…And you are the founder of Rock My Wedding.
Firstly yes, my sister is getting married! It doesn’t seem that long ago that she shared her singledom story here on Rock My Style. Not long after she met Will on a blind date…..(yes again, exactly the same circumstances under which I met my husband James) and the rest as they say is (a whirlwind romance) history. Although I will just add in a few highlights: There was a proposal on top of a castle, a beautiful shiny diamond and a very excited phone call whilst I was on holiday in Portugal asking Mabel and I to be bridesmaids…
Like most sisters, we have some similarities. For the most part, in terms of lifestyle, our career choices, likes and dislikes we are complete opposites. There is no way on earth that Melissa is going to create the wedding day I would choose for myself. And that’s exactly as it should be, the ethos of the Rock My brand and where this whole business ideas initially stemmed from is that every day is unique, it should be personal and should be yours. 250 guests with all the bells, blooms and whistles or an intimate party of 10 having a delicious dinner at your local pub – both are equally as desirable to the couple involved.
There is no denying that directly because of my job, Melissa has been showered with rather high expectations of grandeur and blog-worthy details for her big day. This is completely understandable, but not really fair. And I don’t think she would mind me sharing that sometimes, she has felt a little overwhelmed and intimidated by the planning process thus far.
Of course because of my experience I am willing to help in any which way possible, all of the suppliers she has chosen have been recommended by us – she used www.thelovelustlist.co.uk extensively and has found her photographer, videographer, live band, dress and venue via the directory already. When it comes to styling, colour schemes, table centre arrangements and sartorial choices I have kept as quiet as I possibly can. There is always the risk of me inadvertently admitting to not being a fan of XYZ because I’m considering trends and my interchangeable weekly favourite something or other. And of course as I mentioned earlier, our tastes are, in a many instances, considerably different.
This is what happened when I endeavoured to assist with floral decor:
Me: Oh a May wedding! My favourite wedding month! You could have peonies!
Melissa: Erm…no thanks. I don’t like peonies, in fact I’m not sure I like flowers all that much to be honest. I like ferns. And trees. And those spiky things that look a bit like a twig with a pom pom on the end..
Me: Ibegyourpardonwhat?! You don’t like flowers?! Are we even related?!
Appreciating her requirement for plenty of foliage and her and Will’s love of gin I then suggested perhaps Hendricks bottles would look kind of edgy in a masculine “mis-matched” way….
Melissa: But we don’t drink Hendricks? And besides I’ve seen that all over pinterest a million times and it’s kind of...vintage? I really don’t want any “vintage” inspired stuff at our wedding, it’s really not our style at all.
Oh.
Oh.
What the hell do I know anyway.
There is no doubt that my sister’s wedding is going to be spectacular. Apparently it’s going to have a “Black tie meets botanical” vibe. Think posh frocks and an abundance of candles and dramatic hanging foliage. Their venue Ever After in Dartmoor is dreamy, it was the first place Melissa and Will visited and it was love at first sight. Essentially it reminds me of a large beautiful walled garden with a roof on it, I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Which from my perspective, makes it very exciting indeed.
So I’ll go right back to what I said it the beginning. Every wedding is amazing. Every wedding is unique. The froth and the fancy are often the creative and fun aspect, but actually, it’s genuinely enjoying the experience and really feeling you’ve had your day your way that is the most important part.
Melissa has specified that Mabel will in fact be wearing a rather statement tutu. Possibly with sequins.
This is obviously absolutely fine with me.
🙂
I once went to a wedding with not a flower in sight, bouquet consisted of a wonderful mix of different foliage with a few hypericum berries, think striped leaves, contorted willow, the works, it was awesome! I love flowers myself but this was so unique it took your breath away!
I feel this is how it will look Eileen, apparently there will be feathers too which sounds fab! x
Living on Dartmoor I can recommend that venue. And the amazing photo opportunities. Just remember to drive to Tavistock over the moors rather than via Plymouth else you’ll miss the views!
Thanks for the tip Ali, I think a lot of the guests are staying in Tavistock x
Then I recommend when travelling down, coming off the main road at Bovey Tracey, or at Ashburton and follow the long straight roads over the moorland. it’s doesn’t take any longer but is worth it. There might be a bit of tourist traffic or a few wild ponies in the road but that beats sitting in the traffic towards Plymouth! It’s my favourite journey as even in bleak winter it’s stunning! 🙂
I love a good wedding and it is amazing how different each one can be. I have been to some that could be straight off the page of a magazine, but my favourite by far was a wedding on a budget at a village hall last summer. The bride had spent weeks making her own bunting, it was picnic style food that everyone helped make, friends provided the entertainment and the evening music came from an ipod. I think sometimes people get so bogged down with the details of making the ‘perfect’ wedding that the forget their guests just want to spend such a happy day with you.
I didn’t have many flowers at my wedding – as much as I do love them – we went a way on honeymoon two days later so wouldn’t have been able to enjoy them afterwards. I love the sound of the ferns and botanical scheme.
Absolutely agree Claire, some of the most fun weddings I’ve been to have been more on a limited budget and less…”fancy” for want of a better word…..anything goes. James and I had a brilliant time at a wedding where we hardly knew anyone, the heavens opened and the marquee floor was sodden…..everyone was so happy and the music was ace! x
Ohh I remember that post about your sister. Congratulations to her and mega LOLs at your flower convo! I’m sure it will be a fabulous day 🙂
Thank you for the nice comments and Ali for the travel tips! We will be taking that route next time we are going to the venue. Will and I have tried to keep our wedding as personal as we can and have everything we love individually as well as together. It turns out we are both massive fans of trees and green…. also the odd feather. The most important part to us has been making sure that all our loved ones are there, lets face it asking people to come to Devon is such a big ask(minimum 3 hour journey for most) but we are lucky to have such amazing family and friends who are all on board. When they all see the venue they will understand why “it was love at first sight!” x
Loved reading this! xx
My younger sister is not yet engaged, however, she is very happy with her boyfriend and I am waiting impatiently for the announcement, that they are engaged 🙂 Like you and your sister, we are very different in our tastes and I fear I have to try not to come up with too many ideas. I had my wedding last year and I got really into the whole planning process and I still could talk for hours about colour schemes, flowers, diy, etc. But my sister always says “I am not you” and I think her wedding will be totally different to mine. But that’s ok, I just hope, there will be a wedding some time soon 🙂
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I keep checking back to see if this wedding has happened yet, I would love to see a blog of this because the venue is sooooo dreamy!