WWW readers Jess and Mike were held their wedding reception at Dragonwood House, Rutland, a private house they rented. They wanted their wedding to be simple, happy and fun. Jess told me about reading WWW;  “Just being able to see that other Brides and Grooms aren’t always completely conventional was the best bit for me and gave me the confidence to do things our way.”

And they certainly did so things their way. They kept the planning stressfree and didn’t worry about their wedding matching together perfectly. They chose mismatched dresses for their bridesmaids, Jess didn’t have the ‘one’ feeling about her dress and had family and friends bake cakes for the reception.

Jess looked so beautiful in her Cymbeline lace dress with lace edged veil and flower crown, while Mike wore his handsome unifmorm. I so love the pretty blooms and the rustic touches throughout the decor. Just gorgeous.

Thanks so much to Mark Osborne Photography for sharing his images with us today.

Names…. Jess and Mike

Wedding Date…. 4^th August 2012

The Vision for the day…. The vision was simple; feed, water and entertain all of our favourite people in the world. Fun details were important to us to make people smile throughout the day.

The Planning process…. I loved it so much I even started my own small blog which I’m developing for Dubai as we move their next week – Lace in the Desert! (www.laceinthedesert.com)

So many things seemed to be fated. I always wanted shoes I could wear again so when we were in Bicester Village a month after being engaged and spied some rather beautiful blue Prada shoes I counted it as fate (it’s amazing what you can suddenly believe in when shoe shopping in Prada!) The band was stumbled upon whilst drinking mulled cider at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland, after an hour of doing I’m afraid to say ‘the Dad dance’ I saw Mike go over and ask them for their card. Sorted. We decided early that ‘unity’ and ‘a complete look’ weren’t important which made the whole thing so easy.

The Venue… We rented a private house, ‘Dragonwood House,’ in Rutland which couldn’t have been more perfect for us. The owner Mike was gracious and unbelievably accommodating in all of our ideas. When we asked if we could use his barn (the horses were living in it at this stage) he didn’t even batter an eyelid.

The Dress + Accessories….. Cymbeline, Dubai

Finding the dress…. Wow. No one prepared me for the pressure and hardship of ‘finding the one’. The more dresses I tried, the more I loved. Turns out I am a dress slut. The trouble is I wanted to be all types of bride – I wanted to be boho bride, sophisticated bride, couture bride, beach bride, princess bride, vintage bride, tulle bride…..and then in my confused state, I committed the worst kind of wedding dress sin. I showed Mike my top 10 short list. Gulp. As the weeks crept on I needed to make a decision. And that’s when I stumbled across my saviour Amy at The Little White Dress. I’d found it because there was a dress I had seen and just knew I had to try on…..Cymbeline’s Fatima. I just loved the picture of the bride next to the pillar and now I had a new desire, I wanted to be ‘Pillar Bride’. Turns out Amy also had a soft spot for pillar bride so I was in safe hands.

But alas, just when I thought I might have cracked this whole ‘you’ll know when you find the one’ mantra, I wobbled. I just did not look as good as pillar bride. I so desperately wanted to love it but there was just something not right.  In the depth of confusion and head swirling, Amy and mum gave me a well needed nudge back to another Cymbeline dress I had also tried on. And there it was. There was no moment of crying softly whilst mum looked at me through teary eyes of love. There was no ‘I want to burst into song because I love it so much’ moment. And there was definitely no screaming, whooping or fireworks going off in my head. It was a quiet moment of relief and just feeling confident enough that Mike need not see it and pass his judgement. In fact, it was so subtle that had it not been for two very wise women with me suggesting two easy alterations that (in my eyes) transform the dress, the moment might have passed me by. It has not stopped me loving other dresses. I don’t think that day will ever ever happen; even now I find myself looking at other dresses!

Beautiful bridesmaids….. My sisters chose their own dresses. Their original idea was to unite on one colour and then each have their own style of dress. Simple. Well, one by one they stepped out of the changing room in their favourite colours with persuasive debate for their chosen colour. After an hour (and a parking fine) it seemed silly that there was always one who never loved the other’s choice and like a light bulb (finally) it was decided that the strong colours actually looked awesome together. So mix-matched colourful bridesmaids it was.

The Flowers… White flowers with a countryside feel. Other than the bouquets, arch and flower crown, we ordered the flowers in batches and arranged them ourselves the day before. The ‘flower committee’ in the Church the day before with the girls was brilliant. Exactly the kind of way I’d always imagined creating my wedding day. Plus, the incentive of a glass of champagne helped the committee’s spirits!

The Cake… Spending money on a big grand cake was never important to us. Instead we asked a few family and friends to bake different cakes and had a ‘cake table’ and a ‘cheese table’ rather than a formal desert.

Your Photographer…. Mark Osborne Photography – another easy decision after spying his work on a blog. We booked before meeting him which I think he thought was slightly mad but I just knew that the style was right for us. After meeting him a few months later we walked away knowing that our wedding was in the safest hands possible and I think the pictures speak for themselves.

The Details + Decor…. I think one of the best ideas (and credit goes to the Groom) was to create a ‘Menu of Mates’; a booklet on each table filled with a picture and little funny bio of that person.

I wanted guests to smile from the moment they walked into the Church so I spent many an hour with numb fingers cutting out ‘hooray’ flags to fit inside the service sheets.

Our plan was to walk the mile from the church to the venue with a fizzy pit stop along the way; the weather had other ideas and at the last minute we took everyone back on the bus. It was a great shame but it genuinely didn’t matter.

I loved creating photo frames of photos of everyone for each table and the favours were another way of making people smile – fake lips and moustaches.

DIY photobooth – so easy to do and saves vital £’s if you want more money to spend on alcohol!

Memorable moments… The moment after we were married and all the guests waved their ‘hooray’ flags; that single moment made all those hours worth it! The Rifles boys drawing swords at the ‘does anyone here know of any reason why these two cannot be married’ part. We’d kept it a secret from everyone else and I loved seeing their faces light up with confusion and amusement. Watching people’s faces as they read what had been written about them in the Menu of Mates. Dancing with my husband until 4am (who never dances!)

Advice for other couples… I know it’s been said a thousand times but it’s true when they say, your day your way. Oh and hire someone to help you clean up the next day if it’s in a private house!

Credit where credit is due…

Rutland Gourmet http://www.rutlandgourmet.co.uk/

Dragonwood House http://www.uniquehomestays.com/unique/details.asp?id=732

The Little White Dress Company http://www.thelittlewhitedress.co.uk

Pukka Tents http://www.pukkahtents.com/

Funky Tents http://funky-tents.co.uk/

Top Cat Band http://www.fantasiamusic.co.uk/funcbands/topcat.html

In the Treehouse http://www.inthetreehouse.co.uk/

Mark Osborne Photography http://www.markosbornephotography.com/

Oh so lovely. Thanks so much to Jess and Mike for sharing their wedding with us today XOXO Lou

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