Lets get this week started with the super gorgeous wedding of Claire and James, who were married at South Farm in September. I actually featured Claire and James’ amazing “The Food of Love” engagement shoot back in September, so it is just lovely to be able to follow their wedding journey today.

They wanted their wedding to be a big party with food and wine and a hint of West Ham in the burgundy and blue colour scheme. Claire looked so beautiful in her lace gown and veil while James looked traditional in his dapper morning suit. I really love the Dessy bridesmaids dresses in burgundy too the girls look so lovely.

There are some gorgeous elements to their day, with pretty and unusual blooms and a hint to travel with the maps and luggage tags in the barn. One of my favourite moments though has to be the first look, a concept i genuinely love. It always makes for the most touching photographs.

Thanks so much to the fabulous Ria Mishaal Photography for sharing her photographs with us today.

Names…. Claire & James

Wedding Date…. 22 September 2012

The Proposal…. It was all a bit of a shock really! We’d been together for years and years but James had always said he wasn’t that keen on marriage so I wasn’t expecting it. But I’d been away with work and he just realised that he didn’t want to be without me. It was very romantic, just at home, alone after he’d cooked an amazing best-bits-of-Christmas-dinner for us before heading off to our families for the holidays – and of course, to celebrate!

The Vision for the day…. We wanted the wedding to be very relaxed & fun – just a big party with lots of food and wine with all our closest friends and family. There was a vague West Ham (James football team) and travelling theme but it was all fairly low key – apart from a surprise bubble machine that James’ godfather set up as we walked back down the aisle as husband and wife.

The Planning process…. James proposed just before Christmas in 2010 just before we were about to leave to go travelling for 6 months so we didn’t do any planning at all until August 2011 but were just able to enjoy being engaged. When we got back we went to look around a few venues but fell in love with the first we saw – South Farm. After that everything fairly fell into place (along with the odd spreadsheet or 16!).

The Venue… South Farm

The Dress + Accessories…. The dress & veil were by Lara Coad Designs and she even sewed some of the lace from the dress onto my shoes (which I’d worn before as a bridesmaid and were rather scuffed!). Most of the rest of the accessories were family heirlooms.

Finding the dress…. I have to say I didn’t enjoy the dress hunt – I tried on quite a few in various shops and found the idea of ordering one that you’d never tried on before in the right size and then wouldn’t see for months after you’d bought it rather disconcerting (as well as having some rather snooty shop assistants). In the end my Mum passed a small shop of a dressmaker in Long Melford who happened to have a wedding dress in the window which she’d made for a local fashion show. It was everything I was looking for and I went and tried it the next weekend and took it straight home with me.

Groom’s attire… Morning suits were hired from Buckleigh of London for all the men in the bridal party with claret and blue (West Ham colours!) cufflinks.

The Readings + Music…. We had Be My Homer, the Lovely Dinosaur and the Hands Ceremony to keep it lighthearted and personal all read by three of our close friends. James’ cousin played the harp during the ceremony, one of the bridesmaids and her boyfriend sang for us during the reception and we had a ceilidh as a nod to where we met (in Edinburgh) after the wedding breakfast plus one of the groomsmen put together a fantastic playlist of tracks to dance the night away to.

Beautiful bridesmaids….. Dessy Twist & Wrap dresses so all the bridesmaids could choose their own style.

The Flowers… Tiffany’s Flowers did gloriosa lillies, blue bee delphiniums, white roses and blue veronica (tying in with the subtle West Ham theme).

The Cake… We went for a selection of cheeses for the cake so people could snack on it throughout the evening from The Cambridge Cheese Company.

Your Photographer…. The wonderful Ria Mishaal who made the whole day look incredible.

The Details + Decor… A friend of a friend made us some West Ham coloured bunting for the barn and one of the crafty bridesmaids made some for the summerhouse where we had the ceremony. My mother grew loads of flowers to decorate South Farm and we collected and decorated lots of glass jars to put them in.

The Honeymoon…. We spent two weeks travelling around Japan, staying in incredible Ryokans (luxury guesthouses) and eating the most beautiful food we’d ever seen (and tasted!). We then rounded everything off with a week in Bali to get some proper R&R before heading home.

Memorable moments… There are a few: James had had some stunning diamond earrings made to match my engagement ring and he gave them to me in bed on the morning of the wedding – that was a beautiful moment. We had a “first look” with Ria, our photographer, which was the most emotional part of the whole day. It felt completely magical to share the moment we first saw each other in private and we both shed a tear or two. But it also completely obliterated any nerves I had so walking down the aisle was just amazing fun. And I suppose the wonderful speeches that all four groomsmen and my Dad made throughout the day (including a hilarious slideshow)

Advice for other couples… There were a couple of pieces of advice that people gave us before our day and they were invaluable: 1) Don’t let go of each other’s hands – we didn’t and therefore we shared pretty much the whole day. 2) Buy a special perfume each and only wear it the day before, the day of, and over the honeymoon – it will remind you of the day forever more 3) just relax! It will all be perfect just because it’s your day so there’s no need to worry!

Credit where credit is due…

Claire’s dress & veil: Lara Coad Designs www.laracoaddesigns.co.uk

Hair and Makeup: D&D Makeup www.d-dmakeup.com

The Bridesmaids dresses and details: Dessy twist and wrap dresses http://www.dessy.com/

The bouquets and buttonholes: Tiffany’s Flowers http://www.tiffanysflowers.co.uk/

James’ suit: Buckleigh of London http://buckleighoflondon.com/index.php

Stationery: www.zazzle.com

The cake: Cambridge Cheese Company http://www.cambridgecheese.com/

Music: Angharad on the harp (James’ cousin), The Timoursous Beasties for the ceilidh http://www.thetimorousbeasties.com/

Venue: South Farm http://www.south-farm.co.uk/

Photography: Ria Mishaal http://riamishaal.com

Oh so beautiful, i love their unusual colour scheme too, it worked so well. Thanks so much to Claire and James for sharing their wedding with us today XOXO Lou

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