Today is the second in our installment of showcase weddings from members of the UKAWP. Today’s showcase is from UKAWP Full Member Simone Butterfield of Dimples Events. Take it away Simone!

It was clear from my initial consultation with Katharine & Peter that their wedding day was going to test every skill I had as a Wedding Planner.  Their dream wedding day involved extending their property and leaving the first floor open plan to host their wedding reception for 70 guests.  “OK, so it’s not every day that your clients believe they can build their wedding venue as cheap as they can hire it, but we will give it a go!”  It was certainly going to be interesting.

With 4 months till the big day and nothing of importance booked, we had a wedding to plan and reception to build…….There was a back up plan for every eventuality and we had to ensure that no matter what happened, Katharine & Peter were getting married on their chosen date.  Every meeting we had started with a progress update on the building and finished with a climb up the scaffolding!

Most weddings are well catered for at your chosen venue but when you are getting married at home – there is so much more to consider.  Even a marquee wedding seems easy in comparison!  I had many sleepless nights, followed by calls to Peter in the morning regarding “what if”.  We had to consider the fire regulations, the fire exits, and the entertainment license and more importantly what would we do if the 6ft round tables would not fit up the staircase, would the staircase be finished?  “Don’t worry, that’s easy – we’ll just take the windows out” replied Peter!

It was an experience I shall never forget, extremely hard work, yet the end results were amazing.

Katharine & Peter had a clear vision of their wedding design.  A chocolate brown theme with white and silver.  Crisp, clear, no fuss, no frills, simple, elegant and chic.

The room for the wedding venue was assembled the day before with lots of help from reliable friends and family.  Katharine and her mother had set to work the day before lining the 2 walls of breeze blocks – they managed to drop lining paper from floor to ceiling and drape muslin over the top.  They worked tirelessly throughout the day and transformed the room.  The house was buzzing with craftsmen from the moment the scaffolding had been fixed until an hour before the guests arrived.  Electricians were setting up spot lights, luxury washroom facilities were being delivered and under cover canopies installed to keep the guests dry from the showers of rain!

With the help of “perfect table plan” we were able to accurately use the room measurements to assess how much space each table would occupy.  Setting up our table plan was made an easy task with the use of this software.  Had we not used this, it would have been unbearable.  We had even considered drawing out templates of the tables on the floor to judge the space!

Once the tables were delivered and all in place, we were able to fix 3 glass orbs above each table.  Each carefully hung with a tea light burning inside.  Every table was dressed in crisp white linen with a simple centre piece.  A mirror box with hydrangeas and lots of lush green leaves.  Each table setting was even a leaf that had been beautifully written on by Peter’s mother, finished with silver ribbon.  Each chair had been carefully covered and dressed with a luxury organza bow in rich chocolate to match the bridesmaids’ dresses.

With the room dressed and the bridal party arriving at the church, it was my cue to leave the venue and head for the church.  It was also time for helping hands to make their way home – the rest was down to me.  One small problem, no-one wanted to go home, they all wanted to be given a job, just so that they could stay and see the finished result!

As the guests arrived at the reception, Katharine & Peter had been whisked off to a secret location for some exclusive shots with their photographer.  (Katharine even had a bespoke pair of pink Wellingtons made just for the muddy trek!)  The wedding guests were desperate to sneak upstairs and have a look at the transformation, but we were under strict instruction to keep them occupied!  Every guest was asked to write a short message upon a notelet and hang it from the branches of a twisted will tree which had been dressed with white phalanopsis orchids.  As the bride and groom returned and made their way upstairs it was the moment we had all been waiting for.  It was so deeply rewarding to hear the gasps of amazement as the guests took in the beauty of the room.

With the wedding breakfast in full swing and the evening preparations being made, the next obstacle was to ensure the smooth room transformation for the first dance.  Katharine and Peter needed a space to be cleared to ensure that they could wow their guests with their choreographed first dance.

Not only did Katharine and Peter leave their guests amazed by their first dance, they were all speechless at their wedding day achievements.  What seemed a straightforward “can you help me with my wedding preparations?” turned into an experience that I shall never forget.  Despite the exhaustion, hard work and many sleepless nights, this was one wedding to remember and definitely one to tell the grandchildren about!

Many thanks to Simone for telling us all about this fabulous wedding! If you are a UKAWP member and would like on of your weddings featured please contact us.

Photocredits: Amanda Harrison