An Evening Jumpsuit by Velvet Johnstone for a Summer Barn Wedding at an Essex Vineyard

Good design makes me happy. It can be anything from graphics, furniture and architecture to (of course) fashion, and as a natural extension to that – weddings!

For me, good design is about telling a visual story and evoking distinct feelings, and I just love it when I come across a designer who does that with thoughtfulness, heart and soul. For today’s wedding, I have one such a designer to share with you, as worn by the bride: Velvet Johnstone, whose luxurious, modern bridal pieces we showcased last autumn in an article by Most Curious founder Becky Hoh-Hale, all about bridalNEXT; a showcase of emerging talent within the British wedding industry.

Meet our lovely couple, PE Teacher Kirstie, and David, who is an Assistant Food and Beverage Director for a 5 star hotel. They were married on the 3 August 2019 at the Railway Barn, located at a beautiful Essex winery – New Hall Vineyards.

Images by The Love Factory

“I am originally from Essex, and we were keen to get married over that way, as I knew my family would be helping lots with the planning. My sister actually sent me a blog about one of her friends’ weddings at the barn, and we loved the style and look of it. As soon as we saw it, we knew it was perfect. It was so relaxed and the perfect setting. It also helped that the wine from the vineyard was delicious!”

On her feet, Kirstie wore iridescent metallic sandals by Carvela, and gold jewellery by Missoma, including a bar pendant necklace engraved with the wedding date, as well as perfume by Jo Malone – Peony & Blush Suede.

To her elegant, low knot styled by Nathalie Bayley, Kirstie added fresh flowers and a delicate hair vine of tiny seed beads by Eden b. Studio, and her pretty make-up look was created by Andrea Ferris (sadly unable to find any details).

Kirstie knew she wanted something a little different for her wedding outfit, and although she wasn’t sure exactly what, she didn’t want to wear a dress. She made an appointment at Rock the Frock’s Essex boutique, and it was there that she discovered her cool, contemporary two-in-one look: A slinky, wrap front jumpsuit by Velvet Johnstone, with cross back straps, made from vegan satin, to which she added a frothy tulle overskirt for the ceremony, by Swedish label, Zetterberg Couture.

“Rock the Frock were amazing! So friendly and helpful from the first appointment. Molly, who we first met, was a superstar and so patient. I tried on a few different options of two pieces and jumpsuit/skirt combos. It wasn’t until the second appointment that I found the Zetterberg skirt, but I am so happy I did! They have recently moved to an even bigger shop and it is just gorgeous. Would highly recommend them.”

“I really wanted a jumpsuit, but thought I should be a bit more traditional for the ceremony, so the combination was a perfect choice. Coming out in the  jumpsuit in the evening was so fun. I will never feel that cool again! It was such a good surprise.”

The bridesmaids wore ruched and ruffled maxi dresses in a lovely pale powder blue colour, by Morilee, which they wore with their own choice of footwear, fresh flowers in their hair, and a Missoma bracelet each to match Kirstie’s.

Beautiful, wild, country meadow inspired bouquets in light and bright summer hues of blue and purple were made by Starry Eyed Weddings & Parties, who worked with Kirstie and David to style the whole day with impeccable attention to detail.

“The ideas for the colours I got from looking at other weddings, and knew I wanted a meadow vibe, which Sacha did perfectly.”

“When we first visited the barn, we had thought we would decorate it ourselves, however we soon realised what a huge task that was. We knew Starry Eyed Weddings had decorated the barn a number of times before, and we loved their style and vibe. It was such a relief to know we didn’t have to do it ourselves!”

Kirstie and David held an outdoor ceremony in amongst the vines, with lots more flowers in hanging jars and milk churns giving a lovely feel to the day. Kirstie was accompanied down the aisle by her dad, and chose the song Feels Like This, by Maisie Peters as her entrance music.

“We met at a pub in Richmond, where I was working as a waitress and David joined as assistant manager. We were together for 11 and a half years before we became engaged. We got engaged on the 15 August 2018 and married just under a year later.”

The couple had been legally married in Richmond the week before their vineyard celebration, and were therefore able to personalise their second ceremony just as they liked, with brother-in-law Jamie as celebrant. Wedding rings came courtesy of London jewellers Heming.

“We wrote the short ceremony with the help of Jamie, and it was perfect for us. We wanted the ceremony to be really relaxed, and Jamie did us proud.”

“As we had got married legally the week before, there certainly felt like less pressure. The vows were quite similar in structure to the legal ones, but we changed the wording to suit us, which it was lovely to be able to do.”

Bridesmaid Kate delivered a sweet and heartfelt reading for Kirstie and David; Love is a Temporary Madness, from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres.

Groom David wore a smart suit in pale grey by Hawes & Curtis with a pastel blue tie and pocket square from T.M. Lewin.

Together the couple enjoyed a post-ceremony walk, as well as a drive in a vintage red VW Campervan named Candy, hired from Deluxe Wedding Cars.

“As we were staying at the barn all day, I knew transport wasn’t going to be a big feature, but couldn’t resist coming down the driveway in a VW Campervan.”

Beautifully combining reportage style photography with fine art composition was Kirstie and David’s photographer, Cecile, from The Love Factory.

“Cecile was amazing. We found her through Bidvine, and as soon as I spoke to her on the phone, I knew she was perfect. She was with us from 9am to 9pm and made us all feel so relaxed. The photographs are
absolutely stunning.”

I particularly love the multitude of exquisite styling details Cecile captured in the venue’s Railway Barn, decorated by Starry Eyed Weddings & Parties, who created all of the elegant on-the-day stationery and hand lettered signage.

Overhead, garlands of trailing greenery were suspended to bring the feeling of outdoors inside, and across the tables, the green theme continued with green glassware, bottles of flowers and branches of fresh foliage set on top of contrasting, rustic grey runners.

There were atmospheric fairylights and hurricane lanterns dotted around, as well as lots of photos of the happy couple throughout the course of their relationship.

Guests were entertained by saxophonist Adam Holdsworth during the drinks reception, before taking their seats for a wonderful meal by the Railway Barn’s in-house caterers, Gather & Feast.

“They were part of the reason that we were so keen to get married at the barn in the first place. We had read very good things about their food, and they did not disappoint. We have had so many compliments about all of the food from our wedding day. Their concept is all about gathering and feasting, so they specialise in sharing boards and mains. My favourite part of the meal was the incredible dessert ladder, which included 5 of our favourite desserts.”

The meal began with deli sharing boards of balsamic roast vegetables with Halloumi, ham hock terrine, quail’s eggs, peppers stuffed with goat’s cheese, red pepper hummus with tapenade, and black olives with rocket. There was a sharing main of steak and chips with salad, coleslaw, salsa verde and mustard, or a Moroccan chick pea bake.

For dessert, the ladder was laden with tiramisu, chocolate fudge brownies, pavlova, lemon and lime cheesecake and vanilla pannacotta. Delicious!

“We knew we wanted a semi-naked cake, and were recommended Vicki at Pinkface Cakes, just by the barn. We had a fab tasting at her kitchen in Burnham, and went for these four flavours: Bakewell, lemon, gin and elderflower and strawberries and champagne. The cake topped was our tagline for the wedding, ‘Finally’. Everyone had been waiting a while for the day!”

Kirstie and David’s first married dance was to Came Here For Love (an acoustic version) by Sigala and Ella Eyre.

“It was so hard to pick a first song. We didn’t want anything too soppy and slow, and this song was just perfect. I love the lyrics and this version.”

We also had Instax cameras from Snap & Love. This was such a good service, where the cameras were delivered a couple of days before the wedding and collected the day after. It was a great alternative to a photobooth, and lots of the guests stuck their photos into our guestbook. It worked really well with the wedding arch as a backdrop.”

Whilst loved ones danced away to live music from band The Becketts, Kirstie slipped off her tulle skirt to reveal her amazing jumpsuit and transform her look from day to night.

“I loved it all. The first dance was great fun, and also coming out in the jumpsuit! It was just amazing to have all of our friends and family there having a great time.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Remember it’s your wedding, and make sure you plan it to suit you, rather than those around you. Try to relax and enjoy it all, it goes so fast, and those moments with your loved ones are so special.”

“Have a glass of bubbles every time you hit a milestone in the planning – it’s hard work sometimes!”

“If you can, plan a honeymoon, even if it’s only for a few days, for straight after the wedding – you might need it!”

Well,wasn’t that just brilliant, and wasn’t Kirstie’s jumpsuit incredible?! Thanks so much to Kirstie and David for sharing their day with us, and to Cecile from The Love Factory for capturing every detail so beautifully.

With love,

Laura