Modern Elegance

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

All Of Me.

February 23rd, 2012

Firstly can I just say how immense this week has been so far, in terms of the community, in terms of the pretty….in terms of well….just about everything really.

And to carry on the “immense” theme (I use that word way too much right?) here is Lucy and Nick’s Surrey W-day captured by Marianne Taylor. There are some seriously stylish pink suede shoes, an abundance of feminine blooms, lots of lovely lace and a cake that really does look too good to eat.

Not to mention the sun dappled portraits and the fact that everyone is clearly having a thoroughly smashing time….

Smashing, hmmm I like it. A lot.

Suede In The Sale

My pink suede heels were from Kurt Geiger and I found them in the sale!

In The Parlour

My hair was by Helen Simms in Guildford and my Make-up was by an old school friend and very talented Amanda Harrington at In Parlour.

Muted Chiffon

We bought the bridesmaids dresses from Boden, and hired the Groomsmen outfits. The colours tied in with muted pink of the hydrangeas and roses.

Fairy Princess

My dress was “Fairy” by Enzoani from Surrey Brides in Weybridge. It was the first one that felt special but still comfortable, and I didn’t want to take it off!

My handsome groom looked very dapper with a big smile!

All my nerves completely disappeared when I saw him!

Are They Really Mine?

The flowers were by Carolyn Lewis at Florartistics. She was so amazing and I completely trusted her judgement. The main flowers were hydrangeas, pale pink roses, cream lisianthus and scabious apparently!

They were so beautiful I couldn’t actually believe they were for my wedding!! Nick and I also bought vintage crystal vases from various carboot sales and charity shops for the table arrangements.

No-One Else

I literally couldn’t think of having anyone else other than Marianne Taylor as our photographer once I’d found her! She was even better than I hoped! Marianne completely captured so many special moments, she was so unassuming and talented, and I honestly can’t recommend her enough.

Winners And Losers

I made home made CD’s for the girls, and for the boys Nick made everyone a Crystal Palace fan for the night by giving them betting slips (all involving Crystal Palace winning the next game obviously… they lost!)

With Meaning

For the service, we asked a friend of the family to sing ‘All Of Me’ during signing of the register, which my dad wrote about my mum so really meant a lot. At the venue my sister organised old photos of me and Nick growing up and when together, I didn’t see them beforehand and some were pretty embarrassing! Also I did fun photos of people from their facebook profiles instead of names for the seating plan.

Wild

We had the brilliant Rock n Roll band ‘Wild’. Played all the best 50’s music – everything from Go Johnny Go to Great Balls Of Fire which got everyone dancing. Followed by my own iPod playlist… no pressure!

Super Model Treats

My friend Frances Edworthy made our cake for us as her wedding present! It was chocolate cake served with berries and crème, yum! Inspired a little by Kate Moss’ cake!

All In The Details

Any advise I’d say would be to say to just trust your instincts, and try and represent yourselves! Also spread it out as had nooo idea how much there was to do, especially if you’re trying to do really hands on things like make the invitations and wedding favours! Although I think that we could have taken shortcuts it was actually all the little details that made it a bit different and worth the extra effort… Lastly make sure its a fun day that everyone will enjoy!

Brides Gown – Enzoani at Surrey Brides

Brides Shoes – Kurt Geiger

Maids Dresses – Boden

Venue – Gate Street Barn

Entertainment – Wild

Florist – Florartistics

Photographer – Marianne Taylor

You know what I love about pink? there are so many ways you can use it for W-day.

And if anyone fancies a slice of cake for breakfast this morning then do it – I am.

Big Smashing Love

Charlotte xxx

34 comments »

Posted in Modern Elegance

Tags:

The Perfect Match.

February 20th, 2012

This so should have been an Adam wedding. Firstly it’s photographed by Mister Phill who Adam practically hero worships and secondly Katie and Tom designed all of their gorgeous stationery themselves having been inspired by Adam’s DIY stamp stationery post…

But it isn’t Adam’s it’s mine. Mwah ha ha ha!…. (evil laugh)

Ahem.

Apart from the aforementioned awesome photography and the pretty paper there is also a particularly lovely bespoke gown, unique blooms and a Pippa Middleton inspired hair do.

All this and the day was planned in just three months… all the way from Melbourne Australia.

Yup that’s right folks, Katie and Tom planned this whole shebang for a hundred guests in just twelve weeks from the OTHER. SIDE. OF. THE. WORLD.

I think they deserve some kind of award.

Oh and apart from Jar Of Hearts (!) this is possibly the greatest guest book idea EVER.

Branded

It has been commented that we had a very heavily branded wedding. Not only did our colour scheme run throughout, but the typography on our invitations ran was echoed on the order of service, wedding menu, table plan, table names, gift table and card box etc etc.. Everything was custom designed by Tom and myself in Photoshop to achieve this look, but one of our best buys was a custom stamp from Stamps Direct – a supplier which I found on none other than Rock My Wedding! We used the stamp on the place cards and cake boxes for a quick but personalised look.

As Glamorous As Royalty

For hair I visited my local salon, Level, where the Office Manager, Debbie, was exceptionally helpful at corresponding with me via email from Australia. We must have exchanged close to 20 emails discussing hair for me and Fiona, trials, appointment times, styles, exchanging photos, manicures, pedicures – the lot! When I finally met Debbie in the flesh it was like reuniting with an old friend! She even bought me flowers on my wedding day, which was a lovely touch. Laura at Level created a beautiful but simple ‘half-up’ hairstyle which was inspired by Pippa Middleton’s hairstyle at the Royal Wedding in 2011.

My make up was expertly perfected by Annabel Hornsby who was a true artist, and literally made me feel a million dollars. I selected her on recommendation from our venue, and I couldn’t have been more delighted with the fact that I still looked like me, just a lot more glamorous! I have a lot of respect for Annabel, as she has made a brave career change to start her own business and pursue something that she is passionate about. I can honestly say I looked as good at 2am after the wedding as I did at 12noon the day before when she waved me goodbye and good luck.

An Element Of Australia

It was really important for Tom and I to incorporate an element of our Australian life into our wedding day, and also into the rest of our lives. For this reason we bought our wedding bands from Melbourne, so that we will always wear something from Australia and remember our time there. We loved the selection at Ian Sharp Jewellery so much that it was the only shop we went to!

I bought my earrings, brooch and hair accessories from Linda Gorringe Couture which I stumbled upon by accident in Melbourne City centre and ended up spending an unexpected hour browsing the wide selection before I made all my purchases in one go. That’s what I call bridal efficiency… They have a great online store for anyone who isn’t in Melbourne.

My veil was from Rafaelle Ciuca and again in a moment of decisiveness I selected and purchased it in under 10 minutes, but then had to wait an hour for a very heavy rain storm to pass before I could leave the shop! They say its good luck if it rains on your wedding day.. does it count when you’re shopping for your wedding day?!

A Special Designer

I grew up watching my mum sew wedding dresses for friends and family. Whilst it was just a hobby, she was exceptionally talented, and I always hoped that one day she would be able to make my wedding dress too. Living in Melbourne could have been an obstacle to this plan, but my mum’s of the adaptable sort, and we figured out a way to make it work. Whilst on a visit to the UK in September 2011, we brainstormed designs and searched for inspiration. With a design picked, she took my measurements and off I went back Down Under. Three weeks later a package arrived on my doorstep – a toile bodice to try on, complete with instructions on how to pin it, and even the pins themselves! That was the only fitting I had until 10 days before the wedding, when the final dress was fully complete in beautiful ivory silk and organza. Despite my mum’s nerves, it fitted like a glove (as I was confident it would do), and it was quite literally stitch perfect.

I loved the design, and my dress was undoubtedly ‘the one’ – but not just because of the style, but instead because of it’s creator. It also had a special twist… the bodice and skirt were made in two parts, so that for our first dance I could change out of the floor length organza skirt and switch to a knee-length silk alternative. This made for much easier dancing, and whilst I wowed the ladies, I totally confused the men! Has she changed her dress? Did she cut her skirt off? If that change was hard to comprehend, it was even more confusing when I put the long skirt back on to twirl around the dance floor towards the end of the night!

So my dress was lovingly created by my mother, Pam Hague, an incredibly fortunate, experience, that was quite literally, priceless.

Passionate About Flowers

Tom and I had 24 hours to pick a florist, but it wasn’t hard once I met Maria at Simply Flower. I think a lot of wedding suppliers sell their personality as much as their product or service, and it was Maria’s enthusiasm and passion for creating flowers to suit us and our wedding that sold her services to me in an instant.

We chose purple throated calla lilies to match the deep purple of the men’s ties and boys waistcoats, and dusky lilac amnesia roses to match the bridesmaids dresses. These were complemented by ivory roses and eucalyptus leaves, another reminder of Australia.

Purple Reign

Fiona wore the ‘Allure’ maxi dress from Coast in deep purple, accessorised with a fur bolero. She looked simply stunning, and our photographer, Phillip Allen, was convinced he saw a spark between Fiona and best man, Alex. Then he realised they are already married…

Tom, his Best Man, his two ushers and the fathers all wore grey three-piece suits and deep purple ties from Next. We found this to be almost as economical as hiring, and it gave us more options to chose suits with both regular, tailored and slim fittings to suit each person individually. We were also able to ask each of the men to try the suit on in their local store, or order online, which overcame the geographical challenges of suiting and booting six men all at opposite ends of the country.

We had quite a party of little attendants… aside from Fiona and Alex, we had three bridesmaids, three flower girls and three pageboys, with a total age of 46 and a half. They were again fitted out in ‘Pam Hague Couture’, with designs that started life as a drawing on the back of an envelope transforming into dresses that wouldn’t look out of place in a top bridal house, and that the children loved. The bridesmaids wore dusky lilac dresses with an ivory sash, and the flower girls wore ivory dresses with a deep purple sash. All had fur capes for outdoors, and the little flowergirls received rag dolls dressed in identical outfits as little ‘mini me’ souvenirs. The older bridesmaids all received charm bracelets with their initial. Meanwhile the boys wore corresponding colours on their waistcoats and ties.

An Unconventional First Look

Tom wore a grey three-piece suit from Next to match the other men in the party, but he wore an ivory tie and calla lily button hole to make him stand out from the rest. Tom’s Ted Baker shoes were inspiringly colour coordinated with purple laces, and he also wore purple socks and ‘T’ and ‘K’ cufflinks to add some detail.

This seems an appropriate point to mention the less-than-conventional start to our wedding day. Tom and I decided to take all of our group photographs at the Harbour Heights Hotel before the wedding ceremony. This was because the formalities didn’t start until 3pm and by the time the ceremony was over, the sun would be setting, and I wanted natural light for the shots. This meant the two of us meeting prior to the ceremony however.

We captured the moment with a formal ‘first look’- an intimate and quiet moment between Tom, myself, and three men with cameras! It was a wonderful way to record Tom seeing me for the first time, and it definitely took the edge off our ceremony nerves. We also loved getting all of the group photos out of the way in advance of the wedding itself because it allowed us to freely mingle with our guests throughout the drinks reception and all the little children were still looking freshly dressed and pristine! I’d thoroughly recommend it to any brides who don’t mind doing away with convention to make things a little easier for everyone on the day.

The First Decision

Photography is one of my passions (I am a part-time family portrait photographer in Melbourne – www.katielister.net) and so selecting a wedding photographer was one of the most significant aspects of the planning stage for me. I stumbled across Mister Phill on Twitter shortly after we got engaged in 2010, and I was instantly drawn to his style of photography. I became an avid reader of his blog and it very quickly became a one horse race in my selection for our wedding. I am drawn to his documentary style of photography,and the way he observes the details and captures them in a very contemporary manor. His imagery conveys emotion and has an exceptional ability to tell a story without words (although he is a good with words as he is with pictures, as demonstrated on his blog).

I could write for hours about how privileged both Tom and I felt that Mister Phill was a part of our day. Booking him was the first decision we made about the wedding, and it was the best one. I honestly believe he offers something very unique to the highly competitive world of wedding photography, and we will treasure his images forever. Every bride should consider him!

We also had two videographers in attendance from Wedding Memories because we were very aware of how fast the day would progress and that Tom and I couldn’t be everywhere to take it all in! My best friends all advised me to get a videographer, and I’m pleased we made the investment to record the day in moving image as well as stills.

Smashing Shoes

I really wanted comfortable wedding shoes, and something that would stay on my feet during our ambitious first dance. After much Googling I discovered American dancer come shoe-designer Angela Nuran who makes ballroom dancing shoes for brides. She even had one Australian stockist, although unfortunately the shop was 879 kilometres away in Sydney. I had one opportunity to go to the shop during an upcoming visit to Sydney, but there was only a one hour window for me to get there before it closed, and I was depending on my flight being on time and my suitcase being first off at the baggage reclaim. Somebody, somewhere, was watching over me that day, and I made to the shop in time to purchase the very last pair of ‘Astoria Pearl’ shoes, which just happened to be my size. It was a wedding shoe miracle. Oh, and they were in the sale!

Two weeks later I was shopping for something entirely different when I spotted a beautiful pair of sparkly-soled bridal shoes in Australian shoe shop Wittners. The highly sparkling silver soles entranced me into a daze in which I thought it would be sensible to have two pairs of wedding shoes, so I bought them!

I ended up wearing the sparkly-soled shoes in the day, and my Angela Nuran’s for the evening. My shoe budget was smashed, but my feet looked and felt… smashing!

The Greatest Guest Book

We created some DIY entertainment throughout the wedding day…

During the drinks reception we displayed a slideshow of photos from our childhood and since we met – which got some laughs as well as some smiles, and even some requests to watch it again, so we turned it into a video and posted it on You Tube after the big day.

In the wedding breakfast we provided pens and paper and asked each guest to draw a self portrait. These were pinned to the table plan board to create a display of faces and quite a talking point! We didn’t explain this at the time, but we intend to piece together all the self portraits to be printed onto a tea towel, which we will then give as a gift to our guests. We had a much better response rate to this idea than our traditional guest book, but I will still treasure that as a record of messages from our guests.

In the evening we left out chalk boards and asked guests to write a message and take a photo. We received some lovely heartfelt messages and also some more amusing anecdotes! We also had a DJ from Direct Discos who kept the dance floor contingent happy throughout the night!
Music during the day was courtesy of the amazing Joy Walshe – who unfortunately couldn’t be present in person but we played her CD none the less!

Tom and I have vastly different musical tastes, but Joy is one singer who we’ve always both enjoyed and her album has been the soundtrack to our relationship from the start

Super Mum

We had three types of cake – fruit, sponge and rice-krispie cake! My mum baked and iced all of the cake and decorated the tiers with purple ribbon. Our florist made a beautiful calla lily display for the top tier. It was delicious!

Upside Down

Our table names were all places that Tom and I have travelled to in Australia, and Tom designed name cards featuring our own photographs. We had a table plan showing a map of Australia, but opted not to include names on this printed design in case of last minute changes. Instead we laid out small envelopes with our guests names, and inside each envelope was a card instructing them on where to sit. This proved very useful the night before the wedding when we needed to reshuffle!

The staff at The Italian Villa were also very helpful and liaising with me via email when I was in Australia, and made some fantastically relevant suggestions for our big day – including napkins folded into the shape of the Sydney Opera House!

Iris

We danced to an edit of Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls, a very emotive song for both Tom and I. Our first dance was hugely important to me (almost as much as the photography, but not quite). I was a keen dancer when I was growing up, and my childhood ballet teacher was in the audience, so we needed to look respectable. For this we enlisted the help of another Tom, this time Tom from Pheonix Dance in Melbourne.

He spent 8 weeks with my Tom, and myself, creating a beautiful first dance to a song that we both loved. This probably sounds like an eternity for most men, but let’s respect his achievement of tom learning not only ‘a dance’ (noun) but learning ‘to dance’ (verb) in such a short space of time.

I loved every minute of learning our first dance and every second of performing it. Tom endured the former and has admitted to actually enjoying the latter!

Never Stop Smiling

Our wedding was so very special to Tom and I because it brought together everyone that we love to celebrate starting the rest of our lives together. Everything ran incredibly smoothly and I understand from the reports of several guests that I did not stop smiling for the entire day!

A lot of people advised us to take a step back from the action for a few minutes and make sure we observe the guests and the party unfolding. Tom remembered this, and we spent a few moments on the side of the dance floor watching our guests and their crazy dancing. It definitely helped save some more memories of a day which went by in a flash.

We held a breakfast the morning after the wedding for immediate family and our dear friends from Canada who had travelled especially. It was a lovely way to debrief from the events of the previous day, and chat with those that you are closest with, after having very little time with each person on the day itself.

Oh.. and one last thing. I haven’t mentioned that it rained all day, because it was totally and utterly inconsequential to our enjoyment, and our guests’ enjoyment, on the day. Plus I hear it’s good luck….

Ceremony Venue – Harbour Heights Hotel

Reception Venue – The Italian Villa

Brides Make-up – Annabel Hornsby

Brides Gown – Pam Hague!

Florist – Simply Flower

Disco – Direct Discos

Photographer - Mister Phill

Wow. A Mum that can make your gown, everyone else’s gowns and your cake…. she deserves an award too!

And can I just mention how immense it would be to whip off the bottom bit of your dress and exchange it for a shorter dance-worthy version?! I think Pam Hague needs to open up some kind of W-day gown shop…..

Big Australian Love

Charlotte xxx

29 comments »

Posted in Modern Elegance

Tags:

Pure Class.

February 13th, 2012

The wedding of Katherine and Rob is as sophisticated as they come. Imagine Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich all having afternoon tea at Claridges… yep, as classy as that.

From the simple stationery to the feminine colour palette to the lace-inspired cake this big day exudes elegance, all captured in that perfect afternoon light by Polly Alexandre.

Katherine and Rob were married at Kew Gardens with a civil ceremony at Cambridge Cottage and moving to the Orangery for the reception.

Be prepared to fall in love with Mondays folks.

Specifically Non-Skyscraper

I wish I could have worn skyscraper heels but being the same height as the hubby meant I was limited to 2 inches so I didn’t look too tall in the photos. That’s why I decided to go to Emmy since you could choose the style you liked and specify the heel size.

Two Lovely Looks

My veil and veil pin were both Caroline Castigliano. I had a half up do, and wore the veil for the ceremony and drinks reception, then for the dinner I took my hair out loose and wore a head band from Magpie Vintage. I had bought the headband first but it didn’t work with a veil, and that’s when I decided on having two looks for the day.

I Know What I Like

I used my usual hair dresser for the day since she knew my hair and what I liked. In terms of make-up, my mum and I went to the Laura Mercier counter and had a make-over. We ended up hiring that lady (who was a free-lance make up artist) and she came to our house on the day.

Back Detail

My dress was called “Hayley” by Sharon Hoey which I bought from the Caroline Castigliano shop. I had so much fun trying on lots of different styles including big meringues, but I liked the simplicity of the dress and the a-line style. I think the back of the dress was what sold it for me.

All Black

Rob had his shirt, tie, and waistcoat specially made at Gary Anderson, and his hired suit was all black so as to have something a little different from the groomsmen.

All On Film

Polly Alexandre really appealed as I loved her film work and reportage style. As soon as I met her, I felt we had a lot in common and she put me in ease. She was someone I felt I would be happy sharing the day with.

The Perfect Date

Our wedding was at Kew Gardens. We had a civil ceremony in Cambridge Cottage and then moved onto the Orangery for dinner. We chose this date as it was a Saturday which fell on the 14th anniversary of Rob first asking me out!

A Cake Match

The cake tasting was one of the fun parts of wedding planning (after diamond and dress shopping!) – my maid of honour Harriet always seemed to be available when there was cake tasting to be done!

Zoe Clark did the cake, I saw her designs in wedding magazines and liked her ideas when we met. She suggested basing the cake on the dress, so I gave her a lace sample and she matched the design exactly. There was a fruit cake layer, a lemon cake layer and then a banana cake on the top. Yum!!

A Recommendation

I love lillies and roses, and Russell at Blomster Designs did an amazing job. He was a lovely guy to deal with and was reasonably priced compared to other London based florists. I found him through a personal recommendation from our best man.

All Kinds Of Delicious

My caterers “Lodge Catering” were also fab They were great at event planning, all the staff were so professional, and of course the food tasted great. We sorted out our own wine and champagne through my maid of honour’s father who works in the wine trade. The catering company set up a really nice looking bar in the evening and did so much extra that I wouldn’t have thought of asking.

Music Is The Food Of Love

During the ceremony and drinks reception we had a guitarist and violinist duo called La Dolce Vita. They played classical during the ceremony, and more up tempo during the drinks reception.

During the meal, we had our own playlist on an ipod. For the dancing, we hired a 6 piece band called Groovin High booked through Prelude Entertainment who were amazing. They played everything from old classics, to Amy Winehouse and Kings of Leon. The dancefloor was always full.

A Memorable Moment

The wedding cars were hired through Classic Hire. I had a really nice driver who took my dad and I for a circuit around Richmond Park prior to going to Kew which was really lovely.

And Finally

I would also like to mention my videographer Rachel Knights who did an amazing job. She shot our wedding in super 8 film giving it a romantic and nostalgic feel, the company is called I Do Films.

My main advice would be to relax on the day… you’ll have done everything possible, so try not to stress if something goes wrong.

Brides Gown – Sharon Hoey at Caroline Castigliano

Veil – Caroline Castigliano

Brides Shoes – Emmy

Brides Headpiece – Magpie Vintage

Ceremony Duo – La Dolce Vita

Car Hire – Classic Hire

Catering – “Lodge Catering

Florist – Blomster Designs

Photography – Polly Alexandre.

Loving the Middleton-esque half-up do for day and changing into a relaxed down do for evening with a quick accessory swap.

And if you are stuck for honeymoon ideas bride Katherine actually organises romantic trips to Latin America so it may be worth getting in touch, or of course just say Hi and ask if you can steal her style…

Very tempted to do either/or to be honest…

Big Sophisticated Love

Charlotte xxx

19 comments »

Posted in Modern Elegance

Tags:

I Dream In Pretty.

January 25th, 2012

Dreamy whimsical pretty – that’s what I thought when RMW reader Amy submitted her big day to be featured, all soft pinks, feminine florals and romance.

I particularly love the wish tree, not only because it serves as both a way to engage guests and create keepsakes but because it is a relatively easy and cost effective option that also lends itself as a piece of bespoke decor. And I know birdcages are not “new” in terms of tablecentre arrangements but I do think Amy’s choice of distressed versions filled with trailing ivy and stocks look just like something out of a happy-ever-after fairytale – in a really good way.

Amy and Matt were married at St Andrews Church in Kegworth, followed by a marquee reception in the beautiful Whatton House Gardens in Loughborough. All of the fun, laughter and celebration was captured by Rachael Connerton.

Beauty Blogger

I write a beauty blog www.amyantoinette.com so I experiment with different products and looks on a daily basis so I knew I’d be more comfortable doing my own makeup and being in control of how I looked. My half up hair do was done by Jane from Jarah Hair & Day Spa who achieved the loose curls and romantic look I desired.

Romantic Ruffles

I found my beautiful Caldera dress by Blue by Enzoani in the aptly named Dream Wedding Dress in Nottingham. I first spotted it whilst browsing on the internet and managed to locate the dress in a local shop. I wanted something very feminine and romantic so I fell in love with the soft, floaty ruffles, the long sweeping, elegant train and the touch of sparkle on the bodice. As soon as I tried it on I knew it was the one, despite the sample dress being four sizes too big for me!

Gliding down the aisle in this magnificent dress was everything I imagined it to be. I wish I could wear it again!

Focussing On Fashion

I didn’t want to go overboard with accessories as I wanted to keep the focus on the dress so the only jewellery I wore was the Swarovski bracelet which Matt had given me for my 21st birthday and diamante earrings from Glitzy Secrets. It was the perfect hint of sparkle without being too overpowering. I adored my veil which had a few flowers embroidered on it which tied in perfectly with the dress.

As I’m already 5’9 and I wanted to be comfortable with all the dancing I knew was to take place, I opted for ivory kitten heels with a satin bow on the toe.

Softly Softly

I absolutely adore pale pink fluffy peonies but sadly these were no longer flowering in August so my bouquet featured soft pink and ivory roses instead with bouvardia. The enamel jugs and birdcages which featured as the table centrepieces included flowers which perfectly suited the English Country Garden theme – roses, stocks, gypsophila and ivy. Our florist Floraldeco was fabulous and perfectly captured the look we were going for.

Grey And Blush

Our Dads and the best man were dressed with hired three piece grey suits from Slaters, whilst the Ushers wore their own grey suits, all adorned with a pale pink rose and a sprig of baby’s breath. The beautiful blush pink bridesmaids dresses were bought from Fever. Soft and feminine with a gathered sweetheart bust and one shoulder of ruffled flowers, the dresses were whimsical and fitted perfectly with the theme of the day.

Matt searched high and low for a very pale grey three piece suit to no avail, so he eventually settled on a regular grey suit from Next. He looked dashingly handsome and my face broke into a huge smile when the Church doors opened and I saw the man of my dreams waiting for me at the end of the aisle.

Finally Finding The One

Having an amazing photographer was such an important part of the day for us. With all the money being spent on the big day it made sense to invest in having the moments captured beautifully so we’d have something to treasure for years to come. It took a lot of time and effort searching through hundreds of photographers but eventually we met Rachael Connerton and her husband Ian and we knew we’d found the perfect photographers.

Not only were their photo’s beautiful, they’re such a lovely couple and made us feel so incredibly comfortable. They took time to get to know us as a couple and they were so genuinely excited about our wedding which we hadn’t experienced with the other photographers we’d met with. It was an absolute delight to have them with us on our special day and the beautiful photo’s from the day presented in a gorgeous Queensberry photo album meant it was worth every penny!

Shabby Chic

We wanted a shabby chic feel to the decor so holding the reception in a marquee was ideal for providing us with a blank canvas to work with. We were able to pick everything from the design to the carpet colour so it was completely individual to us. We wanted something very light and airy so chose a pale cream carpet which was ideal for offsetting the reams of pastel bunting which my mum had lovingly made to decorate the tops of the marquee. The white walls of the marquee created a tranquil feel and really made the touches of colour from the centrepieces and the lilac glass water bottles stand out. 

We Want Pink Please

To fit with the relaxed feel of the day we decided on a cupcake tower. We had a bad experience with a cake maker who insisted it wasn’t possible to make pale pink buttercream icing! I eventually took my search elsewhere although it meant losing our deposit and I found the fantastic Yummy Little Cupcakes. Natalie did an incredible job of creating what we had envisioned with vanilla sponge cupcakes and ivory and pale pink buttercream adorned with iced flowers. I decorated the cake stand with beaded trim and had some of the cupcakes encased in laser cut holders and lace. We still wanted to have a cake to cut so we opted for a tiny jam sponge top tier from Marks and Spencers. 

Feels Like Home

We wanted to make the most of the beautiful grounds and gardens of Whatton House so our guests were entertained during the day with giant Jenga and croquet on the lawn, both of which were a big hit! We hired a DJ who played some mellow music throughout the day and then filled the night with our favourite Motown and Rock n’ Roll classics which ensured the dance floor remained packed! Everyone had a fantastic time dancing the night away and it gave us some of our best memories of the day.

For the first dance we chose Feels Like Home by Chantal Kreviazuk. Matt and I knew within the first few months of being together that we had found ‘the one’ so when I heard the song for the first time the words perfectly epitomised how I felt about him. I played it to him and it became ‘our song’ after that!

Homemade And Customised

I wanted to feature lots of homemade touches in our wedding to make the day extra special and personal to us. I hand made each guest’s name tag using luggage tags I’d punched with a heart shape and stamping them using a kit from Cox & Cox. I tied each tag to a napkin using lace and added a sprig of lavender which was the perfect finishing touch! It was lovely to see the guests had taken their tags home with them as a keepsake.

As an extra feature on the tables, we added vintage teacups (kindly provided by mum who has enviable collection!) and filled them with roses. For an extra touch of colour, I added two lilac glass bottles to each table which were filled with water for the guests.

The table plan was created by painting a large wooden frame that we’d taken from a mirror and backing it with Laura Ashley wallpaper. I then added on the tables which had been printed on hammered card and adorned with a bow and miniature paper rose.

Rather than a traditional guest book we decided on a Wish Tree which looked lovely. We didn’t want to spend a lot on contorted willow or hazel branches, so we found some broken branches, spray painted them white, secured them in a large glass vase with white pebbles and wrapped them in fairy lights which looked magical when night fell. A small wooden crate held tags for the guests to use and a white picture frame held the Wish Tree poem to explain the story behind it.

We decorated the aisle to the entrance of the marquee with photo’s of Matt and I, showing our progression from babies to children and then photo’s of the two of us together. We gave the photo’s a vintage look before printing them and the guests loved looking at them all!

A small round table at the entrance of the marquee served as the card table, where we stacked two white suitcases for guests to place their cards. My mum covered the inside of the suitcase with a floral fabric and I used pink card to cut out the letters, securing them to a piece of twine using miniature pegs. The table was further decorated with glass jars filled with wild flowers and a fabric book with ‘Love’ imprinted on the front.

It’s true what they say, the day will pass you by so quickly so take a moment out with your husband and savour the magic. Matt and I snuck off to sit by the pond as the sun was setting just before our first dance and it was lovely to reflect on the day and enjoy each other’s company.

Brides Gown – Caldera by Enzoani at Dream Wedding Dress

Brides Earrings – Glitzy Secrets

Grooms Suit – Next

Reception Venue -Whatton House Gardens

Blooms – Floraldeco

Cakes – Yummy Little Cupcakes

Photography – Rachael Connerton

Is your main W-day look pretty pretty pretty?

You can see more of Amy and Matt’s W-day on Amy’s lovely beauty blog (and don’t blame me if you spend a long time on there looking at lipsticks..)

Big Whimsical Love

Charlotte xxx

33 comments »

Posted in Modern Elegance

Tags:

Sometimes Love Knocks You Sideways.

January 17th, 2012

There are a hundred and one details I love about Lizzie and Nick’s wedding in Kent (I say a hundred and one but there are probably even more than that)….from the stunning back flash frock and the loveliest maids in print to the perfect portraits and genius group shots (yes you heard me correctly folks, group shots.)

But most of all I love the laughter, from when they woke up to the point at which they all said goodnight, the bride, the groom and all of the guests had an absolute ruddy riot. One of the groomsmen even ripped his trousers right up to the erm… crotch so enthusiastic was he to get the highest “jump” in for his photo opportunity (and yes I have included some of that action and I promise it’s not too rude….)

All of the pretty (and naughty) was captured by Christine and Xander at Navyblur.

A Sophisticated Up-Do

My hair was done by a family friend who lived locally. When I tried on the dress having my hair up showed the back of the dress off at its best. I found some inspiring pictures of updos on some wedding websites/blogs and the hairdresser was brilliant at creating what I had asked – it was so much better than the pictures I had given her and stayed in place all day.

For make up I wanted to be able to do my own on the day and so went to Clinique at Harvey Nichols where they showed me how to do ‘wedding make up’ and then I bought their products. My bridesmaids were so brilliant at helping me on the day, they carried my make-up around and reminded me just before the photos to touch up!

Darling Dresses

The bridesmaids dresses I fell in love with as soon as I saw and wanted one myself! They were called ‘Darling’ and were from very.co.uk. I loved the country girly feel they had. They looked exactly how I wanted the wedding to look! Their shoes were plain blue mock suede from asos. The girls also had powder blue pashminas incase it got cold. Their hair pieces were the same as mine – hairbands from Monsoon cut off and put onto hair clips!

My sister was pregnant on the wedding day and 10 days overdue so prior to the wedding we didn’t even think she would be coming at all! So for obvious reasons she did not wear the same dress or shoes as the other bridesmaids – it was all very last minute and had to be comfy! She had the same hair pieces and pashmina as the others. (She went into labour when she got home form the wedding and had a gorgeous girl on the Monday morning called Beatrice Emma!)

DIY Accessories

I chose a long floor length veil from Wedding Belles. I love the vintage lace veils but felt it was too fussy for the dress. The plain veil didn’t take away from the details of the dress and you could see the open back of the dress through the veil.

I wanted flowers as opposed to a tiara as I wanted a country vintage look. I found these flowers on a hairband from Monsoon and did a little DIY – cutting them off the hairband and gluing on some little clips so that they could be clipped into my hair. For shoes I went for cream suede heels with round toe and gold straps, they were from Monsoon (in the sale!!).

Bride Knows Best

My dress was from ‘Tlysau’r Briodas’ (Wedding Belles) in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (!!)… LlanfairPG for short! Maggie Sottero was the designer and the dress was called ‘Bernadette’.

I knew what I wanted my dress to look like before I went looking – lace vintage looking and not strapless. However Nick told me that he didn’t want me to wear a dress that had shoulders or was made from lace (turns out he loved it and I knew best after all!)

I tried on so many dresses that were lovely but nothing was what I was looking for. Then I found my dress and knew as soon as I saw it – it was exactly what I had wanted and then when I tried it on it looked even better than I imagined and felt very ‘me’. The cutaway detail back of the dress made it extra special.

Side Splitting

Nick and his ushers and best men wore morning suits hired from Moss Bros. We were a little worried about hiring incase anything happened to them and one of our ushers even managed to split his trousers when jumping for a photo! One of my amazing bridesmaids stitched it up after the wedding and it wasn’t even noticed!

Seasonal Blooms

Nick’s friend from school and University, Robyn Trainer had just set up her own business for photography, illustrating and floristry called Floral Footsteps when we had got engaged so we asked if she could do our wedding flowers.

She was brilliant. I talked her through my ideas for the day-colours/themes etc and she totally ‘got’ it. She used Amnesia Roses, Avalanche Roses, Delphiniums, Pale Green Eustoma, English Dahlias, Spray Roses of various shades of Pink-Red and seasonal garden cut flowers.

Creative Energy

Our photographers were a couple who work in Ireland called Navyblur (Xander and Christine). A couple had recently got married and Navyblur were their photographers and we really loved their wedding photos – they were so fun and different. When we met them they were exactly who we wanted to capture our day for us. They are both so creative and energetic, we had so much fun with them shooting engagement photos in central London! They were so sweet and really calming on the day too, Xander helped the grooms party tie their cravats and calmed Nick at the alter when I was 30 minutes late to the church!

We loved how fun their photos looked and how innovative they were. We knew we wanted photos that were different and we would love to look at for the rest of our lives instead of your traditional set of photos!

The poses and things they got us to do added even more fun to the day, especially when one of the ushers ripped his trousers from energetically jumping whilst having the ‘formal’ photos!

Tea-Bag Treats

We got our cake from M&S! We ordered it online and picked it up 2 days prior to the day! It was a white chocolate ribbons cake.

Nick’s Dad and his wife sorted out our favours for us from Canada (where they live). We had personalised tea bags with the date of the wedding on.

An Acoustic Accompaniment

For entertainment we had an ‘acoustic duo with a bit of Umph!’ as described by the guitarist Tom Copson! They were brilliant and got everyone up dancing. We then had my brother DJ’ing in between sets using his iPad and DJ App!!

Sideways

For our first dance we had Citizen Cope ‘Sideways’. After a year of going out Nick made me listen to this song as some of the lyrics are ‘these feelings don’t go away, they’ve been knocking me sideways’, and so had always been a rather special song for us both.

Make, Do and Do Some More

My bridesmaids and I had a bunting making day where we started making bunting and then my amazing mum finished it all for us. We put it up outside the marquee. My mum also made tablecloths for the reception venue out of some material sourced from Shepherds Bush. I bought an assortment of Cath Kidston paper napkins for the tables to add colour to the tables that did not have a table cloth on. We also bought some old frames from a charity shop and printed out the letters N&L and put them above the top table.

For the table centre pieces our florist made us some amazing flower arrangements using old containers I had bought and collected including bird cages, old vintage tea pots and jugs. We also sourced vintage tea cups and saucers from charity shops and had small flower arrangements also on the table.

A Very Special Service

Our wedding day was special to us because we had everyone we loved involved. Nick’s Grandad married us, my friend danced for us during the signing of the register and another friend gave the address at the service.

The service was the most important part of our day, to get married before God and in front of everyone we love was the most special part.

Advice From Both The Bride AND Groom

Lizzie- Friends and family love being a part of your day and so involve them and their talents as much as possible. It takes the strain off organising if you can hand certain tasks over to people, and they so enjoy being able to do it for you.

Nick – Make the wedding service the most important part of your day because the wedding day is all celebration of the actual marriage.

Nick and Lizzie - The wedding day is so special, but marriage is so much better!

Photography – Navyblur

Venue – Nurstead Court

Brides Gown – Maggie Sotterro at Wedding Belles

Brides Shoes – Monsoon

Brides Hair Flowers – Monsoon

Maids Dresses – Very

Grooms Suit – Moss Bros

Cake – M&S

Blooms – Floral Footsteps

I forgot to mention the gorgeous side plait up-do Lizzie had going on – LOVE that look, especially when you really need to show off any detail at the back of your bridal gown.

Oh and if you are in bit of a last minute cake pickle then you can’t beat a plain M&S design (at least you know it will taste great) decorated with fresh fruits or florals in keeping with your colour scheme or theme.

Just wait until you see what we have coming up later – when the images fell into my inbox I actually applauded.

Big Sideways Love

Charlotte xxx

26 comments »

Posted in Modern Elegance

Tags:

For The Love Of Pretty.

January 9th, 2012

The wedding of RMW reader Emily and Nick is one of the loveliest I have ever seen. Small, intimate, unquestionably stylish yet at the same time both simple and informal.

Everything about the brides look is perfection, the gown, the hair, the earrings …. I put in an extra large image just so you gorgeous lot could see them in all of their delicate glory.

And as for the photography well….I don’t know how on earth Emily and Nick ever chose what to put in their album, I was in raptures over the shots of the ruddy velcro rollers and the bus driver before I even got to the delicious details and all important portraits.

There is blue hydrangea. There is a table plan idea that is immense. There is laughter and sunshine and guests having the time of their lives. There is a whole LOT of pretty people, all courtesy of Lee Robbins.

Elegant Beauty

After a bit of googling I found a very talented hair and make-up artist called Vikki Lawson. I quite wanted to have some simple white flowers in my hair and also wanted to show off the lace detail of the dress so knew that it would have to be up. During the trial we played around with a few styles and agreed on a simple chignon that was decorated with flowers down one side. I liked the relative simplicity of my hair and felt it complimented rather than detracted from the detail of the dress. I felt it looked relaxed as it wasn’t too fussy and was a classic style too which I was really pleased with.

Make-up wise my main request was for slightly smokey eyes which I really like – Vikki worked out the rest and it worked. I felt the make-up just really brought out my features rather than significantly altered my appearance which was ideal.

Era Accessories

I’m terrible at walking in very high heels and comfort was paramount. The length and style of my dress also meant that the shoes weren’t on show so I didn’t really splash out on shoes. I found a very sweet pair of gold sandals from Monsoon with a small wedge heel. They had a slight 1920s feel to them which I liked as my engagement ring is from that era. They were ever so easy to walk in which was key.

Amazing Grace

My dress was called Grace Kelly by David Fielden (from the flagship store in South Kensington). I didn’t have a particular dress in mind when I started searching but as the hunt developed I realised I was attracted to lace and v-necks rather than strapless dresses. Finding a dress with both elements proved to be quite difficult and Grace Kelly was the first and only one I found that fit the bill. I absolutely loved the top half the dress – I felt so elegant in it and also more comfortable than in strapless dresses.

I felt slightly daunted by the size of the tulle skirt which was bigger than others I’d tried on but the lace top won me over and I decided to go with it. By the time of the final fitting I was still a little unsure about the skirt but on the day it just worked and was so much fun to run around the garden in! I was very lightweight and felt like I was floating in it.

Sticking With What You Know

I have lots of jewellry, particularly necklaces, which feature bluebirds and swallows so it seemed only fitting to incorporate birds into my wedding outfit. I didn’t want to detract from the beautiful lace neck-line of the dress so I opted for earrings. I eventually found a perfect pair on Etsy that had been handmade by a lady called Karen from America. They were freshwater coin drop pearls with brass bird charms – very pretty and delicate. I really loved them and was pleased to have stuck with my favourite bird motif.

The Perfect Couple

I had one bridesmaid (Laura) and Nick just had a best man (Hanno) – they are our best friends and a wonderful couple. We wanted them both to be very comfortable with what they were wearing and were not set on everyone matching perfectly. As the wedding was relatively small and very low-key there was no question of hiring tails etc. The best man had free reign to wear whatever he wanted and he opted to wear a really nice navy suit he already owned with a maroon tie. I only requested that Laura’s dress was blue (which was emerging as the main colour of the wedding) and she wanted to be able to twirl in it! We went shopping together and found a lovely dress from Coast that fit the bill and was so flattering – we then ordered a white sash to top it off – she looked lovely. They made a very handsome couple!

Small But Perfectly Formed

Nick and I got married at Southwark Register Office in September 2011 (with 50 guests). The reception took place in a marquee in Nick’s mum’s beautiful garden in Purley, Surrey (a further 15 guests arrived for the evening).

A Clear Vision Of Blue

I had quite a clear vision for the flowers early on – I wanted them to look liked they’d just been picked from a meadow or garden, and arranged with that ‘thrown together’ together look. We had them in lots of jam-jars on the tables for the centre-pieces and not overly constructed bouquets for me and my bridesmaid. After getting a really wide range of quotes – most of which were completely out of our price range – I finally found a lovely guy called Tim who owned a florist shop in Clapham (called Birksen). He immediately understood what I was after and we discussed lots of different flowers that would work.

I was particularly keen for blue hydrangeas to be incorporated as they’re a favourite of mine – on the day when I saw them on the tables for the first time I was absolutely blown away by the rich colour and size of them – I’d never seen any like that before! Mine and my bridesmaid’s bouquets were just beautiful and the buttonholes were simple white roses with a extra dash of colour on Nick’s. The flowers in the marquee looked wonderful and were so much better than we’d ever imagined – they worked so well with all the jars and other bits and bobs we’d collected – we were just so pleased with them.

Found Via RMW

Our photographer was Lee Robbins who we found on Rock My Wedding actually – we both liked the style of his photos and so we got in touch. We met up in Brighton and hit it off immediately. He put us both at ease and felt he completely understood what we were after – we were confident that it was going to work well and that we’d get some great photos. But on the day we were both absolutely blown away. Lee is not just an amazing photographer – but a wonderful person to have around you on the day. So calm and good humoured – he put everyone around him at ease.

So many guests commented on how great he was but equally how they didn’t really notice he was there! He effortlessly disappeared into a crowd to capture super photos of unsuspecting guests but then instantly appeared whenever needed. We originally decided against getting a photo album made as a money saving measure but I’m so glad we changed our minds! The album is just amazing – it really captures the feel of the day and strikes the perfect balance between quite arty and very relaxed shots. There are so many highlights – choosing Lee to be our photographer was the best decision we made during the whole planning process I think!

Sharp, Crisp and VERY Handsome

Nick brought a very smart and well cut Richard James suit – it was a lovely shade of bluewhich looked very fresh and summery. It fit ever so well and was topped off by a crisp white shirt and flowery blue tie from Autograph. His outfit was not fussy by any means – he looked sharp and very handsome. Seeing him when I first entered the Register Office was a very intense moment. He looked so serious and it was clear that he was just so aware of the magnitude of what we were about to do. We held hands immediately and for the duration of the ceremony as we were both so nervous – but in a good way!

Cake Keeps You Calm

We decided to go for a cupcake tower and a friend recommended a lovely company called Crumbs and Doilies. They were ever so patient, accommodating and very talented. We ordered some mini cupcakes for the journey on the old Routemaster bus (from the ceremony to reception) which were sweetly decorated in gold. And for the reception cupcake tower I just explained the feel we were going for and left the designing to them – they got it spot on with a mixture of cupcakes in white, pinks and different shades of blue -decorated with sprinkles and flowers etc. The tower looked really impressive and the cakes were a real hit with the guests.

Honey Love

Nick and I had long been aware of the dramatic decline of the honeybee and had donated to the Co-Op’s campaign to help save the bees. Our friends had rightly found this interest a little odd and amusing so we decided to feature it in the wedding somehow. Our favours were small brown envelopes full of seeds for flowers that attract bees – I used a rubber stamp with a bee design to decorate the envelopes and they looked quite sweet. They went down very well!

The marquee itself was decorated entirely white (apart from the tables) – we decorated it with a small amount of plain white bunting and lots of white paper lanterns. The tables were covered with jam-jars filled with flowers (including the stunning hydrangeas) and tea-lights and small pretty vases and other items (a large amount of which were blue) that we’d been collecting all year. It looked so pretty and exactly as we’d envisaged – quite quirky with lots of attention to detail.

The table numbers for example, were luggage tags tied round the neck of large cobalt blue vases – these were decorated with the jam-jar rubber stamp I’d used to make our invitations and table plan. Designing and decorating the garden and marquee was one of my favourite parts of planning the wedding – we were so thrilled to see the finished article on the day – it just all came together.

The Perfect Playlist

We kept the entertainment very simple with a dancefloor in the marquee and an i-pod (and no DJ). We spent a long time devising a play list full of songs that we knew our friends and family would like. And Nick’s cousins very generously supplied the equipment, such as the speakers, as wedding gift from them. It was really good fun as the night progressed our guests high-jacked the i-pod and became the DJs.

We decided against a first dance because Nick isn’t a confident dancer and would have hated that sort of attention – so the dancing just started without a formal opening dance by us. However, very bizarrely and unexpectedly much later in the evening when ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ came on there was a spontaneous stampede towards the dance floor. Nearly all our guests were enthusiastically dancing and Nick and I were thrown together by the Best Man. We took centre stage with a very over the top dance full of swirls and power ballad moves. I had never really liked the song that much but for some reason it became our first dance – it was such a surreal moment and it is now very much ‘our song’.

Stick To Your Guns

The day itself went just as we’d planned so we were very lucky on that front. I don’t think we’d really anticipated the overwhelming sense of good will from all our guests – it was amazing to have everyone we cared about in one place and on top form.

We just made sure that we stuck to our guns and had the small and informal we both wanted. We invited only people we really wanted there and the main aim of the day was for all our guests to have fun and think we achieved that!

Ceremony Venue – Southwark Registry Office

Brides Dress – David Fielden “Grace Kelly”

Brides Earrings - K Garner Designs

Bridesmaid Dress – Coast

Grooms Suit – Richard James

Blooms – Birksen

Cake – Crumbs and Doilies

Photography – Lee Robbins Photographic

Did you get a bit teary after seeing the way Nick looked at Emily in that black and white portrait? I did.

And who is going straight over to Etsy to get some of those cute birdy earrings? (I have already been and there is plenty of gorgeous jewellery to pick from) I swear, this job causes me serious plastic damage.

Big Making Your January BLUE But Not Actually Blue Love

Charlotte xxx

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

28 comments »

Posted in Modern Elegance

Tags: