How totally stunning is today’s bride??!! WOW!! And i have some serious dress envy, for once upon a time i actually tried on this very dress and fell in love with it.

I love this Tiffany blue themed wedding, it’s fresh and clean, full of lovely details and stunning imagery. The cake and cake table are sooooo pretty too. Do check out the amazing wedding film at the end too :-)

Thanks so much to the amazing Derbyshire based wedding photographer, Claire Evans Photography for sharing her images today, here is what she had to say about the day;

“I loved visiting Tiffany’s when I was in New York last year (couldn’t help treating myself to a lovely little bracelet while I was there;)) So when Claire and Dave told me about their plans for a Tiffany theme to their reception (I think it was probably more Claire’s idea than Dave’s actually!) it was like all my birthdays had come at once! I couldn’t wait for their wedding day to arrive and it certainly lived up to all my expectations and more!!! Claire and Dave were married at the beautiful Wren’s Chapel in the grounds of Wroxall Abbey in Warwickshire and their reception was held inside the Abbey itself. Before the ceremony Claire’s room was a sea of Tiffany blue….her bridesmaids dresses were in the gorgeous blue colour with white ribbon sashes, there was Tiffany perfume and an lots of Tiffany gifts and Dave’s special wedding day gift to Claire was the most fabulous pair of Tiffany sunglasses for her to wear on their honeymoon! All the invitations had been made to look like Tiffany boxes and were tied with white ribbons and the orders of service and menus were in Tiffany colours.

Claire wore a beautiful Jenny Packham dress and headress, Jimmy Choo’s to die for and she carried a bouquet of white peonies and hydrangeas. She was attended by three bridesmaids, a flower girl and a little pageboy (who rather stole my heart!) Wroxall Abbey was decorated everywhere with gorgeous little wicker hearts, candles, bunting, vintage china and lots and lots of flowers. Every corner you turned you would find another gorgeous little treasure that Claire had carefully placed…..it was wonderful! All the reception tables were named after places that Claire and Dave had visited together, theirs being Portofino where Dave had proposed to Claire! After their wedding breakfast the guests helped themselves to the goodies at the Candy and Cupcake Bar (I had great difficulty keeping away from there!) Later in the evening all the guests went out into the gardens and had fun making hearts and writing their names with sparklers in the night sky. Claire has been an avid follower of my blog for some time now and I have really loved getting to know both Claire and Dave and this was certainly a wedding I wont forget!”

Names…. Claire & David

Wedding Date…. 30^th July 2011

The Proposal…. In Portofino!!!!!  I was bridesmaid for my friend who was getting married in Florence so Dave & I decided to make it our summer holiday and tour around Italy…camping!  Had a totally amazing time and on the last leg of the holiday he drove me to Portofino for dinner.  The fact it cost €35 to park the car for the evening should’ve given the game away but we walked along the marina looking at the very posh boats and chose somewhere to eat.  We walked back along the marina once the sun had set after dinner, Portofino looked magical all lit up with twinkly lights….and he popped the question with a beautiful ring he’d had especially made.  How he hid the ring from me for 3 whole weeks living in a tent is still a miracle!

The Vision for the day…. The colour scheme was originally to be purple and silver inspired by the dress I was wearing the night we got engaged.  However after a trip to Tiffany’s for my 30^th birthday I changed it to Tiffany blue as it just seemed so light and bright and fresh.  I was brought up on a good cup of tea and I love all things afternoon-tea-esque, including making cupcakes in my spare time in addition to the fact that Dave & I love history and before all the wedding prep, used to spend our weekends visiting National Trust houses, so it just made sense to make it a vintage afternoon tea theme in a nice historic building where we could have a weekend get-away.

The Planning process….  The weekend we returned from Italy, newly engaged, we started looking at venues –  while doing so on the internet Dave decided to cut the hedges in the front garden….and cut through the internet cable!  So we jumped in the car and went to see a few…Wroxall was the second we saw and Dave said it was the place straight away…me being me still dragged him around many, many, many others over the following week, before we finally decided to book Wroxall.  The only problem was my job, being a teacher, we wanted a summer wedding, on a Saturday, with time for a honeymoon afterwards, so we had to book 2 years in advance to get the wedding we wanted –  it was worth the wait!

The Venue…  Wroxall Abbey Estate in Warwickshire.  Lovely chapel onsite (Wren’s Chapel) – steeped in history.  Reception held in the Mansion house, a Victorian house that was once a school!  We loved the place, plenty of space if it did rain but a beautiful terrace if it was sunny.  The bedrooms are all individual and quirky, and the pool and spa is bliss!  Mum and I had a spa weekend the summer before the wedding and it was great.  We’d been to Wroxall so many times over the 2 years leading up to the wedding, everyone knew who we were and it was a really nice feeling.  The staff are all so helpful and Katherine (our wedding co-ordinator) really did so much to make sure everything was perfect from day one.

Dress + Accessories….. Jenny Packham (Lucetta) and Acacia 1 headband, Jimmy Choo (Grant) bridal shoes for day and Rachel Simpson (Eva) shoes for the evening (as I fell pregnant a few months before the wedding and realised 5 inch Choos all day weren’t going to be suitable).  Givenchy jewellery bought from Macy’s New York when mum & I went in June while the boys were away on the stag.  Pearl bracelet with blue gemstone – hand made by me from a broken set of my great-grandma’s pearls.

Finding the dress…. After being bridesmaid twice that year I’d seen a LOT of dresses and knew I wanted something different and floaty.  Searched  through magazines, totally loved Jenny Packham’s style and looked on website at the collection.  Lucetta was my favourite and managed to get an appointment at The Wedding Club for the Jenny Packham trunk show.  Lucetta was the second dress I tried on but knew it was “the one” straight away.  Tried some others on while there, but my mind was made up.

Groom’s attire…  From Slaters Menswear Birmingham.  Grey Morning suit with ivory check waistcoat.  Sage cravat & hankerchief for the Groom, complementary paler shade of Aqua for the rest of the boys including our lovely Page Boy, Hugo. 

The Readings + Music….  We had 3 readings in our service, Corinthians verse 13: Love never fails, Exert from Stardust (Yvain’s view of love), Apache Marriage Blessing, Entrance of Bridal Party – Piano version of Pachabel Canon in D, Hymns – Seek Ye First & Love Divine, Signing of the register – Clair de Lune played by Father of the Groom on flute, Wedding Words to Amazing Grace & O Perfect Love sung by choir members (friends of Groom’s parents), Exit of bridal party – somewhere over the rainbow by Israel Iz Kamakawiwo’ole, Entrance of Bride & Groom to wedding breakfast –  Greatest Day – Take That, First Dance – Rule the World – Take That, Band – Risky Bizness, DJ – Rob Whitehouse 

Beautiful bridesmaids…..  3 bridesmaids – Impressions bridal from Georgina Scott Bridal of Lye – in sea mist (nearest to Tiffany blue) with ivory sash.  Birdcage head veil also from Georgina Scott, ivory shoes from Next.  Our beautiful flowergirl wore a bridesmaid dress and shoes from BHS and cardigan from “Cinderella”  range in JC Penny’s from Florida when we were on holiday there.

The Flowers…  bouquets, button holes, table arrangements and church archway supplied by Karen & Gemma Morgen of Passion for Flowers (Balsall Common & Hatton Country Park) – Karen really listened to what we wanted, simple but country chic – she noted that my favourites we’re Peonies & hydrangea and wrapped some beautiful lace I bought from Walmart in Florida around the BQs.  I collected tea pots, milk jugs, sugar bowls and tea cups from charity shops and car boots, Karen and Gemma did a wonderful job of filling them with country flowers on the reception table.  Other flowers we created by my bridesmaid, Alison.  She had done a floristry course and offered to do some flowers, so I gave her all the excess china I’d collected and she created so many beautiful arrangements for the church and mansion house.

The Cake…  Created by Tracy at Cotton & Crumbs.  I was introduced to Tracey through my florist, Karen.  After looking through designs we decided on a deep 2 tier cake in pale minty green with a vintage pearl decorations and roses on top.  Dave loves cake so he chose the flavours after trying several samples – chocolate baileys and vanilla. 

Your Photographer…. Claire Evans…we booked Claire very early in the planning process.  After visiting her to look at her portfolio we knew she would capture our day in the style we wanted.  It’s been lovely getting to know Claire in the run up to the wedding, especially as we have a lot in common, it was lovely to have her there on our special day, she did so much for me while I was getting ready on the morning of the wedding.

Video... by Lee & Dawn Billingham @ Shutterbox films.  We weren’t going to have a video but I met Lee through a mutual friend and had a look at their stuff, just loved it!!!! We’d wanted some cine film footage but we having trouble sorting it ourselves so it was great when they said they were branching out into cine film.

The Details + Decor…. As I have a Design degree and love all things crafty, I decided I wanted to do as much of details as I could myself.  I designed a logo using our initials in a heart shape, which Becky at Becky Black Designs turned into a digital image for use to use on all our stationery (and she did our invites too).  I designed the rest of the stationery myself on vistaprint & made confetti pouches filled with freeze dried hydrangea petals.  I handmade bunting (Dave helped), raided charity shops and car boots for china, handmade tea bag favours (again Dave & mum helped), including typing the name tags on a vintage typewriter, the same as on  the table plan.   For the tables, I sat in many staff meeting doodling ideas in my sketch pad.  The frames were from Wilkinsons, the lace cloths from ebay and the duck egg blue table cloths hired from Rainbow Linen Hire of Dunchurch.  Photos were displayed around the venue in shabby chic frames I’d collected.  My friend, Jennie, made cupcakes for me.  We decided on a wishing tree instead of a guest book, the brown parcel labels I hand stamped and we decided on a personalised apple crate instead of a postbox (which I’m going to use in the garden).  My brother bought me 2 bay trees for my birthday which we used on the front steps to the mansion.  The terrace was decorated with items from Country Baskets floristry wholesalers & Wedding of my Dreams (also run by Karen & Gemma from Passion for Flowers), I love all the little dangly hearts and tea lights.  The church was decorated with cream lanterns for pew ends (with battery operated fairy lights for safety), a black aisle runner and turquoise petals.  Sweetie bar decor bought from ebay, jars from Country Baskets and sweets from Makro.

The Honeymoon….  A week in the Maldives in a water bungalow, Dave snorkelled & scuba-ed exploring the marine life, Claire chilled in the spa, the perfect getaway before bump arrives,  followed by 3 nights in Dubai’s Hilton Creek with dinner at Gordon Ramsey’s Verre on the last night.

Memorable moments…  Everything!!!!  Getting ready at the venue with my girls, Peering out the window before the wedding and seeing the guests arrive.  Time to ourselves being photographed in the ruins.  The speeches.  Sparklers on the terrace.  Dancing the final part of the night away.  Spending an amazing weekend with our closest friends and family. Having our baby bump there with us to share our special day. 
Advice for other couples…  Don’t listen to what other people think about your ideas, just do your research and give it a go, it’s your wedding not theirs!  Do use suppliers that you feel a connection with, they are a big part of your day.  Dave says – trust some of your wife-to-be’s ideas as he wasn’t sure about the tea pot idea at all at first, but also give some of your own ideas, she’ll appreciate the effort.

Credit where credit’s due…

Hair – Natalie Bartram – http://www.bridalhairspecialist.co.uk/

Make-up – Chloe McCall – http://chloemccall.com/

Photography – Claire Evans – http://claire-evans.com/

Video – Lee & Dawn Billingham @ Shutterbox Films – http://www.shutterboxfilms.co.uk/

Flowers – Karen & Gemma Morgen @ Passion for Flowers – http://www.passionforflowers.net/

Venue – Worxall Abbey Estate (wedding co-ordinator Katherine Cross) – http://www.wroxall.com/

Cake – Tracy James @ Cotton & Crumbs – http://cottonandcrumbs.co.uk/

Bride’s dress & Headdress – Clare Guest @ The Wedding Club – http://www.thewedding-club.co.uk/

Bride’s evening shoes – Rachel Simpson – http://rachelsimpsonshoes.co.uk/

Groom’s attire – hired from Slater Menswear – http://www.slaters.co.uk/en/

Bridesmaid’s attire – Impressions Bridal from Tracie Homer @ Georgina Scott Bridal – http://www.georginascottbridal.co.uk/

Selected Wedding Décor – The Wedding of My Dreams – http://www.theweddingofmydreams.co.uk/

Table cloths – hired from Rainbow Linen Hire – http://www.rainbowlinenhire.com/

Stationery – Rebecca Hadley @ Becky Black Design – http://www.beckyblack.co.uk/

Band – Rob Tabberner @ Risky Bizness – http://riskybizness.co.uk/

Thanks so much to Claire and David for sharing their beautiful day with us today…. what did you think the the tiffany blue theme? I love the fresh clean and bright feel to the day :-) xoxo

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