Modern romance

Sian and Wil fused contemporary style with vintage chic for a wedding full of personal touches. Photos by Kate Barnard Photography

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Early days…

Sian and William's whirlwind romance began when they met through friends. "I was friends with Wil's younger brother while Wil was away at university" recalls Sian. "Then I went to university and it wasn't until I returned to Cardiff that we got to know each other a bit more. After lots of flirting, we went on our first date and the rest is history, as they say!"
Six months later Wil took Sian back to Garth Hill, where they had their first date. Oblivious to his intentions at first, Sian told Wil she was far too busy to take the afternoon off to go with him." Later that day he turned up with a flask and dragged me off," adds Sian. "As we were sitting on top of the hill, overlooking Cardiff, he said: "Bird, do you want to marry me?" At first I thought he was joking, but when he told me he was serious, I said 'yes'!"

The venues…

After choosing the date for their wedding, the couple set about searching for a venue. "We visited three places in total," says Sian, "but as soon as we saw Canada Lodge, we absolutely loved it. Although we had to hold our big day on a bank holiday instead of a weekend, it was completely worth it. The building feels homely and warm and is surrounded by a gorgeous forest and lake, which is floodlit at night. It was the ideal choice."
For the wedding, the couple wanted to fuse modern styles with some vintage touches and colours. "Initially we thought about black and sage green as a colour scheme," says Sian, "but as time went on we decided to bring more colours into the mix like pinks and purples to complement the sage and black."

The attendants…

To keep with their chic modern theme, Sian asked her five bridesmaids Rhian, Amy, Beth, Kerensa and Vicky to choose black satin gowns in a style of their choice. The girls wore dresses from Karen Millen and Coast, which they combined with matching satin shoes from New Look and antique pink flowers in their hair from H&M.

The dress…

Sian wore a gorgeous halterneck fishtail gown made from rich duchess satin and was finished off with a champagne sash and bow. It was designed and made by Stephanie Allin in Mumbles. "When we went to her shop, it was such a wonderful experience," says Sian.
Sian was also able to pick up her vintage hair clips, wrist cuff and earrings from Stephanie Allin's boutique.

The flowers…

For her bouquet, Sian chose a vintage-style arrangement made of Amnesia and Old Dutch roses. Wil also wore an Amnesia rose buttonhole and the bridesmaids had a range of vintage-style flowers in their loose, informal bouquets, including hydrangeas. The colours complemented the girls' black gowns perfectly.

The decorative touches…

Sian and Wil handmade their own stationery using a photograph from their pre-wedding shoot and floral patterned wallpaper from Laura Ashley. As Wil and some of his family work for a stainless steel company, the couple also had battered and misshapen metal hearts to display the table numbers.
Their place names were black and white photos of all their guests, mounted onto card. When they were seated, guests were asked to leave a message on the back of their card and hang it on a wishing tree that the couple had rented from a gift shop called Sparkle in Whitchurch Road in Cardiff.

The honeymoon…

After their fairytale day was over, Sian and Wil jetted off to Italy where they stayed in Rome for four days, shopping, enjoying the sights and eating the wonderful food. They then moved on to Sicily where they stayed in a beautiful villa for a week. "It was the perfect way to wind down after the wedding," says Sian.

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