Chris and Kristie Harris' Perfect Wedding & Perfect Wedding Entertainment!

Our guests were all beaming, drinking and dancing to Owen H, and it was only 3pm in the afternoon!! You’d expect this at 11pm when everyone was a little merry, but at mid-afternoon I think this is some achievement!

Where did your wedding take place, why did you choose that venue, and how big was your wedding party?

We chose The Forest Hotel in Dorridge for both our wedding and reception venue. We had visited many a manor house and golf course prior to going to see The Forest, and hadn’t once felt it was the right place for us to marry.

However, from the moment we walked into The Forest, we immediately fell in love with it. On the outside it looks like your typical local village pub, but once inside you are welcomed by beautiful original Victorian vaulted ceilings, vintage furniture and contrasting modern décor, and wonderful staff who made us feel so welcome.

We sampled dinner there and that sold it to us. The Forest has been awarded 2AA rosettes and features in the Michelin Good Food guide.

The Forest really stood out to us as the contemporary alternative to the traditional wedding venue whilst not compromising on the grandeur and quality of service. We weren’t left disappointed on the day.

Did you have a theme for your wedding, and what sort of look and feel did you want to create?

Old fashioned romance and vintage were the themes for our wedding. I wanted the marriages of our grandparents and great-grandparents to feature quite heavily throughout the day. My bouquet featured a large vintage silver locket containing pictures of my grandparents.  (* Check out Alive Network's blog on "Vintage Wedding Entertainment")

The order of service featured the wedding photographs of our grandparents.  I made a “love” board for the cake table which included a Polaroid style picture of every couple in the room. I designed a wedding logo using lyrics from “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles, which we incorporated into the wedding stationery and favour bags.

We also had an engagement shoot with our photographer at Severn Valley railway station in the style of the film “A Brief Encounter”.

This played a huge part in the day, in keeping with the old fashioned romance theme.

The vintage theme complimented old fashioned romance but with a contemporary twist. All elements of the day such as flowers, suits, bridesmaid dresses and table decorations had a vintage feel; however I incorporated a modern element by using willow and contorted hazel in my flower arrangements with fairy lights everywhere.

I kept to neutral colour schemes with beige, brown, mink and light pink to tie in with the décor at The Forest. I didn’t want to contrast too much with the strong features, and the dramatic willow and hazel in my floral arrangements meant that the flowers spoke for themselves. I didn’t want bright flowers so stuck with pale roses and plenty of foliage and ivy to add to the romance theme. Once it all came together, I’d say it even had a fairy tale forest feel about it!

Not in-keeping with the theme of the wedding, I went for a princess style ivory A Line gown by Mori Lee, which was covered in beading and appliqué. Having looked at and tried on vintage style dresses I just didn’t feel right in them, so went for the dress that wowed me rather than what tied in with my theme. Chris and his groomsmen wore tail suits, but we ditched the traditional cravat for a modern slim silver tie. Our big bridesmaids wore an elegant black one shoulder dress with vintage lace stole and mink accessories. Our little flower girls wore vintage beaded dresses from Next, mink fur coats for outside with flowers in their hair, and willow hearts with roses to hold. They all looked beautiful.

The wedding entertainment reflected the modern elements of the day. We hired solo singer/guitarist Owen H to play during our wedding ceremony and the drinks reception, prior to dinner. He did a fantastic job of keeping proceedings upbeat and the music he played really reflected our personalities, playing mostly indie and rock throughout the afternoon to keep the guests entertained (and even singing along!) We had a Soul and Motown band play at our evening reception, and as they were my uncle’s band, they played for free as a wedding gift to us.

I wanted our wedding to be personal to us, so everything was handmade. I spent many painful hours making hanging glass tea lights out of jam jars, wooden heart place cards, favour bags and napkin rings. The results were well worth the hard work as it all looked very professional, even if I do say so myself!

Please tell us about the running order and format of your day, including details of any live music or entertainment.

The wedding ceremony was scheduled to start at 2.00pm, so me and my bridal party arrived at the hotel at 10.00am to start getting ready.

We asked Owen H to start playing at 1.30pm to entertain guests as they began arriving in the ceremony room.

He played mostly light indie, rock and pop. My husband, Chris, said he did wonders in calming his nerves too when he was waiting for me to arrive.

Owen also played me down the aisle to “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele, a song very special to both of us, which Jason had learnt at very short notice. This really helped make our ceremony that little bit more amazing.

Our best friend, Alisha, read an extract from my favourite novel, “Captain Corelli’s Mandolin” by Louis de Bernier. She was worried she had messed it up as she got quite emotional half way through, and she had to stop to compose herself. However, we felt it just made it that extra bit special.

During the ceremony Chris also said some vows to my daughter Megan (his step daughter).

Chris has been part of Megan’s life since she was two and has been like a father to her for many years now.

One of the main reasons for us choosing to get married was so that we could become a proper family, and Chris’ vows to Meg signified this.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room and this was the most important moment of both our wedding day and our lives together.

Owen H also played during the signing of the register.

We then moved into the bar area for a drinks reception where Owen set up again, this time playing more upbeat songs to get the party started and guests in the mood for celebrating.

He did a fantastic job, really involving the audience and even taking requests at the end of his set. We had so many comments from guests about Owen H - how he made their day, how polite and friendly he was, how the music he played really reflected our personalities and put a personal stamp on the day.

What were your favourite moments of the day?

Walking down the aisle and getting married to the man of my dreams was the most important part of our day, as was Chris’ vows to Megan. However, there were other certain parts to the day that made it even more fabulous…

I remember Chris and I had made a pledge to stand back for a moment during the day and take stock of everything, so we snuck off to a quiet corner of the bar to simply watch everything going on around us. Our guests were all beaming, drinking and dancing to Owen H, and it was only 3.00 pm in the afternoon!! You’d expect this at 11.00 pm when everyone was a little merry, but at mid-afternoon I think this is some achievement! It was at that moment, when I felt all the planning and hard work had come together, and I had done a good job. We were having an amazing time, our guests we’re having an amazing time, and the day was going swimmingly.

What pearls of wisdom or words of advice would you extend to future brides and grooms who are planning their perfect wedding?

Go with what makes you happy! I had spent many an hour stressing over guest lists, table plans, keeping Aunt Mable (who I had never met) happy by inviting her to the wedding.

I had also deliberated too much about entertainment. In the end I went for what reflected us and our tastes the best, rather than what we thought the guests would prefer.  It turns out we kept both us and our guests happy!

I would also say to make sure you and your new husband/bride take time out to take stock of the day at some point.

I was determined not to stress on the day, but naturally and unavoidably, I did. However, that half an hour I took with Chris to step back and just enjoy it, made things so much more enjoyable. I would recommend every bride/groom put it at the top of their to-do list for the day.

We had so many comments from guests about Owen H - how he made their day, how polite and friendly he was, how the music he played really reflected our personalities and put a personal stamp on the day