Emma & Chris

Oh my this wedding party are one seriously stylish bunch. Bride Emma wears a fabulous backless gown designed by her friend of Bon Bride, and her best girls look beautiful in pleated navy skirts and white top separates. Plus you have to check out their shoes! And the perfect place for all this style was at home for a super fun back garden marquee reception filled with gorgeous botanics. The skies may be grey but the spirit, love and personality of this gorgeous couple shine through, beautifully lighting up the page and images captured by Craig Williams Photography.

Wedding

Chris the Groom: We had THE BEST wedding day and weekend with our friends and family. We got married at St Mary’s Church and had the reception at Emma’s parents house in a small village called Burley-in-Wharfedale nr. Ilkley in Yorkshire. We were having mini heatwave (for the north), and in true northern style the heavens opened and we had a huge thunder storm just as we left the church  which meant we all took cover (some inside the church and others outside under trees etc. as the pics show!). Em’s dress was designed and made by her school friend Pippa Cooke who now lives close to us in Peckham, London. It was an amazing experience to create a bespoke dress with a friend and extra special to have Pippa their on the morning to dress Em for the big day. Pippa has a little girl called Bonnie and is launching her own bridal collection later this year, under the name; Bon Bride. Emma the Bride: ‘The dress making process with Pippa was very enjoyable. Pippa is extremely creative with a great eye for detail. I told her a rough idea of what type of dress I wanted and she started to draw up the sketches. I had two different toile fittings, the first we made adjustments to the shape and fit and then second toile was made from a different fabric so it allowed me to see how the material would fall and get and idea of the train length etc. The pattern cutter for my dress works for Tom Ford and the dress maker for Mulberry so it was amazing to know I was having a dress created by some of the best in the business. I went shopping with Pippa to pick the silk for my dress and it was really amazing seeing it complete for the first time. It fit perfect, was very me and felt amazing to wear. Bon Bride make bespoke wedding dresses in the UK and Pippa is launching a new collection soon.

Grooms Attire

Chris’ suit was from Paul Smith, tailored by the lovely folk at the Floral Street store in London.

Flowers

The florist is also based in Yorkshire (Firenza Flowers). Run by a wonderfully creative lady called Fiona Pickles who where possible only uses locally grown flowers. We kept the brief really loose, and her creativity exceeded all expectations as she dressed the marquee beautifully. We didn’t want to be too tied down by any colour schemes, but looking back we had a lot of natural greenery, silver (LOTS of Tom Dixon Etch Tea Lights! & an iconic hanging Tom Dixon Etch Web light that cast an amazing shadow on the Marquee roof) alongside some neon pink and blue.

Wedding Party

I had 6 Bridesmaids, which included: my sister, sister-in-law, and school & university friends. Chris had 7 Ushers, which included 3 best-men; his little brother and 2 closest friends. We had a very cute page boy; Alfie Earl (Chris’ nephew).

Ceremony

We had the best time during the ceremony! Some highlights (in no particular order): 1. The whole wedding party belting out our final ‘hymn’: Let It Be by The Beatles (played by our friends @wrongaliceduo on Guitar & Chello). 2. Our friend Hannah playing organ for our first hymn Give Me Joy in My Heart. 3. Alfie (the page boy) successfully walking down the aisle in his own unique way to pass the rings to Boydy the best man. 4. Our close friend Kate Murphy reading I Wanna Be Yours 5. Chris’ sister and husband reading Corinthians 13: 1-8 6. Having to take cover in the church and wait for the thunder storm to pass before heading up to Emma’s parents house! 7. Awesome order of service designed by Jodie Philo (who also made screen prints for the marquee, all pre-wedding stationery, place settings and Snapchat Geofilters!).

Entertainment

Wrong Alice Duo kept the music going whilst at the house. Before one of the Usher’s William Chaloner welcomed the newly wed couple with a speech that compared Chris’ love of Emma to that of his beloved football team Carlisle United. One of Chris’ oldest friends Nick Jones grabbed a guitar and got everyone one their feet singing All You Need Is Love as we entered the marquee to a series of confetti canons set off by the overly excited Ushers. The speeches went down an absolute blast (again as you’ll see from the pics). The dancefloor was never empty courtesy of: 1. Brother From Another’s impeccable set and never eneding encore! Inc. Saxophone solos that got EVERYONE moving. 2. Carlisle’s finest Paolo Di Liberto keeping a wedding dancefloor moving “all night long” 3. Chris’ dad, Richard Watt, aka Dicky Watt, aka Hipster Jack, taking over the decks to play half an hour of v.rare soul tunes.

Food & Drink

The food was insanely good; Crab & Prawn Timbale with Avocado, apple & vinaigrette starter. Followed by a choice of Roast Sea Bass with lime salsa or Herb and Pistachio coated rack of Spring Lamb, served with summer salad roast and new potatoes. And to finish Raspberry Vacherin with fresh raspberries and Strawberry sauce. Cocktail hour helped anyone get through the post food lull with Espresso Martini’s, Mojito’s and Cosmopolitan’s flying down. The cake was made by Emma’s bridesmaids cousin Dorcas who lives down the road. 3 tiers of lemon, blueberry and chocolate.

Photographer

We couldn’t thank Craig Williams (our photographer) enough! He took so many amazing photos and nobody even noticed he was there. He captured the day absolutely perfectly, and whisked us off to the Cow & Calf to get some memorable pics and to have a moment of calm amongst the best day of our lives! We were so so pleased our family and friends could share the day with us. Especially those that travelled so far (Uganda, New York, Corsica, Dubai).