I adore this wedding, it is such a beautiful, bright and colourful wedding. Claire and Huw were married in Wales on the 8th April last year, happy First Anniversary you two for yesterday! I love the indie vibe to their day, the bold spring colours throughout and the music that played a big part in the celebrations.

These gorgeous colourful wedding images have been captured by very lovely Jess Yarwood Photography, she has a really fabulous natural story telling quality to her images. I love the way the day unfolds through the photographs from getting ready right through to the party at the end.

Also incredibly lovely is Huw’s proposal to Claire;

The Proposal

We met on a night out through friends. For our engagement Huw took me on a weekend to Edinburgh. He’d booked us a table at our favourite restaurant ‘The Kitchin’ by Tom Kitchin. All of the staff at the restaurant knew that Huw was going to propose!

Before going to Edinburgh Huw had created a photo album full of photographs of our years together. On the last page it said ‘will you marry me?’ Huw had sent the photo album to the restaurant in advance. The staff at The Kitchen brought the photo album out as if it was the dessert menu, I didn’t have a clue what was going on!!

I looked through the photo album, got to the last page and said ‘yes’. Huw had the ring in his jacket pocket! The staff at the restaurant were on hand to bring over champagne to celebrate!! We had a great weekend.

Rustic, Colourful Wedding Inspiration

For the day itself we wanted a rustic, natural style. We really just wanted the day to be a fun and colourful wedding celebration!

The Dress

As soon I walked into Dolly Blue Bridal and met Adele I knew it was the place for me as it was such a relaxed and fun place . The shop is absolutely stunning and the dresses even more so.

I eventually decided on my dress due to my sisters reaction when I put it on. Although it was my favourite, as I wanted a plain dress with minimum sparkle, when she saw it she gasped and said ‘that’s the one!!’.

We opted for fresh flowers fairly last minute as hair accessories. So it was a surprise on the day what they would look like. I then found a bright blue pair of heels from Asos.

Bridesmaids

The Bridesmaids dresses were for Asos with gorgeous fresh flowers flowers in their hair.

Hair and Make-Up

Head Office Hair Studios did our hairstyles. We all wanted individual styles and Vicky created these perfectly. I like to think we were pretty easy going so we just let Vicky do her thing.

Made Up by Harriet Morris did our make up and Harriet was just fantastic. We wanted to look like ourselves but better and she achieved that perfectly.

Photography

The couple chose talented photographer Jess Yarwood to capture their day, you must check out her work if you are looking for your own wedding photographer. Claire and Huw were so happy the chose Jess for their colourful wedding day as she captured it perfectly;

Jess came recommended to us and we liked her laid back, informal style of photographs.

Groom’s Attire

Huw looked really smart in his bespoke suit and colourful wedding tie that fitted the vibe of the day perfectly. His suit, shirt and Tie were all from Richard Smith Bespoke in Manchester. His shoes were from Barker Shoes.

Best Man’s Attire

The best man’s attire was from Pretty Green.

Wedding Ceremony and Venue

Claire walked down the aisle with her dad Paul. The couple had selected ‘It’s about time’ by Jamie Cullum for the service.

We were married at Minera Church. It is our local church in a beautiful setting. We the had our wedding breakfast and Evening Reception at Plas Isaf Country Barn and Gardens.

Wedding Rings

We wanted something simple and chose rings from Powells the Jewellers. Huw also bought my engagement ring from here. It is a vintage, diamond engagement ring.

Wedding Wheels

Claire and Huw had some awesome wheels for the day including their VW Camper and 2 Jaguar Mk2 cars as well.

Flowers

The gorgeous colourful wedding flowers were by Vivid Floral Design;

We wanted a rustic theme and basically asked the florist to create bouquets that looked as if it had just been picked up from a field.

The Cake

Our cake was from  NV Cakes . It wasn’t a traditional wedding cake. We had a naked cake with buttercream. The bottom tier was chocolate sponge with baileys buttercream. The middle tier was vanilla sponge and white chocolate buttercream and the top tier was chocolate orange sponge and orange buttercream. It was divine!!!

Stationery and Favours

We created the table plans ourselves in a crate full of herbs.

We also had favours. All guests had a miniature drink and mixer. They ranges from gin & tonic, Vodka, whiskey etc. All top table guests had their personal favourite drink. The children had a ‘goody bag’ to keep them entertained.

Entertainment

Music was a big part of Huw and Claire’s day and they had some fantastic entertainment for their guests; their friends band Blue Genes and the Snowdonia String Quartet in the day and at the church and then in the evening the amazing Marblehead Johnson, (A Bluetones reference..I LOVE the Bluetones) an indie covers band.

Honeymoon

Huw and Claire has a mini-moon to Edinburgh;

We then honeymooned in New York and Sorrento, Italy. It was amazing.

Favourite Moment

It was all fantastic! Our friends, Blue Genes wrote us a song to be performed in the church called ‘you make love look easy’. It was so thoughtful and personal and it’s not everyday someone writes a song just for you! The Best Men’s speech was great too!!

First Dance

Claire and Huw chose ‘Baby I’m Yours’ by the Arctic Monkeys as their first dance;

When we first heard it in 2006 we said that if we ever got married that would be our ‘first dance’.

Advice from the Couple

Relax! Don’t let it stress you out! Don’t aim for perfection as it doesn’t exist, just enjoy everything as it comes. Enjoy preparing your special day!

Congratulations to Claire and Huw and I hope your first anniversary celebrations this weekend were amazing. Thanks for sharing your beautiful welsh wedding day with us and every happiness for your future.

Massive thanks to wonderful Jess of Jess Yarwood Photography for these amazing images of the day too,

with love