I wanted to share a really pretty wedding with you all today – something elegant and graceful, with a wonderful sense of English charm and tranquility – and I couldn’t think of a lovelier wedding than Christie and Ben’s day. Christie is so very beautiful – a Devon bride whose timeless style reminds me of Audrey Hepburn – with Ben her perfectly handsome leading man. They married at Symondsbury Tithe Barn and chose lovely Linus Moran Photography to capture their day.

“On the day, keep making time for each other. Ben and I kept stealing moments where we would find a quiet spot to soak in the view of our wedding, hold hands, kiss and share tales!

I’ve heard people say nothing changes when you get married. I disagree – there’s a monumental shift and it’s a wonderful one. I love being married. I love hearing Ben introduce me proudly as his wife.

Wedding photographer’s website:

https://www.linusmoranphotography.co.uk

My best friend Laura is a wedding planner and was able to recommend a few photographers. I looked at their websites and what they offered and really loved Linus Moran’s unique offering of a ‘photofilm’ which is a slideshow of the photographs alongside the audio during the day (key songs, vows, speeches). A short time after this I realised that the person making our wedding rings was Linus’ brother and finally, at a wedding fair, I met Linus in person and was really impressed with his portfolio, his general manner and his confidence at being able to capture our day perfectly. It felt like it was meant to be!

We adore our photofilm – it’s so wonderful to be able to relive our special day by not only seeing the key moments, but hearing them too: laughing again, crying again, and feeling everything we felt on the day.

We were also really pleased with all the ceremony photos, group shots and photos during the speeches.

If I were giving advice to others, I would say that as a couple you ought to look through your photographer’s portfolio before your own wedding, picking out shots you love so that they know what kind of thing you’d like to recreate. I’d also suggest looking at previous photographs from weddings at your venue so that you can scout out the best locations to get your pictures taken. Communicate with your photographer – make time for this – it’s so important. And finally, on the day, don’t be afraid to request certain photographs, locations etc and try not to get too fed up with the (seemingly at the time) endless photos because, when it’s all over, that’s what you’ll be left with.

When Linus sent me the link to the wedding photos I was at school (I’m a teacher) and had to resist looking all day long so that Ben and I could see them for the first time together. When we eventually did that evening, we were really indulgent and spent a long time luxuriating and ruminating over every single one (of the hundreds) shot and making all sorts of ooohs and aaahs.

Contact & bookings: Linus Moran Photography, Dorset

http://www.linusmoranphotography.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/linusmoran
https://www.facebook.com/Linus.Moran.Photography
https://twitter.com/linusmoran
Linus Moran Photography on YouTube

Wedding venue:

The Tithe Barn, Symondsbury, Bridport, Dorset.

Wedding month:

December

Can you describe your wedding in fewer than 10 words?

Best friends, heartfelt words, great food, photobooth fun, drunken dancing!

Your wedding style or theme:

We were going for understated country chic – lots of hessian, gypsophila, Ben wore a tweed waistcoat and we had a semi-naked wedding cake.

Where did you find your suppliers? (Blogs, magazines, recommendations?)

Reams and reams of wedding magazines and I don’t think I bought a single one! Laura was also a huge help and I spent a LOT of time on Pinterest… even before I was engaged, oops!

What’s your top tip for saving money?

Don’t be too proud to ask for favours if people you know are in the wedding industry themselves or have contacts. I also asked my bridesmaids if they would buy their own dresses and they were more than happy to do that as I didn’t specify a dress so they could spend as much as they could afford. Oh, and find a venue that doesn’t charge corkage, like ours didn’t – that made a huge difference!

… and which elements of your wedding are you glad you spent more on?

The food and drink – everyone is still talking about the duck that was served at our wedding breakfast.

Where did you buy or source your wedding stationery – or was making it a labour of love?

I designed all of our wedding stationery myself and then sent it to a local print services company (http://www.sprint-digital.co.uk). It was very personal and I loved the results.

Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?

Yes! I was NOT enjoying the experience which surprised me as I’d always imagined what it would be like but when it was my turn, I hated everything. So many dresses seemed so generic and unflattering and I was waiting for that ‘this is it’ moment.
When I finally found it, I felt like a bride and couldn’t imagine myself in anything but that dress. Anna also made a difference because she was so calming and helpful and the only owner to offer us a drink when we arrived! Her boutique was so special and cared for, with a select few, beautiful gowns, instead of rows and rows of them, packed in like sardines as so many of the other boutiques had been.

Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:

Naomi Neoh.
Anna Bridal Couture, Ringwood.

Tell us about your accessories: jewellery, shoes and anything else!

Naomi Neoh jewelled belt.
Tiffany necklace from my bridesmaids.
Pearl and silver comb in my hair.
Rachel Simpson powder blue shoes.

And what did the groom wear?

Ben wore a blue suit (no tails), tweed waistcoat and blush pink cravat and matching pocket square. He looked gorgeous!

Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?

My lovely maids wore a variety of pale pink, floor length dresses. Their dresses complemented each other, the flowers and the groomsmen perfectly.

Hair and make-up – did you DIY or hire a professional?

All the girls got their hair done by Laura Mackenzie. She was such a true professional, the hair lasted all day and looked great. http://lauramackenzie.co.uk
Some of us also had our make up done by Kirsten Sare – again a wonderful human being who utterly saved me when I was having a real panic, nervous moment. It lasted all day and looked perfect. http://kirstensare.co.uk
Both lovely ladies came to the house which made it so much easier.

Describe your wedding flowers. Who arranged them for you? (florist details would be lovely please)

Ben’s mum is a trained florist (but no longer practising) so kindly offered to do our flowers. She painstakingly gathered jam jars and wrapped them in a hessian/lace combo to put all of our flowers in. We had lots of gypsophila, pale pink roses, white anemones and mistletoe.

General styling – did your venue need much decoration?

We used a company to decorate with lots of fairy lights and added hessian runners over the table cloths but apart from that it didn’t need any more dressing. The venue was so airy, bright and beautiful anyway.
http://www.taddlefarmtents.co.uk

Crafts and makes – tell us about any homemade elements of your wedding… did you enjoy them?

Save the dates – designed to look like a traditional set of 4, vertical, different, passport photos.
Invites – a collection of photos of us over the years
Favours – I made shortbread biscuits in the shape of hearts and placed in small cellophane bags. We also bought white, wooden Christmas tree decorations and wrote each guest’s name on one side and ‘Christie and Ben’ and our wedding date on the other side.
The table plan (sparkly silver and mini bunting!)
The table names – framed authors/quotes.

The wedding cake: what kind of cake did you choose and why?

Semi-naked wedding cake, three tiers, three flavours: lemon curd, strawberry and prosecco, and salted caramel.
I loved the look of this style of cake and neither of us are into white icing!
Our cake was made by Lisa Notley – it was everything we hoped for and more.
http://www.cakesbylisanotley.co.uk/index.php

Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?

We chose a band that we’d seen before at a friend’s 30th birthday. They provided lounge music, a 2 hour set and DJing afterwards. They were perfect and ensured our guests had plenty to dance to.
https://www.facebook.com/HomeTown-Funk-565315980282438/

Favourite supplier web links for other brides and grooms:

http://the-photo-lounge.co.uk/blog/tag/bournemouth/
For an incredible photobooth! So glad we booked this at the last minute!