Holly & Joe

I'm going to begin this feature with Bride Holly's words, because although you'll them again at the end of the blog post, I really think they are worth reading twice: 'Take every opportunity to snap a quick mental picture of everything! Capture it and crystallise it forever. It's precious and it's one time only. So choose to enjoy it! Even if little bits & pieces don't go to plan (balloons don't blow up, coffee doesn't show up on time!), just remember you're surrounded by people who have given up time & resource to be there, to celebrate you and your partner saying yes to forever! That's super special. So don't let any silly little detail steal your joy.' SO well said and it's truly a pleasure to bring you Holly and Joe's joy this afternoon...

The Theme

Holly the Bride: The theme for our wedding was tropical green leaves and white, with accents of champagne & gold. Our wedding was filled with palm leaves, monstera leaves, gold confetti & jumbo white balloons. I loved last seasons trends which have been super green heavy, but I wanted to add some accents of gold and use tropical leaves to create a more glamorous feel to the day.

The Flowers

In keeping with the tropical theme, the bridesmaids had monstera & white calla lily bouquets, made by one of our family friends. And the groomsmen also had button holes to match! I hadn't seen the monstera leaves used for bouquets before, but I think they worked out beautifully and fitted the theme really nicely. The florist did a stunning job with my cascading bouquet and filled it with white and green tropical flowers & leaves, it completely exceeded my expectations! It was bursting with flowers and was huge. We placed in on the top table for the after party, so that it could be admired!

The Bride

For my dress, I went backless! I've always loved the elegance of backless dresses and I completely fell in love with this little cutie. I bought it in a bridal boutique, I Do Bridal Specialists in my home town of Newcastle! I tried on heaps of dresses, but for me the spaghetti straps, lace overlay and the train really sold it for me, it was comfortable but I still felt super glamorous & elegant. For my accessories, I bought them all through ASOS, I went for copper ear cuffs to match my bridesmaids necklaces and then embellished pointed shoes, I have had a long standing love affair with points, so wearing them on my wedding day was a must. As for my hair and makeup I was determined to look like me, but on a great day, so I avoided any typically bridal hair & makeup looks and instead opted for a bouncy blow dry at the Aveda Blow-dry Bar, which worked great for me and also survived the rain! And my makeup was done by a gorgeous Senior MAC makeup artist, coppery colours on my eyes to complement my jewellery and complexion, and then a pink nude on my lips (Nikki's Nude to be precise). I love glamorous 60's makeup looks, luxurious lashes & nude lips, and I think the artist did an awesome job at executing the look! For the evening I had a change of outfit, a wide leg crepe jumpsuit from ASOS White Collection with a cut out side, I couldn't resist it, I actually bought it before my wedding dress as I am a confessed jumpsuit addict! I paired it with another cute pair of embellished nude points.

The Groom

My man went Reiss head-to-toe!! A slim fit navy suit, white shirt, champagne tie & oxblood shoes. Joe is suit obsessed, so this purchase was a labour of love and the perfect fit was a necessity! Luckily one of our friends is a tailor for Reiss, and he did an amazing job sorting Joe out with his dream suit. The champagne silk tie complemented the theme beautifully too.

The Wedding Party

Brides babes (bridesmaids). These girls are my world and I wanted to make them look & feel amazing. They all wore champagne and nude outfits. Glossy, satin materials and wrap over styles that have been major this season, but they also make for timeless, classy looks! So for my girls I had four of them in wrap over dresses from Miss Guided and three in wrap over, wide leg jumpsuits from with D clasps from a little boutique in Newcastle. For jewellery and shoes, the bridesmaids wore simple copper necklaces from H&M and copper points or sandals that were their own, and then an oversized copper clutch bags from ASOS. Comfy and glam was the aim of the game! As for the guys, they echoed Joe's suit in navy trousers, white shirts & navy braces.

The Venue

We had our afterparty at Wylam Brewery. We were both born and raised in Newcastle, so we chose this gorgeous venue situated in the centre of a big park in Newcastle. It's a functioning brewery, but an industrial feeling events space, with exposed bricks and steel beams. It fitted our theme perfectly and acted as a blank canvas for us to decorate as we wanted to!! The venue also arranged the champagne upon arrival, the street food catering (Pan Asian & Indian street food carts) and the charcuterie boards that we had later in the evening. And of course the wine & beer! It is a brewery after all!

The Cake(s)

We went all in for a desert table with a little something for everyone to choose from. But our gorgeous naked wedding cake was made by my big sister Megan Todman. She's great baker, and ridiculously creative! She made a three tier vanilla, rose and victoria sponge cake and finished it with fine gold glitter and some baby monstera leaves.

The Ceremony

We got married in a simple, yet stunning old church in our favourite part of Newcastle, Jesmond. Our friends led us in worship songs for the ceremony, and our pastor from the church we attended in Newcastle preached a short message for us. One of our friends sang a song as we signed the registry and then we all had white & gold donuts and coffee provided by a local coffee company. The church was decorated simply, with fine gold confetti and white peace lilies and tulle running down the aisle. Then my girlfriends and I made a white tulle backdrop with a white wisteria garland. The church was filled with balloons, plants and gold confetti! Our ceremony felt really special.

The Entertainment

My husband is a musician and we both really valued what kind of music we had for our big day. One of our friends is a really talented singer / songwriter, Nick Mercer, he played an acoustic set at the cocktail hour before the evening after party. Fun, special but still laid back and not super formal, just as Joe & I wanted. For the evening we had a DJ we fell in love with at one of our friends wedding. Every song was a winner, and he read the room like a pro, the dancing didn't stop all night. From our cute little 3 year old friends all the way up to my grandma!!

The Photography

Our wedding photographer was Nataly J Photography, and honestly we couldn't be any more in love with our wedding photographs, I think I still look at them every single day! They are the most perfect reflection of our day! Nataly captured so many special moments and beautiful emotions. I honestly couldn't have asked for anything more, everything that we asked, she managed to facilitate! Additionally, she brought creative ideas and suggestions, consequently she captured images from every aspect of our day, from final touches to makeup at the start of the day to all of our guests partying late into the evening! We're in love with every image. She's professional in manner but manages to make everyone feel at ease & comfortable in front of the camera! Joe & I couldn't have been more pleased! Not only that but by the evening of the wedding she had already edited and sent over a great selection of our couples images so we could share our special news in style! Thanks Nataly.

Advice

Your wedding day is likely to be the funnest, but fastest day of your life. You will have stunning photos taken of your big day, like us! But take every opportunity to snap a quick mental picture of everything too! Capture it and crystallise it forever. It's precious and it's one time only. So choose to enjoy it! Even if little bits & pieces don't go to plan (balloons don't blow up, coffee doesn't show up on time!), just remember you're surrounded by people who have given up time & resource to be there, to celebrate you and your partner saying yes to forever! That's super special. So don't let any silly little detail steal your joy. It's you & your partners day, so love every moment, take a deep breath before you walk down the aisle and take a million snaps to cherish forever.