I have been very excited about this post for some time now and I am delighted to finally show everyone! I have previously featured Lucia and Anil’s wedding stationery before and it was such a pleasure to design their stationery, so I was very excited when Lucia sent me some of their wedding photos recently. I don’t often get to see our stationery on the actual day, in situ, so it is always a delight when I get a peek at the photos, especially for such a beautiful wedding as Lucia and Anil’s!
This has to be my favourite photo, it’s absolutley stunning!
Lucia has been very kind in not only sharing her lovely photographs but also a little insight into her wedding choices, thoughts and ideas. Here is what she had to say…
The Dress
My dress is called Kristene and is by Claire Pettibone, a US designer which specialises in romantic dresses with a whimsical, vintage look. The dress has Victorian style embroidery and is lined with ivory silk charmeuse. I loved the sweetheart neckline, sheer back and cap sleeves though my favourite feature was the heart shaped train!
The shoes are by Rachel Simpson.
I bought both the dress and the shoes at The White Closet in West Didsbury, Manchester, a vintage-inspired bridal boutique owned by the lovely Nikki Jackson. The White Closet girls (Nikki, Eve and Emma) are so helpful and the shop and dresses are just stunning.
The Venue
We got married in the East Wing at Ripley Castle near Harrogate, North Yorkshire. The castle is set in the picturesque village of Ripley in the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, surrounded by beautiful gardens and next to a lake. Our photographer Andy Sutcliffe really made the most of the beautiful setting by taking some fantastic pitures! We liked the relaxed feel of the venue – it felt elegant and special yet not too grand or opulent. Both the room where our ceremony took place and the one where we had the wedding breakfast and evening reception have beautiful exposed beam ceilings.
The castle florist, Val, put together some beautiful flower arrangements with a “gathered”, country feel. I told her I wanted the flowers to feel “garden-y” and lose, almost like wild flowers which is exactly what she did! She mainly used creams and greens in the reception arrangements but included a few amnesia roses with a dusty pink colour which add a vintage touch. Val also made the bride’s bouquet which had fluffy ivory roses, peonies and lilly of the valley.
The Music
For the civil ceremony we had a harpist – the very talented Ruby Paul which created an intimate and romantic atmosphere.
During the drinks reception and the wedding breakfast Matt and Annabel from Vintage 78 dj played original 78rpm shellac discs on 1930’s Gramophone players. They set up in the garden for the drinks reception and later on in the main hall for the meal. Both of their sets looked great with their picnic style gramophones with pop up lids and other quirky, vintage accessories – and they sounded even better! One of my favourite memories from the day was sipping champagne in the sunshine and mingling with our guests while listening to the vintage records!
The Wedding Cake
Our wedding cake was not a wedding cake as such but rather a tower of vanilla, lemon and white chocolate cupcakes by Mama Doreen’s in Harrogate. They were yummy and such a hit with the guests!
Favours and Sweets
We got married on the Easter bank holiday so wanted the holiday to feature somehow in our wedding. We therefore asked Cakes by Lynette to make some egg shaped biscuits as favours. These were covered in icing with a beautiful bird design and had a little tag wishing guests a Happy Easter.
After the meal a table with a “sweets station” was set up near the bar. This had pretty glass jars with retro sweets like wham bars, as well as jelly beans and mini chocolate eggs. We bought mini scoops and little paper bags (which we decorated with vintage stickers bought from etsy.com) for guests to help themselves.
Guest Book
Just a couple of weeks before the wedding we still had not made a decision whether we wanted a guest book or not – I’m so glad we decided to have one in the end as it is such a lovely keepsake of the day! We knew we wanted something slightly different so decided to have a photo guest book. We placed a polaroid camera (with lots of spare film!) next to the book and asked guests to have their picture taken. We bought some self adhesive cards resembling old luggage tags and postcards for the guests to write their messages on and asked them to stick these next to their picture on the book.
Emma Jo designed these lovely signs with the instructions.
Guest Cards
I bought a vintage birdcage from ebay for guests to place their cards in. Next to it we had pictures from the weddings or our parents and grandparents which added a really nice personal touch.
Stationery
We loved every item of stationery that Emma Jo designed – from the elegant letter press invitations to the Venice themed vintage table plan (every table had the name of a Venice landmark – our favourite city and the place where we got engaged!). If I had to chose I’d say the orders of service were my favourite item; these were held together by black and white baker’s twine (Emma’s idea!).
“My favourite part of day was looking around and seeing all of my friends and family under one roof (including some who travelled a long way to come to the wedding!). It may sound like a cliche but we felt incredibly lucky to have so many people who we love share our day with us!”
Dress – Claire Pettibone
Shoes – Rachel Simpson
both bought at The White Closet
Venue – Ripley Castle
Photography – Andy Sutcliffe
Music – Vintage 78 dj
Wedding Cake – Mama Doreen
Favours – Cakes by Lynette
Stationery – Emma Jo
Thank you so much Lucia and Anil for sharing your beautiful day, it was an absolute honour to design and print your wedding stationery.
Emma x
