A Whimsical Wedding Wonderland

A Whimsical Wedding Wonderland

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Chloe reminds me of the beautiful heroine from a very modern fairytale, all swathes of satin and bejewelled headpiece. Stunning.

It's not often we feature a festive wedding but what with Christmas only 10 weeks away (!) we thought it would make your Tuesday morning that little bit prettier with a smattering of tinsel and whimsy. The images are as achingly cool as they are beautiful (the one of Chloe and Paul kissing in the car? I almost feel like I shouldn't even be looking but I just can't help it...) and Chloe's account is as endearing as it is informative. Well worth a read folks.

We often feature light, bright sunshine filled affairs but I've got to say it, you can't beat candlelight and fairy twinkle for a truly romantic atmosphere.

Enjoy!

Chloe The Bride: I have always wanted to get married in the winter, and tragically my dear Sister passed away in April unexpectedly so I was desperate to distant our happy occasion from her Funeral and adjust to life without her as much as possible. Due to the season I knew that I could get away with being a bit more whimsical with my outfit and the whole styling of the wedding. I was one of those people who looked so forward to wedding dress shopping but I found the whole experience horrendous. Starting to look in January when one is not feeling ones finest was probably the wrong idea, especially as my first shop was Browns and I left in tears having found the perfect dress yet with a price tag that at 5 figures was obscene!

Anyway, I soon discovered the indescribably amazing Emma Hunt. I fell in love.. Both with her and with her Lana dress. It was as if it had been made for me. It was slipper satin originally with pearls as buttons and cuffs. When she made it for me we swapped out the pearls for crystals and I had sparkly buttons all down the back and long sleeves that were just magic. I ummed and ahhed about a veil as I knew I was going to have some sort of extravagant headpiece but in the end we decided I should and I chose a very simple cathedral length again from Emma Hunt.

Paul kindly bought my shoes, the amazing Abel from Jimmy Choo. Being quite tall, they were just high enough but not too towering and I danced all night in them.

One of my bridesmaids lived in Australia at the time and so it was impossible to buy anything other than a Twobirds bridesmaid dress. The girls looked ace and we went in with a blank canvas, I had no preference for colour and let them choose. They looked incredible.

Previously we had booked and put a deposit down for another venue in Surrey but I just had a niggle. I knew I didn't want a hotel or a country club, but somewhere more intimate and with exclusive use for us, Surrey has some terrific venues but finding one that ticked the box proved hard. Until I found Laura Caudery... I grew up in a little village close to Fetcham and had often passed Fetcham Park and wondered who on earth lived there. I chanced a Google search which changed the course of our wedding. Laura responded immediately and we were booked in for cake and coffee. On first entrance into the house I knew it was special and I knew I had to find some way of extricating ourselves from the other venue, booking up Fetcham and convincing Laura to have a brace of tipi's on her lawn. Fetcham Park was just beginning its foree into weddings and Laura kindly advised they would host one marquee event per year and as it was June already and they had not had one (2013) she said we could book for December the same year.

Finding The Stunning Tents Company was easy. We knew we wanted tipis and we did our research and in our mind they were the best. They were courteous and kind to all manner of questions.. there were many, especially from my folks who were sure it was going to be like camping and freezing cold in December.. it was neither.. It was fabulous! Next came the extraction from venue one and the introduction to 'Laura Loves', her fleet of suppliers of which we used many. I was in love with everything about this little pocket rocket of fun and vitality and all her crew.

Life after Laura was a far simpler affair, we were introduced to Paula Rooney via the Brides Show in Battersea. Again a nicer florist you will fail to meet. She is a magician. By this stage our budget had taken a serious beating, with double deposits, venues, tipis, we told her this and she still managed to create a master piece. Everything was white and gold and a bit of green. Nothing overpowered and Paula set to and lit every single tea light candle we had at both the church, the path, Fetcham and in the tipis.. there must have been hundreds. She was incredible.

My favourite part of the day was the ceremony. We got married at a beautiful church called St Barnabas in Ranmore Common.. Out in the sticks. We lined the pathway with lanterns as it was dark when we walked out. The Groomsmen had poured out tots of Sloe Gin for all the guests on their arrival which went down well. All the guests were given a rug for their knees in case it got cold and a candle which they lit off one another during the signing of the register and which was so special when we walked out. I walked in to the theme tune from Brideshead Revisited and we sang Carols including "Hark the Herald" and "Deck the Halls". During the signing of the register the choir sang "Perfect Day" and "Jingle Bells".

Laura was invaluable when it came to recommending entertainment. Matt Maurice was a complete star. They lit Fetcham to an inch of its life, they provided mics for speeches and made Fetcham look even more incredible. The Brightside Band played brilliant jazz and got the mood just right for the Reception drinks and The Occam Singers were so brilliant in the Church.

Kalm Kitchen are one of Laura Loves and they are beautiful inside and out. They are culinary magicians. I loved meeting them and they just got us and our style. The canapés were the best ever and we had multiple comments to that affect. We ate sausage and mash and crumble for pudding. It was hearty and warming and terrific. The boys loved it!

By some stroke of luck we got wind of a fellow called Nick Tucker. I looked at his website and thought... I like this guy. My Mum had a look and thought he was arty and didn't understand why some of his photos chopped peoples heads off! We met up for drinks, I fell in love all over again and we booked him on the spot. He turned up to my parents house when we were getting ready and took some of my favourite shots of the day (modest much!) he is really the most talented, creative and beautiful photographer and surpassed every single one of our wishes. He got stuck in to the fizz and made everyone feel at home. If he wasn't our photographer he would have been our most fun guest! After the wedding, we met his beautiful wife, we are all firm friends for life and he is a photography genius. I am so glad we chanced upon him.

Word of mouth also brought us to Gorgeous Films.. I cannot say enough. They were discreet, and the film is wonderful.. I think, I cannot watch it all at once as it makes me cry and laugh.

Photography by
Nick Tucker
Venue Fetcham Park | Gown Emma Hunt | Jewellery Glitzy Secrets | Headpiece Lila Accessories | Caterer Kalm Kitchen | Bridesmaids Twobirds | Tipis The Stunning Tent Company | Florist Paula Rooney | Groom Favourbrook | DJ Matt Maurice | Band The Brightside band | Videography Gorgeous Films

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