Intimate Romantic & Wintry Glass House Wedding with an Incredible Flower Arch

We are joined by Mel and Tom this fine Monday, who were married just before Christmas, on the 22nd December 2018 in the Camellia House at Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire. The glass house venue is just extraordinary and made for the perfect backdrop to their wintry nuptials. Continuing on with the winter theme, they used a colour palette of greens and whites with plenty of candles for added romance. It really makes for a fresh, bright and beautiful style.

The flowers really stood out to me at their celebrations, part in thanks to the incredible natural flower arch and the sweeping meadow style flowers adorning the aisle. The result is just spectacular! I just love that their super cute dog was able to join in with the festivities too, isn’t that so lovely?

I adore Mel’s gorgeous polka dot dress and Tom was suited and booted in an Emporio Armarni suit. They both looked just stunning. Huge thanks goes to Pear & Bear Photography for sharing with us these utterly wonderful photographs. What a joy!

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The Proposal

I am from Australia & Tom is from the UK. We were on a trip to visit my family in Sydney. My mum had always wanted to me to have her engagement ring as a family heirloom of sorts, so she gave the ring to Tom. It should be said that Tom is notoriously known for losing everything! Whilst he had grand plans of taking the ring back to the UK to plan our proposal, he wisely decided it would better on our parent’s insurance policy if he didn’t risk taking the ring home and losing it on route.

It was Tom’s last day before going home and I was staying on. We decided to go for a final breakfast together at Bills in Bondi Beach. Tom had planned on proposing after breakfast, but once his food arrived he was so nervous that he couldn’t eat. Now Tom is not one to leave food, so in order to get his appetite back, he dropped down on one knee and did it there and then! We got a clap from the restaurant and a couple of glasses of champagne. It was very lovely and very true to us.

The Vision

We planned on having a very intimate ceremony with just family and then having a bigger party the next year in France.

As it was during winter we wanted the theming to reflect this. Lots of beautiful greens and whites and candles.

Wollaton Hall is somewhere Tom and I frequent and walk our beloved dog Alfie. It has a lot of meaning to us and after all, it is where they filmed Batman, so who doesn’t want to get married at Wayne Manor!

The Planning Process

I knew straight away I would need help bringing it all together. I like to think of myself as a very organised person, but not being from the area I was a bit out of my depth in terms of knowing local vendors. That’s when we brought in our wedding planner Natalie. She made the whole process an absolute dream and brought my vision to fruition.

Natalie helped me with everything from seating plans to candle placement! She was extremely personable and made me feel like I could contact her any time of day with my niggling questions.

The Venue

Ceremony & Drinks Reception – The Camellia House, Wollaton Hall, Nottingham

Dinner venue – Gusto, West Bridgford

Your Outfits & Accessories

Tom wore a suit by Emporio Armarni and shoes by Prada.

We were on holiday with my family in Hawaii and I thought it would be ideal to take advantage of the extensive shopping. This was the first one that Tom tried on that fit and knowing how much Tom would prefer to be surfing than shopping we bought it!

I wore a dress by Torrid (an American Brand). I knew I would be wearing a proper wedding dress at our other celebration in May of this year, so I opted for something bridal/feminine without being a full-blown wedding dress. I also can’t resist a polka dot.

I also wore a headband by Nichola Ruby to tie the look together and negated the need for a veil.

My shoes were Chloe. I love the block heel and the scalloped detail!

Beauty

I had my hair and make up done by the lovely girls at Jenn Edwards & Co.

Tom’s grooming was all his own!

The Readings & Music

Aisle music: Dream a little dream of me by Mamas and the Papas

Signing the registry music: Take 5 by Dave Brubeck

Back down the aisle: Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows

The Flowers

We had an absolutely incredible foliage archway surrounded by more flowers and candlelight.

Rebecca Caddell from Floraldeco styled the room incredibly with her flowers.

She also made a little flower wreath for our beloved dog Alfie that matched my bouquet!

Your Photographer

The lovely Anna at Pear & Bear was our photographer. She made Tom and I feel so comfortable. We aren’t exactly naturals in front of the camera, but she did her best to put as at ease and get the most out of us. The photos turned out beautifully.

The Details & Décor

Aside from the flowers and candles, we had beautiful crossback chairs for the ceremony with blankets draped across them to create that cosy winter feel.

Next to the ceremony we had a mini reception area set up which included couches, coffee tables and of course more blankets!

Furniture was supplied by Wedhead and blankets were supplied by BrollyBucket.

The Honeymoon

We will be going to the Maldives and Japan at the end of July.

Memorable Moments

Having our beautiful dog Alfie there was very meaningful to us and now we have amazing photos of the three of us to cherish.

The Cake

We had a spiced orange nude wedding cake with a cinnamon frosting (oh so Christmassy!). This was baked by Cottonwood bakery and we still have a piece sitting in our freezer ready for our first year anniversary.

Advice For Other Couples

Do not let the stress of the planning get to you! It will all come together and even if things don’t go perfectly on the day, absolutely no one will know (except you!).

Credit Where Credit Is Due

How very stylish!

Mel and Tom, thank you ever so much for sharing with us your very special wedding day xo Lou