There are always first words that spring to mind when you we set eyes on a wedding that has been submitted to Rock My Wedding and this stunning wedding was no exception.

And the words? Stylish. Glamorous.

And with the Parisian feel and Navy and white colour palette, very very Chic.

The stunning images were taken by A J Williams and knock-out gorgeous they are too.

A Glamorous Gown

I had saved lots and lots of clippings from every wedding magazine on the shelf and could see a common factor – none of the gowns I was learning toward were strapless. I wanted to move away from that traditional look and have straps or shoulder detail. It was a lot easier than I thought and I loved every minute of it – I would say one of the planning moments to treasure! I took my Mum every time and my MOH when I finally found it. The gown I fell in love with was from Pronovias in Bond Street. I knew which ones I wanted to try (all 6 of them) but ended up buying a dress which wasn’t on that list! The gown was jaw dropping with its 4ft train and plunging back. It was an exclusive one off made to measure Manual Mota design in stunning silk. I wanted something timeless, classic but still make a statement! The dress was overall quite simple in terms of detail so the seamstress sewed on a Swarovski belt, which she tailored to fit neatly under the peak of the bust rather than cutting me off around the waist. The belt flowed right down the back of the dress giving every movement sparkle! The dress could also be bustled up at the back giving a new dimension and a greater ease of movement when I hit the dancefloor later! I had my Mum’s wedding ring sewn in underneath as my something old as my Father is no longer with us – it was really special to have this with me.

Vintage Classic Jewels

I looked tirelessly for my jewellery as I wanted to stay contemporary but have a vintage edge. Again something classic that never detracted from the dress. I hunted high street and online boutiques. I decided against a necklace in the end and went for a beautiful pearl and Swarovski handmade bracelet from Regina B – New York – amazingly and surprisingly it matched the dress detail, which worked perfectly! My earrings were again Regina B and made quite a statement, as they were about 4 cms long and very sparkly! I didn’t wear a veil or tiara and so chose 3 crystal hairpieces from Accessorize – they worked perfectly!

Colour Me Beautiful

My make-up was done by my good friend Stacey who is a trained beautician with Bobbi Brown amongst others and specialises in mineral make up which worked wonders for the stress breakouts I was getting! I had about 3 trials as Stacey was giving me a daytime and evening party look. Stacey also gave me facials weeks up to the day, fake bake trials and eyebrow waxing etc! I owe Stacey everything for making me look my most beautiful on the day and carried a much needed emergency kit all day long – my make-up angel. My hair was done by my local hairdresser Shellee of Hair Chemistry who travelled down to my venue on the day. I had seen pictures of the look I hoped to achieve which was natural, tousled and pretty! I didn’t want to look like somebody else nor have my hair ‘set’. I had grown my hair for a long time and wanted to create some drama with curls and a bit of a beehive!

Heel boy!

OMG – NO shoe research needed! I knew I wanted designer heels on my wedding day and had spent a good few hours outside the Paris boutique glaring through the window at them, almost pining! A very SATC moment! Christian Louboutin were my shoes of choice. Definitely falling in to the skyscraper category but my husband is 6ft 2” so the extra height went a long way! Although they did start giving me pain (all over!) by the wedding breakfast so I did our first dance bare foot and on tippy toes!! It was limiting so I wouldn’t recommend it – fashion hurts right…! I found a pair of dark blue (matching my colour scheme) CL heels but they couldn’t source my size at the London boutique. I found a classic pair of off white peep toe shoes, which were incredibly pretty and feminine. However, they’re now green from grass stains and muddy – a trip to have them dyed is the only option so I can wear them again… and again!

Here come the girls… and boys!

Wow – the hunt for BM dresses was probably one of THE most stressful parts of the wedding planning overall – different tastes, sizes, ages, likes, dislikes, stress levels went through the roof! I think the initial cause of this was because I just wanted to make them all happy and it was probably the only time throughout that I gave creative license to others – every decision other than this was mine and I knew what I wanted! We went to Oxford Street, I looked at global online boutiques and travelled to many different wedding shops to find ‘the perfect BM dress’! Nothing. Eventually I went back to a wedding boutique called Kiss the Bride in my local village and they had a large selection of Dessy gowns! I found 3 stunning options but fell in love with a midnight blue chiffon strapless gown. BUT would the girls like it?! Yes, hoorah! They all looked incredibly elegant and far removed from the daily love of jeans and trainers or gym gear! They chose their own jewellery and clutch bags and shoes.

We didn’t hire any mens outfits for the wedding as we found a great suit deal at a high street store for the groomsmen. They each wore a black suit with smart black tie and white shirt – I wanted the classic black tie look but also for Scott and his best man to stand out.

Scott was unusually quite forward with his ideas for his outfit for the day. A chance for him to dress up, look dapper and incredibly swish in his wedding suit too! We visited lots of places again and nearly opted for Marc Wallace but they couldn’t create he midnight blue suit he wanted. So he chose King & Allen in Surbiton to create a suit for him and his best man. He chose a 3 piece with a silk white lining and matching white silk tie. He bought a gorgeous pair of winklepicker shoes from Dune, which were featured in GQ magazine. Again, he suffered as I did! He had calligraphic initials inside his jacket with our wedding date – every christening and wedding we’ve been to since September has showcased his wedding suit!

Let Them Eat Cake!

I didn’t know whether to opt for cupcakes or a sweet shop or a traditional tiered cake. However, I found a cake by a well known cake maker being showcased in a magazine and fell in love with it’s simplicity. It was a 4-tiered cake by Makis Cakes. She has an incredible talent and can really go to town with intricate designs. I chose lemon, carrot, chocolate and fruit (the fruit tier is now in my freezer!). It was iced in white with little flowers and adorned with matching midnight blue ribbon with antique brooches for that much needed sparkle! The cake went down incredibly well and was given to guests in handmade glassine bags printed with Paris images by the $5 French Market on Etsy.

Oh la la! I don’t know what it is about this super chic navy and white palette that’s making me come over all funny, en français, naturellement!

Totally, utterly sophisticated and drop dead gorgeous, if you liked this installment, check back over the weekend to see the rest of the spectacular affair.

Details fan? You’ll be in seventh heaven. You have my word.

Yours Truly,

Contra
xoxo

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