Katie & Matthew

Dress

Katie The Bride: My dress was by Ronald Joyce. Completely opposite style to what I thought I wanted, but loved it as soon as I walked in the shop. Shoes were from Charlotte Mills. Comfy and cute! Dress belt- From Italy, Vintage design on Ivory Ribbon Jewellery was from PANDORA.

The Grooms Fashion

Bow tie and pocket square from Mrs. Bowtie. Colour- Heather with a very subtle stripe. Suit from Moss Bros. Chosen by the Groom!

The Venue

The Orangery, Turkey Mill, Maidstone. The first and only place we looked at, the place where my mum and dad first met in 1983.

Colour Scheme/Decor

Dusty purple/Lavender- Soft and romantic Theme: One of my favorite things . . . Afternoon Tea and floral.

Flowers/Florist

A full length top table arrangement, bouquets, bridge, center-pieces etc. were done by Blue Daisies. The aim was for an explosion of flowers: Mixture of amnesia roses, gypsophila, pale pink roses and eucalyptus. A favourite of mine, along with most of the guests, was the ivory flower wall. Hired from Boutique Wedding Hire. Placed at the end of the aisle in the garden room for the ceremony and then moved to the Orangery behind the top table. Perfect picture back-drop!. Also, we hired a large floral picture frame to place outside with the gardens as the backdrop. I hired vintage teapots, some for flowers and some to serve the Tea following dinner and speeches. Also, ordered over 100 teacups from Alice & the Teacup, to go on the tables, one for each guest. I made various bits for the day, as I wanted little personal touches.

• Table plan- took hours!
• The table numbers-Matched the table plan
• Date jar-For date night suggestions from our guests
• Wedding sign.
• Sweet bouquet for my dad
• The place names matched the invitations; we had name tags with teapots and teacups on, by Eaton Stationery. Hired the photoboth Mirror, ‘LOVE’ sign, Stage and dance floor from Fire Birds Events. Always use this company. So helpful and reliable.

  The Wedding Party Fashion

  Flower girls-
• Wore gypsophila crowns, made by Blue Daisies
• Dresses where the same as bridesmaids but ivory from Yours Truly.
• Bridesmaids-
• Lavender coloured multi-way dresses from Yours Truly Bridal. The place where my mum got her wedding dress from!
• They all wore different gold/nude shoes, which they chose themselves.
• Earrings matched mine, they had lavender coloured diamond and I had clear.
• Had gypsophila placed in a waterfall plait. 
• The Matron of Honour (My sister) had the same bouquet as me, just a little smaller.
• Best men, Usher and Dad’s-
• Heather coloured bowties and pocket squares from Mrs. Bowtie

Ceremony

Not being able to get the ring on Matts Finger! The ceremony was kept short and sweet! Walked down the aisle to Michael Jackson ‘Human Nature’ played by guitarist David Buckingham.

Entertainment

David Buckingham (Guitarist) played from the arrival of the guests, to the start of the speeches. He also played at my sisters wedding in 2013. First Dance- Sam Cooke ‘(What a) Wonderful World’ Father Daughter Dance-Ray Charles ‘Ain’t that Love’-Dad slipped on my dress and landed flat on the floor! Live Band- The Distractions, with lead singer Aearon.

Food

The cake was made by Creative Cakes.  Food by Azra Catering- Both are recommended suppliers of The Orangery. Favours- Ivory and Lavender Macaroons; made by Bluebell Kitchen. We put these into little clear bags and tied with ivory ribbon, and one was placed in each of the teacups.

Photographer

We found Lucie Watson at a local wedding fair, loved the soft, natural and romantic look of her display.

Videographer

TDH Media made the video and Marryoke. -Recommended supplier of The Orangery and highly recommended by friends Marryoke song- ‘You make my dreams come true’ by Hall and Oats.

Advice

Kept everything local and close to home. Which made it feel more personal and made the planning a lot easier! This also meant a majority of the suppliers knew each other and had worked with each other before, which help everything go so smoothly!