Luby Howden is the Art and Events Director at Twilight Trees and has embarked on her journey to create ‘A Very Twilight Wedding’. We will be documenting her planning journey all the way though to ‘I do’ in June 2023.
Luby, congratulations to you and Dec! With six months to go, how’s the planning going?
Thank you, it’s getting exciting now! All our main suppliers are booked; marquee, location, catering, church. I had my first bespoke wedding dress consultation with the amazing Sassi Holford and am looking forward to the food tasting in London!
Where did you start with the planning process?
Originally we were keen on getting married in Tuscany, we’d found some gorgeous venues and even flew to Italy to take a look.
One thing that was bugging me was the fact that I would be limited on my control of the finer details. My role at Twilight Trees is very hands-on and creative, I have a keen eye for detail and I wanted to be able to bring this into our wedding too. I like to be able to see, touch, feel all of the elements and that would have been so challenging from a distance.
When we got back to the UK, I thought that if we had it here we could use all the amazing suppliers that we know and work with on a regular basis. We started thinking about local venues in Winchester and the New Forest and then Andrew (our MD at Twilight Trees) asked if we had thought about having our reception in their garden. This was an incredible offer especially as they have such a unique setting on the edge of the South Downs and a field that was just perfect…
It also just so happens that there’s also this beautiful little mediaeval church just up the road from TT HQ which fitted my vision perfectly. It’s really small and intimate and five minutes from Susie and Andrew’s house!
How did you decide to go with a marquee wedding?
It was all coming together and I already knew of the amazing Sail and Peg who provide traditional sailcloth marquees all made in Britain and it kind of evolved from there…
When looking for suppliers, what resources did you use?
I think mainly for me it was using my connections and industry knowledge. I spoke to one supplier that I really liked and they then recommended suppliers that they like to work with too and it all came together very quickly.
Pinterest was also a huge resource for inspiration and I am addicted to Instagram accounts such as The Wed, Berlin Brides and Carats and Cake.
What’s your vision?
I think originally I had envisaged that it would be quite styled, and led by that Italian, rich, wedding feel. I was originally thinking of using bright colours, fuschia pinks and yellows.
When we started to narrow down our catering, the style of the tent and thinking about the dress code, it became clear that we had taken another direction.
A big factor that came into play was the style of my dress. Once I had visited Sassi Holford and the design was sketched out, it completely changed the style of everything else. The flowers, the feel, the whole vibe really and it became a lot more natural, green and typically British.
If you could narrow the whole vibe down into a sentence what would it be?
It’s going to be a hybrid of contemporary but a bit wild…
The dress is reminiscent of Jane Austen and Marie Antoinette… The flowers are mainly foraged to bring a wildly abundant richness… The drama will be brought by oversized bottles of Champagne and lavish elements that I am going to keep under my hat…
It’s going to be whimsical and romantic whilst simultaneously being luxurious and dramatic, just wait and see!
Did you find it challenging to find suppliers?
I think originally when looking for suppliers we were intending on doing a lot of the wedding ourselves. We wanted to try and save some money and for it to have a personal element to it. After some initial enquiries I realised just how stressful this would be.
After finding the amazing Doggart & Squash, this started to bring the true value of good suppliers to life and I knew we had made the right decision. They provide everything and communicate with all the suppliers so I don’t have to worry about the minor details. It’s just going to take the stress out of it for me and I trust them completely.
I work in the wedding and events industry every day, this is my wedding and I want to pick and choose the elements of planning that I enjoy most.
What did you find the most challenging when sourcing suppliers?
We really struggled with a band, especially with Dec coming from a musical background. A lot were already booked… 2023 is going to be a very busy year for weddings!
Hamish is a really cool local DJ that we met one night in Winchester and we knew that he’d be a lot of fun. He does vinyl and soul but can jazz it up a bit in the evening, we’re really happy.
What stage are you at now?
We’re booked in with our suppliers. We have our tasting with Doggart and Squash which should be super fun and I need to catch up with the Drunken Jockeys who are doing our cocktails.
Susie and I are going to sit down and brainstorm how to showcase the trees and incorporate them into the wedding which is exciting.
I went to see Sassi Holford a few weeks ago and that was amazing. I kind of had an idea of what I wanted and tried loads of different things on. We’ve decided a bespoke dress is going to be best for the style I was after. She measured me up, did some sketches and then I go back soon for my toile fitting!
I also met ‘My Vintage Wedding Co’ at the Hedsor House showcase. Cara runs this non for profit prop hire business which is a treasure trove of elements that I can’t wait to use on the day.
Thank you so much Luby, I can’t wait to catch up next month and see how you’re getting on!
Follow Luby’s progress on Instagram
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