Bridal Diaries: Lucinda O’Connor

All Images: Dave Watts Photography

When it comes to planning the most important day of your life, the pressure can be immense. However, theres no escaping the fact that it is just that, one day. We follow the stories of real life brides that planned and executed sustainable weddings. Here are their bridal diaries.

Lucinda O’Connor is the Founder of fashion repair service Clothes Doctor. In September 2019, she married her husband Alex in a field behind her parents house in Cornwall. ‘We were so lucky with the weather as it had rained all week but that weekend was dry,’ she told us. The entire wedding was sourced as locally as possible, making the most of what was in season at the end of the Summer. The reception utilised more local foliage, plus some vintage accessories. But the real triumph we think you’ll all agree was the flower crown that Lucinda wore, and still has.
The Vendeur: So the most important question is where did you find your dress?

Lucinda O’Connor: I found it second hand from Still White, a preloved wedding dress marketplace. I loved it and really  want to put the dress back on there when I come to sell it. The dress was designed by Charlie Brear. I had visited their showroom and bought a high necked, lace top. I wore it over the top of the dress. The person who sold me the dress was my size and lived close to me so it felt meant to be. It needed a little extra something so I asked the head seamstress at Clothes Doctor to help. She added a piece of fabric around the bottom to give it better movement. She also took it in slightly for me. I still haven’t properly washed it though. I’ve been meaning to do it using Clothes Doctor’s silk wash but haven’t got round to it yet. 

I kept my accessories simple, a pair of diamond cuff earrings and a floral crown instead of a veil. I’ve dried the crown to keep it as a keepsake.

TV: What did your Bridesmaids wear?

LC: They wore dresses that we found on ASOS. I deliberately chose something they could wear again. 

TV: Your groom was happy to reuse too?

LC: Yes, Alex wore his old school morning suit for the day. Although the silk waistcoat he wanted to wear was covered in stains from wearing it to a previous wedding. About a week before our wedding I gave it a clean for him using the silk wash I mentioned previously. It looked beautiful after I gave it a hand wash with that.

TV: You chose a location that was very personal to you, where did you get married?

LC: The reception was held near my parents house in Cornwall, in a field behind their home. We rented mini marquees with hay bales from the local farmer. It was perfect and we were lucky with the weather. It had rained all the previous week but the weekend was dry. Some of our guests had to travel there but a lot of people came down on the train. They made it a holiday so they stayed a while, which was nice. 

TV: Where did you find your flowers and decorations?

LC: We used an amazing local florist. She used mostly wild flowers found locally. In addition, she created beautiful seasonal arrangements for the wedding. She used blackberries and some grasses that looked incredible. They totally suited our end of August wedding. It was the time of year for dahlias so we found some from my mother and brother in law’s gardens. We gave the bouquets away at the wedding as gifts and left the church arrangements there for them to use for other services.

TV: How did you match the theme with the table decorations?

LC: Everything was rented mostly, or sourced second hand. The chairs and accessories were from Virginia’s Vintage. The pieces are so lovely and suited our theme well. Their selection is all vintage and felt close to nature. We had long, banquet style tables, made from reclaimed scaffolding boards. And we dressed them using flowers and candles in brass candlesticks. I loved the glasses which were all different colours and antique crystal. We hung trellis’ above the tables and filled them with leaves from the garden along with glass tea light holders. I even made 120 little lanterns from jam jars and tied twine round them and hung them around. They’re actually now for sale via Sell My Wedding.

Organising a wedding, it’s such a wasteful process. Especially when it comes to decorations. So we wanted to use second hand websites to source what we needed. However we did have big white balloons which were the only thing that then went in the bin. Everything else was hired or bought second hand.
TV: Did the local sourcing extend to your menu too?

LC: Yes, we found a local caterer, and the food was all locally sourced produce. We didn’t want to have courses with plates as too much food gets wasted. So instead we did sharing bowls for everyone. With veggie and vegan options too of course. However we didn’t have a cake as we prefered to have pudding instead. Wedding cake often gets wasted too. 

TV: Did you add any other personal touches?

LC: The name of my parent’s house is ‘Place of the Trees’, so I designed a simple wedding invitation myself with a picture of a tree. Emily and Jo then polished it up for me and created our bespoke wedding stationery. The invitations were printed on recycled card.

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