Now that the Winter weather seems to have made way for Spring we can kick back and enjoy those romantic snowy weddings that took place earlier in the year.
Simone and Chris were lucky to have their perfect winter snow filled wedding take place at Ripley Castle, North Yorkshire. They wanted their wedding to have an old Hollywood glamour feel.
I love the navy accents, with the prettiest bridesmaids, a navy sash for Simone’s gorgeous lace dress and lace ribbon tying the fabulous gypsophila bouquets together.
Oh and not to forget a scrummy cake table and epic fireworks!!
Thanks so much to the super lovely Emma Lucy for sharing her images with us today.
The Proposal… 10 November 2011 (and yes most people have pointed out that if Chris could have just waited one more day it would have been 11/11/11) in San Francisco, in the Marriott hotel in downtown to be precise. We had literally just arrived, we hadn’t even unpacked and were just admiring the amazing view of the city from our hotel window – Chris just said ‘Simone’ in the voice he usually reserves for when he wants me to do things for him (like ironing, not like accepting a wedding proposal), I turned and there he is on one knee with the most stunning ring I’ve seen. That’s all I saw because apparently I hid my face for the rest of it – only peeking out to say yes! Thanks to the time difference we then had the whole evening to ourselves to enjoy it, when I did get to call family and friends it turns out most of them already knew! And yes the rest of the holiday did turn out to be the best holiday ever, with a start like that how could it not?? The fact that the end of the holiday was capped off by a surprise stay at Ventana Inn on the Big Sur (where Anne Hathaway was married no less) meant we came home in a pretty smug bubble of happiness.
The Vision for the day… We didn’t really have a clear vision to begin with. We knew quite early on that we wanted a winter wedding – in my mind this meant lots of candles, I even vetoed beautiful venues simply because they didn’t allow candles, and snow – of course the latter is slightly harder to plan for unless you can afford some sort of snow machine, which we couldn’t so we had to rely on luck!
We then found the perfect venue (a castle none the less) and the ideas sort of grew from there. If we had to sum it up it was probably old school Hollywood glamour with a bit of winter wonderland romance thrown in.
The Planning process… We found the planning pretty easy, which was maybe more unnerving than if we had found it hard work. I lost count the number of people that asked me on nearly a daily basis how the plans were coming along…eventually I had to ask what exactly I was meant to be planning. I’m sure this filled everyone with confidence! Chris and I have busy jobs so most of the wedding planning had to happen on weekends, and neither of us wanted to spend all our free time organising/feeling like we should be doing something. There were a number of things that were very important to us, those things we spent time planning – the rest, well we went with the attitude that if it happens, it happens, if not – we weren’t that fussed anyway!
Budget… Um. Blown.
The Venue… After a LOT of internet drawling for the perfect venue, spanning much of the UK (although the North of England was our preferred location), we nearly gave up. Anything that came vaguely near an acceptable cost either had bad reviews/didn’t pass the mum test/wouldn’t work for a winter wedding. There are some amazing places you can get married in the UK but nearly all of them relied on you being outside for some portion of the day, usually whilst they changed the room around after the ceremony. This wasn’t going to work for us – we couldn’t expect elderly relatives (or anyone really) to stand around outside in the North of England in JANUARY. We nearly gave up hope. But through word of mouth and via my parents Ripley Castle was recommended. On paper it was of course out of budget but by this point we were starting to give up on the winter wedding idea all together and thought it would be worth looking at. I loved it. From the minute we arrived. The venue is sandwiched between the beautiful North Yorkshire countryside and a chocolate box perfect tiny village. The castle itself has two wings – one for more intimate weddings and one for larger weddings (the East Wing). We were looking at the East Wing, the best way I can describe it is elegant. It is the perfect mix of modern and traditional and exactly what we had been looking for without even realising it. We pretty much wanted to book up there and then but managed to restrain ourselves until both sets of parents had seen it and given it the seal of approval.
And as for the seemingly budget busting price tag? What we learnt very early on is that you get what you pay for – places that seem cheaper initially usually have hidden prices, or things you would assume were included in the package – Ripley Castle staff were super efficient and helped us so much, making our ill formed ideas into fully fledged plans. They also have a ‘wedding planner’ with you on the day which was invaluable, without someone helping you to stick to your timetable you soon get caught up in the day and would forget to do things which you may regret later.
The Dress + Accessories… My dress was a Benjamin Roberts number – a popular choice I gather from spotting many other brides on bridal blogs wearing it! The finding of the dress was very easy, but from then on things got complicated. So complicated that they resulted in tears and panics over whether another dress would have to found (I had appointments booked at other dress shops three weeks before the big day). Every time I went to try the dress on I hate it slightly more – it went from being too small to way too big – it didn’t sit right and bunched up around my stomach, not an area any bride wants to highlight! Eventually after MANY fittings the dress finally stayed up and looked…decidedly average.
But my sister came to my rescue, having been married the previous year, she suggested we take it to the dressmaker that alter hers. This was three weeks before the wedding. The dressmaker took one look at it and asked my permission to take it completely apart and start from scratch. So there I am three weeks before my wedding holding my wedding dress in two pieces thinking oh dear god…BUT she saved the day! Working tirelessly she managed to re make the dress and fit me in for another fitting after that – it fitted like a glove and I felt so happy in it. Quite a miraculous turnaround.
Other accessories included a fur stole (thank you mum for finding that one) and of course a veil. I also had a bridal vine in my hair, basically just a very simple hair piece. I did my makeup myself, I do bridal makeup as a bit of a hobby so there was no question that I would do my own. I did get nervous the week before that I had made the wrong decision and that on the day my hands wouldn’t be steady enough, but somehow it all went to plan.
Finding the dress… Finding the dress was very easy. One of my bridesmaids organised a trip to a dress shop in London, unknown to me she had done a lot of research to find a shop which had good feedback and recommendations. I just thought I was there to have a bit of fun. I didn’t actually enjoy the process that much. I’m awful at making decisions and always question myself once I have made a decision. Not the best combination. So after walking in and suffering from bridal dress blindness (they all looked the same!), a very helpful assistant took me under her wing and picked out four choices for me. Dress number four and I was sorted. From then on I vowed not to go into any other shops and I’m glad I didn’t. I had serious doubts about the dress as the day got nearer, spent hours obsessively looking at ones online, just a huge wobble really. In the end the problems with my dress (see later) got resolved and I was really happy with it, but I will forever have sympathy for the brides that end up buying two dresses.
Groom’s attire… (Over to Chris) We wore morning suits from Jack Bunney’s in Barking – a great East End tailor. We all had black suits, ivory waistcoasts – mine was double breasted, the rest had single breasted. I decided to wear “normal” ties, as opposed to any cravats – I just felt that it looks “sharper” to have a tie than the cravats.
The Readings + Music… We had two readings for our wedding one called The Art of Marriage by Wilfred Peterson and the other written by Chris. I struggled to hold myself together through saying our vows and the thin veneer holding me together finally broke when Chris’s usher read out his reading. It was so perfect and meant so much to me that he had written it – the dam burst!
We were meant to have the Vitamin String Quartet, Can’t Help Falling in Love as the processional music. The song starts off slow and then there is a key change or something – this is the moment I planned for the bridesmaids to walk in. I had been trying to explain this to them for much of the day and had been met with blank faces. So there I am stressing at them outside the ceremony room waiting to hear the music as the cue for them to walk in. And so with the opening bars of music…I realise the wrong song is being played! Best made plans and all that. But you know what the song that was played was Never Tear us Apart by Paloma Faith – it worked perfectly and felt so right I’m not sure why we didn’t pick it in the first place!
For the evening entertainment we had a mix of a live band and a DJ (all provided by the brilliant Live Wires). The dance floor was full and there were some interesting moves being made – recreation of the Dirty Dancing lift involving 4 guys and a 10 yard run up springs to mind. So we reckon it was a success.
Beautiful bridesmaids… I was lucky enough to have three stunning bridesmaids – my sister and my two closest friends. They all looked absolutely incredible and were just amazing to have with me on the morning getting ready – I’ve never been so happy and laughed so much and to have them there to share that with me was perfect. It started the night before when each in turn came bounding into my room as they arrived (after epic journeys…yup I got that snow I wanted!) – they were so excited any nerves I had went straight out the window. It is really hard to put into words how much my bridesmaids did for me and supported me, it can be a bit stressful at times this getting married malarkey and they were there for me through the tears, hysterical laughter, and bridezilla moments…and they are still my friends yay!
The bridesmaids wore dresses from Debenhams and I asked if they would wear shoes of their choice. Which was a bit of a mistake. If you are thinking of having a winter wedding do quietly suggest to your bridesmaids that peep toe shoes may not be the most practical. Yup, all three lined up with their little toes chilling, literally, out in the snow. Frostbite anyone?
The Flowers… My first meeting with Joanna, from Twisted Willow Floristry (Chris was absent…bizarrely he didn’t seem that fussed about the flowers) went a little like this:
Florist: What is your colour scheme?
Me: Navy blue, but as there are no navy blue flowers I like all colours
Florist: What is your theme?
Me: Errr, well um sort of Hollywood glamour, vintage, winter wedding err I’m not sure we have a theme.
Florist: Let me show you a series of flowers and you just tell me which ones you like.
Me: All of them.
Ok that is a slight exaggeration but I literally gave Joanna zero guidance. I love flowers, all of them! The only ones I definitely wanted were gypsophilia, because it reminds me of snow. I do really love snow. Despite this, and like all of our suppliers, Joanna turned my vague ideas into four beautiful bouquets and several button holes. Chris has Joanna to thank that he had a manly button hole, apparently the idea I had was a bit feminine. Whatever.
The florist from Ripley castle provided the flowers for the wedding breakfast tables and for the ceremony room. By this point I knew what Joanna was thinking of doing so I could provide a bit more guidance…although I still found myself agreeing to every flower suggested, luckily Chris was with me this time to rein me back in!
The Cake… Ah the cake. The cake which saw the immortal words spring from my mouth; ‘Oh I’ll make the cake’. Yeah right. The plan was a cupcake tower, 90 cupcakes, can’t be that hard right? Wrong. After numerous practise runs – thank you work colleagues for being the guinea pigs, and even bravely tasting the ones with the icing that looked like mashed potato – I conceded defeat. Turns out I am rubbish at baking! Yet again my sister was the saviour for the day and suggested Bettys, a famous tea shop in Yorkshire which happens to make the most delicious fondant fancies. This was around the time the Great British Bake Off was on so luckily both Chris and I actually knew what a fondant fancy was. 90 of them ordered and my mum on the case with getting a tower to display them on and the wedding cake was sorted.
But I wasn’t quite ready to let go of the baking idea and let all that practise go to waste. So after taking inspiration from another friend’s wedding, we had a cake table as well as the wedding cake. Thanks to the generosity of my friends, the two mums and of course my 24 (not 90) cupcakes we had SO MUCH CAKE. It was brilliant! And wow can my friends bake.
Your Photographer… Our photographer was the fantastic Emma from Emma Lucy Photography. Emma was recommended to us by another photographer who we had originally hoped to book but wasn’t available. If a photographer is recommended by another photographer you just know they are going to be good. And Emma was. Brilliant in fact. Apart from the incredible pictures that she took what makes Emma stand out is her personality and her willingness to go that extra mile. Every guest loved her and she put me at easy by just being so friendly and unobtrusive when taking pictures. I don’t really like having my picture taken, which I think is quite a common thing for brides, so the fact that I wasn’t really aware of her taking pictures really helped. And that going the extra mile thing? As I mentioned we got snow. We got lots of snow. Beautiful but not very practical when most of your guests (and Emma) are travelling all the way up from the South of the country. Before even a snowflake had fallen, Emma had decided to come up two days early and stay at a hotel nearby, just in case the snow caused problems. Not only was this definitely going above and beyond but it removed any worry I might have had.
The Honeymoon… (Over to Chris) Despite the snow, we spent an amazing 10 days touring round Scotland. We stayed in Castles, next to Lochs and trekked through some amazing scenery. Our aim with the honeymoon was relatively simple – spend as much time together, just Simone and I, as we could. I think the Highlands in Winter is definitely the best way to achieve that!
Memorable moments… So many! It is difficult to narrow it down to a few (we will try!) but the overriding memory we both have is of it being the happiest day of our lives ever, contributing to that:
Our guests! The fact that nearly every single one of them made it to the wedding, despite the snow and travel chaos. We had people coming from Canada, France and Ireland (although ironically I think they had less problems than the people coming from London), seeing that they had all made it when I first walked in to the ceremony room made me very, very happy indeed.
The surprise firework display, made even more memorable for me as I actually managed to keep it a surprise, I usually struggle keeping things quiet especially when I am excited about them!
The snow. Oh how I had wanted snow. But given December and the seemingly never ending rain, I had tried to manage my expectations and be a bit more realistic, i.e. just hope for a dry day that wasn’t too gloomy. But at the start of the week of the wedding the weather forecasters started talking about snow, and not just a bit of snow but a full on white out over parts of the UK. They got it right! The venue ended up being covered in about a foot of white, powdery snow. And I got my dream.
Finally, for me, it was seeing Chris at the top of the aisle. Knowing I was about to marry my best friend and an absolute hotty made me a very happy bride indeed.
Advice for other couples… Weddings can be stressful, so don’t worry about this. I think there is a bit of unsaid pressure that you should be REALLY happy, all the time and you should LOVE every minute of planning your wedding. And I am sure that some couples do. But it can also be a bit stressful and just sometimes you might think ‘sod it’ let’s just have a quickie at the registry office and you know what? That’s ok.
Figure out which bits are important to you. Recognise that what might be extremely important to the bride (in my case having favours) is way down on the list of priorities for the groom, and vice versa (for Chris he really wanted to be able to say thank you to every guest and tell them why it was important to us to have them there, oh and to have a rock band). And work to find a middle ground – in the end we had favours, a drink for each guest, which were in little envelopes, each of which had a personal message from us to that guest saying thank you. Weirdly we never quite got round to booking that rock band ;-)
Credit where credit is due…
London Bride http://londonbrideuk.com/
Jack Bunneys http://www.jackbunneys.co.uk/
Ripley Castle http://www.ripleycastle.co.uk/
Twisted Willow Flowers http://www.twistedwillowfloristry.co.uk/
Ferrensby Fireworks http://www.ferrensbyfireworks.com/
Live Wires http://www.livewiresband.co.uk/
Shirley (bridesmaids’ hair) http://www.bridalhairbychignon.co.uk/
Toni & Guy (bride’s hair) http://toniandguy.com/salon/information/186
Emma Lucy Photography http://www.emmalucyphotography.com/
Beautiful, and i adore Simone’s advice at the end of her report. Thanks so much to Simone and Chris for sharing their gorgeous wedding with us today XOXO Lou