Bugsy Malone Style Matrimony! A Roaring 20s of a Wedding Day…

I love it when a wedding manages to pull off a theme that the Bride and Groom has clearly worked hard to make work on the day.  And this particular wedding is one fine example.

Daniel and Collette got wed on 29 August 2009, at Pembroke Lodge in Richmond, Surrey. 

"I absolutely love the twenties style – I studied art and this period caught my eye and I have loved it ever since (although i think it all starts from watching Bugsy Malone as a kid).  When the subject of the wedding came up, I just naturally leant towards wanting a twenties theme – I think Dan went along with it to keep me happy at first, but by then end of it all he was pointing out things that were art deco and saying 'ooo that’s nice!'.

Its such a feel good time and full of fun and frivolity i wanted to capture the feeling of the twenties through the style and the music and i think in the end we made it perfect"…

Love My Dress UK Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2010, Yvette Craig

"I found my shoes on the net – I cant remember where because, after trawling literally thousands of pairs of shoes they all kind of blurred together, that time is all a bit of a haze now! 🙂 I absolutely love my shoes though, and the style is really flattering to the foot and the detailing on them is my kind of style…"

"The flowers were done by Maggie Broom – I pretty much told her exactly what i wanted and she found it and made it happen. Ii wanted the calla lillies because they are one of my favourite flowers. I also wanted the thistle because i am originally from Scotland. I wanted the bluest thistle she could find to match in with my colours.

I also wanted a mix of lillies and thistles and the thin long grass for me and the bridesmaids and a long table centre piece for the ceremony table (transferred to the head table) and I wanted the thistle pomanders with the lilly and the ribbon coming out the top for my flowers girls, along with this we got lots of separate calla lillies and thistles to place on the tables and around about."

Flapper-Girl style Flowergirls…

"My little girls {flower girls} were in dresses and wraps from monsoon – absolutely gorgeous!"

Collette's dress was an Amanda Wyatt…

"I was having a 20's style wedding so wanted a vintage style dress but knew I didn’t want an actual 20's dress because they finish at the calf (not very flattering on me) – I wanted more the feel of the 20's. The dress I chose was the first dress i picked up and not at all what i had walked in looking for. I chose six dresses in all to try on and this was the third.  My Maid of Honour said she knew it was the dress because before I had even walk out of the dressing room, I was blissfully happy and a bit giggly ;o) so pretty much as soon as i put it on, I knew.  I went away and thought about it for a week and then put down my deposit. They always say when you find it you just know and it was absolutely true for me.  I knew I wanted some changes but in all i was happy with it and after the alterations, it was totally perfect."

The Bridesmaids dresses had to be a style that would suit them all and i really wanted to get them something they would wear again i spent a while looking on the net and in the wedding magazines and eventually found them in a magazine – they were Dessy, and I ended up ordering from the web.   I wanted the teal colour for the waist bands which they did on other dresses but not on the dress that I wanted, so when i asked at the shop they said they could get extra fabric, and my Mum ended up making the teal waist bands for me. 

I found the Bridesmaids hair-clips in Accessorize and grabbed them months before the wedding, because they were the right colour and style!  The flower girls head bands were also from Accessorize.  The Bridesmaids necklaces were from Next and we made the wraps ourselves to get the look I wanted at half the price (it's nice being able to sew sometimes!)."

"I made my veil myself – I knew I wanted something really simple in a 20's style and could see it in my mind but couldn’t find it anywhere.  The solution?   Make it myself! This turned out to be a lot more time consuming than I had expected – sewing all those sequins on individually was a nightmare, then I stored it away safe and had a panic the night before the wedding trying to remember where that safe place was again!  I bought a slide comb with pearl and diamante details this sat in the back of my veil to hold it in place , it just finished it off nicely.

My jewellery for the day was pearl studs in my ears and a long pearl necklace with pearl bracelets to match. These had all been bought by my wonderful Husband over the past few years – I am a lucky girl because he knows my style exactly and love to buy me jewellery…"

"Daniel's suit was made especially for him with measurements we sent to Hong Kong – my cousin lives over there and we got three piece suits made for him and his three Groomsmen.  Dan had a hat and cane and pocket watch – the hat was bought from a local hat shop along with the groomsmen and waiters and anyone else who wanted a hat (we got a pretty good deal).  The cane was one I found on ebay which was from the era and the pocket watch was also from the 20's and my wedding gift to him."

A Venue Fit for the Occasion…

"I had made up my mind on the theme and was searching for venues close to us that would fit the theme.  I had seen Pembroke Lodge on the net while browsing and it was so close to us and just seemed to fit… I took dan along to see it just as a formality really but within two minutes of walking in he agreed with me that it would be perfect, the views alone are enough to sell it. Inside the venue suited us perfectly we had both ceremony and reception in the same room and the staff made the day run really smoothly."

 

"Dans ring was one he found in a secondhand jewellery store (he actually got his ring tattooed on later because he hates wearing rings, he's a chef and they just get in his way!).  Mine is from Neal Gray…"

 

"I had to do a bit of convincing to get this car but i am sooooo glad I did because it totally paid off and was absolutely perfect – Everyone loved it and I felt fabulous driving to the venue with eveyone trying to see the bride!"

Art-Deco Decor…

"I had been collecting 20's memorabilia and bits and pieces from all over the place. I didn’t want floral centre pieces – I wanted every table to be different and I had to get it all to help with the theme (or so i told my hubby) we ended up with all sorts from the original 1920's camera to the ostrich feathers over the doorways, and we had loads of little trinket and then bigger art deco pieces – too many to mention them all but they really made the place come alive…"

 

 

"Belmont Bakery made our cake from a picture I showed them, in the colours I wanted."

 

Swing Time!

"In the evening, we hired the Facinating Rhythm Quartet from Function Central – they played great music and learned our 1st dance song at our request.  We thoroughly enjoyed it and they really helped to set the mood…"

 

 

Fantastic Photographer…

"I spent month on the net looking for a Photographer because I really didn’t want the standard everyone in a line set of photos – I wanted something a lot more artistic and someone who could really capture the mood of the day and accentuate the period without making it too overstated.  Eventually, I found what I was looking for Gary Roebuck who is an amazing photographer.  All was going according to plan until we get a phonecall about 10am the morning of the wedding (wedding at 4pm) to say that Gary had been throwing up since 6am and would not be able to make it.  Devastated, we went into meltdown, but they put out the feelers and recommended Yvette Craig.  I was very nervous, because I wanted the photos to be perfect and Gary and I had spent ages talking through everything to get it right. Yvette turned up after no notice and saved the day though. She did a marvellous job and tired very hard to work with us on the day to get the pictures we wanted and in the end we couldn't be happier with the way they have turned out."

"In all, the most important thing is that I married the man that I love, and he loves me enough to let me have the wedding I wanted and it is going to be a day we will remember for the rest of our lives.  The twenties style just adds that bit of flare to my memories that makes it all the sweeter."

What a wonderful day Collette – huge congratulations to you and Dan and a huge big thank you to your Photographer Yvette Craig also for supplying these photographs.  Lots of 1920's style deco love to you both 🙂

♥