Pretty English {Craig George Photography}

Morning Lovelies,
I hope you all had a smashing weekend? I didn’t do anything too crazy to report, but I am happy to say that I have noticed a very slight temperature drop. Anyone feel the same? Roll on winter!
Anyway, and onto today’s blog…  My friend Craig George is no doubt one of my favorite photographers in the UK. I met him at my best friends wedding over two years ago and we’ve kept in touch since. I’ve kept a close his photography, and it’s only true to say that I have so much admiration for this very talented man.
Getting married in the UK has it’s perks {The weather NOT being one of them} You’re surrounded by greenery, historic buildings and natural beauty. The English Countryside is no doubt the perfect setting for a rustic vintage wedding. Everything seems so effortlessly chic doesn’t it? Or perhaps I’m bias because I grew up in a village in Somerset; a county that will always be my favorite. Not only do I love the way he captures the surroundings with a edge of simplicity, but he’s caught the magical moments on camera. His style is not forced, and that’s probably why I like it so much.
Today’s couple got married on Saturday 19th July at Marks Hall Farm, Margaret Roding, Dunmow, Essex. Belinda & Ed shared their special day with 200 guests and their pet dog ‘Jingles’, who is will make an appearance towards the end of this blog. Ya I know, I like dogs a lot and even more so at weddings.

The Dress & Accessories…
The dress is from Morgan Davies, in Farringdon, London and is designed by Kobus Dippenaar. The veil was also from Morgan Davies and the hair clip which had diamonds and pearls to reflect the detail in my dress was from Bridal Rogue Gallery.

Finding the dress…
I tried on, what felt like, every dress in London, but as soon as I put this on I knew it was just right for me. It was simple but with a very elegant and detailed back which I thought was beautiful and quite different. I also knew we were doing a choreographed first dance, so knew I couldn’t have a meringue!
 
Groom’s threads…
Ed’s father’s side has Scottish roots, so he wore a Davidson Tartan Kilt with all the trimmings. All the ushers wore Davidson Tartan ties and all looked dashing.

The Lovely Bridesmaids…
Ed’s sister was my bridesmaid. And my God daughter, Rosie, was my flower girl.

The Planning Process…
My father is a farmer so the wedding was always going to have a country feel but I was keen to let it have a timeless and classic feel as well. We were lucky to have a big paddock to host the marquee, which we could design from scratch. We were keen to have a separate dance area which got nicknamed ‘The Nightclub,’ we also wanted covered loo’s and a big reception area in case it rained. Chelmer Marquees worked very hard to ensure it was the perfect marquee for us. We knew the caterers Anna Shutes , the florists Country flowers Suffolk and the band mode band so managed to get the big things booked and organized relatively early on in the process. We were lucky to be able to get married in my Father’s local church which was beautiful. We knew we wanted close family and friends around us for the whole weekend, and were lucky to be able to accommodate most of the wedding party in the farmhouse. We kick started the festivities off with a big supper on the Friday night which was a great warm up and it was brilliant having breakfast with everyone on Sunday morning and to reminisce about the wedding!

The Readings & Music…
We wanted to try and personalize the service as much as possible so chose two very close friends to do our readings. Morwenna beautifully read 1 Corinthians 13:1. And Richard read A lovely Love Story, by Edward Monkton which he slightly adapted to suit us as a couple and to ensure he got a few laughs from the congregation! Our good friends Gaby and Luke came all the way from Bahrain and Gaby is a wonderful pianist so we asked if she would play a piece during our register signing which she kindly agreed to!

The Lovely Blooms…
The Flowers were by Country flowers Suffolk Becky and Susanne completely understood the vision for our wedding. They created some fabulous huge hanging baskets for our marquee which created a lot of “Wow’s” from our guests as they walked in. The table arrangements, bouquets and church arrangements were far better than I ever could have imagined. I wanted very simple big strong white, ivory and cream flowers with lots of foliage, gathered quite informally.  Becky and Susanne also used beautiful trees to jazz up the poles in the marquee which just looked stunning.

The Wedding Cake…
The cake was a four tiered ivory cake. It was very simple and elegant. Sally, from Cake Flair did our cake and engraved our initials on the side which was very pretty. The top three tiers were actually fake! But the bottom tier was a delicious lemon sponge cake.
The Lovely Decor…
Most of the décor came from the flowers and trees in the marquee. Belinda’s close friend Sophie, made beautiful little jars of tiny flowers, with everyone’s name tags attached which was a lovely addition to the tables. Belinda is renowned for her love of candles so there were plenty scattered about. We also placed lots of framed photos of us both as youngsters on our card table which the guests really liked. The first part of the day was incredibly traditional and we wanted the evening to reflect our fun sides a little more so we created our own little ‘Tuck Shop’ of old school penny sweets and we hired a vintage photo booth which everyone loved. We created a bar menu of our favorite drinks and created our own punch, (nicknamed after Ed ‘ The Baron’s Broth’) that the guests could help themselves too. We also made sure there were lots of cigars for the men. At the end of the night we handed out glow sticks and the caterers served a midnight feast of cheese on toast, marmite and cheese on toast and bacon brioche rolls which went down very well with our rather tipsy guests.

The Honeymoon…
Because we were hosting the wedding at home and knew there would be lots of setting up and clearing up, we wanted a very simple relaxing honeymoon. We chose Sardinia, as we were told it is “the Caribbean of Europe” and it really did live up to this description. It was beautiful, the food was delicious and the rose wine even better!

The Best Moments…
My father organized a Spitfire flyby as a surprise which is really everyone’s lasting memory of the wedding! For us the first dance was amazing, after hours of practicing it was great to finally just enjoy it and hear everyone cheering us on. The speeches were emotional but brilliant, Ed’s impression of me I think raised the biggest laugh and the ‘Jingles’ (my little dog) display raised the biggest cheer! The band were also incredible, the dance floor was full all evening. The photobooth http://themightybooth.com was hilarious, and has provided us with some brilliant memories. We loved the trees in the marquee and the hanging baskets and we loved the midnight feast which soaked up all the punch we had drunk.

Advice from the Bride…
Everyone says it, and I didn’t really listen, but do try and take it all in. It flies by, you get pulled in so many directions that before you know it is nearly over. During the preparation, choose your battles. Only fight for things that really matter to you and are genuinely important.

Massive thanks to my lovely friend Craig, the gorgeous bride Belinda and her dashing groom Ed. I love this wedding… and I hope you did too.
If you like Craig’s style of photography then check back in tomorrow morning because I have all the juicy detail for you! This season he will be coming to Dubai! #excitedmuch yes I am!!
Website: http://www.craig-george.com/