Charlie and Laura had a romantic and sparkle filled wedding at Christmas. Their day was a winter wonderland held at Southend Barns, West Sussex. There was a formal black tie feel to the attire, with the boys in tuxedos and the girls in sequins.
Laura had a real ethereal bridal look, with her wearing Alma by Claire Pettibone with her hair in the most boho beautiful up do. There were chic and simple decorations, candle light, sweets and gorgeous florals.
Thanks so much to the ever brilliant Cotton Candy Photography for sharing their images with us.
The Proposal… Just after Christmas, this year, Charlie phoned Lou and said she had half an hour to pack a bag before he picked her up and whisked her off for the weekend.
Under strict instructions not to ask any questions (tough mission) after an hour they arrived in Winchester at a Spa hotel, where Lou was pampered all weekend. After a romantic dinner and walk through the Cathedral, Charlie dropped down on one knee right outside Winchester Cathedral at midnight and proposed (he forgot to actually do the asking bit but the speech was nice!). Lou of course said yes and they lived happily ever after.
The Vision for the Day… Theme; vintage, winter wedding, winter wonderland, forest, organic, sparkly,
The Planning Process… We had no idea what sort of wedding we wanted it was a whole new daunting world of magazines, websites, and fayres. I used a scrap book and Pinterest to gather ideas. These evolved and changed when we found the venue. After deciding on the location of West Sussex, as that is where my family are from, we looked at all surrounding venues and favoured barn conversions.
The Venue… After visiting a few in the area we found Southend Barns which ticked all boxes, set in beautiful countryside, the environmentally sustainable technology the Fleming family use. After meeting with the Owner Mariella we immediately knew we had found our dream venue. Mariella embraced all of our ideas and joined in our enthusiasm, her attention to detail and love for what she does helped to make our wedding all we envisaged and more.
The Dress + Accessories… The very patient Rochelle after many months of searching for the perfect dress I found a designer in a magazine I really liked. Clare Pettibone’s dresses are delicate, detailed and incredibly comfortable. The dress matched the organic feel I wanted for the wedding. My dress was Alma.
Finding the Dress… This is probably the one thing I found the hardest. My vision was ‘originality’ I struggled to find a dress that to me stood out. I tried on many dresses and although each one was beautiful they were the same dresses I had seen on so many of my lovely family and friends. My mum was a wonderful support, taking me on trips all over the country to wedding fares and bridal boutiques, there was one designer we found in a magazine that had originality all over it, Claire Pettibone! We booked in to the closest stockist to my mum, Brighton, and although it was not the one in the magazine I fell in love with it was from her new collection. The ‘Alma’ dress brought tears to both our eyes when I tried it on and I knew instantly what the phrase ‘to feel like a princess’ really means.
Groom’s Attire… As this was not a church wedding we opted for non traditional attire. In the evening we booked a Casino so we felt it appropriate that the boys wear tuxedos. I think Charlie secretly wanted to feel like James Bond for the day!
Beautiful Bridesmaids… I didn’t have a particular dress or style in mind I just wanted them to be comfortable, Aimee being 14, Becky was four months pregnant, Bex being my sister who had let me choose my own dress! I didn’t mind if they all had different styles, different shoes, main priority happy bridesmaids!
We gathered all five bridesmaids and of course my mum, and headed to London, after a visit to House of Fraser we found many beautiful dresses.They choose a beautiful long navy blue, hand stitched sequenced gown. It was warm, comfortable and looked like a dress from the Oscars. They all looked beautiful.
The Flowers… We wanted a natural, earthy feel, so we went for lots of ivy, and gypsophila. I made my own bouquet from my grandmother’s earrings, brooches and necklaces. I followed a tutorial on you tube. My grandparents are no longer with us so I really wanted something to remind me of them.
The Cake… I didn’t really want the traditional cake, I have seen so many brides loose the plot over the colour of the icing or the colour of the ribbon I decided too bypass that completely and have some unpredictable fun with Get Your Bake On.
Cake Competition ~ Get your bake on! We asked guests; We would be pleased if you could bake and decorate a small cake that you feel represents Charlie and Laura. Nothing too extravagant! This was optional. Group entries are welcome and the winner will receive a bottle of bubbly. Added to evening buffet.
Your Photographer… We were so impressed with Phil and Gem with their laid back and chilled way of working. They weren’t to rigid which is perfect for mine and Charlie’s chilled approach. We didn’t want lots of staged photos just natural ones with everyone smiling and naturally naturally. We instantly felt comfortable with them, which is really important for the day when you’re trying to look your best and want them to capture the best shots! We were SO uber excited when the photos came back, and watching them together was as emotional as the day itself. They captured the day so beautifully with shots from all sorts of angles that we didn’t see ourselves.
The fact that Phil was with my husband in the morning and Gem was with me meant that I saw what my husband was doing while I was getting ready and vice-versa – that was a real treat and meant nothing got missed! The photos are magical. We cannot thank you enough for capturing our day the way you did. Wedding photography is a big deal but Cotton Candy are a step further than just family shots, they produce art. And so unique.
We now have perfect photos to remember so many aspects of our perfect day. They didn’t miss a thing!
The Details + Décor… Table numbers – I made these so each table number matched a photograph of myself and Charlie at that age. For example; table 1, had a photo of me and Charlie at 1 year old. I gathered pretty flowers, buttons, lace and other decorative things from lots of different craft shops. Then made them over our engagement.
Table plan – I hung ball balls, for the girls, and shot glasses, for the boys, from wicker stars from Hobbeycraft, using pretty ribbon. These looked beautiful although took a long time to make and create!
Table names – I bought mini vintage photo frames and collected photos of all our guests. We tried to find a photo of each of our guests at a time of significance to us. So our guests knew what number table they were on however they had to find their photo to find their seat!
Lanterns – My mum and dad collected all their jam jars from the moment we were engaged. I bought some stick on lace from ebay and we stuck this round the outside of nearly 100 jam jars. My dad then wrapped wire around the top and put sand in the bottom. These were used in the evening.
Guest book – Polaroid photo stuck into homemade guest book alongside lovely messages.
1:15pm – Mulled wine and Mince pies served, 2:00pm – Wedding Ceremony, 2:30pm – Father Peter to Bless the Marriage, 2:45pm – Champagne, mulled wine and Canapes to be enjoyed! 3:00pm – Photos and more champagne, 4:00pm – Speeches, 4:40pm – Wedding breakfast served, 6:30pm – Cake competition winner revealed! 6:30pm – Candy and Cake bar available to be devoured! 7:00pm – Casino available to play, 7:30pm – Band to start playing, 8:00pm – Photo Booth begins! 8:45pm – Evening buffet available, 10:00pm – DJ to start, Midnight – Carriages.
The Honeymoon… Charlie had full responsibility for this! He booked an all inclusive seven nights holiday to The Grand, Sandals, St Lucia. Beautiful weather, food and people. We were due home Christmas day to see our family however a freak lightning storm the worst the Island has seen, even worse than their recent hurricane, resorted in the crash landing of a virgin plane into the runway, the flooding of the airport, we were stranded for Christmas in wet clothes on the airport floor. However this is nothing to what the people of St Lucia lost. A humbling experience.
I would like to add Charlie has been struck by lightening in the head so a freak lightening storm of this magnitude really was just his luck!
Memorable Moments… The Best Mans speech, truly one of the most amazing speeches I have ever seen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Advice for Other Couples… Listen to what everyone has to say, everyone will have an opinion! Agree, smile after all this is something they may have had at their or their sisters wedding, before you go in with ‘oh no we would never have anything so tacky’. Then do exactly what YOU want!
Include people it will make the day more special if people see their contributions. The weddings you normally are a part of are the ones you enjoy the most.
Brace yourself – it is only a wedding! The reason you are doing this is to start a new adventure with the man of your dreams, not to start life resenting parents, in debt or falling out with a bridesmaid’s over them wanting a different colour shawl. My hand made guest book, which I had bought a Polaroid camera and film to complete did not get put out. Very sad the next day however I placed all the cards that has messages in from family and friends and all the beautiful photos cotton candy had given to me, with natural shots, my guest book now looks beautiful. Probably safer to have been kept away from the jager bombs and who know where the camera may have ended up!
Credit Where Credit is Due…
Venue | Southend Barns
Dress Shop | Leonie Claire
Dress | Claire Pettibone
Suit | Savoy Tailors Guild – Biscester Village
Flowers | Manor Nursery Flowers
Photography | Cotton Candy Photography
Caterer | Field and Fork
Band | The Deloreans
Oh so lovely, I am head over heels for Laura’s dress.
Thanks so so much to Charlie and Laura for sharing their beautiful wedding with us today XOXO Lou