Shadia & Neil
The Orangery Maidstone
Shadia & Neil chose The Orangery Maidstone for their September wedding, we asked Shadia to share her story with us.
Scroll down the page to see links to all the wedding suppliers and Shadia’s top tips for other Brides.
Shadia’s Wedding Story:
The Dress.
I tried on about 20 dresses before I found the one. I had an open mind when it came to dresses but always imagined something a little fitted which this dress was! I had a bit of drama with my dress shop suddenly closing down with 3 months to go but it was all sorted in the end with the help of the lovely ladies at The Wild Heart Bridal in Rochester and JLM Couture.
The Venue.
We probably knew more what we didn’t want than what we wanted when we first set out to look. We were very set initially on having accommodation on site but we found this to restricting. We went to several venues but wanted something that was a little more modern with a neutral colour palette and vast grounds.
The Theme.
Our main colours were navy, blush pink and rose gold which fitted perfectly with an end of summer / early autumn wedding.
The Bridesmaids wore dresses from Hayley Paige Occasions and the Groomsmen wore blue check tuxedos from Next.
The Flowers and Cake.
After discussing flowers with my florist I fell in love with Café au lait Dahlias so these made an appearance in the bouquets and we wanted a more natural look to the table flowers with lots of foliage.
We decided to go for a donut tower with a cake on top to cut with some flowers and a sparkly rose gold cake topper for decoration.
The Ceremony.
The whole day went by super quickly. It was a very proud moment walking down the aisle with my Dad who kept whispering to slow down! Our brothers both did excellent readings which they picked themselves.
The Reception.
The venue staff, Ethereal Events, and Petal & Wild did a fabulous job decorating the venue. When I was walking through the venue to get the aisle I took a moment to see what had been done for the first time and it was exactly as I’d imagined. All the speeches were great and my Dad surprised me with lots of photos from my childhood which had been blown up and used throughout to tell a story. The reception was so much fun, our singer / DJ was able to perform such a range of music that suited both Neil and me, as we have very different musical tastes and I have never seen a dance floor so packed from start to finish! The Arabic music we had was also a massive hit with everyone with the groom lifted up on our guests’ shoulders. We are not naturally photogenic people and can probably count on one hand the number of photos we have of us together but Louisa and Duncan made us feel very comfortable throughout and our wedding pictures are stunning. Having the extra photographer doing the natural shots really helped and it was easier to coordinate the group shots. It also meant there was the opportunity for our guests to have their own photos taken too!
Advice for other Brides.
Try not to stress over things that are out of your control (easier said than done!)
Venue:
Dress:
Hayley Paige, West Gown in Ivory
Wedding rings:
Carlo Jewellers
Bridesmaids’ Dresses:
Hayley Paige Occasions from the Wild Heart Bridal
Hair:
Vicki Lord
Make-up:
Helen Lee
Groom’s Outfit:
Next
Stationery:
Norma & Dorothy
Flowers:
Petal & Wild
Catering:
Soufflé To You
Venue Dresser:
Ethereal Events
Entertainment:
Tony Roberts – Actz Entertainment
LED Dancefloor:
28 Events
Fireworks:
Angelfire Pyrotechnics
Harpist:
Carys Hughes