Lauren & Gregg’s The Kings Arms Wedding

Images by STUART DUDLESTON PHOTOGRAPHY.

Cosy and candlelit with some rather cool vintage vibes… Lauren & Gregg sure do know their style. The couple chose to celebrate at The Kings Arms in Christchurch; this unique venue offers a Castle setting, a Bowling Green and Pavilion and a hotel that seamlessly blends tradition with exquisite contemporary style.

Come and take a look…

Notes from the Couple

Lauren & Gregg say…

We actually saw The Kings Arms a couple of years before when we were first dating. The pavilion was all set up for a wedding and we both thought what an awesome place to get married! When we got engaged and were looking at venues it was the first that came to mind and fitted really well as Lauren grew up in Christchurch. And we are so pleased we chose it. We were so well looked after by Sam, our wedding planner from the moment of enquiry up to the big day, and on the big day Sam and the rest of the team were amazing!

Lauren’s dress was by Morilee, Madeline Gardner and called ‘Koko’. The bridal shop was Pascali in Parkstone. Lauren and her mum fell in love with the beautiful detail on the bodice, lace illusion back feature and long train, complemented by the simple crépe lower half of the dress. Lauren’s shoes were simple satin open toe heels. Laura McKenzie did Lauren and her bridesmaids’ hair, and did an amazing job doing such a great updo when Lauren has a short blunt bob. Tara Sanger did Lauren’s makeup which was stunning and lasted all day and evening. The bridesmaids wore simple navy full length dresses. Gregg wore a tuxedo with a velvet jacket, silk lapel, white silk bow tie and silk scarf from Reiss and tailored by Robert Old. He also wore a suede slipper from Kurt Geiger. The best men and ushers wore tuxedos too, we let them chose their own fit and style of tuxedo as we didn’t want everyone to be too uniform and preferred everyone expressing their own flare – see best man in the beanie!

We opted for The Kings Arms ‘Cosy and Candlelit Package’ full of fairy lights and candles which was beautiful. We didn’t have a particular theme in mind other than making it as relaxed and chilled as possible. We wanted it to be informal and for everyone to feel really comfortable. That said, the décor at The Kings Arms was amazing and better than anything we would have planned ourselves.

Penn Hill Flower Company did our flowers. Lauren’s bouquet had a boho look and was full green foliage, mainly eucalyptus, and big white open roses which smelt incredible. We had a similar table runner for the ceremony and the bridesmaids bouquets were simply made up of gypsophilia.

Our cake was a 3-tier “naked” lemon drizzle cake made by Lauren’s sister in law’s mum, Lin, as a wedding gift. She completed it with a rustic wooden cake stand and white roses and green foliage to match the flowers. It is the best tasting lemon drizzle cake in the world and we keep telling Lin she should start a wedding cake business!

Stuart Dudleston and his colleague Will were incredible; there aren’t enough words to do them justice! Lauren is not usually comfortable having her picture taken but within 5 minutes of being with Stuart she felt totally at ease. They asked us to fill in a questionnaire before the big with our key requirements and they fulfilled it perfectly. They fitted around us on the day so well that most of the time you didn’t know they were there. They have an amazing ability to capture real moments that we haven’t seen other photographers achieve before and we are so happy with the end result which is a perfect blend of formal, candid and arty shots.

Best part of the day

Having all our friends and family in one place for the whole day, being looked after so well by all the staff at The Kings Arms who by the end felt like family and friends too.

From one couple to another…

Just try and soak in as much of the day as possible as it goes so quickly. Try not to get blindsided by what a wedding should or shouldn’t have, there is a lot of expectation these days to have all the ‘trimmings’ that sends the cost of a wedding through the roof! It isn’t necessary and at the end of the day it is all about the people, and your money is far better spent making them feel as special as possible.

For us our wedding was all about a big thank you to all the friends and family that have supported us so much in our lives and will continue to do so! And also, ladies, if you are wearing heels on the big day consider investing in a nice pair of flats for dancing in the evening!