For Lara and Pete, the timing of their wedding – December 20th, 2013 – helped set the tone for their traditional-with-a-twist affair photographed by Mike Garrard, where Christmas novelty sock favours, wicker heart decorations, mulled wine at the reception and carols in church added a playful, festive feel.
The couple kept things simple with a stylish palette of black, white and grey, from the monochromatic invites (which featured photos of the duo at various milestone stages in their lives) to Lara's Manolo Blahnik black and white sequin pumps, which she teamed with a lace-embroidered sweetheart bodice Eddy K dress with cascading ruffle skirt from Love Me Do Brides.
Even the cake – a sumptuous red velvet from the couple's friend Gemma Sleater, who runs The Cake Tier – complemented the bride's dress (and the winter season) with ruffled, pearl-studded and snowflake-embellished tiers.
"Weddings can be pretty stressful so we tried to keep things simple," says Lara. "We only gave ourselves a couple of choices for the big things otherwise we would have never made a decision!
"We did try to choose things we love rather than worrying about everyone else (which can be much harder than it sounds!) and all of the little things fell into place."
Don't miss all of the gorgeous photos from this winter wedding captured by Mike Garrard, as well as the couple's top tips in the slideshow below...
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MORE REAL WEDDINGS: Sneak a peek at Chloë and Tom's old-fashioned country wedding here
All imagery is from Mike Garrard Photography - http://mikegarrard.co.uk