The Ceremony and Reception Venue
Gants Mill & Garden is licensed for civil ceremonies. We are having both our ceremony and reception here. The reception takes place in their magnificent traditional marquee. www.gantsmill.co.uk
The Dress
I can't give too much away here other than my dress is by Alan Hannah, my favourite wedding dress designer. I found it in Gorgeous Gowns of Romsey. Check them out at: www.gorgeousgowns.co.uk .
The Shoes
I've decided to steer away from the slightly traditional bridal shoe in ivory with pointy toes, I'm not particularly keen on them and I would never normally wear a shoe in that style. I've decided to go for silver. I found my shoes at: www.perditasweddingshoes.co.uk . Bridesmaids' dresses, bags, accessories and underwear are also stocked.
Bridesmaids
My one bridesmaid's dress is coming from www.lightinthebox.com. They can make dresses to measure and you will find them in virtually any style and colour. The best thing is they are so cheap and really well made, I was a bridesmaid earlier in the year and my dress came from Lightinthebox, so I can already vouch for the quality. Just a word of warning, make sure you use the size guide when ordering your dress and pick the size which closely matches your measurements, don't assume that if you're normally a size 10 that this size from Lightinthebox will fit you. Delivery time is about 3 weeks.
Our little flower girls are wearing dresses from Monsoon, the older girls wearing 'Bella', and the youngest of one and a half is wearing 'Roses'. Very cute!
Photography
We are using Oakfield Photography, run by Stefan Edwards. My husband-to-be met Stephan when they were both working together in Iraq. Stefan has now returned to the UK to set up his family photography business. Have a look at what they can do at: oakfield-photography.com . The packages available can be adapted to suit your individual requirements and budgets.
Stefan's reportage style really works for us, particularly as we don't want too many formal photographs which we feel would take up time that we would rather spend chatting to our guests. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he will do for us.
Music
We are doing a few things for the music and entertainment on the day. For the ceremony and champagne reception, we are having harpist, Marigold Verity. Find her at: www.marigoldharps.com .
For the evening reception swing singer, Tony Mitchell, will be singing us into the night. We couldn't quite stretch our budget to a full swing band, but having a singer will still enable us to have that Rat Pack feel that we love. We found him through the entertainment site, Alive Network. Have a look at: www.alivenetwork.com
