It’s the first wedding of the week… yay!

David and Eleanor were married on the 4th June last year, at a stunning church followed by a marquee reception at a village hall.

They wanted to create an intimate day, full of colour, involvement and detail. These two sure went to town on the DIY, creating a plethora of gorgeous decorations including pom poms, bunting, place settings and photo booth wall. I so love that they collected vintage tea towels as wedding favours for the guests, with a personal meaning behind each one.

Eleanor looks stunning in her bespoke gown and i love David’s floral tie. Look out for the cute floral maids dresses with a 1950s feel too.

Thanks so much to My Love Story for sharing their gorgeous images with us today…

Names…. Eleanor and David

Wedding Date…. June 4, 2011

The Proposal…. David proposed on a beach at sunset in Essouira, Morocco, in December 2010. It was a big surprise, despite numerous ‘nearly’ moments, as I found out afterwards, including carrying the ring around in his shoe for three days at a music festival. The ring, a trio of diamonds and an emerald, belonged to my Granny. She would have been absolutely thrilled at its adventures.

The Vision for the day…. A sense of intimacy, colour, involvement, detail and tradition and a day which will give something back to our loved ones.

The Planning process…. We organised the wedding in five months. I found traditional bridal magazines with their panic inducing lists and deadlines very counter-productive. We got the venue, the band, the church and the food organised first, and then I spent the rest of my evenings and weekends focusing on the detail. It can be done, I promise!

The Venue… Our ceremony took place at in Warburton, Cheshire, at St Werburgh’s Old Church, which dates back to the 13th Century and is very special to our family. Because it is owned by the Churches Conservation Trust, we needed a special license from the Archbishop of Canterbury to marry there. We were the first couple to marry there in 25 years.
Our reception was at Dunham Massey Village Hall, using the hall for evening entertainment and a beautiful handmade canvas and pole marquee as our wedding breakfast and bar space. Drinks were on the grass beside it.

The Dress + Accessories….. My dress was Amelia by Kate Sherford. It is a demi-fishtail gown with six layers and a constructed corset bodice. The lace was woven in Devon, where David grew up, which made it very special.
My veil was made for me using the same lace by the bridal consultant. It was full length cathedral, with a tiara of pearls to keep it in place. It was the veil that made me feel the most emotional – when I put it on, it felt perfect.
I wore a blue enamelled pendant belonging to my Mum, and after the ceremony David presented me with a beautiful brooch which pinned to the chiffon sash on my dress. Considering he had no idea what my dress would be like, it was awesome!
At the reception I changed into the accompanying shrug of the same Devon lace and added a hair accessory from Velvet Owl, an Etsy supplier who used a lace sample to make me a similar piece.

Finding the dress…. The dress was from a local boutique, and made for me at Kate Sherford’s studio. I tried on five. The one I chose, I chose on a combination of my Mother and friend’s reactions, and how it made me feel.

Groom’s attire… David wore a beautiful three-piece morning suit, custom tailored for him, by Charles Harvey. I can’t say enough how handsome and smart he looked, and the suit was lightweight, traditional, and perfectly fitted, exactly what he wanted. His tie was Dupont.

The Readings + Music…. We put a lot of thought into the readings and music as both of us enjoy Church and have a love of music and poetry. We sang Guide me O Thou Great Redeemer and Lord Of The Dance. Whilst we signed the Register we had Elbow’s Mirrorball and Patrick Wolfe’s The Magic Position, and we walked out to Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell singing You’re All I Need To Get By.
We had three readings, including my Stepfather reading Charles Darwin’s notes on marriage, which he read so well he got a round of applause, which made us laugh.

Beautiful bridesmaids….. My best friend Maddy and my sister Alice wore beautiful floral halterneck dresses from Vivien of Holloway, with some snazzy yellow petticoats I picked up online from a country and western supplier. I have never seen either of them look so pretty, I was very proud!

The Flowers… The brief I gave to the wonderful florists at Fletcher and Foley was to make the flowers look like they’d been picked that morning from a field, which they fulfilled right down to the wild grasses and local foliage they added. The colours were a mixture from pink through to purple and splashes of yellow, and they added some fragrant herbs too, because I wanted the marquee to smell summery and as natural as possible. The table arrangements were placed in jugs and some of my family’s copper kettles.

The buttonholes combined fresias, hydrangeas and rosemary. My bouquet was hand tied and I couldn’t stop looking at it.
My amazing Mum and her friends grew every flower for the Church and put them in hanging baskets so they would live on for the summer. My Dad grew large baskets too and it was all moved from the Church to the Reception for people to enjoy. My Mum also decorated a floral arch which made the entrance to the Church smell delicious.

The Cake… My wonderful Dad is a flour miller and he asked a colleague to make and decorate us a small cake with appropriate wild flowers. It was three tiered, one fruit, two sponge, and topped with a small peapod with two peas in it.

Your Photographer…. Well, you can see how brilliant he is from the shots! Alex did everything right, taking our meagre list of suggested photos and expanding on it, ensuring I had loads of pictures of the detail of the day and most importantly, making sure we didn’t spend all our time posing for awkward group pictures. I love the fact the pictures evoke fragments of the day – I can almost hear what people are saying in the photos. Alex was an integral, unobtrusive part of our day and he even stayed longer than he said he would, which was great.

The Details + Decor…. For us, it was all about the detail. We made metres of bunting using floral scraps. We handmade every place card using vintage luggage labels and a lettered stamp. We put a large box of blankets and colourful flip flops out for guests to make themselves comfortable. We made all the signs.

Our decoration was also our wedding favours. For the five months before the wedding, I stockpiled vintage and new tea towels which were decorated with motifs that either meant something to us, or to our guests. Over 100 of them were used to decorate the village hall, hung on brown string with pegs. Each had a number and a corresponding board was put up for guests to reserve their preferred tea-towel, which we sent them as thank yous after the big day.

We also used over 50 tissue paper pom-poms which took the best part of three days for me and my Step-mum to assemble, but it was worth it to see them in the trees at sunset, looking beautiful. We lit the outside area with tealight bags and lamps.
Outside the marquee we had rings of straw bales for folks to sit on.

We also had an amazing ‘fake living room wall’ made for us, with two photo frames for guests to pose with props, which was very popular.

Our food was communal and made by a local caterer, with large mezze platters to start, huge meat pies next, and a beautiful range of cakes made by family and friends afterwards. We used the village hall’s own mismatched china, and beautiful cups and saucers from St Werburgh’s for candles.

Our lovely friend Pam designed our invitations and orders of service which were perfect. Beer was sourced from the local brewery at Dunham Massey and served by friends from local pubs.

The cars were a big part of the day – several vintage Rolls Royce and a 1907 Iris, supplied and driven by friends of the family. Having my Mum and Dad be relaxed and talking to the drivers on the way to Church made me feel happier too.

The Honeymoon…. We went back to somewhere very special to us, Tipi Algarve, an eco-resort near Silves, for a few days.

Memorable moments… Decorating the marquee with my best friend on the morning of the big day, knowing then that everything was going to be brilliant! Watching my Mum and bridesmaids set off in their vintage transport, laughing their heads off. The feeling of total overwhelming nerves when we stepped through the Church door, and Dad having to hold my hand very tightly. Saying our vows, holding David’s hand as we went back down the aisle. Looking round the room at lunch and seeing all the people that are dear to us having a good time.

Advice for other couples… Make sure you put something into the day that you can keep forever to remind you, other than just photos. We remember the fun we had on the previous day dressing the venue ourselves with friends and family as fondly as the day – it’s great to have that time to relax before it all kicks off. If it’s DIY, make sure you have a great best man and ushers like ours to take the responsibility from you on the day. Don’t waste time having too many posed photographs, the day is too short as it is. Make sure you keep a copy of any speeches, even if it’s just the notes, as a memento. Do not underestimate the power of inflatable guitars combined with a live band.

Credit where credit’s due…
Marquee – Sarah at Posh Frocks and Wellies
Flowers – Jo at Fletcher and Foley
Catering – Ceri at Indulge!
Photography – Alex at My Love Story
Dress – Kate Sherford from Puure Bridal
Poms – Paper Poms
Tailor – Charles Harvey
Bridesmaids – Vivien of Holloway
Accessories – Velvet Owl on Etsy
Band – The Noel Fraser Band

Thanks so much to David and Eleanor for sharing their wedding with us today. Are you planning a similar summer affair? I’d love to hear all about it below :-) XOXO Lou

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