Hansley Beard

Venue: Chatsworth House, Derbyshire
Ceremony type: Civil
Theme and Colour Scheme: Flower of Scotland Tartan and Peacock Feathers

“Our wedding day was incredibly special and everything I could have hoped for. It was relaxed, happy, beautiful and unique to us as a couple.

Everything just seemed to go extraordinarily well and everything ran so smoothly and happily. For me, that just typified the day.

I know that the real reason it went so smoothly though, was not just a case of the fortunes smiling on us, it was the very hard work that had been put into the planning, the timings and the little touches. It was such a pleasure for me to see everything that I hoped for that day becoming a reality and it all being enjoyed so much by our guests.

We were fairly budget conscious throughout and we knew what we wanted to prioritise, such as the quality of the food and drinks. Having Jennie there to oversee the look and feel of the wedding meant that we knew what our budget was at all times and we could always discuss different décor options and scales to keep on top of our spending.

With the wedding being held in England but Jon being from Scotland, some sort of Scottish theme was a given. We encouraged kilt wearing and I decided to tie in with it by commissioning a silk tartan bolero and sash. I loved the vibrant ‘Flower of Scotland’ silk so much that it was an easy decision to include it in the design of the invitations and order of service. Jennie then took the colours and ran with them. She came up with the colour palette to design all the elements of the wedding, from flowers to place settings. Once Jennie took the colour palette a step further to a design board, it became very easy for us both to be creative and bounce ideas off each other with us both being ‘on the same page’, and confident to make new choices. I think in communicating with Jennie, as we lived so far apart, it was useful looking at internet sites like ‘Project Wedding’. Then I could email her with images saying – like this! –not like this!

The Bridesmaids loved the colour of their Ted Baker dresses in Peacock Blue and so the peacock element just sprung very naturally from there. I think that the feathers are so naturally striking and fine looking, and they are something different to flowers whilst still complementing the flowers. It was then a case of choosing flowers that would not conflict with the other themes, so Jennie and I decided to go for white tulips. I felt they were modest, pure and elegant, and of course perfect for an April wedding.

The last theme element was perhaps a bit quirky and gave my dad rather too much inspiration for his speech. It was the novel ‘The Princess Bride’; a childhood favourite. I actually had more themes than I knew what to do with but with Jennie’s help we trimmed down the ‘Flower of Scotland’, Peacock and the novel’s themes into manageable sizes – well, they all made sense to me, at least, when they were brought together! Quite a task for Jennie!

Our service was also very individual to us. We designed it carefully to mean something special to us a couple and to bring our two families together. A respected authority – Jon’s Aunty! – said it was the most moving ceremony she’d been to, and that was echoed by a number of people, and I could tell we more than succeeded with our intention. I walked up the aisle with my Dad to a friend singing ‘Caravan of Love’ - an acapella song by the Housemartins, accompanied by my sister on guitar. Jon’s uncle read two Robert Burns poems beautifully (which is the moment I started blubbing) and my Swedish cousin sang a love song between the official proceedings. We emerged to a tunnel of bubbles and a welcome and refreshing glass of Pimms.

If I had to summarise the day in one word it would be ‘carefree’. It was brimming with joy, very full-on and eventful. But it was so well planned that it just ran very smoothly - Jon and I loved every second. We got married on the Sunday but everything had been organised by the Tuesday beforehand. Having Jennie and her team there on the day meant that I knew everything was in hand so I could just have fun with friends on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We had more of a wedding weekend that a wedding day, which involved rounders matches, rock climbing and the Grand National. These were all really happy events that my whole family could relax and enjoy because we knew that most of the Sunday details had been taken care of, or would be on the day, by Jennie.

Jennie and I had a very deep trust and she had a vision of what I wanted the wedding to be, because it was Jennie who I had talked to and emailed on so many evenings throughout the year. As I work during the day, I could only give the wedding my attention in the evenings and at weekends, and Jennie was there in a way only a personal wedding planner could be, to answer questions and give advice. And although I did put a great deal of work into thinking, designing and planning it exactly how I wanted it, I can only imagine how much more arduous and stressful the whole process would have been without Jennie co-ordinating the suppliers and being there to oversee the day."

"Jennie was excellent. She listened to everything that Katie was thinking about and then gave her lots of visual choices that were costed and practical.

We know that Jennie spent a great deal of preparation time on the peacock feathers that formed the central theme of the wedding. Not only did she source and procure them, she spent hours cleaning, drying and fanning them individually. And though there were hundreds put out, the wedding guests had snapped them all up by the end of the night, and I've seen several on friends’ dressing tables since!

On the day, Jennie and her team worked discreetly behind the scenes ensuring that everything was perfect for the guests. The elaborate decorations were set-up unobtrusively whilst the guests were in the ceremony room. Positive relationships with the venue staff at Chatsworth meant that everything ran very smoothly."