Welcome back! On this rather grim, wet Monday I am hoping to brighten up your day with a feast of wedding deliciousness in the first of this weeks instalments of posts dedicated to our wedding day. Today it’s all about my girls: the Bridesmaids. Read on if your looking for inspiration for your bride squad or perhaps simply fancy a wedding fix!

Assembling your wedding girl gang is in my eyes for a bride one of the most important jobs during the entire wedding planning process. Much like your hubby popping the question it is a rare time for you to give back to those who mean the most to you and simply say “I couldn’t do this without you!”. For me, this was an easy task and within weeks of getting engaged I had asked my three besties to be by my side on my biggest day ever and with plenty of tears, balloons and a rather messy confetti cannon they all gladly said “YES!”.

Back in November last year we kicked off the first of our many bridesmaid celebrations with a girlie weekend full of fizz, bridesmaid dress shopping and the most luxe sleepover of all time at our wedding venue Hampton Manor, this being the girls first glimpse of the venue. I still remember us now practising our walk down the aisle after a few glasses of bubbles, it all feeling a little bit like a dream and then I blinked and it was a reality and we were heading across the grounds into that ceremony room, me watching them disappear into a room full of our nearest and dearest one by one until it was my turn to face the crowd.

It was while dress shopping for myself in Tilly Trotters Brides that I came across the Two Birds Multiway Dresses in the Rosewater shade. I had of course come across this popular style of multiway bridesmaids dress many, many times over my years working in the wedding industry and always admired how they could be tied in so many ways to flatter all shapes, sizes and tastes. I was however particularly taken by this glorious molten, metallic blush that exuded warmth and looked like it belonged on the red carpet tied on the mannequin in grecian inspired knots and twists. Immediately I knew the girls would love them.

This being our first appointment, we of course didn’t expect to nail the dresses first time but the girls looked and felt incredible. We played with varying ways of tying the dress, all settling on different styles and I could tell they all felt a million dollars and boy did they look it too!

The girls happily said YES TO THE DRESSES there and then and shocked by the ease of it all we excitedly headed for lunch to chat accessories and finishing touches.

They looked like glorious grecian goddesses in these beautiful dresses and so naturally I felt like their look simply wasn’t complete without a crown. Feeling inspired by a recent Dolce and Gabbana campaign at the time with models wearing intricate gold, adorned head gear, I called upon my friend Louise, owner of handmade bridal accessories company Fifth and Spring whose exquisite collection I knew would fit the bill perfectly.

I ordered the Ruby and Esme Bridal Alice Bands for Bridesmaids Sara and Sian who wore these golden handmade wild flowers on the day nestled into their softly waved hair while Bridesmaid Emily with her longer locks opted for a half up half down do finished beautifully with bespoke Astoria hair pins created by Louise to compliment the other designs.

The girls hair was styled to perfection on the day by Fay from Hair Hostess. The brief being soft, flowing waves with heaps of volume to last the day. Obviously she nailed it!

While I did my own make up on the day, I of course was a tad distracted to be making up the girls also and so I called upon fellow industry friend and supremely talented make up artist Hayley Thompson to work alongside Fay and well, the glam squad was indeed complete!

The girls make up was just perfection: fresh, radiant skin, warm coppery tones on the eyes, subtle lashes and rich lip shades with a hints of berry to compliment the burgundy tones running throughout our day. They looked sensational and most importantly they felt it too!

Our florist Lucy Walker who deserves and will continue to have infinite mentions in all of these blogs for her splendour, created petite hand tied bouquets that were gorgeously dainty and filled with ‘Kate’ and ‘Tess’ David Austin Roses, Eculaptus for subtle greenery and Pink Astilbe for that wonderful height and beautifully feminine texture. All finished with pheasant feathers and tied with velvet ribbon from Little Acorn Silks in a shade that so perfectly matched the bridesmaids dresses I couldn’t quite believe it when it arrived on my doorstep.

To compliment the subtle pops of burgandy throughout our entire wedding styling I gifted the girls each a small Katie Loxton bag in a delectable shade of burgandy with ‘love, love, love’ appropriately adorned across it to house their essentials on the day.

Now, buying presents is one of my most favourite things to do and so it was no surprise I had such joy in spoiling the entirety of our bridal party on our wedding day. I ordered some personalised gift bags from Little Wedding Treasures for the girls (and boys! but we’ll come to that another time!) and excitedly placed them on their beds at Hampton Manor the night before the wedding before their arrival making me feel quite literally like wedding Santa.

Inside was a robe from Ted Baker, “Brides Bestie” Pyjamas and fluffy slippers to keep them warm during our morning preparations amongst other goodies like mini Jo Malone fragrances, Charlotte Tilbury lipsticks and super hydrating sheet masks.

On the day the girls were as expected with me through every nerve, every laugh and every cry. They held my train, picked twigs out of my veil, helped me go to the loo and miraculously had tissues to hand before every tear fell but most of all they were endlessly happy for me and my now husband on our best day ever and thats why they were my Bridesmaids.

Thanks again for reading, see you next time!

x

Bridesmaids Dresses: Two Birds Classic Ballgown. No longer available to purchase at Tilly Trotters Brides, see the Two Birds website for listed stockists. The Rosewater shade has since been discontinued (boo!), ‘Rosewood’ seems to be a similar alternative.

Hair Accessories by Fifth and Spring. Esme, Ruby and Astoria.

Hair styled by Fay at Hair Hostess.

Make up by Hayley Thompson.

Florals by Lucy Walker.

Velvet Ribbons on Bouquet by Little Acorn Silks.

Bag by Katie Loxton.

Personalised Gift Bags by Little Wedding Treasures.

Ted Baker Robes. Exact ones no longer available, these are similar.

Photography by Katie Ingram.