I like to start off the week with some of the best weddings I have lined up for feature. We all need a pick-up first thing on a Monday morning, and this latest real wedding feature is just the tonic.
Would you like to know something special? The couple featured in these photographs got married on Saturday. That's right, just two days ago. That officially makes them the most 'newlywed' newlyweds to have ever graced these beautiful pages :) What's more, the beautiful Bride, Dulcie, is a huge fan of Love My Dress (Hi Dulcie!!), which just makes this wedding feature even more special, but to top it off, the Bride and Groom are off on their honeymoon today, and will be checking in to this very blog post from the airport, about the same time that you are now, to view their wedding photographs for the very first time.
Needless to say, we are all more than a little bit privileged today to be sharing these beautiful 1930s and 1940's inspired wedding photographs with the Bride and Groom, Dulcie and Sebastian :)
These photographs were taken by one of the lovliest people working in the industry, Bucks and London Wedding Photographer Bucks and London Wedding Photographer, Eliza Claire, who was assisted on the day by Photographer Lisa Fellows.
Dulcie says…
"I didn’t set out to have any particular theme or style for the wedding – but a few days before the wedding I noticed that our lovely photographer Eliza Claire had a lovely sign-off on her email “modern wedding with a touch of vintage flair”. I think that sums it up perfectly!"
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2011, Eliza Claire, assisted on the day by Lisa Fellows
Dulcie's dress was "Dorothea" by Benjamin Roberts, Enzoani…
"I’ve always loved the golden era of Hollywood and have watched Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films from the age of about 6! So I knew I wanted to try and capture some of the old-school glamour of people like Ginger, Rita Hayworth and Veronica Lake. Lots of dresses I tried on made me feel quite stiff and corseted, but when I tried this one on it felt so comfortable but so glam at the same time and fitted like a glove.
It felt like more of an evening gown that a bridal dress and I could instantly picture my fiancé (or possibly Fred Astaire) twirling me around in it. I loved the sweetheart neckline and had the little chiffon cap sleeves added which slipped off the shoulder for the evening…."
"I loved the idea of wearing brightly coloured shoes and definitely wanted to spoil myself with a pair that I’d wear lots afterwards. But the bright colour idea went out the window when I saw 'Lace' by Jimmy Choo – why have colour when you can have lots and lots of sparkle?!!"
"Sebastian and I chose my engagement ring together. I’ve always loved antique jewellery- the detail and workmanship is amazing. We were walking down Burlington Arcade in West London and I saw the most stunning 1920s old cut diamond ring in a shop window. As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the one!
Our platinum wedding rings were handmade for us by Lawson Ward & Gammage…"
Dulcie hired Danielle from Beauty Call to style her hair…
"In keeping with the style of my dress and my general love of 30s and 40s Hollywood glamour, I wore my hair down and Danielle created a wonderful vintage wave…"
The slides in Dolcie's hair were from Glitzy Secrets…
"I wanted to incorporate into my outfit something from both of our families, so I wore my great-grandmother’s pearl necklace and at 11pm the evening before the wedding, I sewed Sebastian's Gran's earrings into my dress, just below the sleeves.
For the evening I changed my necklace for a beautiful vintage necklace of my mother’s (which I’ve adored since I was little)…"
"I knew I didn’t want a traditional veil and loved the “peek-a-boo” look of the birdcage veils. I chose a bandeau style from Dream Veils, which worked better with my hair down…"
Dolcie's beautiful vintage fur belonged to her Mother and was a find, says Dolcie, at the back of her Mum's wardobe! 🙂 Dolcie wore vintage dress clips on the fur cape, which were a fabulous ebay find.
The beautiful wedding day florals were from Daisies Flower Shop …
"We wanted to have seasonal flowers that looked right for a January wedding. I had seen a few photos of anemone bouquets and thought they were so simple but incredibly striking. We didn’t want a particular colour scheme, but were drawn to monochromes and muted colours so the wintry grey foliage, pussy willow and thistles for the boutonnieres suited us perfectly. The florist suggested white amaryllis for the church flowers to add a bit of drama whilst still keeping things simple and elegant…"
Sebastian wore a bespoke three-piece grey suit from George Dyer, and his Grandfathers gold pocket watch on his waistcoat, as well as a pair of antique cufflings – a gift from his Father…
The couple chose the Oxford Oratory as their venue for their wedding ceremony, followed by a reception at Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons…
"The Oxford Oratory is the most beautiful church tucked in the middle of Oxford and it’s across the road from The Old Parsonage Hotel which is a pretty little boutique hotel in a 17th century parsonage. I loved that we could have all our guests staying at the Hotel and we could all walk to the ceremony…"ssssssss
"I didn’t want bridesmaids, although my closest girl friends all played the part helping me to get ready on the day, they just got to pick their own outfits!…"
This next sequence of images was actually taken before the wedding day – Dolcie and Sebastian decided to abandon tradition (how refreshing!) and meet, quietly and intimately, before the ceremony. It was apparently a very special moment…
"Sebastian and I share a love of good food so one of the key things was to find a private dining room where we could have a fantastic meal after the ceremony. Raymond Blanc’s legendary Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons was an easy choice – 2 Michelin stars!
"We wanted the evening meal to have a dinner party feel, with a touch of romance but keeping it quite simple and elegant as Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons is such a beautiful venue to begin with. We filled the dining room and reception room with antique glass tea lights, silver candelabra and church candles and we used paperbag lanterns to light the way to the door. We also had flares lit in the little private garden behind the dining room…"
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
"It doesn’t have to be big to be beautiful!! A small wedding can be a really lovely way to share such a special day with your closest and dearest family and friends. It’s also a lot less stressful than organising a wedding for 150!
Try not to get too caught up in the detail, it’ll all come together in the end and once it finally arrives remember to enjoy every second!"
♥ ♥ ♥
Brides Dress – Benjamin Roberts, Enzoani
Brides Fur Cape – Vintage/Bride's Mothers
Brides Shoes – 'Lace by Jimmy Choo
Hair Stylist – Beauty Call (Danielle)
Grooms Suit – George Dyer
Venue – Oxford Oratory (Ceremony) and Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons (Reception)
Photographer – Eliza Claire, assisted on the day by Lisa Fellows
Flowers – Daisies Flower Shop
Birdcage Veil – Dream Veils
Stationery (Order of the Day) – Two for Joy on Etsy
Hair Accessories – Glitzy Secrets
♥ ♥ ♥
What a wonderful treat for a Monday morning! Thank you so very much Dulcie for taking the time to share all your details with Love My Dress – and HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to you and Sebastian – I hope you have the most fabulous honeymoon! 🙂
Thanks also to the fabulous Bucks and London Wedding Photographer Eliza Claire for submitting this wedding for a feature.
You can see more Vintage inspired weddings on the Love My Dress Wedding Blog here – and more from Photographer Eliza Claire here.
Do pop a comment below – let's wish the newlywed's well and thank them for allowing us to share these photographs with them today 🙂
Much love,
Annabel xXx
♥
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
