Charlie and Laura had a romantic and sparkle filled wedding at Christmas. Their day was a winter wonderland held at Southend Barns, West Sussex. There was a formal black tie feel to the attire, with the boys in tuxedos and the girls in sequins.

Laura had a real ethereal bridal look, with her wearing Alma by Claire Pettibone with her hair in the most boho beautiful up do. There were chic and simple decorations, candle light, sweets and gorgeous florals.

Thanks so much to the ever brilliant Cotton Candy Photography for sharing their images with us.

Under strict instructions not to ask any questions (tough mission) after an hour they arrived in Winchester at a Spa hotel, where Lou was pampered all weekend. After a romantic dinner and walk through the Cathedral, Charlie dropped down on one knee right outside Winchester Cathedral at midnight and proposed (he forgot to actually do the asking bit but the speech was nice!). Lou of course said yes and they lived happily ever after.

The Vision for the Day... Theme; vintage, winter wedding, winter wonderland, forest, organic, sparkly,

The Dress + Accessories... The very patient Rochelle after many months of searching for the perfect dress I found a designer in a magazine I really liked. Clare Pettibone's dresses are delicate, detailed and incredibly comfortable. The dress matched the organic feel I wanted for the wedding. My dress was Alma.

Beautiful Bridesmaids... I didn't have a particular dress or style in mind I just wanted them to be comfortable, Aimee being 14, Becky was four months pregnant, Bex being my sister who had let me choose my own dress! I didn't mind if they all had different styles, different shoes, main priority happy bridesmaids!

We gathered all five bridesmaids and of course my mum, and headed to London, after a visit to House of Fraser we found many beautiful dresses.They choose a beautiful long navy blue, hand stitched sequenced gown. It was warm, comfortable and looked like a dress from the Oscars. They all looked beautiful.

Cake Competition ~ Get your bake on! We asked guests; We would be pleased if you could bake and decorate a small cake that you feel represents Charlie and Laura. Nothing too extravagant! This was optional. Group entries are welcome and the winner will receive a bottle of bubbly. Added to evening buffet.

The fact that Phil was with my husband in the morning and Gem was with me meant that I saw what my husband was doing while I was getting ready and vice-versa - that was a real treat and meant nothing got missed! The photos are magical. We cannot thank you enough for capturing our day the way you did. Wedding photography is a big deal but Cotton Candy are a step further than just family shots, they produce art. And so unique.

We now have perfect photos to remember so many aspects of our perfect day. They didn't miss a thing!

Table numbers - I made these so each table number matched a photograph of myself and Charlie at that age. For example; table 1, had a photo of me and Charlie at 1 year old. I gathered pretty flowers, buttons, lace and other decorative things from lots of different craft shops. Then made them over our engagement.

Table plan - I hung ball balls, for the girls, and shot glasses, for the boys, from wicker stars from Hobbeycraft, using pretty ribbon. These looked beautiful although took a long time to make and create!

Table names - I bought mini vintage photo frames and collected photos of all our guests. We tried to find a photo of each of our guests at a time of significance to us. So our guests knew what number table they were on however they had to find their photo to find their seat!

Lanterns - My mum and dad collected all their jam jars from the moment we were engaged. I bought some stick on lace from ebay and we stuck this round the outside of nearly 100 jam jars. My dad then wrapped wire around the top and put sand in the bottom. These were used in the evening.

Guest book - Polaroid photo stuck into homemade guest book alongside lovely messages.

1:15pm - Mulled wine and Mince pies served, 2:00pm - Wedding Ceremony, 2:30pm - Father Peter to Bless the Marriage, 2:45pm - Champagne, mulled wine and Canapes to be enjoyed! 3:00pm - Photos and more champagne, 4:00pm - Speeches, 4:40pm - Wedding breakfast served, 6:30pm - Cake competition winner revealed! 6:30pm - Candy and Cake bar available to be devoured! 7:00pm - Casino available to play, 7:30pm - Band to start playing, 8:00pm - Photo Booth begins! 8:45pm - Evening buffet available, 10:00pm - DJ to start, Midnight - Carriages.

I would like to add Charlie has been struck by lightening in the head so a freak lightening storm of this magnitude really was just his luck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d01cJrx9HD8 - Tim Sutton Wedding Speech - we will never be able to thank him enough for such a personal, thoughtful and hilarious wedding speech.

Include people it will make the day more special if people see their contributions. The weddings you normally are a part of are the ones you enjoy the most.

Brace yourself - it is only a wedding! The reason you are doing this is to start a new adventure with the man of your dreams, not to start life resenting parents, in debt or falling out with a bridesmaid's over them wanting a different colour shawl. My hand made guest book, which I had bought a Polaroid camera and film to complete did not get put out. Very sad the next day however I placed all the cards that has messages in from family and friends and all the beautiful photos cotton candy had given to me, with natural shots, my guest book now looks beautiful. Probably safer to have been kept away from the jager bombs and who know where the camera may have ended up!

Venue | Southend Barns

Dress Shop | Leonie Claire

Dress | Claire Pettibone

Suit | Savoy Tailors Guild - Biscester Village

Flowers | Manor Nursery Flowers

Photography | Cotton Candy Photography

Caterer | Field and Fork

Band | The Deloreans

Oh so lovely, I am head over heels for Laura's dress.

Thanks so so much to Charlie and Laura for sharing their beautiful wedding with us today XOXO Lou