An Alfred Angelo gown For An Elegant 1940’s And ‘Forgotten Treasures’ Inspired Wedding

Good morning all! I've been so excited about sharing this morning's wedding with you – Freelance Writer Jen, who is the lady behind the brilliant and totally addictive blog, A Little Bird Told Me tied the knot with her freelance web developer fiance Rob on 21st September this year, at Monk Fryston Hall in the Vale of York, followed by a reception at Monk Fryston Cricket Club.

I adore Jen's blog (mildly addicted to Jen's super stylish and self-posed what I wore style features), and we've conversed on Twitter for a little while now too, so I'm delighted today to be able to share her nuptials with you all.  Jen was inspired by her love for all things old and pre-loved and found herself drawn to the elegant aesthetic of the 1940s when it came to the style aspects of her wedding day.

"I love old things, so it was always going to be vintage! I'm a big charity shop and car boot sale fan and love collecting classic cameras, old books and vintage suitcases etc. I wanted the wedding to reflect my slight obsession with forgotten treasures.  I looked at a lot of 1940s imagery to inspire the style of the day, too. I love the simple, refined and elegant look of the 40s."

Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Phil Drinkwater

"Rob and I met at High School when we were 13. We've been together since we were teenagers – a fact I love to tell people!  We got engaged in December 2009 – Rob surprised me, wearing a tux in a flat full of roses with The Beach Boys playing. We weren't in any rush to get married so it took us nearly four years to get round to it!

We didn't hire an event planner, it was just me, Rob and 'Team Wedding' – our amazing family who helped us plan every last detail and pull off a fantastic day."

"Our ceremony was at Monk Fryston Hall in Monk Fryston, UK and our reception and evening do at Hillam and Monk Fryston Cricket Club in Hillam. We had use of the cricket pavilion, and an amazing natural-style marquee was provided by the brilliant Will's Marquees, who were excellent from start to finish and really helped us understand what we needed in terms of space, power supply, furniture and much more!

Both locations are very special to us – Rob grew up in Hillam and played for the Cricket Club when he was younger. His dad is the groundsman of the club and keeps the place looking spectacular! Rob and I have been together for 11 years and the village has always been a big part of our relationship.

Monk Fryston Hall is a beautiful, centuries-old building with breathtaking gardens – perfect for a vintage inspired ceremony in our favourite village!"

"My dress was the 8501 design by Alfred Angelo, that I purchased from Brides of Harrogate.  I tried on a few dresses at Brides of Harrogate but wasn't taken with any of them. The lady helping me took on board my personal style and brought out the Alfredo Angelo style that had just arrived in the shop. As soon as I stepped out my mum shed a tear so I knew it was the one!

It had everything I wanted from a dress – a slim silhouette, lace detail, capped sleeves and a puddle train."

"I love flowers but I'm not a fan of elaborate displays. I wanted our wedding flowers to be very 'undone', natural and understated with an English Country Garden feel. I mentioned my search for a flower grower on my blog and a lovely reader got in touch to recommend her mum, Rachel, who runs Hollow Meadows. I visited Rachel at her farm in Sheffield and was instantly taken with the rustic feel and her passion for natural, homegrown florals.

Rachel created the most beautiful bouquets and buttonholes along with jugs, jars and bottles full of flowers for the tables. She was an absolute superstar and I would highly recommend her to any vintage bride-to-be!"

"It was always going to be Louboutins! I found the Simple Pumps in Glitter online but they were sold out everywhere as they're past season. I eventually tracked them down at a boutique in Ireland thanks to Louboutin's fantastic customer service, and had them shipped to my front door!"

"The bridesmaids dresses were one of the first things I bought for the wedding. I didn't want my bridesmaids to actually look like bridesmaids – I wanted them to be stylish and comfortable and be able to wear their dresses again. When I spotted the Whistles Victoria Dress I knew that's what they'd wear.

The sky blue colour was perfect, the lace had that delicate, vintage feel and I adore the scalloped hems."

"The bridesmaids chose their own shoes but all went for a nude, mid-heel style, some from Next and some from Marks and Spencer (not available online) – except my little sister who wore some amazing silver heels from Sarenza! (sadly no longer online).

The bridesmaids wore these cute floral hair jewels dotted in their simple, side-swept buns."

"I was a bit unsure about a veil as I wear glasses and wasn't sure how it would look, but this one from Richard Designs was so delicate and understated, it worked perfectly."

'We commissioned the hugely talented Kris Atomic to create an illustration for our invites – you can see some pictures here, and one to use on the day.  My brother Patrick is a graphic designer so he used the illustrations to create the invites and order of the day cards, then matched the style of the illustrations for the menus. They looked brilliant!

The table plan was made by me and Rob's sister Jen – we used a bit of MDF, covered it in sheet music, hammered in some nails and hung assorted frames I bought from Wilkinson's, Dunelm Mill and the Pound Shop. The fabric letters were from Joy.  As the wedding loomed closer, I just didn't have time to carry on hunting for vintage goodies so I turned to the fab Add Vintage."

"Rob's parents next door neighbours, Julie and Steve, have a vintage VW Campervan in sky blue. Her name is Fanny and she was our wedding car for the day! Julie decorated her with bunting and tin cans and drove us through the village, pipping the horn at every passerby. It was amazing fun!  When a family friend spotted the Campervan on the morning of the wedding, she asked if we'd like her son to bring his own vintage car down for the afternoon. Next thing we knew, a beautiful cream VW Bug was sitting on the grass outside the marquee! It was a wonderful gesture and really summed up the community feel of our wedding.

After the ceremony, our friend and driver of the VW Camper, Julie, took us off to a field in the middle of nowhere. She produced a bottle of champagne, a plate of sandwiches, two camping chairs and a table! She sat in the camper playing Candy Crush (!) while we had 10 minutes of quiet time, just the two of us. It was amazing to have that time to reflect and enjoy each other's company. 

"Lots of the bits and pieces we used in the décor are things I've collected from charity shops and car boots over the years. I used old books and sheet music I bought from eBay, vintage cameras I found in  charity shops and my collection of leather suitcases to dot around the marquee."

"Our photographer was Phil Drinkwater. He was utterly fantastic – so friendly, putting everyone at ease and blending seamlessly into our big day. I take lots of photos as part of my job so it was very important that we found the right person to capture our big day… and Phil was perfect. A talent and a true gent."

"I'm not very 'bridal' and really didn't want to do the pink gloss, french manicure bridal beauty look. When I found Bethany Jane Davies I knew she'd create a classic, vintage look to match my dress and décor. I loved my 40s waves, flicky eyeliner and bright red lips!"

"Finding the right hair accessories was a real challenge! I tried lots of vintage and vintage-inspired styles but many of them were too big and heavy for my fine hair. In the end I went for a pair of simple, art deco style slides from Accessorize."

"After a slight disaster with his original suit, Rob and I dashed to Reiss in Leeds a week before the wedding and found a beautiful navy three-piece. The staff were SO helpful and turned around the alterations in 24 hours!  Rob also wore a burgundy tie and pocket square from TM Lewin and he wore Finsbury 'Belair' brogues from Sarenza.

The Best Man and Groomsmen's suits and ties were from Next. The ties were one of our favourite wedding bargains – pure silk, marked at £25 each… £10 at the till!"

"My dad walked me down the aisle – we were as nervous as each other!  Music is definitely Rob's domain, and he chose all the music for the ceremony. As our guests were coming in, instrumental versions of film scores played (including the Jurassic Park theme and a Harry Potter classic!). When I walked down the aisle, it was A Little Fall of Rain from Les Miserables."

"My mum's husband, Stuart, read an extract from Les Mis; 'You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness. We pardon to the extent that we love. Love is knowing that even when you are alone, you will never be lonely again. And great happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Loved for ourselves. And even loved in spite of ourselves.'

It was so lovely and really emotional. We struggled to find a reading as we didn't want anything  soppy, cheesy or OTT! But this was perfect."

"My engagement ring is a vintage sapphire, so I wanted a simple, slim gold band for my wedding ring. I choose this band from Fraser Hart to sit neatly under my engagement ring.  We weren't bothered about matching rings, so Rob went for a two-tone Titanium band."

"Our food was provided by the fabulous Silver Apples, who are based in Manchester. They created a vintage afternoon tea with finger sandwiches, mini steak pies, feta tarts, assorted salads and scones with jam and cream, followed by the most amazing cake table with brownies, victoria sponge and macaroons! They also served a gin and elderflower cocktail (my favourite) and copious amounts of tea.

For the evening, we had the BEST hog roast from Strensall Hog Roasts. Pork, fresh bread, apple sauce and crackling with roast potatoes and stuffed peppers for the veggies? Yes please!"

"Rob and I aren't big fans of wedding cake, so we opted for a cheese wedding cake instead. My mum and grandma organised the whole thing, ordering the cheese rounds, including an adorable heart shaped brie for the top, hunting down wicker baskets and cheese wires and decorating the whole thing with fresh figs and greenery. It looked and tasted absolutely amazing!

Although I was adamant I didn't want a wedding cake, my grandma was more adamant that we should have one! Months before the wedding she baked multiple fruit cakes and fed them with brandy until a few days before. Then she iced them and decorated with VW Campervan ribbon to match our wedding transport!

I was blown away by the effort and love my mum and grandma put into the cakes. It really was fantastic to see them both together on the day."

"My mum had the favours under control from the very beginning. She keeps bees and decided to create pots of honey (for the guys) and heart-shaped beeswax candles (for the ladies). They fitted our homegrown theme wonderfully and everyone loved them!In her speech, my mum told us the favours were sweetness and light – gifts for a happy marriage. I had a little cry at that!"

"There were so many brilliant, brilliant moments – Rob's mum, Linda, dancing to Torvil and Dean's Bolero on the grass, Beyoncé dance-offs with my bridesmaids, every single thing that came out of the photobooth and the bottle of £250 whisky at 3am (that last one didn't feel like such a favourite the next day however!)."

"Rob is a musician so music was a big part of our day and choosing the right people was really important. Way back in February we were in London with family and watched a brilliant string quartet performing in Covent Garden. When they'd finished, Rob's mum was off chasing down the manager and a few days later they were booked for the wedding! The Abraxas Ensemble were SUCH good fun – they played a mix of classical and pop and had so much character. We were all up doing a chorus line on the grass!"

"We also had a photobooth from Booth Revolution which was SO MUCH FUN. Our guests were in and out all night and we have a brilliant book of all the photos with messages written by them all – handwriting getting steadily worse as the night rolled on!"

"Our first dance song was 'Love is Easy' by McFly. We wanted something cheerful and uplifting that would make us and our guests grin.  We love McFly! Everyone joined in after the first chorus so it was a real celebration."

"Emily provided vintage tins and milk bottles for the flowers, a croquet set, shepherd's hooks with hanging jars for candles and deckchairs. She was awesome and those little extras made all the difference!  Rob's dad was in charge outdoor décor – he hosed down the cricket dug-outs and covered them in fairy lights. He also organised and tended to the two fire pits, keeping them burning all night!"

"Hi Life Entertainment took care of the music for the evening and played everything from Beyoncé to Limp Bizkit – perfect for our mix of pop princesses and punk rockers!  Our friends The Dayz took to the stage later to play 50s and 60s rock and roll covers – we loved doing The Twist and the dancefloor was packed all night!"

Words of Wedded Wisdom…

"I'm sure every bride says there's nothing they would do differently – our day was just as we wanted it to be, but it was definitely hard work getting there! 

I think it's important for brides-to-be to realise that although planning a wedding is great fun, if you do it all yourself (as we did) it is tough. You will hate it at times, you'll want it to be over and you'll start dreaming of the day AFTER more than the day itself!  I also learnt that I couldn't control every single aspect of the day. Family will want to do some things a bit differently to you, and that's ok. Our wedding was a real collaborative effort and it shone through on the day. Everyone was represented and had a role to play, which made it extra special for us all."

"I looked at wedding blogs while planning the wedding, with Love My Dress being a favourite. But I also tried to just enjoy other people's weddings rather than always look for ideas in every image. When planning a wedding it's hard to just sit back and appreciate what others have done as you're so wrapped up in your own! 

The best thing about Love My Dress by far is Annabel's natural, friendly tone of voice. There isn't a hint of judgement or sense of the 'right' way to do a wedding. It's a very open, accepting community. Both Annabel and Franky were very friendly and chatty on Twitter, too!  

I also love the posts that tackle bigger issues within the wedding industry, like the recent one about the lack of black brides on wedding blogs."

Well I'm a little bit in love with all of this! What a simply gorgeous day – it has it all, fun, love, laughter, smiles and a fabulous touch of homegrown and DIY!  I love it! Thank you so very much Jen for sharing your beautiful, fun  and inspiring wedding day with us, and for such wonderful feedback about Love My Dress too.  I have to say, I'm more than a little fascinated with your blog too!

Huge thanks to photographer Phil Drinkwater too who was really great to liaise with in pulling this feature together – thanks so much Phil!

Readers, if you love the elegance of the 40's like Jen, you can see more 1940s inspired content here.

I'd love to see some lovely comments and appreciation for Jen and Rob below – what do you like the most about this wedding?

With much love,

Annabel

 

Photographer – Phil Drinkwater
Venue – Monk Fryston Hall + Monk Fryston Cricket Club in Hillam
Brides Dress – Alfred Angelo '8501' from Brides of Harrogate
Veil/Headpiece – Richard Designs
Brides' shoes – Louboutins
Groom's Attire – Reiss + TM Lewin + Finsbury 'Belair' brogues from Sarenza
Bridesmaids – Whistles Victoria Dress
Florist – Hollow Meadows
Cake – Family
Transport – Fanny the vintage VW Campervan
Entertainment – Hi Life Entertainment
Additional Styling – Add Vintage
Rings – Fraser Hart
Caterer – Silver Apples + hog roast via Strensall Hog Roasts
Stationery – Kris Atomic
Hair & Makeup stylist – Bethany Jane Davies
Fabric Letters – Joy
Photobooth Hire – Both Revolution