Good morning lovelies! Well I hope you had a wonderful weekend, just one more now until Christmas – are you ready?? I’m nowhere near! But I am not going to think about it today, for I have just the most beautiful wedding to share with you this morning. Something a little different to last weeks gorgeous Winter Wonderland and perfect for brightening this rather damp and cold Monday! When the bride wears vintage and the groom a suit from Saville Row, you just know you’re in for a style sensation. Beautifully captured by fine art film photographers Taylor & Porter, Michelle and Sam’s charming early summer wedding, really is something special…..

In fact it has it all –  not one but two stunning venues, an unconventional wedding cake that looks absolutely scrumptious, delicately dainty florals, and bride Michelle not only looks beautiful but positively radiates joy in her pretty flower crown and 1940s wedding dress. Michelle & Sam didn’t have a particular theme, colour scheme or era in mind when they planned their wedding, but they knew just how they wanted their day to look and feel. “We wanted lots of personal touches and for the day to be fun, relaxed and informal, so this was the driving force for how we planned it. We also wanted lots of colour and a simple vintage nod to our two venues.” I hope your pinning finger is ready because there is sure to be lots here you love!…..

I do so love Taylor & Porter‘s style of photography, it is so luminous it is quite simply heavenly. Don’t you think? 

Before we take a closer look a little bit from Michelle of how hers and Sam’s love story began.  “We both went to Leeds Uni but met afterwards via a mutual friend (who did the reading on the day) Sam proposed in Singapore, en route to New Zealand to visit our friends in Auckland. We were engaged for about a year and a half before the wedding. I tried to do as much as possible myself to save money (and I like doing crafty bits). My sister was amazing and got roped in to all sorts – including early morning visits to the flower market. When the day arrived I loved every minute of it! 🙂 And it is true what every one says about it going by so quickly.”

“One of my best friends Emma is a graphic designer (Emsy the Designer).  She’s based in Auckland and she very kindly designed all our wedding invitations, menus etc. I love flowers and ‘vintagey’ things and had bought an amazing print when we were visiting her, which was the starting point for her design. Her design was perfect – just what we were looking for!”

“I found my florist That Flower Shop on line. Hattie uses British flowers so we discussed what blooms were in season and the bouquets were based around that – peonies, roses and ranunculus. We went for pink and orangey tones but mixed in with softer creams and corals. And I didn’t have a veil; instead I had a real flower crown which Hattie also made for me. It was similar colours and blooms to my bouquet. As the crown was quite a statement, I only accessorised with earrings – from my mum (my something old and borrowed).”

“The morning flew by – it was pretty much breakfast and then shifts of getting all our hair/make-up done. It all went very quickly…!”

“I wanted my look to be very simple and natural. Zoe Arena who did my make up – gave me flawless skin and subtly highlighted my eyes. My hairdresser Sofia Sjoo  did my hair; I had curly ‘up do’ and she weaved the flower crown around it.  The crown stayed put all day, even after a lot of dancing!”

“We got married at Burgh House, Hampstead. We really liked the Music Room as it was quite an intimate space with lovely wood panelling and the courtyard looked perfect for celebratory drinks.”

“I knew I wanted a vintage dress and was keen on a broderie anglaise or lace style, but had no fixed ideas about the shape or era, I just didn’t want anything too rigid or structured. I found my dress in Elizabeth Avey who has the most beautiful collection of vintage wedding dresses – Edwardian to 1980s. My dress was a 1940s tambour lace; it was quite a simple shape with a slight train and gathering around the waist.  I felt not only special but very relaxed in my dress.”

“I had two bridesmaids – my sister and a friend from school.  They had Two Bird dresses – one in navy, the other in dove grey.  They wore their own jewelry and shoes; and chose how they wanted to have their hair on the day, but they both had fresh flowers in their hair.”

““A family friend walked me down the aisle, but I forgot to pick a song to come in to – doh! Our friend Toria who introduced us read ‘The Vow’ By Wendy Cope – we liked the sentiment of this poem. We were given three vow options from the registrar. We tinkered with these to get something that felt right for us – the originals were either a bit too clinical or soppy! And had music from ‘Out of Africa’ playing whilst we signed the register; I was born in Kenya and love the music from the film.”

I love this series of black & white portraits…..Aren’t they beautiful?

The couples walk from their ceremony to their reception venue is one of Michelle’s most precious memories “I really loved the ceremony, speeches and the dancing but I think my favourite part of the day was walking through the heath to The Old Kitchen. The walk was something we both really wanted to do; we loved the idea of a wedding party marching through the heath on a summer’s day. Whilst the British weather is usually unpredictable we were spoilt with a lovely summers day.”

And it also inspired their favours! “For the walk from Burgh House to Kenwood House we gave our guests a homemade fabric bag for the ladies heels, along with a marshmallow favour (from Mallow & Marsh). The animal name holders at the wedding breakfast were another little extra favour.”

“Sam wore a blue Richard James suit we both loved the colour and thought it would work really well at a summer wedding. We wanted something he could wear again and this fitted the bill. The ushers wore their own navy suits – we didn’t feel the need for everyone to match.”

“The reception was at The Old Kitchen, Kenwood House, it’s a cozy but traditional space. We decorated it with lots of fresh flower on the tables/shelves, which my mum, sister and I did ourselves. We got the flowers from Covent Garden Flower Market (which is a treasure trove!) using similar colours/varieties to what Hattie at That Flower Shop used for the bouquets.”

“We had a cheese wedding cake – we picked the tiers with Morgan at Cheeses, Muswell Hill. We had five tiers which were all delicious – there wasn’t a crumb left at the end of the night!!”

Pearls of Wedding Wisdom from the Bride…..

“Friends who  got married the year before,  told me to enjoy the day and not worry about the little details – on the day you won’t notice (or care) if things are a bit different to how you planned. And I would give the same advice to any bride planning her big day, because they were right!”

“Our band was Box Party; they very kindly learnt our first dance for us. The dance floor was rammed from start to finish.”

Tell us a little about your photographers….

“Louise and Teo are the geniuses behind Taylor & Porter. We loved the fact that they did traditional film photography – the photos are such amazing quality and have a really romantic feel to them. They put us completely at ease and are such lovely people to work with – nothing is too much trouble and it was great to have them there on the day!!”

Michelle & Sam your wedding was truly beautiful in every way! A big thankyou to you and photographers Taylor & Porter for allowing me to share this sweet Summer wedding. If, like me, you can’t get enough of it, then you can see more here on their website. You can also see more of Taylor & Porter’s beautiful fine art film photography right here on Chic Vintage Brides in a stylish 1940s inspired wedding I shared back in March – the victory roll updos of the bridal party really are a must see! You can also follow the lovely Louise & Teo on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. Plus of course I hope to bring you much more of their work here!

Amy

x

Photography ~ Louise & Teo at Taylor & Porter, Fine Art Film Photography

Wedding Dress ~ Vintage 1940s Elizabeth Avey

Bridesmaids Dresses ~ TwoBirds

Groom’s Attire ~ Richard James

Ceremony Venue ~Burgh House

Flower Crown ~ That Flower Shop

Makeup ~ Zoe Arena

Hair ~  Sofia Sjoo

Reception Venue ~ The Old Kitchen, Kenwood House

Cheese Wedding Cake ~ Cheeses, Muswell Hill

Flowers ~ Covent Garden Flower Market

Wedding Stationery ~ Emsy the Designer

Favours ~ Mallow & Marsh

Band ~ Box Party