It seems a far cry since Christmas doesn't it? And generally, I'm trying to keep the whole Winter Wedding thing to a minimum, now that sunny Spring is here! But some weddings simply have to be shared with my loyal and lovely blog readers 🙂
I really like this particular wedding because the Bride, Vicki pulls off the understated chic look so very perfectly, in her full, strapless gown and side bun. No necklace. No fancy accessories – everything is bare minimum beauty.
Vicki happened to be a regular visitor to the Love My Dress UK Wedding Blog whilst she planned her wedding – from New York, where she relocated to live with husband Raph, shortly after their engagement. Raph and Vicki returned to the UK to be married, so they could be surrounded by friends and family at their wedding ceremony on 28 December 2010, at Hintlesham Hall, Suffolk.
Vicki's gorgeous strapless dress was from Amsale Bridal on Madison Avenue, New York. I just love it and can't imagine another dress suiting Vicki as well as this one does…
"The dress was exactly what I was looking for – elegant and simple but still so beautiful!"
Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2010, Sara Thomas
"I did the make-up myself after an extensive make-up application session at MAC here in New York.
My hair, my two bridesmaids and my mum's hair was done by the wonderful Nicola Hemmett. Nicki was so great, not only with the hair, but advice on what we should be doing and when, on the morning of the wedding…"
"The shoes I wore were Jimmy Choos, they were a gift from Raph on our first valentines day together while we were dating. They didn't exactly match the dress but I wanted to wear them for sentimental reasons 🙂 (and they are so beautiful!!)"
"The bridesmaids dresses I bought from Nordstroms in the US, and shipped them across to my sisters in the UK where they got them fitted. It was a bit of a mission, but I definitely preferred choosing just a 'normal' dress than going for a specific bridesmaid dress. The dresses were long flowy, dark navy dresses made of chiffon; not quite warm enough for a winter wedding but the girls wore leggings underneath for most of the day!
As our wedding was over the Christmas period we wanted to go for colours that reflected the season without being too-Christmassy, hence going for a dark red and dark blue as the main colours.
The Earrings I wore were a gift from my two sisters, who also gave me a pearl braclet I wore on the day, which had 2 charms on it, an R and a V. I didn't wear a necklace on the day as I didn't think the style of the dress required it. Also, I didn't wear a hair accessory in the end, I searched and searched for the perfect piece but never found it!"
The couple chose their wedding venue, Hintlesham Hall in Suffolk, because the church was within walking distance, and it meant they could hold the whole event in one place…
"….most guests stayed in rooms at the hall, which was so convenient! It meant we didn't loose any guests by moving to different locations…"
"We currently live in New York, (and we did while planning the wedding, as we moved to the US shortly after getting engaged) but the wedding was in England so we could be with all our friends and family.
We also had a mixture of cultures as Raph is French and I am English, so the ceremony itself and most of the speeches were in both French and English or a mixture of the two. I think the table names we chose were a nice play on the French/English aspect – for all the tables we chose famous French/English wars and for the head table we chose the French/English 'peace agreement' – the Entente Cordiale. We put little blurbs about the wars on each table, but I am not sure many people read them!"
"Our first dance was to Nina Simone, Feeling Good. It was a we both liked and thought would make a great first dance song. The song that means more to us as a couple is actually Andrea Bocelli, Con te Partiro. But we didn't think it worked well as a first song as it is very long..and there's a looong instrumental! It was played a bit later though…"
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
"Take plenty of time to plan things, it makes it far less stressful.
On the actual day, don't worry, if something goes it's likely your the only one who knows!"
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Brides dress – Amsale, New York
Brides shoes – Jimmy Choo
Bridesmaids – Nordstroms in the US
Groom – Moss Bros
Flowers – W Flowers
Hair Stylist – Nicola Hemmett
Wedding Venue – Hintlesham Hall, Suffolk
Photographer – Sara Thomas
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Huge thanks to, to Sussex, Essex and Cambridgeshire Wedding Photographer, Sara Thomas for allowing reproduction of her beautiful photography on Love My Dress today…
"When I was choosing a photographer I really liked Sara's hots, not just with weddings, but with music event photography…baby shoots etc. She was so wonderful and friendly as well, and completely just blended in on the day!"
You can see more beautiful photography from Sara Thomas on Love My Dress here – including this very beautiful Bride.
Much love everyone 🙂
Annabel xXx
♥
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
