Europe Weddings

Backyard Religious Institution

Settings

Styles

Romantic Tented English Countryside Wedding

From the beautiful Bride… Thomas and I fell in love in London. We met by chance when a mutual friend insisted we go on a blind date. Sparks flew and after I graduated college in the US we moved to live in Beijing (where I grew up). Five years later we were back in London visiting friends; while strolling through Queen Mary’s rose garden in Regents Park Thomas got down on one knee and popped the question and I said yes.

I’m from Oregon, my family are from Texas and Arkansas, Thomas is from the UK, and we had friends and family in Beijing. It was important to us that all our nearest and dearest could celebrate with us so we planned three parties – one in each country. We kicked off in the spring with an informal brunch in a historic Beijing courtyard, and followed up in the fall with dinner and dancing in Portland’s downtown Pearl District.

For the wedding ceremony itself we chose Thomas’s family home in Shropshire, an agricultural county in the UK famous for its rolling hills, fuzzy sheep, and blue cheese. We were married in the thousand-year-old St. Peter’s Church Edgmond by Thomas’s childhood vicar, the Reverend Edward Ward. The ceremony celebrated the joining of two families – my talented cousin Mattie sang Ave Maria while we signed the church registry, Thomas’s uncle Roger did a bible reading, while my granny Virginia read one of Mark Twain’s letters. The reception was held at Thomas’s family home, a cottage set in a bucolic English garden with a plush emerald lawn which we decked out with a traditional croquet set. Guests enjoyed the cocktail reception and lawn games before sitting down for a family-style wedding breakfast full of local ingredients. Like any good English wedding reception it lasted all day – starting at noon, continuing through the evening with dancing and a food stall serving burgers and pizzas from a wood-fired oven, then whisky and marshmallows around the campfire until well after midnight.

We wanted to keep the decor unpretentious and romantic. In honor of our Chinese connection and guests we used toile chinoiserie tablecloths, mahjong tile placard holders, and brought over our dinner gong. In reference to our engagement in the rose garden, my mum crafted over one hundred water-colored paper rose escort cards. For a sweet take-away gift Thomas’s mum hand-made chutneys and jams.

Amanda Jerkins provided the romantic and lush floral decorations, bouquets and buttonholes. I loved how she married local wild flowers and blackberries with David Austin roses, blending traditional English flowers with a fresh American perspective. Our photographer Stephen was lovely to work with, his photos perfectly captured the narrative of the day. We love his documentary approach to photography – he took the time to get to know us, our families, and the locations. His preparation and appreciation for the British countryside really comes through in his work. We are thrilled with the final product; the photos are beautifully composed, crisp, and timeless. He was also highly efficient in getting the perfect shots so that we didn’t miss out on our reception. Our friendly bearded photographer was a major hit with the guests!

This gorgeous pair and their equally gorgeous wedding looks like it’s out of the pages of a magazine. Incredible backdrop, gorgeous styling, smiles and love bursting through every image. But what I love the most has absolutely nothing to do with any of that. It’s the blending of two families, the reverence to home and the fact that you can literally feel the joy in every moment. With photographs from Paper Antler, there is so much more right here.

Colors

Seasons

Garden Weddings Religious Institution

Settings

Styles

Classic Weddings Romantic

From the beautiful Bride… Phil and I met on a small and magical island in the British Virgin Islands.. it was a love story that neither of us could see coming. I was wrapping up a 4-year adventure working and playing under the sun, and he happened to come over on vacation with friends during my final week on the island. We instantly knew what we found in one another was something undeniably special. After a relatively short cross-atlantic romance (and lots of air miles accumulated by Phil) he took me up to the Lake District on the northwest coast of England and asked me to marry him on one of the most stunning mountain tops. It was the happiest surprise of my life!

Our dream was that our wedding would be a true celebration of the love that binds us all together — our two families, friends and countries — and we wanted to highlight the wonderful English and American traditions that we both adore. We decided to get married in the treasured Woodland Valley of the Lake District – in the church and home of Phil’s late Grandmother, Marigold. It is also where his parents got married 40 years ago, and is now where they call home. Our families are everything to us, and we were thrilled to be able to have our two worlds collide in such a meaningful place. My family and friends loved coming to England to spend some happy sunny days up north, stretching out the festivities and exploring the area with Phil’s family.

Thankfully we couldn’t really do much to improve upon the existing breathtaking views, rolling fells and magical woodland setting. The gardens were in bloom and the sun stayed out for nearly the whole weekend. Our vision was to let the natural beauty of the valley be enjoyed all week long.. so we hiked, swam, sat in the sunny gardens and just enjoyed our loved ones who had traveled such great distances to share in these few unforgettable days.

Our incredible friends Kara and Courtney helped pull everything together for us throughout the week, allowing our families to really relax and enjoy spending time together. The wedding day was an absolute dream, and we are so grateful that Jonny & Michelle (Paper Antler) captured the sweetest moments throughout it all – of the people we hold dearest in our lives. We will forever cherish these images and the memories of the happiest week of our lives.

Romantic Secret Garden-Inspired London Wedding Weekend

Oh my gosh, how I adore this adorable duo and their whimsical wedding festivities! From their engagement session to their rehearsal dinner (complete with croquet, a colorful lounge area and balloon animals!) this Bride and Groom couldn’t be cuter (neither could their flower girls!). And don’t even get me started on their wedding—drenched in out-of-this-world florals by Zita Elze. Check out the full gallery here to see it all!

Colors

Seasons

Settings

Traditional + Glamorous English Country Wedding

Styles

Romantic Whimsical

From the beautiful Bride… With guests coming from each corner of the world, and the fact that we chose The Savoy as a venue, we wanted to create a special experience for our guests for a very memorable occasion. We wanted something that reflected both mine & Andrew’s quirks and was grand whilst also intimate so our guests felt relaxed and enjoyed the day as much as we did.

The Savoy is one of the most incredible hotels in the entire world but furthermore it allowed us to have all our guests over three very different stunning rooms and move comfortably within them.

My dress was bespoke couture and encompassed everything I had envisaged and more. It was A-line with an internal drop waist corset, white lace over ivory duchess satin with a cap sleeve and the back had sheer lace at the top & a 72 inch train. Beading was on the bodice & sleeves and added along the hem and scattered up the skirt and up the centre of the train. The process of its creation was a real joy, I met every few weeks for 6 months with Philippa’s team who could not have been lovelier and those meetings were always the highlight of my week, their devotion to their craft was really inspiring and seeing the dress slowly come together was a joy. Nicholas Kirkwood Bespoke made a lace ankle boot for me in the same lace as my dress. The bridesmaids and my sisters/maids of honour chose their own dresses as we wanted them to look & feel their best.

The floral brief was a sense of magical organic romance —a very romantic wild country garden where the theme flowed from room to room. I didn’t want anything structured or too formal. The aisle in the ceremony room was grass lined with moss and trees which created a magical garden for my walk up the aisle. The main focus in the reception room was a tree covered in bespoke paper lanterns which replaced escort cards—each one had guest names and their table numbers.

We used poetry plates as favors which acted as the charger plate on the dinner tables. We had our names and wedding date printed on the reverse side. These were later boxed and placed in gift bags with our initials on for each guest to take away at the end of the evening.

The most memorable part of the wedding day was being on the dance floor when Beverley Knight started singing my favourite song Black Butta, which is something I will remember for the rest of my life!

Cranes were incorporated into our wedding theme which signify good luck in Sudan, and small watercolours of scenes from our hometown of Khartoum were given as favors.

For the Rehearsal Dinner, the florist created two distinct styles for the two different sides of the party. The first was an english garden style on the front lawn, with english blooms & roses in antique
vases on the tables. For the second part of the party, in the back garden, the style was modern Asian and the flowers were in jewel tones to match the decor.

We set up a Pad Thai station in the garden for an informal and fun dinner, which was served in polished coconut shells. There was also a tent filled with a buffet of miniature desserts.

We incorporated lots of entertainment for both adults and children including a balloon artist, a magician, singers, a band and we ended the evening with fireworks on the lawn.

Since lots of our guests don’t drink alcohol, we wanted them to feel like we hadn’t forgotten about them, and so we hired professional mixologists to create a wonderful selection of non alcoholic cocktails.

The combo of ingredients that makeup this one-of-a-kind day result in a truly beautiful wedding ‘recipe’. Cobblestone streets, quintessential English character, a gray and orange decked town hall, vintage sparkle and tradition galore… like no other fete we’ve ever set our sights on and that’s why we love it so. Jacob and Pauline Photography stood by this couple’s side through every special moment—see it all here.

Colors

Seasons

Winter Weddings

Settings

Styles

Elegant Equestrian Wedding Inspiration

From Jacob and Pauline Photography… Polly and Chris chose to get married in a quintessentially lovely town called Rye. Thatched cottage and cobbled streets set the theme of their elegant day. The wedding was held in Rye Town Hall, a gorgeous space decked in greys and orange tones. Polly wore a vintage styled twenties gown with a beaded headdress and minimal veil. She paired the dress with a fur stole, and country-inspired white poppy and rose bouquet.

Once Chris and Polly has said their vows and committed their lives to each other they carried on with tradition once again and had the Master of Ceremonies ring them into the reception venue at The George Hotel. Cries that Polly and Chris were married echoed down the streets! It was such a lovely touch for the couple, as well as their friends and family.

The venue was lit by candles and dressed in whites and ivory tones, and the cake… what a spectacle of chocolate! Each guest had chocolates as wedding favours too, and enjoyed a really relaxed meal together. Although Polly and Chris wanted an traditionally country English wedding, which was evident in the flowers, favours and formalwear, it was a very relaxed day. There wasn’t a strict schedule to follow and no one was worried about it being a Perfect Day. Instead, they focused on having fun with their loved ones.

One thing that helped is that Polly and Chris chose to have an engagement shoot before the big day. This helped them relax on their wedding, and meant we could get some really quite touching shots of them both.

These Featured Designers are members of our Look Book.
For membership information, click here

Bridesmaid Dresses

Dessy

Bridesmaid 2014

Women's Tuxedo

Tuxedo

Fall 2014

Spring 2015

View All Collections

I’ll be the first to admit I was a total horse-nut as a child (anyone else?!), and have always dreamed of having an equine friend on hand during my Big Day. This inspiration shoot, practically bursting at the seams with British charm (Wellies!), and not one, but two beautiful horses, was all the encouragement I need to keep on dreaming. Click through the gallery here, and you might be having some horsey wedding dreams soon, too!

Colors

Seasons

Winter Weddings

Settings

Estate Weddings

Styles

Elegant English Ballroom Wedding

From Jane Riddell of Planned for Perfection… This fabulous equestrian shot was taken on location at Wyck Hill House Hotel and Spa, an elegant 18th century Manor House located in the heart of the beautiful English countryside.

Wyck Hill House approached me to help them create a styled wedding shoot that combined its opulence and grandeur with the very essence of Cotswold Life.

Situated in the stunning Gloucestershire countryside, with breath taking views over the rolling hills of The Cotswold, the Manor House is close to the racing town of Cheltenham and the famous Beaufort Polo Club, where Prince’s William and Harry have been known to play, so an equestrian styled shoot seemed rather fitting!

On what turned out to be a rather grey February morning, the roaring log fire and a glow of candle light brought a warmth to the old library and ornate Adams room, whilst the soft blush tones and striking burgundies florals supplied by Stephanie Saunders ensuring an elegant Downton Abbey style back drop…

The beautifully designed stationery by On Cloud Nine, hinted towards the equestrian and country side theme whilst retaining an elegant simplicity and when styled with rustic horseshoes, captured the theme of the shoot perfectly.

The stunning gowns were supplied by The Bridal Room at Broadway, who provided a wonderful mix of satin and lace dresses, offset by gorgeous accessories and complimented beautifully by flowing chiffon bridesmaid dresses from Katherine Allen Bridal and the Cake Chemists provided two incredible wedding cakes.

The winter’s sun made a brief appearance later in the afternoon and the wonderful Laura Power photography was able to capture some bridal shots with the horses, which ended the day perfectly….what better way to spend a day than ‘horsing around’ in the Cotswolds with a team of Cotswold’s finest wedding suppliers!

You know what makes me smile? Post-ceremony portraits. The undeniable joy radiating from their newlywed faces as they walk hand-in-hand relishing their new titles is enough to make me giddy. And this sweet duo? Well, one look at this gallery from the lens of Dominique Bader and you’ll see just what I mean.

Colors

Seasons

Settings

Styles

Spring London Kew Gardens Wedding

From Dominique Bader…This wedding took place in a beautiful Georgian hotel in the historical town of Rye, in Sussex, England; famous for its cobbled streets, antique shops, and beautiful architecture. The wedding ceremony and reception were held in the light filled ballroom of The George in Rye hotel, which is beautifully decorated with duck egg blue wallpaper, traditional paneling, and beautiful chandeliers. The venue has a cozy and intimate feel whilst retaining the classical and timeless qualities of the Georgian period.

From the beautiful Bride…The inspiration for our day was to keep things contemporary, yet classic and elegant. We wanted to be able to look back at our photos in years to come and have no regrets about our choices. Our wedding day was a true reflection of us as a couple and we made sure to stick to this value throughout the planning. I wanted to work with great suppliers who shared our vision and in whom we had the confidence to deliver great results. When it came to picking the venue, we considered that most of our guests were from out of town and we felt that the charming town of Rye with its cobbled streets, close to where I grew up, would be perfect for them to enjoy a long weekend away. We fell in love with the beautiful light and airy Georgian ballroom with its exquisite silk wallpaper and glamorous chandeliers at The George in Rye and instantly knew it was the venue for us. I could imagine the room filled with white flowers and the sound of glasses clinking. Our wedding day was, in our opinion, a combination of great food, unique music, an abundance of fragrant florals, timeless decor, and a relaxed atmosphere in which to share the love with our family and friends!

These Featured Designers are members of our Look Book.
For membership information, click here

Jenny Packham

Bridal 2016 Catwalk

View All Collections

Reem Acra

Spring 2015

View All Collections

Any wedding that begins with a bouquet of THE prettiest pink peonies designed by Robbie Honey is a celebration I can get behind. Not to mention all the photo goodness that follows. Think traditional English elegance woven with the couple’s Chinese traditions for a day that’s magic from start to finish. More from Polly Alexandre right this way.

Colors

Seasons

Spring Weddings

Settings

Garden Weddings

Styles

Whimsical Countryside Estate Wedding

From Polly Alexandre…Eva & Matt met when they were both students at LSE in London. Given that their love story officially started back when they were students, it was only fitting that Matt should revisit their University Library to propose to Eva. The couple chose me as their Photographer with a brief to capture the smiles, the happiness…and special moments of their big day. Images that felt sweet and happy and would reawaken the feelings from their magical day in years to come when they looked through their album.

With both the wedding ceremony and reception to be held at Cambridge Cottage in Kew Gardens, London. Eva chose the classic, timeless Connaught Hotel in the heart of London for her location for bridal preparations. It has a classic and grand feel indoors which she loved and it was the perfect location to host the extensive Chinese party games, which were a lot of fun indeed!

As one of the fun Chinese traditions includes playing a series of games before the wedding, Eva wore a crimson red dress for this part of the day and the tea ceremony and then later changed into her beautiful white wedding gown by Pronovias.

From The Bride…We got to know each other while we were both studying at the LSE in London. After graduation, many of our close friends moved to different parts of the world. When we started planning the wedding, we thought what could be better than having the wedding in London and bringing our closest friends and family back to where we met and shared our happiest day. We had a perfect day and we couldn’t be happier seeing all the family and friends from all over the world coming together in Kew Garden on a beautiful British summer day. Polly, who was our photographer, captured every precious moment in the best way we could ever hope for.

Every bride to be knows the wedding preparation can be stressful to say the least, visiting flower market in the early morning, trying to find the perfect dress, practicing a dance while neither of you knows how to dance etc. While we were planning the wedding, neither of us ever thought we would miss those stressful moments. Now a year after the wedding, we sat in bed on a Sunday morning, laughing together and all those memories are just as beautiful as the wedding day itself.

These Featured Designers are members of our Look Book.
For membership information, click here

Pronovias

ATELIER PRONOVIAS

PRONOVIAS

Dancing Lights, Cruise Collection

View All Collections

Traditional English with a twist, this whimsical countryside wedding incorporates cultural significance and countryside charm. From the dessert table treats, to the traditional Tamil necklace ceremony, Catherine Mead captured it all. The evening continued in the hands of planner Mary Lee Herrington who brought pretty in the form of pastels and it can all be seen right here!

Colors

Seasons

Hotels + Resorts Weddings Religious Institution

Settings

Styles

Traditional English Wedding in Cotswolds

From Catherine Mead…Hayley & Andrew held a traditional English wedding with a twist, incorporating styles from London, Sri Lanka and NYC. Hayley’s family are of Irish decent, and Andrew’s family are Sri Lankan, which made for a fun party! The day started with a Catholic ceremony, followed by a reception at a 50 acre countryside estate in Surrey.

Hayley and Andrew got married on the Saturday, and on the Monday upped sticks and relocated to New York City with new jobs, a new apartment and an exciting start to married life. The buildup to the wedding was therefore a little more stressful than most, planning a wedding and preparing to change jobs, move house and relocate to another country!

As a result, Hayley then brought in the fantastic Mary Lee Herrington to coordinate all of the design elements of the wedding. Personalised elements were incorporated through the wedding, such as the dessert table treats, which were all created by Hayley and Andrew’s friends and family. To incorporate Andrew’s Sri Lankan heritage, a traditional Tamil necklace tied together the wedding rings as they were carried down the aisle during the ceremony. Instead of table numbers, tables were the names of places significant to the couple’s love story, such as The Roxy, the pub where they first met, and the couple’s signature cocktail, New York, New York was a nod to their move to the Big Apple.

Music was a big element of the wedding, with several musicians playing throughout the day. They also had entertainment for the reception by The Singing Waiters. The waiters had been working alongside the hotel staff all day, serving food and drinks, and then later broke cover to provide some fun entertainment, surprising all of the guests! During the evening the DJ started the evening’s partying with a Gangnam Style dance video, which had the bride, groom and all of the guests hitting the dance floor.

These Featured Designers are members of our Look Book.
For membership information, click here

Wedding Dresses

BHLDN

Bridal 2016

Bridal 2019

View All Collections

At one point or another I think we’ve all dreamt of an English fairytale “I do.” The ballgown, the prince charming, the classic manor setting – the works. Well, believe it or not this sweet couple lived out all of the above, and the photos from Belle And Beau are every bit as dreamy as you’d imagine. Peek for yourself here!

Colors

Seasons

Spring Weddings

Settings

Ballroom Weddings Estate Weddings

Styles

Whimsical + Colorful London Gallery Wedding

From the Bride… My dress was by Caroline Castigliano – I wore the dress, veil and shrug. I then just wore some diamond studs which were a present from Kristian for the birth of our baby Charlie. My shoes were Jimmy Choo wedges, high but comfortable. For my hair I had a simple ballerina bun and light makeup which one of my bridesmaids, Ivi, did for me as she used to work for Mac.

My florist was Flowers by Passion. We went for fresh spring time flowers, I asked for bright greens rather than sage in the foliage and also budding lilac. Mainly white and green with a hint of pink. For the Groomsmen, we hired Top Hats and Tails for the boys then bought them all light pink with white spots ties from Favourbrook. It did fit with bridesmaids though unintentionally actually! The Groom had on a Patek Phillipe watch that I bought him as a wedding gift. My wedding photogrpaher was Holly of Belle and Beau Fine Art Wedding Photography. We chose her as we wanted mainly natural photographs that would capture the spirit of the day and we loved the soft palette of Holly’s work.

Babington House made us a simple victoria sponge cake which was then decorated with fresh flowers. We wanted something simple. For our entertainment we had a string quartet as we both love the sound, I play violin and it fitted with classic English setting. We also had a magician during deserts – Kristian organized as a surprise! We had a band then a DJ in the evening. Again Kristian organized the band as a surprise it was the members of the band Reef! We didn’t do traditional table favours.

Guests arriving the night before the wedding were left a Soho House ‘Eat Drink Nap’ book with a welcome note whilst those arriving on the day had jammy dodgers, tea and an order of the day all packed up in their rooms. We put our favourite salted caramels from borough market outside people’s bedrooms the morning after the wedding with a thank you note and the day’s paper. For the overall design of the day we went for romantic with lanterns on the way to the church, lots of tea lights and candles throughout the venue and lots of flowers in a collection of glassware.

Spring is officially here m’dears, and this next pastel pretty? Well, it’s the perfect warm welcome for a long-awaited season. After nine years, this pair put together one sunny affair filled with vibrant Fairy Nuff Flowers and whimsical bunny accents. From the hanging florals to the forestry themed favors, every detail is filled with classic color and Caught The Light captured it all here!

Colors

Seasons

Settings

Museum

Styles

Intimate Pastel Wedding in the Cotswolds

From the beautiful Bride… It was over eleven years ago when Allan and I met at university (I was trying to find the ladies’ toilets in the student union!) We were friends first, then flat mates and one day a more amorous relationship then blossomed over a Dawson’s Creek marathon….(don’t ask!)

Seven years later and Allan proposed on a trip to Australia. On the first night in Sydney, he took me out to the Sydney Opera House and projected a home-made video onto it, which animated our relationship through its seven years. It ended with Allan on one knee; with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the twilight sky bearing witness to our happy tears.

We were engaged for almost two years so we had plenty of time to plan for our summer wedding, which was a good thing given I was never one of those girls who grew up with a vision of their “dream wedding”. The dress alone took almost 6 months to find, but I finally found “the one” at Morgan Davies – a Kobus Dippenaar number with a beautiful lace appliqué top and intricate lace straps, and a simple silk skirt that was easy to move around in – I wanted something I could not only dance in, but also go to the bathroom by myself in!

As we had met at a London university and had lived in London all our lives, we had to have a London wedding! The Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) was the perfect choice – it was such a bright, light contemporary space with beautiful balconies that had views of St James Park, the London Eye and Big Ben. They also have in-house caterers, Peyton and Byrne, who created a delicious wedding breakfast for us, which included seared scallops, juicy pork belly and the most salivating coconut marshmallow brownie.

Allan was definitely an equal partner in the planning – he designed the save the dates, invitations, table plan and order of service. He also crafted two lit up “A” signs out of foamboard that formed our main mantelpiece décor in the wedding breakfast room. Who says accountants aren’t creative?

We had two wedding favors for our lovely friends and family – chocolate Lindt bunnies (which went with our loose forestry theme) and vinyl style CDs that we made which included our wedding music, meaningful songs to us and songs that encapsulated the hen do and stag do (if you haven’t already heard it, Youtube “Channing Tatum & Jamie Foxx – I wanna”!)

We were inspired by hanging flower displays we’d seen on Pinterest and worked with the amazing Steph from FairyNuff Flowers to create one as the backdrop for our ceremony room. As the ICA was such an open light space, we wanted bright flowers to bring a bit of color to the day. We used animal vases from our living room as part of our centre pieces, along with old vintage books we spent months picking from old book stores – each had some relevance to us or to the group of friends on that table.

We chose two songs for our first dance – we started off slow-dancing to Bright Eyes – “First Day of my Life” and then broke into a choreographed routine to Hall & Oates – “You Make My Dreams Come True” that we learnt from a flash mob video from YouTube. It took a few sessions at the gym, but we almost nailed it on the night! Almost!

Allan also surprised me on the night with another video he had made, which he shared with everyone just before we cut the cake. One of my (not so secret) music vices is the band McFly, so whilst Allan was on his stag-do, he and his groomsmen re-created the “Love is Easy” video in Sofia, pink ukulele and heart shaped umbrellas included!

We had a lot of fun planning the wedding (“researching” wines and food/cake tastings were definitely highlights) and we’re so grateful that we had the talented Chloé take our wedding photographs for us – we now have a collection of amazing memories immortalized in her beautiful photos for the rest of our lives.

My secret dreams were realized when this English wedding came across my desk. Pretty pastels and beautiful bridesmaids, a stunning custom gown by Lusan Mandongus and plenty of cheeky British charm make this summer celebration one I won’t soon forget. Katie Julia and Velvet Street Studios captured it all, from sun up to last kiss, all packed into this gorgeous gallery for us to love on.

[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/102427954 600 338]

Colors

Seasons

Outdoor Weddings Rustic Weddings

Settings

Styles

Classic Weddings Romantic

From The Bride… Thinking back our wedding day feels like a dream; I’ve looked at the photos and watched our wedding video a dozen times and I still beam with a smile remembering how beautiful, romantic and truly special the day was.

I was so happy to have a summer wedding so that I could use a pastel palette and peonies, which are my favourite. I wanted the day to be elegant, timeless and romantic, and we both agreed on a small intimate affair, with only people that had shared in our happy memories as a couple.

Neither of us had any idea of the sort of venue we wanted, but from the moment we walked into Thyme Barn we fell in love. It’s set in the most idyllic little village called Southrop in the Cotswolds. The venue is mainly used as a cookery school, and both Guy and I love our food so this was a big selling point for us. Some of the venues we saw felt like there was a wedding revolving door, but at Thyme Barn they paid amazing attention to detail, and you may also recognise the location as it was where Kate Moss got married!

We hired five of the cottages that surrounded the barn, and it felt like we’d hired our own little private village for the weekend. The night before the wedding Guy had dinner with all the groomsmen down at the village pub, and I had dinner with all of my girls at the main house. On Sunday, our guests travelled home and the family members stayed for a Sunday roast. We wanted the wedding weekend to last as long as it could.

I have to say my dress was the only part of the wedding process I didn’t enjoy – I tried on about 60 dresses and none of them felt right. In the end, I found two Lusan Mandongus dresses that I liked – on one I adored the dip of the back and the other the wow factor of the four-foot trail – and the moment the assistant said we can merge the two I was sold!

For the bridesmaids’ dresses I couldn’t find the colour I wanted in the UK, so ended up buying the dresses from a US brand call Donna Morgan. It was a bit of a pain, as they don’t ship to the UK. Luckily my maid of honor’s sister lives in the States so we had them delivered there and she posted them to each of the bridesmaids. My bridesmaids I have known since school and they are like sisters to me. I feel so privileged to have their friendship, love and support. It meant the world to me that they were by my side on my wedding day.

My flower girl Lara is one of my old charges from when I was a nanny, we still share a very special bond, and she looked simply beautiful on the day. My pageboy Sam is another of my charges, he helped warm up the crowed by walking down the aisle with a last chance to run sign. His cheeky smile lit up the room. And last but not least my adorable pug cross, Miss Beasley Pickles, totally stole the show!

My most memorable moment was this: as I set off with my bridesmaids on the short walk to the ceremony a huge black cloud appeared and the heavens opened. I looked up at the sky and asked my granddad, who had recently passed away, to bring out the sun. Throughout the ceremony you could hear the thunderstorm outside, and it made it feel very dramatic. After the “ I do’s,” Guy squeezed my hand and whispered, “Look outside.” No joke, the clouds parted as a beautiful ray of sunshine shone through the window above the registrar and the sun stayed out all day.

These Featured Designers are members of our Look Book.
For membership information, click here

Donna Morgan

Bridesmaids

Bridal

Mother of the Bride

Donna Morgan Collection - Core Chiffon

Donna Morgan Collection - Core Lace

Donna Morgan Collection - Serenity

View All Collections

London Summer Wedding at MC Motors

While most ladies dream of Paris, my heart’s always been in London. So this British bash right here made my day. With London Bride orchestrating this “summer in the city” reception and Ever After Press creating paper goodies that literally make me squeal, I knew I was in for a good time. Caught the Light snapped away and we even have a little behind the scenes film by Sandra Ciampone. See more here!

[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/108468539 600 338]

Colors

Seasons

Classic Weddings Whimsical

Settings

Urban Space

Styles

From Caught the Light… This incredibly cool ‘summer in the city’ wedding reception was held at the unmistakeable MC Motors in London’s Dalston. Working in the city, the couple wanted to make the most of a London wedding and chose a fantastic urban space for their reception.

With the assistance of their creative wedding planner, Charley at London Bride and the bride’s friend, Emily at Ever After Press, the day was personalised with subtle references to the bride’s mediterranean heritage and the couples love of the outdoors. The venue was styled with lots of greenery and floral touches to bring the summer to life inside by Amy at Bo Boutique with olive trees, hanging branches and draped foliage which hung over rustic wooden doors behind the top table. The theme continued through the watercolour paper elements designed by Emily, and their unexpected ‘something blue’ ombre wedding cake which took guests by surprise with it’s colourful sponge!

Delicious canapés and cuisine were provided by Social Pantry along with an Iberian ham carving station for guests to enjoy whilst sipping on refreshing Grapefruit and Cucumber cocktails or homemade lemonade. The couple made an amazing entry to the reception by being driven in their vintage car into the venue to a warm welcome from their guests as they arrived to the jazz sounds of the Swinging Little Big Band.

After the sit-down meal and heartfelt speeches, the evening began with the couples favourite signature cocktails served from a vintage bar cart with personalised napkins and cocktail stirrers and guests were treated to a sweet treat with seasonal macarons in ‘Great British Summer’ flavours such as Pimms and Apple and Elderflower. As the wedding was during the World Cup season, a table-football table was set up and proved to be a great place for the boys to have some fun, then the Wedding Smashers DJs kicked off the evening as the couple took to the dance floor with their choreographed first dance routine to the cheers of their guests.

The night didn’t end there as the couple and their friends decided to carry on the after party with a visit to to their local karaoke bar!

Scottish Highlands Anniversary Session

What do you think it’ll take for me to convince my future Mr. that we should go to Europe for an anniversary photo session? I’m hoping these pics by Annamarie Akins right here will do the trick, because I’ve already fallen in love with them and the whole idea. This shoot in the Scottish Highlands is breathtaking and intimate all at the same time and these pics will be my motivation for years to come.

From Annamarie Akins… Set against the backdrop of the gorgeous Scottish highlands, I hope this anniversary session will take your breath away! The scenery was unreal and the couple is absolutely beautiful. During their trip to Scotland they wanted to commemorate their time with photos in celebration of their third wedding anniversary in the country where her mom grew up! She came here every year as a kid and was so excited to introduce her husband to the gorgeous countryside. In true Scottish fashion it rained in the middle of the shoot, but the rain was short-lived and it was replaced again by the most gorgeous sunset!

Photography: Annamarie Akins Photography

Scottish Castle Wedding

It’s not often that you find a wedding as ethereally romantic as this. One that is sooo filled with gorgeous details and heartwarming moments, it kind of feels like you are watching scenes from a classic movie with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. Add to all of that romance a breathtaking Scottish castle and the light-filled images of Craig & Eva Sanders and it’s a gallery of awesome that can’t be missed.

Colors

Seasons

Fall Weddings

Settings

Luxury Venue Religious Institution

Styles

Glamorous Ballroom Wedding in Scotland

From the Bride… We chose to have our ceremony at Straiton Church and wedding reception at Blairquhan castle in Ayrshire, Scotland.

We came across Blairquhan castle when we were looking around online. I think we found some pictures of a wedding here that had been taken by our amazing photographers Craig and Eva. We were looking for an exclusive use venue that we could treat as our home for the weekend with our friends and family. We took a drive down to Blairquhan Castle one day and we knew straight away it was the right place, the setting and grounds are breathtaking and although it had this look of grandeur, inside it felt so homely and comfortable. The drawing rooms where we had the wedding meal were absolutely amazing with beautiful chandeliers, large fireplaces and windows that looked out into the landscape beyond. We weren’t having a huge wedding so the space was just right and I could imagine all our friends in this room having a great time and later dancing the night away. Accommodation was great, too as Blairquhan had self catering cottages on the grounds and beautiful rooms in the castle itself. This meant that we were able to enjoy having all of our friends and family together for the full weekend.

We came across the church in the beautiful small village of Straiton a small drive away from Blairquhan Castle. I is from Ayrshire so it felt even more special that this was the place we were married. The church is tiny and very pretty with lots of original features and stained glass.

I started looking at lots of different ideas in wedding magazines, online, blogs (Style Me Pretty!) to get ideas. Pinterest was also great and really helped me pull together themes and looks that I liked. I knew that I wanted a vintage feel to our day and I loved the old world glamour look that was evident in our venue at Blairquhan Castle. I wanted our theme to reflect the beautiful interior of the castle and tie in with that look and feel. I loved the use of light and the reflection of light on the wonderful old mirrors in the drawing rooms and chandeliers. I tied in our table decorations with mirror centerpieces and cut glass flower vases to carry through this theme. We also had lots of candles and antique mirror candle holders everywhere. Little Botanica were our florist and did a beautiful job of decorating the castle full of seasonal flowers that reflected the pretty, vintage look we were going for.

For the church, I had seen an idea in a magazine of another wedding that had gorgeous arches of branches and flowers down the aisle – my aisle was tiny, but Little Botanica were able to create a gorgeous version of this in the aisle and at the entrance to the church which set a lovely theme in and outside the church. We were also conscious that we wanted our wedding to be fun and personable. So a lot of things were inspired out of the fact that we wanted our guests to enjoy the day with lots of surprises like our photo props on tables, the ‘dare game’, caricaturist and mum’s homemade Limoncello favours. We were also lucky to have a friend to do the job as Toast Taster. He was absolutely amazing and made our day feel so personable and fun.

The whole day was so enjoyable, if there is one favorite, I think it was coming out the church to all our friends and family cheering throwing clouds of confetti everywhere. It felt so magical and we even got some beautiful sunshine to go along with it.

The fabulous Craig and Eva Sanders were our photographers – absolutely loved them. Not only did they capture the most memorable and beautiful photos of our day they were also so much fun to be around and made us both feel really comfortable. I couldn’t recommend them enough.

Our cake was by Top Tier Cakes in Glasgow. Their shop is just beside where we live and we’ve sampled quite a few cupcakes from there over the years. They were really friendly and easy to deal with and delivered everything to the venue which meant no disasters getting the cake there in one piece.

Little Botanica did the flowers. They were amazing, really different and got the theme I was going for straight away. Lisa took time to understand what I wanted and came up with lots of brilliant ideas. You can tell they are really passionate about what they do and wanted every detail to be perfect.

My advice for brides-to-be: Smile, be happy and enjoy every moment of it. When it comes to planning your big day do things that really reflect who you both are, it’s your day so take the time to make it special and everything that you are.

These Featured Designers are members of our Look Book.
For membership information, click here

Bridesmaid Dresses

Dessy

Bridesmaid 2014

Women's Tuxedo

Tuxedo

Fall 2014

Spring 2015

View All Collections

This rustic glam affair is what daydreams are made of. Think Marie Antoinette mixed with a secret garden. From the DIY’ed silk and velvet trimmed invitations, to the rich raspberry Planet Flowers blooms, to the castle backdrop of one majestic city, Craig And Eva Sanders Photography captured a gallery filled with romance for days, here!

Colors

Seasons

Fall Weddings

Settings

Hotels + Resorts Weddings Religious Institution

Styles

Chinese Tea Ceremony in the Cotswolds

From The Bride… Our wedding was a rustic glam affair, think Marie Antoinette mixed with a secret garden, It all started with our invitation which was a wonderful DIY effort by myself (the bride) and my mother!

We sourced 100x100mm kraft boxes and had our names gold foil pressed on the front, I designed little miniature letterpress invitations using inspiration from Laduree fonts and again had them gold hot foil pressed for a glamorous effect. We wanted our invitations to be a little bit different, like a keepsake gift for our guests. We searched far and wide for something different, my mother who loves flower arranging sourced specially preserved roses, real roses that have been treated to last for many months if not years. We decided to put them in gold filigree cones with a pin so all our guests could wear them on the day of the wedding – this was so special and tied all our guest’s attire together. These roses were placed inside each individual box alongside the miniature letterpress invitation.

We said our vows in a beautiful ceremony in St Mary’s Cathedral, and celebrated with 200 friends and family in the Sir Walter Scott Ballroom at the iconic Balmoral Hotel – all set against the backdrop of the UK’s most majestic city – Edinburgh (complete with views of the Castle!)

We wanted to inspire a feeling of romance and ‘cozy’ warmth inside from the chilly Scottish Autumn weather, so there were scented candles everywhere and we ate our meal by candle light alone. Only opening the window drapes as the sun was setting to reveal stunning views of Edinburgh castle.

I am a petite bride who found it super difficult to find a wedding dress that suited my 5’1″ frame, I ended up wearing a custom altered Elie by Elie Saab gown, Louboutin shoes and a custom made veil. My groom had his tuxedo bespoke tailored too by a long standing Glaswegian tailor Jim Forbes. Our groomsmen wore jet black tuxedos, patent dress shoes and Dessy Topaz satin pocket squares to match the glamorous bridesmaids, who wore Lela Rose draped dresses, glittery shoes and crystal drop earrings. Our flower girl wore the prettiest floral crown to match the bridesmaid’s bouquets, a romantic ivory chiffon dress and fur cape.

Raised in Singapore, having moved to Australia and settling on the UK as home, this beautiful duo has a love that stretches the globe. So when it came to their wedding, tying together their background was oh-so-important, and Jessie Thomson made that happen. This gallery from Leah Kua is all the proof why the Cotswolds and a Chinese tea ceremony are a perfect pairing.

Colors

Seasons

Settings

Styles

Quintessential Vintage English Wedding at Burloes Hall

From Jessie Thomson Wedding Planning…A traditional Chinese tea ceremony set in the heart of The Cotswolds in England, with close friends and family the day before the full wedding celebration, followed by an afternoon tea with cucumber sandwiches and scones – set in the gardens of a boutique Cotswold stone hotel.

I was honoured to be invited to this pre-wedding celebration as a guest with my daughter, and to witness such a beautiful and time honoured tradition in the British countryside on a hot Summer’s day.

It was the perfect way to start a weekend of celebrations!

From the beautiful Bride…Ryan and I are of Chinese descent and raised in Singapore. 15 years ago, we both moved to Australia first and then the UK. When we decided to get married in the UK, we planned our wedding around two visions: one of a rustic chic barn theme on the actual day, and a cultural heritage theme on the day before. We wanted the latter to be an intimate affair purely for our families, wedding party and wedding planner. The beautiful and romantic grounds of the Rectory Hotel in the Cotswolds was the perfect spot to host the ceremony.

Steeped in tradition, the tea ceremony is the most sacred ritual of Chinese nuptials. It serves as the bride’s symbolic introduction to the groom’s family. Choosing to incorporate this tradition was our way to honour the Chinese values that we were raised with and close to our hearts, despite having been living overseas for so long. Equally, we felt this was an important feature to include, given the next day’s wedding events would take on a more modern and relaxed western approach.

Since the exact presentation can vary from family to family and different Oriental cultural groups, we kept ours simple and elegant with the showcase of the tea set being the focal item in the ceremony set-up. A complete tea set represents harmony and togetherness. Traditionally, the tea set itself is part of the bride’s dowry and becomes a keepsake that she’ll use again for her own daughter’s ceremony someday.

Sweet tea is believed to bring happiness to the couple and to foster good relations between the bride and her new in-laws. According to legend, placing lotus seeds and two red dates in the teapot brings children into the marriage early on and every year thereafter. I was very blessed to have my mother choose the porcelain tea set, bringing it from across the globe and preparing the sweet tea on the day. It was an involvement and role that meant a huge deal to her, as a Mother. And to me too.

During the ceremony, Ryan and I served the tea to both our families who would take turns, proceeding from the most senior members of Ryan (the groom)’s family and then my (the bride) family. Drinking the tea was a sign of acceptance of the marriage and therefore quite emotional especially for the more senior family members. In return, we the newlyweds, received red envelopes filled with money or jewellery as a gesture of their blessings.

Red is a symbolic colour for all joyous occasions in the Oriental culture, so it naturally became the choice of colour for my custom made “cheongsam” or traditional gown from Singapore that I wore for the event. It also turned out to be a fitting one when I realised there were pops of red colour dotted about, from the Oriental wedding wall decal, to the red packets and even the red roses in the garden!

I loved every detail of my dress from the French corded lace to the slit on the side which allowed me to show off one of my legs. Since it was a very striking dress, I kept my accessories to a minimum, choosing to don on a pearl necklace and earrings. To complete the whole look, I chose an updo style, which I was initially rather nervous about, as I have never been one to wear my hair up most of the time. But having a brilliant hair stylist meant I had nothing to worry about at all. I was at ease the whole time and was reluctant to take it down when the day was over!

As a contrast, Ryan chose to go for a western style semi-formal look which surprisingly, complemented my traditional look well. His outfit took on a pastel palette comprising a shirt with delicate prints, a waistcoat and a pair of tan leather brogues.

The day would not be complete without a little East meets West. We were in the UK after all! After the ceremony, our guests were treated to a proper English afternoon tea experience complete with scones, cakes and pastries. It gave us a good opportunity to mingle with everyone in a relaxed and fun manner, just like an afternoon outdoor garden party in the summer! Looking back, that day proved to be so precious in that we got to spend more time with everyone, many of whom have travelled from afar for us, celebrating a familiar tradition with a twist.

Photography: Leah Kua | Wedding Planner: Jessie Thomson Weddings & Events | Ceremony Venue: The Rectory | Groom's Attire: Ted Baker | Bridal Hair & Makeup: Heidi Vince

After perusing this ridiculously wonderful gallery from Belle And Beau Fine Art Photography, I’ve decided I’m going to tuck this wedding away in a little corner of my heart and hold it there forever. That’s how much I love it so. It’s happy, sweet, fun, charming and oh-so-adorable. From the bow ties and bowler hats to the vintage photo pendants and pastel petals, it will melt your heart in an instant.

Colors

Seasons

Coastal United Kingdom Wedding Inspiration

Settings

Estate Weddings

Styles

Vintage

From Belle And Beau Fine Art Photography… I wanted to send you this beautiful quintessentially English wedding as it not only has beautiful details (including the most beautiful Summer bouquet and the boys wearing bowler hats) and a gorgeous couple but the story behind it is a truly romantic one!

Like something straight out of an old English romance novel, Ben and Sarah’s outdoor wedding was held at the beautiful Burloes Hall in Cambridgeshire where Sarah’s Grandparents met! Her Great Grandparents lived in the Gamekeeper’s cottage on the Estate, which is where her Grandad, Son of the Head Gamekeeper, met her Nan who was the Housemaid A true Downton Abbey story!

From the beautiful Bride… My Grandparents met at Burloes. My Great-Grandfather was the Head Gamekeeper, taking over from my Great-Uncle. They lived in the Gamekeeper’s Cottage on the Estate, in which my Grandfather also lived. My Nan was the Housemaid. The story goes that, my Nan needed to post some mail for Lady Joan Newman – the Lady of the Estate – and it was suggested that my Granddad accompany her. The rest, as they say, is history!

We knew we wanted an outdoor wedding if possible – our dream wedding has always been that of Forest Gump and ‘his’ Jenny. We looked at a couple of local venues: big houses with even larger gardens. My Grandfather had not long passed away when we got engaged and was always on my mind. Randomly, I searched for ‘Burloes’, and ‘weddings’ and to my utter delight I found a website for the Burloes Hall – and they did weddings!

I’ve always wanted a Spring wedding (the gorgeous blossom and spring flowers, sense of new life and warm glimmer of the sun… all before the streaming noses and itchy eyes of Summer kicks in!). We both love the ‘good old days’. The décor, the fashion and the slower pace of life. Our home together is filled with family heirlooms and vintage treasures we’ve found together over the years. garden party theme for our wedding just felt like the right fit for us.

I was so nervous about dress shopping. I rarely wear dresses, and don’t particularly relish the limelight. So I wanted to feel special, but ultimately comfortable. I knew I wanted a high neckline and wanted to show off my small waist. Lace was a key feature too. The rest I was pretty clueless about.

I went with my mum and bridesmaids and we hit three shops in one day. The last shop was Morgan Davies and was the only shop I actually got excited in! I found six beautiful dresses, each one more beautiful than the last. I chose ‘Willow’ by Maggie Sottero bringing in all the elements I like into one dress. My veil was ‘Orlando’ by Joyce Jackson. 1 inch scalloped lace edge, 72 inch two-tier veil. My shoes were gold sparkly heels from Next!

My Grandad’s bracelet was my ‘Something Old’, my Mother’s pearl and diamond drop earrings were my ‘Something Borrowed’, my lace garter with blue ribbon bow was my ‘Something Blue’ and my Dress was my ‘Something New’! The vintage photo pendants, hanging from my bouquet featured photos of my grandparents.

My Photographer was Holly from Belle and Beau Fine Art Photography. Simply put, Holly was brilliant. I got so excited the moment I found her website and had to email her straight away. As soon we spoke on the phone I knew she was the one for us. Photography was a big thing for us, we didn’t want the usual style of photos with lots of staged shots and forced smiles. We wanted natural shots which captured the happiness of the day, the guests and the venue. We loved Holly’s style of soft pastels and artistic compositions. We can’t recommend her enough!

Holly, and her husband Phil, were just perfect on the day. They made us feel so comfortable in front of the camera and [in the nicest possible way] forgot they were there at times! The rest of the time they were just so lovely and we had a lot of laughs together. Some of our favourite shots were taken there, capturing the golden light of the sunset. It was just magical. We are so thankful to Holly for giving us such timeless memories, her photos are a true gift which we will treasure always.

Our florist was Noeleen Ross from the The Basement Florist. Flowers were a big part of our day. The vintage theme really came to life through the British country cottage style flowers and flower arrangements, many of which were locally grown. Noeleen was a dream to work with. She was so friendly and understood exactly what I wanted straight away.

We made our rings ourselves! I made Ben’s and he made mine, at a one-day jewelery-making workshop with Rachel Jeffrey Contemporary Jeweler.

Our wedding favours were, again, very much homemade! Can you guess the emerging theme?! These were little felt scrabble tiles with each of the guest’s first name initials. We wanted something a bit quirky and that would help act as place settings too. I grew up with my Granddad and Dad playing scrabble as a weekly ritual and so this ‘felt’ like the right thing for us (see what I did there!), to honour that memory really. Two birds and all that – or in this case three! My very talented sister, Samantha, hand sewed all the little felt squares with the letters and my Mum sewed on the pins. We were so proud to see everyone happily putting on their pins as soon as they sat down – it just added to the fun and relaxed feel of the day.

There were so may favourite parts to our day! Other than being pronounced ‘Husband and Wife’ (obviously!), for me the speeches were a highlight, and dancing to the band with my friends and family. The eco-friendly lanterns where great too – we wanted fireworks but with farm animals in the fields nearby it wouldn’t have been appropriate. The lanterns turned out to be even better in the end! For Ben, it was driving the vintage Morris Minor ‘Rosie’ with the tin-cans rattling away behind us and home-made ‘Just Married’ sign my Dad made – people were ‘tooting’ their horns and smiling and waving at us all the way! We felt like old fashioned film stars!

My advice for other brides:

– Get a budget in place, well before you fall in love with any suppliers. We had an idea of budget, but didn’t have a confirmed figure in mind. We were lucky to have a lot of help from our parents but no figures were set in stone from the start.

– Also, don’t expect to have your dream wedding on a small budget. I’ve seen on various blogs about couples doing it for £5K – well to me that just isn’t anywhere near realistic.

– Don’t wait until you’ve found the venue/set the date before looking into other suppliers. Do your research and get the details of the suppliers you want, with a couple on a backup list, so that when you’ve found the venue and set the date you can contact them straight away – suppliers get booked up so far in advance these days!

– Be specific with your requests to suppliers. Though this may vary depending on your approach to ‘control’ over your wedding arrangements. I had quite specific images in my mind of how I wanted things set out.

If I could take this shoot and with the snap of my finger turn it into my wedding day, I would in a heartbeat. To say that it’s everything I want my wedding to encompass is quite the understatement. Raw, simplistic beauty, flow-y dresses, utterly gorg florals from Lucy MacNicoll, ridiculously captivating coastal views, oh and the imagery, of which every single capture was thought out to perfection by Belle and Beau Photography. I’m kind of gushing over it all if you can’t tell. Join me right here.

Colors

Seasons

Settings

Beach Weddings

Styles

Scottish Whisky Distillery Wedding

From Belle and Beau Photography…We created a Fine Art coastal editorial that we wanted to keep it simple and beautiful with the emphasis on the simple raw beauty of the natural landscape with beautiful natural and wild blooms created by Lucy the florist. To compliment our gorgeously wild UK coastal surroundings we went for a muted colour palette of greys and blues with pops of reds in the flowers to create some depth. Lucy used cosmos flowers, dahlias, mimosa, O’hara roses and clematis to create some beautiful and dramatic floral centrepieces for the tablescape and bouquets.

The whole thing was planned to perfection by Lisa from Isla and Smith Wedding Design. Our models wore dresses from Anita Massarella and Halfpenny London, with one of the dresses being a dress that was actually worn by Kate Moss! This shoot is to inspire brides to take their inspiration from the raw beauty of nature and to show just how beautiful keeping things simple can be.

Visiting Scotland is currently item #1 on my must-travel list, so when this darling wedding from Victoria Phipps came along, I nearly squealed out loud. Held at a quiet countryside church followed by a whiskey distillery reception, it’s basically everything you’d think a Scottish wedding should be, plus a whole lot more. From rich, green scenery to bagpipe players to little ones in kilts, there’s no shortage of beautiful images captured.

Colors

Seasons

Event Venue Religious Institution

Settings

Styles

Pink & Gold Cotswolds Garden Wedding

From Victoria Phipps Photography…I first visited Islay in January 2012 with my other half on a sort of whisky/photography pilgrimage. There is something very special about this island. It’s a real effort to get there and perhaps that’s part of it, but even on the bleakest of winter days something about the landscape captivates you. There was an inevitable blog post a few months later which, through the power of google, led Lynn to contact me about photographing her wedding there in June 2014.

Reading Lynn’s first email, I had a really good feeling about the whole thing. Her kindness shone threw her words and I was so excited to be invited to capture her wedding day! At the time Lynn told me her mother was fighting cancer and how much strength the family was drawing from having such a happy occasion to look forward to. Tragically Lynn lost her mother late last year, but she certainly made her proud that day in Islay. Lynn & Kyle’s wedding was brimming with love and laughter and their family and friends could not have been more warm and welcoming to us. This was an authentic Scottish wedding with real traditions and real values at the heart of the day… an absolute joy and privilege to photograph.

From The Bride…I first met Kyle watching his team play rugby back in 2002. He was absolutely covered in mud and running towards me, even looking like that I thought ‘oh, I like him’. From that day onwards we became friends and that friendship eventually blossomed into a relationship. I think my 3 year old Border Collie Jed might have helped seal the deal too!

Kyle’s Mother was born and raised on the Isle of Islay and we have holidayed there every year since our relationship began. Islay felt like home to me, as it reminded me of the rugged and peaceful landscape of the village of Kinlochbervie where I grew up in the North West Highlands. So on a beautiful summer’s evening there in June 2013, when we were walking along Singing Sands beach Kyle went down on one knee and proposed to me just as the sun was setting. It was perfect and very ‘us’. Jed even got in on the act too and covered us in sand mid-proposal!

We chose the unique Ardbeg Distillery to host the wedding reception, as we loved the rustic feel it had and the surrounding scenery is beautiful. We wanted our style for the day to be genuinely in keeping with Ardbeg and the island as a whole, so kept a very scottish rustic theme throughout. Our friends and families were keen to be involved in the wedding preparation so we had them collecting jam jars, pine cones, shells, and pebbles! We made sure everyone felt as though they had been part of the day. I am very into Arts and Crafts and Pinterest inspired me with lots of creative ideas so I couldn’t wait to turn all these into a reality. Even Kyle started to enjoy all the crafting once he got stuck in!

I went to the bridal shop with my Mum, Sister & Cousin in the Summer of 2013. There was a new collection being previewed that day, so the place was buzzing with ‘brides to be’ from the moment we walked in at 9am. The lady I had spoken to on the phone to arrange my appointment gave me a wink and suggested we head to the back of the shop where this new collection was, so luckily I had it all to myself! I chose seven dresses from this collection but one really caught my eye. I watched the lady place it 3rd in the pile of dresses. So the first dress was pretty but a little too white, the second one was a bit too sparkly for me and so onto the third… as I put the dress on I couldn’t stop smiling. The lady tied the belt around my waist and I walked out of the changing room. I looked at my Mam first. Her smile beamed from ear to ear and she started crying, then my Sister and Cousin joined in too… it was the one. I only ever tried on three dresses!

Kyle & I are both very close to our families, so we decided we wanted to keep the wedding small and intimate with just close friends and family. I lost my Mother in the November of 2013 after a battle with cancer. We had planned to have the wedding within a year of getting engaged with the hope that she would be well enough to attend, but sadly she lost her very brave fight. This inspired me to make the wedding very personal and make sure she was remembered in different ways throughout the day. One idea we had was to collect small pebbles from our favourite beach in both Kinlochbervie and on Islay and paint little hearts onto them. We asked people to take a pebble in memory of loved ones who could not be with us on the day and to leave in a special place close to their heart. So far these stones have rested in California, Asia, New York and many other places around the world.

I wouldn’t change anything about our wedding day. Many moments will stick in our memories forever. We set a lantern off in the evening for my Mam which was a very emotional. It gave us all a quiet and special moment to remember her and reflect on the day. At one point in the evening we spotted some of our guests venturing outside and we weren’t sure why. When we went outside to investigate we discovered the most amazing moon we had ever seen. It was so bright and seemed huge in the sky – it felt as though it was resting on top of the hill. It was breathtaking. Victoria our wonderful photographer captured the moment perfectly. It was a really magical end to a perfect day.

These Featured Designers are members of our Look Book.
For membership information, click here

Jenny Packham

Bridal 2016 Catwalk

View All Collections

Stella York

Fall 2014

Spring 2017

EveryBody/EveryBride Fall 2017

Fall 2017

View All Collections

There’s nothing like an English garden wedding to make me dream of picking up and moving across the pond. Complete with a charming village backdrop and traditional horse drawn carriage, it’s “classic” to a T, all planned in the hands of the talented Jessie Thomson. Start your weekend off right in the gallery from Ashlee Taylor, and don’t miss the adorable super 8 from Hugh Farrow Films.

[iframe http://player.vimeo.com/video/108344202 600 338]

Colors

Seasons

Settings

Backyard

Styles