Happy Monday everyone! How was your weekend? I’ve had a 4 day extravaganza of a weekend with a concert on Thursday, shopping day Friday, calligraphy class on Saturday and 2 mountains climbed on Sunday! I barely know what day it is with all that going on, so it’s nice to be sat at my desk now with Bertie cat, where we have a fabulous wedding up our sleeves to share with you lovely folks out there in internet land.

Katie and Martin are gorgeous, their pics are divine, and they were kind enough to tell us all about their big day – the highlight of their interview for me being when I asked what’s the best thing about being married…

“Being part of a team. Knowing that they have seen you at you worst, weirdest, moodiest not to mention seeing you in the morning with messy hair, morning breath old PJ’s that they have chosen you out of the billions of people in the world to spend the rest of their life with.”

I think that’s the most romantic and wonderful response I’ve EVER had to that question, and it makes me feel all gooey and happy inside!

“I wanted my bouquet to look like I had wandered into a patch of wild flowers and gathered them up and Clare (Lily Fee floral design) arranged them perfectly. I wanted the bridesmaids flowers to be kept simple so they had white hydrangeas. Then for our tables we wanted something with some height as the Pumps Rooms have extremely high and very ornate ceilings. We had candelabras on every table, half fully dressed with flowers in shades of blues lilacs and creams and then the other half had eternity rings of flowers around the bottom which looked like a mini garden in the middle of the table with all the different heights of the flowers it looked as though they were growing up the candelabras.

Pittville Pump Rooms is a stunning venue in its own right so apart from the flowers (the candelabras hanging glass baubles with tealights in them) we just had a few fun signs made up. For example a chalkboard sign that had the order of the day on it. My sister had come across the website of someone local that had just set up a wedding decoration business. She did an amazing job of our order of service sign and our Instagram sign. We had lanterns lining the aisle and in the alcoves in the corners of the venue.

Wedding photographer’s website:

www.oobaloosphotography.co.uk

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

We were ecstatic with Sheryl. She understood exactly what we wanted (I’m not always the best at explaining my vision) but she captured the feeling of our wedding. You never noticed her floating around. She has this military precision but at the same time was so relaxed. She is so friendly and bubbly she is a joy to have around and when it came to the bride and groom pictures (knowing that we were not big fans of having our pictures taken) she made us feel at ease.

Tell us about the moment you saw your wedding photos for the first time?

She captured the feeling of our wedding. Looking back at the pictures she took transported us straight back to those moments on our big day it made me cry. It is so wonderful to know that even though the day is over I can look back on all the special moments and relive it.

Wedding venue:

Pittville Pump Room

Wedding month:

June

Can you describe your wedding in fewer than 10 words?

Relaxed, flower filled, full of fun and dancing.

Your wedding style or theme:

Hydrangeas and shades of blue were my inspirations.

Where did you find your suppliers? (Blogs, magazines, recommendations?)

I found Sheryl (Oobaloos photography) through word of mouth. My maid of honour had been to a wedding that she shot and said she was incredible!
Lily Fee floral designs- We went to an inspiration day at the Pump Rooms and she had created the centre pieces and Martyn instantly loved them after looking on her website it was a done deal.
Our band Tommy and the Fuse- We were so excited that Tommy was available for our wedding. He happens to be the uncle of my maid of honour and I had seen him playing many times before so knew he would be an amazing fit for our wedding.
The catering was done by Fosters catering (In house catering) Even though we were contracted to use this catering company they did such an amazing job of our food that I would gladly use them again.

Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?

Yes. After I found what I thought was my dress and the wedding dress boutique folding before my dress arrived in store I had to begin my search again and I am so glad I did. It was my dream dress.

Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:

The designer was Maggie Sottero and I bought the dress from Banbury Bridal Boutique, in Banbury.

Tell us about your accessories: jewellery, shoes and anything else!

As my dress was quite heavily embellished I wanted to keep my jewellery quite simple. I found my earrings in next, my shoes were from Dune they were sparkly but subtle at the same time. My bracelet was a present from Martyn which I was given on the day, and my veil was from the original wedding dress boutique. The owner had a friend that designs them so used to pass on a few designs for her to sell in her boutique. It was an absolute bargain at £75! The beading matched up to the beading on my wedding dress perfectly. I am a believed in fate and it really felt like they were meant to go together.

And what did the groom wear?

A navy suit from Next With a grey waistcoat. Tie and Pocket square were from Debenhams and shoes were bought online.

Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?

My bridesmaids were all in multi-way dresses by Debut in Debenhams. I got them at half price as I bought them in the winter the year before we got married.

Hair and make-up – did you DIY or hire a professional?

My hair was done by Aimee McDonnell- She now works in a salon in London.
My make up was done by make up artist Kirsty Lucas.

 

The wedding cake: what kind of cake did you choose and why?

We chose 3 different flavours, one for each tier. We had a salted caramel layer, a red velvet layer and a lemon layer. It meant there was something for everyone and we didn’t have to choose between our favourites. The design of the cake was simple with petals delicately floating down. We wanted to keep it simple and put the emphasis on the cake inside.

Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?

Tommy and the Fuse were amazing. Tommy moved his piano from inside the venue (he played during the ceremony) to outside where we had canapes and drinks. When it came to choosing our first dance and getting an idea of the playlist we wanted for the disco after the live sets Tommy was so helpful. Nothing was too much trouble and they were even willing to learn a new song so long as they had enough notice.

Words of wisdom: share your best piece of advice for other couples:

Everyone told me repeatedly it goes so quickly enjoy every moment. They were not joking, I was so nervous about the ceremony and talking in front of all those people it went by in a flash! Sheryl took us off for a quick photo on the balcony before all the guests entered the venue for the wedding breakfast. After the quick picture she left us to have a moment to ourselves. It was one of the only moments we had with just the two of us. We also got to watch everyone enter the room and see their reactions and how they all chatted with each other. It was a magical moment and although we were lucky enough to be high up enough not to be spotted I would definitely say steal a moment to be a couple!

 

Favourite supplier web links for other brides and grooms:

www.oobaloosphotography.co.uk
www.tommyandthefuse.com
www.lilyfeefloraldesigns.co.uk
https://www.love-lydia.com/
https://kirstylucasmakeup.format.com/