Stunning Cornish sunsets and a gorgeous couple tying the knot after a long-distance relationship between northern England and the Philippines! This is the kind of love story we love to share on English Wedding. Riza is stunning; Kevin her handsome groom and the coast of Cornwall the perfect setting for their micro wedding. Congratulations to a fabulous couple, and thank you lovely Hannah Timm Photography for sharing such beautiful images with us!
Wedding photographer’s website
www.hannahtimmphotography.co.uk
How did you choose your photographer?
We spent a long time researching wedding photographers in Cornwall area and was hit hard by Hannah Timm’s work, she automatically went to the top of our list and we are so happy that she could shoot our wedding. Her communication was consistent, effective, and efficient. And for us it’s very important.
Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!
I cannot begin to express how wonderful our experience was with Hannah Timm. Not only were her photos superb, but she was a joy to work with. We felt cared about, prioritised. She made the whole process enjoyable, natural, and fun especially for camera shy people like us. She has a true natural talent for photography and was able to capture every special moment that meant the world to us.
Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?
Our wedding was held at Polurrian on the lizard in Cornwall. Cornwall was my husband’s home county. At first It was a really difficult task of locating a venue without the opportunity to see it first hand as we both were too far from Cornwall and given the covid situation. Me still being in the Philippines and my partner living in the north part of England. After looking at dozens of venues online we came across this beautiful venue Polurrian on the lizard. We both fell in love with the look and feel of the venue over pictures alone. Despite not seeing and visiting the venue first hand we trusted our guts and booked it. And when we got to visit it after few months it just didn’t disappoint in fact it’s even beyond our expectations. The setting was truly amazing and such a beautiful a magical setting.
As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?
Our cake was made by Peboryon (formerly Claire’s sweet temptations) and it was absolutely amazing! Not only was the design everything we wanted but the cake tasted amazing and we received nothing but compliments! Claire was a pleasure to deal with the entire time, took the stress out of wedding planning. Especially when we had to postpone our wedding few days before the original date and moved it a month after due to unfortunate covid situation she was really accommodating and understanding.
How did the pandemic affect your wedding plans? Do you have any advice to share with couples planning their weddings right now?
Planning the wedding while being in a long distance relationship plus the pandemic was really difficult. We even had to postpone our wedding and some of our guests were not able to make it because of the rescheduling. My advise for couples planning their wedding right now although we’re not entirely out of the woods when it comes to safely gathering but still don’t let things like a global pandemic or social distance get in your way of getting married. Because love always wins. Right now it is best to find creative ways to make your wedding plans happen May it be a small one or a big one. You can always find ways to make your celebration both safe and sentimental.
Favourite wedding suppliers
https://www.hannahtimmphotography.co.uk
https://www.polurrianhotel.com/wedding-venue-cornwall
https://www.peboryon.com
@Victoriajefferieshairartist
Sammy Curtis Makeup Artist
A gorgeous summer wedding with colourful, vibrant flowers and lovely styling touches – all made by our stunning couple Hannah and Zak and their families. The venue is wonderful: a vineyard estate in North Somerset – Aldwick Estate has two beautifully converted barns and views of the rolling Mendip hills. Glorious images by Aldwick Estate wedding photographer Martin Dabek, who we’re proud to say is an English Wedding member.
Your wedding day will probably be the only the day the two of you will have where everyone you love is all together, so enjoy it as much as you can and don’t worry about anything, and that’s what we did, and we had the best day of our lives.
Wedding photographer’s website
Martin Dabek, Bristol wedding photographer
How did you choose your photographer?
We browsed through the wedding photos shown on our venue’s website (Aldwick Estate), and we found one of Martin’s photos on there which we loved, we then explored his website and invited him to meet us, we loved his style and his friendly natural approach to photography.
Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!
Yes! Martin was amazing. He was so creative, friendly and he was a joy to be with on the day. Martin was so approachable and relaxed, it made us feel relaxed and we really enjoyed each and every moment.
Videographer details if applicable – and any thoughts for other couples about having a wedding video?
Hayley Lemm – a family friend of ours who shot Hannah’s sisters wedding which we loved. We can’t thank her enough, her video is everything we dreamed of, so professional and heartwarming and she was brilliant. We would recommend anyone to have a wedding video, it’s such a lovely thing for us to watch back and really captures the day.
Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?
Aldwick Estate was everything we wanted. Amazing scenery, really friendly wedding team, accommodation on site for our immediate family, exclusive just for us on the day. It has a beautiful ceremony room, cosy fun bar and a modern rustic reception room, with a vineyard on site!
Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?
Hannah: It was such a special experience going shopping for my dress. I tried on 36 dresses in the end and just knew my one was the one as soon as I put it on. I felt amazing wearing it on the day and it really made me feel confident.
Zak: Loved it. For me, my three brothers, my three best friends and both dads to all look the part and matching was amazing. The fit of the Moss Bros suit were perfect.
Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness
Hannah’s mum was our florist! She had help from a friend who owns a flower shop. The night before the wedding, both mums and friends all helped to make the bouquets and flower arrangements for the tables, we went for a multicoloured scheme which brought it all to life!
Did you hire a wedding planner?
We didn’t, but Sarah from Aldwick Estate was so helpful to help us plan so much of our day, so we really didn’t have to do too much!
As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?
Again, Hannah’s mum did! She did a three layered cake: lemon drizzle (using a Mary Berry recipe), chocolate and beetroot (surprisingly good combo) and carrot cake (Zak’s favourite). The cake was so good and looked so great the staff at Aldwick were convinced it was a professional’s!
Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves
We both wrote a personalised note to each guest, to thank them for any help they did on the day, for what great friends and family they are and for how much we were looking forward to celebrating the day with them, especially after our wedding was postponed three times! Our table numbers had photos of us from the corresponding years on them – our friends and family had a good laugh reminiscing about these times.
Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?
We didn’t have any personalised vows but we had three wedding readings. They were: 1) He Never Leaves the Seat Up, 2) The Velveteen Rabbit and 3) Us Two (Winnie the Pooh) – each was read beautifully and were very touching – definitely recommend having readings!
What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?
A Million Dreams – Pink (The Greatest Showman).
Soon after we got engaged we loved listening to the Greatest Showman, and we picked a song that was perfect as my nickname for Hannah is ‘dream’.
How did the pandemic affect your wedding plans? Do you have any advice to share with couples planning their weddings right now?
We were initially due to get married on 4 April 2020, so with just over 2 weeks to go it got cancelled. It was heartbreaking. But we had each other and our friends and family to get through it. We then moved to 24 July 2020, then 2 April 2021 and finally on 24 July 2021 we did it! Our advice would be: If you have found the perfect venue and have the perfect wedding in mind then do all you can to wait for it to happen, the date isn’t as important, what’s important is making sure you have the wedding you want.
Favourite wedding suppliers
Videographer – Hayley Lemm
Photographer – Martin Dabek
Hair & Make up – White Rabbit – Gemma was so lovely and reassuring despite having to get 6 bridesmaids and me ready on the day! I absolutely loved mine and the bridesmaids’ hair and makeup and it really stayed all day. My only specification for the hair was a plait for everyone and the individual styles really complimented the overall feel for our wedding. Couldn’t recommend her enough.
DJ & games – Kieran Clarke – provided so many amazing inflatable games, which we really entertain all guests and the kids especially! So much fun having activities too.
Harpist – Scarlett Smith – amazing. So friendly and an expert. She learnt a song especially for Hannah’s entrance (Zak’s a big Crystal Palace fan and she composed their anthem for Hannah to walk down the aisle).
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
Our last wedding of the year is a beauty. I’m thrilled it’s turned out this way – we’ve been sharing weddings by London photographers York Place Studios for years and they always, always light up the blog. Faye and Mark are stunning, their day is beautiful and I love that it’s so bursting full of family and joy and playfulness and excitement.
It’s been a year. This wedding happened in safer times before masks and distancing and is both a memory of how gloriously normal things used to be, and a reminder of everything we have to look forward to, when the pandemic is finally over.
The moments of connection on Faye and Mark’s wedding day are everything. The way we see how the children experience the excitement of a wedding is just golden. The tender moments and hugs with older relatives, the thoughtful and joyful expressions. There’s something incredibly poignant about having all of this in images, don’t you think?
Faye and Mark chose their wedding photographers well. They have the most amazing memories to keep – memories which capture how their wedding day felt, so they can relive the moments over and over again.
Photographing families is a privilege and not something we take for granted: the moments we share as a family are so intimate, so familiar, so sacred in our lives, and being invited to share in that family connection for the day is a truly extraordinary thing. ~ York Place Studios
So please, take a moment to scroll slowly all the way through this wedding.
Because if there’s one message we want to share with you, it’s that weddings are about bringing together the people we love, and they mean everything.
We’ll be back in 2022. After today we’ll be hitting pause on our social media, and relaxing with our favourite people in the world for a week or two.
Sending you all our love and wishing you a very Happy Christmas, a lovely holiday and a very Happy New Year!
York Place Studios and York Place Films are members of English Wedding
Web: www.yorkplacestudios.co.uk
A lovely, creative and relaxed wedding day with beautiful photos – the flowers are amazing, the dress stunning and the moments captured might just bring a tear to your eye (they did mine!)
Nicola & George thought they’d never have their wedding after the uncertainty of 2020 and having to reschedule, as so many couples did. But they pulled through and this amazing day just shows how important it is to celebrate love, with your most special people, in the most wonderful way you can imagine. I love everything about this creative garden wedding, and I hope you will too!
Wedding photographer’s website
https://www.damienvickersphotography.co.uk/
How did you choose your photographer?
We were some of the first amongst our friends to get married, so we relied on our own research as opposed to recommendation. After contacting a few photographers, we came across Damien and were sold from the first phone call. It was really important to us to hire a photographer who would capture the narrative of our wedding day, and that’s one of the reasons we loved Damien’s work.
Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!
We couldn’t have asked for more – Damien was brilliant from start to finish, having been due to photograph our July 2020 wedding that got postponed (Covid!) to July 2021. Damien was professional and thoughtful throughout, from initial conversations, to our engagement shoot, to scheduling and rescheduling plans as the pandemic changed everything. On our wedding day itself Damien arrived promptly, and seamlessly integrated himself with us and our guests- it was like having another friend there who happened to be taking photos! His organisation and communication was spot on and the final photos are fantastic too. We would not hesitate to recommend Damien to anyone getting married – he was a faultless photographer!
Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?
Our venue was unique as it was in the garden of Nicola’s family home. The garden holds many special memories as it has been in the family for multiple generations, making it an even more sentimental setting for our wedding day. Located in a small Suffolk town, the house is so close to where we held our ceremony (at the town hall) that we all walked up the road together. All of the locals, both friends and people we have never met, lined the street and cheered as we went past. It was an incredibly special day and the setting made it even more perfect.
Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?
We loved it! George had his suit made bespoke by Moss Bros, ensuring that it looked exactly as he had wanted it to. This was particularly important as, at 6ft5, he struggles to find suits off the shelf as they’re never long enough!
Nicola ended up wearing a dress that was the opposite of what she had in mind for her wedding day. After going to traditional bridal boutiques, she went to a small boutique in Canterbury (http://www.weddingdresskent.co.uk/) to have a browse. Not expecting to find anything, she went on her own and fell in love with a dress by Wendy Makin that had not been on her radar. It was particularly special that Nicola’s Dad kindly paid for her dress, as he sadly passed away just months later after a short illness. When the wedding day came around her dress was a beautiful reminder of her Dad.
Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness
We did, Barnhouse Flowers and the wonderfully talented Juliet Bamber. Juliet grows all of her own flowers in her wonderful garden and spent so much time and care curating the bouquets and floral displays to our exact taste. As our reception was outside in a garden full of wild flowers, Juliet considered how her flowers would compliment the garden and even integrated some of the garden into her designs. We were so in love with the flowers that we have had some preserved in resin so that we can remember their beauty forever.
Did you hire a wedding planner?
No! Nicola took on the task herself and organised it all independently. Fortunately all of the suppliers were fantastic (particularly with COVID) and this made organising the day much easier. George was in charge of food (Antonino’s Pizza) and Music (The Confidentials) and his taste in suppliers was impeccable, with all of the guests raving about the delicious vegan food and the dance floor full until the final minutes of the day.
As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?
As we are both vegan it was important to us to have a completely vegan wedding cake. Nicola’s generous godmother’s gifted the wedding cake and organised for it to be made by local company The Hazlebury Kitchen. We had three tiers all of different flavours and it was absolutely delicious.
Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves
Special personal touches were a huge part of the wedding planning, and an aspect that Nicola put a huge amount of effort into.
Starting with the invites, Nicola asked a local man to draw a map of the town, including the house and the town hall to accompany the official wedding invites. This bespoke drawing fitted the feel of our day perfectly.
On the morning of the wedding, Nicola made each bridesmaid, page boy, and flower girl personalised gowns and gift bags with little presents inside. All of the closest family members also received gift boxes to show our appreciation and thanks for their support in organising the wedding.
At the ceremony, each seat had a candle by The Home County Candle Co., either with their ‘Kent’ or ‘Suffolk’ scent, as this is where George and Nicola grew up. There was also a laser cut wooden name of each guest and a handmade bag of confetti. There were polaroids of Nicola and George everywhere and Nicola made a welcome banner that framed the entrance of the ceremony.
One weekend when we were at a vegan food festival, we coincidentally came across an alcohol company with the same name as ours – O’Donnell. We just knew we had to incorporate this into our day and we used O’Donnell moonshine jars as our table vases and O’Donnell mini shots as wedding favours. We also gave everyone a favour of sunflower seeds hand-stamped by Nicola. Each child at the wedding had a personalised gift bag full of activities to keep them amused.
To remember two important family members who we have lost, we made a wooden heart sign lined with fairy lights. Here we placed photos of our loved ones and lit a candle throughout the day to remember and include them.
Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?
Nicola’s maid of honour read the poem ‘Invisible Kisses’ by Lemn Sissay. This isn’t necessarily a ‘traditional’ wedding poem but it is so beautiful. We chose not to personalise our vows but wrote each other cards separately to express how much we love each other.
Invisible Kisses by Lemn Sissay (via One Fab Day)
If there was ever one
Whom when you were sleeping
Would wipe your tears
When in dreams you were weeping;
Who would offer you time
When others demand;
Whose love lay more infinite
Than grains of sand.
If there was ever one
To whom you could cry;
Who would gather each tear
And blow it dry;
Who would offer help
On the mountains of time;
Who would stop to let each sunset
Soothe the jaded mind.
If there was ever one
To whom when you run
Will push back the clouds
So you are bathed in sun;
Who would open arms
If you would fall;
Who would show you everything
If you lost it all.
If there was ever one
Who when you achieve
Was there before the dream
And even then believed;
Who would clear the air
When it’s full of loss;
Who would count love
Before the cost.
If there was ever one
Who when you are cold
Will summon warm air
For your hands to hold;
Who would make peace
In pouring pain,
Make laughter fall
In falling rain.
If there was ever one
Who can offer you this and more;
Who in keyless rooms
Can open doors;
Who in open doors
Can see open fields
And in open fields
See harvests yield.
Then see only my face
In reflection of these tides
Through the clear water
Beyond the river side.
All I can send is love
In all that this is
A poem and a necklace
Of invisible kisses.
What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?
Baby, I love your way – Big Mountain was our chosen first dance song, although George actually ended up missing this and Nicola danced with her friend Hannah instead!!! (George made up for the dancing later). We chose this song as it’s fun and romantic, and the sentiment is reflective of our relationship:
“baby, I love your way, everyday
I wanna tell you I love your way, everyday
I wanna be with you night and day”
How did the pandemic affect your wedding plans? Do you have any advice to share with couples planning their weddings right now?
The pandemic affected our wedding plans massively – originally scheduled for July 2020, we decided to reschedule our outdoor wedding by a whole year to July 2021. As well as the pandemic, a couple we had a really difficult time, with Nicola’s Dad David dying in June 2020 and George’s cousin and best man Elliot dying in May 2021, both unexpectedly. These experiences really highlighted the importance of family and reminded us that life is short, meaning that we were even more eager to get married as soon as we could. The constant uncertainty of COVID and the ever changing rules was incredibly stressful, even down to the week before the wedding…we just thought we would never have our wedding day.
It’s easy to tell couples planning their wedding not to worry, but we know that isn’t possible! But, what we will say is that hindsight is a wonderful thing, and you will have your day one way or another. Avoid the news, keep up to date with wedding rules, and don’t compromise on something that’s important to you – your wedding is a lifetime event and you deserve to have the wedding that you want.
Favourite wedding suppliers
Photographer – Cambridge wedding photographer Damien Vickers – https://www.damienvickersphotography.co.uk/
Dress – Wendy Makin – https://www.wendymakin.com
Cake – Hazlebury Kitchen – http://www.thehazleburykitchen.com/
Flowers – Juliet Bamber at Barnhouse Flowers – https://www.flowersfromthefarm.co.uk/members/juliet-bamber/
Hair – Bridal Hair by Jennie – https://www.bridalhairbyjennie.co.uk/
Make-up – Emma B Beauty – https://www.emmabbeauty.com/
Stationery – White Cottage Weddings – https://www.whitecottageweddings.com/
Tipi – The Cambridge Tent Company – https://cambridgetentcompany.com/
Bar – The Beaufort Box – https://beaufortbox.co.uk/
