Names… Jon and Liz

Wedding Date… 28th Jan 2012

The Vision For the Day…. Like all couples, we wanted our wedding to be special and memorable for our friends and family, but unlike most couples, we decided not to hang around and set our wedding date just four m0ths after our engagement.  Despite having the clock against us, we were very lucky in that we shared the same views on what would make a good wedding.  It was really important to us that the focus on the day was just informal fun with simple ingridents of good food, good wine and 80′s music would out weigh a regimented day.

The Planning Process… We started the wedding planning with the venue search, we knew that we wanted a church wedding so went in search of a reception venue, as we had guests attending from all around the UK, we wanted to make sure that all our guests could stay overnight so that they could enjoy the day as much as possible.  After trawling lots of venues, when we arrived at the St. Pierre Country Hotel in Chepstow, we knew we had struck gold.  The venue benefits from having stacks of accomodation, a charming coutry feel, golf course and friendly staff.

The Dress + Accessories… Next came the really fun bit – the dress hunt!! The faces of the dress makers when asked if they could supply a dress that would not only be ready in 3.5 months, but would also match my vintage family veil that has been passed down the generations was priceless.  I should also point out that we discovered at this time that I was expecting a baby, needless to say that all these factors helped to focus the mind a bit and we finally found a fantastic wedding dress store that was not only willing to take on the challenge but made the whole experience as special as I always hoped it would be.

The veil went on to play a large part in the wedding and the vintage feel was then carried on through as theme for the whole day, I was grateful for our family who also leant me the amazing vintage velvet coat to keep me warm, (even the groom arrived in a classic  80′s automobile, although that might have more to do with his childhood dreams that wanting to fit in).  When it came to hair and makeup I was lucky enough to have a friend who although not a trained makeup artist is talented who offered to do this for me.  Hair I searched around using blogs and social media for recommendations and came across Syran John who was fab.  After a couple of trials it was great and I would advise to have trials as if using a stylist who you have not met before.

The Flowers… When it came to flowers my Aunt is a wedding florist and was happy to help I wanted blue hydrangers that would compliment the grooms, and groomsmen colours.  The reception room was large with high ceilings and wanted my guests to be able to see across the tables.  Hydrangers were my first choice but lillies were much more reasonable and I was able to match these to the simplicity of our reception room and colours of our bridesmaid.

The Cake… As I suffer from ceoliac, and we didn’t want to inflict a gluten free cake on our guests, so we opted for a cake of cheese.   When I researched this decided it would not be that difficult to decorate with fruit ourselves, so we opted to just buy the cheeses wholesale.  This not only looked spectacular, tasted fantastic but also stretched through to the evening buffet.

The Music… Jon and I wanted a party and that is exactly what we had.  The venues package included a DJ, Whitefusion and he was great, we discussed our music with him and Jon had already put together a play list that he shared.  He played the play list which was eighties House of Pain, Jump, Rumd MC, Its Tricky, Queen, Flash to name a few  this was played all night and Jon’s {groom) dance off is one of the most memorable parts of the day.  We also wanted some background noise that reflected us and a saxophinist was perfect, I found Celyn on Gumtree offering lessons.  After a few conversations he was happy to play at our receptionand was fantastic.

The Budget… We were consious of costs and found having a winter wedding at short notice did give us a lot of negotiating power, and many suppliers were willing to offer us good discounts.  I found by asking the suppliers and friends with talents people were willing to offer more.

Advice for Other Couples…. My advice would be to remember it is one day and the more personal you make it the more memorable and special it will be, it goes very quickly and capturing the day is important. We both wanted an alternative and vintage photographer, yet also a photographer who could capture natural shots of all our friends and family having a good time.  I’m thrilled that Philippa James Photography not only ticked these boxes but truly captured our day in an almost filmic way (if that makes sense!)  We simply can’t put our adorable wedding album down, and it will be treasured for generations to come, along with the vintage veil and fur coat!”

PHOTOGRAPHER: Philippa James Photography http://www.philippajamesphotography.com

VENUE: St. Pierre Country Club, Chepstow http://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/hotel-photos/cwlgs-st-pierre-a-marriott-hotel-and-country-club/

MAKE UP: A friend with many talents AIMEE BATEMAN

HAIR: Syran John http://www.syran-john-hair.co.uk/

WEDDING CAKE OF CHEESE: Cheese from Madam Fromage http://www.madamefromage.co.uk/ and decorated by bride and brides mother

DRESS – Allison Jayne, Cardiff  http://www.allisonjayne.com/index.htm

VEIL – Brides family veil passed down for the last 5 generations

SHOES – Brides own shoes