Joselyn & Joseph
This couple’s ceremony took place in a castle on the coast!
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SARA REEVE,
When an invitation to a university ball is your first date, just one month before you’re both due to leave, the stakes are pretty high. Luckily for Joselyn and Joseph, they had much more in common than just the first letter of their name. “I just remember sitting on the grass with Joe at the end of the night not caring if I was ruining my posh dress, I was so happy talking to him.”
And happy is the way this bride stayed, especially when Joe proposed! “It was on our fourth anniversary on the beach in Barcelona at sunset, with a beautiful ring I had pointed out a few weeks earlier in an antiques market. I was more surprised than I had ever been in my whole life and so happy I couldn’t breathe!”
Joselyn’s dream dress was an Amanda Wyatt design that she discovered in Ozone, Brighton. “The bodice was lace with tiny pearl details, with a lace back and straps which contrasted the floaty and plain skirt. I felt beautiful and comfortable, which was very important to me.” The bride’s mother gifted her pearl earrings as her something old, also accessorising with her great grandmother’s wedding ring for her something borrowed.
“I wore the most beautiful pair of white leather peep-toes with a sparkly silver heel from Charlotte Mills.”
“She puts a sixpence in each shoe and I asked that mine have my mother’s year of birth added to make it extra special.”
Joseph chose a blue suit and waistcoat from Next for his groomswear, with a handmade tie from his friend who runs Knot and Blade. “He looked perfect, I just wanted to be by his side.”
Nine bridesmaids stepped down the aisle with Joselyn, who was also joined by one flower girl wearing a pretty dress from Next. For her older attendants, the bride opted for pale pink summer dresses in a classic cut, purchased from ASOS. “I wanted them to feel comfortable and summery but I didn’t want a dress with too much detail because there were so many of them.”
It’s fair to say that this couple’s wedding was more than just the average summer wedding – in fact, we’d go so far as to say it really was fit for a fairytale.
“We tied the knot at Lewes Castle – there’s a beautiful English garden at the bottom, with climbing stone steps up to the secluded ceremony garden.”
Half of it is protected by the castle’s stone walls, but they crumble away to reveal the most beautiful view across the Lewes countryside out to the sea. We married under a stone arch, framed by vases of flowers, with our guests sitting on chairs and picnic blankets around us.”
After meeting in the summer and spending two years living in sunny Barcelona, a summer of love theme seemed fitting for their village hall reception venue. “We filled our wedding with fresh, colourful flowers and even had a hay bale picnic area in a nod to our many picnic dates during our first summer together.” Gunns in Brighton provided the flowers, which featured sweet peas in purple and pastel hues and soft sprigs of gypsophila.
The couple hung white curtains and festoon lighting from their venue’s beams, dressed the tables in sparkling table cloths and tied white sashes onto the limewash chairs, all of which were hired from Bows Hire. Not Your Average I Do were also on hand, supplying Kilner drinks dispensers, mason jar glasses, lawn games, vintage ladders and log slice centrepieces. Dried petals sourced from Shropshire Petals offered a final bought-in flourish, with the couple and the bride’s mother crafting bunting and pillow hearts.
Benedetta A’s Cakes created the chocolate, strawberry and almond cake. Decorated in white icing with purple, pink and yellow sugar flowers, the design was simple and summery.
For double the decadence, Daisy Moos also supplied a vegan blueberry and pear cake, which was decorated with beautiful wild flowers.
The Dirty Divine, booked through The Band Boutique, kept the party going long into the night. “We chose ‘Marry You’ by Bruno Mars for our first dance – we’d been singing it on our engagement weekend just before Joe proposed.
It’s never too early to start planning and booking! I started early and it really did make the whole experience so much less stressful. Our wedding was all about us, our life together and how we wanted to celebrate that, so go with your heart on decisions and make your wedding about the two of you. And don’t get so wrapped up that you forget to take time out together – even a long walk on a Sunday helped us.”
“There’s also no need to break the bank if you don’t absolutely have to, so really consider whether you need to buy something or not and put the savings you make towards your honeymoon.”
“We made a lot of decorations – you’d be surprised how many people want to help.”
CEREMONY Lewes Castle, Sussex
RECEPTION VENUE High Hurstwood Village Hall
DRESS Amanda Wyatt at Ozone, Brighton
BRIDESMAID DRESSES ASOS
GROOM Next and Knot and Blade
SHOES Charlotte Mills
FLOWERS Gunns, Brighton
DÉCOR Bows Hire, Not Your Average I Do and Shropshire Petals
CAKES Benedetta A’s Cakes and Daisy Moos
ENTERTAINMENT The Dirty Divine through The Band Boutique
