Fiona and Raymond wanted something contemporary, stylish with touches of fuchsia, lime green and grey for their Loch Lomond day – and so that’s what I planned for them. When we very first visited The Waterfront, the beach on the Loch was flooded! But it was the week between Christmas and New Year of 2011 and despite the freezing cold temperature, the view was breath-taking. I fell in love straight away but more importantly Fiona and Raymond did too.

Over the 10 months of planning, I think I prayed as much as the bride-to-be for warm weather, sunshine and no rain. Although the chances were a little slim since we would be in Scotland and it’s a late September wedding, we didn’t give up hope and we planned for an outdoor humanist ceremony. However, we still had a plan B of course {a must for every wedding}

Their wedding on Loch Lomond was on the Saturday but I was already in Glasgow earlier that week for their first wedding day. On the Thursday afternoon, I had a little walk from the bottom to the top of Byers Road in the West End, visited several vintage and retro shops, I then popped into Two Figs Bar & Restaurant, enjoyed my tasty Latte’s, had a bite to eat, read a magazine, Instagrammed, Tweeted and Facebooked… in the meanwhile, keeping check on the weather. And guess what? It rained all day. But I still kept my fingers crossed for sunshine.

Forty-eight hours later, the sky had cleared!

I was so, so happy for them. Driving through the lanes across Loch Lomond, I could spot nothing other than blue skies and sunshine breaking through. It was 830am in the morning, I arrived at the venue to be greeted by a calm bride and some very excited bridesmaids in one of the lodges at The Waterfront!

Esteem MakeOver and her team were already working away, Chantal Lachance-Gibson began to capture these pretty shots and Leven Films were now filming away.

One of the most amazing moments was when Fiona very kindly trusted us in slipping her Pronovias dress away to the shores for some gorgeous photographs. Oh boy, wasn’t it worth it. I think I actually squealed with excitement as Chantal and Leven Films worked hard on capturing some gorgeous shots on camera and on film!

Don’t forget the morning coffee!! I love this photo of Bridesmaid, Patti : )

And the groom and his groomsmen looked super stylish in the kilts!

As the guests started to arrive… the sound of traditional Scottish bagpipes echoed across the Loch…

… then the romantic Canon in D  began to play for the beautiful brides entrance

Fiona and Raymond’s Humanist Ceremony was so touching. So meaningful and beautiful…

During the ceremony, Fiona’s younger sister Laura shared the sweetest speech she had written. There were tears, laughter and incredible love filled in every word and sentence.

Gorgeous colours filled the Thistle Room for the Wedding Breakfast…

By night… we strolled back to the shore for some evening shots. As Chantal and Leven Films captured away, the sweet swans elegantly drifted by!

Fiona and Raymond’s First Dance was ‘Let There Be Love’ by Nat King Cole, followed by fabulous live music by Replay and a traditional, yet super fun Ceilidh!

Huge congratulations once again to one of the loveliest couples I’ve had the pleasure to meet. I so miss working with you… but I  very much look forward to seeing you again very soon!

. . . . .

Wedding Planning – Carmen Weddings | Photography – Chantal Lachance Gibson Photography | Venue – The Waterfront on Loch Lomond | Celebrant - Sheena Johnston of The Humanist Society | Wedding Dress – Pronovias | Bridal Shoes – Kurt Geiger | Flowers – Endrick Blooms | Cake – Liggy’s Cake Company | Grey Damask Table Linen – 88 Events Company | Hair + Make Up – Esteem Make Over | Videographer – Leven Films – Trailer to come soon! | Table Plan – With Love | Bridesmaids Dresses – from Hong Kong | Evening Entertainment – Sterio Entertainments

Fiona got in touch with me at the very start of 2011, just before they re-located to Hong Kong for their new jobs and it wasn’t until the autumn when we started to talk in-depth about their wedding plans. After 10 fabulous months working on their planning, this was their first wedding day in Scotland, all captured beautifully by the very lovely Chantal Lachance-Gibson {Thank you Chantal… I miss working with you!}

On the morning of Fiona and Raymond’s Chinese wedding we were at the brides family home.

Fiona’s Tze-Muis excitedly started to prepare the Wedding Door Games ready for the groom and his groomsmen {Hing Dais}… and if you’re already familiar with the games, you know it’s all great fun and completely crazy. From chilli-powder coated bananas to all the lipstick kisses… it was going to be a morning of giggles and fun. Oh yes!

The family home was filled with family and bridesmaids, all clearly ecstatic of what’s to come  but the air was so warm and calm. I could hear the pitter-patter of rain on the roof but this didn’t stop the excitement at all. Not one little bit.

For me, there is always one very precious moment at a Chinese wedding. The time when the bride is in her gorgeous Chinese wedding Quan Kwa and her mother carefully puts on her daughters gold jewellery. Carefully opening the soft pure gold to then tightly fasten the pieces; and so many times, this is when the emotions and realisation of what today is about to happen, soft and quiet words are exchanged between mother and daughter. This is one moment when I normally leave the bride and mother alone. A moment which for me only belongs to them.

Raymond and his ‘boys’ arrived looking super stylish… and within seconds, I guess you could say they looked a little more pretty! You could see in the boys eyes, they were ready. Very ready for what was to happen next!

Chilli coated bananas and waxing strips to hand, the girls really had a trick or two up their sleeves : ) There was no way that they were going to let their beautiful friend go so easily!!

The Chinese Tea Ceremony

… for the brides family and elders. One by one, tea was presented in a most respectful manner.

We then took a short drive right into the bustling city of Glasgow, where Raymond’s family were presented the red dates and lotus seed tea. It was one very sweet moment as tea was handed to the grooms mum and grand-mother.

One place Fiona and Raymond wanted to go back to for some photographs was at the University of Glasgow – where they very first met. During our planning months, we gained permission from the University for some gorgeous memories to be captured by Chantal and Leven Films… and on the day, they stopped by at the amazing Kelvingrove Art Gallery for these beautiful shots.

The Evening Reception was a traditional Chinese Banquet at China Town Glasgow. With more than 200 guests attending, it sure was a celebration full of fun and emotions!

Every moment of their Chinese wedding day was beautiful – from every one of Fiona’s three stunning gowns to the wonderful speeches by the groom and parents. I knew there and then, what a lucky girl I was to have been able to share this day with them.

. . . . .

Wedding Planning – Carmen Weddings | Photography- Chantal Lachance Gibson Photography | Flowers – Endrick Blooms | Venue – China Town Glasgow 

Chatsworth is a very special place to Chris for a number of reasons and there really was no other location for this couple. I loved every moment of their day and now the newlyweds have beautiful memories captured of both their engagement shoot and  wedding day by Christian Ward Photography. Treasured forever.

I asked Vicky how she met Chris, and this is their sweet love story from the bride herself!

Chris and I met in Devonshire Hall, our uni accommodation, when we were studying in University of Leeds. The very first time I saw Chris, I was on the phone in the phonebooth outside our hall talking to my best friend from Hong Kong. Chris and his family arrived in two cars just outside the hall. He was sporty-looking, skin head and ginger (obviously)… he looks totally different from what he is now. Chris always say that it was love at first sight but for me, that was not true! We were friends to start with, and started courting during our second year, our relationship has been pretty plain sailing for the past 9 years. We love each other so much that we won’t let anything come in our way. Chris met my parents for the very first time after we have been out for 2 years, he was really nervous about meeting my parents especially my dad, as I have been telling story of how strict my dad is (he isn’t really! he is lovely!). My parents loved him, and think we make a perfect pair.

We had a mobile phone business together in Chesterfield 6 years ago. We managed to expand the business from working from home to hiring an office in the town center and managing 5 staff. But the business slowed down after just over a year in business and we decided to move to London in search of a new life.

On 4th April 2010, after having breakfast at The Serpentine Bar & Kitchen, Chris asked for my hand in marriage next to the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London. The first thing I said to him was not “Yes!” but “Oh….It’s a DeBeer, not a Cartier?”. Obviously it was a joke, but I did leave him hanging for a bit before I said “Yes, of course!”. We have discussed about marriage before we got engaged, and we both knew that we want a long engagement, to give us a chance to buy our first home in London then save up for a wedding. We have done just that. We bought our first home in North Kensington in January 2011, we also booked our wedding venue a few months after!.

We invited Christian and Erica from Christian Ward Wedding Photography to travel to London for our engagement shoot because London is our home! It’s where our lives are and where we love. We chose to get on a boat and have the Serpentine as our backdrop for the obvious reason – it was where we got engaged, and I have always loved the water, the sea, the lake, the river… we also went to the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, Holland Park Mews and Portobello Market these are all the local places that we hang out on weekends!

The Hunting Tower 

Vicky and her three bridesmaids started the day with family at The Hunting Tower, and my, what incredible views over Chatsworth they had. I arrived early and after climbing the steep, narrow, spiral stone steps,  I was greeted by a very relaxed and happy bride!

Vicky looked stunning in her Pronovias dress… and she really thought about every little pretty detail for her day…

Back at Chris’ family home, this was where the groom began getting ready for his big day. From the quirky pink socks, to the stylish pink ties and the cute photos on the buttonholes, this was when some of the details Vicky had been planning for, had come together.

St Peter’s Church – Edensor

The sun was beaming, excited family and friends were arriving and the bunting was up at the entrance to the church. The sweet sounds of the string trio were softly playing as guests were making their way into church. We had a most relaxed groom, the cutest ring bearer and then it was almost time for me to greet the bridal car.

Vicky is one creative lady. She had carefully handmade all of her gorgeous wedding stationery using Japanese Gocco print – from invitations to the Order of Services. As I sit here writing this post, I have the pack of invitations Vicky had given me as a sweet momento right next to me. Thank you Vicky!

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

We really couldn’t have wished for better weather – it was glorious all day. The views on arriving at Chatsworth House was just breath taking. One venue I fall in love with time and time again.

Beautiful details with pretty and soft colours throughout, delicious sweets and Ladurée macarons… and the very gorgeous cake by the very talented Love Candy Cakes.

This is the lovely vintage map table plan made by Vicky herself and all the gorgeous flowers were by award winning Tineke Floral Designs

The Carriage House was transformed into the most elegant space for their Wedding Breakfast. A mixture of stunning high and low centrepieces, mini chalkboard table numbers and place names on vintage keys…

The Chinese Tea Ceremony 

… not only a beautiful wedding but so much fun was had by all!

Once again, huge congratulations to you both and I look forward to catching up with you next time I’m in London! … Carms xx

Photography - Christian Ward Photography | Reception Venue – Chatsworth House | Flowers - Tineke Floral Design | Cake – Love Candy Cakes | Hair + Make Up – Chic Brides | Wedding Car – Poplar Wedding Cars 

All the stunning flowers were by The Blossom Tree. From the gorgeous orchid bouquet for the bride, the bridesmaids and all the flowers inside and outside the marquee too, everything looked amazing. The Blossom Tree have a beautiful style and I cannot thank them enough for how amazing they were to work with, especially in the crazy downpours the day before the wedding!

Elisabeth wore a stunning bespoke gown by leading wedding dress designer, Jean Jackson Couture

Despite the heavy rain on the Friday during set up, on Saturday we were blessed with only very fine rain on the morning of the wedding day… and I was over-the-moon when moments before I was able to make the very decision that we would have their ceremony outside in The Glade. This is what Elisabeth had always wanted and it meant so much to her and myself, as a planner, that we were able to fulfill her wishes.

Afternoon Tea with a lovely red and white colour scheme – the couple had made pretty flags for the food, table plans on postcards, individual cushions for all the furniture and lots of lovely details from heart sugar cubes, stripey straws for the lemonade glass urn to the message tree…

These guys were just super cute! The Carribean steel drum band created the most relaxing yet fun atmosphere for their Afternoon Cocktail Hour, complete with coconut cups and a tasty range of cocktails {Belvoir Presse for the children!}

The woodland theme continued throughout for the Wedding Breakfast… amazing tree slices for the dessert table, individually burnt place names for every guest {and the very sweet bride made myself one also which now proudly sits on my desk!} stunning moss centrepieces with orchid plants, wooden hearts were hung around the marquee, ivy for all the lighting, a huge amount of jam jars with tealights and homemade jam as favours too!

As the sun began to set, lanterns were lit throughout The Glade area… a soft glow and romantic lighting for the evening was just perfect…

… by midnight, the amazing performance by Feeding The Fish amazed everyone! It was an incredible end to a perfect day and one performance I won’t forget too soon!

Thank you Elisabeth and Mark who had me co-ordinate a weekend of a truly fun and detailed filled wedding. I loved every moment of it!… Carms xx

Photography - Clive Blair | Venue – The Glade at Rosliston Forestry Centre | Flowers – The Blossom Tree | Rickshaws – Pedall Walla | Lighting – Hipswing Entertainments | Soloist – Kate Westhall | Evening DJ – Peter Lockwood | Steel Drum Band – Steve Allen Entertainments  |  Light Juggling Show – Feeding The Fish

]]> http://www.carmenweddings.co.uk/blog/real-weddings/elisabeth-mark-enchanted-forest-wedding/feed 5 http://www.carmenweddings.co.uk/blog/real-weddings/life-is-sweet-chinese-tea-lucy-john-by-caro-hutchings http://www.carmenweddings.co.uk/blog/real-weddings/life-is-sweet-chinese-tea-lucy-john-by-caro-hutchings#comments Tue, 24 Jul 2012 08:18:27 +0000 Carms http://www.carmenweddings.co.uk/blog/?p=10474 Hello! Well, it’s been some time since I’ve shared a Real Wedding feature with you… and today I have one of my absolute favourites from right here from England.

As many of you may know, I have a huge crush on pretty Double Happiness weddings. Whether it’s little decorative touches or a full wedding banquet … this one of Lucy and John is a real pretty day.

I’m sure you’ll agree that Caro Hutchings, the amazing photographer, did a fab job in capturing the details, the emotions and the most gorgeous bride in both her white wedding gown and Chinese Kwa…

… and here are the lovely details from the bride, Lucy, herself too…

How Lucy + John Met

We were friends from the age of 16, but we lost contact for about 6 years while I went to university. After I graduated I moved back to London. I was driving to my friends house and coincidentally John drove past me as I was waiting at a red light! We greeted quickly and that was the start of our future…

We wanted a very simple wedding, so the whole inspiration was from our own imagination and with what we both love.

The Beautiful Gown

Shopping for my dress was fun! I booked about 9 appointments with different shops to search for a dress I had in mind. I knew what I was looking for as I had already done a little research on the style. I found a designer dress that caught my eye while I was browsing on the internet, but the price was way over our budget so I was determined to look for something similar within our budget. After 5 wedding shops, I couldn’t find anything that caught my eye, then we went to With Love Bridal at the very end of the day and I found the one! This dress just took my breath away.

Chinese Traditions

It is tradition to have a Tea Ceremony on a Chinese wedding day; the red dress, the red pockets and the tea serving to our elders, also the big banquet was all inspiration towards the day.

Grooms Attire

John wanted something more fitted and classy rather than tuxedo style. We knew we wanted a dark blue suit, so he searched high and low to find the right colour and fit for him and his best men. In the end he found the right one waiting for him at NEXT.

Hello Happy Door Games!

The traditional Door Game was also part of our wedding. The aim was to ‘test’ the groom with how dedicated he is to ‘collect’ me, the bride. Tasks given from my bridesmaids had to be completed by the groom and his men before they enter the house to collect me, such as leg waxing, balloon popping in awkward positions, passing seaweed mouth to mouth, eating a mixture of ingredients and dressing up with provided customs. It’s a fun way to start the day and everyone enjoyed and laughed so much! Everyone felt so relaxed and laughed until their cheeks hurt!

The Fresh Flower Company

I had always loved The Fresh Flower Company which is located just down the road from our flat. It’s an amazing little independent flower shop with beautiful vintage roses. I wanted a nice combination of flowers with pale colours to complement the dresses for both myself and my bridemaids. However there was the one request which we made; in our culture having white flowers on a wedding day is frowned upon as white flowers represent funerals, so we had asked the florist to exclude any white flowers. They did a wonderful job and made me one very happy bride!

Pretty Details

The jelly bean bags with name tags, origami cookie boxes and confetti presentation were all hand made by my sister and sister-in-law. We were very grateful for the help my sister-in-law had given us as she was 7months pregnant and still wanted to help make us her own designed favours for our wedding! My sister is naturally creative and fantastic with arts and crafts. She made the origami boxes from scratch, which was originally meant to be presented at the wedding ceremony, however when we arrived, there was a pleasant surprise instead….the wedding cup cakes! The wedding cake at the wedding ceremony was a real surprise. We didn’t plan for a cake at this venue as we had one arranged at the banquet. As I sat down and saw the cake, I was so surprised I started getting teary. My sister had organised a cake for us which we never expected, I was very emotional. The gorgeous cakes were  from Cakes U Love  - Everybody loved it and said how amazing it tasted!

Our Marriage Ceremony

For our ceremony venue we wanted somewhere local for our family, friends and all the children who were invited. We needed a venue which had the indoor as well as the outdoor space which fitted within our budget. We chose Bromley Register Office – it was perfect and the staff were very helpful and friendly too.

The Wedding Party

The bridesmaids  and best men were fabulous, they were so understanding and helpful throughout. They definitely made sure the day was perfect for us. We decided we wanted the suits for the best men to be the same as the groom but with a different colour tie.  I was very fond of the idea of having lace fabric for the bridesmaid’s dresses as it would add a touch of vintage style. It was pretty hard to find a style which complemented both of my bridesmaids as they had such different figures. We did take a long time looking for the right dress, but we eventually found one which ticked all the boxes and that we all loved. We accessorised with ribbon waist bands and Carvela shoes.

Our Wonderful Family + Friends

It was an absolute joy seeing everyone have an amazing time with us and since our wedding day, our family and friends said they enjoyed our wedding the most out of many others they have been to, despite the poor, rainy weather which we had all day. Comments like that made us feel very blessed and happy to have such lovely guests around us. At the end of the night every one was enjoying themselves so much they didn’t want it to end! Family and friends were still talking about it the week after and reminiscing the day.

Dear Brides-To-Be… My Advice To You

Relax, embrace the day and enjoy!

Thank You’s To Our Family + Friends

My sister Mai Luong who made my origarmi cookie boxes, confetti presentation, the wedding cake, advice and suggestions throughout the wedding planning. Our bridemaids: Quyen Ha who did my make up and hair, organising the traditional door games. Kim Vong for all the planning and organising for the bridemaids dresses and keeping the day orgainised and smooth. Our Best men: Cam Fu Ha, Cam Hu Ha and Richard Watson for making sure the day ran smoothly and perfect. Huong Luc for the special hand made favours and making sure our guest was fed in the morning. My sister Toni Luong for hand making the button holes. Rena Ha for helping out through out. Cam Wan and Cam Yan Ha for making sure our guest book was signed and filled with all wonderful messages from our guests. My brother Cuong Luong for his beautiful house and organising…

Last but not least my husband John Ha who has been very supportive and patient throughout from day one!

Photography by Caro Hutchings Photography