Showing posts with label The Image Garden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Image Garden. Show all posts

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Real Vintage Medical Themed Wedding: Rebecca & Ben

I've made you wait, but it's finally time for the incredible wedding reception pictures from this unique medical themed wedding. Rebecca and Ben chose The Morritt in Greta Bridge in County Durham for their wedding reception, and after many months of successful bidding on eBay, Rebecca personalised her and Ben's big day with a fabulous array of wedding details, including old medicine bottles as vases, an ancient doctor's bag for wedding gifts, and vintage first aid boxes filled with sweets. Table flowers looked just-picked, with snowberries and autumn foliage to reflect the season. Instead of a traditional wedding cake, Rebecca and Ben chose their own cheeses for a tiered cheese cake, and Rebecca's parents handmade chutney as wedding favours for eating on the day. So many wonderful details, all in one wedding - it's definitely an all-time favourite for me! Huge thanks to Sharron Gibson from The Image Garden and Vanessa Adams, her second shooter, for these gorgeous wedding pictures.


Our photographer was Sharron Gibson from The Image Garden. I found her on the internet by searching for vintage-style photographers. She is actually based in the South, but came all of the way up to photograph our big day. 


Sharron was wonderful, stayed all day and evening and felt part of the wedding! She also brought an assistant photographer, Vanessa Adams, to help who was lovely. As we set off for our honeymoon 24 hours later, she had already sent me a montage of her favourite photos which I was delighted to receive.



Ben and I got married on 8th September 2012 at St Edmunds Church, Sedgefield in County Durham, followed by a reception at The Morritt, Greta Bridge.



We wanted to have a lot of people, and provide a lot of food and drink. On our budget it made sense to pick a smaller, more personal hotel that we could fill to the brim.



I had tonnes of DIY wedding projects. I wanted a table plan, but I didn't want to spend time or money on it. I found a website called Here Comes the Bride, and they suggested using a mirror. They took the measurements, and printed out {and decorated} individual cards with adhesive on the back. My mirror had a gold rim, so my Dad and I sprayed it silver! When we put it all together, it worked really well. 




When I was planning our wedding theme, my sister suggested starting with the florist and working back from there....and she was right! I met with three florists and knew instantly when I had found the right one - Adam Prest......he was AMAZING!!! He is based in a farm outside of Sedgefield where he grows some of the flowers he uses. It was great to use someone local!



I could not describe really what I wanted....but he just knew. It was his idea for grey bridesmaids dresses!!!! I said I wanted the flowers to look like I had been out in the garden and picked the flowers. I also said I did not want them to be symmetrical or all the same length or size......the rest was down to him.


He selected a rose called Amnesia, white snowberries and a silvery foliage which I loved! He also suggested candelabras of varying heights for the tables. We were both keen that every table looked different!


Our wedding favours for the men were small jars of chutney {handmade by my Mum and Dad}. They make a lot of chutney, and because we were serving cheese at the end of the meal, it was the obvious decision! We made bibs and bow ties for each of the jars, and I made small top hats for all of the men to wear at dinner, which sat on top of the jars. 



The girls' wedding favours were different. My Mum is very arty and decorated small grey boxes (from Paperchase) with tiny flowers dried from the garden. Again each one was different, and we baked individual Rolo brownies to go in them! We also printed minute recipe cards for the brownies and put them in the box.


I really wanted a vintage feel but having been to several weddings prior to ours in 2012 it was difficult to come up with something original. So I was thrilled when I discovered vintage medicine bottles on eBay. I bid on them regularly in the run up to the wedding until I had enough for four/five per table. They were only a couple of quid each and make lovely mementos!


I was keen to have something original for our wedding cards from guests, so to continue with the medical theme, I found a vintage doctor's bag (also on eBay) for only £30.



The medical dictionary was my own, and I HAD to buy the vintage medical book 'The movement of the heart and blood', as it seemed very romantic!! 



I loved organising my wedding! It was great to put a personal stamp on the day. I tried to see it as a party, rather than a wedding, and I think we managed to create that kind of atmosphere. It did however dominate the nine months between engagement and the big day, and I am glad you only have to do it once!! 


My advice to brides planning their wedding is to start early. Book in all of the big things then have a bit of a break! Use the internet. There are so many ideas and craft websites out there. If you can’t find what you want....have a go at making it!! 

Invest in your dress.......it is definitely worth it!! Don’t make everything match. It was more fun having several subtle themes intermingled with each other, and it personalised the wedding more. Have a wedding folder.....it's geeky, but having everything in one place makes life so much easier!


When it came to our wedding cake, we both love cheese, so we had a cheese wedding cake! You can get them in set combinations on the internet, but we were keen to pick the cheeses ourselves, so we went to a small cheese shop called Cheese on the Green in Rugby {where Ben’s parents live} and tried all of them! It was very good fun!


I got a really naff cake topper online with a bride rugby tackling the groom.....my Mum hated it, but it looked really good after my florist had dressed the cake. To serve with the cheese, my Mum and Dad made chutney and fruit cake, while crackers and fruit were provided by the hotel along with our evening hog roast.


More posts like this one:

♥ Want to see countryside wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more purple themed weddings? ♥
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Real Vintage Medical Themed Wedding: Rebecca & Ben

As a wedding blogger, it's unusual for me to find a wedding style that I haven't spotted a million times, which is why I L-O-V-E this incredible vintage medical themed wedding. Rebecca and Ben are both doctors, so it made perfect sense for Rebecca to combine her love of vintage pretty, with lots of medical references. You'll see those gorgeous details in the reception pictures later today, but first, take a look at Rebecca's stunning wedding outfit. Her elegant Amanda Wakeley gown suits her willowy figure perfectly, and combined with sparkly Jimmy Choos and a Caroline Castigliano veil borrowed from her sister, she looks the picture of an elegant bride! Ben and Rebecca chose The Morritt in Greta Bridge in County Durham for their wedding reception, and the lovely Sharron Gibson from The Image Garden as their wedding photographer - two fabulous decisions! Huge thanks to Sharron, and Vanessa Adams, her second shooter, for these gorgeous wedding pictures.



Ben and I got married on 8th September 2012 at St Edmunds Church, Sedgefield in County Durham, followed by a reception at The Morritt, Greta Bridge.



For my wedding dress, I wanted something clean looking. My friend had got her dress from Amanda Wakeley several years ago and it was amazing! I booked a fitting {just for fun}! On walking in, there was a dress on the mannequin which looked a bit Greek {to reflect my heritage}...... I tried 10 dresses that day but already knew that it was the one.


I used my sisters veil {something borrowed} from Caroline Castigliano and treated myself to a pair of sparkly Jimmy Choos {my only ever designer pair!!!}. My earrings were my late grandmother's {on my mum's side} and my watch was my also my grandmothers {on my Dad's side}.

In Amanda Wakeley there were several headbands to try, one was very Greek / Roman in style, and I really liked the simplicity and the look it gave the dress. My friend and I visited the workshop where they are made. In the end I picked a simpler one which worked really well with my dress {and was a little more friendly on my wallet}.


For bridesmaids gowns, I reckon you can't go wrong with Dessy dresses! They are a little pricey but the colours and styles are endless so you can get exactly what you want! The shoes I got in Monsoon after Christmas with a discount voucher!


My husband is 6 foot 6 inches tall, and he's had to wear very badly fitted hired morning suits in the past. Therefore, for his wedding day, we had his trousers and waistcoat made by Michelsberg Tailors in Leeds, and hired the jacket. All of the ties were different for each of the groomsmen but toned with the grey theme.




The church is in the neighbouring village to my parents house and is just lovely, so that decision made itself. 




Our photographer was Sharron Gibson from The Image Garden. I found her on the internet by searching for vintage-style photographers. She is actually based in the South, but came all of the way up to photograph our big day. 

Sharron was wonderful, stayed all day and evening and felt part of the wedding! She also brought an assistant photographer, Vanessa Adams, to help who was lovely. As we set off for our honeymoon 24 hours later, she had already sent me a montage of her favourite photos which I was delighted to receive.


My sister suggested our wedding theme should start with our wedding florist, and work back from there....and she was right!. I met with three florists and knew instantly when I had found the right one. His name is Adam Prest......he was AMAZING!!! 



Adam's based in a farm outside of Sedgefield where he grows some of the flowers he uses. It was great to use someone local! I could not describe really what I wanted....but he just knew. It was his idea for grey bridesmaids dresses!!!!

I said I wanted my bouquet to look like I had been out in the garden and picked the flowers. I also said I did not want them to be symmetrical or all the same length or size......the rest was down to him! He selected a rose called Amnesia and added white snowberries, and a silvery foliage which I loved! 


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

♥ Want to see autumn wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about more vintage themed weddings? ♥
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Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Real Humanist Rustic Chic Wedding: Kia & Sam - Part 2

Boho brides are going to love all the wedding ideas they'll get from this stunning teepee wedding reception! Kia and Sam's celebrated their big day in Sam's parents' garden, surrounded by beautiful countryside, and tonnes of wedding details. I'm completely in love with their two giant teepee marquees, and the family-style dining tables. With a hog roast and a picnic feel, this lovely informal wedding kept their guests entertained all the way through to breakfast the next morning! Other stealworthy wedding ideas include the colourful handmade and hand-embroidered bunting, the DIY'd log cupcake stand, the fabulous VW van. Kia and Sam's whole family chipped in to help DIY this beautiful wedding. Don't miss Kia's answers to the Before the Big Day Bride's Questionnaire - she has tonnes of helpful hints for DIY brides-in-the-making. Huge thanks to Sharron Gibson from The Image Garden for her stunning pictures - don't miss Part 1!


We celebrated out wedding in June at my husband's parents' farm where he grew up, on the Beds/Bucks border. We had a Humanist ceremony besides an old tree in the meadow and two huge Scandinavian tipis.



We wanted an English country wedding with a Swedish influence {as I’m half Swedish}. It was important for our wedding to feel romantic, easy and fun, with no real formalities, a touch bohemian, rustic and 'us'.



We mostly enjoyed planning out wedding. We loved coming up with ideas – we have to be creative in our jobs every day for other people so it made a nice change to do that for ourselves. It did get to a point where we were so focused on our guests having the perfect day that we’d forgotten about us, but that was just a blip. We got back to the real reason we were getting married and wouldn’t change a thing about the build up or the day itself. All in all it was a lot of fun because we did so much ourselves.


We had tonnes of DIY wedding projects! We created that entire venue from the ground up – apart from the tipis themselves. We bought or made most things with the help of family and friends. 


We didn't have any particular theme for our wedding. In fact we wanted anything but a theme and absolutely no matchy-matchy colours. We just wanted the decoration to reflect our passions and interests with something different everywhere you looked.


We used a lovely local florist in Frosts at Woburn, who was really creative and so passionate about floral design. I wanted something unstructured and wild looking so chose a mix of brightly coloured flowers including snapdragons, sweet peas, sunflowers, dill and corn.


Sam made all the signs and the candelabras for the tree. Our parents made the flower arch and birdseed hearts. My husband’s brother made the cake stand.


We made a cake stand out of tree trunk slices and terracotta plant pots and covered the tiers in individual cupcakes, carrot cakes and plants. We wanted to echo the tree backdrop from the ceremony and the rural setting.


For wedding favours, we had chocolate moustaches and lips on sticks made by a local chocolatier. The inspiration came from my husband’s moustache!


My maid of honour and her mum made the bunting out of specially chosen fabrics and embroidered them with special words. Sam and I folded 500 origami peace cranes to hang on the trees {with the help of the best man and my brother}.  I wrote 'our story' which was printed onto elephant poo (!) paper and turned into paper hearts, which were hung on the backs of chairs.



Our photographer was Sharron Gibson of The Image Garden. We chose her because her photography style was exactly what we wanted – creative, observant and natural. She really 'got' the detail we had put into the wedding, and loved the surroundings we had chosen which meant a lot to us. We wanted someone who could just wander round capturing the feel of the day which she did wonderfully.



My advice for upcoming brides is don't forget why you’re doing it. As important the small details may seem to you, all your friends and family really care about is seeing you get married and having a bloody good party afterwards {a friend told me this and it helped loads!}. Speak to friends – they'll keep you sane and keep your feet on the ground. Let go and enjoy every single second – people will look after themselves. We were amongst the last to leave at 5am – we didn't want it to end. It was the best day and night of our lives.


♥ Want more colourful wedding ideas? ♥ Or how about boho wedding ideas? ♥
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Before the Big Day - the Best UK Wedding Blog.
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