Jo & Alex

We do love featuring weddings where the couple have sourced their suppliers from Rock My Wedding, and today's photographer, Frances Sales, was found by Jo and Alex right here on these very pages :) It's a gorgeous wedding, filled with pretty decor and flowers, and the images have captured so many wonderful moments - the one of Jo hugging her Dad brought tears to my eyes, and the time the ladies spent getting ready looks like such fun! Jo looks perfect in Esme by Jenny Packham, a gown we never tire of seeing, the embellishment and fall of the fabric are just divine. Oh, and the metallic Jimmy Choo sandals are rather easy on the eye too...

The Bride

Jo The Bride: I knew for a long time that this was the dress I would love to get married in – I tried on others but none of them quite lived up to the Jenny Packham Esme. I tend to get drawn to all things sparkly and this had tonnes of sparkle. I was never going to get married in a huge meringue – I did try one on just to check but as I imagined, it was not a great look on me! I loved the elegance of this dress, the 20s feel, the gorgeous beading and the open back detail - it was special! I have a thing about shoes (and while I think of it, bags are also a bit of a weakness...) So I always hoped that I’d be able to have a glamorous designer pair of heels for my wedding that I probably wouldn't be able to walk in easily but that looked great. I got my wish! A pair of strappy Jimmy Choos (also with a bit of sparkle - obviously) were the perfect match to my dress. I was actually quite proud that I managed to keep them on for pretty much the whole day, only changing into my flats well after the DJ got into full swing. My bracelet and earrings were both part of my ‘something borrowed’ and were kindly lent to me by my cousin (and one of my gorgeous bridesmaids).

The Venue

We spent months researching the MANY different wedding venues available across the country and even considered getting married in Italy! I thought I was quite relaxed about it all but it turns out that I had quite a specific idea in my head of what I wanted! We live in London but many of our guests were travelling from Devon and Cornwall so we were looking for somewhere that would work well for everyone (but somewhere that also had a bit of uniqueness/style). We looked online at everything from Cotswold barns to central London urban venues and eventually came across Stoke Place actually on Rock My Wedding! It looked like the perfect mix of traditional wedding venue and modern country house (with a few individual touches). We booked a visit and loved it!

The Decor

Pinterest became a bit of an addiction throughout the wedding planning...I pinned anything sparkly, neutral colours, slightly glam or vintage. We didn't go for a formal theme and just went with what we liked hoping it would all come together ok on the day! We had giant LOVE lights, these were a brilliant backdrop for some really great photos. We chose lottery scratch cards for our wedding favours - they went down really well however we, unfortunately, didn't create any millionaires!

The Wedding Party

Having bridesmaids who lived all over the country meant that it was a little tricky to get together...we did however manage to find a day where most of the girls could come up to London and so went to Fairytale London bridal shop for a mammoth try-on session. I think the girls pretty much managed to try on every bridesmaid dress in the shop...I wasn't too worried about having totally matching outfits but it turned out that they all liked the same style - a one-shouldered Dessy dress in suede rose. Easy, ordered! Turns out the girls had great taste - while looking on Pinterest the following week I spotted the very same dress (style and colour) on none other than Eva Longoria ;)

The Ceremony

As everyone always says the day goes so fast it's hard to remember all of the details - our main overwhelming memory is of having the most amazing day with our family and friends. There were so many highlights - I think walking down the aisle for me was a big one though. It was lovely to actually be there after months of planning! I know we both also enjoyed walking into the main reception to see all of our guests ready and waiting to celebrate with us! I walked down the aisle to Ed Sheeran - thinking out loud.

The Entertainment

We booked our DJ through Ear Candy. Our first dance was to Fix You by Coldplay - a really personal song for us and a perfect track for our first dance as Mr and Mrs.

The Food

Cake - made by our extremely talented friend Sarah. It was beautiful, just what we wanted and tasted amazing. She also kindly made each layer a different flavour as we couldn't decide on the best one - Victoria sponge, chocolate and carrot cake!

The Photography

This was always going to be a big decision for us (I love photography!) We didn't want anything too formal and were looking for someone who would be able to capture the day in a relaxed, natural way with a bit of creativity. I spotted Frances on Rock My Wedding and instantly loved the feel of her photos. We arranged to meet up and she showed us more of her fantastic work - we were sold. Frances was a great addition to the day, really friendly and able to fit in around what can sometimes be quite chaotic situations (I’m thinking the whole getting ready process and organising family photos!!). We were so happy with how the photos turned out and all of our guests commented on how lovely Frances was - bonus.