Ferrari Themed Wedding

Steve and Victoria's wedding was Ferrari themed complete with a real life Ferrari for their wedding car.

The distinctive Ferrari red is seen here on the spotless rocker cover of their wedding car. The groom was initially keen to photograph the rings on this rocker cover...till it was pointed out that there was a possibility of them tinkling down into the innards of the engine. Surely the dismantling of a Ferrari engine would have been one of the more unusual excuses for a groom being late to his wedding.

And Ferrari red was the colour of their bridesmaids' dresses.

Their wedding car was a Ferrari California.

The colour of the California was a beautiful pearl, seen here on this bonnet shot of the rings. One of the loveliest colours for a wedding car.

The boys were very excited to see the California.

But they would have to walk to the venue. The wedding car was just a two-seater. Only enough room for a groom and his bride.

Whilst the boys were enthusing over the car, Victoria was getting ready.

The wedding car for her and her dad needed to be a four-seater. There's was a Porsche Panamera Turbo.

A fabulous car...even though it wasn't a Ferrari.

She awaited her car's arrival...

...at the Forest Lodge Hotel, Lyndhurst in the New Forest, Hampshire.

Once it arrived it looked very fitting outside their venue...

...and Victoria and her dad were delighted to be in such an amazing car. They went off for a drive in it to clear the way for her groom to arrive.

Which he did in style, in "his" Ferrari California, with the top down.

Whilst waiting for his bride, Steve and his groomsmen enjoyed looking around the car in the hotel's car park.

The beautifully decorated Ceremony was held in the hotel.

The bride and groom were presented with congratulatory drinks.

And then it was into the garden for photographs...

...and confetti.

Then Steve and Victoria got to have some time alone...

...as they went off in the California.

The table plan was beautifully printed in Ferrari colours and fonts...

...and the tables were named after drivers.

The tables were decorated in the black and white of the Ferrari motif.

Steve and Victoria's wedding not only had some great cars and a beautifully put together Ferrari theme, but the venue was great, the guests were lovely and the weather was perfect.

Moonlight & Bubbles, New Forest Wedding

David and Wendy had a fabulous wedding at the Beaulieu Hotel, New Forest, Hampshire.

Wendy's day started with Bridal Prep at her home. Her wedding dress train was so large there was only just enough space to lay it out in her lounge.

The Ceremony was held in the hotel itself...

...then it was into the hotel garden for group shots and confetti...

..and some bride and groom portraits.

Just across the road from the hotel is the open landscape of the New Forest. As we walked across these clouds opened up for us just perfectly.

David and Wendy had a red and white themed wedding because of the football team they supported. Her bouquet was red and white, there were pillars of red and white balloons, the cake was red and white as were the table decorations.

Wendy wore a delightful short veil which beautifully complimented her dress.

As their perfect day turned to night, we crossed the road again for some more portraits...this time with a clear sky and a moon as their perfectly romantic backdrop.

And their First Dance was made all the more special as they danced through wave and wave of bubbles...courtesy of the DJ.

Wedding Traditions: Top Tier of the Wedding Cake

Tradition has it that the top tier of your wedding cake should be saved, put in the freezer and defrosted in time for your First Anniversary or perhaps the Christening of your First Born.  

However, as they are usually made of various different flavours of sponge cake or even tiers of cupcakes, the whole of the wedding cake tends to be cut up and eaten on the day.

by Jacqui Dunster

Source:  Jenn Thompson for mentalfloss.com

Wedding Traditions: The Veil

There are various schools of thought on the origins of the veil but the word means to mask or cover.  

Some believe that the tradition of wearing a veil comes from the time when men bargained for a lady’s hand with her father.  It was only after the ceremony had been completed that the veil was allowed to be lifted up just in case the groom didn’t like what he saw and decided to forgo the marriage after all.

In ancient Rome people believed that a bride would attract evil spirits so in order to confuse them her face, and sometimes her whole body, would be covered with a brightly coloured veil.

In medieval times it was considered a symbol of modesty, purity and chastity and a veil was worn to protect her from an alleged “evil eye”.  It was also considered to convey her willingness to submit to and obey her new husband.

And there are others who believe that it might simply have been a way of covering up dirty hair as people didn’t wash their hair very often and it could look very untidy.

In days gone by if you were marrying for a second time you were not supposed to wear a veil, let alone a white one but nowadays you can wear a veil however many times you have been married!

The wearing of a lace veil allegedly started in America in 1799 when the step granddaughter of George Washington married his nephew.  She chose to wear a lace veil because her fiance had once seen her through a lace curtain and told her how beautiful she had looked.

Nowadays they do not have to be worn covering the face and they are worn simply to highlight the bride’s face and add to the elegance of the dress.

It wasn’t until the wearing of a white wedding dress became fashionable, after the wedding of Queen Victoria to her beloved Prince Albert in 1840, that the veil became white too.

There are 7 different lengths of traditional veil going from Shoulder Veil (19”) to the very long Cathedral Veil (108”).  The Cathedral and the Chapel Veils were so named as it used to be that you could only wear these two in a Cathedral or Chapel.

Jacqui Dunster

Sources:  http://www.veilubridal.com ;  Jennie DellaMonica, Yahoo! Contributor Network, Mar 2, 2007 ; http://telegram.qrsite.com

Wedding Traditions: The White Wedding Dress

It was Queen Victoria who was ultimately responsible for today’s fashion of wearing a white wedding dress.  Before her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 a bride would simply wear the best dress she had in her wardrobe.  It didn’t matter at all what colour it was and sometimes she would wear layers of silk and velvet on top of her dress simply to impress her groom and convince him she was rich.

Once word got round that the Queen had married in a pale dress everyone wanted to copy and we have never looked back.

by Jacqui Dunster

Source: Jenn Thompson - http://mentalfloss.com/article/18915/bizarre-origins-8-wedding-traditions#ixzz2bhB2jIlS 

Steeple Court Manor Wedding

Dan and Erin had their wedding at Steeple Court Manor which is a lovely privately owned wedding venue in Botley, Hampshire. The weather was perfect and so was the venue. 

But the day started with Bridal Prep in Erin's home. It was clear right from the off that the day had been planned in great detail and with love. 

Her dress had a beautiful flower motif...

...and she wore a matching flower in her hair with an elegant string of pearls necklace.

Dan and Erin's Ceremony and Reception were both held in the permanently erected marquee in the Steeple Court Manor grounds. The marquee itself was decorated beautifully by the venue.

The grounds were gorgeous and the main garden was large enough for a good sized heart-shaped group shot.

It was really nice that the venue allowed confetti to be thrown over their lawn. It made for a great shot.

Away from the main back gardens there were many portrait opportunities.

There were lots of intimate places, perfect for bride and groom portraits and very short distances away too, ideal for a bride in expensive shoes.

Erin's amazing button bouquet was made by her mum and was full of details.

Dan and Erin went for a sunlit stroll around the grounds...

...to the garden seat in the sun...

...and then to the vineyards.

Dan and Erin's wedding car was kindly provided by Erin's Dad.

Unusually his white Rolls Royce had a gold Spirit of Ecstasy which looked stunning.

It had been an amazing day with great weather...

...and just before their First Dance the evening sky was glorious.

Then it was back into the marquee for their First Dance...

...and it was lovely to see them together on the dance floor.

Their wedding day was amazing. In no small part it was down to loving and detailed planning but also helped along by a fabulous venue and perfect weather.