WPC Real Wedding: Tania & Denners' Festive Winter Wedding

The strangest/funniest thing about the day I got engaged was the fact that I spent most of it with the jewellery designer who made my ring, Sophie Breitmeyer, working on a photoshoot for her brand. Poor Sophie had to keep a straight face all day. She was constantly having to hide her phone whilst Denners was messaging her about heading to the studio to collect the ring and his proposal plans! The fact she could keep such an amazing poker face for a whole day always amazes me (shows every secret is safe with her, which bodes well considering her line of business!). The proposal itself was perfect; a steak and chips dinner at home and a big fat YES! 

I have been recommended WPC time and time again by friends; their service and showroom experience is famous! It felt like a right of passage. We loved the huge range of products available, their brand selection is so lovely. I also loved their flexibility when it came to adding presents from brands that are not WPC suppliers. 

Friends had told us how amazing their Chelsea showroom was, and boy did it live up to, and exceed, expectation! Amazing! We felt so at home and loved being able to see so many presents arranged in such an inspirational way. It was the best way to kick-start our wedding list and the free-flowing fizz made it the ultimate treat!

We got married at the local church to my parent's home in Shipley, West Sussex. The reception was held at our house, with a marquee in the garden.

We used Lewis Marquees, a local marquee company based in Sussex. I chose them as not only had they done a wonderful marquee for my sister's wedding, but they also had a slightly different shaped hexagonal style marquee which I hadn't seen before. We loved the idea of having something a little different to the norm. 

We used Starlight Design to help create the mood and atmosphere of our wedding. Having a wintery December wedding meant we could get creative with lighting to create a cosy atmosphere with a big impact. Starlight Design created the most atmosphereic and stunning view for us as guests drove to the marquee. They lit up the pond and trees surrounding our house in the most impactful but also subtle way. It was probably one of my favourite things from the wedding. They also hung velvet draping around the dining section of the marquee, to make it feel really cosy and warm and give a completely different look to the reception.

We wanted to create a moody winter wedding, with a touch of Christmas as a nod to our mid-December wedding date. Deep velvet colours adorned the dining marquee to create a homely dining room feeling. We had lots of lights & candles and flowers and it was everything I could have ever wished for. 

Creating that cosy dining room feeling was all down to Helene Millot. They have amazing candlesticks, glassware and candles that just add a bit more colour and fun to a table design. I used their gold mix and match candlesticks with three different coloured candles along the tables. 

JamJar Flowers - for me these guys are one of the best event florists around (I am a tiny bit biased as the founder is my Aunt). I was so lucky to have them for our wedding. They are so creative. They always listen to your vision but equally ensure they give you advice in order for the flowers to always be seasonal and in line with the colour scheme/look you’re going for. They especially love to create a talking point. I’ve known them to make a life size baby elephant out of flowers! But for us, the talking point was the hanging feature in the dining marquee. It was made out of branches with hundreds of orange physalis hanging off them with fairy lights in - it was truly awesome and just added something original to the design

Allison Rodger was the mastermind behind my bespoke wedding dress. I always knew I wanted something with a high neck but couldn’t find many options at all when going wedding dress shopping. A friend recommended Allison Rodger in Parsons Green, and I am so thrilled we found one another! Allison created a dress I will never forget, and I am not an easy customer! I am pretty tall and don't often wear dresses, so it was important to me that I felt really comfortable in it, whilst also looking like the bride I was meant to be! Allison created a two-in-one style dress for me; I could take the sleeves and back off for dinner, but keep the high neck. This was no mean feat. It wasn't easy to work out how we could design a dress suitable for the church that then turned into a party dress without it being obvious it was two pieces. However Allison did it and I will be forever grateful for the dress she created for me.

Sophie Breitmeyer designed my art deco inspired engagement ring, our wedding rings and bespoke cufflinks for Denners (my wedding present to him). On top of all this, she also designed a beautiful emerald eternity ring for my sister as she had just had a baby a week before my wedding. Sophie is truly amazing!

My make up was done by Fiona Keane. Fiona is a family friend (she does the best facials at The Milestone Hotel in London). Her make up is so subtle, which was incredibly important to me, as I don’t wear that much make up usually. I didn’t want our wedding day to be the one time I did and for me to look toooo made up!

Judy & Mimo from 29 Moreton St have been cutting my hair since I was born. There is no one else I would have trusted to do my wedding hair. Judy is especially brilliant at fixing a tiara into your hair (not something anyone usually wears) so that it doesn’t look like it's just sitting on top of your head!

Denners wore a classic morning suit. His morning coat was from Oliver Brown. His trousers and waistcoat were from Favourbrook and his tie was from Salvatore Ferragamo.

I bought all the bridesmaid and pageboy outfits off one website called Children's Salon. Their accessories were from Mimi and Lula. I wanted the bridesmaids outfits to slightly correlate to my dress, therefore, I chose high neck jerseys with flared sleeves. I had 10 bridesmaids and pageboys comprised of family, godchildren, friends children etc. I secretly hoped that having so many little ones would take some of the attention off me!!

Jacaranda - these guys are just brilliant. My family has worked with Minty before. Not only is she really fun, but she's also super helpful in coming up with a menu off the back of your ideas. Our canapés and supper were all inspired by the idea of posh pub food. As it was winter (and very cold and rainy) we wanted most the food to be hot and comforting rather than anything too fancy! So posh pie and mash was the order of the day; Chicken & Ham Hock Pie with Truffle Mash. Pudding was chocolate fondant, with mince pie flavoured ice cream and candied orange

Their food was consistently mentioned by everyone in thank you letters. I for one know I finished everything on my plate!

Cock & Tail Bars - a well run bar was pretty important to us! Fred & the Cock & Tail bar team were super efficient, they made delicious cocktails (especially their picante margaritas) and always ensured everyone had a drink (some probably too many!). They are also always on good form and super friendly!

Lara Arnott - I chose Lara as she takes really amazing photographs of people that are very natural. She really captures the moment. She is also very good at merging into the wedding so that you don’t really notice when she is taking photographs of you. We are so happy with the photos she has taken, it just makes us want to do it all over again.

Saloon Star Band - I heard this band at a friend's wedding and thought they were awesome. They play slightly older music which we wanted. Everyone loves a classic! They have so many incredible musicians that can play lots of different instruments, which means they have a huge range of songs they can play.

Our wedding invitation was inspired by my parents home. Many friends call it the 'funny farm' as we always seem to have lots of animals running around. So we themed the invitation around a winter evening at home, with the animals and the pond and commission Genevieve Irwin to bring our concept to life. I was introduced to Genevieve through a friend and she couldn’t have painted something more wonderful. We now have the original painting framed at home

Perivan - printer - very speedy and live locally to us in Sussex so we had used them before

As we had a winter wedding it was dark when we left the church ceremony. Everyone was given a candle when they arrived and these were lit as we walked out of the church. It was so magical. 

Our best men speech was AMAZING. They did a speech and then followed it with their own version of the song Angels by Robbie Williams. They had changed all the words to be about Denners and by then end all our guests were standing on chairs and singing along to the chorus with them. It was absolutely incredible.

Enjoy it! Planning a wedding can become really stressful when it shouldn’t. So try and lean on someone who has some experience in events for advice and don’t panic because in the end it always comes out right. Remember to take a moment, just the two of you during the wedding. You can get so caught up with speaking to guests that you can forget to just take a moment together to take it all in and realise you've just got married! 

Wedding List: The Wedding Present Company

Marquee: Lewis Marquees

Decor: Starlight Design & Helene Millot

Flowers: JamJar Flowers

Bridal Fashion: Allison Rodger & Sophie Breitmeyer

Groom Fashion: Oliver Brown, Favourbrook & Salvatore Ferragamo 

Make Up: Fiona Keane & 29 Moreton St

Flower Girls & Page Boys: Children's Salon & Mimi & Lula

Catering: Jacaranda & House of Eliza

Wine & Cocktails: Cock & Tail Bars

Wedding Band: Saloon Star Band 

Photography: Lara Arnott 

Videography: Pocket Rocket

Stationery: Genevieve Irwin

Engagement & Wedding Ring: Sophie Breitmeyer