{"id":223907,"date":"2018-02-27T07:00:22","date_gmt":"2018-02-27T07:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/whimsicalwonderlandweddings.com\/?p=223907"},"modified":"2024-05-01T14:59:06","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T13:59:06","slug":"playful-metallic-zoo-inspired-winter-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wedissimo.com\/blog\/playful-metallic-zoo-inspired-winter-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Playful Winter City Cathedral Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Playful<\/p>\n

The lovely Beth and Sam tied the knot at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and followed their nuptials with a fabulously fun, metallic reception at Oh Me Oh My on the 11th November 2017. The ceremony setting was really important to the couple and Beth’s Mum was able to marry them, how special is that?<\/p>\n

There were plenty of zoological details at the reception as a nod to the location of their first date, and it sounds like our pair got through a fair amount of spray paint during the preparations!<\/p>\n

Now. We need to talk about Beth’s amazing gown! What a gorgeous silky dress. Custom made, it is by Hayley Neil from her Rolling in Roses collection. I love that Beth incorporated some of her Mum’s veil into the design as her something old and her coat finishes the look off perfectly. Sam kitted himself out in Paul Smith and his and the groomsmen’s ties were specially made by a friend.<\/p>\n

The brilliant images of this glorious winter wedding come courtesy of Jenn Brookes, thank you so much for sharing them with us Jenn.<\/p>\n

\"Gold \"Playful \"Table\"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Bride \"Playful\"Playful \"Playful\"Bride \"Playful \"Playful\"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Order \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Bride\"Playful \"Playful \"Bride \"Playful \"Playful \"Bride \"Playful \"Playful \"Table \"Playful \"Spray \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Bride \"Playful \"Bride \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful \"Playful<\/p>\n

THE PROPOSAL | I had designed the ring with a very close friend for nearly a year so the proposal felt like it was a long time coming. On the day before our fifth anniversary I had covered our flat in fairy lights, filled our little lounge with her favourite wine and food then only got mildly irritated when she said she was too tired to get dressed up for our anniversary celebration. Eventually I asked the question and she said yes. Quickly followed by the happiest selfie anyone has ever taken.<\/p>\n

THE VISION | We had our first date at London Zoo so after Beth vetoed actually getting married at the Zoo she agreed that it could \u2018inform\u2019 some of our theme. I took that idea and ran with it. As we started to talk about colours we both preferred a simpler, metallic feel and because it was a winter wedding thought it would bring some warmth to the day!<\/p>\n

Beth\u2019s mum is a vicar and the church is very important to her family, so we wanted to make sure that was part of the day. The Lady Chapel at Liverpool Cathedral was the best hometown setting we could have wished for, and let us have a drinks reception after the wedding (also serving delicious fish and chips)!<\/p>\n

THE PLANNING PROCESS | Not painless\u2026 but totally worth it. I won\u2019t miss the smell of spray cans!<\/p>\n

BUDGET | Pretty small!<\/p>\n

THE VENUE | Ceremony and Drinks Reception, Lady Chapel, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. Beth\u2019s family have close ties to the Cathedral and once we\u2019d decided on a church wedding, it seemed the perfect place (although we did have to make sure guests didn\u2019t go to the Catholic Cathedral at the other end of the street). The stained glass window with the neon Tracey Emin sign is in the background of most of our group shots. The catering staff and volunteers were fantastic, and went above and beyond.<\/p>\n

Wedding Breakfast and Evening Reception, Oh Me Oh My
\nSam found the venue online and we absolutely loved it. We wanted a cosy space with a decent bar and space for a dancefloor, and the venue couldn\u2019t have done enough for us. Holly our wedding coordinator was an absolute dream, and helped us with a very stressful last minute flower wall crisis. The food was exceptional, even if most people on the top table who were giving speeches after dinner didn\u2019t eat very much\u2026.<\/p>\n

THE DRESS & ACCESSORIES | The dress is custom made by Hayley Neil and is from her Rolling in Roses collection. Hayley designs and makes her own dresses, and Faith was from her first collection (she\u2019s since released another two collections and I couldn\u2019t look at them until after the wedding in case I wanted to change it!).<\/p>\n

The colour was sea pearl because I thought white might ook too harsh in winter light and the lace insert was my \u2018something old\u2019 as it was from my mum\u2019s wedding dress. The veil also had sections of the same lace and I managed not to get a mark on it (the same can\u2019t be said of my dress). Sam carried the dress back from the dressmakers because I wasn\u2019t tall enough to carry the bag with the train\u2026
\nAccessories were gold sparkly shoes (Kurt Geiger), earrings (from Alex Monroe Four Seasons Collection, to compliment the entrance music) and my \u2018something borrowed\u2019 was the hair accessory from my cousin, which she wore at her wedding. My caramel coat was an old vintage one I\u2019ve had for years and had to ask a friend to mend because there was a huge rip in the elbow. The shoes later got swapped for some battered old converse because they were the only flat ones I could find in my suitcase.<\/p>\n

FINDING THE DRESS | I went to one very \u2018traditional\u2019 wedding dress shop where I liked the Enzoani designs, but also tried on a very plain satin dress. I was worried that it was too simple so didn\u2019t end up buying it. When I went to Glory Days I started by trying the vintage dresses on, but they didn\u2019t suit my figure very well. Ellis suggested I try on the Faith Dress and I just loved it, it was simple and elegant and most importantly, I could dance in it. Hayley was patient and kind when I was having a wobble about whether I\u2019d chosen the wrong dress (was it too simple?!), and I couldn\u2019t recommend her highly enough.<\/p>\n

GROOM\u2019S ATTIRE | I wore pretty much head to toe Paul Smith. The suit was navy and from a collection I\u2019ve never found any evidence of anywhere else! It was a fairly traditional shape but I had a friend who worked at a Paul Smith outlet and he tailored it into a much more modern fit. The shirt was a very pale blue version of the artist shirt and the shoes were black brogues with a bright blue sole. The ties were very special. A textile designer friend created the material and made it into ties for me, it made the outfit really personal.<\/p>\n

THE READINGS & MUSIC |Entrance music- Winter, Largo (Vivaldi, Four Seasons) played by Sam\u2019s cousin Katie and Beth\u2019s uncle David.<\/p>\n

Hymns: Jerusalem, Amazing Grace and Be Thou My Vision.<\/p>\n

During the signing of the register the organist (Dan Bishop) improvised a medley of The Beatles \u2013 All You Need is Love, Elvis Presley \u2013 Can\u2019t help falling in love and Florence and the Machine \u2013 How big, how blue, how beautiful.<\/p>\n

Exit music- Wedding March – Mendelsohn Midsummer\u2019s Night\u2019s dream<\/p>\n

(Beth insisted we couldn\u2019t have Kanye West\u2019s All of the Lights so we saved that for our venue entrance!)<\/p>\n

Readings- I Carry Your Heart (E.E. cummings) and 1 Corinthians 13 verses 1-7 from the New message bible, a modern twist on the classic.<\/p>\n

The evening music was a playlist put together by Beth\u2019s brother, and the Soho Electro from New Power Soul Club performed and were absolutely incredible. We\u2019ve received so many compliments on the band and they created a fantastic atmosphere.<\/p>\n

BEAUTIFUL BRIDESMAIDS | I looked at an enormous amount of bridesmaid dresses and ordered a fair few before sending them back! The dresses were from Coast and a couple of people said they looked like the delegation from Beauxbatons in Harry Potter. We brought one in Liverpool for my sister and then there were only two others left the whole UK in the right sizes so Sophie had to run to Oxford Street on her lunch break and I waited very tense in Leeds\u2026 luckily she managed to get them!<\/p>\n

My sister, best friend from school and one of my closest pals from uni organised the most fantastic hen do, although I was slightly disappointed the hens didn\u2019t wear the Carmen Miranda inspired flower crowns we made during the hen to the actual wedding\u2026 They were the absolute best bridesmaids I could have wished for an I am eternally grateful for everything they did, they looked beautiful.<\/p>\n

THE FLOWERS | A kind, generous and brilliantly creative family friend offered to create our bouquets and button holes she did a fantastic job. Beth and a cohort of eager volunteers (who weren\u2019t at all arm twisted into helping) arranged the eucalyptus and berry centrepieces.<\/p>\n

THE CAKE | Charlotte is a family friend who used to babysit Beth and her siblings. We didn\u2019t have a vision for the cake (other than it needed to taste good and feed 150!) Charlotte offered to make the cake as a gift and it was beautiful and delicious. Our favourite part was that the \u2018consultation\u2019 involved popping over for a cup of tea and playing with her dog Bobby.<\/p>\n

YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER | Jenn Brookes and Leah Lombardi as her second shooter. They were both fantastic but Jenn\u2019s eye and dedication to capture detailed and beautiful pictures made every shot we got fantastic. We couldn\u2019t recommend them highly enough.<\/p>\n

THE DETAILS & D\u00c9COR | After we had chosen our theme Sam had the idea of spray painting animals. It all went rather smoothly from there, save a few extra dinosaurs making their way into the toys we bulk bought. He also cut and sanded old bottles from the bar he was working at to make the centrepieces and didn\u2019t veto Beth\u2019s excessive amount of Percy Pigs for the sweet station.<\/p>\n

THE HONEYMOON | We\u2019re going to Costa Rica next year. It combines my love of surfing with Beth\u2019s love of staying in beautiful places without surfing. ?<\/p>\n

MEMORABLE MOMENTS | Beth\u2019s mum conducting the service and actually marrying us was pretty amazing. Our friend Becky played our first dance as our friends threw confetti from the balcony and Beth managed not to cry during Sam\u2019s speech (where he referenced Jurgen Klopp, mentioned Northern Rail and quoted from Love Island.) The fact neither of us lost at the various beer pong games was impressive, and our friends greatly appreciated the late night burgers which attempted to keep everyone sober. Beth\u2019s brother was the \u2018walking bus\u2019 conductor who managed to make a 20 minute walk from the chapel to the reception into over an hour, as they \u2018got a puncture\u2019 and had to wait in the pub for rescue\u2026<\/p>\n

ADVICE FOR OTHER COUPLES | \u2018You do you\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a party, not a performance\u2019 (attributed to Gareth, Beth\u2019s geologist friend)<\/p>\n

CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE |<\/p>\n

Photographer | Jenn Brookes and Leah Lombardi<\/a><\/p>\n

Dress | Hayley Neil, Glory Days York<\/p>\n

Rings | Eleanor Hopwood<\/p>\n

Ties | Sophie Collom<\/p>\n

Ceremony | Lady Chapel, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral<\/a><\/p>\n

Reception | Oh Me Oh My<\/a><\/p>\n

Band | New Power Soul Club<\/a><\/p>\n

Lights & Photobooth | Bear Hug Events<\/p>\n

Hair and makeup | Alan Henry and Carissa at Anne Roberts Hair and Beauty<\/a><\/p>\n

Stationery | North Doodle Co<\/a><\/p>\n

What a stylish pair! Thank you ever so much Beth and Sam for sharing your marvellous wedding<\/a> with us. Rachel x<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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