I’ve been publishing beautiful weddings to inspire couples for almost 13 years now and don’t think I’ve loved what I do more than I do now. How could I not, when there are exquisite, folklore inspired weddings like this one to be shared?
Sophie, who works in PR for fashion marketplace app, Depop married graphic designer James on 4th June at Crayke Manor in North Yorkshire.
The couple sought a relaxed, creative and personal wedding within which they could express their sense of style, personality and creativity. It was most important to them that they had the freedom to handpick all their suppliers and work with a DIY, blank canvas venue. They set out to create a weekend long celebration, that brought together friends and family that re-created the vibe of previous big group holidays.
The bride looked sublime in her Mayfair dress by Halfpenny London, the level of considered detail, from delicate paper flowers created by the bride’s mum, to psychedelic lighting, DIY stationery and delicious vegan street food. These beautiful images are by Patrick Phillips. Enjoy!
Shoes, Veil & Accessories
I chose Monica Vinader x Mother of Pearl Baroque Pearl earrings – I knew I wanted to wear pearls and just love that each pair is irregular and unique as well as being sustainably conscious. They were my ‘something new’ as a gift from my family and I love them so much.
The lovely Ellie Ryder did my bridal hair and all the bridesmaids hair, she absolutely nailed my ‘woodland nymph’ brief with lots of tiny little intricate plaits and flowers scattered in the back of my hair. Makeup using all Charlotte Tilbury products was by Michelle (Indira at The Shepherds Purse).
The flowers in my hair were provided by our florist Hattie of Honour Farm Folk and I wore my favourite scent, Diptyque Philosykos.
I rented the fluffy white Party Pyjamas by Sleeper to get ready in, from peer-to-peer rental app By Rotation. I use the app regularly and had always wanted an excuse to wear this super fun feathery set, what better opportunity than your wedding morning.
My shoes were Loeffler Randall ‘Camellia’, in Ivory. I knew I wanted to get married in these pleated beauties long before we got engaged. I’m still obsessed with them and want them in every colour.
The Halfpenny boutique on Woburn Walk is so plush and beautiful, the whole experience was very special, despite still having Covid restrictions in place when my mum and I visited back in August 2021.
Unfortunately the dress was out of my budget to buy brand new from the boutique, but I had every hope I would be able to find it secondhand at a reduced price. I love vintage and secondhand clothes and work in the resale fashion industry, so really loved the idea of buying my wedding dress from another bride and giving it a new lease of life – so I started setting up alerts on bridal resale websites and religiously searching other boutiques for potential sample sales.
I would say to other brides who are looking to go down the same route, whether buying secondhand or at sample sale, to make sure you know what you are getting into, properly check the condition of the dress, and whether it’s able to be altered to fit you perfectly.
I spent a good few months and a portion of the money I had saved on the dress, working with a wonderful and talented seamstress Keely Lynch who had experience working with the delicate silk organza and raw ruffles of the Mayfair dress and was able to rescue and restore mine to it’s former glory, including re-making the bodice. Thank you so much Keely!
I loved that my dress looked like it had had a life before I wore it, and had stories to tell. The ruffles and frills were a little more relaxed than if it was brand new, it looked different to how I’d seen other brides wear it – it almost had a vintage dress feel. Which just made me love it even more, despite the material being a bit more fragile.
I think it actually suited my personal style more and fit with the style of our wedding celebrations more because of this too!
Seasonal British Blooms
I’m pretty flower obsessed, I love learning about them and spending time arranging them, they bring me so much joy – so was extremely excited about the florals and knew exactly what I wanted and didn’t want.
A close friend recommended Hattie’s of Honour Farm Flowers’ beautiful instagram page and I instantly loved her work and whole ethos – seasonal British flowers homegrown in Bronte Country (the most romantic of Yorkshire landscapes), foam free & sustainable, Hattie’s beautifully organic and artfully ‘undone’ design is exactly what I was after. When I got in touch she loved how I described my vision and inspiration for our wedding flowers, and we share a love of flower folklore and symbolism.
As James is a Graphic Designer, he designed the order of the day, welcome signage, seating plan and cocktail menu. He also designed our save the dates and invites – which we invested in printing physical card versions of and sending out to guests. Whilst not an essential or probably most sensible or sustainable use of our budget…we both love printed media, are very sentimental and collect postcards and trinkets wherever we go, so loved the idea of having something guests could keep and treasure, and put on a notice board or mantlepiece in the year leading up to the wedding.
Our colour scheme was pink and green and throughout the designs he used scans of some old PhotoBooth strips which we always take on anniversaries and trips together.
Evening & Dancing
We booked Radio Edit as our wedding band. Frontman Rob and guitarist Dan also played as I walked down the aisle and did an acoustic set at our reception.
James lived with Dan at Uni so the band are friends, and friends of friends. One of James’s Groomsman Ned actually used to play Bass in a former iteration of the band, and they invited him up on stage in the middle of the set to play Stevie Wonders ‘Superstition’.. and the crowd went wild!
Sophie Kenny via Lucy Nation for our Optikinetics Solar 250 Projectors – we hired two Psychedelic oil wheel projectors for the evening party to project on the ceiling of the stables for vibey, trippy party lighting (just obsessed with these!)
They absolutely smashed it, had everyone up dancing, playing banger after banger – from indie disco, to pop-punk, to 60’s/70’s/80’s/90’s classics, their repertoire is vast and brought such high energy. They are properly talented musicians and we had so many compliments from friends and family on how great the band were.
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Credits & Thanks
Annabel View all Annabel’s articles
Annabel is the founder of Love My Dress. She has a passion for photography, walking, yoga, nature, and loves to support talented artists and creative businesses. In 2013, she became a published author. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters Eska and Leanora and menagerie of furry hounds. Annabel supports Philip in the running of the family flower farm at at Moonwind Flowers. She is also co-founder of What About Weddings.