Ellie & Andy
Photography by Ania Ames Photography
The Bride Fashion and Accessories
Ellie the Bride: When I first went dress shopping I said: “I wanted more of a dress than a wedding dress”. I knew in my head what I meant by that but no one else really got it. I have never been into glitz and knew I didn’t want anything strapless. I went to a few different shops/boutiques but Serendipity Brides was the best experience and loved the detail down to the homemade cookies on offer. After trying lots of different dresses, I kept going to the same style which was the tulle skirt with an A-line silhouette. I just loved the simplicity and I felt like a bride. When I put the dress on called Della by Wtoo by Watters, I had the feeling that I was a bride but not over the top. This dress shone out above the rest because of the lace detail and surprisingly to me, I loved the sparkle it gave with the beading on the bodice. The only issue was that it was strapless which was one of my big no’s. The staff at Serendipity reassured me that we could custom the dress. When the dress came in I met with Irina the recommended seamstress and she added the tulle straps which then made it perfect.
I kept the jewellery simple with having only a bracelet from Annie Haak. It was very important for me that somewhere on me I had a four-leaf clover to represent my Uncle David and Auntie Joan who had sadly passed away.
The Grooms Fashion & Accessories
With Andy being 6ft 6 we knew that buying off the rack would be difficult so he went straight to a bespoke tailor, St Crispin Bespoke Tailor, which was the best decision we made. Andy had always wanted to wear a 3 piece navy Suit and chose a fabric that had a subtle light blue check which made him stand out to the other groomsmen. His tie and pocket square were from the same place. For sentimental reasons, his cufflinks were borrowed from his grandfather.
The Venue
We knew that we wanted to have a civil ceremony and the ideal was to have the ceremony and the reception in the same place to keep the guests altogether. With Andy being in a wedding band there wasn’t many placed around Northamptonshire that he hadn’t played. It was my good friend Lucy who pointed out Plum Park and I am indebted to her that she did. As soon as we pulled up the driveway we were in awe of the beautiful setting and laidback country house feel that is exactly what we wanted, we booked it there and then.
Beauty
My best friend and my hairdresser, Danielle to looked after all the hair on the day. I wanted it up but loosely to with real flowers. Jo Tromans, did the makeup for all the ladies which was a real treat and took away that stress and panic in the morning, we felt truly pampered and Jo was fantastic.
Flowers
All the bouquets, buttonholes and table decorations were designed by Sarah at Spindelberry Flowers. We wanted wild and un-structured bouquets with deep pinks greens and open roses. We were so pleased that Sarah visualised exactly what was in my head.
The Rings
The wedding rings were designed and made by Gavin Mack who also designed my Engagement ring. We both went for simple bands with the date hand engraved on the inside.
Special Details
Our finishing touches were handwritten blackboard signs done brilliantly by my good friend Sarah. They were all personal to us with one thanking our guests for joining us on our special day. Another had a quote from Andy in his proposal – ‘Let’s Start with Forever’.
We wanted to have fun with our table plan so we printed a polaroid picture of all of our guests and displayed them on a wooden pallet to show what table they were sitting at. Our table names were makes of Gin as Andy and I are huge Gin lovers, each table had the bottle in the centre.
The Family Heirloom – Horseshoe
One of the special parts in the day was the exchange of a Horseshoe made in the 1940’s from Lily, my niece. This has been a tradition dating back to when my nan got married on 10th September 1949. The Horseshoe was then passed to my mum in 1973 by the youngest in the family. Then in 1981 it was passed by my sister to my aunty. My sister then received the horseshoe 2 years ago by her daughter in 2015.
Catering
What could be better on a summers day than a BBQ which our guests could help themselves outside…? In the evening, bacon and sausage butties with cheese, biscuits and pork pie from the cakes. Plum Park did all the catering, the food was amazing!
The Cakes
Our wedding cake was made of cheese, no fruit cake for us. We LOVE cheese so this was a definite for our wedding day. St Giles Cheese provided the cheese rounds and we put it together and decorated ourselves. To go with it was a giant Pork Pie from Sauls of Spratton… Yum.
The Photographer
Ania Ames was top of the list for us as we had seen her photography before from a friend’s wedding. Her photography is stunning, natural and from the heart which we loved. When we met, we instantly got on with her which I think is hugely important as she will be there on such a significant day witnessing and documenting all our memories. We were so pleased with what Ania captured from our day and can't thank her enough.
Entertainment
Music is very important to us so all the music throughout the day were songs that meant something to us. The band, Audio Stars, were recommended to us from the Warble website and we are so glad we picked them. We knew our family and friends loved to dance and they had the dancefloor full throughout the whole evening.
Our first dance was ‘Beautiful War’ by Kings of Leon which has always been our song. It wasn’t well known to all but you have to have the song that means something to you as a couple.
Advice
Be creative!
Do what YOU want as a couple and don’t be afraid to show your personality. Take every offer of help and don’t get too stressed about the small things. Enjoy everything, its gone in a flash.
