Julie and Aaron’s wedding photos had me hooked from the moment I saw them – the gorgeous smoke bomb images, Julie’s stunning smile and that amazing Caroline Castigliano dress!! They married in April at Pennard House, with all the cherry blossom in full bloom. The venue was styled by RD Events, flowers are by lovely Bramble & Wild, and there are some lovely rustic touches from Bath Vintage Hire Company. This is a day full of beautiful old English charm, and I hope you love it as much as I do!

Wedding photographer’s website:

www.ryangooldphotography.co.uk

We went to a local wedding fayre and saw a photo of a couple with smoke bombs and then looked through the rest of Ryan’s display stand and we were hooked! We knew we wanted Ryan without even looking at the cost!

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

We hardly saw him, but in a good way!! We wanted natural pictures of the day and Ryan just blended in and captured just that. From the moment we booked Ryan he became more of a photographer he became a wedding guest.

I was so nervous about receiving our photos and that’s only because i’m no where near photogenic and hate having my photo taken but…. they were stunning!! I can’t stop looking them and saying is that really is?? Just beautiful photos of our beautiful day.

Can you describe your wedding in fewer than 10 words?

No!! Ok i’ll Try!!
A hot but perfect spring day to remember forever!

Your wedding style or theme:

We didn’t really have a theme but I wanted it relaxed and classic with a touch of charm. So went for a lot of rustic natural materials and touch of rose gold. The one thing I knew I wanted was to arrive in a VW classic beetle! So we hired two! One for me and the other for our bridesmaids! Both travelled miles to make our day and they were both beautiful classics.

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

I had worked in the wedding industry so i knew a few people I definitely wanted to use. We visited Wedding fayres and venues with open days. I scrolled through days of Facebook pages, Pinterest and Instagram to find a lot of Inspiration.

What’s your top tip for saving money?

Imagine yourself at a wedding and what do you remember?? No one notices the little things like wedding favours or flowers around your venue only your bouquet!
Spend your money on a good photographer. Your photographer will capture memories! Buy a comfy dress as you’re in it all day and shop around! Off the peg gets you the dress of your dreams!

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

Definitely the photographer and also the venue. Our photographer was amazing from booking to the time we had our photos through our door.
Our venue was also amazing! Our coordinator just made everything run smoothly and relaxed, exactly what we wanted!

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

Aaron’s mum works in a stationery printers so was a no brainer really!! I help design it then off to the printers for free!!

Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?

Yes!! I had previously bought one but it just didn’t feel right then I spotted one come up on a bridal shops Facebook page and thought wow! That’s the one!!

Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:

Caroline Castigliano dress from Carina Baverstock Couture, Bradford on Avon Nr Bath, Somerset

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

I’m not one for jewellery so it was very minimal. I wore a pair of Rachel Simpson shoes which are sooo comfy but ended up so hot on the day I was in my sandals by the afternoon.

And what did the groom wear?

Aaron and my sons wore the same Peter Posh suits. A lovely light weight navy suit with brown tweed waistcoat. A touch of dark red in the ties for certain football teams and brown shoes.

Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?

My bridesmaids wore beautiful Two Birds multi-way dresses in a rose gold.
My flower girls wore Ivory and gold ribboned dresses from Monsoon. I bought a few hair pieces from ebay for a couple of pounds and looked amazing. They all looked stunning as they always do!

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

Hair was done by my usual hairdresser, Josie Louise. I was going to have it alll down but as it was so hot Josie pinned a few parts up. Gemma Advent was my make up artist. I have known her for years and very talented. So we got pampered for the day by these two beauts!

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

I knew who I wanted by their posts on Instagram!
Bramble and Wild in Frome, Somerset a little florist up a petite cobbled road is renowned for amazing bouquets. I knew they would know what I wanted and they sure did.
I wanted naturals colours with lots of greenery and when they arrived I cried!!

General styling – did your venue need much decoration?

It didn’t really need much styling outside as the cherrry blossom did all the dressing naturally!
The coach house, with all its characteristics and history didn’t need much either but we did add a few personal touches. A large rustic A n J in lights and rustic trestle tables hired from Bath Vintage Hire Company.
We had a lovely lady callled Rachel from RD Events who styled everything for us and she certainly gave it the wow factor.
Not forgetting our Thatchers Cider favours with quest names to place in each seat!

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

We didn’t really make anything apart from the table plan and photobooth. I used two old frames I bought and just printed them up to match.

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

We went naked! We are not fans of icing, just the cake so these cakes are ideal! As it was Easter we had mini eggs stuck around it but somehow they went missing off the cake! Funny how the kids seem to be the same height!!!
It was made by a very talented lady called Melanie Todd.

Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?

We could not recommend our DJ enough. Darren Sims is not only a DJ but a very talented musician. It was hard as everyone was outside as the weather was so hot but he stil entertained us lol and he was amazing with the kids.
During the day we had a company called Clayzer Lazer. Forget silent discos this is silent clay pigeon shooting!! We had this between the ceremony and food and this was great fun through the afternoon.

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

The day goes so fast! I didn’t believe it but it does!!
Write everything down, make list and relax. Enjoy the day and if things goes wrong, so what! They probably won’t know as not everyone has your wedding planner folder!
Don’t change to high heel shoes if you always wear flats…. you get my drift!

What’s the best thing about being married?

We are even happier than we were before. We were told it would be no different but they were truly wrong! We are stronger together and can not wait for what’s waiting to happen to us.

Favourite supplier web links for other brides and grooms:

www.ryangooldphotography.co.uk
www.carinabcouture.com/
www.carolinecastigliano.com
www.hireherbie.co.uk
www.brambleandwild.com/
www.melanietoddcakedesign.com
www.rdevents.net
www.pennardhouse.com
http://busandbugvintageweddings.co.uk/
http://bathvintagehire.co.uk/
www.thepizzarocket.com