Inspiration

Some weddings just make your jaw hit the floor, and this is one of those weddings. Francesca & Chris have got such a unique style that shines through every single detail, fashion choice and planning decision of their wedding, and we LOVE them for it! Stay tuned for lots of amazing advice, Francesca's stunning vintage wedding dress, AND, red evening dress. Plus, pet pooches, vibrant flowers and a chocolate wedding cake. All captured to perfection by Emma at Epic Love Story Photography.

What Made Our Day Unique

We wanted the day to feel completely authentic to us, reflecting our taste and personalities. In particular, we wanted to avoid doing traditional for the sake of it and so to us that meant walking down the aisle together, having bridesmaids and a bridesman and having our dogs being a central part of the day. Doing it this way made the day feel incredibly relaxed and fun.

Francesca & Chris

Vintage Wedding Dress

Pictures of bride Francesca and her awesome wedding have been circulating the Rock My Wedding office all morning, and there just aren't enough superlative words to describe how amazing everything is. Right from the wedding morning, bridal preparations where Francesca wears sequin shorts and a leopard print robe you could tell she is one stylish babe. She slips into an incredibly unique vintage wedding dress and bridal crown for the ceremony, before ending the day in a super sexy sequin red evening dress. Throughout all this, her smile stays strong, and you can tell both her and her groom Chris, who is equally dapper in a blue velvet blazer and hat, are having the time of their lives.

Inspiration & Styling

Walcot Hall has so much character already that we didn't want to go overboard and detract from it. This was great because it was important to us not to buy loads of things we would never use again. A lot of the decorations used on the day were items we already owned from our home or were things I made myself. One exception to this, and the most costly decoration expense were the flowers. I went for bright, wildflowers in antique vases which were a mix of our own and Katie’s from Wild Magnolia who did an amazing job.

Francesca & Chris

Wedding Planning & Advice

Stay true to yourselves and don't do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable to please others. People are there to celebrate your love and so the day should reflect you as a couple. Also, know that unless you have unlimited funds you won't be able to have everything you want. For example, I spent days agonising whether I should push our budget and spend £200 on gold cutlery as I don't like silver. At the time this felt like a really important decision but deciding not to was obviously right as no one should go into debt for cutlery!

Francesca & Chris
Very rarely does a wedding take place without something going wrong. Francesca fully embraced her wedding morning hiccup and the small power outage and now thinks of it with fond memories - "In the morning the site had a power outage just as my lovely hair and makeup artist Nancy was about to start doing our hair. Short power outages are common but this one was more serious and we were told it would continue for a couple of hours which isn't ideal when you are getting married before then! Luckily there was one accommodation on site that had its own power generator so after some deliberation we all decided to move camp, this included moving all wedding/bridesmaids outfits, the dogs, food and drink a ten-minute walk across a hilly field. I started to freak out but then I realised how comical it was seeing myself and all the bridal party running across fields in sequin hot pants and wellies while swigging champagne! It ended up being such a fun adventure that I’m glad it happened." We share everything from flash floods to couples coping with snow in our real wedding features, so you can be fully prepared and ensure you have a plan b if things go wrong.
Lorna Shaw

Written by Lorna Shaw

Featured suppliers

Venue: Walcot Hall | Food : Roslin Catering | Cakes: Sams Sweet Treats | Florist: Wild Magnolia | Entertainment: Funkmania | Tables: Burgoynes Marquees | Wedding Dress: Vintage via Elizabeth Avry | Evening: Rixo | Bridal Shoes: Gucci | Bridesmaid Dresses: Lindy Bop | Grooms Suit: Boutique Charity Shop Pimlico | Head-dress: Rose Red Rose White | Hair & Makeup: Makeup Manchester | Dog Bow Ties: Pup Tart

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