I cannot contain my excitement at showing you the stunning and beautiful wedding of Heather & Ryan which took place at the Church of St Peter and St. Paul in Alpheton, (near Long Melford) on the 10th of September with a reception held at the rustic charm filled Alpheton Hall Barns. Enjoy this autumn treasure, shot by Lottie Love Photography, which should warm you up on this very chilly day.
Heather wore a stunning lace trimmed dress ‘Virginia’ from the Romantica Range, in Ivory, which she bought from Grace and Lace, Colchester. Heather personalised it herself, with extra lace trim around the bust line. Heather also wore a pair of very vintage lace trimmed bridal gloves, which were divine and completed the rustic vintage style with a Bespoken For Vintage Tiara, made with authentic vintage components and a vintage diamante necklace sourced by me too.
Being a September wedding, Heather and Ryan choose a rustic autumn theme with burnt orange and red tones which looked so vibrant and worked well with the decor of the location. The Church is just so picturesque and situated adjacent to the barns.
The Venue together with the Hall, & Chapel dates back to the 10th Century and is steeped in history. It retains so many original features, I asked Heather “What was great about your venue?”, “Everything!” She replied “We were always looking for a barn venue but Alpheton stood out as it has retained its original character, i.e. it still looks like a working barn! So many barns have had their true identity ripped out, and in my humble opinion therefore look too ‘polished’. Our autumnal rustic theme and ‘home made’ style (we made all of our own table centres/ menus/ decorations/ name tags etc.,) fitted in with the rustic character of the Barn. Furthermore, there was more than enough room to ‘strip the willow’ during our barn dance WITHOUT being chucked outside whilst tables are being rearranged. For a barn this is rare that you get to keep all of the tables in the same place AND have a HUGE dance floor! Not a boring marquee, or chair cover in sight, so it’s not to everyone’s taste but instead you have the potential to create a truly original, and therefore highly personal look, that shows your personality so much more than a venue specifically created for weddings.”
“There are many photos opportunities in the grounds, (again, not your typical manicured privet hedges, rather your rambling hedges, ramshakle barn doors, ‘chickens at your feet’ kind of place…) but the real reason behind this new venue’s success lies in its owner, Nick Willcocks. He is the life and soul behind Alpheton,” said Heather “and at my wedding he wasn’t only the venue owner but also put on his event organising, photographer, musician, entertainer and IT technician hats! His ‘hands on’ approach helps to make your dreams come true! ”
I asked Heather:
What was your best part of the day?
“My wonderful husband surprised me with a slide show film of reasons why he chose me to be his wife for his speech! I believe I speak for most of the ladies in the room, (and dare I say some of the men!) that there were a lot of happy tears flowing! I’m so proud of him and he only needs to get the film out again when we are arguing over who’s turn it is to put the bins out, and I’ll be putty in his hands!”
What advice would you give to brides to be?
- - Take the time to sit back with your husband and look at all your beautiful friends and family that have made the effort to join you, the day goes far too quickly and in the chaos of ‘circulating’ around your guests all day, you can easily forget to take stock and truly enjoy the moment.
- - Wear your wedding shoes in before the big day.
- - Trawl auction sites for bargains, my lace gloves cost 1 penny!
- - If you’re lucky enough to have other friends/ family getting married around the same time, tap into each others’ resources, (we used fake ivy, a gazebo, jam jars with tea lights, and fairy lights at no extra cost.)
- - Persuade budding amateur photographer friends to be snap happy! Long after any official photographer has gone home, you get a load more photos for free of the evening’s frivolities!
- - Use google images for inspiration, and show your potential florist/ cake maker/ etc., an inspiration board you’ve created. It’s the one day in your life that you’re allowed to be a diva and they can be paid ridiculous amounts for their services…make them work for you!!!!!
- - Don’t be afraid to do things differently – your guests should come away remembering your wedding and saying, ‘that was so ‘them’!', so if a bucking bronko is your idea of fun, chances are your guests will think so to!
- - And we planned the whole day in 5 months…I can’t understand couples that take years planning their day..it’s the personal touches that make the day special.
What details did you choose for a personal touch?
On the back of each name tag, I wrote a personal message to each guest, which although took some time, went down a hit! As brides don’t traditionally don’t do a speech, it was my way of personally reaching each guest. It might have been a favourite memory together, my favourite thing about this person, or a wish for our future.
We also did a ‘How well do you know your Bride and Groom?’ quiz, with each table competing against each other for a prize.
Instead of a guest book, we asked each guest to write down their specific advice to us as a married couple on tags that were then hung on our home-made twisted willow table centres – this prompted very funny/ heart-felt/ individual advice that meant so much more to us than the generic ‘good luck’ wishes you might otherwise get.
The giant games we bought for the kids during the day, doubled up as adult entertainment into the night… If your venue allows them of course! Search auction sites for deals.
We got my lovely sister to make our cake, (so brave considering she had never baked before!) and my mum to make assorted cookies as favours, which all disappeared before the end of the night!
Heather and Ryan would like to say “Thank You” to their friends, family and all those who helped to make their day so special. Especially their Suppliers Below;
Unique Rustic Wedding Venue Alpheton Hall Barns – Alpheton Hall Barns - http://www.alpheton-hall-barns.co.uk/
Wedding Photographer - Charlotte Powles of Lottie Love Photography. http://lottielovephotography.com/
Event Catering – ROFF Catering. http://www.roffcaterers.co.uk/
Cake – Brides sister! (wow!)
Brides Dress – Grace & Lace Colchester
DJ - Gary Woodyard of JLW entertainments (“Particularly good if you want YOUR choice of music rather than the DJ dictating what fills the floor! No “It’s Raining Men’ on our night!”) www.jlwentertainments.co.uk
Celeigh Band – Whirligig. http://www.glemsford.org.uk/whirligig.html
String Quartet = Camulos String Ensemble. “If you have any specific requests Ellie goes out of her way to write or find a version for your day. Wonderful!”
Bride’s Vintage Tiara and necklace – Bespoken For. http://www.bespokenfor.co.uk/
Suppliers the awards below are for you – feel free to copy and paste anywhere you wish, (do not copy the photos featured, they belong to Charlotte) Simply link to this page using the following badges, please email me if you wish to get a higher resolution.
Heather, What made you choose Bespoken For?
“I Saw the beautiful items on show at a wedding fayre and adored the vintage look of some pieces – exactly what I was looking for! And the fact that each one is a one-off piece means you can feel truly special knowing nooone else has worn the same piece! A treasure to hand down through the family! ”
I hope you have enjoyed reading and being inspired by this wedding. I wish a to thank Heather for agreeing to be bride of the month but most of all the very talented Charlotte, of Lottie Love photography not just for kindly agreeing I could feature her amazing photos, but also for having the talent and creativity to takes such beautiful pictures.
I sincerely wish Heather and Ryan all the best in their lives as man and wife, marriage is a bit like the seasons, with each change we have to work harder sometimes to sew seeds, digging in the dirt and caring for each other and then there are the chilly times when you have to be close together to get through, but in autumn, we find the fruits and harvest that are made in love, with joy, warmth and lifelong friendship.
Please share you appreciation & add your comments below
Love Jenni x
