Real Pretty Countryside Wedding: Claire & Tom

There's nothing better than a lovely English countryside wedding, particularly one with an elegant colour palette and a giant chocolate cake. The lovely couple, Claire and Tom, clearly have fabulous taste, as every detail fits perfectly, creating a truly chic affair brimming with stealworthy ideas. My favourite spots are Claire's bouquet of long-stemmed Avalanche roses, her bridesmaids' hair accessories and the simple-but-oh-so-special orchid blooms for the table displays. Plus the extravagent train on Claire's Rosa Clara dress is to die for! Copy their style by choosing just two colours for your big day, rather than a whole selection - it makes it easier to make everything match. Gorgeous photographs as ever from Nikole Ramsay, and scroll on down for Claire's helpful hints, plus all her suppliers.

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Claire was kind enough to fill in our bridal questionnaire, aimed at helping other brides with their planning process. Feast your eyes on her answers for helpful hints and tips from someone on the other side of her big day!

Where and when did you get married?
26th June 2010 at South Lodge Hotel, Lower Beeding, West Sussex

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
We chose the venue because it was beautiful, and somewhere that no one we knew had got married. Which was something I wanted.

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
All white with a touch of silver.

Who made your wedding outfit, and how did you come to that decision?
My dress was from Rosa Clara at Liberty. It was the 3rd dress I tried on and it was perfect. My shoes were Christian Loubotin. I love them! I wore a diamond braclet which Tom brought me especially for the day and my dad brought me a Tiffany key necklace, but the chain was too long so I attached the pendant to my bracelet.

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
Tom’s outfit was from Lapels Mens Hire in Maidstone Kent. Mark was very helpful in dressing the groom, 2 best men, 5 ushers, 2 fathers and 2 page boys.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
We went for a chocolate cake, from Purita Hyam. We chose it as i don’t like fruit cake or jam, and I am a chocolate lover. Purita sent us a sample and it was delicious.

Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
We had lottery tickets, unfortunately nobody won, but a couple of £10’s were.

What flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
We had white avalanche roses and orchids.

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
Nikole Ramsay. We chose her as she photographed my dad’s wedding and they were amazing pictures (as are ours). She was recommended by my auntie who is also a photographer.

Did you enjoy planning your wedding?
I loved planning my wedding, albeit a bit stressful at times. I want to do it again.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
Keep calm and carry on and go with your instincts, don’t do things just to make others happy.

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Real Quintessentially London Wedding: Cynthia & Tom - Part 2

Time for the second part of this exquisite London wedding, and it's wedding reception detail time! It's stealworthy ideas a-go-go, with beautiful bridesmaids in Reiss dresses, a groom wearing striped socks, and a beautiful bride in a 40's style wedding dress by Luci Di Bella. I love the fabulous Lincoln’s Inn Fields venue, with its historic hall and beautiful gardens. Cynthia and Tom kept with the vintage theme, choosing silver vases and vessels with lilac roses and lavender, with ornate wedding menus decorated with tassels and the Lincoln's Inn monogram. Favours reflected Cynthia's Australian heritage, with custom-made stubbies for the boys and Australian-made soaps for the girls. For a list of more of the wedding vendors, scroll on down. Huge thanks to Nikole Ramsay for her beautiful wedding pictures, and don't miss Part 1 here.

Wedding Credits:
Wedding Dress and veil: Luci Di Bella | Bride's Shoes: Pedro Garcia | Hair & Make up Artist: Kit at Slap Artists | Tom’s Suit: Favourbrook | Bridesmaids Dresses: Reiss.com dresses & Kurt Geiger shoes | Ceremony: The Chapel, Lincoln’s Inn Fields | Reception: The Old Hall, Lincoln’s Inn Fields | Wedding Flowers: Rebecca Law | Wedding Invitations: KW Doggett, with illustrations by Jess Linares | Wedding Favours: Soaps from Mozi & Stubby Holders from Cooler Cans | Wedding Cake: Rippon Cheese | Wedding Cake Topper: Little Venice Cake Company | Wedding Car: Gold Chaffeur Services

♥ Want more London wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about lilac-themed wedding ideas? ♥

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Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Real Quintessentially London Wedding: Cynthia & Tom

As a London bride myself, I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for London weddings. Throw in a vintage theme, a gorgeous bride, and fabulous wedding photographer, Nikole Ramsay, and I'm sold! You're going to love Cynthia and Tom's beautiful big day. They married at the historic Lincoln's Inn Chapel, on a perfect 30 degree day {you see, they do happen!}. The Inn is a charming oasis of clam in one of the busiest parts of London, and its stunning gardens are the perfect location for an elegant wedding reception. Take a look at Nikole's lovely pictures to spot all my favourite wedding ideas to steal. I love Cynthia's beautiful vintage-inspired Luci Di Bella wedding gown, her simple but stunning pearl earrings, and the pretty lilac she chose for her bridesmaids' dresses and wedding theme colour. Lavender was strewn at the entrance of the chapel, so guests released the scent as they walked up the aisle to take their seats - isn't this the best idea? Don't miss more fabulous details from this wedding in Part 2 - coming soon!

Wedding Credits:
Wedding Dress and veil: Luci Di Bella | Bride's Shoes: Pedro Garcia | Hair & Make up Artist: Kit at Slap Artists | Tom’s Suit: Favourbrook | Bridesmaids Dresses: Reiss dresses & Kurt Geiger shoes | Ceremony: The Chapel, Lincoln’s Inn Fields | Reception: The Old Hall, Lincoln’s Inn Fields | Wedding Flowers: Rebecca Law | Wedding Invitations: KW Doggett, with illustrations by Jess Linares | Wedding Favours: Soaps from Mozi & Stubby Holders from Cooler Cans | Wedding Cake: Rippon Cheese | Wedding Cake Topper: Little Venice Cake Company | Wedding Car: Gold Chaffeur Services

♥ Want more London wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about lilac-themed wedding ideas? ♥

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Real Pink & Peony Wedding: Sarah & Ben

Check out the colour at this wedding!  It takes some bravery to theme your big day around bright pink, but stunning couple, Sarah and Ben styled theirs brilliantly, and wow, don't the colours pop in Nikole Ramsay's fab photos. I get seriously emotional about peonies, so I'm adoring their addition to the cake and posies, and Sarah's Spanish style mantilla veil is perfection. You can buy a really similar one from Delphine Manivet.

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Real Wedding: Emma & Matt

I'm a little green with envy over this wedding. It's the shoes that started it. I'm obsessed with Christian Louboutin, and right there in the first pic is a seriously tasty pair of ivory stacked heels, fresh in their box. Be still my beating heart! Moving on to the happy couple {and mentally walking away from those shoes}, the gorgeous Emma and Matt celebrated their wedding last summer in London. They chose a church wedding, at Our Lady Help of Christians in Blackheath, followed by a fabulous flower-filled reception at historic Eltham Palace. I'm loving their wedding style; from the soft pink colour palette, the vintage car, the traditional morning suits and top hats, it's a quintissentially English affair. Stealworthy details include the Have And To Hold ribbon (from Cox & Cox), the tall glass flower displays {all the better for guests to be able to see each other}, and the cute little individual cakes - somehow so much more of a treat than a slice! Heavenly photographs as ever from the lovely Nikole Ramsay.

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Emma was kind enough to fill in our bridal questionnaire, aimed at helping other brides with their planning process. Feast your eyes on her answers for helpful hints and tips from someone on the other side of her big day!

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
The church was my local parish church growing up and I knew I wanted a Catholic ceremony there. Eltham Palace is an obvious choice in the area. It’s a beautiful place with a stunning mix of art deco and original medieval architecture. The grounds are also extensive and wonderfully kept. In terms of decoration, we didn’t need that much, because the Palace itself is so decorative.

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
I like soft pinks and my bridesmaids dresses were champagne with soft pink sashes. Also, the groom's and ushers' ties were pink. There was no exact theme, but I wanted a traditional wedding with an element of glamour. In the church, it was very traditional, but I knew I wanted very beautiful music and we had an amazing choir called the Blossom Street Singers.

Who made your wedding outfit, and how did you come to that decision?
My dress was made by Phillipa Lepley (custom made) – it was traditional but was quite fitted, my veil was from Blackburn of Blackheath. My shoes were Christian Louboutin.  I had some simple flower diamante slides in my hair, but I can’t remember where they were from!

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
Matt hired his outfit from Austin Reed on Regent Street, and I would definitely recommend them.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
Our cake was made by Nazan Lewis of Daisy Cakes Bake Shop. It had soft pink flowers on it and had a top tier and then individual cakes for the rest of it.  I had some chocolate and some lemon cakes, but then the top tier was fruit, which we kept it for the christening of our first baby.

Who was your florist? What flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
We had soft pink roses and then some big displays. On the table, I had very tall vases, because the ceilings were so high – I really liked those. In the church we had ivy wound round the pillars – which was beautiful.

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
Nikole Ramsay – she was recommended by another photographer and she was brilliant.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
Try and stay within your budget – it is only one day. Just enjoy the day, whatever happens. If you are calm and forget about the mini details, it really will be the most amazing day of your life. 

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