A Beautiful Bride Wearing Glasses for her Multicultural, Christian, Village Hall Wedding

Can you believe it’s Monday again lovely ones? Time seems to be whizzing past at the moment so lets take a moment to slow down and savour the most heart-warming wedding of Mr and Mrs Kang’ombe. Ebe, a project coordinator, and Becki, a health food blogger, nutritional therapist in training, natural beauty advocate and green smoothie enthusiast at Healthy Lovely Living (excuse me while I guiltily hide my jaffa cakes in a draw) wed in the sweetest ceremony on 20^th June 2015.

“Ebe is Malawian and I’m English so we wanted to represent both of our cultures on the day. We also wanted to create a true celebration of our love through all the little details. I also had a sort of ‘magical woodland, outside-inside’ picture in my mind as we began to pull everything together, so that was a lot of fun to work around.”

Photography by Matt Penberthy

“We’re both pretty cheery and colourful in general so we wanted everything to reflect that from the flowers, to the groomsmen’s ties, to the miniature tree centrepieces in colourful flowerpots with little birds and fairy lights intertwined through the branches.”

“We also chose to incorporate stars and hearts into a lot of our decorations, as very early on in our relationship Ebe would end his text messages to me with multiple star and heart emoticons (we still do it now!)”

Flowers by Forage and Blossom

A full-length cathedral veil, dotted with tiny sparkles added yet more romantic drama to the bride’s ensemble and a pair of cute Hello Kitty flats with a funny backstory finished off her outfit.

“I used to live in South Korea, and became a bit obsessed with Hello Kitty. For months Ebe was teasing me that I would have to get married wearing a pair of Hello Kitty trainers, so just for fun one evening I went online and searched ‘Hello Kitty wedding shoes’. To my surprise a pair appeared on eBay; they were only £2.49! They fitted me like a glove and they were the most adorable shoes I’d ever laid eyes on. I kept them a secret until after the ceremony – just as we left the church I lifted up my dress so that Ebe could see them, and he cracked up laughing.”

Reading Becki’s words writing this feature made me smile so many times; I could tangibly feel her excitement and utter joy at being married to the love of her life. Becki and Ebe met through a dating app and an unexpected friendly chat turned into a beautiful romance.

“Ebe downloaded the app seriously, looking for someone, and I filled it out just as a joke. He sent me a really funny message and I told him I wasn’t looking for anything romantic but that he had really made me laugh. We began texting every day and once actual phone calls began, Ebe called every single evening to say goodnight, and within a few days our calls began to last for hours.”

“After another couple of months I cautiously agreed to meet in person, although I emphatically stated that it wasn’t a date. When Ebe arrived at the house, I opened the front door and he walked right up to me, put his arms around me and said: ‘I’ve been waiting for this moment for a really long time.’ I remember looking up into this big, smiling, gorgeous face, and feeling my heart start to melt. We hung out again several times a week for the next month, until finally I had to admit that I was totally and completely in love with him.

Ebe proposed to me on our second anniversary before taking me for a romantic weekend in London to celebrate. He hid my real engagement ring until that evening and proposed to me after breakfast with a ‘ribbon ring’ made from some green and gold ribbons I’d used to tie up his anniversary gift. I now keep it in the box belonging to the real ring as it really means a lot to me. We got married seven months later, and I have honestly never been so happy.”

Becki wore a romantic full-skirted Alfred Angelo gown, purchased from Sally at Brides of Market Harborough.

“When I tried on this dress I just loved everything about it. The corseted top, the sweetheart neckline, the fullness of the skirt, the gentle sparkles through all the fabric. It had lovely silk lacing at the back and a beautiful billowy flowing train. My favourite part of the whole dress was the beautiful leaves falling from the corset. It may sound cheesy, but for weeks I had been saying to my family how I wanted to look like a woodland fairy, and this dress made me feel like a woodland fairy princess.”

Becki wore a fresh wildflower crown created by Alice from Forage and Blossom and her hair was styled by Dan Adams of William Wheelright Salons. Instead of perfume the bride moisturised with totally natural Akamuti Island Flower Body Oil; a luscious blend of organic ylang ylang, lavender, geranium, patchouli, orange, grapeseed and peach kernel. Divine!

“Dan had to step into the picture less than a week before the wedding, and he made me look like a Disney princess. I really can’t recommend him enough; he was calm, friendly and kind, and really put me at my ease. My make-up was a combined effort by myself and my sister, which was really special.”

“I can’t speak highly enough of Alice. She quite literally worked miracles with our budget, and was so supportive. She listened to me ramble about woodland fairies and magical forests without batting an eyelid and even offered us two trees from her own personal garden so that we could have trees with birds and fairy lights at the front of the church.”

“My bouquet was so huge and beautiful, but quite light to carry, and when I asked her to incorporate as many colours as possible into it she really did; it was all so beautiful I almost cried.”

“Alice was a huge part of creating the dreamy, woodland atmosphere I had been looking for, and I’ll be thankful for that for the rest of my life.”

“I designed all the stationery myself before uploading some to Printed.com and ordering some through Original Copy Centre. The design of our invitation encapsulated Ebe and myself through the Malawian and Union Jack flags, which were painted inside our initials, ‘Love forever’ was written in English and Chichewa across the bottom, various animals and landscapes from both our countries, and of course hearts and stars throughout.”

Ebe looked incredibly dapper in a Jeff Banks suit and the bridesmaids were pretty in pink and navy frocks from Little Mistress and pearl bracelets gifted to them by the thoughtful bride.

Becki and Ebe’s ceremony was at the beautiful Church of St Peter & St Paul in Uppingham, where Becki lived for many years, followed by a reception at Braunston and Brooke Village Hall.

The couple used their own vintage Chrysler as wedding transportation; Becki’s uncle chauffeured her and her dad to church and she and Ebe then drove away together for their honeymoon at the end of the night. The bride’s very proud dad gave her away, and walking down the aisle to Ooh, Baby by Anointed on the arm of her father towards her fiancé was one of her favourite moments.

“We both have a strong faith in God so it was important to us both that our ceremony was held in church. The church felt very much ‘alive’ and filled with love, colour and warmth and although not all of our guests share in our faith, everyone said afterwards how they had felt and loved the joyful ‘vibes’ throughout the ceremony.”

“Ebe fell in love with the church from the moment we walked inside. We chose the village hall because it’s full of character; it has lovely gardens and a stream nearby, and the gardener planted out some colourful flowers just for us the week before. We had access from Friday to Sunday, so we were able to get in there the day before and decorate to our hearts content.”

“Because we were married in a Church of England church, we weren’t permitted to alter the vows but we both spent some time before the wedding reading them and really thinking about what we were going to be saying. We also incorporated a lighting of the unity candles into our ceremony which was a significant, emotional moment.”

“Two smaller candles were lit at the start of the ceremony and then after our vows, we each took a taper and lit a larger central candle from our own two candles. This symbolised the beginning of our new life together and we still have the candle.”

Mr and Mrs Kang’ombe asked close friends to deliver Bible readings, including one loved one who flew all the way from Australia to celebrate with them.

“Ebe’s chosen passage spoke passionately of the way that husbands and wives should honour, love, protect and lift one another up throughout their married lives; putting each other’s needs above their own and living in mutual selflessness and respect every day. We chose the readings that we did because we wanted to start our marriage on a deep foundation of love – both for one another and for God.”

The couple exchanged rings from The Beautiful Company made from ethically sourced and certified materials and danced down the aisle at the end of their ceremony on true Malawian style to Happy by Pharrell Williams.

“Dancing out of your wedding is very Malawian, and Happy seemed like the perfect choice. Another Malawian tradition is the groom’s father making a speech as well as the bride’s, and Ebe’s parents sang a blessing song to us in Chichewa during the speeches.”

“Our photographer was the very talented Matt Penberthy. From the very first email he was warm, friendly and extremely positive about our ideas for the wedding. On the day Matt was cheerful, friendly and relaxed. I’m not so confident in front of a camera, but he wasn’t loud or pushy in any way – just hovered around happily snapping pics left right and centre. We really felt like we’d made a friend by the end of the wedding, and our pictures are so beautiful.”

The couple lovingly decorated Braunston and Brooke Village Hall with fairy lights, bunting, lavender and colourful floor lighting, which made for a warm and cosy atmosphere. Giant pink and white balloons marked the entrance to their reception and a beautifully sentimental gift from the bride’s grandparents provided some truly unique details.

“My sweet granny sadly passed away just a few months before the wedding, and my lovely grandpa was too poorly to travel, but he gave me a whole stack of handwritten sheet music that he had compiled over the years (they were both musicians and music teachers) for me to do whatever I wanted with. My whole family spent a couple of evenings choosing specific songs and music to cut out and wind around candles, which we then placed all around the reception room. When the candles were glowing, the music lit up, and it was very precious to be able to honour my grandparents in such a personal way.”

“We used the culinary skills of the amazing Baileys Caterers from Peterborough. They are a family company and their food is amazing, plus I hadn’t pre-warned them about my allergies and as such had assumed that Ebe and my parents would be the ones doing all the tasting. But as soon as they knew what my allergies were, they produced all this food from the back that I was able to eat – I was so shocked and impressed.

They made sure that I had plenty of delicious treats on the day, and created a menu for us that everyone could enjoy; BBQ (with lots of ribs for Ebe – his favourite) with creative side salads and some truly incredible desserts (Baileys cheesecake anyone?) Everyone loved the food, and having such friendly people around made the day that bit more special for us all.”

Bride Becki made the heavenly looking grain, gluten, wheat, dairy, soy and refined sugar free wedding cake herself.

“I have quite a lot of allergies, and so was eager to avoid a situation where I wouldn’t be able to eat any of my own wedding cake. I used a luscious nut-free chocolate sponge recipe, which was made with coconut flour, eggs, raw cacao powder and organic maple syrup. It really meant the world to have been able to create something beautiful that everyone could enjoy.”

Mrs Kang’ombe was an avid reader of our lovely blog in the run up to her nuptials, Becki we’re beyond delighted and grateful for your very sweet words.

“My favourite part of Love My Dress is reading people’s wedding stories. I love to hear how people got together and how they celebrate their love for one another; it gives me a warm cozy glow from the inside out. That alone makes it a great online place to hang out.”

 

Becki and Ebe chose Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran for their first dance; a very special track for both of them as it was playing when Ebe proposed.

“What was my favourite part of the day? Actually, having just asked Ebe this question we both gave the same answer – our favourite part of the day was when we said our vows. For me I think it was the whole ceremony including the vows; from the moment I stood in the church porch quite literally exploding with excitement because I knew that Ebe was standing just around the corner, to walking down the aisle towards him and seeing his amazing smile, to singing praises to God with the songs we’d both chosen, and then of course, saying our vows to one another. 

Making those promises was a really tangible, time-stands-still kind of moment for me; we had waited so long to say them and we really meant every word. I just kept thinking ‘this is it – we’re actually getting married!’ And when the Vicar said ‘I now pronounce you husband and wife’ we were both so excited we both let out a totally spontaneous whoop and began jumping and dancing around, which set the whole church laughing and cheering too – I think for me, that moment was the pinnacle of the whole day.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“I guess my biggest piece of advice when planning a marriage is to wait for the person who is 100% perfect for you! I was 34 when we got married, and I am so very glad that I previously always listened to the little voice inside me whispering ‘he’s not the one’ whenever I got close to making a lifetime commitment. But when I met Ebe it was totally and utterly different, like coming home somehow.”

“As for wedding advice, I would say just do it however you want to, and have a load of fun in the process! There will always be people giving their opinions on how things should be done but it’s your day and you get to call the shots, so start with a blank slate and create a day together that totally reflects who you both are. We really enjoyed involving our families in the planning too.

Also, don’t get sucked into all the ‘wedding stress’ and ‘Bridezilla’ scaremongering out there – planning a wedding doesn’t have to be the headache that people make it out to be. Just be true to yourselves and have lots of fun; that’s the most important thing.”

Becki (who you can find on Instagram) is officially my wedding planning guru; what wonderful words of advice, and the sentiment that finding Ebe feeling like ‘coming home’ brought tears to my eyes. Thank you so much to the truly beautiful couple for sharing their total love-fest with us and a massive massive thanks to the lovely Matt Penberthy for these gorgeous images.

Have a wonderful week darlings,

Em x