With its enchanting architecture and gorgeous historic rooms it’s no wonder Laura and Kenneth held their fairytale themed wedding at Peckforton Castle. Laura who looked stunning in her Vera Wang gown took inspiration from a beautiful Louis de Bernières poem to create their timeless and classic day. Not only did the happy couple share their love for one another but also surprised their guests with some truly exciting news. Keep an eye out for the ring bearer… trust me you’ll love it!
Bride and Groom… Laura and Kenneth (KC)
Wedding date… Monday 30th April 2012
We met… KC and I met through mutual friends; we were friends for a few months mainly hiking pals before we got together.
The proposal… KC popped the question after 10 months of dating. He proposed at Huntington Gardens in California which has 120 acres of beautiful botanic gardens. He had organized for us to be there before it opened to the public and walked me to the rose garden where a violinist was playing our favourite song ‘Time to say goodbye’ by Andrea Bocelli surrounded by rose petals. He got down on one knee and we both forget what he said as it was very emotional
Length of engagement… 6 months
We knew it was ‘the one’… In the first week of being together and just hoped the other didn’t turn out to be a weirdo! We actually did a raw food cleanse that first week together and managed to survive which was a good sign! We never spent a night apart for the first month until I had to go to Europe.
My dress was… By Vera Wang. I visited Vera Wang in Los Angeles as I love her style and fit. I actually only tried on about 8 dresses and knew immediately when I found the one. My mum unfortunately was in Europe but I did go with a friend who loved it too. I really wanted a dress that made me feel and look like a princess and was timeless. After purchasing it in December I found out in February that I was pregnant, we couldn’t have been happier but it would mean I would be 4months pregnant on our weddingday! When I originally chose my dress I didn’t want anything to revealing or tight, I wanted timeless and classic which made it very easy to adjust nearer the date. Luckily I wasn’t showing.
Wedding Make-up and Hair was… by Richard Harvey
Our groomsmen was… Frankie, who is also my brother.
Our wedding ceremony was held at… The Great hall of Peckforton Castle.
To make the ceremony memorable I walked down the aisle as the harpist played.
We had a unique surprise; our ring bearer was an owl who flew down to the best man with our rings. After the ceremony everyone blew bubbles over us. We then went outside for canapés, a falcon display and KC and I released white doves.
Our bridesmaids were… I had two bridesmaids Emily and Lorraine.
Suppliers
Wedding Dress: Vera Wang | Wedding Shoes: Christian Louboutin | Wedding Suits: Tom Ford | Wedding Flowers: Ian Lloyd| Wedding Entertainment: Nerys Hewitt on the harp| Wedding Photographer: Caroline White at carolinewhitephotography.co.uk | Wedding Videographer: Marry me films | Wedding Cake: Maisie Fantaisie in London| Wedding Make-up and Hair: Richard Harvey | Wedding Stationery and Invites: Passionpaper| Wedding Catering: Peckforton Castle
Our wedding photographer was… Caroline White at carolinewhitephotography.co.uk. We loved the pictures and our wedding book she made.
Our wedding reception was… Small and intimate. I’m from Europe so we decided on a location wedding as it would be easier for my family and friends. In December we flew to England to look at Peckforton Castle, I’d found it online and it looked beautiful and was only 2 hours from my parents. I decided on a castle because I wanted to feel like a princess and have a fairytale wedding. We were lucky that we fell in love with the place straight away and booked the date. We had dinner in the hexagonal room and as we didn’t have many guests we were all able to sit around one big table which we loved.
Our wedding theme was… White and fairytale. We wanted to keep it classic and to one day look back on our pictures and still look great. The theme was also based on a poem I love which I thought summed our relationship- “Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides, you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion, it is not the desire to mate every second minute of the day, it is not lying awake at night imagining that he is kissing every cranny of your body. No, don’t blush, I am telling you some truths. That is just being “in love”, which any fool can do. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident.” ― Louis de Bernières
Everything including the cake, the flowers and the favours I planned myself so I was a very busy girl! We decided on everything being white; for the bouquet I had white roses and the table and chairs were draped in white. With white framed love quotes to decorate and white cookies for each guest with a word on it like – smitten, love, taken, kiss etc.
KC said a few words and we announced our pregnancy which was amazing and so special and a big surprise! It was very intimate and I loved being able to talk to everyone.
Our cake was… White with three tiers, the bottom two made of cupcakes. All tiers were divided by white flowers. We actually cut the cake with a sword to keep in the castle/fairytale theme!
After dinner and drinks we changed in to our evening outfits. We had a buffet and nightcap in the wine cellar which we had decorated with candles and by the end I was exhausted so my husband and I were the first to retire!
Our favourite part of the wedding was… Sharing our love with our best friends and family and seeing everyone genuinely having a good time. It was also nice to share our big news about becoming parents with everyone in person as we live so far away in Los Angeles.
Our wedding was unique and special because… It was so intimate and genuine and it was exactly what we both wanted. We didn’t include anything we didn’t like or didn’t want to do just because it was typical. I loved that we had a small wedding party as we were able to spend time with everyone and we all bonded so much, it really was everyone who is close to us. (Unfortunately KC’s dad couldn’t make it as he is unable to travel)
Our honeymoon was… at the four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru in the Maldives for 2 weeks and I highly recommend it! It was absolutely perfect and I cannot praise everything about it enough
Suppliers
Wedding Dress: Vera Wang | Wedding Shoes: Christian Louboutin | Wedding Suits: Tom Ford | Wedding Flowers: Ian Lloyd| Wedding Entertainment: Nerys Hewitt on the harp| Wedding Photographer: Caroline White at carolinewhitephotography.co.uk | Wedding Videographer: Marry me films | Wedding Cake: Maisie Fantaisie in London| Wedding Make-up and Hair: Richard Harvey | Wedding Stationery and Invites: Passionpaper| Wedding Catering: Peckforton Castle
Create the look
You don’t need magic to create a fairytale wedding we have everything you need. Check out our mini Laura and Kenneth mood board below and our Fairytale Wedding Theme mood board for more inspiration.
Above, clockwise from top: Picture courtsey of Peckforton Castle | Beverly Clark Duchess Collection Garter Set | White Butterfly Tube Bubbles Pack
