Having visited East Anglian Railway Museum since she was a little girl (and in more recent times, every September for their beer festival), Emily always knew it was the place she wanted to get married. In her own words, they chose the Town Hall for the reception, and the pub for the lunch “out of necessity”, but luckily for them the sun shone for the whole day and in the end all venues were equally stunning. “People loved that we had three venues throughout the day”, she explained. “We even had the miniature railway running for the children at the railway museum.”
Emily got her dress, headpiece and jewellery from vintage wedding dress shop Fur Coat No Knickers in Central London. “I discovered the shop through Rock n Roll Bride and loved it the second I set foot in the shop. I only visited two other shops but everything else felt synthetic and swamped me in comparison to my gorgeous 50s dress.”
“A lot of Essex weddings can be quite princessy!” Emily laughed when I asked her about the details of their day. “We just wanted to share a magical setting with our friends and family and bring together all of the things we enjoy without any pretentiousness – simple delicious food, beer and an indie disco. We certainly had a few converts by the end. I didn’t DIY very much to be honest as I don’t have the patience and I really didn’t want things to end up looking over-done with signs and decorations everywhere – a 1950s train carriage is a pretty good decoration! But I’d like to think I am skilled when it comes to delegating!”
“My friend’s Mum made the gorgeous blue and orange bunting, the Headteacher at the school where I work iced the cake for us. My sister and I made fabric covered mirrors using her badge making machine as favours for the girls which went down really well (the boys had chilli chocolate). I also helped my DJ bridesmaid Vicky bake and decorate the cupcakes (you’ve got to have cupcakes!) Ooh and I made bows for the campervan! We even borrowed a cast iron postbox from a neighbour who has a postbox museum.”
“It was very much a shared effort”, she continued. “I hate it when it looks like a groom has rocked up having had very little part to pay in the planning. Rob probably did more than me in terms of contacting people actually.”
“Our wedding was inspired by anything British and quirky and so I guess it also had a vintage edge. Everything was locally sourced and the blue and white of the train station signage influenced our colour choices. We even stayed in a 1930s gypsy caravan as part of our honeymoon.”
Awesome! Thank you yo Emily & Rob for sharing their ace wedding with us today and to their wedding photographer Jo Millington for sharing her images – aren’t those shots in the train carriage just the best!?
