OOTD: Country Wedding

A few weeks ago the hubby and I attended a lovely country wedding to celebrate the union of our university friends! The wedding was very sweet with lots of homemade aspects and family members arranging flowers and baking cakes to make the newlyweds' special day unique and very personal.

Dress from Reiss (Marte in blue), bag from Chanel, fascinator from TK Maxx, shoes from Melissa.

I wouldn't normally choose jelly shoes for a wedding, but as there was a mile walk from the church to the reception in a marquee with a high likelihood of rain I decided to be very sensible (and waterproof)! They were also super comfy so I could dance into the early hours... and we did!

Being May the evening was very cold so I definitely brought lots of layers - cardigans, scarf and this pretty (also waterproof) laser cut cream trench coat from Warehouse.

 

Such a lovely day!

Wedding: Designing Your Cake (and eating it too)!

One of the most enjoyable parts of planning my wedding was undoubtedly designing our cake! There are three kinds of people in this world - those who don’t really get excited about cake, those who don’t even like cake (and may instead choose a ‘wedding cake’ made up of different types of cheese or pork pies *gasp*), or those (like me) who get giddy at the mere mention of cake, butter cream, frosting.. mmm!

As most of our wedding was pretty classic the cake was something that I wanted to get really creative with and make a unique feature. My idea was that cutting the cake would symbolise the end of the formal/ traditional part of the day and the beginning of the party! With all the speeches done everyone could relax and really have fun!! 

I consulted with a number of different cake designers to hear their ideas, taste the cakes (of course!) and get quotes for what I had envisaged. I think it is really important if you want an individual cake (rather than choosing a set cake from a portfolio) to meet with the designers and see their style. I was looking for someone who could create a showstopper, but in a sophisticated way that would be in keeping with the rest of our wedding. As well as making the cake itself I also wanted someone to design and put together a whole sweet table with cupcakes, cookies and other treats to make it a feature of the evening. 

The designers I met with were all fantastic in their own ways. There are so many amazing wedding bakeries in London that I thought it would be helpful to put together a mini-guide based on my experience:

Peggy Porschen – world famous, golden standard of wedding cakes! Stunning, classic cake designs, but definitely on the high end of the budget. Lots of designs to choose from, but customisation is expensive. Their sugar flowers are the best I have ever seen! 

Cakes by Krishanthi – lovely range of designs with lots of creative techniques used. Mid range and flexible with pricing, especially for cakes with less detail. 

Rosalind Miller – beautiful, unique designs to fit different themes. Mid to high end pricing depending on the level of customisation.

Little Venice Cake Company – breathtaking, grand designs, huge variety and experience. If your budget allows they can do anything! They also do great chocolate cakes!

Maisie Fantaisie – absolutely lovely! Cakes are on the more classic side, but all details are beautiful and intricate. Pricing at mid-level and lots of customisation available. 

 
While many of these designers had great ideas when I met Ceri of Olofson Design I immediately knew that I wanted her to make the cake for our wedding! Apart from being incredibly lovely Ceri is so creative, talented, hardworking and an absolute perfectionist. She understood exactly what I was asking for and described it to me a thousand times better than I could have ever put it myself. She designs every cake bespoke by working closely with the bride and groom to create something individual and completely unique. I remember when we first met she said she would feel bad ever copying a cake (or creating a catalogue of designs for brides to pick from in the way many other brands do) as it would feel like giving away a part of that couple. We had so much fun during the design process and Ceri was such a pleasure to work with as she is so genuinely passionate about cakes. Rather than giving me a precise quote she asked what my budget was and what I wanted and designed the cake and all the little extras to fit within it, which was a huge relief. After I had shown Ceri a heap of photos that had inspired me with accents of Rococo, Marie Antoinette, Faberge, English rose gardens and colour schemes she put together a special pinterest board with her ideas for the cake. 

I was so excited to see that many common themes were emerging and Ceri had used the multitude of images I had collected in such a clever way. She had even picked out details from our venue that would be mirrored in the cake such as the filigree from one of the rooms in Syon House (above). We added to this with a monogram that I had designed for use in our stationary and photobooth picture motifs. The last piece of the puzzle was to use a Faberge egg on a nest of fresh flowers instead of a traditional cake topper. She even made the egg as a mini replica of the Faberge eggs we gave to our guests as favours! Adorable!

Before seeing the first design of the cake I was so nervous as I had such high hopes, but the second Ceri gave me her beautiful watercolour drawing I was absolutely astounded at how well everything had come together and how she had incorporated so many aspects of our wedding into such a beautiful design. 

While Ceri is very much design orientated I can't forget to mention that she is an incredible baker and her flavour combinations are phenomenal. We had such a hard time choosing from all the delectable options on offer, but finally decided on:

- Madagascan vanilla cake with berry preserve and vanilla buttercream
- Vanilla chocolate marble with caramel buttercream and chocolate ganache
- Rose with raspberry buttercream and lemon curd
- Traditional fruit cake

We also had red velvet and white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes.

For the Anges de Sucre macarons we chose: Pistache Vera, Damask Rose, Raspberry Ripple, Cheeky Cazzamella and Fruit of the Orchid.

It took us almost a year to put everything together, but we had so much fun doing it! From my constant surfing on ebay for the perfect candy jars, bespoke sweetie bags and cupcake stands to the delicate Anges de Sucre macarons and gold dipped apples, which we had made as a compliment to the cake. Seeing the cake and full dessert table on the wedding day was definitely one of the highlights for me and undoubtedly worth all the effort.

Despite being 5 tiers high I can honestly say our guests loved how amazing the cake tasted (as well as how it looked). In fact, it had all disappeared in half an hour so I sadly only got to try one piece. After cutting the cake I went to get changed and twenty minutes later the cake (and the cupcakes etc.) was all but gone! I am so glad we saved the top tier and am very much looking forward to enjoying it on our anniversary in just over a month!!

If you are looking to have a showstopper of a cake at your wedding, or are simply bored of traditional cakes and want something quirky and unique I really recommend that you check out Ceri’s website. She is honestly the loveliest person and so immensely talented. She is always enthusiastic and happy to give her advice. Even when I couldn’t decide on the napkins (and emailed her far too much) she never once lost patience and always replied quickly with her expert opinion.

Ceri’s designs range from the super girly (like our cake) to really innovative art deco and gritty urban designs. She has so many techniques and styles at her disposal that I really do dare you to imagine something she can’t create!

 

Wedding: Choosing Your Photographer

One of the most important aspects of organising my wedding was definitely making sure we had as many memories as possible of our big day! I am the kind of person who gets nervous and anxious easily; my mind starts to race and I become super self conscious. I know that when this happens I find it very difficult to recall what is going on around me and don't tend to remember a great deal. The wedding day is certainly one that triggers anxiety in even the most relaxed bride and it just goes by in a whirl! I therefore wanted to make sure that we documented our wedding thoroughly to look back on and remember the happiest day of our lives. I really wanted every moment to be captured and to have a variety of couple, family and general/reportage style photos, as well as a record of all the little details I had worked so hard on to make our day special!

I was determined to find the right photographer who would be versatile and who could capture all our special moments without being intrusive! After months of extensive searching and looking through numerous websites and portfolios nothing felt quite right. Most photographers had a style that was either very soft, where the photos looked overly casual or very posed and impactful, but lacking the general ambience and emotion of the day. That is until we came across Balance Photography at a wedding show. The photographs in their booth were breath-taking! Many of them had a lot of drama, while others perfectly captured raw emotion. There was a great mix of staged and posed photographs, as well as more natural behind the scenes observations. Another thing that stood out was their really inventive ways of organising group shots to make them fun and interesting. The fact that Balance Photography were a lovely married couple themselves immediately put them at the top of our list.

We met them a month later to discuss the style of our wedding, the photos we wanted, our venue and to generally get to know each other. We then had a little engagement shoot about 3 months before our wedding, which was part of the package. I would very much recommend doing this as it not only gives you some fun photos (that you can maybe use for invites or save the dates), but also allows you to practice a few poses in front of the camera and for your photographer to understand how you interact as a couple and what you feel comfortable with. My husband definitely benefited from this as he built confidence in front of the camera and felt much more natural after getting to know Oliver.

On the day I think having two photographers was a huge advantage and I would really recommend having more than one if you are able to fit it into your budget. On the morning of the wedding Rachel came to my house, where I was getting ready, to take some bridal party photos, while Oliver was at the church snapping away the groomsmen and guests arriving. As we had different venues for the church ceremony, drinks and the reception it was great to have them be able to cover everything so we didn't miss a minute! However, even in a small wedding or with one location having two photographers gives you a much better range of images. For example, as I was walking down the aisle Rachel took all the photos of my bridesmaids and myself with my mother from the back - capturing the back of our dresses, veil and the decorations leading into the church. Oliver was at the front of the church, capturing Luke's reactions as he saw me coming down the aisle, the church scenery from the front and my mother giving my hand to Luke and lifting my veil etc. One photographer would not have been able to capture these special moments and I am so grateful to Oliver and Rachel for working as such a seamless team!

 (Just to illustrate this is the same moment taken by Rachel from the back and Oliver from the front)

Oliver and Rachel are the loveliest couple. They are super friendly, warm and fun to be around and all our guests absolutely adored them! They fitted in so well and made everyone feel really comfortable, which you can definitely tell from the images as there are no awkward poses. As well as knowing what aspects of the wedding day to capture they also have great vision and skill when it came to editing the photographs. Rachel worked so hard in making sure that each image was cleaned up perfectly. We didn't want any heavy airbrushing, but the simplest little touches, such as removing a bridesmaids' scattered shoes in the corner of a photo or even editing out a videographer in the background makes everything look just that little bit more polished!

(In this photo the videographer was standing in front of me, but has been airbrushed out!)

If you are looking for photographers for your wedding, or indeed any special occasion, I would urge you to check out the Balance Photography website. Rachel and Oliver are so lovely, fun to work with, talented and enthusiastic. We really can't say enough good things about them!!

Wedding: Precious Petals - Preserving Your Bouquet!

Planning your wedding is a huge task that can feel totally overwhelming! However, I think that the more effort you put in the more amazing it feels to know that you have created a beautiful event that all your friends and family can enjoy. I would encourage everyone to make sure they pick the best photographers and videographers as the day goes by far too quickly and it is so important to be able to have those memories to look back on. Many brides can feel a little lost following their wedding, but I am super sentimental so I made sure I would still have a few wedding related projects to look forward to after the big day. One of them was my beautiful bouquet, which I had preserved and framed so it could have pride of place in our living room.

Personally, I loved organising my wedding as I am a complete perfectionist so I wanted to create all the unique aspects of our day to reflect us as a couple, as well as my personal style. Although our wedding was pretty traditional all the elements were unique as I made sure to research everything thoroughly and then very specifically design details to fit together. This may sound rather ‘Bridezilla’ to some, but as I worked with a lot of small, independent suppliers it was very much a collaborative creative process. I know lots of people wouldn’t want the stress and would rather pick a cake or set menu from a directory, but that just wasn’t for me. All our suppliers were amazing and as they were genuinely passionate about their art they were enthusiastic about creating new pieces for their portfolios. One of the aspects I loved learning about the most was the flowers! I had seen so many beautiful arrangements, but as we had a number of tricky spaces to fill (our church was very large and we had different rooms for our champagne reception, dinner/dancing and bar/ cake/ coffee areas) I had to design arrangements that would look impressive and fill the space, without being garish... and all within our budget. The flowers looked beautiful on the day and I was very sad to leave them behind at the venue so instead we gave away most of the smaller arrangements to our guests and donated the rest to a nearby children’s hospital. 

I was so happy to have arranged for my bouquet to be preserved so I could keep it as a memento! After doing some research about freeze drying flowers I came across Precious Petals. There were different options available on their website including keeping the bouquet in a cube, having the flowers pressed, or preserving a select few flowers in a paperweight. I chose a 3D method that would let my whole bouquet be preserved in a frame that I could hang on the wall. Precious Petals did an amazing job! After keeping my bouquet in water overnight I sent it to them on the Sunday following my wedding. The process does take 12-16 weeks as they have to disassemble the bouquet and preserve each flower individually before rearranging and framing it, but this just means you have something to look forward to long after all the photos are seen and the thank you cards sent!

If you are getting married I would highly recommend getting your bouquet preserved as a special memory from the day! I was so pleased with the service from Precious Petals and would definitely recommend check them out!