Classic & fun sage and ivory wedding

Rachel and Kenneth - The Proposal

Photographer: James Sewell

When Ken Merry proposed to Rachel in Disneyland Hong Kong, she was so surprised she couldn’t even say yes. “Apparently to this day I still haven’t accepted his proposal!” says Rachel. The couple, who both work in education, married at Wath All Saints Church. “It was in the village where Ken grew up and he used to attend Sunday school there. When I walked in to the church I knew it was where I wanted to get married – it was stunning!”

Rachel and Kenneth - The Proposal

“We wanted a romantic feel, so we had all the chandeliers, altar candles and tea lights in the church lit during the ceremony,\" says Rachel. \"The theme with our flowers was avalanche roses and Eucalyptus, and we used them in the pedestal arrangements for the church. The ceremony was really fun and upbeat: the reverend was excellent and kept the congregation laughing.

\"We had two readings: one from the bible, read by Ken’s sister and one by our good friend Tamsin that she wrote herself: it was very emotional. We also choose to sign the register in front of the congregation to make the ceremony more personal. I was very emotional and found it difficult to keep myself together during my vows, but everyone commented how Ken couldn’t keep his eyes away from me,\" added Rachel. \"When we left the church a line formed and Ken and I stood meeting and greeting all our family and friends – I was so happy.”

Rachel and Kenneth - The Proposal

“I wore a beautiful ivory dress by Maggie Sottero called Chelsea, which I found at Harmony Bridal wear in Rotherham,\" says Rachel. \"It had an asymmetrical waist and beads at the hip and I loved it so much!  My ivory shoes were from Benjamin Adams.

My pearl earrings were my Mother’s: she wore them on her wedding day and they were my something borrowed – hopefully they are lucky. My necklace was just a single pearl and diamanté string from Debenhams and my crystal and pearl tiara was from Mango Gems. My two-tier veil was by Richard Designs and was scattered with pearls and crystals.
“Ken looked dapper in his Peter Posh brown Edwardian suit, with an ivory waistcoat and ivory cravat to match my dress,” added Rachel.

Rachel and Kenneth - The Bridesmaids

“My five bridesmaids (my best friend Beccy and my cousins) wore mint green taffeta dresses from True Bride and looked absolutely fabulous! They carried cream rose and eucalyptus bouquets.”

Rachel and Kenneth - The Flowers

“My bridal bouquet comprised Avalanche ivory roses and Eucalyptus leaves, as I wanted my bridesmaids to have the same flowers in a smaller version,\" says Rachel. My florist Lily Pots did a fabulous job with all our flowers – they were romantic and perfect.”

Rachel and Kenneth - Wedding Breakfast layout

“Our reception was at Burntwood Court. We chose it because of its fantastic reputation, plus we needed a hotel so friends and family from around the country could stay there,\" says Rachel. \"We decorated the reception room with centrepieces of eucalyptus and ivory roses, as in the church. The top table arrangement was the same, but had extra draping eucalyptus. Our ivory chair covers with mint green sashes were from Posh Frocks For Chairs.

\"For favours, the ladies were given Thorntons chocolates while the men had scratch cards. We placed the scratch card on a Champagne cork with a penny from 2009 for luck! Younger guests had a fun pack, which consisted of a wedding crossword created by my mum, an adventure book, pencils and other bits and bobs to keep them entertained,” added Amanda.

Rachel and Kenneth - The Cake

“Ken and I don’t like traditional fruit cake so we decided on a three-tier cake (made by the venue): one lemon sponge, one chocolate sponge and one vanilla. I wanted a polka dot cake, but also wanted to stay traditional, so I decided on an ivory cake with little ivory dots - decorated with the same ivory roses and eucalyptus.”

Rachel and Kenneth - First Dance

“The speeches were great: the best man was Ken’s brother Richard who really did us proud. My biggest highlight was dancing to Love Train by the O’Jays, sang by our Motown band The Manhattans. It’s a song my friends and I love, so when it started my friends pulled us both to the dance floor where they started a conga line! The whole reception joined in and the line was massive! Our first dance was to Jason Mraz’s \'I\'m Yours\'. Everyone commented on how much the song complemented us: it wasn’t a power ballad, it was just a song we love.”