Category: Real Brides

Hattie and Charlie – A Summer Wedding

a Go Bridal Blog

A FUN & RELAXED WEDDING IN THE HEART OF EAST SUSSEX

Looking through Hattie’s wedding album was such a joy, the whole day was clearly so real, so full of love and quite clearly a lot of fun from start to finish, not only that but Hattie looked absolutely sensational in her fitted lace gown and cathedral length veil. Hattie’s attitude towards her wedding day was refreshing since it was clear that there was far more focus on the important things that coincide with marriage as opposed to the little things which we can all get so easily wrapped up in. Charlie and Hattie got married at St Thomas A Becket Church in Breightlink East Sussex, followed by their reception and wedding breakfast which was held in a marquee at Charlie’s Family farm. Hattie describes the feel of her day and her inspiration behind it: 

“I’d describe the style of our wedding as traditional, yet relaxed. We found it hard to pick a style or colour scheme, as we had looked through so many magazines, Instagram and Pinterest pages! Charlie had decided that he was going to hand make the top table from a Giant Red Wood tree. This meant that there was a rustic feel going on, and we worked around that. It was actually his idea to just go with the flow and pick what we liked, and if things clashed, who cared!?”

FINDING THE DRESS

“The shopping experience was amazing! As soon as Mum, my sisters and I stepped in the door, you welcomed us through and cracked open the bubbles! We were encouraged to look through and try all of the dresses. We didn’t feel like we had to hold back on opinions, and you really encouraged us to voice how we were feeling. Your experience really showed as you gave such good advice, especially when you suggested I tried on a fitted dress. I had already decided this was a really bad idea, as I do not wear tight or fitted clothes. Well, it was the absolute dress of my dreams, and my husband couldn’t believe his eyes!!”

A FAVOURITE MOMENT

“It was shortly after I walked in to church with my Dad that I suddenly thought, ‘Oh my goodness, this is it!’. All of the planning, organising, decision making was over, and there was nothing more I could do. I got to the end of the aisle, Charlie squeezed my hand, said ‘You look incredible’, and that was it, I just could not stop grinning!”

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE

Relax, relax relax!! 

“I would recommend finding a ‘when to’ guide online. We found one which had things like roughly when to speak to the DJ, photographer etc. We then added and took away from it until we had a rough guide. 

Listen to all of the advice that you’re given. Some of it you’ll not want to take further, but there will be some words of wisdom that you’ll be grateful for!”

SUPPLIERS

Venue – St Thomas a Becket Church in Brightling, with the wonderful Reverend Anne-Marie Crosse. The venue was my husbands family farm in the village.

Photographer – Craig Payne. His eye for detail is incredible.

Flowers – The Flower House in Burwash

Seamstress – Miss Kay, Tunbridge Wells

Groomswear – Moss Bros

Hair – Hall of Fame. The most relaxed woman I’ve ever met!

Make up – Harriet Rainbow.

Accessories – Lovelily Lending & Nine West

Bridesmaids – Dessy via Go Bridal

Caterers – Kendale Catering 

Cake – Cakes by Caroline (Caroline Croft)

Entertainment – Band – Noble Jacks

, DJ – Matt Maurice

Stationary – Sefton Studios

If you would like to view the full gallery of Hattie’s wedding, click the button below

Lindsey in Enzoani – Karter

a Go Bridal Blog

A SIMPLE & STYLISH WEDDING IN SUSSEX

Lindsey & Jordan got married in Summer this year at Woodhouse Farm Henfield.

“We wanted a wedding that wasn’t too traditional looking and was really simple, bright and airy. As a wedding Coordinator, I see so many different styles, so over time I have really homed in on exactly what I like (Jordan was mainly happy with going along with my suggestions!). I follow quite a few wedding planners on Instagram, such as Sinclair & Moore, and I just love everything they do, so they definitely inspired me! I love the mix of light coloured linens and flowers, with a few pops of dark colour that they often do.

There wasn’t a specific colour theme, but we kept to mainly muted tones of green, coppers and pale pink, but brought a bit of depth in with dark burgundy flowers. We also wanted a small nod to Montgenèvre, France, where Jordan lived for a season and I learnt to ski, so our table names were all named after the ski lifts there. Essentially, the styling was made up of lots of little bits that we liked, which fortunately all worked together!”

FINDING THE DRESS

 

“All I knew when I started dress hunting was that the fabric had to be crepe, with a little lace. I saw the Pronovias Vicenta dress years ago and loved it, so it was always going to be something like that. My first shopping day ended in Go Bridal as I wanted to try a Morilee dress that was in the sale, I thought this would be the one, but Enzoani Mckinley dress made me think again, it was amazing! Although I loved it, it wasn’t quite the right dress for our wedding in a field, so Laura mentioned the Enzoani Juri dress that they were getting in the next month. I was planning on coming in to try Juri, but had seen the Enzoani Karter online and loved it, Laura so kindly ordered the sample on for me and when I came back in to try it on it was definitely the one! The fit was perfect, and it had just the right amount of sparkle and lace. I also didn’t want to have a traditional wedding dress, so the lace over nude bodice was perfect!”

 

A FAVOURITE MOMENT

 

“There are so many small parts of the day that were really special, like our evening food grazing table which was beautifully created by a friend. If I had to choose, I think my favourite part of the day would have to be our silent disco in the evening. We have some brilliantly talented friends who made our playlists and completely tailored them to our tastes, neither of us wanted to leave at the end of the night! Jordan particularly loved the Conga that his Brother started around the lake, charging around to Lionel Richie ‘All Night Long’, which the whole wedding party joined in with, so many of our guests commented that this was their favourite part too.”

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE

“My advice to future brides would be to organise the big bits as quickly as you can and get a clear idea on your vision for the day. This way, over the next few months or even years of planning you can relax into it, have a little bit of time where you’re not thinking about it or talking about it all the time too! Nearer to the date, try to have the last few weeks of just doing those last minute jobs, don’t leave anything too late so that you can relax and enjoy the days leading up to the wedding as those few days before are really special too!”

SUPPLIERS

Venue 

Woodhouse Farm Henfield 

Groomswear

Topman 

www.topman.com

 

Hair & makeup

Lindsay did her own make up on the day & her friend Frankie did her stunning hair.

Photographer

Olivia Judah 

 www.oliviajudah.co.uk

 

Florist

Lumen Floral

 

Bridesmaid dresses

Topshop

www.topshop.com

Marquee Hire

Tents N Events

www.tentsnevents.co.uk 

If you would like to view the full gallery of Hannah’s wedding, click the button below

Hannah in Rebecca Ingram – Beatrice

a Go Bridal Blog

A TRADITIONAL ENGLISH WEDDING IN THE SUSSEX COUNTRYSIDE

Hannah and Alex got married at The All Saints Church in Crowborough followed by a joyous celebration surrounded by family and friends at Hendall Manor Barns in the heart of the East Sussex Countryside. The gorgeous stone barn gave Hannah and Jake a charming rustic setting for their big day and the subtle & chic styling suited their traditional, countryside wedding just perfectly. Hannah “We wanted a traditional English wedding in the Sussex countryside (where I grew up). We wanted a homely wedding where our family and friends felt welcome. We wanted the day to be a reflection of who we are as hosts. The focus was on good food, drink, music and celebration. We loved creating a day to share and remember. We loved working alongside Peter and Nicola at Hendall Manor Barns to create our wedding.”

FINDING THE DRESS

Hannah chose to wear Rebecca Ingram Beatrice, a vintage-inspired wedding dress features a Verona Chiffon sheath skirt, an elegant lace bodice, and sheer lace comprising the illusion off-the-shoulder over sweetheart neckline and illusion open back. Styled with an embellished Maggie Sottero beaded belt and soft chapel length veil. The whole look couldn’t have suited both Hannah and the feel of the day more perfectly. 

Hannah: “I felt so lucky because the first dress I tried on was perfect! I had my sisters and mum with me for the big event of finding the dress. I tried on a few more dresses but just knew that the first one was the dress. The dress was beautiful and fit so well. It was the most stress free shopping experiences and so much fun. Laura’s expertise was so helpful, she made the experience so enjoyable with my family. “

A FAVOURITE MOMENT

Hannah-” For me I loved looking around at our reception and seeing all our friends and family laughing and chatting together. It felt so special and like two worlds joining together. The whole day was filled with so much joy and love.”

 

Alex- “I loved watching all of our favourite people arriving at the church and then again at the reception. It was amazing to see everyone supporting us!”

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE

“Make sure you find time to put wedding planning aside and make time for you as a couple. Wedding planning is great fun but you can take over! Also make time for preparing for marriage. We did a marriage prep course through our local church. We found this hugely beneficial and also made some lovely friends!”

SUPPLIERS

Venue 

Ceremony: All Saints Church Crowborough – www.allsaintscrowborough.org

Reception : Hendall Manor Barn, Sussex – www.hendall.co.uk

Groomswear

Moss Bross – www.mossbross.co.uk

Hair & makeup

Hair – simply beautiful wedding hair – www.simplybeautifulweddinghair.co.uk

MakeUp – Jane Mather – www.janemather.co.uk

Photographer

Hayley Rose photography – www.hayleyrosephotography.co.uk

Florist

Sussex Cutting Garden – www.sussexcuttinggarden.co.uk

Wedding Stationary

Violet Paper Studio- www.violetpaperstudio.com

Cake 

Sylvias Kitchen – www.sylviaskitchen.co.uk

Caterers 

Louise Kitchen – www.louiseskitchen.co.uk

If you would like to view the full gallery of Hannah’s wedding, click the button below

Amy in Maggie Sottero – Deirdre

a Go Bridal Blog

A COUNTRYSIDE WEDDING WITH A BOHO FEEL

Amy and Jake tied the knot at Blackstock Country Estate earlier this year. A beautiful countryside venue set in the rolling South Downs of Sussex – perfect for Amy & Jakes countryside wedding with a theme of ‘less is more’. The venue boasts 70 acres of breathtaking grounds; rustic and rural, yet refined and romantic, surrounded by open meadows, bluebell woodland and peaceful lakes. Amy: ‘We wanted our wedding day to feel as relaxed as possible so opted for a “Boho” less is more theme which we felt reflected & was in keeping with our countryside venue. We gathered some of our inspiration online but we mainly used my dress to inspire our day.

FINDING THE DRESS

Amy chose Maggie Sottero Deirdre for her dress and it could not have been more perfect for her countryside wedding with a relaxed feel. The Deirdre dress is a sheath style sleeved wedding dress, comprised of lace and Santorini chiffon. Illusion details, a bateau neckline, and a stunning V-back create a sweet-yet-sexy style which oozes understated elegance and a boho feel.

“My experience at Go Bridal was a pleasant one from the start of my “finding the dress” journey to the end. The first dress I tried on turned out to be ‘the one’ which was a great result but I was shown & tried on a variety of dresses of different styles just to be sure. I was actually quite nervous about trying on & finding the dress that I wanted but I was made to feel so relaxed at Go Bridal & really enjoyed each visit there.”

A FAVOURITE MOMENT
I loved every minute of our day but a favourite moment for me has to be exchanging our personalised vows with each other in front of all our favourite people.

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE
My advice to brides planning their big day would have to be…. be organised & have a wedding planner/handbook to record everything. Wedding planning does not have to be stressful!

SUPPLIERS
Venue
Blackstock Country Estate – www.blackstockestate.co.uk

Bridesmaid dresses
Roco Clothing – www.rococlothing.co.uk

Groomswear
Profile, The Lanes, Brighton – www.profilefashion.com

Hair & makeup
Kirsty McCall Hair & Makeup – www.kirstymccall.com

Photographer
Debbie Sanderson Wedding Photography – www.debbiesandersonweddingphotography.co.uk

Florist
Kim @ The Flower House Studio, Winchelsea Beach – www.theflowerhouse.biz

Entertainment
Dave @ Unlimited Promotions – www.unlimitedpromotions.co.uk

Decoration
Joanna @ Inspiration Decor – www.inspirationdecor.co.uk

Cake – Cloud 9 Bakery Brighton – www.cloud9brighton.co.uk

DJ/ photo booth/ dance floor/ love letters – Jez Prior – www.limelightuk.net

Hair: Rachel Simmons @raesmobilehairdressing

Music during reception drinks: Rachel Simmons @raesimmonsmusic

If you would like to view the full gallery of Amy’s wedding, click the button below

Sammy in Mori Lee – Milly

a Go Bridal Blog

A CLASSIC & FUN WEDDING 

Sammy and Ben got married in the beautiful Royal Berkshire Hotel near Ascot. A stunning country house with exquisite walled gardens and an elegant fountain plaza. The day itself was very classic and traditional with the flower bouquets and arrangements created using white roses & lilies alongside beautiful candelabras with white, clean styling; a neutral palette for a classic and elegant day.

Sammy was most certainly a wedding coordinator in a previous life and wanted to make sure that there was never a lull in the day of her wedding so here is what she did: “ I wanted to put on some nice entertaining features to make sure there was always something to do or see, this included a magician (who was amazing and stole the show), there were games in the garden and a string quartet playing modern songs like Britney Spears ‘Toxic’ and Ice Cube which was very entertaining!

Plus a photo booth and sweets table – I just loved the idea of a lot going on to really entertain the guests making it more of a fun vibe rather than just a wedding. The feedback we got back after was amazing, people were so impressed with the events of the day and really enjoyed it.

FINDING THE DRESS

“My wedding dress shopping started quite late, I’m not one of those who picks a dress 2 years before the wedding, so I started looking around a year before and got bored very quickly when I couldn’t find the dress I wanted. I tried on so many different styles going from Pronovias in London to little hidden boutiques in Brighton and I was still struggling to find anything I really liked.

I ended up seeing my dress on an Instagram post and instantly fell in love with it! I then googled where the nearest bridal shop was that had it and it was 100 miles away! I knew that if I didn’t try it on, I would always wonder ‘what if’, so I booked to try it on and fell in love at first sight – I just knew it was the one! I took my mum to most appointments because I valued her opinion so much and when she agreed it was the one it was no contest! On top of that, the moment I knew it was the dress for me was when I was flicking through a bridal magazine in the car while my -now husband- was driving us home, I landed on a page with a dress very similar to the one I had picked, suddenly from next to me I heard my -then fiance- look over and say ‘that’s pretty!’ – it was at that moment I knew I had made the right decision! It was a very fate- like moment.”

A FAVOURITE MOMENT

“My favourite moment of the day is so hard to choose, the whole day was a dream and I smiled from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed! If I were to choose one, it would have been walking down the aisle to see the look on my husbands face when he saw me for the first time. He isn’t an emotional guy and very rarely cries, so to see the tears well up in his eyes when he clocked me was the most magical moment and makes me very emotional whenever I think of it.”

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE

“We had a very scary and stressful situation where our original wedding venue cancelled on us 6 weeks before our wedding due to building work delays – I will never forget that feeling of my world crumbling around me and I was devastated! But after a long cry and a discussion with family and friends we started to make a plan. The next day we were venue hunting at any venue that was available and that STILL ticked all the boxes of what we wanted – we didn’t compromise on anything!

Hitched.com told us all the venues that still had our date available so it wasn’t so hard to pick venues. We ended up with a venue that was 100 times better than our original one at a discounted rate because it was a last minute booking and the most wonderful wedding coordinator that made what was a complete nightmare into the dream wedding that we wanted! So my advice is – if things go wrong or don’t go to plan – take a deep breath, strong drink, allow yourself to have a little cry then get up and move on to the next plan – know that there are other options out there and better ones! After our drama I genuinely believe fate brought us to our amazing wedding venue and all the upset was worth it in the end. “

SUPPLIERS

Venue – The Royal Berkshire Hotel – www.exclusive.co.uk/royal-berkshire/

Wedding Coordinator  – Laura at The Royal Berkshire Hotel

Photographer – Samantha Pells – www.samanthapellsphotography.com

Dress – Mori Lee from Go Bridal Tunbridge Wells – www.gobridal.com

Seamstress – Miss Kay’s Tunbridge Wells – www.misskayseamstress.co.uk

Flowers – Tony Dunn  – www.tonydunnflowers.co.uk

MakeUp- Anna Newton (blogger) – www.annaedits.com

Hair – Scott from Electric Hair Brighton – www.electric-hair.com

Groomswear – www.twistedtaylor.com

Cake – Cloud 9 Bakery Brighton – www.cloud9brighton.co.uk

DJ/ photo booth/ dance floor/ love letters – Jez Prior – www.limelightuk.net

Hair: Rachel Simmons @raesmobilehairdressing

Music during reception drinks: Rachel Simmons @raesimmonsmusic

If you would like to view the full gallery of Sammy’s wedding, click the button below

FLEUR IN MAGGIE SOTTERO VERITY

 

FOR AN ELEGANT AND FUN LONDON WEDDING

Fleur held her ceremony at the gorgeous Orangery in Holland Park, London. The gorgeous space floods with natural light which oozes charm and elegance and is situated within a beautiful rose garden & lawns. Following the ceremony Fleur and her guests were taken to The Thames Rowing Club in Putney in a classic British Red Bus where their reception took place.

Fleur went for a neutral colour palette with splashes of green foliage which perfectly complimented her elegant look. It was important to Fleur and her now husband that the day reflected them as a couple- “we had a pick n mix stand, made our own website with all the wedding info (instead of lots of paper in the post), a polaroid camera for the guest book and even wrote our own ‘pub quiz’ “

PLANNING THE WEDDING

“We only had 10 months between getting engaged and the wedding. Planning the day took a LOT of my time and energy. I truly enjoyed doing it although I don’t think I could have done it for much longer! I got to do everything my way and therefore managed to book everything I wanted down to all the small details. The day before the wedding our close friends and family came together and helped set up the venues – I loved seeing it all my visions together. -. When watching our wedding video back, I said to my husband that I wouldn’t have changed a thing – I was so happy with how everything turned out and it was worth all the effort!”

FINDING THE DRESS

Fleur began the search for her dress with an idea of the style she wanted – something classic and elegant. Fleur tried on at various boutiques until deciding on ‘the one’ – The stunning Verity by Maggie Sottero which she looked utterly radiant in!

HERE IS WHAT FLEUR HAD TO SAY:

“I had sort of had an idea in my mind of the style of dress that I wanted. The dress I ended up with was one I tried on the first day of trying dresses. I popped by Go Bridal at the end of the day just before it closed – Laura already had another customer, but kindly let us have a quick look round the shop and I found the Maggie Sottero.

However, when I first tried it on, I didn’t feel like I had tried enough dresses to be 100% sure that was the one – so a few months went by after visiting more shops and when we came back I had a much better idea! Laura was great and so patient with me! She also helped with the veil and hair accessories, and when I had a choice of shoes, I popped back in again to try it with the sample dress whilst mine was being made. Nothing was too much effort for Laura.

Once my dress had been made and arrived in the shop, I went over to Miss Kay to be fitted – a few appointments later it was absolutely perfect and fitted like a glove!”

A FAVOURITE MOMENT

“So many moments to choose from, but anyone who knows me, knows that I love a good game and I was thinking about how this could be included in the day – we decided to have a quiz and so wrote our own in the style of a pub quiz and it was hosted by my two Bridesmen. It was so much fun, brought everyone together and broke the ice on tables of people that may not have known each other. There were even prizes at the end before the speeches happened.

I also loved the moment just AFTER we got married and walked back down the aisle together – the first time I could properly chat to and kiss my new husband!!”

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE

“Do exactly what YOU want to do. Don’t worry about pleasing your family/friends – it’s YOUR day and you won’t ever get it back again so don’t live with any regrets!”

SUPPLIERS

Venue :
Ceremony:
The Orangery, Holland Park, London
www.rbkc.gov.uk/royal-borough-venues/orangery-gallery/orangery-gallery-holland-park

Reception: Thames Rowing Club, Putney, London
https://www.dukesheadputney.com/rowing-club

Photographer:
Harry Livingstone
www.harrylivingstone.com
www.instagram.com/livingstonehazzer/

Videographer:
Katie Tulip
www.katietulip.com

Hair & makeup:
Alicia Summer
www.londonweddinghairandmakeup.co.uk/

Flowers:
Ruth Curran Crawley at Stem Flowers
www.stemflowers.co.uk/
www.instagram.com/stemflowerslondon/

Cake:
Megan at Blossom & Crumb
www.blossomandcrumb.co.uk/
www.instagram.com/blossomandcrumb/

Transport:
Routemaster London Bus

www.britishredbus.com/

If you would like to view the full gallery of Fleur’s wedding, click the button below

NATALIE AND CHRISTIAN’S SUMMER GARDEN PARTY WEDDING 

At Yalding Gardens, Kent

SUPPLIERS

Venue – The Gardens Yalding – www.thegardensyalding.co.uk

Dress – Go Bridal Tunbridge Wells – www.gobridal.com

Bridesmaid Dresses – Marks and Spencer – www.marksandspencer.com

Groomswear – Next – www.next.com

Photographer – Sarah Fleet Photography – www.sarahfleetphotography.com

Makeup – Emma Heath – www.emmaheathmakeup.co.uk

Hair – Charley Brown – www.charleybrownshairandbeauty.co.uk

Flowers – Jane Jackson Florist

Cake – Little Gems Bakery, Marden

Entertainment – The Colts – www.thecoltsband.co.uk

NATALIE AND CHRISTIAN’S SUMMER GARDEN PARTY WEDDING 

At Yalding Gardens, Kent

Natalie and Christian tied the knot in September this year on a glorious sunny day in the beautiful and relaxed surroundings of Yalding Gardens.

The couple knew straight away when they visited the venue that it was the perfect place to hold the wedding that they had been dreaming of. Yalding Gardens amazing tipis and beautiful outdoor space inspired the couples relaxed garden party theme; Pimms was served after the ceremony and paper lanterns decorated the tipis where the wedding breakfast was held and terracotta pots filled with garden flowers made for beautiful centre pieces.

Soft blush and ivory where the main colours found throughout the day with a nod of duck egg blue. The perfect colour scheme to compliment the lush green, natural surroundings.

Natalies words “We wanted a relaxed and informal wedding and the main thing for us was that everyone enjoyed the day. We was also allowed to have our dog at the ceremony which made the day extra special for us!

Natalie loved “All the crafty things I could make and getting ideas from Pinterest. I made the invites, painted and decorated the terracotta pots and also made the table plan from an old wooden ladder and a champagne box filled with artificial flowers.”

FINDING THE DRESS

Natalies dress was a stunning strapless, A-line gown from the Emma Charlotte collection by Ladybird. Soft ivory tulle with a blush underlay created the gentle, feminine silhouette finished with gorgeous, subtly embellished ivory lace appliqué; the perfect dress for her relaxed, garden party style.

Here is what Natalie had to say about finding her dress: “I found my dress at my first dress fitting at Go Bridal, I initially chose 5 dresses; They were all lovely but none of them were ‘the one.’

At the end of the appointment the assistant asked me to choose a dress I wouldn’t ordinarily go for and she also chose one that she thought would suit me. In the end I couldn’t decide between these 2 dresses that I originally never thought would suit me!

I went to another shop a few weeks later and realised I was only looking for dresses similar to the previous 2, so I went back to Go Bridal and it was easy to make my final decision.

It was the complete opposite to the style of dress I thought I would wear!’

A FAVOURITE MOMENT

“My favourite memory of the day is the ceremony, I was nervous about this bit of the day beforehand but on the day it felt so relaxed and comfortable.

The readings by my sister and Christian’s uncle were really personal and laugh out loud funny and our dog wasn’t happy that I hadn’t been able to give him his normal big hug greeting on my way down the aisle so we could hear him grumbling in the background which made everyone laugh.

He couldn’t wait for some attention at the end of ceremony!”

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE

“Don’t stress too much about the small details as these aren’t important on the day and try to be organised so that you can relax and feel refreshed the week leading up to the big day.”

What Natalie would have done differently – “I wouldn’t have bought so much food for getting ready in the morning, we were all too nervous to eat it!”

If you would like to view the full gallery of Laura & Matt’s wedding, click the button below (38 images)

NATALIE AND CHRISTIAN’S SUMMER GARDEN PARTY WEDDING 

At Yalding Gardens, Kent

SUPPLIERS

Venue – The Gardens Yalding – www.thegardensyalding.co.uk

Dress – Go Bridal Tunbridge Wells – www.gobridal.com

Bridesmaid Dresses – Marks and Spencer – www.marksandspencer.com

Groomswear – Next – www.next.com

Photographer – Sarah Fleet Photography – www.sarahfleetphotography.com

Makeup – Emma Heath – www.emmaheathmakeup.co.uk

Hair – Charley Brown – www.charleybrownshairandbeauty.co.uk

Flowers – Jane Jackson Florist

Cake – Little Gems Bakery, Marden

Entertainment – The Colts – www.thecoltsband.co.uk

LAURA WEARING MAGGIE SOTTERO JORIE

For her Essex barn wedding with a personal touch.

Laura & her husband Matt were married in August this year at the beautiful Great St Mary’s Church in Sawbridgeworth followed by a barn and outdoor wedding reception at Colville Hall, Essex, which involved a glitter bar, a prosecco bar and lawn games. The happy couple even judged their very own Great British Bake Off for their guests! (side note – loving this idea)!

FINDING THE DRESS

I had the absolute pleasure of helping Laura find her beautiful Maggie Sottero dress but I cannot take the credit in this instance as finding THE dress was actually down to her best friend and Matron of honour Cazz.

Here is what Laura had to say about her wedding dress shopping experience:

“Lots of people said before that they found it difficult or stressful. I loved it! I tried on 21 dress in one day in three different shops. The dress I ended up choosing – the ‘Jorie’ by Maggie Sottero – was the first dress I tried on that day. I loved it as soon as I put it on. It was just very ‘me’ – non-ivory (it was champagne), beaded and ‘different.’ I tried on a few ‘princess gowns’ which my Mum loved, but I just didn’t feel like me. I also wanted something I could dance in!” …..And do the limbo in obviously #priorities!

BOSSING THE DIY AND MAKING IT PERSONAL

Given how beautiful and professional everything looked when going through Lauras photos, I was very impressed to discover that she did so much of it herself. Serious DIY superstar here!… And what really made it extra special was all the personal touches you could find throughout so much of the day… For Laura this was her favourite part of the wedding planning:

“I made DIY glitter banners with pom poms on each end featuring the words ‘Drunk in Love’ for the bar and ‘Let’s Dance’ for the dance floor. My sister, made all of our signs throughout the venue. I ordered wooden lawn games and a teepee from eBay for guests to enjoy (luckily the sun came out all day!) and my father in law made a photo booth out of copper piping which I decorated with faux flowers.’’

‘’I loved thinking of the little touches. People said, ‘don’t sweat the small stuff,’ but I really cared about the little touches. We had a Prosecco bar for the reception where people could add fruit, syrups and edible glitter to their bubbles. All of the lawn games also went down so well, the limbo poll got broken by about 8pm though! The glitter bar went down a treat and people brought their own handmade cakes with them which me and my husband then judged, Bake Off style. We had different categories like ‘Groom’s Favourite’ and ‘Best Flavour’ which meant everyone won a prize. I also loved that the little touches reflected us and our relationship – our first date was to see Up at the cinema so we had a thumb print poster (which my friend and bridesmaid, Charlie, hand drew) of the Up house and the thumb prints made the balloons. We also had quizzes at the table for guests to answer, which acted as a good ice breaker on tables where friends had never met before.’’

We also had a nod to cats throughout the day (crazy cat lady, over here!) We had cat breed themed tables (e.g. our table was ‘Persian’ and we also had ‘Scottish Fold’ and ‘Bombay”). I also sprayed 80 plastic cats rose gold for the place settings and I made cat cookies for the Bake Off table.

A FAVOURITE MOMENT

Doing a speech! Why should the guys do all the talking at weddings? I am so glad I did one, even if I did cry during part of it. My Dad had a stroke a few years ago which left him unable to speak, so doing a speech was really important to me. It also meant I could say loads of nice things about myself, and my Dad couldn’t say anything about it, haha!

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE

If you’re going to DIY certain aspects, don’t leave them to the last minute or it will be stressful. I had all of my decor packed away in labeled boxes a week before so I could dedicate the final days to making my cake, getting my nails done and eyebrows tinted and shaped!

Be calmer! I accidentally saw my husband on the morning of and got in a tizz about it being bad luck. Also, try not to get too merry, I definitely looked worse for wear by the end of the night, haha!

Don’t ‘over Pinterest.’ You could look at different ideas forever. Find elements you love and stick to them and do them well!

Make it personal to you. Guests loved the fact we had cat table names and a Bake Off table as these are personal to the things we love.

If you would like to view the full gallery of Laura & Matt’s wedding, click the button below (40 images)

LAURA WEARING MAGGIE SOTTERO JORIE

For her Essex barn wedding with a personal touch.

SUPPLIERS

Venue – Colville Hall Essex http://www.colvillehallwedding.co.uk/ “Gill at Colville Hall was the best – we met her a couple of weeks before the wedding and she really put us at ease for the big day. She was there on the day to ensure all suppliers talked to one another and the day ran smoothly from start to finish.”

Photographer- James Grist http://jamesgristphotography.co.uk/ “so great on the day, he took all the pictures I really wanted and really captured the fun of the day”

Flowers- Violet’s in Sawbridgeworth https://www.facebook.com/Violetsflowerdesigns/ Donna was amazing and really understood I wanted bright and colourful summer flowers and loose bouquets, nothing too structured. I did my research beforehand too.I had always wanted peonies but they are slightly out of season in August and expensive, so we settled on dahlias, carnations and large roses which look very similar. My flowers were coral, pink and fuchsia and looked gorgeous on a summer’s day.

Hair/makeup- Lotte Major. www.instagram.com/lotte_hairandmakeup “I wanted something glam with shimmery golds and pinks. Lotte was amazing and myself and my bridesmaids were so pleased with our final hair and makeup.”

Cake- Laura made her own cake (which looks supper delicious by the way!) “I did flavour trials throughout the year and tested them on family and friends but finally settled on; lemon and poppy seed for the bottom layer, raspberry and Prosecco for the middle layer, gin and tonic for the top layer and a buttercream to finish. I used faux flowers to decorate it so we could easily transport it and I didn’t poison anyone!”

Catering – Cambridge Dining company https://www.cdc.events/ (Laura still dreams of their blue cheese and fig arancini balls from time to time!)

FRANCESCA IN MORI LEE KASSANDRA 

For an elegant yet casual summer wedding in Kent

Francesca and Simone’s elegant wedding took place on a beautiful summers day in August this year.

The whole day was celebrated at The Kingdom in Penshurst; a striking wood and glass structure with an open roof deck, where beautiful 360-degree views of the surrounding woodlands can be admired and where guests where able to explore.
The venue which embraces nature, was the perfect set up for Francesca and Simone’s sunny summer wedding day- elegant with a casual twist. The colour scheme was white, copper and green to give a nod to the natural element of the venue.

Francesca loved “Spending time on the design elements, wedding invites, colours, food…just really loved getting the little touches right for it to suit Simon and I”

FINDING THE DRESS

Francesca had already fallen in love with a Pronovias dress called Trisa, but by the time she started wedding dress shopping Pronovias had stopped making this particular style and Francesca was unable to source it. I met the lovely Francesca and her daughter Betsy at Go bridal and as soon as I saw the photo of the dress she had initially fallen in love with, I knew exactly which dress to have her try. THE dress is a stunning Mori Lee gown; a classic A-line cut, with a bateau neckline, made from the most beautiful Mikado fabric which she was able to have bespoked with the very talented Martine at Miss Kay seamstress, so that it would be the dress she had already dreamt of having!

This is what Francesca had to say-

“you made some awesome suggestions to use the train, which wasn’t practical for our venue, to create the bustle I wanted to make it similar to the Trisa. I then took it to Martine at Miss Kay and basically totally changed it to make it my own. I adored the finished product and love knowing there isn’t an identical one out there”

A FAVOURITE MOMENT

“Going to the field at the back of the venue to have some photographs taken, it was nice to spend a few minutes together…also the saxophonist playing on the rooftop and we got the most amazing sunset that day!”

ADVICE FROM THE BRIDE

“Just relax as much as you can and remember you are the only one who will notice if something isn’t 100% as you planned it!….
And maybe try not have a husband who was sick until 10am on the morning of the wedding!! (This story was told to me when I bumped into Fran at the gym after the wedding – is it awful that I found this slightly funny?!?!)

FRANCESCA IN MORI LEE KASSANDRA 

For an elegant yet casual summer wedding in Kent

SUPPLIERS

Venue – The Kingdom in Penshurst – www.thiskingdom.co.uk

Photographer: Michael and Hannah Jackson – www.jacksonandcophotography.com
“our photographers who were also two of our best friends…they were amazing”

Dress: Mori Lee at Go Bridal – www.gobridal.com
Seamstress – www.misskayseamstress.com.

Hair/ makeup-
Bridesmaid hair – Zoe Roberts
Brides Hair and Makeup – Nikki Wetherall,
Bridesmaid makeup – Robynne Pimblett-KIng – www.rpkbeauty.com

Flowers: The flowers were designed and set up on the day by Nikki Wetherall and Charlotte from Eggs to Apples in Hurst Green – www.eggstoapples.co.uk. Charlotte also provided all the flowers. Francesca had to opt for low pollen ones as Simon has terrible allergies and hay fever!!!

Cake: Francesca and Simone decided on a delicious cheesecake supplied by Simon’s mum, Sue and her friend Jenny- a tasty alternative to the traditional wedding cake!

Bridesmaid dresses: Francesca was lucky enough to find a lady on a wedding page who was selling all of her six bridesmaids dresses as she had changed her colour scheme, which means they were a total bargain! They were all the Maya range from ASOS – www.asos.com

Groomswear: Simon wore a Ted Baker suit www.tedbaker.com
The boys were given braces and bow ties. They had cream chinos and white shirts from Charles Tyrwhitt www.ctshirts.com