Fran & Liam

Fran Boyd & Liam Gyde married last October just before the entire country went back into lockdown.
We've wanted to share the details of their weddday for ages, but it seemed that the timing wasn't right. So many of you had to cancel your weddings and put them off for another year. But now it feels as though there's some fresh hope! Small weddings are taking place again and slowly the number of guests allowed is inching up - 30 guests sounds pretty good but let’s hope we can stsrt looking forward to a time when we can invite as many people as we want!

Over to Fran to tells all about their day

Tell us in one sentence or paragraph about the big day

We just can't believe we managed to squeeze it in the week before a nationwide lockdown - love clearly was very much on our side! Having already had one wedding postponed - I don't think either of us could believe it would actually happen until it was actually the morning of the wedding and Boris hadn't thrown in any more restrictions!

Had you planned a lockdown wedding?

No, our wedding was booked to happen on the August bank holiday of 2020 - so when the first lockdown happened back in March we had been engaged for 2 years at this point (long enough to wait already!) - when we made the call to postpone the whole thing until September 2021. It was only when the weekend came and went in August when we were supposed to have the wedding, that we both felt so sad to not be able to get married in 2020, which is the year of our 10 year anniversary - and with the future of large events still looking bleak even for next year, I started to look into the possibility of just doing the legal part as I couldn't face having to cancel it yet again in 2021.

There were a lot of key factors in the mix, my mum is in the process of moving to France and what with quarantine she would have to come back early, and she only had a very small time window of 2 weeks where the wedding would have to take place so she could come and get back to receive her right to stay etc, and then of course we had to give our notice of marriage AGAIN as it was for a different venue, and that takes 28 days minimum so there was only really one date before 2021 where it would work - and what can I say?! Where there's a will there's a way, everything just seemed to slot together perfectly. I even contacted our jewellery designer about bringing forward the ring creation to within a month's time (I had postponed till next year ) and then bumped into her in the pub as I sent the e-mail and she agreed! 

What changes did you have to make for a  2020 covid-friendly wedding?

The guest list was a big change - we originally had 160 planned for our wedding, so we had to cut this down dramatically!!

We were only allowed 8 guests into the registry office with us for the legal ceremony so we had to select these people, mostly family members and then my best friend Freya who filmed the whole thing on an Instagram Live for other guests waiting outside and those who couldn't be there to see.

What inspired the design of the day?

It was actually earlier in the year during those lockdown months once we had officially postponed our wedding which was originally going to be a weekend away in a large country house. We were on a walk in Camberwell  (where we have lived for nearly 8 years) when I asked Liam what we would have done if it wasn't what we had planned - and we both agreed that we would just have a proper local South London wedding - do the legal bit in our local registry office, go for some lunch at our favourite local Italian and then head for some drinks in our friends' bar - so that's basically what we did ! All within a 10 minute walk of our house - perfect.

When did you start planning your dress and accessories?

I actually started planning my dress with a designer last year and was due to have my first fitting the weekend the country went into Lockdown the first time - so this was the first thing to get postponed! I had already purchased an outfit for the morning of the postponed wedding so when we confirmed the date for the 31st October I presumed I would wear that - but then I saw the pink tulle skirt on sale and those plans went out the window!

Where did you get your dress?

So my dress was actually a skirt which I bought on sale from Chi Chi London - I then had it altered down the local dry cleaners for a tenner to be taken up high at the front. The top is from Other Stories, of course in my favourite Pink & Green Colours!

Why did you choose to wear faux fur?

For me it was a No brainer - my Vixen comes out every year as soon as the weather gets a bit colder anyway, it went perfectly with my outfit - somehow weirdly matched my husband's outfit which he only chose a few days before - and allowed me to not have to wear a jacket over the top of my look - Not only does it look stunning, the scarf really does provide so much warmth.

Did your bridesmaids / flower girls wear faux fur?

No - we're saving the bridesmaids/groomsmen until next year!

Did we help you in anyway to make sure your faux fur accessories were perfect?

No - apart from creating the dream colour combination in the first place 😄

Is there anything you would have changed or improve about our faux fur?

Sometimes I do think it could be useful if there was a way of securing the scarf together without tying, it can flap if you're really in a hurry.

What have you done with your faux fur accessory since the big day?

Worn it! As I mentioned, my scarf comes out every cold day - and it really has gotten cold over the past few weeks so she's been out in abundance. I've had my particular vixen for a number of years and now and it really still is as soft and cosy as the day I got it.

If you would like to create your own bespoke scarf go to Pick 'n' Mix Vixen Scarf on our website.

 

We’re adding NEW colours all the time but if you  don't see what you’re looking for on the website please email customerservices@helenmoore.com or call 01884 861005

We have lots of faux furs in our stock room and we're happy to send out swatch samples to help you choose your colour combinations.

And remember we love to make bespoke items!

Fran Boyd Art Director www.franboyd-artdirection.com 
Liam Gyde flockandherd.com