Inside: A Charming Wedding In The Cotswolds

Mollie Burdell (29) is a Beauty Editor and Edward Burdell (34) is a Property Developer.

Mollie and Edward met outside a pub in London one Friday evening in February and struck up a brief conversation before she said she was going inside as it was cold and that it had been nice to meet him. To her surprise, he asked for her number and messaged her later that night, but she completely missed it. On Sunday, she thought it was a shame she hadn’t heard from him, but a few hours later received a text saying, “I’m just double texting (which I never do) in case you missed my last message…” The rest is history.

As for the engagement, the couple went to a gorgeous Shepherd’s Hut in the country with its own wood-fired hot tub and pizza oven. Once they had finished their pizza, Ed took the plates inside, and Mollie stripped and got into the hot tub. When Ed came back out, he looked slightly confused and wasn’t quite as enthused as she’d imagined he would be. He went back inside for a few minutes, and their song came on. She thought it was a coincidence, but he walked towards the hot tub with the ring and got down on one knee. She was completely shocked and sprung up from the water, only for Ed to run around trying to find a towel for obvious reasons. Her friends say if anyone was going to be naked when they got engaged, it would be her.

Inside: A Charming Wedding In The Cotswolds

I knew I found ‘The One’

The Alexandra Grecco Marcelle gown was the first dress I saw on social media and completely fell in love with. Lovely Bride is the London stockist so I booked an appointment, and I knew the minute I put it on it was the one. I love anything with a square neck, and combined with the floral embroidery, a fitted bodice and tulle skirt it is complete heaven.

We chose to get married at…

We knew we wanted an outdoor style summer wedding as we’d picked June to get married. Hadsham Farm is a beautiful lakeside Tipi wedding venue located in a secluded Cotswold valley in north Oxfordshire and we completely fell in love with it. As the venue is quite rustic, I knew I wanted to make the inside feel elevated to counterbalance that – Pinterest is a godsend.

The most enjoyable moments of planning

I sourced everything myself and laid out all the tables with the help of family and friends the day before, which I actually really enjoyed doing––seeing it all come to life was so rewarding. We named the tables after islands Ed and I have sailed to. The two large flower rings that were decorated with foliage and disco balls were perhaps my favourite part of the aesthetic.

The best part of our day was….

The best part of the day was our church service. It was absolutely beautiful. My auntie sang as I walked down the aisle, my best friend Ella sang during the service and my Grandpa played the organ. The love in the room was palpable. Maybe I’m bias but I’d also say another highlight was the surprise father daughter dance to MC Hammer’s ‘Can’t Touch This’…

Food highlights

For the food, we decided on sharing platters. We had a charcuterie board for starter and spatchcock chicken, summer salads and crispy potatoes for main. Ed’s mum and sister made the wedding cake and a load of delicious brownies for dessert.

For our honeymoon we chose…

For our honeymoon we did a four-week trip around Columbia and Brazil, but went 7 months after our wedding. Going away in January and leaving cold and wet England behind is my new favourite thing to do! It was such an adventure and an experience I’ll never forget.

My top three tips for any couple would be..

My first tip for any couple would be to delegate tasks amongst your closest friends and family, especially if you don’t have a wedding planner––it really takes the pressure off. Also, take advantage of their skills! My extremely talented sister hand painted a floral border for the seating plan (pictured above). Try not to sweat the small stuff and remember why you’re getting married. I got so worried about the weather leading up to my wedding, it caused me to have a fair few sleepless nights. It ended up raining most of the day and I didn’t even care.