Lesley and Sam’s Dorset wedding turned out exactly how they had hoped, relaxed, stress-free and fun with an abundance of striking details that made the day personal to them.

I am particularly impressed with Lesley’s gorgeous grecian inspired high street dress which looks like it was MADE for her as well as her choice of simple but oh-so- pretty accessories. The whole look is just so unbelievably effortless.

Oh and of course the red. I LOVE a bright tomato hue and we only seem to see it pop up in a colour scheme around the festive season and even then it tends to be the darker scarlett variety….

Well not anymore folks.

Lesley and Sam incorporated the bold shade into their fashion, florals and decor and it looks divine.

With thanks to Amy Wass for submitting the images.

The Perfect Outfit

Sam and I got married in May 2010. We had our ceremony at the Grade 1 listed Highcliffe Castle in Dorset which was a very special place to us as my husband had proposed to me on the beach at Highcliffe. The reception then followed with a bbq at Sopley Mill (a Grade 2 listed mill house restaurant on the river Avon, surrounded by open fields) which was about ten minutes drive away.

As we were getting married near the beach (and my dream had actually always been to be married on the beach) I wanted to keep that seaside relaxed feel. My dress was the first (and only) one I tried on! It’s from Coast and is a lovely light floaty Grecian style ivory maxi dress that I felt very comfortable in. I topped it off with a beautiful crochet ivory shrug that my mum Brenda had made for me. Turned out to be rather useful as the day was a bit chilly!

Simple Chic

I wanted to keep everything very simple and I suppose a bit boho chic! The only thing in my hair was an ivory flower hair clip that I found on ebay. My necklace was my something borrowed – it was a simple silver chain with a crystal leaf pendant that caught the light fantastically as I moved.

To have that beach wedding feel it could only be flip flops! I wanted to feel comfortable and relaxed but still pretty so I found some gorgeous silver diamonte covered flip flops from Dune. For a bit of fun I stuck some Mindy Weiss ‘I Do’ blue crystal stickers to the underneath – these were my ‘Something Blue’.

I did my own make up as this is something I enjoy and I knew that it would help me feel relaxed on the morning of the Big Day. I had previously had a session with a MAC make up artist to show me some looks and tricks and armed with my tips and MAC cosmetics I did it all myself. For my hair a friend had recommended a local stylist who came to the house. I did not want a structured ‘formal’ wedding style so chose instead to have an updo of loose curls which went with my dress and the rest of the look.

Bright Red Accents

For the groomsmen we had a relaxed look. We asked them to wear their existing dark grey suits with a plain white shirt. I found some bright red ties that went with the colour scheme and handed them to the boys to wear. For the bridesmaids we selected bright red maxi dresses from Alfred Angelo, and some sparkly flip flops.

Sam chose a slim fit black suit from Ben Sherman with a modern cut – much more his style than a traditional morning suit. He wore a red shirt (to match our colour scheme) with plain black tie, and finished it off with retro pointy black shoes. Very dapper!

Striking Blooms

I chose to use Gebera daisies which are my favourite flowers – they are so bright and happy and a really simple shape. Also they originate from South Africa which is where I grew up so had special meaning to me. The bouquets were made by Sam’s wonderful mum, Sue, who has previously worked as a florist.

We chose bouquets that were an unfussy style (plain red for me, and ivory for the bridesmaids) to act as an effective contrast to our dresses. The stems were wrapped in red and white polka dot ribbon.

Bringing Out The Very Best

Our photographer was the lovely Amy Wass! We had found her through a friend of ours who had previously hired Amy for her wedding. As soon as we met Amy we felt we would be comfortable having her share our special day. We also loved the relaxed style of her photography which seemed to bring out the best in everyone.

We were certain of our choice after having an ‘Engagement’ photo session with her a few months before the wedding which provided us with some lovely couples shots as well as helping us get used to being in front of the lens.

Red Hot Chilli Love

We hired a DJ from A1 Discos. We submitted an extensive play list online to them prior to the day (and a few dedications as well) which he stuck pretty closely to. On the evening the dancefloor was constantly filled and everyone had a really good time.

We did rehearse dancing together quite a few times before hand. We found it took a couple of goes to get over the giggles and settle into our rhythm (and for the groom to stop treading on my toes!) as we had never danced like that before together.

The Finishing Touch

For me the only choice of cake was to have cupcakes! We tried a few suppliers before we discovered the Butterfly Bakery who made the most light and tasty cakes we had ever tasted. We decided on two flavours – lemon (with heart shaped sprinkles on top and lemon curd inside) and vanilla & raspberry (with a simple raspberry on top).

They looked stunning in black paper cases on the tiered stand. To top it off my mum Brenda made a little cutting cake which she wrapped a red ribbon around to match the colour scheme. I found a funny Lego bride & groom from ebay to go on top. Both Sam and I had always loved Lego as children and thought it gave the fun touch we were trying to give to our day.

Creating A Magical Atmosphere

We hired a company called Balloonique to provide some decorations for our reception venue. To go with the informal relaxed atmosphere we had freestanding bunches of red and black balloons scattered around the room. These were very popular with the children! Balloonique also provided a canopy of ceiling lights (fairy style lights that were set to twinkle later in the evening). This totally transformed the rather plain ceiling and provided a magical atmosphere.

To tie in further to the colour scheme we had home made red silk runners on the tables, and little black glass vases with more gerberas. I wanted to display some photos of Sam & I through the years and found a red heart wire photo frame on ebay. I selected a number of silly photos of us and tucked them into the frame.

Fuss Free Fun

What made our wedding special (and we received so many positive comments) was that it was personal to us. We kept it relaxed and humorous (no table seating plans to stress over, a few jokes such as playing Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’ just before I was due to walk down the aisle). Also so many of the details that couples stress over (the favours, the napkins….) are not anything that the guests will necessarily notice or remember. And when things go wrong, no one else actually notices as they don’t know how it was supposed to go anyway!

My most important piece of advice is to make sure you take your time walking down the aisle, and look at your future husband as you do so. And then afterwards stick by each others side, don’t separate to circulate. That way you will have all shared memories of the day.

This affair just makes me want to slick on some tomato red lippy and take off to the nearest sandy hotspot to listen to the waves……

It just goes to show -a wedding doesn’t have to be fussy to be fabulous.

With thanks to Lesley, Sam and Amy Wass for sharing their Big Day with Rock My Wedding.

Big Beachy Love

Charlotte xxx

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