We’re crazy about the handmade details in this rustic wedding of Jodie and Andy – even the bride’s dress was made from a curtain!
How they met
Jodie and Andy met on the first day of university, but their romance was to blossom slowly. “Andy says he still remembers the dress I was wearing, but I was too busy eyeing up all the other talent!” laughs Jodie. “We were friends first, but gradually fell for each other while we were on tour together with a band playing the music of Joni Mitchell. The song A Case of You has been my favourite song every since.”
The proposal
Andy proposed to Jodie while holidaying in a pretty cottage in the Welsh countryside. “I woke up to the sun streaming through the windows, breakfast in bed and a proposal,” Jodie smiles. “We’d been together for years so it was about time, but I was still surprised – we always wanted to get married, but were too busy living life to get round to it.”
The bride’s outfit
Jodie found inspiration for her dress hanging on her curtain rail. “I loved trying on dresses, but nothing was exactly what I wanted, so I decided that as we were having a handmade wedding, my dress should be too,” Jodie explains. “A few years ago, my cousin Rita gave me a beautiful Normandy lace bedspread. I was using it as our living room curtain, but I knew it would make an amazing dress.”
Jodie took her design ideas to Adrienne Brides, and together they came up with the perfect style, featuring a V-neck, floaty sleeves and a layered skirt. “Seeing my vision come to life was a truly wonderful experience,” Jodie says. “I trusted my instincts and went with what suits me, and the outcome was my dream dress.”
The groom’s outfit
Andy wore a timeless three-piece suit in taupe with piped edging from Ted Baker.
The bridesmaids
Jodie chose her two nieces as bridesmaids, and found their Next gowns in a charity shop. “I wanted them to look like little woodland nymphs,” Jodie explains. “I also had five friends as ‘special women’. I showed them the colour palette and gave them some ideas but let them choose their own dresses, and they all looked perfect.
The ceremony
The couple celebrated with a civil hand-fasting ceremony at Milden Hall, a 16th-century Tudor barn in Suffolk. “We hired gramophone DJs and really wanted the song Suddenly it’s Spring by Ginny Simms as I walked down the aisle, but it was only available in the US,” Jodie says. “We had it Fedexed over, and it arrived early on the morning of the wedding – talk about cutting it fine!”
The flowers
Flower-mad bride Jodie put together her own arrangements, including her waxed flower hair coronet, which she made on the wedding morning. “I chose my favourite flowers, but I wanted a wildflower look and it was hard to get it right,” Jodie explains. “I sourced all the flowers direct from a company in Holland to save money, and it took 11 hours to make all the bouquets and table decorations!”
The reception
Jodie and Andy’s handmade reception combined elements of rustic, woodland, vintage and antique themes. “We wanted to celebrate outdoors but we knew we couldn’t count on the weather,” Jodie says. “Milden Hall was the perfect compromise, with its exposed beams, antique furniture and wood-burning stove – it was definitely very us.
The details
Jodie and Andy went to town with the homemade details for their wedding. “We hung ivy everywhere, with wicker hearts entwined, and made bunting from hessian, lace and floral fabrics,” Jodie explains. “We had jasmine plants in hessian and lace pots, cross-stitched table numbers in embroidery hoops, and vintage teacup favours. Instead of a guest book, we asked people to write messages to us on patchwork squares, which I’m going to turn into a quilt,” says Jodie.
The cake
With cakes provided by the guests, the couple opted for a savoury cheese wedding cake, with mouse cake toppers and adorable miniature bunting.
The honeymoon
For their honeymoon, Jodie and Andy spent three action-packed weeks travelling around Thailand by motorbike.
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