This is the wedding of a lovely couple Raeeka and Alastair, who met in 2007 and got engaged in 2014, when Raeeka made an unexpected proposal to her husband. What a lucky man! A very charming wedding venue with a lavender field in front was chosen- Botleys Mansion in Surrey. The venue helped to choose the main colours of the wedding: lavender and mint green palette. The bride has chosen Sanyukta Shrestha Evelyn gown from organic silk with beautiful bespoke embroidery on the shoulders and waist. We had a great pleasure to create special beading to match the colours of the wedding theme. What’s more, we also created mint and lavender ethical bridesmaids’ dresses, made from our handweaved bamboo fabric. All the wedding itself was very ethical- the dresses were fair trade, made from eco-friendly fabrics, the cake and rings were ethical, the bride even had vegan make-up! After the wedding all the guests got handmade lavender sachets for the memory of this wonderful day to be with them forever.

Proposal:

We met at work in 2007 and got together that year. I proposed to my husband in hospital as he was going in for a shoulder surgery so I made a fake medical form with proposal on it. Engaged Dec 2014.

Theme of the wedding:

We just wanted something beautiful but relaxed – our colours were lilac and mint green. We had a registrar for the formal ceremony but also did some traditional Persian elements as a part of the second half, as the bride is Iranian. A key theme was making sure that everything was ethical and fair trade as much as possible – so the dresses were all fair trade as was the cake and wedding rings. My make up was vegan and cruelty free. An ethical fairy-tale!

The wedding dress:

It was simple, elegant and one of kind with the detail – Sanyukta Shrestha added beading that was lilac and mint green making it really unique. And I was searching for something ethical and Sanyukta’s dresses are all eco-friendly.

First dance track:

I’m Yours by Jason Mraz – this was our song, it came out when we first started dating

Advise for future brides:

Just relax – whatever happens on the day will be beautiful, be as present as possible. A lot of people say that it went by in a blur, mine didn’t. I made sure I was as present as I could be and I remember every minute and loved it.

Credits:

Photographer Wendy Aldiss

Hair and make-up Artist Gemma Sutton

Bride’s dress Sanyukta Shrestha

Grooms Suit William Young

Rings Cred Jewellery

Wedding Venue Botleys Mansion, Surrey