We’re thrilled to be sharing Harriet & Sam’s colourful marquee wedding to brighten your Monday! This stunning pair look amazing in an Anna Kara dress and bespoke Paul Smith suit with the most excellent waistcoat you will EVER see. They have written fabulous reviews for all of their amazing suppliers, so any couples planning a Norfolk wedding please check them out! We’re absolutely smitten with the stunning images of their Norfolk wedding by the incredible Alex Beckett Photography.

Wedding photographer’s website

Alex Beckett www.alexbeckett.co.uk

Wedding photographer review

Alex was incredible, he captured everything we wanted on the day and blended into our guests effortlessly. Some of the shots he captured on the dancefloor, I don’t know how he did it, he’s magic! Made everyone feel at ease and even managed to get the most beautiful shots of my rather camera shy Granny. So glad we went with Alex and his team to get the best photos from our day.

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

I had tried on a few dresses but none of them felt right in terms of the wedding we were planning aesthetically. Then when I tried on my dress I just knew. With delicate botanical wild flower motifs on the top half of my dress it really reflected our English countryside wedding day and felt perfect. The dress had beautiful different layers of tulle with embroidered flowers on different layers and an a-line shape.

Sam’s suit was bespoke with cloth chosen and cut by himself as he’s Head Cutter at Paul Smith. Sam also chose and cut the male wedding party suits; Best Man, Father of the Bride, Father of the Groom and our two brothers who were ushers. Sam wanted all the suits to be natural earthy tones that again reflected our English countryside wedding. Sam’s suit was a dark olive green colour and the other suits were a dark beige, navy and a dark teal colour.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Wedding dress was from Anna Kara, found in a local boutique called Blackburn Bridal near where we live in Blackheath, London. Blackburn Bridal looked after me so well and highly recommend. They made the experience so joyful. Groom’s suit bespoke by Sam Sleath.

Florist name + review

Niche Flowers
Libby and her team did the most incredible job of decorating the church (inside and out), the lychgate, the floral arch we created as well as the marquee and all the bouquets. The marquee looked magical with greenery on the ceiling intertwined with starry lights in the evening.

Walking from the church across the road to the reception at the house there was a huge floral arch to walk under that was decorated with so many wonderful colourful flowers that was in theme with our vibrant pink, orange and green colour scheme. The bouquets actually made me cry they were so beautiful with dahlias (my favourite flower) and other flowers that mixed together so beautifully in the same bright colour scheme.

Your best moment or memory

Our best wedding moment has got to be our incredible band, XS Showband. Every time we see our friends & family they are still saying how amazing the band were, none of us can get over it! The dancefloor was full the entire time and I loved how the band interacted with the guests. They had us on stage singing ‘Marry You’ by Bruno Mars changing the lyrics to our names. The father of the bride got up on stage and played the piano with the band which is a special memory to cherish. Best band ever!

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

Instead of having the usual reception of all the courses sat down and then dancing, we mixed it up and went straight into the band starting and dancing, followed by the first course and a speech. Then more dancing followed by the 2nd course and a speech and so on. It meant the day lasted longer, we got to dance all night long and enjoyed every aspect.

Videographer name + review

Amber Moon Video
Amber and her team were perfect on the day, made everyone feel at ease and the videos are just so beautifully edited. Makes everyone emotional watching back because it really makes us feel we’re re-living the day all over again.
Gecko Films provided a beautiful aerial film of the wedding day as well.

Venue name + review

Church ceremony was at St Mary The Virgin Church in Swardeston village, Norfolk. Reception was at the bride’s parent’s house with a marquee on the front lawn.
After the church ceremony, our guests walked to the house with a drinks reception on the front lawn and Joncan Kavlakojlu a Spanish guitarist providing very talented background music. For some guests we provided Glamping festival style teepees that were located at the back of the house in the field which then meant the wedding continued for an entire weekend and it made it so special.

Cake maker name + review

Sassas Bespoke Cakes
Such a fantastic company who took our cake design inspirations and made it come to life. We wanted a traditional cake but with botanical wildflower meadow colourful flowers decorated on the outside. Everyone keeps talking about how beautiful the cake looked!

Stationery maker’s name + review

Norfolk Art Studio Created the most beautiful stationery with a bi-fold invitation including an illustration of my parents house on the outside and on the inside an illustration of the church. The stationery had a colourful dahlia and rose inspired border following the pink, orange and green colour scheme.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

The marquee was decorated with Edwardian antique furniture brought over from the house. Including pink velvet Edwardian chairs for the bride & groom to sit on. A painted antique writing desk for guests to write in the guestbook and an antique piano for the father of the bride to play a song on as part of his speech. All the red wine served on the tables were in antique decanters from the family’s collection. The wedding favours were little matchboxes in pink with again the same illustration of the house as on the wedding invitation. The tables were decorated with colourful mismatched candlesticks again in keeping with the pink and orange colour scheme.

Wedding readings?

Father of the groom read in the church Colossians Chapter 3: verse 12-14.

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Our first dance was Simply The Best, a twist on the classic Tina Turner song, which was originally sung on our favourite TV show Schitts Creek. It was sung on the acoustic guitar by family friend Christian Young. In the church we had a gospel choir with members from XS Showband who sang Songbird by Fleetwood Mac for the bride’s entrance and Your Love Keeps Lifting Me by Jackie Wilson for the exit. For our entrance into the marquee our guests were already on the dancefloor with the band playing This Will Be by Natalie Cole for us to run into the marquee and immediately start dancing with our friends & family cheering.

Wedding planner name + review

Our wedding planner for the day was Emily Andrew Events who did an amazing job of making sure the day went smoothly. Emily juggled everything with all the suppliers which is an even harder job with our slightly more complicated reception timeline with food and dancing mixed in.

Hair + makeup name + review

Hair by Melissa – Melissa was amazing on the morning, very calm and steady and did a wonderful job on my up do that stayed in all day. Makeup by Sophy Jane Makeup – Sophy did the most amazing natural glow makeup which is exactly what I wanted. Again so lovely and kind and calm on the morning of, there was absolutely no stress and was really enjoyable. My makeup stayed perfect all day.