How they met
“We went to school together, but didn’t meet up again until a number of years later,” remembers Julie. “Second time around, on our first proper date, we both said we knew we were going to get married and have babies together – it seemed funny that we both agreed, and not at all strange at the time. To most people that probably sounds slightly crazy!” she smiles.
The proposal
“Mark surprised me with a ring on Christmas morning 2010, when I was about 12 weeks pregnant with our son, Dylan,” recalls Julie. “I was really suffering with morning sickness, and have never looked, or felt so rough in my life! Bless him, he told me he had never loved me more, which obviously made me cry lots!” she adds.
The bride’s outfit
Julie’s breathtaking gown was called Bow Belles, and came from Ian Stuart’s Revolution Rocks collection. The shade was Papyrus and featured a metallic lace overlay. “The dress had a peaked sweetheart neckline, embellished with Swarovski crystals and an A-line skirt, which drapes at the hip showing off a beautiful hand- beaded lace panel, and of course there is THAT bow! I loved the fact is wasn’t white or ivory and knew it was ‘the one’ even before I’d tried it on,” beams Julie. “My shoes were Vivienne Westwood Lady Dragon Heart in pearl. I thought they were so sweet and they smelt like jelly shoes! I also had a pair of baby blue Hunter wellies for the beach.
My hair garland was made by the wonderful Romany at Blooming Loopy – this woman is a genius and I love her! Finally, Mark bought me a beautiful platinum bracelet to wear, too – something else that made me cry!”
The groom’s outfit
Mark wanted to look quite ‘country gent’ for the wedding, but the couple struggled to find the perfect look for a long time. “It did take us ages to find the perfect outfit, but we eventually found what we were looking for – a tweed suit at ASOS. His tie and shoes came from Next and, of course, he had his own pair of Hunter wellies, too,” says Julie.
The bridesmaids
The couple’s adorable little daughter Jessie was their only bridesmaid. She wore a dusky pink dress and cardigan from Monsoon, pink pumps from Next and pink Hunter wellies for down on the beach – just like her parents.
The ceremony
“We’re both huge Beatles fans so we had Here Comes The Sun for the bride’s entrance and I Feel Fine for the exit. Our little girl and chief bridesmaid Jessie read The House At Pooh Corner by AA Milne and Sam (our eldest son and best man) read The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. They were both fab. Finally, my sister Alison, who lives in Australia, sent us a pre-recorded reading. It was Untitled by Bee Rawlinson, which made us all laugh and cry in equal measures!” remembers Julie.
The flowers
“I’ve always had a thing for pine cones and knew I wanted a pine cone bouquet right from the very beginning,” says Julie. “My mum and dad collected hundreds for us and I painstakingly varnished every one of them. Mark then made my bouquet for me, after I explained what I wanted, and he also made the buttonholes – he is quite amazing really! The white roses were provided by Michele and Petra at Harvest Moon, which was such a wonderful and thoughtful surprise,” she adds.
The reception
After cancelling two venues in Cheshire because they just weren’t right, Julie and Mark finally stumbled across Harvest Moon on the internet. “It was perfect and everything we had been looking for. We could have a legal humanist ceremony (because it was in Scotland), say all our own vows and do it outside. It was everything we had ever dreamed of but couldn’t find anywhere in England. After deciding the big wedding was everything we didn’t want, planning was a breeze. We only took our children, my parents and our photographer!”
The details
The couple found vintage china and cake stands from antique shops and drove it all up to Scotland in their car! The ‘Love is Sweet’ and ‘Mr and Mrs Egerton’ bunting all came from Folksy. You can find similar bunting on the Wedding Ideas Shop!
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