My Wedding (Part 5) Attire

Welcome to the fifth part of a series of posts all about my wedding, with ideas, tips, inspiration and downloadable resources. Today I'd like to talk about the dresses and suits, for many people one of the most important parts of wedding planning. 

My Wedding Dress

[© A V Brown, 2014]

Initially my budget for a dress was just £200. I had originally planned to buy my dress online, perhaps from ebay, but I was put off by people who warned me about their disastrous experiences. Don't get me wrong, I think it's entirely possible to buy a lovely dress for £200 if you look in the right places-charity shops or vintage boutiques, for example. But it soon became apparent that I wasn't going to find the dress I wanted there. Me and my mum went on a trip to some local bridal boutiques so I could try some dresses on and get an idea of what I wanted. I thought that I wanted a sleek, Grecian-style dress but when I tried them on they didn't really do anything for me.



The dress that I settled for was one I thought I would never choose in a million years! It's called Floro-D by Enzoani from the Blue collection (it looks like a completely different dress on their models). Mum pointed it out and I thought it looked ridiculous on the hanger and said I would try it on 'for a laugh'. But when I stepped out in it and looked in the mirror I had to admit that mum was right-I actually really liked it! I felt like it was a bit over-the-top at first and that I needed a fanfare if I was going to walk down the aisle like that. But my mum assured me that that was the whole point! She said it was my wedding day after all and that I was supposed to feel like a princess. I really did in that dress.

[© A V Brown, 2014]

Hair and Makeup

My bridesmaids, mum and I all had our hair done by Hair by Kate, an amazing mobile hairdresser. My makeup was done by Academy Salon. Having my hair and makeup done professionally helped me to feel calm and relaxed on the morning and I was really happy with the result.

                      Hair trial and post-wedding selfie [© A V Brown, 2014]

The Bridesmaids Dresses

The bridesmaids dresses were by Alfred Angelo (style 8606) and weren't cheap but they were exactly what I wanted and, more importantly, all three of my girls felt comfortable and happy in them. I loved the colour and was quite temped to get one myself as a party dress!

Us with our beautiful bridesmaids and flower girls [© A V Brown, 2014]

My four year old flower girl wore a very similar dress from BHS (Lydia Ocean Bridesmaid Dress) and my littlest flower girl (aged one and a half) wore a dress from BHS too, which has now been discontinued.

The Flowers

The silk bouquets, flower girl accessories and buttonholes were made by my cousin's mother-in-law, a lovely and very talented lady.

Close-up of the bridesmaids' flowers [© A V Brown, 2014]

The Suits

We hired the men's suits from Greenwoods Menswear. They all wore grey suits with tails, silver waistcoats and teal ties that matched the bridesmaids dresses.

Us with the Best Man, Usher and Page Boy [© A V Brown, 2014]

The Best Man [© A V Brown, 2014]

Accessories

My veil was from Belle and Bouquet in Wellingore and had little pearls scattered on it and a trim around the edge.

My shoes were £22 from BHS (here) and they were really comfortable. I went for flats so that I could dance and not worry about tripping over, as I'm not very confident in heels. My bridesmaids all bought their own purple shoes.

My earrings were little silver and crystal droplets from H. Samuel. 

I bought my bridesmaids matching necklaces with their initials on as a thank-you gift. I got them from CrinaDesign73 on Etsy and had them shipped to Toronto for my friend to bring over.