Jenn wore a 1920s inspired sexy, slinky, backless dress. Toby wore a waistcoat and bow tie. They got married at The Ashes in Staffordshire and it was a beautifully Great Gatsby inspired wedding. RMW regulars Red on Blonde took some amazing Portraits in fields of gold... With flowers in her hair, Morris Minors, pops of yellow and a naked cake; there is something for everyones wedding scrap book here.

Jenn The Bride: Picking our venue wasn't difficult, having researched various places near to our hometowns we were so excited to view The Ashes. Our ideas began to bloom when we decided to have our wedding there and we had an open book for decorations and planning, with a rustic vintage theme as the key. I love blue and yellow so I had a starting point for colours and ideas from the word go, I even bought my shoes before my dress (which of course were yellow!).

The Fashion

I had spotted the most beautiful wedding dress shop through previous trips to Manchester so I knew I would get my dress from The White Closet, Didsbury no matter what. Simple, backless and most importantly something I could dance in were my top three choices and there it was with intricate lace, backless detail and when I tried it on I felt wonderful, Charlie Brear - you beauty. Plus my yellow T-bar shoes fitted in with the 20's drop waist style, I was in love.

My five bridesmaids were made up of my best friends including my sister Lucy, whom I knew would always be my maid of honour. I wanted them to all be comfortable but chic, we picked their slate grey dresses from Boden and they all chose different yellow shoes which worked beautifully together. I also included my three nieces as flower girls and found mini grey dresses to match; they looked adorable next to the bridesmaids.

Toby wanted an outfit that would give him a splash of colour. He would never admit it, but Toby is quite particular with what he wears, choosing an electric blue suit, bow tie and a sand coloured waistcoat with brown brogues - his wedding outfit was complete and with a vintage twist. We bought the best man and usher suits to match and picked out yellow bow ties in contrast. Even our Dads wore matching ties, and we were so pleased at how it all came together!

The Decor & Flowers

I have a slight obsession with ribbon bunting. For the invites, I hand cut pieces of ribbon, attached them to twine and stamped 'Marriage and Merriment' letter by letter on each one. It took months of hard work, my mum and bridal team helped out and the end product was perfect. The insert was designed by Ian, an artistic friend, and included beautiful illustrations of our venue and my engagement ring, making our invite personal and bespoke. The ribbon theme continued... We used bunting in the barns, a mixture of colours and floral designs thrown around decorations of wooden ladders, twine, hessian and the vintage cars all created a rustic country fete feel amongst the perfect backdrop of The Ashes Venue. The food was simple but effective, replicating the theme of the day, a classic British menu including cream scones, Pimms and locally brewed Ale.

English wild flowers were in abundance, filling the deep window ledges they looked delicate next to the deep stone of the barns and added a real charm to the rustic feel. The flowers were sourced through Felicity Farm Flowers and my Mum and her best friend Janet spent 2 days filling jam jars, old milk bottles and jugs full of colours and beautiful mixes- the time and effort spent on them really illustrated the handcrafted feel to our special day. I love the concept of wedding favors, so we had two! My Dad, who is a seed connoisseur, supplied a mix of Californian poppies, they are bright flowers and I hope all the guests see some next year in bloom! My Mum also grew fruits over the summer which were turned into allotment jam; our wedding was turned into a real 'Jamboree'! The homemade theme continued throughout the day, our wedding cake, a three tiered Victoria sponge was handmade by my wonderful Uncle Chris, who took three days off work to create it, as you can imagine it tasted as good as it looked. The teacups decorated around the cake were also his, turning it into a real vintage tea party!

The Party

We chose a live band for the evening and the dancing didn't stop all night, our other music was made up of playlists throughout the day including a Toby's Power hour! Full of 80's power ballads, it went down an absolute storm; at one point as Bride and Groom we even crowd surfed!

A major part of our wedding day were Red on Blonde, the photographers, whom we found through Rock My Wedding (of course!). From the word go Hannah and Toby were so helpful, they were unobtrusive on the day but the pictures they produced perfectly captured the events, emotions and joy from family and friends on our special day. No matter how much you plan for everything, it doesn't always happen the way you hoped. The weather was doubtful from the moment we woke and the bridesmaid's car broke down before it even reached us! Despite this, we got more than we ever thought possible. The perfect day to start our adventure together!