For this gorgeous wedding of Jack & Amy at Dovecliff Hall, we have a guest blogger, the bride herself, Amy. Thanks Amy, could you write all our blog posts please! x
Amys blog post:
Jack and I have been together now since I finished school, so I guess you could say we are Childhood Sweethearts. We both went to Primary School and Secondary school together but love didn’t blossom until I left.
On Christmas Eve 2011 Jack proposed and from then on it was a mission to find the right venue, within a month it was booked for August 2013. We had quite a few boxes to tick including space (because we both have big families) accommodation at the venue and we didn’t want it too far from where we were getting married or from home. It didn’t take us long to choose Dovecliff Hall, a Beautiful Manor house in the picturesque village of Rolleston-on-Dove. Complete with amazing gardens, river views and plenty of Vintage it was a winner.
We are both Catholic and St Marys Church in Derby City Centre is the most Beautiful place. We have always loved going there, it’s also where many of our Family have been married including my Grandparents and Jacks Mum and Dad.
We are very lucky to have many friends and family in the wedding industry. My Cousin Claire Broome from Baker and Broome did my Wedding Invites and Order of Service, her work was perfect for Jack and I and we wanted them to show our fun side.
A huge part of any wedding is the photography and I was really pleased when I met Tim and Amanda from Tim Simpson Photography. They were experienced and hardworking and had tons of photos that I could look through. They had dons lots of weddings too and each was completely different, they weren’t afraid to think out of the box and use the props we had on the day. I instantly connected with them both and from then on our choice was made.
They have an extensive background in photography and were keen to stress to me that effects can be added on later, it’s all about taking a good photo. I love the vintage style and that’s exactly what they specialise in. It made me realise how important it is to get on with your photographers because they spend an awful lot of time with you and need to get to know you both. They were snapping all day long and I was so happy because I wanted some of the key wedding shots and groups but also the natural photos of people on the day. They were at my Mums house in the morning and travelled to our church and venue beforehand to make sure they had the perfect mix. They even brought along a number of their own props which many of our guests still take about. It felt that they loved to inject personality into their pictures and that is what we love.
They also built up a really good relationship with our Videographers Tony and Pam and set up shots together to keep the timings to a minimum on the day.
On the day:
On the Wedding day Kirsty at Beau Chic did my makeup, it was really important to me on the day to look like me and I was so happy with the finished product, in fact I’ve never felt so glam. My friend Katie did my hair, I love the 50’s beehive style with a touch of boho so added a few wild flowers in there including daisies, gypsopila and astilbe. It was so nice to be pampered and preened it makes everything run smoothly.
Our flowers were one of my favourite parts of the day, the brief was Vintage, Pastels and Wild. Kat at Kathryn Anne Flowers made the process stress free, she had some amazing ideas and in the end I left it to her. We had jugs of flowers on the tables, teacups and jam jars and cola bottles on the tables. Blackboard signs, vintage suitcases and bunting. My love for pretty pastels and wild flowers was very evident on the day.
Finding my wedding dress was pretty easy; in my head I wanted a lace, fitted, fishtail dress with long sleeves with some sparkle. I went to three dress shops in total and the first which was The Wedding House in Alvaston had that exact dress. It was a no-brainer that it was the one and every time I saw it I loved it even more. Abbie was a gem, so attentive and lovely. I completed the look with a Cathedral Length lace edged veil with pearls and diamonds.
I had a few accessories made by Rebecca at Vintage Raven including my sequin and pearl cuff and my garter.
The process of elimination for Jacks suits was even easier. He didn’t really have much of an idea of what he wanted but literally walked into Moss Bros saw a picture on the wall, tried it on and it was sold. It was also for our Dads and his three Ushers.
I like being creative and our wedding was a chance to show it, the women’s favours were Teacup candles. My Mum and I trawled through charity shops and found hundreds of floral cups and saucers, it was so much fun. As a taskforce, five of us including my Dad began making 60 candles, each being given to guests to suit their personalities. The men’s favour was provided by Jacks Auntie and Uncle who own Derventio Ale, it was a bottle of beer complete with a personalised photo of myself and jack. Instead of place names I wanted to provide everyone with a Polaroid from their own wedding day, their children or just a holiday picture, it’s amazing what you can get from Facebook!
We hired loads of props including Light-up giant ‘J & A’ letters from Doris loves, a giant tea light love sign from Matt Brown and also a vintage blue typewriter by Darby and Joan. We asked guests to type us words of wisdom. It was amazing to see our guests being entertained.
I love photography and I’m normally the annoying one who takes hundreds, but being on the other side, I wanted to make sure there was plenty being taken. We left a Polaroid camera and a digital camera plus props for our guests to have fun with, it was hilarious seeing what people had been up too.
I made our cake topper mainly because I never found one that I liked. It was painted to match our outfits so I refused to show Jack as I didn’t want to give the game away about my dress. I got the cupcakes from Marks and Spencer and added flags saying ‘Mr and Mrs O’Connor 2013’, Karen from Darby and Joan made my Butter cream Sponge cake. It was Yummy!!
Our colour theme was pastels but China Blue was the main colour and I got my Bridesmaid, Becky to wear a vintage inspired dress from an online boutique. We also borrowed a VW Camper van from my Cousin to bring the Bridesmaids and Flower girls to the church; it couldn’t have been more perfect.
We hired a Vintage Rolls Royce Silver Cloud for our journey to the venue it was a touch that Jack really wanted to have. It added abit of old school glamour and it was so nice to have those twenty minutes together after the ceremony just to have a breather, I never thought I would be so nervous.
We have a guest blogger, Amy who is the lovely bride from this beautiful wedding who has kindly written her own blog post for us. Thanks Amy!
We wanted the whole day to be relaxed but personal and I am hoping that by including fun aspects for our guests that it was a wedding to remember.
To finish the day off beautifully, the Hog Roast got into full swing and we had music from the ‘Hey Beatles’, all of our guests were jiving and swinging away. It helps knowing a member of the band and it was one of the first things we booked. Afterwards, the party then went into nightclub mode with a number of dance classics, this was essential for us as we know our friends love to dance.
It sounds cliché but it was the most special day ever and the best advice I can give, is to take the time to look around and see everyone in the room (who is there just for you) enjoying themselves, it’s a rare occasion to have all those people under one roof.
The images from Jack & Amy’s wedding:
Web Links.
Dovecliff Hall – http://www.dovecliffhallhotel.
Baker and Broome – http://www.bakerandbroome.co.
Kathryn Anne Flowers – https://en-gb.facebook.com/
Vintage Raven – http://www.vintageraven.co.uk/
Beau Chic – http://www.
The wedding house – http://www.theweddinghouse.
Doris Loves – http://www.dorisloves.co.uk/
Derventio Brewery – http://www.derventiobrewery.
Hey Beatles – http://www.heybeatles.com/
What a beautiful bride and what a knockout dress.I would of loved to of been at this wedding. Well done Tim and amanda .
I love them so much!! Thanks you Tim and Amanda you da best!! Everyone thought you were fantastic and the pictures really show this. Can’t wait to see the rest 🙂 Amy and Jack xx
[…] Tim and Amanda photographed our first ever Doris Loves photo shoot, so it’s lovely to see this blog post of there’s with our letters at the real wedding of Amy and Jack. Especially as they look SO happy in all of the photographs why not go have a look at their joyous day. […]