Today I am delighted to share with you our last wedding of the year. Sonia and Anthony got married on Friday October 14th at the beautiful Wroxall Abbey. Sonia and Anthony chose that particular venue because they really wanted to marry in a church that was in the grounds of the wedding reception and celebrations.
You certainly can’t get a more stunning place to marry than Wrens Chapel. The wedding was going to be next year but for family reasons they needed to bring the wedding forward. Sonia only had a short time, four months to plan the wedding and working full time she needed help, so booked our Partial Wedding Planning Service. We started to work together right away.
Anthony was serving in Afghanistan but he came home on leave for a few days in June and we all managed to meet up and go through the plans together. Whilst Anthony was away Sonia and I busied ourselves looking for great suppliers.
The first to be booked was our superb photographer, Sara Moseley. I wanted Sonia to work with someone who understood exactly what she and Anthony wanted from the day. Also Anthony was a not a fan of having his picture taken so it was imperative he felt comfortable with the photographer. In my opinion this is one of the most crucial suppliers to book first. You spend most of your day with them and if you are comfortable this will definitely shine through in the images of your day.
Another tip from the top is to have a pre-wed shoot. This gives you the opportunity to spend a little time in front of the lens and your photographer can advise you on how to get the most out of the pictures. Sara offers this as part of her package, another reason for my choice. It was important for Sonia to have a copy of her pictures and Sara offered that too.
Sonia and I met along with her Mum and Dad to chat about the style and colours for the wedding. The choice was initially black and white but Sonia and Anthony had seen a purple cravat in the suit hire shop that they both really liked, so purple was added to the overall theme. Sonia wanted to make sure the decor was in keeping with the venue and chose to decorate the tables with crystal candelabras. She wanted plenty of sparkle and candlelight to create mood and ambiance. I went along with ideas, pictures and samples of invitations, decor and tips to personalise the day. Sonia and her family are very close and it was important for the details to include everyone.
Sonia and her bridesmaids had their hair and makeup done by Natalie Bartrum, and Allison Tye . They are superb professionals as well as being a delight to be around. When you are getting ready you want to have easy going and calm individuals around you as well as being able to have a little fun. Natalie and Allison work brilliantly as a team and compliment each other.
I love this picture of Sonia, she looks so happy and relaxed.
The beautiful bridesmaids and flower girl.
Sonia has the most fabulous long black hair and is tall and slim, the dress, Eugenie, she chose from Caroline Castigliano perfectly complemented her figure and colouring. The little black belt around the waist defined the dress beautifully and tied in with the theme. The little jacket to keep the chill off looked stunning too. I have to say on the day we had the most perfect weather. It was even warm enough to take pictures outside and for the guests to spill out onto the terrace for the drinks reception.
The Red carpet entrance, and look at those windows!
The bodice of the dress was exquisitely decorated. The sparkle added to the overall theme.
Of course you have to have fabulous shoes for such as stunning dress!
I absolutely love this picture of Sonia and her Dad taking a moment together.
The beautiful stationery was designed by Elle is for Love. The cadbury purple looked so sophisticated with the crystal candelabras. Elle also went over and above with her service, delivering the stationery on super quick time. We only had four months from start to finish so she had to get the invites designed, printed and delivered in a very short time. I can highly recommend Elle, she really was brilliant.
When I chose a florist for Sonia I knew just the one. Anne Brown from Tiara’s and Flowers has a beautiful shop and offers a very personal service. I defy anyone to go in there and not buy something. We all went along with our ideas and pictures and Anne came up with a very simple addition to the crystal candelabras and beautiful bouquets to tie everything together. Sonia had her grandmothers pearl necklace tied round her bouquet which looked just gorgeous and meant a lot to the family.
We popped the bridal flowers in water as soon as we could. Sonia was going to get them dried so it was important to keep them as fresh as possible.
The crystal candelabras on the tables came from Bridget at Sensational Centrepieces. Another supplier who goes above and beyond, on the day Bridget did a great job along with Anne setting up the candelabras. Anne wired ivory roses onto the arms which really showed them off, just simple but very elegant. We sat the candelabras on big mirrors to reflect the light and arranged silver round votives alternating with candles and roses on the mirrors. You can see from the pictures they looked perfect. On the top table a central arrangement was used to match the bridal bouquet.
The favours were considered quite a lot and Sonia decided to donate to Cancer Research UK. Each guest received a pin which looked gorgeous inside the napkin along with a purple chocolate heart.
This lovely bird cage was placed on the bar to complete the decor.
The ceremony of course took place in Wrens Chapel. The windows are just gorgeous and we filled the whole church with candles that looked stunning as you walked inside. Anne made large pedestal arrangements for the alters which we used in the wedding reception afterwards.
I just love this moment Sonia and Anthony shared, the look is everything.
After the ceremony Sara took Sonia and Anthony into the grounds for more photographs. It was an opportunity to spend together to enjoy the first few moments of being married. The pictures are just gorgeous, considering Anthony was not keen to start with he certainly stepped up to the mark and look fantastic. Thanks to Sara for all her hard work, she never stopped on the day.
This is just amazing! I simply heart this moment!
Super relaxed looking soooo happy!
Check out the lovely moment during the speeches.
Sonia wanted to have a tiered cake with various flavours and of course the style to keep in with the classic sophisticated feel to the day. Nouskie Noo came to our rescue and made the most wonderful creation.
I decorated the edges of the table with a crystal garland and diamonte votives finished off the look.
The entertainment was a big part of the day and as the guests arrived they were serenaded by rat pack tunes played by Paul Rahme from The Birmingham Pianist. Paul can supply his own piano but Wroxall Abbey have one in the bar so was perfect. The evening disco was provided by the brilliant Ian Fish from Sounds Fishy. Sonia found Ian on the internet and had booked him when we met, I was so pleased because we had worked together in the past and Ian is part of our Genie Dream Team. The set up was brilliant, great lighting, great sounds and great service. Ian can provide just about any type of music you want and he is a top chap too. To be honest this wedding was so lovely to work on, all the suppliers worked really well as a team which is exactly what you want.
To finish off with one of the most wonderful pictures of the day, check this out!!
I have to say a few words about Wroxall Abbey, the staff there are really helpful and working with them was a joy. The rooms are so beautiful and the grounds as you can see from Sonia and Anthony’s pictures are heavenly. The food was perfect and nothing was too much trouble. The whole event was filmed by Lee from Shutterbox Films, hopefully we can feature a reel from the wedding over the next couple of weeks. Lee worked along with sara perfectly, never worry about getting a video for your wedding day as long as they are true professionals and can work as a team with the photographer.
Thanks to everyone who worked on this wedding and a special thank you to Sonia and Anthony for allowing me to be involved in their special day as well as use their photographs for the blog. Have a fabulously happy married life full of love and laughter.
Until next time, happy planning.
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