When i went to Luton Hoo a couple of months back for a afternoon tea hen do. Squealing with excitment we spotted a beautiful bride, donned in lace with a stunning bouquet. We ohhed and ahhed, and then i saw the photographer, the lovely Binky Nixon. And today i have the pleasure of sharing that very wedding day with you here :-)

Helen-Marie and Luke married in May at Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire. They wanted their wedding to be small and intimate and with no bridesmaids they kept their day simple and special.

With the couple both donning custom made outfits and cute shoes, there were gorgeous blooms and a statement cake. Oh so lovely.

Thanks so much to the fabulous Binky Nixon for sharing her imagery with us today.

 

The Proposal… It was super cute actually, it was a few days after Christmas and we were about to go sales shopping :) when Luke said, ‘just before we go I have another gift for you which is on the Christmas tree’. Now in my Christmas stocking, Luke had put a really lovely cream flower Christmas tree decoration, which was on the tree pride of place….well he had only gone and sewn the engagement ring into the centre of the flower for me to find..how cute. So then he got down on one knee and proposed, I cried am sure he cried a little bit as well :).

The Vision for the Day… Unlike some brides to be, I had never really had visions of what I wanted my special day to be like, but as soon as I started planning it just all came together. We decided to have a small intimate wedding cermony and breakfast with a vintage feel which would in turn compliment the venue. We decided to then invite all friends and family to the evening for the party.

The Planning Process… We decided on a date quite soon after getting married, so the planning started straight away starting with the venue, we were very lucky to secure a Saturday this year at the venue and all seemed like it was meant to be. Once we secured the date, we sent out our pretty wedding invitations and started thinking about my dress and Luke’s suit. Every else came together so perfectly and I enjoyed every minute of making decisions and sourcing the lovely detailed items for our day.

The Venue… Having visited this venue a couple of times for special occasions, there was no doubt in my mind this was where I wanted to get married. Luton Hoo is the most magical place in my mind, it just has a rather special feel from the moment you walk in. My Grandma, Grandad and Mum also attended the Conservative Rally at Luton Hoo that Sir Winston Churchill spoke at back in 1948 so it also holds some family history there for me too.

The Dress + Accessories… My Wedding Dress was designed by myself and made by an independant dress maker local to where I live. The fabric was sourced from a habidashiry shop in London, and I was told that it was the end of line from one of the more expensive London bridal shop dresses..result! I went down this route as I wanted to have a vintage cream coloured dress, with the design different to the usual styles you find in bridal shops. My Tiara was from Hair Accessories Direct and has Swarvoski crystals and was so beautiful, my earings and necklace are my own sapphire and diamond set. My shoes are from Rachel Simpson a fabulous vintage shoe designer, the great thing about the shoes I picked is that I can wear them again and were not too high, although they do high ones too.

Groom’s Attire… Luke’s suit was again designed by myself and Luke and was made by an independant tailer local to where we live. The fabric was sourced from a company called Fox Brothers in Somerset and was a gorgeous prince of wales check with a deep red and light blue running through it. We wanted a vintage type feel but also with a modern twist so went for a slimmer fitted suit, but kept the fabric vintage and vintage style lapels.

The Readings + Music… Whilst our guests were waiting I chose some music from the classical string band Vitamin String, who record string versions of modern songs. For my entrance I chose a song not many people would have heard of but is beautiful in my mind, it was Whispher of Angels by Amici Forever, a classical band who are no longer together but when they were I was fortunate enough to see them live at Stoke Park. For our signing the register song we had Eva Cassidy, Songbird and Elbow, Day Like This. Our first dance song was A Thousand Years by Christina Perri but we chose the duet version from the Twilight soundtrack album.

Beautiful Bridesmaids… As we had a small and intimate wedding, I did not have bridesmaids, but had my two closest friends on hand to help who were both amazing at helping me get ready and keeping calm.

The Flowers… We used Luton Hoo’s in-house florists, as a last minute change as previous company let us down. They were brilliant, they knew exactly what we wanted to match our vintage theme and they delivered.

The Cake… We used a local company Cakes by Shelly, the cake was decorated by flowers from our florist.

Your Photographer… I was lucky enough to already know a great photographer, as I went to school with Binky. I knew by choosing her to shoot our day, I would not need to worry about the end result as I knew the pics would be fab and she did not disspoint, from someone who does not like being the centre of attention nor having photos taken, she has made me so proud to show off my wedding pictures and inspired me to take up photography as a hobby.

The Details + Decor… I sourced a lot of my decor and detailed items from Etsy, this site is amazing! A lot of the bits are one off’s but they were all literally sourced from all over the world. My table placecards, menu cards and wedding book poem was from a D’Epoca – Vintage Style Stationery in Ireland. One of my close friends did my wedding favours which were heart shaped shortbreads with cream icing, tied up with cellophane and vintage style wired ribbon sourced from Etsy. My confetti cones were from an ebay seller, which I teamed with a gardening basket from Sainsbury’s. My pink polka dot umbrella was also from ebay as was my vintage bunting we used on the buffet table. The gorgeous little pegs I used for my placecard holders were from a seller on Etsy from Cyprus. The vintage hairdryer was something we inherited and thought it would make a quirky picture.

The Honeymoon… We went to the Sandals Halcyon in St Lucia, and had the most amazing time. With weddings there almost daily it was lovely to see so many loved up people :).

Memorable Moments… I have so many, but the moment I looked up to see Luke at the alter will stay with me forever, his face beaming with happiness and of course the exchange of our vows and what they mean to us both.

Advice for Other Couples… Enjoy the planning and don’t stress too much, definitely get a good photographer…the day goes so quickly that these will be your lasting memories.

Credit Where Credit is Due…

Wedding Invitations: http://www.weddinginateacup.co.uk/

D’Epoca – Vintage Style Stationery – email: [email protected]

Venue: www.lutonhoo.co.uk

Cake: www.cakesbyshelly.co.uk

Hair Accessories: http://www.hairaccessoriesdirect.co.uk/

Brides Shoes: http://rachelsimpsonshoes.co.uk/

Hair & Make up – www.vicky-brown.co.uk

Decor (suitcase, pegs, guest book): www.etsy.com

Decor (umbrella, bunting, confetti cones): www.ebay.com

Suit Fabric: Fox Brothers & Co http://www.foxflannel.com/

Photographer: Binky Nixon www.binkynixon.com

 

Such a sweet day. Thanks so much to Helen-Marie and Luke for sharing their beautiful wedding with us today XOXO Lou