A Second Hand Dress and Lace Cape for A Relaxed and Informal Family Garden Wedding

Are you ready, little lovelies, for a most divine mid-week treat? I urge you to take a tea or coffee break, make yourself comfortable, and prepare to be inspired by these images by Dan Walker Photography and this tale of two teenage sweethearts who prepared most of the elements of their delightful homespun wedding themselves.

Graphic designer Romilly married his beautiful bride Abbie, who works in gallery liaison, on 12^th March earlier this year in his family’s garden. Are you thinking of having your wedding at your family home? It’s a surefire way to save pounds and also a very special place to hold your nuptials. The couple was also keen to steer away from some traditions and keep their day relaxed. The couple married in a small ceremony with family, where Abbie donned a lovely long-sleeved gown, then held another ceremony in front of all of their friends.

“We wanted a venue with no time restrictions and also a lovely setting, so we held our wedding in Rom’s family garden. We always knew we didn’t want seating plans, bridesmaids, groomsmen, the cutting of the cake and first dance, it is just not our style; instead, we wanted everything to feel very relaxed and informal.”

Photography by Dan Walker Photography

Abbie styled the incredible flower arrangements, along with her sister Harriet and Romilly’s sister Esme.

“We did a couple of early mornings at the New Covent Garden Market and met the wonderful Andy from Alagar Flowers Ltd and then did the bouquet and all the other flowers ourselves.”

Creative Abbie made her pretty birdcage veil and added a stunning cape – look at the delicate lace detailing on the shoulders! – and heels from Jigsaw. Abbie’s cousin Millie, who had flown over from Australia for the wedding, created her pretty hairstyle, with make-up by her friend Natsumi, and Abbie finished off with a spritz of ‘Tommy Girl’ by Tommy Hilfiger.

“This has been my favourite perfume since I was about fifteen.”

Abbie’s father gave her away at both the ceremonies and she walked the aisle to Van Morrison’s ‘Sweet Thing.’

“We had a wonderful celebrant who helped us tailor our own vows and we had a couple of readings – a poem read by all of our siblings, W. H Auden’s ‘O Tell Me the Truth About Love’ and also a reading from a close friend.”

“We met at school and have been together since the age of sixteen. Romilly proposed after twelve-and-a-half years on a trip to Berlin and we married six months later.”

Abbie wore a stunning classic Pronovias dress, purchased second hand via Preloved.

“I loved the simplicity of it – I felt it was a classic dress that hopefully I won’t regret too much when I look at pictures in twenty years time!”

Romilly and Abbie crafted their wedding rings, which is becoming an increasingly popular activity for the bride-and-groom-to-be to do together in the lead up to the big day.

“We made our rings with two great girls Kirstie and Katie who run The Workbench events and offer a service to have them made in gold – it was great and we highly recommend them.”

“We made all our own food with the help of friends and family who gave up their weekends to make lamb tagine in bulk, or desserts and salads to feed over one hundred people.

We chose not to have a wedding cake, just lots of yummy desserts.”

Aren’t these eucalyptus displays heavenly? As a native Australian, I’m a huge fan and love the leafy look that was created here, together with the festoon lighting and pretty vases and candle arrangements on each table.

“We decided early on that we wanted lots of eucalyptus, clear-cut glass vases and candlesticks, so it was everyone’s mission to check all charity shops on every outing (we found thirteen candlesticks in one outing!)”

“For the stationery, Romilly was given creative license as he is a graphic designer and he designed very elegant invites and a guestbook.”

“For entertainment, we hired a jazz band for an hour, which everyone really enjoyed, and then for the rest of the evening we had playlists that we made.”

“We loved all of it – having fun with friends and everyone being there together in one place and dancing. And actually getting married was great, although scary at the time!”

I’ve adored sharing Abbie and Romilly’s very beautiful wedding and hope that you’ve been inspired by their clever DIY touches. And thank you to Dan for sharing these wonderful photos which perfectly highlight the lovely couple’s joy.

We’re over the hump everyone, yippeee!

Love Jo -x-