Tweed and Feathers ∼ An English Country Castle Wedding, Part 1

There are SO many reasons I love this wedding, including the fact I know Bride Lucy Joy (a hugely talented Illustrator) is a fan of Love My Dress – a former competition winner infact (she won tickets to the Absolutely Beautiful Weddings event at Claridges back in March) – and that this wedding is so BEAUTIFULLY styled (well, you would expect so, the Bride and Groom being so creative – but because it was photographed by the lovely Emma Case, whose work I have featured previously on Love My Dress.  I adore Emma's signature style and approach to wedding photography; each image is a little work of art and I love her ability to capture the moments that others might miss. 

On 1 July this year, Emma had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Lucy and Jonathan at Thornbury Castle in South Gloucestershire, followed by a reception at Tortworth Court Four Pillars Hotel, South Gloucestershire.

"Jonathan proposed on Christmas eve 2008 in the gardens of Thornbury Castle, with candles, roses and champagne – it was magical.  We knew we wanted to get married there, and chose the very same garden where we were engaged.  As you can't get married outside, we decided to do all the paperwork the day before at a registry office in Bath where we live, with two best friends as witnesses…"

 This wedding is coming at you in 2 parts dear readers, for there were simply far too many wonderful photographs to spare on this occasion. Check back at 12-noon for part 2, which includes one FABulous Vivien of Holloway dress…

Love My Dress Wedding Blog ~ Photography Copyright (c) 2010, Emma Case
{Supported by Second Shooter, Joanna Brown}

Lucy's beautiful dress was a design by Katheryn, of Bridal Rogue Gallery – Chiltern Street, London.

"I had tried on a few dresses with mum in Bath, but hadn't found anything.  I went to London with some friends for an appointment at the 'Bridal Rogue Gallery' and absolutely fell in love with my dress.   I knew it was 'the one' when all my my friends gasped when I came out of the little dressing room!   I loved how classic and vintage looking it was, the shape was just amazing and so flattering. There were no beads or shiny glittery bits, it was all about the gorgeous draping and mermaid style, and dark ivory coloured duchess satin.  Also, as a lot of the dresses there are designed and made, it felt extra special not to have a dress that you can find in other bridal shops and the staff there are so lovely and helpful.   I also loved that I bought it half price in the sample sale!…"

I have a thing for little white gloves like these…{if you do to, then Accessorize have a few vintage style dress gloves in stock right now {in store only} – otherwise, get in touch with one of these suppliers…}

 

 

 

"My hair was put up by Anita at 'Maestri Jackson', in Henleaze Bristol, who was amazing.  My hair stayed up all day (even when I had a little half hour lie down in between!).  I did my own makeup using Mac…

Lucy's veil and gorgeous ivory silk flower comb were also from Bridal Rogue Gallery, her shoes from Rachel Simpson and her beautiful drop earrings were from Crystals in Bath…

Bridesmaids…

Lucy's Bridesmaids wore teal colour dresses from Warehouse – and a different pair of red shoes from an assortment of vintage and high street shops.  They also wore custom made feather pieces by Rachel Larraine and sported a mixture of red jewellery bought from vintage and high street shops…

A Gentleman in Tweed…

Jonathan wore a Tweed 3 piece, custom made suit with paisley lining and wooden buttons, a pair of rather dandy Brogues from Loake Shoemakers and teal knitted tie and a feather boutonniere, that he hand-made himself.  Clever boy!

 

"Our very good friend Sandy (who plays in a band with Jonathan) played Cello for us during the ceremony and around the Castle which was so lovely. We chose Trumpet Voluntary for me to walk into the garden,  as it was what my Mum had walked up the aisle to."

"For us and all of our family and friends, our real wedding day though was at Thornbury Castle, where my Grandad led our blessing and exchanging of rings and vows.  We  stood in the very spot where Jonathan had proposed and we included lots of our friends and family in the ceremony, reading poems and playing music…"

And gulp, and wipe away the tears…

There are those pretty lace white dress glove again! Love them….

Rings…

"Jonathan proposed with his grandmother's wedding band, which was so lovely and we didn't want to change or add to it, so I kept that as my engagement ring and decided to do it the other way around and have a ring with a stone as my wedding ring.

I knew I wasn't fussed on having a diamond, (I love colour too much!) so we went to the 'Rock and Gem fair' and met a lovely man called Geoff , who we bought a beautiful teal coloured tourmaline from.  We took it to the brilliant Jody Cory in Bath, and we came up with a design together, setting the stone into a thick hammered band, with tiny scattered diamonds from my grandmother's ring on either side of the stone.

Jonathan decided on a titainum band from 'The Silver Shop' in Bath.

Oh how beautiful are these photographs? I really can't look at this wedding without feeling so happy and really quite teary! The love evident in these images is what weddings should be ALL about…

Check back at 12-noon today folks for our lunch time instalment of the most delicious wedding day decor, details and some shots of Lucy dancing the night away in a fabulous Vivien of Holloway dress!

I LOVE this wedding! 🙂

Annabel xXx

♥