Katy + Mat's Early 1930's Wedding Part II
Continuing with Katy and Mat’s 1930’s inspired wedding…
From the bride, Katy:
The most important thing to us was location, I’m from the UK and Mat is from the other side of Australia, so most of our guests were travelling from all corners of the globe. We wanted a hotel so everyone could stay for a few days and not need to go anywhere. There are plenty of choices around the area, but very few have any character. We chose Caves House Hotel in Yallingup for a few reasons, first because we could have the ceremony and reception there, second because we could all stay there and third because of it’s incredible Art Deco heritage. Oh, plus the word Yallingup is an Aboriginal term meaning “Place of Love” (a bit vomit inducing cheesy, but rather quaint!).
An aside about being here in WA – there are some remarkable businesses around, like Pixel Magix – full of creativity and vibrancy, but my experience from planning this wedding was that for the most part everything is very samey, I found on most occasions when I went to local businesses looking for things I thought they could help with that I was greeted with blank stares and a complete lack of desire to help to source something a bit different. So – I turned almost entirely to buying online and making what I could. The stationary suite was all home made, as were the bridesmaid bouquets, men’s buttonholes, mum’s corsages and centrepieces. A tip for mirrors on the tables for centrepieces – yes you can hire, and yes you can buy from bridal suppliers; I went to Ikea and bought a few packets of their 30cm square mirror wall tiles and used those, they cost less for all 12 then 2 would have cost from a bridal stockist. Brilliant.
My vision was peacock and ostrich feather, lily of the valley, and colours mainly creams and chocolates to emulate the sepia photographs I used for reference. The feathers were mainly sourced on ebay, and also from a feather supplier in Queensland. Photos on the mantelpiece were framed photographs of family that are either no longer with us, or those that couldn’t travel – we wanted them all to be there in some way. The brass candlesticks on the mantle belonged to my Great Aunt, and the tablecloth we used on our cake table was the one which she used on hers on her wedding day in 1962. I carried my Mum’s Mum’s horseshoe down the aisle with me, and my bouquet was a replica of the one she had – I provided our florist (the excellent Treena from Bunbury Flower Place) with a photograph and a few feathers, and I was presented on the morning of the wedding with an exact match, I couldn’t believe it.
And so, five weeks out I needed new shoes (CLs ordered from Bergdorffs), a dress to dance in as I didn’t want to risk doing the samba in my gown and splitting a seam (quick online hunt resulted in my tracking down an ex-runway Alex Perry (huge Australian designer) with a flapper feel to it at a bargain price), another pair of shoes to dance in (pair of CLs number 2), and I needed a change of plan for my veil and something to wear in my hair for the dance. 20 hours of hand beading 1320 jet black glass beads onto my chapel length scalloped veil with my Step Mum sorted that out, and an email to the wonderful Kim from Topsy Turvy Design on Etsy sorted out my second headdress.
Other details included my silver sixpence in my shoe – an Australian sixpence that was minted in the UK in 1938 the year Caves House was rebuilt, my blue satin garter from The Garter Lady on Etsy with a little pocket to keepsake the sixpence, Mat’s vintage Liberty silk peacock tie (a real find, and so cheap at just under AU$10!), vintage peacock cufflinks and tie clip – again found on Etsy.
To me, the most important aspect of the planning process was the photography. That is the one material thing that you keep always, and I wanted images that we could be immensely proud of. I listed to people say how fast your wedding day flies and I wanted to be able to relive it more slowly afterwards going through the photos at our own pace. From the moment I made contact with Kylie, she was brimming with ideas and tips (including introducing me to your blog!). The photographs that we now have are just superb. I can’t believe how original the shots taken through the vintage camera turned out, they look even more real than the real photos from the 30s that I used 18 months ago when starting to plan.
Thanks again to the fabulous Kylie from Pixel Magix for sharing this wedding and Kylie for sharing your wedding experience with us today!