A late blog this Friday, as I’m just back from a calligraphy workshop (it was ace!) I’m absolutely beaming at my screen seeing all the gorgeous pics from today’s wedding. The sunflowers are so happy and colourful, and Erina and Dave are the loveliest couple! This wedding just shines – it’s the perfect, joyful celebration to bring us into the weekend. 

 

Wedding photographer’s website

https://www.hannah-christine.com/

Wedding photographer review

It was a joy to work with Hannah, there were a few things that didn’t go to plan (like most weddings), and Hannah just stayed calm and rolled with it. We both have quite big families so there were a lot of people to organise for photos – Hannah was great at getting people together and making it work even when there were too many people in the photo. Many of our wedding guests/family let us know how impressed they were with Hannah. Hannah was calm, collected, and just seemed genuinely happy to be able to photograph our day. We are so glad to have Hannah as our photographer, and the photos are amazing! We have had so many compliments on our wedding photos. We are not great at taking photos ourselves, so it is great to have these wedding photos to look back on in our home. Hannah has great packages that are well worth the price – we love our wedding album and look forward to getting our USB box.

The service

Dave Lee led our service kindly and clearly, and made us feel really at ease in the wedding rehearsal/wedding day. Sam Stephenson gave a clear and concise talk on Jesus, which we were really grateful for.

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

We had a private cake cutting and then took all of our cake home! Too often the bride and groom don’t get to have any wedding cake, so we had a cake for our wedding guests so we could enjoy ours at home.

Venue name + review

St Andrew’s Wimbledon – We had our whole wedding at the church (ceremony + reception). It took a lot more planning than we thought, but everyone at St Andrew’s Wimbledon was very accommodating and helpful, and the church was really beautiful. They also had an outside area where guests could spend time together, and a second hall for a drinks reception.

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

Erina – I wore a simple satin A line dress from Wed2Be. It also had pockets! I got my shoes from the rainbow club selection at John Lewis. Dave – I wore a black 3 piece suit from Modigliani in Kingston.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Wed2be (Surbiton) – it was a bit of a roller coaster getting my dress form Wed2Be. However, they were really friendly, and it was all worth it in the end when I found my dress.

Modigliani (Kingston) – Rudy was a legend! He picked out my size as I came into the shop with one of my groomsmen, and let him try on suit jackets/trousers also. He was very knowledgeable and kind, which made the suit buying process simple and fun. I bought the first suit I tried on!

Your best moment or memory

We loved hearing the speeches from our close family and friends. As we mentioned, things didn’t going to plan and we weren’t going to have these photographed, but it’s wonderful to look back on those photos and remember all the lovely things people said. Also, the bride’s cousin stepped up for an impromptu performance which captured everyone and brought lots of joy and energy to the wedding.

Florist name + review

Sarah Hall (Belting Blooms) – Sarah. Was. Amazing! She asked us what we wanted, sent us a portfolio of her ideas, and then delivered more than we could have imagined. She communicated with us really well throughout the whole process, was transparent about what would work/what she could do with our budget, and genuinely went above and beyond throughout the whole day to make sure the flowers looked great. We are so thankful for her help leading up to the wedding, and on the day itself.

Cake maker name + review

Jodie’s Cupcakes – Jodie is a family friend that recently started her cake-making business. We weren’t too fussed with the style of the cake as we just wanted to eat tasty cake, but Jodie delivered a beautiful and tasty cake. We had a 3-tier sunflower cake with layers of red velvet, lemon drizzle and Victoria sponge. Once we told Jodie what we would like, she organised everything smoothly and liaised with our families well. We shared some with our church family the following day, and they loved it too!

Stationery maker’s name + review

Erina found a design on Etsy and we made most of our stationery through Printed.com Printed.com was simple to use and delivered quickly so it was easy to get our invites, service sheets and table numbers sorted.

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

A few friends made welcome signs, and activities for the table. On each table we had ‘time capsules’ – messages for us to open each year of our marriage written by our wedding guests. We look forward to reading these!

Wedding readings?

Philippians 2:5-11 –

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

Our first dance song was Perfect by Ed Sheeran, performed by Michael. We would always recommend Candy and Jerusalema, which got a lot of our wedding guests on the dancefloor!

Wedding planner name + review

God! We planned a lot of it ourselves, and we only got through everything by trusting God and praying together.

Hair + makeup name + review

Rebecca (@bexfly on Instagram) – Rebecca listened to what Erina requested and delivered really well on the natural look that Erina wanted. It was fun doing make-up with Rebecca, who was very chill and easy to talk to.