So where to begin with Laura & Howard's oh so beautiful wedding?? It really is a girly girls dream!

I suppose the theme begins with the dress, and when your dress happens to be Dita by Naomi Neoh - with it's French corded lace bodice and full silk chiffon skirt infused with a subtle hint of blush pink - you know your wedding is going to be of the soft and romantic variety.

The flowers couldn't be more pretty either. Just wait until you see Laura's bouquet! Apparently her florists assistant described it as the prettiest thing she'd ever seen...and I can completely understand why. Fluffy pink peonies surrounded by delicate green foliage and wrapped in vintage lace?! It's a real beauty.

And then there's the photography from On Love & Photography, which just seems to have painted a soft, timeless quality over the entire day...

Laura the Bride:When Howard proposed neither of us had any idea what sort of wedding we wanted. I was never the sort of girl who had it all planned out...far from it. We spent the first few weeks researching venues online and lined up day of appointments. We looked at a few hotels, restaurants, etc with none of them really grabbing us. Our final appointment was at Arley Hall and Gardens.

Well, what can I say, we were completely taken with it the second we arrived. The more we saw, the more we loved. It was extra special as we found it on my birthday and my family were with us. There were lots of giddy looks between me and my Mum.
So once we had the venue and the rest kind of fell into place.

I became a bit obsessed with wedding magazines and my daily hit of Rock My Wedding. In fact even now we are married I can't help but have a little peek every morning!

My best friend and bridesmaid Kate is a bridal gown consultant, so she talked me through what to expect. She told me to be open minded and try everything. Along with my Mum, Sister and Nephew we went to The Bridal Shop in Alderley Edge which sadly closed recently. I felt really nervous as I browsed the gowns. I usually adore shopping but this was different...I had no idea what I was looking for and found it really scary. I selected some dresses to try and the first I put on made me panic. I felt stupid and wanted to cry. It felt like fancy dress, I couldn't get it off quick enough!

After having a word with myself I continued to try the dresses. I soon hit my stride and started to enjoy the experience and there it was, the beautiful Dita by Naomi Neoh! It was nothing like I imagined I would choose but once I had it on it just felt right and I couldn't take it off.

The dress is so beautiful that I didn't want to go over the top with accessories. I kept it simple with a blush flower in my hair, my Sisters diamond bracelet as my 'something borrowed' and sapphire earrings as my 'something blue'. I searched for months for the perfect shoes with no joy until my Mum suggested I try BHS. I wasn't convinced but gave it a try. It makes me smile to imagine what I looked like as I spotted them. I remember running towards them and almost being on my knees in front of the shelf. I popped them on and they were perfect...Mum's really do know best!

When it came to flowers I was totally clueless. I popped into The Flower Emporium on a rainy winters afternoon and ended up spending hours chatting to Michael. I liked the idea of soft pastel shades and hoped we could incorporate some herbs. Michael was amazing and came up with some really great ideas that got me really excited. I spoke to him the day before the wedding and he told me that his assistant had described my bouquet as 'the prettiest thing she'd ever seen'. He was right...I could not have been happier and after the wedding I put it on my auntie Frances' grave...she would have loved it too!

Howard and the Groomsmen wore matching blue 3 piece suits from Next and cornflower blue ties from John Lewis. The style and colour suited everyone. Howards Mum embroidered a special message onto a piece of silk on Howards inside pocket. He also wore his late Granddads cufflinks which was a really nice touch.

I really enjoyed the whole Bridesmaid dress experience. I knew exactly what I wanted but knew I would never find it in the shops. Amanda of Dressing Miss Daisy was a joy to work with. We designed the dresses over lots of cups of tea and cakes and after months of searching I found the perfect fabric...320 miles away in Cornwall.

My little Bridesmaids were travelling from Singapore so their dresses came from Next in Singapore at the last minute. Rowan, our flower girl wore a handmade dress from Etsy with tan leather cut out ankle boots from Zara. Harrison my nephew and page boy wore navy chinos with tan braces, white linen shirt, cornflower blue bow tie to match Howard and the groomsmen and white converse high tops to complete his cool look.

We didn't have a colour scheme as such, we just kept everything quite soft and romantic which was reflected in the table settings. I spent a year collecting candle sticks, perfume bottles, vases, hurricane jars, etc for the tables. I wanted each table to be slightly different, some with lots of flowers, others with candles and then others with a mix. Rather than putting a menu on each setting we designed a menu and framed them as part of the table centre.

We also made the table plan ourselves by drying out our rotting back gate and hanging frames to reflect each table. We names out tables after Howards favourite real ales and used beer mats as the table names. Following this theme we used bottles of ale as the favours for the boys and designed our very own amaretto labels for the girls.

Our wedding day was just the best day ever. I woke up at home with Kate and we had breakfast in bed whilst discussing how the morning would go. I was worried I would be stressed but I was far from it. I have never been so calm. Our makeup artist Sam arrived and started to transform us all and I did my own hair.

Everything went perfectly to plan and after a glass of champagne we set off the fantastic vintage cars from Broadoak Cars. Our gorgeous neighbours laid a red carpet and tones of flowers at our front door. They were all outside with cameras to catch us as we left...it was like a mini royal wedding! The guests all arrived on a vintage London Bus.

As the car approached Arley Hall the nerves kicked in a little. My Dad held my hand and said 'lets get this show on the road' and before I knew it we were on the aisle. The ceremony was beautiful. We wrote our own vows and Howards niece sang as we signed the register. As we said our vows I glanced down and noticed my nephew stood in between us smiling up at me. It was such a lovely moment and the smile helped me hold back my tears. We walked out to 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun' by The Libertines, a song we both love.

My family are Catholic so it was important for me to include that in the day. My family priest came over and carried out a beautiful blessing in the chapel in the grounds of Arley Hall. It was nice to walk in together to How Great Thou Art by Elvis, my Granddads favourite. Howard's Mum had spent weeks hand making heart garlands for the pew ends.

Our drinks reception was one of my favourite parts of the day. It was the hottest day of the year so we made the most of it with our impromptu garden party. It was all so relaxed and a great opportunity to chat to everyone as we sipped peach bellinis and listened to the amazing Gypsies of Bohemia who set up under a beautiful tree.

We are both really into food and didn't want the usual soup and roast dinner so spent ages planning our menu. We finally decided on crisp duck egg and smoked bacon on watercress sauce to start followed by chicken wrapped in pancetta on asparagus and sun blushed tomato risotto. Dessert was my absolute favourite...warm treacle tart with clotted cream!

Music was a big part of the day and knowing all our friends love a bit of a song and dance we knew we had to book the Rockaoke band. They were fantastic and everyone got involved...including my Dad who covered The Arctic Monkeys, 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor' whilst wearing his 'readers'! Howard is in a band so he brought his guitar along and played a few songs with them. We took a little break from singing to enjoy hog roast and wedding cake, although I have to take the other guests word for that as I was glued to the dance floor and missed all the food. We danced the night away, most people in the flip flops I'd provided for those throbbing dancing feet.

The Word Is Love provided the backdrop to our stage in the way of lit up L&H marquee letters. They looked amazing and were a hit with everyone. We created our own photo booth with props, a scrap book and Polaroid camera.

The whole day was just perfect. My advice to any brides to be would be relax and let go. I was so caught up in planning everything and worried that I would be stressed on the day. I couldn't have been more wrong. At 5pm the evening before the wedding I literally let go and just thought 'if it's not done now it's not going to be done' and that was quite liberating!

I would also massively recommend choosing your photographer wisely. We could not be happier with our images and I can't imagine them ever looking out dated or cheesy. Giulia and Sophia were fantastic and everyone loved them. They fitted into the day beautifully and kept us all at ease which was reflected in the photographs.

I would also say that if you can afford it get a videographer. We were so overwhelmed during the ceremony that it was all a bit of a blur. Everyone will tell you that your day will fly by so take a moment here and there to take it all in. I remember the weeks after the wedding people said 'I bet you wish you could do it all again' but I have to say I don't. Not because I didn't love it but because nothing could ever be that perfect again...and you just can't beat perfect!

Photography by On Love And Photography
Bride Dita by Naomi Neoh | Venue Arley Hall Gardens | Florist The Flower Emporium | Catering RW Bespoke | Bridesmaids Dressing Miss Daisy | Groom & Groomsmen Next | Entertainment Gypsies Of Bohemia & Rockaoke | Cars Broadoak Cars | London Bus Classic Bus | Light Up Letters The Word Is Love | Videography Perfect Day Production

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