Sophie and Ivar's wedding in the Netherlands is the kind of wedding only a lucky few ever get to attend – intimate, heart warming and utterly beautiful.
Their love of family, friends and all things vintage (think 70s wood, amber glass and ochre) as well as their reputation as a cat-loving couple shone throughout their day.
Sophie designed her own wedding dress using vintage fabric teamed with chunky gold bangles and a simple, asymmetric garland in her hair. She looked simply stunning. While Ivar wore a dashing, deep blue suit and tied his impressive mane back into a man bun for the ceremony.
They had a bohemian wedding ceremony in the middle of a meadow followed by a shared meal with family and friends under a canopy of silver fringe flapping in the wind. After an evening of wild dancing, the newlyweds and their guests spent the night camping in that very meadow. Amazing right?
Melissa Milis Photography captured all the beauty, love and joy of their day perfectly.
From The Bride…
We had a lot of help from our family and friends during the preparations but also on the big day. We didn’t choose a certain theme to go with, we just wanted to create a wedding that would reflect the way we are and the way we love each other. Since we didn’t get married at an official wedding location, there was a lot of stuff to figure out beforehand. We aimed for a wedding ceremony outside, and we really didn’t have a very thought-out plan B. But we have been lucky: beautiful Dutch clouded skies interspersed with intense sunbeams all day long. Thunder storms and rain showers happened just a few miles away, but we didn’t worry that it would start to rain on our wedding location for one second. And it didn’t.
Unique, Personal Touches
I think the wedding was totally ‘us’: our old Volvo station car as a wedding car, our love for vintage stuff, the intimate setting, it all worked out just the way we hoped. There was so much love the whole day, not just between the two of us, it seemed like everybody could feel it in the air. Of course the fact that we’re cat lovers is something that came up quite a few times during the day – nothing we didn’t expect ;-) We spend the night in a beautiful bell-tent which also formed the background for the ceremony. We and our guests had breakfast the next morning with left-overs from the party. Looking back at the wedding day it passed in a blink – something you’ll hear a lot – but it’s true. A beautiful blink, though.
The Photography
The moment we first saw Melissa’s photos, we just knew we wanted to hire her.
We couldn’t be happier with the results, and the moments alone with Melissa were moments where Ivar and I could enjoy being close to each other, since we just had to cuddle a bit instead of posing in awkward ways.
Decor & Details
I am not the best in DIY so I chose the easy way. I bought over 100 metres of vintage fringe to decorate the place of the ceremony. It moved beautifully in the wind. Out of fabric in the colors ochre, rusty red and petrol green, I made all the buntings with zigzag fabric scissors. Hardly any sewing! And it holds perfectly for the day, in fact, they are still being used at parties :-)
For the dinner table, we bought every white, gold-edged plate and every brownish glassware available from thrift shops. I was even surprised myself to see how it all came together beautifully.
We found a vintage rattan bench to sit on during the ceremony, instead of two separate chairs. It turned out that the seating comfort was horrible but after the ceremony the thing was being moved during the rest of the day for us to sit on – totally not planned but quite funny. Actually the whole atmosphere was very relaxed and laid back.
Favourite Moments
For me, walking towards Ivar, hearing Tom Odell’s ‘Grow old with me’, was one of the many highlights of the day. We chose to write our own vows, and I’d recommend doing this since it makes the ceremony even more personal and intimate. For wedding rings, we had my great-grandmother’s ring split in two by a jeweller.
Ivar says about his most beautiful moment of the day: Even though we planned everything about the wedding day, the intense and overwhelming emotions when Sophie walked down the aisle took me by surprise.
Advice For Other Couples
Remember when you're planning a wedding: whether it’s about the dress or the dessert, there never is only one good choice – just go with a choice that suits you and that’s doable. Really, you’ll have a magical day anyway!
Congratulations Sophie and Ivar! Thank you for sharing your beautiful wedding with us and thanks also to Melissa Milis Photography for sharing these exquisite photos with us today.
Come back soon for their oh so lovely wedding film!
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