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Carla and Daniel’s wedding held on the 24th September 2016 was nothing short of spectacular. They were married at Dorney Court in Berkshire, a magnificent Tudor manor house, which enabled them to have different locations within the same venue. It fitted the bill perfectly for their old Hollywood glamour style, which included lots of sparkle and shine. The bridesmaids dresses for instance in dazzling sliver sequins were just so striking and went so well with the bright and beautiful florals. Not to mention Carla’s stunning, heavily embellished Sottero and Midgley gown and her dreamy veil. Daniel looked very dapper in his dark navy suit, contrasting grey waistcoat and tan shoes. Aren’t they one super stylish wedding party?
Much of their décor choices were inspired by a print called ‘La Lune’ by Double Merrick. They infused moons and stars into their day using music and quotes specifically. One of the loveliest touches though has to be the family table names, a really personal touch.
I feel it’s really important to mention Carla’s wise words of advice too; “don’t worry if you’re not having all the super duper wonderful excited ‘everything is wonderful’ feelings“. It’s advice I really respect and resonate with, as this is something I felt when planning my own nuptials in 2015 (you can also read about our cancelled 2010 wedding here). We’re not all the same and you certainly don’t need to feel a certain way when wedding planning; you can read more of her honest advice in their wedding report below.
Many thanks to Jonny Barratt Photography for sharing these remarkable photographs.
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THE PROPOSAL | Daniel proposed whilst walking on holiday in Croatia. Asking him many, many times if he was serious as I was pretty certain he was joking! He wasn’t however and produced a ring plus a slightly warm bottle of champers that had been in his backpack since the morning for us to have a slurp on!
THE VISION | Vintage glam to put it super simple. There is a picture called ‘La Lune’ by Double Merrick we have hang up at home and we’ve taken a lot of inspiration from that and old Fred and Ginger movies, stars and moons are featured throughout, a lot of sparkle and old Hollywood glam. We wanted to try and make sure everyone was chilled out and had an awesome time.
THE VENUE | We chose our venue because we wanted somewhere that would have the feel of different locations, but without the need to travel. We didn’t want our guests to feel like they were only be in one place throughout the day so it was important for us to find a venue that we could give each part of the day its own identity. Weddings are long for the guests so we hoped by having some different locations it would help keep the energy of the day flowing. Having them all in one venue meant no travelling between the ceremony, reception and dinner. Dorney Court let us do this in a beautiful setting and was just the right size so that for our number of guests it felt neither too crowded or too sparse.
THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | My dress was by Midgley Sottero and I bought it at Miss Bush in Ripley. In the end it came down to two dresses, both incredibly different from each other. There isn’t really any other time in your life when you can wear a dress with 7 layers of tulle and petticoats, a train that you can swish when you walk and enough sparkle to last you a lifetime (although honestly I don’t think you can ever have enough sparkle). So in the end it was an easy choice. It’s also funny how a dress can look beautiful until you put it on and then you realise it’s just not the right dress for you, the shape doesn’t suit you, or the cuts not quite right. I learnt a lot about what suited my shape whilst trying on wedding dresses (and I tried on a lot), my dress helped me highlight the parts that I liked, and I felt incredible wearing it. Whilst it’s fun to swish your way round the bridal shop it’s even more fun to swish your way back down the aisle with your husband by your side.
RINGS | Diamond Palace, Hatton Garden. Daniel chose a simple gold band, but then a few weeks later decided to go for a rose gold band, but we kept both rings and so when the rings were given to the vicar during the ceremony we had three, the third of which Daniel pocketed after the blessing.
GROOM’S ATTIRE | (Daniel) My suit was from Hackett on Regent Street, we made several trips to Hackett together to pick out the suit and for it to be tailored. The important thing was to find one that didn’t feel like a work suit, no one wants to feel like they’re heading to the office on their wedding day, so we searched out for something that had the edge to be special but not gimmicky. With a waistcoat, pocket square, tie, shoes and pocket watch (wedding gift from Carla) I felt fabulous!
THE READINGS & MUSIC | We did we had ‘Song of Solomon’ as our bible reading read by Daniel’s sister Lucy and ‘I like you’ by Sandol Stoddard’, which was read by Daniel’s sister Justine.
I walked down the aisle to a medley of songs from Mary Poppins, which is one of Daniel’s favourite movies. The day is filled with such huge emotions I didn’t want anything that would be overwhelming at such an important moment, having something fun made everything more relaxed and made both of us smile and it was great seeing people’s faces as they realised what the music was.
BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | The bridesmaid’s dresses were by Sorella Vita and were full length sequinned gowns with a vintage feel. Initially we were a little worried that a full sequinned gown would be a bit too full on, but the sequins have a lovely soft, finish which helped to soften the look and both my sisters looked divine in them. They’re both gorgeous so I wanted to find dresses that would do them justice, I was so proud to have them stand by my side. My own dress had a retro feel to it from its shape and I wanted this to be reflected in the bridesmaid’s dresses as well so the silhouette was quite 50’s in its style and we also tied this in with the girls hairstyles giving them a retro feel to tie everything together.
THE FLOWERS | Florist – Hannah Berry Flowers.
THE CAKE | Foxy Cakes.
YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | We wanted someone approachable, personable and fun. Our wedding photographs are going to stay with us forever, so we wanted to ensure the person who captured our day and put people at ease. There had to be the right connection between us, our guests and our photographer. We also took a lot of time looking for someone that had the right style of photography. We both really like photos where the subject hasn’t realised they’re having their picture taken, or that capture a moment in time, that way you really get the feel of the day.
Jonny was everything we hoped for! He was unobtrusive, but somehow ever present, always there to capture the moment. He felt like a guest who was taking photos, rather than a wedding photographer. His personality was a great fit with us and our guests, it’s great to work with someone who generally just a lovely guy!
THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | Our theme started with a print that we have hung up at home ‘La Lune’ by Double Merrick, we had little phrases and stars throughout our wedding that most people probably wouldn’t have strung together, but I loved seeing them throughout the day. Our first song was by McFly ‘Love is easy’. In the middle of the song there is a clip from ‘It’s a wonderful life’ where George offers to give Mary the moon and I don’t know that people picked up on it, but it was special to Daniel and I and I’d been looking forward to hearing it all day.
Our table plan was also very special, we wanted to reflect the union of our families past and present in the table plan. Each of the tables was named after a family name and we had a picture of the couple on their wedding day. For example the top table was the ‘Sherman-Griffin’ and it had pictures of our parents on their wedding day. Other tables were named after our maternal and paternal grandparents and so on. Having those pictures at the wedding and seeing the generations of marriages that came before us was really wonderful and a great way to include family members who couldn’t be there.
ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | (Carla) It will all fall into place. Things have a magic way of working out without you having to stress about them. Take little moments throughout the day to take everything in, it’s true what they say it goes so quickly. Have a few people you trust assigned to make sure things happen so that you don’t have to think about them on the day itself and lastly, make the day before as simple and relaxing as you can, you’ll need your sleep to get through the big day itself, get as much of it as you can so you can last as long as possible the next day!
(Daniel) Time is not your friend; hours become minutes. The last few days before the wedding, and especially the day itself, just disappear in a strange accelerated time vortex, but as Carla says things have a magic way of working out. Still, as magical as you think you are, best write a speech well in advance! Don’t try to wing it, you will regret it. But the important thing to remember is everyone’s experience will be different since your wedding is so personal to you and your partner. Make the day your own, don’t overcomplicate things, have fun and expect to be emotional – I was completely unprepared for just how emotional I felt on the day.
A cloud based storage site that both yourself and your groom can access is great then you don’t have to be in the same place at the same time to review or share things, a shared cloud based calendar for appointment setting works also works if you’re both busy people often working late with little time together in the evenings and a budget spreadsheet really helps you keep track of things.
And don’t worry if you’re not having all the super duper wonderful excited ‘everything is wonderful’ feelings you read about on blog sites and in wedding magazines. Planning a wedding can be hard work, some of us aren’t super gushy people and sometimes everything isn’t just ‘darling’, it doesn’t mean I love my husband any less. Don’t try to act a different way to how you normally would just because it’s what you’re supposed to do, or how you’re supposed to feel. Relax, breath, listen to your gut and do what makes you happy.
Expect to fall out/argue over the table plan, we found it the most contentious part of the wedding!
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |
Photography | Jonny Barratt Photography
Second photographer | Paul Summerfield Photography
Make-up artist | Carolanne Armstrong
Catering Company | Absolute Taste
Entertainment | 4 to the floor via Tailored Entertainment *WWW wedding directory members*
Cars/Transport | Premier Carriage
Production (dance floor, lighting etc.) | Lex Marquees
Venue | Dorney Court
Dress | Sottero and Midgley from Miss Bush
Suit | Hackett
Florist | Hannah Berry Flowers
Cake | Foxy Cakes
What a wonderful day.
Many thanks to Carla and Daniel for sharing their super lovely wedding story with us xo Lou