This morning couldn’t have worked out better. I want to end 2020 on a really positive note – and with the most heartfelt thank yous to our wonderful couple Sophie and Chris, I’m about to share something AMAZING. This year has been heartbreaking – we’ve lost people, we’ve postponed weddings, we’ve missed everyone we love. My friends and wedding creatives have suffered unbelievably, and for many of us, I know we just want to write off 2020 and start over with a fresh and positive 2021.

But that’s no way to end the year for a wedding blog, is it?!

The flip side to the sadness of 2020 is the pure joy that a few couples have been lucky enough to grab – and the fact that a 2020 wedding will be a rare occasion to look back upon, but a truly special one. Because 2020 taught us something about weddings. It taught us that love, family and human connection is EVERYTHING. While pretty styling and little details are fun – weddings are about togetherness and LOVE. And Sophie and Chris’s day proves – at the last of 2020 – that LOVE IS NOT CANCELLED.

HUGE congratulations to these guys… who did our online interview only this morning and were NOT expecting to be featured on a top UK wedding blog TODAY! And my heartfelt thanks to their lovely wedding photographers – Lisa & Neil Wedding Photography – between you all, you’ve just made my Christmas. We had a slot come free at the last moment today, and I’m over the moon to be sharing such a beautiful, festive, joyful celebration. Especially with all the Christmassy sparkle. And the cat….

 

“Our wedding was a bit different, and very different to what we had originally planned, but we don’t regret anything. Having such a small and intimate wedding was so beautiful. It was so personal and emotional, and because we had all just come out of lockdown the day before, it was even more emotional! We are so incredibly grateful to all our suppliers, family and friends for being so supportive and understanding throughout the whole process of sorting our wedding day. It felt like such a long time coming, it really was the perfect day and I wouldn’t change a thing!”

“Sophie and Chris were originally planning a huge wedding next year but with all the Corona malarkey, they took a “fuck it” approach and pulled everything forward instead. Their wedding was on 3rd December, and the UK came out of lockdown on 2nd December so everything was a bit touch and go. Having been there on the day, they definitely made the right decision.” Lisa & Neil Wedding Photography

Wedding photographer’s website

https://lisaandneil.co.uk/

How did you choose your photographer?

We did a lot of research online and going to wedding fayres to finally make a decision. We knew exactly what style we wanted and as soon as we met up with Lisa and Neil we knew they were for us!

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

They were fantastic! Due to covid we had to move our wedding to 2021. We then decided to have a covid friendly Christmas wedding! Lisa and Neil were so supportive and accomodating. On the day, there were a joy to have at our wedding. They are so much fun and helped the day run so smoothly. They work so well as a couple which means you get two different angles most of the time which is so great to have, especially at those vital moments! When we received our photos we were absolutely blown away by them, they captured the day perfectly and our couple photos are absolutely stunning, I was actually pleased it rained now as the end result is incredible!! We cannot rate these two highly enough.

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

So, to make a long story short, this wasn’t our original booked venue. When we booked our wedding back in 2019 we had booked a large venue for our big wedding. When we realised we wanted to have a small wedding, we cancelled our venue and were immediately on the lookout for a cosy, intimate setting that fit our rustic, countryside theme. We went to look at Jimmy’s farm in Suffolk and immediately fell in love. The grounds are beautiful and the restaurant is rustic and so well decorated. It was a good size but not too big for our 9 guests, and we had various areas to chill out in. They have a bridal suite (which we were actually the first to use), where me and my mum and sister got ready in which was so handy, and a really lovely space. When the heavens opened they arranged for us to have photos taken in their large safari tent in the grounds. It was magical. The food was incredible and Natalie and all the staff there were so supportive and helpful. The day ran without a hitch, and I have no regrets moving our venue whatsoever.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

I bought my dress shortly after we booked our original wedding date so back in early 2019. I knew exactly what I wanted, and I actually saw my dress on an email I was sent by a local retailer. I went to try it on and that was it, I was sold! I loved wearing it, it was incredibly comfortable. Chris actually had not bought or arranged a rental of his suit by the time we changed to our December wedding as his first ever suit fitting was cancelled due to covid. He ended up getting a suit in the sale online, and we were actually blown away by how smart it looked. He said it was very sharp and felt very natural to be in. More importantly we managed to get suits for everyone, considering we ordered them in November during lockdown!

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

We did not, I actually bought a lot of realistic fake flowers and arranged my bouquets and decorations myself. It was very rewarding and gave me such freedom to have what I wanted. It also saved me a lot of money!

Did you hire a wedding planner?

We didn’t hire a planner as such, but Natalie at Jimmy’s farm acted as our wedding planner and did a fantastic job. Despite lockdown and difficult circumstances she was always in touch and she arranged our day down to the last detail over a week in advance. Because UK lockdown was meant to end the day before our wedding, we had to be prepared just in case it was extended and then we had to move the wedding. Natalie made sure we were all ready to go on that day, and ensured the smooth running of the day.

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

We had cupcakes for our wedding day and they were absolutely delicious. They were made by Fiona at Moo Moo cakes in Suffolk. I am actually gluten and dairy free, so we had to find a specialist who could cater for this. Fiona did not disappoint, and no one at the wedding could even tell they were free from!

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

Our wedding had a lot of personal touches. I am a very creative person, so had a lot of fun making things for the wedding and gifts for everyone as well! I hand made all the bouquets and button holes. My bouquet had my two Nanas’ (unfortunately no longer with us) engagement rings tied around the stems, and my sister’s had their wedding bands tied around hers. I also hand decorated converses for all the girls at the wedding for them to put on after the ceremony, and I also painted their names on the dressing gowns for the bridal suite! It was an incredibly unique day, due to the circumstances, we did things a little differently to normal. We had a first look instead of seeing each other down the aisle. This was so we could get photos in the daylight as well, but it actually ended up being such a special moment, where we could talk to each other before the ceremony and have a very special moment together. We also had a lot of speeches! With a small wedding we could allow more people to say what they wanted, and it ended up being incredibly emotional. Not a dry eye in the house! We also decided to keep our harpist who we had originally booked for our big wedding, and in a small setting for our ceremony it was so beautiful. Walking back down the aisle together to the Up theme tune will forever be one of my favourite memories.

Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?

Unfortunately due to covid we had a very short ceremony with the basic wordings. We weren’t allowed to have any readings during the ceremony or personalise our vows. I was worried it was going to feel impersonal but it was actually really lovely. Our registrar (Suffolk Registrar’s) was so lovely and she put a few jokes into it! We then gave everyone the chance to speak after dinner, so my sister who would have done a reading actually did a speech instead.

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

We spent a long time deciding and listening to songs but eventually we went back to our original thought. We chose ‘Stand by Me’ the remake by Florence and the Machine. We chose it because in the early days of our relationship we both played a game where this was the theme tune, and we listened to it a lot! The words also mean a lot to us, because as a couple we have been through a lot in our time together, and it symbolises our vow to always stand by one another through anything.

Favourite wedding suppliers

I am going to list everyone because we were blown away by all of our suppliers! Our photographers were Lisa & Neil Photography – https://lisaandneil.co.uk/
Our venue was Jimmy’s farm in Suffolk – https://jimmysfarm.com/
Our amazing cupcakes were made by Fiona at Moo Moo cakes – https://www.moomoocakes.co.uk/
Hair and make up was done by Little Luxuries in Kesgrave, Suffolk (Jackie and Becca) –https://www.littleluxurieskesgrave.com/
And our harpist, which was so beautiful was Zoe Anderton – http://www.zoeanderton.co.uk/