A fabulous late December wedding with creative and beautiful lighting, perfect for the winter months. Phoebe and Rob’s day is incredible, beautifully styled and we’re in love with the lamps adding a soft glow to table settings.
Along with brilliant reviews and recommendations for photographers Lisa & Neil, Woodhall Manor and The Suffolk Florist, Phoebe told us how phenomenal The Decorative Collection Cordless Lighting (TDC Cordless Lighting) were for creating a truly magical wedding.
Wedding photographer’s website
Lisa and Neil https://lisaandneil.co.uk
Wedding photographer review
Lisa and Neil are absolutely fab! They listened to everything we asked and completely understood that we didn’t want to be spending hours doing photos during our drinks reception. Their photos have made us feel like movie stars and they have captured all the magical moments our guests had. They also offered a variety of photographs from posed, candid and artistic. They made us feel really comfortable and made all the photos very fun! We would recommend them to all our friends and family.
Your best moment or memory
There were too many to choose from but our top highlights were the first moment we saw each other as Phoebe walked down the aisle, our entrance into the Wedding breakfast as Mr and Mrs Attwater.
Our first dance was also such a special moment dancing to “Better Man” by Paolo Nutini. Also loved doing the professional artistic photos in the bar under the atmospheric lighting – the photos look amazing from this!
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
We had a guestbook of baubles where every guest wrote us a special message on a bauble and hung it on a tree (as we got married between Christmas and New Year). We also lit up our who wedding with the help of TDC Cordless Lighting. They provided all the lighting for the venue and the wedding breakfast this really added the wow factor. All our guests commented on how atmospheric and gorgeous the tables looked. We used Audio Guestbook which has captured all our guests messages and enabled us to have a keep sake of all our loved ones. I’m so happy we’ll be able to keep listening to these for years to come. Such a special touch. Phoebe’s Grandad piped (bagpipes) her down the aisle so we included black watch tartan throughout the whole wedding. Our cereal buffet was also epic (big up the chocolate weetabix).
Videographer name + review
Nick and Molly, Heartwood wedding films They were amazing, the video has captured every special memory of the day and has enabled us to keep all the special memories from the day. We keep rewatching it again and again. They were incognito the entire wedding but always there whenever there was a moment to capture. Would definitely recommend!
Venue name + review
Woodhall Manor, Woodbridge We could not have asked for a better venue it offered everything we wanted. It was perfect for a winter wedding a great mix of sophistication and cosy. The staff were phenomenal, nothing was too much of an ask. They made everyone feel so welcome. We also loved the fact we could stay and have breakfast the next morning with all our loved ones. The biggest shoutout has to be for the food though, it was outstanding and every guest has mentioned how good it was!
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
Rob is in the Royal Navy so he wore his uniform and then swapped into his mess dress in the evening so got a chance to wear both! Phoebe’s dress was tight and then went down into a long lace train it was buttoned all the way down and had a v neck that was lacy. This was paired with a pearl veil.
Dress or suit shop name + review
Grace and Lace, Colchester The service I received was amazing they made it feel so magical and adapted my dress and re made a lot of it to make it fit my perfect vision. It was like hands had never touched it when they re designed the dress. They are some very talented ladies!!!
Florist name + review
The Suffolk Florist Emma went above and beyond to help me to create our vision she thought outside the box and helped bring my pine cone theme alive. The bouquets were absolutely gorgeous and she was so receptive throughout the whole process.
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
We made our own shot wall as a table plan and donut wall. Also made all our table decorations
Wedding readings?
Ecclesiastes 4 9-12 Excerpt from The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
Better Man by Paolo Nutini
Hair + makeup name + review
Paige from House of Hair and Beauty did my hair – she is amazing she created my visions completely and came back and redid my hair in the evening with a slightly different style. Paige was like one of the other girls it was soo easy having her during the morning. Also she spent hours in my trial perfecting the right look.
Alice Setterfield – make up. Alice was amazing at creating a really natural look for me that also popped in all the photos. She was able to adapt to all ages. She listened to exactly what I wanted and made it happen. She was super friendly and fitted in so easily in the morning.
James and Maria’s celebration was a day filled with joy and love, a beautifully elegant London wedding with stunning styling touches. We adore Maria’s dress and the incredibly beautiful train with buttons all the way down to the hem. The florals are simple and beautiful with white roses for the bridal bouquet and romantic pinks for the venue arrangements. James and Maria are breathtaking in their wedding attire and this is such an incredible day – we hope you will love it too! All images are by Pembroke Lodge wedding photographer Liam Collard Photography. Liam is based in London and travels worldwide to capture unforgettable weddings in his artistic signature style.
Maria began her day at the picturesque Cannizaro House, nestled at the back of Wimbledon Common.
The morning of their big day had a touch of London charm, as James met up with friends at a local pub. What made it even more iconic was that he donned his tails and traveled to the venue via the underground. A truly unforgettable start to the day!
The wedding itself was a beautiful affair at a nearby Catholic church. Maria arrived in style, making her entrance in a classic wedding car, and they continued on to Richmond Park for a magical reception.
Pembroke Lodge was the chosen venue for their reception, and they had the pleasure of enjoying their special day in the private entertaining area The Belvedere. This spacious area accommodated 130 of their closest friends and family.
Mother Nature graced them with the best that English summer has to offer, with beautiful weather and a spectacular sunset over the Surrey countryside. This backdrop provided the perfect setting for some stunning photos, capturing candid moments that will be treasured forever.
While they opted not to have a videographer, they did have the talented Mikey JC, a wedding singer who serenaded Maria with a famous Italian song, paying homage to her Italian roots. It was such a fun and heartwarming moment that had all the guests waving their table napkins in delight. Mikey also took on the role of DJ, turning the evening into a lively and memorable party.
The reception was complete with a cake cutting ceremony and heartfelt speeches. Many guests ventured out to the terrace for most of the evening, enjoying the warmth of the night and each other’s company. It truly was a day filled with love, laughter, and cherished memories.
As always, we’ve saved some favourite photos from this beautiful London wedding to share with you on instagram. Don’t miss them!
London and destination wedding photographer Liam Collard Photography is a member of English Wedding
Web: https://www.liamcollard.com
Check out the Liam Collard Photography blog too!
Elegant florals in lush green and white, a stunning couple and the loveliest of images – we’re starting September in style! Hannah & Danny’s wedding at The Oakwood at Ryther is absolutely glorious. The styling touches are spot on; the happy couple look amazing and the atmosphere is everything. The lovely pair chose wedding photographer Joss Denham to capture their day. They gave him a glowing review – keep scrolling to read it!
Wedding photographer website and review
Joss is an actual dream. He simply felt like a friend who just happened to be taking pictures. He was so easy to talk to and be around. There was no forced conversation or awkwardness and he made everyone feel super comfortable which was amazing. His communication before and after the wedding has been fab, he edited our photos in record speedy time and we absolutely loved going through them all together. We would recommend Joss a million times over. His skill is amazing plus his social skills are second to none and we feel this is a huge bonus. We can’t thank Joss enough for our dream photos!
We love our photos! We have the perfect mix between formal photographs (family portraits for the parents) and then all of the candid and fun photos too. We love the shots of the venue – including the drone shots! We love the photos of us both getting ready, the shots of us with confetti totally capture how happy we both are and then to top it off we have amazing pictures with the sunset!
North East wedding photographer Joss Denham
Danny and Hannah met at university. “We were already best friends and both in long term relationships throughout university until right at the end when we both found ourselves single. Danny plucked up the courage to say he liked Hannah and the rest is pretty much history – we have been inseparable ever since and have now been together for 9 years and have a son – Luca.”
We had our wedding day at The Oakwood at Ryther. We initially were meant to be getting married in 2020 in Northumberland however our wedding day was postponed and eventually cancelled TWICE due to Covid. We decided to cancel the wedding altogether as the stress was too much and we were just happy that all of our loved ones were safe and well instead. Hannah then won an Instagram competition for a 3 course meal, stay overnight and breakfast hamper at The Oakwood and we simply went to enjoy the free experience. What we didn’t realise is how much in love we would fall with the venue. By the next day we had booked our wedding there and simply couldn’t wait!
Colour palette
We went for classic white and green with hints of gold. It looked as gorgeous as expected. We went for big centrepieces which we are glad that we did as the venue is so tall that it didn’t feel too much at all.
Wedding attire
Wedding dress shopping was interesting, ha! I went shopping only 3 months after giving birth so I was very much in the mindset that I didn’t want anything fitted and I simply wanted to be comfortable. I also found that I felt silly in a lot of dresses like a little girl playing dress up and never got THE moment. I simply went for the dress I felt the most ‘me’ in and I wasn’t even convinced I’d picked the right dress until the day itself! I did end up buying an evening dress as I now felt more confident and wanted something more fitted and totally contrasting to my ceremony dress. I am SO glad I chose the two dresses as I felt amazing in both but for different reasons. I also love how varying my photos came out with the two looks.
Danny chose a tuxedo style suit from Next. With Danny wearing a suit everyday for work, he wanted to ensure that he felt more formal than usual and we are both so glad he went with that style as it looked super timeless and chic. We also loved that all the groomsmen were matching in those as they all looked amazing on the day.
Flowers
So my room stylist worked alongside a florist which is how I ended up with my flowers. I strictly asked for green and white with no hints of any other colours and I’m so glad I did! I love eucalyptus and peonies and these were both in there. I asked for a medium sized bouquet as I didn’t want anything huge and overpowering and my bridesmaids had smaller versions of my bouquets and they were absolutely gorgeous
Wedding cake
Danny LOVES cake so he was very excited to test out all the various flavours. We ended up choosing: carrot cake for the top tier, chocolate fudge for the second tier, Victoria sponge for the third tier and lemon drizzle for the bottom and largest tier. We wanted a plain style cake with flowers that matched my bouquet in between each tier. The only unfortunate thing was that on the day, the top tier fell off and landed on the floor – safe to say no one got to try that one!
Catering
So we had tried Dom’s Kitchen previously when we came to The Oakwood for our freebie event. We enjoyed the food SO much, especially because Hannah has various food intolerances and they catered to all of these and still provided an amazing meal – which doesn’t happen very often when at events! We then returned to another event they were catering as we wanted to have another meal cooked by them and this time took our parents – they all loved it. On the day, we had canapes which were: mini fish and chips, mini burgers and cheese and caramelised onion tarts. For the wedding breakfast we then had pate for starter, the most unreal fall apart in your mouth beef for our main, and then sticky toffee pudding for dessert. We then had a choice of either Bao buns or pork and apple sandwiches for the evening. Everyone commented how amazing the food was all day and especially our gluten or dairy free friends said they had never been catered for so well!
Entertainment
Being ex performers ourselves, we knew music was going to be a big part of our day. We had a string quartet for the ceremony and through the canapés. They actually had a jukebox service where they had a QR code for guests to scan where they could request various songs – this went down a treat. For the evening we searched high and low for the perfect band. We had a 7 piece band called Amped which included two singers and a saxophone – I honestly can’t describe just how amazing they were!! They were incredible! The singers were insane and the vibe and the music kept us both on the dance floor all night. The venue actually commented saying they were the best band they’d ever had!
Special touches and little extras
We also booked a magician. Danny loves magic and we had seen Jason perform at a family event previously and he was mind blowing and so entertaining, we knew we had to have him. He kept guests laughing and mystified and was the perfect filler in between the wedding breakfast and evening entertainment. We also had The Instant Photobooth which was able to be put outside and took both images and boomerangs that could be sent to guests phones then and there for them to share on social media. We found people loved this and we loved looking at all of these the day after.
What would be your top tip for a future couple getting married?
You do you! Don’t do anything because other people want you to. This is YOUR day and therefore you get to do everything you want to and ensure it is absolutely your dream day – you hopefully won’t ever be doing this again!
What advice would you give to a future couple to do/not do to make sure their guests have a great time at their wedding?
Make sure to do a guest book – I wouldn’t have imagined how much we loved reading everyone’s comments and advice. We actually had a Instax mini camera placed with our guestbook for our guests to take selfies and stick it in the guestbook alongside their comments and these were hilarious to look at the day after!
Are there any areas or items you would advise future couples not to spend so much money on?
Personally we would spend less/not even bother with a wedding cake. They are super expensive and we didn’t even eat any on the day itself. We personally didn’t do a cutting of the cake as we felt it unnecessary and also everyone had already had pudding at the main meal and so much cake was left over. If you have to have one I’d say go to M&S and get a simple white one from there, whack some flowers on it and have done.
What areas or vendors would you advise future couples to definitely invest in and/or even increase their budget on?
Research your entertainment properly – make sure you’re 100% sold with them as this adds to the day massively! We are so glad we didn’t cut costs with this as it was totally worth every penny spent. Also, your food. We cannot tell you how many people have commented on how amazing the food was and I genuinely believe that people remember how good their food was at certain weddings they go to. Everyone loves a good meal!
Doesn’t it feel like aaaages since NYE? Today’s super glamorous, sparkly wedding brings it all back! Our gorgeous couple Sophie & Bryson were married in Chichester on the 31st of December, and celebrated all the way through to midnight with a classy, candlelit wedding reception. Their amazing images are by London wedding photographers Liam Collard Photography – and we just know you’ll love them to bits!
Let’s begin with Sophie & Bryson’s advice for other couples – to “HAVE FUN!!! Dont make it excessively big as you won’t have time to spend with everyone. Or, have another event either the day after or before so that you can speak to everyone.”
Why a New Year’s Eve wedding?
“As a total control freak, I wanted to plan a date that the weather couldn’t affect. We would have had a summer wedding, but with no guarantees in England during summer, we chose a winter date so that we could plan it around being a horrendous day outside and if it ended up being a great day then that would be a bonus! Plus… well its New Years Eve!! As a dress code, formal black tie and sparkly attire was encouraged. Our colours were black, white, burgundy and gold. Everything looked how we hoped.”
Our wedding planner was Tammy Louise, TLC Weddings, Worthing
My little brother (12) handed out confetti canons at midnight to celebrate the New Year which was really fun! Though one guest accidentally had it the wrong way around and shot himself… I’ll let you create that image for yourself…!! HA!
Wedding photographers
“So artistic, so friendly, and we had tonnes of compliments about how great you were, and amazed at how long you spent during the day snapping photos. I would absolutely recommend you to anyone and if you ever have someone on the fence, send them our way and we will give you a huge recommendation!! We are so happy that we chose you, and will suggest to any future friends who are planning their own special events! WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!”
Wedding venue
Boxgrove Priory for our ceremony, a beautiful church near where we live with some amazing ruins next door that we thought would be a great venue for some post ceremony pictures. Our reception was in a yurt in the back garden of my parents house. Would recommend both! The church was just exceptional and the having the reception at our home gave us complete control over what we could do so we had the wedding we wanted without any venue restrictions.
Wedding attire
I always wanted a plain white elegant dress but ended up not liking anything I tried. They all felt a little too boring. I tried several places and ended up with a dress with a fairly long train, embroidery, and some sparkly layers underneath – not what I was expecting but I absolutely loved it from the moment I tried it on. Nefertiti – Blue by Enzoani, from Proposals, Chichester
Bryson wanted a tuxedo but always likes to be a little different. He decided to go with a black velvet jacket instead of plain and a burgundy feather bow tie. He looked amazing! Custom made by Gresham Blake Tailor, Brighton
Flowers
We decided not to spend a fortune on flowers. Our table decorations were just candles and we didn’t have a load of flowers at the end that would just die. Candles give the most beautiful magical ambience. We had bouquets for the bride, bridesmaids and flower girls. They were white and red with some eucalyptus. I didn’t want them to be too formal and thought they worked well. Buds n Blooms, East Preston
Wedding cake?
We opted for cheesecake instead! Baileys and chocolate, New York and salted caramel. It was all gone so I guess it was good! Our caterers were PHENOMENAL! We had canapes and a main meal followed by the cheesecake. Our main meal was more of a heavy wintery dish so we didnt have starters and capitalised on the canapes instead – who doesnt love a canape?! We had great comments on the food so cant thank them enough. Gastro Catering
Entertainment
We had a 4 piece band, female vocalist, guitar, saxaphone and a male drummer/vocalist. The band were brilliant, fun, entertaining and fit the bill by turning up in sparkly NYE attire! The dance floor seemed to be packed for most of the night so they were a big hit. We made sure to include music that would work for all generations so the party was great. Chelsey Chantelle, Brighton
An elegant, sophisticated East Yorkshire wedding from talented local photographer Abraham Photography. We’ve loved discovering The Manor Rooms – a venue we haven’t seen on English Wedding before! Jessica is just beautiful in her dress with stunning shoulder detail, and we adore all the cute personal touches. Congratulations to a gorgeous couple, and big thanks to lovely Abraham Photography for sharing the images with us all!
Wedding photographer’s website
https://abrahamphotography.co.uk/
Wedding photographer review
Very attentive throughout the day and ensured our needs were met, whilst balancing the time we also needed to spend with guests.
Your best moment or memory
Sharing the day with family and friends.
Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)
Involve your dog!
Venue name + review
The Manor Rooms – Good location for Alastair’s family. Stunning location in the countryside with beautiful views across the fields. Modern venue purposely designed and built for hosting such events.
Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!
Alastair – I chose to go down the formal black tie route. After struggling to find the exact fit of suit, I got upsold into having one custom made. I enjoyed the experience and have a great suit that will last a long time!
Jessica – Found the right dress immediately at the same shop as her twin sister used for her wedding dress! Having it tailored to fit exactly was a stressful experience having lost some weight since the first fitting!
Florist name + review
We used a local florist in Hornsea called “The Flowerbox”. They did a great job with our chosen colour scheme and came in with a good deal for us.
Cake maker name + review
The cake was made locally in Hornsea, and illustrated our story on the different tiers, and each tier was a different type / flavours of cake. So far only one tier has been eaten (a fantastic chocolate cake), with the others frozen for future events.
Any crafty projects or homemade styling touches?
It was important to have our dog (a Pug) involved in the day. She ended up in a custom made dog dress and walked down the aisle with the bridesmaids!
Wedding readings?
We had a family friend (who works as a Chaplain) who did a personal blessing, with readings written by herself. This was an important part of our whole wedding experience.
First dance song? Playlist recommendations?
Beyond the Sea by Kina Grannis. It was chosen as we met whilst both working at sea.
Hair + makeup name + review
