Laura & Ben

Cripps Barn where this gorgeous outdoor wedding took place has long been a member of our supplier directory The List; not only because it is enchanting, but also because it effortlessly encapsulate the mood of all their couples and their wedding day vision perfectly. Laura and Ben opted for classic blush pink and white roses and some of the most amazing floral arches and hanging arrangements I've ever seen; as well as a very cool and unique etched perspex table plan and table name signs, making the outdoor ceremony and barn look utterly divine. Have you clocked Bride Laura's hair & make up yet? Created but yet another member of our fabulous directory Grace at Lips & Locks, who I've had the pleasure to meet and work with. Grace is not only super talented but genuinely the nicest person too. I simply adore the rolled chignon she's created for Laura with the added Emmy London hair accessory. And how can I not mention Laura's Flora gown; that beaded bodice is simply heavenly. You ready to feel the love and pore over the gorgeous images by Jackson & Co.? Then I shall keep you no more. Enjoy.

The Dress

Laura the Bride: I wanted a dress that would be timeless, wouldn’t restrict me from eating pudding or moving and be comfortable to wear all day. I was keen to try on lots of different shapes and styles and just as I was about to decide between two very different dresses Hannah from Blackburn Bridal brought out the Flora Madlen dress; it was the first Flora collection they had stocked, the dresses had only arrived that day and I was the first person to try it on: it felt like fate. I wore a beaded flower chain by Emmy in my hair and Rachel Simpson Mimosa shoes in dusky pink. I also wore my mum’s sapphire eternity ring as my something old and blue and changed the Flora belt on my dress to my sister’s Jenny Packham ‘Camelia’ belt from her wedding dress as my something borrowed. Grace from Lips and Locks did hair and makeup for the bridal party and my mum. I found Grace on RMW and loved that she kept the makeup very natural and hairstyles soft and not too done. Grace was absolutely amazing, she really took the time to listen to what everyone wanted and stayed until the very last moment checking everything was in place.

The Suits

Ben decided that as I was keeping my dress a secret he would do the same with his suit; I didn't see anything that he'd bought until the day - our photographer Michael captured a great photo of my bridesmaids and I spying out of the hotel window when ben arrived trying to catch a sneaky glimpse of him in his suit. The groomsmen and ushers all wore their own suits and had beautiful buttonholes made with tuberose and rosemary.

Bridesmaids

We didn’t want the bridesmaids to look identical and wanted to buy dresses that they would want to wear again. We all loved the Corwin Maxi Dress from Coast as they could style and accessorise it however they liked and they all looked absolutely gorgeous! It was quite hard finding another dress in the same colour for our flower girl so we decided she would match with me and she wore a beautiful ivory dress from Monsoon.   

Venue & Decor

When we first started planning our wedding we made a list of the top five things we wanted from the venue: good food, one venue for both the ceremony and reception, somewhere old but not grand, a fire pit and outside space. Cripps Barn was the first venue we went to see and we absolutely loved it, we went for lunch at their pub nearby and the food was so good it sealed the deal. The barn is so beautiful that we didn’t feel like we needed to add much to it. Cripps had lots of decorations and accessories already so we had candles everywhere, giant lawn games outside and big fire pits in the evening. Luckily we also have lots of very talented friends and family who helped dress the venue in the morning and they created some really special decorations just for us.

Florist

Daphne Haynes, is an incredibly talented florist; Daph arrived the day before the wedding with a car full of fresh flowers straight from the flower market, everyone helped with making the arrangements and she made the whole venue look and smell beautiful; the smell of tuberose will always remind me of our wedding day. Despite forecasts of thunderstorms, the weather was fantastic and we were incredibly lucky to have our wedding ceremony outside in the glade in the sunshine.

Food

 

Canapés and Prosecco on the lawn after the ceremony Starters: Chicken terrine or smoked salmon   Mains: Steak bricks served with béarnaise sauce, green beans and dauphinoise potatoes. We put an apron on one seat of each table to designate a carver who then sliced and served the steak for their table. Pudding: We had a table full of cakes, biscuits and sweets (including some Indian treats as a nod to our engagement in Kerala) made by our friends so people could help themselves whenever they fancied something sweet.

Cake

  My aunt very kindly made our wedding cake, we had a naked cake decorated with flowers, fruit and buttercream. Each layer of the cake was a different flavour; Victoria sponge, lemon and poppy seed and spiced ginger and carrot. It was so good we ate it for breakfast the next day (...and the day after - the wedding diet was well and truly over by then!)   

Ceremony & Entertainment

I felt quite calm getting ready in the morning and was relatively composed as I was waiting to walk down the aisle until the music started. My bridesmaids and I were walking in to Coldplay’s Green Eyes but when the music started we noticed it was being played live rather than a recording. After a few words I noticed that it was Ben singing and completely lost my composure. Ben sang as our flowergirl and bridesmaids walked down the aisle and then our friend Ashley took over to sing as my Dad and I walked so Ben was waiting at the end of the aisle for me. I had no idea Ben was planning to sing, no-one knew what he was planning except for the guys performing and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. We found our band Folk Knights online and loved that they didn’t look too staged or choreographed, it just felt like you were at their gig in a pub and they got everyone dancing.

Photography

Michael and Hannah from Jackson & Co were absolutely brilliant, we can’t thank them enough for all their work on the day. They made us feel completely at ease and all of our guests commented on how brilliant and unimposing they were and it really shows in the pictures because everyone looks so relaxed; they felt more like guests than suppliers and we loved having them there. 

Advice

We were told it can be difficult to find time to talk to everyone properly on the day so we had a party the night before the wedding and went camping with friends for the weekend after. If there’s an opportunity to do something before or after your wedding day we’d definitely recommend it, it definitely helps people get to know each other and delays the onset of any post-wedding blues.