Below is an excerpt from her
entry......
“I'd
love an enchanted forest theme. Lots of
greenery by way of trees or bushes.
Twinkly lights for stars, discreet animals peeking out (butterflies,
birds, squirrels (not real!) lots of flowers on the tables, birdcages and
lanterns hanging from branches of the trees, maybe some toadstools and
mushrooms to sit on for funky pictures, grass table tops perhaps or maybe on
just one table with some flowers made of sweets growing out of the grass......
it works in my mind I'm just not great at explaining it! (Or I'm a bit crazy!)”
Challenge
accepted, and so the design began!
After
speaking with Maria she explained she had written this while recovering from
surgery, and was a little surprised at what she had written. I sensed a sudden
wave of uncertainty from this bride at taking on a fully themed wedding, what
would her friends think, would people think it was funny instead of beautiful,
would it be too “much”!
It was
then I explained to Maria that I would only take this on if I thought I would be
able to create something that would take her breath away, in every magical and
beautiful way. And luckily for me, she put her worries behind her and we both threw ourselves into the design. Now I just needed to deliver a fairytale ....
I wanted
to incorporate everything Maria had mentioned in her original plan, but
slightly tone it down for her. I wanted to create an elegant decor with lots of traditional
white, and gently bring in touches of forest as if it was bewitched and just
creeping in to peak at the wedding.
Maria
and Dan were amazing throughout this process, and gave a wonderful amount of
trust and faith to me to create this for them. So slowly the plan came
together....
Maria wanted
to give her guests an element of falling down the rabbit hole, or walking into
Narnia, so we set up a huge wardrobe door for the guests to step through into Maria
& Dan’s wonderland.
They
then walked through an enchanted garden complete with wishing well, into the
main reception room which had officially turned into a forest. The centre
pieces touched the ceiling, and tiny feathered birds & butterflies looked
down on the guests. Handmade sugar flowers surrounded the base which guests
were encouraged to snack on!
Real
moss was added upon the tables to really give that textured forest feel, and spirals
of tall birch stretched high, draped with glints of crystal. With the chairs
each having their own dress, and ivy wrapped around to complete the look, it really came together. The top table was crowned by a stunning pink
blossom tree while the dance floor was framed by two enchanted tress complete
with toadstools!
For some
added fun I created a really loud and out there photo room, complete with
dressing up box for everyone to enjoy in the evening. This went down extremely well,
and everyone got into the spirit of it.
I was so
nervous before Maria arrived, I think this was the most nervous I have been in
years! However when Maria and Dan stepped through the wardrobe and saw
everything for the first time I was delighted at their reaction. Maria said
instantly “it looks like the inside of my head!” I think one of the strangest
and yet most delightful comments I have ever had from one of my brides!
And the
rest as they say is history, the couple went on to enjoy a wonderful day, and
they lived happily ever after!
Supporting cast....
We would like to offer special thanks to,
Rick Lehmann for the amazing photo's, at www.theotherday.co.uk
