THE ONE WITH THE INTERVIEW

Congratulations on your wedding. How are you feeling now that it’s all done and dusted and you’re Mrs. Kemp?

Thank you. I feel great, happy, relaxed and proud to be the new Mrs. Kemp. There is a part of me which is sad that it’s all over now as I had such a great time planning and organising the big day. And look how gorgeous my new husband is.

You made a stunning bride. Tell us about your dress?

Thanks. My dress was inspired by two dresses that I had seen in a magazine the day Lee asked me to marry him. Off I went to Baccini & Hill and they were able to create something with the same style for me which included the antique lace from the 1950’s.

Did you have a theme or a look that you were going for with the wedding?

Ha ha. Lee would even be able to answer this question as all he heard me say was ‘vintage, edgy and1950s’, so I guess that answers the question. We also wanted to incorporate our kombi in there so the boys arrive in ‘Norm’ our kombi and it made a great prop for photos too.

 

You were quite the organised bride. How did you find the whole planning process? Any tips?

I loved every minute of the planning process…almost as much as the big day itself! The whole thing was really fun. As you know I’m super organised, so my tip would be to book early to get what you want. I started off with an inspiration board and it just took off from there. I have a very distinctive style and decisive personality so that helped I guess.

What part of the wedding planning did you spend the most time on?

Hmmm, those amazing blue Badgley Mishka shoes. I managed to find the last pair on sale in a small little boutique in Canada which happened to be just the right size. The Bridesmaids dresses and shoes were a challenge to fit different shapes and sizes but we got there in the end. One other thing was the succulents for the wedding favours - there was a bit of planning and organisation that went into those but they were a big feature for the table settings and worth every minute.

Did you find any websites handy when planning your wedding?

Apart from the obvious stylemepretty.com and polkadotbride.com and lots of random blogs, Google images was my best friend. I found everything through Google images.

Your Dad gave you away at your wedding. How did you feel walking down the aisle?

I was worried I would be a crying mess. Luckily I was happy, relaxed, excited and able to take it all in. Once I hit the top of the black carpet, I almost cried but then looked up at Lee, winked at him (which is very odd for me) and then managed to hold it together. It was great to have dad share the aisle with me and I particularly love this picture of us.

I saw you wink at Lee from the top of the black carpet and I had to turn away because it made me tear up! Very very sweet.

I’m just obsessed with the photos that I’ve seen so far. OBSESSED! Where did you go for photos and did you have an idea of what you wanted your photos to look like?

The amazing, lovely, fabulous Sally Goodall was our photographer. The only way to describe this woman is that she is made of pure sugar. Not only is she professional and captures some amazing pictures, she is such a beautiful person to share the day with.

Check out her blog of our wedding 
http://www.sallygoodall.com/blog/2012-02/lee-leanne-get-married.28

Tell us a little about the reception venue and the styling?

Butleigh Wootton is a beautiful old manor house based in Kew and as soon as we walked in on our first viewing, we fell in love with it. It’s traditional, intimate and perfect for us and what we were going for.

Your band were the fabulous White Tree who had everyone up and dancing. Did you have a favourite song they performed?  

They were great, weren’t they? I think my favourite was my entrance song; Songbird by Eva Cassidy, it was up there with the best! It was sung beautifully. I also remember loving ‘You’ve Got The Love’.

For those who weren’t lucky enough to be there and see the first dance fill them in….

Ha ha. Okay, the first challenge was convincing Lee that it was a good idea. His response was that if we are going to do a first dance, it can’t be too cheesy, can’t be too serious and “we will have to nail it”. After seven 45 minute lessons at ‘Let’s Go Dance’ in Brighton, we had a perfect little performance to a 1950’s swing song called Mr. Lee. The lyrics were perfect and the dance was actually one of my highlights of the night. There were a few technical moves as it was quite an energetic dance, so I had a little costume change also. We both loved doing it and I believe there is some video footage getting around.

I have to tell you, I was SUPER impressed. The dance was highly choreographed and complicated and you looked so professional.

I adored your wedding shoes so much that I’ve decided that I’m going to wear coloured heels for my big day. It was quite a mission finding those though, wasn’t it?

Ha ha, oh yes it was. But they were worth it. You may have noticed that I changed from my blue wedding shoes into Blue suede dancing shoes for the first dance. Having a shoe change was a great excuse for buying 2 pairs of fabulous blue shoes. I highly recommend a fun coloured pair of shoes which people may catch a glimpse of as you walk down the aisle.

And what did you choose for your bridesmaids outfits?

I went a little controversial as I wanted my bridesmaids to wear ivory.  My dress was oyster with ivory lace and I wanted them to match. I just love lace and the dresses we found for the girls were perfect. They all loved them but they didn’t come easy to find!

Pippa Middleton really started a trend with the white bridesmaids dress. It is such a stunning look and makes a great impact. Did you follow any wedding traditions?

I swore I would never throw a bouquet. After a few champagnes, I ended up throwing the bouquet. I love the traditional sit down dinner, cutting of the cake, first dance and all those things that I associate with weddings but a few tweaks like NOT wearing a garter, walking down a black carpet instead of a red carpet made the day more suited to us.

What do you think your guests will remember most about your wedding?  

Hmmm. Hard call, probably the dance. I would think some guests might not have much memory past 10pm. I’m hoping they all took their succulent’s home and they don’t kill them, which will be a nice reminder of our big day.

Do you have any advice for brides to be? Particularly those who are getting married in New York in fourteen months from now and are about to kick their wedding planning into overdrive?

Enjoy every minute of it and just don’t stress about it. I loved all the little things we had to organise, from the invitations to the seating plans, and it was so great to see everything come together on the day. I loved the night before the wedding with the girls too, getting ready and all of the excitement of the day. Oh and obviously seeing Lee standing there waiting for me to come down the aisle.

And now for the honeymoon. You’re planning a big trip later in the year?

Ohhh yes we are and I can’t wait for 3 weeks of holidays. Europe here we come.

 

It’s hard to believe that your wedding has been and gone after so much talk and discussion for the past year. Now is the start of your new married life with Lee. Sending you both lots of love.

And a very big personal thank you for letting me run all my ideas past you on the run up to the big day. Now onto your wedding. 

Love to you all,