An Embellished Anna Campbell Gown for an Opulent Marrakech Wedding

Happy Friday afternoon lovely readers and how are you? Before I go on – have you seen our latest competition, where you can win one of six beautiful rings, each worth £1,000? And have you also taken a look at our new ‘Look Book’ pages?

After you’ve seen to those two most important things, please allow me to whisk you away as you wait for home time, to the wedding of Stu and Suzanne, which took place on the 22nd July 2016 at the incredibly glamorous La Mamounia Hotel in Marrakech, Morocco.

“We chose Morocco as our wedding destination as we got engaged here, but I have a close connection with Morocco with my families heritage originating here. We have always loved the vibrant, colourful, eclectic energy of Marrakech, as well as the intricate detail of the architecture, the assault on the senses that you feel when you’re there and the warmth of the people.  All of these things inspired us to recreate a colourful, detailed, welcoming, authentic and lively experience for our guests.”

Photography by Clara Cooper

Suzanne’s beautifully embellished and very elegant gown was the ‘Tash’ dress from the Anna Campbell Gossamer Collection, purchased from Jean Jackson Couture in Manchester.

“There were so many amazing Anna Campbell designs to choose from.  I had almost completely decided upon a dress from the Spirit Collection, when the sales assistant suggested that I tried the ‘Tash’ dress, as the colour (bone), would really suit my skin tone. As soon as I tried it on, I knew it was the one.”

On her feet Suzanne opted for a pair of ivory Jenny Packham stilettos, which were chosen for their comfort, but were also extremely pretty.

“I had a few pieces made for my hair by a lady called Claudia Pink in Liverpool but I was unsure whether to wear one of the pieces in my hair as I originally intended or whether to wear one as a cuff or bracelet instead.  On the day itself I opted to wear the hair piece as a bracelet as the styling of my hair was perfect as it was, which really worked well.”

While getting ready, Stu had a very special present delivered to his bride to be- a small personalised book entitled ‘365 Reasons I Love My Bride’, compiled of emails Stu wrote every day over a year, with a different reason for his love each time, produced by the couple’s stationery designer Vanilla Retro.  How incredibly romantic is that?

Lucky Suzanne was able to secure the services of two talented friends for her hair and make up preparations.

“Katie Nelson created a masterpiece for my hair, which I wanted to be understated yet still elegant to compliment the dress.  Katie, apart from being an amazing hairdresser, was the calming influence I needed that day.  My friend Hollie Belli did my make-up perfectly and again it was exactly as I wanted it.  Hollie gave me lots of advice and inspiration as I am not a frequent make up user and was also very soothing during the preparations, giving me lots of reassuring words at a moment of high emotion.  I was incredibly fortunate to have both girls there.”

“As preparations took place in the magnificent suite that we were provided with by the venue, transport wasn’t really necessary, however, when you arrange a wedding with La Mamounia, nothing is too much to expect, nor too much trouble and we were provided with a Jaguar Limousine to take me from the venue’s main building, through the extensive grounds and flawless gardens to the terrace where the ceremony was to take place, delivering me to my entrance point at the top of the aisle.”

“The driver then waited for us through the entire ceremony before taking us from the terrace to the pavilion at the other end of the gardens for the family and group photographs.  We felt like royalty!”

“We had our own musicians accompany us to Morocco- Jo and Jay Richards.  Jo is a violinist and also has a beautiful voice which she serenaded our guests with during both the pre-ceremony period as well as the meal, accompanied by Jay on the acoustic guitar.  Jo is in a band called Calico, who typically play Irish folk music, but as we found on the day, both musicians are hugely talented and versatile providing us with an outstanding performance of a wide variety of music.”

Stu looked very smart indeed in a light blue, tailor-made suit, made exactly to his specifications, by Phil Hunt of Noble Fox, Liverpool.

“It fit like a glove and was everything that we had asked for- lightweight, breathable, the perfect colour and the cut was exactly on point.  Phil was even able to offer us a tailor made shirt in lightweight material and we had a choice of various fabrics and designs for the horseshoe waistcoat.  As the ultimate finishing touch, we were able to have our initials and wedding date embroidered into the inside of the jacket to mark the occasion.”

Suzanne was accompanied down the aisle by her dad, to Pachelbel’s Canon in D played by Jo Richards on the violin.

The couple exchanged beautiful vows and for a reading, they chose Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.

“On the 22nd day of July in the year of 2016 here in Marrakech; the bride groom Stuart Pelling said to the bride Suzanne Oulad Hadj Ahmed ‘be my wife’ to which the bride replied ‘I will’ and I will cherish, respect and support you in a faithful manner……

And the bride Suzanne Oulad Hadj Ahmed said to the bridegroom  Stuart Pelling ‘be my husband’ to which the bridegroom replied ‘I will’, and I will cherish, respect and support you in a faithful manner.

Accordingly they both entered into this convenent of love and companionship, peace and friendship to create a loving, caring future together, living, loving and learning together.”

The couple exchanged rings designed by Downey Designs of Birmingham and produced by Ernest Jones in Chester.

“We searched at length for our photographer and were recommended Clara Cooper Photography by our jeweller.  As soon as we met her we knew without a doubt she was the photographer for us.  Lucy was adaptable, enthusiastic, understood exactly what we wanted and we could see that her expertise was second to none.”

“We later discovered that we had the option to add on a video to capture other parts of the day, which was amazing.  Lucy also offered us the option of adding on a second shooter, Amy Faith, who was fantastic throughout.”

“Both ladies have fantastic personalities and blended into out wedding party seamlessly, which allowed for some great photographs to be captured as everyone was so relaxed around them on the day.”

“We had images taken in some authentic, atmospheric areas which weren’t always in easily accessible places, but Lucy was prepared to take on whatever we suggested and came up with some very unique suggestions, manoeuvring herself through every nook and cranny in order to get the shot. We were so impressed with her professionalism and artistic eye and were totally blown away with the photographs and video.  We can’t recommend her enough.”

Flowers were arranged by the venue and Suzanne and Stu opted for white roses for the ceremony display in large spherical stands and red and white roses in low level vases on the dinner table.

With a venue this stunning, too much additional decor wasn’t necessary, but Instantes Magique were booked to decorate for the evening party and set up party lighting, photo props and a beautiful relaxation area complete with shisha and traditional seating and rugs to add to that wonderful Moorish opulence.

We also had an Andalusian Trio provided by La Mamounia, who were similarly excellent.  They really got the crowd going ready for the DJ set with their Gwembri and traditional Moroccan Drum combination.  DJ Spicy was the icing on the cake for us.”

“He was absolutely outstanding and played an incredibly crowd pleasing set.  Even when we had a power cut brought on by some over zealous dance moves from our excited revellers, it didn’t phase him in the slightest, and he came back with another big hit to re-start the party from where it left off.”

Flowers were arranged by the venue and Suzanne and Stu opted for white roses for the ceremony display in large spherical stands and red and white roses in low level vases on the dinner table.  With a venue this stunning, too much additional decor wasn’t necessary, but Instantes Magique were booked to decorate for the evening party and set up party lighting, photo props and a beautiful relaxation area complete with shisha and traditional seating and rugs to add to that wonderful Moorish opulence.

Words of Wedded Wisdom

“Get married abroad if you want to guarantee the weather!”

So many thanks to Suzanne and Stu for sharing their beautiful day with us, and to Lucy of Clara Cooper Photography for sharing her beautiful images.  This amazing venue is absolutely going on my ‘must do’ list.

Much love,

Shona x