I am so so so excited to share with you the AWESOME band that played at our wedding in June. Phil Lyons and the New Vintage Band happen to be the most adorable bunch of people you will ever come across. Clearly passionate about what they do, you can see how much they enjoy themselves when up on the stage.
We came upon them at a Wedding Fair in Wetherby and as soon as I saw their stand when we arrived I was over like a shot. I knew for a fact we could not just have an ordinary DJ for our wedding nor could we have a really awful tribute act that would make me cringe (don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about!)
The guys have class. In bucket loads. Phil Lyons voice is just so typical of a 1940’s parlour club singer but on an even bigger and better scale. There is nothing cheesy about these guys. The Frank Sinatra covers are almost like they were wrote for them.
I’ve realised that one of the Summer Bell Sisters is not in any of the photos who provides extraordinary background vocals for the band. I think she could have been in between her outfit changes because they do two sets. They do the soul, swoony songs first and then move on to the jive & rock n’ roll songs for everyone to have a real boogie before the night is over.
We opted opted for the 6 piece band rather than ten piece (this was mainly down to cost and space!) but we were delighted with our choice. These guys really know how to get the crowd up and dancing!
If you need some entertainment for your wedding or just any event I would definitley recommend these guys, without a shadow of a doubt – so go, what are you waiting for? Go check them out here! You will not be disappointed.
Festival season is well upon so what better way than to celebrate with a giveaway. I have just surpassed the 900 follower mark & I’m super, super excited that you are enjoying all my new posts whilst I suffer from post-wedding blues!
Of course, the other thing that you know about me is that I love Music & Festivals. So when Cloggs UK wanted to join in the fun we decided that my favourite pair of wellies (The PillarBox Red Wellies – to be exact) would be the BEST prize for a giveaway.
To enter all you have to do is follow the instructions below! I look forward to seeing who the winner is in 2 weeks time!
And whilst you’re at why not browse the Hunter Range here!
The Ice Cream Van was a MUST! I argued this point to every Tom, Dick & Harry who thought it was a stupid idea as the desert. In the end, everyone handed it to me. It was a great touch! Alex from Sweet Scoops was absolutely adorable and possibly the cutest little bean I have ever met. The whole thing just suits her down to the ground.
She had decorated the van with our wedding date and our married ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ and even played music as she came down. Everything about it just made me a little giddy kipper (more than I am normally!)
The ice cream flavours were the delicous Yorvale brand and it was so tasty. We had sorbets and ice cream flavours so there was something for everyone!
Sadly Mr C could not manage an ice cream (despite telling me everyday before the wedding he was going to eat 100!) as he was busy being a little bit sick after eating too much blue cheese from the cheese platters! (This makes me really sad that he spent some of his wedding day with his head down the toilet!)
What did you do on your wedding day that made it a little different or did you have an ice cream van too?
Now, call me a bitter bride I don’t care. To my dismay when our photographer, Jenny Prest (who is AMAZING by the way and all the photos you are seeing are hers!! Bar one or two shots!!) was loading some snippets to her facebook page and people were commenting MORE on the Bridesmaid dresses than mine.
Although, secretly I was pleased as no-one could see my vision. I told everyone numerous times, red shoes & petticoat. I was greeted with looks of despair and questionable glances ensued but I was adamant. That was what it was going to be!
And, look how pretty they all look. The Cath Kidston style fit in perfectly with the wedding. They all looked amazing in them and it is such a flattering style of dress. In fact I was jealous that I wasn’t a bridesmaid in one of them. (Although, I personally don’t think I could trade my beautiful dress in just yet!)
I stumbled upon these dresses on, you guessed it, eBay. They were from British Retro eBay Shop and at £45 they were a steal. They even gave me a small discount for purchasing 6 dresses. If you are looking for something a little bit kitsch and cute this is the place to go!
What Bridesmaid dresses have you chosen or have you been a Bridesmaid where you loved or loathed your dress? I want to hear so drop me a comment below.
You can see all my other posts over here! For all my Wedding Diary posts press that ‘’Follow Button’’
It’s the little details that mean a lot to me at weddings. I want to feel like I am taking a glimpse in to the Bride & Grooms life. Our special day was no exception.
James family are die hard farmers, we rear chickens and love the outdoors. So what was more fitting than a ‘’Countryfied’’ Wedding. My family are very crafty and creative so it was even better that there was so many home spun features on our big day.
The old potato chitting trays welcomed our guests on arrival. Despite the rain we managed to get the ‘’Mr & Mrs Clayton’s Wedding This Way’’ Sign out so everyone knew where they were going.
I think everyone was shocked when they walked in to the hall and saw just how amazing it was and how much love had gone in to decking it out. I have always imagined what peoples faces would be like when they opened their invites & saw that we were having our wedding reception in a village hall.
We managed to get a lovely shot the day before of the venue before chaos ensued. I’m sure you will agree it look PRETTY amazing, if I don’t mind saying so myself.
My mum sewed plenty of bunting to wrap around a few of the tables, like the top table and the Cake/Photo/Post Box table. It gave it just that extra pizzazz (is that even a word, it hasn’t got a squiggly red line under it?!) of colour to compliment the ivory marquee lining.
The ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ on the top table was a Hobby Craft special & so was the red post box that Mr C and I painted at his work. My mum paper mache’d the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ too, she is so super clever!
The napkins are from the Cath Kidston sale that I picked up right when we got engaged so we have always known that this was the type of wedding we were going for
The centre pieces & flowers were very natural and country garden style. We didn’t want a huge centrepiece on the tables that people could not see one another! The ceramic jugs were an ebay find, we had lovely duck egg blue, blush pink and cream jugs. Each Table was different. We were a little boring with the table numbers and stuck to ‘’1, 2, 3’’ (you get the picture!) but we bought so cute chalk board table number stands which looked great!
I loved our little place settings, simple brown luggage labels that my mum decorated with doilies and the ‘’Mr & Mrs’’ ribbon. It was so simple but so effective. And I love how ours said Mr & Mrs Clayton on them!
Because we didn’t have ‘’favours’’ as such we created buckets for the children at the wedding that had sweets, magazines, colouring pen and pencils. One even had a set of fake moustaches which went down a treat! It kept the children happy during the speeches and throughout the meal and it was something we were so happy that we did. Thanks to my super Aunty Kate!
Like I said, we didn’t have favours so instead we opted for a cute Kandy Kart that kept guests entertained all day/night, rather than taking something home that they were going to stuff in a cupboard to never see again or, throw in the bin and never see again. Plus, it was a nice talking point for people to have a laugh & a joke about how many sweets they were getting.
Donna was fabulous & even sourced some material that matched the bridesmaid dresses. How’s that for service?
We got to choose 10 different types of sweets and we also got to keep what was left. So, we are currently wading our way through LOTS of sweets!
Our beloved ‘’R & J’’. I had seen these all over pinterest and thought, ‘’I HAVE TO HAVE THEM’’ and so I did. My uncle is super talented as he is a joiner by trade. I asked him nicely if he would mind doing them for us and he made sure they were perfect! They looked amazing when the lights were turned off. Again, it just added that extra little sparkle to our wedding!
Now, let me bring you on to the food. It was to die for! When we decided on a DIY wedding the first people we thought of were our local pub, The Fox & Hounds. Their food is amazing, delicious and locally sourced. They did not disappoint with their fairings.
The Chicken Liver Parfait is my particular favourite starter, add that to the succulently warm olive bread you have a winning combination.
Now, with James’ family mainly all farmers, meat is something of a task to them when they aren’t eating their own field fodder. So it was a welcome surprise that they were all saying it was some of the best beef they have EVER tasted.
Food was so important to us, because most weddings you go to, the food is just ‘’okay’’ and you want to feel full. I hate to blow our own trumpet but I think we got it spot on, 100% with the caterers, so a MASSIVE thank you to Alan and his team.
What made your day feel special and set you apart from other weddings you’ve been to? I can’t wait to bring you our other instalments of the big day, it is keeping the memory alive for me.
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