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English Country Wedding at Boconnoc House and Estate

From the Bride & Groom… I think most couples want their wedding to be a true reflection of themselves. Dan and I were no different in this respect, we wanted our wedding to showcase our passion for food and how we love to throw a good party, whilst also reflecting both our Indian and Jewish heritages.

Coordinating the religious ceremony was the most difficult aspect for us. We decided we wanted to have a joint religious ceremony rather than two separate Indian and Jewish weddings as we felt this would not be a true reflection of our future HinJew household, where both religions would be intertwined.

Our first task of finding a Hindu priest and a Rabbi who would be happy to work together was very difficult in itself. We then had to build our own wedding ceremony from Jewish and Hindu rituals. This was a political minefield to navigate: pleasing families, the priests as well as ourselves sometimes seemed impossible! We got there in the end however, and the result was a ceremony which incorporated both our cultures, families, and was completely bespoke to us.

Style wise I wanted to keep it simple, the Mandarin Oriental is a beautiful venue and so I opted for classic white, cream and buttermilk flowers. The table decorations had cascading orchids to add another dimension and soften the overall look. I didn’t have a colour scheme as I wanted the overall appearance to be natural and not too over stylised. Plus I had heard horror stories of brides being up all night ordering chair cover samples from China to ensure they were the same shade of duck egg blue as their bridesmaids dresses! I wanted to avoid slipping into this kind of bridezilla stress! The result was green bridesmaids dresses (they chose colour and outfits themselves), pink and grey straws, and neutral flowers.

My favourite detail or touch were the personalised flags we had commissioned. These were life size photos of us hanging over Knightsbridge at the entrance to our wedding. In the future if we buy a house it must have two flag poles so we can hang them once more!

TIP: Make freezable favours so they can be made well in advance and so are not a last minute chore. We made Florentines, white chocolate with lemon and lime and a dark chocolate and peanut variety. By all accounts they were yummy but having made 300+ I am now thoroughly sick of them.

Best part of the day was the party, Indian and Jewish dancing followed by some old school classics and of course a garage set! It was crazy! At the end of the night we were on such a high, we went to our room and ordered whiskey and room service and reflected on the day together.

My advice for anyone planning a wedding is to try and not get too bogged down in the details and to focus on what really matters to you. We had a brilliant day but we acknowledge it’s hard to take it all in at the time. As my husband says, the prominence of that one day increases with every day that passes. It was the best day of our lives, we know it now but we will know it even more in 50yrs time.

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Pronovias

ATELIER PRONOVIAS

PRONOVIAS

Dancing Lights, Cruise Collection

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Anyone that knows me knows one thing: I heart all things British. So a drop-dead gorgeous English countryside wedding at the Boconnoc House And Estate? Right up my alley. Especially one as beautiful as this elegant day, with its colorful blooms, stylish attire (hello stunning Jenny Packham gown) and breathtaking gallery of images captured by Sarah Falugo. See them all right here.

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Garden Weddings Weddings in Historical Venues

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Grayed Jade Sophisticated Garden Wedding Ideas

From Sarah Falugo… Boconnoc House and Estate is a quintessentially English wedding venue. The house dates back to 1250 AD and the grounds, complete with deer park and its own church is a hidden gem in the Cornish countryside. Emma and Terence were married in the church on the grounds and then stayed on site with friends and family to have a garden party and slap up meal in the height of the English summer.

Emma wore a stylish Jenny Packham wedding dress. The decorations were a mixture of colored glass bottles and beautiful English roses.

Photography: Sarah Falugo Photography | Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham | Venue: Boconnoc House And Estate

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Wedding Dresses

Jenny Packham

Bridal 2016 Catwalk

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Last year, Pantone named Grayed Jade one of the leaders in fashion trends and I for one am not over it and this wedding inspiration from Michelle Pierre-Carr is exactly why. Captured by Eddie Judd, it’s everything sweet, elegant, and beautiful – and not to mention that spread from Cakes by Krishanthi. Or the Freya Rose shoes. Or the gaggle of cutie pie kiddos. Really, it’s all amazing, and it’s all right here!

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Whimsical London Warehouse Wedding

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Park

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Romantic

From the designer… Using Pantone’s 2013 colour Grayed Jade (a subtle, hushed green with a gray undertone) we set about creating our ‘Sophisticated Garden’ photo shoot.

Gone are the rustic elements of a garden setting and in comes sophistication, opulence and romance. With crystal candle chandeliers, gold silverware, monograms and natural opulent flowers of Peonies and David Austin roses we combine romance and elegance with the natural outdoors.
And with Succulents as our main themed flower for the reception and bridal party we pay homage to a growing plant trend and the setting we are in whilst adding texture and interest to our floral arrangement.

With children also as our focus on this shoot we take a look at what the bridal party get up to by telling the story of their adventure from coming down the aisle, to them discovering the dessert table with all the treats of Grayed Jade (mint green) to the fun and games they have near the lake and on the long grass, adding the fun element to the sophistication.

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Bridesmaid Dresses

Amsale

Amsale Bridesmaids Fall 2014

Amsale Bridesmaids Spring 2014

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Amsale Bridal Fall 2014

Amsale Bridal Spring 2015

Amsale Bridesmaids Fall 2015

Amsale Bridal Blue Label

Amsale Bridal Spring 2016

Amsale Bridal Fall 2016

Amsale Bridal Spring 2018

Amsale Bridal Fall 2018

Amsale Bridesmaids

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Accessories

Freya Rose

2014/2015 Shoes

2014/2015 Accessories

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Leave it to Jodie Chapman to send us one of coolest, chicest weddings that’s ever graced our pages. Held at London’s MC Motors/Castle Gibson warehouse, this gorgeous duo opted for an affair that spoke perfectly to their whimsical, vintage-loving style. Mark my words – this English “I do” has just set the bar for quirky weddings everywhere.

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Fall Weddings

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Industrial

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Vintage

From Jodie Chapman… Sonali and Richard’s wedding took place at the coolest venue in London. MC Motors/Castle Gibson is a warehouse that is usually rented out for television/film productions, fashion shoots, and the occasional wedding. With the front of the building having the old-fashioned cinema style board, the wedding took on a little bit of a film theme, with guests collecting cinema tickets to tell them where they were seated, and images of Brando, Clark Gable and Grace Kelly adorning the venue.

Sonali got ready at their mews home in East London before heading to the church where she married her love. They then went on to MC Motors, where guests enjoyed drinks to the sound of the Basin St Brawlers jazz band and took pictures in the photo booth. After a vegetarian Gujarati feast, they partied the night away.

SMP Canada Welcomes Our Advertisers + A DISCOUNT!

You may or may not have heard, but we sort of have a slight obsession with pretty pictures here at SMP. So when a brand-new vendor (+ uber-awesome photographer) like NovaMarkina Photography joins our family, we like to throw a virtual welcome party. One that is solely dedicated to love-filled moments and drop-dead gorgeous imagery. See below for exactly what I mean…

From NovaMarkina Photography… With a passion for weddings that is absolutely contagious, Nova has been photographing weddings full time for the past five years. Specializing in a combination of both film and digital mediums, her style is the seamless blend of traditional, flawless portraiture and modern elegance. Photographing only a limited number of weddings each year, every client receives the utmost attention throughout their entire journey.

Receive $500 off any wedding package if contracted by May 1, 2014. Simply mention this post in your inquiry.

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Welcome to the family, NovaMarkina Photography! We are so happy to have you! xo

“Will You Be My Bridesmaid?” DIY

You can’t help but love a crafty bride-to-be, especially one as creative (+ sweet) as this lovely lady. Because when it came time to ask her nearest and dearest to stand beside her on her Big Day, the oh-so-talented Rebecca D’Amato did so in a glittery, gold and fabulous way. Think Christmas Crackers, beautiful calligraphy from Shannon Kirsten, yummy treats from Charbonnel Et Walker and fun-filled confetti. See it all captured by Aneta Mak in the full gallery.

From Rebecca D’Amato… My fiancé and I moved to London last September during our engagement. After living here a few months we decided to plan our wedding here. Knowing that we are getting married as a destination wedding, I feel like everything we do, I want to make a little extra special for everyone. We chose to have a small bridal party, so I felt even more so I wanted to do something special. I wanted to do something pretty and “British” to ask my bridesmaids to be a part of our big day, so I thought of the fun Christmas Cracker tradition. Christmas Crackers are filled with trinkets and goodies and are such a fun treat! I had custom watercolor scrolls made for them, bought gold London key chains, I made my own confetti, bought my favorite British truffles (Pink Champagne! Charbonnel et Walker! Yum!), added a LONDON print that they could add to their desk to get them excited for the wedding. Everything was created in our wedding colors: pink & gold.

When my bridesmaids received them, they were ecstatic. It wasn’t something elaborate, but so pretty and sweet and special. Christmas crackers look really difficult, but truly you can buy the kits online and add some pretty goodies and ribbon, and voila, a fun surprise!

My dog, Sir Oliver, couldn’t help but be interested in the project, as well!

London Garden Bridal Shoot

The idea of anything in an English garden automatically gets me giddy. So when amazing vendors like Perfect Events, Kristyn Harder Photography and Wild About team up to create a inspiration shoot in one such locale, it sort of feels like I hit the wedding jackpot. With no detail left unnoticed and pink + gold accents around every corner, this is one gorgeous gallery you just mustn’t miss.

From Nicole of Perfect Events…. I’m so delighted to share with you this utterly amazing bridal styled shoot full of stunning details for you to swoon over. The shoot is the result of an international team of outstanding vendors, Canadian Kristyn Harder Photography, bridal wear by Italian bridal couturier Federica Bruno Couture and the talents of London’s wedding industry finest – Perfect Events, Elizabeth’s Cake Emporium, Freya Rose, Wild About and more.

Held outdoors in the magical setting of Regent’s Gardens nestled in the middle of renowned London’s Regent’s Park, a Royal Park, the only one of the eight Royal Parks where you can get married. A truly beautiful and historic parkland, a quintessential English setting, what makes it even more special is the fact that it’s a rare tranquillity in Central London with 11 acres of private grounds, stunning scenery, beautiful lawns, a Secret Garden which we used for most of the shots, in particular secluded shots of our model bride and groom – a real couple Blake and Emily. You could be a millions miles away from London yet right in the heart of the city. There truly is no other venue like it in Central London, oh and did I mention location has the Royal seal of approval.

A gorgeous dessert table with metallic gold Chevron detailed wedding cake complete with exquisite sugar flowers, pearl covered cake pops, ornately decorated cupcakes some of which we suspended above the dessert table, along with paper pom poms and garlands, crystal glassware filled with delightful treats and elegant cream leaves table linen all encased by lush gardens and a pretty pond.

A pretty palette of blush pink and gold, a wedding table set under a historic tree, from the branch hangs a unique ivory chandelier overlooking vintage styled plates, metalic gold detailed stationery, white dessert dunes table linen, crystal vase with beautiful blooms, Gold Chiavari chairs dressed with ivory tulle tied elegantly to one side and silk handmade flowers.

A pergola beautifully decorated with fabulous flowers, accented by curtains of crystal beaded garlands and hanging candelabras formed the perfect backdrop for the couple and the most impressive Marie Antoinette inspired wedding cake.

We created a day look for the model, consisting of an ivory satin skirt, wonderfully textured bodice, in vogue delicate lace bridal cape which fell gracefully to one side, heavenly shoes, flawlessly natural, soft makeup – pink lips, on the eyes soft gold/peachy, fluttery, feathery lashes and the cool named eye shadow ‘Expensive Pink’ by MAC, stylish hair, gem encrusted hair accessory. And for the evening the model bride adorned a gorgeous fitted gown with lace bodice and ruffled skirt and exquisite metallic gold floral hair jewellery, subtle changes to the makeup – slightly darkened smokey eye lids whilst keeping the pretty pink lips.

And for a touch of fun giant ballons, photo booth style car and humorous props galore. A table plan of gold layed curves created the frame to a ladder of guest names.

Every single detail is truly amazing, you can seriously muse until your heart’s content – simply awe inspiring, exceptional, captivating and out of this world!

Lincolnshire Wedding Film from Ever After

The thing I love most about a good highlight film is the crescendo of emotions that always leaves me in the happiest tears, usually about 4 minutes into the film. It’s magical, I tell you. This film from Ever After has that special moment, but on top of that, it has the most amazing wedding at the center… in a castle… with rhyming toasts. I’m naming this one best ever.

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Fall Weddings

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Luxury Venue

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Fig and Florals Shoot from Belle and Beau Fine Art Photography

From the stunning bride… Believe it or not, we had viewed 15 venues (yes, 15!) before booking Harlaxton Manor, and we really couldn’t have asked for more. It was really important to us that, even though we were having a civil service, the room we were getting married in had a special feel to it. When we saw their beautiful great hall, that was it for us. We mainly wanted a really classic winter wedding, but it was also important to bring out our personalities too and a little bit about how we met (which was through amateur dramatics!), so we planned for a few different fun things to happen throughout the day.

We both very much wanted a song to be part of our civil service, as music is very important to us, so we were delighted to start the service with Bring Me Sunshine! The lyrics were just perfect (“Make me happy through the years, Never bring me any tears, May your arms be as warm as the sun from up above, Bring me joy, Bring me Sunshine, Bring me love!” and everyone knew it and joined in. At the end, the order of service said, “Don’t forget the jazz hands”. Jonny and I turned round to find the whole congregation doing jazz hands back at us – it was such a joyful moment and set the tone for the ceremony we wanted. It was a pretty emotional service, with lots of tears and laughter; we were glad we had provided guests with handkerchiefs on the way in to the ceremony!

We also wanted to do something a bit different for our first dance, so worked on a full routine – with 2 choreographers even! We started off with a romantic dance to Adele – To Make You Feel My Love and then this cut off, as if the music was broken. To some gasps from the crowd, I pretended to get cross with Jonny before Let’s Face the Music and Dance kicked in and a routine involving jazz hands and a cane was begun! This was the biggest secret of the day that we kept from everyone else and we had an hilarious time with it.

We are very lucky to have some very talented friends and family, and really felt our wedding was a team effort, from poems written for us by my mum, to some amazing music, our wedding cake, the jam favours and the car Jonny arrived in; we were so touched by the support we received.

The professional team around us were also excellent. In particular, our videographers were fabulous – we had a same day edit which meant a short film of highlights of the day was ready to be played for our evening guests. We couldn’t believe how well this captured the day for us – it was just perfect! Our photographer Hannah was also just brilliant, we felt totally relaxed with her (she has some great practical tips such as how to get a cathedral length veil on!) and she captured our day better than we could have expected. The venue is so fabulous it didn’t need much doing to it, but we hired some gorgeous decorations from Perfect Details and again, felt this really made the day “ours”.

The run up to our wedding had been incredibly stressful, with changing job, moving house and then 4 family bereavements all within 2 months, but if anything, this made us appreciate the people we love more and made spending our wedding day surrounded by these people into a day better than we could have dreamed of.

Because of photographers like the super talented Belle and Beau Fine Art Photography, I had no idea you fabulous Brits were having a hard time finding the light and airy composition we super heart on SMP. Go figure. But if you were one of the doubters, I’ve got a treat for you today. A bit of beautiful fine-art style wedding inspiration from the aforementioned Belle and Beau. It’s more than enough to convince me you’ve got it going on England (not that I needed convincing)!

From Belle and Beau Photography… It took place this summer at Coombe Lodge in Somerset, UK and was based on the theme of figs and florals. The shoot was created to show that truly beautiful fine art style weddings and light-filled photography are possible for brides in the UK too as many brides over here in England love looking at Style Me Pretty weddings and but feel that they can’t be recreated in England!

We wanted to keep it simple and to showcase stunning florals, beautiful dresses and and gorgeous tableware and to show that a little, simple DIY crafting can go a long way to creating something beautiful! It was also important to come up with something new and original for the crafting and styling which is where using different colours of wool to decorate the cake and cutlery came about. Simple, but genius!

London Wedding from Polly Alexandre

This day could give Will and Kate’s wedding a major run for its money. It’s that incredibly special. But once you get to know this London affair a wee bit little better, it really comes at no surprise. Because when a Brides UK editor ties the knot with Polly Alexandre on board, mass amounts of pretty are naturally bound to follow. Mark my words, SMPers, we’ll be obsessing over this one for a good, loooooong while.

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Hotels + Resorts Weddings

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English Garden Wedding from Marianne Taylor Photography

From Polly Alexandre… I was hugely flattered when Polly, who was Lifestyle Editor at Conde Nast’s Brides Magazine, asked me to photograph her wedding to Rhys. Polly & Rhys met through a mutual friend 6 years ago and they managed to create a successful long term relationship whilst Rhys was working abroad. Born and brought up in London, it was a city wedding Polly decided upon, with the magnificent Royal Hospital Chapel in Chelsea as the location for the ceremony – particularly apt as it is a military chapel and Rhys used to be in the army himself. Polly combined blush pink with white and grey accents for a feminine but grown up look. She wanted the overall look to be polished and elegant & appropriate for a city wedding. Working with some of her favourite suppliers, she created a wedding that was stylish and classic, polished, so very English, and well, just overall incredibly elegant.

The ceremony was held at the Royal Hospital Chapel, chosen because Rhys used to be in the army and liked the idea of getting married in a military chapel. Afterwards champagne was served in vintage style saucer glasses, before red London buses whisked away the wedding guests to the super elegant Hempel Hotel. The hotel exudes a minimalist zen like calm with a lovely garden. In this garden the couple had a beautiful marquee with oversized florals. David Austin roses and stocks were used to make an impact in this big space. Then after some heartwarming speeches it was off down into the ‘nightclub’ area downstairs in the hotel for dancing late into the night.

Upon marrying, this globe trotting couple emigrated to Dubai to start a new life together. Polly & Rhys are a perfect match, an absolute pleasure to work with, and I wish them many years of happiness and love together….

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Marie Chantal

Flower Girls Fall-Winter 2017

Ring Bearer Fall-Winter 2017

Flower Girls Spring-Summer 2018

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What you are about to see is the world’s absolute best confetti first dance. It’s made my day and then some. And served on the side of that cheery confetti is a wedding so perfectly relaxed and beautiful, you’re going to die. Marianne Taylor Photography sent in this one, complete with vintage ice cream truck, cute as can be flower girls and ring bearers, and a couple so absolutely in love.

A real tissue grabber from Reel Weddings, which just so happens to include a poem from the groom!

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Garden Weddings

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London Wedding from Del Castillo Photography + A Spotlight!

From the stunning bride… For as long as I can remember it was always my dream to marry the love of my life in my local church and to have the reception at my family home. I always wanted my wedding day to be completely personal, unique, filled with nothing but family, friends and love. To be surrounded by happy memories of my family home really was the icing on the cake!

As soon as Andrew proposed I knew the most important thing to book was our photographer, since we would cherish the images forever. I studied photography for my degree and work in pictures, so this element was the closest to my heart. As soon as I found Marianne’s website I knew she just had to be the photographer! She creates not only the most beautiful imagery but captures the pure ambience of the day, in the most unobtrusive way. Every wedding she photographs, the viewer really feels the magic of the day. I was incredibly lucky she was available the following summer, so the date was to be set around her!

However much it was my dream to be married at home, it soon became evident that there is an element of added stress and hard work as you have to think about everything from refrigerator trailers to outdoor lighting to water supplies for the caterers, solutions for limited parking and the list goes on

Andrew and I knew we wanted a beautifully relaxed day with a whimsical garden party feel in which our guests could completely relax and celebrate with us. I always had images of our nieces and nephews running and playing on the lawn.

I was also very clear on the sort of dress I wanted to wear – it was paramount for me to feel comfortable and be able to move and dance, but more importantly to just feel like me! As soon as I tried on my Vintage Wedding Dress Company dress I instantly knew it was the dress I would marry Andrew in it was fabulous in every way and fitted the relaxed, boho feel so perfectly.

Our florist Kate Avery was so utterly brilliant and she understood the look I was going for completely, I wanted a typical country garden feel with wooden crates, milk churns, jugs and jam jars. I knew I wanted to keep the colour scheme simple with mostly white flowers with hints of green and apricot. For my bouquet I wanted it to be filled with my favourite flowers, but to look as if I had just picked them from the garden.

I put everything into the decor of the day and I tried to think of lots of little details that our guests would enjoy. One of those was surprising one guest on each table with the job of being carver for the main meal. I had placed a sticker on the chosen guests name place bookmark and after the starter was cleared it was announced that those with a sticker on their bookmark should make their way to the service tent and await further instruction! There they were dressed in full chefs attire, hat and apron and were given their carving boards to take back to their tables. It went down a storm and had everyone in fits of laughter. Some of the guests didn’t take their aprons off all night!

Preparation for the day really was a labour of love – decorating hundreds of jam jars in hessian and lace, creating various playlists, hanging twinkling lights, hand-juicing over 200 hundred limes for our cosmopolitan cocktails, collecting sweets we knew each guest would love for our sweetie bar, organizing a retro ice cream van, making and hanging paper lanterns for the marquee, putting together our wish tree, and making our personalized bunting and organising a photo booth which was a roaring success with our guests! It really all paid off in the end and I wouldn’t have changed a single thing – it really was magical. It was the day I had always dreamed about and so much more – I married my best friend and soulmate surrounded by the people we love the most in the world.

It’s Wedding Wednesday darlings! And do we have a lovely treat for you. If this stunningly sweet London wedding, packed full of DIY details isn’t enough, we’ve sprinkled in an interview with the fabulous photojournalist himself, Daniele Del Castillo of Del Castillo Photography. Daniele has an effortless way with the lens, so we’re beyond excited to hear a bit about his process!

SMP: What inspired you to become a wedding photographer?

DCP: I’m a photojournalist and that’s basically my background. I fell in love with weddings because it was the only way for me to cover the entire process of my product. When working for the editorial world you normally shoot, then there is a photo editor and after that a printer and a magazine… I wanted to have control on everything in order to provide the best to my clients getting out the best from each photo and wedding photography gave me this chance.

SMP: How did you translate your photojournalism and storytelling skills into weddings?

DCP: What I learnt from photojournalism is to preview the image and basically make a choice everytime. I don’t shoot thinking that I have to tell the entire story of the event (that’s just an illusion), I have to choose what to record and how to do that. Photojournalism is about being quick, respecting your subject always and not letting desire become more important than the photo and the dignity of subjects.

SMP: Can you walk us through a wedding day shoot?

DCP: That’s tough! A lot of the job is done before the actual day, meeting with the couple and getting to know them is the secret. I try to do the same with guests as well and that’s why everytime I cover a destination wedding, I really love to be there the day before. It gives me a chance to get to know the Bride and Groom’s family, friends and guests better. This allows the day of to flow more smoothly.

SMP: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

DCP: The best reward is when a couple is happy with my work. I’m very lucky, nowadays couples choose me because they love my style. Every wedding is different and couples normally have a lot of expectations on wedding photography. So managing to tell the story of their day, while showing them moments they may have missed is something that makes my heart really happy.

SMP: Where is the most interesting place you’ve traveled to for a wedding?

DCP: Here in Australia everything is so beautiful and every spot is fantastic, I really love the light here. But this year I shot an intimate wedding in one small little cozy town in Umbria in Italy. The light was fantastic and it was reflecting on the stones of this town during sunset, but more than the place is the couple and their story that makes a place unique and beautiful.

SMP: What advice do you have for brides and grooms on their wedding day?

DCP: I got married last year, so I can relate! The most important piece of advice I have is this… get stressed as long as you want while preparing your wedding but when that day comes being stressed can only ruin it. Drink, eat and always raise a glass for your photographer!

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Weddings in Historical Venues

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DIY Inspired

From Del Castillo Photography… We found the perfect venue in the charming Old Kitchen and Brew House at Kenwood (a National Trust building) and used it as our inspiration for an English kitchen/garden theme. This was carried through from the vintage botanical prints that lined the envelopes of the letter-pressed invitations, through Jess’s parents’ gift to James’s parents (roses bushes of the variety that featured in Jess’s bouquet – see below), to the plant label table plan, English garden flowers (with foraged blackberry bramble!), home-made jam favours, cork name-card holders and Jess’s floral wedding shoes.

With an English groom and an Australian bride, we had a lot of guests that travelled long distances to celebrate with us (Australia, Canada, Ireland, Sweden, Hong Kong, USA) and James’s parents kindly hosted a pre-wedding gathering in their garden on the Thursday night before the wedding. This gave the families and travellers a chance to get to know one another and spend time with the bride and groom before the big day. It even featured fireworks! Jess’s parents bought a special thank you gift for the hosts – two David Austin ‘Grace’ English rose bushes – this is the flower that featured in Jess’s wedding bouquet.

Of course the wedding location also meant there were quite a few important people who sadly couldn’t join us, most notably Jess’s 93-year-old grandma Leila (back in Australia). We ensured she was a part of the day by serving ‘Grandma’s choc-hazelnut slice’ with tea and coffee during speeches. It was home-made by Jess and her mum using the recipe that grandma had handwritten. And seeing as there were so many out-of-towners among the guests, we brought in some vintage red London buses to transport everyone from the ceremony to reception venue.

The confetti thrown at the end of the reception was made up of rose and flower petals from James’s family’s garden, which were dried by his mum. Finally, Jess loves dancing and couldn’t let the occasion of a wedding dance go by without a bit of extra effort. The couple took classes with dance instructor Charlie Ballard at the famous Pineapple Dance Studio in Covent Garden. Charlie choreographed a fun, personalised routine to 80s classic ‘You Make My Dreams’ by Hall & Oates (the song choice was inspired by the scene in 500 Days of Summer)

DIY projects included envelope liners that Jess sought inspiration from the vintage botanical prints of Redoute and made her own envelope liners featuring magnolia, camellia and rose prints. Cork name card holders – A box of corks from the local wine bar were transformed by James’s family into name card and table number holders. The centrepiece vessels were humble zinc buckets that lacked presence – Jess and James’s mum Linda used hessian, foam wadding and garden string to give them a more rustic/substantial feel. The oak, ivy and blackberry garland that adorned the original cooking fireplace in the Old Kitchen was made from cuttings from James’s family home garden. Jam favours – The raspberries were picked from the local fruit farm by James’s sister Susie and mum Linda, then turned into delicious jam. The jars (from eBay) were decorated with personalised stickers (Vista Print), paper lid covers (which read ‘Thanks for jammin’ at our wedding’) and garden twine to match the centerpieces. The invitations, name cards, table numbers and individual menus were designed by Jess. All the weddings cakes were homemade by James’s mum Linda and sister Susie. We were hoping for a display to rival that of a rustic patisserie/bakery shop window, which would compliment the Old Kitchen venue. Linda and Susie’s cakes were as delicious as they were gorgeous. The bride and groom personalized the service with family members reading a passage from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and ‘The Key To Love’. Guests threw confetti of flower and rose petals from James’s parents’ garden, which were dried by his mother.

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Vintage London Wedding from Corrado Chiozzi

As someone who is completely obsessed with all things British (obsessed is an understatement), London weddings are pretty much my favorite thing ever. So when a sweet set of English nuptials comes my way, I consider it a reason for a serious celebration. Especially when that sweet set of nuptials includes a crazy cool vintage theme, an amazing Loft Studios backdrop and a stunning White Rose gown that will most certainly take your breath away. See it all captured by Corrado Chiozzi right here in the full gallery.

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Cornish Cliff Top Wedding from Marianne Taylor Photography

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Event Venue Urban Space

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Vintage

From the Bride… The first thing that Paul and I decided was that we wanted to be married in London. Although neither of us grew up here, its where we have lived together for the past four years and is our favourite city.

We chose the Orangery in Holland Park for the ceremony as it is just beautiful without being fussy and we liked that it was a public place that we could visit again and again. April 6th turned out to be the sunniest day of the year so far and after the service, the weather was perfect to enjoy canapes on the lawn outside the service provided by Bovingdons caterers was warm, friendly and tasty!

With such a classic ceremony venue we wanted something a bit different for the reception, something that captured the urban side of London. The Loft Studios in Willesden was perfect and we were able to add our own touches that complemented the old brickwork, white tiles and wooden beams. We transported our guests from one venue to the other on the old routemaster buses. This celebrated the fact that the wedding was in London and fitted in to our vintage theme. The flowers to decorate the Loft were ordered online and arranged by myself, my Maid of Honour and my Aunt, who used to work in the floristry industry. We (with the help of my nan and the WI!) had collected jam jars for over a year and once decorated with lace and hessian, made excellent vases!

My husband and I both love anything vintage and this was reflected throughout. Some of our friends and family made cupcakes and these were displayed on a traditional dressing room table. This was fitting because the Lofts main purpose is a modeling studio. We hired a traditional fish and chip van for the catering (who doesn’t like fish and chips!?) and live music was provided by a friend of ours and his band, playing a range of covers from the 60s onwards.

For the favours we collected china tea cups, saucers and plates for the guests to have their after dinner drinks in and take home. We, with the help of family and friends, collected these from charity shops over the course of a year and our guests loved that they could keep these and use them over and over. We also used photos for our table plan and asked guests to stick their picture alongside their message in the guestbook.

The occasion was made even more personal by a painting on the wall of the two us by one of my husband’s work colleagues, painted in a 50s style. This was my wedding gift from him and it fit in well with the style of the reception. A big surprise we had in store for our guests was a flashmob dance halfway through the evening. My best girl friends and I studied Dance at university but seeing the boys bust a move certainly had everybody laughing!

The most important thing for us was that our wedding was a little different from the norm and reflected our own personalities. This was one of the main reasons why our guests had such a good time and the one piece of advice I would give to anybody planning a wedding is to do things the way that you want its worth a little bit of work and not giving in to the easy option! You also don’t have to spend lots of money to make the room look beautiful or to keep people fed and smiling.

If I’m being honest, I’m a bit of an anglophile. Which means pretty much anything from across the pond grabs my attention. But anything Marianne Taylor Photography sends to me pushes me over the edge. I’m completely obsessed with her gorgeous images, and when she is brought on to capture a wedding like this (I’m having a hard time not inserting twenty exclamation points) I can’t help myself but to put up an out of office and spend a few moments alone with the gallery.

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Cotswold, England Wedding from Catherine Mead Photography

From the gorgeous bride… Tom and I met at our friends wedding two years ago. We had both been friends with the couple for over eight years so it was surprising that we’d not met before. We hit it off immediately and although we lived three hours away from one another, we spent the next six months commuting every weekend so we could be together. It didn’t take long for me to up roots and move down to Cornwall so we could be together permanently and three months later Tom popped the question on my birthday by the beach.

We got engaged 13 months before our wedding, and our immediate thoughts were that we wanted an outdoor humanist wedding. In England this can be tricky, especially in May but we decided to go for it by having a small marquee in our garden. Thank god we did! The sun was out but it was rather windy…so the tent was perfect. The ceremony was perfect too with the whole congregation crying throughout our personnel vows. It was incredibly heartfelt but lots of fun too. We sang ‘I’m a Believer’ by The Monkees and ‘Get by with a little help from My Friends’ by the Beatles. Everyone sang up and the ceremony was exactly as we dreamt it would be. We were blown away and grinning from ear to ear.

Our friends, family and bridal party were amazing throughout the whole weekend. Their support towards preparing for the day was unbelievable and to have such a dedicated team, so happy to help actually brought me to tears. Their love and support was so appreciated. We really wanted to inject our own personality into our day and as my husband is an amazing carpenter, he decided to hand-make our bar and coffee tables, the table centre blocks and cake stand. His help and enthusiasm towards the day made all my dreams possible. I loved my grandmother deeply, so to have her presence at our wedding was very important to me. We decided to paint the vintage furniture she’d left me in her will, and we placed the pieces within the marquee. Having her handmade tapestry stool sitting there made my day.

My dress was so enjoyable and I’d spent months looking forward to wearing it. I felt it was very ‘me’ but perfect for an English sea-side wedding too. Tom looked so adorable and I’m pleased we spent the time to ensure he felt so comfortable in his attire. As a film editor, jeans and t-shirts are his everyday look, so to see him so dressed up was amazing. I’m also very proud that our family went all out with their hats! We’re British, so hats are a must! I was truly proud of their parade on our behalf.

Lastly, the fly-by which was arranged as a complete surprise blew us away. We were in total shock but it was truly amazing and it was the icing on the cake. We loved every second of our day and we’re just so grateful to have had Marianne as our photographer too. It was very important to us that our photos captured our day as we felt it inside and as we wanted to remember it. Marianne’s style suited us perfectly, and they will be a lifelong memory of the magic and excitement we both felt on the day.

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This English wedding is exactly what I pictured weddings to be like as a little girl, possibly because it’s straight out of a fairytale; complete with Louboutins. Woven throughout this Cotswold affair is a pink and red color palette mixed with total glamour – the kind of glamour that lies within the realm of beautifully classic. And Catherine Mead didn’t skip a single second when capturing all the goodness. See every last one of her gorgeous images right here in the full gallery.

Before you pop on over to the gallery, make sure to stop and swoon the wedding day film from Reel Vision!

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London Wedding from Sarah Gawler

From Catherine Mead…A beautiful wedding in the heart of the Cotswolds area of England, shared with Caroline & Jeremy’s friends and family. A church wedding in the local church, reached through the gardens of Bibury Court hotel. They hosted their reception in the grounds of the hotel, and built a beautiful marquee for dinner and dancing. As Caroline was getting ready in the morning, Caroline’s grandfather gave Caroline her late grandmother’s engagement ring as her something old, which was a complete surprise to Caroline, and set the tone for what was to be a beautiful and emotional wedding day.

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I’ve been lost in this gorgeous London wedding for ohhhh, about two hours nows. Maybe three. It’s just so beautifully captured by Sarah Gawler that the images keep calling me back. And the Bride and Groom sitting in those images? Some of the most stylish I’ve ever come across. With their gorgeously romantic ceremony and reception followed by what else? A masquerade ball – this wedding is simply one for the books. See why here.

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From Sarah Gowler…Dennis and Maria were married last year in The Ritz, THE place in London for afternoon tea. They loved the opulence of the place and wanted their guests who (on the bride’s side) were mostly from Sweden to soak up this quaint London pass time. Then for the evening they went to The Savile Club for a masquerade party, dinner, dancing and more cake of course!

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Provence Inspired Wedding Shoot from Naomi Kenton Photography

Springtime gardens in Provence. Memories of that magical place and time is what fueled the creative fire behind this absolutely stunning inspiration shoot. Does it get any better than that? I don’t think so. The whole thing is be-yond. Beyond amazing, beyond beautiful. Beyond. Captured phenomenally by Naomi Kenton Photography, this is a gallery I would do just about anything to transport myself into!

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English Countryside Wedding from Caught the Light

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From the photographer … The inspiration for this shoot came from memories of spring time gardens in Provence. The creator of all the beautiful cakes and patisserie, French Made grew up in this gorgeous area of France and wanted to recreate those wonderful memories. The centrepiece is a “naked” wedding cake, decorated with fresh rosemary and dried lavender, complementing the rustic feel perfectly and surrounded by delicious French Cannelés, Clafoutis, artisan bread and juicy figs. The little cupcakes were flavoured with rose, lavender, pistachio and violet. Our stylist Ginger Weddings created a romantic shoot bursting with rich, colourful details evocative of the French countryside.

Our photographer was Naomi Kenton – her natural, relaxed, editorial style was ideal for this shoot. Rustic, simple and stylish was the theme. We wanted the floral elements of a French garden so our florist Wonderosa created beautiful bouquets with wild flowers and herbs just picked. Lots of fragrant lavender, lilacs, roses, peonies, dried grasses and succulent artichokes.

Vintage Style Hire was our host. A converted barn set in beautiful countryside that contains lots of furniture to hire – from the beautifully shabby Louis XV chaise to the simple, wooden, peasant style table.

We think it’s the details that make this shoot so special and we especially loved the rustic stationery, old fashioned bicycle and scales, the dilapidated crates and the authentic Savon de Marseille square soaps.

Hair and make-up by Sabrina Lily and the gorgeous wedding dress from Wilden Bride who specialise in beautiful, bespoke, handmade dresses. Accessories by Bijou Bijoux, the pretty veil by Kelly Spence and the cute button bouquet was made by Beaubuttons.

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I used to dream I lived in the English Countryside just passing my days in my gorgeous English garden or romping through a green as can be English field. And you know what? This wedding is every bit as beautiful as that countryside of my dreams. Only that countryside is playing host to a wedding day so perfectly captured by Caught the Light with a Bride and Groom way too beautiful to be real. But guess what? They’re totally real and their wedding is all sitting right here for you to devour. Chop chop.

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