“Unparalleled at taking photos whilst dodging drunken shape-throwing.”

I’m fairly sure that Nel and I were sisters in a previous life. Her and I could spend hours putting the world to rights, only giving up when we ran out of voice! Tim might not be so keen, but he loves a good breakfast and so do I so basically, the Parfitts and I were a match made in heaven right from the start and I was certain that their weddings at The William Cecil, Stamford, would be UH MAY ZING…

AND IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

What an incredible wedding to kick off 2019… And Nel’s dress has got POCKETS YOU GUYS!!!!

How did you meet?

We met at school in the Lower Sixth – I was new to the school that Tim had been at for a few years. We were friends for a year and started going out in the Upper Sixth – Tim never officially asked me out on a date, we just sort of starting going out and haven’t stopped for 14 years!

Tell me your proposal story.

We hadn’t long moved to Stamford but we loved walking in the meadows along the river with our dog. Tim had been planning to propose and I had absolutely no idea but he thought he’d been rumbled when I randomly decided to put on nice clothes and spend some time doing my make-up that day – girls will understand, sometimes you just feel like it! I honestly had no idea and it was such a shock when I turned around from chucking a tennis ball into the river for Wilma to see him down on one knee with a ring – I didn’t say a word for a full minute and he had to prompt me for an answer. Once the shock wore off, I said yes!

Why did you choose The William Cecil, Stamford for your wedding day?

We wanted an all-in-one venue so we could have the ceremony and reception all in one place and have rooms for our guests to stay over since almost all our friends and family live elsewhere. We also wanted somewhere to have a more intimate wedding as we knew we only wanted close friends and family. We already liked The William Cecil in Stamford for going out to eat so thought we’d meet with their wedding planner Amy and it all just felt right, we set out to plan with as little fuss and stress as possible so we booked it there and then – we figured we liked it and could absolutely see ourselves having a perfect wedding there so why make it more complicated that it needed to be?

What was it you loved about your outfits and accessories that made you choose them?

I had no idea what kind of wedding dress I wanted but I saw the one I chose online while browsing and just thought – that’s it! I went to a bridal boutique that had a sample and, even in a sample 3 sizes too big, it was definitely my dress. I tried on a few more for comparisons sake, but that first one was the dress for me. I loved the clean skirt, deep V bodice, the fact that it was incredibly light and comfortable for so much dress and the fact that it had POCKETS!! Only having one bridesmaid meant we just looked for the perfect dress to suit her – a clean skirt and embellished bodice matched my dress and it the colour was just right.

For Tim and his best man, they wanted something a bit different and in a more wintry fabric – finding vintage-look brown tweed suits was perfect while the skinny trousers and boots gave the look a contemporary edge.

Tell me about the vision you had for your wedding including your theme/colour scheme/styling/flowers:

It being a winter wedding, we knew from the start that we didn’t want anything to feel summery so I decided against lots of colour or anything too bright and breezy. A candlelit dinner party seemed just perfect for a smaller wedding in winter and we used that as our inspiration in bringing in warm, bronze tones with the decorations and cake. Adding lots of greenery meant we could have tons of arrangements as decoration but without adding too many colours. Our florist absolutely got this – she layered so many textures and shades of green in the foliage and then accented it with touches of white. The dinner party idea led to us hiring long tables which meant, even though we still had a top table and two long rows, it felt so much more intimate that weddings sometimes do. Foliage garlands ran down the tables which we also covered in candles – with the lights dimmed and hundreds of candles, the place was so glowy but the contemporary greenery took away any hint of Christmas. It all ended up so much more than we imagined thanks to our amazing suppliers and venue.

What was your first dance and why did you choose it?

We danced to Make It Wit Chu by Queens of the Stone Age. We both love rock and alternative music and, although not all of our guests knew the song, we just felt it was right for us. It’s at the lower end of the scale when it comes to romantic songs but it has the best rhythm and if you’re into QOTSA, there’s only one choice! Our band played it live as well which was incredible.

What were the most wonderful parts of the day for you?

It’s almost impossible to pick but seeing our friends and family come together, have a wonderful time and be so happy to see us finally get married was amazing. We shared a lot of laughter and tears on the day, it was perfect.

Why did you choose Hannah Hall Photography as your photographer, and what was your experience of your photography on the day?

We found Hannah’s website after googling around for local photographers and just immediately liked her style – we just hadn’t seen that many party pics with any other photographer and, it being such a big part of the day, we knew we wanted someone who was going to get in the mix and capture those moments with our friends on the dancefloor as well as the rest of the day. Her pictures felt contemporary and you can see the personality of the subjects shining through. We met with Hannah and it just felt like a great fit – we talked so much, Tim had to drag me away! On the day, she was amazing – sometimes you didn’t even know she was there, other times, she was on-hand helping out. She got on with everyone and is an absolute guru when it comes to your wedding day. Unparalleled at taking photos whilst dodging drunken shape-throwing.

What would be your best bit of advice to other couples planning their wedding?

We decided early on to keep it simple and as fuss-free as possible – setting your intentions at the start seemed to be a great way to go. It meant we reminded ourselves not to second guess or over-think things – going round 10 venues and seeing 5 florists is just going to confuse things! Do your research first and get a clear idea of what you want.

Nel + Tim’s gorgeous winter wedding at The William Cecil, Stamford happened with the help of…

Dress: Maggie Sottero at Clifford Burr Bridal / Hair: Hannah Coxhead Hair / Make Up: Ruth Elizabeth MUA

Cake: The Confetti Cakery / Flowers: Peonies & Plumes / Suits: The Vintage Suit Hire Company

Styling: Dottie Events + Wedding Day Hire / Band: The Indie Killers

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