A very warm welcome to Chris and Cansu who are sharing their Springhead Trust wedding story in Dorset. Their day was intimate, natural and joyous with a red and blue colour scheme.
Planned in 3 months, with a budget of £12K, they really did a remarkable job of wedding planning. I especially love Cansu’s short wedding dress teamed with cute boots, the fabulous florals and that epic confetti moment. Didn’t they both look super stylish and totally loved up? Wow.
Becky Weir Photography thanks so much for sharing these incredible shots with us of a very happy celebration indeed.
Springhead Trust Wedding
The Proposal
We had our first date at Cliveden House in Berkshire, and exactly two years later visited again. I took Cansu to the place where I’d first taken a picture of her and had her pose (#TBT style).
Instead of taking the picture, I got on one knee and proposed in broken Turkish. Thankfully she said yes – the afternoon tea I’d booked would’ve been sombre otherwise! So off we trotted; me with dirty knees and she with a ring two sizes too big!
The Vision
To have a small, close-knit wedding in the Town Hall, with a reception afterwards. Yeah… that didn’t happen!
The vision quickly warped into something with friends and family (and dogs), a homely venue, winter gardens, music, good food, and lights. With every new supplier and quote, we found the process getting bigger and longer and we were lucky not to let it get away from us.
The main thing was to get it all done in less than 3 months – from booking a venue to getting married.
Budget
£1500 
£12000 (shows you how much we knew about weddings!).
The Ceremony & Music
The ceremony was performed by the Dorset registrar, who was lovely all through the troubles of dealing with Turkish names and visa requirements.
Music was tough, as our shared songs as a couple are all jokes or funny songs…
- Walk down the aisle: Forever Like That – Ben Rector
- End of Ceremony: All About You – McFly
- First Dance: Amor Completo – Mon Laferte
Live music set by Conor Smith during wedding breakfast – highly recommended.
Reception DJ: The Atmospheric Roadshow – great consultation process, music and machines.
The Venue
We checked multiple venues locally but landed on the wonderful Springhead Trust at Fontmell Magna, Dorset.
The gardens there are superb all year round, and you can book the venue and enough accommodation for 50+ people for a whole weekend – forget the “one and done” wedding evenings at most venues!
The Styling & Decor
Flowers – Acanthus Floristry, Shaftesbury. Theme: ‘natural winter’ – greens, ivory/white/burgundy and navy accents.
Stationery – Topikki, Bristol. Signs, seating, invitations, menu choices/placeholders – as mini-scrolls, table numbers.
Cake – Jenny George, Longrock, Cornwall. Bottom – Red Velvet and White Chocolate; middle = Lemon & White Chocolate Ganache; top = Chocolate with Chocolate Orange Ganache; sugar-work poinsettia and holly with burgundy ribbon.
Decorations were mostly sourced from Amazon, Facebook market, eBay and some local market stall-holders. We had a lot of luck on Facebook market – covid brought about a lot of weddings (and a lot of unfortunately cancelled ones…).
Your Outfits
Groom:
- Magee Two-piece Navy Suit – Squires of Shaftesbury
- Marc Darcy single-breasted wine waistcoat “Kelly”
- Clarks Black Dress Shoes
- Jeff Banks Double-Cuff White Shirt – Suit Direct
- Floral Burgundy Tie – eBay (dyh_shop2791)
- Platinum 5mm Wedding Ring – Ernest Jones
The Magee suit was the last one tried, but felt like a second skin – I was a different groom in that suit. But it only came in two pieces, and I needed a waistcoat. It is near-impossible to find a good wine-coloured waistcoat, but Marc Darcy has what you need!
ALWAYS buy shoes from a shoe shop; they will fit better and carry you through 24+ hours of a wedding. The shirt didn’t get much airtime, but Jeff Banks makes a cotton shirt thin enough but opaque enough to be comfortable and not show off the hair on your chest.
Bride:
- Loulou Bridal Dress – Trousseaux Bridal, Swindon
- Perfect Bridal Belt – Trousseaux Bridal, Swindon
- Elegantpark lace-up boots – Amazon UK
- Ivory Fuzzy Coat – ASOS UK
- Vakkery Hair Vine – Amazon UK
- Geweo Ankle Wellies – Amazon UK
- Platinum 3mm Court Ring – Ernest Jones
I was determined to find a tea-length dress, but that was challenging. I ended up calling bridal shops all around the Southwest for three weeks, but Trousseaux opened up especially for us and had the right one at the right time! After months of window-shopping, it took me just ten minutes to try the dress and buy it. It required some alterations because I wanted sleeves.
The choice of Amazon for most of the accessories wasn’t for cost, but for selection! The lace-up boots were beyond my expectations – comfy AND elegant. But the showstopper was the ankle wellies; essential for a January wedding.
Your Photographer & Filmmaker
The wonderful Becky Weir, from Becky Weir Photography! Candid photography, and an absolutely lovely human being.
The Honeymoon
The plan is Hawaii… we have everything sorted, but we just need to be able to travel which we cannot do right now. Can’t wait to pull the trigger on that one!
Memorable Moments
The night before the wedding, we had an open bar and karaoke. Hijinks ensued.
I don’t remember ever having been at a wedding with so many tears. Joyful ones, of course. We had bilingual messages for the bride and groom, and some of those who couldn’t make it were able to view the ceremony and reception over Zoom. The bride’s best friend couldn’t make it from Turkey, but recorded a message as a total surprise – a particularly special and moving moment.
The moments we didn’t expect but enjoyed most were probably whilst taking photos!
Advice For Other Couples
- Run through all the scenarios together. You’ll have almost certainly forgotten something, and the more you do this (ad nauseam) the less you’re likely to miss out!
- Write lists. Everything. All the budgets. All the attendees. All the accessories. EVERYTHING.
- Delegate to people and rely on others. The day is yours, but it shouldn’t be awful hard work. Friends and family are usually delighted to help.
- Find suppliers you like and like to work with; a photographer who understands you is going to give you the best pictures, and a caterer who caters to your tastes is at least going to give the bridal couple food they like!
What a very special wedding day.
Chris and Cansu I can’t thank you enough for sharing your wonderful Springhead Trust wedding story.
Further Reading
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The post Joyous Red & Blue Winter Wedding with a Short Dress first appeared on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings.