Lindsay & Jonny

Being based in NYC, Lindsay and Jonny officially got married in the US a week before their beautifully classic celebration at Hedsor House in England. With Groom Jonny's family being from the UK they decided to have the best of both worlds, incorporating many American traditions as well as English ones, all with the help of Heart Shaped Weddings planner Rebecca. Both Lindsay and Jonny oozed sophistication and style, with the simplistic and sleek silhouette of Lindsay's Karen Willis Holmes gown fitting her like a glove. There's written calligraphy place cards, spectacular florals from Vervain Flowers and the most adorable 'first look' and golden hour portraits captured by RS Brown Photography, all guaranteed to make your eyes bulge and your hearts swell.

Wedding

Lindsay the Bride: Our wedding was a long time coming. We started dating in 2010 when I was studying abroad in London. After 6 months, my semester in the UK ended, and I headed back to university in Tennessee. Jonny and I, however, committed to long distance for 18 months until I graduated and returned to London for business school. After a few years in London, we moved to New York together, where we still live. But, because we’d met in the UK and spent so much time there throughout our relationship, we decided that we wanted to get married here.

Planning

That being said, planning a wedding in the UK from across the ocean was a bit tricky. I’m definitely the planner in the relationship and I’ve been known to be a perfectionist, so this process was a challenge for me. In planning a wedding from so far away, I had to give up some control and trust in the people helping me. I was very lucky to have my mother-in-law, Julie, in the UK who was always there for us at any local appointments or viewings on our behalf. I don’t think we could have done it all (at least so well) without all her help. My wedding planner, Rebecca, was also an absolute lifesaver.

The Venue(s)

We actually booked Hedsor House without ever actually visiting it. I found Hedsor online and the pictures were just breathtaking. Thankfully, Jonny’s parents were able to visit the venue on our behalf soon after and confirmed for us that is was as amazing as its pictures. Hedsor made planning the wedding easy. Any decorations we added were only supplementing the already beautiful space. We also wanted to integrate American traditions into our British wedding, and one of the most significant American traditions is a rehearsal dinner the night before the wedding. Once we’d booked Hedsor House, we decided to host our rehearsal dinner for the wedding party and a welcome drinks reception for all the guests across the road at Cliveden House, which only added to our magical weekend. The combination of Hedsor House and Cliveden House made for a spectacular weekend.

The Ceremony

Our ceremony was meant to be officiated by Jonny’s groomsmen and close friend, Tom, but his wife ended up going into labor on the day of our wedding! So, we had to quickly find another person to do the job. Luckily another of Jonny’s groomsmen, and another Tom, stepped in and did an absolutely phenomenal job for us. We held the ceremony in the Centre Hall at Hedsor House under the beautiful domed skylight.

Wedding Planner

Hiring our wedding planner, Rebecca Buckingham, of Heart Shaped Weddings, was the best decision we made in the entire wedding planning process. I remember Jonny saying to me when we hired her, “I don’t understand why we need a planner.” Then, in the week leading up to the wedding, he said “I’m so glad we have Rebecca to help us.” We didn’t have to lift a finger on our wedding day. Everything flowed smoothly, the décor and vendors were where they needed to be, and if anything went wrong, we didn’t know about it. That was all because of Rebecca. She made our wedding day absolutely blissful.

Colour Scheme/Décor

We wanted to complement the beauty of our venue with simple décor. Our colour scheme was greyish blue and lavender with simple greenery. We had our signage made by Thistle Paper Company, who were so accommodating with working with me from New York. Our florist, Vervain Flowers, did a good job as well of capturing our style without overpowering Hedsor’s beauty.

Musicians / Entertainment

For our ceremony and cocktail reception, we worked with Apollo Strings. They played all genres of music from pop to classical which was really fun. We held the reception back in the Centre Hall where we had our band, Garden Party, set up. They were great and kept the energy up and got everyone dancing. It was so much fun. We also had a photo booth by The Flash Pack. At first, we thought a photo booth was a bit overdone, but they were great! During the reception, everyone was laughing and taking funny photos. Also, the FlashPack managed our guestbook using the photos our guests took which is such a wonderful (and hilarious) keepsake for us to have now.

The Wedding Dress and the Bride’s Look

I got my wedding dress in New York. It was by Karen Willis Holmes – clean, classic, and sophisticated. My goal was to look timeless. My hair and makeup was done by Jo Adams for the Hair and Make-Up Atelier. Jo was amazing. She made me feel more beautiful than ever. Plus, she’s so much fun and really kept my nerves at bay as we were all getting ready the wedding morning. I really appreciated it! My shoes for the ceremony and dinner were Jimmy Choo, navy custom heels – beautiful but not the most comfortable. So, after dinner, I changed into Nike wedge sneakers (I think they’re called Nike Sky High Dunk Sneakers). They were life savers for dancing, and they didn’t make my dress drag on the ground too much. I wore a David Yurman ring and bracelet, and my earrings were vintage from my grandmother who passed away two years ago. We were close, so I loved having a piece of her with me on my wedding day.

Bridesmaids

I know it makes me sound so American, but my bridesmaids’ looks were totally inspired by Pippa Middleton! They wore dresses lavender dress by Katie May with the low-back detail and pretty white flowers in their hair.

The Groom’s Look

Jonny was really keen on designing his own look and bespoke suit. So, he went to Whitfield & Ward to help. They guided him through all the choices and his final look was sophisticated but different, just what he wanted. We also rented our groomsmen suits from them – a solid navy, classic three piece suit.

Photography

Our photographers were husband and wife duo, Sonia and Rich, from RS Brown Photography. They were so helpful and so talented. Jonny and I aren’t particularly comfortable in front of the camera, but Sonia and Rich both have the ability to make you feel at ease and to capture really natural pictures that show the emotion of the day. I had no idea I could be photogenic!

Food

Caper & Berry were Hedsor House’s preferred catering vendor, so we decided to use them essentially just based on that. Luckily, the Hedsor House team has fantastic taste in caterers, so we were not disappointed. They took care of everything, from canapes, to mixologists, to a beautiful three course dinner, and everything was absolutely delicious! Our cake was from an awesome little East London bakery – Lily Vanilli. So creative and delicious – salted chocolate caramel. Yum.

Advice

Hire a wedding planner! Or, at least a day-of wedding coordinator (especially if it’s Heart Shaped Weddings!). You will not regret it. And, don’t worry about the last minute changes. They WILL happen, but everything will work out. And, the main goal of your wedding day is for you to enjoy it – don’t lose sight of that!