We have a beautiful winter wedding to share with you today! Jacqueline and Mark's magical festive wedding day took place 5 days before Christmas, and was filled with cosy winter styling, beautiful joyful moments and so much love. The day took place in Northamptonshire, starting with a classic church ceremony at the stunning St Mary's Church, Orlingbury. This was followed by a gorgeous reception at Harrowden Hall in Great Harrowden, where the newlyweds celebrated their marriage with friends and family with brilliant live music, good food, and a fun sparkler exit1
As an older bride, Jacqueline had been apprehensive about wedding dress shopping, however with Emma's expert help she found the most perfect dress for her in the form of Divine Atelier's stunning Danielle. Tweaks to the pattern to make Jacqueline's dress her own included adjusting the neckline to accommodate a bra, allowing her to feel confident and comfortable on the day. With the wedding taking place so close to Christmas, Jacqueline wanted to add a touch of sparkle to her outfit, opting for a stunning glitter veil, along with some fabulous sparkly shoes. Finally, Jacqueline added a glamorous feather bolero to add a little warmth for the chilly December weather.
Read on to find out more about Jacqueline's wedding dress shopping experience, and see more of Prime Focus Photography's beautiful images from Jacqueline and Mark's romantic Winter wedding.
A custom Divine Atelier Danielle Wedding Dress
My dress was a bespoke version of Danielle by Divine Atelier. The designers very kindly adapted the top of the dress and created a slightly lower split at the front.
On my first visit to the chapel, I had initially fallen in love with a completely different dress, which was the first one I tried on. It wasn’t like anything I thought I wanted beforehand, but it had a bit of sparkle and appliqué which I thought would suit my Christmas wedding perfectly. Emma showed me how it could be adapted with a different neckline and sleeves, and I thought I had found the one. But she insisted that I also tried a few other designs to be absolutely sure, that this was my dream dress. One of these, was the Danielle and my initial reaction was “No … way too sexy!”
But when I got home, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The way it made me feel, the luxurious silk fabric and the way it really suited my figure. But I wasn’t sure it would be suitable for a Christmas, church wedding. So, after contacting the team with my thoughts, they suggested I came back and had another appointment.
Emma was wonderful and she had so many suggestions as to how we could make the dress work. She liaised with the team at Divine for me and they agreed to alter the neckline so that I could wear suitable underwear and altered the hemline too.
On the day, my dress felt like perfection. I absolutely loved it. I have never had a dress made to measure before. It fitted so perfectly and felt divine! As I walked up the aisle, I could see by his reaction, that my new husband loved it as well.
I was so grateful that, my new stepdaughter was able to come with me to all of my dress shopping appointments. Initially, she loved the first dress I tried on, as much as I did but she thought the Danielle dress was beautiful too. She could absolutely see where I was coming from, when I had doubts and wanted to revisit the chapel to make sure that I was choosing the right one. My daughter-in-law (a previous Miss Bush Bride) also came to that second appointment, and they both loved the dress on me. It gave me the encouragement to choose the dress which made me feel my most confident.
Dress Shopping at Miss Bush
My favourite part of the dress shopping experience was without doubt … being a Miss Bush Bride! The chapel is the most perfect venue for trying on wedding dresses! Plenty of room to swish about and the whole team couldn’t have been more welcoming and supportive. From my first visit … to my last fitting, my experience was amazing. From Emma’s expert styling advice to my technical fittings with Jo, every visit was wonderful, and I loved each one. They all went above and beyond anything I could have ever expected.
I was quite trepidatious about being an older bride. I didn’t really know where to start, when I first began thinking about my wedding dress. I shall be 60 at my next birthday and I was very anxious about not looking too matronly and frumpy … or on the other hand like the proverbial mutton dressed up as lamb. And I definitely didn’t want to feel like a Princess!
Emma gave me the complete confidence to find a dress that made me feel like “Me”. She said that there are no hard and fast rules, on what you should or shouldn’t do as an older bride. She insisted that even if I was older, I should still feel like a bride on her wedding day. She absolutely understood my need to wear a supportive bra but not necessarily restrictive shapewear and suggested styles that would suit my figure.
She was a magician at making the smaller samples “fit” with all sorts of trickery around the back … so that I could see how different silhouettes would look on my figure. She was so kind and compassionate. I loved every minute of it.
Styling
After I had chosen my dress, I was slightly worried that I was going to feel cold on the day. I loved the look of my dress and didn’t really want to cover it up with a coat or a cape and I discussed various options with the team at Miss Bush but really couldn’t decide. In the end I found an ostrich feather bolero, which just covered my shoulders and provided just enough warmth to keep the chill off. I wore it for the ceremony at the church and for the outside photographs and then took it off later, when we sat down for the wedding breakfast. We were actually very lucky that on the day, after weeks of rain both before and after, the sun shone for us and it was quite warm in the sunshine.
I wasn’t sure if I should have a veil. Mindful of Coco Chanel advising that less is more and you should take one item off before leaving the house… I didn’t want to over accessorise! But I tried a few veils on with the dress in the chapel and they just helped the whole ensemble seem more bridal. I had already chosen my shoes which were glitter gold slingbacks from Phase Eight. In the end, I chose a bespoke Nortier glitter veil to match with a separate diamanté headband. I don’t think I would have been able to get away with so much sparkle had it not been a Christmas wedding. But I wanted the day to seem magical, and the season definitely lent itself to indulging in as much sparkling as possible.
A joyful festive wedding at Harrowden Hall
We were married at St Mary’s Church, Orlingbury, in Northamptonshire. As it was a second wedding for both of us, we wanted to make it uniquely different to anything we had experienced before. Hence a Christmas wedding, full of the joy of the season. Everywhere was already decorated for Christmas, so we were able to enhance our venues to make a magical, festive experience for everyone.
As a lot of our guests would be travelling from long distances to celebrate with us, some from Spain and Italy, we decided to make a weekend of it. We and most of our guests stayed at the nearby Kettering Park Hotel and Spa for the weekend. This meant that we were able to have a pre-wedding supper on Friday evening. Then on the day, we provided a coach to take everyone to the church and on to the reception at Harrowden Hall before returning everyone to the hotel at the end of the evening celebrations.
The service itself was magical. The music was heavenly. As well as the church choir and traditional hymns, we were also joined by Astri Strings who played both in the church and at the reception.
The dress code was “Formal Evening Wear”. Black tie for men and long or short gowns for women. We encouraged everyone to wear their medals, as we had many guests who had served in various ways. Everyone went above and beyond and looked spectacular. I had five bridesmaids who were dressed in black velvet. I wanted them to be able to wear the dresses again and indeed one of them has already at a black-tie event.
The reception at the nearby Harrowden Hall was styled by our venue stylists, Perfectly Matched. When we arrived there, we were blown away with the way they had decorated everything. It was beyond our expectations, and we loved every little detail. We provided a Christmas bauble for every guest, with their name on, as a place setting, which they all loved and took home at the end of the evening.
Our band Stealing Saturn, kept the party going all evening. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by family and friends, celebrating with us and getting everyone’s Christmas festivities off to a flying start.
The best bits
My favourite moments were;
When I first walked into the church on my Dad’s arm and I saw all my guests faces, turned towards us to see us walk in.
Halfway down the aisle my little two-year-old grandson called out “Hi Nana!”
My Husband’s face of pure love and joy when I reached him at the altar.
And standing in the middle of the choir as they sang their hearts out with their heavenly voices.
Jacqueline's Advice
I would say keep an open mind about your dress. There were some dresses that I thought I’d love beforehand but when I tried them on were really uncomfortable or unflattering. Choose something near to your usual style and you will feel like yourself on the day.
The best thing we did in terms of wedding planning was to give the guests as much detail as possible. Precise information with regards to timings, dress code … what to expect on the day. People were very appreciative of that and many said it was the best and most well organised wedding they had ever been to!
Suppliers
Church: St Mary’s Orlingbury
Reception Venue: Harrowden Hall
Florist: Errismore Flowers
Hair and Make-Up: Neecol Whyte Weddings
Photographer: Prime Focus Photography
Videographer: Grannon Productions
Cake: Eva Cockrell Cake Designs
Band: Stealing Saturn
Photobooth: Magic Mirror from Fotogenie
Musicians: Astri Strings
Cars: Premier Carriage
Venue Stylists: Perfectly Matched
Accommodation: Kettering Park Hotel and Spa
Bridesmaids Dresses: Azazie
Confetti: Proper Confetti