Lemon delight and subtle sparkle with cunning church music as clear as a bell. A classic real wedding……
WHERE: Steeple Morden Church, Cambridgeshire
WHEN: August 2009
PHOTOGRAPHER: Neil Bailey Photography
The proposal
“We’d been to the theatre to see Dirty Dancing,” remembers Rebecca. “After the show Giovanni took me to a cocktail bar. We were sitting in a private booth filled with candles and drinking Champagne when he asked me…”
The bride’s outfit
“It was a true princess dress!” says Rebecca of her real wedding dress. Wearing a bespoke, diamond-white, silk gown designed by Hollywood Dreams, and bought from Fleur de Lys Bridal, Rebecca looked positively dazzling! Her Swarovski-encrusted veil, princess-style tiara and opentoed, diamanté-detail shoes from Rainbow Club, were also all bought from Fleur de Lys Bridal.
The groom’s outfit
Giovanni wore a silver-grey suit with an ivory-white cravat from Peter Posh, hired from Fleur de Lys Bridal, and teamed with a lemon-coloured rose buttonhole to complement the bridesmaids’ look.
The pageboys
The couple included two adorable little pageboys in the bridal party, who lent the day a touch of oldschool romance in their handmade shirts and pantaloons!
The bridesmaids
Rebecca’s five grown-up bridesmaids looked lovely in lemon, and wore a two-piece sweetheart corset and full-length fitted skirt from Kelsey Rose. The gorgeous flowergirl wore a white, fairytale dress called ‘Esme’, also from Kelsey Rose, tied with a lemon sash to complete the real wedding look.
“Rain turned to glorious sunshine, streaming through the leaded church windows and basking us in sunlight…”
The flowers
Big Day Flowers created the couple’s bloomin’ marvellous flower displays, using pale yellow roses, hydrangeas and sprays of ivy for decoration.
The transport
The bride arrived at the church in a fabulous vintage Beaumont Convertible (with the top down, of course!) from Annie Wedding Cars.
The ceremony
“We both wanted a church ceremony and our old beautiful little church already had a stunning, natural country feel to it – perfect for the type of wedding we wanted,” explains Rebecca. “Many guests were unaware of this but the church didn’t have bells, which was really disappointing as I had my heart set on the sound of bells peeling away merrily as we left the church as a newly married couple. Our vicar came to the rescue by hiding an iPod behind the flower display in the vestry and playing church bells as we left. No-one noticed at the time but the secret’s out now!”
The reception
“Our reception venue was breathtaking,” says Rebecca. “We sat down to a wedding breakfast of duck terrine, corn-fed chicken and sticky toffee pudding, in a fabulous silk-lined marquee on the lawn of the Jacobean private estate at Longstowe Hall. It was so perfect it felt like a dream,” she adds.
The details
“Huge vases on the tables were filled with an overflowing heady mix of roses in soft lemon and white hydrangeas, which towered over guests for a really striking display,” says Rebecca. “The vases were on round mirrors, surrounded by glass tealights, and then sprinkled with crystal diamonds for added sparkle. “Even the marquee poles were decorated with an intertwining spiral of flowers and fairylights,” she adds.
The stationery
The stationery on the tables matched the original invitations, table plan and favour boxes – decorated with a lemon-coloured sash and diamanté heart detailing. All the table name tags and table numbers were bought from Debs Crafts, available from Fleur de Lys Bridal.
The cake
“My auntie, Kim, made our fabulous four-tiered real wedding cake with chocolate, lemon, coconut and cherry, and carrot layers,” explains Rebecca. “For the personal touch (and because it fitted our diamond theme perfectly!), my nan’s antique brooches were added to the tiers”.
“The guys did a comedy-gold routine to Sex Bomb – where’s a camcorder when you need one?!”
The entertainment
“As a surprise for our guests, we arranged for a Tom Jones look-alike to come and entertain us all,” says Rebecca, “He genuinely looked and sounded 100 percent like the genuine Welsh Tom and completely brought the house down. Even his name is Tom (no, really!) – have a look on his website; he really looks like the real deal! Plus, all the guys did a little Sex Bomb routine, which was hilarious!” laughs Rebecca.
The honeymoon
After reuniting with their guests again for breakfast the morning after the big day, the newlyweds headed south for two weeks of Bahamian sunsets.
