Vintage Feel Village Hall Meets Geek DIY Wedding

This wedding is so happy. I mean great big smiles all day long from everyone, it’s just infectious. I am thinking that the geeky references were a helping hand as were the live band and home made details.

WWW readers Leila and Daniel tied the knot on Friday 22 August 2015 at Oxford Town Hall and they held their reception at Wytham Village Hall. With a budget of £10 000 much of their day was a DIY effort, from the pretty blooms to the chic cake and superhero stationery. I am just loving the paper buttonholes donned by the gents, the blue lace bridesmaid dresses and the vintage hankies were a lovely touch too.

How beautiful did Leila look? She wore the elegant Jessica by Sassi Holford with a sweet jacket and a cathedral-length veil. WOW.

Many thanks this morning go to The Image Garden for sharing these marvellous images.

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES

Leila: Jessica by Sassi Holford worn with a beautiful shrug style jacket by the same designer. Cathedral length veil. Hair slide made from a vintage brooch (a great Etsy purchase). Kitten heel vintage style peep toe shoes.

Leila: What a palaver! After the logistics of finding a suitable date that worked for the two venues (and the Registrar), finding the dress was definitely one of the most stressful elements for me. I must have visited about eight bridal shops and tried on all kinds of styles before finding the ‘one’. When we first got engaged, I had my heart set on a shorter, 1950’s style dress but it turns out these just don’t suit me and then I couldn’t work out what did! Kristina at the Sassi Holford shop in Taunton (close to where my Mum lives) was amazing and with her patient help, I finally chose Jessica and it was the perfect choice for my figure and for our day. I was lucky enough to purchase a shop sample which helped keep the costs down.

THE PROPOSAL

Daniel: My original plan for the proposal included a leisurely punt down the Thames followed by a secluded picnic and a proposal with the ‘stand-in’ ring.

This did not go remotely to plan. I missed the delivery of the ring so had to pick it up from the depot on the day. We eventually got to the river and I quickly discovered that punting was not easy at all. Still, we found a nice spot on the river bank and had our picnic. Then I got up on one knee and popped the question to a very giggly Leila. Who obviously said yes!

THE VISION

Leila: Vintage inspired; personal, intimate Daniel: Touch of geek.

THE PLANNING PROCESS

Leila: Spreadsheets, check-lists and me driving Daniel mad at times! I’m a natural planner so the organisation came easily to me but I still got stressed and overwhelmed at times.

BUDGET

Leila: We knew from the start that we wanted to keep to a modest budget. In the end we spent around £10,000.

THE VENUE

Leila: The ceremony was at Oxford Town Hall, in the Old Library, and we hired Wytham Village Hall for the reception. A retro double decker ferried our guests between the two venues.

THE READINGS & MUSIC

Leila: We spent a long time pondering the music for the ceremony. In the end, we decided on Ed Harcourt ‘Like Only Lovers Can’ for the processional, the acoustic version of Patrick Wolf’s ‘Magic Position’ for our exit music and ‘First Day of my Life’ by Bright Eyes for the signing of the register. Our first dance was to Wilco ‘You and I’.

Daniel spent hours preparing a playlist for the meal and reception drinks (unfortunately this didn’t get played due to technical issues) and then, after much debate, we hired a band (Rockit) for after the meal. They were incredibly helpful and offered to announce the cutting of the cake and first dance in place of a master of ceremonies. They played a great mix of songs and got everyone up on the dance floor.

We chose the readings over g&t’s in the garden with our friend Lynsey (she was instrumental in getting us together as a couple!). Lynsey read ‘A Wedding’ by Alice Oswald and Daniel’s brother David (over from Australia) read ‘Love is…’ by Adrian Henri (skipping the penultimate verse because it mentions underwear and we didn’t want to embarrass him or make the parents feel uncomfortable!).

THE CAKE

Leila: Lovingly made by Daniel’s Mum, a skilled home baker. Three tiers in white with sugar petals and flowers to decorate.

THE DETAILS & DÉCOR

Leila: Lots! Far too much bunting made by my Mum and Cathie, muslin drapes, paper hearts sprinkled on tables, tiny pegs, rosemary tucked into napkins, fairy lights, pom poms, vintage tablecloths, paper robots as favours, super hero table names, sweet bar, handmade chalk boards, vintage suitcase for wedding cards, guest book and polaroid camera, a photo of our cat on a stick (it would take too long to explain this one…!).

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS

Leila: My sister Meika and my best friend Laura. They both looked amazing in blue lace dresses from David’s Bridal and cream shoes from good old Clarks. Bridesmaid shopping was surprisingly straightforward, the three of us had a day out at Westfield in Stratford and picked out dresses, shoes and jewellery. Done.

THE FLOWERS

Leila: A work colleague did a floristry course in preparation for her own wedding and has since gone on to do some floristry work for friends and family in her spare time. Jen did an amazing job on the bouquets, ceremony, and reception table flowers with my vague brief (blue, purple, wild and natural looking!) and I feel very lucky to have had such beautiful flowers at a bargain price. I complemented Jen’s flowers with some supermarket flowers in jam jars decorated with lace and twine.

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER

Leila: We met up with a few photographers to find the one who we felt was right for us. Sharron at The Image Garden was so lovely to work with and we couldn’t have asked any more from the photos – she really captured the day.

GROOM’S ATTIRE

Daniel: Much to my wife’s chagrin, I have a tendency to leave things to the last moment and my wedding suit was no exception. It was a hot and humid July day when I headed into Reading for what I thought would be an quick and easy shopping trip, but I was wrong. After hours of wandering from menswear shop to department store to menswear shop I was ready to accept defeat. Then I spotted T. M. Lewin and upon entering, saw the perfect suit. I was so happy I had a celebratory Five Guys (not on the wedding diet plan). The rest fell into place quite easily after that.

I liked the idea of paper buttonholes because they’d last forever. I found a seller on Esty who made them out of old comic book pages which would go on to inspire more of the décor.

THE HONEYMOON

Leila: Minimoon in a little lodge in Wales straight after the wedding followed (many months later) by five nights in NYC.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

Leila: For me, walking into the ceremony with my brother (who gave me away) and seeing Daniel waiting for me and the faces of all our beautiful guests.

Daniel: Same thing from the other side!

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES

Leila: Don’t forget that it’s your day and include elements that are personal and special to you. If you are setting up a venue in advance – allow plenty of time! If you do hire a village hall, enquire about booking a cleaner for the day after, so glad we did this.

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |

Dress | Sassi Holford

Grooms suit | T.M. Lewin

Flowers | Jennifleur Jenniferlovatt@hotmail.co.uk

Buttonholes | A Paper Rose

Caterer | Sadlers Catering

Band | Rockit

Photographer | Sharron at The Image Garden

Transport | Nostalgia Travel

Hair and make-up | Georgina Heron

Simply stunning.

Leila and Daniel, thank you both so much for sharing your wonderful story with us today xo Lou