They knew almost instantly that a church wedding was for them and their families. They had originally thought of getting married in Shillington, the village where they live, but it wasn't really near either of their families. "I was sitting looking at some old family photos of my Dad's family. His father's family were all from Wombourne and I was looking through old photos of their weddings when I realised that they had all got married in the same church; St Benedict's Biscop at Wombourne." They thought it would be lovely to get married in the same church and carry on the family tradition.
They had been torn between a country barn setting or a Stately Home type venue. Georgina found The Curradine Barns on the Country House Wedding Venues website and persuaded Paul to drive up one Saturday to have a look. They both loved it and its simplicity and realised it was close enough to the church in Wombourne."The barns are just beautiful, relaxed and very natural looking with all the wood and so much effort has been put into complimenting this natural beauty of the barns with simple, but classic finishing touches."
Georgina had four bridesmaids and they all went shopping together. Georgina wanted them to wear a deep aubergine colour because she thought it was a really rich and wintery colour, but said the style was up to them. They all agreed on the same dress which was off the shoulder with a sweetheart neckline and rouching around the bust. In the centre there was a long sash at the front which tied behind in a simple loop. The bridesmaids also each had a silver pashminas with a hint of purple.
The Groomsmen and ushers all wore traditional morning suits. Paul decided on a grey waistcoat and co-ordinating silver cravat with a black long tailcoat and dark grey and black pinstripe trousers. Paul and his best man also had top hats.
Georgina's dress was a Maggie Sottero called Tuscana Vidal in diamond white and silver, which she bought from a little bridal shop in Worcester. It had a sweetheart neckline and a fitted corset, which then went out gently at the waist to a flowing skirt and train. Georgina decided to have a bolero jacket made in satin matching the underlay of her dress. She also wore a small crystal tiara, little drop earrings and round toed, closed shoes with a little diamanté buckle to match.
Georgina had a traditional teardrop bouquet made by her Godparents, who also made the flowers for her Mum and Dad's wedding. The flowers in the bouquet were mainly orchids, lilies, daisies, freesias and chrysanthemums. The bridesmaids all had smaller versions of the bride's bouquet. The same flowers were used for the pew ends and a few pedestal displays and these were then used to decorate the venue afterwards. As well as the flowers, the main room had a small Christmas tree and tea lights were placed round the room.
They decided on a white 1950's Daimler saloon to take them from the church to the venue. They also hired a coach to drive the guests around for the day.
The table centrepieces were silver bowls filled with the same flowers as the bouquets as well as a few pinecones to add a Christmassy feel. They were scattered with little crystals and had a white pillar candle in the centre. For favours, they had Green & Blacks chocolates on the tables and at the end of the evening, they gave everyone a cherry tree to plant.
They decided early on that the cake wasn't the focal point for them and that they could waste a lot of money on a fancy cake unnecessarily when they could splash out on other things. They plumped for the traditional round three-tiered white wedding cake from M&S, which had a lovely but simple detail. They had traditional fruitcake, but because people don't like fruitcake, they also ordered some plain white iced bars of victoria sponge, so guests had a choice.
Georgina says its so difficult to pick the best part of the day; "it was lovely standing at the alter with Paul and just smiling at each other. I really felt like the vows meant so much as we both said them. The best thing for us was seeing everyone we cared about having such a wonderful time." When asked if she had any tips for future brides, Georgina said; "Listen to the advice people give you, but make sure the final decision is yours and what you really want."
Images courtesy of Alistair Cowin
