A Sunny Afternoon……

Lydia and Nikos are lucky enough to be celebrating their together foreverness with two weddings, one in Greece in 2011 and the lovely intimate english country garden affair we are posting today.

Just family, close friends, a spinkle of pretty and a sunny afternoon.

Bliss.

All of the beautiful images are courtesy of Tony Hart.

Classic And Simple

My hairdresser was Rachel from 19 in Farnham, I wanted to keep it simple and classic. I decided to do my own make-up (as you can see in the photos!) My shoes were from Pinet in Bond Street, London. A lucky find in the sales!

Chiffon Perfection

My dress was designed by Jenny Packham, found in Clifton Brides in Bath. It was the first I picked out and the last I tried on. It was perfectly simple and so elegant. The silk chiffon moved so beautifully.

Something Old, Something Elegant

I always knew I wanted to wear a diamond and pearl brooch my Grandmother had given me in my hair. I wasn’t quite sure about the veil but when I had my second dress fitting I tried a chapel length two-tiered veil with a scalloped edge. The length made it so elegant and it was very delicate- and it looked amazing in the photos when it caught in the wind.

Keeping It Local

The wedding was held in St Michael and All Angels, Thursley, Surrey. My godfather Reverend Peter Muir conducted the ceremony. We then moved on to an English pub lunch in the Three Horsehoes, also in Thursley. The food was amazing, especially the spit roast beef!

Shades Of Pink and Blue

For bridesmaids dresses I suggested they stayed with my colour scheme of pale and bright pink and pale green but they chose their own dresses. I didn’t see them until the day. They both chose Coast, Daisy in dashing bright pink and Eleanor elegant in long pale pink.

My handsome groom wore a suit from Reiss, their cuts really suit Nikos’ build. I was there to give advice but in the end it was Nikos’ choice what he wanted to have. Good choice I think! He insisted on wearing stripy socks of blue, yellow, pink and white.

English Country Garden

The Flowers were masterminded by my mother, I only stipulated the colours. She, along with two family friends did all the church displays which were in a soft, English country style. Bouquets, button holes and marquee flowers were done by florist Angela Weaver.

What Makes It You

Everyone was so happy to be at our wedding. We only invited our immediate family and only some of our friends. Having it small meant we were able to talk to everyone and not feel we were running around. Also, all the guests knew at least one other couple so there was no one to ‘look after’ and everyone was very happy to mingle.

I’m glad I put a lot of thought into the table plan, it helped get over a few issues of family politics.

We also chose to have the speeches before the lunch which meant the speakers could then relax and we didn’t have any sizzled unexpected toasts!

Disaster NEARLY Strikes

Just over a week before our English country wedding in April 2010, a volcano erupted in Iceland, spewing volcanic ash in to the stratosphere. As a result, UK airspace and subsequently most of the European airspace, was closed to all air traffic. As days passed, it looked increasingly likely that my fiancé Nikos’ family would not make it to England from Greece, including his sister Kaliniki, a professional photographer in Athens, who was due to take all our pictures.

So, slightly desperately, I googled “Photographers, Guildford” expecting to have to call a huge list of people to call in order to find anyone that would be available, let alone someone I was happy to take our photographs
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I spied a name on the google-list that somehow appealed – Tony Hart. I called him without even looking at the pictures and, purely by chance, he was free. We chatted, we shared a few common views on how wedding shots should be taken and we agreed for him to come out and meet us. What serendipity! I then looked at the pictures and found that he was exactly what we were looking for- lots of simple, unposed shots, often in Black and White, which caught the moments of the day perfectly. They were taken candidly, and often without the subject knowing the photographer was there. I think it was fate! No need to look any further….

And, happily ever after, the family did make it to the wedding, but I’m so glad we had Tony there, he was a consummate professional and his shots capture all the special moments of a happy day.

Love Love LOVE the simple, laidback outdoorsy vibe…..

Congratulations to Lydia and Nikos and lots of luck for their Greek W-day, I’m sure it will be just as gorgeous.

Big Garden W-Days Rock My World Love

Charlotte xxx