Joyous & Intimate September 2020 Wedding in Pretty Blue Tones

Introducing the stunning September 2020 wedding of WWW readers Emily and Richard. Hooray! They are joining us share their absolutely joyous, pretty and intimate celebrations which included a reception at Weston Park in Shropshire.

Their day was a total triumph. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to set a date after having been engaged for a few years. After 6 weeks of wedding planning their day came together so perfectly, proof that you don’t need years to plan a magical day. You are going to love the blue hues in the flowers, the romantic candlelight and the fireworks to end a wonderful celebration of love.

Thanks so much to James Merrick Photography for sending over these totally beautiful images. Oh my.

The Proposal

Emily/Bride: A few years ago, Richard proposed to me high up in the Whispering Gallery in St Pauls Cathedral during a trip to London. We spent a few days there, including my birthday on New Year’s Eve watching the London Fireworks. It was wonderful!

The Vision

Our entire wedding was booked and took place with 6 weeks of planning and preparations. Although we had been engaged for much longer, a wedding date hadn’t been set as we felt no rush. During the Covid-19 pandemic, with lockdown restrictions lifted at the time to allow weddings with a guest maximum of 30, we came to the realisation we were ready for our next step in life, which we decided would be to get married and go on to start a family. After speaking with the vicar we decided on an intimate wedding on 19^th September 2020, with our closest friends and family.

Our main focus was to create the wedding we had always dreamed of; full of love, emotion and celebration. We’re so glad to say we achieved everything we could have wanted – we wouldn’t change a thing!

The Venue

Ceremony – St Lawrence’s Church, Coppenhall.
Reception – Weston Park, Shropshire.

Your Outfits & Accessories

Bride’s dress and veil – Ethereal Bridal Penkridge.

Shoes – Jimmy Choo.

Emily: I visited my local bridal store and although I knew the type of dress I was looking for, tried on a large array of styles (just to make sure and rule other options out). I wanted something timeless for the dress, with an embellished veil and shoes. My shoes (Jimmy Choo Bridal) were an Ivory Satin pointed toe heel, with jewel detailing strap.

Groom and groomsmen suits – Peter Posh Suit Hire.

We decided to hire suits and came across Peter Posh online. The suits were black, with tails. The waistcoats were beige/gold (groom) and grey (groomsmen). We decided to have a few differences between the groom and groomsmen as we felt that would be a nice way for the groom to stand out. The groom also had a gold pocket watch to wear on the day, a present from the mother of the groom.

The Ceremony & Music

The ceremony took place at our local church, a short walk (approximately 2-3 minutes) from our home in Coppenhall, Stafford. It’s a beautiful, small Grade II* listed parish church in the countryside that I (Emily) walk past almost daily. To get married there really was a dream come true.

Due to covid-19 restrictions at the time, we didn’t have hymns, but the vicar delivered readings throughout. For music, we kept it very traditional with an organist playing the wedding march.

For the reception at Weston Park we had a harpist playing throughout the evening until the speeches. Afterwards, a playlist of music handpicked by us played.

Your Photographer & Filmmaker

Photographer – James Merrick, James Merrick Photography

Videographer – Sam Holland, Route 89 Video Production

Incredibly talented, professional and lovely, both highly recommended! We found James online and fell in love with his photography style and portfolio. James then recommended Sam (they had worked on a previous project together) when I mentioned we were looking for a videographer. I took one look at his website and had to contact him straight away!

The Styling & Decor

We wanted to use as many local suppliers as possible, including our florist (Julie and her team at Lavender florist, Penkridge), who has made flower arrangements for our family for many years.

For the theme, I (Bride/Emily) wanted a pastel colour scheme, mainly white/ivory, soft pinks and pale blue. Blue is both mine and the grooms favourite colour, so that was a must! For example – Our confetti (from Adamapple Confetti) was pale blue hydrangea and my nails were painted a very pale blue.

Our three-tier wedding cake by Suzanne Thorp at The Frostery was an absolute showstopper! It looked and tasted incredible.

Venue Décor – The venue itself is already stunning and we felt the rooms inside spoke for themselves. To dress the tables in the Orangery and Dining room we focused on flower arrangements, along with various candles, charger plates and seat pads/organza hired from Susan at The Midland Events Company.

Memorable Moments

Bride/Emily: Walking to the Church with family following (on the way to the ceremony) and neighbours lining the street to wish us well. It felt surreal – a moment I will never forget.

Groom/Richard: The moment of relief when Emily first walked down the aisle. I was a nervous wreck before she walked in and as soon as I saw her I instantly lit up. It will forever be a proud moment looking into her eyes and hearing her say I do.

Both: A firework display to finish the evening in the grounds of Weston Park. An incredible ending!

Advice For Other Couples

Take in every moment, it really does fly by! Relax and enjoy, everything will be perfect.

To anyone tempted by a wedding with smaller guest numbers but unsure, in our experience the love that filled the room that day was enough for 1000 guests – Go for it!

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Such a special day indeed.

Emily and Richard thank you so very much for sharing your September 2020 wedding and a massive congratulations to you both.