My Best Friend's Wedding

Thursday 25 June 2015

This post has been sitting for a long time in my drafts. I have toyed with it so many times, but have never quite got to the point where I felt it was good enough or worthy enough for me to push the publish button. But it can't sit here forever; it was such an important day, and inspired so much of our own wedding that I couldn't leave it out of my build up to our big day...so here I go!

When I was 14 years old, my mum's career took my family to a new village in a new county in a new part of England. That county just happened to be the (in)famous county of Essex.

It was here that I raced through my teenage years, splitting my time between the countryside where we lived and the small city of Chelmsford where I went to school. It was also where I made some of my closest and longest-lived friendships, with the "Essex Girls" (EG), and the later male additions to the group, who eventually became the "Husbands Club" (HC).

A few months ago, there was about to be a new member of this special little club, for one of the EGs, Tan was about to marry long-term (honourary) member of the HC and all-round awesome guy, Dan. And I was delighted to have been asked to be a bridesmaid at their wedding!


Mr Sunshine-to-be and I hopped on a plane home for the occasion, and landed in London with a little time to spare to carry out a few of our own wedding-related errands and squeeze in a very fun day with some of my favourite bloggers. We then jumped on the train to Chelmsford where we were staying with our good friends Hannah and Mark (also an EG and a member of the HC, in case you were wondering!).

On the morning of the wedding, I was excited to crack open my new Charlotte Tilbury Uptown Girl make-up gift box, which contains The Uptown Girl Eyeshadow Palette, Audrey Eyeliner, Full Fat Lashes Mascara, Love Glow Blusher, Pink Venus Lipliner, Bitch Perfect Lipstick, Sweet Stiletto Lipgloss, all held in the prettiest make-up bag I've ever owned. Everything a girl could possibly require to create a DIY bridesmaid make-up look!




Han and I chatted away while we applied our make-up and big piles of sausages and toast were brought to the table to keep us going. Oh, and a bottle or two of bubbles were opened too, of course. When in Rome.


Then, all of a sudden it was time to go. We slipped into comfy clothes and headed across to Tania's parents' house to collect our dresses and join our bride.

As we entered the Conservatory where she was getting her hair and make-up done, the first thing that struck me was how beautiful she looked. The second thing I noticed was how calm she was - this was her moment and she was totally owning it! In fact, she owned it from start to finish and all day I couldn't stop thinking that this is what she was made for.

Photo courtesy of Andy Bennett

Here are just a handful of the things about Tania's wedding which made me so proud of her that day, and so honoured to be a part of it all (as well as some excellent ideas that I am definitely pinching for my own wedding in two weeks' time).

We had plenty of time to get ready 


The bridesmaids, Tania's parents and the bride all had time to perfect our looks, consume a glass of wine (or two) and have a big, long natter before donning dresses and heading off to the Church. It was a really lovely couple of hours, with a lot of laughter (and maybe a few tears to boot).



Photos courtesy of Andy Bennett


The ceremony was traditional, but relaxed


I loved the atmosphere of the ceremony, held at Tania's local Parish Church, which her family have visited for years. It had all the usual elements of a traditional Church wedding, which I adore (I particularly enjoy belting out a good hymn), but the sermon was hilarious and nothing about it was stuffy in the slightest.








The reception was held in a beautiful setting


Hylands House is a Grade II listed neo-classical villa, located in the stunning expanse of Hylands Park on the outskirts of Chelmsford (for those of you who have never visited, this is where V Festival is held every year). The house has been fully restored to its Victorian splendour, and is such a stunning setting for a wedding reception.



Romantic, or what?!

There were lots of personal touches along the way


From the music in the Church and at the drinks reception, which was provided by Tania's colleague Kaleigh, and our school friend Ally...



To the table names, which were places that were special to the happy couple, their lives and interests were apparent throughout the entire day.



Tan also has an adorable niece and nephew, who are incredibly important to her, and it was therefore one of the most child-friendly weddings I've ever been to.



It was these little personal touches of Tan and Dan's personality that were splashed across every detail that made the whole day extra special.

The photographers were creative


Rather than stand everybody up for the standard stilted line-ups that wedding photographers seem to love, Tan and Dan's photographers preferred a more relaxed and creative approach. And the results were brilliant!

Photos courtesy of Andy Bennett

The food and entertainment was top notch


The food was so good that I only took one shot the entire evening, because I couldn't keep it on my plate long enough to photograph (anyone that has ever eaten a meal with me will know that this is fairly unusual!).



Luckily, there was an amazing indie-rock style wedding band and a photo booth to keep us all entertained when it was all gone. I don't think I've seen so many people pour onto one dancefloor so quickly at a wedding before!




There was plenty of romance


In the past, it wasn't unusual for Tania to turn her nose up at traditional notions of romance, but for one day (and probably one day only), she let her guard down, and totally embraced it! The speeches were beautiful, their first dance was a tear-jerker, and every time I caught sight of the new man and wife together, their joy was so apparent that I couldn't help but smile.





Tan and Dan, thank you so much for asking me to be a part of your big day! If our wedding is half as beautiful as yours was, I will be one very happy bride!

Photo courtesy of Andy Bennett

12 comments:

  1. What a wedding! It seems like you, and the beautiful bride, had an incredible day! I'm sure your wedding will be just as beautiful love!

    Lauren xx
    The Lifestyle Diaries

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    1. It was a lot of fun! One of those weddings where everyone's just smiling all day! Thanks for the reassurance...I do hope so! :-)

      Polly xx

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  2. Awww ... she looked gorgeous and it looked like such a lovely day!!! I know what you mean about wanting to capture it perfectly ... I find that so hard to do with my personal posts! But I think you definitely did her special day justice, Polly! xx

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    1. A bit of a stunner hey?! But then, she is the type of girl who could look beaut in a bin bag! Thank you lovely!

      Polly xx

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  3. Your friend Tania looks beautiful, and she seems remarkably relaxed! Love your bridesmaid dress too, I bet you can wear that again and again. Must have been such a special day, wishing for yours to be equally lovely - not long now!

    Suze | LuxuryColumnist

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    1. Yeah, it's a great dress. I just need to get the rather large stain I made out of it. Whoops! Thank you lovely Suze! So exciting!

      Polly xx

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  4. I love going to a special friend's wedding and having so many people that you love in one place, it makes it even more special when it's your best friend and you're bridesmaid! I'll be bridesmaid for my best friend in April :)
    Lots of love,
    Angie

    SilverSpoon London

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    1. That's so true, it's definitely the best thing about a wedding. It's even better when you live abroad and haven't seen any of them for ages. It's like one big reunion! You'll make a stunning bridesmaid Angie, hope it's a wonderful day!

      Polly xx

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  5. Awww this is such a lovely, genuine post Polly! Really enjoyed following your friend's wedding :) I couldn't agree more than nothing, NOTHING beats belting a good hymn, haha! The venue is so beaut too! Lots of love, Andrea xxx

    Andrea's Passions

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    1. Naww thank you Andrea! I find these kind of posts the hardest because they mean so much! LOVE a hymn! Can't wait for the ones at my wedding!

      Polly xx

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  6. I love those wedding photos, really helps capture the fun! Looks like an amazing day was had by all xx

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    1. It was one of my favourite weddings ever, but then I might be a bit biased! She had a great photographer, I think that's so important!

      Polly xx

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