Real Traditional English Wedding: Sarah & Michael's Portrait Pictures

Your wedding portrait pictures will be some of the most important photographs of the day, so it's worth having a bit of a think about what you want beforehand. Consider using props to help you relax - some brides carry a parasol, or you could pose with matching bicycles or even funny hats and signs. An engagement session can also help you relax with your wedding photographer, and with posing in front of each other! In these gorgeous portrait shots from Sarah and Michael's big day, their photographer Anna Rosell took full advantage of the stunning gardens at Longstowe Hall. I love how she frames the shots with the rose arbours, and takes a mixture of informal and posed pictures. Make sure your wedding photographer knows what pictures you want, and scout out good spots at your wedding venue when you visit. Meanwhile, don't miss more gorgeous reception details from this wedding, coming soon!

We celebrated our wedding at Longstowe Hall in Cambridge on 4th August 2012. We wanted a real English wedding, and felt the historical feel of Longstowe's Elizabethan architecture, and its beautiful English rose gardens was just perfect.



Our photographer was Anna Rosell. She was recommended by the venue, but I also loved her work and the gorgeous colours that she always manages to capture in her shots. 

I spent months in the run-up to our wedding following Anna’s blog, and looking at the other weddings that she had shot, so I was very excited, as I knew she would provide us with pictures to treasure.

We had a purple and lace theme to the wedding, and also white roses, again keeping with the traditional English feel. We wanted to keep it simple and traditional yet classic. We also felt it was really important to use local suppliers and we managed to do just that.

♥ Want to see quintessentially English weddings? ♥ Or how about elegant weddings? ♥

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Real Lace-Themed English Wedding: Sarah & Michael

Much as I love quirky weddings, I'm a traditionalist at heart, and there's nothing I like more than a classic marquee wedding, set in the beautiful English countryside. Sarah and Michael chose the stunning Longstowe Hall in Cambridge for their summer big day - it's one of my favourite wedding venues because of its stunning rose gardens, and they struck lucky with a sunny August day - perfect for their portrait pictures. Sarah was keen to create a classically elegant feel to her wedding, so picked a lace theme, and a simple colour palette of rich purple and white. With this in mind, every wedding detail is perfectly matched, from the bridesmaids' dresses, to the wedding invitations and the wedding cake. Even the confetti matched, creating a brilliantly put-together feel to the whole day! You'll find tonnes of wedding inspiration in these beautiful wedding pictures by Anna Rosell - I'm a huge fan of her work, particularly her portrait shots. Don't miss the reception pictures, in the second blog post, later today.

We celebrated our wedding at Longstowe Hall in Cambridge on 4th August 2012. We wanted a real English wedding, and felt the historical feel of Longstowe's Elizabethan architecture, and its beautiful English rose gardens was just perfect.

We had a purple and lace theme to the wedding, and also white roses, again keeping with the traditional English feel. We wanted to keep it simple and traditional yet classic. We also felt it was really important to use local suppliers and we managed to do just that.

Like most brides, my original idea for how my wedding dress would look, was not what I ended up with. After visiting many shops I finally chose a beautiful Augusta Jones lace gown from Lara B in Newmarket. I wanted to be slightly more covered up, so I re-designed the top part of the dress, but I especially loved the open back and the lace edged veil.

I couldn’t find any bridesmaids dresses I liked so I ended up designing them myself, and having them made by a local seamstress, Cheryl Stratton.

Our wedding flowers were from The Flower House in Cambridge. I don't know much about flowers, and only knew that I wanted purple and white roses in the stem of the vases, so I let the florist decide on the arrangements. 



I was over the moon with her work! After the wedding I sent my flowers off to Precious Petals to be preserved, and now have my beautifully preserved bouquet framed above our bed.

We spent ages designing our wedding invitations, menus and table names, keeping with the purple and lace/white theme. We found an wonderful lady called Julie, whose local stationery company is called Little Button Nose, who handmade them for us.

Our wedding stationery was one of my favourite parts of the planning process, and I've kept a souvenir of everything that was made.

My husband's suit was from Moss Bros, teamed with a cream tie. The other men in the wedding party had purple ties, to fit in with our wedding theme.

Our photographer was Anna Rosell. She was recommended by the venue, but I also loved her work and the gorgeous colours that she always manages to capture in her shots. 

I spent months in the run-up to our wedding following Anna’s blog, and looking at the other weddings that she had shot, so I was very excited, as I knew she would provide us with pictures to treasure.

♥ Want to see quintessentially English weddings? ♥ Or how about summer weddings? ♥

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Real English Countryside Summer Wedding: Katy & Neil

Brides looking for stylish wedding inspiration, should look no further than this gorgeous Surrey summer wedding. I've fallen for the elegant monochrome colour palette, the bride Katy's birdcage veil and the bridemaids' super-chic wedding dresses. It's an English countryside wedding with a dash of sophistication, and from a wedding style point of view, it really works. Other food-focused details to copy include the French macaroons {my favourite are from Laudurée} and the multi-tiered strawberry Victoria sponge cake -the very essence of Englishness. Huge thanks to Patrick from Butler Madden Weddings for his gorgeous pictures.

More posts like this one:

✽ Real Summer Countryside Wedding

✽ Real Tipi Church Wedding

♥ Want to see stately home weddings? ♥ Or how about more dark blue themed weddings? ♥

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Real Vintage Country Garden Wedding: Emma & Tony - Reception Details

It's time for the gorgeous reception details from this lovely country-garden themed wedding. Elegant bride, Emma styled all her wedding details herself combining shabby chic with touches of the exotic, to reflect her husband Tony's Indian heritage. Stealworthy wedding ideas include her wedding bouquet wrapped in burlap, lavender boxes outside the church, mismatched vintage jam-jars and jugs on the reception tables, and the occasional Indian-style lantern. I love how Emma divided up their wedding marquee into three separate areas - the lounging section looks amazing, and the children's play area is such a good idea, if you're going to invite little ones to your big day. Also the pretty country-garden style florals by Passion for Flowers. Enjoy the gorgeous wedding pictures by B72 Imaging  and don't miss the shots of the wedding cake buffet - it's one of the best I've ever seen!

More posts like this one:
✽ Pretty Baby Blue Marquee Wedding
✽ Stunning Pink & Grey Marquee Wedding

♥ Want to see countryside wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more purple themed weddings? ♥

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