Colour Pop Country Garden Wedding

Colour Pop Country Garden Wedding

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WWW readers Naomi and Peter tied the knot at Fulham Palace, London, with a colourful decorated marquee for their reception.

Naomi told me; “WWW was one of the only blogs I consulted regularly during the planning process as I love the variety of weddings featured, as well as the fabulous articles on ideas and tips.” Yippee, it’s going to be a goody i tell you :-)

They wanted their wedding to have a country feel which was  also colourful. Oodles of pom poms, vibrant florals, afternoon tea, a VW beetle and a super stylish wedding party made up their wedding day. Super gorgeous.

Thanks so much to the brilliant Eternal Imaging for sharing their images with us today.

 

The Proposal… Peter and I are ‘university sweethearts’. We met on the 4th day of Freshers’ Week nearly ten years ago, in the hall of residence we were both staying in, and started dating two years later. Marriage was always on the cards and we’d been talking about it a lot recently, so he had to find a way to genuinely surprise me — over the past year, any typically romantic scenario had found me twitching and wondering if this could be it! In the last week of October 2011, we headed to Hargate Hall in Derbyshire for Peter’s stepbrother’s wedding. I was completely off-guard as I didn’t think he would propose while we were celebrating someone else’s nuptials! Little did I know …

The morning after the wedding — a lovely affair that ended with a riotous ceilidh — the guests chipped in to help clear the marquee. It was raining heavily, and I remember thinking that all I wanted to do afterwards was take a long nap. It was at this moment that Peter suggested we go for a drive as there wasn’t anything going on for a few hours. I grumpily said I wasn’t in the mood and put forward my case for a snooze. But he kept insisting and I soon found myself in our car headed for some mystery location.

Eventually we arrived at Shugborough, a beautiful historic estate in Staffordshire. While strolling through the gardens I noticed a quirky-looking ruin that I suggested we check out. Little did I realise that I had just picked my proposal spot!

We huddled under the ruin, sheltering from the rain, and enjoyed the beautiful views. I remember thinking how happy and peaceful I felt just being there with him. Suddenly, I heard Peter say quietly that this was where he had chosen to propose. He then made a speech, but my mind went completely blank and I can’t really remember any of it — the whole thing was just too surreal! Despite all our talk of marriage, he had done the unthinkable and completely surprised me. When he’d finished his speech — with me still standing there stupefied — he went down on one knee and put a gorgeous ring on my finger.

The Vision for the Day… Given the time of year we had chosen, we wanted a venue with lots of gorgeous outdoor space — but sufficient indoor options too (this is the UK after all!) We also wanted it to be a full-day affair, and give our family and friends a great day out to remember.

We sat down together and thought about all the things we love to do, as we wanted a day that was personal to us. Top of the list was spending time in the countryside, usually accompanied by copious amounts of tea and cake! Out of this came the idea to have an afternoon tea wedding breakfast, either alfresco or in a garden marquee. We felt that the ‘garden party’ vibe lent itself to lawn games, an early evening barbecue or buffet (if we were going to party all day long it was only proper to feed our guests well!) and other activities such as a photo booth complete with props. Slowly the day began to come together, and we were thrilled as it all felt very “us”.

For the colour-scheme, I knew from the very beginning that I wanted something bright and fun. I toyed around with various colour palettes and was starting to get a bit frustrated until I randomly noticed a picture of a butterfly on one of my notebook. It was coral pink, fuchsia, yellow and brown, set against a backdrop of cream. Once I’d swapped the brown for dark purple, I had my dream colour-scheme. Peter, being more ‘classic’ in his tastes, was initially hesitant and thought it might be a bit too busy for a wedding. But he trusted me when I assured him that it would look fun but elegant, and decided to roll with it.

Out of these initial decisions our ‘colour-pop country garden’ wedding was born, and we did our best to stick to our vision for the day and not get too side-tracked (and overwhelmed) by the masses of options out there — which I in particular found it all too easy to do!

The Venue… The moment we walked up the gravel path to Fulham Palace, we knew we had found our dream venue.

Despite its grandeur, it felt homely and welcoming. The stunning grounds were more than ample for the outdoor elements of our wedding, there was a good-sized marquee set within a pretty walled garden, and the Palace itself — previously the residence of the Bishops of London — provided the perfect indoor space. It felt like one of the many National Trust properties we had visited together, and once we stepped inside the wonderful Tudor fountain courtyard it felt as though we were miles away from London.

As we walked around the venue, we also realised that its size and the different types of space it offered would enable us to have the long, family-day-out type reception that we wanted. We could picture the different elements: welcome drinks in the courtyard, afternoon tea in the marquee, games on the lawn, photobooth and guestbook in the two adjoining rooms, evening BBQ/buffet in the café and on the terrace, dancing in the Great Hall and so on. It all started to come together.

We also loved the fact that, aside from the café (which had to stay open until the early evening), we could have the entire Palace to ourselves. The thought of being able to call such a beautiful, historic venue ‘ours’ for the day was unbelievable.

The Dress + Accessories… I wore a full-lace wedding dress by Art Couture, which was altered by Angelica Bridal’s fabulous tailor. He made the v-neck shallower and gave the dress a slightly more fitted shape, two modifications that I felt were much more ‘me’. I also swapped the ribbon for a thicker, warmer-coloured sash that gave the gown a slightly more vintage feel.

Because of the detailing on the dress I wanted to keep my accessories minimal so I chose a simple two-tier veil from Angelica Bridal to complement the tiara Peter bought me for my 21st birthday, and a pair of clip-on crystal-drop earrings that I found in John Lewis. I was concerned that clip-ons might be tacky, but they looked really elegant and no-one could tell on the day that my ears weren’t pierced!

I wanted to have a nod to our vivid wedding colours somewhere in my outfit, so the final touch was a pair of fun, bright yellow LK Bennett court shoes to peep out from beneath my dress.

For our first dance, and the ceilidh that followed, I wore a simple ivory shift dress with lace detailing on the bodice that echoed my wedding dress. I initially wanted to wear my dress all day, but after our first dance lesson (we learned a choreographed routine for our first dance) I realised that was never going to happen! I teamed it up with a pair of purple dance-friendly heels and a beautiful, custom-made yellow birdcage veil that I absolutely loved — possibly even more than my wedding dress!

My hair and makeup was done by Peter’s work colleague Noor-ul-ain. She did a great job, especially with my makeup, and was really good at helping me to relax and enjoy myself on the morning of the big day. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more beautiful than I did that day.

Finding the Dress… I knew from the beginning that I wanted a full-length lace dress that was modest enough that I wouldn’t feel self-conscious on the day. By the time I found my dress, I was worn down by lace dresses that were beautiful but too revealing and shop assistants who insisted “If you’ve got it flaunt it”. I have nothing against brides who do this; it just isn’t me at all.

My appointment at Angelica Bridal was much more relaxed compared with the others. While the sales assistant suggested a few styles different to my brief to ensure I wasn’t putting myself in a box, she was extremely respectful about my desire to wear something modest and I never felt pressured to be something I wasn’t.

The moment I tried on The Dress, I just ‘knew’ — and when I saw how happy my mum looked, I knew she felt the same way. It wasn’t perfect — there were a couple of things that I immediately knew I’d want adjusted. But it was the only dress that I could truly see myself in. It was elegant, modest without being stuffy, and the lace detailing on it was absolutely beautiful. I could picture myself wandering around in it on the day, interacting happily with our guests without feeling self-conscious and wanting to tug at myself! To top it off, Angelica Bridal had a fantastic tailor who was certain he could make the changes I wanted.

Despite my instincts I wanted to make sure I wasn’t just choosing the first dress that ‘worked’, so I visited a couple more boutiques and tried on some lovely dresses that came pretty close. But none of them made me feel beautiful in a way that was still very me. It was a done deal.

Groom’s Attire… I wanted Peter to wear a bright blue suit to fit the colourful theme of our day. We went to Reiss, where he tried on a 2-piece style called ‘Denton’. While the suit itself was great, he didn’t feel it was him at all.

We tried on more traditional navy styles, but agreed that they didn’t seem quite right either. While browsing online later, I saw that Reiss did a lovely 3-piece suit that the shop we’d visited hadn’t stocked. The moment he tried it on, we both absolutely loved it. Peter looked SO handsome, and while the colour was brighter than navy it was subtle enough that he felt comfortable.

He teamed it up with tan brogues, a bright yellow polka-dot tie and a pair of Scrabble tile cufflinks that I’d bought him as a birthday present as he’s a huge fan of the game (we ended up getting pairs for the best man, my dad and all the men in Peter’s family as thank you gifts). He also donned a pair of bright yellow socks to match my shoes as a surprise, and I couldn’t stop giggling on the day when I finally noticed!

Beautiful Bridesmaids… My bridesmaids were my school friend Davinia and my cousin Christaline. They both wore lovely bright yellow chiffon dresses that I found online after months of searching. Because of the strong colour they kept the rest of the look simple, with nude-coloured shoes, delicate pearl accessories and purple flowers for their hair. They looked so pretty and radiant.

The Flowers… Simon and Victoria at Euphoric Flowers did an absolutely fabulous job on our wedding flowers, and my jaw hit the floor when I entered the marquee for our wedding breakfast. When we met with Simon for the initial consultation and saw how excited he was about our bright colour scheme, we knew were in safe hands! He also had a great sense of fun, suggesting craspedia for my bouquet and the buttonholes as he felt it would suit our wedding perfectly. We went for seasonal flowers and foliage in our vibrant shades — including bergamot, blackberries, dahlias, freesias, hydrangeas, lisianthus, solidaster and sunflowers — displayed in handmade terracotta pots. The pots were Simon and Victoria’s idea, and they complemented our country garden theme perfectly — as well as providing beautiful gifts for our guests to take home. For the head table they created a pretty ‘runner’ of flower-filled teacups, as well a pair of statement arrangements for either side. They were both an absolute joy to work with, and choosing them was definitely one of the best decisions we made.

Our ceremony flowers — two large arrangements for either side of the altar and a couple of smaller ones for the foyer — were done by a lady in our church who loves bright colours as much as I do. We had a great time wandering around New Covent Garden Market together a couple of days before the wedding, choosing pretty much any flowers that took our fancy (sticking to the budget proved very difficult!) Many of the varieties we chose matched the reception flowers, although we added a few extras including roses, gladioli and even a few peonies.

The Cake… My mother- and sister-in-law made our wedding cake. While browsing through pictures of wedding cakes, I remember telling Peter that I was sure that his mother and sister would be able to make us an amazing cake, and that it would mean so much more to me to have something that special created by our loved ones. But I knew it was a big ask given how busy they both are. When they told us out of the blue that they wanted to make it — while I was still debating asking them — I was over the moon. My mother-in-law baked an absolutely delicious 4-tier Angel cake, adding an extra layer of purple to match our wedding colours, and my sister-in-law iced it and added beautiful handmade clusters of sugarcraft flowers to each tier. For the cake topper, I found an adorable custom-made ‘lovebirds’ topper on Etsy.

Your Photographer… Our photographer, Hamish, was great to work with on the day as he was really good at putting us at ease and never forced us into ridiculous poses that we were uncomfortable with. He did a great job at capturing the special details, and we especially loved all the sneaky shots he caught during the speeches. During my dad’s speech in particular, I could not stop laughing – and while these photos aren’t the most flattering shots of me, you can’t beat the raw emotion.

I should also give a shout-out here to our videographers, Dan and Phil, who did a fantastic job. Our wedding video was a last-minute decision. We hadn’t initially budgeted for one, but my dad insisted we’d want a little film of the day to look back on. I’m so glad we listened to him!

The Details + Decor… In the marquee we hung tissue-paper pom poms in our wedding colours to add big, bold pops of colour to complement the flowers.

The order of the day, seating plan, table numbers and place names were made by my lovely friend and former work colleague Ellie. I love designing things but get really nervous about executing them, so I was thrilled when she offered to step in. She did an absolutely wonderful job. We used satin ribbon in different shades to continue the colour-pop theme but kept the rest of the design elements simple and elegant. For the order of the day and seating plan, we spray-painted two vintage-style A1 frames bright yellow and used brown kraft paper, along with the ribbon, for the details. The table numbers consisted of simple pieces of cream card with a ribbon down one side and subtle scalloping down the other. For the place names, we tied cream labels to the teacup handles with ribbon. The effect was so pretty that the guests were disappointed when they found out they couldn’t take the teacups home as they were part of the vintage crockery we’d hired!

We put disposable cameras on each table to encourage guests to capture their own versions of our days, and made up goody bags for our younger guests to keep them entertained.

After the wedding breakfast, we had games on the lawn organised by Peter’s younger brother. Unfortunately Hamish was unable to capture these as we snuck away for our private photos at the same time. But our videographers some great clips of the action in our wedding film.  We had a traditional pub game called ‘bat and trap’, a coconut shy, giant Jenga, skittles, hula hooping and egg-and-spoon races.

One of the rooms in the Palace contained empty bookcases. We filled these with photos of the two of us, flowers and electric candles that created a lovely ambience. For the three large recesses in the middle we hung a collage of mementos that Peter had given me as an engagement present, and two clusters of pom poms.

Our wedding favours celebrated both of our cultures. We had blackcurrant jam and lemon marmalade, made by Peter’s mum and stepdad and decorated with labels designed by his stepbrother and his girlfriend. And we had traditional Sri Lankan ‘Love Cake’ (a delicious almond sponge cake), in lovely little cream-coloured boxes tied with yellow ribbon, which was a wedding gift from my godmother.

The photobooth, pulled together in lovingly shabby fashion by Davinia and I at the very last minute, was a huge hit with our guests. For the ‘booth’ itself, we bought some cheap flowery fabric and attached it to a clothes rail. The props were a mix of funny/silly items sourced from fancy-dress and junk shops, and random novelties made by Davinia out of black card.

As a fun extra, Peter’s stepdad made us giant Scrabble tiles spelling out ‘Mr & Mrs’. We used these as props in our wedding photos and it made a great centrepiece for our guestbook table later on in the day.

The Honeymoon… I initially wanted to do something a bit adventurous on our honeymoon, but once the planning got going the idea of a fly-and-flop holiday really appealed! We spent the first 10 days of our honeymoon in the Seychelles, staying on a private island for the first 4 days followed by a resort on the main island for the remainder. The final 6 days of our break were spent in Malaysia, split between exploring downtown Kuala Lumpur together and visiting Peter’s father and his family. We had an absolutely wonderful time, and came back feeling so refreshed.

Memorable Moments… Perhaps the most memorable moment of all was the realisation that we’d scheduled our London wedding smack-bang in the middle of the Olympics! We were so giddy with excitement that it only dawned on us when everything had been booked. After the initial panic we decided to just do the best we could to ensure things run smoothly. We arranged with our vendors for them to deliver things/turn up on the day earlier than usual just in case, and arranged a car pool for our guests. It all worked out fine in the end — in fact, London was practically a ghost town considering what we’d been expecting — and now we can tell our grandchildren that we were married on ‘Super Saturday’!

I hired a vintage VW Beetle convertible called ‘Betty Bug’ for our wedding car, and it played a role in some of my favourite moments of the day. Dad had his heart set on a Rolls Royce, and was convinced I’d made a big mistake. The look of excitement on his face when he saw the Beetle on the day was priceless. He was SO excited when we got in and the engine started, and couldn’t stop talking to the driver about how amazing the car was — it was so endearing I didn’t have the heart to tell him I told him so! Pootling along to the church was one of the best experiences of my life. Every other person was waving and/or smiling, and we got beeped a few times too.

After the ceremony Peter and I enjoyed a leisurely drive to the venue. We took a scenic detour around the Fulham area to delay our arrival at the reception venue a bit and it was a lovely, peaceful moment, taking in the fact that we were now married, and enjoying the views. But the best bit was when we finally arrived and drove straight up into the courtyard. The plan had been to pull off to the side, get out and then have a confetti shower. But our guests were so excited to see us that they showered us with petals while were still in the car! It was a beautiful moment and we couldn’t stop laughing.

Peter and I are not big dancers, so when he suggested we take dance lessons I was very surprised. I’d have been content to pick a song we like and sway around the room a bit! We booked a fabulous lady called Romana, who choreographed a dance to one of our favourite pieces of music — ‘Married Life’ from the movie Up — and taught it to us. I thought she was just going to guide us through a simple waltz, particularly given our complete lack of experience, but she created an entire story around the piece that meant we were acting as well as dancing (as if the pressure wasn’t enough!) On the day, we were really nervous and I’m pretty sure we fudged some of the footwork. But we got through the whole thing without missing a step, and I was so proud of us. It’s something really special that we’ll always have (even if we’ve forgotten most of it by now!) Our dance kicked off an absolutely fantastic ceilidh that had us in fits of laughter the whole night long.

At the end of the night, our family and friends gathered outside in the courtyard with sparklers to see us off. We were touched by how many people had gone the distance (it was a very long day!) and it was an extremely emotional moment that I will never forget. I’d somehow managed to get through the whole day without crying, but I teared up just before we left when my dad loudly announced to Peter in the middle of the courtyard that he was officially “handing me over” to him.

Advice for Other Couples… Enjoy every moment, good and bad, of the planning process as it is such a special time that will never come again.

Make sure your day is a true reflection of who you both are; don’t be tempted to fulfil other people’s expectations of what a wedding “ought” to be like, no matter how good their intentions.

Get as many family and friends involved as you can (if they’re happy to be involved!) as it is so much more meaningful.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the beautiful weddings out there, but remember that it’s about the two of you, and your family and friends, celebrating your love and having an amazing time — it’s not about driving yourselves crazy creating opportunities for perfect photographs.

You can plan and plan, but once the big day arrives it’s out of your hands. Kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labour — it’ll be over before you know it and you’ll wonder where the day went!

Credit Where Credit is Due…

Photography: Eternal Imaging — http://www.eternal-imaging.com

Videography: Copper Tree Media — http://www.coppertreemedia.co.uk

Dress: Art Couture at Angelica Bridal — http://www.angelicabridal.co.uk

Veil: Angelica Bridal

Shoes: LK Bennett — http://www.lkbennett.com

Birdcage veil: Atelier Millinery — http://www.ateliermillinery.com

Hair and make-up: Noor-ul-ain Azaz — http://www.asianweddingproductions.co.uk/asian-makeup-artist/

Groom’s suit and shoes: Reiss — http://www.reiss.com

Bridesmaids’ dresses: Littlewoods — http://www.littlewoods.com

Venue: Fulham Palace — http://www.fulhampalace.org

Vintage crockery: Vintage Tea Sets — http://www.vintageteasets.co.uk

Pom poms: Paperpoms UK — http://www.paperpoms.co.uk

Flowers: Euphoric Flowers — http://www.euphoricflowers.co.uk

Car Hire: VW Brides — http://www.vwbrides.co.uk

Confetti: Shropshire Petals — http://www.shropshirepetals.com

Ceilidh: Licence to Ceilidh — http://www.licencetoceilidh.co.uk

How fantastic, and I just love that sparkler exit. So romantic. Thanks so much to Naomi and Peter for sharing their gorgeous wedding with us today XOXO Lou

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