22nd June 2010

Vintage wedding in Jersey

We are excited to show you more of this lovely vintage wedding. The venue is Longueville Manor, on the stunning island of Jersey, and it was styled by wedding planners, Grace & Tailor. The whole idea for the wedding came from a simple square of lace, found by Gemma, the bride, in a vintage store. The dress was made in Spain, in the style of a 1930’s wedding dress. The bridesmaids’ dresses all had an individual twist to suit each of them and the brief for the hairdresser was ‘to look like they were about to walk down the catwalk’. Their hair was amazing, as were their shoes! Being a shoe-aholic I was very envious of the pairs of Laboutin, Chanel and Jimmy Choos that lay around the room.

Gemma wanted to keep everything as locally sourced as possible. The flowers were all grown in the grounds of Longueville Manor, and arranged by the hotel’s own florist. The vegetables for the meal were also all grown in the hotel’s vegetable garden. The bridesmaids gifts were bracelets made from Jersey Pearl.

The entertainment throughout the day was very well coordinated. Nick, the groom, is a musician so having music at their wedding was very important to him. First there was a string quartet when Gemma walked down the aisle. During the service, Nick’s fellow band members performed a song they had written especially for the couple. Then a jazz quartet played during the afternoon reception. After the meal, while the marquee was being made ready for the evening, an acoustic performance took place by the pool.

During this, suddenly a Scottish band walked onto the lawn, loudly playing their bagpipes and drums. It was a great surprise for Gemma and Nick – and it gave me goose-bumps is was so good!

Finally, Gemma’s father, a huge Beatles fan (being a Liverpudlian himself!) had brought in a Beatles cover band to play in the evening, called The Classic Beatles. They were the best cover band I’ve ever heard.

The party continued way into the night, and it was with great reluctance that I managed to tear myself away from the wonderful hospitality of the bride and groom and their families.

Gemma in her dress made from Portuguese lace

Gemma in her dress made from Portuguese lace

Arriving at the ceremony - both are very excited!

Arriving at the ceremony - both are very excited!

In the grounds at Longueville Manor

In the grounds at Longueville Manor

The bridesmaids looking like they've just stepped off the catwalk

The bridesmaids looking like they've just stepped off the catwalk

Marquee styled by Grace & Tailor

Marquee styled by Grace & Tailor

The seating plan in an old traveling trunk

The seating plan in an old traveling trunk

Table centre pieces and room decor - all flowers from the garden at Longueville Manor

Table centre pieces and room decor - all flowers from the garden at Longueville Manor

Nick & Gemma

Nick & Gemma

The acoustic band by the pool

The acoustic band by the pool

The Scottish band

The Scottish band

The brilliant Classic Beatles cover band

The brilliant Classic Beatles cover band

Party time

Party time

Gemma & Nick Swietlik - their own box of daisies

Gemma & Nick Swietlik - their own box of daisies

9th March 2010

A unique boutique wedding planner..

Savoir Weddings organise boutique weddings for contemporary couples.

Run by Josie and Dan – oh yes grooms-to-be, you can have your very own male planner – Savoir Weddings work with couples who want to do something a little bit different and step away from tradition. “We felt there were many companies catering for more conventional weddings but we wanted to offer something for those who wanted to do things differently” says Josie. In particular, Savoir specialise in planning festival style weddings (both Josie and Dan have a background in music events), green/eco friendly weddings, home receptions and weddings abroad.

Savoir Weddings can come in to help couples at all stages of the planning process. They offer a variety of services from sourcing creative and unique wedding suppliers to consultancy in a particular area, to full planning. “We like to think we make the planning process and day as smooth, relaxed and stress free as possible for all our brides and grooms and help them have a wedding they didn’t even know was possible!” concludes Josie.
http://www.savoirweddings.com

The following are some photographs from weddings Pearl Pictures have photographed in the theme of festival, eco and home reception weddings.

musicians

cool musicians


making use of existing materials

making use of existing materials


home reception

home reception


teepees - festival style

teepees - festival style


flowers from the garden

flowers from the garden

18th January 2010

A Christmas Wedding, London

Sasha and Christopher Morphitis were so lucky with the weather for their Christmas wedding – it snowed! They were married in Camden Registry Office, witnessed by their families, and then went on to enjoy an entertainment-filled evening at the Old Crown in Highgate, North London. Here they were joined by all their friends. After the speeches, the bride took centre stage and sang for her new husband. She was followed by her husband, Christopher, who entertained the guests with a musician friend with wonderful cultural music.

Sasha before the ceremony

Sasha before the ceremony

Sasha & Christopher Morphitis

Sasha & Christopher Morphitis

Sasha sings at her reception

Sasha sings at her reception

Christopher Morphitis

Christopher Morphitis

Wedding cake made by Sasha's mother

Wedding cake made by Sasha's mother

15th October 2009

Lucy gets married!

Our very own Director at Pearl Pictures, Lucy, got married to Matthew Barbour on 5th September this year with an English country garden wedding in Wiltshire. “We wanted a wedding that was truly personal, so chose to have a marquee in the garden where I grew up” says Lucy. “The idea was to start with a very english, country feel at the church and move the day through to a chic and contemporary styled marquee to reflect our life in London, where we have lived for the last 10 years.”. With guests transported to the quaint country church by a red London routemaster bus, Lucy and Matthew opted for a horse and carriage. Once back at “The Chestnuts” the champagne flowed and guests mingled in the garden to music by the “Stickey Bass Jazz Trio”. Once in the marquee the guests sat at tables named after trees in the garden and dined on cannon of lamb with summer vegetables, followed by lemon and passionfruit tart. At 9.30pm, one of the Ushers, Nick, played with his band “The Black Hats”  and the guests danced the night away until carriages at 1am. Photography by Graham Morgan & Jemma Watts.

Guests arrived at the church in a red London routemaster bus

Guests arrived at the church in a red London routemaster bus

The two bridesmaids wore taupe chiffon dresses by Dessy

The two bridesmaids wore taupe chiffon dresses by Dessy

The bouquet was made up with ivory, champagne and pale pink roses

The bouquet was made up with ivory, champagne and pale pink roses

Lucy's lace gown was from Caroline Castigliano, while Matthew's suit was hired from R.Scott & Co in Cirencester, Glos.

Lucy's lace gown was from Caroline Castigliano, while Matthew's suit was hired from R.Scott & Co in Cirencester, Glos.

Fresh rose petals were thrown as confetti

Fresh rose petals were thrown as confetti

The reception was held in the garden of Lucy's parents home

The reception was held in the garden of Lucy's parents home

Inside the marquee

Inside the marquee

The happy couple cut their wobbly cake!

The happy couple cut their wobbly cake!

1st October 2009

Don’t forget the details

When photographing a wedding, it is important to capture all the small details of the day. It is the details that complete the overall vision of the day’s event and can make such a difference. When Pearl Pictures photograph a wedding we always make sure we have gone around and photographed everything from important aspects such as the bouquet, table decorations, and wedding cake to smaller details such as the embroidery on the wedding dress, champagne bottles, the ladies’ hats and garden decorations. Once we even photographed the loo roll as it was printed with a wedding themed cartoon!

Details

18th August 2009

A hen weekend in Bruges

Pearl Pictures is recommending Bruges as an original hen weekend hotspot. Standing out from the usual hen city breaks, Pearl recently photographed a hen weekend in this small and picturesque city. The girls took the Eurostar, via the champagne bar, from London’s St Pancras and arrived fresh and raring to go. Small enough to explore in a weekend, the girls activities included a cycle ride; a famous canal boat trip; sampling chocolate in the numerous chocolate shops and sitting alfresco in one of the many bustling squares with waffles and a raspberry beer. For the evening there are numerous restaurants to choose from, and the girls stumbled across a music festival in the main square which saw them dancing the night away!

Bruges is a charming city to explore

Bruges is a charming city to explore

Charming, quaint and relaxed

quaint and relaxed ...... with great beer and great chocolate!

A cycle ride is a great way to explore the city

A cycle ride is a great way to explore the city and nearby countryside

The best belgian chocolates in town!

The best belgian chocolates in town!

The hens enjoy a spontaneous bit of dancing

The hens enjoy a spontaneous bit of dancing

All aboard the Eurostar

All aboard the Eurostar

10th August 2009

Wedding at St Paul’s Walden, Hertfordshire

Pearl Pictures very proudly shot their first wedding in July, in the fantastic setting of the unique gardens of St Paul’s Walden in Hertfordshire. Escaping the rain, the gardens took a key role in this “Midsummer Night’s Dream” style wedding. The guests took part in a procession throughout the day which took them from ceremony to readings, speeches and music ending up at the teepee tents for a feast and dancing.

A country style bouquet

A country style bouquet

Poles decorated with country flowers mark the entrance to the outdoor ceremony

Poles decorated with country flowers mark the entrance to the outdoor ceremony

The newlyweds in the gardens

The newlyweds in the gardens

A shower of confetti!

A shower of confetti!