A White Wedding {Claire & Jon}

The fields stretched out flat for miles, gently resting beneath a blanket of snow. So peaceful, so calm. It was as if everything was breathing out. It couldn’t have been a more perfect feeling for Claire and Jon’s wedding day….two of the most calm and kind people you are likely to meet.

A white wedding, in the snow sense of the phrase, is exciting and rare here. But when traveling is made very difficult, you just hope everyone will be able to make it. And for these two all but three did…a testament to the devotion their friends and family have for them.

They wanted a wedding without fuss, personal to them, with nature around. The wilder parts of the gardens at South Farm appeal to them, and of course the animals. Claire arrived at the ceremony on a tractor, taking those last few moments to compose herself in the fresh open air, looking out over the peaceful white landscape.

Claire chose ‘Parma Opal’ Jenny Packham gown which sparkled in the snow. Her ‘Flo’ Rachel Simpson shoes were swapped for Hunter wellington boots the second time we went out in the snow. Jon sported a dashing combination of a Calvin Klein suit and Austin Reed tie. They were a picture together.

I love to see how details reflect personality. Their table plan, featuring barnyard animals, is one of the more original and humorous I have seen, and you can see them in that. The cake, subtle and elegant, with two porcelain birds a-top, was made by Claire. I gather she can do just about anything she sets her mind too. Each place setting had a pinecone that they collected from one of their favourite places, Hampstead Heath, a place they also chose for their engagement shoot.

The elegant, rustic bouquets of subtle colours and forms created by ‘Violet and Frederick’, Tufnell Park, were perfect in my eyes. ‘Violet and Frederick’ also supplied the flowers for the barn, which Jon’s family arranged on the morning of the wedding. The evening’s entertainment involved every last person, stretched from the very end of the barn to the other, everyone dancing Ceilidh, courtesy of the Cambridge University Ceilidh Band.

This was a peaceful, relaxed day, full of uncomplicated love….an amazing way to start the year, and we will be forever grateful for sharing in this time in Claire and Jon’s life.