It’s ALL about the florals today – gorgeous bride Katie and hubby Paul married in the summertime and chose all the glorious garden flowers – the stars are bright pink peonies, which nestle beautifully alongside roses and delphiniums, thistles and oodles of delicate greenery. The stunning images of their wedding are by our lovely friend and English Wedding member Nicola Norton Photography. 

We knew we wanted a relaxed venue preferably in a barn so did a lot of googling. As soon as we visited Micklefield Hall we were blown away by the setting and how beautiful it was so knew it was the right place for our wedding.

Our florist was Andrew Fleming who was just brilliant. Our venue I think really did speak for itself however it was quite a large space so it did need some decoration which we did mostly with Andrew’s fantastic flower displays and our home made wedding signs. We dressed each table with wooden slices and a mixture of different vases of flowers in style and size finished off with tea lights.

I love being creative so this was the ultimate project! We made our own wedding and order of the day signs along with collecting vases and bottles for the table centre pieces. I also designed and had printed all the order of the day stationery and table signs which felt really personal and even hand tied all the name tags onto sprigs of lavender for each guest.

Wedding photographer’s website:

www.nicolanortonphotography.co.uk

Nicola was actually recommended by another photographer we had met. She was already booked so suggested Nicola as her style was similar.
She popped round for a cuppa one afternoon and we got on brilliantly and loved her relaxed approach so knew that she would do a great job. Nicola was amazing!

We really wanted to capture the type of photographs your friends and family would take but with more professionalism which Nicola did perfectly. She captured moments that we were not even aware of and even wore her special sparkly ‘Converse’ for the occasion – LOVE IT!!!

I was actually working away the day the link was emailed through so decided to wait for a few days even though the suspense was killing me until I was home so that we look at them together. We loved them and it was great to re-live the day through the photographs. Every time we re-look at them we notice something different and there were really so many to choose from.

Contact & Bookings: Nicola Norton Photography

www.nicolanortonphotography.co.uk

Facebook: Nicola Norton Photography
Instagram: @nicolanortonphotography
Twitter: @nicolanorton1

Can you describe your wedding in fewer than 10 words?

Everything we could have wished for and more – PERFECT!

Your wedding style or theme:

Rustic, English Country Garden, relaxed and laid back.

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

Mostly the internet (lots of googling), recommendations from both friends and our venue.

What’s your top tip for saving money?

Always get 3 quotes!
Be prepared to invest your own time and effort into doing bits yourself where you can.

… and which elements of your wedding are you glad you spent more on?

The food and drink as everyone wants to be fed and watered well.

Where did you buy or source your wedding stationery – or was making it a labour of love?

it was always going to be a Labour of Love!
I am lucky to have a creative job and had plenty of ideas so together with my designer friend and colleague we designed all the invitations and on the day stationery together and then had it printed locally.

Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?

Yes.
I absolutely loved the intricate lace detail and the nude coloured under bodice which made it feel modern and sexy yet still sophisticated. It was really lightweight too which made it comfortable to wear all day.

Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:

Willowby by Watters frm Heritage Brides at Hatfield House.
The most beautiful and magical wedding shop both for decor and experience with the loveliest of shop owners.

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

I don’t normally wear much jewellery so kept it very simple of the day with just a fine bracelet. I opted to have a hair vine instead of a veil which had little jewels enclosed which sparkled in the sun and matched to the belt on my dress. My shoes which I loved were from Carvela by Kurt Geiger and were encrusted in gemstones to add to the other bits of sparkle!

And what did the groom wear?

Paul wore a 3 piece blue Ted Baker suit from Moss Bros, Ted Baker pocket square and tie from TM Lewin.

Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?

Monsoon & ASOS.
I wanted them to all to have a bit of their own individuality so opted for dresses all in similar shades of colour but completely different styles.

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

I have never had my make up professionally done so hired Charlie Pearcy who did an amazing job with both my hair and make up.
I wanted my hair and make up to be quite casual and natural to sit with the overall theme of the wedding.

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

We chose to have a 3 tier naked wedding cake as neither of us are fond of fruit cake and it seemed to go well with our rustic theme. It was made up of our favourite cakes; Chocolate Orange, Slated Caramel and Victoria sponge and decorated with our flowers and bits of fruit.

Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?

We hired The Tricks who were just incredible, they played a brilliant mixture of old and new songs along with mash ups of songs that got everyone up on the dance floor so much so that everyone was shouting for more at the end of their set. They were a really friendly and great bunch of guys too which made them a pleasure to work with.
We had a basket of marshmallows for guests to toast next to the outdoor fire area towards the end of the evening which was a hit with many of our guests.

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

I think one of my friends gave me the best advice a few days before our wedding which was to “chill, everything is now done and what will be will be so just relax and enjoy yourself”. It was so accurate.
I would like to pass on that advice along with trying and take a moment to look around at everything and everyone that is there to help you celebrate as the day goes by so quickly. And most importantly try and have a few moments together on your own if you can. We had a moment to ourselves sat in the rose garden straight after the ceremony to just compose ourselves and take in being married. It was so special and will be forever be in my memory.

What’s the best thing about being married?

Feeling more of a team and being able to share every day and life experiences with my best friend.

Favourite supplier web links for other brides and grooms:

Photographer – Nicola Norton Photography – www.nicolanortonphotography.co.uk
Venue: http://www.micklefieldhall.com
Hair & Make Up: https://www.charliepearcyweddings.com
Florist: https://www.andrewflemingflorist.net
Band: https://www.thetrickslive.com