I adore this wedding.

The venue was beautiful, the styling was simple but absolute perfection and the bride was both elegant, chic and at the same time clearly having the time of her life…….

Pair this with splashes of bright orange and spring green then add a sprinkle of personal touches and what do you get?

Some oh so very very pretty.

Anna had some of the most unique music choices for her Big Day that I have ever heard of – “There She Goes” by The La’s for the processional and “Signed Sealed Delivered” by Stevie Wonder for the Recessional.

Genius.

Anna and John were married on the 2nd October at the Courtyard, Harewood House, Leeds. Anna has kindly shared all of the planning and design detail of her beautiful day with RMW so we can in turn share it with all of our stylish readers.

All of the fantastic photography is by one of RMW’s love/lust list members Olivia Brabbs.

The Dress

The dress was designed by Debbie Goldthorpe at Paradise Grove Bridal Designs. Dress shopping was a bit of an ordeal for me – I would walk into the shop with sweaty palms, choose a few dresses to try, and endure being put into them - teeth gritted all the while – before shuffling out of the dressing room to see if it was a thumbs up or down from the waiting friends…. I know that for lots of brides to be it’s one of their favourite bits of the planning, but for me it just didn’t work, and I couldn’t imagine ever finding ‘the one’. 

Debbie had made a gorgeous dress for a friend of mine a couple of years earlier, so armed with a vague idea of what I thought I might want, I took myself to see her.  The process of having a dress made from scratch was absolutely amazing - Debbie is truly talented and has a fantastic eye, and seeing the dress evolve was just so exciting, especially as the day grew closer and I was having weekly fittings (Saturday afternoons, following at least a couple of hours at the gym to ensure I was feeling as slim as poss…!)  I would certainly urge anyone to consider having a dress made – it’s so special knowing that your dress is absolutely made to measure and one of a kind – thank you Debbie!!!


The Groom

John wore a navy tailored suit from Spencer Hart on Savile Row.  We thought it was only fair that as I was spending so much on a dress, we should use this as an opportunity to get John a really decent suit, as he would enjoy wearing it – not only on the day but also for future special occasions.  

Cravats and waistcoats aren’t really John’s thing, and although we wanted to make sure the chaps looked part of the theme, we also wanted them to look a little more relaxed, so we asked them to wear their own grey suits, and we bought them matching ties from TM Lewin. John’s tie was from Richard James and his black Brogues were from Paul Smith.

Something Old and Something New

I wore a white gold and diamond necklace which was my ‘something borrowed’ – it was given to my grandma by my granddad on their 50th wedding anniversary, and as well as the fact that it went very well with the dress, it meant a lot to wear it, particularly as he passed away a couple of years ago.  Later on I changed into a chunky silver and sparkly necklace from Azendi which had a more contemporary feel and glammed me up a bit for the evening’s celebrations!


Floral Fancy

The flowers were done by Richard at Eden Flowers .  Not knowing a huge amount about flowers, it was really important that we had a florist who would understand exactly what I was after and translate it to the right blooms on the day… and Richard did exactly that.  

We had decided on an orange theme, but I was horrified when everyone I told immediately said something along the lines of: ‘orange – what a lovely colour for an autumn wedding’….. Um no, that’s not what I had in mind at all!!!!  In my head it would be an Indian summer - there would be orange, and creams, and light greens, and it would all look very fresh summery and NOT AUTUMNAL!  No berries, no twigs, no russets.  Richard absolutely ‘got’ what I was ranting about, and managed to put together exactly what I wanted, despite the fact that I only know the names of about 3 different types of flowers…!


Choosing our Photographer

Olivia Brabbs!!!  What can I say – we wanted reportage, and she delivered some of the most beautifully natural shots I’ve ever seen, which captured the day in a way I wouldn’t have imagined you could do with still shots…. Amazing.  Oh and she had learnt the names of all the family members in the group shots, which was a lovely touch because it made everyone feel so much more relaxed. 

Can’t rate her highly enough. 

And you should see the whole lot of pretty we have coming up tomorrow – lots of reception gorgeousness and D.I.Y fabulousness to inspire you.

Big Love

Charlotte xxx

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