want to overthrow everything with too much blue,” Laura explains. The big-day blooms featured gorgeous loose bouquets of pink and white roses with plenty of greenery and Laura’s favourite flower, blue sea thistles. The buttonholes were single pink roses with a thistle and foliage. The ceremony room featured a semi-circular display of blue and pink flowers in mirrored vases offering a modern and elegant feel. Fresh flowers also decorated the elegant and simple wedding cake. They opted for Laura’s favourite red velvet, white chocolate and fresh raspberries with buttercream, as well as milk chocolate with chocolate orange cream. “The tasting with Clare’s Cake Boutique was such a personal experience in Clare’s own garden,” Laura reminisces. The reception space looked glam backlit with blue lighting, and a Mr & Mrs sign lit up the dancefloor as did its built-in sparkly LEDs – a dream come true for Laura. Another of the bride’s visions was brought to life in the form of the white vintage 1920s Regent Landaulette personally chauffeured by Brooklands Wedding Cars’ owner, Paul. FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD A hot buffet of two homely cooked meals was served as the wedding breakfast – chilli con carne with rice or vegetable lasagne; plus a selection of cold meats, salmon and prawns, salad, chips and potatoes, and pasta. For dessert a mouth-watering choice of chocolate mousse topped with hazelnuts and apple crumble with custard was available. In the evening, the venue put on an impressive buffet spread of sandwiches, chicken drumsticks, a cheese platter and spring rolls. This was paired with a sweetie cart featuring Mike’s favourite: fizzy peaches. LOOKING THE PART The bride wore Christina by Carolyn Anne’s Bridal Shop, a customised A-line dress with a heart-shaped lace cutout detail on the back – fitting since she was the soon-to-be Mrs Hart. Laura says, “I always had reservations about bridal dress shopping, due to the fear there wouldn’t be any samples in my size and embarrassment of trying to imagine dresses without trying them on. However, this couldn’t have been further from reality when I was welcomed and looked after by Lea at Carolyn Anne’s Bridal. I only had to try on five dresses before I’d found the one.” L. Guess Jewellers in Rustington donated a £500 voucher as part of the competition prize and Laura felt like a kid in a candy store as she shopped there for her accessories! As her something old and borrowed she decided to wear a pearl necklace with heart clasp, which had been in her mother’s family for generations. “I managed to match the exact colour of the pearls to a pair of pearl earrings surrounded by Swarovski crystals, giving my elegant overall look a touch of vintage,” Laura shares. Due to an old ankle injury Laura wasn’t able to wear heels and so opted to wear a pair of ivory lace trainers with a hidden platform – “Mike is over six foot so I needed a bit of height for the pictures,” she explains. The groom and groomsmen all wore matching navy suits with waistcoats, accessorised with deep blue satin ties. Meanwhile, the bridesmaids were dressed in ocean blue A-line dresses with corseted backs and lace detail. The flowergirl wore an ivory princess-style dress with blue flowers in the netting and a blue bow at the back. “I DO” Laura and Mike had a personalised humanist ceremony written by celebrant Jacqueline Cale. They both declared their own words of love during a particularly romantic moment and overall enjoyed a relaxed ceremony. Since the bride has an Irish background, she was keen to include her heritage and was able to incorporate a Celtic hand-binding ceremony. 32
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