The Fun of the 1920s and Glamour of the 1930’s ~ A London Wedding at Dartmouth House…

Good morning lovelies!  I hope you had a good weekend? What were you up to? Any items ticked off the wedding planning check list?  I love to open up each week with a beautiful wedding on a Monday morning and today, I'd like to share the very glamorous celebrations of Tanya and Jim with you – who tied the knot on 17th September at Dartmouth House in Mayfair, London.

I first found out about this wedding when one of my favourite dress-makers told me about it – the lovely Dana Bolton {she who kitted me out in my pastel perfect baby blue dress for the Love My Dress Summer Soiree last year}.  I am used to seeing Dana design lots of fabulous 50's style frocks, so it was a real treat when I saw the dress that Tanya was wearing… 

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012,  Pippa Mackenzie

"I love the fun of the cheeky dressing in the 20’s and the glamour of 30’s so that, tied in with inspiration from Kiera Knightly’s dress in “Atonement”, ie, the way the skirt was full yet graceful and Nicole Kidman’s red carpet black dress in the Chanel TV commercial  – was where took my inspiraton from. I wanted to feel like a starlet for a day and I did. The glamour and glitz of the 30’s is exactly what I had in mind – Dartmouth House was a perfect backdrop for my vision.

 After fruitless visits to a variety of bridal boutiques I had to re think. I really value details and had a mental note of all the bits I liked so I drew a sketch of my vision and started researching dress makers. Immediately I was drawn to Dana Bolton's work . Her creations are full of fun and magic often with a vintage feel, just what I was looking for…"

"My necklace was an old 3 tier one I redesigned into a choker with a pendant to compliment the backless dress. I happened upon Hen, a local jeweller and coincidentally a pearl enthusiast so she knew a thing or two about re-stringing and could create just what I wanted. She can be contacted through her husband’s website. 

The bottom pearl on the pendant was a lovely gift from Tania at Magpie Vintage. It matches the necklace exactly in colour and was the perfect ending for it. Originally I wanted one of her necklaces as they are just gorgeous however we both agreed my simple pearl choker worked best with the dress…"

 

"I chose to have an original ostrich feather fan in cream instead of flowers which I bid for on ebay.  I also wore a fake fur stole which belonged to my late (glamorous) grandmother…"

"Within a couple of weeks of seeing my sketch, Dana had made a ‘toile’ which was beautiful in its own right!  After that it was full steam ahead until about 4 months to go when pregnancy no 3 appeared :O), after much toying and Dana making all sorts of suggestions on how we could adapt the dress and still make it work Jim and I decided to postpone the wedding (the invites hadn’t gone out yet) and have our new arrival alongside our four and two year old as part of the big day instead – how is another story! 

Six months later I got back in contact with Dana who had stored the dress perfectly. We worked together on the finer detail, Dana was full of ideas and enthusiasm. Her attention to detail is second to none, both on the dressmaking and also how it is worn in a real environment namely dancing and bending down to pick up small children…"

"Penny from Tigerlily Weddings acted as a consultant for the initial concept and design of the venue decor giving me a digital ‘lookbook’ with ideas and colour pallets based around the elements I wanted. I used this as a foundation and springboard for my creation, I let my imagination and creativity loose resulting in a magical vintage feel with contemporary components. I was so pleased with the end result…"

"I wanted a brooch at the bottom of the backless V and found just the one from a jewellery brochure Dana had. It matched beautifully with my necklace.  The original 1930 “dress clips” were also sourced by Dana – she had thought of it all…"

"I wore a pair of champagne colour vintage style peep toe and sparkly shoes from Dune – they were adorable…"

"I am from London and Jim from Boston.  We loved the UK / US connection of Dartmouth House's  history; Dartmouth House was purchased by and formally opened as the London Headquarters of the English Speaking Union on 22nd February 1927. During World War II the library and offices were used to store clothes and toys collected by American ESU members for British blitzed families and servicemen.  The ESU War Relief Department was one of the largest operations of its kind in London.

Richard, the events manager at Dartmouth House, played a huge part in the smooth running of the build up and day. He is kind, patient, meticulous and full of practical advice from his vast experience and when the ceiling of the main dining room collapsed two weeks before our wedding he still managed to ensure our day was magical…"

"My stepfather George gave me away – we walked down the aisle to 'Lara's Theme' played by one of my cousins.  My sister (and maid of honour) lead our three children down the aisle first, followed by: our eldest daughter (4yrs) who carried my ring, our son (two yrs) pulled a small decorated cart with our youngest (10months) sitting inside.  I then followed after to Mandelssohn’s  “The Wedding March”.

 

"Jim asked me to marry him while we were on holiday for my birthday in Cape Town so it seemed the perfect place to start, we had a casual look around one afternoon while at the waterfront and there it was looking longingly at me. Hand crafted at Olga’s design studio, a princess cut set in an art deco style ring. From the moment it was first on my hand I knew it would be a an engagement ring and wedding band in one, beautiful in its own right.

Everything I could have wished for but never dared and I now delight in wearing it every day.  I really love it. 

Jim’s wedding band was from Hatton Garden and he chose it to be made of Palladium – one of the strongest of metals – just like him!"

"Our two daughters were in dresses handmade by and designed with Dana Bolton  as a one off (she doesn’t normally do bridesmaids) – the little angels…."

 

"I handmade every table centre which were 20cm x 20cm miniature 3D scenes based on themes that had sentimental meaning to Jim & me – a different one for each of our 9 tables.

You have to see them to really capture the essence but a few examples are: Skiing was a snow covered mountain with pine trees and skiers, The BBQ one garden furniture, burgers and beer, The Golf was a putting green with a 19th hole,  eagles and birdies in the tree, Vegas was a roulette table with chips and several bottles of whisky, The Kids was a hollowed out tree I made of glued bits of bark from our local woods with photographs to look like their faces peering through holes in” the tree stump”.  Each scene was placed on a glass cake stand and captured under a glass bell jar giving it a magical feel…" 

"The result was stunning and proved to be a real talk of the table.  I enjoyed making them so much that I am starting a business offering a bespoke service to design source and make them for you either for a special event or maybe a personalised gift, the possibilities are endless!"

"I approached Matt at The Urban Flowers Company in Crouch End with my table centre idea’s, he was brilliant with suggestions on what would compliment my Belljars (see Decor for details).  I chose a mixture of herbs for their beautiful fragrance and special meanings: Lavender (Love and Happiness), Rosemary (Protection) and Sage (Longevity) tied around an Antique Rose which I placed in little port glasses (inspired by the glasses handed down from my grandparents I purchased a load more from Ebay) to encircle the table centres. We also chose to have these combinations for the button holes and for the flowers my maid of honour carried…"

"We love cheese so a tiered tower of cheeses seemed an obvious choice. I dressed the “cake” table like a Vintage Boudoir to compliment the theme.  Using a 3 way mirror behind the cheese stack with lots of draped pearls on it, cut glass dishes for chutneys and biscuits and stemmed apothecary jars for fruit and nuts. I printed faded sepia photographs of us and the kids to write the cheese table menus and placed in vintage photo frames. Lace doilies under everything and a lace skirt I made to go around the table completed the look.

The choice of cheese and supply came from Vanessa, our local cheese monger at Cheeses of Muswell Hill…"

"We hired an amazingly awesome band called Azure sourced through Annie @ Happening Entertainment. They really were brilliant, what an electric atmosphere  –  they received two encores!  They were followed by a DJ from Sliding Vinyl accompanied by a congo player – our guests danced all night…. and so did we!"

"Rather than a first dance we had a first “song” for everyone to dance to: I’m a believer by The Monkeys, fun and light hearted & got the party started…"

 

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"Talk to your fiancé at the beginning about what he wants to be involved in and how much – the more you understand this, the more stress free you will be. Research supplier colours first for bridesmaid dresses & cravats etc before choosing your colour theme so you’re able to compliment your groom cost effectively. Rope in your most creative / good organiser friends as your helpers. Take time to hook up with hubby somewhere quiet and private at regular times during the big day just to take it all in. Most of all relax and have fun.

We wanted our friends and family to have a fun, relaxed day, but most of all: take the time to celebrate what we already have – and that’s just what we did…"

"Penny, the design consultant I worked with on coming up with a design concept for the day, introduced us to Pippa Mackenzie. From our first meeting I knew she’d capture our day beautifully. 

Pippa and her husband’s portfolio were stunning. The album they produce is so much more than a traditional album. It’s a bespoke designed digital collection of shots telling our story all bound in an exquisite “coffee table” style hardback.  As part of the wedding package we had an engagement shoot on a West Sussex beach which gave us a chance to understand how she and her husband Ian work, as well as a chance to feel comfortable with a camera around. We were so pleased with the engagement shots we decided to follow it up with a family shoot after the wedding which they will also put in to our wedding album to complete our 'Lifebook.

We also hired Shoot It Yourself – an amazing concept and have since been backed by Dragons Den. They lend you the camera with tips on what and how to film then we send them back the tapes and they edit it all into a video.  Chosen friends and family members took turns videoing during the ceremony, breakfast, speeches and party. Brilliant. Here are some of our best bits…"

How much fun is all this wedding! I just adore Tanya's beautiful dress – is anyone else opting for a glamorous 1930's floor sweeping number like this? What about the video – Tanya and Jim are the first couple I've had appear on Love My Dress who have used the Shoot It Yourself service since I saw them on the BBC's Dragons Den.  Would you consider using Shoot It Yourself?"

Take a peek at the following catetgories for more inspiration; 1920’s, 1930's,  Pippa MacKenzie Photography, London Weddings, Art Deco inspired weddings.

Check back this afternoon for a fabulous competition for readers!

Annabel

♥

Photographer – Pippa Mackenzie
Video – Shoot It Yourself
Venue  – Dartmouth House
Initial concept design & venue styling – Tigerlily Weddings
Brides dress – Dana Bolton
Brides Shoes – Dune
Brides accessories – A local specialist jeweller + pearl pendant by Magpie Vintage
Brides other – ostrich feather fan + fake fur stole which belonged to the bride's late grandmother
Groom – Moss Bross
Maid of Honour’s dress – Oasis ‘vintage wisteria'
Florist – The Urban Flowers Company
Cake – Cheesecake
Favours – Made by the Bride
Hair and make-up Artist – Jessica Dale from Filthy Gorgeous at Debenhams
Entertainment – Azure via Happening Entertainment