Real Weddings - Gareth & Sophie

Now, this wedding I’m reliving (and I mean LIVING) today is one that is so special to me. I have known Bride Sophie for many, many a year. Having been the closest of confides for much of it, I’ve seen the ups and downs, the trials and jubilations and the laughter and the love she has endured and thrived in for most of our teen and now adult lives. When she met Gareth, well we knew he was gonna be a good’un. When she told me she was engaged, I genuinely did a little yelp of happiness, and knew I was in for one serious cool and caffeinated day.

Our first meeting was in a cafe in a field - we were both working at the same festival cafe at the time - and Sophie was already very clear on the vibe she wanted. She wanted it to be relaxed, she wanted it to be textural, and she wanted it to be about them. It was at this meeting Sophie described how she wanted a rustic feel, to off set the industrial space of The Old Library in Birmingham, filled with a mix of dried flowers and foliages, in a deep wintery colour palette. For her very chic and modern over-the-arm bridal bouquet, we chose an over-flowing celebration of textures, including Pampas Grass, Cottom Stems, Antirrhinum, Scabiosa, Astilbe, Leucadendron, Thistle, Waxflower and Lavender. I surrounded this delicate mix in some ferns, and bound it in simple raffia and POW. An armful of impactful, and beautifully scented, flowers. It complimented the December date and Sophie’s classic glamorous look.

For the army of Bridesmaids, we went with a sister version of Sophie’s bouquet - the style and flowers all the same, but just a smaller armful. In front of their array of stylish black jumpsuits, leather jackets, low ponytails and - of course - a boss red lip, it was like a scene out of a vintage movie. Incredibly cool and so chic. For Gareth, we decided a little pop of colour to stand out against his sharp black suit would be perfect. A simply bound Cotton head, Thistle and fern was all he needed to elevate his look to handsome Groom.

Now for the venue, we really let loose and had some fun. Gareth and Soph had already found and purchased a big triangular wood frame which would act as the focal point of their aisle. We decided to play off this shape and add a floor floral arrangement to one side, filled with a wild mix of Pampas Grass, all the foliage I could find (!!!) as well as little pops of colour here and their, provided by waxflower and thistles. The Old Library also had 3 large windowsills which we decided could do with some draped foliage to add some impact, and a few pampas grasses for good measure - I still have nightmares about scaling the ladder to put the arrangements in place, but it was worth it. To keep the winter feel, they adorned the length of the aisle with candles and berried Eucalyptus, which then we replicated later on the middle of the tables to tie it all together and max out coziness levels.

I sound bias when I say this wedding was one of the great ones - not just because Sophie is one of my nearest and dearest, but also because it was a case where the wedding was in equal parts modern, different but also, SO STYLISH. They really took into account the season, the environment, their guests, their faith and, most importantly, each other, and really did it their way. I’m so proud of them both, and I’m so glad I got to be there for it - it was so nice to see all the flowers together, when the evening drew in and the candles came out, and I could finally just let go of my worries and watch Sophie and Gareth have the best day of their lives. Here are the loveliest of words from them:

‘Hannah was simply amazing to work with - she listened and talked through all my ideas with me, so she could get a clear idea of the vibe of our wedding. As well as going out of her way to make sure that she was able to make it all happen within the budget we had, Hannah took all of my ideas and delivered exactly what I had asked for. It really was the dream!’

Thank you guys, can’t wait to see you once the craziness is over, and please let it be before we’re back in that field again next August! X

All photos for this post are from Capture You Photo