Sophie & Craig

Sophie and Craig's wedding is simply beautiful. Elegant yet rustic decor choices, with lots of fresh greenery and oodles of sunshine make it a total feast for the eyes. They also found their magical Anglesey venue, Tros yr Afon right here on RMW which always makes our hearts sing. As well as everything looking gorgeous, the big day was clearly loads of fun too, with the boys even grabbing their skateboards and making the most of the fine weather by zipping along the coastal roads. Emma Pilkington has captured everything to perfection and it's a real treat to share with you this afternoon...

The Venue

Sophie the Bride: Having got engaged on Anglesey and spent so much time there surfing or walking the dogs, it was always going to be the place we got married in the UK. We originally wanted to go back to Manly, Australia to get married, as we lived there for a year, but having those we loved around us was far more important. I came across Tros yr Afon reading a Rock My Wedding blog post and knew straight away it could offer everything we were looking for. You hire the venue as a blank canvas for almost a week which was perfect as I was happy to do a lot of the wedding myself and really make it personal to us. Tros accommodated all our family and wedding party and a lot of guests stayed for a number of nights which allowed us to have a pre and a post celebration. It is right by the sea (and a beautiful lighthouse) with the Snowdonia Mountain range as a backdrop and of course those palm trees. You can get married at Tros but we fell in love with the beautifully quaint St Seiriol’s at Penmon Priory 5 min down the road.

The Flowers

We had a fantastic local florist who had also dressed the venue before. Helen at Bluebells really brought what I had been picturing for so long to life for me. We used a mixture of fresh foliage, herbs, lavender, roses, hydrangea and Eucalyptus. I will never forget the smell from first walking into the marquee. Helen had also put into my bouquet one stem of Iris for my late Grandma Iris. Our bridal party all had matching flower crowns with mine having a few more white roses towards the back and ivory and lavender ribbons to match the ribbons on their dresses. Helen also created a beautiful flower arch and my parents had brought extra foliage from their garden to create garlands around the pole of the marquee.

The Décor

It was important that the day was personal to mine and Craig’s relationship as well as our style, so along with our mums, we had started collecting and making everything wedding for close to 2 years before the big day. We love the outdoors so wood and foliage was the key ingredient with a touch of colour in the matching bridesmaids dress to table runners. My dad is a great DIY man so he also built our photo booth to match our theme. It was amazing and so many guests commented on it and have actually borrowed it since.

The Ceremony

My dad walked me down the aisle to the Snowdonia String Quartet playing ‘Can’t help falling in love’. This was a favourite of both our grandparents and Craig spotted his nana realising while he was waiting at the alter. One of Craig’s best men, Sam gave a reading and our Parish Priest Rev Neil Fairlamb gave a beautiful traditional ceremony. The String Quartet then played ‘One day like this’ Elbow, while we signed the registers. We then walked out to them playing Guns and Roses.

The Bride

My dress was a bespoke Emma Beaumont and I absolutely loved it. I would highly recommend not only the incredibly talented Emma, but having a bespoke dress itself. I was never getting ‘that feeling’ trying on dresses and always wanted a bit of everything! The whole process from picking fabrics and lace to watching my dream dress come to life. It is definitely an experience I will never forget. As a big Sex and the City fan it had to be the classic Manolo Blahnik Hangisi to walk my favorite walk in, I just went for a slightly paler blue. My mum also lent me her beautiful diamond and pearl drop earrings as well as my late Grandma’s engagement ring (which were my old and borrowed) to finish off my bridal look.

The Groom

Craig wore a tailor made Moss Bros. blue suit with Ted baker material. He bought his waistcoat separate from ebay and it matched brilliantly with the groomsmen’s ties, shoes and belts. Craig wore brown Loake shoes from a local shop owned by his old school friend at Elevate Your Sole. The rest of the groomsmen wore the same suit through Moss Bros hire.

The Catering

Our amazing caterers were Marc Macauley and his team. They served Manapes with reception drinks under the palm trees, then a 2 course meal of beef with dauphinoise potatoes and seasonal vegetables, followed by his and her desserts of berry crumble and crème brulee. Our Mexican evening food outside was extremely popular. We supplied our favourite Australian wine, while the team at Foelas Arms provided our bar complete with special made wooden pallet bar. Cake was 2 layers sponge and 1 layer carrot by Sue Watkins Tier Celebration Cakes.

The Photography & Film

We had the lovely Emma Pilkington who captured our day perfectly and didn’t miss any little detail. Emma was really relaxed which really put myself and Craig at ease and we still can’t quite believe that, that is our wedding in her pictures! Matt from Aaron Rose Wedding Films was a great addition to our day, he even came the night before to get some footage of our pre wedding get together. We can’t wait to see what he puts together.

Charity Wedding Favours

Craig kept questioning me about what the point of favours were, so we decided to donate to a charity. He then came up with the great idea of a charity to help the oceans, so I bought and stuck pins to 100 turtles. It was great to see them on everyone’s ties and dresses in the evening.