A Vintage French Lace Dress For A Spiritual and Homespun Farm Wedding

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Hi there lovely readers. Today we have a beautiful farm wedding in Somerset with a simple but eclectic style I’m sure you will love. Jenny is a freelance writer and Neil is a graphic designer, now living in Hong Kong, where Jenny is from. The couple were married in the gorgeous surroundings of Court Farm on my the 18th of July 2015, just 10 minutes from where Neil grew up. Jenny’s eye for crafts and online shopping ensured their day was unique and with plenty of family to help they turned the barn into a beautiful rustic haven.

“We had the most magical ceremony we could have asked for. Neil and I aren’t Christians but we still wanted a spiritual element to the ceremony. We were lucky enough to find JJ Middleway – a Druid/ Buddhist celebrant, who conducted a traditional hand fasting ceremony; it’s where the term ‘tying the knot’ originally came from.”

Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

We did the wedding flowers ourselves. My mom-in-law Linda grew flowers specially in her garden, then I ordered more flowers from Triangle Nursery for the bouquets, flower crowns and jam jars to decorate the ceremony space. It was really stressful but my mom, sister-in-law and nieces came to the rescue and helped late into the night.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Jenny found her stunning Lost in Paris dress via the Lost in Paris Etsy Store. Alyssa the designer uses vintage 1950s French lace to make simply stunning gowns. She teamed it with a pretty fresh flower crown and a pair of vintage earrings.

“I fell in love with the dress when I first saw it and since we had decided on a barn wedding, I thought that it would fit perfectly.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

“I love the high fitted waistline and it’s a very comfortable dress, I don’t have to worry too much about a workout regime to fit into the dress!”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett“Neil is a graphic designer so he created a logo, designed the wedding website, menus, table plans, place cards, etc. He also hand painted the wooden signage that his dad made from scrap wood. My very talented ten year old niece Sophie drew the illustration on our wedding invite and hand-drew the same illustration on a huge chalkboard in the barn where we held the reception.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

The adorable flower girls and page boys were all knitted out in Monsoon, with the boys also wearing bow ties made by the Groom’s mother.

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

The couple’s celebrant JJ Middleway specialises in officiating Druid and Buddhist ceremonies – you can contact him via email here.

 

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Jenny walked down the aisle with her father to ‘Rainbow Connection’ from the Muppet Movie which accordionist, John Slater learnt to play especially for the wedding.

“I decided not to write my vows down as I wanted it to be more spontaneous and from the heart. Neil wrote his vow a day before – ‘I promise to love, support and encourage you as we travel through our lives together’. We were both so nervous!”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

“We chose an excerpt from Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, one of my favourite books. I’ve read it many times and always learn something new with every read contains so much wisdom about life.

 We both resonate with his views on marriage. The modern days depiction of love is usually about ‘two becoming one’ but we do not want to smother each other in our relationship as we are both introverts who value our personal space and quiet time.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

We both believe a long-lasting bond between a couple is built upon two individuals working together to become whole in themselves, and out of this wholeness comes a team that’s greater than the sum of it’s parts.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other’s keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other’s shadow.

(Kahlil Gibran)

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

The couple chose the wonderfully talented Kerry Bartlett to capture their beautiful wedding day.

“It was such a joy to work with Kerry. She’s very organised and I loved her attention to detail. I also loved her aesthetic, Kerry’s photography style is very natural and exactly what we wanted.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Jenny’s bridesmaid wore a gorgeous pale pink chiffon dress from True Decadence on ASOS with fresh flowers in hair.

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Groom Neil wore a lovely blue Cos suit and pale pink J.Crew tie.

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

“Near the end of the night, my girlfriend dragged me out of the barn to walk to the far end of the field  to look at my wedding barn from a perspective, I will always remember that little moment – in front of me was like something out of a movie and I realised I just had the most magical wedding.” 

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

“Although it was an Anglo-Chinese wedding, we didn’t want our wedding to have a Chinese theme, as it seemed a bit cliché to us, but we did give authentic blooming tea which starts as a ball and blossoms when hot water is poured over it, as wedding favours for a subtle Chinese element and used Chinese numbers on the tables.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Jenny handmade the doily bunting using vintage crochet. She also made a dream catcher and ring pillow for the ceremony and 3D fabric letters using fabric designed by her sister-in-law. They hired some props from Palmer & Pea and a bouncy castle for the children.

 

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Louis Louis Cake Couture made us a two-tier cake with buttermilk rustic frosting and pink ombre-layers, a simple rustic cake with a bit of surprise. When we cut the cake, the kids were really amazed by the beautiful transitioning pink colours! My mom-in-law Linda was not just my florist, but also my baker! She baked and decorated all the cupcakes for the cake table.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

How sweet for the couple to think of their younger guests when choosing their first dance.

“There were 14 children at our wedding! We played the Rainbow Connection sang by Kermit the frog for a laugh and danced with the kids. Then we played our real ‘first dance’ track – Let’s stay together by Al Green.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry BartlettJenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Words of Wedded Wisdom

 “Most important of all, the wedding is about the celebration of love, we all have in our lives, and that’s what matters. All the worries, the logistics, little details, imperfections will just fade. All our family members took part and helped to make our wedding day happen, decorating the venue and going on food runs. By the end we were all exhausted, but the collaboration had made the wedding more special. Instead of just attending, everyone felt they were truly part of the celebration.”

Jenny wore a 'Lost in Paris' gown, created from vintage French lace, for her spiritual and homespun wedding held at Court Farm in Somerset. Photography by Kerry Bartlett

Thank you so much to Jenny and Neil for sharing your beautiful wedding day with us. Also thanks to Kerry Bartlett for the stunning images, there is such a romantic feel to every one. More of her work can be seen on her blog.

Love Caoimhe xx

  

Photographer – Kerry Bartlett
Celebrant – JJ Middleway
Venue – Court Farm, Somerset
Wedding Dress – Lost in Paris (also see the Etsy store)
Shoes – Taobao
Groom – Cos Suit + J.Crew Tie
Bridesmaid – True Decadence on ASOS + Taobao Shoes
Flowergirls – Monsoon
Page Boys – Monsoon
Florist – Triangle Nursery
Cake – Louis Louis Cake Couture
Entertainment – John Slater
Rings – Cartier
Catering – The French Kitchen
Stationery – Neil the Groom
Hair Stylist + Makeup Artist – Isabel While
Props – Palmer & Pea

Caoimhe Anderson

Caoimhe Anderson View all Caoimhe's articles

Caoimhe will never tire of beautiful wedding dress and a blooming flower crown. When she's not lusting after a gorgeous wedding she will be trying new vegetarian recipes, knitting very slowly or capturing a pink sunset from behind a camera lens.

One thought on “A Vintage French Lace Dress For A Spiritual and Homespun Farm Wedding

  1. I feel chilled after looking at these lovely photos and I’m not sure that I have ever said that before! There is a feeling of calm and peace about this day and I think that’s magical. Yes, there are lots of lovely details but I don’t think they overshadow the fact that this was a day to celebrate their love. It looks like all the stress of preparing their own flower displays was soon forgotten! Best wishes for your future together xx

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