So the peony worshipers out there, (Um…. that’ll be me then,) are in for such a treat today. We have a vintage inspired day to share with peonies a-plenty, and wait for it….
…they’re all DIY.
Thats right folks, DIY flowers, and this is a perfect exercise in how to do them well; Keep it simple, stick to one striking bloom and make it pretty. That combined with a peony stamp for the stationery which I failed to source for my own big day but am loving seeing here, tie the vintage not-a-colour-scheme-in-sight theme together beautifully.
Karen and Scott were married on 22nd May 2010 in Alloa, Central Scotland and all the beautiful images were taken by Cara and Nye of Lillian and Leonard.
Arts and Crafts
Our venue, Gean House, was one of only two we looked at. We knew immediately that it would be perfect for our wedding and we really only looked at the second venue because we felt we had to consider more than one!
Gean House is an Edwardian Mansion with many Arts and Crafts features. The beautiful detailing in the House presented us with a perfect backdrop to set our vintage inspired, hand-crafted wedding.
Scott was happy to go with the flow and let me take the lead on designing the day and I took my lead from the House.
Vintage Gorgeous
My dress was from a gorgeous boutique in Perth called Alison Kirk Bridal. It’s by Justin Alexander and again, it was in the second shop we visited and I did know it was ‘the one’ deep down but I felt I had to see more just to make sure!
Someone described my dress as looking as if it had been lovingly stored in a trunk and tucked away in an attic for 70 years and I think that describes it beautifully. It was utterly unique in any of the shops we looked at and it absolutely delivered the antique feeling I was going for.
I really didn’t think I’d find what I was looking for in a standard wedding dress shop and I was completely surprised to find it without any fuss whatsoever!
Shoe Bargains
My shoes were the bargain of the wedding!
I dreaded wedding shoe shopping because of my ‘super-model-proportioned feet’. I always dread shoe-shopping, even though I love shoes. The closest I came to a proper bridezilla melt-down was when a distracted and pretty unhelpful shop assistant insisted on brining me size 7s when what I needed were size 8s (probably more like an 8.5 if I’m being entirely honest) and told me that I could just stretch them out by wearing them around the house with a pair of thick socks! I got out of there as quickly as possible and 25 minutes later found my perfect shoes in Debenhams for under £30! They were cute and vintage and fantastically high and I had no hesitation in telling Scott exactly how much they cost!
Birdcage Beauty
Because my dress was very detailed I wanted to keep my jewellery simple. My ‘something borrowed’ was a pearl bracelet I’d given my twin sister Linda when she graduated from her latest degree(!). (‘Pearls of wisdom’ to celebrate her becoming a teacher.) Scott gave me a pair of beautiful diamond earrings from Tiffany and Co. which perfectly complemented my engagement ring.
I bought my veil when we were in Canada, visiting Scott’s family, the summer before the wedding. I knew I wanted a vintage-style birdcage veil and found that they weren’t that easy to find in Scotland. Scott’s Mum and I went of a tour of bridal boutiques in Belleville where they live and I found something wonderfully unique and bought it on a whim! It was lovely to be able to share that experience with her.
The veil was quite troublesome though and I had to call in the help of the amazing and incredibly talented Joyce Paton. I’d met Joyce through a fundraising event I had worked on and she’d offered to take a look at my veil and help to whip it into shape! In the end she completely re-designed it for me! However, when it was fitted, ‘post-hair’ I just didn’t feel 100% comfortable with it over my eyes and so my very clever hairdresser, Rhona McCallum incorporated it into my hair for me and it looked great! So I had my veil but with a twist!
Hair up
Rhona from Rhona McCallum in Alloa and her assistant came to Gean House to put up our hair. I wanted something quite classic and simple. My twin sister Linda wore a beautiful crystal butterfly clip from Glitzy Secrets in her hair for no other reason than she loved it! As I don’t normally wear a lot of make-up I decided that I wanted to do my own in order to make sure that I looked as much like myself as possible (only a rather more polished version of myself). As a relative novice in the make-up department I relied on the wonderfully patient Rosie at MAC in Harvey Nichols to give me several vital tutorials!
Peony Pretty
One thing I knew for certain before we were even engaged was that I would have pale pink peonies and mounds of them at our wedding.
Our wedding stationary was all handmade and I found a stamp maker in New York who made perfect peony stamps and I used them in the design for everything. The peony became an unofficial ‘motif’ for the wedding.
I arranged the flowers myself, with the help of my beautiful and hugely talented friend Stella who was dragged off a flight from Toronto at 6am the day before the wedding and put to work immediately! (She was also responsible for the gorgeously tied bows on our wedding cake.)
I wanted to keep the flowers simple, not least to save time in the arranging but also to give a sense that they were cut from the garden early in the morning and casually placed on the tables. I wanted to create a feeling of a gathering at home for our wedding and the flowers played a really important part in developing that sense of simplicity, familiarity and domesticity.
I fell in love with my aqua blue mason jars, which came via ebay from the USA. Some were over 70 years old and each was marked differently.
I also arranged single blooms in a collection of vintage tea-cups which were gathered up from charity shops the length and breadth of Scotland! The Indian Tree teacups were a wedding gift to my parents, as were the blue-spotted ones (the latter survived an IRA bomb just before my parents’ wedding and were given as a gift by the hotel my Mum was working in at the time!)
Lipstick Lady
My twin sister Linda was my only bridesmaid and I was happy to let her select her dress. We had originally thought she would wear a shorter cocktail length dress but we soon realised that as she was the only bridesmaid she might become lost in the crowd in a shorter dress! She needed something to make her really stand out.
Our early thoughts were to find a dress which would pick out the colour of my gorgeous aqua blue mason jars. However, when Linda tried on the sample dress in the store in ‘Lipstick’ it suited her beautifully and the decision was made! The dress originally had a clumsy halter neck strap. This was chopped off by our seamstress and it completely changed the whole look.
It was a coincidence that her dress matched our stationery perfectly but it was a happy accident and there was no one more delighted to be wearing pink (with pink shoes!) than Linda!
I think I have been very very kind today, showing you so many of the pretty peonies stamped all over this day.
But don’t think that means there’s nothing for tomorrow folks, oh no siree! There’s details a-plenty to share, style from the boys and more stunning photography, including the ceremony snaps from Lillian and Leonard.
Pop back tomorrow to brighten up your Friday morning and kickstart the bank holiday weekend. 
Yours Truly
Rebecca
xoxo
oh wow the peonies in the blue jars and the ribbon – I love that
Please – where are the amazing stamps from? I would love to be able to design my own for my own stationery.
I love peonies, love that dress and ADORE Cara and Nye of Lillian and Leonard…
Quite liking this so far then!
x
Oh so very pretty. Thanks for brightening up this grey afternoon!
Those peonies are lush – so simple yet so stunning at the same time.
I use the word ‘stunning’ a lot on here *blush*
L&L are some of my favourite Scottish photographers too, looking forward to seeing some more pics!
Peonies are my fave fave fave.
I am very excited right now.
ooo can’t wait to see the second installment.
I adore the blue glass jars and the pink peonies look gorgeous, not to mention the bride!
Not quite the same stamp but I found this online:
http://www.impressrubberstamps.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=2052F_lg_double_peony&Category_Code=wedding
Totally peonytastic! I think I actually said out loud t my desk like a nutter, “oh my” at that first pic of peony loveliness. They are a totally gorgeous flower and the pink is divine…
Love that peony stamp and the handmade stationery. Didn’t want this one to end. More more more please…
from a flower-frustrated Autumn Bride-to-be who wishes peonys were in season in Oct
Found it!! Woop Woop
http://www.stampworx2000.biz/youve_seen_our_work
You’re right Rosy – it’s from Stampworx.
I tried to source the stamp myself to make similar stationery but found the response time was rather slow. So if you are interested do get in touch straight away.
Isn’t this just gorgeous?
Wait until you see tomorrows
xoxo
Love it, so pretty x
Wow gorgeous and I absolutely adore peonies, would have loved them for our wedding but getting married in March no such luck, thankfully had some incorporated in my bouquet for our after wedding shoot in July
I was a very happy lady!! Can’t wait to see the rest of the wedding, looks stunning and that dress is divine!! Congrats x
What’s made this wedding special to me is the mention of Karen’s twin sister being her only bridesmaid… it brought back very fond memories of my twin sister being bridesmaid. If peonies were in season in late August we’d have had them in our bouquets too.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s posting.
Loving the bouquet….
Charlotte xxx
Huge fan of flowers over here!!!!!
So much so if we lived in a communist state (and thus could do what we wanted without having to work our arses off) I would be a florist.
I totally love it
And lillianandleonard are on our photography shortlist of ‘light photographers’.
The dress is beautiful and I think lipstick was the right choice because pink and blue are a little too Cath Kidston for me these days.
Pps, I wish I had a twin
I want it to be spring again so I can fill my life with peonies
Or the ranninculus season is equally blowsy.
Oh my gosh, totally pretty!
I don’t think I have ever seen such a beautiful dress with a great vintage feel!
xoxo
so glad someone found the stamps, I love that this blog has so many like minded peeps on it, its my second favourite thing about it…
after the weddings of course!
Love the single flower motif
r.now
Hi Fleur
Just seen your blog, if you havent already done your flowers then try David Austin roses. He has 2 types called Rosalind and Miranda that are exactly like peonies! I am having a spring wedding .
I was wondering if you’d be able to tell me where you got the bridesmaids shoe’s from as I am desperate for some in that colour for myself!