Today it’s all about my wedding accessories – from my vintage inspired shoes to the heirloom lace veil, natural make-up to a gorgeous garters. It’s all here including the details of how I came to choose them for our wedding.
The Shoes
I spent ages looking for the ‘right’ shoes. So many wedding shoes are elegant but modern, and my dress was so delicate and had a country feel to it, that I wanted something with an old-fashioned feel. I also didn’t want really high heels as most of our wedding was spent walking on grass.
In the end I came across the gorgeous designs by Diane Hassall and fell in love with a pair called ‘Liliana’ – I managed to track them down to a bridal shop in nearby Knutsford and despite being loads more than I’d ever imagined spending, they came home with me. They came with a choice of floaty organza or velvet ties – I went for the velvet ones.
I particuarly love this picture above of my shoes on the windowsill in my parent’s bedroom, with all those personal bits you find in people’s houses in the background.
The Veils
I hadn’t planned on wearing any veil…and I ended up having two! My mum spent ages trying to track down the family veil, which she had worn when she married my dad, and my granny before her, and so on back through the generations.
I love this photo of my little sister Izzy holding my parents wedding album open at a photo of my mum wearing the veil, with it hanging behind Izzy from the cupboard…
I loved the idea that it had been worn by generations of women in my family, and although it was quite heavy it was important to me to wear in during the ceremony. It was finally found in Somerset, and was still in the same brown box with my mum’s old address on it from when she got married.
My other veil was a short one that was made from the same lace as my wedding dress – I didn’t want to split it up from the dress, and when I tried it on I loved the length and everything about it. This is me trying on my dress in Cocoa Couture with the pretty little veil…
So in the end I wore the family veil during the ceremony and I put the shorter veil in while we had ice cream in the church yard. It was such a blustery day that I didn’t wear it for very long as it kept coming out, which was a bit sad really.
The Make-up
Running my website has enabled me to meet so many wonderful people, and Clare Bryce, the lady who did my make-up is one of those. Clare runs Pure Pampering from her home in Gloucester, and what I was drawn to most is that she uses natural mineral make-up.
Here’s Clare starting on my lovely mummy…
I’m used to wearing hardly any make-up – just a tiny bit of concealer and mascara (I use Lavera Organic Mascara which smells divine and their natural concealer) and maybe a bit of blusher if I’m going out. So I was in two minds about having my make-up done as I didn’t want to look ‘done up’ but equally I didn’t want to be worrying about hiding any blemishes on my wedding day.
This photo for me highlights how incredible this make-up is, it’s made my skin look like something out of a magazine, wish I could wake up every day looking like this!
Clare invited me for a trial session before the wedding, so I went along with my mum and Izzy, and took with a page of images of the kind of look I wanted. It turns out I was after the ‘no make-up’ look. Poor Clare, I was so shocked to start with by even the small amount of make-up she applied at the trial run, but by the end of the day I was totally in love with it and felt comfortable and like me.
On our wedding day Clare was the super calm and smiley one. She made it feel like everything was ok and that there was nothing to worry about. The make-up she applied was just so gorgeous and natural, she made me feel like the most beautiful I could.
She also did my mum and sister’s make-up, which was a real treat for us all! Me and Izzy are planning to go back to visit Clare to get a lesson on how to recreate ‘the look’. I’ve got all the details of what products she used so will share them in the coming weeks. Here’s Clare working her magic on Izzy…
The Hair
There was never any doubt that my hair was going to be done by Tina, my mum’s hairdresser of about…well forever! I have known her since I was about 9. She cut my hair all through my teen years, and because where my parents live is quite rural, she comes to the house and knows our family really well.
She’d warned us she was “like Hitler in knickers” when it came to weddings, and she really did give us our orders on the day. Utterly bonkers but utterly wonderful! I was so pleased that she stayed to watch us get married, and as soon as we came out of the church she was busy sorting out my hair (it was such a windy day I got completely blown about).
Tina came round the day before to wash and blow-dry my hair, so that the curls would hold better the next day. She loosely plaited the hair around my face and lightly curled the rest. The plait was secured with bobby pins underneath my hair at the back, so it looked quite natural (you might be beginning to see a bit of a theme…)
The Necklace
The necklace I wore is a string of tiny pearls that belongs to my mum – I believe it is quite old and something that has been in our family. I think it’s always nice to be able to wear things of personal value and heritage, and I liked how dainty it was.
It was too tight on me, so in order to lengthen it without changing the necklace, I bought some thin blue ribbon and tied it to either ends of the necklace. We cut the ribbon to length and secured it with a bow.
The pendant on the necklace was made from one of the matching earrings, which I took to a jeweller who attached it to the necklace at a cost of just £2.50!
The Garter
I’d never had a desire to wear a garter, but I got to know the lovely Anna of A Alicia Handmade Wedding Accessories through my website, and fell in love with her ‘Big Bow Garter’ in pale blue. It’s made from vintage ribbon with an oversized bow and came in a beautiful brown box.
The Underwear
I wore underwear from ethical lingerie shop Luva Huva who has a beautiful, country-inspired collection made using ethically sourced fabrics. They are possibly the softest, most comfortable underwear I have! Because my dress had a built in ‘bust’ bit, I didn’t need to wear a bra, so it was just a lovely pair of their petite rose knickers.
Luva Huva p.s. this is not me!
The Cardigan
I knew that having an outdoor wedding in my parent’s garden meant it was bound to get chilly once the sun went down, so I was on the hunt for a cardigan. A colourful cardigan to be specific – I had seen all these lovely images on blogs of brides wearing lovely yellow or pink cardigans, and I thought “that’s just what I want.”
Sometimes these things don’t work out, and it’s not the end of the world. The old lace that my wedding dress was made from was so dainty and delicate looking, that most of the colourful cardigans I found would have just overwhelmed it. In the end I found a pretty cardigan in Hollister of all places – it has a pretty ruffled edge and three-quarter length sleeves, and just the right amount of cosiness.
And finally, I couldn’t resist this picture of me tweeting (!!) whilst we were getting ready. I found out Mark the photographer had been tweeting all day, so I thought I would join in with one pre-marriage tweet – I was so giddy and excited.
Shoes ~ Diane Hassall
Veils ~ Family veil and Cocoa Couture
Make-up ~ Pure Pampering
Hair ~ Family hairdresser
Necklace ~ Family heirloom
Garter ~ A Alicia Handmade Wedding Accessories
Underwear ~ Luva Huva
Cardigan ~ Hollister
The Natural Wedding Company blog 