Welcome back for Part 2 of this so cool it’s jumped so far past ‘thinking out of the box’ wedding, with a cozy wool theme. I’ve saved lots of the details for you here so enjoy – this is perfect ‘it’s almost the weekend’ wedding joy…

A Winter Warm Wool Theme

As our wedding was in January we wanted to embrace all things wintry. We had an open fire blazing during our ceremony which looked lovely & cosy, as well as candles lit above the fireplace. Our main theme of wool was incorporated wherever we could squeeze it in. We also used twigs in our centre pieces and table plan, to match the naked trees outside. The polka dots started from a snowy idea and we tied them into things like the stationery. The tables were named after lines from our first dance song ‘Just you way you look tonight’. We picked out the most significant word from each line to enlarge, e.g. ‘with your smile so warm’, ‘there is nothing for me but to love you’.

The girls’ favours were candles in tins from Best Kept Secrets which smell gorgeous! We thought candles would suit the wintry weather & we had some lit during the ceremony, so now when I burn my candle at home all the memories come flooding back. We opted for good old chocolate from Thorntons for the boys – in pink & purple packaging of course! Both favours were wrapped with wool & doubled as place settings. We also made busy bags for the little boys containing things like crayons, sweets & sticker books to keep them quiet!

Unique and Wooly Chic

The main thing for both of us was to create a day that was about us. We didn’t want to follow every tradition & do things just because they ‘should’ be done and I think we achieved it. We swapped the usual welcome drinks of bucks fizz or Pimms for our favourite drinks – Margaritas & Guinness! They went down a storm!

One piece of advice I’d offer is to remember you can tailor any part of your day to suit you & they don’t have to be expensive things. We made our own invites, wrote our own vows, chose readings that we could relate to (one about being silly & one about dinosaurs) & even had the Rocky theme tune to enter the wedding breakfast (Ashley is a big Rocky fan). They made things more personal & light-hearted. Now every time I hear that music I think of our wedding day instead of the film!

Fresh Photography

For me, the photographer was the most important decision to make. These photos are going to last us a lifetime & we needed to be able to put our trust in them. We looked at lots of photographers & knew we wanted something a bit different.

On the day he & Anna, his second shooter were brilliant, we definitely made the right decision!

A Wooly Cake Topper

My friend Tracey made our cake. It’s the first wedding cake she had made but I think she did a fab job! We designed it together & decided to go with the spotty theme in just ivory icing. As neither of us likes fruit cake we had a chocolate tier, a lemon tier & a carrot tier. It was yummy.

I ordered some wooden toppers from Goose Grease on Etsy. I painted the faces & hair on to look like us & my sister wrapped wool around them in ivory & grey to match our outfits.

Music and Dancing

We wanted a band that would cater for all age ranges, be able to perform different genres of music & get everybody. The Scott Bramley Trio matched all our requirements & did a great job.

We had a choice of a few songs for our first dance but decided on ‘Just the way you look tonight’ because it’s so timeless. We followed it up with our second choice of ‘I’m Yours’ which worked really well. We made sure we used our other favourite songs during the ceremony.

Advice from a creative Bride

If I could change anything I’d have spent less time stressing over every minute detail. During the planning stages it all seemed so important but on the day, some of the things I’d tried so hard to match exactly went unnoticed! I’d recommend searching and searching for the few things that matter the most to you but letting everything else fall into place.

I don’t think I have ever seen a wedding so unique here on Rock My Wedding. And talk about how to make a theme work! Seriously, there’s no better way to tie up your wedding and as demonstrated perfectly by Lauren and Ashley, there’s no way it has to be cheesy . Thanks so much to Lauren and Ashley for sharing their wedding and also to Steve Gerrard for getting the images to me – I think you’ll agree his style captured the day and the details spot on.

Yours Truly,

Rebecca
xoxo

Well, have I got a treat in store for you guys today. I almost fell of my chair when I spotted this wedding on Steve Gerrard’s blog, and then had to send a very excited email to Charlotte to share. As you know, we like a bit of unique chic here at Rock My Wedding, and we also like a couple who aren’t afraid to do their wedding their way so this just put a big fat smile on my face. Lauren, the Bride, has written all about the day and her planning ideas so lets get straight down to the good stuff!

Lauren & Ashley were married in January at Hogarth’s Hotel, Dorridge, Solihull. The cooler than cool photography was all by Steve Gerrard.

A Polka Dot Bride

I knew what I didn’t want from my wedding dress but wasn’t sure what I did want until I found it. Unfortunately the dress I set my heart on only came in pink or gold, so Claire & Sarah from Quello set about creating a dress from scratch which was even better than the first one I found.

It was great because I had so much say in the fabrics used to really tailor it for me. I loved the idea of incorporating polka dots so the spotty voile on the layers was a subtle way of doing that!

Custom Accessories

I decided against having a veil as I felt it would detract from the dress. Instead Claire & Sarah made a headpiece which was a smaller version of the flower on my dress using some of the spotty voile & wool.

For jewellery I went for quite simple designs. My bracelet was by Lily Belle from notonthehighstreet.com – I liked the fact that it was quite rough looking hammered silver which isn’t typical bridal jewellery.

I then found some earrings which were really similar by Genna Delaney although I accidentally ordered the necklace instead of earrings! I’d left it a bit late & by the time I realised it was too late to get them sent to my house. Genna was so lovely & sent the earrings to the hotel for me to pick up on the morning of the wedding. Luckily it all turned out OK.

Pink Shoe Love

As I was wearing ivory & had ivory flowers too, I decided to use my shoes to add a splash of colour.

I was looking for a really rich dark pink but didn’t want massive heels or flats – I found them in LK Bennett & the colour was perfect.

Gunmetal Girl

My Mum (Marian Shaw) is a designer with a clothes shop in Kenilworth & she made my sister’s bridemaid dress. The three of us designed it together & tied it in with the design of my dress by using layers and crinkled fabric. We went for gunmetal grey to match the boys’ suits & to make the colour of her flowers stand out. Her anemone necklace was a gift from me on the day which I found online at Abigail Percy.

Putting on the Ritz

Ashley has always said that he’d want me to look like me on our wedding day & as I don’t usually wear a lot of make-up I was mindful not to go over the top. For that reason I decided to do my own make-up, got some advice from a lady in Boots & just bought a few special bits for the day.

Up-dos don’t suit me so I decided to have my hair down & curly to make a change from my usual straight style. My hairdresser blow-dried it in the morning, then my bridesmaid (my sister, Gemma) & I curled a few extra bits later on.

Anemone Adoration

I wanted bold flowers & we eventually decided on anemones as the main flower for the bouquets & button holes. They’re so cute with a little black dot in the middle & we could get them in all the colours we needed. They’re also available in the winter which was an issue I hadn’t really considered.

I loved the hanging anemones from my bouquet! We did consider having knitted or felt flowers but for the amount we needed it would have cost a fortune (& my knitting’s not up to scratch).

‘Knitting out’ the Boys…

We found suits really early on in Next! Everyone liked them so we bought them before they ran out! As we’d decided on a woolly theme, we asked my great aunt to knit some ties – they were a massive hit with our guests! The shirts were white with a polka dot texture & my mum changed the single cuffs to double cuffs & added a pink lining. They looked fab but I don’t think anyone else noticed the details!

Although our three little nephews weren’t official page boys, we still wanted them to be involved so they wore grey corduroy suits, spotty shirts and the cutest dark pink Converse trainers.

OMG. I love this wedding. The quirky style. The wool thing. The fabulous Dress and accessories.

Really. Seriously. Cool.

Come back for more wool love tomorrow…

Yours Truly,

Rebecca
xoxo

I am more than a little bit in love with the Bride Lucy’s look and her chic and seasonal stationery that she designed and made all by herself. So popular was it in fact that lovely Lucy has now started her own pretty paper design company which you can have a have a look at here at www.lucyledger.com

Sweet as cherry pie indeed.

And so is the rest of this ruby red delicious day captured by Lux photography.

Enjoy the eye candy folks.

Evening Entertainment

We were not too bothered about getting a band in and the resident DJ at Whitley had a great reputation for getting people dancing so we were happy to have a bit of a Christmas knees up with him!

Music and Candy Canes

We decided to create a traditional Christmas table for everyone so we incorporated that into our favours. Firstly we had the name tags tied to a peppermint candy cane. We had a cracker for everyone- I got recycled fill your own crackers to match the theme; they already had a hat and a joke so we put a few of choc celebrations in to finish them off. They were a great idea- I looked up from my meal to see everyone with cracker hats on- it was such a funny, memorable moment and made a great atmosphere!

Finally, we made a CD soundtrack of our day for every couple- it had rare but lovely Christmas songs, songs from the ceremony, our first dance and other songs we loved. It didn’t cost much to make at all- I think about £9 total for the all CDs and the covers- but people loved them! I kept getting text messages over Christmas from people saying they were listening to the CD!

This Year’s Love

Our first dance was ‘This year’s love’ by David Gray, we both love the song, it reminds us of when we first met and it was David who picked it which I thought was nice. It was SO SO lovely, even though we were surrounded by people, it felt like we were the only two people in the room- it was one of my extra special moments from the day

D.I.Y Decor

I knew I wanted to make all the stationery and decor myself and this started with the invites. I decided that there wasn’t going to be one strong colour running through our theme- just a nice eclectic mix of muted Christmas colours to carry on our vintage look. I decided to also take on a very scrap-booking look to all the stationery inspired by a lovely turn of the century book my Nan had given me. This style would also make everything seem relaxed and informal- exactly the feeling we wanted to portray for our wedding.

Embracing The Season

Our main aim with the wedding right from day one was to create a wonderfully fun Christmas knees up in which we could share our happiest day with close family and friends and I’m happy to say we achieved this. I don’t think I stopped laughing all day!

No you can’t ask for more than that.

Are you as in love with Lucy’s dress as much as me? Well if you are you can buy it – for less than half of the RRP right here on Undress.

With a big thanks to Lucy, David and Lux Photography for sharing this amazing day with Rock My Wedding.

Do let us know what festive ideas you have up your beautiful bridal sleeves.

Big Seasonal Love

Charlotte xxx

Oh how we love a little piece of pretty festive cheer here at RMW HQ…..

Yes it may be April. Yes Christmas is a whole 9 months away and yes the summer is nearly upon us but I bet there are a fair few of you out there who are planning a stylish seasonal soiree and this Big Day is full of fun, laughter and a whole lot of D.I.Y ideas that are sure to inspire. Even better when some of those ideas came from right here on Rock My Wedding….not to mention the knock-out grecian goddess of a bride with some of the loveliest accessories I have ever seen.

Lucy and David were married in Sheffield on the 21st December 2009 at St Mary’s Church in Ecclesfield followed by a reception at Whitley Hall, all of the images are courtesy of Lux Photography.

Glamorous Crimping

Hair and Make-up was the one thing I definitely didn’t compromise on! I wanted me, my girls and mum to be utterly pampered on the morning of the wedding. I found the girls at Greenfield and Beck on the internet and what a find they were!!! I absolutely loved them! Linz came round to do a trial on me, my mum and one of my bridesmaids and when I asked for a ‘glam’ bride look she really delivered. On the day Emm and Linz were FANTASTIC. They went above and beyond – even helping us into our dresses and staying to wave us off!

Super Sparkly Snowflakes

I really wanted to embrace the season- so I started to look for accessories that were winter themed- and after scouring the internet for sometime I found them at East Beach designs. They had a wonderful crystal snowflake tiara, a matching necklace and a super sparkly ‘ice’ bracelet; I ordered them all! I was so pleased when I received them- the quality was outstanding and they complimented the dress perfectly.

I decided against a veil for a couple of reasons; firstly, like the ‘poofy’ dresses I just didn’t really suit them, also my bridal shop was making me a bolero to wear over the dress for the ceremony so I thought a veil would be a bit of bridal overkill!

Grecian Goddess

My Dress was ‘Ireland’ By Maggie Sottero. It’s not really a traditional style dress, more a flowing chiffon Grecian style. It caught my eye just after we got engaged when I was searching online and thought how lovely and elegant it was. I did attempt to try on more traditional ‘poofy’ dresses but that was just met with my sisters doubled over in fits of giggles every time I walked out of the changing room- I think it was safe to say that style definitely did not suit me! I did go through a lot of dress shops but everyone tried to sell me the traditional dresses and I was getting a bit frustrated.

I eventually found the dress in a little boutique near my Mum’s house – Elegance Of Wirral – a whole shop stocked with floaty elegant loveliness! I tried on about 4 or 5 gorgeous dresses and then I noticed they had ‘Ireland’ that I had seen months before- so excitedly I tried it on. Mum cried, my bridesmaids clapped- I had found the one!!!

Party Dressing

I made myself one rule when it came to the bridesmaids- No bridesmaid dresses!!! I wanted my girls to feel like they going to a glam Christmas party so I got them party dresses. I found them in ‘Next’ a year before- an amazing find as they were only £45 each and they looked perfect for a Christmas wedding. I bought them each a vintage style snowflake necklace and a Swarovski snowflake hair pin. They got their own shoes which was nice because it made them look individual- I also told the hairdresser to do their hair however they wanted so they would feel fab on the day.

We were keen not to over do a colour scheme- so only matched David with the bridesmaids -the rest of the groomsmen wore a graphite colour that really suited a winter wedding. There was an iffy moment when David came out of the changing room with a top hat on – huge amount of laughter ensued when my sister said ‘Dickensian overkill- you could be Scrooge’! Oh how we laughed. On the day however I remember walking down the aisle thinking how gorgeous and handsome he looked in his formals!

Petals and Pinecones

We found Sue, (Yorkshire Rose Florist) through a recommendation from a friend. Flowers were originally one of our compromises but as it happened what we wanted was very cost effective! When Sue asked what we wanted I told her “Rustic! I want a Christmas wreath but in a bouquet! Pinecones, pinecones, pinecones! Even pinecones for button holes please!” Luckily, she loved the idea so we decided- Passion roses, variegated holly, pine, berries and of course pinecones! When the flowers arrived on the morning of the wedding I was amazed they were absolutely beautiful! Even lovelier then I could have imagined, I was so pleased.

Recorded Memories

We chose local photographers on a recommendation and they were wonderful! David and Mary at Lux Photography -a husband and wife team that we gelled with immediately- really fantastic to work with, they made us feel so at ease and we had such a giggle on the day. They too went above and beyond for us staying well past the time they should have and mingling with all our guests making everyone feel so comfortable.

We booked an amazing Videographer too; John Slater from Art Angel multimedia we had really great fun him all day and he stayed out of people’s way to ensure we got some wonderful natural footage

For all of the Do It Yourself fabulousness and reception details we suggest you come back tomorrow for part 2, ’tis well worth the wait.

Big Festive Love

Charlotte xxx

Now I know I love a photo booth and after our last post on the subject I am pretty sure nearly all of you gorgeous lot do too.

Well Sibohan and Matthew obviously did as they chose one for their Big Day in the beautiful Cotswolds as well as a ton of other unique pieces of winter inspired pretty.

All of the stunning images are courtesy of Allister Freeman.

The Snow Bus

We hired a vintage bus instead of a car because we thought sitting in the backseat would make fun pics! It turned out to be a lifesaver in the snow, ferrying our guests from the church to Matara!

Winter Blooms

We chose wintery white flowers, peacock feathers, green chillies and foliage for the bouquets, table centres and buttonholes. My bouquet had white amaryllis, feathers and eucalyptus, and the bridesmaids’ bouquets had white avalanche roses with eucalyptus. All the flowers were loosely tied with ribbon as if they had been hand-picked. Instead of a tiara I chose a fresh flower slide made with white stephanotis and eucalyptus.

The church pews were kept simple – each one had an avalanche rose, chilli and eucalyptus tied with ribbon

Peacocks and Shamrocks

The venue was so elegant and stunning in its own right that we didn’t want to overpower it. So we kept decoration to a minimum and let the giant dome in the reception room take centre stage! The table centres were goldfish bowls with three amaryllis heads sitting on glass pebbles with LED lights underneath. They were surrounded by a winter wreath of chillies, peacock feathers, foliage and candles. We chose an oval top table and hung peacock feather garlands behind it. The bespoke table plan from www.tableplansforweddings.co.uk which was player names from Matt’s favourite football team, and we found round silver table holders which looked a bit like footballs!

Instead of traditional placename cards we wanted luggage style tags so that we could put the favour instructions under the guest name, attach the menu behind it and then tie both tags to a favour –an emerald green velvet pouch with chilli seeds for the guys and shamrock seeds for the girls. I had also chosen Vivienne Westwood green orb bracelets for my bridesmaids’ presents and had personalised gift tags designed for those as well.

Movie Stars

We were really keen to find a documentary photographer who would capture the spirit of the day with beautiful, informal images and avoid too many posed shots. The minute we met Allister Freeman we knew he was the perfect person to do this. His style was so unobstrusive and his use of light and composition makes you feel like you’re on a movie set! He was a gem trudging through feet of snow all day and almost got chilblains capturing the perfect pictures!

Lights In The Sky

We didn’t want a traditional first dance so to do things a bit differently we gave everyone a sky lantern after dinner (we found eco friendly ones on www.skylanternsonline.co.uk and had an uilleann piper to play my favourite piece of Irish pipe music. It turned out to be one of the funniest events of the evening – it was so cold and snowy that the lanterns could hardly take off! Watching 80+ adults running through the snow cheering and willing on the lanterns is a sight that none of us will ever forget, it was hilarious. Our poor piper was frozen!

Feeling Groovy

Back in the warmth we’d arranged for an evening buffet of hog roast to warm everyone up with a heartier version of bacon rolls to replace energy after the ceilidh! We both love live music and found a brilliant Irish band The Roving Crows who kept everyone on the floor all night.

The biggest entertainment of the night came from Groovybooth. They brought a prop box and wind machine to keep everyone amused and the pics got more interesting as the night went on! Our guests glued one set of pictures in the guest book and then kept the other. Brilliant memories!

You gotta love a wedding where everyone is clearly having such a great time especially the bride and groom.

With huge thanks to Matthew and Sibohan for sharing their special day and Allister Freeman for providing the eye candy.

Big Winter-in-the-Cotswolds Love

Charlotte xxx

Prepare yourself for a total and utter winter wonderland of a wedding. I mean seriously – one of the loveliest venues I have ever seen and a whole heap of picture postcard perfect images courtesy of Allister Freeman.

Matt and Sibohan married in the 16th century Kingscote Church in the beautiful Cotswolds with a reception at the Matara venue near Tetbury.

Over to the beautiful bride to tell us all about the planning details behind her Big Day celebrations.

Winter Wonderland

Matt proposed last September in Italy, on our one year anniversary. We opted for a winter wedding which gave us the challenge of just three months to pull it all together! I’m originally from Ireland and Matt’s English so choosing which country to marry in was the first major decision. After much scouting around – in both countries – for unusual venues we finally found the idyllic Matara venue near Tetbury in the Cotswolds. It’s stunningly beautiful with gorgeous grounds, a cloistered courtyard and several rooms for guests to move around in during the evening. We were also able to rent the lovely listed Regency house onsite for the weekend, which made it all the more special and a great place to get ready!

The scene was set for us to create our day our way – which was to mark elements of tradition with our own stamp. What we hadn’t accounted for was the country’s biggest snowfall in decades – just three days before the wedding! It provided a beautiful romantic backdrop to the whole setting.

Handmade Vintage

My dress was handmade by an old friend who chose luxurious Valentino silk and georgette silk – it felt amazing! I wanted a simple style with a little vintage twist so we designed a Jane Austen style empire line dress which I wore with a bespoke emerald green velvet coat by Vintage Tiger, a cathedral length veil from the Bridal Rogue Gallery, pretty handmade lace pumps by Dainty Bess (which were quickly swapped for my father- in-law’s green wellies!) and a vintage, green velvet clutch bag from Sassy and Boo in Tetbury.

I wrapped my mum’s pearl necklace around my wrist as a bracelet and borrowed a pair of pearl studs from my mother- in- law. Matt chose a frock coat to go with my dress and an emerald green cravat.

Getting Ready

Getting ready in Matara was such a treat – the girls used the bridal suite upstairs and the guys used the library downstairs. Our families were tasked to ensure we didn’t bump into each other! Matara recommended a brilliant hairdresser called Kirsty who spent the morning doing all of our hair and was simply lovely. We decided to do our own make-up and spent the ultimate girly morning drinking champagne, which definitely eased the nerves!

My bridesmaids wore emerald green chiffon party dresses and shrugs from Debenhams – instead of more formal traditional dresses – which perfectly complemented the style of my dress. The ushers and two best men wore green ties and cravats.

Unique Emerald Designs

Emeralds are my favourite stone and Matt’s favourite food is green chillies (he puts them on everything!) so with this and a nod to my Irish roots we chose emerald green as the theme, and peacock feathers as the colour palette for their perfect winter jewel colours of green and blue. The next step was to source some pretty Celtic design stationary – but everything seemed so bland!

I finally found a lovely Welsh father & daughter team “Celtic Weddings” who painted a celtic cross in our colours. They were brilliant, really affordable and designed everything to spec.

I am loving the Jane Austen style dress teamed with a cute modern bob and green wellies….

Come back tomorrow for a whole lot more snow scene fabulousness and photo booth fun.

Big Celtic Love

Charlotte xxxx