My Wedding | September 2018

Date: 21 September 2019

Time of ceremony: 1:30 pm

Venue: Upwaltham Barns

We didn’t have a specific area we wanted to get married, we were looking for anywhere south of London all the way to Bournemouth but we actually found somewhere around the corner from where I used to go to School. Upwalltham Barns was perfect as I really wanted a location with a few different locations so it felt like there was lots going on and more places for me to decorate.

Wedding Planner: Me - you can contact me for all your wedding planning needs time2gossip@gmail.com

Photographer: Most photos shown in this blog post are by the fantastic Murray Clarke.

Videographer: Ben Radley FIlms 

My Wedding Dress - #DRAMA

I did everything right, I started looking for my dream wedding dress a year before my wedding day and I had every brides worst NIGHTMARE, my wedding dress never got into my hands and I had to buy another...one month before my big day!

At the moment I can’t talk about it because it still really upsets me (not because they threatened legal action against me if I mentioned how poo they are!) I will talk about it one day and I am watching out for anyone you recommends them….it was a Alvina Valenta dress if you want to do your own research!!

But anyway I brought my dream, dream dress around 4 weeks before the big day, so one thing I took away from this experience was it’s never too late to buy your wedding dress. My dress was actually down the road, so don’t discount local shops and also outlets. Swoon Bridal was my savior where I found a discounted Riki Dalal number - Noya by Riki Dalal, Camil and it was just stunning and all my bridesmaids who saw my original dress said this one was incredible and it was fate the other one never came and I truly did feel like a beautiful princess, I said I would sell my dress immediately after my wedding but instead I splurged £50 on a wedding box – god they are expensive and it lives upstairs waiting for my to see if i still fit into it next year.

Adam’s outfit: Our Brother in Law owns a bespoke suit

tailor so of course Adam’s suit was from King and Allen and he picked up a swanky pair of shoes to rival mine from Hugo Boss.

Veil: Rainbow Club as my dress was very intricate I went for a plain veil in tulle.

Shoes: Jimmy Choo, I brought them before I got engaged, as I found them in a sample sale and it has always been a dream to walk down the aisle in Jimmy Choo’s. 

I also had a box of havaianas in prep for dancing later which everyone was loving and you can spy in my wedding video.

In my hair: You can’t beat real flowers – rose pink, roses and foliage.

Wedding Rings: My wedding rings are both from Hatton Gardens and in particular my wedding band was from Alistair Stewart Jewellers, which took me forever to find. I wanted the flattest band ever to fit under my engagement ring with diamonds around half of the band and they sorted me out and Adam with a plain band without hesitation – other places said it wasn’t possible so if you have a dream ask around or ask Alistair Stewart.

Beauty: Another element that helped me feel like a princess was having my hair and makeup done professionally it is defo worth the money and stops a lot of stress - you don't want mascara all over your face prior to just walking down the aisle. With the dress debacle I didn’t have time to have another hair trial and as my dress had such a beautiful back I wanted my hair up so we just winged it on the day and the result was incredible thanks to Olivia Mills Makeup – I have even booked her in for a friend’s wedding in July.

Bridesmaids: Wore WeAreRewritten, Vienna Dress in Oyster, I fell in love with their unusual colour pallet and gorgeous fabrics. After the wedding I had so many compliments on how beautiful the dresses were and that they suited everyone’s figures. Each bridesmaid also got a Links of London bracelet as a gift from me on the day which they all wore.

Groomsman: Looked smashing, again an unusual colour - i would say it was a mix of navy and grey from Dobell, which do the most reasonably priced suits with waistcoats from ASOS.

Flower Girls: They looked like little fairies in the Monsoon, Estella Dress and with thick foliage in their hair.

Flowers: Sophie from The Bloomery, which was a local florist near to my old workplace that I always loved when I walked past and ended up being more reasonable than the other local florists. Everyone kept asking why I wasn’t using a local florist and I just wasn’t WOW’d by what they did and the price was even more disappointing. Sophie’s dedication and floral displays blew everyone away, key flowers in my displays were: 'Cafe au Lait' Dahlias, 'quicksand' Roses, 'cappuccino' Roses, Snow berries, Sedium, White wax flower, fountain grass, Pampus grasses (these have been dried and are still going strong), 

Hydrangeas, Berried eucalyptus, Eucalyptus, Oak, olive and mimosa.

The Ceremony: One of the reasons I fell in love with Upwaltham Barns is they had two barns, one for the ceremony and one for the reception, I liked the idea that you could get married in a different place to your wedding reception without the need for a church – maybe because I am a control freak and wanted to check everything was perfect the day before.

We decided to go for a Humanist ceremony, if you don’t know what that is, don’t worry I didn’t until I went my friend’s Alice’s wedding and it was like they knew each other for years. 

As we were not getting married in a church (not that I was against that just I didn’t like the one close by) I didn’t like the idea of not knowing who was going to be marrying us. It turned out one of my Mum's friends was a Humanist living just down the road from us and she was the perfect addition to our wedding, and you have wine at all your meetings, so that's a bonus. – Hazel Olde, Blissfull Ceremonies. With a humanist you can shape how your ceremony is delivered and make it really special to both of you. 

  

The Cake: One of my sisters friends created my cake, Sam Pugh (Anyone4Cake) which was a Victoria Sponge with pure white buttercream frosting made with a rustic frosted edge with fresh flowers, placed on top – not going to lie when we cut the cake we went through two sections (FYI just cut the bottom cake) the whole nearly toppled over.

The cake was beautifully made, met my vision perfectly and didn't cost ridiculous amounts.

The Food: The caterer came with the venue and was Nibbles2Nosh we started with a number of canapes such as Fish and Chips, mini Yorkshire puds, seared tuna, pork belly, then a veggie friendly option – although veggies and those with intolerances got treated to a whole platter of suitable alternatives.

Starter was an antipasti platter which was very Adam and I, main was British lamb shank with a rich rosemary and red wine jus with buttered mash and dessert was not one, not two but a trio, including lemon posset, chocolate brownie and an Eton mess.

Evening Food: There was a lot....

• Sausage and bacon baps
• Mac and Cheese from Mac to the Future
• Donut Wall filled with yumminess from Krispy Kreme - I am renting this out for local weddings.
• Sweet table
• Mini cupcakes from Humminbird Bakery

The Drinks: Again there was a lot....

Prosecco bar: Was filled to the brim with Mionetto Prosecco which is one of my favourites with fresh flowers, glitter and different cordials to pimp it up.

Gin bar: with different gins from around the UK and again some fresh herbs and different cordials to pimp it up.

Table wine: White and red was from Aldi, and approved by the parents, meaning it must be good.

Décor:

Stationary: White Olive Designs

Candles from Cloudberry Living – Ester& Erik Tapered Candles in soft white.

Neon light: happily ever after from Love Inc – it was a real focal point at the wedding, behind the top table.

Favours: 

For the ladies - Personalised candles from Kiss Air Candles. 

For the Men – We decided to donate £5 to Cancer Research for each male guest at the wedding and in turn they got a nice pair of cufflinks or tie clip. The donation was made on behalf of both our Granddads who we lost to cancer.

  

Wedding Band: Swamp Cats via Alive Network.

DJ – DiscoFever

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