A Modern Vintage Wedding in Pastel Shades: Russell Aylott & Claire Duncan

Everything from the venue to the entertainment added a touch of vintage chic to Russell and Claire’s wedding in Cambridgeshire.

Photography by Michoci Photography

Russell and Claire's wedding at Hinchingbrooke House in Huntingdon, followed by reception at Officers Mess RAF Wyton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, was a romantic mixture of lilac, pink and blue hues. Bride, Claire, tells us about their big day.

How did you decide on your lilac, pink and blue theme?
We hadn’t actually set out to have a theme, it just happened. When people would ask us we would say modern vintage or vintage glamour, and we chose a mixture of soft pastel shades of lilacs, pinks and blues with highlights of silver and white.

Did choosing your colours make it eay to brief the florist?
When it came to the flowers, I knew that I wanted peonies. My bouquet was amazing. The florists used the knick-knacks I’d already collected with their own pearls, vintage trinkets and tea sets. They even covered about 50 books in pastel shades to match the colour scheme. I did the wedding stationery and table plan myself. For the table plan I printed out luggage label-shaped tags, tied ribbons to them and stuck them to a vintage style mirror. The table names were places we have travelled to, using vintage maps.

Tell us about your cake.
Our cake incorporated both the flowers and the lace embellishment on my dress. As a surprise for Russell, my dad arranged a secret groom’s cake which was made with chillies. Russell likes all things hot and spicy so he loved it.

What evening entertainment did you arrange?
Our evening surprise for guests was the Bombshell Belles. They wore RAF blue pencil skirt suits for their first set – a set of 1940s songs and then changed into corsets for their second set of modern hits with a twist. We had a DJ to finish off the night. We also had a candy bar, a dessert table and a fridge full of mini pots of Haagen Dazs ice cream. We thought we’d gone a bit over the top but everything was devoured.

Steal their Style:

Photography: Mihoci Photography, www.mihoci.com
Videography: Ena Photo Art, www.enaphotoart.com
Venue: Hinchingbrooke House, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, 01480 375678, www.hhpac.co.uk; Officers’ Mess, RAF Wyton, Huntingdon, 01480 452451, www.raf.mod.uk/rafbramptonwyton
Dress: Miss V Bridal, Market Deeping, Peterborough, 01778 345995, www.missvbridal.co.uk
Bridesmaids’ dresses: Coast, www.coast-stores.com; (flower girls) BHS, www.bhs.co.uk
Hair: Alison Jenner, 07775 662941, www.alisonjennerhair.com
Make-up: Christina Lazzor, 07800 963736
Groom’s outfit: HRH Holmes & Son, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, 01462 459729, www.hrhholmes.co.uk
Venue styling & flowers: Revival Rooms, 07504 989153/07749 446545, www.revivalrooms.com
Cake: Cakes by Heather Jane, 07809 473776, www.cakesbyheatherjane.co.uk
Transport: A1 Buses, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, 01733 890816, www.a1bus.co.uk
Entertainment: Bombshell Belles, Kingsbury, Warwickshire, 01827 872377, www.bombshellbelles.com; photobooth, Picture Booth, 01926 853525, www.picture-booth.co.uk