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A vintage wedding story....
Sarah O'Neill • 28 October 2020
A true story
It’s easy to think that before Covid19 weddings were straightforward and uncomplicated. I guess the truth is that there have always been times when the events going on around us have a drastic or unpredictable effect on weddings. There are hiccups and arrangements have to be changed, compromises have to be made and the course of true love isn’t always allowed to run smoothly.
This is a true story of a wedding from over 70 years ago that had a few bumps along the way. This bride and groom (Nell and Danny) look like they have just been married. They look happy and beautiful. However, although this was supposed to be their wedding day, they didn’t actually get married because a vital document didn’t arrive in time for the service. Naturally, they were very upset about this.
So why did they dress up and pose by the church for a fake wedding photograph?
There are two reasons for this. One being that the guests on the groom’s side had travelled all the way from Liverpool and had to travel back following the celebrations. The other was the wedding dress. This wedding took place just after the war. Clothes were rationed and wedding dresses were hard to come by even if you could save up enough clothing coupons.
As part of the war effort, Elstree studios offered brides the chance to get married wearing a wedding dress borrowed from their film studio wardrobe. Nell had heard about this and had written to them to ask to borrow a dress. It was quite straightforward; she just had to write to the studio giving her measurements and the wedding date. If a suitable dress was available it was posted out to the bride to arrive the day before and had to be returned the day after.
Nell was lucky with her request and was told she would have a film star’s dress. The one she would receive was worn by Margaret Lockwood in a film called Quiet Wedding - a comedy about a couple who just wanted to get married quietly. Nell made her own veil, a piece of white net with hand embroidered white silk flowers along the edge. She still has it safely tucked away.
So on their planned wedding day Nell and Danny, dressed up, went to the church and stood outside the big doors as they were not allowed inside at all. A family member took some photographs to capture the moment. The guests had a celebration before returning to their homes. The dress was posted back to Elstree Studio. Three days later Nell and Danny got married in the church, with a few guests and none of Danny’s family. Nell wore her going away outfit (bought with ration coupons). She looks beautiful in this picture as her face is lit up with a radiant smile (compared to the photo outside the church). You only notice how sad and staged this looks when you know the story.
The wedding breakfast was held in a family members home and the wedding breakfast was a bring and share style buffet as food rationing was still in place.
The delay in the marriage meant that the honeymoon was cut short by three days and because they couldn’t go off until they were actually married.
Nell told me that although it was emotionally difficult when they couldn’t get married on the original day. She has never forgotten or felt the same feeling of absolute love and joy she felt when she and Danny drove off in the taxi following their actual wedding. Apart from the birth of her three children nothing has come close to the euphoria she experienced.
As I said before this wedding took place over 70 years ago and is memorable for the stories that are part of it. If you have had to alter, postpone, cancel your wedding try not to despair. When your wedding day comes, and it will, you too (two) will have stories to tell and you will also feel the absolute feeling of love and joy that Nell and Danny felt.
Okay, so you’ve got a vintage theme in mind for your wedding and it’s fabulous. Problem is you don’t have any of the vintage décor you need to create the theme in reality. Make a start by writing a list or create a mood board so that you have something to share and somewhere to jot down any further ideas as you think of them. There are several ways of going about gathering all you’ll need for your special day. You can beg, borrow, buy, make or hire. The chances are you’ll end up doing a mixture of all of these methods. The choice is yours, however I’d like to explain why hiring is a good idea for at least some of the items. You might think it’s costly to hire but if you break it down into the amount of time and money you will save by not having to collect it all yourselves you might be surprised. Time It takes a lot of time to source and purchase enough vintage china for a wedding. If you are both busy people, spending weekends visiting shops and evenings searching Facebook buying pages for vintage china is not necessarily the best way to spend your wedding planning time unless this is something you would love to do. It takes time to wash it all before and after the event. You will save time by not having to sell it all afterwards. Storage Do you have enough storage for 120 trios of cup, saucer and a quantity of sugar bowls, jugs and teapots? Just these items will take up a lot of room- OK if you live in a mansion but the reality is most of us don’t. Add to this the other paraphernalia you will need and before long you could be surrounded! At the moment we are talking about before the wedding but don’t forget you will have to store it again after the wedding too until you decide what to do with it. Then you will be back to the time issue again of spending hours selling it all. Money It costs quite a lot to purchase vast quantities of pretty vintage china; it gradually mounts up until you have spent hundreds of pounds. The fuel you’ll save by not having to drive to hundreds of places to collect it all. The money saved by not having to purchase storage boxes. Environment By hiring you will reduce the need for single use plastics, reduce fuel, reduce waste and hopefully have a more sustainable wedding. Stress It can be stressful organising a wedding particularly if you have a tight budget and a short time frame to plan your day. By hiring your event décor you will reduce your risk of stress because you will have more time and money for other parts of your wedding. You will know that the items will be ready for your day and not a problem afterwards. How is your DIY? It can be a lot of fun decorating and making your own props for your wedding but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Plus you have to buy the item and then possibly purchase paint to decorate it. It’s easy to hire unique props and just hand them back again afterwards, no mess, no storage, no fuss. So on the face of it, hiring may seem to be a costly option but in reality in terms of time, money and stress it works out better. Plus as a bonus it is recycling at its best so good for the environment too.
