Music, James Bond and 1950’s Glamour…

As promised, here's a little Sunday evening treat for you :)  Just because I felt like it 🙂

Kieren & Chloe tied the knot on 1 December 2009 at Great Fosters, Egham, Surrey.  I was contacted by Chloe some weeks ago – she was excited to tell me all about her lovely wedding and how getting married had inspired her so much; "I am mid setting up my own business in the world of weddings, I loved our wedding so much that I even focused the final year of my degree at it! I’m hoping to one day own my own boutique, but for now am hoping to start a design and planning business"

I know just how Chloe feels! Getting married certainly sparked my creative spirit and this little blog wouldn't be here had I not have said 'yes!" on that glorious fist day of Spring, March 2009 🙂

I love this wedding simply because, well, Chloe is just so beautiful! I adore her Marilyn-esque looks!  Music and 1950's glamour helped inspire the format of Chloe and Kieran's wedding day; "We wanted a really sleek look but something that was also comfortable, sexy and relaxing…"

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2010, Gary Roebuck

Chloe opted for Flowers by Eve – "I wanted a rather gothic feel to our wedding so chose ivory calla lillies with black detailing. Our table centres were black vases with ivory flowers and black detail. Bridesmaids wore wrist corsage. I loved them!!" 

Chloe wore a Janie Lawson birdcage veil for day and the Flo and Percy 'Clarice' headband for evening…

How beautiful?!?  It is barely noticeable below, but Chloe's something old was an antique watch that she wore for the ceremony – her Great Grand Mothers Omega from 1917.   Chloe also wore a discreet diamond 'labrette' lip stud…

Chloe's gorgeous dress was, you've guessed it, a Jenny Packham (funny that, how so many of the gorgeous dresses on this blog are Jenny designs'!).  The design itself is called 'Lida'…

"I tried about 60 dresses on!  … from Jenny Packham, Stewart Parvin, Ian Stuart, David Fielden, Pronovias, Sassi Holford etc etc!! I lost the will to live then fell in love with 'Beauty' by Caroline Castigliano. However, because of the price-tag, and a nagging questions of 'is this really me?', I soon fell out of love with this dress.  I wanted something more quirk and I finally chose Lida, but if I am 100% honest, I could have married in lots of dresses, I just chose Lida as it made me feel special and I began to loose the will to live shopping!!!"

Groom Kieran wore a Hugo Boss suit, Paul Smith cufflinks and shoes by Ted Baker…

These demure black Bridesmaids dresses were from Coast…

Chloe ordered all her wedding stationery from the wonderful Rebekah Daley…

A Lovestruck Romeo…

Chloe walked down the aisle to one of my favourite tracks ever, the gorgeous Romeo & Juliet by Dire Straits….

"A lovestruck romeo sing a streetsuss serenade, Laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made, Finds a convenient street light steps out of the shade, Says something like you and me babe how about it?".

I just LOVE this photograph – talk about a Bride looking beautiful and radiant! By the way, Chloe applied her own makeup and styled her hair herself! 🙂

"We used hurricane vases with black ribbon and candles to light up the aisle and then these were moved to the painted bar to decorate for the reception drinks. We used candles and t-lights to create a lovely mood in the room and the tables had Cox & Cox and Marks & Spencer crackers on the tables.

Our favours were Green & Black chocolate bundles. As it was Christmas, garland and Christmas trees were already there so we really didn't need to add too much, plus the Tithe Barn is amazing so really didn't need much at all!"

I really enjoyed our day, it was wonderful and so 'us' which I think is very important to have.  The quote of the day was what my wonderful dad ended his amazing speech with:

"You will always have a lucky star
That shines because of what you are
Even in the deepest dark
Because your aim is true
And if I could only have one wish
Darling, then it would be this
Love and happiness fot you
And if I could only have one wish
Darling, then it would be this
Love and happiness for you"

"Our cake was a Waitrose special!! No interest in cake at all so spent £130 on 3 tiers, bought black ribbon from the local market and then got the florist, Nicola to decorate as she saw fit! It looked amazing and cost less than £200."

The couple's first dance was to "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison; 'And I want to rock your gypsy soul, Just like way back in the days of old, And magnificently we will flow into the mystic…'

"We listened to Moondance by Van Morrison everyday on our holiday sailing around the BVI in 2008, just after we had got engaged."

 

Words of Wedded Wisdom?

"Chill out and enjoy it. Also make it about you and not whatis expected of you. I wanted my bridesmaids in black, I wanted Green Day and I wanted to get married on a Tuesday! I never wanted a veil, the wedding march or fluff so I didn't have this. Our wedding was original and unique and I wouldn't have had it any other way…"

"I would always say to every bride to be yourself and do as you want, not what others want you to do. We prioritised the things we really wanted to be financially silly e.g. my dress, band, venue and photographer and we shopped around for these we didn’t mind budgeting for! Our table names were £5 vintage postcards from e-bay, I bought 45m of ribbon for the napkins from the market for 7p a metre and we ordered "12 days of Christmas" sheet music, rolled these up and put rose petals in them for confetti!"

Oh how lovely is that?  Chloe, I know it's 10 months now since Kieren and you tied the knot, but HUGE congratulations to you both :)  I wish you lots of love and luck Chloe for setting up your wedding business – if you are anything like me, you'll find working in the wedding industry is so incredibly rewarding! Makes me smile every single day 🙂

Special thanks to Photographer Gary Roebuck for providing these images.

With much love,

Annabel xXx 🙂

♥