Heart to heart

Fairy lights, tables named after aphrodisiacs and hangover kits for the guests added a sense of fun and humour to Natalie and Chris' Valentine's Day wedding

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The proposal…

Natalie and Chris met at work and have been together for eight-and-a-half years. Probably one of the more unconventional marriage proposals, Natalie popped the question to Chris while he was recovering in hospital as a result of an accident.

Hen and stag parties…

On board a limo, Natalie and nine friends headed for the Groucho Grill in Piccadilly and then onto a club in Soho. "Everyone had to bring along a gift that reminded them of me. My sister brought a stuffed guinea pig - this goes back to our childhood days when we had a whole family of guinea pigs.
"Chris is very much against me having a pet, so we thought it would be funny to text him with a picture of me feeding my new 'guinea pig'. The picture message was very convincing, because five minutes later, his dad phoned to relay the message that Chris was not pleased, thinking he'd be stuck with a new pet he didn't want. I didn't tell him the truth until the next day," says Natalie. Chris and 10 friends flew to New York City despite below-freezing temperatures.

The venues…

St Mary's church in Silchester was recommended by Natalie's parents. "We instantly fell in love with it and could picture ourselves walking down the aisle together. The setting was just perfect - a Norman church situated on top of a hill, with a pond, surrounding fields and, very randomly, llamas," says Natalie.
"Silchester House was described as 'your very own home for 24 Hours', and it had that instant effect on us. We knew it was 'the one' straight away. It was a complete coincidence that the venue was located in the same village as the church. Everything seemed to fit together perfectly," says Natalie.

The attendants…

Natalie had two bridesmaids, Emma and Zoe, and the maid-of-honour was her best friend Kelly Nedham. They each wore a long satin teal dress complemented with a silver tiara and diamond necklace, a gift from the bride and groom. The flowergirl was the bride's goddaughter Annabelle Nedham. Chris' best man was his dad Steve and his ushers were good friends Chris Jefferys, Ed Shore and Andy Fryett.

The dress…

Natalie's Rhapsody taffeta dress by Sottero & Midgley was embellished with a lace bodice, a ruched wrap around the waist and a gathered skirt. Something old was Natalie's shoes, which she wore when she was a bridesmaid for her maid-of-honour. Something new was her dress, diamond earrings and necklace, and something borrowed was the tiara and hoop for the dress.

The decorative touches…

As the couple were getting married on Valentine's Day, they sent each guest a box of chocolates. "Although it was time-consuming making up all the boxes and filling them with individual chocolates, we wanted to get our guests excited about spending Valentine's Day with us," says Natalie. Being an art director, Chris designed a beautiful chocolate brochure containing information about the wedding. This was placed in one of the chocolate trays inside the box.
"We wanted to carry on the theme of Valentine's in a more subtle but humorous way, so we named our nine tables after aphrodisiacs -without being too x-rated!" explains Natalie. There were oyster shells and gingerbread men and women on the table, which doubled up as place names, and plenty of candles, fairy lights and roses in teal vases. Each room in the venue was also styled with candles and fairy lights, as well as family and wedding photographs going back 100 years. The three-tier cake consisted of two layers of fruitcake and one layer of lemon cake.

The honeymoon…

The couple spent 17 days in Argentina and Brazil."We've always wanted to travel around South America and combine the city, jungle, sea and relaxation experience − so we planned our honeymoon around the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I've always been fascinated with Latin American dancing and wanted to experience the samba in the Sambadrome during the carnival. It was the best experience of our lives," says Natalie. The honeymooners stayed at the Claridge in Buenos Aires, the Sheraton Iguazú Resort & Spa, the Ipanema Plaza in Rio, and the Vila d'este in Buzios.

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