This English countryside wedding is so gorgeous I had to pinch myself when London wedding photographer, Dasha Caffrey, sent over these photos.
Lorna and Mathew married in a flurry of exquisite florals, surrounded by their nearest and dearest – all joyfully raising glasses of Prosecco (and bottles of Peroni) to toast the happy couple who were together for 13 years before saying their ‘I dos'.
Lorna was a vision in fitted lace with delicate cap sleeves and a chic bow sash while Mathew and his groomsmen wore traditional tailcoats and cravats. The bridesmaids were graceful in pale pink, full length gowns and carried bouquets that'll make your knees weak.
This elegant and relaxed wedding just goes to show that good things come to those who wait!*
From The Bride…
After being together for 13 years we both wanted our wedding to be a day to remember. From the outset we both knew we wanted the day to be focused on what is important to us – family, friends, flowers, good food, music and fun!…and it didn't disappoint.
Mathew proposed in Paris and as we both love France we knew there had to be some French elements to the day (they turned out to be Parisian district table names, French cheeses and macarons – Yum!)
We had an Elegant springtime wedding with a slightly ‘English Countryside' feel. We went for soft peachy colours with bursts of coral.
The day itself, went seamlessly, and neither of us, or our guests, stopped smiling. After rain and storms the day before, the sun shone brightly and made everyone feel happy, relaxed, and ready to party. Which indeed they did – the dancing went on until the early hours, with my 91 year old grandma leading the way on the dance floor!
Bridal Attire
I wore a mermaid-cut lace dress by Benjamin Roberts. It was initially strapless but I had lace cap sleeves with a key-hole back added. My shoes were low heeled suede peep-toes with lace applique from Rachel Simpson. All my jewellery was old – antique pearl earrings from a vintage market in Brighton and my Grandmother's Sapphire and diamond ring as my something old, borrowed and blue.
My bridemaids chose the style of their dresses (and surprisingly all agreed pretty quickly!) the only guidance I gave them was the nude colour. They wore brushed gold shoes from Bertie. Mat and his groomsmen hired formal suits with tailcoats from Moss Bros.
The Ceremony
We were married in St Andrew's church in a relaxed, traditional ceremony. My uncle Andy read Corinthians & Mat's sister Ruth read ‘The Hands'.
I entered the church to ‘Trumpet Voluntary' by Jeramiah Clark and exited to ‘Queen of Sheba' by Handel
Unknown to us at the time – we chose exactly the same hymns that Prince Wiliam and Katherine had at their wedding!
Mat's sister, and our Bridesmaid Olivia's school choir performed whilst we were signing the register – their version of ‘I will Follow him' from Sister Act had many of our guests in tears.
The Photography
We chose Dasha of Dasha Caffrey Photography because we loved the images of other weddings she had shot on her website and her style of photography exactly suited what we were looking for – natural, personal and ‘clean' looking. She had also had really positive feedback from other couples.
She didn't disappoint on the day or the pre-wedding shoot and was extremely professional, friendly, unobtrusive and made the whole process a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The pre-wedding shoot was held at Petersham Nurseries, a favourite jaunt of ours, Dasha guided us through what to expect on the day and we ended up getting some lovely pre-wedding shots. We are so pleased with all our photos and they are they perfect record of a truly special day.
The Flowers
I absolutely adore flowers so it was important that they were a major feature of the day. I wanted the flowers to feel natural and unstructured…like they had just been picked from a country garden. We also included lavender as the smell reminds me of my grandmother who lived in France and always had bundles of dried lavender around her house.
Our bouquets were tied with lace and included – white peonies, coral charm peonies peach ‘juliet' David Austin Roses, vuvuzela roses, white o'hara roses, ranunculus, white hydrana, sweet peas, lavender and fresh herbs. The boy's buttonholes consisted of Vuvuzela roses and fresh herbs.
Our table centres were displayed in old stone urns and included all of the above plus tanacetum (mini daisies), Pale pink and snowcap hydramgea, pale pink and peach stocks, white and pale pink astible, peach lisianthus, Eucalyptus and fresh herbs.
*I got a little carried away with all the gorgeous photos – so this turned into a 2 page post. Be sure to click page 2 (below the vendor credits) to see the rest of Lorna and Mat's stunning big day. The florals at the reception are not to be missed!
