Good afternoon lovely ones, I hope this finds you well and enjoying another little visit to our beautiful wedding blog. When the weather turns slightly colder and Autumn draws in, there’s nothing I love more than pottering around museums. So, it was with some excitement that I began perusing through the images of today’s vintage-inspired wedding, which was held at the beautiful Chappel and Wakes Colne Railway Museum – a venue I’ve written about on Love My Dress before, and one that I absolutely adore! Bryony and Gary’s wedding took place on 13th June 2015.
“Our wedding day was inspired by an old picture of a venue with hanging umbrellas and lots of lace and vintage crockery (we both love antiques and vintage finds), as well as my favourite childhood story, the Railway Children. The Chappel and Wakes Colne Railway Museum is run by volunteers and so quirky, Gary loved it for its rustic and informal style and I loved it for the carriages and wispy romantic feel of finding a loved one at a station.”
Photography by Claudia Rose Carter
These beautifully atmospheric images were created by a photographer whose work we regularly enjoy sharing on Love My Dress, Claudia Rose Carter.
“Claudia truly captured the heart of the day, I cried the whole way through the snapshot video she sent us shortly after the day and the full set of pictures are incredible. She has a true gift working with light and we were so pleased with the end results, we can’t recommend her enough. It’s rare you can meet someone only a handful of times and feel so at ease with them.”
Bryony looked truly stunning in her elegant gown, which was designed by the inimitable Charlie Brear.
“This dress was made for me, I’m not ever so tall so big dresses would make me look more curvy than I am. I loved the simplicity to the design and the lace touches on the sleeve and round the hips, I felt special in it and it had the vintage style I wanted whilst still being quite unique.”
“I was lucky enough to meet Charlie Brear herself on the second dress fitting, I love the simple delicacy to her designs. I was made to feel so welcome by the staff who didn’t overpower my decision making – something I hate when you go into some stores.”
“As the wedding day approached, an old colleague and friend of mine who runs Plain Sailing Events stepped in to alleviate all the planning and timing dramas and made sure everything went smoothly without a hitch, Francesca and Laurie were truly fabulous!”
The bride’s ‘something blue’ were her blue suede heels by Karen Millen.
“My necklace was bespoke and made by my cousin Olivia Almond (AJ & Gracie). It had a small pale yellow gem at the front but a separate chain ran down the back to complement the dress.
My hair was styled by Ria and she and Jess did all of the bridesmaids too, an absolute power duo! I highly recommend them both”
“I wanted the bridesmaids to be comfortable in their own style so they each picked out their own dresses – the only rule was they had to be yellow, they were mostly high street and looked fabulous all mismatched together.”
“I could not find a veil I liked for love nor money! Two weeks before the big day my best friend Nat stepped in, we looked at some designs I had found online and she made me my birdcage veil, it was stunning and I’ve not seen any other like it. It was so special to have it made by her.”
Bryony agreed to one date with Gary after turning him down several times after they met in Abu Dhabi at a friend’s birthday party.
“We were meant for each other and the rest they say is history, we moved back to the UK, moved in and then after only 8 months Gary popped the question in Paris.”
“We had traditional vows and the ceremony was relatively traditional but we had the organist play Royals by Lorde and the choir sang All you need is love whilst we signed the register, the guests loved it.”
Gary’s suit was an Ebay bargain, and the ushers’ bow ties were all online vintage finds. Brilliant thriftiness!
“My Aunt, a florist (no website) ordered yellow roses and gypsophila from Byfords in Marks Tey and we bought the rest of the flowers from Sainsburys the day before to keep the costs down. The overall look was really informal and relaxed.”
“We hired a vintage London routemaster to transport all the guests from the Church to the wedding venue, we even had our own conductor!”
With Gary having a catering background, the food at this wedding sounds absolutely divine!
“All of the courses were sharing platters to create a more informal and relaxed feel, guests ate barbecued cote de boeuf, spatchcock and seabass with summer salads and we had rhubarb and lemon tart to finish. We had a hot dogs and cocktails for the evening guests. Livi, my cousin, made the most incredible cake – everyone loved it!”
“Gary and I designed the wedding menu ourselves as well as the train ticket inspired orders of service. The place names were mini polaroid pics of us and the guests, sat inside wine corks on the tables.”
“We were so lucky that so many people gave us little knick knacks to use on the day. My Dad and my brother made us wooden platters to use in the centre of the tables that the food was served on and we hired the furniture from Anthology which all added to the rustic feel of the venue. One of my old school friends was generous enough to lend us all of the vintage crockery for the day which once laid out on the tables looked incredible, we used the teapots and cups and saucers to have a tea room in the one of the train carriages.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“My words of wisdom would be to stick to what you want and however stressful it may seem beforehand do not be swayed by anyone else. My second would be to have a nice chilled lunch with your family the next day to wind down and get a bit squiffy so you can reminisce and relax over a few wines!”
What a thoughtful, beautiful wedding, and it’s lovely to see such a big family affair with everyone getting stuck in to help! Thank you to Bryony and Gary for letting us share your romantic railway wedding with our readers. And huge thanks of course to Claudia Rose Carter for the most stunning photography today. You can enjoy more of Claudia’s weddings here. Is anyone else wearing a Charlie Brear wedding gown on their big day? Please do let us know in the comments section below! Have a fabulous weekend everyone x
Love Louisa x
Photographer – Claudia Rose Carter
Venue – Chapel & Wakes Colne Railway Museum
Wedding dress – Charlie Brear
Bride’s shoes – Karen Millen
Bride’s accessories – necklace by Olivia Almond (AJ & Gracie) (no website)
Flower girl dresses – John Lewis
Bridesmaid dresses – a mix from the High Street
Bridesmaid accessories – necklaces by Orelia
Florist – Flowers by Grace, Halstead (no website)
Groom’s suit – Ebay
Entertainment – Reflection Strings
Hair and make-up artist – Jessica Davies Creative Hair Stylist
Transport – Talisman Coach Lines
Furniture hire – Anthology
Wedding favours – Laduree
