“We got married on 11th March 2023. We chose this date to try and avoid any inclement winter weather but much to our surprise, we were treated to a dusting of snow which amplified the beauty of the Fig House and Walled Gardens.”

Joss Denham Photography

From the preview of images we have seen so far, we have been blown away by how they have captured the joy, love and happiness expressed by both ourselves and our guests on the best day of our lives. The images tell a story of the day from start to finish capturing both the big moments, from saying “I do”, to the speeches and first dance, to the more intricate moments such as the tears and laughter of our ourselves and our guests. This has allowed us to relive the day in the finer details that otherwise wouldn’t be possible if we had opted for a formal approach.

Selecting Joss Denham Photography was one of the earliest and easiest decisions we made in the planning. His relaxed and non-cheesy style appealed to us a couple as we were determined to capture the day in a way that was both authentic and natural. On the day, Joss delivered beyond our expectations. His unobtrusive and professional approach was recognised by all of our family and friends.

Wedding days are made up of lots of intricate and subtle moments, many of which would go untold without an experienced and skilled photographer. On the day, you can’t possibly experience it all – which is why documenting the emotions, reactions and stories on film is so crucial to providing a lifetime of memories to cherish forever.

Joss was present at every moment, and yet seemed invisible to us and our guests – meaning that the raw emotions of the day could be captured in their truest form. To say that we would recommend Joss would be an understatement. If you are looking for a photographer to truly capture your day in its most joyous and honest form, Joss is the only photographer for you.

A wedding at Middleton Lodge

We got married at the Fig House, Middleton Lodge. Laura’s dream was always to get married in an orangery and the Fig House provided a spin on this that we had never seen before. Passing through the archway, you experience the dramatic transition from the intimate and cosiness of the Boiler Bar where the ceremony takes place, to the bright and spacious Fig House where the guests are seated for the wedding breakfast. For us there was no other venue that could match up to Middleton Lodge.

Wedding style

The theme for our wedding day was chic but timeless. We were determined to stay away from anything trend driven that may date over time, instead making choices that were classic but modern with a luxe theme through out. The outcome was beyond our wildest dreams.

Our colour scheme started with whites and some very pale nudes but as time went on this developed into a wider palette of sands, peaches and pinks. The colours felt soft but romantic and paired with the greenery in the Fig House worked perfectly.

Dress by Jesus Peiro from The White Closet

When I went to the White Closet in Didsbury I had a very clear image in mind of the dress that I would be leaving with. This dress was halter neck, satin, slinky and form fitting. After trying on many dresses in this style although I appreciated the beauty of each and every one I knew none of them were mine. This is when I tried on the Jesus Peiro dress. As soon as I put on the dress and looked in the mirror I knew this was the one. The dress was effortlessly chic, understated but dramatic and had a back that was to die for. The dress made me feel like a bride and although it’s never what I imagined I would get married in, now I cannot imagine anything but the Jesus Peiro dress.

Flowers by The Wilde

Flowers were a hugely important part of the day for us. The way that they can make a space feel is transformational. For us, we wanted flowers that were both wild but refined with irregular arrangements that owned the space in which they took up. We opted for 2 large urns at the bottom of the aisle as our focal point, these were then replicated on the long tables in miniature form with long stem candles to finish off the look. Our florist was Kirsty at The Wilde who we found through Middleton Lodge. Kirsty saw our vision immediately from the bouquets to the smaller arrangements at the start of the aisle – everything was perfect.

Cake by Where The Ribbon Ends

Where the Ribbon Ends were the only cake choice for us and boy did they deliver. We chose a three tired, vintage style cake with frilled piping and pearls. To us this cake resembled the timelessly romantic vibe that we were going for and on the day we were over the moon with how it turned out. The flavours were biscoff, lemon and poppy seed and white chocolate and raspberry.

Special, personal touches

We are lucky enough to have an incredibly talented friend, Laura Hampson who specialises in illustration but does not usually do wedding stationery. Laura designed everything from our invitations to our wedding day creative including the welcome signs, table plan, place settings and even turned her hand to book binding for the creation of our guestbook. Laura poured her heart and soul into every minor detail of our wedding day and it massively paid off in the perfection of each and every element she touched.

Another talented friend to mention is Jessica Cutler who specialises in weave and made us a pair of custom blankets in our wedding colour palette to act as a finishing touch to the fire pits that were lit in the early evening.

Wine is something that is very important to us and it on the day we chose to have our favourite Amié wines for all of our guests. This wine is one that we have enjoyed countless times as a couple and it was amazing to share it with our family and friends on our special day.

We would also like to mention La Maison Guimauve Marshmallows who provided our favours: a mix of affogato; and raspberry and prosecco marshmallows. Not only did these taste delicious but they were the perfect addition to our table dressing with the colours complimenting our overall look and feel.

Entertainment from day to night

The day was punctuated by performances from a string arrangement for the ceremony and drinks reception; a magician during the transition from day to evening and a band to fill the dance floor. We chose Aurora Strings for our ceremony music. They were available in a 2, 3 or 4 piece offering. We opted for a 3 piece offering and they played Canon in D as Laura walked down the aisle. They played This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) as we walked up the aisle. They have an enormous and versatile repertoire of music from classical to modern, and brought real a touch of class to our wedding.

The magic was provided by the brilliant Paul Lytton. We discovered Paul just a few weeks before our wedding during a showcase at the Fig House. Paul is unlike any magician we have encountered. His credentials and past audiences speak to his incredible talent. Our guests were mesmerised by his tricks and showmanship. Not least he provided some fantastic reactions and was perfect for filling that ‘lull’ period before the evening got underway.

Filling the dance floor was the 3 piece band, The Overthinkers. With vocals led by David Aryn, they learned and delivered a beautiful rendition of our first dance song, Can’t Help Falling in Love.

The band was fun, energetic and got our guests up dancing the night away. As a bonus, they also a offer a DJ service, where they hang around until the end of night, playing a pre-curated list of some of our favourite hits.

The post Jordan & Laura’s timeless and beautiful Yorkshire wedding, with Joss Denham Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

Nicholas Rogers  https://njr-photography.co.uk

Wedding photographer review

Nick and Jenny were amazing! They made us feel so comfortable and we enjoyed so much doing our photoshoot. The pictures are beyond our expectations and the video photos montage just made us relive the day and felt very emotional!

Your best moment or memory

Our favourite moment was our first dance. We really felt in a bubble and we kind of forgot we had people watching us. For these few minutes, it was only the 2 of us and the music.

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

We both came from different countries/cultures. I, the bride, am French and my husband is British with a Jamaican heritage. So our wedding was a bit of mix between the 2 backgrounds. For example, all our signage and menu was translated in both languages as some parts of the bride’s family didn’t speak English. We also had a Steel band as per the Jamaican side of the family. Finally, we had different speakers and order. Traditionally the bride doesn’t speak but I wanted to say few words mainly to thank my in-laws for their warm welcome to their family. (I don’t have any family in the UK and they always make me feel I have one)

Venue name + review

The Mount Hotel – Wolverhampton The venue and the staff were amazing! They had an amazing communication through the process and on the day. We really had the best day ever!

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

The groom wore a Tuxedo suit (black trousers & waistcoat, a white shirt with black button and personalised cufflinks) and a dark green velvet jacket with a satin lapel and a black bow tie with white silk pocket square.

The Bride was wearing an A-Line Stella York dress. The dress was layered with organza and had sheer bodice panels. The dress had a lace appliqué gently falling into the skirt and extending to a romantic train.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Dress: Forever Bridal – Barnet The staff were great! They had their own tailor on site which was amazing as they had to slightly amend the dress on the collection day.
Suit: Peter Posh – Tettenhall
The service was amazing. They had great communication and listened to what we were looking for. The father of the bride couldn’t come to try as he lives in France, so we sent them his measurements and even though the trousers were slightly short, they ordered a new one a bit longer for the next day morning. All in time for the wedding.

Florist name + review

Every Occasion Floral – Stourbridge
Our florist’s name is Nikki Solomon. I don’t know where to start… Nikki has been the best florist we could have wished for. She listened to us and gave us some advice when needed. At the beginning Nikki was in charge of our flower arrangements only, but then she did way more than this. She helped us with some decorations (chairs’ sash with Diamond brooch, candles, Roman columns for our outside ceremony). She made our dream wedding come true!

Cake maker name + review

It was the Mother and Sister of the groom. They did a fantastic job. The cake was as we dreamt of! We couldn’t thank them enough. (This was their biggest challenge and they did it so well!)

Styling and decor

Cloud Nine Balloon Design
Sue and her team have been amazing. They are very responsive and offer so much options. We hired “M&J” light up letters, twinkle table skirts, voile wrapping for our outside gazebo with artificial flowers, a tall white postbox and Mr & Mrs balloons.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

As we wanted everything translated in both languages, we created our own wedding invites, welcome sign, table plan, menu, table number and small gifts box for the children.

Wedding readings?

On Your Wedding Day

Today is a day you will always remember
the greatest in anyone’s life
you’ll start off the day just two people in love
and end it as husband and wife.

It’s a brand new beginning,
the start of a journey
with moments to cherish and treasure
and although they’ll be times
when you both disagree
these will surely be outweighed by pleasure

you’ll have heard many words of advice in the past
when the secrets of marriage were spoken.
But you know that the answers lie hidden inside
where the bond of true love lies unbroken

so live happy forever as lovers and friends
it’s the dawn of a new life for you
as you stand there together with love in your eyes.
From the moment you whisper ‘I do’
and with luck all your hopes and your dreams can be real
may success find its way to your hearts
tomorrow can bring you the greatest of joys
but today is the day it all starts

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

John Legend – All of me

Hair + makeup name + review

Hair: Sophie Hailey
Sophie was so lovely, she listened to what I wanted and did a great job! Loved my hair! Makeup: Victoria O’Neill
Vicky was great too! I had such a great time for my trial and on the day. Thank you for making me look so pretty!

Entertainment

We would like to thank also, The Dandies band, for playing during the ceremony and reception drinks. The guests loved them.

The post Marguerite & Jason’s beautiful Mount Hotel wedding, with Nicholas Rogers Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

Damien Vickers – https://www.damienvickersphotography.co.uk/

Wedding photographer review

We cannot recommend Damien highly enough as a wedding photographer. From the first conversation Damien really stood out for his professional, experienced, but also relaxed approach. We chose Damien because of his focus on capturing candid moments as well as getting the more formal shots. Damien was with us for the full day, and expertly captured amazing, memorable moments throughout.

We are two people who don’t feel particularly comfortable in front of the camera, but Damien made sure that we were at ease and enjoying ourselves. The formal photos themselves only took about 15 minutes leaving us to enjoy our time speaking to guests. Rather than stilted couply shots, Damien suggested that we just “go for a walk” around the venue while he photographed. This worked really well and resulted in much more natural looking photos.

We received a “sneak look” of 12 photos within 2 days, and then the full album within the month. Another really nice feature was receiving both the colour and black-white versions of every photograph, leaving us to choose whichever version we preferred. We loved working with Damien!

Longstowe Hall wedding photographer Damien Vickers

Your best moment or memory

Walking down the aisle. Both of us were barely holding it together and couldn’t take our eyes off one another while trying to hold back the tears! We clung onto each other for support the whole way through the ceremony.

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

Our speeches – we each did a speech and so did our best man and maid of honour as we wanted it to be gender-balanced!

Venue name + review

Ceremony: Jesus College Chapel, Cambridge Reception: Longstowe Hall
Our caterers – Portfolio Catering – were incredibly responsive, helped us choose a fantastic menu and provided a brilliant service on the day.

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

Bride – I wore a classic A-line gown by Sincerity Bridal and bought at Evelie wedding boutique in London. It had beautiful lace detailing and a gorgeous train. I then changed into a white jumpsuit for the dancing! Groom – I had my three-piece suit made in Pakistan when I was visiting Sam when she worked there, and I wore the tie that she gave me for the first birthday of mine we were together for.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Dress – Evelie. They were great, made it a really nice experience choosing my dress with my bridesmaids, and made the whole process of ordering and fitting very easy.

Florist name + review

Clemmie and Twine were stand-out wedding suppliers. From the initial conversations about the kinds of colours and theme that we wanted, to delivering the flowers on the day and clearing up, they were excellent! We weren’t entirely sure what we wanted from our florist so during the initial 1-hour conversation we spoke through our vision for the day, and they advised on how we could invest our flower budget in the most impactful way, including across our two venues. In the end we went for a wildflower theme with “pops of colour” which was absolutely stunning. From the bouquets, to the pocket holes and the table centrepieces, everything was beautifully put together, stayed fresh throughout the day, and for days afterwards. Kelli and Tina were also absolutely lovely throughout the whole process and on the day.

Cake maker name + review

The cake was made by the groom’s sister and was delicious!

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

All the tables had a Polaroid camera so guests could contribute to the photos!

Wedding readings?

Both our mums did the readings which was very special for us. The two readings were 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and an excerpt from The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach.

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Our first dance was Your Song by Elton John, played by our wonderful band, The Kings of Soul who we would highly recommend. Playlist recommendations – start with anything upbeat and classic that gets the guests on the dance floor (young and old), and ensure a mix of songs throughout – we had lots of classics and noughties hits and our band did some excellent medleys!
Kings of Soul were fantastic, had the dance floor packed the entire time and really helped us with our playlist as well!

Hair + makeup name + review

Ellie Norman – Ellie was excellent. She was incredibly attentive and organized, setting up a trial multiple months ahead so we could test my ideas out and see what worked best. She was happy to tweak my final look on the big day and did a wonderful job creating the style I wanted.

The post Sam & Jamie’s dreamy Cambridge wedding, with Damien Vickers Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

Amy Jordison – https://amyjordisonphotography/

Wedding photographer review

Amy was so down to earth and listened to all our requests. From initial enquiry to receiving our photos it was 5* service. Would definitely recommend the pre shoot as standing in from of a camera was not natural for us however Amy made us feel at ease. Our photos have captured memories we can hold for ever.

Your best moment or memory

Having loved one’s to share our special day with us. The food also hit the spot for all – thank you Purple Chilli

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

Crazy Golf between the ceremony and food. We had a sport theme, so every table has cricket bats as table centre pieces and a make your own cricket bat on every table.

Venue name + review

Burtonfields Hall, York This was the first venue we viewed and I couldn’t stop thinking about it ever since. Feels like home from home. The views outside are picturesque and the oldie worldie feel inside is comforting.

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

Charlie and the groom’s party wore a lovely 3 piece grey suit and Amelia looked stunning in her trailing dress

Dress or suit shop name + review

Dress – Elizabeth Hall Bridal

Suit – Slaters Menswear

Florist name + review

Wild Floral Couture – I have used this lady on a number of occasions. I listed a few flowers I’d like within the bouquets however I asked Wild Floral Couture to do their thing because whatever she makes is stunning.

Cake maker name + review

Cake Utopia – simple design decorated with flowers from the florist, but everyone commented on how light and fluffy the sponge was.

Wedding readings?

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Perfect for me by Bradley Marshall

Hair + makeup name + review

Hair – Tangles Hair
Makeup – Emily Joseph’s Bridal Makeup

The post A beautiful Burtonfields Hall York wedding for Amelia & Charlie, with Amy Jordison Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Lodge Farm at Cundall is a picturesque barn wedding venue, and Yorkshire wedding photographer Joss Denham captures it beautifully.

The space is welcoming and warm, and perfect for Lucy & Tom’s barn wedding vibes.

There are quiet, romantic moments and raw, emotional shots which capture all the feels of a wedding day. The more intimate moments, sheltering from the rain and during the first dance are incredibly beautiful.

This being Yorkshire, the happy couple planned for all weathers and brought along a collection of colourful brollies, which absolutely add to the joy in their pics!

There’s more on our insta – check it out at @englishweddingblog

Lucy & Tom’s Lodge Farm wedding suppliers

Yorkshire wedding photographer – Joss Denham Photography
Venue – Lodge Farm, Cundall
Florist – Walter and Blossom
Videographer – First Frame Productions
Cake – Where The Ribbon Ends
Make up – Frankie Swiers Beauty
Hair – Lords and Ladies Harrogate
Dress – Elena Ferrara Bridal

The post Lucy & Tom’s romantic English summer wedding at Lodge Farm, with Joss Denham Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Our wedding was everything we had dreamt it would be, one of my youngest bridesmaids had a gorgeous little bespoke dress made for her, I bought a small size from where I got the other dresses, and took it to a local woman in Stamford who created a mini version of the big girl dresses. A rust velvet dream!

Wedding photographer’s website

Amanda Forman Photography https://www.amandaforman.co.uk/

Wedding photographer review

Amanda was incredible. Shes such a wonderful person and really enjoyed her being around on our wedding day. I’m not so good when it comes to having my photos taken, but Amanda knew what to do to help us feel relaxed. Her photos when we received them were outstanding! Absolutely love them and can’t wait to have them printed in the house.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

We did all of the styling on our wedding day ourselves. We made two large ivy rings which were suspended up into two of the peaks of the tipi, we made our own place names, our own wedding favours, which were small corked glass bottles full of toffee vodka and whiskey, we decorated the tables ourselves, sorcing mix match lanterns and candle holders from eBay, local stores and car boots, we went and hand picked our own pumpkins from a local pumpkin farm, and used some small wooden cut tree trunks on the tables to put the food on.

Your best moment or memory

I don’t have a particular favourite memory, I loved the whole day. It was everything I had dreamt it would be. But if I had to choose, it would have to be our first dance! We had a friend of ours choreograph the dance for us, and with a lot of practise (my husband has two left feet) we cracked it and we couldn’t wait to show everyone the dance! It was beautiful – pretty good for two people who can’t really dance!

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

I feel a fair amount of our wedding was quite different really. We didn’t use very many suppliers, quite a lot of it was done ourselves even when it came to the catering. Curry is our favourite food, especially from a local restaurant in one of our local towns, so it didn’t feel right to hire a caterer and get them to make a curry. So we asked 10 Dining Street in Oakham off they would cater for us and they gladly accepted! (As you can imagine we are regulars and they know us quite well) they provided tasty Indian canapés, poppadoms, starters, 4 different curries, rice and naan! It was so yummy. They just didn’t supply staffing and cooking equipment so we went to friends from local pubs and restaurants to see if they’d be interested in helping staff our wedding. Which they did! It was perfect.

Venue name + review

We didn’t have a specific venue, we had a tipi in a field borrowed by a friend of ours in the village we got married in, the village my husband grew up in, Harringworth. The field had the gorgeous viaduct going through it which created a stunning backdrop for photos and a view while us and our guests all ate their wedding breakfast. The tipi was from Serentipi, who were absolutely perfect, even after we had to postpone our wedding twice due to the glorious covid.

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

My dress was incredible. If I could get away with wearing my dress everyday, believe I would! I never wanted to take it off. It was timeless, simple and so elegant! the complete opposite to what I ever thought I would go for. It was the back of the dress that caught my eye, but wasn’t keen on the front so I put it off. It turned out to be the very last dress I tried on in the shop, my mum forced me to put it on. The moment the lady in the shop was doing it up, I already knew it was the one.. oh and it really was! Suzanne Neville what a dress! My husband’s suits were navy blue, with a rust coloured tie, which worked really well with the rust velvet bridesmaids dresses

Dress or suit shop name + review

Serendipity Brides – Northamptonshire. These ladies are wonderful! It was the second wedding dress shop I ever went to. Not only were the ladies there lovely, warming and welcoming, the shop was beautiful and the variety of dresses they had were great, so many different styles. I highly recommend them to any bride recently engaged.

Florist name + review

Pickleberry Flowers
Isobel from Pickleberry is such a talented florist! She brought my autumnal floral vision to life. The huge arch at the entry of the church was one of the show stoppers, it was full, bright and screamed autumn! The next piece she did was in the church, it was the only floral part on the church, it was like a wild autumn meadow. Stunning.

Cake maker name + review

Our cake maker was yet again another friend of ours, she used to live in Oakham and I had used her a few times for birthday cakes, and it didn’t feel right not to use her for our wedding cake. We had three different layers. Victoria sponge Chocolate And lemon! SO GOOD!

Stationery maker’s name + review

Stationery was all done by ourselves, the menus on the tables, the table plan and welcome sign was designed by us and ordered online. The place names were cut from trees by yet another friend of ours, he’s a local tree surgeon.

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Our first dance was to Michael Buble – Everything

Hair + makeup name + review

Mine and my bridesmaid hair was done by my hair dresser, she’s fantastic! She created the look I had dreamt of, she has a salon in Market Harborough- Steph Guadagnini
Mine and my mums make up was done by one of my oldest friends – Zoe Clarke! She’s a talented self taught make up artist also based in Rutland.

The post Chloe & James gorgeous autumnal tipi wedding, with Amanda Forman Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

Gemma Randall Photography – https://www.gemmarandallphotography.co.uk/

Wedding photographer review

Gemma was brilliant to work with in the lead up to the wedding, from our initial consultation where we talked about so much more than just the wedding to the day itself where she was brilliant to have around. As a bride, I felt totally supported by Gemma and she respected our choices, such as to not have bridal prep, but instead capture the details at our Chapel. The end photos are wonderful and really capture the fun and elegance of the day, as well as some lovely intimate moments between the two of us.

Your best moment or memory

For me (Harriet), it’s walking down the aisle towards Oli. The music was amazing – I chose the Processional from The Sound of Music and it was played by my friend William Fox who is organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The flowers created such an amazing feel to the Chapel and it was so special walking on my father’s arm. Later on in the day, it sounds a bit cliche, but looking out at all our family and friends and feeling the love in the room was just awesome.

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

We actually stayed quite traditional! Oli asked my father’s permission to marry me, my father gave me away and our speeches were very traditional with the father of the bride, groom and best man. We did only try to stick to traditions that actually meant something to us though, so we didn’t have a top table or a traditional wedding cake.

Venue name + review

Our ceremony was held at Oakham School Chapel which was a very special place for Harriet. The reception was held at Halfmoon Farm, just outside Oakham. The views over Rutland Water are amazing and we made the most of them in our photos. It’s a blank canvas venue but everything from enquiry to booking was seamless!

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

Oli’s suit was a traditional Morning Suit, which the rest of the bridal party also wore, and was tailored by Paul Richman, Stamford. Harriet chose a romantic style dress, with a cathedral length train. The lace and pearl details were so beautiful and the form was close fitting with some bespoke detailing added.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Dress – Vow Bridal Wansford

Oh my goodness – where do I start?! I was so nervous about choosing and wearing a wedding dress that I even ordered some non-traditional dresses from high street stores before realising they didn’t feel special enough. So it was off to Lisa at Vow Bridal, who I have known for some time. Lisa made me feel so relaxed from the very beginning and I actually only tried on 3 dresses. As soon as I put on my dress, I knew it was the one – I just didn’t want to take it off! Lisa took me from feeling really not bothered about my wedding dress to it being the most amazing piece in my wardrobe!

Something old…

Something Old – Harriet’s grandmother’s gold bracelet

Something New – a pearl necklace from Harriet’s parents

Something Borrowed – Harriet’s grandmother’s RAF sweetheart pin from WWII

Something Blue – Harriet’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring

Florist name + review

Pickleberry Flowers

There was only ever one choice for our wedding flowers! I have known Isobel from Pickleberry for almost 10 years and her style is exactly what I wanted. I told her I wanted to feel like I had scooped up my bouquet from a wildflower meadow and that’s exactly what I got. The symbolism ran throughout our flowers, and Isobel was so understanding of this. We had white roses for my family’s Yorkshire roots, thistles for my time spent at university in Scotland and I also had ivy in my bouquet that was grown from the ivy in my bouquet for my brother’s wedding – which is where I met Isobel!

Cake maker name + review

We didn’t have a traditional wedding cake but ordered a carrot cake from Fika in Oakham. It was absolutely amazing, in fact our caterer said it was the best wedding cake she had ever tasted!

Stationery maker’s name + review

Inviting Writing

All our invitations, on the day stationery and thank you cards were designed by Inviting Writing. Vicky’s work is so lovely and elegant, and she worked with us on the design from start to finish. The table plan was a bit of nightmare to design as we had such big tables but I absolutely loved the outcome – Vicky is just brilliant!

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

In lieu of a wedding cake, we asked family & friends to make a cake to feed around 20 guests. We had lemon drizzle cake, coffee cake, brownies, flapjacks and cookies all set out on the cheese table. Not a crumb was left! Oli and I only have one grandparent who is still with us so we had photos of all our other grandparents framed on ladders, along with herbs that represent love, fertility and remembrance. We also had a photo line which had photos of both of us, but also almost every guest at the wedding. Our hat line was a big success too, and we hung Harriet’s grandmother’s hat from her parents’ wedding in 1983 there.

Wedding readings?

Song of Solomon 2:10-13 Read by Cathy, Oli’s mother

The Lovely Little Dinosaur by Edward Monkton Read by Pixie, Harriet’s sister-in-law

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

We struggled with this choice as we don’t really have a “song” but in the end, we decided on Happiness by McFly. It really got our guests up and dancing!

Wedding planner name + review

Unofficially – Harriet’s mother!

Hair + makeup name + review

Hair – Laura Steele from Asembo

Laura has cut my (Harriet’s) hair for 15 years so was the obvious choice. She also knows a lot of my family so felt right at home in the morning. I only had to show her a couple of images of what I wanted and she got it straight away. I went for a romantic updo with an Etsy hairpiece for sparkle!

Make-Up – Make Up by Liv GS

Liv was a great choice for the day, I wanted a really natural look for my wedding and she totally understood this. Although I had a lot of make up on, it never felt heavy or clogged up. She was great to have around in the morning and although I was getting stressed about time, she never did!

Other recommended Oakham wedding suppliers

Band – The Aesthetic from DG Music

Caterer – Big Bird Catering

Marquee – Rutland Marquees

Cars – VP Princess Cars

The post Oli & Harriet’s flower-filled Oakham wedding, with Gemma Randall Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

Leeds wedding photographer Matt Sim

Wedding photographer review

Matt was absolutely amazing on the day! He made us feel comfortable and captured the day perfectly with lots of natural shots.

Your best moment or memory

Being surrounded by all our family and friends on the altar at Left Bank for our first dance. This was a really special moment after rearranging our wedding several times for covid.

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

The majority of the wedding was prepared by us and our family! From the decorations, flowers, cake and make up, we had a real DIY wedding.

Venue name + review

Left Bank, Leeds. This is a converted church with so much character found hidden in Headingley in Leeds. The venue was stunning in the day, with a real altar, a pulpit for the speeches, pillars and original stained glass. The staff were incredible and it was truly amazing to dance the night away on the altar.

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

We had traditional wedding outfits. Although the wedding was in August, Christina wore the dress bought for the original wedding date that was supposed to be in December. Although slightly warm for a summer wedding, she loved it so much that she just had to wear it!

Dress or suit shop name + review

Dress- Wed2B Suit- Moss Bros

Florist name + review

Christina’s auntie Susan- all made the day before the wedding at home!

Cake maker name + review

Christina’s auntie Teresa- again completely homemade and totally stunning!

Stationery maker’s name + review

We made all the stationary ourselves.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

All of the venue decorations were made by us- including floral hoops, table decor, a home made photobooth, table plans and sweetie table

Wedding readings?

These were done by Cathal’s sisters, Roisin and Triona, and Christina’s brother Patrick.

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Shut up and Dance with Me- Walk the Moon.

Hair + makeup name + review

Christina’s cousin Mary who has a natural flair for hair and make up and does these as a hobby.

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