The Great Hall at Mains WEDDING of Mark & Claire Kilroy 29th November 2008

"Christmas Jul Romance”
Christmas in Danish is called Jul, an old Nordic word for "feast", and it is the biggest holiday in Denmark with traditions that go back centuries.
This was our starting point for our design ideas for Mark & Claire's wedding day, Claire is half Danish, the wedding date was the first weekend in advent....

We brought the bouquets early, the morning was frosty, The Cartford Inn was a perfect choice for the bridal party to stay, the bedroom was beautifully decorated, light and airy with not a hint of chaos or drama.

We showed all the girls how to carry their bouquets and "Stewy Vuitton" was holding court and creating fabulous wedding hair.

We arrived at the idyllic St. Annes Church Singleton in time to light all the lanterns and candles

In Denmark, Christmas starts with advent which means "coming". It is the coming of Christ that is referred to. Originally it was also a time for fasting and doing penance and thereby preparing you for the Christmas feast. On the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve - the first Sunday of advent - a wreath of pine twigs mounted with four white or red candles and red or purple ribbons is hung up and one candle is lit. The following Sunday the next candle is lit, lighting one more each Sunday.

At our meetings Claire, her Mum and myself decided on using deep, dark reds, dramatic blacks and soft sensuous evergreens, evocative colours that are instantaneously seasonal. Illuminated by the glow of Danish candles and of course the twinkle also created from the lanterns in and outside of church, we felt that this couldn't help but add a little more magic to the proceedings. In addition to these things, we used all sorts of details to make the overall look more visually interesting and a little cosmopolitan/Danish with the use of Red Roses and dramatic foliages and wonderful berries.

We pinned on the buttonholes did our usual adjustments of ties, we loved the Top Hats, they added a Dickensian quality to the frosty day

Mark's buttonhole of Schwartzwalder Calla, Pinus Strobus, Kochia, Black Viburnum Berry & Eucalyptus pods. The Groom's men had Ilex Verticularta and tiny Rose buds along with berries and traditional Christmassy foliages.

Here Come the Boys!

This the gorgeous Aston Martin the groom arrived in and this is Harriet who arrived with choir and got to sit in the passenger seat.

This is Elaine the groom's Mum, wearing a corsage of orchids and rolled rose petals.






And The Groom's Father

The arrival of the beautiful bridemaids and Brides Mum in lovely cars from Carriages

The Bridesmaids bouquets were fabulous Flower Design Style Hand Tied bouquets with a collection of seasonal foliages and berries with Black Baccara, Grand Prix & Amnesia Roses and some lovely "Christmas Time" Cymbidium Orchids

The photographers from Fairfield Photography were lovely, a husband and wife team that managed full coverage throughout the ceremony with one at the front and one at the back, I can't wait to see their images, I know they will be beautiful.

The "Lovely Jane" from Pure beauty did a wonderful job of the makeup, everyone looked truly beautiful.

Jason had to be an honorary bridesmaid whilst the bride got out of the car

The Bride and her Father, the buttonhole co-ordinated perfectly with the bouquet.

Caroline & Sarah were absolute naturals at carrying their bouquets.

The textures of the flowers and foliages we used included spiky spruces, knobbly pine cones, smooth berries and soft velvety roses these notions were really important to us during the planning stages. Nothing was to be one dimensional or flat, rather full, lush and intriguing, fabulous garlands of fragrant flowers and foliages adorning the door way at St. Annes Parish Church.

A close up of Claire's gorgeous hair do created by Stewy Vuitton

The church was lovely and cosy, we sang "The Holly & The Ivy" (I sing rather badly but with enthusiasm).

We provided a basket of fresh rose petal confetti for after the ceremony

The very happy couple, many, many congratulations to both of you!

THE BRIDAL BOUQUET
The bouquet we created for Claire was in a “Flower Design” hand tied style with “Christmas Time” Cymbidium Orchids, Grand Prix, Ivory & Amnesia Roses, Schwartzwalder Calla Lilies, Rosemary, Blue Spruce, assorted berries and fragrant seasonal foliages, we looped a trail of variegated ivy around the perimeter of the bouquet to give it a contemporary feel. The bouquet was finished with diamante crystals in a few of the roses an ivory satin ribbon and an ivory tulle handle.

Claire wore an Augusta Jones gown which was so lovely and suited Claire perfectly

Fresh rose petals were handed to all the lady guests for showering the bride and groom with blessings of joy and happiness!

We wanted to create a concoction of smells, all of which are strongly associated with the season. The fresh outdoor fragrance of pine trees and Rosemary, Slightly smoky candle flames and the roaring fire at The Great Hall at Mains, Spicy Cinnamon, and citrus tangerines. All of this conrtibuted greatly to the overall ambiance.

Many of these evocative ingredients will re-visit Mark & Claire throughout their married life, and when they least expect it a scent of Rosemary, flicker of candlelight or the touch of a rose will transport them back to a truly magical wedding day…

This is the top table a cluster of white candles in the centre of ring fresh foliages, berries and flowers, the place settings were lovely tree decorations and Claire had designed all pf her own stationary from Invites to place settings and they were absolutely perfect.

The Great Hall at Mains, looked quite simply superb

We used Claire's mum's own Danish Candles in our silver candelabras, we dressed them with fresh spruces, confers, Holly, Ivy, Christmas Roses and Ruby Red Roses.

We ensured that where ever a guest would be seated their own personal view would be magical.

Creative Cover Hire provided the chair covers and table linen.

The cake was made by "The Cake Lady" Carol, it really was gorgeous white chocolate cake with fresh berries it smelled divine.

Chriss and Adele from The Great Hall

Adele & Roger Yomans from the Great Hall, they are seriously hands on and oversee the weddings celebrated at The Hall

Dave the videographer is a lovely chap we see him regularly he always seems very thorough and attentive.

The staff from With a Twist were on top form, the canapes looked fabulous and presented on really cleverly designed acetate platters, I'm looking forward to working with them again next week in Lancaster.

If you click on any of the coloured words you can link directly to any of the suppliers web sites.