Your East Anglian Wedding - April/May 2023 (Issue 60)

The couple’s cake maker ended up cancelling just before the wedding, but luckily their talented friend stepped in to create a stunning cake. “Willoughby Green built us a stunning pergola for the ceremony backdrop, which Boho & Bubbles styled using disco balls, fabric and florals, along with bouquet offcuts in hanging milk bottles,” says the bride. “Boho & Bubbles also created giant dream catcher-style décor to hang in the trees that lined the walkways through to the paddock. Of course, we hung even more disco balls in pretty much every other available tree, and Hayley lent us a giant disco ball, which was an ex-display from Selfridges to dress the bar area and continue the theme. “Ripe Events Ltd provided our catering,” continues Florence. “Joe was brilliant from start to finish, and all of the food products he used were seasonal, flavoursome and local.” DRESSED TO IMPRESS “I had seen the dress I wanted to try on Pinterest,” explains Florence. “It was by a designer called Rue De Seine who is based in New Zealand. I checked online for local suppliers who stocked them and was directed to White Reflections in Norwich. It’s run by mother and daughter duo Holly and Carol, who were lovely and full of great energy. I tried the dress I found online first, plus nine others from the same designer. It was by no means a traditional dress, but I have never been one to stick to tradition, and I knew from the moment that I tried it on that it was the one for me. I felt like a member of Fleetwood Mac in my dress, which was the boho-festival energy I wanted to channel. For accessories, Harry’s mum gave me a pearl necklace that her dad had given to her on her wedding day for my something old. One of my oldest friends gave me some gorgeous matching pearl earrings for my something new. My mum lent me a beautiful bracelet for my something borrowed, and my bridesmaids bought me a blue garter for my something blue.” Harry and his best men wore beige checked suits from House Of Cavani in Manchester. “I wanted my bridesmaids to feel comfortable in whatever they wore, and also choose a dress that they might want to wear again in the future,” recalls Florence. “I knew I wanted to mix the colours up; so we had a bridesmaid’s dinner at mine where the girls tried on a variety of dresses in different colours and styles. By some fluke, my maid-of-honour managed to find a dress on SilkFred that came in three colours, burnt orange, sage green and champagne; it was like it was meant to be.” TIME TO CELEBRATE “We were lucky to have Apryl, a family friend who has an entertainment company called Kiss Events on hand for the day,” remembers the bride. “Apryl provided us with her PA system for the speeches and also helped to coordinate a lot of the logistics on the day. A few months before the wedding, I told her I wanted to surprise Harry and our guests with some singing waiters and asked her if she would be able to help. Apryl went absolutely above and beyond and organised for six people to stage a mishap (spilling a tray of drinks), dressed up as waiters and waitresses and burst into song singing September by Earth Wind and Fire. She also took it one step further, and around two weeks before the wedding, she told me she’d enlisted the help of Clare Western, a classically-trained opera singer who used to be Ed Sheeran’s singing teacher. Between them, they staged a scene with Clare informing everyone on the microphone just before the food was served that our caterer had to deal with a family REAL WEDDINGS 45

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