Inspiration

Jo and Neil's winter wedding was bathed in golden sunlight, making these images from Love That Smile Photography really lovely to look at - the glow of light and happiness just radiates from the photographs. Jo is a window dresser, so naturally her wedding is rather lovely to look at. There are rustic, wintery touches here and there, but with a neutral colour palette, everything looks calm, serene and inviting. The perfect cosy set up. The Elizabeth Avey wedding dress is rather gorgeous too - those sleeves are fabulous and it suits Jo down to the ground.

The Bride

Jo The Bride: This was of course (for me) the biggest decision and most exciting. I couldn't wait to go wedding dress shopping, it's every girls dream isn't it? However I was undecided - I didn't really know what I wanted, but I knew what I didn't want. Nether the less that was a start. I didn't want your traditional strapless dress, full to the brim doused in sparkle, it had to be unique - the only one! So I was hunting for vintage and sleeves...it had to have sleeves.  I planned to visit three shops that day I researched on line. Taking with me my mum, bridesmaid Hannah and my dear friend Sarah. Starting off in Halfpenny London, then Charlie Brear, and finally finishing off in Elizabeth Avey. And WOW what an experience... she was so lovely, so helpful, and genuinely so excited. And her vintage dress collection was to die for! It's there I found 'the one'!  Now that I had my amazing dress - with sleeves! The search for the headdress was on! Having a dress with little flesh on show, for me, meant that a veil was out of the question and besides I love big hair! And on my wedding this was no way being covered up! So a head piece it was! And their was no contest - I headed straight to Jenny Packham!

The Groom

We knew we wanted a vintage rustic theme, but with a contemporary cut/fit. So we immediately eliminated traditional wedding shops. But where else to look? We hit all the High Street stores as they have a great range these days. Then we finally found the perfect one on ASOS

The Venue

South Farm was the first venue we looked at - and the last! It was perfect!! We knew we wanted a barn with a vintage and rustic feel and with country home reception room this exceeded our expectations. It came with 3 stunning rooms, and food to die for, but most importantly it was ours for the day. 

The Decor

That was easy! Some years before I came across a photo on Instagram that I loved - a rustic festive table setting. Hessian, lace, candles sprinkled with A hint of gold. We had already decided that we both wanted a winter wedding and this fitted perfectly! So single handedly I got to work. I made everything - from scratch, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Jam jars were decorated with ferns and lace, filled with fake snow and candles, table runners were cut in hessian. I even made my own wedding aisle runner! And I was very lucky, myself and my five best friends are all Visual Merchandisers (we dress windows for a living) so all the trees and giant wreaths you see in the photos were actually given to me from my Bridesmaid - from a high street window display...for FREE!! 

The Flowers

I was extremely lucky when it come to this, my best friend Bridie is a florist, and an amazing one at that!!! And I knew what I wanted. So with her knowledge and years of experience we kept the rustic feel. We decided on foliage and gypsophila with a hint of white, like the rest of the decorations, no colour was necessary. She pretty much worked through the night to fill over 70+ jam jars, 3 bouquets and 15 button holes and the outcome was stunning!

The Bridesmaids

With what I would call a non traditional bridle dress, it had to be the same for my 2 bridesmaids. And with my tonal theme I would be keeping them in ivory - same as me. Inspired by Pinterest, I had the perfect dress already - in my wardrobe. A short cream lace swing dress from H&M Conscious Exclusive range. Luckily for me all three of us are the same size! Only problem was I needed another one - Ebay! Bingo!

The Entertainment

Throughout the day we individually hand pick EVERY song. Music is a huge part of any party/wedding and it sets the atmosphere, and we both had so many songs that meant a lot to us it was hard to fit them all in! An album called "Twist is the new Twerk" (available on iTunes) brings up to date songs in the style of Swing, went down a treat. We also had an awesome band call The Supertones, who I can highly recommend. 

The Photography

We found Magdalena on the internet. And there was simply no contest as to why we chose her. She completely stood out to us, so different from any other photographer that we looked at and her style of photography is exactly what we were looking for. Capturing the action shots and moments of the day that you’re so unaware of - perfect. 

Advice

My one piece of advice I would give any bride is to do a speech! I contemplated this for a while and it wasn't till 2 days before that I decided I was going to do it - finishing it on the night before I got married. I just started writing and I couldn't stop! Being an only child I thought it was my one chance to thank my mum, dad and best friends for everything they had done and given me over the years. Of course I had to research the internet for a few jokes and once I did I actually found out that it's not that uncommon for the bride to do one.  And if you do decide to do one, don't be nervous! Everyone gets so stressed out about 'the speeches' (my dad wasn't even going to do one he got so wound up about it), but to help, we did them before dinner, so we could all relax after! At the end of the day, they are your friends and family they are routing for you :)
Fern Godfrey

Written by Fern Godfrey

Bride: Elizabeth Avey | Headpiece: Jenny Packham | Groom: ASOS | Venue: South Farm | Flowers: Little Miss Flowers | Bridesmaids: H&M | Entertainment: The Supertones

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