Carley and Dan’s beautifully sunflower-filled wedding at Parley Manor, with Rachel Elizabeth Photography

Published by Claire Gould on

Happy Tuesday, lovelies! I’m still away from my desk on a Big Adventure – but of COURSE I’d never leave you without something beautiful to feast your eyes on. Today’s Parley Manor wedding is full of glorious sunflowers, with stunning bride Carley rocking an unusual and beautiful Maggie Sottero gown. She and handsome hubby Dan describe their wedding as a “relaxed cocktail fuelled sunny garden party in the perfect setting” – which is everything I think a wedding should be!

Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (28)

The day was styled around summer colours and sunflowers, with red accents (and the bridesmaids look fabulous in gorgeous red Watters Wtoo dresses to suit the theme). Carley and Dan found their suppliers via their venue, and then did their own research online to put together their perfect team of creatives to make their dream day come true!

Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (39)

Their images are by lovely Rachel Elizabeth Photography, who gets a glowing review from the happy couple!

Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (38)

Wedding photographer’s website:

https://www.rachelizabethphotography.co.uk/

How did you choose your photographer?

It was really important to us that we had a photographer that had a natural style of photography. We searched through many photographers, as soon as we saw Rachel’s work we organised to meet her. After that meeting we knew she was the perfect photographer for us.

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

Couldn’t have asked for better photographs, we felt relaxed in front of the camera and Rachel was very relaxed and flexible through out the day, we got all the photos we wanted and more without feeling like we missed parts of our day. We still look back through our photos and find more hidden details in the photos each time and can’t help but laugh and smile with the memories that were captured.

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

The first time we saw some of our wedding photos was through a sneak peek blog that Rachel put together. It gave details our day that shows that Rachel pays attention to detail and really gets to know you and invests in your wedding day on another level. There was so much excitement around the photos we saw and we could not wait to see more!

 

Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (1)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (2)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (3)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (4)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (5)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (6)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (7)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (8)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (9)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (10)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (11)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (12)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (13)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (14)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (15)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (16)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (17)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (18)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (19)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (20)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (21)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (22)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (23)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (24)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (25)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (26)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (27)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (29)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (30)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (31)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (32)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (33)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (34)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (35)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (36)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (37)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (40)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (41)
Parley Manor wedding photography by Rachel Elizabeth on English Wedding (42)

 

What’s your top tip for saving money?

Decide what elements of your day are important to you and don’t get caught up in booking lots of unnecessary extras.

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

Evening entertainment

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

https://www.normadorothy.com/ for save the dates and invitations.
Simply Flower did all of the decor for the day including stationery

Did you fall in love with your wedding dress?

Yes, I didn’t believe the whole you’ll know when you’ve found ‘the dress’. But as soon as saw myself in the dress I knew it was my wedding dress. I was starting to loose hope that I was being too fussy or wouldn’t find a dress and then this dress came along and it was perfect.

Wedding dress designer and bridal boutique:

Designer – Maggie Sottero
Bridal boutique – Romsey bridal boutique

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

When I tried the dress on we added a belt that contained pearls. I loved it and they became a theme. My jewellery contained pearls and so did my veil. I went for a short veil as I didn’t want to hide the details on the back of my dress. There were even pearls on my shoes.
Belt and Veil – from Romsey bridal boutique
Shoes – Rainbow Club
Jewellery – Ernest Jones (including wedding rings)

And what did the groom wear?

Navy suit with a grey waistcoat, red scrunch tie and brown shoes and belt
Suit and waist coat – Romsey bridal boutique

Beautiful bridesmaids: what did your best girls wear?

https://www.watters.com/wtoo/products/303 – Wtoo dress 303 in Cranberry.
From Romsey bridal boutique

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

Parley Studio for hair and make up. Samantha Stevenson for Hair and Kate Carroll for Make up

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

All of the wedding planning started around a photo of a bouquet I saw that included Sunflowers! Wanted to include some brighter colours. Went with reds and oranges to surround the sunflowers and tied with hessian and lace.
Florist – Simply Flower (based in Christchurch)

General styling – did your venue need much decoration?

Again all done by Simply Flower. The gardens at Parley Manor speak for themselves but Simply Flower knows how to add and compliment this venue perfectly and make your day unique to you.

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

Wedding favours, we put together shot jars for those guests that could drink and sweetie packages for those who couldn’t.

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

Kams Cakes – https://kamscakes.co.uk/
Found a cake to suit our theme that incorporated the sunflowers and hessian and Kam put a unique twist on it for us.
Had 2 types of cakes: chocolate and raspberry sponge. Vanilla sponge.

Entertainment: any musical recommendations, surprises or treats?

Tuto Marcondes – did 2 x 45 mins live sets.
Gem Roadshow – DJ

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

Remember that its your day and remember what is important to you both.
Don’t stress too much about making everything perfect, there will be hiccups and the chances are its only the both of you who will notice.
Take 10 mins with your partner to soak in the day and enjoy being around the people you love, the day goes very quickly.

What’s the best thing about being married?

Being able to call Dan my Husband.

Favourite supplier web links for other brides and grooms:

https://www.rachelizabethphotography.co.uk/
https://parleymanorweddings.co.uk/
http://www.merlinscatering.co.uk/
https://romseybridal.co.uk/
https://www.simplyflower.co.uk/
https://www.samantha-stevenson.com/
https://www.facebook.com/tutomarcondesmusic/


Claire Gould

Claire spends her days writing - either in beautiful calligraphy or online. She lives on the edge of the English Lake District only minutes away from the beach, where she loves to escape and unwind. Claire's calligraphy can be found at www.byMoonandTide.com. Claire launched the English Wedding Blog in November 2009 - it's been a top 10 UK wedding blog ever since, with a regional focus we hope you LOVE.

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