THE VINTAGE WEDDING!

Richard and Kitten von Mew, walking up the isle by Candee Photography

Well, I have had so many people asking me to post about the wedding, I thought the best thing would be to dedicate a page to it!

So that we could surprise everyone on the day, we made sure that all our little creative ideas were kept quiet, so that people had the chance to spot things of their own accord.

I managed to create 49 metres of bunting out of scrap fabric, quilting fabric, some 1930’s pieces from my Grandad’s house and an old satin blouse (I kept the buttons on in places!). To each pennant we sewed a brass charm. These were cats paws and a ‘K’ for me and a swallow and anchor for Richard!

Last minute, I thought making marshmallow trees would be a great idea and didn’t realise the amount of effort that goes into making them (an how heavy marshmallows are when they are stuck to a polystyrene ball!). They looked great, but I only managed 2 of them out of the 5! I made little felt birds on sticks to put in the top, but ended up using them in some of the flower arrangements on the tables. The tables all had flowers and an old rusty piece of tin toy train such as a carriage.

The wedding bouquet was made by Deco Flora in a huge teardrop shape like my Gradmother’s wedding in the 40’s. The flowers are the most realistic I have ever seen and I have made some into hair slides that remind me of our big day whenever I wear them.

Combining our creative talents, Mr Mew and I made an anchor to hang on the back wall of the marquee in a Jerry Sailor design. It looked fantastic and we can’t wait to put it up in the cottage!

The cakes were bought with plain white icing from Marks and Spencer (gorgeously fluffy sponge and juicy fruit cake) and I bought the icing flowers from a wholesaler in America. They were so beautifully made and I arranged them with icing glue 2 days before the wedding. The cake topper was the first thing I bought (before we got engaged!) and was the basis for the whole wedding. It was lovely to see it pride of place on the top. After reading up about classic pillars for tiered cakes, I decided it may be best to go a cake stand route, so that we could easily arrange and dismantle the cake with minimum effort. It also means we have a lovely cake stand for tea parties now too…

Part of our ceremony was a Rose Giving Ceremony. This was a nod to my Grandad with the Pipe and we felt it was a beautiful way to declare our devotion. Part of this is to give each other a single rose, which are then both placed in a special place in the home. Each year on the anniversary, we then buy each other a single rose and put them in that same spot to remind ourselves our the love and commitment we share. As real roses would have been dead after our honeymoon, I found a tutorial for creating paper roses online and used wooden lolly sticks and vintage music sheets to create them. I chose When I Grow Too Old To Dream for Richard’s (his favourite song) and White Cliffs of Dover for mine. They turned out beautifully and now stand in a V for Victory vase on the cocktail cabinet!

I received a huge box of Dotcomgiftshop goodies to help with our decorating. They sent some wonderful paper bunting with flowers, birds and leaves that we put up in the ceremony carriage with faux rose garlands and lace bunting (which I made from cutting up a lace table runner). I used the fabric Union Jack bunting (which I already have all around the house and caravan!) in one of the dining carriages and bits and bobs dotted all over. I will do a further photo shoot to showcase their gorgeous shabby chic and vintage style goodies soon! The metal bird and heart hanging tea light holder below was also from them!

Some of the wedding decor taken by Candee Photography

Onto the outfits! Gaynor Hodder, who I befriended at Goodwood Revival with the Garrison Group made my lovely wedding gown from some original patterns we found in her 1939 pattern book. We took a sleeve from here, a panel from there and then she painstakingly worked on very awkward silk to create the dress. It wasn’t easy but with balancing her course and work, we managed to get there in the end and Ma and I added a silk belt to match. The dress clips, buckle and necklace are 1930’s and I made my garters our of elastic, blue ribbon, a tassel and flapper face button on each. My headdress is original 1930’s, with wax flowers on 3 tiers, it is gorgeous! The gorgeous ivory cathedral veil was created by Turnbulls on Etsy, so worked closely with my ideas for an Art Deco theme! The silver opera bag was owned by my Great Grandma and I fondly remembered it in my Grandad’s glass cabinet when I was growing up. Inside it was a 1920’s silver Sixpence and inside my shoe was another one that Mr Mew had bought me for luck!

Kitten von Mew signing the marriage register, taken by Candee Photography

Wedding Kiss by Candee Photography!

My handmade garters, photo by Candee Photography

The bridesmaid’s gorgeous dresses were made by Heyday Online and I knew that they would be perfect to flatter all their shapes. I chose the shade of blue to compliment Richard’s outfit and they all looked gorgeous in them! If you fancy something similar, just click on the picture below to go to her website and browse the Mary dresses!

Kitten and Shona van Beers of Heyday Online (who also made Mama’s dress, the talented lady!)

I had bought Papa a 1952 morning suit for the big day, but unfortunately we were unable to get it to fit properly, so resorted to a rental which still looked lovely! I had designed some fabric online and had it printed onto silk so that I could make him an Art Deco train themed cravat and hanky. They looked great against the grey and complimented the colour theme brilliantly!

Mama wore a New Look style dress made by the talented Shona van Beers! I found the amazing oriental style fabric in London, whilst shopping for my wedding dress silk. I fell in love with the colours and patterns and thought it would compliment my Ma’s tastes well as she isn’t into the 40’s scene, but I know she will wear the dress again! Her jacket is original 1940’s and the hat I had made for her at Christmas. The ensemble is accessorised with a vintage oriental coral hat pin, an Art Deco necklace and 40’s handbag (of which I am very jealous of…).

Kitten with Mama and Papa Mew, taken by Candee Photography

And on to the groom! Richard donned his sailor’s uniform the day he proposed to me. I was having a photo shoot with Candee at the cottage and she took a beautiful photo of us, which now hangs proudly in the living room. This was the last time I saw Richard in this outfit and after seeing the cake topper and the fact his dad served in the Navy, it seemed rather fitting. It is an original WWII British uniform and very heavy! He looked so handsome and it was lovely to see him wear it again. Mr. Mew also lent some of his other WWII uniforms to his 2 boys Lewis and Darren, who looked swell in them!

Richard von Mew in his WWII Sailor’s Uniform. Photography by Candee Photography

Group shot from left… Darren, Lewis, Kitten, Richard and Ted. Photo by Candee Photography

The guests were all beautifully turned out and made such an amazing effort! Check out some of these beauties!!!

Tim, Kate Donovan (who did an amazing job styling the bridesmaid’s hair!) and Shona. Photography by Candee Photography

Kier and his beautiful gal. Taken by Candee Photography

Richard’s sister’s all looked wonderful, with immaculate hair and fabulous outfits! Taken by Candee Photography

So there you have a short synopsis of the day. As soon as I have photos of the evening and from other photographers I will post them up, but for now, here are just a few more to keep you going until then!

The wedding singer…Adam Hoffman the crooner at large! Taken by Candee Photography

Lisa and Jacob! Mwuah! Taken by Shona I think?!

First Dance taken by Candee Photography

Veiled kiss, taken by Candee Photography!