Allegra (33) and Nick (42) Shephard both work in financial services. The couple met online through Hinge and Nick proposed at the family’s favourite viewpoint just behind Hedsor House on New Years Eve in 2021.
The best part of our day was…
Walking into our champagne reception hand in hand as Mr and Mrs Shephard. Into the beautiful galleried central hall of Hedsor to our friend Nuala and her band singing “Just the two of us” with all of our friends and family.
We chose to get married at…
Hedsor, with our ceremony in the gorgeous 13th century church on the estate followed by our reception in Hedsor House. Hedsor House has been in the Shephard family since 1932, and not only was Nick’s father born in the house, both of his brothers more recently married there and Nick was the third and final brother to tie the knot at the family home.
I knew I found ‘The One’ when…
I bought the first dress I tried on, but spent 8 months changing my mind. A week before the wedding, the dress finally fitted me exactly how I wanted it to! I probably spent more on alterations than I did on the dress…but it was totally worth it.
The most enjoyable moments of planning were…
Hosting a (boozy!) wine tasting at our home where we had both families trying out 15 different wines hosted by our excellent wine supplier. A perfect way to break the ice and introduce our families.
The hardest part of planning was…
Practicing our first dance. Nick would be the first to admit he has two left feet, so we enlisted a little bit of help from a wonderful dance instructor called Eloise at Dance Attic in Fulham.
Our wedding menu highlights were…
The whole locally sourced menu. From the lamb 3 ways from Hambledon valley, to the Hedsor honey praline made on site by the Hedsor bees, we were really proud to be able to use all British produce, alongside 2 delicious English sparkling wines.
Our first dance song was…
A modern version of the classic love song “Can’t take my eyes off of you (I love you baby)” – we chose Lauryn Hill’s cover version to appeal to our young and old guests.
The best accounts to follow on Instagram for big-day inspo are…
All of the wedding photographers. Following these gives you all the inspiration you need, from florals to dresses to tablescapes!
The best person to follow on Pinterest for bridal inspo is…
Hedsor House! Being our venue, it was so useful to see their posts of previous weddings and ideas. It’s particularly helpful to see previous brides and bridal parties on site at the place where you will marry – it makes it so much easier to imagine how your own day will go.
My top three tips for any couple would be…
Get a videographer if you can stretch your budget. When you watch it back and see your guests laughing and dancing, and the jokes during the speeches, it really brings the whole day back to life. You can truly relive your wedding again and watch moments that you may have missed in real time.
Plan your big honeymoon for 3 months after the wedding and take a simple short trip straight after. You will be absolutely exhausted – taking a long-haul flight and doing activities will be the last thing you want to do. Doing it this way also means you won’t get the “wedding blues” as you’ll still have so much look forward to.
Don’t have your ceremony too early in the day. We had ours at 2:30pm and this meant we had plenty of time to relax, get ready and truly enjoy the morning without a rush. If you start too early, people will overdo it too soon – especially if you plan to have a free bar!
For our honeymoon we chose…
We took a mini moon straight after the wedding to eat pizza and drink wine on the Amalfi coast. Our honeymoon 3 months later started with a safari in South Africa and drinking wine in beautiful Franshoek, followed by 6 nights in the Seychelles. We felt our honeymoon had to be a once in a lifetime trip, and it’s not every day you’ll get to see a pride of lions in the wild! The Seychelles honestly felt like we had arrived in paradise, it was perfect.
If I was able to do it all over again, the one thing I would change is…
Keeping our evening party to one room. We made the mistake of having 4 different areas open after dinner and this meant our dancefloor wasn’t always as packed as we would have liked. Keep your guests close to you and create one room full of everyone for the best atmosphere and buzz. Make sure your lights are low as well for the best effect!
List of suppliers
Venue: Hedsor House @hedsor
Caterer: Melissa Webb @melissawebb_ltd
Dress: Mathilda Rose @mathilda_rose_bride
Bridesmaids: Babaroni @babaroni.co.uk
Groom outfit: Suit Supply @suitsupply & Favourbrook @favourbrook
Flower girls & page boys: Next @nextofficial
Florist: Lavender Green @lavendergreenflowers
Tableware: Couvert @couverthire
Stationery: Freya Deabill @deabillandquince
Photographer: John Nassari @johnnassari
Videographer: John Nassari @johnnassari
Wedding rings: Rennie & Co @rennie_co_london
Makeup: Jo Adams @hmu_atelier
Hair: Jo Adams @hmu_atelier
Gift list: The Wedding Present Company @weddingpresentco
Bridesmaid gifts: Personalised gift boxes from Etsy @etsy filled with pyjamas, slippers, earrings, nude underwear and pale pink robes to wear as we got ready
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