A charming English wildflower wedding at the family farm

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Bride rides her own pony to the church her parent’s married in to say “I do” to her honey from the neighboring village in the countryside of England? Come on, could this wildflower wedding get any cuter?! (Yes, yes it can…)

Hollie & Jago found plenty of ways to win our hearts in their personality filled rustic hometown wedding – and they did it by being absolutely themselves. Not only did the lovebirds marry in a special church, but the party continued on in a charming, picnic-style reception at their own family farm (which meant even more moments shared with Rosie the pony!)

Beyond the fantastic inspiration the couple’s day provides from pretty purple wildflowers to how to style a backyard marquee reception space, Hollie kindly offers wedding dress shopping advice as per her own experience: try on at least one wild-card gown. Thanks to her incredible stylist suggesting a gown she would have never picked herself (and we think you should always trust an expert bridal stylist) Hollie discovered her dream wedding dress – a two piece set designed by the stylish Belle & Bunty.

Our Love Story

Our villages are about half an hour apart. So it was at various parties and down the pub that we met really! We were friends for a few years first. Jago managed to charm me in the end! We both admired from afar and then the rest is history!

We were walking our dog over Jago’s Dad’s farm where we lived for a couple of years before moving to London. I was perhaps a little jaded from the night before shall we say. And for someone who loves dog walks, I rather fancied curling up in front of a film that morning! He insisted that we walked right to the top of the hill…again, wasn’t that keen on this plan.

Once at the top, I sat down immediately only to look up and see him down on one knee! I couldn’t believe it. We had been together for almost six years at this point and had chatted about marriage and future lots and lots – nothing will prepare you! He had managed to smuggle some champagne and a couple of flutes in his jacket which helped with the butterflies. Telling everyone was just the most fun. It was a magical day and the second day happiest of my life…only topped now by the wedding day!

The Dress & Attire

I can’t thank the team at Fairytale Weddings enough! Daisy is just so very lovely – she is so friendly and sweet that you feel instantly at home. She also has such a brilliant eye and lots of experience, so she helped me hugely with my decision. In the end, I went for something that I didn’t even pick to try on, as it didn’t seem right on the rail but she said she would like to see it on anyway. I fell in love! It was exactly what I had visioned. My tip is that things you see online or in magazines, or on the rail, look so different on – if you try something that you wouldn’t usually pick, you may just be surprised!

The dress was actually a skirt and a top designed by Belle and Bunty. It was perfect in every way. It made me feel like a bride, but very much myself too. My veil was so sweet and I was able to wear my Mum’s tiara. I took the veil off at 7 pm and took my hair down, but I was able to keep the tiara! The groom’s attire? Tails. No tops! The traditional look for the boys. The groomsmen and groom were all matching. They looked dashing!

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The Wedding Day Vision

We wanted a day that all of our friends and family could come to! That was our starting point and everything sort of followed. The general idea was a traditional church wedding, to begin with. This is because my parents were married there twenty-nine years previously, and the church is at the heart of the village that I grew up in.

That was to be followed by a great big picnic! We wanted a relaxed feel to the day, pretty and a little bit rough around the edges. An important element to us was using local suppliers and friends. What we learned that was as the day began to take shape, the choices just became more and more obvious and it ended up reflecting us rather perfectly: wild flowers, picnic-style food, documentary style photographer and a great big party.

Favorite Moments

How the day went on forever! Everyone said it would go by in a blur! But there were so many sections, getting ready, service, lunch, speeches etc…that they all felt like mini-chapters in the day. It was so wonderful. I overheard someone say, ‘It’s 6 O’Clock’… And I was SO happy that it was so early!

Riding my pony to the church was really lovely. She made me feel very calm and ready to go. It was such a treat to have her involved in the day. One moment that will stay with us both forever? Feeding Rosie (the pony), we got to have a moment just us two and I got to say a proper thank you to Rosie for taking me to the church. Most dressed up I’ve ever been in the stables!

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The Photography

We wanted relaxed shots of our wonderful guests. We had quite a lot of guests and wanted a record of them being there. Jonny’s documentary style was just magical. He captured every tiny detail in the most beautiful way. We wanted photos that we would be proud to show our children, grand-children and so on, but also that we could pop on Instagram and have up in the house. Jonny was simply perfect. We are over the moon and more! It was like having a friend with us. Jonny is so very talented, and just the most wonderful person to be around. He made us feel so excited and so relaxed all at the same time.

Our advice? Get an amazing photographer. This is one day. Make sure that you are confident that it’s being recorded. I was able to completely relax as I knew that Jonny was quietly snapping away.

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Advice to Other Couples

Have a massage the day before! Nothing fancy, just half an hour of taking everything in and having some well deserved ‘you time’. It was a bit cheeky to sneak off during the last minute prep but it was really precious time, a moment to slow down and think about the whole thing before it happened.

Also, plan time to eat on the day – I made sure I ate lots and lots. You are not going to stop! So it gives you a chance to relax and look around, and also gives you the energy to keep going! Also, you have planned all this yummy stuff, you deserve to enjoy it all!

Don’t think too much on decisions, go with your heart. It sounds silly, but the more you organise and get ticked off the list, the wedding will just begin to take shape naturally. Your day will be a true reflection of you if you just go with it. Have the fiddly bits ready well in advance. Our signs, name places, etc were all waiting in the wings and ready to go. So in the final countdown is as relaxed as possible. I felt that there were two elements. Getting married, and an event. Make sure you don’t dwell too much on one or the other, they are both just brilliant!