Monday, December 3, 2012

Real Vintage Music-Themed Wedding: Katherine & Yianni

There's nothing a wedding blogger likes more than a wedding with a theme, and there's no question, it's the easiest way to create a truly personalised wedding. Plus if you choose a theme at the start of your planning, you can be sure every wedding detail will hang together perfectly. Gorgeous couple Katherine and Yianni found it super easy to come up with their wedding theme - they'd met in a chat room for people who like heavy metal and rock music, so a music theme was the obvious choice! I love how they carried the motif through all their wedding details, inspired by an album's artworks, they created their own table plan, wedding favours, and wedding colour palette. Katherine put a huge amount of work into her wedding, researching every aspect, and you can really tell - every detail is pitch-perfect. Don't miss Part 2's reception shots published later today. Gorgeous pictures published with thanks to Dominic Whiten Photography.

I found my dress in the first bridal shop I visited. I took one of my oldest friends and bridesmaids, Jen, who I knew would give me honest advice. She also made me enjoy the whole experience of trying on gorgeous gowns so I didn't get stressed about finding the perfect dress. I didn’t know it was 'the one' when I first tried it on, but several weeks & many shops later: boutiques, designer, vintage, second hand {I went to them all!} it was the only one I couldn't stop thinking about.

It's a Pronovias wedding gown, but a sample dress, so much more affordable than many of the others I tried. It hugs my curves, which I love, because my husband definitely married me for my bum! To be honest, there's so many beautiful dresses available, I’m sure several could have been 'the one' but I just couldn't justify the £3000+ price tag.

I bought my shoes, veil, earrings & hair comb from several different bridal shops {see the details below}– the beauty of shopping around a lot for my dress meant I worked out what was on offer. My hair comb was definitely my favourite buy, a statement piece that really photographed well.

We got married on Saturday 13th October 2012, in a small village in Kent where my parents live. We had a church ceremony at St Johns Church followed by a reception at Mountains Country House in Hildenborough.

Yianni's best man Steven took him shopping for his wedding day outfit. They found a suit they liked in Reiss & went with it! Boys are quick shoppers! He was adamant he didn't want traditional top and tails, and in hindsight they made the right choice, as they look modern and slick in the pictures, and they've all got a nice suit they'll wear again.

I chose a burgundy rose from the centre of a Deftones album design as the colour for my bridesmaids' gowns, and this was then used as a general colour theme, for the ushers' ties, cake ribbon and other wedding details.

I originally thought I'd be able to buy my bridesmaids' dresses on the high street, but we struggled to find something to fit with the colour scheme. I did loads of research online and in magazines, but there doesn't seem to be a huge number of options for bridesmaids’ dresses that are classic and flattering but not frumpy.

Eventually I found a local shop that was selling Dessy so I took the girls to try some on, and we all agreed the one-shoulder full-length chiffon bridesmaids gowns looked elegant and Greek goddess-like. Also I was able to choose the exact shade of burgundy I wanted to fit in with our wedding theme. I was so pleased - they all looked stunning on the day.

My florist was Suzanne at Flowersmiths. I visited a few other florists to get ideas but Suzanne gave us the best price for what I wanted on my wedding day. I knew I wanted roses and neat rounded bouquets, and I really trusted Suzanne would do a good job. Her dedication and planning to achieve my vision could not have been bettered.

My flower-girl's little white dress came from Monsoon and I added a matching burgundy sash, to fit in with the bridesmaids dresses. She carried a basket of flower petals for confetti.

Yianni and I met in 2001 in an online chat room for people who like heavy metal and rock music. We had both just started university but I was in Manchester, Yianni was in London. I felt an instant connection with him as we both listed our almost identical CD collections – a somewhat eclectic mixture! We chatted online until December when I came home to Kent for the Christmas holidays.

We met face-to-face for the first time in Charing Cross station, with only a grainy webcam photo for recognition, and unbeknown to me, my parents hiding behind a pillar to check out the strange boy! We went out on a few nights out as mates, and then I decided to make the first move on New Years Eve in a dingy rock club in Tufnell Park, and kissed him during what came to be 'our song' Shinobi vs Dragon Ninja by Lost Prophets.

We made it through 3 years of endless train journeys, a further 4 years alternating weekends between Kent and London before we moved in together in 2009. I got pregnant 18 months later and although it put our plans to travel to the Far East on hold, it was to become a defining moment in our lives when our son Alexander was born in 2011. Yianni took the three of us to New York, a favourite destination of ours, in October 2011 and proposed. The highlight for me was when we bought my engagement ring in Tiffany & Co on 5th Avenue ☺

Our wedding photography was Dominic from Dominic Whiten Photography. I found him via Mountains Country House - we met up at my parents house I really liked his easygoing manner.

I researched quite a few other photographers and I was tempted by some of the more artistic styles. However after looking through Dominic's online portfolio again, we really loved his portraits and the way he captured real moments from the day in an artistic but honest way.