Your Bristol & Somerset Wedding - June/July 2020 (Issue 77)

REAL WEDDINGS 27  W e can’t get enough of this gorgeous wedding – you had us at Dolce & Gabanna! The awesome Mark and Charlotte pulled in influences from all of their favourite things to create a day that truly reflected them. They met at university in Falmouth while studying graphic design; Mark told us how they used to gaze at each other from across the studio by day and dance together at Remedies nightclub by night. “We didn’t actually get together until after I’d graduated,” Mark says. “Charlotte ventured up to Sheffield to celebrate my 23 rd birthday. We’ve been inseparable ever since.” Mark and Charlotte went to the super-cool sketch London for afternoon tea. “I booked it for my birthday to throw her off the scent,” Mark smiles. “We were in the pink Gallery Room with a Christmas choir singing when the waiting staff brought the ring out on a dessert tray.” Of course, Charlotte said “yes,” while all the other diners clapped and cheered. Back home in Bristol, the pair set the date for 29 th September, 2018, and got to work planning the ultimate celebration at Arnos Vale Cemetery. We caught up with Mark to find out how they did it… PUTTING THEIR STAMP ON The amazing Victorian architecture and surrounding woodland at Arnos Vale sold it to Mark and Charlotte. “We visited a wedding fair there and were blown away by the buildings,” Mark remembers. “We visited a few other Bristol venues but found beauty in the unusualness of Arnos Vale Cemetery.” They took inspiration from some of their favourite things such as The Grand Budapest Hotel and designers Dolce & Gabbana, but put their own “beautifully gloomy” twist on it. A pink, red and white palette ran throughout. “We wanted flowers to be the main decorative feature,” Mark explains. “Charlotte found Kirstie of Ruby and The Wolf on Instagram. We both loved her style, and after meeting her we found that she understood our vision, helping to elevate our ideas to great effect. We used candles on the tables and windowsills to provide low-level ambient lighting, and timed the day so that we entered the reception during daylight, ate through sunset and left for the cake-cutting and dancing in darkness.” Mark runs a design and branding studio in Bristol called Day by Night, so he took care of all the printed elements from the save- the-dates and invitations, to the table names and place settings. “Everything was designed with Wes Anderson films in mind and featured red ink on pink paper stock,” he says. “I illustrated the two buildings at Arnos Vale – The Spielman Centre and The Anglican Chapel – and each table was named after a Wes Anderson film. The card box was even designed like a giant Mendl’s cake box from The Grand Budapest Hotel .” Charlotte’s mum and her cake-making partner, Jen, made a seven-tier masterpiece, which was brimming with flowers and foliage to tie in with the couple’s colour scheme. THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES Charlotte’s arrival was pure style, choosing a 1921 Ford Model T from Triggols’ Vintage Cars. “It was the same car that’s featured in the first two series of Peaky Blinders, ” Mark says. “Andrew was an absolute gentleman and we’d highly recommend the company.” The planning wasn’t without its anxious moments, as the couple parted ways with their original caterer just three weeks before the wedding. “It was nerve-racking, but Nick Collins at Cleverchefs