Kicking off the real weddings feature is a very special wedding to me, it’s only my youngest sisters and my now brother in law, so to say it was a special wedding is an understatement.
One of my favourite venues, some of my favourite suppliers, a very photogenic couple and a lovely wedding style to work with, I was smiling ALOT when discussing with Katie what she wanted the venue to look like.
I was able to show off one of my favourite styles for chair covers of the moment, stunning organza wraps with a champagne sash styled in a rosette style tie at the back. Love it and love the colours used. The tables were styled using beautiful white hydrangeas dressed into stunning antique vases and containers, gorgeous trinket boxes, lovely glassware and ornate picture frames made for a simple yet elegant style oozing with class.
Every element of the styling worked perfectly with the bridal party style and the overall wedding feel. A favourite of ours to start off what is sure to be a fab feature for our blog, we have styled some gorgeous weddings over the years and now it’s going to be wonderful that all you lovely lot will be able to check them out and read how our couples feel on their special day.
Enjoy the read in Katie and Dean’s own words about their perfect day <3
Take it away Katie x
Tell us about your venue….
Our day was everything we hoped it would be and more. We knew exactly how we wanted it to look and the feel for the day so finding a venue was pretty simple. The most important part of my wedding day was to be married in a church it was my way of sharing our special day with loved ones that are no longer with us. Our ceremony took place at the beautiful Leicester Cathedral. It was the perfect start to our city wedding. After the ceremony we took the short walk with our guests to The City Rooms. It was a clear choice for us the ballroom is stunning and we loved being in the heart of the city.
Beauty, hair and make up. We want to know more. Did you gain any beauty tips?
The day started for me at Love Me Do. Ellie did an amazing job in the run up to the day showing me different hair styles and despite my indecisiveness she wanted to make sure I was happy with my final decision. I wanted to keep my hair as natural as possible; I didn’t want to be unrecognisable to Dean when I arrived at the altar. My bridesmaids generously paid for me to have my make-up done professionally. Beth from Bettie Lottie turned me into a bride and I felt so at ease knowing that it would be perfect. By the afternoon the heat was becoming unbearable but my make-up still looked like it did first thing in the morning. It lasted brilliantly!!
The groom and his boy’s.
Dean has a brilliant group of friends so it was important that they were all by his side on the day so instead of just 1 best man he had 3! It was lovely to watch them all come into their own… I’m very proud of them. Their suits were from Jack Bunney’s and they looked great, especially my husband of course!
The Dress!! The DRESS!
When it came to choosing the dress it was a pretty quick shopping trip! I looked around a couple of bridal shops and pulled some dresses to try. My dress was the third and last dress I tried. I didn’t even spot it to be honest, my mum asked me to try it as she loved it on the hanger. The only hard part about choosing my dress was decided between classic ivory lace or going slightly away from tradition. I’d never get to wear a dress like it again so I chose the less obvious option. It’s hard to picture yourself as a bride when you’re standing in the store. I needed a finishing touch. I personally wasn’t sure on whether to wear a veil but once again it turned out that mum knew best. I still remember the moment the veil was added. Only then did I feel like a bride.
All about the girls
My wedding day was a true family affair. Together with 3 friends, my sisters and nieces were my bridesmaids. I chose 7 bridesmaids to be by my side on the day and then my maid of honour, Anne-Marie told me I was going to become an auntie again. On the day I had 8, she wasn’t born yet but May was my honouree bridesmaid. My brother drove me and my dad through a torrential rain shower to the Cathedral, we arrived ever so slightly late. My mum was my right hand man in the planning of the wedding we spent hours sourcing table and room decorations, memories that I will treasure forever.
Tell us about your wedding day….
I loved having a hands on approach to the little details. Dean and I designed and created all the stationery including the table plan. We even created our own wedding website. Our theme for the day was classic elegance. My bouquet and all the floral arrangements were solely white hydrangeas which looked stunning. We added hints of champagne using overlays on the tables and chairs. Nicola at Eve Lily did an amazing job of bringing my Pinterest boards to life. The room looked perfect just as I imagined it. Being the sister of the bride meant for a hectic morning but that didn’t faze her and she was all set for bridesmaids’ duties. We wanted to add a splash of colour to our day so we did this in the form of a red balloon. The guests were handed a balloon after the ceremony by the best men and everyone made their way to the reception carrying them. It made for fab pics!
What was your most special memory of the day looking back now?
Favourite part? The day was perfect there will always be small things that don’t quite go to plan but every time we look back on it there isn’t a thing we’d change. The entertainment will always be a wonderful memory to us. We had the amazing Sapphire Strings play at the Cathedral and drinks reception, it was perfect! Lucy and the girls were brilliant and their music was beautiful. During the wedding breakfast, Bird and the Badman played. We heard Sarah and David play at my sister Anne-Marie’s wedding. We cannot recommend them highly enough! They are just fantastic… our guests still comment on their incredible talents. To finish the day and start the evening Alexo from King Soundz kept the dance floor full. Our first dance will always be special to us. Alexo played all our favourite music; I didn’t leave the dance floor all night. To add to the entertainment we hired Vintage Photo Booth Me. Our guests loved it; there was a constant queue all evening. We thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the candid pics!
We had some wonderful suppliers and it’s hard to single out only a few but there were some standout people that we feel deserve more than a mention. Our photographer Gary was fab! There are so many wedding photographers but it was hard to choose one that we trusted to take photos on the most important day of our lives. We knew Gary would be perfect after seeing his work online and talking to him about his approach to the day. He didn’t disappoint! We were so relaxed around him and barely even knew he was there on the day. He captured all the special moments beautifully and has given us the most precious gift in photos.
What’s new in married life, how was the wedding aftermath…
‘The wedding ‘aftermath’ was pretty amazing we spent an incredible 3 weeks on honeymoon. Our once in a lifetime trip took us to the French Polynesian islands; Moorea and Bora Bora. It was finished off travelling over America with stays in LA, Boston and New York!
Nicola @ EveLily has many talents and she always turns a vision into something completely stunning. It was important for us to make sure she had the opportunity to enjoy the day as my sister so we wanted to make it as stress free as possible. In the days running up to the wedding she was on hand to transform the room into the setting for our day. It was just perfect. The entire room was everything I had hoped it would be; everything from the floral arrangements on the tables to the chair covers looked gorgeous. She is my sister and I could be seen as being bias but her work speaks for itself! Beautiful like my niece and bridesmaid, Eve Lily.
The List That Made It Happen……
With a special thanks to Gary from One Love Photography who really helped capture this wedding so very perfectly and allow us to show off his stunning pictures.
Photography – Gary @ One Love Wedding Photography
Venue – Leicester Cathedral and The City Rooms
Brides Gown – Justin Alexander
Rings – Mark @ Lumbers
Bridesmaid Dresses – Dessy
Entertainment – Sapphire Strings – DG Music, Bird and the Bad Man, King Soundz, Vintage Photo Booth Me
Styling – Eve Lily
Flowers – Bouquets from Queens Kibworth, Venue florals – Eve Lily
Cake – Yummy Little Cakes
Stationery – The Morgans!
