Real Wedding: Ebony & Andrew

I love a chance to see the wonderfully varied personal styles of Snippet & Ink readers, as they are creatively translated into a wedding - it's by far one of the best parts of my job. And to hear that Snippet & Ink played a part in a reader's planning... from today's bride:

I visited your amazing blog for the entire year before my wedding. Everyday I would visit. I was so inspired by the couples, companies and artists you featured. Snippet & Ink gave me the extra confidence I needed to create the wedding of my dreams. The wedding that was perfect for me and my partner. I felt like I didn't need a lot of money, just a lot of style. I thank you for that.

It really doesn't get any better than that for me! But you're not here to read about why I love my job - you're here for the wedding stories and eye candy, so with no further ado, Ebony and Andrew's gorgeous vintage-inspired wedding.


Ebony and Andrew are self-described sentimental people, and they wanted everything about their wedding to be vintage or made to look that way. And since they couldn't decide on a specific era in terms of style, they referenced the best from times gone by with a theme of "Nostalgic Whimsy." Says Ebony: We wanted everything to have history and meaning. We focused on details and quality. What we couldn't afford or find we made ourselves. That was important to us. We spent a year preparing for our wedding. It was quite a journey. We learnt new skills, we grew as people, grew closer to each other. We are proud of what we accomplished together and look forward to many new adventures. (Ebony's perfect fingerwaves and vampy makeup were done by Miss Mae.)


As an illustrator, it was important to Ebony that their invitations reflect the vintage wedding they had planned. She designed her dream stationery suite using vintage ephemera, a classic palette of ivory, gray and silver, and whimsical little drawings that gave a preview of the wedding (without giving it all away!). I love this bit from Ebony: Pure magic, that's what we wanted. To suspend reality. From the moment guests received their invites till the very end of the reception we wanted them to feel like magic exists.


Ebony made her own bouquet and Andrew's tussy-mussy boutonniere. She sewed, embroidered, and beaded to create objects that recalled elaborate keepsakes from the Victorian age. Her cascade bouquet included portraits of both her parents, Andrew's parents, and her grandparents, which were removed after the ceremony and placed on a table where guests could see them. All of the crafting that Ebony did for her own wedding actually inspired her to create pieces for others, and she started an Etsy shop where you can find her work.


The bride and groom both wore traditional attire inspired by the 1920s - Ebony in a gown by Mr K and a vintage cap veil purchased off eBay, and Andrew in a top hat and tails. To make her vintage veil everything she dreamed of, Ebony altered it a bit: It was lovely but very plain. I had my heart set on a glamorous traditional veil worn by flappers of the art deco era and so I appliqued French lace all over the front of the cap and added three roses either side. The lace, roses and entire outer edge of the veil were hand-beaded. It took me around a month to complete.




The May wedding ceremony took place under an old oak tree, in the gardens of the Victorian Cottage at Kurrajong at the base of Sydney, Australia's Blue Mountains.




Though the beautiful venue required little decoration, the couple did embellish a bit with pearl garlands in the trees, and garlands of ribbon and rosettes along the property entrance and reception tables.






The reception was a perfectly elegant tea party (the groom is English, so he was all for it!). The Amy Atlas-inspired dessert buffet included jam sponge cakes, sugar almonds, handmade chocolates, and sugar cookies in the shape of moons, stars and hearts. The 50 guests enjoyed their tea in porcelain tea cups which were hand-painted by the bride, and which they were invited to take home as a gift. Ebony says: I wanted to give family and friends something special they could use. I don't see the point in expensive meaningless gifts. Painting the 50 teacups, a teapot and two milk jugs took a little longer than I'd anticipated but it was definitely worth it.


Though she had never made a cake from scratch before, Ebony was determined to make her own wedding cake. Together with her mother and Aunt, she baked and decorated a three-tiered wedding cake. She even made the darling art-deco, Kewpie-inspired cake topper herself!




Ebony shares a bit about the paper moon... We had a very special surprise for our gusts. Hidden in the garden was a large cut out moon for them to sit on and have their picture taken with. I love the concept of the paper moon popular at carnivals and shows from the 1920s to the 1950s. I have a picture of my great grandmother dressed up with her little flapper hairdo sitting on the moon and I'd always wanted to be able to take my picture like that. Andrew ever the handyman made my little dream come true.



Congratulations Ebony and Andrew! Thank you so much for sharing your creative and inspired wedding with us - what a treat! And a huge thank you to Marzena Wasilewka for sending these gorgeous photos over. I think they really show a perfect balance of timeless, vintage, and new, which is in perfect harmony with what Ebony and Andrew created for their wedding.