Press names it wedding of year
Tight security at the exclusive Chiltern Mills
Meet the new
Mr & Mrs
Williams
600 guests in attendance
Award winning photos | The Hanover Wedding Cake
DAVID & HELEN MAKE IT OFFICIAL Not a man to do things by halves David Williams managed to make his proposal to Helen symbolic and meaningful. It took some doing to get it right, but the results where outstanding.
David and Helen met 4 years ago at a friend's barbecue. They hit it off straight away and have been inseparable ever since. They both maintained a great relationship with mutual respect and understanding of their own individual needs. It seemed to be one of those sorts of romances that eventually have only one way to go, and that would be marriage. David proposed on 16th December 2012 after many hints and winks from Helen he knew she’d want it to be thoughtful and wasn’t interested in how many roses he could buy or the most expensive hotel. Reaching for his creative skills, David spent weeks making a sign and gluing led lights into a boxed wooden frame, with the words 'Will you marry me?'. He then took Helen for a meal at the Pickford Arms in Devon, where Catherine sat with her back to the large windows which overlooked the harbour. Getting her to do
this as per the plan was no easy feat as David explained later on. The whole process had to work like clockwork. One thing out of place or a misjudged reaction would ruin such hard work, all that could go wrong was already considered before the elaborate plans where made. David then asked her to turn around, and when she did their close family were stood smiling with David’s flashing sign. ‘How’s that for a surprise’? Helen immediately became a bawling box of tissues. The joy and appreciation even before she said yes, brought out the tears in David’s eyes and almost everyone else. Helen screamed a resounding “yes“. Both families shared the rest of the evening with the couple who couldn’t their hands off each other. Whoever said the magic of weddings is lost these days would certainly change their minds if they were with David and Helen that evening
The vintage Wedding day
Choosing to go vintage when it comes to wedding themes is quite the challenge. One that is reserved only for the true fans of the idea. David and Helen with the help of favoured experts went all out to have their dream wedding as planned.
The happy couple did admit that they probably took on too much to organize such a wedding in the tight time frame they had for themselves. The actually planning seemed to go on forever. Almost everything was handmade by designer friend Harry Frampton, The couple who are both fans of vintage styles and clothing made sure everything was done to exact instructions. The ambitious idea included guest clothing and decoration to be synonymous with yester year even the music and dance followed through. David and Helen wanted the entire day to be different and they certainly pulled it off. Rumours suggest the vintage signage, outfits and decorations took at least 70% of the entire wedding budget. The style was also used in the pop art styled invitations which was printed on recycled paper. Wedding planner May Thompson admitted later, “It was one heck of a challenge to get this right, “how we pulled it off is still a mystery to me.” “The small details were very important to us, and we had quirky little gifts for the bridal party such as ‘vintage Tupperware and tin posters, personalized TINSBridesmaid’s Survival Kits’ and personalised dressing gowns and dress hangers.”
The Bride and Groom’s Outfits Catherine's dress was all French corded lace with hand-stitched pearl beads and clear sequins, bought from Frilly Frocks in Barnstaple. It was fitted to the body and elegantly fell into a fishtail skirt with a fine scalloped lace trim. The strapless gown had a gentle scooped neckline and keyhole back, and an elegant jacket with high-neck collar covered the neckline. Ben and his groomsmen wore dark grey jackets with tails, black/grey pinstripe trousers, corded silver waistcoats and dusky pink cravats with pearl trim, hired from Moss Bros.
The Bridal Party
The Wedding Flowers
Catherine had four bridesmaids who wore slim-fitting dresses with straps, pleats across the waist, and cowl drapes at the back with a zip and button trim, bought from Te Amo Bridal in Colebrook, Plymouth. Catherine added a diamante and pearl brooch to the dresses as a finishing touch.
Catherine runs a florist called Flower Fayre in Stoke Village, Plymouth, so it was very important that the venue was filled with beautiful flowers. Her posy bouquet was filled with David Austin roses, hydrangea, spray roses, and ranunculas, with pearls draped through it, and the bouquet was finished with lace ribbon and the same brooch the bridesmaids had on their dresses. The bridesmaids bouquets were hydrangea with gypsophila around the outside, the groom’s buttonhole was a special David Austin rose with hydrangea and China grass, whilst the rest of the men wore pink roses.
Helen’s close friends getting into it
The table centrepieces were vintage bird cages filled with roses, hydrangea, lisianthus and gypsophila, with the same flowers used for the fireplace garland and heart behind Catherine and Ben on the top table. The heart was placed on Ben’s nan’s grave after the wedding, whilst Catherine’s bridesmaids’ bouquets went on her late nan’s grave. Throughout the venue there were lots of the pretty jam jars they had been making filled with flowers, and vintage teacups which had been collected throughout the year.
Catherine and Ben had a traditional church ceremony at St Werburgh Church in Wembury, Plymouth, attended by around 90 guests. By 2pm the wedding group arrived at the reception held at Chiltern Mills a grand stable conversion with all the elegance and charm fit for such a wedding. The décor also sported the vintage theme complete with waiters and bar staff all dressed up to compliment the theme. It was partly chosen for the access to great surroundings it offered and an interior that boasted of trimmings designed in great detail. It was the first venue both couples checked out and booked immediately, a great recommendation from David’s older sister Martha who had been to the venue before for a different wedding. The entire manor house was theirs for the day, along with the stunning grounds that surround it. The couple’s first dance was to Lover’s quest, a classic by 'Ella Fitzgerald , which they chose as it was one of the first songs they'd listened to together over and over again, and it became 'their song'. Then the music stopped and cut in with 'newer tunes from the 80s. That was all that was needed to get the guests join the couple on the dance floor. The dancing went on for quite a considerable amount of time with song requests and sequence dancing.
Divine food in a great setting After the ceremony the guests were directed to the ball room of the fabulous Chiltern Court. The couple had opted for the elaborate and tasty weding buffet package known for it’s extensive menu. Chiltern Caterers did not disappoint with the quality and choice of food. Even the veggies were catered for with a very creative and scrumptious menu including alternatives to meat and a great fruit and humus range. The Chef’s popular hors d’oeuvres was a great starter while picture taking was concluded. The choice of cold or warm buffet menus worked quite well. Everyone had their choice and gladly made additional visits to the buffet counter. Desserts where served much later timed to start just before dancing and all the speeches had been made. Micael Wenton’s dessert specialists were on hand to deliver their tasty creations of choc ices, cup cakes, treacle and salads amongst other choices.
The Hanover Wedding Cake The wedding cake was a traditional three tier fruit cake iced with delicate flowers, made by Hanover Creations of Glasgow, a three tier cake mixed with different types of flavours and complimentary colours. Aside from the exquisite taste, the design itself was extraordinary. Sources report that it took 3 weeks to put it together and had been one that the cake makers had spent a year to perfect the template design. It’s not surprising that the cake became the star of the show with several guests reaching for the cameras to take a shot.
Award winning photos The wedding was photographed by Vick Allen Photography, who was recommended to the couple by the magazine publishers covering the wedding. They wanted someone to capture their day as naturally as possible, so their photos would tell the story for a lifetime with written detail and that celebrity glam. Vicky received several praises for her photographic work. Some of the images would win top prizes in the wedding Providers Guild. All the photos were high grade shots with much imagination and a keen eye on capturing the mood. The couple seemed so much fun to work with in the pre-wedding photo shoots.” explained Vicky, who has plans to get them on her books for modelling work in hr extensive portfolio. Helen commented, "The whole day was a wonderful memory, but the best bit, apart from seeing each other for the first time, would be the secret singing waiters and seeing everyone's amazed faces." Vicki delighted at the test shots