A stylish vintage couple, sweet pastels, patterned bunting and tonnes of floral prints? Sounds pretty sweet doesn't it? Well that's just the outline of lovely Fiona and David's wedding. It's all those things and more with the perfect village hall wedding at Kent Life and the lovely photographs by Lisa Jane Photography. Today's vintage inspired afternoon tea party celebration is the perfect blend of two fun personalities and lots of 1940s charm...
Fiona and David met while they were both working at a banking processing centre. Not the most romantic of settings, but despite their surroundings or maybe because of them (nothing like a work crush to pass the time), love blossomed over some paperwork... "We were friends for ages and bonded over a love of similar music and a shared sense of humour. Dave was studying part-time and I had just left university and we were both desperate to get jobs in London, Dave in music and myself in books, so we spent many a lunchtime plotting our escape (as lovely as the people at the processing centre were!)"
I'm pleased to say the pair managed to head to London and follow their dreams (hand in hand) and on Fiona's 29th birthday David popped the question... "Dave proposed in a restaurant in Primrose Hill on my birthday, he did it very quietly in a way that didn’t draw too much attention to us, which I was really pleased about! It was December and the pavements were really icy and had slipped on the way over to the restaurant and narrowly avoided a trip to the hospital. All of the streets and houses were sprinkled with snow—it felt really magical."
So after a yes from Fiona a wedding was on the cards and the plan was simple, they wanted to celebrate with their nearest and dearest with a laid back day. So starting the day off they had a beautiful and intimate ceremony in the cutest of rooms, with loads of bunting, laughter, tears and of course two 'I dos'...
I love this photo, EXCITED!
These guys are too cute, a wee cuddle during the ceremony is a must.
As you can see Fiona and David added their own personal stamp to the ceremony room with pastel patterned bunting and a simple floral arch as a ceremony backdrop. If you can put some thought into your décor for the ceremony it's the most important part and it can transform a common space into your personal hub. (One Fab Day couple, Stacey and Glenn, decorated their ceremony venue with beautiful blooms and decor from Ikea (a bride's best friend), their wedding is well worth a look if you want to achieve a bit of personality on a budget!)
It's official for Fiona and David and it's definitely time to celebrate...drinks for everyone!
From the decor, to the venue this was most definitely a vintage tea party celebration. The icing on the cake was the super stylee bride and groom.
First up is Fiona who is a total 1940s babe from head to toe. Her elegant wedding dress is a Johanna Hehir creation and she added a beautiful lace headpiece which is very Vivien Leigh, the most stylish of all 1940s vintage vixens. For her 'something blue' Fiona donned a pair of New Look pumps which she customised with shoe clips from Etsy!
David complimented his new wife perfectly in a powder blue suit from Next and tan brogues, stylish, charming and ready for the vintage hall celebration!
With a laid back tea party theme in mind, the look and the vibe of Kent Life sealed the deal for Fiona and David...The exterior of the venue is pretty special and it comes with a 1940s style village hall, perfect for our reception plans. The staff were very accommodating and let us decorate the venue how we liked which was ideal for us.
The theme was a 1940s/1960s village fete and the Village Hall at Kent Life was the perfect space. The pair wanted it to be as relaxed as possible for everyone involved and to reflect their personalities as much as possible...We’re both quite informal, relaxed people so we didn’t want a master of ceremonies or anything like that, just a fun enjoyable day for everyone.
It was their shared interest in music and books that brought he couple together in between filling and paper work at their first job together, so it was important for those elements to be included in their wedding decor. So the tables were named after their favourite albums and they pair had lovely old books scattered throughout the space for people to look through.
Every inch of the venue had the Fiona and David stamp on it and that was thanks to creative and crafty bride Fiona who took on lots of DIY projects (and survived!)... I made a lot of the decorations, 60 metres of bunting and masses of tablecloths to decorate the tables and stationery, so the day looked exactly as we wanted. My close friend also made the cakes for the dessert table and they were brilliant.
What advice would you give to brides and grooms planning their day? Do it your way and have a day that reflects you as a couple. It’s sometimes hard when parents are contributing money and want to influence the day. We were so lucky, our parents are really supportive and helped us out loads but were totally happy for us to have the day as we wanted to have it.
Huge congrats to Fiona and David and an extra congratulations as the pair are expecting their first baby! Yay! Of course we must thank Lisa Jane Photography for sharing her work with us today, to see more of Lisa's work pop over to http://www.lisajane-photography.com/
The Wedding Details:
- Venue: Kent Life
- Photographer: Lisa Jane
- Wedding Dress: Johanna Hehir
- Bridesmaids dresses: Monsoon
- Shoes: New Look customised with shoe clips from Etsy
- Flowers: Distinctly Floral
- Groomsmen suits: Next
- Cars: Allied Cars
- Make Up & Hair: Lucy Jayne Make-Up & Kirsty Calnan