Hey lovely! I hope you’ve had a wonderful weekend – and oh, welcome to April! I have a proper spring in my step this morning and I’m excited to share this beautiful wedding just bursting full of summer sunshine! Rachel and Steve were married at Iscoyd Park in the summer and chose lovely Rachel Joyce as their wedding photographer.

Wedding photographer’s website:

www.racheljoycephotography.co.uk

We looked for photographers on many different websites and blogs. I searched the lot and I found this very difficult to narrow down. What made us select Rachel was that her photos were vibrant and in the moment which is just what we wanted plus she didn’t break the budget.

We wanted most of the photos captured to be natural of ourselves and our guests enjoying the day. Rachel and Dan were brilliant throughout our day and we are literally spoilt for choice when choosing our photos for our wedding albums.

We received them just after we got back from our honeymoon – about 3 weeks. They were perfect, so many amazing shots captured of us and our family and friends. Rachel and Dan created the most beautiful photos of our special day. The attention to detail and laid back nature, resulted in fantastic natural shots that Steve and I can cherish forever.

Iscoyd Park really is the most beautiful venue and everything about it makes me smile every time I think about it. Ffion, our wedding coordinator was absolutely fantastic and looked after us from start to finish, making sure I kept on track with my planning, nothing was every too much trouble. Iscoyd now have their own chef and the food was divine, we had some lovely comments about it back from our guests.

Can you describe your wedding in fewer than 10 words?

Perfect
Laughter filled
Simple
Elegant
Us!

Your wedding style or theme:

Simple and elegant.
Colour theme: blue, blush and copper/rose gold

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

It was split, I followed Iscoyd park on Instagram and found some through them. I used wedding blogs for some more and a lot through recommendations or from previous weddings we had been to.

What’s your top tip for saving money?

Think about the important items you don’t want to compromise on and spend your money on them, as you don’t want to regret anything. I used a lot of discount codes or waited for sales when ordered table decorations, the copper photo frames I used for table numbers I managed to get about 50% of through this method.

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

Photographer
Make up
Hair
Band
Flowers
Venue

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

It was a labour of love for sure. I designed all of the stationery we used in the day from the invites, to the order of service and the table plan and I used printed.com to print everything who were a bargain. I wanted the theme to carry through all of the day, and the cheapest way to do this was to do it myself.

Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?

Yes and No. The first time I tried it on I knew it was exactly what I wanted and loved it. However the fact I didn’t see it for a couple of months and then you see it and it doesn’t fit right until all the alterations wobbled me a bit. The moment alterations were all done I knew I had made the right choice! I thought I always wanted something with lace on but when I put those dresses on I hated them, this was perfect it was simple and elegant with its clean lines but still had some sparkle in the off the shoulder sleeves.

Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:

Along came eve, Chester was the bridal boutique I got the dress from and they couldn’t have been better. The place is beautiful and they had so many different styles compared to the other boutiques I visited. Plus the ladies who run the place are experts! They knew exactly when I wasn’t feeling comfortable and where the dress needed altering.

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

The veil was also bought from Along Came Eve, and it was Neive Couture, I wanted something simple as to not ruin the detail and shape in the back of the dress.
Shoes were my something blue and these were from Debenhams as well as the hair vine which was a Jon Richard design.

And what did the groom wear?

The guys wore navy suits with a grey waistcoat from Peter Posh. They wore their own black shoes as I didn’t want to waste money on items they all already had. Steve’s tie was navy with white spots which made him stand out from the rest.

Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?

Dessy bridesmaid one shoulder dress in a matte chiffon larkspur colour. They were all similar size so they very easy to buy for. The shoes they wore were from new look, in a light grey colour.

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

Frankie Noone and Vicky M Hair were one the best decisions I made. I had seen Frankie’s work from another friends wedding and knew I needed to have her at mine. I have never really used any professional hair stylist so I looked on Iscoyd’s Instagram and Vicky stood out. We did trials very close to the wedding and I wasn’t worried about anything going wrong as they were both amazing.

Describe your wedding flowers. Who arranged them for you? (florist details would be lovely please)

My best friend’s mum was my florist (Little Green Flowers). I have known her for many years and she is fantastic. I am absolutely useless with flowers so I couldn’t even name more than two I just told her the colours I wanted, what bouquets and sizes and I left her to it and she did a beautiful job. She was always there to answer questions and offer advice on what flowers I needed where.

General styling – did your venue need much decoration?

The house itself didn’t need any styling, it spoke for itself. The marquee was pretty much a blank canvas that you could add as little or as much as you wanted, apart from the tables the only extra item I had always wanted was a hanging ladder with flowers cascading down which my florist designed and hung up for me.

Crafts and makes – tell us about any homemade elements of your wedding… did you enjoy them?

Apart from the stationery, the wedding favours were also homemade. We bought marble hexagon tiles and myself and my sister personalised all of them with everyone’s name, this took a long time but I think it was totally worth it as it was another aspect that tied in the theme. They could be used as coasters after the wedding.

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

This was easy, we used the same cake maker our friends had for their wedding (Crumbs Cakery). We again incorporate the theme with the hexagon and colour from the stationary. For the flavours we didn’t want fruit cake as I’m not a fan so we went with chocolate hazelnut and cherry and almond, it was delicious plus plenty for everyone.

Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?

Our band were exceptional talented, 11am Somewhere are Manchester based and covered a wide range of genres which was perfect for us considering the range of guests we had.
One of Steve’s friends also did a performance for us in the church whilst we were signing the register, we had suggested three songs however he did one extra which was an amazing melody, which had guests up clapping and singing along. One of the highlights of the day.

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

The whole thing goes by in a flash, not just the day itself but the months leading up. Try not to sweat the small stuff, they aren’t important. What is that you enjoy your day together.

What’s the best thing about being married?

Knowing you will always have them by your side. Plus you don’t need to plan another wedding, there is a lot to do.

Favourite supplier web links for other brides and grooms:

www.racheljoycephotography.co.uk
www.alongcameeve.com
www.littlegreenflowers.co.uk
www.makeupbyfrankie.com
www.vickymhair.co.uk
www.crumbscakery.co.uk
https://hireaband.co.uk/11am-somewhere/
www.printed.com