The very first of our ‘I Chose Cicily Bridal’ blog post is from our gorgeous bride Emma. I’m not sure any bride could have loved their dress more than Emma loved her Skyler by Augusta Jones!
Read and enjoy Emma’s wedding story……
Emma & Tom – 14th May 2016
Emma – “I stepped inside Cicily Bridal and was instantly made to feel like a beautiful bride”
How did you meet your soul mate and how did he propose?
I’m not actually sure how we met as we both lived local and have a similar network of friends. I did move away for 6 years and Tom got in touch with me over facebook when I came home. When he finally asked for my phone number he realised he had already got it in his phone and had always wondered who that “Em” was and for some reason never wanted to delete it.
After 4 years Tom proposed on 28th April 2014 on a beach at St Ivies in Cornwall which is a very special place to me as I spent my summer holidaying there with family. He wrote Marry me in the sand and got down on one knee and presented me with a stunning diamond engagement ring
Where was your venue and why did you choose it?
For us there was really only one venue and that’s Shustoke Farm Barns. Not only because I work there as a wedding coordinator but because it is a converted barn which is perfect for us as Tom is a farmer. It was also nice to break away from the traditional farmer wedding of church and a marquee.
It made the day extra special for us as we are friends with everyone who worked on the day and we knew what to expect. We both love the concept of the barn as its relaxed and informal, which is just our style! All we had to do was pray for the nice weather so we could use the courtyard for the drinks reception, which we were so lucky for as the day was beautiful.
Describe the style of your wedding?
As we had a two year engagement I found the style and colour theme changed. Also it didn’t help the fact I see a lot of weddings and was addicted to Pinterest!
I think the style of the wedding was created around the venue and my dress. As the venue is old and rustic and my dress was stylish and classic, so we went along the lines of a rustic classic look, if there is such a thing! It was mostly designed with wooden crates, vintage tractors, peonies, roses and lace in mind. It was so lovely to see it all come together and work really well.
We had a vintage tractor in the courtyard with hay bales and a live guitar singer. The tables were named after vintage tractors with wooden tree slices, crates of mixed flowers and tea lights. Each guest had their own menu and wedding favours were decorative wooden hearts for ladies and union jack heart box of chocolate truffles for the men.
We set up a table in the courtyard with a selection of cordials and fruit for guest’s to be able to ‘pimp your drink’ during the day and then in the evening changed it over to a S’mores toasting bar so guests could gather round the outdoor fire pits to have a laugh and most importantly eat lots of chocolate!
How did you find shopping for your wedding dress? Would you do anything differently? Do you have any advice for brides-to-be?
Surprisingly I really enjoyed wedding dress shopping as I didn’t think I would. I went to three shops in total, two in one day and then the third shop was really just to make sure.
We went on Thursday 14th May 2015 which was a year to the day that we were getting married. I went with my Mum, Sister and bridesmaid and after wedding dress shopping we went out for dinner and cocktails and looked through all the photos and discussed the dresses.
Cicily Bridal was the second wedding dress shop we visited on that day and that’s when I found my wedding dress. I had actually already been into Cicily Bridal before just for a look so I knew from then that I wanted to make an appointment to try the dresses on. Right from the first time I stepped inside the shop I was made to feel like a beautiful bride.
The overall experience I had at wedding dress shopping was just lovely. I felt beautiful in all the wedding dresses and tried a variety of styles and colours but always kept coming back to the same style. As cheesy as it sounds the dress really does pick you and I think it’s important to stop looking when you have found your dress. All you will do is over complicate things.
Every time I tried my Skyler wedding dress on by Augusta Jones on I felt like I would happily have gone and got married then and there. It was comfortable and made me feel like a bride, I think this is exactly how you should feel in your wedding dress.
How did you accessorise your dress…veil, headpeice, belts etc?
I think it’s really important to be advised by the ladies at the wedding dress shop as they do know what is best to enhance your dress. I had a cathedral one tier veil and fresh flowers in my hair, so again trying to keep with a classic look. My dress had no jewelled detail so I thought it would be best not to include any of this in my accessories.
I was given a diamond necklace and earrings as a wedding present from my husband and had a dainty blue bracelet which was my ‘something blue’.
Which florist and cake designer did you use?
I used Penny Johnson flowers as not only is she a friend but is a regular florist at the barn and I have worked with her many times. Again she totally understood my style and designed my wedding day flowers just beautifully. My bouquet was amazing and I couldn’t believe it when it was delivered the morning of the wedding! It had massive peonies and roses which are my favorite and a big feature of the wedding. The barn looked incredible when we walked in just beautiful flowers were everywhere, it really gave the wow factor and all the guest’s commented.
You really have to have total trust in your florist and I’m so lucky to have had Penny and her team on board for our wedding as I know they all worked so hard to make our day a floral dream.
I think our wedding cake was the one thing we searched for the most, luckily we found Sarah at Daisy chain bakery who made our delicious four tier ivory wedding cake, dressed in fresh flowers blush ribbon with twine detail and topped with a wooden Mr & Mrs Woodward sign.
Each tier had a different flavour, fruit, champagne and vanilla, mint and chocolate, strawberry and cream. The cake was a big hit at the wedding and guest asked me if there was any left could we send them some, which of course we have loads of.
Who did your hair & make-up on the day?
My hair was done by Alison Jenner and make-up was done by Allison Tye. Both ladies are so lovely, stylish and provide a professional friendly wedding service which made important decisions really easy.
Along with my wedding dress I just loved my hair and makeup and the way it made me feel. They really grasped the look and style of want I wanted for my wedding day and was so nice not to spend the day worrying about my hair and topping up my makeup.
I was quite conscious not to have something really drastic with my makeup, which wouldn’t be me. I went for a more natural look which enhanced my features and made me feel bridal.
What was the grooms outfit, did he get to choose it!?
I left Tom to choose his outfits and style but I did make him promise me that he wouldn’t have a waistcoat with a swirly pattern and diamantes on it.
He got all his grooms party outfits from Peter Posh and had a charcoal grey tailed suit with blush pink tie and pocket square. Along with himself his best man and our two nephews they wore a tweed waistcoat which was nice and fitted within the rustic theme.
The suits were of high quality and they all looked super handsome in them.
What did your bridesmaids wear?
I had two adult bridesmaids, my sister and my best friend and two little flower girls, who are nieces . I started bridesmaid dress shopping well in advance of the wedding as the colour of their dresses really determined everything else. However, when I decided on my wedding dress everything else fell into place. We had our flower girl dresses from John Lewis and they were lace ivory dresses with an ivory band, which we later changed the band to match the bridesmaids dresses. Their shoes were from Monsoon pink, sparkly and had a little high heel.
We started looking at the high-street shops for my adult bridesmaids but my only fear was that a guest could turn up in the same outfit which would have been a nightmare.
Eventually we found the bridesmaid dresses at Wedding Bells as they had a lovely selection to choose from. Again because of my wedding dress and the flower girls dresses I wanted to make sure everything complemented each other. Their dresses were made short and were ivory lace on the top and pink blush on the bottom with straps and a V neck back which matched mine.
Their shoes were Jenny Packham peep toe mint colour as that was actually the colour I originally wanted the bridesmaid dresses to be but couldn’t find the right shade of mint, so we went for a hint of mint instead and as it turned out it was easier to find mint accessories. The flower girls and bridesmaids had mint cardigans which they wore later on in the evening.
It was so lovely to see it all come together on the day and how well the bridesmaid and flower girl looked.
What was the best moment of the day?
Oddly it was getting in the car to go to the church. I can’t explain why it was my best moment of the day, maybe because everything had all come together and I was finally leaving the house in my dress, the sun was shining, I felt amazing and I couldn’t have been happier to be heading to the church to get married to Tom. Wish I could bottle up that feeling and share it with everyone.
I’m so pleased I didn’t cry walking down the aisle as I’m such an emotional person but my happiness just took over and couldn’t stop smiling as I walked towards Tom.
Would you do anything differently?
Not a single thing!
Where did you go for a rest!? – Honeymoon!
We are going on our honeymoon in November for 2 weeks to Jamaica, We are really looking forward to going and it’s nice to have something to look forward to after the wedding. We did both take the week off after the wedding to spend some time together. We went out for dinner most evenings and spent the day at a spa which was just amazing and really lovely way to relax after the wedding. I would recommend this to any bride and groom.
What advice would you give brides to be?
My advice would be to listen to everyone in the trade as they know best. Don’t drown yourself with images on line and don’t try to be something you’re not but be gracious and classy.
Pick your photographer carefully, book a videographer and most importantly smile and enjoy every single minute of it.
I think it is just as important to keep your Groom involved as much as possible in all of the decisions you make, as after all it is his day too!
Which Photographer did you use, please can you provide their website details so that we can credit the images?
Our Photographers was HBA photography and we are so thankful we had them on our wedding day. There was no part during the day that went by without them getting the best photo possible. They made our day and did show us some sneaky photos which looked amazing and couldn’t believe that was us, we looked like celebrities!
It is so important to get it right with your photographers as that’s all you will be left with after the day is over. Some of the photos that I have seen are off moments that I have already forgotten happened and we are so thankful those memories will be with us because of them.
We also had a family member who does photography as a hobby who also took some stunning photos of our day.
We also had Blue ridge videographer and I’m extremely excited to see our video as their work is amazing. Again it will be so nice to have memories from our day and something to show our family and friends. I imagen watching the video will be like reliving the day again.
