An Elizabeth Avey Tiered Wedding Dress and Kate Spade Glitter Heels For A Relaxed And Elegant Seaside Meets Countryside Wedding

I've been quite frankly chomping on the bit to share this latest wedding with you, from the incredibly talented photographer Sarah Falugo of Green Photographic (and Sarah Falugo – her new photographic company).

Tehya and Tom tied the knot on 29th September 2012 at Lyme Regis
Guildhall – chosen because it overlooked the sea and had the beautiful
cliffs for a backdrop, followed by a reception held at at the (yes the) River Cottage at Park Farm.

This pretty seaside meets countryside wedding features
the most delightful tiered 1950s original vintage wedding dress – one
amazing find thanks to Elizabeth Avey.

"I went to see Elizabeth Avey twice before finding 'the one' that just worked well with my body and looked a bit fun.  I
loved the lacing at the top and its 50s-style femininity. It was so
much fun to wear and twirling around in the dance floor with the
bustling skirt was definitely a highlight. I wanted something that
wasn’t fiddly or too delicate, to be as comfortable as possible so there
was no adjustments during the day."

I also wore a bespoke petticoat from Annabella Designs Petticoats, and my veil was from Marisol Aparicio Weddings, Etsy store.  It was a 24 inch veil – she does do bespoke sizing."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2012, Green Photographic

"Our Florist was Haughty Culture.  Our brief to them was for
seasonal, elegant country flowers that were bright but dainty with a
vintage feel. I visited the florist once before and spoke to the lovely
Clare. I also showed her some of my ideas from my Pinterest board. 

My bouquet was a hand-tied posy with cream, pale pink, lemon and
blush peach flowers with some brighter tones and silver/grey eucalyptus
foliage.  My bridemaids had hand tied posy of peach pink and lemony yellow incorporating mixed flowers and roses.  Tom’s button hole featured ranunculus and waxflower and the bridal party had coloured roses with jade green hypericum berries and leaf.

There was also a ‘nod’ to Australian cuisine (to reflect my roots) with
Anzac biscuits served with tea and coffee in the outdoor yurt, and
eucalyptus leaves in the bouquets." 

"Both Tom and I grew up loving going to the seaside.  We chose River Cottage at Park Farm as our reception venue because of its typical English countryside setting – it's actual working farm and provides the most fabulous food. 

Ultimately we were inspired by the season more than anything
else – from the invitation and bridesmaid colours to the menu and
flowers. Autumn is a really beautiful time of year to show off colour
and enjoy the outdoors in the UK.

Country shows were also an
inspiration. I used to ride ponies competitively in such shows in
Australia and loved the fair-type atmosphere and camaraderie."

"We met at an art gallery after-party in Shoreditch. I was at
home when a friend convinced me to go out mid-week. There was loads of
bright young things partying away when I got there and soon struck a
conversation with Tom, who was wearing a somewhat out of place tweed
jacket. 

We were engaged on my birthday weekend in February 2012 in
Scotland. We caught the ‘sleeper’ train through the stunning Scottish
Highlands and stayed in extremely romantic queen’s suite at Inverlochy
Castle. A lovely personal touch by the hotel was a kitchen tour by the
Head Chef who gave us a few jars of the marmalade they were making,
providing later inspiration for our wedding favours. While we were there
we had a ball skiing and driving along Loch Ness.

We were engaged for seven months before the wedding day."

"I wore a pair of vintage clip on earrings – a gift from my good
friend Kate from when I was her bridesmaid. Garter sent from Australia
by my Grandmother as well as a handkerchief she wore on her wedding day.
Small gold mesh bag from a vintage shop in Melbourne. Light pink
feather cape by Biba (Ebay purchase)

"Our cake designer Claire came to the rescue at the last moment when we realised it would be tricky transporting the cakes from London to Devon!  The cupcakes were a mix of Neapolitan (chocolate layer,
vanilla with pink frosting) and banoffie (Tom’s favourite). The top
tier cake was red velvet with cream cheese frosting – still my favourite
cake from when I first visited London on a university trip a few years
ago. 

I also ordered two vanilla cakes with yellow frosting for each of the bridesmaids as their birthdays not long after the wedding."

"My shoes were ‘Charm’ by Kate Spade. from the Convent Garden store in London – purchased 3 days before the wedding…….!"

 "Favourite parts of the day were spending some time alone together
in the car on the way to the venue. After such a busy morning and the ‘I
do’s’ plus photos on the beach with everyone it was just nice to be by
ourselves and chat about the day.

"My bridesmaids wore dresses from For Her & For Him in yellow and dusty rose colour…"

 

 
"Tom wore a classic black morning suit with silver waistcoat and ivory cravat – hired from Moss Bros black leather shoes by Russell and Bromley, along with a  Raymond Weil watch and silver cufflinks as a gift from his parents."

"Our photographers were Sarah Falugo and Bear from Green Photographic.  We were extremely lucky
to book this very capable team who were cool, calm and collected
throughout the day.

Being away from family and friends in Australia it
was really important for us to get some fabulous shots to send home and
for everyone who couldn’t make it, a good understanding of what the day
was like. They did a great job."

"My Makeup Artist was an amazingly friendly girl called Kylie Jonkman who
whizzed through our booking on the day but had a fabulous attention to
detail. Kind, understanding and a great laugh to boot."

"We chose a 1920s vintage antique engagement ring from Berganza Antique Jewellery of London and Tom’s great-grandmother’s wedding ring.  Tom's wedding ring was a wite gold ring from H J M Reynolds in Hatton Gardens."

"Our ceremony readings included Tom’s Nani, Barbara read
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116. My mum read Anon – These I can promise.  Tom’s
Aunt Maureen read To Love is Not to Possess – James Kavanaugh

Suzanne (our bridesmaid) also read 'He never leaves the seat up'
by Pam Ayres, which we adapted slightly to suit our bad habits!"

"We used pastel coloured bunting and fresh flowers in jam jars to style the beautiful venue…"    

"We chose a seasonal menu from Events at River Cottage and had a tasting before the wedding. It included;

Canapé on arrival – pork pate on toasts, leek rarebit, devilled crab on toast, black pudding with egg mayo and fennel
Starter
– Scallops gratinated with herbs & mustard served in shells. Spit
roast pork with roast veg , greens, apple sauce and pepperanto Selection
of local cheeses as an evening snack
Petit fours – Anzac biscuits, beetroot marshmallows (guests toasted them on fires surrounding the marquee and on the open fire in the yurt).

We were lucky to have a package where we could bring your own
drinks, so we chose a French 75 cocktail on arrival, wine from Adnams
and beer from Branscombe brewery."

"As part of the day we included outdoor games including Wellie
throwing (gumboot throwing in Australia) and I ordered a batch of
rosettes for the prize winners. This also worked well with our vintage
theme which was apparent in the 50s style dresses for both myself and
the bridesmaids.

   I ordered 1st, 2nd and 3rd coloured rosettes for winners of the outdoor games."

"We also really loved the speeches. Tom’s best man Adam did a
cracking job teasing Tom but also saying what a great friend he was –
really heartfelt and funny. My bridesmaid Jess also spoke for me and had
managed to contact a few of my friends in Australia who couldn’t make
it and read out their comments. The one that meant the most was by
lovely Grandmother who was unable to travel to the wedding. Her well
wishes for the day meant so much."

"Musician Theo Jackson heads a very talented bunch of guys who got everyone dancing!

The trick was we had Stand by Me by Ben E. King for our first dance
– that was only to play a few bars, then lead into a conga line. We
managed to pull it off so you’ll see some pictures of me leading the
group around and through some parts of the kitchen! It was loads of fun
and got everyone involved."

 

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"Im a bit of a control freak, but in the end I had to cave as we
didn’t have much time to plan the wedding! Having your family or
bridesmaids source quotes for cars and other things really helps as the
time for back and forth contact really adds up.

Go and try
on loads of dresses. It takes a bit of time but it’s really lots of fun –
try on different shapes and sizes as sometimes a dress that looks a bit
naff on the hanger actually really suits your shape. I tried on about
40 before I chose the final one and trust me, alteration businesses are
your best friend. They can definitely weave some magic to make your
dress look gorgeous.

We love our food, so going along to a
tasting prior to the reception really was worth it as we could discuss
likes/dislikes for a bespoke menu. We were also really lucky being able
to bring along our own wine to the venue which meant we could choose
something to match and we were able to shop around for a great deal.

Finally,
don’t sweat the small stuff. On the day just relax and enjoy yourself.
One of the best memories I have of the day is racing along the leafy
back streets of Devon squeezed into the vintage car with my bridesmaids.
Bubbles streaming left, right and centre with lots of laughs to release
the nerves!"

Ahhh, I love this, bloomin' love it. That dress (the fabulous Elizabeth Avey collaborated with me on my book and if there is one lady who knows about her vintage wedding dresses – it's Elizabeth!)

Huge thanks Tehya and Tom for sharing your lovely wedding day with Love My Dress today, and thanks as always to the uber talented photographer Sarah of Green Photographic and her sister company, Sarah Falugo.

I love the tiered wedding dress look – you can see more tiered gowns here.  You can also see more brides wearing Elizabeth Avey vintage wedding dresses and browse through our seaside weddings and 1950s category

With much love,

Annabel

 

Photographer – Green Photographic
Venue – Lyme Regis
Guildhall (ceremony) + River Cottage at Park Farm (reception)
Brides Dress – Elizabeth Avey, Vintage wedding dresses in London + bespoke petticoat from Annabella Designs Petticoats with alterations
Brides Veil – Marisol Aparicio Weddings, Etsy store
Brides Shoes – ‘Charm’ by Kate Spade
Earrings – Aldo
Groom – Moss Bros
Bridesmaids Dresses – For Her & For Him
Florist – Haughty Culture
Cakes – Claire Makes Cakes
Cars/Transport – The Beauford ‘Great Gatsby’ Convertible
Entertainment – Theo Jackson Trio
Catering Company – All food by Events at River Cottage
Makeup Artist - Kylie Jonkman
Stationery – Personalised invitations and map details – ElloThere – Etsy
Accessories – Ted Baker and Alphabet Bags on the day to help carry everything around!
Thank you cards by Mark Whittle at Tiptoe Collective +  Place card stamp