Today we’re harking back to the crisp, magical days of December with this wedding, full of festive tones of rich red and deep green.
Please welcome company secretary Kathryn and Jon, who works in corporate finance, who wed on 4 December 2021 in a church ceremony in the bride’s home village in Surrey with a marquee reception after at her family home. The couple wanted to create a cosy, relaxed vibe, selecting free-flowing, whimsical displays of deep green foliage and cream flowers for an opulent feel.
“We loved the idea of a winter wedding and my granny was married on 4 December, over 50 years ago. We considered a number of London venues to hold the reception but in the end, we felt it would be more special in my parents’ home.”
Photography Gina Fernandes Photography
The bride had a clear idea for her wedding gown, and found her perfect design by Pronovias at The Wedding Dress Shop in Wimbledon.
“Given the time of year, I knew I was after a dress with sleeves and the simplistic style of the Adrienne won me over. I especially loved the jumpsuit-type look and the gathering of the crepe on the top half and the waistline, as well as the keyhole back.”
“I decided to alter the sleeves slightly, to bring them up to just above my wrists and add satin cuffs to match the waistband (a suggestion from my bridesmaid, Clara), which brought it all together. The Wedding Dress Shop did all the alterations and it was a very smooth process.”
Her delicate, pale pink shoes were the ‘Camellia’ from Loeffler Randall.
The bride’s hair was worn in a romantic, half-up, half-down do, styled by The Beauty Collective and her make-up was applied by AA Beauty.
For her wedding day scent, the bride chose to wear Byredo Bibliothèque.
The bride carried a full, whimsical bouquet, styled by Poppy Wild Floral.
“Poppy has such a fantastic eye and her floral style was exactly what we were after. She created beautiful, wild, free-flowing bouquets for me and her bridesmaids and buttonholes for the boys.
She carried an Isla Risa Hive Bag and wore moon pearl earrings from M. Sahlberg Jewelry.
“I knew I wanted a bit of a statement as I was planning to wear little other jewellery. I decided on these and am so glad I did. I loved them and had so many compliments on the day.”
Kathryn added a veil, also from The Wedding Dress Shop, made unique to her with appliqué silk petals on the lower half.
“I knew I wanted something quite delicate to soften the style of my dress and this worked perfectly.”
The bridesmaids wore velvet midi gowns in a deep, rich red from Mango and the flower girl, Kathryn’s two-year-old niece, wore a burgundy and pink floral dress from La Coqueta.
“My cousin’s two-year-old son wore burgundy velvet bloomers, braces and matching shirt from Childrensalon.”
As the bride walked down the aisle with her father, ‘Feels like Home’ by Chantal Kreviazuk was played.
The wedding service included two readings: ‘All I Know About Love’ by Neil Gaiman and an extract from James Taylor’s ‘How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You’, as well as ‘Colossians Chapter 3 Verses 12-15’.
“We went to Queensmith Master Jewellers, the jewellers that designed and made my engagement ring, to make our wedding bands.”
After being declared husband and wife, the newly-weds drove from the church back to her parents’ house in the bride’s father’s sports car, whilst the guests walked.
Jon and Kathryn met at Nottingham University in January 2009, got engaged in August 2020 and married just over a year later.
They enrolled their family and friends to get creative and bring together this cosy, magical look.
“We were lucky enough to have very creative family friends who kindly volunteered to accompany us on early morning trips to New Covent Garden Flower Market and beautifully dress the fireplaces in the house with flowers and foliage, as well as creating an arch at the front door.”
“My dad took on the role of head of lighting and added hundreds of lights to the walkway up to the house, which was magical for the evening and the backdrop for some fun evening photos.”
This photography is from Gina Fernandes Photography, whose work is full of movement and romance.
“Gina Fernandes Photography is the best. Having stumbled upon Gina on Instagram we instantly loved her style, being natural, relaxed and fun.”
“She has a magnificent ability to capture amazing memories in the moment. We met with her in the summer for a walk and to take a few photographs and we knew we wanted her there on our day.”
“The photographs from the day are incredible – they perfectly captured the fun and laughter and they take us right back to all those special moments.”
The couple also opted to have a wedding film, from Mark of White in Motion.
“One of the many ‘must dos’ we were told when planning our wedding was to ensure we had a videographer. Gina recommended Mark and he was brilliant. He was so discreet on the day, nobody knew he was filming and him and Gina worked so well together.”
The drinks reception was held in the garden with the reception in a marquee from Inside Outside Marquees.
The marquee table settings were warm and welcoming, thanks to the floral installations and some sweet favours.
“We chose silver fir cone Christmas decorations from The White Company to add to everyone’s place settings as favours, alongside some dried, red acer leaves from my parents’ garden.”
“We really wanted a cosy, relaxed feel to the day, especially for the drinks reception, and hoped we could achieve this at the house with the fires on, lots of candles and the house filled with our closest friends and family. Also, being winter, we didn’t need to worry about the weather with all elements of the day planned for indoors, although we did get a little sunshine which was an added bonus.”
“Our florist Poppy made the most spectacular floral arrangements, in urns for the church and troughs down the centre of the long banqueting tables in the marquee.”
“We were really keen to have a hanging foliage installation above the tables in the marquee and Poppy created the most magnificent feature, working closely with Inside Outside Marquees.”
“She also made a lovely foliage backdrop behind where we were sitting. All the flowers and foliage were better than we could have imagined.”
The French-themed wedding breakfast was provided by Cater London.
“Greg and the team were great and we are so glad we chose them to cater on the day. We have had so many compliments on the food and the service.”
“Made by Wood & Wood did our invitations, orders of ceremony and menus. We loved their style.”
“Our talented friend, Will, also created a logo using a photograph of the walkway up to my parents’ house, which we used on all the stationery for a personal touch.”
As night fell, the party got started with music from Agent Funk and a first dance to ‘You Are The Best Thing’ by Ray LaMontagne.
“Jon was in charge of picking the band for the evening and chose Agent Funk. We were so pleased he did! They were incredible and kept the dance floor filled all night.”
“Our favourite parts of the day were the actual ceremony, our speeches and the dance floor.”
What a joy to share in your warm, relaxed day. Sending you so much love and congratulations, Jon and Kathryn. Thank you for sharing your day with us, and thank you too, Gina Fernandes Photography.
For more winter weddings, please enjoy this selection and for brides in Pronovias gowns, take a look here.
Ele xx
Credits & Thanks
Eleanor Crossland View all Eleanor’s articles
Ele lives in the Lincolnshire countryside, close to the beautiful coast. A qualified Pilates teacher, she loves fitness, yoga, Pilates and has a healthy addiction to baking, writing and travel.