Today is a big day on the blog. Our real bride is getting married!
Last week we shared Gemma & Tom's engagement shoot with you guys, and now we're so excited to finally show off their insanely gorgeous, creative, and inspired wedding day with you too.
Their DIY barn wedding in the English countryside was captured by the talented Natasha Hurley in her signature dreamy fashion. And it's everything we dreamed it would be, and more.
Last year, we followed Gemma and Tom's wedding planning every step of the way, (make sure you read back through her funny musings here) so we found ourselves welling up, (just a tad!), when we finally got to see all their hard work come to life.
Every little detail of this wedding day was painstakingly created, homebrewed beer, homemade lollies, and homebaked cakes, sat in amongst DIY decor and thoughtful touches created by the couple, their family, friends, and Gemma's other partner in crime, Sundari, aka The Wedding Stylist.
We could wax all day about how special this wedding is, but how about we just let you see for yourself?
Scroll down for sweet details, romantic portraits, and incredible style from our gorgeous pair, Gemma and Tom…
Wedding Day Snapshot
Our Wedding
So after a little while away (basking in the post-wedding glow) I’m so honoured to be back among the pages of Bridal Musings to share our wedding story.
Tom and I got married last June on mid-summer’s day, and the whole day was just about as magical and spine tingling as I could possible imagine.
I awoke to literally just about the most perfect day that we could get, the sun was hazy over the fields and there was not a cloud in the sky.
As someone who works in the industry, and being a creative kinda girl, our wedding was pretty much my dream project. I loved every second of our wedding planning and found that everything flowed pretty naturally.
The Venue & The Dress
We found and booked our venue early on – five days after we got engaged to be precise! It’s beautiful old barn on a Bonham’s Farm where I used to go strawberry picking as a child.
Likewise with the dress – I knew when I had found The One – I came across it whilst putting together a mood board for a client, and after my bridesmaid Allison tracked down the only UK shop that sold that designer, I was sold!
A Little Help from Friends
Our family and friends were absolutely amazing throughout the whole process, there wasn’t a single person involved in our wedding that we didn’t know personally…from my friend Sarah who did the flowers and Natasha our photographer, to the wondrous Paul who had our wedding rings made.
We are very lucky to have such talented people surrounding us.
The Ceremony
The week leading up to the wedding I felt like I was on cloud nine! It was so exciting and I couldn’t wait for it to be Saturday.
My sister couldn’t have put it better when she was describing the feeling you have on your wedding morning to me that week – it feels like Christmas but timesed by a million! I can testify to this when I opened my eyes that morning and realised I was getting married.
Standing at the church door, arm in arm with my father, my heart was pounding and emotions were running high during the service – especially when my mother and her friend got up to sing ‘Be Thou My Vision' with the choir to Tom and I.
It’s one of the most beautiful songs imaginable, and I had no idea my mother was planning a solo. The whole church was choked up and I still can’t listen to that song without welling up.
The Decor & Details
The styling on the day was super important to us – we wanted to create an intimate yet sparkly atmosphere. Our colour scheme was navy, gold, copper and hot pink, with lots of silvery-green foliage and a sprinkling of glitter.
I remember how the flowers smelled (rosemary, mint and thyme in the bouquets), the twinkling lights in the barn, the confetti bar and the hand-made phootbooth backdrop.
We poured as much love as we could into every element of the styling – my sister and I made the glitter lollipops favours, Tom brewed our own G&T-inspired wedding beer, and we even had hand-made confetti at the church.
The Refreshments
When it came to the wedding breakfast, we were pretty clear on a few things: the ingredients had to be in season, locally sourced and made with as much love and care as possible.
And as if by magic, we stumbled upon the quite frankly awesome Toby and Trudi at Bowtells Farm in Hampshire.
We went for pulled pork with Southern slaw and salads and a dessert bar with cakes made by all our family and friends.
The piece de resistance though was our wedding cake made by my mother, which was an elderflower, lemon, raspberry and mascarpone sponge, and the most delicious thing I think I’ve ever eaten.
The Evening Reception
The speeches were so touching and hilarious – one of the best men even wrote a rap which had the whole barn in hysterics. Our first dance was to Lisa Hannigan’s ‘I Don’t Know’ and Sundari, our friend and stylist, created a glitter shower from the mezzanine upstairs, so that we twirled around the dance floor with sparkles falling all around us. It was magical!
Once the day was over we jetted off to Ithaca in Greece for 10 days of total relaxation. It was a wonderful end to a truly wonderful day.
Congratulations Gemma and Tom!!!
Isn't it just amazing. We're a little sad that Gemma's real bride journey with us is over, but we're just so happy that her and Tom's sensational wedding day came together so perfectly. I just love that they were able to harness the talents of so many friends and family, and that their day looks just as beautiful as they'd imagined.
Don't forget to share some love for Gemma and Tom in the comments below, and read back over her step by step guide to planning their wedding. You can also keep up with Gemma's regular musings (and beautiful stationery!) on Facebook and Instagram.
Thanks so, so, so much to Gemma and Tom for sharing their wedding story with us, and of course to Natasha Hurley for her beautiful photographs.
Don't miss any instalments of Gemma's Real Bride Diary.
