Emily & Joe

On Saturday the 21st of September 2019 at 1.30pm, Emily Spence & Joe Oakley got married at Haarlem Mill in Wirksworth, Derbyshire surrounded by their family and friends. You only have to look at their photos to know what a stunning, well suited couple they are. And speaking of photos… their’s literally took our breath away, Matt Horan you are quite simply a photography legend, we will probably stare at these forever. You might also recognise a face in those photos because Joe, the lovely groom, is well known for his appearance on Britain’s Got Talent… is it okay to brag about having a celeb in our midst? Because, well, we are!

Emily looked absolutely incredible in her Pronovias Atelier dress from the 2018 collection which was purchased from Rococo Weddings in Melbourne, Derby. I don’t know about the guests but even we wanted to cry as we set her off down the aisle along with her bridesmaids, who wore dresses from Dancing Leopard (in the bride’s favourite, eye catching, shade of green) which Emily purchased before anything else when she found them online and fell in love. Joining the bride and her bridesmaids were the gorgeous flower girls who wore made-to-measure dresses from JJ’s House, perfect for finding a dress suitable for a range of ages. And ready to say his ‘I do’s’ at the other end of the aisle was the groom and his groomsmen. Joe wore a tailor-made suit by Adrian Barrows from The Bespoke Tailor and his groomsmen wore suits from Next.

With their day being late September, Emily and Joe opted for the perfect autumnal rustic theme with their colour scheme being oranges and greens. Emily, a keen Pinterester, hunted around for inspiration and then fired away with some amazing DIY decor. She picked and soaked maple leaves in glycerine for preservation and then kept them in a file for 12 months… now that is organised! She then glued them to mason jars to create beautiful centerpieces, scattered them around the ceremony room and painted a handful with glitter to feature on the cake stand. The flowers for the day complimented this theme perfectly and were created by the fantastic team at Tineke (our recommended florist, based conveniently downstairs).

Other decorations included a customised neon ‘The Oakleys’ sign purchased from Etsy and a handful of props made by the groom himself. Including a wooden pallet star, a wooden heptagon, a copper easel with a ‘find-your-face chalkboard’ for the table plan and an ‘our story’ pallet with key dates from the couples relationship. There were more fabulous props hired from In My Life, a styling business owned by Joe’s sister Dani, including a ‘Love Made Me Do It’ neon sign, temporary tattoo bar, topiary backdrop and a perspex sign for the cake stand. Dani has recently made the decision to close the business to spend more time with her beautiful daughter… one of the flower girls on the big day. Her props have been sold on to a number of industry experts, enquiries for future events should contact TicketyBoo. The couple also had a Magic Mirror which is owned by The Burgundys.

The delicious wedding cake was orange and pistachio flavour, made by Emily’s best friend and bridesmaid Amy, this was accompanied by a mixture of carrot cake and salted caramel flavoured cupcakes made by another close friend, Emily, who is also (handily) an expert baker. This is one seriously talented family/friendship group. Are you as jealous as us?

Entertainment for the day included a singer for the drinks reception, Petirii Hall (another friend of the happy couple) and band for the evening, The Money, recommended by Rob from The Burgundys who was attending the wedding as a guest (seems only fair, being brother in law to the groom)! In the evening they were joined by alternative Mexican street food van, Habaneros, which went down a treat!

As any dog lovers will know, the day isn’t complete without a visit from your fury companion. Emily and Joe hired Hurleys Wedding Day Dogs , who are based in West Bridgford, to prepare, chaperone and board their German Short Haired Pointer, Walter. He’s part of the family so just had to part of the wedding photos.

And the party did not stop there! Emily and Joe hired Tinkersbells, a bell tent hire company based in Uttoxeter, who pitched up in a field at the top of Wirksworth and created their own glamping village. When the wedding ended, the after party started with a fire pit, s’mores, chinese lanterns and lots of singing, bedtime eventually came at around 4am but the celebrations continued in the morning with a huge family BBQ breakfast. No, your drooling!

Emily and Joe, we wish you all the happiness in the world for your life as husband and wife. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Oakley. X