Inside: A Heavenly Wedding In Herefordshire

The Story

We met on Hinge and things moved relatively quickly! Within a year we had bought a house and a year later he popped the question. Jimmy had the wedding ring designed and made in Hatton Garden. It was actually ready the week we went into lockdown so he managed to pick it up just in time but his plans to propose were halted throughout the year.

Eventually, on New Years Eve at the end of 2020, we went on our favourite walk around the Chequers Estate. At the top of Beacon Hill he got down on one knee. It was perfect, the views are normally incredible but there was a lot of fog and it felt like we were in the clouds with not a soul around. I cried and the dog got very excited – I think he knew!

He got the ring absolutely right, a simple solitaire – just as I always dreamed.

Venue

We chose Brinsop Court for our Herefordshire wedding. My now-husband was born and raised there and his whole family are still there (unlike mine, who are scattered all over) so it felt right – and it is such a beautiful part of the country. The venue is stunning and the team were incredible – I cried the day we visited, I just knew it was the place.

We had a rehearsal dinner for immediate family and bridal party with a few speeches including from my father-in-law and me. We then had some drinks in the house bar with the guests that were staying on site.

The day after we had a chilled send off BBQ, a lot of people had travelled a long way to be there so we wanted to make the most of having everyone together by extending the event as much as we could!

Fashion

Both my wedding dresses were from The OWN Studio, I always knew I wanted to wear their designs and loved working with Jess and the team so much. We ended up going with Mr Guild for the suits and were so happy with them, the gold detailing was my favourite.

I really struggled finding shoes, I felt like there weren’t a huge amount on offer, but I knew I wanted something special given my dress showed them. I went with Aje pearly heels for the ceremony & drinks, the cult Loeffler Randall Camellia in platinum for the wedding breakfast and then a pair of mega platforms from ASOS for the party.

Jewellery

My jewellery was where my ‘somethings’ came in. Something borrowed were my sister’s pearl earrings by LLR Studios. For something old, I wore a wedding ring that belonged to the great-grandmother of a family friend and for something blue I wore a pendant that belonged to my own late Nana. Jimmy surprised me on the day with a beautiful Cartier necklace – something new.

Bridal Party

The girls wore beautiful satin dresses by Rewritten Bridesmaids. I went for two styles as I was keen for the girls to feel really comfortable on the day and know not everyone feels their best in the same style! Our nephews were page boys and wore blue suits from H&M, my mother-in-law added gold buttons to match the groomsmen. Our daughter was the flower girl and wore a beautiful little dress from The Little Nut Brown Company and the sweetest shoes from Next.

Transportation

My dad drove me to the church in a white MG A from Absolutely Classic which was very cool and Jimmy drove us back, we felt like movie stars!

Tablescape

We wanted our Herefordshire wedding to be relaxed, vibrant and true to us and the tablescape was no different. I did all the stationary for the day myself which was so much fun and Julie from Dress to Impress did the styling. The candles were Originals London and the crockery was from our caterer, AtoZest.

Food & Drink

Jimmy is the foodie so he led the charge on the menu and did very well, my favourite was the Eton Mess dessert. Friends of ours brought all the red & white wine from Puglia which was delicious and we obviously had to have my favourite rosé from amie in their new magnums!

Entertainment

Music was really important to us, we had a soul choir at the ceremony who sang me in to ‘Godspeed’ by Frank Ocean, sang our favourite song ‘Day One’ by Honne while we signed the register, and This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) by Natalie Cole as we walked out. We then had a string quartet during the drinks reception and the wonderful Hey Yahs brought their full 12- piece band for the party! They were incredible and had everyone up dancing, just as I’d hoped.

Beauty Regime & Wellness

I’d have loved to do pre-wedding treatments but having a toddler and work made making time for that a tad tricky so I just stuck to my favourite products to ensure my skin was the best it could be. My hair was done by Victoria Preece, and my wonderful bestie who had flown over from Australia did my makeup. I am very particular about how it is done and she knows me well so I loved having her and she did an amazing job!

Favourite Wedding Gifts

We opted for a honeymoon fund or a donation to Sands, a charity very close to the family.

Honeymoon

We are planning our honeymoon for the end of October and I cannot wait! We are hoping to go to Barbados, just the two of us. It will be the first holiday without our daughter which is scary but it will be so special to have the time as a couple!

Advice

Make sure you make decisions that are right for you as a couple, social media is great for inspiration but can be a little overwhelming!
I know everyone says it, but try to make sure you take moments in the day to step back and take it all in – it really does go so quickly so make time with your partner to take stock of how wonderful it all is.
Finally, have fun! It is a stressful time but ultimately it is just about the two of you joining together for the rest of your lives so I’d try and make time during the process to switch off from the planning and have a little date night to unwind.