Anna and John’s Peak District Wedding With Lots of DIY Details. By Victoria Phipps

Wow it’s Friday already, this week has flown by!  It’s a busy one for me today as I am going to be on sight for a lot of the day setting up for tomorrows wedding. The Tipi is going up this morning and catering in this afternoon, so lots to keep us busy! I’m sure that Boho Bride Laura is more than a little bit excited at the moment!
But for now I have a gorgeous Peak district wedding for you to finish off the week. This wedding is full of the most amazing scenery and I’m lucky enough to have all of this pretty much on my doorstep. 15 mins drive from my house and you are in the peak district, so this wedding was of great interest when it was first submitted to me by Victoria Phipps. Victoria has captured the amazing countryside perfectly and has managed to get some great views of Derbyshire into the portrait shots!

‘A grand, yet very personal and romantic celebration of our marriage set in two beautiful buildings, separated by a stunning drive through the Peak District. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get together with all of our friends and loved ones in a beautiful place, made even more special by some rare good weather.’

Anna and Andrew (known as John).were married on 8th September at St.Edward’s Church, Leek, Staffordshire with the Reception at The Devonshire Dome, Buxton, Derbyshire. ‘Anna is from Leek and it was her local Church when she was growing up, we had 110 guests and it took 16 months to plan.’

How they met
We met at University College London in September 2002, we were on the same corridor in our halls of residence on Oxford Street. We were friends for a couple of years then got together in 2004, so we have now been together nearly 9 years.

The proposal
John proposed in Genoa, Italy in May 2011. We were on a family holiday with John’s family and we had taken a day trip on our own to Genoa. At the end of the day we went to a lovely little restaurant where John presented a beautiful engagement ring. We both cried, as did the waitress!
John had bought the ring in January and had been biding his time waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself, which it finally did in Italy. It was a complete surprise, and I am very difficult to surprise, so quite an achievement!

Why did you choose your photographer?
Anna’s little sister is friends with Victoria’s friend from school who recommended her. When we looked at Victoria’s website and photography we were very impressed. It also turns out that Victoria used to work with one of Anna’s colleagues when she worked at an architectural practice in Liverpool. It’s a small world!

The dress
Dress was made bespoke by Claire Mischevani, who is based in Shrewsbury. Shoes by Paradox Pink. Veil by Claire Mischevani. Jewellery from Katherine Swaine.

The suit and bridesmaids
John’s suit was made-to-measure by Chester Barrie, with accessories by Duchamp. Bridesmaids’ dresses by Dessy. Bridesmaids jewellery made by Anna.

Theme or colour scheme
Bright plum (bridesmaids’ dress colour) & deep purple to compliment.

Food
Goat’s cheese crostini and beetroot salad. Boeuf bourguignon, roasted new potatoes, green beans. Raspberry tarte with crème patissiere.

Entertainment
In the afternoon we had a jazz trio – made up of the best man on bass, an usher on guitar and another friend on tenor sax – playing jazz standards. In the evening we had a seven-piece funk, soul and Motown band from Liverpool called The Backbeats. We then finished with a disco, for which we had prepared an mp3 playlist.

Flowers
A mixture of pink, purple and ivory flowers – stocks, roses, lisianthus, hypericum berries, freesias, dahlias, phlox, veronica. Also hydrangea in large arrangements.

Decoration and DIY
• As well as small glasses of fresh flowers and tealight candles on each table we made origami paper flower centerpieces (kusudama balls) in purple, pink and ivory paper.
• Table names based on architects and scientists.
• Luggage tag style place names with ribbons around the napkins.
• Old/recent photos of us on the bar tables.
• Framed poster and guestbook for our guests to sign.
• Old suitcase decorated with postcards of India (our Honeymoon destination) for gifts and cards.
• we made all the decorations ourselves. The 17 origami balls were particularly labour intensive – each ball was made of 12 flowers, each of which had 6 petals, so 1020 pieces of paper in total. We made them over several months!
• John’s brother in law’s mother, Caroline, has been studying ‘pastilage’ sugar design ever since John’s sister got married in 2005, and she was kind enough to make us a wonderful cake with sugar flowers that perfectly matched those in the display.

Special moments
The best man and an usher playing Beatles songs on acoustic guitars during the signing of the registers. Driving through the Peaks in a convertible 60s muscle car and stopping for photos at a beautiful hilltop location en-route to the reception.

Biggest surprise
The glorious weather!

Advice
Decide what your priorities are in terms of spending – what elements are most important to you?
Plan ahead and try to get things sorted and done well in advance – even then you’ll still find it a mad dash to get everything together in the last couple of days.
On the day itself, relax and enjoy yourself – the whole reason for having a wedding is to celebrate a marriage, so don’t let stress get in the way at any cost.

Supplier Shout Outs

• Wedding Dress: Claire Mischevani – www.clairemischevani.com
• Bridal Shoes: Elegant Steps – www.elegantsteps.co.uk
• Tailoring: ChesterBarrie – www.chesterbarrie.co.uk
• Suit hire: Moss Bros
• Photography: Victoria Phipps – www.victoriaphippsphotography.co.uk
• Sound & lighting: vme – www.vme-uk.com
• Car hire: Signature Wedding Cars – www.weddingcarscheshire.co
• Wine: Corks Out, Stockton Heath – www.corksout.com
• Tanner’s, Shrewsbury – www.tanners-wines.co.uk
• Band: The Backbeats – www.facebook.com/pages/The-Backbeats/325969628909
• Flowers: The Green Pavilion, Buxton – www.greenpavilion.co.uk

For more information on Victoria’s work go to

www.victoriaphippsphotography.co.uk
www.victoriaphippsphotography.co.uk/blog/
[email protected]
FACEBOOK
@Victoria_Phipps
07709 391 253

I guess I’d describe my style as a combination of fine art and reportage. Before I became a photographer I was training to be an architect and my design training definitely informs my approach to photography; I believe less is more. I’m drawn to clean, simple compositions and shoot in available light wherever possible. I also have a soft spot for film and I love the beautiful softness and quality of colour in medium format film photographs.
I divide my time between London & Cheshire taking on assignments across Britain. I love an adventure, so I never charge travel expenses for UK mainland weddings and am more than willing to hop on a plane for destination weddings!