The Perfect Day

I am quite careful with my use of adjectives when describing things but I cannot think of a better one to use when I describe the day we had last Saturday for Milly and Tom's Wedding. It was simply The Perfect Day. Those of you who know me well appreciate that I rarely put family faces on my blog but I have had such support from all my blogging friends that I will make an exception here and I will post lots of family photos. It is hard to know quite where to start in describing this momentous day but I suppose the very first photo everyone wants to see is one of the beautiful bride and her handsome groom. I teased you on Saturday with my pre wedding peeks here  and I gave you a peek of the back of the dress. You all said that you were so excited to see the front of it..... so can I present to you...........................

The Bride and Groom.....;0)

Yes she looked totally radiant and Tom totally handsome. I will tease you a little longer wanting see the whole dress because to give a true record of the whole day I need to start at the beginning. This is quite a long post so do make yourself a cup of something, make yourself comfy and enjoy. For those who have just come to see today's card challenge just scroll to the end to find it.

The day started in Midhurst, West Sussex. Milly and I  had spent the day before there and some time in the future I will do a post about that because  it is a most historic town and well worth visiting. The hotel we stayed at dates from 1460 and was a typical old English hotel. It was wonderful to spend the last day before she married Tom together, some quality Mum and daughter time.  Our room was up in the eaves and as we woke up on the Saturday morning we could see that the sun was shining...from that moment we just knew the day would go well.

After a leisurely breakfast and a walk in the sunshine we set off for the wedding venue, Farbridge, in nearby West Dean. This is a wedding venue created from the restoration of gorgeous flint barns. It is set in the glorious West Sussex country side. There are also 10 en suite luxury rooms created from the old stable blocks so the immediate family were able to stay on site that night, which was such a bonus.

This was the view of the surroundings of Farbridge when we arrived...I can not think of a more perfect setting for a wedding. Through the gate to the left is this view.

The stream was full of fast flowing crystal clear water. The sheep were grazing in nearby fields and you could hear them gently bleating in the the sunshine.

This is the view from further back from the ceremony room. The sky had fluffy clouds drifting by and there was a gentle warm breeze so it was not too hot.







The florists and the caterers were already in full swing when we arrived, just before noon. Although the wedding was not until 3pm we could already see how wonderful the venue was looking. What struck me first
were the flowers, they just blew me away. Milly had wanted a "bright" theme for her wedding and wow she had achieved that with the most stunning displays. She also wanted the bridesmaids to carry sunflowers. The florists had never used such bold flowers for a wedding and they have actually asked for permission to use their photos for demos afterwards as they looked so spectacular.

Here are the ladies hard at work. At the far end is the table where the vows would be made.

This was the arrangement on the table.

And these were the little displays tied to the seat end with "Cadbury Purple" ribbon.













There were also large displays either side of the doors leading into the ceremony room.

These striking flowers were in long black vases set in the centre of every table in the reception room.
Milly's bouquet continued the theme and the bridesmaids carried sunflowers.

We left everyone to their work as it was soon time to start to get ready. Milly had her hair put up by an amazing stylist who we had already had a practise run with. I showed you a sneak peek of that on Saturday. We were groomed and polished and we were ready for the pre wedding photos by 2.15pm. The guests started arriving from 2pm and this was from the other side of the barn so we were able to keep Milly secret until she arrived in the ceremony barn. So here we are having our photos taken in Milly's room. You will be able to spot her pearls I made for her. Her bracelet was worn on her left wrist and is visible in later photos. You can also see the first glimpse of my beads...

I think it shows in our faces what proud parents we were.

Here are her 2 lovely bridesmaids, both friends from medical school days. They are wearing their necklaces I made and the pearl studs. Everything fitted perfectly. It was then time for me to leave Milly in the hands of her darling Dad and bridesmaids for the very last minute preparations and putting on her veil. I knew the next time I would see her would be walking into the ceremony barn to marry Tom. I stepped outside and went to greet some of the guests and also catch up with my son, who was one of ushers.

Here I am with my lovely boy. He looked so smart in his tails and silver waistcoat. You can see behind us the doors to the en suite rooms.

The guests all gathered together in the ceremony room and we took our seats. At 3.05pm the music struck up and everyone turned around to see the bridesmaids appear at the top of the steps and behind them the silhouette of Milly and my Hb in the door way. Their sunflower bouquets were so sunny and bright. You could not but smile.

As Milly got nearer I could see that she had decided to wear her veil down and at that point I really did struggle to hold my composure. She just looked so beautiful and her Dad was just so proud. It is a moment I will never forget and even now typing this it makes my eyes prickle.

She made her way down to Tom who looked at her with such adoring eyes I just knew that this marriage is for keeps. The ceremony was a civil service and they wrote their own vows. As they made their vows I just beamed with pride.

There were several readings and they were pronounced husband and wife to rapturous applause.

It was then time to sign the register.

I just think there is so much love in this photo and they look so blissfully happy. They walked out of the ceremony barn to the tunes of  Bruno Mars' "Marry Me". If you don't know this song put it into Google and play it....such an upbeat song and everyone almost skipped out into the glorious sunshine ready for champagne on the lawn.

What an amazing backdrop they had for their photos. Everyone ate canapes whilst waiting for them to finish their photos and then it was time for the meal in the upper barn.
The tables were all named after places in England which have a lot of meaning to Milly and Tom.

The top table was "Leeds" which is where they met.


They came in again to tumultuous applause from everyone.

The meal was delicious. Speeches were made by my Hb, Tom and the Best Man. Some wonderful and memorable words were spoken and thank you gifts were given. This is Milly thanking her dear Bro.

 Milly and Tom had decided not to have a traditional cake but instead to have individual cheesecakes...they were so scrummy.

They were eaten as  the pudding, such a great idea. The cheeky topper they bought had the bride pinching the groom!

So of course after a most wonderful ceremony and meal it just had to be time to.......

PARTY!!!!!! They had bought lots of glow sticks and glow glasses. Everyone looked hilarious wearing them. Even my parents wore them....such a fun time.

Milly's gorgeous dress had a special ribbon tie system underneath so her train was converted into a stylish bustle for her to dance the night away. The bar sold their favourite cocktails as well as all the usual beverages.

This is my son with his big sis....so lovely to see them together and to know that he has a brother in law now!

So all great things had to come to an end and after lots of hugs and good wishes we all made our way to bed. What was such a lovely touch is that we were all able to have breakfast together the next morning (there were a few sore heads there ;0) It was a perfect end to a perfect wedding. I could not have changed a single thing.

Milly and Tom are in Hollywood as I type. They flew out on their Honeymoon on Monday to the West Coast of America. They have hired a Ford Mustang and are driving the West coast for the next 3 weeks. They certainly have celebrated in style.



So for my card choice today  just has to be a Thank You card. I made this for my son's girlfriend's Mum who looked after Billy whilst we were away. I also gave her one of the amazing floral displays from the wedding. My house looks like a wonderful florist shop at the moment; I have stunning displays everywhere.
I would also like to dedicate this as a thank you to my fellow bloggers. I felt so much love from you all when I launched my blog post on Saturday. I was able to read all your sweet messages on my smart phone . What a wonderful bunch you all are. Thank you all so much.

I used a sweet Nelly Snellen stamp which I bought in a sale after Christmas and I have not inked it up before.

I thought the image was very appropriate (even though our Billy is more tabby) but I did colour the nose pink!
I used my Promarker pens and highlighted my colouring with my Prismacolor pencils. The backing papers are from my stash and from Nitwits (I won a $20 gift token from one of my card challenges). The gorgeous flowers are wild orchid crafts, I added some Stickles glitter glue to give them some "bling". The punched leaves are Martha Stewart. The sweet tag sentiment is from Lili of the Valley. I also added some bling rhinestones and a lovely gingham ribbon.

I would like to enter my card into the following card challenges;

Really Reasonable Ribbon #53 bling and ribbon
Divas by Designs #46 flowers
Crafter's Companion #27 best friends
Dream Valley #37 summer
Joanna Sheen Animal crackers
Cupcake Craftroom Fresh and summery
My Mum's Craft Shop ice cream flavours #68 my flavours are strawberry, a hint of pistachio with a cherry on top!! I think this is a really fun idea for a summer challenge.

So there we are, the long awaited post of Milly and Tom's Wedding. It was an unforgettable  journey from beginning to end. They arranged the whole event, I want to thank them too. I have also gained a wonderful new son in law, a soul mate to my darling daughter. Everyone had a ball and I was so proud to be a part of it........And yes, the bride just looked stunning :0)

It really was the Perfect Day.

We have so many memories of such a happy time and I wish them a lifetime of happiness together.

Bye for now,

Back soon (It's our Olympic visit on Tuesday!)

Jane x
(aka Mother in Law to Tom!)