April and Zoe’s wedding is making me SO happy this morning! The newlyweds are beaming with joy and it’s brightening up my whole day! They’re also a gorgeous couple, whose wedding looks and feels amazing, with lots of personal touches and beautiful pics by Sam Chipman Photography. We’ll share even more on our @englishweddingblog instagram today!
“Obviously we’re biased and think our wedding day was magical but we’re also so pleased with how personal and true to ourselves the whole day felt. We want to sip champagne and dance to all our favourite songs with all our favourite people over and over again!” ~ April & Zoe
Wedding photographer’s website
Sam Chipman https://www.samchipmanphotography.com/
Wedding photographer review
Sam was really chilled and specialises in candid photographs which is exactly the vibe we wanted for our wedding. He put us totally at ease with his no fuss approach and really went with the flow.
Your best moment or memory
Walking back up the aisle as newlyweds with all our family and friends around us is a feeling I don’t think we’ll ever top.
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
We decided very early on that we both wanted to walk down the aisle seeing as we’re both brides. We also opted for a pastel rainbow cake as our way of incorporating a little bit of pride into our day!
Venue name + review
Chilli Barn
Leah and all the staff at Chilli Barn couldn’t have been more helpful and nothing was too trouble. The barn is an intimate venue with stunning countryside views and everyone commented on how beautiful it was.
Tell us a little about your outfits
April – My dress was very me! A boho/fairy vibe with a lace top and tulle skirt. I felt that it really suited the venue and I felt ethereal the whole day.
Zoe – I opted for a suit, I’m not really the dress type. Like April I kept it very me so casual and comfy but in pink! Trousers and a waistcoat and custom embroidered converse.
Dress or suit shop name + review
April’s dress is handmade from a lovely shop on Etsy – Lady Versus.
Florist name + review
We went DIY with our flowers and handpicked all the flowers for our bouquets, aisle arch and tables from an artificial flower wholesalers. It really allowed us to put our own stamp on the little touches.
Cake maker name + review
Little Dumplings Cakes. We’re vegan so finding a vegan wedding cake maker narrows the search considerably! Little Dumplings makes the nicest vegan and allergy friendly cakes in the world. We opted for a pastel rainbow rather than traditional white and it went down a treat with all the guests.
Stationery maker’s name + review
We used various small businesses from Etsy to make up all of our wedding stationery. We love supporting small local people.
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
Chilli Barn is an amazing venue where they let you decorate as you wish so we really let loose our inner crafters. We picked classic books for our table names and built our centrepieces around each book with natural log slices and candles and delicate wildflowers. We stained some used wooden crates to make our table seating chart as well as using a heart-shaped stamp to cut paper hearts out of books to sprinkle around the tables.
Wedding readings?
We had 2 readings, both done by family, from the bible – Jeremiah 29:11 and Psalm 139:14 We are a part of a church so this was really meaningful for us.
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
Not traditional at all but we chose Y’all Means All by Miranda Lambert as featured on season 6 of queer eye. The thought of slow dancing filled us with dread so we went for the complete opposite. Playlist recommendations – our playlist was filled with all things 00’s and pop punk – think Busted to All Time Low with a healthy mix of Lucy Spraggan and country thrown in.
Hair + makeup name + review
April really enjoys doing makeup and wanted to do her own (and by extension that meant Zoe too).
I’m in love with this wedding – there’s nature everywhere, it’s green and gorgeous – and Yoda’s even in it. Faith and Jack made their day uniquely, brilliantly and beautifully personal to them. They look amazing. The whole day is fabulous. Gorgeous images are by Alexa Poppe Photography and as always, there’s more on our @englishweddingblog instagram!
Wedding photographer’s website
Alexa Poppe http://alexapoppeweddingphotography.com/
Wedding photographer review
Alexa was incredible. We felt so comfortable with her, she let us just be ourselves and her pictures are beautiful. Our guests said that whenever they saw something lovely happening they would turn round and there she was capturing the moment. Alexa was able to capture the day so well, and we will really cherish these photos and the lasting memories.
Your best moment or memory
The ceremony for us was amazing, the actual getting married part! One of our best friends married us. It was so personal, and just made it that much more special. Also running around in a field when the sun came out was good fun too!
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
Both Mum and Dad walked Faith down the aisle, it was really important to Faith for her parents to experience that. We didn’t have a top table, we were in amongst our guests in the middle of the room.
Venue name + review
The Green Cornwall – https://www.thegreencornwall.co.uk/
The team at The Green were amazing, from start to finish they help us realise our dream wedding. It is such a stunning venue and we also loved the fact that we could stay on site with our guests for the weekend too; it made it that little bit extra special. The food was incredible, the day ran so smoothly, even with last minute weather changes, they were just amazing!
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
We wanted to make sure our bridesmaids and groomsmen felt comfortable, so we didn’t pick their outfits for them. We just said green, any green! We love the fact that they all ended up being different shades of green! Jack got his suit made in the same shop that his brother got his wedding suit made. Faith’s dress was the third one she tried on, and just felt so confident in it. The embroidered leafy top with the clean skirt just “made me feel so like me, even though it was like nothing I’d ever worn before”. Dance tests were of course conducted in it too! For both of us sustainability is important, so Jack wanted to have a suit he could wear again and Faith is getting her dress made into a jumpsuit (and probably dying it green).
Dress or suit shop name + review
Dress: Bridal Caprice- https://bridalcaprice.co.uk/
The team at Bridal Caprice were amazing. “They were so friendly and made me feel so comfortable, I always looked forward to going there for my fittings, and they made me feel incredible in my dress.”
Suit: Norton & Townsend – https://www.nortonandtownsend.co.uk/
Graham Hall made Jack’s suit. He was an amazing tailor- the suit was designed to be breathable because of it being a summer wedding. It was incredibly comfortable and had a great finish.
Styling and decor name + review
The Table Decor was done by Unique Designs by Tina – https://www.uniquedesignsbytina.com/
We had trees as our centre pieces, and these were moved onto plinths around the room with tea lights in them for the evening. Fred and Tina were amazing, so friendly and cheery.
All of their centre pieces, although aren’t real look incredible; so it’s all reusable! We loved feeling like we were having our wedding breakfast in a forest. And they were so great at helping us realise our ideal designs for the tables, menu/name cards and our table plans!
Florist name + review
The Flowers (the bouquets, boutonnières and corsages were by Green Rabbit Flowers – https://www.greenrabbitflowers.co.uk The flowers were beautiful and we couldn’t have been happier with Gemma’s designs. Gemma grows all of her own flowers and only delivers locally which we loved too!
Cake maker name + review
We didn’t have a cake. More time for dancing! We also spent that budget on a keg of local beer! (Tribute)
Stationery maker’s name + review
We made our own save the dates and invites. We got them printed on seeded paper so people could plant wild flowers. The table name cards and menus were done by Unique Designs by Tina. Our name cards and menus were made to look like ticket stubs and had quotes from the movies on them.
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
One of our best friends made our wedding rings. He is a jeweller and did such an amazing job. We love our rings so much.
We designed the table signs, and plan; they were all film names. And we decorated them with props and objects from the movies. We also had a savoury pic n mix stand that had things like corn, cheesy moments, pretzels etc and we brought some second hand jars and utensils with paper cups for people to put together snacks for themselves throughout the day. We had so much left over though! People took boxes home (including some of the venue staff haha!!)
Wedding readings?
We didn’t have any readings, but our officiant wrote our vows and they were based around TV and film characters. So we promised to be the “Frodo to your Sam” and the “Bob to your Linda”, the “Yzma to your Kronk” things like that. He also put so many film quotes in, it was so cute!
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
Our first dance song was ‘Fooled Around and Fell in Love’ by Elvin Bishop. We were friends for a while before we became a couple, and kind of accidentally fell in love. We followed up our first dance immediately with ‘I Believe in a Thing Called Love’ by The Darkness, was a floor filler! The DJ was great and really enjoyed the night- said he enjoyed it as much as we did 🙂 Definitely chat with your DJ beforehand and give a list of “do not plays” and “definitely play” this helps them understand your music taste better!
Hair + makeup name + review
Hair: Kimberly Holland – https://www.khbridal.com/
Kimberly’s hair styling is just stunning and she just made us all look and feel incredible. We had such a wonderful morning with her as well.
Make-Up: Hannah Symons – https://makeupbyhannahsymo.wixsite.com/makeupbyhannahsymons
Hannah managed to make me and the rest of the gang look amazing. She was so much fun to giggle with as well and was just wonderful.
Entertainment and games
We also had games in the barn (which would have been outside if there hadn’t have been a weather warning for wind on the day!)
Archery: Lonewolf Archery – https://www.lonewolf-archery.co.uk/ The archery was so much fun and the instructor Nicola was amazing.
Games: Vintage Fun and Games – https://www.vintagefunandgameshire.com/ Beautiful wooden games and had so much fun playing these!
Today’s wedding ticks every box for me: a stunning couple who have been super generous with their supplier recommendations, glorious florals, thoughtful styling touches and amazing images. Kezia & Peter’s wedding was out of this world! All photos by our lovely friend Kayleigh, Devon wedding photographer at Snapdragon Photography.
Wedding photographer’s website
Kayleigh Lee, Snapdragon Photography (www.snapdragonphoto.co.uk)
Wedding photographer review
Kayleigh’s timeless and natural photography style partnered with her friendly, professional approach immediately stood out to us when we discussed our wedding photography. Typically our photos involve us standing side by side with an awkward smile; yet with Kayleigh it’s different. We felt completely relaxed and enjoyed every moment with her. Kayleigh has an incredible talent for capturing all the little details without you realising she was even there. As a result, our photos are a beautiful reflection of our day which we will treasure for decades to come. We loved having Kayleigh as part of our day and have no hesitation in recommending Snapdragon Photography to future couples!
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
Kezia walked down the aisle with her mother and father. Words reflecting the joining of two families were used in place of the presenting/handing over the woman to be married. Our wedding readings included “Planet Caravan” by Black Sabbath. Our recessional song for walking back up the aisle was Bang a Gong by Marc Bolan and T. Rex.
We spent the day after our wedding in our swimwear, enjoying the pool at Walton Castle with our close family and friends. It was a glorious day so we made the most of the sunshine and our beautiful venue. And we used a QR code for guests to share behind the scene clips and wedding messages
Your best moment or memory
Seeing each other for the first time, at our wedding ceremony. A surprise a cappella performance from the groom’s family who sang “You’re just too good to be true”. Sitting in the bar together at the end of the night (and everyone had left), nibbling on Gouda cheese and giggling about the day’s events.
Venue name + review
Ceremony: Allsaints’ Church Wraxall Reception: Walton Castle Clevedon
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
Dress: A bespoke Love Story Bride dress from Perfect Day Bride, Bath (www.perfectdaybridal.net). Beautifully altered by Sew Studio (https://sew-studio-clothing-alteration-service.business.site). Connie from Sew Studio totally understood my vision and created detachable, billowing sleeves. This allowed me to create two different wedding day looks. Suit Clifton Suits, Bristol (www.cliftonsuits.co.uk) A tailor made suit reflected the exact requirements of the Groom. The team were dedicated in their alterations, ensuring it fitted perfectly. It also had all of the Groom’s little details such as including the bride and groom’s initials on the inside jacket.
Florist name + review
Megan Lily Floral Design (www.meganlilyfloraldesign.co.uk) Meg blew us away with our incredible wedding flowers; transforming our vague ideas into reality with exquisite attention to detail. I will never forget seeing and smelling the bridal flowers for the first time, they were simply beautiful.
Cake maker name + review
The Mother of the Bride made meringues which our caterer, The Hogfather (www.hogfathercatering.co.uk), used to create a tower for us to cut. This was then transformed into Eton Mess for our guests to enjoy.
Stationery maker’s name + review
The stationery illustrations were created by the Groom’s cousin. Menus and place names were hand written by the Bride. The seating plan was created by the Bride.
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
Photos from our favourite beaches were used for the table names. The Bride grew and dried lavender for the place settings and included dried rose petals from the garden within the confetti. The Father of the Bride grew herbs for the table decorations and made the table photograph stands from shells and pebbles. Our record player and vinyls filled the bar with our favourite tunes.
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
We kicked off a Ceilidh – Bowreed (www.bowreed.co.uk) were fantastic, they got everyone dancing and filled the tent with laughter and cheers, even my 86 year old gran got involved!
Wedding planner name + review
The bride plus help from family and friends – I think we smashed it!
Hair + makeup name + review
Evie Smith (www.eviesmakeup.com) Evie was a pleasure to spend the morning with and nailed my brief completely; creating a natural, effortless look which held in from morning until the early hours.
Other Walton Castle wedding supplier recommendations from Kezia & Peter
Oleg Zaremskyi (https://ozaremskyi.business.site) created a lovely, fun atmosphere in the tent during cocktails.
Prickly Pear Stretch Tents provided us with much needed shelter from the Great British summer rain. They were really supportive throughout the planning process, providing different options and ideas. They also liaised with the venue to ensure everything ran smoothly. They were extremely professional during the setup and take down operation, creating us a beautiful indoor but outdoor setting within the beautiful castle walls which we enjoyed all weekend. (www.pricklypearstretchtents.com)
Virginias Vintage Hire provided the furniture for the event. During the planning process they shared ideas and alternatives to help us create an ‘english garden party’ vibe.
Danny Conetta (www.dannythefireperformer.com) provided us with an evening fire show. The weather forecast was not at all favourable for Danny’s performance however he worked tirelessly in the days leading up to the event to create and agree an alternative performance with the venue to enable his show to continue. He provided non stop entertainment for the entire show – it was captivating! I cannot emphasise enough how lucky we were to have such supportive, creative and flexible suppliers.
I have been so excited to share this beautiful wedding with you today! It’s romantic, charming and full of the loveliest personal touches. The styling is perfect, and gorgeous bride Elisabeth is incredible in her beautiful modern white dress. Handsome hubby Josh shares his recommendations for a few top Derbyshire wedding suppliers – do scroll all the way through to see his top tips! I’m absolutely smitten with Losehill House and these images by Peak District photographer Tom Hodgson are just wonderful.
Wedding photographer’s website
Wedding photographer review
Tom Hodgson was a brilliant photographer. Start to finish excellent. Even before the day, Tom made sure to understand what we wanted and how to deliver. On the day, Tom was masterful in his craft. Taking formal and informal pictures alike with grace and ease. The guests felt perfectly at ease around him, and made for some amazing photographs.
Your best moment or memory
Walking down the aisle with my beautiful wife. Tom captured this moment beautifully, couldn’t have asked for a better moment and picture.
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
My wife was the mastermind behind the amazing day. She had the amazing idea to give Flower Bombs (parcel of wild flower seeds) to our guests which they loved.
Venue name + review
Losehill. Perfect venue, for accommodating me and wife and all our guests. They couldn’t have been more welcoming.
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
I wore my RAF uniform and my wife wore a beautiful semi-traditional white dress.
Florist name + review
Arbutus and Ivy
Amazing flowers for venue and guests as well. Faultless. Again, understood our wants and needs before hand and delivered without alarm on the day. Perfect set for the day to decorticating the stand that we said our vows on.
Cake maker name + review
Peak Patisserie
Amazing cake, still have some in the freezer! Perfect before hand with consultation and cake sample (mmmmmm) and perfect on the day. Guests wanted more!!
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
My wife had the brilliant idea of having photographs of our parents and grandparents on their wedding day. Brilliant conversation piece between families and very heart warming, especially as I had lost my father and she had lost one set of grand parents. Felt like they were there in spirit.
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
Lover by Taylor Swift. Beautiful song for a beautiful wife.
Wedding planner name + review
My wife!
Again, Tom Hodgson was amazing would definitely recommend. Thank you again ~ Elisabeth and Joshua
Breathtaking floral styling, vibrant gem colours and an art history theme – this is an unmissable wedding we’re THRILLED to be sharing with you! Stunning bride Sarah and handsome hubby Ross were married in Hampshire and chose lovely Nathan, Dorset wedding photographer at Libra Photographic, to capture their day. The review they give him is as unmissable as the photos we’re about to share! If you could fall in love and marry an actual wedding, this would be The One for us!!!
Wedding photographer’s website
https://www.libraphotographic.co.uk/
How did you choose your photographer?
We found Nathan via Google – I searched for documentary-style photographer in Hampshire and came across his website.
Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!
We were absolutely delighted! The photographs have blown us away with how they captured the vibe of the day – something that I think is truly really difficult to do. Nathan was brilliant from start-to-finish – he was responsive and friendly at the beginning, he understood absolutely what we wanted and on the day, he was a wonderful presence to be part of the wedding, putting everyone at ease! I can’t believe the photos he got – they are creative, unique, jawdroppingly beautiful and we will be eternally grateful!
What’s your fondest memory of your wedding?
I absolutely loved coming down the aisle! To go from being cloistered up waiting in the morning to suddenly bursting out and to have everyone you love there is intense and wonderful!
We hired the event illustrator!
We didn’t have a videographer – decided we would never sit around and watch that – but actually a few friends took their own videos of the speeches and some fun party ones in the evening and I admit we have sat around watching those!
We did however have a wedding illustrator. Aaron Jacob Jones is a very talented artist who illustrates for events. He paints guest portraits for people that they can take home from the wedding. He can turn around a portrait of a couple in 6-8 minutes but they aren’t caricatures like you might get on holiday – they are done in watercolour and ink and are absolutely gorgeous. When I spoke with Aaron I immediately knew we would get on – he’s such a lovely guy. On top of the guest portraits, he did the most wonderful illustration of us during the ceremony that he presented to us in the evening framed for us to keep as a souvenir of the day.
Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?
Our venue was Silchester Farm, in Hampshire – it’s a glorious place – converted barns with really rustic tables and industrial style lighting. It’s got a very relaxed feel. It was actually the first venue we visited and we booked it straight away!
Did you love wearing your outfits? How was your shopping experience, was it fun to find your wedding gear?
My outfit finding experience was very easy. Booked an appointment at Farnham Boutique after I liked the style of a lot of their dresses on their website. First dress I tried on is the one I ended up getting 😀 Either I’m not very fussy or it was meant to be!
Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness 🙂
We discovered the most incredible venue stylist – Ever After Weddings – who did our flowers as well. It was a brilliant idea because Sarah and Jo took care of everything, making it so easy. The flowers were the main reason I wanted to get married so we went big. The colour scheme was jewelled pink, purple and orange so the scope for the flowers was incredible. In the end we had sweetpeas, dahlias, aliums, tulips, roses, ranunculus, peonies – they were unbelievable. So many people came up to me and said “Oh, the flowers! Oh, the flowers!” My advice on flowers is to go high impact rather than lots of little bits and reuse them where you can – for example, we had urns with flowers spilling out for either side of the aisle that our stylist moved through to the wedding breakfast by the entrance. We also had a dressed archway with fabric swag and flowers that we then could remove the fabric and use as a frame for the cake. My favourite flowers were on the top table
As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?
Emma Page Cakes made our cake – she specialises in floral sculpted buttercream decoration and was brilliant at designing the cake to match my flowers and colour scheme. The flavours were Lemon, Lemon and Elderflower and Chocolate Orange and it was so delicious – whatever was left we ate in the morning and it was all gone by the afternoon!
My aunty very kindly also arranged for some vegan rose-petal cupcakes in lace cases for our vegan guests from Ruby’s Cupcakes. The flavours for those were lemon and elderflower, rose & pistachio and classic triple chocolate. They looked spectacular and tasted wonderful – you’d have no idea they were vegan!
Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves (we love that stuff!)
We love art and history and so I had the idea to make the theme of the wedding, Love through time, told through floral art from various eras. The ceremony I decided to theme with Ancient Rome, inspired by the floral frescoes from Villa Livia in approx. 39 BC. These frescoes are famous for their beauty and are special because the flowers depicted would never flower at the same time in real life so they symbolise joy. The drinks reception I took the guests through to Ottoman-era Turkey, inspired by Sultan Ahmet’s tulip garden and the wedding breakfast was Victorian Scotland in 1879. I handmade a lot of the props including getting a large Victorian frame and handmaking little escort cards made of rag paper that I hung on string for the seating plan. For the confetti, I sourced a Victorian atlas in Latin with maps of Ancient Empires from eBay and cut it up to make confetti cones.
Did you have any wedding readings? What were they?
We had 3 wedding readings – the first was a very personal one written by my dad who died in 2015. It is called The Head vs The Heart and is all about embracing joy in life and love. The second reading was Wedding Day by Robert Palmer, which is light-hearted and funny in places but also moving. The third was The Art of Marriage by Wilferd Arlan Peterson, which really sets out how you have to intentionally build a marriage up, it doesn’t just happen. My favourite line in that one was “It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.”
As Ross is Scottish, we wanted to have an element of his heritage in our day – I discovered there’s this ‘Quaiche Ceremony’ where the bride and groom drink from a loving cup, called a quaiche as their first act as bride and groom. To fit with the historic theme, I sourced an antique Victorian silver and glass quaiche and on the day, after the speeches, we filled it up with wine and took turns sipping it whilst the guests said the following verse all together:
“Strike hands with me. The glass is brim. The dew is on the heather. And love is good, and life is long and friends are best together.” We also gave every guest a miniature bottle of either Jonny Walker Black whisky or elderflower Edinburgh gin liqueur that they could drink at the same time.
What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?
We wanted the first dance to kick off the party so we went with Get Down On It by Kool & The Gang.
Favourite wedding suppliers
Venue stylist and Florist: https://www.everafterevents.co.uk/
Photographer: https://www.libraphotographic.co.uk/
Illustrator: https://weddingillustrator.co.uk/
Bridal dress boutique: https://www.thefarnhamboutique.com/
Bridesmaid dresses: https://wearerewritten.com/
Venue: https://www.silchesterfarm.co.uk/
Stationery: https://www.papier.com/
Cake: https://www.emmapagecakes.co.uk/
Vegan cupcakes: https://rubysoflondon.com/
