Becky & Dom
RUSTIC LUXE BARN WEDDING | HONEY COLOURED IAN STUART DRESS | IVORY BRIDESMAIDS | ITALIAN FEAST | AMERICAN FOOTBALL | GLITTERING GOLD | NATURAL HESSIAN |
hello
hello
hello
What’s your best memory while dating?
Dom’s birthday is on Boxing Day. We were both attending different Christmas parties that year, but he made the half-hour trek in the snow and ice to meet me. We had our first kiss in festive but freezing cold snow!
How did the proposal happen?
Dom’s family are Italian and for Christmas 2012 his gift to me was a holiday to Rome. While we were at the Trevi Fountain, he pulled out a ring! Of course I said yes, after I’d stopped crying! It was a complete surprise to me but it turns out he had already asked my mum and dad for permission and his parents were in on it too!
The dress
I found my Ian Stuart ‘Pracatan’ gown in Limelight Occasions, Lepton, Huddersfield. I always knew I wanted a wedding dress with colour, although I took a bit of a risk ordering the dress in honey when I had only tried it on in lilac and seen it in blue online. I had actually already chosen a different Ian Stuart dress, but after seeing his new collection I went back and tried the new gown on and knew I’d made the right decision to change. It was just everything I wanted and fitted my personality perfectly.
The accessories
My mum gifted me a necklace that said 1 o’clock on it – the time we were getting married – and my mother-in-law gifted me my honey cathedral-length veil.
The groom
Dom was keen to wear something stylish and modern and definitely didn’t want to hire a suit. He found his slim fit, pale grey three-piece suit in Topman. He also wore a pocket watch engraved with his initials that I gifted to him for the wedding – he had always wanted one. He looked so happy when I saw him! Tall, smiling and handsome!
The bridesmaids
I had seven bridesmaids in total as I am lucky enough to have such a lot of important ladies in my life. They wore ivory dresses to complement my honey gown. I let them choose their own shoes, bags and hairstyles and for their bridesmaid gifts I bought them each a necklace, infinity ring, bracelet and vintage hair accessories.
Hair and makeup
My photographer introduced me to my makeup artist after having worked with her on a shoot before. She used a mixture of different brands, choosing the best from each, to create a flawless but natural look. I would recommend air-brushing because it has staying power.
I don’t understand why people choose a different hairdresser for their wedding day. My lovely hairdresser Sarah from Hb’s Hairdressing did mine, creating me a natural and unfussy look. I didn’t have to book a hair trial, I just tried a different style and look each time I had my regular hair appointment.
The ceremony
We had a civil ceremony and my dad walked me down the aisle. Dom’s cousin is a talented guitarist and played an acoustic Canon for us while I walked down the aisle. It was flawless.
What did you have for your wedding breakfast?
Dom’s family are Italian so we indulged in an Italian feast of antipasti, ciabattas, lasagne and – our favourite – tiramisu! In the evening we had Yorkshire fish and chips.
Inspiration
The inspiration for our wedding was a collection of everything Dom and I love rather than having a set theme. Dom’s a massive NFL fan and an American football coach so this featured quite a bit. Italy was also a big influence because of Dom’s Italian heritage and our Rome engagement, so we named our tables after places in Italy. Our colour scheme was rustic luxe, combining natural and hessian tones with metallic and glitter touches – think a barn with chandeliers!
Reception decoration
Family and friends helped us to make almost all our decorations. I’m quite creative and love interior design and craft so I went for it! The only thing I think we bought were the giant balloons. Wedding Ideas was invaluable for this! It gave us so many ideas and we loved seeing what other weddings with similar venues did to see what we could take from them to incorporate into our own day.
We made the centrepieces by collecting bottles and spraying them gold and silver, adding flowers and glitter and cutting tree trunk slices. We made the hessian table runners and the signs from old tree slices. The table plan was made from an old pallet with Rome vintage postcards and luggage tags. My mum made miles of bunting for the courtyard and I scoured car boot fairs for any decorations that would work – we had an eclectic mix!
The flowers
I made my own bouquet from artificial flowers and book page roses, adding ribbon and jewellery to trail from it. It was important to me to have personal touches in the bouquet, so we added old jewellery, buttons and brooches gifted to us from our family.
The cake
Our cake was a wonderful wedding gift from Dom’s mum’s best friend and daughter – she is amazing at making cakes and I often tell her to do it full time! It was a complete surprise on the day. Dom had asked for it to look like an American football had slammed into the side of it – needless to say, it got a lot of comments on the day!
The favours
Dom’s mum made bonbonieres for the favours, an Italian tradition, using five sugared almonds to represent the five hopes of marriage – health, wealth, happiness, fertility and long life.
The entertainment
Dom’s a musician so music was top of his list for our wedding entertainment. We had Blue Star Tattoo play an acoustic set at the drinks reception and during the evening The Jonny Ross Band played for us. They were incredible, professional and kept the party going all night. The band also learned and played our first dance song which was really important to us. I also surprised Dom by singing myself! At school I was part of Bar-9 singing ensemble, we still meet up for socials and decided to learn a song to surprise Dom with at the wedding. We performed Jason Mraz’s ‘I won’t give up’ – I was really nervous but everyone seemed impressed! We also provided garden games to keep our guests happy and entertained.
The honeymoon
We went to Orlando, Florida and then road-tripped through Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, picking up a cruise to the Bahamas. At the end of the cruise, we disembarked and got to explore Miami, too!
Memorable moments
We went out to the lookout point in the woods with our photographers at dusk and could see the storm coming towards us. We got our umbrella up just in time! By the time we got back to our guests in the barn we were wet, muddy and laughing like crazy. It’s important not to let the weather ruin your day and to make the most of it!
At the end of the night during the last song everyone formed a huge circle on the dance floor with Dom and I in the middle.
Top tips
Keep a bag of makeup and hair products on hand – lots of dancing makes for a bedraggled bride.
Remember you’re in a room full of family and friends on the happiest day of your life, so just be yourself and don’t get too nervous however the day unfolds.
Enjoy yourself and spend time together! Dom and I spent the whole day in each other’s company, walked the dog and danced, danced, danced! We didn’t waste time with formalities, worrying if we had spent enough time with each guest. The day is precious but short, so spend it with the person who means the most.
SUPPLIERS
VENUE | Oakwell Hall Country Park DRESS | Ian Stuart at Limelight Occasions, Lepton, Huddersfield BRIDESMAID DRESSES | Some from M&S GROOM | Topman FLOWERS | For similar, try Charlotte Laurie Designs PHOTOGRAPHER | Sansom Photography
