Rosie married Martyn on 15 September 2012, in the village of Ditchling, East Sussex. They first met at school and reconnected again in 2008, 'thanks to the wonders of social media'. Guests included family and friends who had watched the couple grow up together; they had 80 people attend the church ceremony and wedding breakfast, and another 40 guests joined for dancing and drinking in the evening.
All images by Joanna Brown, joannabrownphotography.com
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My wedding dress was a beautiful oyster crepe-backed satin 1930s gown from Abigail's Vintage Bridal.
I had my heart set on wearing an original vintage dress, so started my search early. Over a year before we actually got married, I found it, and the second I saw it hanging up I knew it was 'the one'.
My shoes were gold peep toe mid-heels from Bertie - the perfect height for dancing all night. They were also were very Art Deco in style, which complemented the era of my dress perfectly.
The bridesmaids were my best friends Katie and Emma.
My bouquet was a mixture of vintage beaded lilies (sourced from America on Etsy), and cream dahlias. We wanted all the flowers to be seasonal and home-grown and we were so lucky that our venue had a garden full of dahlias in all varieties and colours, which we used to decorate the barn and marquees.
We also found a local florist, The Homegrown Flower Company, to provide our floral arch, pew ends and to fill the church with seasonal dahlias and zinnias displayed in jam jars.
I walked down the aisle to Bridal Chorus by Wagner. When the organist payed the opening bars, my dad and I clutched each other's arms, took a deep breath, and started what felt like the longest walk of my life!
But as soon as I saw Martyn's face at the end of the aisle I couldn't wait to stand next to him and share our vows.
Arrival drinks were mini bottles of Babycham.
Our table plan.
The reception room was a beautiful rustic barn, Court Garden Farm and Vineyard: a working farm and English wine producer - all in the heart of rural Sussex.
For food, we had platters of antipasti to start, followed by a fragrant tagine with preserved lemons and olives, and then rose and violet meringues and summer berries. In the evening a wood-fired pizza van arrived to serve slices with our favourite toppings.
We had vintage handkerchief bunting which the ladies (and men) used when they got teary during the speeches; tin trumpets, which doubled up as confetti cones outside the church; little pots of Bonne Maman jam, which were our wedding favours and also doubled up as place settings, handstamped with 'spread the love' on the reverse.
The décor was vintage country-chic, with a cornucopia of beautiful vintage china and props rummaged from our Roses All Over store cupboards. We had handmade a lot of the finishing touches ourselves as we wanted the day to feel very personal to us.
More props.
Our first dance was Wonderful World by Sam Cooke (the words reminded us of when we first met at school). A local band - The Vintage Five - provided some lively swing to welcome guests on arrival and everyone was soon toe-tapping.
We were very excited to have Stick It On (a local club night in Brighton) provide the entertainment, which involved every guest submitting three favourite songs, and taking to the decks for 15 minutes of fame on the night.
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