Good morning lovely readers. Well how fast is this week going? It's Thursday already! We're not slowing down with our blog content mind – today we have three more inspiring features to share with you, (be back at lunch time to see the most divine new wedding dresses). We start with this lovely low-key London wedding that took place on 19th May last year at Orleans Gallery in Twickenham, followed by a reception at Pissarro in Chiswick.
Nick Tucker was the photographer, and Carrie and Jon were the bride and groom. Here, Carrie tells us about her beautiful, beaded wedding dress.
"I have always loved the Eden dress by Jenny Packham, it is utterly beautiful, but somehow understated too. The fabric does all the ‘shouting’, it is elegant, pretty and I knew that this was the only dress for me the moment I put it on (being the first wedding dress I tried on !). The boutique I purchased my dress from was Berkshire Brides."
Photography Copyright (c) 2013, Nick Tucker
"Jon and I met at Loughborough University and lived in the same university halls. We ended up living together for most of our university years, but didn’t start dating until we had left and realised how close we actually were. I lived in a house with five boys and Jon was always the one to look out for me!"
"We got engaged in Jan 2012, I was on a work trip and Jon surprised me in Paris at my favourite hotel Mama Shelter. When I returned from a long working day, I walked into my bedroom which was dark but lit up with a row of votives on the other side of the room, from Rachel Dormor Ceramics, saying 'will you marry me ?’ It was the most perfect moment. Jon had travelled over and was sitting there looking nervous with a bottle of champagne and a ring, and obviously I said yes! We got married 14 weeks later!"
"Both Jon and I are ‘low key’ people and it was important that everything was very relaxed. The ‘look’ came from the dress, from there I could see how the venue worked with that style. I had always loved beaded fabrics, and without realising it, the ‘Great Gatsby’ look evolved, resulting in muted colours, feathers and pearls.
Our venue, Orleans Gallery, is close to where we live and I have always liked the natural looking grounds that surround it. Inside there are very beautiful windows and although not large the very high ceiling gives a feeling of space."
"I didn’t have a flowergirl but I did have our dog, Mabel, at the wedding, she wore a beautiful flower around her neck from www.notonthehighstreet.com."
"From Orleans House we took a launch with our guests down to the pier at Corney Reach which is where the restaurant Pissarro is. It worked really well as we could decorate the boat and they served refreshments as we sailed down the Thames."
"My beautiful Ostrich feather pearl cape was made by Ruth Milliam, who I met at Duck Walk Market in Richmond. I loved her style and she ended up making a bespoke vintage cape for me which then made the outfit.
My jewellery was all quite low key apart from my Jenny Packham bracelet which I managed to hire. My necklace was from a small business called Lily Charmed, which matched Jon’s cufflink design."
"My engagement ring was passed down from my husbands grandmother – it is this fantastic vintage emerald cut ring, so perfect, and fitted without any resizing! We purchased my wedding ring from the oldest jewellery shop in Richmond, Davids Jewellers, which is a simple band which includes similar cut diamonds which fits really well with my engagement ring.
Jon’s wedding ring was from a small business called Notes, I had it personalised inside the ring which he didn’t see until the day."
"Our photographer was Nick Tucker. I liked his work as soon as I saw it. It has a documentary feel which is fresh. I take pictures myself and in my job photography is important so this was an aspect of the wedding which had to be just right.
Nick is unassuming and listens to what you want and then just ‘disappears’ on the day so that you are never aware of his presence. My whole family liked Nick, including my ninety year old grandfather, and the pictures are everything and more that I wanted."
"Our pageboy, Harry, who is my nephew, wore a grey suit from H&M which looked great, and matching Converse shoes which the groom wore too."
"My father walked me down the aisle to the sound of Coldplay's 'Life in Technicolour'.
Jon’s sister, George Gateshill, read out a poem called 'Confirmation' by Edwin Muir."
"We had the reception at Pissarro, Chiswick, which gave the perfect relaxed venue with a river view."
"I felt nervous for everyone in the wedding party who had to make a speech, but it turned out to be one of my favourite moments of the day. They were all so different but equally brilliant. There was another special moment, seeing everyone who meant so much to us in one room laughing and having a good time together. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.
Our timings were pretty tight but it’s achievable and actually in our view the best way of making the build up to the wedding really exciting. It’s quite easy to try and do it all by yourself ( the groom normally takes quite a back step at this stage!) but you must ask for help from family & friends. I had fantastic helps from my friends in styling the day – something I could never have done by myself and it made it even more special."
Words of Wedded Wisdom…
"Have faith that your day will be perfect, even if it all doesn’t go perfectly to plan. It can feel quite daunting with so many decisions to be made about the day itself. Many of the choices that we made actually were for the first band, photographer, dress that we saw or met. Go with your instinct – if it feels right then it probably is!
I’m a big fan of and found inspiration from Pinterest. However, your styling standards suddenly become very high!"
Thank you so much Carrie and Jon – and thanks also to Nick Tucker, for sharing his photography with us.
Jenny Packham brides – you clearly love this blog! I think we should set up our own little Jenny Packham community!
With much love,
Annabel
Photographer – Nick Tucker
Venue – Orleans Gallery in Twickenham + Pissarro
Brides Dress – Eden by Jenny Packham from Berkshire Brides
Headpiece – Jenny Packham hired via Elegant Wedding Creations Boutique
Brides' shoes – Amazon
Ostrich Feather Pearl Cape – Ruth Milliam
Grooms Suit – Light Blue suit from Ted Baker
Accessories – Jenny Packham bracelet + Lily Charmed necklace
Flowers – Longacres
Stationery – Hannah Lloyd
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
