2013-09-02



Victoria is ACE because she bought her wedding earrings long, long, long before she was even engaged. I love a bit of ‘just in case’ purchasing.

Victoria is also amazing because she knew what she wanted for her wedding day. Exactly what she wanted. And here’s her story of how she made it happen…



The Lace Market

We chose St Mary’s not only because it is a beautiful Church to get married in, but because the church and its surroundings have long played a part in my family’s lives. The Lace Market is where my family have worked and had property for much of the last forty years. My Father was instrumental in saving a great proportion of the area with the Lace Market Heritage Trust. They were able to give modern uses to many of the old Lace Industry workhouses.

I have loved seeing St Mary’s throughout the seasons and every year when we sing carols at Christmas there, I am reminded of how stunning it is both inside and out. It has been a site of worship since Saxon times so for centuries many happy couples have enjoyed their own nuptials there which we see as a good omen!



A Special Place

St Mary’s also holds a special place in my heart as I have had to say goodbye to both my Uncle and one of my very best friends there. I hoped that in some way this would allow them to be close to us on a day which they would very much have been a part of would they have been able to be with us.

St Mary’s Church and the Lace Market itself is an area which I love visually, connect very deeply with and very much appreciate its part in my family history so it was with no hesitation that Dan and I decided on St Mary’s to start our news lives together.

A Family Home

When Mum and Dad put their house on the market last summer after thirty years of living in Fiskerton, it quickly became apparent that we would have to find an alternative reception venue! After some research, we went to view Swancar Farm and knew immediately this was the place.

It was a family home for twenty years and the same family recently opened it as a wedding venue. It was in the countryside which is where I grew up, and only fifteen minutes from the Church so the perfect distance.

It was a beautiful venue, with lots of character, inside and outside space to take into account that changeable British weather and we believe it has the same intimacy of a family venue that my Parent’s house would have given and so for that reason it was a no brainer! The service we received the first time we went to view the venue also gave us great confidence in their abilities to have everything under control and wonderfully executed on the big day, and we weren’t disappointed.

Red Carpet Ready

My make-up was simple and natural with pinky hue blusher and a couple of false lashes. I wanted to look like myself on the day, just a more glamorous version of! I liked that I could just change the lipstick later on to create a stronger evening look. Ali Gunn was our make-up artist and she was incredible.

We were all so thrilled by our make-up. For all the ladies in the wedding party it was us, but just a movie star version of us! It was perfect. Ali used to work for MAC so many of their products were used. They stayed on all day and all I needed was a freshen up of lipstick from kissing all the guests!

Our hair was done by the very talented people at Nottingham’s Toni & Guy. Matthew Conway is one of the Art Directors there and has been doing our family’s hair for over fifteen years, so I knew I was in good hands. His creativity is excellent and together we wanted to choose a hairstyle that was elegant but slightly modern in its execution and I think we achieved that.

Lace For A Nottingham Girl

I went for an Enzoani ‘Fairy’ Dress. I had seen it in a number of magazines and kept coming back to it. It was the first one I wanted to try and the one I came back to. I liked Enzoani’s modern take on a traditional dress. He used a lot of lace in that collection which is what I wanted (getting married in the Lace Market and being a Nottingham girl!), so I was spoilt for choice.

It was a full dress but also hugged my curves which I loved. Because of my choice of church I needed something with a bit of drama or in my opinion it would get lost. I felt like I owed it to the church and you only get married once! It had a thin tulle overlay with flower appliqués at the bottom which gave the illusion of them being attached to the dress. It came with a belt with similar appliqués and a subtle jewel/pearl detail. I loved the combination of the dress, tulle overlay and belt.

Elegant But Cheeky

It all came together perfectly and I have had so many compliments about it on the day and afterwards saying that it is like nothing anyone had seen. I saw that as a compliment as many of my friends are getting married this summer so will all have been on the lookout for the perfect dress!

I went to James Bridal in Nottingham for the dress. They have many of the big designers and can get most things in. When I saw they had Enzoani I knew that I really didn’t need to go anywhere else. It’s a boutique and I would prefer to support local businesses than go elsewhere if I could. My shoes were No 1 by Jenny Packham for Debenhams. They were ivory and had lace and subtle sequin detailing over the peep toe front and also up the back of the heel. I wanted something simple and elegant but with a cheeky detail which I believe I achieved.

Just In Case

All the jewellery was already mine. I have a stacked diamond ring that I wear everyday on my right hand and have done for years so that was a no brainer. My earrings were pearl and crystal gothic chandelier style drops. I used to work in a jewellery shop and customers would often pick them up for their wedding. I loved them so much I thought I would buy them just in case!

I also wore a diamond tennis bracelet that my parents had bought me for my 21st birthday. The diamonds and pearl combination worked well with the detailing on the belt of my dress and complimented them beautifully. I also had a handmade hair comb by Kula Tsurdiu, a local wedding dress designer. It had been made with Nottingham Lace which was very important to me. It had diamante detailing around petal shaped lace.

It was so beautiful and tied in perfectly with my dress and other accessories, and again supported local designers. My veil was simple so as not to complete with the dress, satin edged with two tiers. It wasn’t full length but 3/4 again, so as not to compete with the dress and lose the flower appliqué detailing on the bottom of my dress which I so loved.

Forest Green

The Bridesmaids wore a dark forest green, full length, Whistles dress with lace detailing across the top. Again in-keeping with the lace theme, Whistles is my favourite shop, and my surname is now Green! They only did this dress is two colours, black and green, so it was purely by chance that I went for the green, but it was too perfect a dress to pass up.

It was pleated from waist to floor, synched waist, was sleeveless and had a modern lace insert over the décolletage. The movement in the dress was stunning, and I loved the pleat detail as it is not something I had seen when looking for bridesmaids dresses. I like that it was a bit different. A modern take on a classic look, in my new favourite colour. They were perfect. Their hair was done in a modern take on the 1940s roll. Classy but modern and not overdone. I just loved it!

The flower girls were my nieces aged 3 and 6. The overall theme of the wedding was Spring time and flowers, light & bright so when I saw meadow print dresses in complimentary colours, I had to have them. I didn’t want the girls in too formal attire, because it wouldn’t have fit with the day. Again, I wanted a modern take on a traditional outfit. The dresses were from John Lewis, cotton, sleeveless with bow detailing on the shoulders and waist. Perfect for beautiful little girls.

We had our dressmaker fill them out with mulberry pink coloured tulle to make them a little more special. They wore cream bolero style cardigans with a bow detail to one side, white ankle socks with a frill, and a light pink/bronze metallic snakeskin pump. I liked the different colours and textures all brought together. The girls were age appropriate but perfect springtime additions to our wedding party! I loved them. Their hair was done in a similar way to the adult bridesmaids but with Heidi style plaits to again make it age appropriate but in the same theme.

Special Ties

The boys wore morning dress with white shirts and harvest yellow waistcoats, supplied by Slaters Menswear. The tie for the groom was a pink Thomas Pink tie with very small navy flowers design, the two Best Men had a light green version of the same design. The ushers and fathers had the same outfit and dark green silk ties. I wanted the groom and best men to have something a little special and different to set them apart, but then the groom have something purely for him, which is why he had the only pink tie.

Spring Has Sprung

The theme as mentioned was a spring theme. I didn’t want a colour as such as I feel it can constrict your options. I wanted it to have a couple of colours and themes that complement each other rather than running with one. So it was floral, with lace, peals, greens, soft and deep pinks and metallics.

The palette was everywhere and it was the different textures and different mediums that worked so well together. I liked the ombre theme, so with my outside balloons, I varied the tones of pink, and with the table flowers I did the same.

My mum had very kindly made me a silver sequined tablecloth for the cake table which I had seen done before and loved. Again, just making the cake table a little special. I made all of the votives out of mason jars, sprayed with silver spray paint on the outside over lace and rubber bands to give different effects and sprayed them with silver and gold on the inside to give the glow a warmth. These worked well with the cake table cloth, with the mirrors and small silver gems that were scattered on the tables.

Floaty, Blousy And Pretty

My florist was a very wonderful and talented lady called Rebecca Caddell from Floral Deco, again a local supplier. We’d had a few chats about what kind of thing I was looking for – soft , pretty, floaty, blousy flowers like gypsophila, peonies and delphiniums.

I went with a scrapbook of ideas and she loved the research I had done and that the options were a little different from the norm. Outside the church we went for 6ft box trees dotted with roses from soft pink to deep pink, again a nod to the ombre theme. I liked the box hedges because they framed the church door beautifully, but in my opinion a modern option. These were transferred to the reception later on.

My bouquet was a mixture of the soft and hot pinks, with lots of different textures. It was a hand-tied bouquet incorporating roses and spray roses in range of pinks and ivory, with astilbe and phlox. The Bridesmaids had the same in a smaller version. The two flower girls had two pomanders in two varieties of hot pink spray rose.

Delicate Foliage

We had two pedestals in the church either side of the aisle full of different textures again but in keeping with the greens, creams and pinks elsewhere. They were delphiniums, antirrhinum, astilbe, larkspur, roses, double lisianthus, ammi, in ivory and a range of pinks with range of delicate foliage.

I had asked for our table decorations to look like the colours were running down the arrangements so the cream and lighter coloured flowers would be at the top, and they would run down to deep pinks and a few reds at the bottom. There were silver chalice bowls containing gently domed design incorporating massed roses, ranunculus, spray roses, peonies, piano roses, in ivory and all shades of pink, with colour wave moving through the design, and wispy foliage overlapping edges of the bowl. They were stunning and again were different to many flower arrangements I had seen.

The top table was different. I wanted it to be busier and again a mixture of textures and details so there were a number of different mirrored cubes holding flowers, including the bridesmaids and my bouquets, together with ivory gypsophilia and smaller silver flecked tea lights, and larger glass lantern lights to give it a warm glow. I didn’t mind stretching a bit financially on the flowers on the top table as I was so happy with the table decorations, and we would have the enjoyment of them for most of the day sitting behind them. I just loved all the different textures and heights. It was just such a lovely and relaxed set up.

How Deep Is Your Love?

We had my mother’s choir sing before the church choir sang during the signing of the register. They sang ‘How Deep Is Your Love’ by The Beegees, or more importantly for my generation, covered by Take That in the 90s! Apart from the fact I loved Take That the first time round as a youngster, the words were beautiful and very fitting. No one was expecting it and it got a huge round of applause, in church! All the ladies wore beautiful spring colours and they sounded great too. It was an honour to have them perform.

We also had Tony Porter, the Bishop of Sherwood perform our ceremony which was very special.

Music To Set The Tone

We had Brian Wilson, a hugely talented harpist (and neighbour of my sister’s), play as people arrived and throughout the meal. He played a range of classical and modern pieces and was the perfect backdrop throughout the meal. We then had a band called Cover Story who we had enjoyed at our friend’s wedding down in Windsor the year before. They were excellent and had everyone up dancing throughout the night!

I don’t think I left the white starlight dance floor once they came on! We also had a polaroid photo booth provided by our wedding photographers, Depict Photography. I loved the idea of a photo booth but liked this vintage take on it. All black and white polaroids , professionally taken with stunning results – our guests got to take home their photos and we got a scanned copy to keep. Perfect. We also had garden games out in the courtyard of the venue for guests to play at their leisure. They went down a storm!

Munchies

We had canapés to start during the welcome drinks, including mini Yorkshire puddings with roast beef and horseradish and chive cream, smoked salmon with cucumber and cream cheese and chipolata sausages roasted with honey and wholegrain mustard.

We wanted a light menu to reflect the spring theme and to have items that were in season if possible. We started with Lincolnshire asparagus, poached hen’s egg, crispy pancetta and hollandaise sauce, followed by oven roasted breast of chicken, spring onion and pancetta croquette potato, sugar snap peas, baby corn and tarragon veloute, finished with a trio of desserts! These included chocolate, raspberry and lime mousse served with shortbread biscuits, hot chocolate fondant, vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce and raspberry and vanilla crème brulee served with pistachio macaroons. Heaven!

After dinner, we had an evening hog roast buffet with salads, but in addition to that we had organised a Thaymar Ice Cream Cart for our guests, and a Chocolate Yurt provided by The Wedding Yurt Company. The Yurt was in the corner of the courtyard, lined in hot pink material with a chandelier and fairy lights, a chaise lounge with cushions and two people handing out organic chocolate hearts on silver trays. We are chocoholics so this was an indulgence but perfect for our wedding!

Cake Cake Cake

The cake was supplied by the very talented Nat at Yummy Little Cakes. We chose a medium grey colour, five tier cake, with three edible layers. We don’t like fruit cake so that was out! We went for lemon drizzle cake with a raspberry and lemon centre, chocolate fudge cake with Baileys ganache, and then a carrot and walnut top layer with lashings of cinnamon. Delish!!

The outside was partially decorated with lace and a thin satin ribbon, with some dot detailing in the same grey colour on the two faux layers. It then had a few flowers on each layer and then on the top in our wedding flower colours to tie it all in. It was on a pale pink cake stand on a silver sequin tablecloth.

Floral Design

I spent many hours researching stationery and found a wonderful independent supplier called Zoe from Dottie Creations. I had seen her Candy Cloud design and it was a perfect springtime, floral design but in a traditional format – ideal for what we were trying to create throughout our day. We changed the colours to reflect our choices and the greens, pinks and cream floral detailing was just beautiful.

She was brilliant and so calm (which is always useful) and obviously loves what she does so we couldn’t have been happier. She created our table plan and guest book from the same design. We did the table numbers and menus ourselves from a design I had seen and been able to re-create in a darker green floral print, which again complimented our overall visual without it being too matchy-matchy.

Light And Bright

Our photographers were Depict Photography. They were suggested to me via a wedding photographer friend of mine who knew what type of look we were looking for. The images they create are light and bright and you can’t help but connect emotionally with their subject matter. This was perfect for what we wanted for the spring element of our wedding and we were thrilled with what they had produced.

We didn’t want anything too formal whilst still getting the group pictures and some of the traditional elements captured. The informal pictures of people chatting throughout the day were just what we wanted, and the details from start to finish were perfectly captured. We couldn’t have been happier.

They are a husband and wife team and are a delight to work with. Very professional and incredibly talented but also relaxed in their delivery. You know they are getting exactly what they want and what you want, but you are able to enjoy the day as it is often captured ‘behind the scenes’ as it were.

The Best Day Of Your Life

My advice is, enjoy every moment. It’s a cliché but it goes quicker than you would ever expect. Don’t worry about a thing, you have a team of people around you to sort any issues that might arise and ultimately, you’ve done all the hard work so just enjoy it. Make sure to spend some time alone just you and your husband to reflect so that you don’t forget why it is you’re having such a great time with all your friends! It’s the best day of your life.

Special moments for me were writing a card to each of my parents for them to open on the morning and realising how much it meant to them. Also the groom’s speech, not for what he said about me, but for what he said about each of our parents and the important people in our lives. I knew it would be good, but what he said blew me away.

Click here & view all images from this wedding

Bride’s Gown – Enzoani at James Bride

Make Up – Ali Dunn

Hair – Toni & Guy

Hair Comb – Kula Tsurdiu

Bridesmaid’s Dresses – Whistles and John Lewis

Groom and Groomsmen – Slaters and Thomas Pink

Cake – Yummy Little Cakes

Florist – Floral Deco

Stationery – Dottie Creations

Venue – Swancar Farm

Videography – Sugarfish Productions

Photography – Depict Photography

How amazing are the balloons? The image of the flower girls sitting beneath them makes my heart melt.

Loving Victoria’s choice of flowers and the dark green maids gowns – definitely a bit different to the norm.

Lots of love,

Fern x

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