If you read Sneak Peek Sunday yesterday you would no that this wedding features my “if I would have had a princess dress it would have been this one” gown. And boy does the bride Natalie look super super pretty….. pair that with the handsome groom Jamie, an array of beautiful florals and gorgeous photography by Anna Hardy and what do you get?
A W-day that we would love to share with you guys of course!
First Time Lucky
I bought my dress from the Bridal Shop at Grafton Manor in Bromsgrove. It was by a little-known Hong Kong based designer, Lusan Mandongus. It was the first dress I tried on, and I compared all subsequent dresses I tried to this one so I knew it was the one for me. I loved that it was light-weight and comfortable, perfect for the hot day I was hoping for. The warmth of the ivory colour worked really well with my complexion, and the elegance of thetulle skirt, full of movement, made it feel really special and was different to anything I had seen in magazines.
All Natural
I used my usual hairdresser, Kylie Horton at Vida Salon in Oldbury. Never wearing my hair anything other than ‘down’ since it is naturally very wavy, I wanted something curly that was soft around my face and that complimented the style of my dress. I thought I wanted something very relaxed and natural, which is exactly what Kylie did…. and then I changed my mind!
Kylie asked all the right questions and on the day developed the original style into the final masterpiece which I absolutley loved, and it lasted all day. I decided to do my make-up myself. I had a make-up lesson as part of my hen-do, and after that felt really confident about doing something similar.
Since I don’t wear much make-up on a daily basis, I had to find something that would suit my sensitive skin and last all day. Out shopping with my sister who also wanted make-up for the wedding, we came across Bare Minerals Make-up counter in Debenhams. After a free demonstration we were both very impressed with the natural finish the foundation created, its ease of application and the fact you couldn’t feel you were wearing any make-up as well as it not being transferable onto clothing! So that was the foundation sorted.
I also used their silicone primer to ensure it lasted all day. I chose a lip-stick from Clarins No.708, and used beige and gold eyeshadow I already had for my eyes, with a tried and tested Bourjois mascara. I had great fun with my bridesmaids practicing our make-up application in the run-up to the wedding!
Diamante Peep Toes
My shoes were a complete splurge and impulse buy at the National Wedding Show at the NEC. My maiden name was Scott, and the shoes I found were Limited Edition ivory silk peep-toes by Fillipa Scott… a fun coincidence!
They had funky bright pink lining and a diamante brooch with white enamel spots on the front. They were the most comfortable heels I have ever worn. They stayed on my feet all day and night.
Keeping It Classic
The cream pearls I wore were borrowed from my 91-year-old Grandmother, a gift from my late Grandfather. They were my ‘something old and something borrowed’, and a very special part of my day. I bought a pretty hair comb at the last minute the week before the wedding from a great website called ‘the-little-things-in-life.co.uk’ after struggling to find a hair comb with pearls anywhere else. Having not worn any for years, I bought my earrings 2 days before the wedding from House of Fraser.
Men In Uniform
I found a voucher in a wedding magazine to get 2 of the 6 suits we hired from Moss Bros free, which again helped with the budget. We chose Moss Bros because they had suits with Jackets and matching waistcoats that enabled us to get a similar shape to Jamie’s Uniform Jacket, and they also had ties in the same green colour silk as the fabric I had already bought for the bridesmaid dresses!
The Groom wore his RAF Uniform so that was Free! I am so proud of what he does, it gave the wedding an extra special feel and he looked soooo handsome.
Love What You Wear
My Sister offered to make the bridesmaid dresses and I chose the green silk dupion fabric from the Fancy Silk shop in Birmingham. She did an amazing job, and it was great fun working out the final dress design with a mock-up while we were hungover on New Year’s Day! The made sure the bridesmaids helped with chosing the colour, style and length of their dresses because I wanted them to feel comfortable and enjoy wearing them on the day.
Oh the dress the dress……….
More tulle lovely and floral fancy coming up in part 2!
Big Princess Love
Charlotte xxx
Wow!!! I love the dress, the shoes…everything. The black & white photos are beautiful.
x x
What beautiful, dreamy photography and what a scrumptious dress!
That last shot is gorgeous- Mr. RAF looks like he can’t quite believe his luck!
Pretty pretty pretty….
X
Things I HEART
(a) Hot grooms in (free) uniform (I can say that right?!)
(b) Beautiful dresses by Lusan (first name terms)
(c) Bridesmaid dresses
(d) That are made by a relative
(e) Anna Hardy
(f) TULLE TULLE TULLE TULLE TULLE
Delish.
OMW… what a wonderful dress…it has just given me major dress wobbles!
The last picture is amazing, who ever said a picture speaks a thousand words is very very right!
I am not normally a big dress girl but that dress made my heart flutter
Gorgeous wedding, gorgeous couple, can’t wait to see part 2
and I meant to say gorgeous photography too…bit too early for my brain clearly!
LOVE the dress!!! photography is beautiful too -congratulations xx
Wow, I love how fitted the dress is around the brides, um, the bit below her back.
It’s super flattering, not that she needs any help!
Bahahaha Rachael! Was thinking the same thing…. That dress is perfection on her, but then she has a pretty darn perfect figure anyway!
The photography is so beautiful, I love the light and soft-focus-vaguely-smudgy feel. (hmm… Spot the photography novice!)
Happy Monday!
She is an absolute beauty. So is he! There are very few dresses that turn my head towards tulle, but this is one of them. How perfect for the bride – I echo Rachael’s diplomatic comment!
And LOVE the top of the BM dresses….would love to see a full-length shot, hint hint. Most of all though, I love how in love Natalie and Jamie look. Congratulations to you both!
What a beautiful bride. Loved everything about the wedding. Her dress was sheer perfection!
wow, how naturally gorgeous is she? They look so alive in their photos. I love this. Jilly, I know how you feel. Wobblin a bit myself. What a lovely Monday morning treat. Thank you girls. xo
Orr wow, such a beautiful dress and beautiful couple! xx
what a nice treat for a dreary, post holiday, Monday morning!
can’t wait for part two!
a very depressed about being back at work after two weeks off r.now!
What a simply adorable dress. Tulle envy!! That photo of the bride sitting in the window with the light behind is genius. Love it. And what a handsome groom in his uniform
Amazing photography and dress! oh no now I want a princess dress too ……. eeek!
Ooh I do love a bit of tulle, it always makes for a fabulous photo!
And after last weeks “big dress” controversy, what a lovely way of showing that a princess gown can be gorgeous, sophisticated and super stylish indeed!
xx
That dress is enough to convert me to tulle – it looks so floaty and ethereal here! xxx
JUST STUNNING !!!! I’m in love with this wedding !!! x
What a gorgeous picture of the bride sat by the window!
Looking forward to part 2 x
What a gorgeous shot of the bride in the window!
Looking forward to part 2 x
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