Good evening lovely ones. My oh my, it’s been a busy day. Such exciting things happening for me back at home right now. I can’t wait to share a little of what we’ve been working on behind the scenes these past few weeks. This is for those of you who have been patiently awaiting a second feature today. Thank you so much for your loyalty guys. This is the delightful wedding of Violet and Gareth, who together run a coffee house and a bar in Margate.
Violet and Gareth tied the knot in a sweet seaside wedding on 29 July 2015 at The Artists’ Beach House, Whitstable, Kent. These delightful photographs which capture the relaxed and family focussed nature of this wedding were taken by Laura McCluskey of LM Weddings.
“Since I was a little girl, my dream wedding was a relaxed one in a woodland setting. I think it was inspired by my favourite film as a child, Walt Disney’s Robin Hood! I would watch the scene in the woods where they get married over and over. We were also both very keen to be married by the sea.”
Photography by LM Weddings
“When we found The Artists’ Beach House in Whitstable we just knew it had to be there – the garden is like an enchanted forest and the view is just spectacular over the beach and sea.”
“It felt important that the wedding was about everyone and not just us. We picked the wild flowers ourselves from a grower in Kent, My mum and Auntie arranged them, our friends helped decorate the house, my mum made all of our jewellery and the mens coat pins, we made all the food and Gareth and I made our simple ‘Naked’ Wedding cake together. It was all so special because of what everyone put in.”
“We couldn’t recommend our photographer Laura of LM Weddings enough. She met us before to make sure she knew what we wanted, and from the minute we met her we knew she would do a wonderful job. Her photos really show the vibe of the day and she knew exactly where to place herself to get the best shots. She is also such a lovely person that it was a pleasure to have her there too.”
Flower girl gowns by Monsoon
Monsoon are a member of our wedding directory, Little Book For Brides
“Gareth met in 2006 at Bournemouth University. We were both enrolled on the same Marine Archaeology course (yes, nothing like what we actually do now!) and soon became inseparable. We both finished university with a 2:1, travelled for a year or so, cracked on with a bit more learning (I studied patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu in London, Gareth began his helicopter pilot studies and is just about to finish his Commercial Licence) and then we started to work on opening my first business, Proper Coffee House in Margate. We have since opened a joint venture, ‘The Quarterdeck Bar’.”
“We try to go to a festival with my brother Mike every year, and last year we bought a Campervan to go to Sonisphere. Metallica are our favourite band. They had just started playing ‘Nothing Else Matters’ and I turned around to Gareth down on one knee, covered in the mud! It was just the right sort of proposal for us. It was made super special by my brother being there as my dad died when I was 16 so Gareth had asked his permission for my hand in marriage.
We were engaged for pretty much spot on a year.”
“We picked all the wild flowers from Blooming Green near to maidstone.”
“My gown was by Allure Bridal and I bought from a wonderful little shop in Broadstairs called ‘The Bridal Gallery‘. I loved the cut of the dress, the fact it was so light weight.”
“I loved the lace and the finish to the train was just divine! I had dreamed of a bohemian/vintage dress, and this one was so comfortable as well as being super special. It was more traditional than I first imagined, but it just felt so right when it was on and I think its all about how you accessorize it that makes it yours.”
“My perfume was Guerlain’s ‘Idylle’. My nanna had given this scent to me as a present before she died.
My lovely friend Kelly Street styled my hair. We went free stye on the day, I just knew I wanted it natural but with some plaits in it somewhere!”
“Coral and orange was probably the only loose colour-scheme. My bridesmaid wore coral, my shoes were coral and we had some coral roses in with the wild flowers too.”
“My brother Mike walked me to the ceremony to the sound of Bob Marley’s ‘Is this love’. We used standard vows that we chose together.”
“Neither of us are keen on over austentatios decoration, so we let the beautiful setting of the Artists beach house and the beach and gardens take the main focus, and just add lots of beautiful flowers and lots of festoon lighting. In terms of decor, we used white linen and pom-poms, festoon lighting and wild flowers.
There is a beautiful old tree in the garden of the house, we draped 15m of white fabric through it which flowed in the wind and just looked fab! Gareth and I had been washing out and keeping old tins for months to fill with flowers and put about the house.”
“My awesome friend Dave Prior organised most of the food. We used a fantastic local complany called ‘Never Mind The Cupcakes‘ who made our desserts and quiches.”
“I made my own pottery favours at a local studio in Margate with a lovely lady called Bridget McVey.”
“We had a solo artist who loops his tracks, was so perfect for during the day and he played lots of well known tracks along with ones we requested. His name was Richard Navarro and we booked him from The Band Company.
For the evening we had a local folk band called Relig Oran who play fiddle and guitar. Their music is based on traditional English, Irish and Brittany with a modern twist. Amazing fun to dance to in the evening!”
“There are so many favourite moments to pick from! It has to be the ceremony itself! When I saw Gareth waiting for me and when we were saying the vows it was like there was no one else there! Really magical.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Just chill out and enjoy the whole process. You hear it so many times but it really does go by in a flash. Figure out what’s important to you and do it. For us it was important to let the wedding reflect us and our family and friends, and I think it made bonds between us all stronger and has left us feeling wholly satisfied and grateful for what we have.
We bought all the booze ourselves, and we underestimated how much we needed! So had t get someone to do a mad dash part way through the night! Other than that I wouldn’t change a thing.”
What a truly lovely day – a wonderful family setting, joy and love. Thank you so much to photographer Laura of LM Weddings for sharing this lovely wedding today, and our love and congratulations to newlyweds Violet and Gareth too.
Are you planning a wedding by the seaside?
Love Annabel xx
Photographer – LM Weddings
Venue – The Artists’ Beach House, Whitstable
Wedding Dress – Allure Bridal via The Bridal Gallery
Headpiece – åAccessories –
Perfume – Guerlain, Idylle
Grooms Suit – Ted Baker + silver pocket watch + lapel pin via Carol Banks Jewellery
Bridesmaid’s Dresses – ASOS + shoes via Kurt Geiger
Flower girl Dresses – Monsoon
Pageboy – Next
Florist – Wildflowers via Blooming Green
Cake – Made by the bride and groom (Proper Coffee House)
Entertainment – Richard Navarro, guitarist, via The Band Company + Relig Oran
Rings – Juliet and Oliver (hers) + Justin Duance (his)
Catering – Never Mind The Cupcakes
Stationery – Zsign Design
Hair and make-up Artist – Rebecca Brown from Mac for make up
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.
This is the most sincere, heartwarming wedding I ‘ve seen in ages …. beautiful and so lovely x