Some girls just to have that ‘je ne sais quoi’ – an effortless, laid-back style and radiant look that turns heads, and today’s bride has this in bags.
I love, love, love the style that bride Nancy rocked for the legal marriage ceremony between her and her beau Simon and cannot wait to share her wedding with you today, so let’s get started. Please meet stylist and blogger Nancy, who some of you might know from her beautifully written and styled blog Hello Nancy. She wed Simon, who runs a comic publishing company Breakdown Press, on 1 August 2017 at Stoke Newington Town Hall in London, followed by an intimate lunch at local restaurant Rubedo. The day was designed to be easy, fun and informal, as the couple were celebrating a month later with a big wedding at the Nancy’s sister’s castle in Fife. Throughout the preparations a loose colour theme of bright pinks and yellows developed, and Nancy’s own style was inspired by the cool style of Bianca Jagger’s wedding suit.
“There weren’t really any rules but slowly a pink theme started to develop. I was originally going to wear a white suit when Simon made the point that I could where whatever colour I wanted so why not do something a little different. The Scottish wedding was going to feature natural touches and a lot of greenery so a fun, urban and pink wedding seemed like the complete opposite of that. I’m so glad we went for that kind of style as it made for two completely different weddings for us.”
Photography Sophie Carefull
Are any of you lovelies choosing to wear a non-traditional outfit for your special day? If so I hope you can take inspiration from Nancy, who paired a simple grey marl cami with a pink ASOS suit jacket and matching palazzo pants. Its relaxed, graceful lines invoke a wonderful spirit of the 70s, and look impeccable with the bright florals which she carried.
“I wanted something non-traditional and cool. I always loved Bianca Jagger’s wedding suit so I was very inspired by her. I actually wore two pairs of shoes and the red ones hurt my feet! They were Anthropologie and one of my very kind bridesmaids swapped with me and I took her white shoes from Cos.”The couple met in East London, and Simon designed his own ring with jeweller Gee Woods for his proposal.
“Simon and I had a few friends in common (he even knew my brother which was so handy!). After that point we kept seeing each other in bars or at friends’ birthdays and it wasn’t long until I realised how wonderful he was. We were together just under four years when he proposed.”
“I had arranged for us to have a little holiday in Budapest to celebrate Simon’s birthday and as soon as we arrived at our apartment he proposed. It was a complete shock as he kept making out like it would be a long time until we would get married. He’s very private so whenever a friend asked us if / when we would get married he would change the subject!”
The overall look was brought together by the beautiful seasonal blooms, styled by Hazel Gardiner Design and finished off with trailing ribbons in shades of pink.
“Hazel read my mind and created my dream wedding flowers. I wanted lots of pink and peach tones for my bouquet and Hazel included a lot of my favourite summer blooms.”
“Simon designed a gold and green sapphire engagement ring knowing that I love green stones. He held onto it for around three months until we went away somewhere. The proposal was very quiet and simple, just how we like things!”
The bride’s chosen fragrance was Joy by Jean Patou. I love Nancy’s description of this scent.
“It’s a very old fashion scent which hasn’t changed since the 1920’s. It was also the first gift Simon bought me.”
Nancy applied her own make-up, adding a sassy pink lipstick, and styled her bob into a relaxed, half-up do. She added a charming floral headpiece of lavender, rose, ranunculus and peony made by florist Hazel Gardiner Design, and accessorised with a choker from Under the Rose and a vintage topaz ring, originally her mum’s, that Nancy wears every day.
The bridesmaids wore a mix of gowns in bright yellows and pinks, chosen independently at a variety of high street shops. Don’t they look so cheerful and celebratory in their vivid colours?
“We decided to do the legal bit here in London to save at the hassle of trying to find celebrant that we liked in Scotland. The Scottish wedding was pretty much a destination wedding for us and took quite a lot of organisation! We agreed that it would be so much simpler to get legally hitched near our flat and have one less thing to worry about in Scotland.”
The venue for Simon and Nancy’s wedding was Stoke Newington Town Hall, chosen for its associations with their daily life.
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“We were so happy to be married in the area of London where we have spent most of our relationship, our first date was down the road and we have lived in the same flat for four years. Stoke Newington has been a major part of our lives and we just love it so much, it would have been strange to have become husband and wife somewhere else.”
Nancy’s brother accompanied her down the aisle as her father died when she was just fourteen. Her choice of song was ‘You and Me’ by Penny and the Quarters, and the humanist ceremony was led by a celebrant from Hackney Wedding Venues.
“As we were planning on writing our own vows (and the entire ceremony) for the Scottish wedding we wanted to keep this one simple so we used the humanist vows provided by the celebrant.”
“Our readings weren’t traditional wedding readings. Instead, as Simon and I are such avid readers, I chose two passages from my favourite authors – Tove Jansson and Ali Smith. I thought the Tove Jansson was apt as we met and were married on the first of August which seems like the bridge between summer and autumn.”
Extract: “I love borders. August is the border between summer and autumn; it is the most beautiful month I know. Twilight is the border between day and night, and the shore is the border between sea and land. The border is longing: when both have fallen in love but still haven’t said anything. The border is to be on the way. It is the way that is the most important thing.”
The rings exchanged were bespoke designed by Gee Woods, with whom Simon had created Nancy’s engagement ring.
“We both opted for gold bands. Simon has a small gypsy-set emerald in his and I have a knife-edge ring to match my engagement ring with five diamonds. We got married on our fifth anniversary so I wanted to commemorate that. We also have the words ‘Over the Dales’ engraved as we holiday in the Yorkshire Dales every year and have the best time there.”
To honour Nancy’s late father in a really touching way, the newly-weds walked out to ‘In My Life’ by the Beatles.
“It’s a nostalgic love song and one of my dad’s favourites so it was a good way to remember him.”
The couple look so incredibly happy as they leave the Town Hall and make the short trip to their celebratory lunch at their favourite haunt Rubedo with around sixty of their friends and family. Simon and Nancy had spent the previous day searching locally for flowers to dress the room and tables in this gorgeously exuberant and creative way.
These colourful, modern photographs are by Sophie Carefull, an artist whose work we’ve been so happy to share on Love My Dress before. I really like the clarity, vibrancy and creativity of her images, which capture the joy of the newly-weds so well.
“I met Sophie as she was the photographer at a press event I got invited too. We got on really well and I thought her friendly attitude was just what we needed! She was perfect. I don’t think anyone else could have captured the day like she did. It must be intimidating to photograph a small wedding where everyone knows each other so well but she really fitted in well and made the whole day so relaxed.”
“My mum has a house in Turkey and whilst we were out there in the summer we collected all the fallen bougainvillea petals to use as confetti. We scattered bougainvillea down the table and I arranged around five vases with flowers dotted around the restaurant. I also hand painted each place setting and the team at Rubedo drew our names on their chalkboard.”
All the food and wine was prepared by the Rubedo team, and the party enjoyed an amazing eight courses over four lovely hours. Their cake, a divine-sounding cherry and almond bake, was baked by their friend Jess.
“My favourite part was the lunch, just having all our nearest and dearest there with us. There was so much laughter (and a lot of tears). I feel so lucky to know the best and most thoughtful people who will always be there for us. There isn’t a bad seed in the bunch!”
“The day before the wedding Simon and I went out around the streets and public spaces in Stoke Newington to gather blooms and greenery for the tables. We managed to forage absolutely everything! I made table arrangements from hydrangeas, dahlias, olive branches, eucalyptus and rosemary and we used some of the extra dried bougainvillea confetti on the table too.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Make sure you only invite people you really want to have there. Don’t worry about things you can’t change and laugh as much as you can!”
Oh my, Nancy. What a beautiful, and different, day. I love your colourful, joyful style, and will be a regular visit to your blog from now on for my fix of style inspiration. Sending so many congratulations to you and your new husband, and I hope you had a wonderful celebration in Scotland too.
Ele xx
