Rachael & Russell
Take inspiration from this pretty navy and pink country wedding with a glimmer of gold
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Kerry James, A Tall Long Legged Bird,
atalllongleggedbird.com
After first meeting at a New Year’s Eve party two years earlier, Russell surprised Rachael with a proposal at Lulworth Cove. “We’d booked a minibreak there for the nostalgia – it’s somewhere I visited when I was little. I turned around to find Russell holding the diamond ring he’d had made for me. The design featured one central diamond with smaller diamonds embellishing the band. I was totally surprised!”
It was also an elaborate design that attracted the bride to her dream Justin Alexander dress at Perfect Day Bride in Bradford-on-Avon. “The dress had highly embellished straps and a low back, with buttons running right down it, and a long train. The top layer was lace, with a soft fabric underneath. I bought a sash to go with the dress, which matched perfectly.”
“My dress was everything I wanted and more – I knew it was the one straight away!”
The boutique also included the bride’s veil within the purchase, which was long and simple in style. “I bought my necklace from The Silver Shop of Bath, my earrings from Debenhams and my gold T-bar shoes from John Lewis.”
Russell opted for a classic blue, three-piece suit by Ted Baker at Moss Bros. “He wore a hot pink cravat and pocket square while the rest of the ushers wore oyster coloured accessories. Russell also wore his great grandfather’s pocket watch. I gifted him a Hugo Boss belt on our wedding morning too. He had the biggest smile!”
The bride chose to have one adult maid of honour accompany her down the aisle, alongside three little bridesmaids. “My sister wore a long, navy dress from Monsoon with pearl earrings. A family friend then made the bridesmaid dresses, which featured lace and a navy sash. As Lily was older than the other two girls, she had capped sleeves added to her dress to match my maid of honour.”
Makeup artist Sally Bracey joined the bridal party to take care of their beauty looks. “Sally used MAC products on the day. After my trial, I bought the same MAC lipstick in ‘Faux’ so that I could top up on the day. Hayley Hewlett took care of our hair.”
Rachael and Russell chose to celebrate their civil ceremony at The Great Tythe Barn in Tetbury.
Arcosanti string quartet played the bride and her father down the aisle to Pachelbel’s ‘Canon in D’, moving on to ‘One Day Like This’ by Elbow and Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’ for the signing of the register. The couple exited to ‘I Got A Feeling’ by the Black Eyed Peas.
“The food was incredible – everyone is still talking about the sausage canapés,” the bride smiles. “For our wedding breakfast, we began with ham hock terrine, followed by pork with caramelised apple, sugar snap peas and dauphinoise potatoes. Lemon posset, served with shortbread and blueberries, was our choice for dessert.”
The couple decorated their barn venue in navy, gold and pink shades, without adhering to a strict theme. “We hired lace table cloths and bay trees from Event Style and our florist supplied lots of log slices. I decorated glass bottles in gold glitter to hold the flowers, creating the same glitter effect for our table numbers and LOVE letters too.” The bride and her father also made a signpost for the big day as well as a DIY photobooth.
With the help of her sister, Rachael made her own wedding invitations and table plan. “We stocked up on hammered card, pocket wallets for the invitations and silver ribbon to bring it all together.”
“My sister also gifted me a subscription to Wedding Ideas when I got engaged.”
“The flowers were amazing – I was so happy with them that I cried when I saw them! Laura from The Pink Peony created the pink, cream and green arrangements and was brilliant throughout.
The flowers included roses, gypsophila, blue thistles, eucalyptus, brunia and hydrangeas and were displayed in bottles and vases on logs and mirror plates, surrounded by tea light candles. Laura also created a floral heart to hang above the ceremony table.”
Continuing the homemade trend, Rachael even baked the couple’s three-tier cake herself. “I made three separate cakes to serve in the evening but the cake we actually displayed was fake. I decorated the dummy tiers with gold edible lustre, navy ribbon and a sugar paste bride and groom. They were a surprise for Russell, because he loves cricket.”
“We left selfie sticks on each table and were rewarded with some brilliant photos to remember the day by!”
Guests were kept entertained with cider bottle favours, activity packs for the children and garden games on the lawn. “We had giant Jenga, cricket and boules for people to get stuck into. In the evening, we hired in an inflatable wipe-out game that was hilarious!” The Wedding Players took to the decks, starting their play list with the couple’s first dance to James Blunt’s ‘Bonfire Heart’.
The newlyweds minimooned at The Salcombe Harbour Hotel and plan to enjoy a honeymoon abroad next year.
SUPPLIERS
VENUE The Great Tythe Barn, Tetbury
DRESS Justin Alexander at Perfect Day Bride, Bradford-on-Avon
BRIDESMAID DRESS Monsoon
GROOM Ted Baker at Moss Bros, Hugo Boss
ACCESSORIES John Lewis, Debenhams, The Silver Shop of Bath
HAIR Hayley Hewlett
MAKEUP Sally Bracey, Bristol Bridal Hair and Makeup
FLOWERS The Pink Peony
ENTERTAINMENT Arcosanti, The Wedding Players, Bristol Fun For Hire
VIDEOGRAPHER Will Heynen
MINIMOON The Salcombe Harbour Hotel
