Good morning lovely! Were you spoilt on Valentine's Day? I do hope so :-) If you're new here - as V-Day is pretty popular for proposals! - welcome!! I'm thrilled to meet you and I hope you love following the English Wedding…
So happy Valentine’s Day to you!! I hope whatever your plans, you’re feeling loved and blessed this morning. I’m getting ready for a really special friend’s wedding tomorrow and I can’t wait!! So I think we’re doing all our Valentine’s Day stuff on the 15th… we’ll miss the rush in the restaurants and have a wonderfully cosy meal!
I had to save up something really special for the blog on Valentine’s Day of course. This is a breathtakingly beautiful bridal shoot, loosely based around a romantic ‘French style chateau’ in the New Forest, Hampshire. Thank you to lovely Frances Moore for sharing it with us – if we weren’t all feeling loved up already, oh my goodness am I in the mood for a little romance now!
Have the most wonderful day everyone! 
Charlotte Wise Photography & Frances Moore teamed up to create this beautiful French inspired bridal editorial. The look is elegant and feminine, using soft blue, white and grey to keep the styling timeless. Charlotte’s images are naturally light and feminine, with a relaxed and romantic style I absolutely adore. Her fine art photography style is perfectly suited to Hale Park.
All the love… for One Forever Films!
FEATURED
I have a real treat for you today, and one you’ll need a lovely cuppa to snuggle with and enjoy. I’m delighted to welcome Caitlin from One Forever Films to English Wedding. Caitlin’s films are gorgeous and full of spirit: they sweep you up in a whirl of happy music and laughter and words full of love… her couples are brilliant and her adventures in destination wedding videography are a must-see on Instagram! (Find her here)
Amy & Sam won at Tinder. Their Christmas wedding at Swaffham Prior in Cambridgeshire is gorgeousness itself with a sparkler sendoff – beautiful…
I’m Caitlin – an East Yorkshire girl who moved to the West Midlands to study and then started my journey as a wedding videographer. I believe that a wedding film is the BEST investment for a wedding – there is nothing else that can capture the memories in the same way.
Happy Wednesday everyone! Have you sorted Valentine’s Day yet? Eek… I’m feeling a little behind with my own V Day plans, so do share if you have tips!! I’m all ears! And I’m totally distracted by the loveliness of beautiful Debbie & Boyan’s wedding from Emily Black Photography. These guys were married in September at De Vere Devonport House, Greenwich. It’s a beautiful old hotel and one of London’s favourite licensed venues for weddings, with an expansive garden and lawn for guests to explore and enjoy – and on this gorgeous autumn day it was perfect for our happy couple!
I didn’t allocate much budget on decoration, and I looked at pretty wedding decor photos and was worried that ours would look dull and empty. Luckily it wasn’t the case on the day – the flowers were super-gorgeous and they were enough to beautify the room. We were also too busy enjoying the day to notice the (lack of) decoration.
How to Propose on Valentine’s Day
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This brilliant guest article is from our friends at Durham Rose
Ahhh, the Valentine’s Day proposal. It has romance written all over it. The problem is that it’s so flipping romantic that it can easily turn into a corn-fest. It’s hard to make the occasion yours. It’s even harder to avoid repeating cliché after cliché, until this magical and pivotal occasion becomes a pastiche of itself. So, what do you do? Sink those feet into an ice bucket and hold your horses for a less romantic day? No! Of course not! You just need to take a few precautions to get things right.
I’m writing this as I sit behind my little stand at Askham Hall on Sunday – where I’m an exhibit! (with my By Moon & Tide Calligraphy hat on.) This is the one ‘local’ venue I’ve been desperate to explore for years, and never quite made it until today… and it’s beautiful.
I’m here with all of my calligraphy, signage and stationery goodies, all set up for the day. The vibe is magical, the venue is bursting with relaxed and pretty barn wedding charm, and the other exhibitors (‘exhibit’ is just how I feel!) are super lovely humans who’ve made me feel at home.
Here’s a little peek at the wedding invitations and other handwritten / calligraphy-inspired treats on my stand – and the showstopper backdrop I’m so proud of on that stunning copper frame from Tebbey & Co. Emma styled all the dining tables in the barn and main house, and they looked breathtaking – flowers from Sally at Roseberry (it’s Sally you can see in the photo above!) and my little bits of stationery and calligraphy completed the look.
It hardly feels like a full 18 months has passed since I discovered Clare Lloyd‘s exquisite handcrafted bridal jewellery. I’d planned a photoshoot in the Lake District, and seen her pieces online… but when they arrived with the postman I was more than blown away. To have the talent, the patience! to create such intricate jewellery must be a dream. To wear a single one of Clare’s stunningly crafted accessories on your wedding day will, I promise, make you feel amazing.
Clare Lloyd‘s collections are constantly evolving, taking on different natural hues and incorporating shapes and shades from nature. They’re always incredibly beautiful, and there’s always something new to see on Clare’s Instagram to take your breath away. These aren’t just bridal accessories to be worn on the day and forgotten: they’re future heirlooms, artisan pieces of handcrafted jewellery.
I love the wedding industry for its creativity. I love that as brides (and grooms) we can support independent businesses – guys like Clare who are keeping true crafts alive, working with couture techniques and with real skill to design unique pieces by hand, helping to create each bride’s wedding story.
Happy weekend! Thank you so much for sticking around to enjoy the English Wedding Blog this week – we’ve had a wonderful week full of weddings and style inspiration and I’m thrilled to be sharing yet another real wedding with you today, this time from Manchester city centre. Gorgeous couple Rebecca and Stephen’s October wedding day was intimate, informal and relaxed. They focused on fun, laughter and happiness – and their photos capture the atmosphere brilliantly. The styling is minimal, contemporary and beautiful, and the venue is The King Street Townhouse Hotel. Images are by lovely Sarah Millington Photography, based in Derbyshire.
The beautiful King Street Townhouse Hotel is situated in the historic conservation area of Manchester city centre. The hotel oozes luxury with gorgeous suites and stunning views of the city from both the rooms and the rooftop terrace where the reception was held. The hotel manages to be both cozy and opulent, striking the perfect balance between historic and contemporary details.
This has to be the most elegant woodland wedding style inspo I’ve ever seen. It’s romantic and earthy, timeless and welcoming – and so luxurious. The look was created for a winter wedding, but for me it’s woodlandy and magical and will work beautifully for any season. The green colour palette with gold accents is divine; the tablescape is oh so perfect. Huge thanks to lovely Inspired by Susie Evans for sharing this with us today. There’s a full supplier list below.
Earthy and green tones highlighted with gold create a romantic, natural finish for this rustic, whimsical wedding inspiration of bringing the outside in to the gorgeous setting at The Ravenswood.
Ravenswood was built in part during the reign of Henry VI in the year 1426, though of this original structure little remains and that which does is now confined mainly to the core of the present building, of which the majority was erected during the mid and latter years of the Victorian era.
Images by Catherine Spiller Photography – full wedding feature here
Wedding traditions can be so much fun – the clouds of confetti, the giggles as your girls help with your garter in the morning, the cutting of the cake and your first dance… But they can also be a little awkward. Throwing the bouquet to your single friends isn’t a comfortable moment for everyone. And sadly not all of us are lucky enough to have our dads there to walk us down the aisle.
So when I think of wedding traditions, it’s the new, fun and entertaining ones I love. The rest I can do without! And I’m so happy to see modern couples making their own traditions, and happily ignoring the old fashioned etiquette! This is one time when you might really need to stick to your guns with the whole “your day, your way” mantra – and don’t let anyone make you feel obliged to embrace traditions you’re really not comfortable with!
A guest article from BookAClassic.com – Header image by Danielle Smith Photography (see more from this wedding soon – publishing April 15th!)
So your big day is coming up, with so many things to be decided upon the logistics of getting to and from your wedding day might be pushed to the side. Another consideration will be for your guests; it may not be the best plan to assume that everyone will drive themselves. Therefore, it may be a nice idea to make room in your wedding budget to transport yourself and guests! Thankfully, BookAclassic has loads of options for you.
With the trend to make everything as instagrammable as possible it’s time to eschew traditional modes of transport and get creative. Get inspired by these wedding transportation ideas that you may not have considered before…
1. The Classic Sports Car
Our top pick: Jaguar E-Type
Hey lovely! I have a treat for you today – gorgeous bride Meg and her handsome new hubby Jack celebrated their wedding at Brympton House, a stunning venue which Country Life described as the most beautiful house in England. Our friend and Somerset wedding photographer Martin Dabek knows it well: he captured Meg and Jack’s day in his fabulous style, recording the wonderful styling details, memorable moments and atmosphere of the day perfectly. And that Phillipa Lepley gown…
The venue, Brympton House, was beautiful in its own right. However, the styling team were able to add so many extra touches that bought the home to life and fit perfectly with the themes. Emily, who does the Brympton House flowers arranged all the flowers for us. She was brilliant and added extra touches, such as a personalised ribbons to the bouquets. We wanted lots of flowers and folliage, which was all a bit messy and relaxed. Everything we asked for she did wonderfully.
