Laura and Kieren tied the knot at Blake Hall, Essex. They wanted their wedding day to have a vintage country garden feel which looked so so pretty.

The flowers were amazing, roses and daisies in pinks and greens. There were bouquets and bottles filled with the blooms. They also had some lovely touches, rustic scrumptious cakes and pretty favours bags made by Laura.

The bridesmaids looked a vision in pink, Laura wore a Benjamin Roberts lace wedding dress with her fringed hair in a chic up do and Kieren wore a grey three piece suit with white cravat. Wonderful.

Thanks so much to Dominic Whiten for sharing his gorgeous images with us today.

 

The Proposal… We were on holiday in Wales, we were staying in a beautiful old cottage at the bottom of a valley in the middle of nowhere, on the first night Kieren suggested we walk to the top of the hill, I took some encouragement but I agreed. When we got to the top the view was amazing, rolling hills and lots of sheep! Kieren got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.

We had been together for six years and friends and family kept saying I’m sure it will be this holiday! And I’m so glad it was. It was very romantic and the way he proposed was a surprise.

The Vision for the Day… Vintage country garden.

The Venue… Blake Hall. We had lovely canapés and Pimms straight after the ceremony. For our wedding breakfast we had prawn and crayfish salad for starters, chicken wrapped in ham- in peppercorn sauce with seasonal vegetables and baked vanilla cheesecake for dessert. We had 69 guests during the day and an extra 30 in the evening.

The Dress + Accessories… I absolutely loved my dress it was made by Benjamin Roberts, my dress was fitted lace, with a long train. The top half was really unusual it has lovely pearl detail and tiny straps and a lovely mushroom colour bow at the back. As soon as I put the dress on I knew it was the one, I felt beautiful.

I had a lovely headband which I also bought from Bellissima the pearl detail matched my dress perfectly! I loved my shoes, I bought them from Next they had a pearl butterfly on each one- so pretty!

I wanted to look like me and natural which is what my make up artist did I was so happy with it. My make up artist has a salon in my hairdressers- Cherish Beauty she used Bare Minerals. My friend Charlotte is my hairdresser, she works at the salon I have been going to for 11 years – John Coronado Hairdressing. I was so happy with my hair it was perfect!

Groom’s Attire… Kieren hired his suit from Anthony in Billericay www.anthonyformalwear.co.uk He knew he wanted grey from the beginning, I went with him to his first fitting. Grey lounge suit with matching grey waistcoat, Kieren had an ivory tie. He looked so handsome and grown up!!

The Readings + Music… My lovely friend Thea did a beautiful reading. I walked down the aisle to Songbird by Fleetwood Mac. When we signed the register we had the end music to Star Wars!

Our band were called Arizona www.arizonaband.net one of the band memebers is Kieren’s dads friend.

We chose Lovesong by the Cure, we love the Cure and we loved the words and we didn’t want a really really slow song so it was perfect!

Beautiful Bridesmaids… My best and oldest friend Emma, and my lovely friends Laura and Jess. They looked so beautiful! There dresses were dusky pink knee length dresses, we got them from BHS, there shoes were from Debenhams and I bought them all a matching pearl necklace.

The Flowers… We were so happy with our flowers they were exactly what we wanted! Our flowers were from Karen at the Flower Mill www.theflowermillessex.co.uk

The Cake… Our cakes were amazing! We had 6 cakes- a Victoria sponge, lemon drizzle, carrot, coffee and walnut, chocolate and fruit my maid of honour Emma made them all!and as a surprise she had a topper made of me, Kieren and or dog Daisy, it was so lovely!

Your Photographer… Dominic Whiten www.dominicwhiten.co.uk

The Details + Decor… We had white bunting for indoors and floral for outside. We bought a selection of jugs, vases, milk bottles, picture frames and candles. We also had a vintage wicker basket for our cards.

Our stationery was created by Design by Daniel www.designbydaniel.co.uk

My maid of honour’s partner Adam owns a white vintage beetle he drove Kieren to the wedding, I stayed in a beautiful cottage on site with my mum and bridesmaids.

The favours were cola cubes in a handmade vintage bag, I hand sewed each bag, the bags were taken on many holidays!! my mother-in-law helped me sew buttons on while sitting in front of a log while on holiday in Scotland the year before the wedding.

The Honeymoon… Krabi in Thailand. It was a perfect honeymoon, some of the activities we did were- elephant trekking, canoeing in the National Park, boat trips to other islands and swimming in a blue lagoon.

Memorable Moments… My dad picking me up. Kieren’s face when I was walking down the aisle. Kieren’s speech.

Advice for Other Couples… Relax, if things don’t go exactly to plan don’t worry about it. Enjoy every moment because it goes so quickly. Choose a florist, photographer, make up/hair stylist you trust.

Remember to tell your bride how beautiful she looks and don’t tread on her dress!

Do as much as you can yourself or with help from your friends.

Keep a spreadsheet and book things well in advance.

Throw your bouquet (I forgot to!)

Credit Where Credit is Due…

Photographer: Dominic Whiten

Venue: Blake Hall

Flowers: The Flower Mill

Dress: Benjamin Roberts

Suit: Anthony Formal Wear

Band: Arizona

Stationery: Design by Daniel

 

Ohh those flowers.. swoon! Thanks so much to Laura and Kieren for sharing their beautiful wedding with us today XOXO Lou