What can I say about a wedding that within
the first hour I am rapping (badly) the Prince of Bel Air ‘In West Philadelphia
born n’raised…’ with the bridesmaids? Or a wedding held in a family home
that’s garden has been entirely re-made, re-planted, re-modeled and documented here http://500-day-garden.blogspot.co.uk
just for this special day? Or a wedding where Kate (Maid of Honour) made FOUR, yes FOUR, of the
bridesmaid dresses? And her Aunty Christine made the fifth dress and (along with Katie's cousin) arranged all the flowers as well? Where Gillian, Super Mum and all round talented lady made the wedding dress? Where the
forecast was appalling and only the sun made an appearance? Where all the table
lavender was from a Aunty Mandy's garden? Where the DJ, Dylan Roberts was bridesmaid Daisy's brother? Where the bride took three attempts to throw
the bouquet and then on the final attempt it was caught by Mandy who has been with Frank for 35 years? (You should have seen his face!)
Awesome! That’s what you call this wedding. This was
one awesomely personal, beautiful and blessed wedding. And it was Katie and
Ryan’s humanist wedding conducted by Jim Trimmer (legal biz was carried out the day before). I feel like I have known this couple and family for so long. They are
warm, welcoming, loving and very talented. Katie’s Mum Gillian and Dad Bob have
worked so very hard to create the perfect day for their daughter Katie and it has to be said, it was perfect. The garden looked magnificent and the marquee perfect in its
place and decorated with pretty vintage jars, roses, flowers, Thistle, Lavender and polaroid
pictures …it was wonderful. The food was so, so good…meat to die for (I'm always
thinking about my stomach so thank you Caper and Berry)! And their family and friends were funny, welcoming, such good fun and all incredibly useful and helpful! I was so impressed by how much everyone put
into it and kept putting into it throughout the day.
Gillian created such a unique and stunning dress for Katie and she looked
amazing. Elegant, flawless (fab to see make-up artist Stella again - www.stellahairdesign.com), beautiful and every ounce the gracious and relaxed
bride and of course a damn fine yummy Mummy to 9 month old Emme. Ryan looked so handsome
(even when he blinks;-)) and delivered an excellent comedic speech as did his
brother Dean and best friend Shep, who had us all crying with laughter. Trust the best men to produce such an ominous box (see pictures) on poor Ryan's wedding day...you can always rely on your best men to stitch you up!
To finish I would like to congratulate both Ryan and Katie, you make a wonderful couple...a little bit posh, a little bit South London (and a little bit Welsh), a little bit funny and a lot gorgeous. I hope your journey through this crazy world will be full of happiness and love and I sincerely hope that one day when Emme is a little older, she will look back on the pictures and enjoy them as much as I enjoyed shooting them.
My love and best wishes to you all,
Loukie xx
