Your Wedding Day Dream Team
Photographer: Henry Iddon Wedding Photography
Florist: Howbury Farm Flowers
Band/DJ: Emily White + Self DJing
Venue Styling: Alice Bell
Bridal party hair styling: Nicola’s mobile hairdressing
Tell Us About Your Incredible Outfits
What and who did you wear?
Groom – Styling advice from Nick Carvell. Green Linen Suit by Percival. Off White Linen Shirt by John Henric.
Accessories: Terracotta Pocket Square by John Henric. Off white shoes by VIVO Barefoot. Terracotta socks by John Henric.
What and who did your partner wear?
Silk Dress, custom made. Bought via Oxfam and custom changes by ZipYard. Shoes from Esska.
What and who did your wedding party wear?
Bridal party: Various tones of natural green, all silk by All Saints via Vinted.
Your Love Story
How did you meet, was it love at first sight? Tell us about the proposal!
We met in 2010 when I was booked to photograph her kids clothing range. I couldn’t stop thinking about her after that day, and we spent many many days working together too, going to events, cycling and generally finding any excuse to be together. We finally got together over Christmas 2015. I proposed to Alice overlooking Sienna in the hill behind the city after sunset. It was very romantic. The ring was diamond and sapphire and was nearly 100 years old!
Your Wedding Day Vision & Inspiration
What was your inspiration and vision for your day?
Minimal, simple colour palette, natural organic. We wanted a very clean feel.
Why did you choose The River Mill Venue?
We have always loved the Peak District, and the area in general, and whilst searching for venues, the River Mill came up. We fell in love with the whole feel of the place after we visited and knew we wanted to get married there.
Did you do any DIY projects?
Loads! We styled the whole thing, did all the invites, selected the artist who did the place cards, made all the table settings and arranged the flowers. We sourced all the linen for the tables and the ring pillow from Vinted, and we loved the draped linen (Merchant & Mills) we spent ages hanging from the ceiling beam!
Tell us about the details – Flowers, Cake, Decor, Stationery…
We were very keen on keeping it as sustainable and locally produced as possible whilst also low cost, so some compromises were carefully made..
The biggest hit was the flowers – a local private estate has a wild flower farm on its grounds, and the owner, Lucy, was INCREDIBLE. We were very last minute with this, and she got the brief right away. My best man and I drove up with hundreds of flowers in the car in buckets of water. The weather was very hot so she instructed us to keep the car cold. Despite the 30 degree heat outside our car was at 9 degrees and we wore jumpers. We booked a separate hotel room so we could have the many buckets in a chilled room overnight. It was quite the undertaking.
The cake was from Sainsburys – they do a two-tier naked wedding cake for £50. We bought a box of edible flowers and decorated it myself on the day. It was beautiful and nobody had a clue that it didn’t come from a cake maker for 5x the price.
The stationary was home printed. We worked with a local artist Naomi Boiko on the art for the stationary. She was brilliant. We had a verse from the poem Summer Solstice by Alex Dimitrov laid over it.
Alcohol. Because No Great Story Started With A Salad (…or did it?)
What was on your food & drinks menu?
We had the wonderful veggie and vegan share platters, keeping the event social and encouraging conversation.
The Hangover Only Lasts A Day But The Memories Last A Lifetime
Can you sum up your wedding day in 3 words?
Familiar. Low-key (is that one word), Perfect.
What are your favourite memories or highlights of your day?
The beautiful wet-plate photography session with Henry. Staying still for several seconds for a few portraits felt like a wonderful moment of stillness in the beautiful cacophony of the day.
Watching our children walk from the dressing room looking so grown up and beautiful.
The retro rave music in the evening when just a handful of us remained, chilling out over some drinks.
Do you have any advice for future Brides & Grooms?
It doesn’t have to be a huge event, the memories you’ll make together have just as much power when it’s your closest friends and family. Also, have fun in doing some of it yourself, you’ll be proud on the day seeing your creation come to life.
Loved reading about Graham & Alice’s day? Read more real wedding stories here.