A Stunning, Quintessentially British Wedding

Welcome to the absolutely wonderful Wedding of Rose and Storm.  Rose was adamant that she didn't want 'too much faff' or flowers that were too 'formal or perfect' yet she managed to create the most perfect and beautiful Wedding day.  Every aspect is a spectacle, from the simplicity of her dress against her exquisite tiara to the most amazing arrangements of hydrangeas over the fireplace in the reception room. I must say, the classic and quintessentially British style of Rosie and Storm's Wedding really does ring chords of Royal Weddings we have seen in the past.

There were lots of people flying in from around the world so we couldn't go to North Wales, where I grew up. Staying in London seemed easier. We didn't really need to do much decoration because the church and reception venue are both already incredibly beautiful and steeped in history.

I found the experience of Wedding dress shopping a bit of a faff. I enjoyed trying dresses on when I knew I wouldn't buy them (i.e. really expensive places), but I spent ages looking for my mum's dress and didn't find it so I was a bit bummed out by the time I actually needed to start looking for one for real. I just got lucky that I spotted it in the window of a second hand shop, and it fit like a glove.

 My husband wore his morning suit, he's owned it for years. I gave him the waistcoat as a Christmas present about 4 years ago.

I made lots of things for the Wedding myself, but I love doing that kind of thing so it was a bit self-indulgent. Didn't really buy decorations, although we gave the bridesmaids and pageboys bubbles to blow as we came out of the church as we weren't allowed confetti.

My bridesmaid's dresses were from Mini Boden. Finding them was a nightmare as most dresses seemed to be either shiny and tacky, or cost about £200. I got lucky and saw the Boden ones on sale online and loved them! Shoes were a nightmare - they were wrong for the girls and the boys and I ended up having to buy double because the return period was over by the time I got them back. Children's sizes are even more inconsistent than adult sizing! If you have young ones, get their parents to sort out the shoes, it will save a tiny scrap of your sanity.

The best memory most from my wedding day was the church service.  That was the main point of the day, after all.

Parts of organising my Wedding were great fun, but having so much to do was challenging. I'm not so good at delegating. We started in late January, and it carried on right through until September. I just said to myself that if I did two things a day we'd be fine (get a quote, book a wedding dress appointment, etc).

We went for a very simple, lemon sponge cake because most people like that, and very plain white icing. The pattern on it was taken from the pattern of the beading on my dress, which was suggested by the lady that made the cake.

The florist was very helpful in choosing my Wedding flowers.  I had a very good idea of what I didn't want (lilies, roses - beautiful, but much too perfect and formal) and some specific things I did want (blue hydrangeas, sweet peas, stocks, an arch covered in flowers next to the cake table for us to stand in front of). The florist then kind of figured it out from there, and made some brilliant additional suggestions.

My photographer was Amy Parton, from Raccoon Event Photography - I know her from years and years ago, and she is a phenomenal photographer so it was a no brainer. I just kept my fingers crossed she was free and would agree to doing it!

I wanted blue hydrangeas because I grew up surrounded by them. And I guess blue is my favourite colour, so it kind of crept in there.

Rosie's Three Top Tips:
1. If you are getting into a car at any point with people around you, get someone (your husband) to stand immediately behind you to block any unfortunate photographs. Not a flattering angle for even the slightest of rumps. 
2. If you are not sitting down for food at any set time, make sure some food is set aside for you and your husband, and that someone takes you aside so you can actually eat it. Otherwise you will starve! 
3. Have time off afterwards, preferably where there are no English speaking people!

Suppliers:  Dress -  A second hand shop, Veil -  My sister's, Shoes -  Debenhams, Flowers -  Jam Jar Flowers, Make-up - Rosie Willoughby, Hair - Cutting Room Putney, Bridesmaid Dresses - Mini Boden, Cake -  All Amy Cakes, Photographer - Amy Parton, Raccoon Event Photography, Venue - Cavalry & Guards Club, London

Huge thanks goes to the wonderful Raccoon Event Photography.