Real Wedding: Melissa & Anthony

Award winning photography on Before the Big Day! A picture from Melissa and Anthony's gorgeous wedding was shortlisted for photograph of the year, and came third out of hundreds of entries - congratulations to photographer Julia Ford! Check out the winning picture of their ceremony in the Great Barn in Devon below. There's also plenty of stealworthy ideas from this lovely countryside wedding. Melissa has a sweet ivy tattoo, and decided to continue the motif with ivy florals and beautiful silver cufflinks for Anthony. Simple, elegant and completely personal - perfect wedding theming. Many thanks to Julia Ford of Modern Photographic and Wedding Magazine for her beautiful pictures. Scroll down for a message from Melissa, and a list of her vendors.

Message from the Bride - We spent a few special days in Devon when we first got together and have been going back there every year since, so it seemed the natural place to hold our wedding. The idea was to bring a bit of London style to the country, but it was a challenge to find somewhere both modern and stylish in the midst of such a rural area. The sophisticated feel of The Great Barn was perfect, and the dramatic lighting during the ceremony gave the room all the drama of a cathedral. It was a spring wedding, so we wanted to create a sense of everything bursting to life, from the fresh green and white colour scheme to the table centres of wild spring bulbs.

I’ve never wanted to be a ‘princess’ bride, which is why I chose a simple halterneck gown with a touch of Hollywood glamour. My bouquet of viburnum opulus, white ranunculus and ivy complemented the day’s spring theme, and also honoured the memory of my mum who passed away a few years ago. She had planted a viburnum tree when I was born, and I’ve always loved the vibrant green colour of the pom-pom shaped blooms. Anthony looked gorgeous in a bespoke Ozwald Boateng suit accessorised with a delicate hyacinth and ivy buttonhole.

We kept the reception tables simple with scattered rose petals and oak-leaf shaped place cards. Because ivy featured in both my bouquet and Anthony’s buttonhole, I decided to commission special ivy-leaf earrings for me, and a pair of matching cufflinks for my husband-to-be. Continuing the green theme, our invitations were printed on packets of forget-me-knot seeds, and  we asked each guest to plant them in their gardens as another pretty reminder of our special day.

Vendors
Dress: Ana Cristache
Groomswear: Ozwald Boateng
Florist: Sarah Pepper Flowers
Ivy Cufflinks & Bracelet: Nicola Crawford of Silver Leaves

If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.