Timeless Elegant & Floral Blush Wedding

If there is one thing for certain, no two days are ever the same on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings. I just love featuring an array of different wedding styles, not to mention lots of wonderfully special stories and couples. It really is just the best thing ever. Today’s real wedding feature introduces us to WWW readers Charlotte and Mark, whose classic wedding with timeless appeal was held at Lenore Manor on the 4th August 2019 in Herefordshire.

Their day oozes style and sophistication, with a delicate blush colour scheme and the most beautiful flowers throughout. Little touches such as the room scent and the children’s tipi really added so much personality and love to their day. I especially love their outfits, Charlotte wore a chic gown by Suzanne Neville, while Mark opted for a bespoke suit and the bridesmaids donned Maids To Measure frocks. They all looked really gorgeous too.

These stunning images were kindly sent to us by Helen Jane Smiddy Photography and I cannot thank her enough for sharing them with us today.

The Proposal

We got engaged on our summer holiday to Aruba. We had visited Aruba on a Caribbean cruise the year before and loved it there. Mark had plans that when we returned he would propose. Luckily ( for him) it was my birthday during our holiday so that way he could hide the ring amongst presents from family, with a promise that I wouldn’t peek. On our 2^nd full night at the beautiful island we went for a delicious meal on palm beach and strolled the beach at sunset. The proposal was in front of the sea, just the 2 of us. We found a beach bar just after with only the 2 of us there celebrating over a bottle of fizz. We are still in touch with the lady that worked the bar that night. She was so excited for us.

The Vision

The morning after the proposal, sat on a sun lounger, Pina Colada in hand……Pinterest was set up. Being slightly older getting married I knew what I wanted. I had seen so many weddings styles come and go, I knew I wanted something that we could look back on in years to come and still liked what we saw in our photographs.

Our vision was timeless, classy, elegant…..with flowers, lots of flowers.

The Planning Process

I loved every minute of planning our wedding. I didn’t sweat the small stuff. I knew what was important to us and concentrated on that. We wanted ‘less is more’ but with a few WOW factors for the things we loved most. For example, venue, food and entertainment. We added a few personal touches in the guest book, cake and sweet cart which all told a story of us as a couple. I knew the dress designer that I liked which helped massively as I didn’t get caught up trying hundreds of dresses on. For all of these reasons, the planning was straight forward and enjoyable.

The Venue

Our venue was the beautiful Lemore Manor in Herefordshire. We were recommend this venue by a friend and on our first visit we were blown away. Margaret (the owner) met with us and showed us around. I remember her asking us what was important to us during our visit and we told her the guests, the food and the experience. As we left, these things were listed on the back of their brochure. We felt the venue was made for us. We loved the quirky rooms for our guests. The grounds are outstanding and something that Margaret is really passionate about. The attention to detail at this venue is on another level, with a hen house for the bride and her girls and a gents retreat for the groom and his boys. It ticked all the boxes. We cant wait to return for another occasion.

Your Outfits & Accessories

Charlotte – I have always loved Suzanne Neville designs. Her wedding gowns are gorgeous and the outfits she designs for TV and red carpet are to die for. After discovering that Carina Baverstock Courture was holding a Suzanne Neville designer day I couldn’t wait to try some on. Carina and Suzanne were extremely helpful. I tried a handful of dresses on, all of which were beautiful. I’d already seen the dress I’d liked on Instagram and it was the one I chose for my big day. I loved it on as much as I had loved seeing it on social media. Sam at Carina’s tailored my dress to perfection. She worked hard to ensure every detail was perfect for my body shape.

I chose simple and delicate jewellery to compliment the style of the dress, wearing Pandora and Tiffany bracelets and earrings. I chose a hair piece from Ivory & Co at John Lewis to match the detail on the waist of my gown. I wore this after the ceremony.

My shoes were from Emmy London. I loved these shoes from the moment I saw them. As my dress was quite plain it was nice to have a contrasting colour to match my girls dresses. Emmy were fantastic. They sent a sample shoe for my dress fitting and the packaging of the shoes still blows me away. They even wrote a hand written letter to go in with them. I took my shoes on honeymoon with me and I’m always looking for an occasion to wear them again.

Mark – Mark had his suit designed and made by a bespoke tailor in Cardiff city centre. Hawkes bespoke outfitters were fantastic at seeing my dress and complimenting Mark’s suit to fit the occasion and style that we wanted. Russell (owner of Hawkes) took everything into consideration to make Mark’s suit slightly differ from the groomsmen. Mark was able to discuss his preferences for his suit over a glass of whiskey during his appointment. A lovely touch. Mark’s shoes were from Brogue Traders. A simple design to match the classic suit.

Beauty

My hair was styled by my own hairdresser, Alex Wiosna hair. I wanted to style my hair as I usually would instead of something completely different. I wanted something soft and natural rather than structured and bold.

Myself, my mother and bridesmaids had our make done by Katy Phieffer make up. I found Katy on Instagram and her work with brides speaks for itself. Katy arrived on the day and worked her magic, she stayed until we were ready to walk down the aisle ensuring the final touches were in place. Our makeup stayed put all day under hot august weather conditions. Many friends have booked her for their wedding since seeing her work.

The Readings & Music

We decided on two readings for our ceremony. One read by a close friend and the other by Mark’s sister. The readings were called The One and On Your Wedding Day. The words had meaning and were an easy read.

For music, I walked down the aisle to ‘Des’ Ree – Kissing You’ from Romeo and Juliet. To me, it was ultimate romance. Its quite the tear jerker though, so we added more upbeat music for the rest of the day. We signed the register to ‘Jason Mraz – I’m yours’. We walked out to ‘You make my Dreams come true – Daryl Hall and Oates Johnson’. And finally, we entered the orangery for our meal to ‘Now that we found Love by Heavy D and the boys’. Hitch is one of my favourite films and this song reminds me of that.

Music and entertainment was very important to us both. We wanted live music and a band that had a broad range of sounds. We found The Tricks on Instagram and knew they were the band for us. The medleys that they play are just so much fun. They played an acoustic set for our guests outside while we had photographs taken before getting the party started for the evening. Everybody commented on how good they were. They also sung our first dance song, ‘You are the best thing by Ray LA Montagne’.

The Flowers

My flowers actually made me cry. Jo from Issy and Bella is outstanding at what she does. If you look at her Instagram page, no wedding is the same. Her attention to detail is second to none. I met with Jo once and she totally got what I wanted. She was also great at recommending ideas to save cost. For example, my floral arch in the ceremony room was moved as a backdrop for our top table. Genius!!!!

Jo arrived early to dress our venue and brought the bouquets for myself and my bridesmaids over to the hen den. She made fairy wands for my flower girls, which they loved and then she dressed the boys in their buttonholes to ensure they were just right. She even waited for me to walk down the aisle. You can just tell how much she loves her job! Friends have now booked her for their weddings!

The Details & Décor

We wanted everything to compliment our vision. With lots of blush florals and green foliage we opted for our stationery to match. We used optimal print to design our name cards and menus. Our table names were named after famous golf courses that Mark had played. Again this added a personal touch. We popped cards next to our Jenga guest book and our sweet cart which explained some of our story as a couple.

We used Courture Events to style our tables with blush napkins and glass charger plates. Our florist added the centrepieces and a sprig of greenery to tie everything together.

My father made the stands for the table names and we made our own confetti from my favourite flowers in our garden.

We scented the room and napkins with Seychelles room spray from The White Company as its my favourite scent and reminds me of summer.

Outside, our venue had the most beautiful grounds. Making the most of our summer wedding and keeping everything crossed for some sunshine we added a tipi filled with crafts for the children and lawn games for everyone to enjoy. Being a teacher I wanted an element of my passion in our day just like Mark’s passion for golf. We added a chalk board for the children to draw and colour with quotes to encourage people to engage in conversation and enjoy the outdoor games.

Groomsmen

Mark’s Groomsmen were styled in Moss Bros. Mark wanted their suits to compliment his suit and our classic style. Mark’s friends were from far and wide but found it easy to go into their local Moss store for sizing while the Cardiff store coordinated ordering the suits for the big day. It was that easy.

Bridesmaids

I knew I wanted my girls in Maids To Measure dresses. Their designs are so pretty and elegant. Half of my bridesmaids were pregnant during the planning of our wedding and would have only just had their babies before our big day. It was important to me that they all felt comfortable. We went to a local bridal shop that stocked Maids To Measure dresses and the girls tried a few styles to see what they liked best. They were all happy with one style and we all decided that the blush pink was the colour of choice.

My flower girls wore dresses from John Lewis. We kept this neutral in colour and I even took a swatch of my own dress so that the colours matched. It’s surprising how many shades of ‘white’ there are. I didn’t want their dresses looking cream next to my white gown. Having a swatch really helped to find the flower girl dresses.

Your Photographer

Mark and I met our photographer at my cousins wedding in Santorini a few years ago. She was lots of fun and great to chat to. We then followed each other on Instagram. We loved Helen’s style. Her work is so much fun with very natural shots. They really told the story of the day. We also wanted someone we had met before and knew what we were like behind the camera. I couldn’t wait for Helen to arrive on the day. She got straight to work with her second shooter Jess. It felt like they were there to get ready with us. I barely noticed the snaps being taken. Helen coordinated everyone with ease on the day and again, more friends have enquired into booking her for their wedding.

Everybody loved her work. Helen shared her top 3 photos the next day to keep us going over our honeymoon. Before we knew it our photos were sent in the post and we couldn’t wait to share them with family. Helen was so helpful and professional from the day we booked her. She made everything easy.

Your Filmmaker

Adam Lyduch was recommended by our venue. We instantly searched for him on Instagram and fell in love with his work. He’s so quirky and stylish. His films are like little trailers to your own movie. The snapshots of the day are so much fun. We were thrilled that he was available for our wedding. After meeting him for coffee (and cake, after some convincing) we couldn’t wait for the big day. Adam was a superstar. He, like Helen, blended right in and got the work done. He also made time to get Mark a beer during photos as he knew after shooting many weddings, the drinks go quickly and the bride and groom don’t get much chance for refreshments. What a legend!!! We love watching our highlights video and plan to watch the full film on our anniversary.

The Honeymoon

A few days after the wedding we jetted off to Dubai for 4 nights followed by Mauritius for a further 12 nights. Complete contrast of places and both fantastic. We enjoyed a few busy days exploring Dubai before relaxing in paradise. It was perfect.

The Cake

Our cake was from Marks and Spencer. I love M&S cake and I wanted a simple design. We had golf cake toppers to add to them so that it added a personal touch as Mark is a keen golfer. For the evening we brought out HUGE Colin and Connie Caterpillar cakes. They were a bit of fun and who doesn’t love a Caterpillar cake?

Memorable Moments

For me, the hen den was so much fun and a great touch to Lemore’s venue. I know Mark felt the same about the gents retreat. It was so nice having somewhere to relax before the big event but still being close to guests arriving.

Also, the garden room!! After our ceremony Mark and I were taken straight there to have a glass of bubbles by ourselves before greeting our guests. It was a great way to see each other as we didn’t have much opportunity afterwards.

My father’s speech will always stay with me. He read it as if he were a teacher (like me) in the style of a fairytale. He added puns about golf with a quiz at the end and a prize for the winners. It made me laugh and it was so different to any other father of the bride speech I had ever heard. I felt very proud of him speaking on a day that was highly emotional.

Advice For Other Couples

Don’t get caught up in trends. Have what you want and be true to yourselves. There’s no point trying to keep up with wedding fairs as there will always be something new or more to add to your day. Keep it simple so that there is less to stress over. You’re meant to enjoy the whole process, not just the day.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

How very beautiful.

Charlotte and Mark thank you so very much for sharing your darling wedding story with us xo Lou