Our wedding photography

We chose Bristol wedding photographer Martin Dabek.

Martin was fantastic on the day. He was relaxed and fun, putting us and our guests at ease. He also managed to be everywhere all at once!

When we saw the photos we were thrilled. They captured the day perfectly and we loved that he also got some great shots of our guests on the dance floor. Martin also made a wedding video for us using footage he’d captured on his iPhone set to some of the songs we used on the day which is the perfect memento.

Our wedding venue

Barley Wood wedding venue in rural Bristol

Barley Wood is a really special venue. It is an old house set in gorgeous grounds with both outdoor and indoor ceremony options and a Great Hall for the wedding breakfast. It has lovely bedrooms so we were able to have family and friends stay for the weekend of the wedding. It really felt like home for the weekend.

We loved that it was a blank canvas and we were able to decorate the house however we chose. Zach and the team there were so helpful and ensured everything ran smoothly on the day.

The morning of our wedding day was rainy but luckily the clouds parted and the sun came out in time for us to have an outdoor ceremony overlooking the Mendips. This was such a magical part of the day. The weather stayed warm so we were able to have our drinks reception outside as well as a pizza van and coffee van in front of the house in the evening.

Our wedding outfits

After lots of shopping around, I found my dress in Lace and Grace in Keynsham.

The dresses there are stunning and I was stuck between two. Becky and Carol were brilliant and helped me make my decision. In the end I went for a minimalist Chosen by Kyha dress and added sleeves and a personalised veil to make the dress my own.

I wanted to add a hair piece and by chance found a beautiful hairband in Bradford on Avon.

I treated myself to some gold Jimmy Choos to complete the look as the slit in my dress meant my shoes were on show!

Tom decided he wanted a tux fairly early on but wanted something a little different, so went for a navy tux with black details. He hired this from Clifton Suits.

Our amazing suppliers

Papadeli catering

Papadeli were amazing as our wedding caterers. We knew we wanted something a bit different food wise and for the wedding breakfast to be sharing style and they really delivered. Lots of our guests commented on how delicious the food was. Lou was so organised in the build up and felt like a friend by the wedding day. She was also brilliant at catering for anyone with dietary requirements which was very reassuring.

Pip Floral Studio

Anna supplied us with the most gorgeous flowers including a lovely arrangement that went up the staircase leading to the Great Hall. I loved my bouquet so much that I had it pressed and framed as a keepsake.

Little Wedding Helper

Kirsten helped us to style our wedding. We had calls with her to discuss our vision and she had loads of props we were able to borrow on the day to save us buying things we wouldn’t use again. She was amazing the day before and set everything up meaning we could have a (fairly!) relaxed afternoon and evening before the wedding.

George Wilson music

We hired George, a singer and pianist, to play for our ceremony and drinks reception. He took requests from guests and brought great energy to the beginning of the day.

Photo & video – Martin Dabek Photography
Venue – Barley Wood
Dress designer – Kyha Studios
Boutique – Lace and Grace
Suit – Clifton Suits
Catering – Papadeli Events
Flowers – Pip Floral Studio
Styling – The Little Wedding Helper
Hair – Bridal Hair by Jodie
Pianist – George Wilson Music

The post Izzy and Tom’s beautiful Barley Wood wedding, with Martin Dabek Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Our lovely couple have recommended some brilliant Bristol wedding suppliers, including lovely Becky Weir Photography, their venue Coombe Lodge, as well as the amazing Lucy Can’t Dance. Check out their English Wedding interview below to discover all the best Bristol wedding suppliers and why these two loved them so much!

Wedding photographer’s website

Becky Weir – https://beckyweir.co.uk/

Wedding photographer review

From the very moment we met Becky at a wedding fair, we knew she would be perfect for us. Her aesthetic, values, her kindness, originality & her fun. When we then saw her website and portfolio it all clicked into place.

She was a hand holding us through the day – So easy to talk to, so easy to ask questions. She honestly felt like one of the family.

Both Brad & I aren’t ones for attention or the spotlight being on us, but we felt so comfortable being in Becky’s company. Even when Bec gave us a little direction for our photos, we didn’t feel wooden, we just kept talking and goofing around like she wasn’t even there. She blends in so well for candid photography, you wouldn’t even know she was there!

She definitely understood what our wedding meant to us, with all our quirky takes on the day and my many DIY’s (even down to the wire of making Groomsmen ties 2 days before the big day) for that we cannot thank her enough.

We cannot wait to see our album and share our gallery with our friends and family – Becky’s post-wedding process is so stress-free and convenient, and we’re delightfully impressed with the options she has in place. Truly tailored to you and so original.

Your best moment or memory

There are many that I fall back on when I think about the day. There are two that stand out to me the most.

Seeing my father for the first time in a tailored suit with a tie and a buttonhole I’d created for him. His love, his support, and his emotion was just so raw, I’ve never seen him like that. My parents aren’t really ones to show their emotion, but dad did so well that day to let me know he was proud and pleased. He didn’t have to say it, I could feel it.

My second memory was when I was getting ready in the bridal suite. I could see our guests arriving, then out the corner of my eye when my hair was being done, I could see the children walking around with the Alpaca’s (Barney & Guinness) that we’d previously walked on the Quantocks in 2019 and had hired for after the ceremony. I was beaming form ear to ear and was so thrilled that everyone was happy to see their little fuzzy faces.

Tell us anything you did differently – we love hearing about NEW traditions (or none at all!)

We’re not really the personalities for following traditions, one thing was that I hate the excess of items that are purchased for a wedding with only a single use.

I wanted our wedding items to preserve the day and have longevity.

I’m not a massive flower person and I’m a serial houseplant buyer. So much so, I almost cried at the till when Brad bought me a gorgeous Calathea at Botanica Studio in Bath.

I knew for sure that I wanted dried botanicals to be adorning myself, the Groomsmen, and my Bridesmaids. I made my bridesmaids botanical macrame wreaths to hold for the day in the hopes they’d use them as a feature piece or wall hanging afterward.

I also decided to request some bespoke tweed from my good and dear friend Charlotte (@fruitbattextiles) and made both pocket squares and ties for Brad and our groomsmen as a gift for the day.

I sourced the most amazing dried botanicals from @HANDANDBLOOM (Etsy, Bristol local seller) and elevated them with dried pampas and pheasant feathers as both Brad and I come from farming backgrounds, we wanted a subtle nod to our upbringing as our families were coming together for us.

Where we could, we researched independently owned businesses, local businesses, and small businesses.

It just so happened that most of these businesses were women-owned too, which we were both so proud to support.

As a little shameless plug, I also made quite a few little embroidered elements for the day that I will soon be selling through my own little small business Etsy. (BrueMoonFibres) This included individual embroidered place names for the head table in my own supply of hand-dyed cotton thread.

Venue name + review

Coombe Lodge, Blagdon – Martha and Issy our coordinators were incredible. Honestly, we couldn’t have pulled off our wedding without them.

The wedding planning and organization fell to me, not because I wanted it to. But, because I had a vision for our wedding and Brad wanted me to have free reign with my creativity and ideas. I’d never done anything like this before let alone thought I’d ever get married!

When we were looking around at venues, Martha stood out to be one of the most accommodating, calm, and down-to-earth members of staff that we had the pleasure of meeting.

Martha and her team were always so happy to help out with any queries or questions. At no point did we feel like we had requested too much of them, and they were always available either through the phone or email to put our minds at ease. Even with my extreme amount of DIY for the wedding, I was so proud to have them in the background of our day as they made it all the more special. Might I add, Brad was won over by Martha with the coffee and a brownie by the fireplace in the initial meeting.

Tell us a little about your outfits – both of you!

Both our outfits were inspired by our love of nature, forests, and our agricultural backgrounds. We wanted our outfits to reflect our personalities but also fit in with our setting and our theme for the day.

Dress or suit shop name + review

My dress was found by my MOH when I was at my lowest point. I’d been in an unfortunate car accident in Feb (2022) and I was at a real down point feeling useless and frustrated with constant calls and forms whilst being bedbound in recovery.

My MOH mentioned to me that my favorite small business (Lucy Can’t Dance) was having a sample sale, I took a quick look and then fell in love with her. My dress was called Pumpkin and it fit so perfectly with our anniversary being the Halloween weekend, along with the delicate sequin leaf mesh that I adored when I finally got to see her. I took a risk buying her being a sample size, but luckily being a seamstress I was able to amend her straps and then with some help from my bridesmaids MIL we amended the length.

Florist name + review

Our wedding stylist was Kelly from Ambiance, Bristol. Kelly was an absolute babe and honestly took our ideas and made them a reality. She was like-minded in the way that we preferred foliage over floral, and she really got into our minds and helped us analyze our ideas and brought them to life.

We sleep with the foliage from the day attached to our macrame hanging above our bed and I’ve just recently used some of the excesses to make us a chunky wedding/Christmas wreath for our front door.

We’re so lucky to have worked with her for our wedding, she has decided to hand the baton to her colleague and is spending more time with her family. We support her decision and both wish her well for the future and will never forget the incredible day she allowed us to have.

Cake maker name + review

Ahh Toots, a brilliant bakery/cakery based in Bristol owned by Tam & Amy. Brad and I used to visit Ahh Toot’s little stand in St Nick’s market each time, most of the time going to Bristol just to see them and their cakes. When they opened up their cafe on Christmas Steps, we had no second guesses on who we’d love to make our wedding cake.

They did such an amazing job and made the most amazing cake we could have ever hoped for. We still have some in the freezer and we’re trying to not eat all of it so we can savor the day each time we sit down with a cuppa.

Wedding readings

Love Poem with Apologies for My Appearance by Ada Limón I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg

First dance song? Playlist recommendations?

You & Me song – The Wannadies

Hair + makeup name + review

By Sarah Kate – Sarah was incredible, soft, understanding and so so amazing.

I explained to her that makeup wasn’t really my thing but I wanted to look photo ready. She enabled me and my bridesmaids to look our absolute (as close as we could be) natural best on the day and enhanced our features so much.

She gave me skin tips and recommended products that I still use to this day. She honestly opened my eyes a lot more to make-up and I am in awe of her incredible talent.

*Check out our insta for an alpaca special – exclusively from Gem & Brad’s gorgeous day! (Coming soon if you don’t see it yet!)

The post Gem & Brad’s super creative wedding at Coombe Lodge, with Becky Weir Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

https://martindabek.com/

How did you choose your photographer?

Martin was well-reviewed online and his price point fit our budget

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

Martin was fantastic and left no stone unturned. He was able made us both feel very comfortable – although we’re not the most confident in front of the camera – and he also captured the fun nature of the day. Martin was constantly taking photos throughout the day, and even the posed photos were quite relaxed.

The quality of the photos are exceptional. Martin has clearly taken a lot of time and care in editing the pictures and they brought out the best in the day and our guests.

Find out more – Clifton Observatory wedding photographer Martin Dabek

What’s your fondest memory of your wedding?

The wedding occurred weeks after Covid restrictions were lifted in July 2021, and meeting all of our friends and family after years of being apart, and years of planning and re-planning the wedding, we don’t so much have a fondest moment, as much as are grateful that the whole day could happen exactly as planned. Everyone had a wonderful day, and this was what we had all wanted.

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

The wedding took place at Clifton Observatory in Bristol. This venue was perfect: it was small but spacious, it had a lovely terrace and it had a picture-perfect view of the bridge.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was your shopping experience, was it fun to find your wedding gear?

Becky did a lot of research when searching for her dress, and although she thought she wanted a 3/4 length dress, after trying on a few she decided she wanted a full-length, slim and simple piece, which she found. Fortunately, she was able to purchased her dress before the pandemic and found a local seamstress to alter it the moment lockdown was lifted.

Andy wanted his suit to be more than an ordinary two piece that he would normally wear for work, and found a stylish oatmeal three piece suit. As he wanted it to be perfect, the search was stressful at times, but he was thrilled when he found the suit that he bought.

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

We hired the super Emma Petersson who not only created a modern and interesting bouquet for myself and bridesmaid, but she also decorated the room with jars and boards to add a rustic touch to the venue.

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Lola’s cupcakes provided us with a delicious, and well-priced, two-tiered naked sponge cake for which we had to keep the car very cold transporting it from Birmingham to Bristol! Emma added some tasteful and elegant flowers to the cake to make it look stunning and tasty.

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

We were torn between two songs: ‘The Whole of the Moon’ by The Water Boys and ‘You Make My Dreams Come True’ by Hall and Oates – both being fun, party songs. We chose the latter as it echoed our sentiments and it is from one of our favourite films, ‘500 Days of Summer’.

Did you do anything differently? We love hearing about NEW traditions!

Rather than having half an hour of speeches, we split them up over them the meal with the father of bride speaking after the starters, the groom after the mains and the best man after the desserts.

Other favourite wedding suppliers

The wedding was catered by Parsnip Mash (https://parsnipmash.co.uk) who were fantastic – definitely the best wedding food we have ever had! Simon and his team worked with us to curate a delicious Mediterranean-themed menu and ensured that the wedding breakfast happened flawlessly.

Atelier (https://www.atelierclifton.co.uk) looked after Becky’s hair and the hair of Andy’s mother and Becky’s brother. Ella (very patiently) put up Becky’s hair exactly as she had wanted it, and it looked amazing.

The post Becky & Andy’s unique Clifton Observatory wedding, with Martin Dabek Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Taylor’s dad loves American cars and has owned several during his lifetime and it was important to Taylor that we bring a little bit of everyone into the wedding so him and his groomsmen arrived to the church in the fancy cars. Whereas I had spent my childhood around farmyards and building sites so naturally I wanted to arrive on a tractor. I have wanted to drive a tractor to my wedding for as long as I can remember. However the long dress meant I definitely wasn’t going to be the one driving it- but we got a trailer with hay bales and blankets and Dad drove us down to the church. It’s a journey I will never forget.

Wedding photographer’s website

https://martindabek.com/

How did you choose your photographer?

Martin was recommended to us by our venue. He had shot there before and we were able to look at his style of photography.

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

We loved Martin! He really blended in with the party, and he really understood what we wanted. We didn’t want to be dragged away from our guests for hours of intimate photos. We wanted to party with our guests and he really captured that.

Do check out Chew Valley wedding photographer Martin Dabek! We think he’s amazing.

What’s your fondest memory of your wedding?

Our fondest memory was walking out of the church surrounded by our family- we actually left the church and then ran around to the side entrance and waited for everyone to leave the church before walking back into the church so our photographer could organise everyone into 2 lines either side of the path to throw confetti (which me and my mum had dried in the oven ourselves). Walking through our newly joined families as Mr and Mrs Sweet for the first time is really special.

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

Chew Valley Weddings was spectacular. The view of the lake was really what sold it to us. The lake has been a big part of our lives, it was even where Taylor proposed. We knew we wanted to marry close to home and the tipis with the lake is such a beautiful background.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was your shopping experience, was it fun to find your wedding gear?

I found my wedding dress in the first shop I went in to. I knew the type of style that I liked the look of and I did my research. But due to COVID bridal shops were only allowing 1 or 2 guests maximum. So I went to a total of 5 bridal shops with different people and ended up buying ‘the one’ in Lace and Grace in Keynsham during a trunk show with 10% off. Madi Lane- Halani.
Taylor on the other hand had no idea what he wanted and just went into Bath one day and bought his suit from Suave Owl. And then we went out for lunch together.

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

I really wanted to do the flowers myself and make a real occasion out of arranging the flowers with my family and friends. We collected flowers from hedgerows and family members gardens. My mum and my grandmother grew wildflowers especially for me. We made our centre pieces in gravy boats Taylor’s grandmother collected, it was lovely to do something in her memory. However, for my bridal bouquet and the buttonholes we got them done professionally by Banksia in Chew Magna, a local florist. They were beautiful.

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

I made our wedding cake! It was 3 tiers of lemon sponge with lemon curd filling and buttercream icing. I had to do lots of trial cakes which my colleagues gratefully tasted and gave me some notes. I made the sponges 3 days before the big day and iced in 2 days before. I then transported it to my grandmothers house (the most nerve wracking journey of my life) and it was taken to the venue with the topper (from Etsy), ready for me to assemble when we arrived from the church.

I did however forget to bring the fruit with me from the fridge on the morning of the wedding so we had to decorate the cake with flowers from the bridesmaids bouquets and from (non poisonous) shrubbery. By the end of the night it was almost all gone! I did also make gluten free cupcakes for my gluten intolerant guests.

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves (we love that stuff!)

We wanted our wedding to be really personal to us. So one project we started was collecting old wedding photos from both sides of our families and putting them in frames (mismatched and from charity shops) to display- it became a really talking point, and people were trying to guess who was who in photos from 50+ years ago.
We also collected decorative wine bottles and put lights in them for table decorations, as well as using corks for name place holders and table numbers.
Another idea I loved was having photos of me and Taylor as children, and it was amazing how many of them were so similar in nature (sat in paddling pools/ holding Christmas presents/wearing our dads work boots). We made a game out of it the day before the wedding- match the photos. I separated them into Taylor and Olivia piles and our wedding party had to try and match them up. Then we put them on the tables back to back so people could see how far we have both come.

Outdoor party games for adults as well as children. Flamingo hoopla, welly wanging, coconut shy. Great fun! Although we did lose a welly- we looked for it forever before giving up.

Did you have any wedding readings? What were they?

We had a traditional church wedding and the reading was given by our reverend.

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

Our first dance song was How long will I love you- sung by Ben Coleman, Jon Boden, and Sam Sweeney (from About Time). We spent a long time trying to decide which song to choose but this one always made us want to dance together in the living room.

Other favourite wedding suppliers

My hair was done by my family friend Rebecca Dix- she helped me find a style I really liked. I didn’t really know what I wanted but when I told her about the rest of the wedding and my dress she had a few suggestions for me and we tried out a few. Even on the morning of the wedding she was making sure I stayed hydrated and stopped so I could eat some breakfast.

My makeup artist was recommended by my hairdresser. I know nothing about makeup- it has never really interested me. I wanted a really natural, light makeup look and Jade helped me achieve that. She was great!

We decided on a DJ for our wedding reception as we have quite an eclectic mix of musical styles- we hired Offbeat Entertainment. Sebastian was great- he asked us for a list of about 20 songs which we love and even asked us if there were songs which were absolutely not allowed to be played. We hired him to play some background music for the start of the reception as well.

The post Olivia & Taylor’s scenic Chew Valley wedding, with Martin Dabek Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Your wedding day will probably be the only the day the two of you will have where everyone you love is all together, so enjoy it as much as you can and don’t worry about anything, and that’s what we did, and we had the best day of our lives.

Wedding photographer’s website

Martin Dabek, Bristol wedding photographer

https://martindabek.com/

How did you choose your photographer?

We browsed through the wedding photos shown on our venue’s website (Aldwick Estate), and we found one of Martin’s photos on there which we loved, we then explored his website and invited him to meet us, we loved his style and his friendly natural approach to photography.

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

Yes! Martin was amazing. He was so creative, friendly and he was a joy to be with on the day. Martin was so approachable and relaxed, it made us feel relaxed and we really enjoyed each and every moment.

Videographer details if applicable – and any thoughts for other couples about having a wedding video?

Hayley Lemm – a family friend of ours who shot Hannah’s sisters wedding which we loved. We can’t thank her enough, her video is everything we dreamed of, so professional and heartwarming and she was brilliant. We would recommend anyone to have a wedding video, it’s such a lovely thing for us to watch back and really captures the day.

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

Aldwick Estate was everything we wanted. Amazing scenery, really friendly wedding team, accommodation on site for our immediate family, exclusive just for us on the day. It has a beautiful ceremony room, cosy fun bar and a modern rustic reception room, with a vineyard on site!

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

Hannah: It was such a special experience going shopping for my dress. I tried on 36 dresses in the end and just knew my one was the one as soon as I put it on. I felt amazing wearing it on the day and it really made me feel confident.

Zak: Loved it. For me, my three brothers, my three best friends and both dads to all look the part and matching was amazing. The fit of the Moss Bros suit were perfect.

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

Hannah’s mum was our florist! She had help from a friend who owns a flower shop. The night before the wedding, both mums and friends all helped to make the bouquets and flower arrangements for the tables, we went for a multicoloured scheme which brought it all to life!

Did you hire a wedding planner?

We didn’t, but Sarah from Aldwick Estate was so helpful to help us plan so much of our day, so we really didn’t have to do too much!

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Again, Hannah’s mum did! She did a three layered cake: lemon drizzle (using a Mary Berry recipe), chocolate and beetroot (surprisingly good combo) and carrot cake (Zak’s favourite). The cake was so good and looked so great the staff at Aldwick were convinced it was a professional’s!

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

We both wrote a personalised note to each guest, to thank them for any help they did on the day, for what great friends and family they are and for how much we were looking forward to celebrating the day with them, especially after our wedding was postponed three times! Our table numbers had photos of us from the corresponding years on them – our friends and family had a good laugh reminiscing about these times.

Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?

We didn’t have any personalised vows but we had three wedding readings. They were: 1) He Never Leaves the Seat Up, 2) The Velveteen Rabbit and 3) Us Two (Winnie the Pooh) – each was read beautifully and were very touching – definitely recommend having readings!

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

A Million Dreams – Pink (The Greatest Showman).

Soon after we got engaged we loved listening to the Greatest Showman, and we picked a song that was perfect as my nickname for Hannah is ‘dream’.

How did the pandemic affect your wedding plans? Do you have any advice to share with couples planning their weddings right now?

We were initially due to get married on 4 April 2020, so with just over 2 weeks to go it got cancelled. It was heartbreaking. But we had each other and our friends and family to get through it. We then moved to 24 July 2020, then 2 April 2021 and finally on 24 July 2021 we did it! Our advice would be: If you have found the perfect venue and have the perfect wedding in mind then do all you can to wait for it to happen, the date isn’t as important, what’s important is making sure you have the wedding you want.

Favourite wedding suppliers

Videographer – Hayley Lemm
Photographer – Martin Dabek

Hair & Make up – White Rabbit – Gemma was so lovely and reassuring despite having to get 6 bridesmaids and me ready on the day! I absolutely loved mine and the bridesmaids’ hair and makeup and it really stayed all day. My only specification for the hair was a plait for everyone and the individual styles really complimented the overall feel for our wedding. Couldn’t recommend her enough.

DJ & games – Kieran Clarke – provided so many amazing inflatable games, which we really entertain all guests and the kids especially! So much fun having activities too.

Harpist – Scarlett Smith – amazing. So friendly and an expert. She learnt a song especially for Hannah’s entrance (Zak’s a big Crystal Palace fan and she composed their anthem for Hannah to walk down the aisle).

The post Hannah & Zak’s beautiful and personal Aldwick Estate wedding, with Martin Dabek Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Wedding photographer’s website

https://martindabek.com/

How did you choose your photographer?

Google search and reviews, we also loved his style

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

Yes! He was so lovely on the day, really friendly and helpful and we are so pleased with the photos he took!

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

The church we got married in was beautiful. It meant a lot to Claire as it is the church she visits regularly.
We didn’t have a reception venue because of Covid. We will have that in 2022

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

Yes! Claire loved dress shopping, she took a few different groups of girls with her and it was always a great day out! – she loved the dress so much she broke the rules and showed it to people before the wedding! She felt like a princess on the wedding day and got so many compliments!
Andy enjoyed suit shopping, he treated himself to a nice one from Reiss that he will wear again for special occasions. Claire went with him to help him choose, he also looked great on the day!

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

Yes, Bloomantic. She is such a lovely lady and is so creative, her work is amazing! She goes for a more wild and unstructured look and we were so happy with our bouquets! I would defiantly recommend

Did you hire a wedding planner?

We did originally when it was an 150 person wedding supposed to happen last April, her name was Zeleka from the wedding day co-ordinators.
Leading up to the big day she was great, she thought of everything we might need and kept us calm and on track – I’m sure she would have done an amazing job on the day too and made sure we didn’t have to worry about anything! I would defo recommend her for piece of mind

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Andy’s mum, it was very delicious!!

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

We gave everyone a goodie bag, with hand sanitiser (not something I’d ever though would be in our goodie bags!), snacks for after the church and cups for mulled wine – to keep people warm for outdoor photographs. We also got everyone a homemade mask with our initials – again something I would never have expected!

Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?

Our vows were the standard ones you say in a Catholic Ceremony, they were beautiful. We picked some lovely bible readings and hymns – my favourite was give me joy in my heart

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

We didn’t have one as we didn’t have the reception – we had chosen ain’t no mountain high enough as we met climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. We had also started having lessons to teach us a routine to the song – that will have to wait until 2022

Favourite wedding suppliers

https://martindabek.com/
https://theweddingcoordinators.co.uk/
https://www.bloomantic.com/
https://www.bristolbridalhair.co.uk/
https://www.angelicabridal.co.uk/
https://exclusivealterations.co.uk/

They were all great!

The post Claire & Andy’s classic, timelessly romantic Bristol wedding, with Martin Dabek Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

And the images of their day by Avon Gorge Hotel wedding photographer Martin Dabek are out. of. this. WORLD!

With love,

Wedding photographer’s website

https://martindabek.com/

How did you choose your photographer?

Google searching Bristol wedding photographers led us to his page and his laidback, fun style made us choose him!

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

We absolutely loved the photos Martin took for us. He was very friendly and helped keep us relaxed throughout the day, his humour really put us at ease during the more intimate shoots of just us. He captured lots of special little moments with our guests, we barely knew he was there! The way he used natural light to take different shots had beautiful results and he took some really creative, more artistic shots of us using features in the venue. He had amazing attention to detail despite keeping everyone laid back. We couldn’t be happier and would recommend him to anyone wanting a relaxed, fun style.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

Neither of us wanted to spend too much on our outfits as we wanted to save money for other elements of the wedding, so we only really looked at highstreet brands. We also planned the whole wedding in about 6 weeks during summer 2020, which meant our access to shops was slightly limited due to covid-19. My dress was from Monsoon and I fell in love with it as soon as I tried it on at home, it was a lovely quality and didn’t break the bank. I was very lucky that it needed no adjustments and was extremely comfortable. We shopped online together for Justin’s suit and once again, he tried it on at home and fell in love with it.

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

Our venue was Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin in Bristol. For most of our relationship we’ve lived in Bristol and having the backdrop of the Clifton Suspension Bridge, somewhere we have lots of happy memories, made the venue extra special and resulted in some wonderful photos. The hotel has a dedicated private venue for weddings with its own bar and kitchen, so there was no interruptions from other guests and the service was excellent. The hotel is in a beautiful location overlooking the Avon Gorge and it has a luxurious but modern theme throughout, we barely needed to add any decorations to the venue due to how beautifully decorated it was. We just loved it.

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

We did hire a florist – we used The Wilde Bunch who are based in Bristol (https://www.thewildebunch.co.uk/). We adored the flowers they arranged for us. My bouquet was absolutely beautiful, they made gorgeous flower crowns for my flower girls and they decorated the venues with little vases of flowers and tealights. They have a huge range of accessories you can choose from which are included in the price and returned after the wedding – this was a big draw for us as we didn’t want to be wasteful and buy lots of things we wouldn’t use again. We had a consultation with Abby to decide on what we wanted – she was really knowledgeable and picked up straight away on our style (laid back, countryside flowers). We’re both keen gardeners and Abby let us pick our favourite species of flower and worked them into our design. On the day of the wedding, they delivered and arranged all of the flowers with absolutely no hassle and dropped off my bouquet in plenty of time. After the wedding our guests took small bunches of flowers from the vases to enjoy at home. We would 100% recommend The Wilde Bunch.

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Rosie from https://www.rosieshawcakecompany.co.uk/ made our cakes! We choose a variety of little cupcakes in 5 flavours for the guests and had a mini semi-naked cake for the cake cutting. They were absolutely delicious and the guests polished off every last one!

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

We lost my Grandad back in spring. He was a huge part of my life and helped to pay for the wedding, he would’ve loved to have been there so we lit a candle during the ceremony to honour him and feel close to him.
All of our stationery was handmade and personalised by Paige from https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PaigenCo. We’re not very artistic but she did a beautiful job of making special invites and vow books for us.
Our wedding favours were handmade by Joelle from https://nickola-candela.com/, she makes eco-friendly, vegan candles and she made a personalised sticker for our candles. The candles smelled absolutely gorgeous (we went for Peony and Suede) and she donates to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org/) with every item sold, which was perfect for us as nature-lovers.
Instead of wedding gifts we asked for donations towards our honeymoon (which we plan to go on next year if possible), we donated 10% of the money we received to a local initiative (https://jamaicastreetstores.com/stokes-croft-food-project/) who provide hot, sustainable meals to local people in need – Jamaica Street Stores is just around the corner from where we live and it felt very important to give back something after we had been so fortunate, especially this year when so many people are struggling.

Did you personalise your vows or have any wedding readings? What were they?

We both wrote our own vows in little handmade vow books, this made the ceremony really special to us and we have a lovely keepsake in the form of the books. We had a celebrant (Claire from http://www.clairethecelebrant.co.uk/) rather than a registrar do our ceremony as we wanted a tailored, personal service. She did an excellent reading prior to our vows – she was extremely thorough when getting to know us and wrote “our love story” for the reading, it was perfect, personal and very moving. She provided us with a copy of the reading which I know we’ll look back on very fondly in the future.

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

Our first dance was 26 by Caamp. It’s quite a unique song and not hugely well known but it makes us both smile every time we hear it. It was very light-hearted and sweet and fit our day perfectly.

Favourite wedding suppliers

Photographer – https://martindabek.com/
Celebrant – http://www.clairethecelebrant.co.uk/
Hair and makeup – Leanne from http://www.bristolbridalhairandmakeup.com/home/4590126625
Wedding favours – https://nickola-candela.com/
Wedding invites and vow books – https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PaigenCo
Flowers – https://www.thewildebunch.co.uk/

The post Jess and Justin’s elegant rustic Avon Gorge wedding, with Martin Dabek Photography appeared first on English Wedding.

Have a lovely weekend,

Wedding Photographer’s Website

https://www.joabsmithphotography.co.uk/

How did you choose your photographer?

Lots of searching on the internet. We were really impressed with his portfolio pictures. Joab then came for a visit and his patient & relaxed attitude won us over.

Were you pleased with your wedding photographer? Do tell… we love a brilliant review!

Joab was absolutely brilliant! He had clearly done his research on the location and we think the photos speak for themselves. There is not a single guest we have shown the photos to who has not been seriously impressed with the photographs.

Tell us about your venue – what made this place special for you?

We had actually decided on the venue before we got engaged. The Harbour Hotel is a beautiful hidden gem in Bristol and we loved it from the first time we stepped inside.

Did you love wearing your outfits? How was the dress / suit shopping experience?

Maisie wore a Ted Baker dress combined with a pair of Doc Martens (and blue glittery socks) and Dave wore a 3 piece suit from Youngs and a mustard bow tie. The outfits definitely reflected us.

Did you hire a florist? Tell us about any floral amazingness

Lucy Coco Floristry provided absolutely stunning blooms. A combination of wrist corsages, button holes, candelabras and a big bridal bouquet covered all bases. Lucy cleverly placed herbs and dried flowers in the mix, so they both smelt lovely and we have lots of them to keep.

As cake lovers here at English Wedding we’d LOVE to know who made your cake, and how delicious it was?

Our cake was made by Beth ‘n’ Cakes in Bristol. She made a wonderful two tier cake with a chocolate and white chocolate and raspberry combo, alongside a selection of cupcakes. The outside of the cake had pressed flowers and the entire collection was entirely vegan (I don’t think many of the guests realised!).

Tell us about any special personal touches, or creative projects you made yourselves

Maisie wrote a poem as her speech, which went down a treat. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house, including Dave! Breaking some ‘traditions’ throughout our wedding planning was reflective of our equal and modern relationship. Our only advice to other couples would be to make sure to set boundaries early to avoid any family/friend drama. It’s your special day and it will save some heartache by not worrying about family politics.

What was your first dance song? Why did you choose it?

We chose Stevie Wonder – For Once In My Life. We chose it as it is very special to us and the band learnt the song just to play for our wedding.

Favourite wedding suppliers

Photographer – Joab Smith Photography https://www.joabsmithphotography.co.uk/
Flowers – Lucy Evans – https://lucycocofloristry.co.uk/
Cake – Bethan Jones – https://www.facebook.com/bethncakes/
Venue – The Harbour Hotel
Dress – Ted Baker
Suit – Youngs
Stationery – Rosie Duvall – http://www.rosieduvall.co.uk/
Band – The Hijackers – https://www.thehijackersband.co.uk/

The post Maisie & David’s beautifully simple Bristol wedding, with Joab Smith Photography appeared first on English Wedding.