Many of us dream of a white Christmas, but have you ever dreamed of a white wedding?
WWW readers Jessica and Adam who tied the knot on Thursday 29th January 2015 at Hilltop Hotel in Kent, were super lucky to be graced with fluffy white snow on their wedding day. It must have been the most magical feeling when their photographer Rebecca told them it was snowing and they promptly headed outside for some wintry portraits.
Jessica is UK based while Adam is from the USA, so much of their wedding planning was done apart from one another. Having held a legal ceremony in the US previously it gave the couple free reign for their wedding day. They hoped to create a glitter glam home made intimate day and it was really rather gorgeous from beginning to end.
The couple looked amazing in their chosen attire, there were twinkling lights and a delicious naked cake to boot.
Thanks so much to the wonderfully talented Rebecca Douglas for sharing these images and to Ignite Films for providing the romantic video.
Jess & Adam – Hilltops from Ignite Films on Vimeo.
THE PROPOSAL | As Adam and I lived apart, him in his native USA and me in my native UK, we didn’t have a typical relationship, or a typical proposal! We had shared a class at university in the UK and spent a few weeks together before he moved back to the USA permanently. A year went by and we got back in contact and both knew we wanted to be together. So over a Christmas visit of his to the UK we went to my favourite bar in Soho and started discussing getting married and our wedding, mainly in terms of logistics more than anything. I was adamant it be in the UK as I was planning to move to the USA so it was a compromise!
I had been left my grandmother’s engagement ring and we both loved it so during a visit of mine to the USA Adam took it to get re-sized. He collected it in secret and managed to surprise me with a proposal when he got home, and it just so happened that the collection date was on Valentine’s Day!
THE VISION | Before we started planning I knew three things that were most important: that our day would be as personal to us as possible, that my friend Callum would play his ukulele and sing as I walked down the aisle and that above all I wanted a casual day where our guests could really relax and enjoy themselves. We had set a winter date (as it was the soonest we thought we could swing it!) so I couldn’t make my original idea of a relaxed boho vibe work for the season and so I turned to a more glamorous glitter filled theme for the day. We didn’t have much money to spend on the wedding so I also aimed to hand make as much as possible for the day.
THE PLANNING PROCESS | As we were living apart throughout the planning process and only seeing each other every 5 months or so it was difficult plan together. Also Adam happens to be a very relaxed Deep South Southerner and so he was pretty chilled and happy for me to plan most of it. As we had had a courthouse wedding in the USA to be legally married to begin the Immigrant Visa process for me we didn’t need a registrar or the limitations that this poses to other couples so I pretty much had free reign to do as I wanted. My mum was the real saviour of the process. She is the Queen of Organisation, and as she knew I was moving away soon after it was so nice to have a project like this together.
The actual process was very smooth as I’m a very decisive person and knew what I wanted. We knew we wanted a small guest list as it was such a personal day to us and so that was easy to decide on. I booked the venue very far in advance, and this included the ceremony, dinner and party so that was sorted. I also booked my other vendors very far in advance so it was quite stress free luckily. I just spent hours (and I mean hours) trawling Pinterest for my inspiration!
BUDGET | We didn’t set a number but just knew it had to be as cheap as possible. My wonderful parents offered to pay for the food and drink, my mum bought my dress and I covered the rest of it, so our budget really was just based on what I saved and could afford. As our date was mid week and in winter I was able to broker some great deals with our vendors. The biggest chunks went on the food and drink and the photographer. These were the most important to me, I wanted our guests to feel free to really let loose and I wanted a beautiful record of our day. At the last minute I listened to all the advice from other brides on blogs and booked a videographer – it meant a lot of spending sacrifice but it was one of the best decisions I made as the resulting film is so beautiful and really helped when Adam and I were kept apart for another ten months after the wedding. We kept our costs down by only having the essentials. For instance as our wedding was at one venue I didn’t need a wedding car, my mum made the cake, I hand-made the decorations and I did my own hair and make up too.
THE VENUE | It was at my Mum’s suggestion that we visit Hilltop Hotel, she had previously eaten at the restaurant and knew they hosted weddings there, and it was just the quirky, unique and local venue I had in mind. Once I met and discussed my initial plans with the owner Daren, I knew it was completely perfect as he is so beautifully creative and involved in the planning process there. We booked it straight away! (Even though we weren’t officially engaged at that point)!
THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | My dress was from Alta Costura in Maidstone, Kent. The shop is fantastic, they have one-dresses but are also at really reasonable prices and the girls in there are so welcoming and helpful.
I found my shoes in Dune. I didn’t want traditional white wedding shoes and when I found my gorgeous coloured jewelled sandals I didn’t hesitate (although I did buy some sparkly socks from Topshop to save my toes from frostbite). My handmade headpiece was from Miss Jean’s Bridal Boutique on Etsy. To continue the theme of keeping costs down I made my garter with lace and ribbon I already had in a drawer at home. The little bow was my something blue. I bought my pale pink coat from Next, not expecting to wear it but it was a miracle once the snow arrived! I wore my Mum’s antique diamond and pearl earrings as my something borrowed. I always loved them as a little girl as she would wear them to dinner parties and seemed so glamorous. I used a vintage beaded clutch bag to hold all my bits as my something old. At the last minute I secretly bought my cuff bracelet in the Jenny Packham sale. I was in love with Jenny Packham (who isn’t) and I thought I deserved it as I had scrimped and saved so much elsewhere. It got a lot of compliments on the day and really sparkled in the photographs so I don’t regret it at all!
FINDING THE DRESS | On the same day that I went looking at venues with my parents (Adam had left the UK two days previously and they were trying to cheer me up) and had found Hilltop Hotel, we also went to try on a few dresses in Maidstone, Kent. It was by complete chance that I found the dress that same day in Alta Costura. I knew what I wanted; something with straps or sleeves, that was simple, elegant and understated, so naturally I got a strapless lace gown with a detachable 2m train! It was just unlike anything I’d seen before and the fact that I got two dresses in one was too good to be true.
GROOM’S ATTIRE | Adam is so casual by nature, he wore a polo shirt and shorts to our courthouse wedding, but we agreed that a suit was the only option for the day I was planning. Adam picked the charcoal grey and I found his suit in Burton. Using measurements he’d gotten in the USA I bought it and hoped it would fit, which luckily it did. He picked his shirt, tie, shoes and socks in America so I didn’t see them until he arrived in the UK two days before the wedding. They were perfect. Although we did need a few emergency trips to Bluewater shopping centre for the best man!
THE READINGS & MUSIC | As we had got the legal bit over and done with we were able to write our ceremony from scratch ourselves. Adam and I completed this during a visit to the mountains in Tennessee. Using examples from internet wedding sites we created a ceremony tailored completely to us. It was so wonderful to be able to be so free to create something so personal to us. Adam loves Scotland and so we decided to include the ancient Celtic tradition of handfasting in the place of the exchange of the rings. I made our handfasting cord from various green ribbons. We selected two non-religious readings that I had found on the internet; and excerpt from Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey and ‘Union’ by Robert Fulgham read by a friend from university and my Auntie Elaine respectively. For our music I picked ‘Set Down Your Glass’ by Snow Patrol for my friend Callum to sing as I walked down the aisle and for our procession out we picked ‘Set Out’ by Jose Gonzalez (we also had his ‘Stay Alive’ for our first dance). We were also lucky enough to have an old family friend, Christopher, a retired Vicar, to agree to conduct our ceremony, which added a further personal touch to the day.
BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | I had three bridesmaids; Emily, Ella and Hannah. Very early on I knew I wanted them in cornflower blue and not in traditional bridesmaid dresses. I found their dresses in the perfect colour at Zara and bought six to make sure I had the right sizes! I also picked them some lovely little fluffy jackets to keep them warm. I’m pretty sure they didn’t like them at all but they were very gracious about wearing them! They picked their own shoes and jewellery so they could each be individual. I let them pick their own hairstyle and make up as we didn’t have hair stylists or make-up artists to keep the costs down. I think they looked just beautiful. I gave them gifts of handmade necklaces displaying their names from Etsy as keepsakes and to wear on the day.
THE FLOWERS | My best and oldest friend Portia owns her own floristry shop and so I knew she would create beautiful arrangements for us. We didn’t have a colour scheme but I love cornflower blue so we spent a lot of time researching blue flowers available in the winter season. I found some arrangements I loved on Pinterest and Portia used these as inspiration and created the bouquets. I collected the glass jars and decorated them with gold and silver glitter to hold the table displays.
THE CAKE | At my request my Mum made our wedding cake. She is a wonderful baker but it was also a great way to save on cost. I had discovered naked cakes on Pinterest and knew I wanted one of these. It was a lemon madeira cake with raspberry jam and buttercream filling. So delicious! Mum also found the topper on Etsy, it was a surprise for Adam as he is a keen bicycle rider.
YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | One of my bridesmaids Hannah works in the industry with her company Zenzero Events and she suggested Rebecca Douglas to me having worked with her previously. I saw her photographs and wanted her so badly but thought the fee was too high for my budget. However, we made sacrifices and booked her and it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship! She was so involved with every aspect of the photography and was so excited to be experimental. Rebecca answered all of my silly emails about glitter with enthusiasm and our photographs were so much more than I could have hoped for. The fact that it snowed in the middle of the wedding breakfast was the icing on top of the cake! She captured such beautiful images and moments, all my guests and family adore the photographs.
THE DETAILS & DÉCOR | I made most of the details and decorations myself at home. I made the invitations with my Auntie Janet who is an avid card maker – mine were nothing compared to her skilled creations! I spent months collecting clear wine bottles and jars, and a few of my guests donated some also, to decorate with gold and silver glitter to hold candles for the ceremony room and dinner tables. I’m pretty sure my mum is still vacuuming up glitter! I found the beautiful silver bird candles in the January sale at John Lewis and used these as favours and place settings for our guests. I was all about glitter, candles and twinkly lights so I hired some outdoor fairy lights from IA Sound and Light to decorate the courtyard at Hilltop. Using an old cupboard door my Dad kept in the garage I used blackboard paint and white chalk to create our welcome board to let guests know what to expect on the day. Using more glitter, I redecorated an old suitcase of my Auntie’s for our cards and gifts. I loved making these things for our wedding, I’ve heard horror stories about bunting going wrong last minute but I had a lot of spare time as Adam was away pretty much the whole time so it was a welcome distraction.
For our ceremony room Daren at Hilltop was a real help. He already had the love lights and the tree lights that he suggested line the aisle. These made our ceremony that much more special.
THE HONEYMOON | Adam left for the USA two days after the wedding so we were unable to have a honeymoon. After a further ten months apart I was finally granted my Visa so we are now living together in the USA. We’ll have a honeymoon in a few years!
MEMORABLE MOMENTS | We did a ‘First Look’ before the ceremony and that was wonderful to capture on camera and film and to share a moment alone before the chaos of the day began. The snow was the biggest surprise of the day, it was the only day it snowed in Kent this year! I remember our main course was being served and Rebecca ran up to us said plainly “It’s snowing” and waited for our response. I looked at Adam and we went “Let’s go!” We ran outside and captured some of our most beautiful images, we were just so lucky! Some of our guests ran outside to enjoy it too and it made our day so magical.
ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | I would advise other couples to do loads of research on blogs such as this, but also on more traditional magazines and get a Pinterest account! There is always an alternative way to do something!
I would also advise to remember that the day will be over in 24 hours and you truly will not remember or regret the little things. Make a list of what is most important to you as a couple; be it a free bar, your favourite band or designer wedding outfits and stick to these. I would suggest making the record taking of your day a priority, it really is all you’re left with afterwards so research and pick a photographer and videographer that best fits you artistically. And try to enjoy the process, once it’s over, it’s over!
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |
Venue | Hilltop Hotel
Photographer | Rebecca Douglas
Videographer | Ignite Films
Flowers | Sweet P the Florist
Dress | Alta Costura
Shoes | Dune
Headpiece | Miss Joan’s Bridal Boutique
Bracelet | Jenny Packham
Bridesmaid Dresses | Zara
Groom’s Suit | Burton
Ahhh so romantic. Love love love and what a happy ending too that Jessica and Adam are now living together in the US.
Thanks so so much to Jessica and Adam for sharing their heart-warming story today xo Lou