Happy Friday lovelies, I can’t tell you how lovely it is to have you here! Pull up a pew and take a moment to enjoy another set of wedding photographs that have been lovingly shared to inspire you. Hayley, an English Secondary School teacher married her beau, Alex, on the 29th December at Swinfen Hall Hotel in Lichfield. Their day was one of winter wedding elegance and these lovely photographs were sent in by Jo Hastings.
“Our wedding took place at Christmas, but we were really conscious of staying away from a festive theme, choosing to represent the season of winter throughout the day instead. We both love fashion but don’t necessarily follow any trends – so wanted the feel of the day to be timeless and classical. As it turned out, most of the things we chose represented the glamour of the late 50s, early 60s but that was unintentional. I do love Audrey Hepburn and on reflection I think my dress and bridesmaid choice reflected that Hollywood glamour.”
Photography Copyright (c) 2014, Jo Hastings
“Alex and I had been together for over 11 years before we were married. Having just finished my GCSEs I found a part time job at my local supermarket and was lucky enough to meet Alex there. We had no idea that a snatched conversation in the supermarket aisles would turn out to be the rest of our lives. But it was. Just over 10 years later Alex (finally) proposed at Land’s End in Cornwall. We were on a short break in a beautiful little cottage and had taken a day trip to Land’s End. The weather was awful!
The rain was heavy and we were struggling to walk against the vicious wind; I was worried I was going to fall off the edge it was such an awful day. Every other sensible tourist had decided to stay at home or find something indoors to do; except for us”
“I was feeling particularly weather beaten and fed up of being blown over, but I turned around to find Alex on one knee. In that moment, everything was perfect. I loved that nobody else was around and it was just us: wet, wrapped up warm in our scarves and hat and giggling uncontrollably about what we were agreeing to do. Alex continued with the surprises and pulled out of his bag (Mary Poppins style) a bottle of champagne and two glasses. We sat on a picnic bench, looking out over the crashing waves and grey skies and toasted our engagement.
We kept our engagement a secret from our family and friends until we returned home from ourholiday, but then wasted no time in getting a date in the diary. Within two weeks we had booked the church and venue – not a second spared! We were engaged for 14 months before the wedding and even that felt like too long to wait.”
“We’ve both loved Swinfen Hall Hotel for a number of years, ever since we visited for an Uncle’s birthday afternoon tea five years ago. We fell in love with the roaring fires, cosy feel and comfy furnishing. A few years later, when we were engaged, it was the first and only placed we looked at – our wedding date was free so it seemed like it was meant to be.
It’s such a pretty venue especially in the winter time. It has a grand Edwardian feel but still retains an intimate feeling which is exactly the type of environment we wanted to create on our wedding day – it was like the ultimate house party! We felt like Lord and Lady of the Manor.”
“I wore the Tiffany gown from the Wedding Belles bridal boutique in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands. It was the only bridal shop I visited and I think my dress was one of about five that I tried on. I wear a lot of lace and always imagined myself wearing a long sleeved lace dress, however that wasn’t how it turned out. I visited the shop one Saturday with my Mum only a month after I was engaged and we fell in love with the ‘Tiffany’ dress.
Although not what I had originally envisaged, it really felt like me and my style.”
“We returned the next day with my sister and we all decided that it was the right dress for me. I loved the high neck and the small waist; I felt it was classic but still had a ‘bridal’ feel. I felt really comfortable in it and knew I wouldn’t be fidgeting around. Being comfortable was really important to me as I am known for being clumsy so I had to make sure there was nothing for me to trip over or break on the day. Mel and Claire at Wedding Belles were fabulous.
They really listened to what I wanted from a dress and so were clever it only took a few dresses for the right one. I bought my fur cape from EBay for £15 – such a bargain and perfect for the dress and ‘look’ of the day.”
“We met Entwined Flowers at a wedding open day at Swinfen Hall Hotel, and they told us they were the florist at the hotel. That was enough for us to know as Swinfen is always decorated so beautifully, so we booked them straight away. I wanted really simple flowers and the white gypsophila fitted in with the winter theme – I wanted them to look like snow drops.”
“My shoes were by Rachel Simpson – who else? I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a pair of these shoes and was so excited when a boutique was opened in Birmingham where I live. Mum and I went along on the opening weekend and picked up my Mimi shoes in silver. They were so comfortable yet were really glamorous; I can’t wait to wear them again!”
“I loved everything about the Church service. I was so excited when I arrived and couldn’t wait to get inside to see Alex and all our guests. Alex’s groomsmen were at the door looking all serious and I think they were surprised to see me so happy and excited.
Once I saw Alex at the altar we started giggling and everything was perfect. Leaving the Church was just as special; it was freezing cold but the sun was shining and everyone was happy to see each other. It was great seeing everyone hugging and sharing ‘Merry Christmas’ wishes, it was such a lovely atmosphere.”
“Swinfen Hall is such a beautiful place we wanted it to speak for itself in terms of styling. Alex in particular is a huge music fan however, and we knew right from the beginning that we wanted to incorporate this somehow into the day. Alex introduced me to festivals, gigs and most of my favourite artists so this was reflected throughout the day from subtle quotations in our order of service to our table decorations and wedding favours.
The wedding favours doubled up as place name cards and we designed them ourselves. Each favour/ name card was a CD that looked like a 7 inch vinyl with a selection of our favourite songs on. We drafted in my Mum and sister, Hannah, to help package them in ribbon and hand stamp the names. They were a real talking point on the day and we have had so many comments from guests who are enjoying the CD weeks later.”
“Each table was named after one of our favourite albums. We also included a framed quotation from one of our favourite songs off the album that represented the mood of the day.”
“Our photographer Jo Hastings was fabulous! The photos scared us a little as we are a natural couple and don’t really like ‘posing’ or public displays of affection. After a little internet research I came across Jo and was delighted to see she was local. Alex and I visited her one freezing January morning and hit it off with her straight away as we shared stories of falling over in embarrassing situations and Alex’s love of a ‘serious’ pose. We knew right away that Jo was the photographer that would capture us and our relationship completely and we booked her up straight away.
Over the year, Jo kept in touch with us and even recommended a couple of suppliers – she was so helpful. We met up with Jo for our engagement shoot on a beautiful Autumn day in a local park and she put us at ease straight away. We laughed our way around the park; at ourselves posing and Jo’s jokes along the way. It was a great day out. We loved our engagement photos so much we used one as a guest book on the wedding day and it is now hanging in our living room.”
“On the wedding morning it was like Jo was one of the girls. I didn’t even notice her snapping away – she photographed the excitement and the relaxed mood of the morning just perfectly. Jo doesn’t just take photos she manages to capture emotions. She has documented the happiness and laughter of the day just as it was. Each photo we look at we are transported back to the moment or can hear the conversation around it; we couldn’t ask for better memories of our day.
We can’t recommend Jo Hastings enough: she is professional, friendly, creative and above all a wonderful photographer.”
“Jodie Hazlewood and Sam worked their magic on me, my mum and the bridesmaids on the day. They made sure we were glamorous yet natural and styled us wonderfully. Each time one of us left Jodie’s chair we had to look twice in the mirror to check it was us! Jodie is really lovely and totally understands what you want from your makeup on the day.
Jodie is a very talented lady and I would recommend her and the ‘My beautiful Face’ team to any bride. Alex bought my earrings as a gift for me on the wedding morning. They were a pair of white gold pearl droplets from Beaverbrooks jewellers and were the perfect match with the dress.”
“We had lots of songs on the shortlist for the first dance but we finally settled on a cover of the Oasis song ‘Wonderwall’ by Ryan Adams. Alex was a huge Oasis fan and it was one of the first gigs we went to together, and we think the words are really apt. We chose the Ryan Adams cover as it is such a gentle version and fitted the mood of the day much better.”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Keep perspective! It is so easy to question every decision you make, try to listen to every piece of advice you get or spend hours and hours trawling the internet looking at different options of the same item: it all comes down to you and keeping perspective is what will keep you sane. You have to realise that you can’t please everyone and there’s always something else you could do or buy.
Stick to what you both want – it is your day and doing it your way will make it that extra bit special.”
“Love My Dress was a blog I returned to every single Sunday. I loved browsing the beautiful and inspiring photos of so many happy couples who had chosen to celebrate their day in their own original way. Love My Dress features so many original and quirky weddings that it inspired my own creativity and kept my imagination fuelled.
It really was a must read throughout the year. I tweeted Love My Dress the day before the wedding to say thank you for all the inspiration and was delighted to receive a tweet back wishing me luck and then again on my wedding day with more well-wishes – this just goes to show how Annabel really values her readers. To think that I am now going to be featured on the blog is a dream! I can’t quite believe that brides-to-be will be looking at our wedding. Honestly, we wouldn’t change a thing.
We spent a lot of time planning exactly how we wanted the day to go and everything ran just as we wished. Putting the thought into everything beforehand ensured that we could relax and enjoy ourselves on the day. It was the day we dreamed of.”
Thank you so much Hayley and Alex for sharing your precious, special day with us all. Brides, we’re signing off for the rest of the day now, but hope you have a lovely Friday evening. Take a moment to show Alex and Hayley a little love and appreciation if you can, that would be lovely.
Love Annabel
Photographer – Jo Hastings Venue – Swinfen Hall Hotel, Lichfield, Staffordshire Brides Dress – The Tiffany gown via Wedding Belles boutique dress Fur Cape – Ebay Bargain Brides Veil – Wedding Belles Brides Shoes – Rachel Simpson Groom – Paul Smith suit + Kenneth Cole tie Bridesmaids Dresses – Dessy + own shoes Florist – Entwined Flowers Cake – Alexandra Cakes Cars/Transport – Blushing Bride Cars Rings – Birmingham Jewellery Quarter Stationery – Left Hand Gang Hair and make-up Artist – Jodie Hazlewood