Laura, who is our Account Manager, married Byron in a sophisticated and glamorous wedding! This black-tie affair was all about elegance…
Wedding Ideas account manager Laura met Byron through their mutual best friends Matt and Louise. It was a random Tuesday night in their local pub and neither of them were very impressed that they had been set up. But before they knew it, four hours had gone by and they had spent the whole night talking, ignoring everybody else around them. Byron walked Laura home that night and within moments of walking her to her door he had sent a text message saying it was the best night he’d had in ages!
Incidentally Louise was Laura’s maid of honour and Matt was best man, so their relationship had come full circle! Byron had the ring four weeks before he actually popped the question, but every time he tried to propose, something went wrong. In the end he did it in a hotel room in Chester, where they had gone for a mini break. He had ordered a bottle of champagne to be delivered to the room while Laura was in the shower and when she came out of the bathroom, he got down on one knee and proposed, “It took me a while before I said yes, because I was in so much shock!” Laura explains.
While they looked at three or four different venues near where they lived, Laura and Byron fell in love with Eastington the moment they saw it. They had already decided to go for a black tie style as a classic theme, and this worked at Eastington. Laura found her Mori Lee dress at The Frock Shop in Stow on the Wold. She had the straps removed and felt so elegant in it – she loved that it was light enough to move around in, and of course be able to dance!
She accessorised with a floor-length veil with a huge train. Her earrings were a gift from her mum some years ago, her maid of honour’s late mum’s ring worn on her right hand was something borrowed and a garter that two of her bridesmaids, Amy and Alice, had made her was her something blue. Laura’s bridesmaids Louise, Jamie-Lee, Amy, Alice and Helen wore little black cocktail dresses from Debenhams.
Both mums did readings at the ceremony in Eastington’s gorgeous gardens and Laura’s stepdad Alan walked her down the aisle – he has been in her life since she was three years old. Unfortunately Laura lost her Dad 18 months before the wedding but she had a photo of him in a locket and stitched into her bouquet! This happy couple’s big day was exactly 10 years to the day that they were officially a couple!
Laura wanted to create an ‘Old Hollywood’ feel to the day. The men wore tuxedos and there was lots of traditional glamour, with accents of gold everywhere – including gold leaf on the top tier of the wedding cake. A saxophonist played music from the rat pack era throughout the drinks’ reception and the first dance was Frank Sinatra’s The Way You Look Tonight.
Laura enlisted the services of The Little Wedding Helper to help with the décor, who worked with Emma Norton for the copious amount of flowers, Whitehouse Crockery to source the gold-rimmed glassware and charger plates and Pudding Bridge for the gold sequinned tablecloths. Having a wedding stylist meant that Laura didn’t have to worry about anything and could enjoy getting ready without any added stress. Laura and Byron scattered around photographs of family weddings over the years throughout the venue. The favours were chocolate moustaches in memory of Laura’s Dad, famous for his ‘tache!
Suppliers
Venue: Eastington Park
Dress: Mori Lee
Shoes: Christian Louboutin
Groom: Tuxedos from Moss Bros
Bridesmaids: Dresses from Debenhams
Flowers: Emma Norton
Cake: Cake Matters
Honeymoon: Coco Bodu Hithi, Maldives
Videographer: Ray McShane Films
Photographer: Natalie Martin
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