Morning all. Half way through the week already?! How did that happen? At least we're a little closer to the weekend, though if you're needing some midweek escapism, I think we might have just the thing today with this cosy Winter wedding.

Ben and Jane got married on 15 December 2012 at Chiddingly
Church, followed by a tipi tent reception held in the grounds of Pekes Manor, East Sussex.  The couple's hugely talented photographer Kat Hill (who have I have a bit of a crush on after this) submitted these sublime sunkissed photographs.  I adore the winter setting and Jane's dres and fur. And her plait and bouquet.  And her shoes, and smile. Pretty much everything in all honesty!!

"We really wanted to have a cosy, winter wedding celebration. More
than anything, we wanted to create a warm, friendly atmosphere.

The
tipis created an informal but magical setting. We filled the place with
candlelight and warming drinks so despite everyone’s initial worries (‘a
tipi? In winter?), it felt (we hope!) really welcoming."

Love My Dress Wedding Blog – Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Kat Hill

"Ben and I met on Valentine’s Day at a friend’s party. We were sat
next to each other for the meal and didn’t speak to anyone else all
night. Four fun years later, Ben asked me to marry him in The Ledbury in
Notting Hill. I had no idea but was a bit suspicious when he suggested
we ordered the tasting menu…"

"Amelia Lane
designed our invitations and after looking at what felt like a thousand
different designs, we went for something quite simple in the end. I
then made the orders of service, table plans, menus."

"To say I designed the dress myself sounds a bit grand, but I had
quite a set idea of what I wanted so when I couldn’t find it, I found
THE BEST dressmaker* ever and described what I wanted and she made it a
reality. I loved my dress and I loved the process of having it made.

I really wanted a lace panel in a cowl back dress with long lace sleeves (a bit specific!) and couldn’t find one anywhere."

"I wanted a wintery bouquet and predominantly green. The florist, Lewesiana, did a superb job and I loved my bouquet…"

"The flower girls wore frocks from Florence and Fred (Tesco). These were really hard to choose as the girls looked so sweet in everything!  They also wore flower circlets in their hair. They looked angelic!"

"As I work in book publishing and love reading, we bought everyone a
second hand book as favours. We tried to find a book that we thought someone would
particularly enjoy or reminded us of them. We had so much fun looking
for the books and set ourselves a budget of 1 pound a book so it turned
into a bit of a challenge.

"Wow, our caterers The Secret Restaurant
were amazing. From the moment we met Nic, we knew that we would be in
safe hands. When there were a few dramas the day before the wedding, Nic
went above and beyond the call of duty to help us out. On top of
managing the day and ensuring all of the hundreds of candles got lit,
Nic and her team served us the most delicious food.

Ben and I love our
food and had spent a lot of time thinking about what we would eat. We
chose scallop and black pudding, game pie and rhubarb and ginger trifle –
just a light meal of course!"

"Entertainment was something we had thought a lot about; during our drinks reception we had The Wind Up Brothers
– a duo of gramophone DJs from Brighton. They were brilliant and really
added to the atmosphere. Plus, they were good to look at. In the
evening we had a band called Penfold who were superb. The dance floor
was packed all night and they played music that everyone could dance
to." 

"After staying in tipis and yurts on holiday , we fell in love with
the idea of having tipis at our wedding – particularly in winter when
they feel so cosy. Pekes Manor let us put them up in their grounds while
the whole family could stay on site. It was perfect."

"Our photographer was Kat Hill
and she was absolutely brilliant. We adore our wedding photographs and
everybody has commented on how beautiful and artistic they are. She has
captured lots of happy moments but also the general ambience of the day
so when we go back through them we really can relive the day. I’d
recommend her to everyone."

"We wanted to give the groomsmen a gift so we bought them
cufflinks with the coordinates of the wedding venue on. Also, without
wanting everything to match, we thought it would be nice if they all
looked like one team (!) so thought they should all wear the same tie.
As I like sewing, I made the groomsmen ties from Liberty fabric. It
seemed like a good idea to begin with and worked out ok in the end but I
spent a fair few hours on those ties! My brother got the worst of the
bunch as it was about half the length of everyone else’s!

"It was important to me to get to married in a church so wherever we
had the reception, we were going to have to ask the local church to
marry us. It just so happened that the local church was simply beautiful
and everyone made us feel welcome. We lucked out."

"The ceremony was our favourite part of the whole day – My mum
had organised the music and musicians and it surpassed all our
expectations. It was incredible and sitting listening to the tenor sing
after we had just exchanged vows is my happiest memory of the day.

Having thought about the reception so much and wanting to make sure
that everyone was going to have a good time, we hadn’t thought so much
about the actual service. That seems odd now as we both agree that the
service was the highlight of the whole day. It was an incredible moment.

Our friend who first introduced us read our reading from Song
of Solomon and Ben’s sister read Dance me to the end of Love by Leonard
Cohen. I cried through both!"

"In terms of decor, we used loads of candles. My stepdad’s main role
was to gather enough ivy to cover all the tables, a Christmas tree, our
names in big letters, dried oranges, bowler hats and old lampshades
over the bar area, fairy lights… Quite an eclectic mix!"

"We danced to Twist and Shout. We were both quite nervous about the
first dance so decided to choose a song that we could properly dance to
rather than swaying awkwardly round the room. In fact, we needn’t have
worried because by that point we were having such a good time, we’d have
danced to anything.
What was your very favourite part of the day and why."

What a scrumptious day – everything about it is delightful.  Congratulations Ben and Jane on your beautiful and relaxed wedding – it really did make me smile.  Enjoy the rest of your lives together and treasure these wonderful photographs taken by Kat Hill – what a great choice in wedding photographer you made there!

Brides, could you be up to the challenge of designing your own dress, or, have you already? 

See more Winter and tipi weddings if you like.

With much love,

Annabel

P.S. – remember to cast your vote!

Photographer – Kat Hill
Venue – Pekes Manor, East Sussex
Wedding Dress* – Dressmaker does not have a website
Brides Shoes – Red suede Carvela
Bride's accessories – necklace from Laura Lee jewellery
Grooms Suit – his own + bespoke waistcoat as a gift from the bride
Bridesmaids black dress – Coast
Flowergirls – Florence and Fred
 Florist – Lewesiana
Cake – The Cheese Shed
Favours – Second hand books
Entertainment – The Wind Up Brothers
Catering Company – The Secret Restaurant

Annabel
View all Annabel's articles

Annabel is the founder of Love My Dress. She lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, two daughters Eska and Leanora and three dogs. She is passionate about photography, supporting women in business and in life, and is in her element being surrounded by nature and the countryside.