There’s something undeniably magical about a Christmas wedding – the twinkling lights, rich festive colours, and the cosy warmth of winter all set the stage for an undeniable sense of enchantment.
Emily, a passionate book lover and head of marketing, married James, a finance partner, in a winter celebration that beautifully reflected their shared love of movies and literature. Held at the charming St Bartholomew’s Church in Ripponden and followed by a candlelit marquee reception at Fixby Hall in Huddersfield, every detail was thoughtfully considered to create a meaningful and wonderfully intimate atmosphere.
Emily chose the elegant ‘Verdi’ gown by Suzanne Neville, with bespoke touches that perfectly complemented the timeless, wintry aesthetic of the day. Bethany & James, the talented photography duo, captured the day with their signature warm and emotive style, from heartfelt moments during the ceremony to the glow of festive lights at the reception. With nods to classic Christmas traditions and literary inspirations woven throughout, this couple’s wedding was a heartfelt celebration of love and seasonal creativity. Enjoy!
Ever since I was a child I’ve said if I were to get married I’d get married at Christmas. I love the traditions, the warm and cosy atmosphere, Christmas carols and twinkly lights and can’t think of a more magical time of year to get married.
Our stationery was very special; one of my bridesmaids, Sorcha, is a talented illustrator and she very kindly created all of the wedding stationery for us. From an illustration of our dog that we used across everything (including temporary tattoos on my hen do and bespoke embroidered handkerchiefs!) to the full suite of invitations and even a bespoke newspaper we created for guests to enjoy at the pub after the ceremony Sorcha was worth her weight in gold and we were so grateful to her for her gorgeous, personal work.
A highlight was most definitely the bespoke advent calendar table plan that included nods to our interests and passions but functioned as an actual advent calendar, meaning we could peel back the doors to reveal the names of the people on each of our 12 tables (named after the 12 Days of Christmas, obviously).
Bridal Beauty & Accessories
The Style Sisters, Jess and Amy, did our hair and makeup. I was really apprehensive about getting my make up done if I’m honest. I don’t wear loads of make up or suit loads of make up but wanted to look like a slightly more polished version of myself for the day with make up that would stay put. Jess and Amy were amazing, they let me tweak my hairstyle on the day and make it a looser and softer version fo the style we agreed on at the trial. My make up was simple with a bit of sparkle and blush without making me look like a totally different person.
The girls did my hair and make up, as well as the two bridesmaids, and my mum’s make-up too. The big seal of approval was getting my mum’s make up right as she is also a minimal make-up kind of lady but they nailed the balance. They were also SO wonderful to spend the morning of the wedding with, they were so calm and friendly and fun and contributed to the ‘Christmas morning’ atmosphere of getting ready at home.
I wore a waltz-length veil with organza trim from Madeleine Daisy Veils. I’d originally assumed I’d want a long veil for the drama, but actually I loved the elegance and practicality of my veil. The length meant I wasn’t fighting to keep it out of the puddles and that it fell beautifully down my back without much ‘arranging’.
I wore a hairpiece provided by our wonderful florist that included hellebores and foliage to match the bouquets – I had some different hair slides in my bag for an evening change but I was having so much fun I forgot to swap the accessories and kept the flowers in all day.
Much to James’s mortification we did the Jo Malone scent experience in their Sloane Square branch – it was fantastic and a fun moment together during the planning process, but I think when they started washing his arms before applying different scents there was a degree of bafflement. We both went for the Wood Sage and Sea Salt base notes (I had the body cream and James the body wash). James picked the Cypress and Grapevine scent and I went for one of their limited edition festive scents, Fir and Artemisia.
James bought me the Reiss earrings from Jennifer Behr as a wedding gift – they had actually taken them off sale but he contacted their head office and bought a pair from their remainder stock. I’d hinted quite heavily as I loved that the crystal stud design looked a bit like a snowflake! I bought James some Lanvin ‘lovers knot’ cufflinks in the same gold as our new wedding rings.
I borrowed my mum’s watch (something borrowed!) and it has a little blue gem on the crown (something blue!), other than the earrings I received from James that was my only other jewellery. I always wear a watch so couldn’t imagine not having one on (even if I didn’t check the time once!) but as I had my hairpiece, veil and earrings I didn’t want to be too laden with accessories.
I love shoes! But these were potentially the most fraught purchase of the day. I wanted shoes that looked elegant but that I could still walk in, which ruled out stiletto styles and more chunky block heel styles. I found my shoes on Silvia Lago (who provided the wedding shoes for the new Duchess of Westminster) and loved that you could customise heel height and style, colour and fabric.
Unfortunately because of the boom in popularity following the Westminster wedding earlier this year the shoes took more than four months to arrive and only just made it in time for my final dress fitting, two weeks out from the day itself. While the shoes came with some lovely pearl clips, the Bronte bow clips from Emmy London won my heart, and I had the dress trimmed a little shorter at the front so people would get a peak of the clips as I walked down the aisle.
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The Dress
Suzanne Neville
My dress was ‘Verdi’, by Suzanne Neville, with a bespoke back. I was quite daunted by the prospect of wedding dress shopping, I had an idea of what I’d like and what I thought might suit the style of the day but no idea what would suit me and was mildly terrified at the thought of huge meringue dresses with lots of net and detailing.
I needn’t have worried, The Harrogate Wedding Lounge had an unbelievable selection of dresses and Jeanette took my brief and provided a few wild cards. I only tried on four dresses, and it was one of Jeanette’s wild cards that ended up being my dress.
Jeanette also helped facilitate the tweaks we made to the back (so buttons ran all the way down rather than having the cut out from the original design) and was full of helpful advice about shoes, cardigans and underwear!
I was aware that for the majority of the service people would just be looking at my back, so it was nice to add some simple detail. The veil was a drop style rather than two tier and I had thought I might wear it over my face but on the day decided I loved the simplicity of keeping it back, and it meant it was one less thing to contend with at the front when I was full of nerves! Maddy was fabulous, she immediately got the brief and her work was fast and beautiful.
I was keen to only wear the one dress – I love when brides mix it up and wear something fun and different for the evening, but as you’re only going to wear your wedding dress once I thought it would be a shame to change. I loved that the buttons around the waist were reinforced meaning I could hook up the short train to keep it out of the way on the dance floor and during the evening.
I loved the clean simple fabric, the ingenious construction and the flowy skirt. I’d originally thought I’d want something fitted (I was so afraid of the meringue comparisons!) but the gentle space and movement in the skirt really sold this dress to me.
The Ceremony
Our ceremony was at St Bartholomew’s Church in Ripponden, West Yorkshire. This is my parent’s parish church and the church where we both used to perform in Christmas concerts. We have fond memories of singing there every Christmas as children and it was so special we were able to go back there to celebrate our wedding a decade later.
I walked down the aisle to ‘I Was Glad’ – this was a non-negotiable for James due to his choral background and love of the song. I was a bit hesitant about it (its long and very regal!) but it worked beautifully, performed by a choir of James’s very talented friends.
We did a lot of the decorations ourselves! In the church we decorated the windowsills with foliage and candles and put up two 10ft trees adorned with cluster lights and a big red bow. These tied in nicely the beautiful urns and arch supplied by the florist. We borrowed some gorgeous candelabras from a family friend to decorate the front of the church, too.
One of our best friends from school is a vicar within the Church of England so it was incredibly special that he married us. Not only was it lovely, going through the planning process with a trusted friend, it was so touching and personal to walk down the aisle as a bag of nerves and be greeted by an old friend. We shared a few light-hearted moments as part of the service and his incredibly personal address (“nobody is perfect, not even you James!”) is one of our favourite memories of the day. It was so special for him to play such a central part in the proceedings.
My two ‘brides boys’ (best friends from school) selected and supplied the readings themselves. Our friend James read an extract from The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman (a book series we both love – and a lovely literary nod!). He’d actually arranged a treasure hunt in the build up to the wedding that ended in the Waterstones flagship store and me discovering the book with the extract marked as a wonderful surprise. Our other friend Jagger picked a classic reading from Corinthians, perfect advice to live by.
The ceremony was our favourite part of the day. I was dreading it in advance (Public speaking! Walking down the aisle!), but it was so joyful and moving – especially being led by a close friend, hearing our friends sing their hearts out and seeing everyone so emotional.
I handmade all our confetti from vintage copies of my favourite classics (Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Far From the Madding Crowd etc) and vintage sheet music. It was mixed with biodegradable glitter which I don’t recommend as it ended up stuck all over me – although it definitely added a party edge to my outfit!
Bridesmaids
My bridesmaids dresses were purchased from Hobbs in the Christmas sales at the beginning of this year. I was really keen on a deep rich colour, as well as a warm fabric with not too much flesh on show. As well as it being a church wedding, I was very aware of how bad the weather might be and didn’t want the girls freezing all day. My two bridesmaids are very different skin tones and styles but I think (hope!) we found a style and colour of dress that suited them both and was quite practical on the day. We had the dresses tailored to fit and shortened the sleeves so they were more bracelet length rather than long sleeved.
I bought tartan wraps for them both from Kiltane that matched the reddy pink on the dresses and the winter colour scheme. Both girls wore their own black shoes, I think from Kurt Geiger and Dune. As gifts I had personalised stockings made for each and gave them their own mini bottle of Wood Sage and Sea Salt, some candy cane striped pyjamas to get ready in on the morning of, some earrings from Liberty in Love and (of course!) a chocolate orange. The girls also wore gorgeous crystal and pearl hair pins in their hair for the day, too.
Photography
I’d spotted Bethany and James, our wonderful photo and video team, on Love My Dress and fell in love with their warm, glowy style. Neither of us are very good at posing for photos, so their more candid style, taking gorgeous shots of the precious moments we might otherwise have missed, suited us down to the ground.
At other weddings we’ve been to the bride and groom seem to disappear for hours while guests kill time, and we loved that Beth and Jamie managed to capture the most gorgeous posed images and some stunning, more candid shots, in record time.
We knew the weather was likely to be gloomy if not dark and that we’d be relying on candles, fairylights and soft lighting. While I love the light and airy photos from spring and summer weddings I knew that wasn’t something we’d be able to recreate and fell in love with Beth and Jamie’s atmospheric work.
Music was such a key part of our day and I love that Jamie incorporates sounds from the day into his own bespoke soundtrack to the video, too. Neither of us are very good at posing for photos, so their more candid style, taking gorgeous shots of the precious moments we might otherwise have missed.
They were absolutely lovely to work with and so kind and warm all day – although we must admit we didn’t notice they were there for the majority of the festivities.
I confess I was a bit worried about what the photos might be like given we hadn’t spent much time consciously posing for pictures but we were utterly blown away by their work.
How They Met
We went to school together and were part of the same friend group for years, before we got together when we ended up at university in Edinburgh. We’d been together for ten years when we got engaged in Edinburgh (again! Our favourite place!) last November, giving us a year and two weeks to plan the wedding.
James wore a Favourbrook suit, Lanvin tie, Loake shoes. Cufflinks mentioned above and a simple pink pocket square from Mrs Bow Tie. As gifts for my two bridesmaids and ‘brides boys’ (our two readers) I had handkerchiefs made that were embroidered with an illustration of our dog and the date of the wedding. James carried this in his pocket on the day – and it got a fair bit of use!
The Reception
In terms of styling I was inspired by traditional Christmas scenes from films and books, such as the gorgeous Christmas morning scene in the recent adaptation of Little Women and Harry’s first Christmas at Hogwarts. I love Richard Curtis films and Carrie’s wedding in Four Weddings and a Funeral (while, obviously, not a great inspiration for a happy and successful marriage!) definitely captured the imagination with its rich and warm atmosphere.
James is as choral singer at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square and (thankfully!) also loves Christmas, usually spending December singing at services and concerts!
We were originally hoping to have a marquee at my parents’ house but that was quite a tall order in the Pennines… in December… on top of a very windy hill. Instead we settled on Fixby Hall, a local golf club with sheltered, flat land, outdoor power and ample safe parking for guests. Sarah, their events coordinator, was so accommodating and helpful and made the whole process of getting everything set up so straightforward and fun.
As guests arrived at Fixby Hall they were piped into the marquee by Trevor Derbyshire an amazing piper! We were keen to celebrate our Scottish connection, and it was a fun surprise for my dad, who was born in Glasgow, as well as our other Scottish guests.
We used Frame & Tailor for our marquee, who were actually recommended by our wonderful caters and thank goodness! Not only was the marquee absolutely spectacular, creating a warm, glowy atmosphere, but the team were absolutely brilliant. Instead of rejecting the request for a winter marquee wedding, especially on the strength of the horrendous stormy weather last Christmas, nothing was too much trouble and they were friendly, helpful and professional throughout the entire process. We’d heartily recommend them.
At Fixby we put up a 10ft tree outside and two 6ft trees outside the marquee entrance. While the florist created the beautiful foliage ring over the dancefloor, we foraged for foliage and bought a bundle of flowers to match the bouquet flowers through a wholesaler to decorate the tables. We enhanced the tablescape with candles and bud vases hired through Beaties. Two of the central poles were decorated with foliage swags I made with my mum and bridesmaids, using basic swags from Morrisons that were enhanced with locally foraged foliage, too.
Our florist was The Willow Garden at Hebden Bridge. My mum has been a customer of The Willow Garden for the past 30 years and it was a complete no-brainer that we’d go with them for our wedding flowers. We love Helen’s signature style, and in fact it was Helen who encouraged us to embrace the warm colours instead of neutrals so they’d pop more. Helen, Jane and the team created 3 stunning bouquets (my bridal bouquet was stunning!), the hairpiece for my hair, the foliage arch over the church door, some urns for the church/marquee and a gorgeous foliage ring decorated with giant baubles that was over the dance floor. Everything they created was gorgeous.
Favours were supplied by The Thoughtful Spot Bookshop in Skircoat Green as a little nod to my publishing background and love of books – and Christmas.
Our caterers were The Hog & Apple and they were one of the best decisions we made. They were fantastic to deal with from day one and crafted the most incredible winter wedding menu! From tiny pies and peas and mini steins of beer during the champagne reception, to bespoke chocolate orange bauble desserts (shout out to Doug and his incredibly talented wife who masterminded this for us) everything was presented beautifully and delicious plus the team were absolutely lovely.
We worked with Jules and his team from Fusion Event Bars and he supplied the drinks all evening. He was incredibly accommodating, even creating signature cocktails for the post-dinner cocktail hour – a snowball for me and a winter negroni for James!
The Pretty Sugar Cake Company! Nicola lives locally and knows my parents, so she was another no brainer as soon as I saw her Instagram. I loved her brilliant sugar work, and the cake tasting session in her studio was maybe one of the highlights of the planning process. She created four different flavours (one for each tier!) and decorated with sugar flowers and foliage to match my bouquet – she even created a fondant figurine of our dog Peggy who was peeping out from among the flowers.
In one of the ‘details’ pictures you can see a copy of A Christmas Carol alongside my shoes, handbag and perfume. We gave copies of A Christmas Carol to guests as a favour, but unbeknownst to me, Sorcha sourced a vintage copy of the book and painted it with a bespoke motif to match the wedding stationery.
Dancing & Fireworks
Our guests were entertained by the London Dance Orchestra, led by the son of a close family friend, who were absolutely wonderful. We loved the mix of jazz standards and covers which allowed guests to dance and party without stopping other guests from catching up by the bar area.
As a surprise for our guests we booked The Super Duper Troopers, an amazing ABBA tribute band! For my hen do I went to ABBA Voyage so it was a fun nod to that for all the hens – plus, how doesn’t love ABBA?! Seeing everyone’s faces as ABBA burst on to the dance floor was just fabulous and they helped create an ‘after party’ style atmosphere at the end of the night.
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Enjoy it! One of our priorities in the planning was making sure this process was fun for everyone. You (hopefully) only do it once, so make sure it’s a day that reflects your passions and loves but also includes your loved ones, too. We couldn’t have done it without our nearest and dearest and wouldn’t have wanted to either.
There were a few moments of the day that didn’t go quite to plan but we wouldn’t change a thing, its all part of the joyful and unique tapestry of the day and if you’re spending the day troubleshooting and worrying about what hasn’t gone flawlessly then surely you don’t have time to appreciate all the wonderful moments that were beyond perfect.
