An elegant family wedding

Suzie & Chris

Family Wedding | Soft feminine colours | Timeless classic gown | Ladies vintage broach favours | Vintage meets eclectic | Birdcages

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hello

How did you both meet?

We met over 13 years ago on Chris’ 20th birthday. I still vividly remember Chris walking into the pub that evening and thinking he was so tall and striking before we got chatting. We started dating six months later. Chris came along to my university graduation ceremony and met most of my family in one go. I was so pleased to see how well he fitted into my family.

How did the proposal happen?

12 years and two beautiful daughters later, it was a joint decision to book a date and give ourselves 18 months to plan and save up for the wedding.

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The dress

My dress was an exclusive design for Debenhams by Coast. My mum and I happened to see the dress in store and absolutely loved it. It was a slim-fitting, floor-length satin gown with cap sleeves. It had a timeless feel and fitted my body shape really well.

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The Accessories

Because the dress was relatively plain I felt I could be bolder with the accessories, so I chose a diamante and pearl hair band with detail to one side, diamante stud earrings and a diamante bracelet that I found at a vintage market as a teenager. My gold heels with hidden platforms were from Nine West.

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The Groom

He wore a blue suit and brown brogues from Matalan with a white shirt and pink and navy tie from Marks and Spencer. I thought he looked very handsome and was really glad he’d decided to wear a pink tie as it is my favourite colour.

The Flower girls

Our two beautiful daughters Violet, seven and Scarlet, three were the flower girls and wore dresses from Monsoon. They were in a gold fabric with gold glitter, a gold bow that tied at the waist and an ivory lace overlay.

The Ceremony

My sister Emma read a Bob Marley poem called ‘He’s not Perfect’ during the ceremony which brought a tear to my eye. She read it beautifully and it was a lovely way to get her involved in the day. Seeing how proud and happy our eldest daughter Violet looked as she fulfilled her duties as flower girl and ring bearer was very special too.

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The Details

There was a birdcage theme for the stationery and table decorations. The reception venue was a quirky, eclectic pub and restaurant so we didn’t have to do a great deal. Chris made a wooden wedding sign to direct guests and we borrowed some beautiful silver candelabra to go on each table. We used vintage glassware to create a beautiful sweets buffet. Our seating plan, table name cards, scratch card holders and sweet jar labels were all made by Cathy from made-to-order-sheffield.co.uk We also had a craft table for the children.

What did you have for your wedding breakfast

We are both vegetarian so our menu reflected this. Our chef John helped to design a really interesting menu that even catered for our vegan guests and included roasted sweetcorn soup with spiced butter, Moroccan spiced vegetable and lentil tagine with cous cous and crispy flat breads. Desserts included lemongrass crème brulee with shortbread biscuits and gooey chocolate brownies. We served stone baked pizzas and a salad buffet in the evening.

The Flowers

The bouquets were made using roses and hydrangeas. Emma at Orchis Floral Design made the bouquets and flower wand for Scarlet as well as the buttonholes.

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The Cake

My friend Jo Squiers from Muffin Tops made us 100 jam filled muffins with little flowers on the top to match the flowers in the bouquets. I bought a plain white fruit cake from Marks and Spencer as the top tier, adding a Sylvanian Families bride and groom for the topper.

The wedding Favours

My mum and I collected over 30 vintage broaches from charity and vintage shops and markets for all the female guests. These were pinned on ribbons and tied to the napkins on each table. The men each received a scratch card in a birdcage envelope.

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The Honeymoon

We had a minimoon in the Lake District and a familymoon with our children staying in a treehouse at the Enchanted Village in Alton Towers. Everybody had the time of their lives.

SUZIE’S TOP TIPS

Shop around. Our wedding cost a fraction of what many people spend on theirs but still looked elegant. Get yourself an inspiration box which you can fill with cutouts from magazines.