Earlier this year I had the pleasure of photographing Henri and Philip’s beautiful, relaxed, Norwich urban wedding. I asked Henri to jot down a few things that stood out from the day and how she and Philip met and fell in love.

What did you think of Beth, your wedding photographer? 

When I saw Beth from Beth Moseley Photography‘s website and spoke to her I was blown away. She had the perfect balance of warmth, experience, creativity and professionalism. The whole experience working with her was so enjoyable. It was a creative journey where I felt Beth held my hand but let me loose too!

How did you meet?

My flatmate told me that I had to meet Philip, he was fun and a decent bloke. I went to a party with her where upon as I walked into the room he was dancing to suspicious minds by Elvis Presley (one of my fave tracks). He jumped down off the table and was immediately very enigmagtic and attractive. He took my number. I went to a gig at Norwich Arts Centre which was quite dull but then suddenly these blokes at the front we heckling and singing and dancing which really stirred up the atmosphere and was appreciated by the band and…me. I realised it was Philip so made a bee line to say hi. We had a chat then went our seperate ways. He came to mine for dinner, I went to his. Then I went off to Spain on holiday.

My friends in Spain teased me that I wouldn’t stop talking about him. When I got back there was a bunch of flowers with a sweet welcome home note. I was so pleased to see him and he hung out some more. I loved being with him and had never felt so close to someone in such a small space of time. Philip told me he couldn’t have children as advised by a doctor following tests. This was a major issue for me. I really wanted children. Anyway, we carried on hanging out and I was growing really fond of him. A few weeks later, I discovered I was pregnant. We were both delighted and the rest is history. Mary arrived and by that point we were a real team and perfectly in love. I asked him to marry me on leap year 2016. He refused saying it wasn’t the right time. I was gutted but had to accept it. Then for my 40th birthday, he took me to Copenhagen, a destination we had both always talked about. He asked me to marry me on the roof terrace of our hotel. I accepted and then we started planning. We both wanted something simple and us.

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Tell me about your wedding day

We wanted something at my parents house. It was intimate, full of happy memories and it meant we could have a proper party. We were getting married at the Norwich registry office at the castle but then realised we couldn’t fit all our guests in. We really wanted our friends and family to share the whole day with us from beginning to end. I went to see the latest Bridget Jones film where she finally gets married in a church. Having been bought up vaguely religious I was suddenly inspired and deep down knew it was right. I went home and told Philip, he pointed out that St John Cathedral was shorter walk to my parents house and that it would please a lot of people including both our parents. I later found out my dad was deeply estatic when I told him that he was going to be walking me down the aisle. We were so pleased with our decision, Beth said she had shot in St Johns Cathedral before and that she happened to be back in Norwich that weekend staying at her mums. It all just seemed right.

 

Tell me about your ceremony

The ceremony was quite formal because we got married in the Catholic Church. We were very lucky to be married by the priest who had christened our daughter and worked with Philip for a number of years at his school. We loved the intimacy and connectivity of that. I loved walking up the aisle and seeing all the people I loved with my daughter running in front to the man I loved standing at the end. I loved how relaxed Philip seemed (I later found out he had sunk 3 pints beforehand!). I loved how my friends from Spain cried and shouted. I loved how no one knew whether to stand or sit. I loved how quick it was too!

If you could share any words of wisdom to couples planning their wedding day, what would that be?

Don’t take ages planning it. Just get on with it. It’s never going to be perfect, silly things will go wrong and not be how you wanted them but the important bit is that you are marrying the person you love and having a good time along the way. Have the stress and the organisation up to a certain point but at some point just enjoy the ride and let everyone else have the stress. Drop all expectations. (Not meant to be cynical!)

What was your favourite part of the day and why?

The church, the ceremony, the pomp, the show. Even though it was full on. It felt like that part of the day was truly the most intimate and had the most poignant moments. We were standing up together in front of our friends and family and saying ‘Let’s do it’. Parties you can do and replicate anytime but a church bit with official signings, that was special.

Tell me about your outfits & accessories

I wanted my wedding to be a party with a white dress. The dress had to be something I felt comfortable in. All the long dresses were so big and cumbersome so I finally found the one that I felt great in and could also move in! I wanted funky shoes too as the dress was shorter, the shoes had to be feature. They were personalised to me and Philip.

Special mentions 

Henri’s wedding dress: Frock Spot 

Wedding flowers:  Pick a Lily 

Bridal shoes: Millys Shoes

Food and Marquee: Broadland Bars

Cheese Cake: Cheese stall on Norwich Market

Bespoke invitations: Katie Watts Crowblack

Cheese cake decoration and composition Henri’s dear pal Belle Jones

Bunting and jars fantastically put together by Jane Locke and Nadia Diprata
The wonderful jipney van was supplied and driven by Paul Farbon
Drew Webster church guiyar music
Mike With the unofficial photographer

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