#21 Clean Lines and Coastlines
Our Brides – Yvonne
It only took Nottingham bride Yvonne one phone call and one visit to the shop to come up with her sensational wedding-day outfit for a Cornish cliff-top wedding. Just take a look at how gorgeous these wedding photos are…
Yvonne had such a clear sense of her own style and what she wanted in her wedding dress. Clean lines, bias cut, low back. She even knew that Charlie Brear was the designer for her, so once she tried on Payton she never looked back. And with that figure, it’s easy to see why.
Add in an iconic English coastline, some pizza and some seashell place-cards and you’ve got a gloriously simple wedding full of heart, humour, and a handful of pizza puns!
Congrats Yvonne and Alex! There’s really no topping your day… (sorry).
Jess x
THE LOW-DOWN
How would you sum up the style of your wedding?
A quirky, rustic, intimate wedding in a Cornish fishing village.
Where and when did you tie the knot?
We got married on 7th September 2019 in Port Isaac, Cornwall. The ceremony was in St. Peter’s church and the reception was in our favourite pizza parlour in the village, The Angry Anchovy.
And what was your wedding dress?
Payton by Charlie Brear.
THE LEAD-UP
How did you two first meet?
On Facebook. Old-school I know!
What about the proposal? When, where, how?
In October 2017, we went on our first weekend away together since having our son two years prior.
We went to Copenhagen and visited Rosenborg Castle, where Alex got down on one knee in the gardens after pretending to be taking a photo of me.
THE DRESS
Did you have an idea of what you wanted when you first started looking for your wedding dress? And did you stick to it?
Absolutely, I had a clear idea of the minimalist style I wanted and even the designer I wanted.
Even though I was tempted to stray away from this, I did stick to it in the end and I’m so glad I did!
How did you find the whole experience of searching for the right dress?
Great fun but tricky at the same time. We had a slightly limited budget so I knew I would have to buy off the rail.
Plus at the time of looking for my dress I had given birth to our daughter 6 months before, so I knew there was a chance my shape could change before our wedding day.
I did a lot of extensive research on Charlie Brear stockists and was confident I would find something suitable at Alexandra Anne after calling up to speak to Jess about what was available on the sample rails!
What was it about your dress that made it ‘the one’?
The simplicity of it – I fell in love with the clean lines, bias cut and low back.
How did you feel once you’d made the big decision?
So so so happy! The whole day was such a good experience and I was so relieved that I managed to find exactly what I wanted and within budget.
I did also feel a bit nervous because it all started to feel a bit real from that point!
Do you have any top tips for other brides out there shopping for their bridal gown?
Pinterest and Instagram all the way! Get inspiration from as many sources as possible using keyword searches to filter your search.
Also try to compile a list of your must-haves and must-not-haves. As much as I agree you should be open to trying on different things (as you never know how a dress will look once you try it on), it’s also so easy to get swayed once you are faced with so many gorgeous dresses. Try to stay true to what you originally envisaged for yourself.
THE BIG DAY
Tell us more about your outfit on the day. How did you complete your look?
I had a plain floor-length Intrigue veil (by Rainbow Club) which was in line with the minimalist look, some small pearls which were a gift from Alex on our first Christmas together, and some metallic silver pointed court shoes – and that’s it! I really didn’t want to take away from the simplicity of the dress.
And your bridesmaids?
My bridesmaids had ASOS satin long-sleeve batwing dresses. Again the style was clean lines, simple and modern and they had matching pointed silver metallic court shoes. They were a lovely mushroom colour which fitted in nicely with the natural beach and sea colour scheme.
What do you remember about the morning?
We had an extremely busy morning! I remember a grumpy baby (my daughter didn’t really want me to leave her side), everyone mucking in to help set up the venue, and of course sitting down with my son to open his birthday presents (it was an extra special day as it was also his 4th birthday!).
Who did your hair and makeup?
My very talented sister. It would have been difficult to organise things like hair trials in Port Isaac as we live in Nottingham, and to be honest I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to do it! My sister works in construction but is just naturally talented at hair and makeup and has always been there to help me over the years.
Who took your wedding photos?
A totally amazing photographer Neil Kates. We were adamant that we wanted documentary style and candid photography and were blown away with the results.
Did you follow any traditions? Or was there anything unusual about the ceremony?
It was a traditional church ceremony – the only ‘unusual’ thing being that we sang happy birthday to our son at the start. I walked down the aisle with my mum to a piano version of Only You by Yazoo.
How did your dress feel when you were walking down the aisle?
I don’t really remember! All I can remember is that feeling in your throat when you are trying not to cry! I really struggled to hold back the tears!
For the whole day my dress felt amazing – so comfy and light. Even when we went up to the cliff edge I didn’t feel like it was getting in the way as I could easily hoist it up to walk.
THE MEMORIES
What are your favourite memories of your wedding day?
There are so many. Seeing Alex’s reaction when he saw me in my dress was the best feeling – he genuinely looked astonished. Taking a ride in a tuk-tuk up to the cliff edge to take photos was so special as we managed to get away just the two of us and we were both so happy to have gotten through the ceremony without laughing or crying or messing up our words.
What gave you the biggest laugh?
The speeches definitely. Lots of funny anecdotes about Alex back in the day and pizza puns about love (my husband pepperoni has eyes for me apparently).
What got the tears flowing?
My sister’s speech and a reading Alex’s mum gave during the ceremony.
Every single person in the room was silent when my sister gave her speech, it was just so genuine and heartfelt and the stories she told of when we were younger a lot of people could relate to having siblings of their own.
Alex’s mum did a reading of Roy Croft’s ‘I Love You’ poem in the church and both Alex and I were reaching for the tissues!
If there was one piece of advice you could give to a new bride-to-be, what would it be?
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to get every single detail right. The day for me was honestly more about how people felt and whether they were enjoying themselves and everything else fell into place!
If your guests see you happy then they will be happy! Keep the day moving, and lots of food and drink flowing!
And last but not least, where is your wedding dress now?
In our wardrobe in a dress bag. I’m a bit scared to take it out and have a look at the extent of the stains after a night of partying!
THE RECAP
Dress
Payton by Charlie Brear
Accessories
Veil by Rainbow Club
Shoes by Miss KG
Venue
St Peter’s Church, Port Isaac, Cornwall (ceremony)
The Angry Anchovy, Port Isaac (reception)
Photography
Hair + Makeup
Bride’s sister
Decor
DIY
Flowers
Bruallen (Delabole)
Stationery
Table plan theme
Nature and the Sea
Caterers
The Angry Anchovy
Cream Tea from Terrace Tea Rooms
Entertainment
Spotify!
First dance song
Yazoo – Only You
Mad about Yvonne’s minimalist look?