A Nottinghamshire Military Wedding with a Romantica Gown & shades of blue

June 4, 2014 Real Wedding Features

Today I am excited to share this stunning Nottinghamshire Military Wedding with a Romantica Gown & shades of blue.

Images of the wonderful celebration of Anna and Gary were captured by Mark Pugh Photography.

Mark Pugh specialises in Fine Art Wedding Photojournalism, Bridal Film Portraits and Landscapes.

His photography is reserved for discerning clients who appreciate the need to document emotive imagery.

He is based in the Vale of Belvoir in Nottinghamshire.

The M.P team share their recollections of the day…..

“Rain. That’s what our online weather app had been telling us for the whole week leading up to Anna and Gary’s Military Wedding.”

“When Saturday arrived, the weather app told us to expect thunder and lightning; the rainfall radar said exactly the same thing. It was not looking good.”

“Rain does not ever spoil anything for us photographically, indeed, we always like to make a ‘feature’ out of rain if the bride and groom are amenable, with creative use of umbrellas and the raindrops themselves.”

“So imagine our surprise when we awoke on Saturday morning to discover bright blue skies and sunshine.”

“We arrived at Anna’s house to find her pre-wedding preparations in full-swing.”

“Anna was having her make-up expertly applied by Rochelle O’Brien“.

“Anna’s bridesmaids were in their custom dressing-gowns and slippers, all labeled with their roles in the wedding.”

W”e stepped outside to photograph the beautiful flowers supplied by Scrumpy’s of Gedling.”

“With make-up complete, Rochelle, as usual, went above and beyond the call of duty, and her remit, to help people attach button-holes.”

“She even grabbed a crochet-hook and swiftly fastened the many buttons on the rear of Anna’s beautiful wedding dress purchased from the Dress Place in Southwell.”

“As Anna’s father saw her in her wedding dress for the first time, he was understandably moved to tears.”

“A father seeing his daughter about to get married is always an emotional moment, and it is humbling to have been allowed into someone’s home to witness and document this very special and private moment.”

“With perfect timing, the wedding car, provided by Scrumpy’s sister company, Scrumptious Cars, arrived to take the bridesmaids to the church.”

“We arrived at St Peter’s in East Bridgford to find beautiful floral displays in the portico and throughout the building.”

“The sun blazed through the windows as Anna and Gary’s guests arrived and took their places.”

“As a brief shower momentarily darkened the skies, Anna arrived and took the short walk into the church and down the aisle, accompanied by harpist Alison Eve.”

“In a break from tradition, there was no organ music at there ceremony, and Alison sung, and played the harp beautifully throughout the ceremony; it was a refreshing change.”

“With vows and rings exchanged and the register signed, the couple stepped out into the warm May sunshine where their friends flanked the path down to the gate at the entrance to the churchyard.”

“Gary is in the RAF, and both he, and his groomsmen were in their formal dress; ‘Number Ones’ as they are known.”

“Once the couple reached the gate, confetti showered down on them before they left for the Manners Arms in the Vale of Belvoir.”

“After a beautiful drive, passing through a small part of the rolling English countryside of the Vale of Belvoir near Belvoir Castle, Anna and Gary arrived at the Manners Arms.”

“The red carpet was rolled-out, and there were two glasses of chilled champagne on standby as their car drew-up outside their secluded country reception venue.”

“Once they were inside, there was time to inspect the dining room and meet their guests in the conservatory.”

“At this point, the weather app, for once, was proved to be correct and the heavens opened.”

“No matter; the conservatory provided the perfect location for the couple’s short list of formal photographs.”

“With the formal images complete, it was time for their Wedding Breakfast.”

“Once their beautiful food had been eaten, there was a series of moving speeches by Gary, Anna’s father, Best Man Dickie, and a wonderful, impromptu address by Gary’s Grandfather.”

“With the meal complete, Moonlight Disco from Nottingham was on hand to provide the music, and a dance floor.”

“We took the opportunity to take Anna, Gary and the Bridesmaids into the grounds for a series of formal and informal photographs.”

“The couple then made their way back into the conservatory for their first dance, followed by their ‘Cake Cut’ in front of all of their friends, family and evening guests who were now arriving in large numbers.”

“Unbeknownst to Anna, Gary, or anyone else at the wedding, there was a surprise waiting: Fireworks.”

“A stunning, and not to mention loud, display filled the night sky with colour and light.”

“It was a spectacular end to a wonderful day; a day largely free of rain, and one we will never forget.”

I now hand over to beautiful Bride Anna….

The Proposal

“We got engaged on 1-12-12 at Birmingham Christmas market, as the year before we had taken a trip there on Gary’s R&R break from Afghanistan. So therefore it meant something to both of us.”

“Gary had been carrying the ring round in his pocket all day (I did think to myself why does he keep checking his pocket!?)”

“Later that evening with all the lovely lights and decorations at the Christmas market he pulled the beautiful pearl ring box out of his pocket and popped the question.”

The Wedding Planning Journey

“Our main inspiration for our wedding was indeed the RAF it is a huge part of mine and Gary’s life and also our families.”

“We decided to go for a vintage theme as our wedding reception (the Manners Arms) used to be an old hunting lodge in the middle of the beautiful countryside.”

“Our colour theme wasn’t even something we needed to discuss it was from the start going to be blue to tie in with our military theme.”

“Our wedding favour boxes had inside them a Help for Heroes band as we felt we would like to donate something from our day to charity and what better way than the H4H bands.”

“I had tried on so many different dresses and styles and I had a very clear picture in my mind of what I wanted (or so I thought).”

“I went to the Dressplace in Southwell with my chief bridesmaid to show her the dress I had planned on buying, feeling bad that I had brought her all this way for one dress I picked another off the rail.”

“I went to try the second dress on came out and everyone cried including myself.”

“It was a beautiful Romantica A line ivory satin dress with an embellishment in the middle under the bust, plenty of gorgeous pleats on the bust.. Buttons down the back of the dress.”

“I then made a phone call to my mum in tears to tell her I had found the one she drove to the Dressplace and there were tears all over again.”

“We would recommend all of our suppliers as they provided amazing communication throughout and the end results of what was produced was fantastic !!”

The Wedding Day

“We got married at St Peter’s church in East Bridgford, my brother had been christened there.”

“It was also where my mum and dad had got married a few years ago, we thought it would be a great reason to get married there on top of the church being a beautiful building inside and out.”

Words of advice

“I would say to any bride planning their big day to remember bigger is not always better and believe it or not it is the little touches that people notice and remember.”

“Always shop around for your items for your wedding I have to say EBay became a best friend of mine !”

“And take every little moment of your big day in as it is gone with the blink of an eye, however if you have Mark Pugh you will always have your perfect memories to look back on.”

Thank you so much to Mark and Pamela for sharing this amazing Nottinghamshire Military Wedding.

I love the blend of blues from the darker tones of the military uniform through to the soft blues of the Bridesmaid gowns, and the decor throughout the day.

Altogether a stylish and elegant Wedding Day.

Wedding Suppliers

Photographer: Mark Pugh Photography

Wedding dress designer: Romantica

Dress Boutique: Dress Place, Southwell.

Wedding rings purchased from: Chisholm Hunter, Nottingham.

Makeup Artist: Rochelle O’Brien

Hair Stylist: Stella Haviland

Ceremony musician / performer: Harpist for the church service – Alison Eve

Bridesmaid’s Dresses: Handmade by Ann Farthingale

Florist: Scrumpy’s of Gedling (Nottingham)

Transport / Wedding Car Provider: Scrumptious Cars, Gedling. Nottingham.