Weddings are fever pitch what with that rather big Royal one pending, so I am prompted to tell you that my husband, Johnny and I's wedding was featured the other month in BRIDES magazine. We got married in May '09 and it was even more delightful to read it, craddling our newest addition to the Cheet family - our first baby, a boy called Rufus. It also served as a good incentive to get back to wedding/pre-baby figure!
It was a lot of fun organising our wedding - but lots of hard work - and so I thought I would share a few things that helped us stage our happy day. We got married in the middle of Hatfield Forest, so had an incredible blank canvas (well actually a giant patch of grass unceremoniously called the 'Dog Free Zone' but gentrified by being surrounded by a huge Oak tree and two lakes...) which was both brilliant for letting your imagination run wild but logistically quite challenging.
It was a lot of fun organising our wedding - but lots of hard work - and so I thought I would share a few things that helped us stage our happy day. We got married in the middle of Hatfield Forest, so had an incredible blank canvas (well actually a giant patch of grass unceremoniously called the 'Dog Free Zone' but gentrified by being surrounded by a huge Oak tree and two lakes...) which was both brilliant for letting your imagination run wild but logistically quite challenging.
Here are a few things that I found helpful and maybe you will too if you are planning your big day...Kate, feel free to steal any of our ideas!!
Setting the Scene...
We were lucky enough to get married in the middle of an ancient Forest so nature served us well for a backdrop. But setting the scene for a wonderful party was still key. We chose to have giant tipis, as the the configuration of the tents suited the space we were working in and their conical tent structures looked magical surrounded by trees, especially at night. Go to Tipis4Hire for all manner of yurts and tipis. Outside the tents was a hundred year old Oak tree. We lit up the base of the tree with a green uplighter and surrounded its roots with pretty sand-filled paper bags with tea lights inside to create a magical ambience in the evening. Trees were dripping with fairy lights and giant drums were filled with floating candles, petals and flower heads. Find candle lanterns at Cox & Cox. Hay bales from a local farmer friend provided extra outdoor seating during the reception.Details, details, details...
Deciding what 'look' to give the decoration was harder than I thought, so I turned to a few websites and blogs for inspiration from other people's weddings. Look at the brilliant, Style Me Pretty blog for all things wedding plus lots of examples of other peoples' weddings.
I get carried away with the details of my bags and it was no different with our wedding albeit hopefully in a non-bridezilla way. I was determined not to have a 'matchy-matchy' day but achieving a sense of cohesion was important to bring the day together. So, rather than dressing my bridesmaids in the same-coloured dresses, they each had different styles & colours but their shoes were the same to create an ensemble. I found the most amazing shoes that tied in the girls' dresses at Olivier's Lounge in Clapham.
Floral Fancy...
Our flowers were lovingly put together by my mother and her army of flower-arranging friends and though they were 'arranged' they were made to look like tied bunches of flowers. Their bright hues - purples, acid greens, pinks - provided colour popping punctuation along the trellis tables. Tapered candles and flower-filled bird cages added yet more ambience. We got up super early one morning and headed to New Covent Garden flower market for all of the flowers and raided friends' gardens for greenery.
Cakes can cost a small fortune so instead my Mum baked a delicious trio of cakes - madeira, chocolate and fruit cake - which clever Aunt Jan adorned with life-like edible decorations - a Lotus flower, orchids and butterflies.
To Favour or Not to Favour...
We chose to give each of our guests a gift. As keen cooks, it seemed fitting to rustle up little pots of chutney for the ladies and for the chaps, a miniature bottle of whisky served as a good reminder of my husband's love of a good Malt. I found the mini jam jars on eBay and we had personalised whisky bottles made from Just Miniatures.
Being a bit of a stationery addict, it was so important to have the right invitation. Our wedding stationery was from an American website called The White Aisle - they have the most beautiful designs that are so different from anything I had seen. You can choose from a wealth of papers, go for letter press or opt for their DIY, print-at-home range. Genius.
I think realising you have found the right dress is a bit like finding the right partner - you instinctively just know when it's the right one. Mine was from Ritva Westinius and made walking down the aisle feel like the red-carpet moment it should do. I accessorized with vintage-style drop earrings and wore 1950's clip on earrings in my hair. I wanted to have hair to rival any Mad Men actress so it was set in waves to give a retro Forties do. Head on down to Alfie's Antiques market for similar adornments for your hair/outfit. Make sure you have a hair trial though - don't want any hair horrors/surprises on the day.
Strictly Come First Dance...
We couldn't deny our inner Fred and Gingers, so opted for a dance lesson in an attempt to wow our guests with neat footwork. A brilliant dancer called Clare taught us the a fabulous routine to Etta James' 'At Last'...Note to reader: multiple barrel turns following combination of champers, long dress, heels and uneven dancefloor might not make for the Strictly finale performance you were dreaming of. But, undeniably fun to learn and to surprise everyone with something more than a side-to-side shuffle.
More Tips on Making the Day Magical...
- Opt for a bubble machine rather than confetti - buy inexpensive machines at Kid's toy shops and create magical images with bubbles floating in the air
- Photo List - make sure you make a list of all the 'posed'/ family shots BEFORE and task a member of the bridal party (eg Usher) to round everyone up so that photos don't take forever and detract from enjoying the reception
- When doing your table plan - write people's names on post-it notes so you can map out the table easily. Be creative and diplomatic with your table plans - think about who knows who/who might get on with who/and who might not!
- Timings - getting the running order of the day right is crucial to everyone having fun, including you. Make sure the caterers or one of the bridal party are responsible for keeping to it
- SAVOUR EVERY MINUTE! It's the one day in your life that goes SO quickly. Lap it all up and enjoy every second...
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