Good morning lovelies, oh my goodness, you are going to ADORE today’s wedding! Who wouldn’t love a wedding that features a bride wearing a dress created by her mum, the sweetest flower girls, a Vintage VW Camper, fish & chip canapes and a reception in an incredible Georgian Country House chocka with DIY decor and details?! All captured through the sensitive eye (and camera) of Christopher Currie Photography.….Seriously, for any of you feeling the bite of Winter, Mika & John’s glorious Spring wedding is sure to warm you up.

When Mika and John got married on a sunny Spring day in April of this year, they created a wedding that was big on love & laughs as well as style, by filling their day with beautifully personal and thoughtful details. With a ceremony in a quintessentially English country church and reception at the stunning Mottram Hall – a refurbished 18th Century Country House; their charming celebrations made me more than a little homesick. For their 1960s inspired wedding the couple chose the prettiest palette of yellow and blue that perfectly reflected the season. Mika explains “My favourite colour is yellow and John had always wanted a blue suit. The first flowers John ever bought me, were a bouquet of blue roses. Our colour palette was chosen as simply as that!” You see, choosing a theme or colour for your big day doesn’t have to be complicated, just got with your heart and those things that mean the most to you. Now have your pinning finger at the ready, I guarantee you are just going to want to look at these lovely ideas and images again and again and again!…..

Aren’t the bags that Mika created for her flower girls just wonderful? Such a great idea for the younger members of your party!

Inspired by a picture she had seen of a 1960s style icon, Mika chose to wear her hair long and loose, adorned with tiny flowers “I had seen a photograph of Nancy Sinatra in the 60s that had given me the idea of having lots of little flowers randomly placed in my hair. It was this, that then lead to the tulle blossom being added to my veil and dress. The flowers looked as though they had just fallen into my hair and down the back of my dress.”

“I wanted to go for a 60s feel with my make up, without being too far removed from the soft and natural traditional bridal look. I treated myself to a whole new selection of new products and brushes and I really enjoyed doing my own make up on the day. I opted for a 60s inspired smokey eye which I applied using a Dior black powder eyeliner and a precision brush (as opposed to a liquid liner which I thought might look too dramatic/harsh). I also wore a pale pink YSL lipstick which my Mum chose for me. Not a colour I would normally wear, but one that really helped bring the look together and let my eyes become the feature. I loved wearing it!”

“My mum made me a beautiful lightweight veil, which she edged with a fine satin ribbon and embellished with just a few hand-made tulle ‘blossom’. My something new were my earrings, some simple pearl studs that John had bought me for Christmas – I saved my first-wear especially for the day. My something borrowed, doubled up as my something old, and was a little angel wing charm that my Mum tied to my bouquet and my something blue was my husband in his pale blue suit!”

“I wanted my bouquet to look “neat” and simple so I opted for a small pomander ball of yellow tea roses, blue hydrangeas, white ranunculus, white freesias, yellow craspedia and daisies. It looked so fresh and spring-like – I loved it. Kirsty (my maid of honour) carried a pomander of white ranunculus and Nina and Elysia carried pomanders of yellow tea roses which really ‘popped’ with the colour of their dresses.”

“We were trying to keep to a strict budget and having already bought a royal blue 3-piece suit, from the high street, that fit like a glove, John remembered that they did the same suit in a pastel blue. He always imagined buying a 50/60s inspired bespoke tailored suit for our wedding day but I think the philosophy of it being about the man in the suit goes for my husband. We thought we would struggle finding a tie that would go and it was proving difficult until we stumbled across a slim tie in navy with a very subtle light blue polka dot in a high street store, perfect to add to the desired 50s/60s look. The look was completed with another bargain as a store in London had a sale on and just the right number of tan leather London brogues, in the perfect sizes, lucky hey!”

“As for the groomsmen well we already knew what the royal blue suit looked like so that’s what we decided on for them. With a little tinkering around from a local tailor all the groomsmen fitted theirs perfectly too. Although they may not be Saville Row, we knew the colours would look great on the day and on our photographs.”

“John and I are very much into all things 1960s and so I wanted a dress that gave a nod to the era, with clean simple lines and a softness created by the choice of fabrics and simple embellishment. Being a designer, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to pick a dress from a rail without changing anything about it. I remember my Nana telling me that when she chose her own wedding gown, she liked the front of one and the back of another and so had the two made into one unique dress!  My Mum works in a bridal boutique and is a very talented seamstress, so I knew I had the best advice on hand for what would suit me and I knew that whatever I dreamed up that she would be able to make it reality.”

“Mum and I gathered a lot of inspiration from different places and after months of work, Mum had created my beautiful dress. Words can’t describe how it made me feel, it really was everything I had dreamed of. I only wish I could wear it again!”

“We decided not to go for the typical wedding car as we thought it wouldn’t be very ‘us’ turning up in a Rolls Royce. We found a lovely little Morris Minor in pale blue that I traveled to the church in with my Dad, and back to the Venue with John. Both our Mums and the bridesmaids traveled to and from the church in a 60s split-screen blue campervan called “Lucy the Love Bus”!”

“We were married at the quaint little country church of St Marks in the picturesque village of Dunham Massey in Cheshire, England. Rev. Jerry Sutton, our vicar, gives the most heartfelt and entertaining services and our ceremony was no exception!” 

” Our invites were 60s-style gate-fold record sleeves which I designed along with John’s creative input. We wanted something that gave our guest a hint of the day to come and so we included a “Side B” CD, of the kind of music to expect in the evening. “Side A” was given out as an added favour on the day, so as not to spoil the surprise of the music that was played on the day. We gave out matching ‘wedding programs’ that I placed in envelopes with a handful of yellow confetti flowers and circles that Mum and I punched out of tissue paper by hand!”

“My maid of honor was Kirsty, my best friend who I met 10 years ago at University and I asked my neice Nina and our friend’s daughter Elysia to be flowergirls. I had as much fun choosing their looks, as I did my own. Kirsty wore a floor-length chiffon and satin Dessy dress in ‘buttercup’ yellow with blue shoes that matched the blue of the flowergirls dresses.Nina and Elysia wore 60s-style blue dresses that my Mum had customized by making fuller with tulle underskirts and adding big blue bows to the back. The dresses had a beautiful sheer ivory overlay with big daisy shapes cut-out. They had their hair in buns with daisy trim wrapped around, ivory tights and ivory pumps. I wanted their look to be stylish and fun and they looked absolutely adorable on the day!” Didn’t they just – I love those ballerina buns!

“Dad walked me down the aisle as a string quartet played Henry Mancini’s Moonriver. I don’t really remember walking down the aisle – it’s all a bit of a blur – all I remember is holding my Dad’s hand tightly and and seeing John looking so handsome, waiting nervously at the alter. I’m not one for liking a lot of attention or all eyes on me. (I used to cry everytime everyone started singing Happy Birthday to me when I was younger). Dad said he had to stop me from walking too fast, as I’d have been at the alter in seconds if he hadn’t!”

“There are too many favourite moments to mention them all. Is that cliché?!” – no Mika, that’s lovely and exactly how every bride should feel! “but one would definitely be saying our vows and being surrounded by all of our friends and family.”

“We had two readings. The first was 1 Corinthians 12:4-13, which was read by John’s Dad (John Snr) and the second was a poem called “The One”, which my brother (Kyle) read.

 When the one whose hand you’re holding

Is the one one who holds your heart

When the one whose eyes you gaze into

Gives your hopes and dreams their start,

When the one you think of first and last

Is the one who holds you tight,

And the things you plan together

Make the whole world seem just right,

When the one whom you believe in

puts their faith and trust in you,

You’ve found the one and only love

You’ll share your whole life through.

Author Unknown

“A string quartet was organized by the cellist player Danny, a client and good friend of John’s. They played Elbow’s “One Day Like This” as we signed the register and The Temptations’ “My Girl” as we walked back up the aisle as husband and wife.”

Oooh you can’t beat a good confetti shot! Such a good idea to include some in the programmes!

“Our reception was held at Mottram Hall in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire – a beautifully refurbished 18^th Century Georgian Country House. John and I have always loved Georgian architecture and especially loved how light and airy the interior felt… very different from many other period properties that are often dark and a little too ‘old’ for our taste. It felt both modern and traditional all at once.”

“The St. Andrew suite where our wedding breakfast and evening reception was held, was decorated by Alison of Lasting Memories. The room took our breath away. We sourced all of our own décor, from light canopes and pom poms to yellow charger plates and napkins, and planned every last detail before handing it over to Alison, who turned my sketches into reality and threw in a few extra surprises such as a floral archway at the entrance! My Mum and Dad folded 100 yellow napkins into bows and Mum made simple oversized yellow ribbons with bows to hang at the front of the top table, sweet table and guestbook table (instead of having traditional swags). The wedding co-ordinators at the Mottram Hall joked that they had never before had a bride who had given an inventory with diagrams for every last piece of décor and it’s intended place! We chose our venue dresser and suppliers based on their attention to detail and would recommend them over and over again. They made everything come together better than John and I could have ever imagined!”

“The flowers at the reception followed those in my bouquet with blue hydrangeas, daisies, white freesias, yellow tea roses, yellow craspedia and white ranunculus in lots of miniature arrangements. They were displayed in a range of different glassware, including 60s-style mini milk bottles. As the 60s was very much about clean lines, we kept the glassware simple – we didn’t want anything too chintzy.”

“For our centerpieces (along with the floral arrangements), John and I spent months wrapping wooden letters with different shades of yellow and blue wool and I adorned each with handmade felt roses. Instead of traditional table numbers, we chose letters that stood for different aspects of our relationship. We had little framed explanations next to the letters on each table. For example: I is for Ian Johnson-Cole. Without this guy “John and Mika” would be just “John” and “Mika”. And on another table: P is for Pizza. The food over which John asked Gary and Kyle for their permission to marry Mika.”

“Our beautiful cake was created by Marise of Bloomsbury Cakes in Cheshire. When we met Marise, we knew she was perfect for the job – she really listened to our thoughts and ideas and came up with a design that couldn’t have been more perfect for the whole look/style of the day. Four flat-top round tiers alternating in powder blue and ivory, with hydrangea flower details and a simple ribbon bow. I designed our cake topper, to match the typography and four-petal flower symbol that was used throughout our stationery, and had it laser-cut out of white acrylic. The flavours were lemon and lemoncello for the bottom tier, blueberry for the second, lavender and white chocolate for the third and rose and vanilla for the top.”

“The cake table was decorated with old photographs of our parents and grandparents cutting their cakes on their own wedding days, as well as jars of yellow and white sweets with framed 60s song lyrics such as “Sweets for my sweet” and “How sweet it is to be loved by you”.”

“We had a 60s pastel blue vintage typewriter which we found on eBay in place of a guestbook. Guests typed us messages onto A5 letter-headed paper which I had designed and had printed specially. They placed them into yellow and blue envelopes and posted them in a 60s-style red letterbox. We also had a poster where guests put their fingerprints into the notes of “our song” – Sam Cooke’s You Were Made For Me.”

“The food on the day was all chosen to be personal to us… for example the fish and chip canapé’s all had little hand-made flags in them, which said “Fish and chips remind us of our first holiday in Whitehaven” and “We go together like fish and chips”.

Another favourite moment for Mika was the portraits “Our photographers didn’t “work us” at all… they took our photos from a distance, whilst we spent some time just the two of us in the beautiful gardens at the venue.”

” The speeches were fantastic – Dad just about managed to hold it together (despite the odd wobble), John’s speech was completely unique and personal, (both were a whirlwind of emotion – they had everyone laughing one minute and crying the next) and the Best Man (John’s brother Richard) had the whole room in fits of laughter. Everybody still keeps complimenting the speeches, even to this day. I am so glad they have been captured on film, as we would hate to forget them over time.”

Pearls of Wedding Wisdom from the Bride

“Some of the best advice we were given was stick together! John’s old boss told us to make sure we spent every moment of the day together. He said “why have two separate memories of the day when you can have one together?” Another friend told us to “enjoy the day as though you are guests yourselves… you planned every detail, so enjoy every detail”. And I would give any bride the same advice that we were given as it really is priceless. We are so glad we took it on board.”

“I thought I’d feel shy when it came to our first dance, but I enjoyed every second. We danced to “our song” (Sam Cooke’s You Were Made For Me). The room by this time was magically lit and twinkling. It was very romantic. My father-daughter dance with my Dad is something I will always cherish too.”

“We designed our own photo-booth backdrop using a bold pattern made up of the 60s style flower shape that was used throughout all of our other stationery and printed elements. The shape was inspired by the similar shape seen in the windows of St Mark’s church, however I drew it a little more geometrically to give it the 60s vibe.”

“As we both work in artistic jobs, we were extra fussy when it came to finding our photographers. We know that you get what you pay for and so we weren’t willing to compromise. We also knew that we wanted a team of two photographers so that nothing was missed. We found our photographers on a wedding blog. Christopher and Gillian stood out with their eye for style and catching the atmosphere in their photos. Upon meeting Chris and Gillian, we instantly felt comfortable in their company and the formality of discussing our day in the first bar quickly turned into a few more drinks in more bars… it was a good night!

On our wedding day it felt as though we had 2 extra guests, as Christopher and Gillian really got into the spirit of things– not only making us feel extremely relaxed in front of the cameras, but actually adding to the atmosphere of the day. Our friends and family couldn’t have praised them more. Chris’ enthusiasm, upon seeing all the little details come together on the day, gave us both an added buzz. What better compliment than to see a creative photographer really enjoy what he was shooting?!

They knew that we were going for a vintage 60s feel and made sure this was reflected in the style of photography too. Since the wedding we have kept in touch and hope to be for a long time to come.”

After 13 months of hard work and planning I asked Mika if her and John’s day was everything that had dreamed it would be, and I have to share her answer “….everything and more. Although it went far too fast! I know everybody says it, but until it’s your day you can’t imagine how quickly it goes by. If I could turn back the clock there is absolutely nothing we would change or do differently …… But I would still love to turn the clock back to do it all over again, preferably in slow motion!!” I know exactly what you mean Mika!

Mika & John I wish you a lifetime as full of happiness as your big day clearly was. A big thankyou to you and photographer Christopher Currie for allowing me to share your gorgeous vintage Spring wedding here on Chic Vintage Brides. If, like me, you can’t get enough of Chris’s wonderful photography, then you can see more here on his website. You can also follow Chris and Gillian on Facebook and Twitter.

Amy

x

Photographer ~ Christopher Currie Photography // Filmographer ~ Simon Mulvaney // Wedding Dress – Designed by Mika (the bride) and Created by her Mum // Bridesmaid Dress – Dessy // Floral Design – Rachel Hall of Rachel Hall Floral Design // Ceremony Venue ~ St Marks Church, Dunham Massey in Cheshire // Reception Venue ~ Mottram Hall in Mottram St Andrew, Cheshire // Styling ~ Alison of Lasting Memories // Wedding Cake ~ Marise of Bloomsbury Cakes