Showing posts with label Autumn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autumn. Show all posts

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Real Vintage Medical Themed Wedding: Rebecca & Ben

I've made you wait, but it's finally time for the incredible wedding reception pictures from this unique medical themed wedding. Rebecca and Ben chose The Morritt in Greta Bridge in County Durham for their wedding reception, and after many months of successful bidding on eBay, Rebecca personalised her and Ben's big day with a fabulous array of wedding details, including old medicine bottles as vases, an ancient doctor's bag for wedding gifts, and vintage first aid boxes filled with sweets. Table flowers looked just-picked, with snowberries and autumn foliage to reflect the season. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, Rebecca and Ben chose their own cheeses for a tiered cheese cake, and Rebecca's parents handmade chutney as wedding favours for eating on the day. So many wonderful details, all in one wedding - it's definitely an all-time favourite for me! Huge thanks to Sharron Gibson from The Image Garden and Vanessa Adams, her second shooter, for these gorgeous wedding pictures.


Our photographer was Sharron Gibson from The Image Garden. I found her on the internet by searching for vintage-style photographers. She is actually based in the South, but came all of the way up to photograph our big day. 


Sharron was wonderful, stayed all day and evening and felt part of the wedding! She also brought an assistant photographer, Vanessa Adams, to help who was lovely. As we set off for our honeymoon 24 hours later, she had already sent me a montage of her favourite photos which I was delighted to receive.



Ben and I got married on 8th September 2012 at St Edmunds Church, Sedgefield in County Durham, followed by a reception at The Morritt, Greta Bridge.



We wanted to have a lot of people, and provide a lot of food and drink. On our budget it made sense to pick a smaller, more personal hotel that we could fill to the brim.



I had tonnes of DIY wedding projects. I wanted a table plan, but I didn't want to spend time or money on it. I found a website called Here Comes the Bride, and they suggested using a mirror. They took the measurements, and printed out {and decorated} individual cards with adhesive on the back. My mirror had a gold rim, so my Dad and I sprayed it silver! When we put it all together, it worked really well. 




When I was planning our wedding theme, my sister suggested starting with the florist and working back from there....and she was right! I met with three florists and knew instantly when I had found the right one - Adam Prest......he was AMAZING!!! He is based in a farm outside of Sedgefield where he grows some of the flowers he uses. It was great to use someone local!



I could not describe really what I wanted....but he just knew. It was his idea for grey bridesmaids dresses!!!! I said I wanted the flowers to look like I had been out in the garden and picked the flowers. I also said I did not want them to be symmetrical or all the same length or size......the rest was down to him.


He selected a rose called Amnesia, white snowberries and a silvery foliage which I loved! He also suggested candelabras of varying heights for the tables. We were both keen that every table looked different!


Our wedding favours for the men were small jars of chutney {handmade by my Mum and Dad}. They make a lot of chutney, and because we were serving cheese at the end of the meal, it was the obvious decision! We made bibs and bow ties for each of the jars, and I made small top hats for all of the men to wear at dinner, which sat on top of the jars. 



The girls' wedding favours were different. My Mum is very arty and decorated small grey boxes (from Paperchase) with tiny flowers dried from the garden. Again each one was different, and we baked individual Rolo brownies to go in them! We also printed minute recipe cards for the brownies and put them in the box.


I really wanted a vintage feel but having been to several weddings prior to ours in 2012 it was difficult to come up with something original. So I was thrilled when I discovered vintage medicine bottles on eBay. I bid on them regularly in the run up to the wedding until I had enough for four/five per table. They were only a couple of quid each and make lovely mementos!


I was keen to have something original for our wedding cards from guests, so to continue with the medical theme, I found a vintage doctor's bag (also on eBay) for only £30.



The medical dictionary was my own, and I HAD to buy the vintage medical book 'The movement of the heart and blood', as it seemed very romantic!! 



I loved organising my wedding! It was great to put a personal stamp on the day. I tried to see it as a party, rather than a wedding, and I think we managed to create that kind of atmosphere. It did however dominate the nine months between engagement and the big day, and I am glad you only have to do it once!! 


My advice to brides planning their wedding is to start early. Book in all of the big things then have a bit of a break! Use the internet. There are so many ideas and craft websites out there. If you can’t find what you want....have a go at making it!! 

Invest in your dress.......it is definitely worth it!! Don’t make everything match. It was more fun having several subtle themes intermingled with each other, and it personalised the wedding more. Have a wedding folder.....it's geeky, but having everything in one place makes life so much easier!


When it came to our wedding cake, we both love cheese, so we had a cheese wedding cake! You can get them in set combinations on the internet, but we were keen to pick the cheeses ourselves, so we went to a small cheese shop called Cheese on the Green in Rugby {where Ben’s parents live} and tried all of them! It was very good fun!


I got a really naff cake topper online with a bride rugby tackling the groom.....my Mum hated it, but it looked really good after my florist had dressed the cake. To serve with the cheese, my Mum and Dad made chutney and fruit cake, while crackers and fruit were provided by the hotel along with our evening hog roast.


More posts like this one:

♥ Want to see countryside wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more purple themed weddings? ♥
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Real Vintage Medical Themed Wedding: Rebecca & Ben

As a wedding blogger, it's unusual for me to find a wedding style that I haven't spotted a million times, which is why I L-O-V-E this incredible vintage medical themed wedding. Rebecca and Ben are both doctors, so it made perfect sense for Rebecca to combine her love of vintage pretty, with lots of medical references. You'll see those gorgeous details in the reception pictures later today, but first, take a look at Rebecca's stunning wedding outfit. Her elegant Amanda Wakeley gown suits her willowy figure perfectly, and combined with sparkly Jimmy Choos and a Caroline Castigliano veil borrowed from her sister, she looks the picture of an elegant bride! Ben and Rebecca chose The Morritt in Greta Bridge in County Durham for their wedding reception, and the lovely Sharron Gibson from The Image Garden as their wedding photographer - two fabulous decisions! Huge thanks to Sharron, and Vanessa Adams, her second shooter, for these gorgeous wedding pictures.



Ben and I got married on 8th September 2012 at St Edmunds Church, Sedgefield in County Durham, followed by a reception at The Morritt, Greta Bridge.



For my wedding dress, I wanted something clean looking. My friend had got her dress from Amanda Wakeley several years ago and it was amazing! I booked a fitting {just for fun}! On walking in, there was a dress on the mannequin which looked a bit Greek {to reflect my heritage}...... I tried 10 dresses that day but already knew that it was the one.


I used my sisters veil {something borrowed} from Caroline Castigliano and treated myself to a pair of sparkly Jimmy Choos {my only ever designer pair!!!}. My earrings were my late grandmother's {on my mum's side} and my watch was my also my grandmothers {on my Dad's side}.

In Amanda Wakeley there were several headbands to try, one was very Greek / Roman in style, and I really liked the simplicity and the look it gave the dress. My friend and I visited the workshop where they are made. In the end I picked a simpler one which worked really well with my dress {and was a little more friendly on my wallet}.


For bridesmaids gowns, I reckon you can't go wrong with Dessy dresses! They are a little pricey but the colours and styles are endless so you can get exactly what you want! The shoes I got in Monsoon after Christmas with a discount voucher!


My husband is 6 foot 6 inches tall, and he's had to wear very badly fitted hired morning suits in the past. Therefore, for his wedding day, we had his trousers and waistcoat made by Michelsberg Tailors in Leeds, and hired the jacket. All of the ties were different for each of the groomsmen but toned with the grey theme.




The church is in the neighbouring village to my parents house and is just lovely, so that decision made itself. 




Our photographer was Sharron Gibson from The Image Garden. I found her on the internet by searching for vintage-style photographers. She is actually based in the South, but came all of the way up to photograph our big day. 

Sharron was wonderful, stayed all day and evening and felt part of the wedding! She also brought an assistant photographer, Vanessa Adams, to help who was lovely. As we set off for our honeymoon 24 hours later, she had already sent me a montage of her favourite photos which I was delighted to receive.


My sister suggested our wedding theme should start with our wedding florist, and work back from there....and she was right!. I met with three florists and knew instantly when I had found the right one. His name is Adam Prest......he was AMAZING!!! 



Adam's based in a farm outside of Sedgefield where he grows some of the flowers he uses. It was great to use someone local! I could not describe really what I wanted....but he just knew. It was his idea for grey bridesmaids dresses!!!!

I said I wanted my bouquet to look like I had been out in the garden and picked the flowers. I also said I did not want them to be symmetrical or all the same length or size......the rest was down to him! He selected a rose called Amnesia and added white snowberries, and a silvery foliage which I loved! 


More posts like this one:
✽ Pretty Baby Blue Marquee Wedding
✽ Stunning Pink & Grey Marquee Wedding

♥ Want to see autumn wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more vintage themed weddings? ♥
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Monday 22 April 2013

Real Quintessentially English Wedding: Claire & Phil

They say never work with animals or children, but weddings have to be the exception. There's nothing better than a crowd of cute little bridesmaids and pageboys, and a dog wearing a bow-tie. Anyone else find dogs in accessories amusing? {....just me then...}. Claire and Phil celebrated their day in elegant style, in a wedding that features a gorgeous strapless Sassi Holford wedding dress, pretty soft pink roses, and the dog from their local pub! I'm also loving the boys' smart morning suits and red cravats, plus a very beautiful vintage car. Most of all I'm loving how happy Claire and Phil look during their church service. Brides and grooms often look a bit scared and serious during their marriage ceremony because they're out of their comfort zone. Try to remember everyone's there for you, and it's your day - don't let the gravitas take over! Stunning pictures published with thanks to the very talented Binky Nixon.



♥ Want to see stately home wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more church wedding ideas? ♥
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Thursday 28 March 2013

Real Sunshine-Yellow Themed Wedding: Gary & Lian - Reception Details

It's time for some serious wedding details my friends! It's Part 3 of Gary and Lian's creative Cornish wedding, and they went to town with their reception decorations. Gary is a creative director of a graphic design company, and you can really see his creative flair in the wedding stationery and colour palette. Everything fits together perfectly! I love the grey, white and mustard theming, the pom-poms {less is certainly more}, the vintage letter box for wedding messages and the old-fashioned paper bags filled with Cornish fudge. Lian's mum made the incredible wedding cake - each layer is decorated in a different style, and it looks amazing. Even the cake pops were handmade by Lian's sister-in-law. It just goes to show what a professional look you can create without blowing the budget. So inspirational! Huge thanks to Keith Riley for his fabulous wedding photographs - he captured every detail perfectly.






My husband is an incredibly talented graphic designer, so he created all the wedding stationery himself. It followed the grey and mustard theme and had many features that related to our lives. 


For example we have a ginger cat called Doodle, so he was in the design, we were getting married on the 29th and we have a special story about ladybirds, so he added them, and they had 29 spots. When sending the invites we bound all the parts with co-ordinating butchers string and postage labels.


Our wedding favours were different for men and women. We gave the boys miniature bottles of Jaegermeister and Red Bull plus a cigar, as a reminder of the fun they had on the Stag Do. The girls received a mini-bottle of Marcus rose, because that's what we drank on my Hen Do.



Everyone received a yellow and white striped bag filled with Cornish fudge, and a cake pop made by my sister-in-law.



We created Jar of hearts which was to replace the traditional wedding book. On each table there was a Kilner jar filled with various badges with different emotions. For example kissing, friendship, love. Each person had to pick a badge, wear it a d write down a piece of advice about the emotion they had picked. They wrote these on little cards and then put them in the jar for safe keeping. We then put the jars on the tables to act as a conversation starters for everyone.


We didn't want to spend much money on a wedding cake, so I did some research and asked my mum to make it. It followed the grey and mustard theme, and was a three tier cake with a different type of sponge for each layer. 


The decoration was different on each layer and we had a mustard yellow Mr and Mrs Jacobs sign made for the top of the cake bought from Not On The High Street.


We loved planning the wedding and all the things that went with it. By doing research before hand, talking to each other about our ideas, and being open to suggestions from our florist and photographer, we got wonderful results on our special day.


I'd recommend to other brides to enjoy every part of the planning. Do your research, make mood boards, talk to your future husband. Get ideas, and see if you can get them cheaper somewhere else. Plus making things for your wedding is really good fun and satisfying!


We chose our wedding photographer by doing lots of research online. We knew we didn't want a traditional wedding photographer, and the typical line-up style of pictures. We liked Keith Riley Photography as his website showed a diverse range of work, including tattoo photography!


♥ Want to see grey-themed weddings? ♥ Or how about more seaside wedding ideas? ♥
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