Planning Punts, Pies and Poms… Part 1

Good morning Ladies! Today we have a super traditional but pretty ceremony to share with you in the historic surroundings of Cambridge University. The couple in question, RMW reader Jennifer and her husband Andrew managed to marry this with a really relaxed reception (which you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see all the fun details for) and it just goes to show, you can have the best of both worlds!

Andrew and I were married in July this year. The wedding itself was in Trinity College, Cambridge, and our reception was on Grantchester meadow.

Gorgeous Mimi

I fell in love with Rachel Simpson’s beautiful vintage style shoes, and opted for the gorgeous Mimi. They really complemented the style of my dress. I would have them in several colours if I could!

My pearl necklace and earrings were my ‘something borrowed’ from my mum. With all of the lace detail in the top of my dress and bolero, I wanted to keep my jewellery fairly simple. In my hair I had a gorgeous hair slide from Magpie Vintage, and a long veil, also from Sassi Holford, which was cut to match the length of the train.

Sassy Divine

Having tried on more than 60 dresses between Chicago (where my mum lives) and England, I was sure that I wasn’t the sort of person that wouldn’t find “the one”. I couldn’t have been more surprised when I came across Sassi Holford’s website and saw ‘Hayley’. But that time I’d seen so many dresses I knew that it was the perfect dress for me.

The whole experience of buying a dress from Sassi Holford’s boutique in Taunton was amazing; Sassi (who’s lovely!) saw to each of my fittings herself, and her staff were also fantastic. The fit of the dress was incredible, and even though it was one of the hottest days of the year, it was really light and comfortable all day.

Natural Lovely

The lovely Zena McQuiston did not only my hair and make up, but also my bridesmaids’.

She was fantastic, and helped me to keep a really natural style for the day which was important to me as I don’t normally wear much (if any) makeup.

Green for the Girls

With the traditional setting for the wedding we went for a very classic look for the men. All of the suits were hired from Hugh Harris, and I would highly recommend them – because our men were scattered from Northern Ireland to Chicago only Andrew was able to try on his suit beforehand, and they took that in their stride. Andrew’s mum and my Grandma made the waistcoats and cravats in a similar green to the bridesmaids’ dresses.

Andrew wore the same suit as the rest of the men, but with a waistcoat and cravat in reverse colours so that he stood out a little more. He also wore stripy green and white Paul Smith socks! Our smaller ushers wore green Converse trainers with their suits – the older ushers still mention now that they were very jealous of them!

My bridesmaids were my little sister and my cousin, and I found it surprisingly difficult to find suitable dresses for teenagers. In the end the dresses came from Watters & Watters who have a huge collection. I loved the contrasting colour of the sash.

Punting Transportation

The riverside location of our two venues meant that we could transport our guests by chauffeured punt between the two. Nearly all of our guests had travelled to Cambridge, and it was great to be able to make sure they had at least one traditional Cambridge experience while they were there.

It was so special to Andrew and I to have our wedding in Cambridge where we met while at University, and it was a privilege to get married in Trinity College itself. It did give us a bit of difficulty on the reception front though, as we were a bit too worried about keeping up a traditional theme to start off with. Once we found the meadow, we knew it was right for us, and it gave us the freedom to have two quite different styles and colour palettes during the day.