“Sophie, what can I say about Sophie. For a start I knew this appointment would be amazing as I had already styled Sophie’s lovely sister for her wedding a few years before. Being so far away from the boutique we chatted over instagram before she came to visit, make sure we felt it was worth the trip. The joy for me with brides like Sophie, is that she wanted something really different and wanted to be a bride but also relaxed. We actually mix and matched the final look from four different designers.”
Tell me about the proposal?
My husband proposed in Italy on the 13th day of our wonderful trip across 6 different cities. He took me for a lovely meal, we both got suitably tipsy then we went to the roof of our hotel to take some end of trip photos, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him in Italian, I waited a moment then he pulled out the ring and said it English. Of course I replied with a yes and a big snog. When we got to our room he had a postcard from every place we visited on the bed detailing what we had been up to (remember when we saw David, remember the coliseum) in the middle of them all was a Rome postcard, it said “remember when I asked you to marry me” yeah he’s that cute.
Tell us about your wedding where was it set and what was the feel of the day.
Our day was calm, filled with love, kisses, friends, family, drinks and partying as hard as we could. From the moment I woke up it was the most chilled I’ve ever been, for anyone that knows me I get nervous/excited going anywhere. But I was making cups of tea and just soaking in every moment. I had always wanted a church wedding being Catholic, more specifically in recent years it had to be my local church. I had completed all other sacraments there growing up, so it was sentimental to me.
After a calm chilled morning getting ready with my bridesmaids, maid of honour, my mum and my niece and nephew. We then made our way to the church to marry the love of my life. We arrived late due to town traffic so I was anxious to get in there, but when I arrived there were around 20 friends waiting outside the church with their brollies and raincoats at the ready (I however didn’t notice the rain) they cheered me and the bridal party in, it was so beautifulI of them. I told father I would send off my party one at a time, we walked up the isle to a thousand years, I had choreographed the timing of my bridal party walking up the isle, in my head a thousand times since we first chose this song. Then it was mine and mums turn to walk, I turned to her counting us in “one step closer” that was it, we were in tears.
We walked up the isle fighting back tears, then when I reached the top I couldn’t help myself but have a cheeky kiss, (or two). One friend said the theme of our wedding day was kissing. We didn’t stop all day. We said our vows exchanged rings then whilst signing the register, my nephew sang Edelweiss off the cuff (he’s only five)We all cheered. We left the church as husband and wife with all our wonderful friends waiting outside. Then off to our local, to a personal wedding breakfast with 13 of our favourite people. After that we went to a local barn and partied hard. It rained a lot that day so we didn’t manage a photo shoot down the canal liked we had hoped, but our amazing photographer offered to shoot us once we got back from our honeymoon, so I got to wear my most beautiful dress once more.
What did you love/hate about dress shopping?
Every dress shop experience I had before Madi was horrendous. I knew very clearly what I wanted, and what I didn’t. Both shops I went in to prior tried putting me in very fitted gowns. Or dresses that were really heavy and far too long. I left feeling very disheartened. Thank goodness for Madi. I had sent some ideas of dresses I liked, so when I got their Madi had a few that she had thought I may like, I ended up picking the same ones, she made me feel at ease, I wasn’t even stressed about being practically nude in front of her. When I tried on dresses they were all beautiful, We then came up with different ideas, Madi wizzed around the shop trying to find the perfect item to match the description. She was a star I would recommend the shop to anyone.
What made you pick your dress?
It had that Maid Marion vibe. It also had the major requirements, Pockets, I could breath, sit, eat and drink in it. It was blumming gorgeous, very unique, and bespoke to me.
How did you style your day, and yourself?
I think your wedding day is the most important day ever, you will be looking at to those photos for the rest of your life. So I thought it was important to look like me. For a night out I like curly hair, I don’t like it up or fussy, I’m not a tiara person so a headband of flowers in my curly mane was perfect. My make up is what I would wear for a night out, with less eye liner. Simple, but glam.
What advice would you give to brides now?
People always said to me leading up to the day, it’s such a blur you won’t remember it, you won’t even get to finish a drink because your dress will be too tight to eat or drink. Well I was completely the opposite my husband and I shared the top table, we had all that time to spend talking/reminiscing about our wonderful morning, the church, the guests. We both got tipsy together and soaked up every minute. Plus my dress was great so I could enjoy myself without worrying about the squeeze. If you can have the top table to you and your husband, you can spend the rest of your evening with your family and guests. Also try not to please others, ITS YOUR DAY.
If your wedding was effected by Covid how did you make adjustments for this?
We have been together for 13 years, we wanted to have babies and start our lives together. Sure we would have loved to have a big party with everyone there, but the most important thing was me marrying the love of my life. We kept the same date, cut down the guest list to immediate family only. I had my two bridesmaids, and he had one friend. We got married at the same church, then over to our local for a very romantic, personal wedding brekki, we had put a deposit down on a local venue for our original plans, but we asked them to keep it to go towards a big party when one day we can all be together again. We spent the evening in a local barn, it was brilliant, we had the best day. We realised that we have been through many challenges and this was just one more thing, it wasn’t a huge big deal to me as I knew either way I wanted to marry him, sure it was upsetting and emotional changing things around, but we adapted, because after all, love is all you need.
Suppliers:
Emily Whelan Hair
Jess Yarwood Photography
Floras delights cake
Lucinka Hodnett Make up
Flossies Flowers