How We Styled a Vibrant Luxury Wedding at Dorfold Hall – Elegante by Michelle J

Published by Claire Gould on January 21, 2022January 21, 2022

It’s not often we get to see a real ‘behind the scenes’ story of a wedding setup, so today is quite special! Our lovely friend and luxury wedding planner Michelle (Elegante by Michelle J) talks us through a beautiful, tropical wedding theme for one of her couples who were married last summer. The finished look is vibrant, joyful, stylish and bursting with summer vibes!

After many months of planning, August 2021 brought flamboyance and flair to Tracy and David’s wedding at Dorfold Hall. I had the very great pleasure of planning, styling and overseeing this vibrant celebration at a stunning venue, for a bride who I’ve known for many years. The brief was effervescent and luminous, much like Tracy’s personality, and I brought in the fabulous Melissa of Elsie Love Photography to capture the lavish details.

Tracy and David loved the idea of a country house with beautiful grounds, to host an outdoor ceremony and drinks reception for their Jewish wedding. Dorfold ticked all the boxes for my couple’s second marriage. It’s an impressive country house setting with a sweeping driveway, tranquil lake and lush gardens, juxtaposed with modern, purpose-built event spaces that are carefully and sympathetically mingled with the old buildings. In Tracy’s testimonial, she joked; ‘The task was easy – find me a venue in Cheshire with a beautiful outdoor setting, and guarantee me the perfect summer’s day!’. We were lucky with the weather on the day of their wedding at Dorfold Hall, but as ever there was a well drafted plan B just in case!

On a fine summer day, I took to styling Tracy and David’s wedding at Dorfold Hall with a lively colour palette and a touch of the tropical. For the ceremony, The Chuppah Company provided a birch chuppah which complemented the outdoor seating perfectly. It was important to choose a florist who could really run with the exotic style of florals we wanted for this event, and Rachel of Brambles Florist, Prestwich truly pulled it off. The aisle chairs were decorated with birds of paradise floral decor, the chuppah bloomed with fabulous purples, oranges and greens, and the theme was carried through to the large signature pedestal arrangements.

The styling elements seamlessly brought the vibrancy of the outdoor space into one of Dorfold’s banqueting areas. The floral table centrepieces were lavish, with tropical details such as pineapple table numbers and colourful napkin linens; accents of silver including sprayed foliage and silver stands came from Wedding Metal Art in Reading. Lilac kippot from Hebrewear complemented the scheme, and the playful, tropical colours gleamed tastefully against Dorfold’s wonderful elegant backdrops.

Tracy and David also wanted their wedding at Dorfold Hall to have great entertainment; luckily Tracy is a professional speechwriter with her company Speeches 2 Remember so this was a highlight of the day! They also had music from Totem, a magician courtesy of House of Lemon, and a headline act – comedian Rory Bremner! They were fantastically catered by Feast by Ed, and the day was captured beautifully by videographer YSD Media.

With thanks to all the talented suppliers who helped us to bring together this vibrant luxury Jewish wedding at Dorfold Hall, and to Tracy for her kind testimonial:

I was meant to be a bride of Dorfold Hall in August 2021 and it was meant to be lovingly put together by Michelle, who I can’t thank enough for being excited at the prospect of making sure the day was just as special as if I was a young, first time bride

Elegante by Michelle J is an English Wedding member

Web: https://elegantebymichellej.com