Doesn’t it feel like aaaages since NYE? Today’s super glamorous, sparkly wedding brings it all back! Our gorgeous couple Sophie & Bryson were married in Chichester on the 31st of December, and celebrated all the way through to midnight with a classy, candlelit wedding reception. Their amazing images are by London wedding photographers Liam Collard Photography – and we just know you’ll love them to bits!

Let’s begin with Sophie & Bryson’s advice for other couples – to “HAVE FUN!!! Dont make it excessively big as you won’t have time to spend with everyone. Or, have another event either the day after or before so that you can speak to everyone.”

Why a New Year’s Eve wedding?

“As a total control freak, I wanted to plan a date that the weather couldn’t affect. We would have had a summer wedding, but with no guarantees in England during summer, we chose a winter date so that we could plan it around being a horrendous day outside and if it ended up being a great day then that would be a bonus! Plus… well its New Years Eve!! As a dress code, formal black tie and sparkly attire was encouraged. Our colours were black, white, burgundy and gold. Everything looked how we hoped.”

Our wedding planner was Tammy Louise, TLC Weddings, Worthing

My little brother (12) handed out confetti canons at midnight to celebrate the New Year which was really fun! Though one guest accidentally had it the wrong way around and shot himself… I’ll let you create that image for yourself…!! HA!

Wedding photographers

Liam Collard Photography

“So artistic, so friendly, and we had tonnes of compliments about how great you were, and amazed at how long you spent during the day snapping photos. I would absolutely recommend you to anyone and if you ever have someone on the fence, send them our way and we will give you a huge recommendation!! We are so happy that we chose you, and will suggest to any future friends who are planning their own special events! WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!”

Wedding venue

Boxgrove Priory for our ceremony, a beautiful church near where we live with some amazing ruins next door that we thought would be a great venue for some post ceremony pictures. Our reception was in a yurt in the back garden of my parents house. Would recommend both! The church was just exceptional and the having the reception at our home gave us complete control over what we could do so we had the wedding we wanted without any venue restrictions.

Wedding attire

I always wanted a plain white elegant dress but ended up not liking anything I tried. They all felt a little too boring. I tried several places and ended up with a dress with a fairly long train, embroidery, and some sparkly layers underneath – not what I was expecting but I absolutely loved it from the moment I tried it on. Nefertiti – Blue by Enzoani, from Proposals, Chichester

Bryson wanted a tuxedo but always likes to be a little different. He decided to go with a black velvet jacket instead of plain and a burgundy feather bow tie. He looked amazing! Custom made by Gresham Blake Tailor, Brighton

Flowers

We decided not to spend a fortune on flowers. Our table decorations were just candles and we didn’t have a load of flowers at the end that would just die. Candles give the most beautiful magical ambience. We had bouquets for the bride, bridesmaids and flower girls. They were white and red with some eucalyptus. I didn’t want them to be too formal and thought they worked well. Buds n Blooms, East Preston

Wedding cake?

We opted for cheesecake instead! Baileys and chocolate, New York and salted caramel. It was all gone so I guess it was good! Our caterers were PHENOMENAL! We had canapes and a main meal followed by the cheesecake. Our main meal was more of a heavy wintery dish so we didnt have starters and capitalised on the canapes instead – who doesnt love a canape?! We had great comments on the food so cant thank them enough. Gastro Catering

Entertainment

We had a 4 piece band, female vocalist, guitar, saxaphone and a male drummer/vocalist. The band were brilliant, fun, entertaining and fit the bill by turning up in sparkly NYE attire! The dance floor seemed to be packed for most of the night so they were a big hit. We made sure to include music that would work for all generations so the party was great. Chelsey Chantelle, Brighton