Prestwold Hall Wedding
How wonderful it is to be sharing this minimalist and oh so stylish wedding held at Christmas today. It’s giving me all the cosy, romantic and festive vibes.
Lauren and Lewis tied the knot on the 23rd December 2019 at Prestwold Hall in the Leicestershire countryside. Their vision was for a classic winter wedding, featuring clean lines, a neutral colour scheme and chic decoration. The flowers were in an array of white tones featuring lush greenery, these was exquisite calligraphy stationery and some seriously cool attire. Lauren wore a custom Jenny Packham gown with petal detail and tulle sleeves, Lewis opted for a black tie look and the bridesmaids wore floor length black multiway frocks. They all looked amazing!
I just love the dancing, the winter light, the confetti throw and the sparkler exit too, very special indeed. Pear & Bear Photography, thank you so much for sharing these dreamy images, what a feast for the eyes.
The Proposal
We went to London for our first valentines day. Whilst shopping, Lewis bought me my first piece of jewellery from Tiffany and Co. He joked that if we ever got engaged he would propose with a Tiffany ring.
Fast forward over 6 years later and we visited New York. I had booked the Breakfast at Tiffany’s experience for the last day of our trip, and took a broken necklace with me to be repaired whilst we were out there. On our first day in New York we dropped off the necklace to be repaired so that we could pick it up when we came for our breakfast.
In the 5th Avenue Tiffany and Co they have someone who mans the lifts. As you go inside the lift, the details of the items on each floor are written around the walls. Once we had dropped off the necklace, we got back in the lift and the lift attendant asked which floor we wanted. I said ground floor, and Lewis said ‘actually floor 4 please’. I looked at the wall and floor 4 was diamond and pearl jewellery. As we stepped outside of the lift, Lewis gave me a budget and told me to pick my ring.
We picked it up a few days later, and walked over to central park with it wrapped up in the box (absolute torture!). Lewis found a quiet spot and got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife.
The Vision
I’ve always wanted a winter wedding but hated the idea of it looking like a Christmas party. I wanted to focus on crisp, clean winter whites, with statement black and nude colours to add some texture. I wanted an overall romantic feel, with just a touch of festive.
The Planning Process
I did all of the planning – I think our wedding was as much a surprise for Lewis as it was for our guests! I’m a decisive gal – I bought the first wedding dress I tried on and only visited one venue. I know what I like!
The Venue
I used to drive past Prestwold Hall on my way to uni each week and in the winter months when the trees and hedges were bare you could see the house in the distance. It just looked amazing. When you’re inside you get the stately home feel without the bold colours that often come with that. The dining room is a really soft pastel green which just lent itself to the overall colour scheme/look I was going for. I’m a book worm so getting married in the library felt like it was meant to be!
Your Outfits & Accessories
My dress was a custom Jenny Packham from Frances Day Bridal. I showed Julia a picture of a dress I loved which was out of budget and she worked her creative magic! We added petals to the bottom of the gown and paired it with the matching veil (Joyce Jackson). I had a cashmere wrap from Jesus Peiro for the evening. My shoes were LK Bennet x Jenny Packham.
I wore my late nana’s locket (inside is a picture of me as a toddler with her and my grandad) and a tiara (if you can’t wear a tiara on your wedding day, when can you?!).
Lewis’ outfit was from Paul Smith. We both hail from Nottingham so it felt fitting!
The Readings & Music
I walked in to Canon in D. We signed our registers to Einaudi, and walked out to Queen’s Fat Bottomed Girls.
My bridesmaid Emma read a piece from Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Our mums then stood up together to do their readings. Lewis’ mum read ‘On your wedding day’ and my mum read the lyrics to ‘Little things mean a lot’.
Bridesmaids
My bridesmaids wore black M&S multiway dresses with Jenny Packham feather shawls. They wore their own shoes, and I gifted them Missoma necklaces on the morning of the wedding.
Beauty
My long time hairdresser, Eve, did my hair. I wouldn’t ever trust anyone else with it!
Makeup was by Helen Rose Drake using mainly Charlotte Tilbury products.
The Flowers
Phoenix Flowers in Ruddington
The Cake
Julia Towers in Ruddington
Your Photographer
Anna Dunleavy
The Details & Décor
I focused on white with pops of black and nude.
I used a template on Etsy to do all of our on the day stationery including signs. I decorated our card box with photos of us both throughout the years together and I bought a polaroid for guests to fill our guest book with – it made for entertaining reading the day after!
I handmade bauble place names out of cadiz shells and these doubled up as wedding favours.
We used statement flower centrepieces with an array of candles (both scented and non-scented). Our place settings where white napkins with a vellum menu, with the baubles placed slightly off-centre.
Elegance weddings supplied most of our décor and dressed our chairs.
We had a dessert table that our guests contributed to – we know some talented home bakers!
We had a sparkler exit and I would highly recommend – it’s one of my favourite photos from the whole day!
The Honeymoon
We went to Norway (Tromso) and then Russia (St Petersburg and Moscow). We stayed on a boat in Norway and saw killer whales in the wild – it was amazing. Russia was so beautiful. We had the most incredible trip thanks to the generosity of our guests.
Memorable Moments
Lewis never dances with me, but he did on our wedding day and I remember just feeling so incredibly happy as we danced together in the evening.
I also loved hearing him say nice things about me in his speech!
Advice For Other Couples
Invest in the things that you take away from your wedding: your rings and your photos.
Credit Where Credit Is Due
Does it get any more romantic? So so dreamy.
Lauren and Lewis I cannot thank you enough for kindly sharing your wonderful wedding story today xo Lou
The post Minimalist & Stylish Classic Winter Wedding at Christmas first appeared on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings.
