had the day without him as he is such a big part of both mine and Dave's lives. It made it extra special that 9 months later Dad could walk me down the aisle to the “Wedding March”.'
The ceremony was followed by a marquee reception in the grounds of the bride's parents' home. Steph tells me that holding the reception here allowed her to personalise their celebration as much as possible. It also meant they could be joined by their beloved animals Minty the pony and Guinness the dog...
'It was important that our horse Minty was there to share our day as she played a key part in the proposal…Dave had a sash made saying “Will you Marry Daddy?” and he went to the stables early in the morning of our 7th anniversary. He put the sash on Minty and waited for me to arrive. Unfortunately I slept in 45 mins that morning so Dave had to wait… he then came out of the stables on one knee; it was perfect...'
The marquee, provided by Florida Marquees, gave Steph a blank canvas to which she could add her green colour scheme interspersed with natural twigs, barks and wood.
'I am a fully trained florist with a 1st Class BA Hons Degree in Floristry who has been working as a Florist for over 6 years. I produced all my own wedding flowers, from the church to the bouquets, buttonholes and the flowers for the marquee. We really like natural/earthy styles, so adopted this look throughout all the decor.'
'I used all white and green flowers – orchids, calla lillies, “Akito” and “Avelanche” roses, green trailing amanthus, spray roses, white ranuculus, longiflorum lillies, chericherinchees, teamed with dried cow parsley, willow, moss, and lots of beautiful foliage from Simply Foliage – including Plaited Palms, Beargrass, Steelgrass, Raphis Palms and Lime Green Draceana Leaves.'
'When the old apple tree at my Dad's house fell down, I asked him to cut it up into discs so I could incorporate them into the pew ends, button holes, bouquets and table centres.We also had a fallen Silver Birch Tree that we had cut into discs to mount tealights in, and two 6ft lengths of the trunk that I filled with flowers to line the carpet outside the marquee.'
'I made all the frames for the buttonholes from wire, adding the bark discs and then embellishing them with beads,pearls and diamantes. Finally I attached the ranuculus flowers just before the big day.'
I love the way the couple adorened their tables with so many different arrangements, using oversized martini glasses, candelabras, a collection of tree trunks and a range of vases. The tables also featured an array of candles, square arrangements with textured flowers and modern foliage, little jars with flowers in and table crystals. The chairs were decorated with green organza sashes, sourced from Covered by Angels.
Steph handmade all the menus, table numbers, place names and the table plan. She also crafted her own favour boxes in the run up to the wedding, embellishing them with ribbons, diamantes, wire and bark - 'They each contained a Kinder Egg, which relates back to our first date nine and a half years ago, and was also mentioned in Dave's speech.'
Steph's beautiful dress was by designer Justin Alexander and was purchased from The Wedding Room in Scarborough. I love the contrast between the opulence of the gown and the lush foliage in Steph's bouquet.
'I went into the shop looking for an ivory dress and chose a few to try on, but Catherine who owns the shop showed me a white one she thought I might like… As soon as I tried it on I knew it was the one! I could just feel it...'
'The dress came with a shoulder wrap but my Mum and sister both thought it looked better without it so my clever and talented friend Wendy made my veil out of the shoulder wrap and personalised it for me. My tiara was my 'something borrowed' from my friend Lucy, and I also wore a bracelet and earrings that Dave had bought me years ago.'
Continue reading "Luscious Greens and Woodland Details for a Wedding Inspired by Nature..." »
