A Margo Stankova Gown For A Glamorous Black Tie, Country House Wedding

Happy Friday lovelies, thanks for joining us this morning! Do any of you find yourself marking crazy milestones on the countdown to your wedding? I find as many excuses as possible to celebrate the day inching ever closer. In fact I experienced a happy little jolt when I realised that next Tuesday is the last hair cut I’ll have before my ‘wedding trim.’ Sad I know, but our Italian nuptials have been a long time coming.

Today I’m delighted to share a gorgeously glamorous Norfolk wedding with you all. The lovely Fi, a Buyer for ASOS, wed Nick, an Account Director at Fixnetix, on 11^th June 2016 at the stunning Sedgeford Hall Estate and their day was centred around a chic black tie theme.

“From an early stage, Nick and I wanted to have a black tie theme at our wedding. We loved the idea of the glamour that would come with this and when we found Sedgeford Hall through Unique Norfolk Venues, we knew it would be the perfect place to host our day.”

Photography by Modern Vintage Weddings Photography

Fi chose a flowing veil and sublime strapless gown by emerging Bulgarian designer, Margo Stankova, both of which she purchased at Blackburn Bridal Couture – a boutique that we absolutely adore here at Love My Dress and who we are very proud to support through our Little Book for Brides.

“I found my dress in Blackburn Bridal in Blackheath, by Margo Stankova. The thing that drew me to it was the colour and all the beautiful pearl embellishment. Initially I had envisaged a more slim silhouette, but the warm peachy tones and layers of tulle won me over and I knew it was the dress for me.”“I went directly to the designer so that I could add a few extra details to make it perfect for me. Margo added in clusters of pearl embellishment on some of the under-layers of tulle so it added real depth to the dress. I chose a blush pink single layer tulle veil for the ceremony, which I felt added a romantic ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ look, but I took this off and swapped it for bigger BHLDN earrings and red lips before the evening celebrations kicked off.”

A gorgeous pair of heels from Dolce & Gabbana provided a glorious pop of colour and sparkle, further accentuated by a pair of pearl drop earrings by Aurélie Bidermann, purchased via Net-A-Porter. Our beautiful bride had her sleek, feminine updo crafted by Amanda Steed, with make-up by Kate Cooper.

Fi spritzed on the Limited Edition Nashi Blossom by Jo Malone and accessorised with a borrowed Monica Vinader bracelet. I just adore the tone of her wedding dress against the sequinned glamour of the incredible No. 1 Jenny Packham gowns rocked by her bridesmaids, and the sensual inky velvet of Nick’s Cad & The Dandy suit. There’s just something about a man in a bow tie isn’t there?!

“Nick and I met through our mutual friends when we moved to London. We had been together about four and a half years when Nick proposed. Nick got down on one knee while we were on Ngong Ping island in Hong Kong with the big Buddha in the background. We were both very emotional and it was a beautiful backdrop for such special memory.”

“We got engaged in September 2014, and started discussing our ideas immediately. We both really wanted a summer wedding, so decided to look at venues for June 2016.”

“We knew we wanted a beautiful house and gardens that we could stay at for the whole weekend and came across Sedgeford Hall, which fitted the bill perfectly. We both very much shared the same vision so did the majority of the planning ourselves. I particularly enjoyed the three months prior to the wedding where we really got involved in the smaller details and pulling everything together which made it feel so much more real and was super exciting.”

Fi and Nick, along with some of their guests who were staying at the venue, arrived at The Sedgeford Hall Estate on Friday. They enjoyed dinner at The Rose & Crown in Snettisham with their loved ones in the evening – the perfect way to relax and spend time with their friends and family ahead of the celebrations.

 

“The ceremony was at 3pm, so it was a little touch and go as to whether we were able to have our ceremony outside due to the weather forecast. Luckily, Jaymi, our wedding planner, was keeping an eye on the forecast and made the decision to have it outside, which was amazing.”

“My Dad walked me down the aisle to the rose garden, which was really special. As soon as I heard our musician, Laura Goldthorp, singing ‘Green Eyes’ by Coldplay, the emotion overcame me a little. I guess all of the months spent planning this one day pay off and the day was finally here.”

“Seeing Nick for the first time felt so special and he was also extremely emotional. The ceremony felt very intimate and we loved being able to say our vows in the sun.”

Fi and Nick chose classic vows in line with their civil ceremony and incorporated two readings, which I just couldn’t resist sharing with you – they aren’t passages I’ve ever heard at a wedding before.

Albert Einstein on Relativity

Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.

Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

People are like cities: we all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square.

Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves.

Underneath the twining foliage framing the top of their outdoor aisle, Fi and Nick exchanged rings from Beverley Hills London, bought on Hatton Garden. These sun-drenched images are filled with emotional poignancy and glorious depth, captured beautifully by David Wickham of Modern Vintage Weddings Photography.

“We both loved the ceremony; walking down the aisle and seeing each other for the first time felt very special. Saying our vows together in front of our loved ones in our perfect setting was incredible, and we have such amazing memories. Upsettingly it does go so fast, but it all felt so magical and was honestly the best day of our lives.”

“We absolutely LOVE the beautiful photos that David took for us. It’s so important to continue the memories and his photos are the perfect way to do that. We love the depth he captured – there are so many beautiful shots.”

A storm of colourful confetti later, Fi and Nick entered their incredibly chic marquee to celebrate with their guests. This gloriously light-filled, incredibly chic space was adorned with blooms crafted by florist BloominGayles and supplemented with DIY arrangements. Fi and Nick spotted Gayle’s work at a friend’s wedding in 2015 and fell in love with her stunning creations.

“One of my favourite parts was making our table decorations, which involved spraying a hundred small animals gold and tying everyones names to each one with little black ties. They looked so good on the tables with the foliage running down the middle with flowers intertwined.”

“We wanted our flowers to be the main decoration in the marquee, so needed them to be quite impactful. We decided on long runners of foliage along the centre of each of the long tables, with peachy toned flowers intertwined. We also had two large foliage chandeliers suspended from the roof of the marquee. It looked very romantic with lots of candles and very ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ inspired.”

The newlyweds’ delicious wedding breakfast was catered by The Sedgeford Hall Estate, served after a compilation of hilarious and moving speeches delivered by Fi’s dad, Nick, and his brother and best man, Charlie.

“We worked with Jaymi and the Chef Keith to choose a menu that we felt reflected us and our day. For the starter we had a simple prawn cocktail salad with tomato jelly, followed by lamb for the main course and a pineapple tarte tatin with chilli caramel. All the courses were divine, especially the lamb which was so tasty.”

Fi’s incredibly talented sister, Roberta Hall-Smith, handcrafted their sumptuous cake. Fi and Nick also created all their wedding stationery themselves while Fi’s mum made jewel-bright sloe gin, which came round on trays after dessert for the lucky guests to sample.

“Nick surprised me by playing Green Eyes by Coldplay on his guitar and had roped in a friend to sing along to it. It was a total surprise and a really lovely touch before everyone got on the dance floor.”

“Our first dance was Happy Together by The Turtles which was quite upbeat and fun, so we asked our band, ALIVE, to play it for us. Nick lifted me up and spun me, which was really fun and looks great in the photos. We encouraged all our guests to join the dance floor mid-way through the first dance and I think we stayed on the dance floor for most of the rest of the night. It was a great party and we loved celebrating with all our friends and family.”

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“We found that booking all of the big elements early meant we felt prepared and not rushed for time – specifically the venue, caterers, photographer and band. Once you have them booked, you can briefly discuss your requirements, but re-visit it much closer to the time with all your ideas and personal touches to make it all happen for the day.”

Thank you so very much to Fi and Nick, and to David of Modern Vintage Weddings Photography for allowing us to share this gorgeous day. If you’d like to explore more of David’s work, simply click here for more Love My Dress weddings documented by this talented artist.

And if you haven’t yet started the mystical search for your wedding dress, read a little more about the wonderful Blackburn Bridal Couture, stockists of some of the most glorious gowns under the sun.

With love,

Em x