Tyler and Lexi’s Heartfelt Western September Wedding at The Urban Cowboy in Nashville, TN
THIS COUPLE CELEBRATED THEIR WEDDING IN TRUE WEST END FASHION!
Colourful themed weddings continue to grace these pages, no matter the season and I think it is safe to say, that if they remain as fun as this one, then winter won’t feel half as bad. Not only do Vicky & Alfie look like models that have stepped straight out of the pages of a magazine, their whole day was like a west end show, with performances from guests as well as a few secret performances from the bride and her bridesmaids.
“We really wanted our wedding to be a reflection of both of us, lots of fun with explosions of colour! We didn’t want anything too plain or simple, so for us the more colour the better!” began the bride.
Wanting the wedding to be fun above all else, the couple filled it with live music and surprises from start to finish. They wanted their guests to feel entertained by the day – and given the fact that Vicky is an actress and dancer, she couldn’t let the day go by without a few performances.
“I arranged a surprise choir to serenade Alfie! I stood up to make a short speech, then casually announced that ‘my life was like a musical’, I then snapped my fingers, to which one of the best men popped up with his guitar and started playing! All my girlfriends slowly stood up and started to sing in harmony, before we broke out into full chorus singing ‘How Will I Know’ by Whitney Houston. N0 one knew we were going to do that, not even our families. It was a fab surprise and it got people dancing during the speeches!”
“I was then given a surprise of my own as all the girls and ladies from my hen weekend surprised me with an Uptown Funk flash mob! It was fantastic – I had no idea, and it was so lovely to see my mum, sisters and friends all dancing! It was a great way to get everyone on the dance floor and was real show stopper!”
“Having all our friends entertain us, was actually very handy and saved us a fortune! And it payed off – so many of our guests said they felt like they were at a West End show as well as a wedding”
And the performances weren’t the only surprises, there seemed to be no end to Vicky’s talents, “I really wanted something unique and a little quirky, so I designed my own dress and had it hand made. I wanted a low back, something figure hugging in classic lace with long sleeves and a bit of a bustle at the back that had flashes of the pastel colours that would be worn by my bridesmaids running through it. I found a dress maker called Andy Piccos who was able to make my design become a reality. With further alterations by Lorraine Fitzpatrick it was perfect! I loved it because it was me, it was made for my body and it felt so personal and special. From sketching it out to seeing it in person is a really special and rewarding thing!”
“I also bought some Christian Louboutin shoes… but didn’t end up wearing them as they caught on my dress as I walked, so I ended up wearing some simple cream lace shoes that I actually wore to be my sisters bridesmaid – they matched perfectly!”
Much of this wedding was DIY and included lots of personalised touches. “We wanted to do something really personal for our favours so we hand wrote every single guest a personal letter. We wanted to tell everyone what they meant to us and the special memories we had shared. We then sealed it with a A&V silver wax seal and put their names with a individual Disney quote on the front to suit them. For my little niece we wrote ‘I do believe in fairies’ from Peter Pan and for my dad, ‘I remember daddy told me, fairy tales can come true, but you gotta make them happen. It all depends on you’ from The Princess and the Frog.”
“It was such a special moment watching everyone discover that they had a letter and opening them and laughing, crying or crying with laughter. It took a very long time to do and was a lot of work but it was so so worth it and it was something everyone loved and couldn’t stop talking about. Something nice to keep to… rather than a bag of almonds!”
“I wanted our decor to be like an enchanted forest without being tacky. In the ceremony room we hung a heart shaped canvas of us on the back wall with a large LOVE sign underneath and scattered white feathers on the floor. Our reception room was FULL of fairy lights and butterflies, we tried to have butterflies on every surface like they just landed, along with bright flowers all around the room. Our table names were various famous fairies from Shakespeare to Disney (Oberon & Titania, Tinkerbell, Sugarplum etc) and our table plan was actually a tree – we hung the cards from the branches with small fairies and butterflies sitting on them.”
“My mum in law Sarah made some floral swags for our top table with a floral butterfly to go on the centre of the top table, these were made using brightly coloured artificial flowers, we also had a matching archway, birdcages and garlands that wrapped around the pillars.
“We really went to town on the centerpieces with an explosion of colour! Blue fluffy hydrangea, yellow gerbera, lilac freesia, pink lizzy, lemon and fuchsia pink rose, lime green spider chrysanthemum, yellow spray chrysanthemums, orange germini and ivy trails – all in a martini glass with lights concealed by pink organza – so they actually lit up! We had lots of butterflies delicately placed on the flowers, all set on a log slice with brightly coloured candles, crystals and butterflies scattered around! It was a really colourful smack in the face as you walked in…. in a good way!”
“At one point though, I was so overwhelmed by flowers, fairy lights and butterflies and stressing about what was going to go where and who was going to put it there, that I kind of lost sight about what the wedding was all about! When I stopped and thought about what it was all for…? Once I remembered why we were getting married all the stress slipped away and I couldn’t have cared less what flower went where anymore! As long as he was waiting for me at the end of the aisle with his big blue eyes and we could express our love for each other in front of everyone we love – that is literally all that matters! I think once I thought about that I was just so excited and I was able to let go of a lot of the stress! (kind of cheesy but honestly true) oh and…. don’t buy Louboutin shoes you aren’t going to wear… that too!!
Super Suppliers: Photographer: Kerry Ann Duffy// Venue: Cooling Castle Barn// Florist: Confetti Connections// Bridal & Bridesmaids Dresses: Andy Piccos// Alterations: Lorraine Fitzpatrick// Groomswear: Top Man// Videographer: Patrick Simpson – Wedding Videography Kent.
