Good morning to all of you! If you have the back-to-work blues and are in need of a little January cheer, then this beauty of a wedding should do just the job. Retail manager Sally married her recruitment consultant beau Jack back in July 2014, at the gorgeous Mere Court Hotel in Knutsford, Cheshire. Everything about this wedding quietly whispers country elegance – the location, the flowers, the jaw-droppingly beautiful Claire Pettibone gown – simply exquisite. I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I did preparing this feature for your enjoyment.
The wonderfully sunny summer day was captured by photographer Johnboy Wilson.
“I love vintage decor and pastel colours and really wanted the day to look like ‘us’ – not too formal or traditional. Jack really wanted it to be colourful and I wanted lots of flowers!”
Photography Copyright (c) 2015, Johnboy Wilson
Sally and Jack met through work, and got engaged in February 2012. The couple chose their venue for both the ceremony and the reception, almost six years to the day after they got together.
“We chose Mere Court Hotel for our wedding, because the reception room and gardens were just what we pictured and fitted in perfectly with our vision for the day. The staff were also lovely and overall, the hotel also offered the best value for money, when compared to other venues.”
The star of the show was no doubt Sally’s dress – the sublime ‘Wren’ from Claire Pettibone. The dress combines delicate, traditional Chantilly and Guipure lace and features a daring low cut back for a true ‘wow’ factor.
“I bought my dress from The White Closet’ – the most gorgeous wedding shop in Didsbury, Manchester. Being quite petite, I wanted a dress that didn’t feel like it was drowning me or too overpowering. I absolutely loved Claire Pettibone designs from the minute I started looking on the internet for ideas but I hadn’t seen ‘Wren’ until I had tried her in the shop, as it was the new season collection. I loved the lace and the open back and knew straight away – this was ‘the one!'”
Annabel shared this image last night on Instagram as part of the #ShareTheHonestLove campaign – what a beautiful moment to have captured on camera…
“Our photographer, Johnboy Wilson, was perfect from start to finish! We knew as soon as we met John that we wanted him to photograph our wedding. We loved his portfolio but we also really liked him, we were comfortable with him and we could see him getting along with our friends and family on the day.
We couldn’t have asked for more, he made us feel totally at ease, wasn’t intrusive at all but still felt like a part of day. The pictures were absolutely fantastic too, such a gorgeous collection of memories that really do capture the day!”
The bridesmaids wore dresses from Ted Baker, and their own shoes and jewellery. The groom accessorised his Paul Smith suit, shirt and tie with burgundy Grenson brogues.
Sally was gifted silver and opal earrings from her Mum and wore a silver and pearl bracelet borrowed from the maid of honour, who wore it on her own wedding day. I love how little pieces like this can be shared, borrowed and passed on to make a wedding day even more special and personal – such a lovely touch.
“I sprayed on Pure Poison, by Dior. It’s an old favourite and one I always wear on date nights because Jack likes it.”
The room for the ceremony was decorated with hessian and lace ribbons, and tables were filled with more of the beautiful peonies in jam jars, tied with twine.
“I like vintage style decorations and pastel colours. I used Pinterest for a lot of inspiration and copied/re-worked some ideas from there. I wanted the day to look like ‘us’ – not too formal or traditional. Jack really wanted it to be colourful and I wanted lots of flowers, so that made up a lot of the decoration for the reception area.”
Sally was walked down the aisle by her Dad, to the sound of Johnny Cash’s ‘Rose of My Heart’. Both Mums and the groom’s Dad did readings at the ceremony – I just love it when the whole family is involved!
“Every single minute of the day was perfect but if we had to pick, saying our vows was very special. And the atmosphere just after at the drinks reception, in the sunshine, everyone so happy for us was an unforgettable memory. I’d change nothing at all.”
The bride’s friend, Leanne, had the stationery for the day covered.
“Leanne has an online shop called ‘Letterbox Lane’ for pieces of art, crafts and stationery, so she designed and produced all our wedding stationery for us including invites, name tags, bunting, menus, table settings. It was simple and effective and fitted perfectly with the ‘vintage’ style.
Another friend’s business that did us proud on the day was one of the bridesmaids and her husband’s ice cream trike. We had Prosecco, canapés and ice creams in the sunshine on the lawn after the ceremony and they went down an absolute storm! The trike was also the perfect backdrop to the day and just so happened to match the colour of the bridesmaids’ dresses.”
The lucky bride also walked down the aisle in Jimmy Choo sandals, and wore fresh flowers in her hair to match the bouquets, designed and put together by Sian at The Flower Lounge in Didsbury…
“Sian was recommended to me by the lovely ladies at The White Closet and when I was researching ideas on the internet, a few of the pictures I had saved turned out to be her work – seemed to be fate. I had a consultation with Sian and she seemed to know exactly what I wanted – soft, girly shades and styles.
I knew I wanted peonies, as they are my favourite flowers, so they were the main feature of the bouquets and table decorations alongside roses, stocks, hydrangea and more. I had pictured really informal table centres with flowers in jam jars and milk bottles but thought it would be too much hard work to set up and I didn’t want to be worrying about this on the day! The result blew me away – it was so perfect and fitted completely with what I had pictured. The flowers themselves were beautiful, the colours worked perfectly with the bridesmaid’s dresses and the room too.”
“Our favours were the cutest pairs of pastel coloured and gorgeous flavoured macaroons – my favourite! They were made by a business local to us and come highly recommended!”
The couple chose a ‘naked cake’, suggested by the groom (well done Jack, it looks so scrummy!), made by Silver Apples Food Co. Manchester, and began the evening’s festivities with their first dance to ‘Take Over The World’ by The Courteeners….
“Just a special song for us as a couple and a band we’ve seen together loads!”
Words of Wedded Wisdom
“Enjoy the planning as much as possible. Everyone says it’s so stressful and there are some moments that are a bit overwhelming, but mostly we loved it all. It wasn’t really stressful, just very busy towards the end.
Also, choose carefully with all the people who will make up your day – we were so lucky because everyone from our photographer to the florist and hairdresser were so lovely, and just added to the experience so much for both of us.”
Sally and Jack’s stunning photographs really are wonderful – a whirlwind of country elegance, vintage sweetness and pastel colour. And the ice cream trike – an absolute victory! Are there any other lovely brides out there planning vintage treats and nibbles for their big day?
Our love and thanks to photographer Johnboy Wilson for sharing these photographs today – and of course, huge love to Sally and Jack too.
Love Rachel xxxx
Photographer – Johnboy Wilson
Venue – Mere Court Hotel in Knutsford, Cheshire
Brides Dress – Wren, by Claire Pettibone via The White Closet
Bride’s Shoes – Vamp by Jimmy Choo
Bridesmaid’s – Ted Baker dresses
Hair/make up – Samantha Fleming
Florist – The Flower Lounge
Grooms Suit/shirt/tie – Paul Smith
Grooms Shoes – Grenson
Cake – Silver Apples Food Co. Manchester
Rings – From Blue Nile Diamonds (same place as the bride’s engagement ring)
Stationery Designer – Letterbox Lane
Wedding Favours – Baked with Love
Decor/styling – Vanilla Vintage
I adore Claire Pettibone dresses and this one is another beautiful design. The bride may be petite, but she looks tall and stunning!
Simply stunning. I love all Rachel soft touches. Beautiful!! I love the Rachel and her bridesmaids dressing gowns, can you tell me where to get these?