Harriet and Oli’s day is a blast of incredible floral styling, oozing love and classic styling touches. Wedding harpist Harriet shares her best supplier recommendations from their wedding in Oakham, Rutland – with images by lovely Gemma Randall Photography

Wedding photographer’s website

Gemma Randall Photography – https://www.gemmarandallphotography.co.uk/

Wedding photographer review

Gemma was brilliant to work with in the lead up to the wedding, from our initial consultation where we talked about so much more than just the wedding to the day itself where she was brilliant to have around. As a bride, I felt totally supported by Gemma and she respected our choices, such as to not have bridal prep, but instead capture the details at our Chapel. The end photos are wonderful and really capture the fun and elegance of the day, as well as some lovely intimate moments between the two of us.

Your best moment or memory

For me (Harriet), it’s walking down the aisle towards Oli. The music was amazing – I chose the Processional from The Sound of Music and it was played by my friend William Fox who is organist at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The flowers created such an amazing feel to the Chapel and it was so special walking on my father’s arm. Later on in the day, it sounds a bit cliche, but looking out at all our family and friends and feeling the love in the room was just awesome.

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

We actually stayed quite traditional! Oli asked my father’s permission to marry me, my father gave me away and our speeches were very traditional with the father of the bride, groom and best man. We did only try to stick to traditions that actually meant something to us though, so we didn’t have a top table or a traditional wedding cake.

Venue name + review

Our ceremony was held at Oakham School Chapel which was a very special place for Harriet. The reception was held at Halfmoon Farm, just outside Oakham. The views over Rutland Water are amazing and we made the most of them in our photos. It’s a blank canvas venue but everything from enquiry to booking was seamless!

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

Oli’s suit was a traditional Morning Suit, which the rest of the bridal party also wore, and was tailored by Paul Richman, Stamford. Harriet chose a romantic style dress, with a cathedral length train. The lace and pearl details were so beautiful and the form was close fitting with some bespoke detailing added.

Dress or suit shop name + review

Dress – Vow Bridal Wansford

Oh my goodness – where do I start?! I was so nervous about choosing and wearing a wedding dress that I even ordered some non-traditional dresses from high street stores before realising they didn’t feel special enough. So it was off to Lisa at Vow Bridal, who I have known for some time. Lisa made me feel so relaxed from the very beginning and I actually only tried on 3 dresses. As soon as I put on my dress, I knew it was the one – I just didn’t want to take it off! Lisa took me from feeling really not bothered about my wedding dress to it being the most amazing piece in my wardrobe!

Something old…

Something Old – Harriet’s grandmother’s gold bracelet

Something New – a pearl necklace from Harriet’s parents

Something Borrowed – Harriet’s grandmother’s RAF sweetheart pin from WWII

Something Blue – Harriet’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring

Florist name + review

Pickleberry Flowers

There was only ever one choice for our wedding flowers! I have known Isobel from Pickleberry for almost 10 years and her style is exactly what I wanted. I told her I wanted to feel like I had scooped up my bouquet from a wildflower meadow and that’s exactly what I got. The symbolism ran throughout our flowers, and Isobel was so understanding of this. We had white roses for my family’s Yorkshire roots, thistles for my time spent at university in Scotland and I also had ivy in my bouquet that was grown from the ivy in my bouquet for my brother’s wedding – which is where I met Isobel!

Cake maker name + review

We didn’t have a traditional wedding cake but ordered a carrot cake from Fika in Oakham. It was absolutely amazing, in fact our caterer said it was the best wedding cake she had ever tasted!

Stationery maker’s name + review

Inviting Writing

All our invitations, on the day stationery and thank you cards were designed by Inviting Writing. Vicky’s work is so lovely and elegant, and she worked with us on the design from start to finish. The table plan was a bit of nightmare to design as we had such big tables but I absolutely loved the outcome – Vicky is just brilliant!

Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?

In lieu of a wedding cake, we asked family & friends to make a cake to feed around 20 guests. We had lemon drizzle cake, coffee cake, brownies, flapjacks and cookies all set out on the cheese table. Not a crumb was left! Oli and I only have one grandparent who is still with us so we had photos of all our other grandparents framed on ladders, along with herbs that represent love, fertility and remembrance. We also had a photo line which had photos of both of us, but also almost every guest at the wedding. Our hat line was a big success too, and we hung Harriet’s grandmother’s hat from her parents’ wedding in 1983 there.

Wedding readings?

Song of Solomon 2:10-13 Read by Cathy, Oli’s mother

The Lovely Little Dinosaur by Edward Monkton Read by Pixie, Harriet’s sister-in-law

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

We struggled with this choice as we don’t really have a “song” but in the end, we decided on Happiness by McFly. It really got our guests up and dancing!

Wedding planner name + review

Unofficially – Harriet’s mother!

Hair + makeup name + review

Hair – Laura Steele from Asembo

Laura has cut my (Harriet’s) hair for 15 years so was the obvious choice. She also knows a lot of my family so felt right at home in the morning. I only had to show her a couple of images of what I wanted and she got it straight away. I went for a romantic updo with an Etsy hairpiece for sparkle!

Make-Up – Make Up by Liv GS

Liv was a great choice for the day, I wanted a really natural look for my wedding and she totally understood this. Although I had a lot of make up on, it never felt heavy or clogged up. She was great to have around in the morning and although I was getting stressed about time, she never did!

Other recommended Oakham wedding suppliers

Band – The Aesthetic from DG Music

Caterer – Big Bird Catering

Marquee – Rutland Marquees

Cars – VP Princess Cars