Samantha + Thomas
A romantic and rustic country house wedding for this stylish couple
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AIMEE CATT PHOTOGRAPHY
aimeecatt.com
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For a couple who love countryside minibreaks, cosying up beside log fires and long walks with their French bulldog Stanley, their proposal couldn’t have been better. “Tom proposed to me on Valentine’s day while we were staying in the Cotswolds. The morning started as usual with breakfast and then a walk, then Tom called Stanley to his side and got down on bended knee. He said he knew I would want Stan to be there, our little family together, and that he wanted to spend his life with me as his wife. I cried so much and of course said yes!”
Luckily for Samantha, it only took two shops to find her dream dress. “I will never forget the feeling I got when I found the one. It happened for me at the White Room in Southwell, where we picked out lots of dresses but saved the best until last.
“It was a Jesus Peiro gown, made from pure silk. The quality of its shape and plainly elegant design had me hooked.”
My mum passed me an Augusta Jones vintage-style lace overlay and we’d created my perfect dress!”
In keeping with the vintage feel, Samantha accessorised with a diamante Klaire Van Elton headpiece, beaded Linea shoes sourced from House of Fraser, and a Swarovski necklace and earrings gifted by Tom for Christmas. “I also had a silk gown and underwear set – ‘Somerset’ by Alice Temperley – that made me feel ever so pretty on the wedding morning.”
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Tom and the groomsmen looked equally dapper in smart suits from Next in a vintage-style, lightly chequered navy blue. They chose the suits themselves, with Tom adding a waistcoat to stand out as the groom.
“Cream ties and handkerchiefs completed the look while also tying the bridal group together with the 10 bridesmaids, who wore cream Jarlo London dresses.”
“As gifts I got the girls a cream pearl drop necklace on a silver chain and a rose gold eternity bracelet on a grey band.”
Having always dreamed of a church wedding, this couple tied the knot at the church local to where the bride grew up. Samantha’s father walked her down the aisle and two of her oldest friends gave readings from Corinthians chapter 13 and ‘The One’ by Lucy Smith. They also added music, with ‘All of Me’ by John Legend playing during the signing of the marriage register and ‘Praise You’ by Fat Boy Slim providing a soundtrack as guests left
the church.
“It was a legendary moment because Tom and I had always wanted that song – it went so well with the guests leaving the church!”
The wedding party moved on to Kelham House for the reception and sat down to a breakfast of caramelised onion and goats cheese tartlet, followed by chicken breast wrapped in bacon and homemade chocolate brownies for dessert. “I’ve been a sucker for speeches ever since I’ve been going to weddings,” explains Samantha. “My best friend Luci read a poem about friendship before my dad started the official speeches. He cracked some of the best jokes and included everyone. My new husband then followed, combining lovely comments with great jokes. His two best men who had grown up with him then spoke – some of the stories they told even I hadn’t heard! When I thought it couldn’t get any better, one of the best men then rocked out with his guitar and sang to us!”
This bride knew exactly what she wanted and how to achieve it, thanks to endless browsing of Pinterest, magazines and fairs.
“I had over a year to make my vision a reality and spent many weekends in antique shops collecting lace table cloths, brass candle sticks, jars, crates – anything rustic!”
We chose a neutral colour scheme with lots of naturally messy flowers and foliage to bring our country vintage theme to life. I got so many theme and flower ideas in Wedding Ideas!”
The fantastic flowers that filled their venue were put together by Fiona McQuire. “It was so lovely to be handed my bouquet and see it look even better than I had imagined. Fiona’s flowers complemented our rustic wedding perfectly. My bouquet included freesias, peonies, roses, veronica, nigella, gypsophila, eucalyptus, rosemary and mint. My mum is also one of the most creative people I know and she put together my flower cabinet, from arranging the flowers to sourcing the actual cabinet!”
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Pretty Little Cards, run by bridesmaid Kirsty, created their perfect Willis Wedding stationery suite from Kraft paper, twine and lace. Samantha also used some of the company’s props for their wedding, including the suitcases, jars, chalkboards, log centrepieces and crates. Sarah from The Sugared Rose supplied their roughly iced four-tier wedding cake.
When asked for her top planning tip, Samantha says, “don’t cut corners with your photographer, videographer or rings. They are the three things that keep your wedding alive afterwards.”
R E C E P T I O N V E N U E Kelham House, Nottinghamshire
D R E S S Jesus Peiro at The White Room, Southwell
B R I D E S M A I D D R E S S E S Jarlo London
G R O O M Next
A C C E S S O R I E S Augusta Jones, Klaire Van Elton and Swarovski
S T A T I O N E R Y Pretty Little Cards
F L O W E R S Fiona McQuire Florist
C A K E The Sugared Rose
