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Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

February 8th, 2012

Jenna and Ryan married in the Summer at possibly the best named pub ever – The Crab and Lobster in Thirsk.

It may well be one of the most kooky and interestingly decorated venues that I have ever laid my wedding blogger eye upon too. Jenna and Ryan found a venue that reflected the look and feel that they were after, and so it only required a bunch of candles (and a few other bits and bobs) to give it that touch of W-day romance… Job done…

The sensational images that commit all that W-day romance to print are by RMW fave Anna Hardy.

Showing Off The Curves.

My dress was from a lovely shop called limelights just down the road from my mums in Huddersfield. The staff in there are amazing and so helpful, they made shopping for a wedding dress such a relaxed lovely experienced. I knew that I wanted vintage looking lace but other than that I didn’t really have a clue. I chose a dress designed by Stewart Parvin called “The best is yet to come”, I thought the name was really romantic!! I never thought in a million years that I would choose a fishtail dress!! I’m constantly in floaty clothes but loved the way that this dress showed off my curves and Ryan was also very suprised, he loved it!! I knew it was the one as it was the first dress i’d tried that i didn’t want to take off! I also wanted a dress that wasn’t too heavy and that i’d be able to dance in, it was comfortable all day.

Vintage parkle.

I wore a beautiful headpiece by Jenny Packham called acacia iii it was perfect with my short hair. I wanted something vintage looking with some sparkle. A friend and I went to the Jenny Packham accessories shop in Knightsbridge and we both fell in love with it instantly, but it was a bit more than I wanted to spend. However a couple of glasses of wine later and a lot of justifying to myself (“well I could always wear it again”, “friends could borrow it”, “it will look amazing in the photos”, “i’m not buying a viel, “I can save in other areas” etc) I was back in the shop handing over my money and i’m so glad I did.

I also wore a pair of pearl earrings that my dad had bought my mum for their pearl wedding anniversary, these were really special.

Looking For A Bargain.

After over spending on my headpiece I decided to try and save money on my shoes. I wanted something comfy but also with a bit of height (Ryan’s 6ft and i’m 5ft 1). I found some lovely ivory shoes with a bit of sparkle and a 3.5inch heel in the dune sale and then saved even more by buying the display pair, bargain!!! They were perfect, vintagey looking and I managed to keep them on all day which is very unlike me. I’m normally the first one on the dance floor with bare feet!!

Keeping It Short.

I’ve had short hair for about 3 years now and as soon as I got engaged people kept asking me if I was going to grow my hair…… NO!!! I like my hair short and wanted to look like myself! Dean Atkins came to do mine and the bridesmaids hair. Dean is a family friend has been my mums hairdresser for years. He did a great job and had us in stitches all morning!!

A lovely lady called Sam did my make up. She was recommended to me by a friend and she was great. I wanted quite a natural look but also wanted to wear my favourite hot pink lipstick, I feel a bit naked without it!! Sam also applied some individual fake eye lashes a few days before the wedding and they were fabulous!! I didn’t want to wear mascara as I knew the day was going to be emotional and there would be a few tears, I wasn’t wrong!

Wild An Natural Blooms.

Lovely Helen and Steffi from The Flower Shop were our fabulous florists. As soon as we met them we knew that we could completely trust them 110% and the flowers were going to be really special. They have such a passion for what they do and were really excited by our ideas. For the bouquets I wanted them to be really wild/natural, like we’d just picked them on the way to the wedding. I wanted them to be all different and in a mixture of colours. I also wanted forget-me-nots in my bouquet, in memory of my wonderful dad. My dad also loved herbs and so we wanted herbs incorporated into the button holes and table decorations. We let Helen and steffi work there magic and the result was amazing. The bouquets were out of this world, I couldnt have asked for anything more perfect. Rosemary was incorporated into the button holes, which smelt amazing. The whole place was filled with lavender, rosemary and candles, it looked fantastic. I also asked them to make a heart out of lavender (also for dad) for the entrance to the service which was beautiful.

Grey And Apple Green.

My brother and Ryans best man wore lovely grey suits hired from limelights. The ushers wore their own suits. I decided on apple green for the bridesmaid dresses as it fitted in well with the natural feel of the flowers and herbs. I wanted the dresses to be floaty and found the perfect ones from Dessy. I took a chance and ordered them online from house of brides in America as they were half the price to ordering them from the UK. It paid off and the dresses arrived in plenty of time in perfect condition. They just needed a few alterations. Out of my five bridesmaids one had a 2 week old baby, one was 8months pregnant and one had a broken leg. They all looked beautiful!!!

It’s All Gone Heart Shaped.

My gorgeous husband also wore a hired grey suit from limelights with a grey waistcoat and silver tie. I’d also given him some heart shaped cufflinks from Paul Smith as a gift for the wedding. He looked lovely and it was nice to see him looking so smart as he’s normally very casual (top hat and tails was his worst nightmare!!) The grey looked lovely against the apple green and colourful flowers.

The Most Beautiful Wedding Photo’s Ever.

For us the photographs we’re so important as apart from the memories there the one thing that once the day’s over you can treasure forever.

We chose Anna Hardy as our AMAZING photographer. Anna was recommended to us and as soon as we looked at her website we instantly fell in love with her work. We loved the way she seemed to capture so many special moments and also the way she wrote so beautifully about peoples weddings. We didnt want to spend hours on our wedding day having lots of formal/group shots so Anna’s relaxed style was perfect. We cannot recommend Anna enough. The moment we met her for our engagement shoot we instantly got on and she felt like an old friend, she made us feel so much more relaxed about having our photos taken on the actual day. Having Anna at the wedding felt like having a friend who just happens to be the most AMAZING photographer. The photographs are more than out of this world and she captured so many special memories that we’ll treasure forever. So many of our friends and family have commented that they’re the most beautiful wedding photos they’ve seen. We’ll never be able to thank her enough.

Three Is The Magic Number.

Our cake was made by the lovely Clair at Just Darling Cakes. We had 3 tiers fruit, chocolate and carrot. Ry, myself and my mum chose a flavour each. It looked beautiful and more importantly absolutely delicious. Clair also gives a 10% discount to NHS workers which is very handy when you’re on a budget, Thanks Clair.

Free Beer!

We wanted the day to have a really relaxed and fun feel to it. The venue had a pitch and putt golf course so after dinner Ry and his friends went for a quick game which was fab. The venue also had a hidden beer pump that entitled guests to free beer if they could find it, not suprisingly this proved very popular. Even a few of my very girlie friends were spotted drinking pints!! We also had a table full of bits of fancy dress and props, just so guests could take some silly pictures. We didn’t want to have too much going on as it was important to us that people just got to chat and relax. In the evening we hired a band Sophie Garner and the new breed. We found them through a website called alive network (alivenetwork.com) who were very helpful. The band performed a mixture of jazz, soul, rock and some modern songs. They we’re great and had everyone dancing.

Something To Swing To.

We chose “Crazy little thing called love” by Queen as our first dance. Ry and I love dancing but aren’t very good at it so we just wanted something that we could swing each other around to and have a bit of fun with. That song always gets it on the dance floor. Also towards the end of the evening our family and friends formed a big circle and the band played our favourite snow patrol song. Ry and I danced in the middle with everyone singing around the edge. During this Ry said to me “Look around everyone we care about is in this room”, it was a really special moment.

For A Good Cause.

We made a donation to cancer research instead of having favours. Each guest then got a little card telling them what we’d done with a cancer research pin attached to it. I lost my dad to cancer, therefore this charity is very poignant for both of us. It was lovely to see all the guests wearing their badges after dinner. It’s such a great way to support a good cause and when it comes down to it who really needs a bag of sugared almonds!!!

The Crab And Lobstrer.

One of the reasons we chose the crab and lobster was because of its unique decor. It’s an amazing venue full of vintage bric a brac and therefore didn’t really need much extra decoration. We lit lots of candles during dinner to create a romantic atmosphere.

Originally we wanted an outdoor wedding but due to the laws in the UK this isn’t possible. When we saw the amazing conservatory at the venue with the sun shining in and the doors wide open we instantly knew it was perfect.

All The Special Bits.

My family, friends and myself all got ready together in a beautiful big barn, a close friend drove me to the wedding in his amazing vintage car, Our sister in law sang as I walked down the isle, friends chose their own readings, we had beautiful speeches outside in the sunshine, Ry had a game of golf with his friends. We wanted to share our day and it was these personal touches that made the day extra special.

My biggest piece of advice would be to ALWAYS remember the reason why you’re planning this special day. Of course the little details are important but on my wedding day I married my best friend and whether it had been in a castle or a car park, whether i’d worn a bin bag or a designer dress, it would always have been the best day of my life xxx.

Oh and don’t have a meltdown that you forgot to rub out the pencil lines on the table plan, people don’t even notice!!!

Venue The Crab and Lobster

Dress Stewart Parvin

Boutique limelights

Accessories Jenny Packham Acacia iii

Shoes dune

Blooms The Flower Shop

Photography Anna Hardy

Cake Just Darling Cakes

Yay! I love this wedding. Anna Hardy has a brilliant knack for capturing emotions and this set of images is certainly testament to that.

Despite the fantastically off-the-wall venue, this wedding is all about the people… you can see joy in every singe image.

Also, can I just say that a hidden beer pump somewhere on the course may just be the motivation I need to take up golf.

Adam.

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Your Number One.

February 6th, 2012

There is something really calming about Nadine and Andrew’s wedding. Maybe it’s the cool ice-cream colour palette or the simple hydrangea theme that runs through the arrangemennts, bouquets and even the stationery – tying everything together beautifully.

This afternoons wedding is the perfect antidote for those of you who still have racing pulses after this mornings frank and intimate discussions. Prepare for the W-day equivalent of a chill-pill.

The cool, calm and classic imagery this afternoon is all down to the wonderfully creative Anushe Low.

A Northern Wedding.

Our wedding took place on the 22nd of July 2011 at Woodhall hotel and Spa, Wetherby, North Yorkshire.

Sister Selected.

My wedding dress was from the J-CREW wedding collection. Both my sisters, who were my bridesmaids helped me to decide, I loved it the minute I tried it on, and had to have it!!

Indian Jewellery.

My Father had my jewellery custom made in India. The design was a combination of both our ideas.

Peep Toes.

My shoes were peep toe, which I purchased in a bridal shop in Ripon, where my husband is from!

The Locks and Looks.

My sister-in-law is a hair dresser, she was made up when I said she had to do my hair! I had my makeup done by a makeup artist from the hotel Spa.

Hydrangea and Carnations.

My flower arrangements were a mixture of hydrangea and carnations from a florist in Ripon called The Greenhouse Florist.

Graphite Grey.

My theme colour was graphite grey and light coral pink. The groom and the best man wore a charcoal grey suit, with a darker silk tie.

Our Photographer was the very talented Anushe Low – her amazing images speak for themselves!!!

Non Traditional Cake.

We had simple rustic style cream topped lemon drizzle and chocolate cupcakes.

That’s Jazz.

Our first dance was to ‘the tide is high’ by the Paragons. For our entertainment we had a small local three man jazz band that played during the first half of the evening.

After that we had a DJ for the later part of the night, when the partying began.

A Favour For Charity.

Our favours were a small donation to two chosen charities in lieu of gifts to each guest, to represent this and let our guests know we had coasters made for the tables with our wedding logo and message on it, mentioning the charities.

Simple Decor.

The room was decorated very simply, with a lot of hydranges and frilly coronations, the table cloths and linens were were white with cream muslin sashes around the chairs. We also had vintage votives and scattered hydrangea petals on the table.

A Little Advice.

Make it your own style, stay on top of everything, let your sisters deal with it all on the day! Especially if one is an event manager and the other a graphic designer who helped with the designing of the the logo on our wedding stationery, they were both excellent on the day and prior!! Oh and also just ENJOY and relax on the day!!!!

Venue Woodhall hotel and Spa

Dress J-CREW

Blooms The Greenhouse Florist

Photography Anushe Low

Is everyone relaxed and breathing normally again now? Good.

Such a simple affair, but with the few basic themes that ran through Nadine and Andrew’s wedding they ended up with a very cohesive day with a strong identity and a wonderfully chilled feel.

I love the stationery, Nadine was obviously very lucky to have two sisters who were bridesmaids but who doubled as an event manager and a stationery designer – but as we often say, don’t be afraid to pull on the skillset of your family and friends.

9 out of 10 times your nearest and dearest will be only too happy to help make your special day one to remember for the rest of your lives.

Adam.

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You Are The Gin To My Tonic.

January 30th, 2012

Welcome to the bright and beautiful big day of Claire and Jonathan, our first little piece of W-day retro pretty. Claire chose a 50′s-esque gown from Fur Coat No Knickers which she had “pimped” (her words!) to perfection and Jonathan went for a suit in the style of Sean Connery’s James Bond in the famous 1960′s film Goldfinger.

And if the fabulous fashion wasn’t enough Claire and Jonathan mixed old school cinema decor with contemporary colour pop blooms and a generous helping of personalisation. Love.

Oh and they chose what is possibly one of the cleverest (and funniest) ways of allocating people to their table that I have ever seen (have a peek at the end of the post if you want to join in…)

All of the quirk is courtesy of the Queen of Kitsch Julia Boggio.

Making A Style Statement

It really was the hair and make up that brought it all together. Jo Neilsen is a freelance make up artist who is an old friend and she was an absolute genius. We decided we needed a statement ‘do and it was actually Sadie who suggested the blonde hairpiece to make the side bun – I was a peroxide blonde for many, many years and it was a nod to that and it really worked. The amazing hair combined with the simple, yet immaculate make up really made the look work and I didn’t have to touch it up once.

I wore my Nanna’s pearl necklace and bracelet. The girls at FCNK sourced a fabulous diamante brooch to decorate the back of my sash and I had diamante pins in my hair to match.

Pimp My Gown

The girls at Fur Coat No Knickers created my dress. I knew I couldn’t carry off a traditional wedding dress and after a couple of disappointing visits to “proper “ wedding dress shops a friend recommended FCNK. As soon as we got in there I knew this was the place for me. I was worried that being on the larger side there wouldn’t be any vintage dresses to fit me but Laura and Emma were fabulous. We settled on what I lovingly called my “Corpse Bride” dress. It started life as a very long, high necked, long sleeved gown with gorgeous vintage lace and the girls “pimped” it to perfection. Although I love 50’s dresses I didn’t want to feel as if I was dressing up so we decided to go for the quirky graduation at the back which I loved. You can never really see what you look like in your dress until you see the photos and I absolutely loved it.

The Perfect Platform

My shoes were Jimmy Choos!! Gorgeous sparkling platform peeptoes. I am a nightmare when it comes to shoes as everything hurts! My bridesmaid Sadie almost killed me several times when we thought we had found “the ones” only for them to “pinch a bit here” or “rub a bit there”. The Choos were amazingly comfy, looked fab and didn’t make me tower over Jonathan. Perfect.

The Name’s Bond

We asked the ushers and best man to wear grey suits and white shirts. We picked the ties from Duchamp and they worked perfectly even though Jonathan wasn’t sure about wearing a pink, flowery tie to start off with!

Jonathan got his 3 piece suit made for him by October House and it fitted him perfectly. He chose the style of Sean Connery’s grey suit in Goldfinger – his favourite film.

A Cinema Ceremony

We couldn’t have confetti so I also made lots of ribbon wavers and signs saying “woo hoo”, “yay” and “Mr and Mrs Grant” for people to wave after the ceremony. I put everything in popcorn boxes and left them on the chairs in the ceremony room.

There was a display table with a brilliant sign I found on Etsy saying You Are The Gin To My Tonic, some vintage “C” and “J” playing card cards and also displaying our invitations which we got from Royal Steamline – we had different ones for the day and evening and the evening ones were perfect with a black and white chequerboard design to match the floor in the Temple.

Flowers And Fairy Lights

Athena at Rebel Rebel did my flowers and what a job she did! Andaz as a venue has a lot of features and each room is totally different so it didn’t need much decoration – just something to make it look a bit more weddingy! I had decided on pink, yellow and red as my colour scheme as I thought these colours would go with every room. The ceremony room is all pale blue and cream with a big bold print on the wall. When we went to see Rebel Rebel it was around valentine’s day and they had the big, red heart made from fairy lights in their window – I loved it and we agreed we could have this in the fireplace for the ceremony rather than plinths or flowers. The fairy light theme continued for dinner and we had gloriosa lilies suspended in water with little waterproof lights in them – it looked fabulous.

Jonathan had a single gloriosa lily as his button hole and the wedding party had a mix of red, pink and yellow roses. My usherettes had beautiful wrist corsages in contrasting colours and Sadie had an amazing bouquet of spiky dahlias that matched her dress perfectly. My bouquet was full of pink, yellow and red spiky dahlias and it was exactly what I had imagined.

Bold Brights

My girls followed the colour scheme brilliantly and were quite happy that I had decided against the traditional bridesmaid dresses. As there were three, we had a pink, a yellow and a red. Sadie bagsied the red being chief BM and we found the perfect thing in Karen Millen and even got the matching red and pink shoes. My usherettes Heather and Abby got their dresses from ASOS and we decided on gold shoes to match mine. As thank you gifts I got the girls vintage pearls to wear that also matched me.

The Right Decision

After listening to (and seeing) so many horror stories about poor photography at weddings, I knew that having a great photographer was an absolute must. After deciding and booking Andaz as our venue I knew I wanted Julia Boggio to take our photos as she had shot the Andaz brochure which was stunning. Jonathan and I went to visit Julia and her husband James at their studio in Wimbledon and we knew immediately we had made the right choice. We had a lot in common with regards to loving films and everything vintage and we booked immediately. It was absolutely the right decision and the photos really speak for themselves.

I had also seen Julia’s wonderful Vintage Boudoir package and I knew this would make the perfect gift for Jonathan. About 3 months before the wedding I snuck off to Wimbledon for a fabulous day of being transformed in to a 50’s supermodel and we had so much fun at the shoot. After the shoot I went back for a viewing session with James and we decided on a beautiful brochure featuring 10 prints for me to present Jonathan with on the morning of the wedding. Choosing the final shots to be put in the book was really hard so I had another image enlarged and framed. I asked Sadie to hang this in our bedroom whilst we were on honeymoon so when we got home it was another surprise for Jonathan. He was blown away!

A Plan Of Pornstars

I really wanted there to be a DIY element to the day so I decided to make my own orders of service, place cards and table plan. Jonathan and I thought it would be funny to put everyone’s names down using their porn names (first pet and Mother’s maiden names) – there were some crackers.

I also made two very big boards full of photos of everyone who was at the wedding surrounded by red, yellow and pink hearts. This was really to give people something to look at and feel part of the day during the reception – it was a great conversation starter!

Magical Music

Our first dance was “To The End” by Blur. On holiday last year we were talking about the key pieces of music we needed to have for the wedding – going down the aisle, coming back up the aisle and of course, first dance. We decided to let the iPod decide and hit shuffle and decided that the next three songs would be the ones we would use. What a lovely story that would have been but the first song was Gold Digger by Kanye West and I think another was a song from Les Mis so it didn’t really work. However after a few attempts “To The End” came on and we knew we had to have it especially as we were going to be in the Temple and it had that wonderful ethereal sound that made it very magical indeed.

The other two songs we had were for walking down the aisle – You Only Live Twice by Nancy Sinattra (my Mum heard it on the radio and knew it would be perfect – she was right) and One Day Like This by Elbow for when we walked down the aisle together married after having seen their epic set at Glastonbury this year.

Having Your Favourites

I decided to make the cake myself – firstly as part of budgeting and secondly because I love baking and cooking and thought it was worth giving it a go. The girls came round the day before and we all made it together – it was lots of fun and we were very impressed with how it looked. It didn’t form part of the meal so was really just a gesture to cut. It was chocolate with rich chocolate buttercream and fresh raspberries and we had it with the evening buffet.

We also had a pork pie cake. I am a major pork pie fan so to have this was really my dream (yes really). Jonathan’s parents sourced the three tiers locally and each were different – pork and apple, pork and pickle and plain pork. Sadie got the little piggies and made their wedding attire and the picnic blanket and it really was the star of the show.

Important Advice

It’s your day – do what you want. Remember you will only get to do it once and you don’t want to think back and say I really wish we had done that now.. better to regret something you did do rather than you didn’t do.

Pick your battles – there will be some. Whether its with parents, suppliers or between the two of you – think about how much you really, really want it. If your gorgeous groom really doesn’t want to wear pink socks that’s probably OK, but if you are adamant he must, must wear a grey and not a blue suit that is probably the one to go for.

Going DIY is brilliant and is a great budget trimmer – if you enjoy making and doing then do it, but don’t get stressed about it and don’t let it take over your life. Of course you want the day to be perfect but will people really notice if you hand sew every single one of the invitations in thread that is exactly the same colour as your lipstick? Will people really be upset if their order of service is a fraction of a millimetre smaller on one side than the person next to them? Probably not. Attention to detail is great, but enjoying the planning and fun leading up to your wedding is better!

Get a good team around you. I honestly couldn’t have done the wedding without my bridesmaid Sadie, my usherettes and my Mum. They weren’t all involved all the time but they each had a big part to play in their own certain way. And of course, involve your groom. Jonathan wasn’t a particularly hands on groom and even if yours isn’t tell him what you are planning and what you are worried about. Jonathan brought me back down to earth so many times and made me remember we were getting married and not putting on a big production – he kept me grounded.

Brides Gown – Fur Coat No Knickers

Brides Shoes – Jimmy Choo

Grooms Suit – October House

Photography – Julia Boggio

Maids Dresses – ASOS

Venue – Andaz

Stationery – Royal Steamline

Blooms – Rebel Rebel

So what is your “Porn star” name (first pet + mothers maiden name)? mine is Poppy Meredith, Vix’s is Sophie Llewellyn and Adam’s is… Flopsy Wedgebrow.

No – I’m not even kidding.

Don’t forget you can win a sexy camera or London notebook for leaving some love on this post folks!

Big I’ll Have Mine With Ice And Lemon Love

Charlotte xxx

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Under My Umbrella.

January 19th, 2012

If you are a super talented W-day photographer then who do you choose to take your W-day pics? Tough one eh?… But of course the answer is – you find yourself another super talented W-day photographer…

And so that is how it came to be that Debs Ivelja shot the Wedding of Caro Hutchings. Or, as I should really say, the wedding of Caro and Simon.

We have a lot of love for Caro at RMW and I must admit, there are some newly emerging emotions flying around for Debs too after looking though this trove of beauty. Seriously folks you are in for a treat today.

Charlotte was in raptures over the bouquet (a little bit roadside chic actually!) and the dress and the cake and the veil.

Wait I’m not done… And the menu’s, the lampshades, the upside down hanging umbrellas. The streamers, the portraits…

Let me put it another way. She LOVES this wedding. So do I. So, get ready to fall in love as well.

Our Wedding was at St Peters Church. We then got a boat from Marlow to the reception venue, Monks Barn in Hurley.

Simple Lace.

My dress was from Phase Eight. I always knew I didn’t want a big extravagant dress so started going down the bespoke route but soon realised how much it was going to cost. I was talking to a friend describing my perfect dress and within in a week she had called me and told me she was sure she had just seen ‘my dress’ in the John Lewis window. I investigated and soon found out it was by Phase Eight. One of my bridesmaids and I went up the following Sunday and I bought it 18 months before the wedding. For me it was the perfect, simple, lace dress I had always wanted and completely affordable at £350.

The Veil Of My Dreams.

My earrings were a gift from my mum, I wore my mums sapphire ring (borrowed and blue) my hair piece was from etsy and my veil was purchased during a holiday to Spain with my girlfriends… I saw it in the window of a tiny little random shoe shop which had two wedding dresses and two veils. it was so beautifully made and I knew it was the veil I had always dreamed about. My granddad had told me during my first communion to ‘wear my veil’ as he was too ill to make it to that. He died not long after, so I had always known I had to have a proper ‘catholic’ veil in his memory and finding it with my girlfriends was a really special moment.

Three Pairs Of Shoes.

Shoes were the biggest problem!!! I didn’t want bridal shoes as I wanted to wear them again.. I knew I wanted something a bit different but just couldn’t find anything that wasn’t peep toe (I HATE my toes!!) or with a huge platform. I love the shoes in Irregular Choice but the pair that I loved were ridiculously high. So after many many searches I opted for the ridiculously high ones (4.5 inches). I loved them and thought I would see how it went. I bought a back up pair also from irregular choice for when the pain was too much. I also ended up wearing a pair of sandals for the evening when my feet just couldn’t cope anymore. I did end up wearing 3 pairs throughout the day.

Keep It Simple.

I knew I wanted my hair and makeup to be really simple with the veil and maybe have an up do for the evening. I am really lucky that my cousin is a professional hair and make up artist so she did a fantastic job of making me look good and the best bit of all was she was there all day for touch ups and in the evening a total hair transformation.

Pick Your Own Blooms.

The flowers I found one of the most difficult aspects. Given the option I would have been in Covent Garden market the morning of the wedding buying my flowers to make my own bouquets etc. But I knew this was not very viable. After speaking to many florists who either were way out my budget or were over complicating what I wanted I had lost hope until weeks before the wedding I found Rachel at Green and Gorgeous in Oxfordshire. Green and Gorgeous own a picking field on a farm. Rachel was able to make the bouquets and buttonholes for me and also pick all the other flowers I wanted from her field and deliver them 2 days before the weddings for us to arrange into vases. I walked with her around her field pointing at the flowers I liked and disliked (no roses allowed) and she got them altogether for delivery. It really is the best concept for someone who doesn’t want the fancy displays and it keeps the costs down massively.

Colour Is The Key.

Having 6 bridesmaids means that the outfits could have easily spiralled out of control. Something I suggest you think about if you are contemplating a lot of maids!! We ended up organising a shopping trip to London but I wasn’t overly hopeful we would find anything. We were all amazed at the options on the high street… We settled for a dress from Matthew Williamson at Debenhams and my mother in law made sashes that matched the colour of each maids shoes. The groom and best man got there suits from Ben Sherman and the ushers all had suits from Marks & Spencer. The ties and all the accessories were left to the groom to sort out with a few colour guides but obviously nothing that he stuck to but it all looked great with the bridesmaids. From the outset we knew we didn’t want a colour scheme and tried to tie it all together with the yellow, purple and blue variations but colour was the main theme of the day.

The Right Man.

Simon looked amazing and although I really didn’t have any say in his outfit I honestly couldn’t have pictured it any more perfect. He showed me what he was wearing a week before the wedding and when he tried it all on for me I got such a feeling of calm and I just knew he was the right man for me. I bought him some customised cufflinks to open in the morning. They were handmade with a map in them of where he proposed to me in Moss Landing, America.

Relaxed And Laid Back.

As a wedding photographer myself this was the hardest decision. Not because I couldn’t find anyone that lived up to my expectations but simply because I love so many other photographers that I wanted them all!!!! I knew Debs previously and after a few emails and a coffee I knew she would be amazing and fit in with the relaxed and laid back nature of the day. She was so incredible throughout the day and captured the memories that we really will treasure for the rest of our lives . Some of my favourite shots that she captured were of my dad and I in the morning as this was all a bit of a blur but looking back at these pictures always makes me smile.

Three Flavours.

My cake was an absolute triumph!!! A really dear friend of the family Pat Bridges has always made cakes for friends and family and when asked she was more than happy to help. I gave her no real direction except I wanted three different flavour sponges and something really simple. It really was the most beautiful work of art and I spent ages just looking and admiring it. It also tasted absolutely amazing.

Ready To Rock.

Simon always wanted a live band for the evening and after much deliberation we chose After Dark. My brother is a guitarist and a few days before the wedding he approached them to see if he could play with them. This was one of the bests bits from the evening and everyone was dancing and rocking out.. even my 90 year old nana.

The Sweetest Feeling.

We choose ‘I get the sweetest feeling’ by Jackie Wilson. Simon is rubbish at leaning song lyrics and during a car journey to the Alps I taught him every line to this song until he learnt them. So for us it was a great choice that held happy memories and wasn’t too slow and gushy.

Umbrella Theme.

After so much deliberation we opted not to really have favours but something that could double up as the place name and a sort of favour. To keep with the umbrella theme we bought lot’s of cocktail umbrellas and wrapped a piece of paper around the stick so they could double up as place names. What was really fun was that everyone ended up wearing them in their hair.

The Best Find Ever.

We had always wanted a blank canvas venue that we could dress our own way. This was one of the most important sides of it for me – Simon’s being a free bar. We came up with a very loose theme of umbrellas while we were travelling. We were in a restaurant in Vietnam and they had hung umbrellas from string to create a ceiling… We thought is was so cool and wanted to replicate it at the barn. I have a really good friend Barty who really did ‘get’ my ideas… With Simon helping they hung about 30 umbrellas that I had collected from the ceiling, suspended over the dance floor. It looked amazing!

One of my bridesmaids, Sophie, then found the beautiful umbrella centrepieces in a shop on Hayling Island. These literally were the best find ever and without them I really don’t think the umbrella thing would have made any sense.

Other key details were the drapes I made to cover the black doors that acted as a lovely backdrop for the speeches. The suitcases I found in my nanas loft that we used to house pot plants from the mums’ gardens. A really special suitcase that belonged to my Bampa which had his initials on… This housed all the presents and cards. We put a marquee up in case it rained and this acted as the coffee, cake and sweet tent. I love old lampshades and hung them above the sweet table with coloured pom poms to dress the marquee up a bit. Photos were also hung around the marquee of family and friends.

As it was a dry hire venue we built our own bar and bought copious amounts of alcohol including ‘Fort Simon’ and ‘Chateau Caroline’ wine. I then customised it as a ‘Pompey’ bar, which is the football team Simon supports, we also met in Portsmouth so it is a special place to both of us. I found loads of Pompey memorabilia on ebay and decorated it for him as a surprise.

Completely Us.

It is so hard to put into words how special our day was to us and I think the fundamental thing everyone kept saying was that it was completely ‘us’. So many special moments from my dad driving me down to the church in his beloved Porsche to walking down the tiny isle in the same church as my confirmation and seeing Simon’s face at the end of it. Having a boat party to the venue and seeing everyone’s reactions as they walked in to the barn.

What also stands out is the week before the day, which we spent in the barn, setting up with all our friends and family rallying to help. The experience as a whole made me realise how lucky we are to have such amazing friends, family and best of all each other – and that’s what a wedding should be completely about in my opinion.

Venue Monks Barn

Dress Phase Eight

Hair piece etsy

Shoes Irregular Choice

Blooms Green and Gorgeous

Photography Debs Ivelja

If you are thinking about having a wedding in the UK then ‘Umbrella’s’ is a pretty safe theme to go with I reckon – So why has no-one done this before?

I don’t know what to say for fear of repeating Charlottes stream of consciousness from earlier.. I too seriously love all the stationery, I’m loving line drawings at the moment – and that umbrella ceiling? Words properly fail me.

Also – serious car envy over here – a camper van and a porsche for wedding vehicles? Very snazzy indeed! Mahoosive thanks to Caro and Simon for sharing this groundbreaking and seriously imaginative colour feast of a wedding.

Adam.

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The Angel Of Islington.

January 12th, 2012

London London London!

Morning peeps, guess where we are going for todays dose of W-day Pretty?

Lauren and Nick married in July 2011 at Frederick’s Bar & Restaurant on Camden Passage, Angel Islington in… London! (was that not clear?)

I love the contemporary colour pop setting for this city soiree, and make sure you have a look at the cake which the bride proudly made herself… the flowers on it are a masterpiece.

Photography today is by Ben Tomlin at Touch Photography. Lauren and Nick couldn’t have chosen a better person to capture those clean bold colours, the gorgeous subtle details and of course, the candid reaction of friends and family.

Home Or Away?

We got engaged at the end of November 2010. No sooner had we finished celebrating than it was Christmas. And in a flash we found ourselves in January facing the reality that if we wanted to get married in the summer we’d only have six month to organise it. We both liked the idea of getting married abroad in Greece or Italy, so initially we set about looking for large private villas that we could hire for the wedding. But we thought we should look into some local venues as a back up plan and on Islington’s registry office website saw Frederick’s listed as a licensed venue. Nick knew the local favourite well and we went to have a look – it was only at the end of the road after all! We both loved it and could see ourselves getting married there. The restaurant is closed to the public on Sundays, but available for exclusive hire for weddings and parties. When we found out that the only available summer Sunday left in their diary was one that we’d potentially earmarked as working for everyone we decided it was fate, and booked.

An Oscar Winning Dress.

I wanted to find a dress that would look right in such a modern and understated venue – something a bit different from the full-skirted, sweetheart-necklined bridal gowns that are everywhere. But alternatives were proving very difficult to find! So initially I thought I’d get one of these dresses shortened into a 1950s style tea-lenth dress, but something was holding me back. I visited Morgan Davies in Islington and explained my situation to Annalise. I let her pick out several dresses for me to try on, including one from my favourite designer Jesus Piero. When I put on ‘the’ dress, I instantly loved it. The halter neckline was different, the high waist band elongated my body and the whole effect was very flattering. But my parents, who were with me at the time, weren’t sure about the dress. My mum said, “It looks like something you’d wear to accept an Oscar in.” While I was secretly thinking how much I’d love to look like a movie star on my wedding day, it also meant a lot to me that my parents like the dress. So I left it. But I couldn’t stop thinking about it and ended up going back to try it on again twice more with my friend and bridesmaids before deciding to go for it! I’m glad I did – as one guest put it in a thank-you letter, “the dress was beautiful – glamourous, sexy and elegant.”

Bespoke Headpiece.

The dress was very plain, with simple lines. I knew that I wanted to add some of my personality to the dress by adding a fascinator with a retro, short, net veil. My sister and her boyfriend are friends with a newly qualified milliner, and they very generously offered to put me in touch with her and pay for the fascinator as a wedding gift. I worked closely with Mary of Mary Franck Millinery to create a bespoke freshwater pearl and crystal headpiece, with a detachable net veil. It really made the outfit.

I also borrowed a vintage crystal bracelet from my mother to add an extra bit of sparkle.

Pale Pink And Pearl.

I am quite short, so I wanted to wear heels for height but I also wanted to be able to dance all night! Nick actually chose my shoes! – Rachel Simpson Venetia shoes with a 8.5cm heel and concealed cushioned platform. They are extremely comfortable and the pink suede detail tied in with our pale pink and pearl theme.

Lash Extensions.

My long-time home hair colourist (and now friend) Zoe does hair for weddings so I booked her to do mine! I had my hair curled and then put up off-centre to accommodate the head piece.

I went to several trial make-up sessions at make-up counters in Selfridges. In the end I decided I would prefer to do my own make-up. I invested in some new make-up and professional brushes from Bobbi Brown to ensure I got a great finish, and I’m still using it all today! I also had eyelash extensions put in to accentuate my eyes – much more comfortable than fake eyelash strips and eliminates the need for mascara.

Peonie Replacements.

I love peonies and they had already inspired the design of our invitations and our wedding cake. When it came to ordering the flowers for the wedding we discovered that the peony season had come early this year and the florists could not guarantee that they would still be available by 10 July! We then shopped around for similar-looking alternatives. One of the florists had recommended looking at The Real Flower Company. They have a concession in Selfridges in London so we went to have a look at their range of beautiful, unique, highly scented roses. We chose a mixture of the ‘Peony Pink’ variety, which as the name suggests look very like a pale pink peony, and ‘Groupie’, a white peony-like rose. These exclusive roses were going to be very expensive to order via the florist, so I rang The Real Flower Company direct. I ordered the bridal and bridesmaids bouquets, button holes and corsages to be delivered to Selfridges the day before the wedding. I also ordered 75 single stemmed roses and fragrant herbs, which were delivered to my parents house and kept cool in the basement. We made up the table arrangements ourselves on the morning of the wedding, using vases from Ikea and white pebbles from a garden centre!

Pink And Grey.

Wanting to keep things relatively informal, we asked our Fathers and Nick’s brother, the best-man, to wear light grey suits and we bought pale pink matching ties for each of them. My two bridesmaids chose their own pale grey dresses from Reiss. I bought matching grey freshwater pearl bracelets from Tiger Lily Trading as gifts for the bridesmaids, which I gave them on the morning of the wedding.

Hand Made Extravagance.

Nick wore a bespoke, hand-made, 3-piece suit by Charlie Allen in Islington. It was an extravagance, but he could not think of a better occasion to treat himself! He chose a natural linen fabric and tan leather Grenson shoes, which he bought at Nigel Hall on Upper Street.

Journalistic, Not Staged.

The photographer was the first thing we booked after the venue. We found Ben Tomlin at Touch Photography after looking at lots of portfolios online. We were very impressed with Ben’s journalistic, rather than staged, photographic style and knew we wanted something similar for our big day. When we met Ben he was such a nice guy, and exactly the type of person you wouldn’t mind poking a camera in your face, even when you’re at your most stressed. Ben put in a mammoth effort on the day – even racing me in my black taxi across London from my parent’s house to the venue – and I think he was one of the last to leave! We’ve had so many comments from our friends on how our wedding photos are some of the best they’ve ever seen.

A Bit Of Bad Luck?

I decided that I wanted to make something for the wedding and the cake seemed an obvious choice, despite caution from my Czech friend Lenka that it’s bad luck for the bride to bake the cake herself! We both love fruit cake and it can be made well in advance – in fact its better if it is. I followed Delia Smith’s rich fruit cake recipe and made three tiers, covered with white marzipan and ivory fondant icing. I made sugar paste peonies to decorate the cake and learnt by following an online tutorial. I also painted the piping around the edge of each tier with an edible pearlised lustre to make it look like pearls. The sugar paste flowers were so good that some people thought they were real flowers!

The Suburbians.

We both wanted a live band. We found an amazing band called The Suburbians. We were really lucky to have them play as they have subsequently gone on tour in Canada and launched their debut album – I think we were their last ever wedding! I made sure everyone joined me on the dance floor and the band repaid me by allowing me to join them in singing ‘Brown Eyed Girl’. At the end of the night, when everyone wanted an encore, they sang one of their own songs ‘Red Dress’, but changed the lyrics to ‘White Dress’ – loved it!

Crazy Love.

Our first dance was to ‘Crazy Love’ by Van Morrison. Nick chose it, he says the lyrics encapsulate how he feels about me.

Having the ceremony and reception in one venue we’d also had to select our own music for the service. I love film soundtracks, so we made it a bit of a theme. I came down the aisle to ‘Glasgow Theme’ from Love Actually; during the signing of the register we played ‘Maestro’ from The Holiday and ‘Love Theme’ from Romeo and Juliet; and after the service as we exited to the garden, we played ‘Business’ and ‘Ball’ from Plunkett and Macleane.

Quiz Cards, Canapés And Cocktails.

For Our favours we had Chinese fortune sticks and wedding quiz cards from Cox & Cox.

The beauty of holding your wedding at Frederick’s is that Renata and her team take care of as little or as much as you like – the restaurant’s flower displays were ordered to match our theme, she printed and displayed our table plan and table names, and printed the menus and name cards. There are two indoor trees – very Kate and Wills – and we asked for fairy lights to be put in them. The garden was a great space for champagne after the service and photos – it’s a central location but you can’t hear the business of Upper Street outside. The service staff were fantastic, as were the canapés and meal – the benefit of holding your wedding in a top restaurant!

The evening at Frederick’s wound up at 11pm. As it was a Sunday we thought that many of our friends would need to get home to bed. But for those who wanted to carry on chatting and celebrating, we booked an area at my favourite cocktail bar around the corner, 69 Colebrook Row. It was fun walking down the cobbled street in my wedding dress and one final night-cap in an intimate setting was a great way to end a fantastic day!

Venue Frederick’s Bar & Restaurant

Dress Jesus Piero

Accessories Mary Franck Millinery

Boutique Morgan Davies

Shoes Rachel Simpson Venetia

Blooms The Real Flower Company

Tailor Charlie Allen

Photography Touch Photography

Band The Suburbians

There is such a lovely vibe to this wedding… I had to resist simply filling every template with images of people just smiling and hugging! Looking back on it maybe I didn’t resist that much… but hey – we like to show the love on RMW…

Adam.

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A Marriage At River Cottage.

January 6th, 2012

Mike and Esmè Married at St Gregory’s Church in Seaton and had their reception at River Cottage.

That’s right folks – The River Cottage made famous by Hugh Fearnley “kill-a-rabbit-with-my-bear-hands-for-breakfast” Whittingstall!

Prepare yourselves for a visual feast as we head down to Dorset in the South West.

The magnificent Sam Gibson was on hand with a box of lenses to capture this rural delight in all its glory.

Wow Factor.

River Cottage Hq was the most amazing venue. The location, staff and food were relaxed and overall the place had an amazing wow factor.

Cat our wedding Co-ordinator was a super star, from the moment we walked down the wobbly hill to River Cottage we knew this was our place. Cat was always on the end of the phone or email when needed, but also was very relaxed about the day and helped us choose the food giving us ideas on how to use River Cottage for the day. We had the speeches outside in the garden with champagne and canapés, then the yurt for coffee after the meal.

The chef gave a toast to the guests explaining how the spit roast lamb was prepared and how he and the team had prepared the meal. They used veg from my father’s farm which was great to incorporate into our day. My dad doesn’t normally like courgettes but did on this day – the way the chef had cooked them, delicious!

The staff where so good on the day and so happy, the guests again commented on how good all the staff were. Simon the master of Ceremony for the day was brilliant. Helping us throughout the day and helping with guest requests. All in all River Cottage, Cat and the team were Wonderful.

The Dress Search.

After much looking around and having a very bad experience in many shops we finally found a wonderful shop called Days of Grace in Budleigh Salterton, Devon. Carole the owner was amazing and on my second visit to her we walked into the shop and there it was, hanging on the rail by the front door – ‘THE DRESS’ a Maggie Sottero. ‘The Tabrette Marie’ made with French taffeta and wonderful jewels around the waist band.

It wasn’t what I thought I would have chosen, as in my dreams from a child I thought I would have the big princess style dress but this one was so different and elegant. All the dresses in Days of Grace where sample dresses from a shop in Exeter called Pirouette which also made the price very good as well.

Straps And Jewels.

The shoes!!! What a nightmare – I suffer from MS and find it very difficult to walk in heels so trying to find shoes which were not only pretty, but ones I could walk in, was a challenge! If I had the time I would have designed some myself!! But Pirouette came to the rescue and found me a lovely pair of Rainbow wedding shoes which had a strap across the top of my foot and a jewelled buckle to the side. Quite high but I had my father to hold on to for the church walk and i changed my shoes once at River Cottage to a flat pair bought from Next. Ballerina shoes with lots on jewels on the front, it didn’t matter as no one could see my feet!

Tame Those Locks.

My make-up, the bridesmaids and mothers where done by Becky from Changing Faces. Again an amazing service from the first contact, to the day. Becky listened to us all, taking account of what we liked and didn’t like and Wow she did good, it stayed on all day.

Our hair was done by one of our great friends Claire who has only in the last year taken the plunge and opened her own hair salon called Salon 27 in Seaton, Devon.

I have very long hair and Claire tamed it beautifully, all to one side with lovely curls and the bridesmaids all had there’s to one side in a loose bun with flowers that matched the bouquets. She closed the shop for us so we could all be there and Becky could be there as well, keeping a running chain of people from 8am till 11am. We had nails, hair and make-up done (all together 7 of us – they were amazing).

A Mix Of Flowers And Herbs.

We wanted wild flowers as we had no real theme to our wedding apart from a loose relaxed and countryside feel.

Claire from Haughty Culture in Honiton was also brilliant. I didn’t have much idea what flowers where called but had a photo and an idea of what I wanted. Oh my god she did a fabulous job! The bouquets, button holes, hair flowers and confetti all looked stunning with Mint, Thyme and all types of flowers, too many to name, but best of all Claire found a hydrangea called Esme which was used in everyone’s flowers, even in the little hair pieces she made. Brilliant!

Hello Husband!

Mike had found a shop in Exeter called Dyfed Menswear – their suits were nice and also you could collect them a week before the wedding. This meant someone didn’t have to rush into town to collect on the Friday before and we knew we had time to change some sizes if needed. Mike chose the colour for the wedding party which was Teal. He chose morning suits in dark grey shimmer for all the men with Teal cravats and for himself a cream cravat.

Mike being a fire-fighter wore his dress uniform for the ceremony and changed into his suit for the wedding breakfast. He looked a dream come true and Fwaaar…

“Hello that’s going to be my Husband” Is what I thought as I walked down towards him.

Relaxed And Helpful.

From the moment we saw Sam Gibson’s website we knew he was the one. He was relaxed and very helpful (No hard sale – no you must do this and I won’t do that).

On the day Sam appeared smartly dressed, calm, cool and dived straight in taking photos of us girls getting glammed up at Salon 27. We didn’t really even know the photos were being taken. Boy I was a nervous wreck all morning. He then went to the boy’s residence and from there on to the church. No questions asked, he did his research; going down the day before to meet Cat our wedding co-ordinator at River Cottage, speaking to the vicar, driving round to each place he needed to be at on the day. He knew where each event was happening. He even had breakfast with my Dad in the morning as they stayed in the same hotel.

Sam was everywhere but not in your face, come to think of it I can’t remember seeing him much through the day at all. He even helped us set up a couple of things as we could not get something to work. Then at around 10pm he came to do a last shot of us and say goodbye, bless him he must have been so tired.

Three weeks after the wedding the email came to say we will get the photos the next day, Aaaahhhh I screamed to Mike. Oh my god, what we got was amazing! A slide show DVD and a second disc with the photos on. We watched the slide show, Mike cried and I screamed with joy as we got to see our wonderful day. I cannot put into words how wonderful Sam’s photos are and how amazing Sam is! Most people have watched the slide show and all want copies, they all said how great he was on the day. I see him as a friend now who made our day come to life for the rest of our lives.

A Dusting Of Sugar.

We had a 3 tier Victoria sponge cake made by one of Mike’s mothers friends and yum yum, it was delicious. No icing just dusted with icing sugar and strawberries, raspberries and pink roses. Very plain but very pretty, no fuss.

That’s Jazz.

We had a local jazz band called Arcadia from Axminster, Devon. Boy they were good, they started at 6pm and finished at 9pm and everyone loved them. Mike and one of his ushers even had a little dance together. A great band, very friendly and very professional.

More Than Words.

Our first dance was to Extreme ‘More Than Words’. This is a song that is close to us as we were together around 8 years ago then parted for 3 years before we realised we loved each other too much and had to be together for the rest of our lives. On the day we arranged to meet up again Mike played this song as we reminisced about old times and we knew this would be our first dance at our wedding!

Pump Up The Jam.

Our favours were small jams that we used as name places. Me and my mother spent two days making the name tags for each one, sewing, sticking and tying to each little pot. We also made small sewn hearts for each lady with a name tag sewn on the front of each saying ‘Mike & Esme’ and on the back was the date ‘6th August 2011′

candles And Wild Flowers.

At the church we had many plain church candles which we bought from Ikea and dotted around the church.

At River Cottage they had put lots of bunting around, jam jars of wild flowers, lots and lots of candles and also we arranged to have 4 fire posts from another local company to be put around the garden outside the yurt which gave light at night and a little bit of warmth. They were also used for cooking marshmallows on, which River Cottage had laid out for the guests.

The Best Bits.

We had many parts of the day which were so special to us – Mikes Crew from Seaton fire station doing a guard of honour for us as we left the church, a classic fire appliance to take Mike & I to River Cottage from the church, having great bridesmaids, best man and ushers helping us wonderfully throughout the day, the tractor ride down to River Cottage from the Top of the hill… the list is endless.

A Final Thought.

My advice would be to take it all in through the day as it goes so quick, do as much as you can to save cost and give it a personal touch. Most of all enjoy it!

Venue River Cottage

Dress Maggie Sottero

Shoes Rainbow Club

Make-up Changing Faces

Blooms Haughty Culture

Suit Hire Dyfed Menswear

Photography Sam Gibson

Entertainment Arcadia

River Cottage certainly does have the WOW factor… I had no idea it was a venue for hire (maybe I shouldn’t admit that?) and if you are a real “foodie” it must go straight to the top of your dream reception destinations.

Talking of food, I’ve got to mention that victoria sponge… it’s made me hungry just looking at it and the florals take it firmly into dream territory too. Also, can I have a great big ruddy fire engine at my wedding too please? Thanks, bye!

Adam.

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Posted in Contemporary Cool

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