I am so excited to share with you the wonderful wedding of Fran and Gary, who were married on a lovely spring day in May 2016 at the stunning Down Hall Country House Hotel.

From the very begining Fran and Gary knew they wanted a wedding full of fun, laughter, love, family and friends. They invited 120 guests to the ceremony and dinner and then another 100 guests joined them for the party in the evening.

All photographs in this blog are courtesy of our wonderful photographer on the day Craig Mitchell Photography

Fran looked stunning in her Jenny Packham dress and Gary was very dapper in his suit by Christian English Bespoke.

The Bridal Party were Fran’s nieces and nephews: Maid of Honour – Hope; Bridesmaids – Grace, Francesca, Emily and Olivia; Ushers – James, Jack, Thomas, Joseph. Gary’s Best Man was his son, Ben.

When Fran and Dominique first met ten months before the wedding, her brief was always clear, she wanted a “WOW” wedding, so together they designed every detail of this amazing, bespoke, sparkly and utterly gorgeous wedding.

The Civil Ceremony took place under two birch trees that were ethically chopped down from Epping Forest and beautifully intertwined with roses to form a “tree-arch” by the wedding florist Ildiko and her wonderful team at Passion for Flowers.

Following the ceremony, guests enjoyed an elegant drinks reception in the gardens of Down Hall, whilst the 30 children attending the wedding were expertly looked after by the team from Safe and Sound Events Childcare. The guests loved all the garden games available and in particular it was wonderful to see children (young and old) playing on the giant Helter Skelter!

Guests were then invited into the dining room for the wedding dinner and this is where Fran truly demonstrated her wonderful sense of style. Everything was handpicked and every detail thought about. We were so delighted to have been able to work with some of the best wedding suppliers in the industry. Down Hall looked spectacular and certainly sparkled. A full list of all the suppliers involved can be found at the end of this blog.

Flowers by Passion for Flowers, Tablescape by Duchess & Butler and The Essex Occasions Company, Wedding Day Stationery by Intricate Creations, Wedding Favours by Delice, Dance Floor, Light Up Letters and Production by Mighty Fine Entertainment

Entertainment on the day was provided by Jojo and her Five Piece Band, who sang Fran and Gary’s first dance “At Last” so beautifully, The Silk Street Quartet played at the drinks reception and the harpist for the ceremony was Felicity. After dinner the wonderful DJ Dennis took over the music and had everyone dancing until 1.00 am.

As a surprise for Gary, Fran booked a wonderful vintage caravan photo booth by Caravan Photo Booth.

Following the lovely speeches, Fran and Gary cut their amazing cake from Choccywoccydoodah and then guests enjoyed a fabulous dessert station by Goose & Berry, with cupcakes from Cupcakes by Gee.

To end the evening in spectacular style, guests were invited outside to view an amazing fireworks display, set to music by the team from Fireworks Crazy.

This was such a wonderful wedding and I hope you will agree, very much the “WOW” wedding that Fran had wanted. It’s always a joy for us to work with lovely couples and Fran and Gary and their families were a delight from start to finish.

Thank you for choosing us to be your wedding planners.

“Well, were do I start!. There are no words to convey mine and Gary’s thanks for the most superb job that you and your team did on creating our perfect day. It couldn’t have been more wonderful and we will cherish those precious memories of our day forever. 

From the very start my brief to you was that I wanted a WOW wedding. Well, I lost count on the amount of times I said “wow” on the day. There is no doubt in our minds that our dream wedding would not have happened without your meticulous planning, attention to detail, amazing organisation and your fabulous team who I know worked so hard in both the planning and the execution of the day. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom on our hearts.”
Fran and Gary, May 2016

The List of Wonderful Wedding Suppliers

• Photographer – Craig Mitchell Photography 
• Venue – Down Hall Country House Hotel 
• Wedding Planners – Stylish Events Dominique, Anna, Robert, Gemma, Nina, Natasha and Kadie
• Bride’s Dress – Jenny Packham
• Groom’s, Best Man and Ushers attire – Leon Brown at Christian English Bespoke
• Bridesmaids – Little Bevan
• Florist – Passion for Flowers
• Videographer – Takes2Videos
• Table Scape – Duchess & Butler for the chargers, glasses, cutlery, plates, candelabra  and candlesticks
• Table cloths and napkins – The Essex Occasions Company
• Invitations, Menus, Table Plan, Guest Book and all wedding stationery – Intricate Creations
• Wedding Favours and chocolates – Delice by Repertoire Culinaire
• Light Up Letters, production, lighting, staging and dance floor Mighty Fine Entertainment 
• Children’s Party and Childcare – Safe and Sound Events Childcare
• Entertainment – Sternberg Clarke; JoJo and her 5 Piece Band; The Silk Street Quartet; Harpist for the ceremony Felicity
• DJ Dennis – LONDONDELJ@aol.com
• Fireworks – Fireworks Crazy
• Photo Booth – Caravan Photo Booth
• Garden Furniture – Theme Traders
• Children’s Stand and Garden Games – Simply Elegant
• Wedding Cake – Choccywoccydoodah
• Dessert Station – Goose & Berry
• Cupcakes – Cupcakes by Gee
• Bride and Bridal Party Hair – Sabrina Carter at Pinx in Chigwell
• Bride and Bridal Party Make-up – Vanessa at Esesx Wedding Hair and Make Up
• Bridesmaids Gifts – ER Stationery
• Bridal Party PJs – The Little Top