Adalia & Tom

Adalia (such a pretty name!) and Tom had a beautiful, elegant and classic hotel wedding near Bath. They opted for white and green florals, their stationery had a touch of Art Deco about it and the fashion choices are spot on. Everything is beautiful styled but in a relaxed, understated way. I'm loving the lace overlay on Adalia's dress, her 'something blue' shoes and her gorgeous jacket for those chilly evening couple shots. She looks like the perfect winter bride, complete with a touch of sparkle in her hair. As always, Jason Mark Harris has captured everything with such atmosphere and emotion, I've loved looking at the images.

The Bride

Adalia The Bride: I saw the dress online at BHLDN and couldn't get it out of my thoughts. It reflected the kind of wedding I wanted; timeless, elegant and simple. I never tried it on and took a guess at my size. I very rarely order anything online as I think part of the shopping experience for me is the feel and excitement of picking up something you love. So it was very much to my surprise it fit perfectly and then it sat in my wardrobe for many months until we moved to the UK. I only tried it on a couple of weeks before the wedding! It was never hemmed or touched after buying and it was the fastest decision I made. The dress was a bit heavy with all the beading, but I only wore it for six hours and changed into a party dress for dancing, which was purchased at ASOS. I really wanted to wear my wedding shoes again because it seemed to make sense to get something you really like stylistically then just something for a few hours. They were purchased online at Club Monaco and and my mom brought them from the US to the wedding venue the night before the wedding.

The Groom

Groom's suit and accessories from REISS, double breasted navy suit, burgundy tie and accents.

The Venue

Limpley Stoke Hotel in Bath, it's historic and perfect for a boutique winter wedding feel where most guests can stay at the venue. The ceremony was held in the Georgian Room, dinner was in the Viaduct Restaurant, and then the dancing was back in the Georgian. It helped timings and our guests enjoy themselves to have two rooms, but also there was a bar/lounge with a fireplace and cozy chairs that was connected to the ballroom. It felt like we had the whole hotel. Most people visited Bath through the weekend so were able to see our guests for a couple of days and it was nice that it felt like a long weekend versus one day.

The Decor & Flowers

White with gold and silver accents, 1920s vintage glamour. Flowers of Bath did our floral design, we wanted something extremely classic, yet still gave a statement. We chose an assortment of white roses and other white flowers along with greenery for the contrast. I couldn't decide if all of the arrangements should match, but going with tall and short arrangements proved to be the best decision so you can see more people through the crowd. We had many guests take flowers home too.

The Wedding Party

My little girl who's a year old was carried down the aisle by my sister in law, she wore quite the gown my mom picked up in Chicago on a trip (where I was born), it was really special for my mom to be able to be a part of that because she was too far away to help with planning.

The Ceremony

We had the most amazing celebrant, Teri Stout. She wrote our story/ceremony beautifully. There were many laughs and tears and pauses when our daughter was upset she wasn't getting her biscuit. It just all seemed so natural and personal. She also made everyone feel included by everyone pronouncing us man and wife at then end. Having a personalised ceremony was something I didn't think about before, but doing it this way was memorable for everyone and they got to hear about our hectic year, but also learned more about us as a couple. Many guests commented how special and intimate it felt and made it one of the best they've ever been to!

The Entertainment

We had a pianist play Elton John and classic love songs before the ceremony and during the meal, it was lovely to have some background, even with the chit chat. He played 'Hey Jude' during the meal and everyone joined in! I loved it. For the evening, we had a band called The Jukeboxes, and they were incredible! They didn't sound like typical wedding band and it's just what we wanted. Having really good singers and musicians was important to us and we wanted something memorable. They played a lot of classic rock with such an authentic sound and hoping we can hire them again for my birthday one day! In between sets we had DJ play lots of 80s pop and were serenaded by a group of 20 and my husband to "You Lost that Love and Feeling" :) During the evening buffet, we had a photo booth nearby complete with props where loads of our guests took photos together who didn't know each other, that was my favourite.

The Food

Our cake was from the Bath Cake Company and although we made it to Bath a couple of times we did not have time to choose a cake vendor or do tastings. I went with what I thought was the most reputable company, but also what fit our theme. Our cake was three tiered, ivory with beads. It felt a bit crazy to slice into something so beautiful! The venue offered catering and had some wonderful choices - we had Stilton Tarts, Roasted Red pepper soup, salmon and chicken with roasted vegetables for the mains, and profiteroles and bread pudding for dessert. It was all so good, but still regret not finding the time to have my dessert because I've never had bread pudding!

The Photography

The photos are exactly what I felt when I found my dress; timeless, elegant and simple. This is one of the most important roles of the day and something you should be extremely happy with. It is, after all, what's left after the day.

Advice

I'd like to say that moving country, my husband starting a new and busy role at his company, and being a new mom was challenging enough in 2017. I had no choice but to plan something as quickly as possible, but in hindsight, when you have to make decisions quickly and you go with your gut feelings, it tends to work out. I would have obsessed over every detail if I had a year to plan, but I couldn't because it's really not a day that you can control much of what happens anyway. I think it's wise to choose a venue that has a planner or coordinator. The day is already filled with so much to do that the logistics of timings, gathering people for photos or moving from rooms or making announcements should be allocated to one person or the staff onsite. It really is a day that seems like one long flash but the less you have to do the more you can take a moment.