Although both living in the East Midlands, Hannah & Stephen held their wedding near Halifax. They had their ceremony at St Matthew’s church in Lightcliffe just up the road from Stephen’s parents house after which they headed over to Stephen’s sister’s house where the reception was held in a marquee in the fabulous garden.Hannah got ready with her 2 bridesmaids in a little cottage in the garden, renovated specifcially for the wedding. Her Ian Stewart dress was stunning & the bridesmaids dresses had a grecian feel to them which were worn with flat gladiator style sandals. Don’t those flowergirls look so cute in their little dresses (I think that they might be from Monsoon as I saw something very similar last time I was in there)
Because it was Easter Saturday, Hannah had lots of ‘easter’ touches in the table decorations – Little bird eggs nesting at the bottom of floral displays & chocolate egg favours.
The top table had completely different decorations than all the other tables, pretty floral displays of roses and tea lights in silver sparkly pots. And don’t you just love the chocolate cupcakes in butterfly cases??The views from the road outside the venue were amazing and Sam managed to get some lovely photos there, as well as using different parts of the large garden. Friends & family had spent many weekends leading up to the wedding helping to get the garden in order.
I asked Sam what she particularly enjoyed about shooting Hannah and Stephen’s wedding…
“I remember that the weather forecast for the day was not good, yet we ended up with a lovely day, perfect for dramatic photos across the valley. I absolutely loved Hannah’s huge bow on the back of her dress. A great detail to photograph, providing interest on the back of her dress and I just love bows!”

If like me you have fallen in love with some of these photos then make sure that you check out her site Sam Clayton Photography and her blog where you can see more piccies and find out more info about hiring her for your wedding.

Don’t you just love the dresses, the big bow on Hannah’s dress, the bridesmaids and the flowergirls all look gorgeous don’t they?

I met Eleanor at the National Wedding Show. She makes beautiful bespoke wedding dresses and I was instantly drawn to her lovely designs. Clearly a very talented (and also lovely to chat to) lady. Given the huge number of glowing testimonials I’ve read its clearly a dream working with her to create your perfect wedding dress.

Eleanor designs not only the wedding dress but accessories, veils and everything for the bridal party from dresses for the bridesmaids and flower girls to matching ties for the Groom, or the ushers.

She has 3 different wedding dress services to suit different needs and budgets.

1. Made to measure Silk collection – sold at selected stockists (listed on her site) with prices starting from £1550.00

2. Bespoke service where she meets with clients to discuss style ideas for their wedding dress. From here sketches are made along with a selection of possible fabric beading ideas. A toile will be made of the selected style, and only once all style lines have been agreed will the dress be made in the chosen fabric. Prices start from £1750.

3. Mobile Bespoke service – this is a new service with appointments being made in the clients home or place of work (ooh I like the sound of that one!). Selected samples of wedding gowns, accessories are taken along with fabrics swatches and any other items requested by the clients. Prices start from £2,000.

For more info on Eleanor, her wedding dresses, her stockists or to book an appointment have a look at her site www.eleanorofori.co.uk.

read below what some of her clients say…

“Eleanor designed my beautiful wedding dress and I will eternally be grateful. I was impressed with her fantastic advice and guidance. Eleanor was really patient, and designed the wedding dress to suit everything
about me – my figure, my personality, the church we were getting married in etc
The final result was spectacular, and I was so pleased. I would unreservedly recommend Eleanor Ofori!”

Check out these lovely bridesmaid dresses below from Just Dresses, who specialise in flower girl dresses and childrens bridesmaid dresses – I think that they are really cute but most importantly are an easy, good value solution, with prices ranging from £30 to £60.

They can all be bought off the peg so if they’re in stock you can have them almost immediately so it can be a good option for people like me that leave everything to the last minute. I would, however, suggest ordering in good time prior to the wedding due to the popularity of some of the styles. I learnt the hard way at my wedding leaving it all too late and having to have my bridesmaid dresses (from Dessy) expressed over from the US and paying a hefty charge for doing so…. there is something to be said for the early bird catches the worm!

Talking of my wedding I chose Monsoon for my little flowergirl as I wanted something stylish, easy, good value (and also hopefully something that she could wear again). Monsoon seems to be a firm favourite for cute bridesmaid dresses and I had little Minnie dressed in this beautiful mink coloured dress with a cosy little cardigan to keep her warm.

My older bridesmaids all wore different colours of the same style long bridesmaid dress from Dessy (which we ordered in standard sizes). It did all add up with the extra costs of the alterations and the last minute express posting so that each dress ended up costing about £300 (still I imagine that you can pay a lot more than that if they are made to measure). The little shrugs were a steal at about £45 from Coast, they kept the girls warm and I thought that they all looked gorgeous. Whilst getting ready in the morning we all helped make each others bouquets from seasonal winter roses and berries, tied in antique white lace – another little way to keep the costs down.

So there are lots of great options out there that need not cost the earth or take forever involving lots of fittings and stress. Check out Just Dresses website for more information on styles and costings and if you are wondering who did the the cute photography for their catalogue shots it was Tino&pip – whose lovely work we have featured before in our real life weddings section.