Blog: veil
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Win the beautiful Zara veil from Minna and take a look at their beautiful new collection of ethical wedding dresses

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Minna eco-luxe wedding dresses

Please note: Minna is now Indiebride London.

*Please note – this competition is now closed 20/03/13

Already this year we have had some great competitions on The Natural Wedding Company, and today’s prize is up there with the most gorgeous.

Finish designed Minna Hepburn has recently launched her 2013 collection of exquisite wedding dresses to her beautiful brand Minna, and to celebrate that launch one lucky TNWC bride will win the Zara veil worth over £100 – read on for full details of how to enter.

Minna vintage-inspired wedding dress

Minna eco-chic bridal veil

Eco-chic wedding dress from Minna

The new collection which is called “Love Letter” was inspired by an old petticoat and a love letter found at an antique market, and adds more delicious and affordable wedding dresses in Minna’s ethereal style.  All of the dresses are handmade in Minna’s London studio and range from floor sweeping gowns to mid-length dresses from between £360 and £800.

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Silver Sixpence In Her Shoe’s vintage inspired bridal accessories are now available from Not On The High Street

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Silver Sixpence In Her Shoe

Living in Cheshire on the outskirts of Manchester I am lucky enough to be close to a number of lovely independent wedding businesses, one of which is Silver Sixpence In Her Shoe who have featured before on the blog.

Run by the talented Nicola, Silver Sixpence is a range of beautiful vintage inspired bridal accessories, including headpieces, garters, and these pretty new lucky horseshoes I recently showcased.

Vintage inspired garter

I am excited to share with you that Nicola’s designs are now available from her new Not On The High Street shop www.notonthehighstreet.com/silversixpenceinhershoe that launched today. Silver Sixpence is now one of over 3,000 small independent UK businesses on Not On The High Street, each which has been carefully chosen for their innovative and well made products.

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A vintage inspired bride and cute calves at our ‘on the farm’ photoshoot at Heaton House Farm

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Jonny Draper Photography

Following on from yesterday’s introduction to the fabulous photoshoot at Heaton House Farm that I got to be involved with, today I’m sharing the first of the two bridal looks that we created.  A team of wonderful wedding suppliers came together to put these looks together and you’ll find all their details at the bottom of the page.

Today’s bridal looks are accessorised with cute calves and a stonking great big tractor…

1950s inspired bride in the cow barn

This was probably my favourite look of the day, a gorgeous vintage-esque wedding dress with gorgeous lace bodice and cinched-in sash around the waist, red sparkly shoes and blanket covered hay bales.

1950s inspired bridal look

Birdcage veil and 1950s inspired wedding dress

1950s inspired farm bridal photoshoot

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Sneak peek of my lace and feather birdcage veil from An Era of Experience

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Handmade birdcage veil with lace and feathers

I wasn’t planning on a lunchtime blog post, but I really wanted to share a quick picture of the birdcage veil I made last night at An Era of Experience.  With much help from the lovely Nicola of Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe, I created this navy blue and cream birdcage veil, with feathers and lace, and blue netting.

If you fancy making something similar, Nicola is running an exclusive “Made By You” bridal workshop in May where you can create your own, handmade headpiece, garter or ring pillow.  There are still places available on the workshop if you haven’t booked on already, and why not book your maid of honour, bridesmaid or mum on as well – they could make you a beautiful bridal keepsake.  I’ll be attending so hope to see you there!

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Mariette and Benjamin’s natural French countryside wedding ~ part two

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natural French countryside wedding

Natural French countryside wedding (part two)

If you missed part one of Mariette and Benjamin’s natural French countryside wedding yesterday, get over there now and immerse yourself in an utterly gorgeous wedding.  Today it’s the second part with some gorgeous photos in woodland and around the stone villa, and their fun reception and rustic decorations.

>> View Mariette and Benjamin’s natural French countryside wedding (part one) here <<

countryside woodland wedding

rustic natural woodland wedding

What a happy looking couple – and those gorgeous lace sleeves and floral headband.  Everything is just so fitting about this wedding, nothing seems out of place or contrived – just simple, natural and beautiful.

antique lace wedding dress

It always helps to have a beautiful rustic backdrop to create romantic wedding photographs, like an old French villa with mint green shutters and a rambling rose (oh France how I miss you!)…

French wedding in an old stone villa

rustic French countryside wedding

stone villa wedding in the French countryside

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Mariette and Benjamin’s natural French countryside wedding ~ part one

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Natural French countryside wedding

Natural French countryside wedding (part one)

It goes without saying this might possibly be one of my favourite weddings ever.  Shot by American photographer David Blair, this oh-so-pretty wedding of Mariette and Benjamin took place at a family-owned, rustic stone villa in the French countryside.

>> View Mariette and Benjamin’s natural French countryside wedding (part two) here <<

Rustic French countryside wedding

French wedding rustic villa

If you’re regular readers of the blog, it won’t come as any surprise that the brides dress is one of my absolute favourites – I’m not sure I’ve seen many more that I think are more exquisite.  I even told Nick that I might have swapped my own wedding dress for it – he was shocked!

Antique lace country style wedding dress

Antique lace wedding dress

I love the delicate lace sleeves and the way the front is loosely draped and edged with more lace.  I love the ribbon sash around the waist that is fastened in a bow at the back and the way the skirt falls simply to the floor – the lace hem full of dainty detailing.  It seems quite Edwardian inspired – one of my favourite eras for wedding dress inspiration.

French wedding dress with lace sleeves

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Allie and Tom’s handmade 1930’s inspired country wedding ~ part one

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Handmade 1930s country wedding

1930s inspired country wedding (part one)

It is another of those exciting days where I get to share a wedding from one of my readers with you all.  I’ve been in touch with the lovely Allie for a while now and I was even lucky enough to make her wedding guestbook!

It was lovely to hear that The Natural Wedding Company blog was a source of daily inspiration for Allie when she was planning her wedding, and she found a number of suppliers via the directory. Don’t forget to check back tomorrow for part two and a full list of suppliers.

>> View Allie and Tom’s 1930s inspired country wedding (part two) here <<

1930s country wedding dress inspiration

Allie and Tom got married on a very rainy Saturday in September at her parent’s home in Somerset.

handmade country wedding signs

Allie told me that her parents was the only place for their wedding.  Getting married in the village I grew up in, surrounded by people who watched me grow up just felt really right.  We wanted a wedding where all our friends and family and village people could help out.  I think we could only have done that at my parent’s home. 

country bride wedding inspiration

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Our rustic country wedding – the veil, the hair and make-up, and pretty accessories

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Today it’s all about my wedding accessories – from my vintage inspired shoes to the heirloom lace veil, natural make-up to a gorgeous garters.  It’s all here including the details of how I came to choose them for our wedding.

The Shoes


Mark Tattersall Photography

I spent ages looking for the ‘right’ shoes.  So many wedding shoes are elegant but modern, and my dress was so delicate and had a country feel to it, that I wanted something with an old-fashioned feel.  I also didn’t want really high heels as most of our wedding was spent walking on grass.


Mark Tattersall Photography

In the end I came across the gorgeous designs by Diane Hassall and fell in love with a pair called ‘Liliana’ – I managed to track them down to a bridal shop in nearby Knutsford and despite being loads more than I’d ever imagined spending, they came home with me.  They came with a choice of floaty organza or velvet ties – I went for the velvet ones.


Mark Tattersall Photography

I particuarly love this picture above of my shoes on the windowsill in my parent’s bedroom, with all those personal bits you find in people’s houses in the background.

The Veils

I hadn’t planned on wearing any veil…and I ended up having two!  My mum spent ages trying to track down the family veil, which she had worn when she married my dad, and my granny before her, and so on back through the generations.

I love this photo of my little sister Izzy holding my parents wedding album open at a photo of my mum wearing the veil, with it hanging behind Izzy from the cupboard…


Mark Tattersall Photography

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