Our Wedding

We got our official wedding photos from the photographer a couple of days ago and are really pleased with them.  Our photographer was lovely and really captured, I think, the relaxed and gentle nature of the day, as well as the fun we had. 

To respect our guests' privacy I will only add photos here of my new husband and I (ooh! I've just had a thought that I should change Patient Other Half to Darling Husband!) as well as little shots of inanimate objects.

DH (!) and I made a lot of our 'extras' ourselves, and spent months making boxes, making soap, sewing napkin wraps, and making bouquets.  My sewing room became Wedding Central, which is why I wasn't able to do any dressmaking for so long!  

Our theme was silver and lavender, which we based on my dress, which was silver Guipure lace with a subtle lavender hint to the lining.  I was originally going to make my dress but tried on some to get some ideas and DD really liked this one, so I bought it!  DH had a grey suit with lavender lining, and silver tie etc.

Our wedding party wore varying shades of silvery grey and lavender and looked a picture in themselves!

The flowers were a big challenge as I had never done anything like this before!  I read loads about making bouquets and asked questions of friends who had done this.  I started with my bouquet and DD's and we had silk peonies with dried lavender, gypsophila and 'feather grass', which I had never heard of but absolutely loved!  I ordered all my dried flowers and confetti from Daisy Shop and was delighted with everything I ordered and the speedy and secure delivery.  I had a lucky find with the peonies, discovering them quite by chance at TK Maxx, so bought the lot!

Armed with florists wire, florists tape and a mirror, I assembled our two bouquets finishing them off with a 'collar' of the feather grass to disguise the artificial stems.  I then wrapped them in ribbon and secured with a pin.  Mine was slightly larger than DD's but to tell them apart I added a silver heart charm to mine.

The little bridesmaids would have been overwhelmed with the huge peonies to I bought some Gerberas and constructed theirs in much the same way but on a smaller scale.  (I thought I had taken photos of the bouquets, but I can't find them anywhere!)


I needed some smaller flowers for the men's buttonholes so found some small silk roses, that I put together with the dried lavender - three roses for DH and 2 for the groomsmen.

I made a miniature bouquet to go on top of the cake, and also bought a blingy 'Happily Ever After' silver topper, as I felt we needed a tiny touch of bling!  All of the remaining flowers were arranged in a white china jug and used as a decoration in the hotel.

Next were our wedding favours, and we had decided a while ago to make soap with lavender essential oils.  We then decided to make boxes to put the soap in and they took ages! We were pleased with the finished results though, and the soap seemed popular with our guests (most of whom had been given soap previously as a Christmas or birthday gift, so were probably half expecting it!)  

The hotel provided crisp, white tablecloths and a choice of colours for the napkins, so we chose lavender.  The chair covers were white, with lavender organza sashes.  I wanted to add some more colour to the table so after much discussion with some friends at Cooper's Creative in Skipton, came up with a pattern for relatively simple tubes of floral fabric, pressed flat, with 1" white organza ribbon stitched on, with a 1/8" inch lavender ribbon on top of that.  I felt it needed something in the centre, so I found some pretty Tibetan silver heart charms on eBay, so stitched one of those in the centre.  To make it easy for the hotel staff to put them on I stitched a narrow strip of velcro on each edge so they could be quickly put on.  After they were in position in the table the hotel added a single stem of lavender, that I had pre-cut to size.  

When the photographer greeted me in the hotel room, she commented on how fabulously the dining room smelt, with the scent of English Lavender on the air, which is exactly what we had hoped for.

Our ceremony was at 3.30pm, and I enjoyed every single second.  I had been worried about being too nervous and/or emotional, but when it came to it sailed down the aisle on the arm of my son, and delighted in it all. My son and two close friends did readings, and they were so special. The registrar was lovely and put us all at our ease.  I wanted the ceremony to last forever but all too soon it was over.  The best bit, of course, was at the end of it being pronounced 'Legally Married' and all our loved ones clapping and smiling.  That was brilliant.

We had Pimm's and canapés afterwards, followed by the official photos. We had purchased a range of garden games for entertainment and it was lovely to see people joining in and enjoying themselves. 

Next was our wedding breakfast, which was a four course sit down meal, and we had given our guests menu choices beforehand, plus choices for the people with dietary requirements. To help the hotel staff, and to speed up service, we printed each guest's choice on the back of the name card, which was just as well as several people had forgotten what they ordered!

After dinner we cut the cake and then people were free to either stay in the dining room, go out onto the lawn for more games, or visit the private bar, which was all part of the ceremony suite.  When darkness fell we moved some of the games inside to one end of the room and little groups of guests played giant dominoes, giant Jenga, and the very popular putting game!

We had chosen not to have a disco, as it is not something either of us are mad keen on, plus we had quite a small gathering.  We occasionally had concerns if there would be enough for people to do, but we looked around during the evening and saw groups of friends and family laughing and chatting, playing games, sitting in the bar,  relaxing on the verandah, and it was perfect - just what we had wanted.  The last guests left at midnight, and I think that is always a good sign!

It was a lovely and very magical day, and one that we shall always remember. 

Donna xx