Andjela and Sam’s gloriously fun and uplifting wedding was held on 16th June 2023 at Millbridge Court in Surrey.
The bride looked incredible in her Rime Arodaky jumpsuit and Esska block heel sandals – choices that felt very true to her own personal style. She also raves about the service she received from Rime Arodaky, despite ordering online. British brides, if you love Rime Arodaky’s playful, modern, chic designs for brides too, I highly recommend a visit to The Mews Bridal in Notting Hill.
Love and thanks to photographer Chloe Mary for sharing her work. Enjoy!
Bridal Beauty & Accessories
I have never been a big makeup person and I wanted something natural and someone who knew my style and that I could be completely honest with regarding the look. My brother’s girlfriend, although not a makeup artist by job, did my makeup and hair beautifully! She smashed it, and it lasted the entire day! I was so grateful and again made it all the more personal.
I wore a pair of Swarovski climber earrings that my aunt gifted me to give a bit of edge, with Swarovski dangly earrings that Sam had bought me for a birthday years ago.
I layered some necklaces: my grandmother’s pearl necklace, a Monica Vinader locket necklace from my parents and a necklace I always wear that Sam gave me on our eight year anniversary.
The jumpsuit had a veil attached to the trousers so I felt adding a second one in my hair would be overkill. I wore a short veil as part of my second outfit. My maid of honour bought it for me for my hen-do. It was so pretty I decided to re-use it on the big day.
My shoes were by Esska – I thought I would change to trainers or flats, but ended up wearing them the entire day! I bought them from Anthropologie in the sale.
I wore a hair slide with flowers from Etsy and also wore a I wore a big flower ring from Easy Clothes that matched the delicate flowers embroidered into the lace of the jumpsuit.
My perfume was Diptique 34 Saint Germain – it’s a really nice unisex scent that both Sam and I wore. I lived and worked in Paris for six months during my university studies and lived near Saint Germain, so had a personal touch too.
Sam’s mum is very creative and made me a blue little purse as my something new and blue. Inside it, it had Sam’s grandmother’s locket with a photo of his grandad as my something borrowed and an old sixpence as my something old. She also made personalised necessaire bags for my bridesmaids, bridesman and makeup artist that I filled with goodies and gave to them whilst getting ready in the morning.
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The Bridesmaids & Bridesman
I had two bridesmaids and a brides-man. The bridesmaids wore dresses from an online store called EasyClothes,. I just asked them to have some sort of green tones in the outfits, but the rest was up to them.
Again, they chose their own shoes. I had gifted all my friends on my hen do crystal bracelets with their names on them, so all three of them (Elsa, India and Josh) wore those bracelets on the day (I hadn’t asked them to). Otherwise it was all up to them to wear what they wanted and feel comfortable and themselves!
Our dream florist was Monet’s Floristry Monet not only produces beautiful flowers but brings with her a wonderful energy. From start to finish the process with Monet was easy and stress free. She provided valuable suggestions, listened to our ideas and creates magic! Monet provided my summery bouquet, my bridesmaids bouquets, the men’s buttonholes, a flowered moon gate and isle/table flowers in small vases.
Photography
Chloe has a truly exceptional ability to capture candid moments. She has an uncanny knack for catching genuine emotions and unscripted moments throughout the day, that when looking through the photos, allowed us to reminisce and relive such happy and emotional times.
Sam and I wanted a photographer that was themselves and captured candid, emotional moments, rather than just staged shots.
Her candid shots add such a unique and heartfelt dimension to our wedding album, making it even more special. We particularly liked how she documented spontaneous laughter, tears and intimate, personal moments that made our wedding day. Teeth and tears seems to have been the theme.
Chloe is such a talent and a joy to have there on the day. She is honest, dedicated and an awesome person. Chloe was more than a photographer on the day too. We would 110% recommend her!
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How They Met
Sam and I first became friends at school aged twelve. As I said in my speech at the wedding, I found my diary from 2007 and had written in one of the pages ‘went on a school trip and got stuck in a maze with a teacher and Sam (best friend – boy). Who’d have thought that all those years ago, we would now be navigating the maze of life together as a partnership?!
Our story is grounded in friendship, but our love story started in 2011 when I took a gap year and Sam went off to University (talk about timing). In 2021 we went to Tuscany on a holiday and stayed in my aunt’s small house there. On the 18th August, Sam proposed in an intimate setting overlooking a vineyard. The whole event was caught by Sam’s drone and it was one of the happiest days of my life. Some advice, revel in that happiness for as long as you can, it’s a beautiful feeling.
We were engaged for two years. We were living abroad in Brussels, Belgium at the time, so organizing a wedding outside of the UK did make things a bit more difficult and meant things took a bit longer i.e. finding time to look for a venue in the UK etc. But it was worth the wait!
Sam wore a suit from a local suit shop in the Hampshire, Royale Cavendish. Green is Sam’s colour so we knew he had to wear a green suit. He combined this with a beautiful champagne paisley tie and added a personal touch to it, wearing his great grandfather’s football captain badge and a pin badge personally made for the wedding of us both in front of the Atomium monument in Brussels. These actually formed the wedding favors for our male guests.
Sam was gifted a vintage Omega by his parents as a wedding gift. It actually stopped working on the day, but I saw it as a sign that we wish time could have actually stopped on that day so we could have prolonged the day.
Evening & Dancing
Our first dance track was ‘Dancing in the Street’ by Martha and the Vandellas. We wanted something upbeat that people could dance along to when they joined in.
Sam and I invested in three dance lessons to learn a bit of a choreographed dance for the first minute of the song. It was such a hit with our guests and made for another memorable moment of the day.
We hired Farnham Sound and Light for both our lighting and our DJ. We had DJ Kyle – ask for Kyle, he was great!
Words of Wedded Wisdom
Embrace the uniqueness of your day by infusing personal touches that reflect your love story. Consider translating speeches for foreign guests and include photos of absent loved ones (forget me not…); these gestures create heartwarming connections and memories, and make everyone feel included.
Choose your inner circle wisely. Your bridal/groom party and guests should be the people closets to your hearts and not what others expect. We found immense joy in having those we truly cherish by our side throughout.
Remember your wedding day is about both of you! Personalise every aspect, from décor to speeches, ensuring your personalities shine through. When selecting your dress/attire, be authentic. Let It reflect your style and connection as a couple. It’s not about disguising yourself, but celebrating who you are.
Investing in ‘extras’ like a band, despite the added costs can genuinely elevate the wedding experience. So go for it!
We opted out of evening guests, a decision that allowed us to savour intimate moments. Focus on what truly matters to you both, and craft a day that feels genuine, memorable and uniquely yours.
We wish we’d given out more than half the cake. We were asked how much of the cake to hand out after the cutting, but we were too focused on dancing at that point that we just said ‘half for now’ but should have put the whole thing out for guests to take.
Looking back, perhaps it would have been fun to have a videographer, however our guests did a great job of snapping away, taking photos and videos that is wonderful to rewatch.
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