Rock My Wedding

Sky Blue Peach… Part 3

Rebecca@rockmywedding — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:30:12 +0000

It’s the final Part of this Sky blue and Peach rustic DIY extravaganza of a wedding. I knew there was plenty to stretch out over 3 posts but this one truly is a marathon of inspiring style and design.

Without further ado I’ll hand you back over to the extraordinarily talented couple – Becky and Steve.

Decorating The Wedding Breakfast

The place names were created using luggage tags we bought from a stationer; we printed all our guests’ names in the same script font that we had used on the invites – they worked really well and resembled the ‘Eat Me’ and ‘Drink Me’ labels from Alice In Wonderland.

One of my favourite things about the wedding was the miss-matching crockery that we hired for the entire meal – from dinner and side plates to tea cups and sugar bowls, every piece was completely different and totally unique. This really did give our wedding the truly vintage theme that we wanted and was so easy to organise, we hired all the crockery from a selection at The Crockery Cupboard and Idyllic Days.

We found an idea online that we thought was a great way to bring a bit of personality to wedding – we designed and created ‘In Case You Were Wondering…’ cards that we popped into home-made cork holders and displayed on each table. These revealed to the guests some interesting facts about the day – such as where the wedding ale was sourced. Not only did they look cute but they were also a great conversation starter!

Inside the barn – Bonbon dishes, bursting with flowers and draped with strings of pearls, were placed in the middle of the tables. On the top table we wanted something slightly different – we used old jam jars, vases and jugs that we had at home, filled them with flowers and scattered them along the front of the table.

Not Just Any Cake…

We decided to keep the budget down on the cake and didn’t want to splash out £650 for a fancy fruit cake or grandiose gateau. Instead we found a delicious sponge cake from Marks & Spencer – it was covered with a double layer of white chocolate icing and decorated with beautiful chocolate sugar-paste roses, it honestly tasted like heaven.

We did think about cupcakes but felt that the simplistic design of the cake was in keeping with the 50’s vintage theme.

Sweet Tooth Favours!

We did so much research on wedding blogs and in magazines during the planning of the wedding – there are so many fantastic ideas to borrow, no matter what type of wedding you want. One of the ideas I loved every time I came across it, was the sweet table – we bought tons of our favourite sweets, and used them to fill old jars, cake stands and Bonbon dishes. We bought brown sweetie bags and used a rubber ‘LOVE’ stamp to decorate them.

We also made a ‘SWEET LOVE’ sign by buying die cut card on ebay and ribbon from a haberdashery – the font was downloaded for free from urbanfonts.com.
Everyone also had their own fortune cookie waiting at their place on the table.

In and around the venue we also used a few other bits and bobs to personalise the day – we made signs, rented bunting from Idyllic Days and used objects and items from our home. We have a couple of retro Tea Chests that we use as bed side tables – they originate from Kenya (our honeymoon destination), so were perfect for us to use in the barn.

We decided against a formal guest book but instead had a message table where we provided tags and handmade origami hearts – we asked our friends and family to write us notes and peg them up. At the end of the big day we had tons of touching messages to treasure forever!

We also created a photo booth where we gave guests the opportunity to dress up and use props to take photos of themselves. It was a great way for us to see our guests having fun, as well as giving Steve and I a giggle after the wedding!

Dancing The Night Away

We hired a string duo to play before, during and after the ceremony. I walked down the aisle to Air by Bach, but due to the violinist being massively delayed we had to play it from my iPod and blast it into the garden. During the signing of the wedding certificate the strings played a piece called La Valse from one of our favourite films Amelie and walking back up the aisle we chose Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheba. The strings created a lovely ambience during the ceremony and reception drinks, they played a mix of old and new while we served Corona and Pimms to all our guests.

During the wedding breakfast we played old-school Jazz from an iPod playlist – songs included Four Brothers by Woody Herman and Dizzy’s Business by Dizzy Gilespie. This was loved by both the older and younger guests – with the two littlest dancing throughout.

For the evening reception we hired a fantastic singer called Aydenne Simone – Steve and I went to see her play in a tiny venue in Wimbledon and were blown away by her incredible voice. She played alongside her band The Jazz Culture Band – made up of a pianist, sax, drummer and guitarist. They played some absolute classics – Fever, Hit The Road Jack, Five-Ten-Fifteen Hours are just a few examples.

Late into the evening we had a disco – we compiled an iPod playlist playing songs that were guaranteed to get everybody on the dance floor. We transformed one section of the barn by changing the lighting, using blue bulbs and setting up a hired disco ball. It turned out to be a fab way of creating a bar vibe without having to hire any entertainment or furnishing.

Steve and I played around with the idea of doing something gimmicky for our first dance – we both love Tarantino and thought about re-enacting the famous dance from Pulp Fiction, when Mia and Vincent do the twist at Jack Rabbit Slim’s. After thinking about it seriously we agreed we could never pull it off and that it may diminish the elegance of the day – plus it’s been done many times before.

A song that means a lot to both of us is Eric Clapton’s ‘You look wonderful tonight’. When we were 17 we went on holiday with a couple of friends to Torrevieja in Spain – one night we decided to go to an English pub where they were doing karaoke and Steve surprised me by jumping on the mic to sing it to me in front of, what felt like, 100 people. It made the perfect song choice for our first dance.

Advice From a Newly Wed

You don’t have to spend a fortune to do things well – there really are tons of Do It Yourself ideas and templates online for the taking, which only make your day all the more personal and unique. Don’t feel that you have to go designer, you can find things just as beautiful and quirky on the high street – it really is what you make it.

I included that last image, no doubt intended for thank you cards, because I wanted to say thank you – to Becky and Steve for allowing us to share their day in all it’s glorious detail, and also to Guy Collier for capturing the details so beautifully alongside the moving images, which tell the story of this unique day so perfectly.

It’s a Peach, don’t you agree?

Yours Truly,

Rebecca
xoxo

Guy Collier is a Rock My Wedding Sponsor, however all real wedding submissions are chosen on individual merit and no part of this wedding has been sponsored.

Ballroom Blush

Rebecca@rockmywedding — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:00:49 +0000

So you think Peach is a little garden, summer, country? Fancy a glamourama super-sexy, spohisticated vintage wedding in a very fancy ballroom, with candlelight, crystal and mercuried glass?

How about Peach and sophisticated soft grey/metallics?

{ Image Credits }
Dress – Santa Fe, Ian Stuart
Chair and Cushion – Green Wedding Shoes by Jessica Claire
Chandelier – Graham and Green
Cake – Carrie Patterson
Stationery – Ivandy27 on Etsy
Bouquet – Carrie Patterson
Bridesmaids Dresses – EllanaCouture on Etsy
Birdcage veil – Tulet on Etsy

This one’s for you Fliss

Yours Truly,

Rebecca.

Sky Blue Peach… Part 2

Rebecca@rockmywedding — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 06:40:33 +0000

You lucky lucky things – there’s so much more to come of this particularly pretty peach affair that it’s a three parter. First up we have the perfect ceremony with it’s details and a little bit about the photographer extraordinaire (and I should add a thoroughly nice chap) Guy Collier. Thanks goes to him for all the images today…

Wedding Day Chaos…

On the day itself the ceremony was delayed by over an hour and a half due to 2 x massive accidents on the main roads leading to the venue, as well as a Hindu festival resulting in a flood of cars in the area. As a result almost all our guests were seriously late and our celebrant and string duo were massively delayed.

The bridesmaids and I were getting ready in one of the rooms facing out over the garden where our guests and family were slowly arriving. I felt like Rapunzel trapped – but the delay only made me all the more eager to walk down the aisle and declare my love for Steve in front of all our friends and family.

Finding The Perfect Venue

Steve and I did a lot of research into the venue – we knew what kind of wedding we wanted and felt strongly that the venue should reflect the feel of the day. We are both true romantics so were eager to find something picturesque and magical. I have always envisaged getting married outdoors in an English country garden and Bury Court Barn really did tick all the boxes.

The garden is truly stunning and the building is a beautiful old converted barn surrounded by fields, so perfect for the informal wedding we were hoping for. Even the oasts looked like turrets from the outside and it really did feel enchanting.

The flowers were one of our absolute favourite elements of the day. Our florist was one of our best friends Charlotte Cox, married to Kavarn the Best Man. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing she was – the flowers were incredible, exactly what we had asked for and she was a massive help on the big day itself. She is truly talented and I cannot recommend her enough. We were desperate for something delicate, pretty and wild to tie into the venue and surroundings. We knew exactly what we wanted and Charlotte worked with us to bring everything to life, advising on what was possible and which flowers were in season.

To tie into the colour scheme of the day we used a selection of cream and peach Roses and Freesias – classic and simple. Peach Carnations were also added to the list – although they have had bad press with being cheap, they really are beautiful and look totally vintage and delicate; as a result they have been making a big comeback in the last year or so. But I also wanted something to lift and enhance the neutral colours – I love the way peach and blue complement each other and so we used Delphinium to inject electric blue into the scheme as well.

For a contrast in texture and to encompass the wild English garden look we were striving for, we threw Hypericum berries into the mix. Charlotte also recommended incorporating Rosemary – it’s a beautiful shade of grey and the sharp shape was a striking contrast to the delicate flowers we had chosen.

The bouquets were stunning – I chose to have the same flowers as the bridesmaids so all were consistent. The groomsmen had matching button holes but Steve had an Avalanche Rose which was a slightly different colour to the others.

For the ceremony we used bird cages filled with white Hydrangeas and stunning pew ends which we hung on the back of the chairs.

The Ceremony

The thing that meant the most to me was that Steve and I were lucky enough to get married outside in a beautiful English garden – it’s the only way I have ever envisaged getting married and it really was stunning. Due to the ridiculous UK laws, the only place you can legally get married outdoors is Scotland – we therefore had a Humanist ceremony which was truly fantastic.

We wrote our own vows and the celebrant’s script focused on our love for each other – it was entirely personal and very intimate.

Guy Collier Photography

We decided that we were not going to have a professional video done, but that photo’s were more important to us, as we felt these would be looked at more often and be a constant reminder of our special day. This meant we had more flexibility with our budget and it was therefore vital that our photographer would not only capture the emotion of the day, but also provide beautiful shots in the style of photos that we like best.

After checking out loads of online photo’s of other weddings, we soon realised that we were quite fussy on what style of photography we were after and that it would be hard to find someone suitable.

We were given a recommendation from someone who had used Guy Collier for a family wedding and after going through these photo’s, realised that he was just what we were looking for. After meeting Guy, discussing his style of photography and looking at other examples of his work, it soon became obvious that he was the perfect choice for us.

Guy was great through the whole process. He was very efficient and always came back to us promptly on any queries prior to our big day.

On the day, Guy was amazing. He was so enthusiastic and adjusted brilliantly to the change in timings that occurred. He even worked with the caterers to ensure everything ran smoothly. We never felt directed or staged and this really showed in the photo’s we received.

Everyone commented on how discrete Guy was and after seeing the photo’s they did not even realise they had been taken. This was so apparent in the pictures, as you could see the true emotion in everyone, which just could not have been otherwise achieved.
The final portfolio of pictures were exactly what we were hoping for. They are absolutely stunning and we almost couldn’t believe it was our wedding we were looking at.
Guy really managed to capture moments in time that had bagfuls of emotion and the pictures convey all of the feelings throughout the day.

We can’t thank Guy enough for the beautiful shots and amazing memories – we would recommend him to anyone.

A Blog-roll of creativity…

We wanted to make the day as unique and personal as possible – trawling through wedding blogs such as; Rock My Wedding, Martha Stuart, DIY Brides, you can find endless ideas and suggestions to borrow and recreate. We pulled together an enormous scrap book full of all our favourite ideas and spent time before the wedding designing, printing, cutting and gluing.

The ceremony took place in the beautiful gardens at Bury Court – we chose to get married in front of a tree overlooking the vast fields and landscape behind. We filled bird cages with Hydrangeas and hung them from the tree with peach ribbon. The venue had some old cricket chairs that we used for the ceremony; we hung pew ends on each of the aisle seats along with a bottle of bubbles.

The venue also had a massive green bench which they kept out of sight from guests, I absolutely loved it and asked them if we could move it outside for the ceremony.

We also created an Order Of The Day for each guest – we wanted something quirky so decided to give them a double purpose and create them as fans. We downloaded a template online, designed both sides in Photoshop, printed on to card and glued together with a lolly stick in between. It turned out to be really hot on the day so the guests got their use out of them.

I asked my mum to make us a ring pillow for the ceremony too – we found some vintage fabric and a doily in an old antique shop and then bought the ribbon from a haberdashery; another unique element of the day that I will treasure forever.

What’s that I hear you say? It’s just too beautiful… there can’t possibly be more?

Well there is. And it’s even better.

Yours Truly,

Rebecca
xoxo

Guy Collier is a Rock My Wedding Sponsor, however all real wedding submissions are chosen on individual merit and no part of this wedding has been sponsored.

She Tastes Like A Peach.

Charlotte@rockmywedding — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:55:52 +0000

This was my favourite line from one of my all time favourite films – True Romance, a Tarantino classic.

Now this post isn’t an excuse to relinquish my teenage Christian Slater crush ( or indeed the secret desire I harbour to don a cow print skirt and bright blue cowboy boots a la Patricia Arquette)….it’s actually to pay homage to the mesmerising current beauty trend which is the juicy peachy lip.

At the weekend my sister Melissa “make-up artist supremo” very kindly paid a visit to the the O’Shea residence so that she could show me how to use my new peachy-hued products to their maximum potential. Armed with my trusty Nikon we also took the opportunity to give you lovelies a step-by-step demonstration so that if you fancied it, you could easily re-create the look at home.

You Like?

The idea was to focus on the peachy pout with a natural luminous skin, a delicate apricot blush and a soft neutral eye with extra-long luscious lashes.

The Essential Kit

1. A peach/pink lipstick – we used Chanel Coco Rouge in “Chintz”
2. A peachy hued gloss – we used Chanel Levres Schintillantes in “Petite Peche”
3. A warm apricot/pinky blush – we used MAC powder blush in “Pinch O Peach”

Other Cosmetics Used to Create This Look:

4. Lancome long-lasting softening concealer in “Beige Pastel”
5. YSL Top Secret Primer
6. Chanel Vitalumiere satin smoothing fluid foundation in ” 20 Clair”
7. L’Oreal Double Extension Mascara in “Blackest Black”
8. Burberry lipliner in “Nude Beige”
9. Nars eyeshadow duo in “All About Eve”

The Eyes

My sister and I always start with the eyes – that way any falling shadow can be swept away without disrupting your base.

Press concealer gently into dark shadows to disguise ( never ever rub), extend a small amount of the product to your eyelid as this will act as an adhesive base and prevent creasing.

Sweep a neutral gold/peach shadow onto the entire lid up to the socket line, if you would like a shinier/more pigmented look, carefully press the powder onto the lid with your fingertip.

The Longest Lashes

The trick to an extra long flutter is to use a fibre enriched base – these fibres cling to the end of your lash thus creating the wide-eyed bambi look.

Start by curling your lashes and then apply the base to your entire lash taking care to take the product right up to the tip. Afterwards apply a tiny amount of the base just to the tips again – remove any obvious white blobs with an eyelash comb.

Next apply the glossy black top coat, apply as many as you like – we just used one to keep the look “au naturel” and not take away emphasis from the lips.

The Luminous Base

Apply a primer to the entire face, we used YSL top secret which takes away redness and smooths the appearance of open pores. This was swept on using the applicator brush and then blended using a separate foundation brush.

Apply an illuminating foundation, 5 ten pence piece amounts is all you need, one on each cheek, the nose, the forehead and the chin, ensure the product is blended right up to the hairline and neck – the key is seamless!

Sweep a soft warm apricot blush onto the apples of the cheek and take upwards towards the hairline, add an extra application to the apples for a “pop” of colour if you really want to GLOW….

NB: We didn’t use a powder but if you suffer with the oilies a light application of loose translucent over the T-Zone should prevent excess shine.

The Sexiest Fruity Lips

Outline the lips with a barely-there pencil ( with a glossy look like this one a pencil will increase longevity)

Apply your lipstick straight from the tube – blend the lipliner into the colour with a lipbrush if there are any tell-tale signs of the outline.

Next the super shiny fruity finish, sweep the gloss across the entire lip then apply an extra amount into the centre of the bottom lip area to REALLY increase pout potential.

Et Voila!

Hope you like it

Any questions/ queries on application or products just drop us a comment.

Coming up later in the week – a sexy smoky bronze, gold and peachy eye teamed with a natural lip. ‘Tis gorgeous.

Big Tasting Peachy Love

Charlotte xxx

Sky Blue Peach… Part 1

Rebecca@rockmywedding — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 06:30:45 +0000

We owe a massive thank you to Guy Collier this week for submitting todays wedding, which not only put me in the uncomfortable position of scraping my jaw off the floor when I first clapped eyes on it, but also only went and got the whole of peach week started…

(via email….)

Rebecca: Guy Collier Submission – peach and blue, DIY, puff ball BM’s. LOVE. IT!

Charlotte: Oh My Actual God. See us Brits can do it! He needs to send you every single image he used on the blog – they are all amazing.

Some days later…

Charlotte: Have just had immense idea when I was in the shower, about time – maybe my all day headache kicked my brain into gear!…… How do you feel about peaches and cream week on RMW?????

Another day later…

Rebecca: As I never got around to replying to your email I thought I would give some attention to this particular idea of yours – Awesome! Really love it

(- Embarrassingly, this is actually how our conversations go, and Thank God – we also still get just that excited!)

Guy also very kindly kept the images off his blog until we could spill the beans and share it with you… which is what I’m about to do right here, right now.

It’s just Peachy!

Becky & Steve were married 30th July this year and created a ridiculously pretty day….

Sweetheart in Sung

I absolutely loved searching for the dress – I had been told some horror stories about girls never being able to find a style that they were happy with, but dress shopping really was so much fun! I took my two sisters and mum with me and we spent a whole weekend running from shop to shop; I must have tried on roughly 50 different dresses. The first thing we did was to pick out a few different styles (traditional, vintage, Grecian, fishtail) and once we knew what suited my shape then started to delve into designs.

I found my dress first thing on the Sunday morning from Confetti and Lace in Farnham, Surrey. My sister actually picked it out and as soon as I put it on I knew it was going to be the dress I got married in. It was a traditional style – sweetheart neck and corseted waist with a flowing trail. It has stunning detail around the bust; rather than Swarovski crystals it had pearls and beautiful golden crystals, which definitely gave it the vintage twist I was looking for. I adored everything about the dress! The designer was Alfred Sung and I was the first bride of 2010 to get married in it.

Finishing touches

Finding the hair accessory was one of the hardest decisions to make – it is essential to find something that matches the dress but that doesn’t take anything away from it. I have always associated old-school veils with religious weddings so ruled this out straight away – likewise I am not a fan of tiaras so that meant looking for something not so ordinary. I tried tons of head bands, hair slides and retro style veils and fascinators. Eventually I came across a pretty little pearl beaded headband from Monsoon which I felt worked perfectly and complimented the dress – informal but delicate and pretty, it was a bargain at only 15 quid!

Pearly Queen

The shoes took a lot of thought and deliberation – I toyed with the idea of wearing electric blue shoes to add something quirky to my outfit, however I felt it may tarnish the elegant and traditional look I was trying to achieve. I searched long and hard…from designer to high street to vintage boutiques, but couldn’t find what I was looking for. Eventually I went into Monsoon (while searching for hair accessories) and discovered a gorgeous pair of ivory peep-toe heels with the same beautiful pearls that were stitched onto the headband. Honestly for all brides that are on a budget or looking for traditional accessories, go to Monsoon – they don’t have a massive range but their stuff is very cute.

Big Bouncy Curls and Glamour Puss lips…

For my hair, I had decided the first time I tried on my dress that I would wear my hair down on the day. Big, loose curls were what I wanted and my hair stylist was absolutely brilliant at transforming my straight bed hair into gorgeous bouncy curls. For the bridesmaids – I let the girls choose their own hairstyles, they all looked stunning. They all went for an ‘up’ do with a lace braid, which looked fab with their dresses. Keira Cox, our friend and sister of the Best Man, did such a brilliant job. She did my hair and all three of the bridesmaids on the morning of the wedding and was so much fun to have around.

For my face…I did consider doing my own makeup but Guy (our wonderful photographer) advised me to get it done professionally. I was after a 1950s glamour puss look – I tend to wear liquid liner and bright lipstick on a night out and wanted something similar but toned down.

I had heard some great things about Benefit, love their range and use loads of their products. I had a trial with them and they were brilliant. The girls were lovely and did a perfect job of giving me the glamorous look I had asked for. Even better, they came to the venue on the big day and the whole cost was redeemable against product – so I got to cherry pick all my favourite Benefit goodies to take on Honeymoon with me.

Peachy Puffs

The bridesmaids wore ‘birdsong puff hem bandeau’ – dresses from Coast – I absolutely adored everything about the dresses, they were totally delicate but were also quite fun. When the girls were all dressed up, with their hair and make-up done they looked like they could be subjects of a Degas painting, which I loved!

Ellen and Jemima, the older bridesmaids had matching peep-toe heels and Clementine-Rose, the youngest, wore little satin ballet shoes. Everything was champagne in colour and tied in perfectly to the rest of the wedding.

Grey Groomsmen

The groomsmen wore the same grey suits as Steve – we gave them pale peach ties with hankies to match, tying into the colour of the bridesmaid dresses, keeping everything consistent. The suits were hired from Stafford Tailoring but we asked the groomsmen to wear their own black shoes.

…And a Vintage Groom

Steve looked so very handsome – as I walked down the aisle I kept thinking how dashing he was. Because we wanted the wedding to be informal and laid back we knew we didn’t want tails and cravats, instead we chose a beautiful grey pick-on-pick suit, with lighter grey stitching around the seams. We found a lovely pale blue waistcoat that worked with the suit perfectly and helped with the vintage look and feel we wanted.

We wanted Steve to stand out slightly from the groomsmen so picked him a gorgeous tie and retro cufflinks from Paul Smith. The tie was pretty and floral and the cufflinks injected a bit of fun into Steve’s outfit by bearing a 1950’s naked sailor pin-up.

Peachy perfect right?

Just wait until you see the rest… accents of blue, DIY overload an outdoor (yes, outdoor!) ceremony and so many reception details I might just burst with excitement.

Don’t even get me started on the florals!

Yours Truly,

Rebecca
xoxo

Guy Collier is a Rock My Wedding Sponsor, however all real wedding submissions are chosen on individual merit and no part of this wedding has been sponsored.

Peach Melba

Rebecca@rockmywedding — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:20:06 +0000

This one might just be my favourite… It’s got Bow Ties (can we bring them back too?) lots of cake, print pattern Bridesmaids dresses, my favourite shade of Coral with my new favourite colour Peach, and how could we do a ‘Peach Week’ without featuring THE Justin Alexander dress?

So here you have it. Sorbet shades and a modern, bright, preppy take on Peach.

{ Image Credits }

Lemonade Table (top), Sorbet flowers in Milk glass, Cake table via GreenWeddingShoes, photographs courtesy of Jessica Claire.
Bouquet – Carrie Patterson.
LOVE Bunting – RavensBloom on Etsy
Dress – Justin Alexander 8465
Bow Tie – Xoelle on Etsy.
Headpiece – Mandizzle on Etsy
Vintage Stamps image – Jessica Claire.
Bridesmaids – SMP
Dahlia Blossom Invites – Pinklilypress on Etsy

Have we tempted you into Peach yet

Yours Truly,

Rebecca
xoxo

Organic Peach

Rebecca@rockmywedding — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:10:16 +0000

Like todays Wedding, this Inspiration Board is something of a Vintage dream. Using shades of mocha, bitter chocolate and taupe in chiffon’s, lace and tulle , it’s not short of Romance. What makes the look modern however is the rustic edge, with wild style flowers, lots of garden details and touches of fresh green. Just because you’re going vintage doesn’t mean you have to forsake the odd modern touch too, if thats what you fancy – this distinctly modern cake works beautifully with a single chocolate band and a relatively new concept to UK weddings in the escort cards, can be tied to the theme with colour and the addition of vintage lace backing.

{ Image Credits }

Cake – April Reed Cakes
Birdcage Decor, Table number in centre piece and Escort Cards – SMP
Peach Hair piece – Wanderlustings on Etsy
Vintage Style Wedding Gown – 1051 Benjamin Roberts
Rose Bouquet – David Austin Roses
Dreamy Dresses – Maria Lucia Hohan via The Cherry Blossom Girl

Yours Truly,

Rebecca
xoxo

PS! Woo! It’s a three post day ladies! Come back in a couple of hours for a totally modern, fresh and mouthwatering take on our current favourite colour in the form of another inspiration board to totally challenge your preconceptions of what can be done with Peach .

A Fruitful Affair…..part 2

Charlotte@rockmywedding — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:23:51 +0000

Not only do I love the whole soft filled-with-love glow that Liz and Laurence’s wedding seems to exude but you’ve got to hand it to them for all the do-it-yourself pretty that went into creating this utterly peachy Big Day.

Oh and some of the most original and gorgeous favours I have ever seen……LOVE.

An In-House Baker

My mum made the cakes, three layers strawberry, chocolate and lemon Madeira cake and my good friend zoe mannering handmade each individual icing flower (each individual one took 40 minutes!!!) We loved the idea of having as many things hand made by our friends and family as possible!

An Abundance Of Florals

We decorated the entire venue ourselves (thank goodness I had 5 bridesmaids) we picked wheat from a local field and lavender from a local farm. We tied ribbon and buckles round random jam jars that we had collected for months and filled them with wheat and lavender. We also took flowers from all the bridesmaids mums gardens and filled the ceremony room with lots and lots of vases! I loved this look and it was on a total budget but had a really dramatic effect.

A Fruity Number

Borrowed blue press did all our stationery and favours. We went for a beautiful little ribboned box with a note written on the box saying ‘Laurence & Liz the perfect pear’ inside the antique box was an ordainment pear to hang up as a decoration when you get home. Borrowed blue were fantastic and so helpful when it came to coming up with ideas to suit our theme, we couldn’t have asked for more from them.

Breaking The Ice

Laurence came up without a fab idea of naming the tables after cocktails and then popping a jug of the relevant cocktail on each table, this went down REALLY well with the guests and was a great ice breaker.

Creative Talent

My photographer was Jay Rowden, i had worked with him at ITV when he was a creative there and knew instantly of his talent in photography! We were over the moon when he agreed to shoot our wedding and ecstatic over the results, we really couldn’t have asked for more! We really didn’t want the traditional line up approach which suited jay down to the ground, he’s got a real artistic eye for capturing the detail.

Making The Night

We had a DJ – Graham McManus and a live band The Kingsdown Band, both were unbelievable and totally without doubt made the night!

The Way You Look Tonight

For our first dance we went for the Tony Bennett version of the way you look tonight, played live by the kingsdown band which was amazing!

Make The Preparation Fun

What I really loved about our day was the amount of friends we had involved, from spending the entire day before decorate the venue to cake baking and dress making it was truly individual….no one will ever have the same as us!

My biggest tip would be always ask yourself can I do it myself, if the answer is yes they why not give it a try! We had sooooo much fun preparing for it all!

Did you not just love the PEACH?!

With thanks to Liz, Laurence and Jay Rowden for sharing the W-day lovely with Rock My Wedding.

Big Glowing Love

Charlotte xxx

A Fruitful Affair…..part 1

Charlotte@rockmywedding — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:26:08 +0000

I have a lot of love for Jay Rowden the photographer of todays peach infused Big Day, not only do his emails make me laugh out loud but he has also been incredibly patient after making him wait over a month from his initial submission to posting on the blog….. and then making him wait another couple of weeks as we knew Laurence and Liz’s wedding would be ideal for this weeks theme.

Mixed with dirty golds, champagne, pinks and a striking navy blue this W-day makes peach perfection…not to mention all of the budget D.I.Y details, a unique vintage-inspired dress and some of the prettiest maids we have ever featured.

This is sure to make a lovely relaxing bank holiday Monday even lovelier.Promise.

Vintage Inspired

My dress was from berktex bride but I made quite a few alterations such as the brooch and the neck line – I didn’t want to spend a small fortune and knew I wanted a vintage look so when I put this dress on I simply knew it was the one!

Glowing Simplicity

I did my own make up and my good friend Ruth O’Brien who has just set up her own wedding hair company did my hair. We went for lose curls set back off my face again to keep it simple as the dress had quite a bit going on!

It’s All In The Name

My shoes were From Emmy shoes and called Elizabeth which I thought had to be a sign considering that’s my name! I chose a three inch heal and fell head over heals in love with them and went for the dirty gold trim in an ivory colour, amazing! Love them so much I am going to dye them afterwards and keep on wearing them!

Hand Made And Borrowed Blue

My mum hand made the veil from French silk with a gold thread trim other than that no tiara, I wanted to keep it simple. I was Iucky enough for my husband to buy me a beautiful single pearl necklace the morning of the wedding which I wore and my mum leant me her mothers vintage sapphire engagement ring as my something blue.

Blue Champagne

Laurence was in navy blue tails with a champagne coloured waistcoat and cravat he look amazing!

The Perfect Venue

We were married at Winters barn in Canterbury on July 31st, it was a beautiful venue.

Strike A Pose

My mum handmade all five bridesmaid dresses in a latte/champagne colour, we found the patterns from vogue dresses and the guys were in moss bros hired navy blue suits with ivory waistcoat and cravats.

Country Chic

My florist was a company called Flowers by Caroline based in Kent. I told her I really wanted a country feel with peonies and vintage roses and she excelled I was over the moon with the flowers especially the little flower girls who had flower balls on ribbon.

So very pretty.

And how well does a chanpagne bronzy gold hue suit a blonde? I feel the need to go invest in some new Peaches and Cream week inspired fashion!

Plenty more fruity dream coming up in part 2

Big Dirty Gold Love

Charlotte xxx

Sunday Sneak PEACH.

Charlotte@rockmywedding — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:00:50 +0000

*image courtesy of Charlotte O’Shea and Adam Crohill @copyright Rock My Wedding

See what I did there?

Peaches and Cream week at RMW, August 30th until September 4th.

See you there lovelies!

P.S It hasn’t gone unnoticed that there have been quite a few peach hued W-days on some American blogs this past week, at first we were kicking ourselves for not getting organised quicker ( we have had this in the pipeline for over a month)….. but actually it doesn’t matter, we are a UK blog and that’s where we are bringing peachy back too, three cheers for Great British Brides