Today on Marry Me Ink I get to share with you tattooed bride Carys and Andy’s festival wedding, full of rich, dark colours, that took place in the awesome RSA Vaults in Charing Cross from Derbyshire Wedding Photographer Chris Seddon Photography. Carys wore a gorgeous deep red dress from FairyGothMother who specialise in steel boned corsetry.
I used to get the 8.24am train from London Bridge to Streatham for work. There was a guy who used to get on everyday. To my friends he was “fit train guy”. He used to get off at Streatham every morning but he walked so fast I never saw where he went. One day I went for a new job at my company and as I wandered through one of the other departments looking for the manager to talk to about the role, I spotted fit train guy. I then quickly realised that fit train guy was the manager I was going to talk to.
Andy and I worked together for a number of years in the same department but not directly with each other after the first 18 months. We had similar music tastes and interests and were often at the same gigs. In 2009 we both came out of long-term relationships and hung out together to help each other out post break ups and grew close. Nearly 7 years later we found ourselves walking down the aisle together.
We spent a lot of time making sure we had the right things to represent us from clothes we wore to the decorations in the venue. My favourite items though are the wedding rings which we had custom made by Chris Parry jewellery. Andy’s is a combination of skulls, tattoo designs and a very subtle nod to his second love, Playstation while mine embodies my Welsh heritage with dragon scales made from rose gold in a palladium band setting.
The “WEDLOAD 2016” board as well as our guest signing guitar were also small touches to the day that encapsulated our love of festivals and music. And lastly the clothes and footwear. My dress was something I had in mind for years so I knew what I wanted before Andy had even proposed. I was never going to be wearing white! And despite looking at lots of different suits for Andy that just made him look too much like a normal work day, we were pleased with the outfit we purchased from Dark Angel that just made him look special for the day.
We had a few DIY elements. My knitting group helped me make bunting to decorate the venue. I also made all the table decorations for the day by collecting old cassettes from friends and family, painted them red, stuck them together and added some fairy lights for an awesome effect. I also make a punk rock Garfield to throw instead of my bouquet. I am a huge Garfield fan and back in 2004 at Reading festival I made something similar to ensure I didn’t lose my friends in the crowd. So it felt fitting at a festival themed wedding to throw something that reminded me of festivals.
Apart from the actually getting married part (which was totally awesome and even features a reading from one of our groomsmen which started with ‘Zombies’ – not quite what you expect after your vows), the highlight of the day was seeing everyone mingling together as we didn’t have set tables for the meal. Instead we had food stalls and by the end of the night it was interesting seeing various different people chatting away together and also seeing the new connections on Facebook the next day.
That said, the “after party” was also a huge highlight for us as we worked hard with our DJ to ensure we had music that we really loved and fitted with our festival theme. The dance floor was never empty and we enjoyed some serious air guitar action with all our friends and family.
Be yourself and make the day about you and what you love. It’s very easy to get sucked into the traditional wedding traps but if a traditional wedding is not you, don’t feel obliged to do it. We had so much fun making the day about the things we loved and having the type of day we would love to go to ourselves. Be daring and do what you want, after all it’s YOUR day!
How awesome is Carys and Andy’s wedding?! I love that Carys wore a deep red dress and Andy wore such an amazing suit! Thank you to them both and to Chris Seddon Photography for sharing with Marry Me Ink today. You can find a full list of the wedding suppliers they used at the end of the post.
Photographer: Chris Seddon
Wedding Ceremony & Reception: RSA Vaults in Charing Cross
Carys’ Dress: FairyGothMother
Carys’ Jewellery: Chris Parry Jewellery
Andy’s Suit: Dark Angel
Bridesmaids dresses: Lindy Bop – Selma Dress
Groomsmen: Next
Flowers: Jared Copeland-Gregory and Christine Gregory
Hair & Make up: Powder Puff Girls
Cake: Made by my aunt and cousin – Pauline Steel and Deborah Kempton
Wedding Festival Lanyards, Billboard, Wristbands & Tickets: Wedfest
