Sarah & Tom
MORI LEE DRESS | BUNTING | JAM JARS | WILD FLOWERS | NAKED CAKE | COLOURFUL COUNTRY WEDDING
hello
hello
hello
How did the proposal happen?
We had been together 11 years when he finally proposed on Boxing Day! He did it before going to work that day, waking me up to ask me. I was so happy and spent the day ringing everyone to tell them.
The dress
I had the BLU 5167 gown by Mori Lee. It was a poetic lace ball gown with a puddle train, sweetheart neckline and petal and diamante belt. I felt like a princess, it was amazing!
The accessories
I knew I wanted a hair vine rather than a tiara, but it took months of searching before I found BeSomethingNew on Etsy, who hand-make accessories in California and made my hair vine. My shoes were fuchsia pink from Newlook.
The groom
We had been thinking of a brown tweed suit but couldn’t find anything. We then found Thomas’s navy tweed suit and navy waistcoat in Next. He added brown brogues from River Island, fuchsia socks to match mine and a tartan tie to reflect his Scottish roots. Our three sons wore matching ties, as did the groomsmen.
The bridesmaids
I had four bridesmaids who wore ivory, off the shoulder lace dresses made by Lydia Rose Bright. Their shoes were from Newlook in a range of colours with bracelets to match each different colour. They chose their own hair and makeup – I didn’t want them to look too formal and wanted to make sure they felt like themselves and were relaxed.
What music did you have at your ceremony?
For our Church of England service we walked down the aisle to Christina Perri’s ‘A Thousand Years’. My three sons walked ahead of me, then my dad and I walked down the aisle with my four bridesmaids behind us. Our recessional music was ‘You Are the Best Thing’ by Ray Lamontagne.
What did you have for your wedding breakfast?
We had a relaxed BBQ for our reception, including burgers, sausages and kebabs with potato and pasta salads. For dessert we had a choice of fruit kebabs, lemon cheesecake or apple and toffee pie. We also used Kilner dispensers for Pimm’s and lemonade for guests to help themselves to and a mobile cocktail bar during the evening.
Inspiration
Our reception had a relaxed and colourful village fete and country theme, making the most of the outdoor space at our venue.
Reception decorations
We handmade so much which was hard work but so worth it! I made 600 metres of bunting in seven different colours to create the fete feel we were looking for in the hall. We cut out hessian for our table runners, collected jars for the flowers, put together our own festoon lights outside and added a games table to keep the kids entertained. Tom made our post box from a barrel with a chalkboard beside it with our names on it. I loved our guest book – we provided Polaroid cameras and metallic pens so people could take a photo, put it in the book and add a message. Tom even made our light up initials letters himself!
The flowers
My bouquet was made from a mix of wild colourful flowers and thistles with thistle buttonholes for the groomsmen too. The bridesmaids had posies of gypsophila, each tied with ribbons to match the colour of their shoes.
The cake
My auntie flew all the way from Australia to make my cake! I chose a naked cake made from classic Victoria sponge – my favourite – filled with jam. I left flowers for her to decorate with. It looked and tasted amazing!
The entertainment
A DJ filled the dance floor in the evening. During the day we had a bouncy castle for the children and face masks for people to use when taking photos with the Polaroid camera.
The honeymoon
We didn’t have a traditional honeymoon as I don’t like to leave our three sons, so instead we had a lovely familymoon in the Lake District. We had wonderful family time walking and climbing the hills and mountains there.
Memorable moments
At the end of the evening when all the guests had left Tom and I were sitting together thinking what a whirlwind the day had been. It was as we sat there that it actually sank in that we were finally together as husband and wife!
Suppliers
CEREMONY | St Mary’s the Virgin, Horton Kirkby, Kent RECEPTION VENUE | Horton Kirkby Village Hall DRESS | Jacqueline’s House of Brides GROOM | Next CATERING | Ridgeway Catering CAKE | Vines Cakes PHOTOGRAPHER | James Grist Photography VIDEOGRAPHER | Jon Cook Media Production ACCESSORIES | Be Something New, Etsy
