An Elegant Handmade and Woodland Inspired Wedding

I have a really gorgeous treat for you today, with a relaxed wedding at the beautiful Bignor Park.  I absolutely adore this venue and this wedding- it makes me think of The Secret Garden, 1940’s garden fetes and a midsummer Night’s Dream all rolled into one, an image enhanced by the beautifully ethereal lace dress worn by the bride and the stunning early autumn light…

Meet fashion designer Jess and her new husband Jordan, who married on the 5^th of September this year in an outdoors ceremony, followed by drinks and games and a night under canvas.  I just love how on almost every picture Jess is either laughing and smiling fit to burst, or wiping happy tears away- it’s so lovely!

Photography by Ali Paul

“We liked the idea of a starlit woodland theme with a focus on fun!  Colours were to be natural; heathery purples for the flowers, lots of ivy and greenery set off with rustic gold star decorations.  A bird theme also ran throughout as Jordan is into bird watching; they featured on the table names, invitations and menus.”

The couple chose ‘people photographer’ Ali Paul to capture their big day on film.  I love the light in these images, and all the special little moments he managed to catch.

“Ali is incredibly talented. We didn’t want a photographer to get us to pose for cheesy shots and Ali has a very natural style and captured the essence of the day; our photographs are amazing and full of laughter.”

Like her dress, veil, headpiece and decor, Jess did the flowers herself, with help from the wedding party.

“We made the bouquets, floral pins for all the gents and the table flowers the day before which was a lot of fun. It also saved us a lot of money as well; flower wholesalers are brilliant if you’re brave enough to do your flowers yourself.  I wanted a wild and unstructured bouquet with thistles and a mix of pretty flora and fauna.”

Super talented Jess made her own wedding dress.  I have to admit I had a dropped jaw moment when I first read that…  It’s so beautiful and suits both her and the style of the day so perfectly.

“I tried so many dresses and although found some nice ones I still wanted change them in some way to make them unique to me.  I have made clothes my whole life and thought I should just go for it so I bought some fabric I liked in London and spent many hours sewing it with fitting help from my Mum who was a textiles teacher.  The fabric was floral embroidery with beading and I made the whole dress from it then painstakingly cut small pieces of the embroidery and sewed them to the bodice, belt and the straps.”

“I loved my dress as I felt like me in it; it had a delicate vintage feel with sparkle but in a modern shape.  It was important to me to be comfortable and underneath was actually a really soft luxurious jersey which meant I could run around and even play badminton!”

On her feet our bride wore a pair of soft grey suede platform sandals- pretty and comfy- while on top she wore a veil she made herself the night before and a headpiece she put together from some vintage bits and pieces she bought for the job- such amazing talent.

Jordan looked very handsome in a beautiful tweed-style jacket and knitted tie from Marks and Spencer, a waistcoat and trousers from Next a homemade pocket square.  I love this relaxed, smart but mismatched look- its perfect for an outdoorsy wedding.

 Jess’ bridesmaids looked lovely in dark blue dresses from Biba by House of Fraser.  Navy blue is such a great colour- it suits almost everyone and is extremely elegant.  The ladies wore flowers in their hair and a vintage necklace each- one belonging to Jess’ grandmother.

Jess walked down the aisle with her Dad to Comptine d-un autre ete, l’apres-midi by Yann Tiersen from the film Amelie.

The couple chose two readings- an extract from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louise De Berieres which references the importance of nature, and ‘A Lovely Love Story’ by Edward Monkton.  I’m slightly biased as my husband and I chose this as a reading at our own wedding, but it’s such a lovely poem.  The last paragraph makes me want to cry in a happy sort of way….

‘Together they stand on the hill telling each other stories

and feeling the warmth of the sun on their backs.

And that, my friends, is how it is with love.

Let us all be Dinosaurs and Lovely Other Dinosaurs together.

For the sun is warm.

And the world is a beautiful place’

“We got my ring from Gold arts Jewellers.  Jordan bought my engagement ring in Brighton where I was born and grew up so it was important for me to buy my wedding ring from the area that we now live together so I had elements of both.  Jordan chose a titanium ring for himself because it’s basically unbreakable!”

“We met on the beach in Barcelona two years before actually starting dating.  Jordan was tanned and I was wearing factor 50+ but there was defiantly a spark from the moment we met. It wasn’t until two years later we got back in touch and spent a day in Brighton. After a day of flirting and Jordan holding my hand a little longer out of the sea than just a helping hand Jordan kissed me and the rest is history.”

“The proposal was a total surprise; it happened at the top of a hill with the most beautiful view point in Sussex.  Equipped with a champagne picnic, a stunning ring and a very romantic speech Jordan proposed to me stood in a meadow of wild flowers. It couldn’t have been more perfect.

We spend the rest of the day in Arundel with a wonderful dinner then could hear music coming from somewhere and found a SKA band playing in the middle of a field with a burger van selling gin and tonics so we danced till 2am.  We got engaged in August 2014 and got married September 2015.”

“We decided we wanted to camp the night of the wedding and hired amazing tents from the Bell Tent Company.  Everyone got on board with this including both our parents and loads of our friends and as we walked to it after the wedding my bridesmaids had lit it with fairy lights and it was a glowing orange pyramid in the darkness.”

“We didn’t do favours so we decided to have a duck bobbing competition with rods and a paddling pool. All ducks had numbers on elastic bands around their necks and we called out numbers out of a hat and gave out prizes; it was pretty rowdy and a great atmosphere to create before the meal.”

“To decorate the venue I bought a big pack of card and lots of cans of spray paint to make a star garland curtain and all the 3d stars hanging from the ceiling.  Decorations really do not need to cost a lot if you are happy to spend some hours crafting and the star garland curtain made a great backdrop for our head table. We also had lots of fairy lights and a photo wall.  My mum made meters and meters of purple bunting as well.”

For their evening reception the couple hired the Platinum Band, who kept the dance floor filled all evening and for their first dance chose ‘Nothing Else Matters’ by Metallica which the band learnt specially.

“Jordan is into his metal and we both love rock so we felt it was a perfect choice.  It was also written by one of the band members who was on tour and wrote it for his girlfriend who he missed at home. We had a long distance relationship for five years out of the nine we have been together so felt it had extra special meaning for that reason.

If we were to pick the best part it would actually be the end…  The band was persuaded to do about three encores and their final song was ‘You’ve got the love’ (the Florence and the Machine version) which is one of my favourite songs. All of a sudden one of my oldest and best friends along with my sister lifted me up so I was up on their shoulders.”

“I had kitten ears on my head and someone handed me a blow up guitar. Then Jordan was lifted up by his friends and everyone was gathered around us singing at the tops of their voices.  As we had planned so many details it was brilliant to finish with something so unplanned and spontaneous. I did have a little cry when I was up there as was so amazing to be up in the ceiling of stars and fairy lights with our blow up guitars surrounded below by everyone we love.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Focus on the fun elements and don’t worry if the colours don’t totally match.

Have a think about what you remember from weddings you have been to- the most important parts are not the small details but the overall feel and atmosphere. Also try not to be nervous at the ceremony as it goes so quickly- try and enjoy it and have fun!

The next morning I wrote down everything I could remember, things people had said to us, little quotes or funny things. So much happens in one day its lovely to look back and read them now.”

I love Jess’ idea of writing down your memories of the day- it’s amazing how much you forget, even with photos to help you, so this is a brilliant idea to preserve all the little details of the day forever.

Congratulations Jess and Jordan, and thank you for sharing your lovely day.  Thanks also to Ali Paul for the beautiful images.  If you’d like to see other stunning outdoor weddings take a peek here.

Much love,

Shona x

 

Photographer – Ali Paul
Venue – Bignor Park
Wedding dress –Made by the bride herself
Shoes – Mozimo
Accessories – veil and headpiece made by the bride, earrings from Accessorize
Bridesmaids – Biba by House of Fraser
Groom – Jacket and knitted tie, Marks and Spencer; waistcoat and trousers, Next; shirt H&M
Hair and Makeup – Carole at Pretty Perfect
Cake – Made by a friend
Catering- The Gourmet Chef
Rings – Gold Arts Jewellers
Entertainment – Platinum Band
Tent hire – the Bell Tent Company