Oh my, how i have been dying to share this wedding with you since it landed at WWW HQ :-)

Dot and Cass are the sweetest, most loved up couple who knew what was most important at their wedding; making their wedding represent them as a couple and a family. They were married on the 4th May 2012, at a farmers field where they placed some beautiful Tipis from Beautiful World Tents.

Dot chose the most amazing Candy Anthony dress, with blue sash and those Vivienne Westwood Melissa shoes. Add to that her fun bow hairpiece and her beautiful look is complete and Cass looks seriously cool in his 3 piece suit with customised converse. The gorgeous bridesmaids wore fabulous Vivienne of Holloway dresses and clutched bouquets of babys breath.

At the reception guests were treated to their own picnic basket and tables were adorned with amazing balloons from Bonbon Balloons. What an amazing day.

Thanks so much to the super amazing Cotton Candy Photography for sharing their stunning imagery today.

 Names….   Dot and Cass

Wedding Date…. 4th May 2012.  (My father’s anniversary).  I wanted a way of marking a sad day with a happy one. It felt like the whole wedding process was also a grieving one. The date represented a reminder of the day that he parted from my family and yet the wedding itself brought us all together. It was in the rehearsal of the ceremony when I felt the vacuum of space he should have filled next to me. My two year old son walked me down the aisle on the day but I felt my dad there with me. His absence was marked by a burning candle.

The Proposal…. Cass proposed in the sand on Pett Level beach near Hastings. He had told me to close my eyes. When I opened them he had written ‘’ Will you marry me?’  in the sand’.  Driving down there I knew what he was about to do. But I still felt the collision of happiness. He knew the beach was special to me. The proposal set the change for a new beginning of a life with him. It was the last place my father took me before he died. I love this beach. It makes me feel very close to my dad and now it will hold a new special meaning. We then drove up to Rye and we chose an emerald ring from an antique shop.

The Vision for the day…. Cass and I wanted a low key, laid back, honest, village fete type of wedding. We wanted to feel comfortable. No bling. But we also wanted something quirky that represented who we were, identified our relationship and our family.

The Planning process…. In no way did I think this was going to be stressful – I was wrong! The venue was the main issue. Trying to find a venue we liked for not crazy money was so difficult. We looked at well over six to seven places; including hotels, farms, woodlands,  barns,  stately homes and an old chapel. The planning process was left mainly to me. I set to work sourcing the catering and decorations. I really got into it but it was stressful liaising with all the suppliers while looking after my son. I can see why package deals and wedding planners are such good ideas. Ultimately, I cared a lot more about small touches, things looking as I wanted them, wanting people to take notice of small things. I knew I had organised it and it felt so personal to us. It felt like I had thrown the party rather than asking someone else to.

Budget…. It began as a budget wedding. I’m sure now it doesn’t actually fit that bracket. I did get carried away. The tipis were the expense. My mum put money in and I used the money my dad left me.

The Venue… The only setting we really liked were the Tipis from ‘Beautiful World Tents’. Cass reminded me more than a few times that he would be happy marrying me anywhere and that it was me who needed to decide. So we did. We decided on the beautiful tipis and were offered a farmer’s field by my mum’s friend from her church choir. It was perfectly situated down the road from the church we would be married in. We had assumed rather presumptuously at this point that the weather in May would be hot and access would not be a problem………..! On the day, after a full month of hard rain, the field was soaked and the entrance was very muddy. However, it didn’t rain! And the mud and the wellies  actually made it a lot more fun!!

The Dress + Accessories… My older sister Lucy offered kindly to buy my wedding dress. It was a Candy Anthony dress with a Candy Anthony  head piece and Vivienne Westwood Melissa shoes.

Finding the dress…. How I wish I had just gone to Candy Anthony from the start! I tried the regular budget wedding dress shop, the higher range shop and the out of the price range boutique. I couldn’t find a dress in these shops that didn’t make me feel large, masculine, and so conventional so that I felt  uncomfortable. Standing in a clingy strapless number with my tattoos out just didn’t look or feel right to me. The ladies at CA were friendly, kind and helpful. Full of ideas on hair, make up and how to source the shoes I wanted. I felt like a big kid trying their dresses on. I loved the lace overlay and the puffy skirt and the cornflower blue petticoat. The cornflower blue sash finished the look. I loved it. It wasn’t too grown up!

Groom’s attire… Cass wore a three piece Prince of Wales suit. It even had cornflower blue lining. I had a tie and hanky set made by the ladies at CA in the fabric of my sash to match. He had his blue Converse trainers customised with the date of our wedding sown on the side.

The Readings + Music…. I entered the church to Jonny Cash’ version of  ‘’The first time ever I saw your face’’. There were three readings. One by Cass’ friend Josh, one by my best man Ross who read ‘’Forever Young’’ by Bob Dylan (this has a special significance with all of my family but especially my mum because of my dad) and my mum did a reading from the bible; Ecclesiastes  ‘A Time for everything’.

Beautiful bridesmaids….. My two sisters, Lucy and Rosie were my bridesmaids. They wore blue halter neck dresses from Vivienne of Holloway and white petticoats. They also threw me a great ‘The only way is Essex’ hen do. I also had a best man. He threw me my own stag do and walked my mother down the aisle.

The Flowers… My mother’s friend Jayne did the flowers. She arranged them in bottles my mum and dad had dug up in the garden when they first moved here.

The Cake… The cake was made by Tamzyn of ‘The Complete Lunch’, a local caterer.  She was amazing throughout the process. She did so many little things for us that I was not aware she was going to do. She baked biscuits with our initials in the hampers, was happy to run around tying balloons. The mud which caused a few issues with access for a supplier was a ‘’walk in the mud’’ to her (sorry)…

Your Photographer… I now realise how important the photographer is to your wedding day. I researched a lot of photographers. ‘ Cotton Candy’ offered the use of their vintage cameras. Not just clever Photoshop vintage filters. I am sure the use of Photoshop is an art in itself but truly I loved the fact they used all these old cameras they had acquired. I liked taking the risk that some may not come out and I loved the genuine look and feel of others. The photos we got back were truly exceptional. They made me feel like the photos were the icing on the cake. A true reflection of how our wedding was. I loved seeing the photos of our guests smiling and happy. I loved the singular moments that the photos held, the laugh, the look, the moment of our first dance where I had forgotten to take my wellies off, the reactions to the speeches made… and you can feel the vulnerability of certain moments. It is really special. The cotton candy photo booth just added to the fun. Everyone got involved. Such a collection of brilliantly funny moments.

The Details + Decor…. We decided to keep things simple. We just had incense burning in the church and the candle for dad. In the tents we had a fire and  fairy lights. The tables were covered in eBay table cloth bargains and the bottles and jars of flowers. The only thing I wanted to spend money on was the balloons.

Bonbon balloons are the most fantastic balloons. The strings are handmade and made to fit the theme and look of your wedding. We had hearts and fabric ribbons and confetti filled balloons. Each one was attached to a tea cup filled flowers or the glass jars in the middle of each table.

The Honeymoon….  Our honeymoon is taking place on my birthday next January in Antigua. This will be the first time my husband and I will have spent this long just us together, since our son was born.

Memorable moments… The vicar who took our service was my Godmother, and a friend of the family. She made the service so personal that it was funny and beautifully romantic. It also made the whole thing so warm and comfortable. Memorable moments include standing just outside the door to the church, listening to the bells chime, over and over as I knew Cass was waiting for me, my hands shaking, swallowing rising emotion and trying to compose myself. Looking up and seeing a sea of friendly faces and knowing I was ready. What sticks in my mind is my mum’s speech… how she disregarded the longest sheets of paper she had written on, obviously worked so hard on and throwing them aside. Telling me I was just like my father was the kind of thing that was just right to hear, at that time.

Advice for other couples… Decide what it is you want most from your wedding day and stick with it. If it’s the venue, but out of financial reach, drop your guest numbers. If it is to have everyone you love and know there, then pick anywhere that can accommodate it. Take your time. Ask your caterer to help you as they will be liaising with most of the other the suppliers on the day. Don’t buy anything you can’t resell. Only invite who you want to share your day with. Ignore tradition. Really a wedding is just a big party!

Credit where credit is due…

Candy Anthony
The Complete Lunch
Vintage Twee @ etsy
3 Little finches @ etsy
Bonbon balloons

I so love the touching comments from Dot about how she remembered her father on her wedding day, what a lovely couple.

Thanks so so much to Dot and Cass for sharing their incredible wedding with us today XOXO Lou

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