Morning WWWers, hope you are well this wonderful Wednesday. I am super excited today as i am getting to feature the wedding of one of my wedding industry friends, and WWW favourite, wedding photographer Gemma Williams.

The lovely Gemma and Chris were married in May at Brobury House in Herefordshire. They wanted their wedding to be stress free and fun with an afternoon tea party.

They got ready and arrived together (in a stretch mini!!) and got married in the middle of a tea party which i think is a gorgeous idea. Gemma went for a beautiful tea length dress, birdcage veil, and she seriously rocked those specs. I do love a bride in glasses :-) doesn’t she look stunning?! Meanwhile Chris went for a hired grey suit with a spash of pink in the tie, and together with his groomsmen looked super smart.

I adore Gemma’s peony adored bouquet, the photographs scattered around the venue, the cakes, the pink stripey straws, the bunting and of course Audrey The Caravan.

Gemma being in-the-know also had some amazing wedding suppliers, including the wonderful Anna Hardy Photography shooting her wedding. She also had the marvellous Emma Woodhouse from The Wedding Reporter reporting on their day, see some extracts from the report below.

Thanks so much to Anna for sharing her incredible imagery with us today.

Emma Woodhouse from The Wedding Reporter captured their day in words;

A startled coo drew the attention of the crowd to some commotion happening out of view. The guests lined up across the courtyard, peering around one another to see the front of a spotless white mini appearing around the corner of the house. Exultant exclamations escaped lips as the car continued to snake across the gravel, not finishing where it normally ought to, but stretching back to the length of several minis.

Pink ribbons on the door handles of the car and a white floral display on the rear parcel shelf added to the unique purpose for this vehicle. Gasps of surprise and cheers of appreciation emanated from the group as Chris ducked his head and stepped out of the car, looking dashing in a grey suit with a pale pink tie. 

Gemma followed behind him, oozing 1950s glamour as the wide circular skirt of her tea-length dress spilled out first, following dainty champagne coloured heels, before revealing the beautiful bride smiling out from beneath an exquisite birdcage veil. With one hand she steadied herself against the car door whilst the other held on to a burst of gorgeous blooms.

The two nearlyweds received the embraces of their loved ones as they adjusted to the sight of their friends and family applauding for them, looking on in expectation.

“Right,” came Gemma’s bright voice. “Pimms first I think!” 

Even as Gemma looked over at Chris to declaim the passage of time, the smile she had worn all day that had been as much a part of her outfit as her veil, her shoes or her dress still beamed on. Disappearing into the marquee to say their final farewells, Chris and Gemma’s magnetic draw pulled the remaining guests outside after them.

Following through the courtyard, the wedding party sprawled across the gravelled expanse, blowing final kisses and shouting their congratulations even as Gemma and Chris disappeared inside the confines of the novelty car.

With a final blast of the horn and the faces of the newlyweds grinning out at their riends and family, the wedding day ended as it had begun: with Gemma and Chris enjoying the moment together, wrapped in their love for one another and ready to embark on the adventure of the rest of their lives.

Concludes Emma Woodhouse from The Wedding Reporter.

Names…. Gemma & Chris

Wedding Date…. Saturday 5th May 2012

The Proposal…. Chris took me to Paris for my 30th Birthday and we had a room overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Chris got down on one knee on our balcony when the tower was lit up at night, and proposed to me! I kind of knew it might happen but I was really overwhelmed and asked him to say it again! Then we went out for a lovely birthday meal.

The Vision for the day…. We wanted our wedding day to be as fun and stress-free as possible. I love my job as a wedding photographer but because I see weddings every weekend, I wanted ours to be a bit different, and very ‘us’. We decided to have an ‘afternoon tea party’ with a few close friends and family in the countryside. We wanted to get ready and arrive together, and get married in the middle of the tea party, so that it was more relaxed and we could enjoy it more.

The Planning process…. We had quite a long engagement so there was plenty of time to get everything sorted out, and as we were only having a little afternoon tea party there wasn’t too much to think about.

The Venue… Our venue was Brobury House in Herefordshire. We chose this venue because I grew up round here and used to walk in the grounds with my granddad (who is no longer with us) so it held lots of lovely childhood memories. It also has wonderful gardens (perfect for photographs!) and a conservatory to get married in.

The Dress + Accessories… I knew I wanted a vintage style tea-length dress, so me and my best friend had a great day trying on lots of wedding dresses before we found the right one in Amore Bridalwear of Hereford. It just happened to be in the sale, and as soon as I tried it on, I knew it was THE ONE! I had a halter-neck put on it and had a little jacket too which I was glad of in the end as it was rather chilly on our day! My birdcage fascinator was from White Minx Bridal Boutique in Hereford. Chris bought my pearl & diamond jewellery as my wedding gift and gave this to me in the morning.

Groom’s attire… Chris and his groomsmen hired grey suits from Bill Child Formal Wear in Hereford. I bought them all matching pink ties from Debenhams.

The Readings + Music…. I walked into the ceremony to “At Last” by Etta James, and we left to “For Once In My Life” by Michael Buble. Chris’s sister (also my best friend) read “The Promise” by Luke Wright, which we chose because it was funny and quite appropriate to us!

Beautiful bridesmaids….. My best friend, Chris’s sister, was my ‘undercover bridesmaid’. She was the reason that me and Chris got together in the first place!

The Flowers… Posies Florists of Hereford made my beautiful bouquet. It was filled with roses and peonies, and was absolutely gorgeous.

The Cake… We didn’t have a cake-cutting but we did have plenty of cake. Our catering and crockery hire was all done by Vintage Glamour Days, who also supplied the wonderful ‘Audrey The Caravan’. Cheryl of Vintage Glamour Days made a chocolate sponge, and lots of different flavoured cupcakes. Our friend Steve also loves baking cakes, and made us a fabulous Victoria Sponge Cake decorated with strawberries.

Your Photographer…. The photographer was probably the first thing I booked, as this was so important to me! We chose the amazing Anna Hardy to do our photography. We just loved how she captures all those moments, the laughter and everyone enjoying themselves, and that was what we especially wanted to remember about our wedding. We also loved her relaxed style in the couple portraits, and we had a great time going round with her on the wedding day shoot – the sun even came out for this part!

The Details + Decor…. I put photos of us in old frames all around the conservatory where we got married – as I thought it was nice to have all those memories around us when we said our vows. Cheryl of Vintage Glamour Days brought lots of lovely vintage goodies and did the venue styling for us, so it all looked perfect for our afternoon tea party! There was plenty of bunting too.

The Honeymoon…. As I’m right in the middle of the busy wedding season, we haven’t had our honeymoon yet. But we plan to go away this winter… destination still to be decided…!

Memorable moments… Arriving in our stretched mini and seeing everyone that we knew there – will never forget that! Getting covered in confetti after the ceremony. Also dancing outside to the wonderful music of Simon Partridge (even though it was raining a bit). Laughing loads as we all tried on the moustaches and hats. Just being so happy!

Advice for other couples… I know everyone says this, but take a moment to enjoy your day. It went by so fast!  We were also really pleased that we did it all our way.  If you don’t want a traditional wedding – you don’t have to.  We made sure that it was relaxed and fun, and everyone said how lovely it was. I wish I could have our wedding every day!

Credit where credit is due…

Brobury House http://www.broburyhouse.co.uk/
AJs Minis http://www.stretchmini.com/
Amore Bridal Wear http://www.amorebridalwear.co.uk/
White Minx Bridal Boutique http://www.whiteminx.co.uk/
Posies of Hereford http://www.posiesofhereford.co.uk/
Vintage Glamour Days http://vintageglamourdays.co.uk/
Anna Hardy Photography http://www.annahardy.co.uk/
Simon Partridge Vocalist http://www.simonpartridge.com/

Wow what a beautiful and relaxed wedding day. I feel so honoured to share this wedding today :-)

Thanks so much to Gemma and Chris for sharing their story with us today XOXO Lou

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