Lucy and Simon’s Amazing Steampunk Wedding. By Toast of Leeds

Today’s wedding is one of those that I just know will be making my top weddings of 2014 list at the beginning of next year!  And no surprise it comes from my good friend Shelly at Toast of Leeds. Lucy and Simon decided on a Steampunk wedding theme as it was totally them, mixed in with lots of DIY details and lots and lots of purple and black. Add an outdoor ceremony, an amazing West Yorkshire venue, a stunning Ian Stuart dress, THE cutest dog in its own wedding outfit, a huge selection of vintage props and decoration and some crazy dancing, well this wedding is all kinds of awesome! I’m sure you will agree!

‘A whirlwind of adventure, which we were able to share with our loved ones and each other. Magical.’

Lucy and Simon were married on the 16^th August with an indoor AND outdoor ceremony, followed by a reception at East Riddlesden Hall. ‘We wanted something different from the norm, and as we both like the countryside we wanted to get married outside. East Riddlesden provided us with the perfect backdrop, for both the ceremony and reception. Giving us the privacy that we wanted, but close enough for local amenities for guests to travel and stay nearby. A little haven, stuck in the past – exactly just what we were looking for. We had 93 guests and we started planning the wedding soon after we got engaged (almost two years) to make sure that we got the suppliers and venue we wanted. Although we went months without doing anything for it – so it was pretty on and off during that time.’

How they met
We met during fresher’s week at university and we’ve been together for almost 7 years (on the 30th December).

The proposal
For my 24th birthday Simon took me to Venice for a long weekend. We enjoyed exploring the city, the culinary delights and gondola ride. Then during one of the evenings, on a secluded bridge with Italian singing in the distance, he got down on one knee.

Why did you choose your photographer?
We first came across Toast when browsing some of the alternative wedding blogs, including Boho Weddings. As soon as we saw the types of photos Shelly created, we knew that she was the photographer for us. Her style captures those special moments, in a real, down to earth manner and not forgetting the quirkiness.

The dress
The dress was by Ian Stewart. It was the Montrose dress from the Supernova collection, but was altered with the black lace from the Equador gown. Kelly, at Ava Rose Hamilton in Silsden, really helped me to find what I envisioned.  My choker was made from the black lace stole/wrap that came with the dress. The boots were from River Island and the fingerless gloves were from etsy.

The suit and bridesmaids
Simon’s jacket was from Violent Delights and was then altered.
The bridesmaid’s dresses were from House of Fraser; their shoes were converse; and their bracelets were from Not on the High Street. Salami’s dress was made by Jillian Welch Design of Harrogate.

Theme or colour scheme?
Black is one of my favourite colours/shades, so it had to be a main colour, especially as it was going to be incorporated in my dress. Both Simon and I like purple too so it just made sense that we chose that colour. The vintage/steampunk theme is something that we both like, so we wanted to take aspects from that and add our own twist on them.

Decoration
We had a mismatch of decorations from a typewriter, gramophone and old books to a ceramic stag head, bell jars, birds and lampshades.

Flowers
We didn’t have a fixed plan with the flowers and left it up to Rachel at Simply Vintage Events to decide. The only requirements were that purple, cream and vintage colour/themes were used. We loved what the team created and so it was one less thing to worry about.They also provided us with vintage teacups, and pots to put the flowers in, as well as coloured water in glass bottles.

Food
As we both trained as chefs, food was an important aspect of the day and so became one of the main focuses. During the afternoon there was ice cream for the guests (from The Icicle Tricycle Company). Flavours included lemon curd, white chocolate chip and millionaires shortbread. Our wedding breakfast (from GFS Catering) consisted of three courses, of which guests had a choice for each course:
Starter: Traditional free range chicken liver pate or Butternut squash & parmesan penne
Main: Poulet aux champignon, Traditional roast beef & Yorkshire pudding or Baked tuscan aubergine
Dessert: Tart au citron or Rich chocolate torte
Then later in the evening bacon and sausage butties, and halloumi pittas.

Cake
Finally the beautiful wedding cake (from Butterflies and Angels) was coffee cake and persian love cake.

Entertainment
During the evening celebrations a jump jive and swing band played for us (Benny Lee and the Whistle Stop Five). Playing some old classics and some more modern hits with a jive and swing twist – making us dance the whole night.

Personal or handmade touches
Personal touches were one of the main things for me, and we both wanted a real hands on approach.
We created:
• Invites, rsvp and other wedding stationery
• Bunting (80m)
• Name tags (brown luggage tags, with key and ribbon)
• Menus (tea stained doilies and stamped menu)
• Candles with ribbon or watch parts
• Spray painted gold dinosaurs
• Jars with lace (for aisle and window dressing)
• Guest book (cards that could be pegged to wire bird cage)
• Tea stained doilies wrapped around mini cereal favour boxes
• Order of the day
• Table numbers (pieces of wood with black iron door numbers screwed on)

Special moments or highlights
I couldn’t pinpoint a specific special moment or highlight, the whole day was perfect – from hearing Simon’s vows through to the first dance. We were so happy that we could celebrate with the people we love.

Biggest surprise
Staying dry all day was the biggest surprise. Leading up to the day, was a bit hit or miss with the rain. Luckily we had a beautiful day, but we were prepared for rain…just in case.

Advice for other couples
I imagine most people will say this, but enjoy every minute, it goes all too quick.
Between us we made sure that we spoke to everyone during the afternoon and straight after the meal. It then meant that we could enjoy the rest of the evening with our closest friends and family.

Supplier Shout Outs

We would just like to thank all of our suppliers for helping make our special day perfect. We can’t express how much gratitude that we have for each and everyone who helped and supported us. Cheers guys x

• GFS Catering
• www.nationaltrust.org.uk/east-riddlesden-hall
• Butterflies and Angels
• Benny Lee and the Whistle Stop Five
• Simply Vintage Events
• Toast
• Ava Rose Hamilton
• Jillian Welch Design
• The Icicle Tricycle Company
• Bow & Blush
• Horsfields of Halifax
• Forever Film

 For more information on Shelly’s work, go to:

http://toastofleeds.co.uk
http://toastofleeds.com
FACEBOOK
@Toastofleeds