VICTORIA HALL WEDDING

How did you two meet and get engaged?

Joseph and I met when we were 19 at university in London. We got engaged after three years and spent the following two planning the wedding

The dress and the look

I always knew I didn't want a big princess dress. I wanted something beautiful, made with natural materials but also comfortable (being able to eat on my wedding day was a priority). Shortly after becoming engaged, I set about finding inspiration in bridal magazines, but none of the dresses appealed to me until I stumbled across Indiebride online when googling for simple/alternative wedding dresses. I immediately found three or four dresses I was interested in trying.

The Minna was the dress that first caught my attention and as soon as I tried it on I knew it was what I wanted. It had the length that made it feel bridal, gorgeous lace details on the sleeves, and an elegant open back. I'm convinced this dress would flatter any body shape, it is beautifully crafted and is extremely comfortable.

I had such a fun time at all my appointments. At the first one, I tried on a few dresses before decided on the Minna. The atelier is in such a characterful building and Miina was always so understanding and helpful. The fittings were straightforward, and I was so happy with how the dress turned out.

Makeup and hair

I don't like to wear a lot of make-up, so I did my own on the day. I opted for a simple look and it was all that was needed.

I had a lot of hair (I cut it short three days after the wedding) which I wanted to have out of my face, so I went to a salon near the venue, XS Hair and Beauty, where they braided the front bits back and put in some flowers.

Accessories

I found some gold heels on sale that were perfect for the day, but also got a pair of back up silver flats for when the heels started to hurt (which they did). I didn't wear a lot a jewellery, just a pair of my favourite earrings and a silver watch.

The groom's outfit

Joseph had a custom dark blue suit made for him at a local tailor in Cape Town.

Venue

We got married at Victoria Hall in Saltaire, Yorkshire. It's in a Victorian model village surrounded by moors. We had eighty guests.

Decor

We didn't have a theme for our wedding, we just wanted a simple, relaxed feel and the most important thing was that everyone had a fun day. Our flower choices were mostly just flowers we like (sweet peas, lisianthus, roses) as well as some symbolic ones. My bouquet had a couple of king proteas in it as a nod to my South African heritage and Joseph wore a white rose to represent Yorkshire. We got the flowers from Pink Ginger Flowers. The venue is so beautiful it didn't need much decoration, just a few fairy lights.

Food and cake

We were in the fortunate situation that family wanted to make cakes for us, so we ended up with a stunning four tiered wedding cake, a croquembouche, a vegan fruit cake and a Norwegian kransekake. We opted for a three course family style wedding breakfast which everyone enjoyed. There was also an additional evening buffet which had a huge amount of food, so our wedding favours ended up being leftovers. Most guests went home with at least a box of cake.

Entertainment

We didn't have any formal entertainment planned, but some family friends who sang at my parents' wedding over 25 years ago were kind enough to sing during the drinks reception. We had brought a limbo set for the lawn outside which provided quite the source of entertainment. There was also an impromptu karaoke session in the evening that was a lot of fun.

Photography

Our photographs were taken by Patrick Phillips, who specialises in candid, characterful photography. He took some amazing shots of moments we didn't see and managed to capture the happiness and joy of the entire day.

Apart from saying "yes" to your husband, what was your favourite moment of your wedding?

Our first dance.

What advice would you give to brides still planning their wedding?

The day goes so fast, enjoy as much as you can. Plan the big things (registrar, venue, catering) first, the rest will fall into place around those parts.

- Elise -