Tyler and Lexi’s Heartfelt Western September Wedding at The Urban Cowboy in Nashville, TN
THIS BRIDE EXPLAINS WHY PLANNING A WEDDING IS MUCH LIKE POLITICS & WE LOVE IT!
Planning a wedding is unavoidably stressful and for this couple was one of the most surprisingly political things they would ever have to do…
“I once read that planning your wedding guest list is the most political thing you will ever do unless you become Prime Minister, and I think there’s a lot of truth in that. Unless you win the lottery or happen to have a very generous wealthy aunt, you will have to leave people off your guest list. People you might think are brilliant and love spending time with, but because you don’t see them enough or your partner doesn’t know them, they just don’t make the cut.” Ellie Began.
“We took 6 months from booking the venue to the big day. At one point we found ourselves squabbling over which colour of chair to have, which isn’t something either of us ever envisioned, and on reflection now seems totally bonkers. But little details feel like they take on a huge significance when you’re worrying about lots of different things coming together. At points like that, leave the wedding talk alone and distract yourself till you’ve had time to sleep on it.” She advised.
“Rich comes from Cheshire and I come from Kent originally, but London was where we’d fallen in love and made our lives together.” Ellie explained.
“London’s a tough place to find a venue that isn’t mind-bendingly pricey, but The Amadeus was very reasonable and we loved the blue facade of the building right from when we first saw it. We liked that it was divided into two, with an upper and lower floor, as we had some older relatives attending, along with a loud band who might not have been to their taste. So the younger crowd could leap about to pop punk upstairs, while anyone who wasn’t a fan could have a knees up around the piano downstairs.” She explained.
The couple didn’t need to look too far from home either when it come to decoration and design…
“We have a giant wooden toadstool in our flat, and we wanted to create something similar for decorations, so Rich made toadstools from chicken wire, which we then covered in with papier mache and painted. We had very little in the way of table decorations, so we used the crest Frances designed to make drink mats.
“Our bridesmaid Frances also runs an events company in her spare time which specialises in beautiful, vibrant event design. She also whips up the most incredible cakes, and having seen her previous creations, we begged her to make our wedding cake too. She even designed a monogrammed crest for us – with our initials, the year we met and the year we got married – which we projected onto the walls of the venue. She made beautiful balloons with our new surname on, arranged artificial flowers for decorations and bouquets, and stamped the crest on popcorn boxes for snacks later in the evening.”
And what about that beautiful Chotronette gown?
“I came across Chotronette on Instagram when I was looking for a dress, and their designs are fairytale creations. They were different to anything else I’d found, and even though the dress was made to measure, it was considerably cheaper than anything you would see in a bridal shop in the UK. I fell in love with the colours and texture of the dress I went for, which had a net skirt full of artificial flowers and layers of tulle underneath.”
“Wedding choices unavoidably can cause a bit of angst – from who you invite in the first place to who you ask to be your bridesmaids or best man – and that’s ok. Totally normal. Take a deep breath, ignore the nagging about how upset some obscure relative is that they’re not invited and do your best. You can’t please everyone, and it’s your day. Above everything else, make choices that will make you happy.”
Photographer: Katie Palmer Photography | Venue: The Amadeus | Decorations and cake: Kannon + Ulph | Suit: Noose and Monkey | Dress: Chotronette | Dress alterations: Dawns Bridal Couture | Catering: Catered by Justin | Band: Crocodile Done Deal |
