Polly & Stuart’s Wartime Wedding

December 10, 2010

Polly & Stuart’s wartime inspired wedding was held in a marquee in Polly’s parent’s back garden. “We love vintage style from the 1930’s-1960’s. We wanted to incorporate our love of 1950’s Rock n Roll into our wedding and combine it with the aesthetic of a wartime garden party,” explained the bride. “We furnished our marquee and gentleman’s smoking room with pieces of furniture, decor and paintings from our home. I can safely say that I don’t think that anyone else has ever had a 1940’s waxworks dummy in their wedding marquee! We also wrote our own ‘hymn’ for our wedding service. We put sticks of rock on all the tables.We combined stylistic references and it worked- We backed the stage with 1950’s style working men’s club red curtains and had Victorian birdcages stuffed with ivy and pearls suspended from the ceiling. We turned my parents’ summer house into the ‘gentlemen’s smoking room’ complete with pipes, silk smoking jackets and a drinks cabinet.  We had our dog Enid Mouse as our whippet of honour. Our magnificent nautical cake complete with Marzipan octopus tentacles was by Annie at Yummy Nice. The cake was topped by a sculpture of us in a boat made by my husband Stuart. We didn’t want to be constrained with any particular rules!”

Polly wore a 1930’s vintage dress which she bought from Elizabeth Avey in London, which she then had embellished by Vikki Lafford who made a beautiful art deco shoulder piece for the dress. The bride’s reception dress was a 1950’s wedding dress which was purchased for just £70 from a dusty rail at the back of a costume shop in Manchester. Her gorgeous shoes were from Emmy and her hair piece was made by Rock n Roll Bride favourite, Flo & Percy.

For the centrepieces and reception decor, the couple hired vintage crockery from A Most Curious Party. The tea cup displayed were a DIY effort by the bride’s Mum and friends. “For our afternoon drinks reception and dinner we had the wonderful DJ 78 who played a divine selection of tunes on his gramophones and he went down an absolute storm!” continued Polly. “Our rockabilly band were the fabulous Rhythm Aces who kept the dance floor filled all night with great 50’s Rock n Roll. The music at our ceremony was performed by our musician friends Michelle and Susie. Michelle performed on our 1870’s American parlour organ which we transported (with the help of 4 very strong men) from our bedroom in London to our wedding venue in Suffolk!”

Much love to Polly & Stuart and their awesome photographer Sassy for sharing this fabulously unique wedding with us today

Photography Credit: Assassynation
Ceremony Venue: Somerleyton Hall
Reception Venue: Parent’s Back Garden
Bride’s Dress:  Elizabeth Avey customised by Vikki Lafford
Bride’s Shoes: Emmy
Bride’s Hair piece: Flo & Percy
Groom’s Outfit: Vintage
Bridesmaid Dresses: Various – Singapore, Hong Kong and Vivien of Holloway
Crockery Hire: A Most Curious Party
Cake: Yummy Nice
Cake Topper: DIY
Flowers: Pollen Nation
Hair & Make Up: Trevor Killeen
Band: Rhythm Aces
Sign: Cherry Pie Lane