Europe Weddings

Everything in England just feels a bit more magical, no? I blame it on its long history of love stories, because when I hear of an English wedding, my eyes light up. So my heart got all kinds of excited when this pretty barn wedding landed in my lap. It’s the English wedding of my dreams crafted up by the two most adorable newlyweds and Bridges & Eggs Studio. We get to enjoy every last bit through the talented lens of Sam & Louise Photography, so don’t miss a minute of all that pretty waiting for you right here.

For even more of this gorgeous day, be sure to catch their film from Will Nixon…

From the Bride… As we are both creative we couldn’t wait to design and organize our own wedding. After our initial venue fell through we happened to stumble across this barn in the middle of Essex, in the most idyllic setting. Owned by a lovely family on a farm with a bunch of horses, it was exactly what we were looking for and they allowed us to transform it how we pleased. We had found that other venues had been stuffy when mentioning bunting, straw bales and even confetti! All we wanted was to be able to decorate it with wild flowers, vintage bottles, lanterns, fairy lights, straw bales – anything natural and rustic.

We spent days screen printing our invitations, sewing bunting, designing our menus, carefully constructing hundreds of origami birds, sourcing tweed, maple boards, searching for bottles on ebay and making signs on wooden chalk boards. The weather was perfect, with live music and cider outside, romping around the wheat field, cooking up a hog roast and climbing over the tractor. We could not have wished for more, the whole day was filled with music, food, laughter, dancing and a few tears.

[dotted]

Wedding Photography: Sam & Louise Photography | Wedding Venue: Elms Farm in West Hanningfield, Essex | Event Planning + Design: Bridges & Eggs Studio | Wedding Cinematography: Will Nixon | Floral Design: Debbie Sharpe + Julie Maulkerson | Caterer: Phil Stacey | Invitations: Bridges & Eggs Studio | Wedding Dress: Suzzane Neville | Shoes: Fred Perry

I know that I probably say that at least once a week but I don’t know that I’ve ever loved a wedding like I love this affair.  I literally want to crawl through my computer screen and live in this beautiful space and it has EVERYTHING to do with the gorgeous imagery shot by Aneta MAK Photography. She captured London cool infused with old world glamour in a way  that will make you want to throw on some sparkly heels, grab a scrumptious cocktail and join in the merriment or at least plan a wedding that looks exactly like this beauty; lace veil and all. See even more right here in the full gallery.

From Aneta MAK Photography… I would love to share a gorgeous London wedding with you at a very unique venue, MC Motors, frequently used for high end fashion shoots (eg. Keira Knightley, Kate Moss, Erdem campaign, etc) and as a filming location. It is full of character ranging from a mixture of architecture from different London eras, an eclectic assortment of furniture and art, dilapidated and textured walls – all lit by beautiful natural light through their glass ceiling and victorian sash windows, illuminating the elegant details so lovingly put together by the bride and Charley, the wedding designer and planner from London Bride. Peter and Gemma, helped by Charley, created an understated and elegant celebration, with just the right mix of the best from early to mid 20th century fashion and design, a nod to vintage and some good old fashioned Scottish partying, with fun and dancing by provided by a traditional scottish ceilidh band for the first part of the party.

From Charley Beard of London Bride… I worked closely with Peter and Gemma to bring to life their brief of ‘distressed elegance’ for their November wedding. Peter and Gemma are a super stylish couple and were keen for their wedding to reflect them and their London lifestyle – combining their love of the urban city but with a sophisticated, creative aesthetic and the key was very much to enjoy their day with all their wonderful friends and family. The ceremony took place at the beautiful art-deco Town Hall in Islington, after which guests were treated to Champagne aboard a London Routemaster bus to the reception at an urban warehouse location in the seriously hip creative hub of London, Dalston – which is just around the corner from their home.

Peter and Gemma had some precious time together with their photographer Aneta before arriving by classic black London taxi which was actually driven inside the trendy al-fresco style atrium bar. We transformed the warehouse, which is essentially a film and photographic location, into two decadent spaces for drinking and for dining and dancing. Champagne was served and oysters were hand-shucked to guests, whilst the young children could play in their own play room created just for them!

As huge foodies, the catering was a key element to the day and the menu reflected their love of enjoying London’s culinary delights with an oyster shucker, home-made terrines by the Groom’s brother (who is a chef), indulgent cheese boards and a hearty evening hog roast. As a nod to the Bride’s Scottish heritage and family, after dinner guests took part in a traditional (and very lively!) ceilidh dance followed by a brilliant DJ party set. With the meal taking centre stage, inspired by indulgent supper clubs, the table decorations were elegant but with a relaxed bistro feel. The couple thought of every last detail – the bride sourced antique brass candlesticks, and wine was served in hired vintage cut glass decanters which were interspersed with relaxed white and raspberry florals.

The menus, each tied with a mini sparkler to be used for the toast completed the bespoke gold foiled and screen printed stationery suite, and the couples friend hand drew the table plan onto an ornate mirror for a touch of luxury. With a keen eye for fashion, the Bride’s dress was designed by Halfpenny London and for the evening she swopped her delicate lace shrug for beautiful embellished and sparkling detail for a glamorous transformation. In keeping with the theme the florists draped ivy from the industrial walls, poles and ceiling beams and festoon lighting was hung to provide warm lighting for the dark winter’s evening. The couple added thoughtful touches such as taxi cards so that guests could make their way home safely and for a nightcap there was of course an abundance of Scottish whisky served on a whisky trolley. The whole day was full of fun, food, style and sophistication and with many suppliers involved everyone did a fantastic job of bringing it all together.

Wedding Photography: Aneta MAK Photography / Ceremony Venue: Islington Town Hall in London, England / Reception Venue: MC Motors in London, England / Wedding Planning + Design: Charley Beard of London Bride / Floral Design: Flower Appreciation Society / Cinematography: Ewan McNicol (family friend) of Lucid Inc. / Wedding Catering: Roast Hog + Oyster Meister (mobile oyster service during cocktail hour) / Wedding Cake: Groom’s Mother / String Quartet: Tyburn String Quartet / Ceilidh Band (Traditional Scottish Dancing): Lochnagar Ceilidh Band /  DJ: Wedding Smashers / Vintage Hire: Classic Crockery / Lighting: Peachy Productions / Transportation: Routemaster Transport (red buses)+ Black London Taxi / Wedding Dress: Halfpenny London / Bride’s Shoes: Rupert Sanderson / Hair: Severin Hubert of Hepburn Collection / Makeup: Mariam Jensen / Groom’s Suit Tailor: Cad and The Dandy

This adorable couple knew right away that they wanted to escape the hustle and bustle of London in exchange for a quiet, small town wedding and the result is a fabulously laid back, quintessentially British day filled with lots of love and pretty, little details. Lucky for us Jez Dickson captured each and every moment to perfection and you can see it all unfold here in the full gallery!

From the Bride… After Paul proposed and we started to talk about “the wedding,” we knew that although we live in London now, having both grown up in small towns, it was a countryside, homey-feeling wedding that would suit us best.  We wanted something that would introduce our friends and family to a place that means something to us but more importantly, we wanted a wedding that would really show who we are through lots of personal touches and that was planned by us, from start to finish. Suffolk, the county where I grew up, became the focal point for our search for the perfect location. We found The Old Rectory, a local B&B, which rents the whole house for private weekend parties. After meeting Sally, we knew that she would allow us the flexibility we were looking for but more importantly, she seemed excited to help us create the day (which quickly became a weekend) that we dreamed about. Luckily for us, it turned out that Sally and her team were also amazing chefs and quickly transformed our ideas into a spectacular menu, using local produce when possible and always sticking to things in season.

The feeling that this was “the place” grew even more real when we walked 50 meters through the garden gate to St John the Baptist church to meet Harry and Deirdre, the local vicars. They were so welcoming (not always the case when you go to churches out of your parish to talk about a wedding!), and over the following year, they really made us feel part of the congregation, so much so that we asked the church bell ringers to peal at the start and end of our ceremony. I walked down the aisle with my dad, hands shaking, heart pounding and feeling very nervous. But as soon as I saw Paul and his smile (and the little “hi” that he had written on his hand to make me smile), all of my nerves went away. Our ceremony was beautiful. The hymns were ones that were important to us and to add a little dash of “us.” Our last song was “Happy Together” by The Turtles, which Rev. Harry graciously allowed us to incorporate into our Church of England service and which Pam, my high school piano teacher, accompanied all our guests to on the organ — it was so fun and added a really lovely talking point to the day.

We walked the short distance from the church to reception and more of our personal touches came out — the canvas for people to paint/write/doodle messages to us on, the Polaroids and picture frame, deck chairs to relax on, quoits to play, etc. We served Pimms and Cordial (both quintessentially British) and Byron Pale Ale (alas, not our brewery!) during the reception and had typical British seafood served from our rowing boat as a makeshift seafood bar (I grew up in a seaside town) for people to indulge in before dinner. We decided to do all speeches before dinner so that our more nervous speakers could deliver them and then relax and enjoy the rest of the night. The speeches flowed beautifully and there was a equal share of laughter, pride and tears. Dinner was served, wine and champagne was consumed, and our wedding cake was cut. The dance floor was full all night – we even had impromptu flash-mob dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and LMFAOs “Party Rock Anthem.” Our last dance of the evening was “Con Te Partiro,” which has always been a special song for Paul and I after hearing it at the close of the Hong Kong 7s (rugby) early in our relationship. It’s true that your wedding day goes past quickly, but I am so glad Paul and I stepped back every now and then, together, and just soaked it all in — our friends and family enjoying themselves and seeing everyone together for such a special occasion.

Wedding Photography: Jez Dickson / Ceremony: St John the Baptist Church in Campsea Ashe, Suffolk, England / Reception: The Old Rectory in Campsea Ashe, Suffolk, England / Event Design: The Bride & Groom / Wedding Day Coordination: Rebecca Elcome / Floral Design: Victoria Strowger Flowers / Wedding Cake: Anmar of Crumb / Wedding Invitations: Emma of A Bespoke Design / Wedding Dress: Paloma Blanca via Lara B / Bride’s Shoes: Miu Miu / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Liz Fields via The Dress Consultants / Groom’s Suit: Reiss / Groom’s Shoes: Paul Smith

If you were to look up the word “anglophile” in the dictionary, you’d probably find a picture of me. Okay, okay… maybe you wouldn’t find my exact image, but a girl can dream.  Because when it comes to people obsessed with all things England, it doesn’t get much bigger than my love for Jane Austen, Princess Kate, The Beatles and The BBC.  And when I spotted this lovely countryside affair captured by Weddings by Nicola & Glen, I added to the list of reasons I ADORE England faster than you can say “amazing.”  It’s classically elegant, filled with personal touches and downright pretty.  See it all in the full gallery.

From Weddings by Nicola & Glen… Philippa and Louw’s wedding was a fusion of English whimsy and romance with an African-inspired twist. This London couple decided to get married in the stunning Oxfordshire countryside in the village church where Philippa’s parents reside. They held their reception in a very rustic barn a mile away from the village, where they could have a relaxed celebration and transform the space to really showcase their personalities. With the couple’s love of travel and the groom being South African, these elements inspired the details for the day. Philippa sourced vibrant African fabrics to use as tablecloths and created traditional English bunting with an African twist. The couple’s six-month long honeymoon traveling from England to the southern most tip of Africa by car was the influence behind the table plan, which was a giant map of the African continent with the guest names and gold stars denoting the route they planned to take. To keep the atmosphere as relaxed as possible, Philippa organized a system where all the guests would help with the serving and clearing of the food, thus negating the need for waitstaff on the day. Duties were coordinated by various colored ribbons attached to each guest’s name tag. The table names were maps of the different countries guests were allocated to on the map. The food itself was delicious but informal, with charcuterie boards for starters, a hog roast for the entree and Eton Mess for dessert. Philippa made her own bouquet, and together with her friends, she created all the floral displays for the day. During a trip to the Covent Garden flower market in London a few days before the wedding, they bought beautiful English flowers and South African proteas. The proteas brought an African spice to the dreamy and delicate English flowers. The wedding cake, also made by a friend, featured traditional African craft copper wire bicycles and real flowers.

The church ceremony did not escape the South African influence either, with all the guests practicing traditional hymns in Louw’s mother tongue of Afrikaans before the start of the ceremony. Having Philippa’s brother-in-law conducting the ceremony was a lovely personal touch. Most of the wedding coordination and duties were administered by friends and family. Philippa’s best birds (as she did not have official bridesmaids) did her makeup and hair in the morning, and she wore her grandmother’s vintage heirloom jewelry. It was also a group of friends and family who dressed the barn with the bunting, lanterns and fairy lights for the reception, and friends of the couple took turns to DJ in the evening. The wedding car for the day was their newly acquired Toyota Hilux, which was to be their mode of transport for their honeymoon travels. It was an amazing and inspiring wedding to capture as it was so unique to this vivacious couple.

Wedding Photography: Weddings by Nicola & Glen / Ceremony: St. James Church in Somerton, Oxfordshire, England / Reception: Troy Farm in Oxfordshire, England / Floral Design: DIY by the Bride + Friends / Catering: The Food Workshops / Wedding Cake: DIY by a Friend / Wedding Invitations: Oxford University Press / Wedding Dress: MiaMia Bridal by Alan Hannah via Morgan-Davies Bridal / Bride’s Shoes: Her Own / Bride’s Jewelry: Her Grandmother’s / Groom’s Suit: Walters of Oxford

If ever there was a wedding to which you copied every last perfect detail this one might be it.  Probably having something to do with the fact that the couple is flat out stunning, the English countryside backdrop is straight out of a movie and the details are simultaneously romantic and utterly effortless. Although I also suspect that photographer Polly Alexandre has a bit to do with why I can’t seem to tear myself away as well with images so lovely, I am considering printing them out and hanging them on my walls. This my friends, is why I’m so grateful that 2013 is here and that we’re ringing in the New Year with weddings that completely set the bar for all things lovely. Click here to see even more.

From Polly Alexandre… This was a beautiful English wedding held at Babington House, Somerset, England, by a couple in the film industry. The groom is also in a super talented band with a big future ahead of them….and some members of his band played at their wedding. The couple wanted a relaxed weekend of good food, good friends and fun partying. She wore a Valentino dress and flat gold sparkly shoes. They married in the chapel on the grounds of Babington House, with a cocktail reception following. Big family style platters of food at dinner encouraged the convivial feeling and the party went on long into the night….until 7am to be precise!

Wedding Photography: Polly Alexandre Photography / Wedding Venue + Catering: Babington House in Somerset, England / Floral Design: Flowers by Passion / Wedding Cake: Linda Fripp Designs / Wedding Dress: Valentino / Bride’s Shoes: Giuseppe Zanotti

I don’t even know what to say about this wedding, except that I love it. I loved it the moment I first laid eyes on the stunning shoes and the vintage gown. I love every single bright and happy color. I love the red, double decker – so indicative of the city in which the soiree took place. But most of all I loved the joy. The overwhelming joy spilling out of every image from Catherine Mead, and especially in the bride’s contagious smile. So when you’re ready to add a whole lot more joy to your day, click here for the full gallery!

Click here to see the full image gallery!

My dad was actually getting married on Saturday the 25th September 2010. I was my dad’s florist and best man so had quite a busy few days. On the morning on the 23rd I had to go to the flower market at 3am in the morning to get all the flowers for the wedding arrangements. I then had to go to work! James had said he wanted to take me for dinner so we could spend and evening together before things became very hectic with dad’s wedding. I didn’t know where we were going and thought we were just having a low key dinner so was very pleased that I had bothered to washed my hair when we arrived at the Waldorf hotel on the Aldwych. I did comment that the venue was vey posh for a Thursday night but it wasn’t unlike James to take me to places such as this. We had a cocktail in the bar and then a lovely dinner. During dinner James surprised me with a trip to Galway in Ireland. We were to leave the day after dad’s wedding. I was over the moon with the trip so much so that I didn’t stop talking for the rest of the dinner! In the end James had to interrupt and ask me to stop talking and to close my eyes. He put the ring in my hand and asked me to open them. I couldn’t believe it. I just burst into tears. I didn’t even say yes I was so shocked! In the end he had to ask again “will you be my wife?” Of course I said yes. That hardest things was not telling anyone until after dad’s wedding as we didn’t want to over shadow someone else’s day.

Delfina is a very contempory venue in a very quirky part of town. It is a restaurant but with a large white room which can almost be treated like a blank canvas. James and I wanted somewhere we could make our own and really show off who we are as a couple. Delfina is an events space so the team there have great experience in putting on all sorts of events so are a great help and inspiration. There was a great black and white checker board dance floor which I loved and you could do all sorts with the lighting there which really made the room. There was also a really cool outside space, which is sometimes hard to find in the heart of London. Also I am from London and we both live in London so we really wanted our wedding to be in London.

My theme was sort of 1950’s London meets Italy. My dad’s side of the family are Italian hence the Italian church and the Italian theme. A mix on vintage and Italy. A white wedding but with an informal air. We just wanted people to have fun but to really come away thinking how ‘Jen and James’ that day was. My dress was an original 1950’s vintage dress. I bought it from a specialist vintage dress supplier called Elizabeth Avey. My mum and I spent a day out trying on dresses in three different dress shops – all vintage as I knew that is what I wanted. Elizabeth was the last dress shop we went to. I had found a dress in each of the previous two shops, which I loved and thought, might be the one. My appointment at Elizabeth’s was at 6pm so I was quite tired by this time. Trying on even more dresses began to confuse me. However, when I put on my dress and came out to show my mum, mum said there was a renewed energy about me and I came out prancing around like a show horse. I didn’t want to take it off. I just knew I had found the one! It was fun and girly. I didn’t want anything too serious! A mix of tulle and Chantilly lace. It was perfect! I didn’t really have a colour scheme apart from a LOTS of colour. My florist described the colour scheme as a riot of Technicolor! Like when films were first in colour and the sky was so blue compared to a girls overly red lips.

I made my table plan, menus, place cards and table name cards. My table plan was actually an old garden gate, which I painted white. I then tied three tiers of string through the gate. On the string I attached A5 recycled paper with real rose petals in it with the list of guest names per table. I attached small paper roses to the gate which where also used in the favours. In front of the gate I had two old tea crate that had been planted up by the florist. One crate said Jennie & James Est 3.9.11 and the second one said please take your seats. The menus, James and I printed on the same paper. We decorated the menus with the same paper roses but we also made small bunting designs out of string and all different paper and decorated the menus with this. I bought vintage looking typewriter stamps and stamped out each of the place names with these stamps. I also stamped a massage on old luggage tags and put one of these in every guests place again with vintage paper roses decorating the tags. Our table name signs were photos of James and I holding up signs with the table names on. This linked back to our invites.

The whole day was the best day of my life! Particular favorite moments included my dad actually giving me away. I couldn’t stop shaking but he was as nervous as me! First seeing James at the alter. He says my bottom lip was trembling but he was pleased I kept it together otherwise he said he would have broken down. James’ mum and brother welcomed me formally into the family by giving me a signet ring with the family crest on during the best mans speech. That was very moving. James telling me I looked beautiful when he first saw me! And finishing the night in a Salsa club with James, my dad, brother and Stepdad and a few friends. There was a old couple in the club who were regulars. The man took hold of me and the women took James and the whole club made space for us on the dance floor and they taught has a dance. They then told us their secret to a long lasting marriage, which was never forget to laugh.

Photography: Catherine Mead / Flowers: Cave London / Ceremony Location: St. Peter’s Italian Church / Reception Location: Delfina Restaurant / Invitations: Made by the couple / Shoes: Cerise Wedge by Aruna Seth / Dress: Original vintage 1950’s wedding dress bought from Elizabeth Avey / Headdress: Vintage Headdresses / Groom’s suit: Gresham Blake / Favours: Balloon Mad / Band: Andalus

You can always tell when I’m obsessed with a wedding by how long it takes me to build my boards. I go through image after image a thousand times, making sure I choose the very best of the most amazing shots. I don’t want to miss the perfect shot of a smile, a detail, a handhold, but when Marianne Taylor Photography is behind the stills, it’s impossible to share them all. I spent a very, very long time curating the images for this post because the wedding (and the bride, and the groom, and the energy) is absolute perfection. At least in my book. So pretty please, pinky promise me you’ll spend your afternoon in the gallery pouring over all the images I had to leave out of this gorgeous post. It will make you so happy.

[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/60244268 600 338]

Click here to see the full image gallery!

I always knew planning my own wedding would be a slightly strange experience, having run my own wedding photography business for six and a half years I have seen all sorts of weddings. I have always known its a great opportunity to make a statement about yourself, and plan a day that really resembles you as a couple.

Myself and Daz met back in 2006 when Daz rented off a mutual friend. We spent many evenings in together watching films, eating take always and putting the world to rights. It was quite a while until our romance blossomed but within 18 months we lived together.

We have always loved music, going to Glastonbury every year and attending gigs whenever we could.

In April 2010 I had the opportunity to go to New York for a shoot and decided to take Daz along. It was here a surprise proposal came and we returned with a sparkly ring bought from the diamond district.

We didn’t start the planning straight away as work was busy and we knew we wanted a relaxed ‘festival’ style wedding. Haven’t had some of the best times of our life at Glastonbury we figured this represented us well. When we came across Edworth Manor Farm we knew it was perfect. On a working farm, very rustic (so in our eyes unspoilt) and very old. After this was confirmed a lot else managed to fall into place. The church was booked, my dress was bought and the florist was sorted.

There was a lot of pressure surrounding our day, as we were the last in our group of friends to get married. Also friends kept saying that it would be amazing as I was in the industry. At times if became a little overwhelming and almost like a pressure we felt we had to look up to.

I chose not to wear a wedding dress and opted for a Grecian Matthew Williamson gown. I really wanted to wear a flower garland/crown as felt this reflected Glastonbury and the festival style. It was important that my dress was slightly understated as to carry off the flowers in my hair.

I opted for peach colour themes (which was a slight nightmare for the florist as all the autumn colours were prominent). The florist totally got me though and my incessant Pinterest flower pinning.

I wanted Daz in something also light in colour and away from any traditional like tails or a suit. Whilst in Brighton getting our rings we managed to find his trousers from ‘jump the gun’ and pick up a vintage waistcoat. We had polka dot bow ties made in the states and shipped over.

With the ushers and bridesmaids we decided to go non matching. I think everyone is unique in their own right and we wanted our close friends to reflect themselves in what they wore. I gave the girls a peach colour swatch and told them to find whatever they liked that was close to that colour. We gave the boys polka dot bow ties in blue whilst Daz and the dog Vince wore peach.

We had Irish folk music playing (to reflect Daz’s routes), twinkling lights, a kids tipi, drinks in jam jars, a coconut shy and a tiny peach coloured retro car.

We put so much work into decorating our venue with herb plant favours, hearts on sticks as escort cards, handkerchief bunting, homemade food stalls, retro bikes from eBay…..the list goes on.

My cousin Rob gave me away in replace of my Dad who passed away some years back. We were incredibly close but having Rob (as good as my brother) give me away was lovely. So many friends and family played a little part in the wedding. Help with making things, baking things to good friends doing make up and filming the day. It was a labor of love but everything paid off. We wouldn’t change a single thing. To share such a wonderful day with the people we love (and our pooch of course) is the most special thing of all.

Photography: Marianne Taylor Photography / Cinematography: Kissing Gate Films / Flowers: The Flower Fairies / Catering: Zest Caterers / Cake: A Little Piece of Cupcake / Ceremony Location: St Marys Church, Clophill / Reception Location: Edworth Manor Farm, Edworth / Invitations: Something Kinda Cute / Shoes: Prada & River Island / Dress: Matthew Williamson / DJ: Wedding Smashers / Hair: Vanity Hair

Thanksgiving. It’s by far one of my most favorite holidays. Full of family and feasting, it’s a day where people stop and take some much needed time to be thankful. And here at SMP, we couldn’t begin to count all the things we are thankful for. So we are giving thanks in the way we know best, by sharing the pretty. Today’s heaping helping of gorgeous comes by way of Aaron Delesie (we couldn’t be more thankful for him) and this stunning Thanksgiving soiree (planned to perfection by David Pressman Events) that seems as though it could come straight out of a storybook. It’s a fête where every image deserves top billing on the mantle, because they are all so jaw-droppingly beautiful. So after grabbing that second piece of pie, come join us in the gallery…we’ll be in there for awhile.

We love Saturdays on the Little Black Book Blog because we have a little more time to dedicate to the viewing of a phenomenal wedding film, and today will not disappoint. Not only is the film, from Ever After, one to make you run for the tissues, but the couple’s story is so crazy, you just have to read it to believe it. So press play, then save some time to read all about these two lovebirds from the dashing groom’s perspective.

[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/40445504 601 338]

It was a cold wet February evening in the town of Corby, England. Saturday the 17th to be exact. Both of us were attending a meeting to sign up for charity work serving at the world famous Glastonbury festival. At this point, we didn’t know each other. But as the obligatory karaoke and alcohol flowed (for Michelle as I don’t drink at all, but I do sing!) Michelle said to her friends she had her eye on a handsome young man sitting a few tables away. She came over, and we spoke; about music, life and ourselves, and this was what would be, unbeknown to us, the start of a romance that would lead us to where we are today…

Music was a shared love of both of us, and indeed it was only fitting that our first date was a gig of which, I only remember small parts of, simply because I was so besotted with Michelle and the amazing aura she has about her.

We also shared a passion for the world; mine new and enthusiastic about seeing and experiencing what our amazing world has to offer and Michelle the seasoned veteran keen to expand her horizons and visit more wonderful parts of the globe. So as our relationship
blossomed, I moved in and our ambitious plans to travel and see the world together began to come together nicely.

South America was our first destination, where we took in The Peruvian Amazonia, trekked the Inca trail, and one of my most important ever purchases ever: an engagement ring. So I planned secretly to try to pull off a romantic gesture and propose at stunning point on the trip, loaded with the ring at all times to pounce on a perfect opportunity to pop the question and marry the woman of my dreams. We continued our travels through the wonderful countries of Bolivia and Argentina soaking up the amazing cultures and sights, but no moment seemed to be the perfect. And not least a rather rare experience during our visit to Brazil and the famous Rio de Janeiro, where we were tied up and held captive in our hostel by seven gunmen equipped with grenades and knives who robbed us and 30 others of our money and our only worldly possessions. Definitely not what we had planned, but a story to tell nonetheless!

If I hadn’t already had our love confirmed before, the Rio experience made us realised how much we loved each other, and gave my proposal plans even more impetus! (and luckily the ring survived the situation too!)

We continued our travels, driving a camper van round New Zealand and Australia, and then on to the wonders of Asia, where I finally got the chance, on our favourite beach, using my guitar to play our favourite song, finally asked the question I wanted to ask for 11 months… SHE SAID YES!!!!!

We arrived home and within a year Michelle was well under way planning the vintage inspired wedding she has always wanted. Everything from the location to the tea cups and flowers, our wedding oozed style and imagination thanks to Michelle’s hard work and vision. It truly would take too long to explain the thought and effort that went in to creating such a unique setting and atmosphere for the perfect day. The village church was quaint in size but huge on character and occasion. The transport was festival inspired with a friend’s vintage VW camper van doing the transport honours. The wonderful National Trust site home to a old ruin set the scene for our romantic marquee reception, and the traditional ice cream van sweetened the procession after a fresh summer styled barbecue was a hit with the guests.

The speeches were truly a magical memory. After myself, the father of the bride and the best man had performed their duties, a collection of family and friends sprung a massive surprise by jumping to their feet and adapting the words of Lou Reeds ‘perfect day’ to suit the bride and groom. A truly magical moment.

The entertainment was brought throughout the day by a range of wonderful professionals, led by the fantastic toastmaster Matthew Biggin who kept the relaxed wedding party flowing, singer songwriter Kelli Blanchett providing wonderful voice and guitar playing for the reception, whilst the live band and DJ gave the wedding party the opportunity to put on their dancing shoes.

I’ve never danced, cried, laughed or smiled so much in my life, the permanent smiles on our faces were uncontrollable, which I can truly describe as a wonderful experience sharing such a happy and momentous occasion with the ones we loved, it couldn’t have gotten any better. People said to me before who had gone through the vow of marriage before us, enjoy the day it will go quick and that your own wedding is the best wedding you will ever attend, and I have to say, every cliché given to us, including the two mentioned above, were absolutely true, and I am so glad that we savoured and enjoyed every moment of it.

The day was perfect. The hard work, help and support of our families and friends sprinkled with the wonderful ideas and style of my beautiful wife’s impeccable taste, matched by the beautifully captured frames by our videographers (ever after) I can easily say, without doubt and without question, this day will be forever one of the most special of our lives.

The icing on the cake to complete us was the arrival of our son Elijah Bearin April 2012.

Cinematography: Ever After / Ceremony venue: St. Mary’s church in Lower Benefield / Reception venue: Lyveden New Bield / Dress and headband: Jenny Packham / Make up by: Liza Smith / Flowers: Vicky Martin, Corby / Hair: Extreme Lengths, Corby / DJ: John Headley / Live band: The Contenders / Marquee: Posh Tents / Bar: Chequered Skipper / Catering: DDW caterers / Toast master: Matthew Biggin

I’m a firm believer that every day needs at least a small dose of glamour – however you choose to weave it in (using your fanciest coffee mug totally counts). Well today lovelies, you are getting enough glamour to hold you over all week by way of this London beauty captured by Polly Alexandre Photography. It’s traditional elegance meets dream wedding, all planned and designed by Kim Balasubramaniam (the bride). You can see all the gorgeous right here.

From the Bride… My husband and I still can’t believe how perfect our wedding day was. Each time we reminisce or flick through our beautiful photo album, we’re reminded of what an amazing time we had. Although first and foremost it was an opportunity to celebrate our 10-year love story with our family and friends, as a wedding planner and stylist myself, we wanted our wedding to feel decadent and glamorous. It was always going to be about the details! We chose to marry in London — we both fell in love with the statuesque building that is Islington Town Hall for our ceremony. Although we had 150 guests, the room itself was round, so the ceremony felt very intimate and personal. Each guest received a bag on arrival that my Mum had made (I had seen similar on SMP before and searched high and low for the perfect lace trim; I actually ended up shipping it in from New York!) that we had filled with handmade goodies such as postcards of our children’s book readings, the order of service, delphinium petal confetti and heart-shaped shortbread. We wanted to make a lot of the items for the wedding ourselves, both to save money and to make everything as personal as possible, and I was determined to prove that DIY details can be glamorous! 

We hired two iconic London buses to transport guests from our ceremony to the reception, which everybody loved. On arrival, we served signature cocktails garnished with rose petals, delicious canapés and had a Spanish guitar band to entertain everyone. In the main ballroom, a mix of round and banquet tables were laid with cream linens and lined with numerous vintage crystal and silver receptacles. These were filled with church candles and roses – we had over 1,000 roses and spent months collecting silver trays, crystal vases and bowls. Amongst many other things, we handmade our napkin rings from black velvet ribbon and diamante clasps to echo our stationery suite, made wish bracelet favors for the ladies, created crystal-trimmed place names and designed escort cards that were tied to even more roses. During the drinks reception, our photographer Polly Alexandre whisked us away for our couple shots. Even though it was the greyest, rainiest day London could throw at us, we were blown away when we saw how beautiful all the images were. You would have thought it was the most perfect weather, and Polly managed to capture every single detail of the day in her beautiful, inimitable style. We will cherish our photographic memories forever.

We wanted our wedding to be the greatest party we’ve ever thrown, so in the evening, the emphasis was on fun! We hired a fabulous DJ, had free-flowing cocktails running all evening and had a photo-booth that we customized with our own logo and props. We made boxes of pashminas and flip-flops for the ladies to use and take home with them, each of which had a little hand made tag on them that coordinated with all the other items from the day. The dance floor was full all night, with guests only taking a break to feast on the fabulous cake my Mum had made for us and the Sri Lankan “short eats” that Chara’s Mum had also made. We managed to incorporate elements of all our favorite things in life into our wedding, from Chara’s love of football and my love of shoes, to our passion for travel and even our two cats. We thought carefully about every item we included and had our guests’ enjoyment in the forefront of our mind when planning everything. It really was the most emotional and special day, and looking back, we wouldn’t change a thing.

Wedding Photography: Polly Alexandre Photography / Ceremony: Islington Town Hall in London, UK / Reception: 45 Millbank in London, UK / Wedding Design, Styling + Planning: Kim Balasubramaniam (The Bride) / Floral Design: Cindy Kirkand of Creative Works / Wedding Details: DIY by the Bride, Her Mother + Sister / Catering: Kalm Kitchen / Wedding Cake: DIY by Bride’s Mother / Cupcakes: Hummingbird Bakery / Bar: Bars by Design / Band: Andalus / DJ: Mitch Matthews / Photo Booth: Say Fromage / Paper Straws: Peach Blossom via Not on the High Street / Wedding Dress: Adapted from Novia d’Art + Custom by Mamfii Bridal / Bride’s Shoes: Karen Millan + Swarovski Crystals Glued on by the Bride’s Sister / Bride’s Tiara: Halo & Co. / Hair: Severin Hubert of The Hepburn Collection / Makeup: Mariam Jenson / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Maids to Measure / Bridal Preparations: The Sanderson Hotel / Groom’s Suit: William Hunt via Hugh Harris / Groom’s Shoes: Kurt Geiger

Sweet weddings belong in a category all their own. Not too fancy or over the top but just right in that easy, breezy, beautiful sort of way. They tug at the heart strings, those sweet ones and pull you in with their pretty, pretty photographs of a Bride and Groom saying “I Do” amongst an intimate crowd, surrounded by perfectly personalized details. Yep, that is a sweet wedding in a nutshell. For the longer version, complete with a groom carrying his Bride over a muddy field (sweet x a mill) check out the full gallery captured by Helen Cawte Photography.

From the Bride… Dave and I were married on April 28, 2012, at Wycliffe Baptist Church in Reading. We decided to get married in the church that I grew up in, so the wedding felt very personal. It also meant that I could get ready at my parent’s home with my bridesmaids – my mum, in true fashion, had prepared an amazing breakfast, and the whole morning was so much more fun and relaxed than I could have imagined! Instead of decorating the church with flowers, we strung up lots of pom poms in pastel shades. We held a “pom pom party” a couple of weeks before the wedding – we provided the wine and the paper, and our friends happily sat concertina-ring into the night! Our Christian faith was an important element of the day, and we put a lot of effort into planning the service. The church service was lead by a family friend, Dave’s dad gave the address, and our friends played in the band. It was hugely personal and very moving.

The reception was held at Bearwood College in Berkshire, which is an amazing private school. The staff were amazing – they put up with all my requests, and it was incredible to walk into the gallery and see that they had prepared the room exactly as I has asked. They have Saturday school in the morning, which means you can’t actually do any of the set up yourself – they do it all after 1 p.m. on the day of the wedding! We arrived at about 3.30 p.m., so I was very impressed with their quick turnaround. I found Green and Gorgeous through a wedding blog and was very excited by their webpage. They offer standard wedding flower services, but they also allow you to buy flowers by the bucket to arrange yourself. This was brilliant as it meant I could leave the complicated elements to the G&G girls, Rachel and Jo, and have a go at table arrangements myself (with a small but mighty team!). We first visited Jo in February (Dave could not get his head around the lack of flowers) and discussed everything over a cup of tea in her lovely, cosy cottage. Two weeks before the wedding, we visited again to make a “cutting list,” which involved walking around the garden and choosing whatever we liked! The whole experience was wonderful, and I’m so pleased we found them! We spent an age trying to find a photographer who we could trust with our most important of photo albums! Helen was brilliant – she did an amazing job. We were blown away by the photos and her commitment throughout. Helen and her assistant Camilla were both completely chilled out and knew exactly how much direction to give. They were stars!

We sourced a French soft drink (La Mortuacienne) as a nod to the time I had lived in France. For the flower girls, I made up bags of goodies to keep them entertained during the meal. I borrowed an idea I had seen on lots of American wedding blogs for a finger-print tree. We surrounded it with photographs of our ancestors on their wedding days – it was hard work tracking down the photos but amazing to see where we came from and having them all there (in photo form!) on our day. We made the seating plan out of a piece of world map wrapping paper from John Lewis! The menu board was bought cheaply from Home Sense and with a chalk pen I wrote out the menu for the day. It’s now up in our house as an alternative piece of art! My mum made the cake – it was huge! She made about 10 round sponges, which Dave stacked up and smothered in duck-egg blue butter icing – great team work. All of the save the dates, invitations and orders of service were made by us in Word. We downloaded a free font from dafont.com so they didn’t look too comic sans! The invitations included an RSVP postcode with a pair of penguins on the front. We asked guests to decorate the penguins before sending it back and got some incredible replies! It was such a treat seeing how much effort friends and family had put in to them and gave us a good laugh. An old friend DJ’ed for us — he did a great job and we loved the party. Our wedding was amazing, but there were many times in the run up that I felt completely overwhelmed by the task. I’m so glad we put the effort in though – everyone commented on the personality of the day and how much it reflected us. It was so exciting – we were beaming all day. Looking back there is nothing I would have changed – I got to marry my best friend and have an amazing party, and it doesn’t get much better than that!

Wedding Photography: Helen Cawte Photography / Ceremony: Wycliffe Baptist Church in Reading, United Kingdom / Reception + Catering: Bearwood College in Wokingham, Berkshire, United Kingdom / Floral Design: Green and Gorgeous / Wedding Cake: DIY by the Bride’s Mother / Wedding Invitations: DIY / DJ: A Friend / Reception Lighting: Henley Theatre Lighting / Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham “Giralda” / Bride’s Shoes: Vintage Dune / Bride’s Earrings: Accessorize / Hair: Vanessa Harrison, A Family Friend / Makeup DIY / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Warehouse / Groom’s Suit: Flannels / Rings: Solitaire

We couldn’t agree with the best man any more when he said “Being perfect is irrelevant. Being together is the most important.” We will go on to say, however, that not only are these lovebirds together after a very romantic wedding, but it was pretty perfect too. So maybe you can have your cake and eat it too. The highlight film from Ever After is so sweet – a perfect start to your Saturday!

[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/29103566 601 338]

If you would have told me I’d be meeting my future husband in the middle of a busy airport terminal I’d have never have believed you! Just another day, wheeling my trolley bag through the hustle and bustle of a very busy airport on my way to work as an air hostess. And through the crowd there stood a very tall, handsome young man wearing a pilot’s uniform, one of which I recognised as the same airline as I worked for.

There Niels stood looking around, so my instant reaction was to go and say hello and to ask if he was ok and if he was lost. To my embarrassment Niels answered in a Dutch accent “No I am not lost , I am just thinking of whether to get a sandwich or not?”

I was very embarrassed and felt quite silly, but I guess he thought this was sweet. It started with a few nights out, dinner and soon we moved in together. Before I knew it the air hostess was to marry the pilot, very cliché but I never saw it coming.
Ever since I was little girl, with a mum owning a wedding dress shop, I knew exactly what I wanted for our fairy-tale wedding. We wanted a classy, romantic, traditional wedding. Niels being Dutch and being used to very different weddings let me take reign and decide on most things.

After looking at numerous venues we came across Fawsley Hall: a beautiful idyllic country hotel with 700 years of history, surrounded by 2000 acres of rolling hills. As soon as we drove through the grand entrance of Fawsley and stepped out of the car we just knew this was the perfect venue for us. The fields were filled with sheep and there in the distance was a small very quaint church set amongst the acres of farm land. The church we were to marry in. Very quickly we booked this magical venue and soon after St. Mary the Virgin church.

For me the most important part was finding the dress. Unfortunately for Niels I was spoilt for choice. I chose two dresses by my favourite English couture designer Ian Stuart. Then came our theme: my dress and my beautiful pink sapphire engagement ring. The flowers seemed the obvious choice when looking at my dress so our wedding was filled with a very floral feel sprawled with candelabras and urns full of peonies, hydrangeas and pink roses. To carry on the elegance, our tables were full of diamante buckles and vintage tea light holders. A string duet played so elegantly as my brother walked me down the aisle (as my father just passed away two years ago).

All our friends and family from both England and Holland gathered in the beautiful vintage chic Knightley Court for the wedding breakfast. A swing band set the mood for the evening and the night would not have been complete without the fireworks, which was set to music by Queen “Don’t Stop Me Now” which was in remembrance to both our fathers. Afterwards the night carried on in to the early hours.

The whole day from me getting ready early in the morning to every small intricate detail would never have been captured if it wasn’t for Ever After wedding films. Their friendly professional manner and assistance was amazing and from the moment I met them they put me at ease. They captured every tear, every laugh and the whole atmosphere of our very special day. I often say to Niels I wish we could do it all again and his reply is “let’s turn on the DVD.”

Cinematography: Ever After / Photography: Darren Cresswell Photography / Ceremony venue: Church of St. Mary the Virgin Fawsley / Reception venue: Fawsley Hall, Northamptonshire / Wedding Dresses: Ian Stuart / Wedding Shoes: Gina / Make-up Artist: Rochelle O’Brien / Florist: Hayford and Rhodes / Invitations: Ghost Orchid Designs / Bridesmaid dress designer: Ebony Rose / Mens fashion: William Hunt / Jewelry: Halo and Co. / Band: Campbell Bass

Picking a favorite wedding in our new Fashion & Beauty E-Mag would be complete torture for me because I love them all in an embarrassing way, but this one made my heart do flips. Flips for each image by David Jenkins, flips for how the stylish Bride paired her David Fielden gown with a white blazer, and flips because this wedding is just the epitome of classic elegance…with a stylish twist. It’s seriously a dream, and the gallery? Beyond. Believe it or not – it just gets better, because we have another fab giveaway from BHLDN below!

Serious swoon fest, right? If you are looking to recreate the pretty for your own party, we think this sparkly BLHDN clutch would be the perfect compliment. And because we are on cloud nine with e-magazine happiness, we are giving it away (a $250 value)! Just lets us know which wedding from the e-magazine is your favorite (we know it’s hard) in the comments below and we’ll announce a winner on Friday, July 6th!

From the Bride…Despite both of us being from Toronto, Matt and I chose to host our wedding in London, our home together for the past four years. We wanted our wedding to reflect the excitement and elegance of the city. We chose the central London venue, the In & Out Club (navalandmilitaryclub.co.uk), not only because it is a beautiful English club, but it would also host our civil ceremony, reception, a seated dinner and dancing all under one roof. Guests were free to roam the grand house and find tucked away parties in different rooms. There were leather sofas by the grand fireplace in the bar where dancers could rest their feet and girls could slip out of high heels.

I loved the portraits on the wall and the elegant rich colours. Set with massive amounts of flowers and candles this would be a romantic spot in the beautiful St James Square near Piccadilly Circus. The venue is a spectacular place, but like many London clubs it is a bit tired and frayed around the edges. While this is certainly part of the charm, we needed grand flowers to showcase the venue. Moyes Stevens (moysesflowers.co.uk) did a fantastic job with the flowers creating something truly unusual and bespoke to the venue. We had a few large displays around the club which made the rooms feel even more glorious and elegant. For the tables, I preferred low arrangements so guest could see over each other and conversation would not be interrupted. I chose tulips as they are one of my favorites and perfect for a spring wedding. My bouquet was a mixture of pink roses and peonies.

We were very much inspired by a 1920s, Great Gatsby-style party. I wore a vintage influenced dress by David Fielden (davidfielden.co.uk) which I altered to make almost entirely backless. The dress was light and easy to wear and dance in which made me very relaxed throughout the evening. Shoes were Dior pumps. Arriving and leaving the venue I wore a white blazer from The Kooples (thekooples.co.). The straight edges of the blazer gave the outfit a very modern, urban look in contrast to the vintage style elsewhere. The dress code was black tie, which I think looked fantastic in the venue.

For the ceremony I wore a birdcage veil which was custom made by Vintage Rose (vintagerosebridal.co.uk). We arranged the chairs in a semi-circle which felt really intimate and small despite there being 108 people. The ceremony was short and sweet which both Matt and I appreciated as well as our guests. Sparking wine and Pimms were served in true English style at the reception. For dinner, I wanted it to feel like a classic dinner party which encouraged conversation amongst the guest rather than being interrupted by speeches. There was no classic head table – each table sat 12 people. Matt and I sat at a round table with our wedding party, their guests and a few close friends. Since we were marrying at Easter, we wanted a subtle holiday theme to the meal. For place cards, I hand gilded gold eggs and my mother wrote each person’s name on card which we tied to the eggs with ribbon. The wedding cake was made by Katerina Janakova at Villandry (Villandry.com) which was an almond and lemon cake with marzipan icing. Katerina dressed the cake with flowers that mirrored the embellishment on my dress.

We had the fantastic 1920s French jazz band Benoit and His Orchestra (benoitandhisorchestra.com) play in the evening. The music was lively and although few people knew how to dance to the 1920 music, everyone was dancing. The music was also not overwhelming for those that preferred to sit in the bar with a cocktail and chat with other guests. At 12am the guests departed in black taxis. A few of us gathered at the Green Room in the Gore Hotel (gorehotel.com), another classic London venue in Chelsea for a nightcap to close a wonderful celebration Matt and I will remember forever.

Venue: In and Out Club, St James Square, London, England / Dress: David Fielden / White blazer: The Kooples / Shoes: Christian Dior / Veil: Vintage Rose / Photography: David Jenkins / Flowers: Moyes Stevens / Cake: Katerina Janakova at Villandry / Band: Benoit and His Orchestra

Up next on our agenda of pretty is an English Garden wedding that just happens to be the epitome of garden galas. Soft, romantic, delicate – it’s just perfection. We have Green Photographic to thank for bringing us all the lovely via their gorgeous images, but remember this is just a snap shot of the pretty from across the pond – there is so much more waiting for you right here!

From Green Photographic… Abby and Alex were married on 19th April 2012, at Rosteague in Cornwall, England. Abby’s bridal preparations were in a sweet, vintage-style room with antiques and a four poster bed. It was raining a little in the morning, and then the sun came out just in time for the civil ceremony in the corner of a walled garden, under a thatched roof. Rosteague is a private manor house with an Elizabethan facade on Cornwall’s south coast. The Cornish translation for the property is “fair heath full of riches”. The house’s first resident, Ralph de Restak, built the property in 1363. The house and grounds are available for private hire for weddings.The venue has lawns over looking the ocean where they had some welcome drinks and photos. Their photo shoot took place in the grassy field with the ocean in the background, the horses’ stables and with the family MG car.

Abby is such a classic beauty that she made the photography very easy for us! Abby and Alex planned this wedding by themselves with the help of many family members. Both the mothers made the cake, and Abby’s dad iced it! The cake decorations and many of the details were sourced from Etsy and Folksy. The flowers were from Susanne of the fabulous ‘The Blue Carrot’ who grows all the flowers just up the road in her walled garden — they are as local as you can get!

Wedding Photography: Green Photographic / Wedding Venue: Rosteague in Cornwall, England / Floral Design: The Blue Carrot / Event Design + Planning: DIY by the Bride & Groom with Help from Family + Friends / Wedding Dress: Annasul Y / Bride’s Shoes: BHS

We’re taking a little cyber jaunt across the pond for this perfect-in-every-way photo shoot by Caroline Joy Photography. With lush landscaping, loads of pretty petals, mismatched vintage china, and a poofy cocktail style hat a la Kate Middleton, it’s no wonder we’re totally smitten with it! And once you get a peep at all the pretty in the full gallery, we know you will be too!

Click here for the FULL photo shoot!

From Caroline Joy Photography… I’m so excited to share this wedding shoot set in the gorgeous English countryside, just outside of London. Special swoon-worthy items to note: the mismatched china settings, the ponies meandering about, the soft tones of pink and cream in the floral design, the bride’s Kate Middleton style veil/cocktail hat, the quaint English manor with unruly gardens and low stone walls, the ribbon table runner, the thatched roof houses and the detailed cupcake designs. Fun fact: Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey is filmed, was right around the corner from this shoot! :)

Photography: Caroline Joy Photography / Photo Shoot Location: A Private Residence in Highclere, UK / Event Styling: Jillian Manger of Mimi Nicole Event Design Boutique / Floral Design: Blush Floral Design / Wedding Cakes: Gifted Heart Cakes / Wedding Dress: Blue by Enzoani “Caldera” / Cocktail Hat: Beverley Edmondson Millinery

I love the bohemian meets English tea party vibe of this spring wedding inspiration from Jess Petrie.  Two ideas that I never would have thought to pair up but that work oh-so-well together.  Jenny Packham‘s gowns do have an ethereal, fairy goddess feel to them so it actually makes perfect sense and this beautiful model in this beautiful dress is a serious knock-out.  The entire inspiration shoot is perfect for the nontraditional bride who craves total romance!  See it all in the full gallery!

Click here for the FULL photo shoot!

From Jess of Jess Petrie… I fell in love with this dress. The creams, coffees & golds, the detailing & the craftwork — utterly gorgeous. And Kamara, the model, worked this dress and rocked the headpiece to perfection. The idea behind this styled shoot was to show bridal with a bit of difference — no traditional white for a gown or a veil, but instead a rather classy boho chic headband with gorgeous detailing and a dress oozing glam with the gold and soft dreamy textures and fabrics.  Her name is Eden…

I thought the candy buffet would work well with the theme, as it is an alternative way to entertain and fill your guests with loving treats and sweets — a perfect combo. Why not hop into Rita, the happy camper, and take off for a few hours after your ceremony or at sunset? Find a quiet location and have some photos taken — how romantic.

Photography: Jess Petrie / Venue: The Bear Inn in Belper, Derbyshire, England / Floral Design: Swallows & Damsons / Wedding Cake + Cookies: Butterflies & Angels / Cupcakes: Cakes From My Kitchen / Cake Pops: popalicious cake pops / Cards + Stationery by I Am Nat / Retro Signs + Sweets Buffet: Sweetest Pear / Rita the Happy Camper Rental: Candy Apple Weddings / Wedding Dress: Jenny Packham “Eden” via The White Room / Headpiece: Debbie Carlisle Bouquets “Florence” via The White Room / Garter: Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe / Hair + Makeup: Jenn Edwards (info@jennedwards.com) / Model: Kamara Thomas

Since the Royal Wedding (or if we’re really being honest, since the first time my nine year old eyes first spied Prince William), I have had a slight love affair with all things British. And thanks to this intimate, yet beautifully grand, British fête I DO Wedding Consulting sent over – the side of my heart that lives over the pond has grown in spades. Captured by Micaela Scimone Photography, the soiree is the bees knees, absolutely cracking, and oh-so-ace. Best of British to you if you think you’ll be at all productive once you’ve visited the full gallery!

I wanted a very traditional, English venue in the center of London. I love this city and we wanted to showcase it in the best light for our American guests as well. My husband had been to a wedding at this venue years ago, which is a very historical house in the middle of London’s St James area; however, they only have a few weddings per year at this venue but we were lucky enough to be one of them.

The colors and style were driven by the venue, built in 1756 for the Spencer family. The house is very grand with stunning architectural detailing. We did not want to detract from the interiors and architecture, but instead complement it. I knew that I wanted a dress inspired by the past, and I chose one that felt very antique and rich in history – yet it is a new dress.

Our wedding was a mix of English and American traditions. For example, we chose to walk down the aisle to a Marvin Gaye song – sung by a fantastic singer from New York City, but we also had several traditional English traditions such as a toastmaster and a formal dinner prior to any dancing.

The dinner in the Great Room, with red damask fabric lined walls and artwork owned by the Queen of England was something special. And our dessert buffet was a bit of America that the pastry chef had never seen in the UK.

Venue, catering + desserts: Spencer House / Event Planning + Design: I DO Wedding Consulting / Photography: Micaela Scimone Photography / Videography: Quintessentially TV / Floral Design: John Carter Flowers / Entertainment: Strong Sensation Band / Chuppah: inGenious Productions Ltd. / Marquee: Peppers Marquees / Lighting: Focus Lighting and Productions Limited / Invitation Printing: Mount Street Printers / Wedding Cake: Peggy Porschen Cakes Ltd.

Planning a long-distance wedding isn’t always easy, but this adorable duo didn’t let a few thousand miles (or more) get in their way.  Instead, they enlisted the help of some of Ontario’s finest vendors, including the amazing Hazlitt Vintage Rentals and The Little White Dress, and drew upon their own crazy talented DIY skills and creativity to throw the sweet, vintage wedding of their dreams.  All captured by Young Hearts Photography, the gallery is literally overflowing with magical moments for us to enjoy. Click here for more.

Click here for the FULL wedding!

Oh, and we’re not done yet.  We have a breathtaking film from Nataschia Wielink Photo + Cinema to seriously sweeten your Monday. Enjoy!

From the Bride… To say that I was anxious and overwhelmed at the thought of planning a wedding remotely while living overseas was an understatement. Our family and friends would be coming from all over the world for our wedding, and I wanted it to be a perfect reflection of us. Luke is from Australia and I’m from Canada, but we now live together in Hong Kong. This meant that not only would there be a lot of traveling involved during the planning process, but also a lot of emailing, using Skype and relinquishing control to others (which I don’t do well). I was so overwhelmed with the thought of planning the wedding that we were engaged for nearly 5 years, looked at locations in 3 different countries, and had planned and canceled three different dates, before we finally settled on Canada as our location. Since our entire love story unfolded in Asia, we felt it was really important to bring all the things we love about our “home” to our families who have not yet been able to visit us in Hong Kong. With friends and family scattered all over the world (and some who hadn’t seen us since we’ve been together) the most important thing for us was to have every single detail express who we are and help those that only knew us individually to understand our love and connection.

To help be my eyes, ears and my super hero in Canada I enlisted the help of wedding planner Kate Vanderlugt of The Little White Dress, and from there our wedding visions grew into a dream come true. She not only understood our vision and brought it perfectly to life but she became a great friend in planning process. It was all the little details that made our day unique and that was what I focused on. Luke was a superstar groom. He designed our invitations, made our cake topper, molded and painted our photo booth props and became a master of the sewing machine! He sewed our vintage floral napkins, our linen table runners, and all the ties for the groomsmen  – as well as embroidering them! Our venue didn’t allow our guests to throw anything as we walked back up the aisle, so I made little paper flags with lots of fun sayings and our initials for our guests to wave. I also enlisted the wonderful Selena from Hazlitt Vintage Rentals to complete that vintage travel vibe we were going for. She had just the right pieces – from tables and suitcases to the tandem bike that we used for photos! For dinner, Luke and I felt it was especially important to bring our favourite tastes of Asia to our guests, and we then followed it up with a yummy dessert bar with my favourite homemade squares that my mom and grandma baked. Our guests’ favourite part of the evening had to be our photo-booth-turned-guest-book. I created a scrapbook station with tons of stickers and letters and such and the guests had fun all night taking photos, having them print out and creating funny pages to help us remember the night.

Although there were a lot of frustrations leading up to our wedding, it truly was a day that far exceeded even my wildest dreams. I kept saying, leading up to the day, that although it was the day that I got to marry my soul mate it was so much more than that. It was also being able to be with and share in the love of all those closest to us whom we seldom get to see as we celebrated such an important moment in our lives. I have to thank Kate from The Little White dress for really understanding our vision and making it come to life. And I also need to thank Young Hearts Photography and Nataschia Wielink Photo + Cinema for capturing the day — the happiest of memories that we will have forever.

Wedding Photography: Young Hearts Photography / Wedding Venue: Bellamere Winery in London, Ontario / Event Planning: Kate Vanderlugt of The Little White Dress / Floral Design: Village Vines Florists / Wedding Cinematography: Nataschia Wielink Photo + Cinema / Wedding Cake: The Cake Box / Officiant: All Season Weddings / Vintage Rentals: Hazlitt Vintage Rentals / Wedding Invitations, Cake Topper, Photo Booth Props, Napkins, Table Runners + Groomsmen’s Ties: DIY by The Groom / Paper Flags, Heart Garland, Bunting + Bridesmaids’ Jewelry: DIY by The Bride / Hair + Makeup: Nova Vita / Bridesmaid Dresses: Dessy (Color: Firecracker)

We’re taking a quick hop, skip and jump across the pond to bring you this heavenly London wedding by My Love Story.  I am quite enamored with this charming beauty with its winter elegance and mod flair.  There is so much to fall head over heels for like the flirty bridesmaids all in white, the perfectly sweet arrangements of tulips and anemones and, of course, incredible personal touches that will tug at your heart strings.  Click here to see it all!

Click here for the FULL wedding!

From the Bride… We knew we wanted our wedding to feel really simple and elegant, so tried to keep this in mind throughout. We live in London, so we got married here to make organising the day as straightforward and easy as it could be. We had a winter wedding, as we got engaged in January and wanted it to be in the same year. The reception venue is a Georgian town house in a beautiful London square with a gorgeous flagstone hallway and big, floor-to-ceiling windows. The fan light on the front door inspired the design for our stationery, and although we were really clear that we didn’t want to have any particular ‘theme’ for the day, the venue probably ended up influencing the look and feel of it all. The things that were important to us were having great food, having all our family and friends with us and everyone having a lovely time. Leon knew of the caterers, Clerkenwell Kitchen, and their food was amazing. They recommended the florist we used, The Flower Appreciation Society. I probably gave Ellie quite a vague brief, so the flowers were a wonderful surprise. Alex, from “My Love Story” was our photographer. He was amazing all day and brilliant to have around in the morning with all my bridesmaids getting ready.

My dress was from The Vintage Wedding Dress Company. I had it altered by a dressmaker one of my friends suggested, Nicola Donati. She added sleeves out of a vintage lace collar that was my great-great grandmother’s. My mum bought all the gorgeous white poinsettias to have up the stone staircase from a local garden centre. The venue is a listed building — it only had uplighter lamps in the rooms, and we weren’t allowed real candles, so I became a bit fixated on tea lights and the right candle holders! My sister found gold tea lights and Leon and I scoured practically every Poundland in north London, buying about fifty million of them! Two of our grandparents couldn’t attend the wedding due to ill health, and our grandfathers had both passed away, so we had photographs of all of their and our parents weddings on the mantelpiece, which all of our families really loved.

My worst decision was wanting to get a black cab to take me to the registry office. It didn’t show up and only told us 15 minutes before it was due to arrive! My bridesmaid did a sterling job of keeping this from me and organising a local taxi last minute. My advice to brides to be would be to think about what is important to you, what will make you happy and once you’ve decided, stick to it! Where possible keep things as simple as you can. I promised myself not to get stressed (this is harder than you think at times), not to let the little things that invariably go wrong bother me and to enjoy the day, which we did.

Wedding Photography: Alex Dimopoulos of My Love Story / Ceremony: Islington Town Hall in Islington, London, UK / Reception: 6 Fitzroy Square in London, UK / Floral Design: Ellie of The Flower Appreciation Society / Wedding Cake + Cupcakes: Primrose Bakery / Catering: Clerkenwell Kitchen / Officiant: Cynthia Green / Wedding Stationery: Designed by the Bride & Groom / Transportation: Addison Lee / Wedding Dress: The Vintage Wedding Dress Company / Wedding Dress Alterations: Nicola Donati / Bride’s Hair Accessory: Jennifer Behr / Bride’s Jewelry: 1950s Vintage Bracelets / Bride’s Fur Cape: eBay / Bride’s Shoes: By Larin / Hair: Hob Salon / Makeup: DIY / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Asos Salon, Darling + H&M / Groom’s Suit: Paul Smith

Good morning my lovely LBBers. You’ll want to put down your coffee before you watch this London wedding from MintySlippers. Why? You will have a permagrin on your pretty little face from the moment you hear what this groom has to say about his lovely bride – and I don’t want to be responsible for spilling coffee on your keyboard. So enjoy, liquid free, and have a fabulous (and hopefully wedding filled) day!

[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/33791087 601 338]

Gavin & Emma from MintySlippers

We met first as teenagers, both being part of a larger crowd of kids in the area in which we lived. With plenty of friends in common, we had a strong friendship for many years, before finding love with each other in 2008. Fast forward to December 2010 and we were on holiday together in Long Beach, California, staying on the beautiful Queen Mary, the worlds once romantically famous ocean super liner, now a permanent floating hotel in SoCal. It was the last night of a week long trip that had began in Las Vegas, and when walking around the famous deck, taking in the holiday vibe for the final time, Gavin dropped to one knee and made the proposal. Being the final day, Emma was perhaps more shocked that she hadn’t seen it coming than for the proposal itself!

When we began looking at venues, we knew we wanted somewhere unusual or different. Being in our late twenties, we had more or less been attending weddings on a monthly basis for a couple of years! Limited to the venues that were available just nine months later when we intended to marry, and those that could accommodate up to 250 people eating Kosher food, we were desperate not to return to one of the venues already enjoyed by friends of ours (often on multiple occasions!). We sat down to shortlist places we had never seen that would meet our criteria, and came across the St. Pancras Renaissance project. Completion of the hotel had been set for March 2011 and (with half a mind on the issues experienced by couples marrying at the Savoy when its renovation ran badly over) we felt confident that it would be up and at running speed by September 18. The fact that it was stunning (even back in Jan 2011 when we visited it as a full blown building site) and somewhere that no one we would have invited would ever have been to, was enough for us to know that we didn’t need to go and see anything else!

Our inspiration was only to take the ‘must have’ elements required and put any interesting twists on that we could think of. For example, we replaced flowered table centres with blue coloured ostrich feather arrangements bathed in contemporary LED lighting. With such a spectacular and freshly finished venue, we were keen to keep production elements to a fairly subtle level. As for colour, we went with blue to reflect the famous pale blue ironwork of the St. Pancras Hotel and International Station.

One of the most successful elements of the day was the party at the end. We’d chosen a band/dj hybrid meaning we had the flexibility of a disco with the spectacle of live singers and musicians. Combine that with podium corners on the dace floor (and of course the sambucca) and we had a party that was so much fun, the crowd actually booed when carriages were called!

Videographer: MintySlippers / Photographer: Reportage By / Venue: St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London / Catering: Chives / Shoes: Alexander McQueen / Dress: Ian Stuart / Toastmaster: Jamie Paskin / Florist & Chuppah Design: Black and Cook / Music: Creation Disco-Live