This is the type of affair that warms a wedding blogger's heart. Stunning from start to finish, and with more wedding inspiration than you can shake a stick at. What's more, it's Part 2 of Laura and Michael's wedding - you'll want to check out Part 1 to see the pictures of Laura's gown, the wedding ceremony, and her amazing pastel-coloured bridesmaid dresses. Wedding ideas you'll be wanting to copy include the gorgeous birdcages, the butterfly motif, the favour boxes of sweeties, the lace-like cupcake wrappers, the vintage china, and the heavenly, airy, lined marquee. I'm faint with enthusiasm for it all! Fabulous pictures published with thanks to the talented team at Segerius Bruce, and don't miss Laura's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire. You'll be able to snaffle all her fabulous vendors, not least her own mother, the wedding-cake baker, Debbie Brown.
And what about your bridesmaids dresses? Where did they come from and how did you choose them?
Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
What florist and flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Laura was kind enough to fill in our questionnaire, aimed at helping other brides with their planning process. Feast your eyes on her answers for helpful hints and tips from someone on the other side of her big day!
When and where did you get married?
Saturday 28th August 2010 at St Andrew's Church in Wraysbury, with a reception afterwards at a friend’s house next door to the church.
What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
Saturday 28th August 2010 at St Andrew's Church in Wraysbury, with a reception afterwards at a friend’s house next door to the church.
What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
My chief bridesmaid lives within The Grange and the owner very kindly allowed us use of the grounds for our big day. I spent a long time searching for a venue however everywhere I visited seemed to disappoint. I am somewhat of a perfectionist and found all venues I visited in some way restricted your choices for your big day. The Grange was just perfect in location situated right beside a quaint little country style church. Choosing The Grange meant we could invite as many guests as we wished, choose our own caterers, and have a free bar for guests, plus complete control in the design of the wedding with the marquee as our blank canvas.
Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
My theme was pastels. I love all ice cream shades of colour so this was the first thing I decided on in the planning of the wedding. I wanted to achieve the vintage chic look as I have always loved this very feminine theme. We hired vintage teacups from Idyllic Days, glassware, water jugs, and side plates to add decoration to our tables and filled them all with fresh flowers. We bought paper roses from eBay to compliment the marquee lining and dusted them pastel shades to match the theme. Individual lace tablecloths I sourced online and diamante sprinkled all over the tables finished off my vintage chic look. To keep it fun we filled glassware with pastel shaded sweets – Love Hearts being my number one favourite!
Who made your wedding outfit (dress, veil, shoes and accessories), and how did you come to that decision?
My dress was couture Emma Hunt. It was truly my dream dress, I always knew it had to be very classic, traditional but with an edge and lots of heavy vintage lace. My shoes were from Jimmy Choo – I chose sky-scrapers because I had to try and attempt to look a bit taller next to Michael who’s 6’4!
For jewellery I chose simple drop pearl and diamante earrings, a gift from my mother. My veil was Emma Hunt, customized with lace edging to finish off the dress. I also wore an Emma Hunt custom-made rose in my hair that was made from the same French lace as my dress.
What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
We hired it from Moss Bros.
We hired it from Moss Bros.
And what about your bridesmaids dresses? Where did they come from and how did you choose them?
We got them custom made from Ebay. I had always wanted my bridesmaids to be in different colours - as I wanted all the girls in specific shades of pastel colours this was the easiest place to get the dresses. They turned out slightly brighter than we planned for but they looked absolutely amazing and so pretty when all together.
What decorations did you choose?
The table plan was handcrafted by my mother & I. Our table centres were a mixture of bought and vintage birdcages and a variety of painted bird baths from Ebay & Confetti decorated with fresh flowers. Handwritten butterfly place cards continued the butterfly theme from my wedding cake. All table names were the name of a pastel shade of colour, sherbet pink and lemon drop being two of my favourites! The theme really grew from the bridesmaids dresses, they loved being in different shades of colour but the same dress.
What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision? Who made it?
Debbie Brown, my mother. I fell in love with the cake when she made it for her book 'Dream Wedding Cakes' a couple of years ago. It was customised with sugar roses and sparkling diamante.
Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
Our favours were handmade shortbread hearts which my mother made the weekend before the wedding. I got the idea of placing the shortbread in clear boxes tied with different pastel shades of ribbon with the words 'Here’s to a rosy future…' printed from one of the many wedding magazines I read back to back through in the planning stages.
What was your stationery like and where was it from?
Our invitations were Chartula Studio. I chose them due to the different pastel shades available and I loved how the laser cut finish looked like lace, the finish of my dress.
What florist and flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
Myself, my mother, grandmother and aunt. We are a very creative family and I wanted to choose all of my own flowers that were in season at the time of my wedding with a mixture that looked very county garden. We chose an array of pastel shaded flowers; cream, soft pink and lemon avalanche roses, stephanotis, hyacinths, lavender, eucalyptus, mint… we wanted lots of variety so the list is very vast.
Did you have any entertainment at your wedding (DJ / Band / Magician)?
We wanted lots of entertainment, and I think it really made our wedding special and the memories we have of it. We booked a silhouette artist, cartoonist and magician to entertain our guests and the day was filled with laughter. We decided to have a live band to create an amazing electric atmosphere – The Top Hat Band booked through Charm Music.
Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
Segerius Bruce, and I was thrilled with the pictures!
Did you enjoy planning your wedding?
Yes my wedding day was exactly how I’d envisaged – the planning for two years really paid off!
What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
Did you enjoy planning your wedding?
Yes my wedding day was exactly how I’d envisaged – the planning for two years really paid off!
What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
If you want something done properly, do it yourself - or at least plan it yourself! Check out eBay for bargains!
Extra Vendors
Silhouette artist: Roving Artist
Cartoonist: Paul Raymonde
Magician: Kevin McMahon
Marquee: Thames Marquees
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