When your garden is this beautiful…

When a couple love the outdoors as much as Sally and Jonathan, there was nowhere more perfect for their wedding ceremony than their friends stunning back garden set within the picturesque countryside in Leicestershire.  Our bride’s entrance to the garden was a walled arch framed by flowers. Located at the top of the aisle was a rawt iron Arch which would later become a permanent fixture and reminder of their wedding day in Sal and Jonno’s own back garden.

The couple’s ceremony was personal and unique to them, with readings specially chosen to reflect their commitment to one another.  Their music was definitely perfect for them as this sports-mad pair walked back up the aisle to the ‘cricket theme’ song!  

Their dog ‘Rufus’ was also involved in the ceremony which was really important to both Sally and Jonathan.

After the ceremony, the reception took place in the most amazing yurt and guests enjoyed a wedding breakfast prepared by Thomas the Caterer. Perfect!

Photographer – John Coulson

Yurt – Weddingyurts.co.uk

Doting Stepfather’s emotional vows to stepson

Personal, meaningful and outdoors.  These were the key elements that were important to Liam and Rebecca on their wedding day.  The couple had a beautiful, bespoke outdoor wedding ceremony at the Grey Lady in Leicestershire.  

A venue doesn’t have to be licenced to have a beautiful personalised ceremony conducted by a celebrant. The Grey Lady was perfect for Liam and Rebecca – a stunning cottage with a wonderful outdoor space located next door to their beloved Bradgate Park.

The ceremony was held in the elegant gardens of the Grey Lady restaurant surrounded by a stunning forest. There were little tributes throughout the day to Rebecca’s late stepfather from the beginning of the wedding ceremony to the end of the day. Filbert the Fox (Leicester City’s mascot) was even incorporated into the styling!

Liam and Rebecca’s marriage wasn’t just about their love and commitment to each other as a couple.

One of the most emotional parts of the ceremony was how Liam not only wanted to show his Stepson, but every guest at the wedding how much he meant to him and the three of them were now uniting together as one loving family.

After the couple exchanged rings, Liam’s stepson was invited forward to receive his very own ring. Liam wanted to make his own special vows and promises to him, including how he would always be there for him and treat him as if he was his own.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the garden!

The day was wonderful from start to finish…

 

Hairdresser – Plaits and Pin Curls (Lauren King)

Cake – Victorias Cake Company

Flowers – Bradgate Flowers

String Quartet – Highly Strung String Quartet

Photographer – Kimberly Hill Photography

Videographer – Up Close Wedding Productions

Band – Goodnight from Him

A rainbow explosion

Dave and Jade crafted a beautiful personalised wedding that incorporated every colour of the rainbow.  All elements of their wedding from the Tipi decorations to the ceremony arch were an explosion of colour.  The couple’s bespoke wedding ceremony was conducted on the edge of a stunning lake at Cattow’s Farm, Heather in Leicestershire. 

 

The guests and bridal party all arrived ‘farm style’ on tractors provided by Cattow’s farm, all in keeping with their relaxed and chilled day.  The guests were all asked to wear a ‘block colour’ and the effect was amazing.  I don’t think I’ve seen such a colourful display.

The bridesmaids each had their own colour coordinated groomsman and their flowers were out of this world.  The aisle was illuminated with colour as they walked down it, simply breath taking.

The couple’s adorable dog Holly was their ring bearer.   She was trained by their dog walker in the run up to the wedding.   She was absolutely brilliant on the day and both Dave and Jade were thrilled that she was able to play such as special role in their ceremony.

Dave and Jade were hands-on throughout, we had so much fun planning and delivering their ceremony. Even the day before the wedding – it was all fun and games planning where the hay bales would be located for the guests to sit on.  Such a wonderful couple.

“Thank you so much for creating such a personal ceremony and a warm and friendly delivery.  It was a pleasure working with you”.

Venue – Cattows Farm

Tipi – Peak Tipi’s

Photographer – Winter Creates Photography

Flowers – Flowerstory 

A colourful hand fasting ceremony

I had an amazing time working with the lovely Aaron and Cleo, who are as relaxed and as laid back as they come !  From our 1st telephone conversation, Cleo and I hit it off straight away.

Cleo is really creative and very talented, designing everything for the ceremony, the reception and making the bridesmaid dresses herself.

It was lovely to see her enthusiasm and feel part of it, it was definitely infectious. When she excitedly told me about the bridesmaids dresses she had made, I asked if she had done anything like that before. " Nerrr,  I just had a look at a few u-tube videos and thought I'd give it a go. I mean, I just thought, how hard can it be?? " was the reply.

I mean, seriously??!! Thankfully they were not employing me for my seamstress skills as I would have been able to illustrate just how hard it can be when you're not too handy with a needle and thread! :) 

Cleo and Aaron are both super-smiley all the time and made me feel so welcome in their home, but they were literally beaming on their special day.  Cleo had it planned in her head perfectly :)  The guests were to arrive about half an hour before the ceremony where they would be treated to the sound of 'Goodnight From him' playing in the sunshine ready for the outdoor ceremony. Their beautiful sons would walk down the aisle in front of her and her brother would walk her down the aisle. 

 Cleo and Aaron are both very close to their family and wanted them all involved in some way. Cleo came up with the idea of inviting all the guests to bring a ribbon, which would be part of an elaborate hand fasting ceremony. 

Their attitude towards everything was 'it will be fine. It will all come together one way or another'.   And do you know what? It did. 

An outdoor ceremony at Bawdon Lodge Farm, Leicestershire

As we are about to head full on into the outdoor ceremony season, I so happy to be sharing with you some beautiful pictures, of an outdoor ceremony we had the pleasure of writing and conducting at Bawdon Lodge Farm in North Leicestershire.

From my initial meeting with Leanne and Rich, I knew it was going to be a super-chilled out day and very stylish. They were SO relaxed about things in the best way.

It was really important to both Leanne and Rich that the ceremony was quite short and sweet, but also allowed their personalities to shine through... check out the smiles on their faces at the end:)

 

Styling

Leanne's friends Candice and Laura made the arch, which was a labour of love, but definitely worth it! 

 Leanne made all of the table flowers and bouquets herself, whilst Maid of Honour Roxy made the floral headdress. I know !!  Some seriously talented people at this celebration.

I asked Leanne what she liked best about their day ....

'How relaxed and stress-free it was - everybody said how much fun it was and that's exactly what we wanted from the day, our closest people having an absolute blast and celebrating with us ! '

What did you like best about Bawdon Lodge Farm ?

The freedom to do whatever we imagined and the great amount of help that Lynn and Richard gave in every aspect of the day ! '

Thank you Leanne for not only sharing your day with us but also these great pictures taken by  Sarah Brittain Edwards, which truly capture what a fantastic day it was x  

Lisa and Fliss's rustic wedding at Cattow's Farm

It was on a sunny and windy day in July, that I had the pleasure of finally conducting Lisa and Fliss's wedding ceremony. I say finally, because this super-organised pair booked me at the very beginning of their plans, which seems such a long time ago now.

I loved hearing about how their plans were progressing, from the room full of hand-made, multi coloured pom poms to the old-fashioned singer sewing machine, which would decorate the tipi's by Sami Tipi. We did divert on the odd occasion to discussing all the other wonderful finds, such as the green chesterfield chair,  and talks about family outings to Bradgate Park, but most of the time we tried to keep on track.  Without a shadow of a doubt, this wedding was going to be fun !

Everything included in the wedding was either made, included  or purchased with great thought and love. We went back and forth over the vows together, over a lovely cup of tea at Cattows Farm, until they were absolutely right.

Sometimes you just have to sit with a couple and watch the way that they look at each other says it all. Matt Brown Photography has captured this perfectly. So sit back, with a cup of something warm and enjoy a little look at their day.

 

Jo xx

Rob and Alex's colour spectacular !

I knew from the very first time I met with Rob and Alex that the styling of their tipi wedding would be something special; especially with Alex's creative flair,but I had no idea how spectacular it would be.

From the aisle scattered with flowers to the Bollywood inspired tables, to the reams of colourful ribbon, I am still not sure which bit is my favourite. Here is a sneak peek at a few photos of their colour spectacular.

Bradgate Park

I am so excited to announce that I am lucky enough to have been chosen  to work alongside The Bradgate Park Trust to write and conduct ceremonies at the gorgeous Bradgate Park in Leicestershire from July 2016.

I have been going to Bradgate Park all of my life, having been taken there by my Grandparents and parents. I now take my children there and am able to take them to the same areas I would visit as a child, paddling in the same streams, climbing the same hills and rocks. The wonderful thing about Bradgate Park is that it is a natural unspoilt beauty spot, that does not change ( in a good way ! )

I know that so many people would love to be able to have a ceremony at the park and now you can !

There are 2 key areas of the park that can be used for a ceremony, the first being The Woodlands, featured in our shoot below

Lots of talented local suppliers from the wedding industry helped to showcase what a Woodland Wedding at Bradgate Park could look like and slowly but surely it all came together.

Once Bradgate Park Trust had laid the logs and bark chipping down to create an aisle and seating area, Tara from Tickety Boo Events sprinkled her magic styling dust on the ceremony area along with Clemency from The Beau Flower Company who provided the beautiful table centre piece, bouquets and button holes.

The stylish suits for both Grooms, provided by Christopher Scotney's in Leicester and the white bridal gown provided by Brides of Ibstock gave a sophisticated edge to the natural surroundings.

Our second location within the park, is The Ruins, which was the home of Lady Jane Grey, before she became Queen. With the deer ambling slowly in the background and the stunning backdrop of the ruins themselves and the grounds within them, we were spoilt for choice as to where to start. The black dress, gave an alternative edgy feel. The confetti used were simple hand dried flowers, which was a key factor when deciding what to use, as they will cause no harm to the deer if eaten !

Suppliers :

Celebrant : My Perfect Ceremony

Photographer : Yvonne Lishman Photography

Menswear wedding suites : Christopher Scotney

Bridal gowns and hair accessories : Brides of Ibstock

Florist : The beau Flower Company

Stylist : Tickety Boo Events

Chair hire : Bradgate Events Furniture Hire

Canapés and Champagne  : Thomas the Caterer

Confetti : Natural Favours

Hair : Kayleigh King

Source: www.myperfectceremony.co.uk

Twycross Zoo Wedding

I was absolutely delighted and honoured to be asked to write and conduct the first ever outdoor wedding ceremony at Twycross Zoo.

Nicola and Richard REALLY wanted to have an outdoor ceremony at Twycross Zoo, but were not sure if this was possible. When finding out that doing the legal bit at the register office first, then allowed them to have a celebrant from My Perfect Ceremony conduct their ceremony anywhere, things were looking up.

All that needed to be done now was get permission from the Zoo - thankfully they said yes !

A bespoke ceremony was written for this animal loving pair and conducted in the sunny private gardens. . As we all waited for the Bride to arrive, listening to songs such as ' I wanna be like you ' from The Jungle Book , quite a crown gathered on the outskirts of the garden , with the monkeys calling in the background.

When the Bride arrived, walking down the aisle to 'Roar' by Katy Perry, the crowd dispersed and the private ceremony took place - just as they had wanted.

/my perfect ceremony/wedding ceremony