Good afternoon my lovelies. How’s Friday shaping up for you? Good I hope, and I’m about to make it even better with a wedding I’ve been keeping to one side as an end of week treat (save the best ’till last, and all that).
This is Grace and Patrick, and they tied the knot on 8th September last year at The Barbican Centre in London. My heart swooned and skipped some beats when I first saw these photographs that photographer Karolina Paczkowska sent in – how drop dead stunning does Grace look in her original Edwardian wedding dress, a most fabulous of fabulous finds from Charlie Brear.
My style inspiration was Brigitte Bardot in And God Created Women. I really love a nice vintage look. I tried to play with some 1970’s inspiration in my look because I feel it’s a look I can really work with.
My dress was original Edwardian vintage though – purchased from The Vintage Wedding Dress Company. I really like old photos of girls receiving their first communion, so I was playing with that virginal thing.
It was the first dress I saw and it was very different then all the other dresses I saw. I tried it on and it fit like a glove, which felt like a sign. It was simple but quite original. To me it looked like the epitome of a pure virginal wedding dress. I jokingly called it my frontier bride dress. I used butterflies gold, greens and muted pinks on the invitation and decorations to keep the look coherent.
When it came to my wedding veil, I was trying to copy Bardot’s veil from And God Created Woman. My beautiful veil was purchased from Olivier Laudus Design. I made my floral crown out of silk flowers, as well as the flower girls hair pieces. I’ve made some hair pieces for some other brides since.
I also wore a pair of pale pink suede Kurt Geiger heels. No one could see them though – I should have worn something more comfortable!
I met Patrick outside a party in Dalston, I was making a rollie and he offered me a Marlborough . We stayed speaking for hours then parted. The next day I bumped into him in London Fields and we agreed to go on a date.
Two and a half years later he took me on a lovely holiday to Positano, he is Italian, and he proposed a warm august night under the stars, the night of a meteor shower. We married one year later.
The brides mades had a dress code but I wanted them to be able to choose their own dress, something to suit their figure and style. The specifications were white or off white, to the knee, shoulders covered in the church. I gave them references, lace and broderie were encourages. I think it turned out quite well.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Make a wedding binder, checklist and a spreadsheet to keep track of guests (hold onto this you will need it for thank you cards). Book your florist, hair and make up girl and photographer early so you don’t have to worry about it, and so you have time to find a good price and don’t get gauged when you are running out of time.
If you are having more than a tiny intimate ceremony I think they are a must. Don’t have an identity crises about your choices, just get what you think looks nice.
I booked an vintage route master to take us from the church to the venue and that was really nice, it was basically the only time that day that I could sit calmly and chat with my new husband. I wish I had made the canapé reception shorter and made the after dinner dancing go on longer. I had my friends DJing and we were having a great time dancing. And remember that it is fun and exciting, so don’t sweat the small stuff.
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.
