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.

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

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

“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).

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.

Getting married on the other side of the world to where you live is always going to present the odd logistical issue (understatement) and you have to admire this couples determination and trust that everything would be alright on the night.

Photography today is by the incredibly talented Anna Clarke of Anna Clarke Photography fame. She was assisted by her husband Simon, they certainly are a photographic team to be reckoned with.

Home Is Where The Heart Is.

We got married on 25th June 2011 in Leek Wootton in Warwickshire. It’s the village where I grew up and where my parents still live. We were married in the lovely old village church and then everyone walked down the road to my parents house where we had our drinks reception. We were very lucky that our lovely neighbours who live opposite my parents allowed us to use their garden to put up a big marquee, and so we headed over there for the wedding breakfast, meaning no driving had to be done at all during the day! That being said, another of the wonderful village neighbours drove me and my father to church (a grand 200m or so journey), and afterwards whisked Ben and I away in his amazing vintage Rolls Royce – he even dressed up as a chauffeur and surprised us with a bottle of champagne at the church!

Down Under.

We have been living in New Zealand for the past two years and that was where Ben proposed, during a skiing trip in the beautiful Remarkables of the South Island. Of course I said yes, we got incredibly excited, then almost immediately decided that we couldn’t possibly get married over here. And so began the trans-world wedding planning! Fortunately we were actually due to head back to the UK a few weeks after our engagement, so we managed to get most things sorted out during a quick fortnight back home (also, my mother is an organisation demon!). For that reason, we didn’t really have the option of looking around lots of places and sourcing different suppliers, we just had to get on with it! So….

Chapel Length Veil.

My dress was from Quello, a lovely little bridal shop in Kenilworth ten minutes from my parents house, and was by the Spanish designer, Rosa Clara. I think it was the second dress I tried on, and if I’m honest, I wasn’t that excited by it at the time, probably because it was 8 sizes too big for me and looked ridiculous! However, my thoughts kept coming back to that dress, and with good reason. The lovely ladies at Quello ordered me a dress in the right size, and managed to do pretty much all the alterations in the five days before our wedding when we were next back in the UK. Terrifying! They were amazing though, and I couldn’t have been more delighted when I finally got into my dress on the day. I had a little matching off the shoulder lace jacket which I wore during the ceremony and drinks reception, and a chapel length veil (because if you don’t wear a veil at your wedding, when else could you possibly wear one?).

Killer Heels.

My jewellery was very simple, a pearl and diamond earring and necklace set given to me by my mother, which had been given to her by my Dad’s mother, and a pearl bracelet. My shoes were tall! Ben is a lot taller than me (most people are) so I tottered around on killer heels for most of the day. I got the perfect pair in light ivory on a whim from Mi Piaci in New Zealand a few months before the wedding. The men hired their suits from Parkes in Royal Leamington Spa, and they all looked fantastic. My bridesmaids wore charcoal and ivory dresses from Forever Yours and managed to get them from local bridal shops scattered around the UK.

The Beauty Box.

Hair and makeup was a bit of a case of “who’s free on the day and is nearby” – being so far away I didn’t really have the opportunity to try out lots of places. I had been recommended The Beauty Box in Hampton Magna by a neighbour, and when I met Jacquie there I knew she would be great. She came over to my parents house on the day and did the makeup for myself and my mother, leaving us with a swag bag of all her makeup to return the following week so we could do touchups through the day as we wanted. I zoomed off to Classics hairdressers in Kenilworth first thing in the morning for a bit of time on my own, and they put my hair up in a loose chignon. I knew I couldn’t wear my hair down as I’m a terrible fiddler and would have had it in knots before the ceremony!

Champagne Picnic.

Getting our flowers done was again a bit of a guessing game, as we weren’t able to meet any florists in person. My mother’s a whiz with flowers, and so we decided that we would do all the decorations for the church, house and marquee. We ordered a massive pile of flowers from our local wholesaler, and with the help of a near army of women from the village (who were all amazing), and my mother and sister-in-law, we transformed the church on the Wednesday before the wedding. It was a brilliant day, all helping out and with a little champagne picnic in the church gardens to break up the work, we were laughing the whole day long. The church looked fantastic, but with all the flowers for the house and marquee to be done the day before the wedding we worried if we’d bitten off more than we could chew. The garage was full to bursting with roses, alstromeria, freesia, stock, lisianthus, ferns and tens of buckets! On Friday afternoon my maid of honour, mother and I made all the table decorations whilst chatting away and sipping wine, and it really set the scene for a wonderful weekend. As we knew the wedding day itself would be busy, we handed over responsibility for the bouquets and button holes to Fiona of Inspired Elegance, who matched the flowers beautifully with those that we had already prepared.

Divide And Conquer.

Our photographer was the wonderful Anna of Anna Clarke Photography. We met her only 4 days before the wedding when we had our “engagement” shoot. She instantly put us at ease, and we knew that we’d have a great time with her on the day. She came with her lovely husband Simon who shoots with her, and the two of them divided and conquered to capture the day in beautiful relaxed photographs. As this was going to be the first time we’d seen many of our friends since moving to New Zealand we didn’t want to spend half the reception having photos taken, and Anna and Simon were great in understanding that. We decided to have a relaxed lunch with the entire bridal party together before the ceremony and Anna and Simon used that time to make sure we got all the slightly more formal photographs that we might want.

Attack Of The Munchies.

We decided against a traditional cake as neither of us are that fussed about them, and felt that they often don’t even get eaten at weddings. Instead, we opted for some tiered cheeses, which we served as an extra cheese course half way through dancing later in the evening. It went down incredibly well, was completely devoured, and certainly settled some late night munchies! It was all organised by our fabulous caterers, The Chopping Block, who provided absolutely fantastic food, drink and service throughout the entire weekend.

Let There Be Love.

We knew early on that we wanted a live band, and listening to The Fabulations on their online jukebox knew that they’d be perfect for us. They got everyone up and dancing, including my octagenarian grandparents, with a brilliant mix of motown, funk and soul. Our first dance song was chosen the day before our wedding! We’d actually chosen something different quite some time before, but the band contacted us nearer the time saying that they didn’t think they could do it justice and were wondering if there was something else that we’d like instead. We forgot to reply, and suddenly realised with 24 hours to go that we didn’t have a first dance song. We quickly chose Let There Be Love, not for any particular reason other than us both liking the song!

Miniature Favours.

For favours we wanted something that our guests could enjoy on the night. We ordered lots of miniature glass bottles and my father spent a day decanting port from our two university colleges into them. They went down a treat with the cheese later in the night.

No Theme As Such.

Our decorations were all pretty simple – white flowers, candles and a simple thistle and ribbon on the napkins. We didn’t really have a colour theme as such, but if I had to describe it, it was probably ivory, charcoal and sage. Four our table plan I collected photographs of our parents and all our grandparents and arranged them amongst the table plan on a large board as our guests entered the marquee. Our grandparents absolutely loved it and it was a nice reminder of those grandparents who couldn’t be with us on the day.

Party On.

To make the most of our time back in the UK we organised a more relaxed hog roast and bar the following day, again in the marquee. The sun shone on one of summer’s warmest days, and it was great to relax with all our guests and some extra friends recounting tales of our wedding day before we left for our honeymoon that evening.

Forget About The Hiccups.

We had the most amazing day and will always remember it as such. It doesn’t matter that the toilets broke, and that a stranger parked in the space we’d set aside for the wedding car! Don’t get too hung up on all the little details and stay calm if things don’t work out quite as you’d planned. In all probability no-one will even notice anyway, they’ll be too busy looking at the two of you. and having a brilliant time.

Boutique Quello

Dress Rosa Clara

Shoes Mi Piaci

Maids Forever Yours

Hair Inspired Elegance

Make-up The Beauty Box

Bouquets and button holes Inspired Elegance

Photography Anna Clarke Photography

Catering The Chopping Block

The Fabulations The Fabulations

I think Nienke showed tremendous vision (and nerves of steal) to go for a dress that she only tried on once and was 8 sizes to big. I think we can safely say that gamble paid off though.

I love the table plan, I love the car – it reminds me of Gumdrop – anyone remember Gumdrop? Just me then….

If they managed all this in two weeks, I imagine that Ben and Nienke could probably organise world peace in a little over 3 months… anyone got a contact number for NATO?

Adam.

These challenges, by the way, included having to eat what appears to be a mountain of rice out of a massive metal pan and having a nose hair removed in the most painful way imaginable…

We have already shared the immense engagement shoot that Ann and Phil had (check it out if you haven’t already), and so let’s hand back to them for the follow up.

We are Ann and Phil and we were married on 28th June 2011. Our outdoor wedding ceremony and evening party took place at Moxhull Hall Hotel and the reception was at China Court Restaurant, Birmingham.

Three Dresses.

I had three dresses throughout the day (It may seem a lot but that is the bare minimum for Chinese brides). I started off with the traditional red Chinese dress, known as a ‘qwa’. It’s a vintage piece as it was borrowed from my aunt who wore it over 30 years ago for her wedding. Others in the family, including my two sisters have worn it since so there’s a lot of history with it.

For my evening gown I had been looking around and couldn’t find anything suitable within my non existent budget. I ended up having to make a last minute decision to have a custom made ivory coloured ‘qi pao’ which was literally done two weeks before the wedding by giving my measurements to my cousin in Hong Kong. It turned up on my doorstep in the suitcase of my Aunt the week before the wedding! Luckily I only had to have minor alterations done on it.

Traditional Bangles.

As part of customary Chinese tradition, we both received lots of gold jewellery such as ‘dragon and phoenix’ inscribed bangles, gold chain and pendants and rings from close family members. They were given to us on the day, during the tea ceremony and I wore it with my traditional red Chinese dress.

I had a red hair piece to go with the red Chinese dress and a gold hair piece with the evening gown. With the wedding dress, I wore a long veil which was borrowed from my sister and I only got the chance to try it on the night before the wedding! My pearl necklace was a surprise gift from my two darling younger cousins who knew it was the final touch that I had been looking for.

So High It Hurts.

I think I may have spent more time looking for my shoes than anything else. I drove everyone around me insane and gave a brief of what I wanted to bridesmaids and friends from America to Hong Kong looking for me. I knew I didn’t want anything white/ivory and wanted to add a bit of edge to my look.

My problem seemed to be that anything I did like was way too high for my comfort. In the end after 10 months of looking, I found a pair of black suede peep toes with a bow detail by Peter Kaiser a month before the wedding. I don’t know if I chose them because I was panicking but in the end I really liked the overall effect and the bonus is I’ve worn the shoes again.

A Family Affair.

My hair was done by my cousin Eva at Mak Hair. I had one trial and was keen on two different styles but actually only made my mind up on the morning! I guess I was relaxed about it because I knew both styles would have worked fine and Eva is a real pro.

My make-up was done by my sister and as she flew in from New York a couple of days before we didn’t get to trial it but I just wanted to keep it natural so completely trusted her to do her thing.

Yellow Theme.

Our flowers were by Andi and Wendy at Floral Decorations. I’m not much of a flower person so didn’t really have any specific ideas or requests so I just looked around on wedding blogs and found that Craspedias (Billy Buttons) really struck us, and fitted with our yellow theme too.

Other than that, we weren’t too particular so just showed Andi and Wendy some Craspedia based bouquets and buttonholes that we liked and let our florists decide. They produced a gorgeous mix of Peony, Craspedia, Eustoma, Viburnum and Eucalyptus which worked so well together.

Nothing Girly.

Our five bridesmaids’ dresses were from J.Crew Neither my bridesmaids nor I wanted anything that was really girly or ‘bridesmaidsey’ so we went for charcoal grey in silk chiffon which I find much cooler and less traditional than satin. The groomsmen were just asked to wear their own grey suits and their ties were from Tie Rack. Phil and the groomsmen’s ties were grey/silver to tie in the bridesmaids dresses. Our three nieces wore white pouf dresses with yellow sashes from J.Crew and our two little nephews wore waistcoats and a bowtie.

Three Changes.

Phil always said he didn’t want to wear anything traditional. He had three outfits for the day to complement my dress changes. He wore a black tux with a bow tie and a red checked shirt for a splash of colour to tie in with my traditional Chinese dress. For the ceremony he wore a fitted two buttoned grey suit and stood out a little from the groomsmen by adding a white waistcoat. He also refined his look with some classic gents accessories, a tie bar, tie-clip and cufflinks from Agnes B.

To complement my ‘qi pao’ he wore a classic tux and bow tie. Both the grey suit and the tux are bespoke as Phil has monkey arms and finds it difficult to get high street suits to fit well. I thought he looked very ‘dapper’ and on the day he still felt completely relaxed and comfortable and didn’t feel like he was in a ‘costume’.

Fetch Me A Barber.

The Barbers – Dani and Chris Barber were our photographers. They were exactly what we were looking for and our engagement shoot photos proved that we had made the right choice. We completely trusted them to do what they had to do to work down our endless list of traditional shots with family and relatives. The thing with Dani and Chris is that they’re great at communicating with you in the run up to the wedding and really take the time to get to know you and vice versa so you can just see their amazing work ethic and quite naturally they become friends you can trust.

Thankfully we still managed to spare a little bit of time for The Barbers to exert their creative flair with some fun bridesmaids and groomsmen shots. We still feel guilty for not affording more time to them though.

Sweet Treats Times Two.

We had two lots of cakes, a three tier Chinese fresh fruit cream cake at the reception and then the fun and tasty cupcakes by Dali and Maz from Kiss Me Cupcakes. We decorated the vanilla and mint choc cupcakes with different handmade DIY toppers which were designed by our good friend and bridesmaid Eve from Dunbyme, the creative genius and graphics whiz who also designed our invites and other stationary.

Dancing On A School Night.

We used Sonic Light and Sound a DJ recommended by the venue, having realised that a band was out of our budget and really not worth it as our wedding fell on a week night so we expected that many of guests wouldn’t stay on too late. We didn’t have a first dance but walking back up the aisle together, we used Amos Lee’s ‘Sweet Pea’ as it was playing in a shop we were in in New York, shortly after Phil proposed.

Silly Spaces and Sweet Shops.

The highlight was a ‘silly space’ booth that our Photographer’s set up. Our guests had a laugh taking photos using random props that were supplied. Nothing but silliness, just the way we like it. We didn’t have favours as such but we did have a yellow themed ‘Sweet Shop’ with plenty for guests to take away along with the cupcakes.

East Meets West.

We loved that our wedding entailed aspects of our Chinese culture with the Western touches and the whole day was just like a big family and friends get together.

Set a realistic budget (with a contingency) and don’t deviate from it at every opportunity with the saying ‘you only do it once’. At the end of the day, it is being married that is most important; not the fifty details that people may not even appreciate. Remember, you two are the ones who have to live with the costs and although weddings as expensive, they are only as expensive as you allow them to be.

No Time For Myths.

I think it’s a myth when people tell you have to plan your wedding years in advance. I think it works two ways; the more time you have, the more you dwell on things.

Lastly just have a good time and try not to sweat the small stuff!

Venue Moxhull Hall Hotel

Reception China Court Restaurant

Shoes Peter Kaiser

Hair Mak Hair

Bridesmaids J.Crew

Grooms Accessories Agnes B

Photographers The Barbers

Cupcakes Kiss Me Cupcakes

Entertainment Sonic Light and Sound

My eyes are still watering, partly from laughing out loud at what looks to be a wedding with one soul purpose – to have fun fun fun… but mainly from that nose hair tweaser shot. OUCH!

I’m loving the yellow colour scheme, and the simple touches like the buttonholes and the chair bow really tie everything together in such a simple and effective way.

Right, I’m off to see if I can perfect the split-legged groom leap. All I need is a big box and a camera and a sunset. Oh, and the St. Johns ambulance team on standby.

Adam.

Amy Murrell from Especially Amy is responsible for today’s eye candy. Oh, and look out for the Mother of the Bride badge. It’s genius.

Frome Somerset With Love.

Our wedding took place on Sunday the 4th September 2011 at St Mary’s Church and Orchardleigh House both of which are part of the Orchaleigh Estate, in Frome, Somerset.

Modern Twist.

My dress was from Maggie Sottero and the model is called Karena Royale. The design really is quite classic with a few modern twists; After looking at dresses in magazines and trying on a few I knew that I wanted a lace dress but had no idea about the style and cut, I wasn’t in a rush to buy a dress as we had a long engagement so tried on a fair few in order to differentiate between styles and cuts and just because I could .

From trying on numerous dresses and striking off many because of the weight, poofyness and never ending layers I decided I wanted something elegant and that I would be comfortable wearing throughout the day as well as a dress that wasn’t too heavy and restricting. The reason I knew it was “the one” was because of how it looked and felt on. The lace gave it the classic bridal look but the additions of the sash and the small diamante flecks throughout the dress tied the whole look together and it was exactly what I was looking for.

Discreet Studs.

As the dress did have the sparkly detail throughout and the broach detail on the sash I didn’t want to wear anything that took away from the dress and make everything look a bit too bling! So discreet and understated small diamante and pearl studs were my earring choice, with a very small diamante floral tiara both of which were sourced from a local boutique.

Look Him In The Eyes.

Knowing that brilliant blue skies are not always guaranteed for every wedding day I didn’t want to splurge on shoes that potentially would get wrecked before arriving at the church. Luckily I found some Ivory, peep toed high heels in Nine West that didn’t break the bank and went really well with my dress. Not only were they comfortable they gave me the much needed extra height to help elevate me so that I could look my 6”4 husband in the eyes rather than his chest!!

A Considered Decision.

I am not a big make up wearer so didn’t want to turn up at the church and have Jamie not recognize me! I went with a very natural look but with a bit more definition in the eyes and cheeks. A very light heather eye liner and eye shadow was used, with the addition of a few false eye lashes to help give me fuller lashes and more definition. My hair choice was difficult and I found this really hard to decide, I knew I wanted something quite classic and not too fussy but beside that had no idea. I had one trial with Alexis 7 months before the wedding with no concluding decision so decided to have another trial closer to the wedding along with the veil and tiara which really helped to make the decision and be able to gage the final look.

A Pamper Party.

All the hair and make up for both me and the girls was provided by Alexis Daly from Big Day Beauty. It was a pleasure to see the girls looking so great as well as being a little bit pampered along with myself. I was so pleased with all the hair and make up for the entire bridal party, Alexis delivered exactly the look we were all after and took a lot of time and effort to ensure that everyone was comfortable and happy with their finished looks. The good news was that Jamie did recognize me and I received many compliments regarding both my hair and makeup choices for the day!

Natural Beauty.

As we were having a country wedding we didn’t want anything looking too manicured and precise. After seeing the house and the church we wanted the beauty of these to stand out and our ideas and themes to blend in. We opted for white flowers with lots of green foliage, and went with simple and slightly rustic as the brief. Our florist Jackie from Neston flowers in Bradford upon Avon was brilliant and grasped exactly what we wanted and delivered beyond our expectations and helped make our day. When we first visited Jackie and started to discuss the wedding we took along the wicker hearts that were used for the pews and the bridge and the theme of the flowers started from here. The bouquets were a mix of white roses, freshias, gyp, stephanotis, ivy, eucalyptus with lots of green foliage. This was mirrored throughout in all of the flowers from button holes to the amazing candelabras that were used in both the church and as our table centre pieces.

A Sage Suggestion.

The colour theme was a slightly dark sage green and this was mirrored in the groomsmen’s party ties also. Actually the green theme was discreetly carried on throughout the wedding and featured on the wedding cake too. The bridesmaid dresses I had made after finding a design I liked from Priscilla of Boston and the groomsmen’s suits were provided by Marc Wallace.

Bespoke Tailoring.

Jamie wore a suit by Marc Wallace, he wanted to have the experience of having a suit tailored for him not only just because of his height and finding the right trouser length but he had the very valid point of wanting to feel special for the day in his suit also. Seeing Jamie for the first time when I walked down the aisle is something that I will never forget.

In Amongst The Action.

Amy Murrell from Especially Amy was our photographer and we couldn’t have wished for a better photographer. Laid back, patient and extremely professional and unobtrusive throughout the day, she helped us feel relaxed and comfortable when we knew we were being photographed. We were very lucky as Amy is actually a family friend and came very highly recommend, we took a look at her work had a meeting and the decision was made. Her pictures are fantastic and she captured the day perfectly and really went above and beyond her photographic duties on the day as she actually helped get me into my dress and secure all the corset lacing.

Cake Evolution.

Jamie’s mum Pennie made our cake for us which really made the whole experience special. We had many a discussion on the design, taste and final finish of the cake before production and this really added to the personal touch which was fantastic. Originally I liked the idea of cupcakes but this idea evolved after having looked at many magazines, books and websites. we finally decided on a white chocolate and vanilla mix for all the small drum cakes, but upheld tradition with the top tier being a fruit cake (which is actually Jamies favourite). The cakes were decorated with small flowers and butterflies and a very discreet light scattering of edible glitter along with the sage ribbon. The week before the wedding both Jamie and I were very hands on helping to stick on all the flowers and butterflies so on the wedding day it was a great feeling for us all seeing how beautiful the cake looked on show.

A Song And Dance.

We went for a live band and DJ. The band is called Wired4sound and were absolutely brilliant. They played a very good range of music which catered for all ages and music tastes which ensured the band had everybody on the floor dancing all night. The band also provided a DJ that filled in whilst the band took a break and played some last minute gems at the end of the night also! We also hired a Groovy Booth for the evening which was one of the best choices we made, the guests loved it and it kept all entertained and very amused until early hours! We actually opted for the Groovy Booth to print two picture copies so that guests could put one in our guest book and leave a message and could have a copy for themselves to keep. This enabled us to have an excellent and very comical account of the wedding and covered the favours too. The booth went down a treat with all the guests and would highly recommend this for any future weddings.

Crisp White.

Our general décor for the wedding breakfast room was crisp white linens and matching chair covers. The main features were the candelabras and the wicker hearts that were also used in the church.
For the evening we bought lanterns for the balcony areas outside the house which helped to create a lovely ambience outside and tie in the outside areas to the inside.

12 Months In The Making.

Having been bridesmaid a few times and having the bonus of advice from married friends there are snippets that you take away and implement from each of your experiences to help plan your day. Lots of chats and advice are given on the run up to the wedding but the most valuable advice I found was to relax and enjoy the day and not worry about the minor details. You do not realize how quickly the day passes so enjoy every minute and hour of the day and just go with the flow! To us our day was special because we had the opportunity to have all our friends, family and loved ones under the same roof for one whole day to celebrate along with us. It brought great pleasure to both Jamie and I seeing everyone having fun and letting their hair down which was exactly what we aimed to achieve.

Having spent a good 12 months planning the wedding and then seeing it all come to life was a great experience and something that we will never forget. The colour themes, bridesmaids, groomsmen, flowers, cake and the fantastic efforts of both mums with their outfits and input gave us a great feeling of pride on the day. I was very fortunate in having a groom whom was very interested and involved in the whole planning and organizing process. It was a fabulous feeling knowing that every step towards the wedding had been a joint decision and the day was very much about both of us and learning to cope with compromise!

Venue Orchaleigh Estate

Dress Maggie Sottero

Shoes Nine West

Hair and Make-up Big Day Beauty

Tailor Marc Wallace

Photographer Especially Amy

Music Wired4sound

Entertainment Groovy Booth

Planning an event of such scale is obviously no picnic, but as Rachael describes, the feeling of accomplishment and the sense of achievemnet is something that you’ll keep forever.

And a great team effort has to be the best start in preparing you both for married life.

Adam.

I’m a big David Bowie fan but I would never have thought of Absolute beginners as a first dance song, yet it’s perfect. That mix of drama, big sound, flamboyence and genius Bowie lyrics. It’s an “all out” love song that is steeped with sincerity, without the slightest hint of cheese.

Ok, next thing – this wedding is immense! I love Emilia and Christian’s style. Emilia didn’t want to be too classically “bridey” and she achieves that look perfectly. She wanted to do the “Jack Rabbit Slim” dance with her dad (with shoes off and everything) so she did that too. These guys did exactly what they wanted and it just worked. I feel as if they could have decided on something really crazy like, I dunno “Let’s have a stuffed crocodile head on the top table…” and they’d manage to pull it off… But that would be madness right?

Enjoy this one peeps, the day was captured perfectly by Especially Amy…

Not A Girly Girl.

We were married on July 9th, 2011 at the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich. I went home to the US to see family just after we got engaged and my Mom strong-armed me into going dress shopping with her. I was never very girly and actually don’t really like wedding dresses that much, so I was not optimistic at all about finding anything that I liked. We went to a couple of shops and I have to say that on the whole I hated all the dresses that I saw. I wanted something that didn’t scream ‘wedding dress’ and more like a red carpet gown; sleek with a unique twist to it. The dress was the final one that was brought out to me and at first glance I wasn’t that blown over by it; however once I tried it on I knew that it was the one. I knew I wanted a strapless dress and I thought the back was so different than any of the other dresses that I had seen. It is a Nicole Miller dress and it was from Bridal Garden in New Jersey, US.

Vintage Style.

I didn’t want a veil or tiara – again trying to look as least bridal as possible. I decided on a vintage style, crystal hair comb from etsy that added sparkle for some glamour. I love love love big statement earrings and like the look of having one piece of jewellery really stand out. I always stopped to drool at the jewellery in the window of Hirst Antiques, in Notting Hill and I knew they would have a pair of earrings that would be perfect. The ones I chose are a pair of 1940’s Czechoslovakian cut crystal earrings. I thought the amber crystal colour was so beautiful.

Something Blue.

I liked the idea of not wearing white shoes-when would you wear those again anyway? So I went for a pair of Ted Baker, peep toe, royal blue, and 3.5 inch heels. They had a black structural bow on the toe that complimented the bows on the back of my dress.

I Want To Look Like Me.

Alexis Daly did my make-up and hair. She was recommended by my photographer and she was so incredibly great. I told her that I wanted to look like me, i.e. natural, but more enhanced and she completely understood what I wanted. She did a pretty, twisted side knot for my hair. She was also totally great on the day and made everything relaxed and fun while we were getting ready.

Gothic Vibe.

I really love black dahlias and black calla lilies. I wanted a wild, Victorian garden, Gothic vibe to the flowers. I also love mixing textures and foliage with flowers. Rachel Morgan did the flowers and they were even more beautiful than I expected. She added unripe blackberries and wild meadow flowers to the mix that worked perfectly.

Slightly British.

We didn’t have a colour scheme or a theme because our bridesmaids and groomsmen were just my sister and Christian’s brother. We wanted them to feel comfortable in what they were wearing so we let them wear what they wanted-with our input of course! Christian bought his brother a Liberty tie and pocket square, along with black Barbour cufflinks. So I guess there was a slight British theme!

Suits You.

Christian had a bespoke suit made by Max Hence in Spitalfields. It fit him so perfectly and it had wonderful details like turn-ups on the trousers. His shoes were Loake oxblood brogues, and he let me pick out his tie from Liberty. I chose one with rich burgundy colours that would complement the black calla lily he wore for his buttonhole.

Documentary Style.

Amy Murrell from Especially Amy was our photographer and we made our decision to choose her based on some of her other work that we had seen. We knew we wanted a more documentary style to our photographs and Amy’s photographs were exactly that. She was able to capture so many special moments between our friends and family. And even though we hate to pose for photographs, Amy made that totally bearable and some of them turned out to be the best ones!

French Flavours.

We knew we didn’t want a traditional wedding cake because we both don’t like fruit cake and at every wedding we have been to, the cake is always left in the corner and no one eats it. We toyed with the idea of cutting it during the wedding breakfast and serving it for our desert course but that didn’t really work with our caterers. Christian was doing some research on types of cakes and he came across the Croquembouche, a traditional French wedding cake. It is a tower of choux buns filled with different types of flavoured cream fillings and then held together with spun sugar. We went to go taste some at the patisserie, Boulangerie Jade in Blackheath and were hooked. We couldn’t decide on one filling so we convinced them to include all the flavours and to mix them up so that each bun would be a surprise. The flavours were vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, rum, whiskey, cognac, and Armagnac. This way guest could take small buns off the tower themselves throughout the evening to keep them going!

Genius Playlist.

We love music and didn’t want to hand over control to a DJ so we did our own ipod playlists. It was great because we got to hear all our favourite songs without any duds in-between.

I Absolutely Love You.

We danced to Absolute beginners from David Bowie. Bowie is a fav of ours and we had a particularly fun evening early in our relationship that included lots of wine and listening to this song in my garden.

Everybody Be Cool…

I also had a Father/daughter dance with my Dad. It is a tradition for weddings in the US, and being American I couldn’t pass it up. My Dad and I did the Jack Rabbit Slims twist contest dance from the movie Pulp Fiction. We even took our shoes off before the dance like in the movie. When I was 15 he took me to see it in the theatres and it has been a favourite movie of mine ever since.

A Sweet Idea.

We had an arrangement of sweets for the guests. Half were old-style sweets from the US like Mary Jane, Bit o’ Honey, and Squirrel Nut Zippers and the other half were English gummies like foam shrimps. The space at the venue was so beautiful and grand that we really didn’t want to detract from the architectural features of the room. One whole wall was windows and a balcony that overlooked the Thames and we felt it was stunning enough and didn’t need dressing up. We did have a little nod to where we met though. We met while working at a museum with a natural history collection so we decided to have a few bell jars with antlers, fossils, etc..that was reminiscent of a Victorian cabinet of curiosities. We also had a taxidermy crocodile head and a deer skull mixed into the top table flowers.

Make Some Time.

It was so wonderful to me that my family and friends could make it over from the US for my wedding and that really made the wedding the best it could be. The advice I would give to other brides is something that Alexis, my hair and makeup stylist told me while she was getting me ready. She said to make sure that you get a chance to spend some private time with your husband because the whole day will be a blur of activity and you will find that people will be lining up to talk to you. You don’t want to get to the end of the evening and realise that you barely saw your husband! I followed her advice and it really made all the difference for the day-thank you Alexis!

Dress Nicole Miller

Earrings Hirst Antiques

Shoes Ted Baker

Hair and Make-up Alexis Daly

Tailor Max Hence

Flowers Rachel Morgan

Cake Boulangerie Jade

Photographer Especially Amy

Ok, so I’m guessing the croc was still a suprise for a lot of you… what a cool idea though and certainly a very original one. The dress is very individual too, I’m definately a fan… and the groom looks equally stylish – I love that Christian specified turn ups… I thought I was the only one rocking turn ups on suit trousers

Adam.

A Nod Towards tradition.

My Dress was called ‘Georgia’ by Pronovias – traditional strapless ivory full gown with crumb-catcher top, button-up back and a beautiful 5-foot train.

The following day I got on the internet and found it was stocked at Harrods, London; a quick phone call and we arranged an appointment for that afternoon. The bridal department was quiet, cool and relaxing, the staff brought us champagne and didn’t rush us, and we immediately felt at ease – the service was exemplary. I tried on the dress that I’d seen the previous day and fell in love with it. Trembling in trepidation, I asked the price, expecting a significant premium associated with buying in Harrods and had the most wonderful surprise – the dress was no dearer than any other stockist. I was amazed – and delighted!

Bargain Hunting.

Having hunted for suitable jewellery, I was really struggling to find something pretty enough to complement my plain dress whilst not being too ‘showy’. I found Lori through Etsy and fired off a request to her, describing (poorly!) what I hoped to find – and was gobsmacked when I received an email back with a photograph showing a sample design – it was exactly as I’d imagined it to be! I was nervous with ordering from a woman in Texas whom I’d never met but was reassured by the feedback of others, as well as the speed with which she replied to my enquiry. I decide to place a small test order and this was fulfilled perfectly; I ended up ordering a necklace, bracelet, earrings and hair clip for myself, along with matching necklaces for all the bridesmaids, all at a significant saving over the cost of buying a simple necklace alone in a Jeweller’s in the UK. Beautiful, bespoke and a bargain – I was thrilled!!

Choosing my veil took me far longer than I’d expected. Although I’d tried a number of places, I had my heart set on a veil from Pronovias I’d tried on when choosing my dress. The price was the issue, however – I decided that it just wasn’t worth paying £380 for something so plain and simple. My initial plan was to set about making my own. After many hours work, I decided the hassle just wasn’t worth it, and the finish just wasn’t acceptable – I’d have needed access to an overlocker machine which I didn’t have. So… eBay! I found a veil originally purchased from Harrods and for the grand sum of £55.00 it was mine!! It was absolutely perfectly – over 5 foot long, wide and ribbon edged – and oh! how I loved it!

The Very Latest Style.

I’m 5ft 11 and, with Steve being an inch or two shorter, neither of us were particularly keen for me to tower over him in our photographs, but Steve was equally adamant I should have my bridal heels! I met Rachel Simpson at a wedding fare where she was previewing her new collection and immediately fell in love with an ivory pearlescent leather design called ‘Violet’ with a low heel. Not even released, the pair on display were simply a mock-up but I pre-ordered them there and then and, 6 months later, was absolutely delighted when the shoes arrived. They were absolutely perfect!

Supermodels, Celebrities And Film Stars.

One of my best friends and chief bridesmaid, Lara-Zee also happens to a hairdresser – not that you’d necessary believe that when you see the photos of her at the wedding with her wild mop of hair! Lara’s not your regular work-in-a-salon hairdresser, mind you (she doesn’t do things by halves!) but is a groomer and hair stylist to the great and good, having styled everyone from supermodels, celebrity film stars, the Prime Minister and a certain very-famous British Prince! Following the announcement of our engagement, Lara quickly laid down the ‘hair law’ – she, and no-one else would be doing my hair! Lara turned up the night before the big day armed curling tongs and a mountain of hairspray and, after a 30 minute blitz, I found myself with a head full of hair extensions.

Regarding my makeup, I’d spent quite a lot of time trying to find a makeup artist whose images didn’t look like an 80’s throwback and which fitted in with the image I hoped to achieve on the day – one of understatement and simple elegance. Sascha was recommended in an online forum and, having reviewed her website and chatted via email, I arranged for a trial at her studio. The trial did not go well – I don’t wear makeup very often and wasn’t confident in explaining what I wanted and so, when Sascha asked “how do you like this”, I simply nodded meekly in agreement. It was not till I got home and spoke to Steve that I realised how unhappy I was with the look, which was very sculptured and defined, like something from a catwalk, and not at all what I wanted. Steve insisted I speak with her and tell her honestly what I thought – and Sascha was amazing. She immediately arranged a second trial and, this time, I went accompanied with a number of cuttings from wedding magazines that reflected the look I was after. Sascha absolutely nailed it and I came out of the second trial beaming with happiness. Sascha replicated the look again perfectly on the day, the make-up was exactly as I hoped it would be, lasting through to the very end of the night, and I was delighted I’d finally plucked up the confidence to tell her what I wanted.

Keeping The Budget Down.

We really struggled with this; where with other suppliers we knew what we were getting for any particular price, we felt uneasy picking and negotiating with a florist as it’s not something that you get to see until the big day itself. We met with a few different florists but all were either out of our price range or felt a little unprofessional, slap dash or cheap. I saw an advert for Alison in a magazine and, having seen examples of her work both on her website and at other weddings that we’d attended, we decided to meet with her and so set up an appointment. On arriving at her wonderful home I was struck by how professional, open and helpful she was; we were working to a very tight budget and Alison worked tirelessly to accommodate our requests.

To keep costs down, I decided against hiring vases for the tables and decided, instead, to try and source them myself (with the intention of selling them afterwards). I’d found some 12” high cast-iron urns on eBay and thought they would make the basis of some wonderful table centres. We ordered two as samples and, when they arrived, we both loved them – they were absolutely ideal. There were, however, two issues – the weight (they weighed a few kilos each, and we needed 16!) and the colour – they were powder-coated black. Undeterred, we ordered another 15 and decided to go and collect them directly from the merchant. Steve and my father spray-painted them in ‘Ice Cream ivory’ and the cost of each came in at less than half the cost of hiring a vase. We showed them to Alison and she immediately started suggesting ideas for them; as we had a few spare, Alison even created a few additional displays for the venue for the day. Four of the urns were used in the church on the window sills and Steve’s groomsmen collected these after the wedding and took them to venue as further decoration. The flowers were far better than I had hoped they could be; pale pastel lilacs that complimented the venue, dress and the all-important urns! Alison is a wonderful florist and, since booking, has been voted as one of the Top 50 florists in the UK. A well-deserved accolade, I’d say!

Local Produce.

I actually picked the bridesmaids dresses before my wedding dress! Having dragged Steve around many fabric shops and wedding fairs, we eventually settled on a beautiful dusky lilac satin, and I spotted a design I liked in a magazine. I met Brenda at a tiny wedding fair – picture five people exhibiting in a small room – in the Welsh valleys. A little nervous about using a lady who made dresses in her home in her spare time, my fears proved unfounded. Brenda was simply superb – the dresses cost less than half of what an off-the-peg gown would have cost, and were truly bespoke, made to measure for each of my bridesmaids. My flower girls wore contrasting ivory dresses with a lilac sash, and all looked truly beautiful.

Ironing Out The Creases.

We hired suits from Austin Reed for Steve’s Best Man and three ushers, all four of our brothers, both of our respective fathers, our four nephews and Steve himself. We’d decided against hired cravats, instead purchasing traditional formal ties to match the material of the Bridesmaids dresses; we thought it a nice idea if the groomsmen were able to keep these as a little memento of their involvement in our day. We were badly let down by the hire company, however; Austin Reed got nearly every order of the 15 suits wrong; wrong size, wrong waste-coats etc, and we ended up having to make multiple trips to a tailor ourselves to get them altered right up to the day prior to leaving for the wedding. Despite fully acknowledging their fault, the company were most unapologetic and offered no discount despite a hire bill in excess of £1,000. We’d not recommend them but, having said that, when we did finally sort out all of the problems, the groomsmen and page boys all looked absolutely stunning on the day.

Keeping An Eye On The Time.

We decided to hire traditional black tail coats, pin stripe grey trousers and ivory waistcoats from Austin Reed; as we’ve already mentioned, the hire company let us down badly and caused us a great deal of stress in the two weeks prior to the wedding but on the day Steve looked absolutely dashing in his black tail coat, grey pin-stripe trousers and plain ivory waistcoat. Steve decided all groomsmen (himself included), should use their own shirts and shoes as he felt that was something quite personal and would be the most comfortable option for the wearer. To differentiate himself from his groomsmen, Steve chose a patterned lilac parsley tie and a white shirt with a discrete pattern within the material. As I arrived at the aisle and Steve turned to face me, my heart skipped a beat – he looked absolutely dashing. He grinned – and pulled his sleeve cuff back a little, revealing a little something for which I’d been saving fervently since we got engaged – a Breitling watch that I’d had delivered to his room that morning as a surprise! It was a perfect moment, one in which all of our preparation came together.

More Than Photographers.

Photography was absolutely key to our day – we’re both hugely keen amateurs who are rarely seen without a camera to hand. We knew that we wanted a mix of old and new, traditional and contemporary, but equally wanted someone who we could have fun with, and who wasn’t afraid to take risks. Having travelled the UK (including a road trip to Glasgow!) to meet with various candidates, those few photographers that we liked were hugely outside our budget. It was then that we met The Barbers, and the second love affair of our marriage began..!

We absolutely, truly, adore their work, and they’ve become good friends – even prior to the wedding they’d come on holiday with us, and we’d both been to visit each other for fun (and alcohol-) fuelled weekends! A young husband and wife team, their pricing was keen and their work wonderful. Most importantly of all, we liked them and felt relaxed in their company. That would be our golden rule – if you don’t like your photographers on a personal level, keep looking. An engagement shoot served to reinforce how much we loved what they did and how they worked and, having now seen the final shots, we’re absolutely thrilled in our choice. We could have chosen no better!

Welsh Cakes.

We found a local lady who made cakes professionally and, having met with her on a few occasions and having described what we’d like, we had some idea of what to expect… but the cake that greeted us left us as we arrived at the venue after our wedding rendered us speechless. A four tier traditional fruit cake with a cascade of sugar flowers from top to bottom, it dominated the table in the middle of the huge sitting room. The standard of the work was absolutely incredible – it was everything that I had hoped for and more. To this day, I still cannot cut the top two tiers, such is the beauty of Janet’s work. We intend saving the top two tiers, the second for our first wedding anniversary, whilst the topmost will be saved for… well, everyone knows what you save the topmost tier for, don’t they?!

Get Into The Groove.

We used a local DJ recommended by the venue, having decided that a band would be too overpowering in the small, cosy rooms of our 17th century country house. Pete Stead was excellent – he allowed our guests to pre-submit requests via his website from what seemed like an endless selection of songs. Our friends had great pleasure in selecting memorable tunes from our youth, and the evening entertainment proved an absolute hit.

The highlight was a ‘silly space’ booth that our Photographer’s set up, whereby our guests could wear various props and masks. With the Royal Wedding just the day before, Kate and Wills featured in a number of shots!

I’ll Stand By You.

When I first moved to London, a friend of a work colleague was trying to make it as a professional artist, and I went along to the odd gig – the chap in question was Tom Baxter. When Steve and I got together, I played Tom’s debut album to Steve and he loved it, particularly the song ‘Better’. The lyrics sum up our relationship perfectly, and captured how we felt on the day at aisle; “I’ll stand by you, If you stand by me…”

Commemorative Tea Towel.

Steve was initially against the idea of favours – “I’m not buying someone a gift to say thank you for letting me buy you dinner!” he exclaimed. However, we found beautiful glass tea-light / candle holders for 39p each in Ikea. With a candle lit at each place setting, the effect was truly magical, each throwing a circle of light onto the table. We encouraged our guests to take these away -both a favour and cheap – but beautiful – way of decorating our tables! In addition, although we had no intention of doing anything else, when the Royal Wedding was announced for the day before our big day, we both agreed that we couldn’t let the occasion pass without paying homage to such a big event. I suggested we produce a novelty souvenir from our day, in the same style as a Royal Wedding souvenir. My best friend Oliver is a graphic designer and produced a suitable ‘cheesy’ design for a tea-towel which we had professionally screen- printed, with one for each couple attending. The towels were incredibly well received and we hope our guests enjoy using them. Who knows, maybe they’ll be worth something on eBay one day!

Some Advice.

Before The Day:

• Make sure you properly compare the prices of different venues. Llangoed Hall seemed very expensive on paper but, when we took into consideration the price of the evening buffet, the terms and conditions (some venues insisted we took a certain number of buffets in the evening – Llangoed did not) and so forth, Llangoed Hall actually worked out no more expensive than many other ‘cheaper’ venues.
• Check the terms and conditions! Some of the venues we looked at had the most horrific Terms & Conditions in relation to minimum bar spend, numbers or cancellation policies.
• Ask for a discount! Virtually without fail, we never paid more than 90% of the quoted price of anything. We often offered a larger deposit or to pay in cash and this worked wonders. If you can’t afford something but really want it, offer what you can afford – you’ve nothing to lose. Most suppliers are keen to do business and, if you treat people with honesty, openness and integrity, it can pay dividends.

On the Day:

• Everyone says it flies by, and it does. The best thing we did was disappear straight after the church to spend what turned into nearly two hours with our photographers. It was fantastic to have that time away with each other, and it’s one of the most memorable parts of the day. Also – we’re so glad we got the day professionally filmed. We very nearly didn’t, but now we know we’ll be able to recapture the magic of our day over and over again – we’re waiting with baited breath to see the results.
• Having worked so hard on making our day perfect for our guests, we knew how much we’d value the chance to see all of the photographs that they’d take, all of those magical moments that our wedding photographers couldn’t cover. Having attended previous weddings, we were aware of how hard it was to effectively share such photographs and hence Steve came up with a cunning idea…

  Register a Flickr account. We printed cards with the username and password to the account and left these at each place setting. Our guests were encouraged to upload their photographs and it worked a treat – we had literally hundreds of snaps uploaded, some the very next day after the wedding. It was absolutely wonderful to be able to so quickly see photographs of our special day and, more importantly perhaps, to be able to share them with both our guests and those unable to attend.

Venue Llangoed Hall

Photographer The Barbers

Dress Pronovias

Boutique Harrods

Shoes Rachel Simpson

Florist Alison Bentley

Cake Designer Cakes By Janet

DJ Pete Stead

Wedding Car “The Old Girl” of Hereford

All good advice, but that Flickr gem is a little tidbit of genius for you lucky peeps this morning.

Who would have thought it eh? – Two days in a row two Pronovias dresses. Just shows how different and diverse a designer can be.

This is a no holds barred account of Steve and Vicky’s day and as you will have read sometimes things can go wrong. On this occasion it was issues with the suit hire – by the sounds of it they had a fair bit of grief along the way but it turned out alright on the day its self.

Hang on a minute… Who’s to blame for Steve’s “wardrobe malfunction” then eh?

Adam.

“Our wine, your style”… and that is a philosophy that Natacha and Philippe adopted perfectly for the duration of their visit to this fabulous city.

They had their wedding at Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion, a working vineyard, so of course it would have been an opportunity missed if they had not relied upon the local produce to provide for their reception based frivolities.

The style of their day was truly their own. A diverse mix of culture, heritage and form that extended across fashion, food, decor and even the transportation.

I have some amazingly big images to share with you lucky folks today, courtesy of M & J Photography.

Euro Style.

Pronovias is a Spanish designer from Barcelona who have a store in Bordeaux. I fell in love with the dress as soon as I put it on. I really wanted something simple and elegant that wasn’t too over the top. I think the fine detailing and the long trail really made up for simplicity of the cut. As it turned out our wedding day was on the weekend of a crazy heat wave, I’m really glad I chose something lightweight and off the shoulder!

Big Fat Greek Bracelet…

I wore a traditional Greek bracelet (I have Greek heritage) and a single diamond necklace. Again, I wanted to keep things simple as I felt too much jewellery wouldn’t have gone with the dress.

Shoe Blue Baby I Love You.

My shoes covered the ‘something blue’ aspect of the wedding. They are made by Ba&sh who I just love! Of course they were hidden under my dress most of the day anyway!

With A Little Help From My Friends.

I had my friends help out with my hair and make-up at home before leaving for the city hall. It was really nice just to be around my close friends and my mum at home for the last few hours of singledom. They certainly helped to keep me relaxed and stress free.

French Florals.

The flowers were all done by Histoire de Fleurs in Bordeaux.
I chose to mostly use Lilys and white Roses, but in my own Bouquet were also Orchids. These worked nicely with the green and white theme of the day that extended right from the bridesmaids dresses to the car we traveled in.

A Touch Of Colour.

My mum took care of the bridesmaids outfits. She bought simple dresses and then adapted them to fit the colour scheme. All four girls looked so cute and I think quite timeless.

Shaken, Not Stirred.

Philippe wore an entirely Dolce & Gabbana outfit. I’m not sure how he survived the heat wearing a full suit with dinner shirt and bow-tie for the entire day but it certainly paid off. There were a lot of comments about James Bond from the guests and I have to agree he looked rather dashing!

Taking The Heat Off.

M & J Photography took all the photos. We were so fortunate to find them after we decided we were not happy with the photographer we had originally booked. A friend recommended Morgane and Jonny so we jumped at the opportunity quite late in the date. We felt very relaxed with their approach and at times forgot they were even there. When it came taking the key shots of us as a couple, they were really efficient and managed to get some great shots. You’d never guess from the photos quite how unbearably hot it was!

French Fancies.

We decided on a Pièce montée (choux pastry stuffed with vanilla and chocolate cream in the shape of a pyramid). I suppose this is traditionally what’s on offer at a French wedding and we loved it! This was made by the caterers Humblot Traiteur along with all the other food.

An Opulent Affair.

Basque brass band, Band’aqui played at the cocktail reception amongst the pine trees in the grounds of the Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion. This created a wonderful atmosphere and kept everyone entertained while they sipped away at Champagne and tasty white wine made by that very Chateau and ate canape’s of sushi, freshly carved Bayonne ham and Oysters. After dinner inside the chateau, there was a DJ with disco lights playing party tunes into the night.

A Perfect Blend.

Our first dance was to Suavemente so as you can imagine we spent quite a lot of time practicing our dance routine!

We arranged for the huge terrace overlooking the surrounding vineyards to be lit by 100 candles, each in their own sweet little holder decorated according to the natural colour scheme. The pale blues and greens blended perfectly with the colours of the Bordeaux countryside as the sun was setting.

Tantalising Transport.

One of the most memorable aspects of the wedding, for us and a lot of the guests, was the convoy of classic cars arriving and departing from the hill top church at Bouliac. Philippe’s father and uncle own some incredible old cars that they had cleaned up especially for our wedding. The official wedding car was a green 1930’s Chrysler Royal. In the wedding convoy there was also a Bugatti and an ancient Renault amongst others. I think it is these kind of extra special touches that make the day even more memorable and can make for a very unique wedding and some cool photos. Of course it’s the guests that really make the day perfect and we were fortunate enough to have a church and reception venue that could cater for quite large numbers.

Venue Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion

Dress Pronovias

Shoes Ba&sh

Groom Dolce & Gabbana

Photographer M & J Photography

(covering both France and the UK)

Florals Histoire de Fleurs

Cake/Catering Humblot Traiteur

Entertainment Band’aqui

Yes, I do believe that bride might be crowd surfing…

Current trends tend to be favouring smaller intimate weddings at the moment, so it’s really refreshing to see such a massive church full to the brim with people, although how “refreshing” it was on the day in mid August is another matter! The 007 monotone suit is super swank and the bow tie a perfect touch…. how do you match that?

Oh yeah, with that dress…

Adam.