Last Night I Dreamt’s ultimate guide to weddings with the people who are in the know!
Meet Harry & Annie, two of our fave photographers and the faces behind Stories From Eros who are taking the wedding world by storm. A working couple who also happen to be getting married themselves next year. So who better to give us the ultimate lowdown on how to plan your perfect wedding day? Over to Harry and Annie…
From your experience of filming hundreds of wedding days, what makes the perfect wedding?
A perfect wedding day is unique to each couple, it incorporates each of their personalities into one big event. It should represent both of you but also resonate with you as a couple. When you both feel natural and comfortable, that’s when you can really enjoy yourselves and that’s what really creates the perfect wedding.
Couples often say they don’t know what to plan first. So is there an order of what to book first and how should couples go about planning their wedding day?
I think the first step should be deciding whether you want to plan your wedding yourself or employ the services of a professional planner to help you. You can bring a planner on board at any time in your planning process, but the earlier the better. The next step is the location and the date, decide on somewhere that works for you, but don’t hesitate to go for that dream wedding venue. The people you are closest to will come no matter what, so don’t let logistics get in the way of your ideal venue and date (I know we didn’t!).
Then I would start to think about what you want your wedding to be like, how you want your guests to feel and how you want to feel on the day. Doing this can help you work out the style and location of your venue.
In previous years we had a general guide to when you should start securing your vendors for your wedding, however with the dreaded C word (Covid) the rule book really is out the window. So, it’s never too early to start having a look around.
Name the favourite venues you’ve photographed weddings at?
Hedsor House is a gorgeous location that we recently filmed a wedding at. We recently filmed a wedding at Claridges too, which we cannot wait to share the film from! Norwood Park is definitely one of the nicest venues in the East Midlands, and it is just on our doorstep. The gardens are so well kept, there is plenty of space but also, each room is filled with character. Private home marquee weddings are always one of my favourites. They are so personal and unique. There is something special about photographing something that will never be repeated again.
What are your top tips on picking the perfect wedding suppliers?
For the suppliers who are present on your wedding day, your photographer and videographer, your musicians, your planner and anyone else who spend a lot of time around you on your day, make sure you have a good connection with them. You want to feel comfortable on your wedding day, so think good vibes! Instagram, Pinterest and blogs are a great way to find suppliers and also see weddings they have worked on in the past. Find out what they have worked on, but also look to see if they have been working on any inspirational shoots. Editorial shoots can really show the potential of a supplier, and it shows you what they would like to create. We have worked with loads of suppliers in the past, it would be too hard for us to single out our favourites. However, locally, Southwell has some of the best wedding suppliers around the East Midlands. Julia from Frances Day Bridal and Sophie from Gigil and Bloom are two people we have worked with for years and we have grown to love.
Bringing it home, for Nottinghamshire couples, where should they look to plan their big day and who should they book?
If you want an incredible bridal experience you have to go dress shopping at Frances Day Bridal in Southwell. Julia and her team are like no other around. Their boutique is beautiful and Julia has meticulously crafted it to create a personal and safe space for you to try on their hand-picked collection of dresses. On top of that, they are all wonderfully kind and extremely knowledgeable. Gigil & Bloom is another one of our favourites, they put a really modern and unique spin on bridal floristry. I am always excited to see what they have designed when we work with a couple who have booked Gigil and Bloom! Sophie has created glorious arches and meadows of flowers in the past. She and her team are super skilled and dedicated, and they will awe you with their abilities.
How did you two meet?
We met at a mutual friend’s party in 2012! We have been together 10 years this year!! So, we really have grown together. After I finished sixth form and Harry finished studying film production at college we travelled the world together for six months (which can definitely make or break a couple!!). We returned home and I went to study marketing at university and Harry continued to study film production at university. He wasn’t so fond of university and so he decided to drop out and pursue a freelance career as a photographer and camera operator. Eventually he was asked to shoot a wedding and the rest is history! In my final year of university I was helping Harry shoot at the weekends and studying in the week, by the time I graduated we were halfway through a wedding season!We didn’t plan to run a business together, it just naturally happened over the years and we turned out to be a good team!
What will you be doing for your wedding day next year?
We have decided to go abroad for our wedding, but we are keeping it very much under wraps! It was really important to us for it to be a real celebration and a bit of a party. It is so true that a wedding day really does go so fast, one moment the bride is having her hair and make-up done and moments later we are capturing the first dance! So, we wanted to be able to spend a few days with our guests to relax and celebrate.
Name your favourite wedding dress designer.
This is such a hard one! How do I just choose one! I am loving Christie Nicole’s collections at the moment and I also love the Jesus Piero 2023 collection. It looks like it’s going to be incredible! I cannot wait to see it when Frances Day Bridal gets it later this year. Favourite celebrity wedding and why.This is difficult. When you know what goes on behind the scenes of a wedding, you really notice that celebrities really only give the public a tiny glimpse into their wedding. Often the photographs you see are from paparazzi and not even from the official photographers that the couple have chosen. Saying that, I am a it of a sucker for a royal wedding, the photographs from Princess Beatrice and Edoardo MapellI Mozzi’s micro-wedding looked beautiful and so classically British. Pixie Lott’s and Oliver Cheshire’s wedding looked gorgeous, again, a classic and timeless British look with refreshing summer colours and modern music. Just stunning.
We are in the middle of wedding season for 2022 but what do you think will be the wedding trends for 2023?
I think gloves will be making a big comeback to bridal. We have already seen them start to sneak into 2022 but I think the big comeback will be next year. Yellows and Oranges look to be on colour palette for 2023, which I cannot wait to see!I would hope that general big trends would fade and the ‘trend’ would be a couple really trying to imprint their own personalities on their wedding day.
We work with a lot of Nottingham brides helping them to find their wedding jewellery. What are your favourite pieces from the Last Night I Dreamt website?
Are there any dos and don’ts for couples?
From a photography and videography point of view I would say don’t underestimate the importance of a morning preparation schedule, make sure you leave enough time to capture your pre wedding portraits. Get your jewellery, shoes and stationery prepared for the morning too so that you can get those flat lay photographs!
We also love a letter, write each other a personal letter and read them out on camera. It’s hard and it’s emotional, but they make for amazing voiceovers. Ceremony readings work for voiceovers too if you don’t want to read your partner’s letter aloud.
Don’t try to please everyone. You can’t, you need to focus on what the two of you really want. Don’t do what other people want you to do, just do you, it will all work out. Think about how your wedding will look when you get the album and video out in years to come. Our biggest advice would be to think timelessly!
Think about the beautiful weddings from years gone, see how they still look stylish and classy, that is what is you want to achieve. Trends and fads really do come and go so fast, and the last thing you want your grandchildren to say is “What are you wearing?!”
Desert island wedding time – name your three must haves for a wedding day!
Good food and drink
Good music
And of course, the right people to capture it to make those memories last forever.
Credits:
Photography: @storiesfromeros - www.storiesfromeros.com & @katiejulia_ www.katiejulia.com
Film: @storiesfromeros - www.storiesfromeros.com
Mentor @katiejulia_ www.katiejulia.com
Bridal Boutique @frances_day_bridal - www.francesday.co.uk
Dress Designers @stephanieallin - www.stephanieallin.net/bridal & @suzanneneville - www.suzanneneville.com
Model @catherineneilsonx
Make up & Hair @hairnbeauty.com_
Accessories @lnidjewellery - www.lastnightidreamt.co.uk @miss_clemmie_accessories - www.missclemmie.co.uk
Florist @runningwildfloraldesign