Philippa and Andrew’s big day is the epitome of romantic elegance. The exquisite colour scheme of purples, greys, golds and pastels pervades everything in their wedding; it’s present in Philippa’s luscious bouquet (that frankly looks good enough to eat) and their beautiful dessert table too… right down to the invitations, menus and lighting.
And how gorgeous is our bride, Philippa? Doesn’t her Audrey Hepburn / 50s inspired Stephanie Allin dress look immense? And I am swooning over her awesome Lulu Guinness ‘lips’ bag (her lovely husband actually surprised her with it on the day… so cute)
Anyway I won’t delay you any further; go on check out Philippa and Andrew’s splendid day for yourselves: ogle over the gorgeous imagery by Mark Seymour and, at the end of the post, the wonderfully atmospheric film by The Dreamcatchers.
A BALLROOM VENUE WITH BEAUTIFUL PARK VIEWS
A countryside wedding was our original plan, however this was proving difficult because at the time we had 200 guests to invite. We didn’t want to go to a beautiful countryside manor and have to use a marquee — what’s the point of going to a stunning location to be put in a marquee and have to spend thousands dressing it? So we decided that interior was key and the Mandarin Oriental was the perfect answer. We had the best of both worlds, a beautiful ballroom with Hyde Park literally on your door step.
THEME + STYLE
We went for a ‘romantic and elegant’ theme. Being a makeup artist I love to mood board so this was always going to be a fun task . The colour scheme and the style of the wedding was so important. Purple was the chosen dominant colour used throughout the wedding on the invitations, menus, flowers, ties etc) with greys, golds and different coloured pastels to compliment. The ballroom was dripping in gold and had lots of huge mirrors inside and so the romantic mood was enhanced with soft purple and pink lighting. Candelabras were placed on every other table with a small floral display on top & pastel coloured scattered petals on the mirrored base. The alternate tables had a low flower display with tea lights and scattered petals so not to block anyone’s view. Purple was used throughout the flowers in different shades to enhance and compliment the mood.
LOTS OF PERSONAL TOUCHES
We handmade 165 polaroid place names. The table plan and each table name represented each country we had been to. Our favours were “Forget Me Not” seeds. Andy’s sister hand-made each invitation and every menu. My maid of Honour Sarah painted a fun picture of the two of us. On one table there were pictures of our parents and grandparents when they got married, we had personalised coasters for on our table with little personalised tags around our wine glasses and a P & A wooden sign by the cupcake table. We had a table of two so we could enjoy the evening together & take in every moment.
CUPCAKE TOWER CAKE
We chose to have a pastel and floral themed cupcake tower (including red velvet cupcakes) with a picture of us when we were little on the two top cupcakes. There were personalised signs on sticks placed in each cupcake too with sprinklings of edible gold shimmer on the icing.
GORGEOUS BRIDAL STYLE
Audrey Hepburn & the 50s was my inspiration. My Stephanie Allin pale gold sequin “Bardot” dress, “Mandarin” jacket & green belt with flower was my dream dress. I had the dress shortened to just above the ankle to show off my stunning Diane Hassall bow wedding shoes and had a fresh water pearl fascinator designed for me.
MORNING OF THE WEDDING
I was just eager to get things done. A few nerves but nothing much, I was excited! Andy surprised me with a LuLu Guinness red lips bag (which I have always wanted)! We had photos in the garden as the weather was so beautiful and headed down to the Hotel in our Bramwith Car. Walking down the isle with my Dad to my favourite song; “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” being played by the saxophone, was surreal!
CEREMONY + CHUPPAH
We had a beautifully decorated Chuppah to stand under. It’s traditional to decorate the Chuppah with beautiful flowers and so had a cascading twig and floral design as the main feature on the two front panels of the Chuppah. The ceremony was full of lots of music, love, tradition and emotion. After the ceremony we were lucky enough to have or guests in the garden at the back of the hotel as the weather was incredible. Andy and I walked across the road to Hyde Park to have some wonderful pictures taken.
PAAAAARTY!
We had a 12 piece band called Creation — they literally created the most electric atmosphere. We did not stop dancing all night! And with the wedding being Jewish, well, you can imagine how crazy the dancing was!
ADVICE TO OTHER BRIDES
Make your wedding as personal as you can. It’s the small personal touches that go a long way. Take a moment to sit back and look around the room. Everyone you love is in front of you, under one roof on your special day.
PHILIPPA + ANDREW’S LITTLE WHITE BOOK
Make-up — by the bride: www.philippalouisemakeup.co.uk
Hair — Dayna Grey
Photography — Mark Seymour
Videography — The Dreamcatchers
Venue — Mandarin Oriental
Dress — Stephanie Allin
Accessories — Pretty Perfect
Shoes — Diane Hassall from Bridal Accessory Boutique
Bag — Lulu Guinness
Bridesmaids dresses — Kelsey Rose at Bodice & Bustle
Flower Girl Dresses — Ted Baker
Groom’s outfit — Suit Supply
Stationery — Eldarbee Designs
Flowers — Funky Flowers
Cake — Edible Art
Catering — Carole Sobell
Transport — White Doves Wedding Cars
Entertainment, Lighting, Chuppah — Creation Musical Services
Toastmaster — Steven Warwick
Thank you to Philippa and Andrew for sharing their wonderfully romantic W-day. If you love Philippa’s make-up, you’ll notice in the credits that it’s all her doing (she’s a seriously top-notch professional make-up artist), so don’t hesitate to contact her and use her to do your wedding make-up… the girl’s good!
Lovely images – love couple of the images. Firstly the “boys” shot – so natural and relaxed and the second image that I love is that of the bride in her car with the window open. This image tells a story!
asweam picture.wow! nice couple.i gase had a beautifully decorated Chuppah to stand under. It’s traditional to decorate the Chuppah with beautiful flowers .