Lora Murphy's Blog: A Timeless, Pretty Packington Moor Wedding

This post A Timeless, Pretty Packington Moor Wedding first appeared on The Wedding Community Blog

Ellen and Ben’s Packington Moor wedding is going to blow you away. Firstly, just look at Ellen’s Maggie Sottero dress – wow! Then there are the shoes, oh the Jenny Packham shoes! We also adore the soft pink embellished bridesmaid dresses that really complement Ellie’s stunning wedding dress. Ben and the groomsmen are rather dapper in their Moss Bros suits with traditional tails too.

Ok, well if you think the bridal attire is amazing, how about the styling details… this wedding is so pretty. From the fabulous flowers and pretty floral ceremony arch, to the elegant wedding cake and seating plan.

Everything about this wedding oozes romance and elegance. You are going to love these beautiful pictures by Helen Howard Photography.

A Romantic Proposal

“When Ben proposed I was in the Bahamas completing medical school training. I was extremely homesick and missing Ben desperately. He kindly booked me in to a lovely hotel for a weekend to allow me to escape the dreadful accommodation I had been staying in.

“Before dawn on the first night I was at the hotel I was woken by a room boy who was very insistently banging on my door to deliver a card. The card told me to go down to the jetty. So after pulling on a dress I ran down to the jetty to find Ben. He had secretly flown over to the Bahamas and was waiting as the sun came up over the sea to propose. He stayed for only 36hours before flying back to the UK.”

Timeless With No Regrets

“We didn’t plan on having a wedding theme, but we knew we wanted our wedding to be timeless. We didn’t want to regret anything on the pictures when we showed our grandchildren in fifty years’ time.

“As time went on, and my dress had been chosen, a subtle 1920’s theme came through with the typeface on the table plan and place settings. In terms of colours we stuck to classic ivory and blush pink, which again felt timeless and pretty.”

Heaven Scent

“For my birthday Ben took me to Floris, a London perfumery where we spent a wonderful afternoon creating a bespoke fragrance which I wore for the first time on the wedding day. It is so lovely to wear it now as it brings back all of the wonderful memories of our day.”

Packington Moor Wedding Venue

“We loved the rustic elegance of Packington Moor, and the fact that we could decorate the venue to represent us. The venue could supply all of the food and staff, meaning we had less to organise. We needed somewhere near to my parents that also had a quiet space for my Dad. He has a chronic illness that sometimes means he has to rest – the onsite cottage was perfect.

Simple Decorations and Lots of Flowers

“Flowers were very important to us. Emily Wisher Artisan Florist saw our vision of bouncy, unstructured florals which smelt amazing. I didn’t want to detract attention from the florals and so stuck to simple votive candles and pearl picture frames with seating details to dress the tables. We also had two large pedestal arrangements, an archway decorated with florals and a top table swag of flowers. As the evening went on it was lovely having the votives twinkling as we danced.

Fun Photos

“From the first text messages and emails with Helen Howard Photography, I felt like we fitted well. This was confirmed on our engagement shoot with her. She put us at ease; we giggled our way through it and felt like we had made a friend. When the photos came, we were smitten; I stayed up for almost a whole night scrolling through the photos. I was amazed that Helen had managed to capture the love, excitement and laughter that makes me and Ben a couple.”

Dancing, and Meaningful Music

“We chose ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, as our first dance song. It was the first song we listened to together during the early days of our relationship. Ben isn’t a natural dancer so he wanted to encourage our guests to join us on the dance floor quickly. Everyone followed suit and it was so lovely to dance our first dance completely surrounded by everyone.

“Choosing songs which meant a lot to us was important and we put lots of thought in to it. We had a wonderful pianist playing for the ceremony and wedding breakfast. I walked down the aisle to ‘How Long Will I Love You’, and we had some of the lyrics ‘As Long as Stars are Above You’ engraved on the inside of our wedding rings. The lyrics are so beautiful and felt so meaningful. I was nervous as I stood outside the ceremony waiting to go in, but as soon as the first notes of the song started I relaxed and couldn’t wait to walk towards Ben.”

Taking It All In

“Our Packington Moor wedding was everything we dreamed of and more. My biggest advice for any bride and groom is the old cliché of making sure that you have some time as a couple during the day to reflect. We were lucky that our time with our photographer allowed us to be together and marvel at how perfect the day with. Later on, as we danced, we had time again to take in the blissful happiness of being husband and wife with our friends and family all around us.”

Images © Helen Howard Photography

Wedding Venue: Packington Moor, Staffordshire

Bride’s Wedding Dress: Maggie Sottero Ettia Dress from J&J Designs, Newcastle under Lyme

Shoes: Harlow Peep Toe Satin Shoes by Rainbow Club, and No.1 Jenny Packham Ivory Jewel Embellished Stiletto Sandals

Suits: Moss Bros

Bridesmaid Dresses: Monsoon

Flowers: Emma Wisher Artisan Florist

Wedding Cake: Celebration Cakes

Catering: Galloping Gourmet at Packington Moor

Stationery: Designed by bride and her uncle, Paul Kesteron

Videographer: Our Wedding The Movie

Bridal Hairdresser: Family friend, Kate Goodwin