A Life Long Dream.

A Life Long Dream.

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Ooooh Emma's lashes! so glamorous - love. And then there's her headpiece and her beautiful gown and the amazing bouquet....the spiky slightly urban-esque Autumnal design is so unique and contemporary.

I'm also enjoying the mix of bold jewel tones for maids, that way all of Emma's best girls were able to wear a shade that they would feel comfortable in.

My favourite detail though has to be the clever "alternative to a traditional guest book" idea - Alex's stepdad made it himself, such a lovely keepsake for the home after the big day has come to an end.

Did I mention the bouquet?

Emma The Bride: Alex and I are childhood sweethearts, having been together for 12 years since age 17! Last year we decided to fulfil a lifetime dream together and took a 3 month sabbatical from our jobs in Marketing and TV production to travel round SE Asia, Australia and New Zealand together. Three days in to our trip of a lifetime, by the side of the ocean in Nusa Lembongan in Bali, Alex asked me to marry him with a beautiful engagement ring he had designed himself.

My friend Rebecca Ryan did mine and my bridesmaids' hair - she was a great calming and organising influence as well as a great hairstylist! For my hair I knew I wanted an up-do to show off the beautiful back of my dress, but I wanted something soft, natural and not too structured to complement the style of the dress.

My dress was Aspen by Jenny Packham. I fell in love with Jenny Packham dresses from the very beginning - the cut, the material, and the beautiful details - but it was when I tried on the Aspen that I knew I had found 'the one'. It was so comfortable, flattering, and elegant, but also felt like 'me', which was really important. I particularly loved the intricate detailing at the back of the dress. I bought the dress from The Bridal Collection in Harrogate, they were fantastic. I also wore a Jenny Packham Onda II cuff (mainly to cover up a Thai blessing aka piece of string that I was too superstitious to take off!) and on my other wrist a lovely, simple pearl bracelet from Tiffany that my friends bought for me as my 'something new' on my hen do. My head piece was also from The Bridal Collection in Harrogate.

My lovely bridesmaids were my two sisters Laura and Kate and my best friend Nicky. We searched high and low for the bridesmaids dresses and finally found the Chelsea dress from Ghost which came in 3 beautiful Autumnal jewel shades. Alex had 3 best men (his brother Dave and 2 friends Duncan and Chris) who all wore grey 3 piece suits from M&S and ties that matched the colours of the bridesmaid's dresses.

We wanted the overall feel of the day to be warm, rustic and autumnal, and so chose colours and decor to reflect this. Alex's mum Sylvia spent hours making over 15 metres of bunting to hang from the rafters in the barn, which looked brilliant. Alex's stepdad Colin made us the amazing 'Share your key to success' frame and we hung vintage keys with labels attached for people to write on instead of a guestbook. We wanted the flowers to reflect the relaxed, rustic feel of the barn and complement the autumnal, jewel shades of the bridesmaid's dresses. Our florist was Alison Massingham and she created the beautiful bouquets, cake toppers and arrangements for us. They contained safari and vendella roses, nigella, poppy seed heads, astrantia, safari sunset, hypericum berries, and rosemary greenery.

Ian and Alison from The Thought of Food did our catering and created us an Italian feast! Italian is one of our favourite cuisines, and we wanted to do a lot of sharing platters to facilitate conversation and a sense of informality. They created a selection of antipasti and breads to start, followed by the delicious 'Tagliata di manzo' (rare beef served with rocket, parmesan, lemon and rosemary) with a selection of Italian salads and side dishes.

Our favours were a bit of a labour of love! While we were travelling, we decided to collect little gifts along the way to give to our guests... we certainly had full suitcases by the time we got home! The favours ranged from recipe books from a cooking class we went to in Thailand, to donations to an orang-utan sanctuary we visited, to scary key rings we found in the local markets! Each favour had a label which doubled up as a place card, and told a little story about where we had got it from. We loved that we were able to bring that amazing experience to life for our guests on our big day.

Our photographers Jaye and Matt from Tux & Tales were fantastic; we loved their relaxed style and the way they captured us so naturally as a couple. They were a great help in the run up and organisation too and a calming influence on the day!

On the day it's really easy to get pulled in different directions as you try to make sure you speak to everyone but we decided we wanted to stick together as much as possible and I'm so glad we did that!
Decide on the big things that are important to you (for us it was the food, the music, and the photography) and then relax about the smaller details. Invest your time in the things that really matter and you think will make your wedding uniquely 'you' (for us it was the little personal touches like the favours, invites, decorating the barn) as they are the things you will remember!


Photography by Tux & Tales
Dress | Jenny Packham | Boutique The Bridal Collection | Catering The Thought Of Food | Venue Barmbyfield Barn | Hair Rebecca Ryan | Wooden Accessories Love Me Knot | Florist Alison Massingham | Guitarist Alex Birtwell | Live Band Motown Gold

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