Wedding Week – Hair, Makeup and Outfits

All this week I’m sharing snippets from my wedding with tips and advice for planning, finding suppliers, setting up and creating a day you’ll remember forever.

One of the most fun parts of planning the wedding was creating our ‘look’. From the very start, I had a really strong idea of how I would look on my wedding day – I’m not very ‘bridal’ and had no desire to be a princess for the day. I wanted something chic, classic and subtly sexy. No netting, no pink gloss and definitely no fake tan.

My dress and the bridesmaids’ dresses were the easiest finds of the wedding. I got my dress exactly 12 months (to the day!) before the wedding, from Brides of Harrogate. I went along for my initial appointment with my mum and was looked after by Lauren. She knew right from the start what I wanted – she took in my personal style, what I said about the vintage theme and wanting to wear my glasses, then left me to pick out 5 dresses I liked. I tried them on and although lovely, none quite worked. Then Lauren produced this Alfred Angelo creation and my mum burst into tears. Result! At less than £800 it was an absolute dream find, and so many people at the wedding gushed over it and asked if it was ‘real’ vintage.

For my bridesmaids, I was determined not to dictate what they wore too much. I wanted them to be comfortable and happy, to look like themselves and to have the opportunity to wear their dresses afterwards. My friends all have very different styles and tastes, and I considered different dresses in the same general colour for a while, but when I saw the Victoria Lace Dress in Whistles it was a done deal. The lace detail worked wonderfully with the vintage style and the sky blue colour was universally flattering. They looked gorgeous (as they always do and as I knew they would)!

Shoes were a no-brainer for me – Louboutins all the way, baby! I wanted a pair I could wear again but that didn’t distract from my dress and the Simple Pumps in Glitter were perfect, but sold out across the country. I eventually tracked them down in Dublin and had them shipped over – possibly the best package I’ve ever received!

I went for the lower 85mm heel and wore then until around 8pm when I switched to metallic flats c/o Sarenza. I could’ve gone on as they weren’t uncomfortable, but I wanted to give the dance floor my all!

The bridesmaids wore simple nude patent heels from M&S and Next, although my sister Rachel eventually switched to these Georgia Rose silver heels c/o Sarenza which looked amazing.

Rob wore a navy 3-piece suit from Reiss which we got a week before the wedding after a bit of a disaster with his original Paul Smith suit. The staff at Reiss in Leeds were beyond amazing and tailored the whole thing in just one day, relieving my bridal stress significantly! Rob’s tie and pocket square came from T.M. Lewin and his amazing brown brogues (which got lots of compliments on the day!) were by Finsbury c/o Sarenza.

The best man (Rob’s lovely dad, Mike!) and groomsmen wore suits and ties from Next, which were amazing value at £99 a pop.

The bridal party hair and makeup was a big decision for me. I really, really didn’t want to look like a ‘bride’ – pink lip gloss and French Tip nails are so not my thing. I love bold lipstick, matte skin and painted nails… why not represent that on my wedding day?

I searched long and hard for a makeup artist who had the style I wanted, and eventually found it in Bethany Jane Davies. Bethany was recommended by countless brides and photographers via Twitter, and just one look at her site had me convinced. She specialises in vintage-style hair and makeup that looks natural and subtle, not OTT or ‘fancy dress’.

Although I’m a fan of the vintage style my bridesmaids are more modern, so I wanted something that could be played up or down depending on their preference. I took two of them along to the trial and Bethany created a simply stunning look that suited absolutely everyone – a soft, curled up-do and subtle vintage-inspired makeup.

For me, it was all about the vintage glamour. Bethany gave me smooth, matte skin, flicky lined eyes and red statement lips using MAC, Nars and Illamasqua makeup. My hair was inspired by this literally divine shoot Coco Rocha did for Vogue Mexico and clipped into place with vintage-style slides from Accessorize. My nails were done by Russell Eaton in Leeds a few days before the wedding.

Bethany brought a team of stylists to make sure we were all primped and preened for 11.30am – they worked so hard and were so fantastic at creating a cohesive look that suited everyone. I recommend Bethany wholeheartedly for brides looking for an alternative to the dreaded pink gloss!

I couldn’t end this post without sharing these shots – my gift to the bridesmaids was a pair of Hunter wellies in their favourite colour. They were delighted with them and we had to have an official photo of us all, doing my signature ‘blog pose’ as we knew it’d end up here!

Wedding Week continues tomorrow when I’ll give you a peek at the reception.
All photography by Phil Drinkwater.